3 bar menu

The Legendary Labyrinth in the Skies – Part 04

Lavia, who had obtained a large amount of mana crystals buried on the small island of Shirokiji, faced two problems.

The first problem was that if she failed to cast the spell for crossing worlds repeatedly, the mana crystals would be depleted. The second problem was finding a suitable place to use the spell.

Hazuki’s parents would be returning home, so Lavia couldn’t stay there indefinitely. Besides, the spell for crossing worlds made a lot of noise, making the apartment unsuitable.

Lavia, having been in Japan for only about a month, realized she wouldn’t find a solution on her own, so she consulted with Hino, a reporter from Nitto Shimbun.

She had contacted him three days ago. And now, the two of them had come to a certain place.

“A-Are you sure about this, Lavia?” Hino asked nervously. “I mean, I was the one who set this up, but still…”

“Is there a problem?” Lavia asked, unfazed. Thanks to her skills in Language Comprehension and Language Output, she could speak Japanese fluently and even understood some English and French.

“I didn’t think we’d end up at such an impressive facility.”

They stood in front of a concrete building with five stories and five underground levels. This facility, located in Baku City, I Prefecture, was owned by a national university. The university had a sprawling campus in Baku City, almost like a university town, but this particular facility was in the suburbs, up in the mountains.

It was a Biosafety Level 4 lab designed for researching extremely dangerous bacteria and viruses. It had just been completed and was set to open in April, three months from now. They could use it temporarily. Of course, Hino, being just a newspaper reporter, didn’t have the authority to borrow such a facility.

“I’ve been waiting for you!” An elderly man stood in front of the lab. His face was pentagon-shaped like a home plate, and his small body was wrapped in a lab coat. He wore overalls underneath.

“Professor Arai, it’s been a while.”

“So, this is the girl from the other world?!” Professor Arai ignored Hino’s greeting and walked up to Lavia.

“I have a name. It’s Lavia.”

“Oh, I see. Lavia, I’m Gensuke Arai. I study quantum mechanics, and I’m a professor at the university that owns this facility. Ah, quantum mechanics is—”

“I know. It’s a field of study that’s based on the general theory of relativity.”

“Unbelievable!” Professor Arai’s eyes sparkled. “Not only are you fluent in Japanese, but you also know about quantum mechanics. Impressive!”

“Enough about me. If you could show us around.”

“Of course!”

Unbothered by Lavia’s curt response, the elderly man led them into the facility with a spring in his steps. The place where a plaque with the facility’s name would be was still blank, giving the newly completed building a deserted feel. Leaving the puzzled Hino behind, Lavia entered.

Inside, the smell of new building materials lingered. It wasn’t empty. Young researchers came and went, helping carry the mana crystals Lavia and Hino had brought.

Professor Arai entered an elevator leading to the basement and waited for Lavia to get in before speaking.

“Lavia, have you been briefed about this facility?”

“Yes.”

“Good! The basement is built to be very sturdy, so you can do your research to your heart’s content.”

Research, indeed. Lavia planned to cast the spell for crossing worlds here.

“I’ll make full use of it.”

After helping transport the mana crystals, Hino had remembered Professor Arai when Lavia asked him about where to use the spell.

Called an eccentric of the academic world and a solitary genius whose work would be understood posthumously, Professor Arai’s research was too complex for anyone to comprehend. Despite this, he held a position as a national university professor and had enough authority to borrow such a facility, thanks to the university president who was his former schoolmate.

The university president did not see Professor Arai as a genius. But although he didn’t understand the man’s research, he believed in the fact that several years, or even over a decade, after the publication of Arai’s papers, cutting-edge research would catch up and recognize their value. This trust led him to grant the professor the authority he needed.

Given Professor Arai’s fascination with the idea of a different world that could challenge the very foundation of quantum mechanics, he promised his full cooperation to Hino and provided a test site, on the condition that he be allowed to collect experimental data and conduct research on the spell for crossing worlds.

“This way!” Professor Arai called out, leading Lavia down a bleak corridor with firm steps that belied his age.

They entered a small room with a metal mesh floor and air vents along the sides.

“Normally, you’d need a hazmat suit and sterilization with an autoclave,” Arai explained, “but we can consider those measures if this experiment turns out to be a success.”

“Hmm.” Lavia continued on indifferently.

After unlocking the electronic lock, the thick doors opened sideways to reveal an experimental area about two stories in height.

It was spacious, about twenty meters on each side, with white-painted walls and floors, and soft light cascading down from above.

An observation room, separated by transparent acrylic panels, overlooked the lab from high above, where several lab members were already present. Cameras for observation and monitoring were also in place. Lavia felt several gazes on her.

“You can set it up anywhere, but should we place it in the center?” Arai suggested.

“Anywhere is fine,” Lavia said.

“Then let’s proceed.”

As Arai entered, his assistants arrived with bags of mana crystals.

“Lavia!” Hino called out, joining the assistants.

