◇ ◇ ◇
The journey after departing Daruane had been completely smooth.
Right now, we were each spending free time in the royal capital of the Tsaharib Kingdom.
It was to rest our bodies after the recent days of constant travel by carriage.
...Well, the real reasons were that Fuuka had absolutely insisted on visiting the shop here famous for its exquisite gratin and that Hart-san had some personal errands he wanted to take care of here.
As for me, I was sitting on a bench bathed in the warm light of the setting sun and reading the book I had bought earlier at the bookstore.
"..."
That said, almost none of the book's content was entering my head.
What was running through my mind was, of course, my own past.
I was born and raised in a remote, cold village that was not even marked on any maps.
I had decided to become an explorer because I admired the sight of my grandfather, who had been an explorer, defeating a magical beast that had appeared in the village.
One day, while Oliver and I were away, the village was attacked by bandits, and all the residents except us were killed.
While burying my slain comrades from the village, I made a vow.
"No matter how unreasonable things become, I will not lose anything. I will become strong enough to protect what is important to me in any situation."
After that, Oliver and I headed to Tsutrail.
Once we became explorers in Tsutrail, we met Luna there and formed an explorer party of three.
We then welcomed Derrick and Aneli as companions, reached the ninety-fourth floor of the great southern labyrinth, and came to be called the hero party by the world.
After that, I was mocked as a jack-of-all-trades and driven out of the hero party. Through a series of coincidences, I joined the Night Sky Silver Rabbit and reached today.
That was the general outline of my past as I understood it.
"Doubt your common sense... It is highly likely to be a distorted truth."
Lately, Gary's final words kept crossing my mind over and over.
Each time, the headache grew worse.
Since there were no answers inside me, I knew it was pointless to think deeply about the past.
Normally, when this happened, I would force myself to change the subject by talking with Fuuka or Hart-san.
But unfortunately, I was alone here right now.
All sorts of thoughts kept spinning around endlessly in my head, and I could tell I was gradually becoming confused.
It felt like I had wandered into a maze with no exit.
An indescribable terror slowly rose from my feet.
Even if I tried to shake it off, I could not stop my thoughts.
The headache grew stronger in its demands.
My heart pounded violently.
Cold sweat broke out.
My throat grew dry.
If I really had come into contact with Philly Carpenter in the past, then almost all of my memories were meaningless.
After all, she possessed the unique ability called recognition alteration.
Who am I?
I am Orun Dura.
I am an explorer of the Night Sky Silver Rabbit.
I became an explorer around the age of nine.
After that, I had lived in Tsutrail the entire time.
That should be correct.
Those details were also recorded in the explorers guild in Tsutrail.
I even had memories of writing clumsy reports at the time and looking back over them several times after submitting them.
Even if I had been subjected to recognition alteration, it should not be possible to tamper with the content of written documents.
Is that really true?
Right now, in this place, I did not have anything that could prove it.
What if even the memory of having seen those records had been altered?
When exactly had I started working as an explorer?
In the first place, was I really an explorer of the Night Sky Silver Rabbit?
No, the sensation in this right hand is real.
I tightly gripped the emblem of the Night Sky Silver Rabbit embroidered on the left chest of the coat I was wearing and told myself that I was an explorer of the Night Sky Silver Rabbit.
The more I thought about it, the deeper I fell into the trap.
Even so, the way I had lived until now would not allow my thoughts to stop.
I continued thinking almost unconsciously.
I no longer knew what was real and what was fake.
"...Hey... Oi... Hey! Orun!"
"——!?"
The sensation of my shoulder being tapped brought me back to myself.
"Hart... san...?"
When I looked up, Hart-san was standing there with a worried expression.
"Are you okay—— well, of course you are not. ...Sorry for leaving you alone."
"...No, you had errands to run, right? I am fine. ...But if you are done, let us head to the Hitia Duchy quickly."
I put on a brave face for Hart-san, but the severe headache combined with being constantly exposed to memories I could not trust was more than enough to wear down my spirit.
I wanted to learn my real past and escape this situation as soon as possible.
"Yeah. I know. Do you remember what I said when we left Daruane?"
"You mean the part about using a special route?"
When I answered Hart-san's question, he nodded in satisfaction.
"That is it. My personal errands were preparations for using that special route. I fully understand that you want to leave here right away, Orun. But could you stay here for one night today and depart tomorrow? I promise we will reach the Hitia Duchy for certain faster than if we left today."
