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Returning Home to Japan – Part 02

Paula had wrapped up her healing activities as the Wandering Saint in Pond and returned to the capital. Compared to the larger cities she had worked in, Pond’s healing mission had been on a smaller scale and concluded smoothly.

To show appreciation for Paula’s efforts, Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula decided to have dinner at a restaurant with private rooms.

“By the way,” Paula said, “Freya was furious because you disappeared right away after the incident.”

Hikaru chuckled dryly. “Well, that’s understandable. I dumped all the problems on them and left.”

“Are you talking about Ballast Trading? With the return of the previous president, things should be stable now, no?”

“No, it seems a bit more complicated than that.”

Hikaru hadn’t spoken to Freya directly, but he had left instructions with Unken before leaving Pond. During the scuffle, one of Samal’s men attempted to stab Doma, catching Hikaru’s attention. Unlike Edward’s group, who fought with weapons, Samal’s group had used only their fists. They likely picked up a knife that one of Edward’s men dropped.

They were actually trying to kill Doma.

Hikaru shared his thoughts with Unken, who agreed. Unken, the former ace of the Empire’s intelligence agency and the current guildmaster of Pond, had his own information network. The underground figures Samal had been in touch with in the capital were pulling some strings, likely attempting to extend their influence to Pond as well.

This was too troublesome for Hikaru to deal with, so he left it to Unken. Kelbeck of the Thieves Guild would likely be involved in formulating countermeasures, and by that point, it was no longer Hikaru’s problem.

“Anyway, did you tell Queen Kujastria about the Four Elementals Fusion Theory?” Lavia asked.

“I did. She was quite surprised.”

Hikaru couldn’t help but smile as he recalled her dropping the pen she had in her hand when she heard about the success of the experiment.

“Why don’t you take me along to such intriguing experiments?!” she had shouted.

Attendants and guard knights rushed over when they heard her voice, so the detailed explanation was postponed until the next day. Kujastria, kept in suspense for a day, was crying when Hikaru visited her again. He firmly believed he didn’t do anything wrong.

He explained the details of the Four Elementals Fusion Theory and its completion, emphasizing the contributions of Isaac F. Taylor.

“Ah, I see how it is.”

Hikaru had no idea what she meant by that. Kujastria had figured out that Hikaru still didn’t know that Isaac was Ivy, a woman.

“With my Mana Detection, I can immediately execute the spell, but existing measuring instruments won’t work,” Hikaru explained. “Since they multiply the mana in the four elemental stones together, causing an exponential increase in magical energy, the mana drifting in the air becomes a critical factor. That’s why experiments haven’t been successful until now. I think Isaac will be working on airborne mana measurement or something like that from now on.”

“So she’s not getting any credit just yet? What, they don’t trust her?”

“I made a small demonstration in front of Her Majesty, so she believes her. She promised assistance to the Taylor family and employment for Isaac at the Royal Institute of Sorcery.”

“So all that’s left is the debt.”

“Yeah. Vilma should be the one to repay it anyway, so the Queen said she would contact Ballast about it.”

“What, the Queen?”

“That’s what she said, but she’ll probably ask one of her retainers to do it.”

Kujastria said that half of the payment would likely be made by the Taylor family—deducted from Ivy’s salary—and the remaining half would be claimed from Vilma, the responsibility of the Ballast Trading Company. This was a matter affecting the credibility of the nobility; if the debt wasn’t repaid, other nobles might find it difficult to borrow in the future.

With various issues sorted out, the three of them enjoyed their meal.

However, unlike Paula, who genuinely enjoyed herself, Lavia and Hikaru wore somewhat uneasy expressions. Paula knew the reason why Lavia wasn’t feeling cheerful—it was because Ivy could become a romantic competition. However, she couldn’t understand why Hikaru seemed down.

“We should get going.”

They left the restaurant. It was already dark outside and quite cold. There weren’t a lot of people. Since the inn was nearby, the three of them decided to walk.

“Maybe, just maybe,” Hikaru said. “The Four Elementals Fusion Theory might bring about another byproduct.”

“Byproduct?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Why is the spell for crossing worlds imperfect? There should be a reason why travel is only possible from this side. One possibility is that the spell is only being performed here.”

“I see,” Lavia said. “So, if you simultaneously cast the same spell on both sides, you can travel back and forth?”

“Exactly. But I don’t think we can verify it.”

“Why not?”

“When I cast the spell, I closely observed the flow of mana, and there was none at all on the other side.”

A pale moon hung in the sky above.

This could also explain Serika’s elemental magic weakening. Mana recovery when resting in this world might be attributed to the presence of magicules—particles of mana—in the air and in food.

Eventually, Serika might not be able to use elemental magic on Earth.

“The spell for crossing worlds works because there’s mana in this world. So even if we sent formulas and catalysts to the other side, it won’t work.”

“But won’t we know unless we try?”

“Yeah, I think it’s worth a try. But I also came up with another hypothesis to make the spell for crossing worlds accessible from both sides of the portal.”

“Oh,” Lavia breathed. “By using the Four Elementals Fusion Theory?”

“Correct. We’ve been using elemental magic stones to power the spell for crossing worlds, but solely to extract the mana necessary to activate the spell. But upon further thought, elemental magic stones have attributes, right? I suspect the issue lies with those attributes.”

While there were four attributes for elemental magic, the spell for crossing worlds only used one. If this spell, an embodiment of this world of magic—only used a single attribute, it would naturally be incomplete.

“Through the Four Elementals Fusion Theory, we can use a mixture of all four types of man, completing the spell. We’ll be able to travel between here and Earth…” Hikaru abruptly stopped. “…I think.”

Street lamps illuminated the cobblestone street with cold, white light. There was a crossing up ahead that offered a view of the royal castle in the distance.

“…”

Hikaru swallowed the words he was about to say. He didn’t know how to explain.

“Do you want to go back to Japan?” Lavia asked.

Paula gasped.

“No. Well, maybe I do.”

Turning around, Hikaru looked at Lavia and Paula with a brooding expression, showing signs of doubt—surprising Paula again. In her mind, Hikaru was a composed and decisive man.

Hikaru chuckled inwardly. I just keep hesitating, doubting, agonizing over things.

“If my speculation is correct, and we can travel back and forth…”

He didn’t want to hide his doubts from these two.

“…I’m thinking of going to see my parents.”

Hikaru’s change of heart wasn’t abrupt; rather, it had always been at the back of his mind, and he simply avoided confronting it. He wondered how his family was doing, grappling with the need to come to terms with it.

The catalyst for this change came in the recent series of incidents. Ivy, immersed in her research, held no resentment against her awful stepmother. Doma Ballast believed that complementing each other was the essence of family. Count Morgstadt locked up his daughter, Lavia, solely thinking of using her as a tool. Paula’s father yearned for her freedom and the path of righteousness. Roland, seeking revenge against his parents, used his last ounce of power to bring Hikaru to this world. Jillarte chased after his great father’s footsteps. Kujastria headed in the opposite direction of her mad father. What about Luvain’s parents? Gerhardt? Kagurai and Kutsuwa had parents too—Kagurai’s uncle was a tyrant, though.

My parents didn’t care about me, Hikaru had thought, but he had also come to a realization. I also did not care about them.

Hikaru had decided to live in this world with Lavia, so he owed it to his parents to tell them that, at the very least.

“Okay,” Lavia said. “If possible, I’d like to meet them, too.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Paula agreed. “I feel like seeing my father now.”

I’m glad I told them.

Hikaru felt a warmth that melted the ice in the corner of his heart.