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The Boundary Between Worlds – Part 01

As the royal capital’s towering walls loomed in the distance, even Hikaru couldn’t hold back tears of joy.

It had been quite the journey. From the distant 37th floor of the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas, courtesy of Soaarunay Saak’s spell for crossing worlds, navigating through various floors for days until reaching the 7th floor, where a familiar adventurer fell from the sky.

After fighting a Golem, Hikaru left behind both the Four Eastern Stars and the Einbiest Beastmen army—what the latter were doing here he had no idea—and headed straight for the surface, where he found himself right on the doorstep of the holy city of Agiapole. He didn’t think he would end up right in the middle of the Ponsonia Kingdom, but he never expected to be in a different country altogether.

What if the spell for crossing worlds could whisk someone between countries in the blink of an eye? Hikaru pondered briefly, but pressing concerns pushed such musings aside.

Entering Agiapole, Hikaru swiftly rented—no, bought a horse. He gladly parted with gems he had acquired in the labyrinth for it. His mind was consumed with worry for Lavia and Paula. Since it would take several days to gather the catalysts needed to execute the spell for crossing worlds, he prioritized reuniting with Paula. He didn’t have enough time for a full debrief from the Four Eastern Stars, but apparently the warehouse had been demolished, which prevented them from using the spell. It all made sense. Paula should be house-sitting, a manageable task. Surely, there wouldn’t be any more problems awaiting him.

“Right?” he asked the horse, receiving only a blank stare in return as it continued galloping. The dapple gray horse was docile and easy to ride, but not much of a talker.

Using the Proselytizer’s Path, a route known only to a limited few, the journey to the capital G. Ponsonia could be trimmed to just three days instead of the usual seven. This was, of course, with the assumption that you would change horses along the way. But with no Church-related matters this time, Hikaru couldn’t do that. Nevertheless, he managed to arrive in four days.

Saying goodbye to the horse was regrettable, but Hikaru’s lifestyle didn’t allow him to keep horses. Reluctantly, he parted ways with it and made his way to the Four Eastern Stars’ apartment.

“…”

Abandoned boots littered the floor, jeans and coats scattered as if their owner had vanished into thin air. A sense of déjà vu mingled with a growing dread. The living room was a mess.

“I will get them for this.”

Hikaru was fuming. They had worked so hard to tidy things up, only for them to return to chaos in an instant.

He sighed. “There was a problem waiting for me, all right. Hopefully, this is the only one. Right? Paula!”

No matter how many times he called for her, she didn’t show up. Swallowing his impatience, Hikaru cleaned himself up, tidied up his belongings, and headed to the guild.

“Oh, right. I still haven’t applied for the promotion.”

Hikaru’s adventurer rank was still at the lowest, G. He had completed a high-difficulty commission so he could escort Freya, a receptionist at Pond’s guild, but he neglected the subsequent procedure. Freya said she planned to raise him to Rank E, while Guildmaster Unken believed he should be Rank D. Either way, since he hadn’t gone through the formalities yet, he was stuck at G.

“Well, whatever. Paula first.”

Hikaru knew she wasn’t the type to disappear after being asked to watch over things. He considered stopping by the church.

I get this feeling that she’s taking action in her own way.

The old warehouse had been demolished. The spell for crossing words was unusable. Hikaru and Lavia were in Japan. Taking all that into consideration, Hikaru believed Paula wouldn’t just be praying to the gods. She would try to do something. So, he turned to the guild for information.

The most likely scenario involved using the one-way version of the spell for crossing worlds, but Paula shouldn’t have enough funds to purchase an elemental magic stone large enough for it. Still, the market might have fluctuated while Hikaru was away from this world.

“Wh-What? The market on elemental magic stones?”

The central guild in Ponsonia’s capital didn’t issue commissions and mainly dealt with administrative tasks. It was the perfect place to obtain information. However, the receptionist had never heard of a Rank G adventurer asking for information, let alone hand over a gold coin. They appreciated the coin, of course.

“What do you want to know?”

“Has there been any change in prices?”

“…”

The receptionist eyed Hikaru skeptically. Was there a shift, after all? With the prices so high last time, it could only have gone down.

“They’re being bought out.”

“What?”

“There’s a shortage in the supply of elemental magic stones, and the Magic Items Guild has issued an emergency statement. Purchases are restricted to licensed merchants only.”

Hikaru’s head spun. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the long journey. He decided to go to bed early tonight.

The receptionist examined him from head to toe. “Mr. Hikaru, you seem genuinely shocked, so I will give you some advice. If you need elemental magic stones, you should try another city. A special investigation team under the city governor is looking into the buyout, and any suspicious moves could draw unwanted attention.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“The underworld is also involved. They had a violent clash with the investigation team the other day, so things are dangerous. Rumors suggest a new religious group called the Society of Wandering Light might be behind it all.”

“This is more serious than I imagined.”

What could he do? He only needed low-grade elemental magic stones to use the version of the spell for crossing worlds that applied the Four Elementals Fusion Theory.

“Their leader, the Wandering Saint, is said to be a heinous villain.”

“What did you say?”

Hikaru thought he heard a familiar name. He fervently hoped he just heard wrong. His tired brain couldn’t handle this.

“The Wandering Saint. It’s an urban legend that emerged during the Black Rot calamity. A nun wearing a silver mask with a floral pattern.”

It’s her! It’s Paula!

Hikaru crouched down, holding his head.

“M-Mr. Hikaru? What’s wrong?” the guild receptionist asked worriedly, but he didn’t hear her.

The slums—desolate until just last month—were now bustling. Located away from the main streets of the capital, it had low land prices and few passersby. Those who did frequent the area were either gloomy and sickly-looking individuals or shady characters.