Hart-san's expression as he said this was completely serious.
Normally, since the physical distance would not change, it would be obvious that leaving earlier would mean arriving earlier.
But he must have had grounds for stating it so confidently.
I knew that Fuuka and Hart-san were hiding things from me.
Still, I wanted to believe in the two of them.
"...Understood. I will trust your words, Hart-san."
"Thank you."
◇
The day after spending the night in the royal capital of the Tsaharib Kingdom.
When I headed to the dining hall of the inn that served as our meeting place, Fuuka and Hart-san were already waiting.
"Good morning, you two. Sorry, did I keep you waiting?"
"Good morning, Orun."
"Morning. We just got here too, so do not worry about it. Well then, shall we go?"
With those words, Hart-san started walking.
When we left the inn, the direction he headed was not outside the city but toward the center of the city.
While feeling some doubt about that, I followed the two since Fuuka showed no signs of concern and simply walked along.
"...Hey Orun, may I ask you one question?"
As we walked through the city streets, Hart-san asked in a serious tone.
He was usually carefree, so when he took on such a serious atmosphere, I could not help but brace myself more than necessary.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"I do not want you to take this the wrong way, but was the path you have walked from the time you were driven out of the hero party until today one without regrets?"
He asked with the same serious atmosphere.
Fuuka, who was walking beside me, usually acted as if it had nothing to do with her, but this time I felt she was paying close attention to me.
I did not know why Hart-san was asking such a question, and especially at this timing.
But it did not seem like a joke or simple curiosity.
In that case, I should answer seriously as well.
"I have no regrets. At least, not right now."
"Does that mean there was a time when you did have regrets?"
"No, I think the regrets will come in the future. Probably."
"..."
"One year ago, when I was hesitating after receiving the invitation from the Night Sky Silver Rabbit, a person I respect told me something. 'Once you hesitate before making a decision, you will definitely regret it.' Joining the clan involved quite a lot of hesitation, so I think I will eventually encounter something I regret."
Those were words Gramps had said to me when I had become timid about interacting with people after being driven out of the party.
What he told me back then still left a strong impression.
It was something that had even influenced my own values.
"However, even when that time comes, I believe I will be able to accept this choice. That is how fulfilling the days until today have been."
"...I see."
After hearing my answer, Hart-san muttered a single phrase with a complicated expression that seemed both relieved and somewhat guilty.
As for Fuuka, she remained expressionless as usual, and I could not read what she was thinking from her face.
Hart-san lightly closed his eyes and exhaled.
When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to his usual expression.
"Sorry for the weird question."
"No, that is fine, but was my answer satisfying?"
"Hm? Neither satisfying nor unsatisfying. It is what you feel, and that is everything. ...Oh, we have arrived right on time."
Hart-san stopped in front of a building.
What stood there was a branch of the Downing Trading Company.
The two had not told me who the person they wanted me to meet was, but I had guessed it was Christopher Downing, the president of the Downing Trading Company.
That was why I had assumed we were heading to the Hitia Duchy where the main branch was located, but could he be at this branch store?
Still, Hart-san had said yesterday that using a special route would get us to the Hitia Duchy faster.
As I felt doubt about coming to the Downing Trading Company in this country, the two entered the store, so I hurriedly followed after them.
A person who seemed to be a store employee noticed our entry and approached.
"Fuuka of the Red Copper Evening Glow. Guide us to the usual place."
Fuuka unusually stepped forward, took out some kind of card, and stated her business to the employee.
"We have been expecting you. The branch manager has informed us. We will prepare immediately, so please wait a moment in this room."
The polite employee led us to a reception room, where we sat down in chairs.
Once the employee left the room and only the three of us remained, Hart-san suddenly took out a pair of glasses from his storage magical tool and began putting them on.
Looking at the lenses, they did not seem to have any prescription, so they appeared to be plain fashion glasses.
However, the lenses contained magic power to a degree that made them seem far more than mere fashion glasses.
Yet there was no magic stone visible, so they did not appear to be a magical tool either.
What were those lenses?
"How do they look? Do they suit me?"
Noticing my gaze on the glasses, Hart-san asked.
"Whether they suit you or not is beside the point. Please tell me already. We are heading to the Hitia Duchy, right? I do not think this is the time to be wasting time here."
When I asked, Hart-san slightly closed his eyes.
He always did this when exercising his unique ability when he had some leeway.
He had most likely checked the surroundings with his ability.