He glanced up at the observation room and gave a slight bow.

“Who are those people?” Lavia asked.

“The university president,” Hino explained. “He’s the highest-ranking official at the university that owns this facility.”

“I see.”

Hino seemed uneasy about the president’s presence, but Lavia remained indifferent.

In the middle of the experimental area were four chairs and a table, where the bags were placed.

“Professor Arai! Is that the girl?”

Just then, a voice came from a laptop next to a bag. The screen displayed the faces of about five people who were clearly not Japanese—Caucasians, Asians, Arabs, men and women.

“I told you to submit your questions in text form,” Arai said with a sigh as he walked over to the computer.

“I don’t see the problem with talking while preparing for the experiment,” an elderly Caucasian woman on the screen said.

Hino let out a small yelp.

“What’s wrong?” Lavia asked.

“Th-Those people on the screen. They’re incredibly famous scientists. Some have won the Nobel Prize in Physics.”

“I see.”

“Yup. The author of the book you were reading, Scientific Adventurer: Adventures Around General Relativity, is among them.”

“Really?!”

Lavia suddenly brightened up at the mention of the book’s author.

Ah, I see. Mention books and Lavia gets excited, Hino realized.

“Oh my God! How adorable! Are all people from different worlds as cute as you?” the elderly woman said, speaking in English.

“I read your book,” Lavia replied. “The way you stirred intellectual curiosity was so clever that I read it in one sitting without sleeping.”

“You speak English too?!”

“Hey, Ellie. Don’t you dare keep her to yourself. My name is Alfred. I teach at a university in the UAE—”

“Magic is not real! Everything will be proven by science. Professor Arai might believe in it, but according to my hypothesis—”

“Is that your natural hair color? The Four Eastern Stars had similarly unusual hair colors.”

“Quiet!” Professor Arai shouted at the online scientists.

“We’re showing this to you out of courtesy. If you don’t quiet down, I’ll cut the connection!”

“C-Calm down, Professor.”

“I told you to be quiet!”

“Um, Professor, if it’s too noisy, why not just turn off the speaker?” Hino suggested.

Professor Arai froze abruptly after hearing such a basic idea. It sounded like advice directed at an elderly person unfamiliar with technology.

“Hino, you asked for my help, so I borrowed this facility for you,” Arai said.

“A-And I appreciate the help.”

“Professor,” Lavia chimed in, “did you inform those overseas scientists about what I’m doing here?”

Arai hesitated, his voice losing its earlier bravado. “Well… yes.”

“Without my permission? Did you think it was okay because you were providing the facility?” Lavia pressed.

“Well…”

“Look at him all flustered. Serves him right.”

Without another word, Professor Arai closed the laptop, cutting the connection.

“The people who caught wind of me borrowing this facility kept pestering me,” he explained. “I didn’t mean any harm by telling them. I’m sorry!”

What was admirable about this professor was his ability to immediately acknowledge and apologize for his mistakes.

Lavia sighed, hands on her hips. “If you want to apologize, say it to Hino.”

Hino pointed at his own face, confused. Me?!

“Sorry, Hino!”

“No, really, it’s okay!” Hino replied. Known for boasting in the newsroom about surpassing the editor, Hino was surprisingly deferential to authority, especially in academic settings, where he tended to view others as amazing people. This inclination stemmed from his background in sports throughout high school and university.

“Hino is a journalist, yet he’s kept my secret and hasn’t written about me. You, however, leaked it easily.”

Hino was touched to learn that Lavia recognized his efforts.

“It’s okay, Lavia. I knew borrowing this place might mean more people would find out. But Professor, can these people keep a secret?”

“O-Of course! And those people online are just as tight-lipped as I am.”

Lavia and Hino looked skeptical the moment he said the words as I am.

Despite this, Lavia began her experiments on the spell for crossing worlds in this facility, on the same day that Hikaru summoned the Fire Drakon in the other world.

Arai brought in various measuring instruments to collect data, and the laptop received numerous inputs from international experts.

Though the spell didn’t succeed immediately, they discovered a way to conserve high-density mana crystals and learned that similar substances existed abroad, which would be sent later.

Lavia stayed on the upper floor of the facility. Being in the mountains meant there were only forests around, and there was nothing to do besides reading a book and going to bed after dinner. The only other part of her daily routine was a phone call to Hazuki to give her updates.

“Sounds like you’re working hard,” Hazuki said on one such call.

“It’s nothing special. Hikaru is working even harder.”

“Yeah, Hikaru is very diligent.” Hazuki gave a small laugh.

Talking to her gave Lavia a sense of security.

After the call, silence returned to the room furnished only by a bunk bed and a table stacked with unfinished books. It was dark, as the lights had already been turned off.

There was a new moon outside. The starry sky spread over the thick, jet-black forest.

“Wait for me, Hikaru. I’ll give it my all.”

Though she was groping her way through the darkness, Lavia felt a sense of progress.