“Don’t push, please. Her Eminence is not going anywhere, so there’s no need to rush.”

“Excuse me, my child has a high fever. Please, let the Saint see her.”

“Emergency case coming through! Make way!”

“Hey, you’re handling them too roughly!”

“We’re here because bureaucracy takes forever!”

Countless people came and went, jostling each other. This always happened after dark. People gathered with magic lamps, keeping the area bright late into the night.

At the center was a church. Once in ruins just days ago, it had been cleaned up and was becoming more luxurious, even more so than the priests’ chambers in the central church of the capital.

The crowd was managed by a contrasting mix of rough-looking men and women and those in neat uniforms. The Ballast family, an underworld organization aiming to make their mark after moving from the satellite town of Pond to the capital, attracted attention from other underground groups. However, the presence of the special investigation team, directly under the city governor, made it difficult for them to get close.

“Next!”

The same elderly man called out, and a young man on a stretcher was brought in, his face contorted in pain. He was suffering from poisoning, but Paula’s detoxification magic quickly healed him. The man sat up, bewildered, and his family wept with joy.

“Next!”

Paula continued to heal the severely injured and critically ill with her magic. She didn’t have a moment to think.

On the day Paula saved Samal Ballast and the commander of the special investigation team, she was asked again what she wanted to do. In a panic, she replied that she just wanted to save lives, and everyone prostrated themselves before her once more.

Paula couldn’t believe how easily everyone believed her. Did they forget that she asked for elemental magic stones just days ago?

Now, this was her reality. The capital was vast, and people in mortal danger kept being brought to her. Paula had no time to take the elemental magic stones to execute the spell for crossing worlds. She healed until dawn, then slept from exhaustion. When she woke up in the evening, a line of people was already waiting for treatment.

“Hey! I heard there’s a mage here who can cure anything! Let’s see her!”

A booming voice heralded the arrival of a large man entering the church.

“That’s my cue.”

Samal, standing by behind Paula, cracked his knuckles and stood up.

Such troublemakers showed up daily, demanding to see her or make her use her magic. Samal was in charge of handling these rough situations.

“This is unacceptable. Who approved these unauthorized treatments? And isn’t this a church? We shall confiscate everything here.”

While Samal and the large man fought, a polite yet slimy voice cut in. A fat priest in full regalia, accompanied by several deacons, appeared.

“And that is my cue.”

The commander behind Paula cracked his neck and stood up.

Healing was monopolized by churches, clinics, and the Doctors Guild. The Society of Wandering Light, offering free—though accepting donations—treatments, was a thorn in their side and a business disruptor.

The Society of Wandering Light ensured that only patients needing help were treated, sending more than half away. But from the outside, it didn’t look that way.

When the special investigators surrounded the priest, Samal’s fight and the flow of people into the church momentarily stopped.

“Come, Your Eminence. Let’s take a break. We have tea and pound cake from Golden-Rayed Lily Teahouse. There’s also honey.”

The same elderly man gently guided Paula to a small back room. The followers prostrated as she walked gracefully slow, but she was actually just too exhausted to even think.

Once inside, the elderly man left her alone. A high-quality teapot and pound cake sat before her.

“Ugh.”

Paula broke into tears.

“Why is this happening?! I’m not a magic item for healing!”

She thought it was wonderful when people who were thought incurable got better, bringing joy to themselves and their families. But working until she was exhausted every day, forgetting what she needed to do, and being revered rather than treated as a person wore her down. It felt like working in a sweatshop.

“I bet you used your healing magic out of pity, and before you knew it, you were being worshipped.”

“That’s true, but still!” Paula raised her head. “Huh?”

“This pound cake is pretty good.”

Standing there was Hikaru, the masked boy who shouldn’t have been there.

“L-Lord Hikaru?”

“Yes?”

“I’m so exhausted I’m seeing things.”

“You’re really tired, huh? It’s the real me.”

“R-Real…” Tears welled up in Paula’s eyes again. “Lord Hikaru!”

“Wh-Whoa, keep it down.”

Hikaru quickly moved next to her to touch her and activate Group Cloaking.

“I was so lonely and scared!”

When Hikaru imagined meeting Paula, he pictured grabbing her by the head and demanding, “How did it turn out like this?” or giving her a three-hour lecture about how she should have run away when things got out of hand, even though he had told her to use her magic at her discretion. But seeing her clinging to him, crying her heart out, he reconsidered.

In their three-person party, Hikaru and Lavia had gone to Japan. Paula had lost the means to bring them back, and the Four Eastern Stars she had relied on had left the capital. Hikaru realized how anxious and overworked Paula must have been.

“I’m sorry. But I’m back now.”

“Yeah.”

Hikaru wiped Paula’s tear-streaked face with a handkerchief.

“Let’s go. There don’t seem to be any more critically ill people, so it’s okay for you to leave.”

“Um, but the elemental magic stones…”

“Oh, I managed to get a few scraps. We should be able to use the spell for crossing worlds a few times.”

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

“Your Eminence, the unruly guests have left, and we would like to resume our services to the faithful.”

Paula looked back with concern.

“If you have any regrets, you can always come back. But if you stay here, it won’t be good for them either. They need to learn to manage on their own.”

“I think you’re right.” Paula nodded.

“Your Eminence? Your Eminence, I’m coming in.”

The door opened with a clatter, but the elderly man found only an empty room. It looked like she had vanished into thin air in the middle of eating, leaving behind only the half-eaten pound cake.

Then, there was a huge commotion.

Strangely enough, none of the followers surrounding the church saw any suspicious figures or even the Wandering Saint leaving the church.

After that, the crowds of followers stopped swarming the church.

All that remained was a rumor that the Wandering Saint would appear before those truly suffering, who had no one else to rely on, and grant them healing.