"Yeah. ...No one is around here, so it should be fine."
After opening his eyes and muttering that, Hart-san looked toward me.
"As you said, Orun, we are heading to the Hitia Duchy. But I told you yesterday, right? That we would use a special route."
"The way you are saying it sounds like you are going to tell me about that special route."
"Yeah. There is no point in holding back now that we have come this far, so I will say it. In short, it is teleportation."
"...Huh? Teleportation?"
"Yeah. From here, we are going to move instantly to the main branch of the Downing Trading Company in the Hitia Duchy."
"..."
I was taken aback for the first time in a while.
It was true that there existed a teleportation magic called Space Leap.
However, the distance that magic could teleport was at most around a hundred meters.
Just how far did he think the distance from here to the Hitia Duchy was?
I had learned some tips on spell construction from Rain-san, the unique magic user of Space Leap, and had managed to extend the teleportation distance considerably, but naturally it was impossible to reach the Hitia Duchy from here.
In the first place, it was said that support magic could not be reproduced with magical tools.
Since Space Leap was classified as support magic, I had heard it still had not been reproduced.
If long-distance teleportation became possible, it would be a revolution, no joke.
It would be no exaggeration to say that the very nature of society would change.
Whether he knew that or not, Hart-san was casually saying we would teleport.
My head was starting to spin in a different sense...
"Just to be sure, you are not joking, right?"
"Yeah, I am completely serious. That said, teleportation requires a considerable amount of magic power and is not something that can be used casually. I am not well-versed in magic, so I do not know the details."
"I knew the Downing Trading Company was one of the world's leading companies engaged in the development and sale of magical tools, but to think they have even made long-distance teleportation possible... It is far too powerful for a single company to possess..."
As I was shuddering at the technological prowess of the Downing Trading Company, there came a knock at the door as if timed perfectly.
The door then slowly opened, and a woman in maid attire with long black hair tied at both shoulders and wearing glasses entered the room.
"Telshe, it has been a while."
It seemed Fuuka knew the woman who had entered. When Fuuka greeted her, the woman called Telshe bowed to Fuuka and replied.
"It has been a while, Fuuka-sama. ...Hart, those glasses do not suit you at all."
She had given Fuuka a polite greeting, but her words toward Hart-san were harsh.
Hart-san responded to those words with a bitter smile.
"You really never go easy on me, Telshe... Well, whatever. The fact that you are here means the young lady still has not woken up after all?"
Perhaps this woman's attitude toward Hart-san was normal, because he showed no particular concern and asked her a question.
"I will answer that question later."
However, the woman did not answer Hart-san's question. Instead, she walked gracefully over to me.
Then she bowed with movements that felt even more polite than the one she had given Fuuka earlier.
"Um..."
As I was bewildered by her attitude, she spoke.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Orun-sama. My name is Telshe Hagwell. I hope you will remember me."
"Yes. Nice to meet you, Telshe-san. Likewise, pleased to make your acquaintance. ...Hm? Hagwell?"
I was quite surprised by Telshe-san's formal attitude but hid my agitation and returned the greeting.
Immediately after, I felt a catch at her surname.
"Yes. Rain Hagwell, who belongs to the Night Sky Silver Rabbit, is my foolish younger sister."
She turned out to be Rain-san's older sister.
Rain-san was quite petite.
In contrast, Telshe-san was tall and slender, so at first glance it was hard to connect the two.
But now that it had been said, the light blue eyes behind the glasses, the hair color, and the facial features did indeed seem similar to Rain-san's.
"I see. I am always helped by Rain-san."
"I am relieved to hear that my foolish sister is of use to you, Orun-sama. If she loses her usefulness, you may discard her. ...Well then, shall we go?"
I felt a slight catch at Telshe-san's wording, but decided it was not something to touch on here and started to follow after Telshe-san, who had begun walking, when
"Wait, wait! Are you just going to ignore my question? It concerns our future moves too, so tell me!"
Hart-san, looking flustered, called out to Telshe-san.
"Ah, that is right. Shi—— ahem. The young lady is still asleep. Is that good news for you?"
Telshe-san, who had remembered the question she had postponed for my greeting, answered.
Both the question and the answer were things I did not quite understand.
"It is not exactly good news. But I see, it has already been several months. I am a little worried."
"...Yes, it is."
When Hart-san, upon hearing the reply, spoke as if worried about the person called the young lady, Telshe-san murmured with a sad expression.