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The Scales that Announce Global Upheaval – Part 02

“Raiga?!” the Man Gnome exclaimed. “The Distant Girdle were supposed to be in Ponsonia’s capital.” Seeing Hikaru and Paula, who weren’t Man Gnomes, the old man froze in shock. “And who are these people?”

“Orders from the Grand Elder. Bring Silver Face here as soon as we find him.”

“I get that, but I never expected you to actually bring him here. You didn’t use the Black Wedge Gate, did you?”

“Of course we did. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have managed to bring him here so quickly.”

“What?! The Black Wedge Gate is a Man Gnome secret.”

“That’s enough. Step aside.”

Raiga, the Man Gnome serving as their guide, pushed the elderly-looking civil servant aside. Staggering, the man dropped several papers but moved aside.

Despite the look of surprise and anger on the civil servant’s face, Raiga ignored him and continued forward. Hikaru reluctantly followed.

“Are you sure about that?” Hikaru asked Raiga.

“Sure about what?”

“Letting outsiders like us know about the Black Wedge Gate.”

“Hmph. You wouldn’t be able to use it anyway.”

“True.”

Hikaru had seen Raiga take something from his pocket and hold it up when they used the gate. He only caught a glimpse, but it didn’t seem like sorcery, and his Mana Detection didn’t pick up on anything either. If it wasn’t sorcery, then what was it?

It was probably some kind of key. Something to activate the gate’s system.

When he saw the Black Wedge Gate from the Ponsonia side, it was just a black frame, and he had a full view of the other side. Only after Raiga used some object did that shimmering light appear, so it must have been the activation item.

Without said object, the Black Wedge Gate couldn’t be used. So even if the secret was out, it was fine.

Hikaru and Paula would need to use that gate to leave the village. Raiga had said this place was in the northern mountains. That meant it was quite far from human settlements. Without a map—or even with one—Hikaru and Paula wouldn’t be able to return safely on their own.

“Grand Elder! Raiga, Raikun, and Raiji have just returned with Silver Face and one companion,” Raiga announced loudly before entering the building, causing another stir inside. Many seemed to find Raiga’s actions troubling.

To Hikaru, Raiga’s behavior seemed a bit forceful, so it must have appeared even more so to the Man Gnomes.

Not that the Man Gnomes’ internal affairs matter to me, Hikaru thought. I just need to get the spell for crossing worlds working properly and bring Lavia back here.

He had no intention of getting involved in any more trouble. Let the Man Gnomes settle their problems among themselves.

Raiga, Raikun, and Raiji. Are these three family? They don’t look much alike, though.

“Come in. Everyone else, return to your work,” came a raspy old woman’s voice.

Several Man Gnomes shuffled out of the central room and entered an adjacent room. The doors were left open, suggesting it didn’t matter if their conversation was overheard.

“Let’s go.”

There was a step up to enter the building, and once they climbed it, they were in an open space.

The floor was made of the same material as the paved paths, and the interior had no roof. Vases lined the walls of the room—if a chamber without a ceiling could be called that—filled with blue flowers. The petals were translucent, like glass, something Hikaru had never seen before. They weren’t artificial, as his Life Detection confirmed they were alive.

Seven Man Gnomes remained around the round table, presumably the elders. They were more wrinkled and smaller than any other Man Gnomes, perched on chairs with canes leaning against the table or their chairs. Their bodies might have been weak, but their eyes gleamed with intensity.

The common feature among them was a purple hooded cloak. Some wore their hoods, some didn’t. Of the seven, four were female. Or at least to Hikaru, four of them were women, though he wasn’t entirely sure.

The documents scattered on the round table indicated they had been in a meeting. Now, all their attention was on Hikaru and Paula.

“Well done, Raiga. And you must be Silver Face,” the Grand Elder said with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Yes,” Hikaru answered.

“I heard Kagurai and Unken owe you.”

“We only worked together when our interests aligned. We don’t owe each other anything.”

There was no point in denying the connection, as the information had probably already reached them. However, some elders whispered amongst themselves, seemingly displeased with Hikaru’s response.

“Grand Elder, if we could get to the matter,” Raiga said.

“Hold on,” Hikaru interrupted. “I came here because this Raiga guy said the Man Gnomes had information about the disruption of the spell for crossing worlds. Let’s start from there.”

A hush fell over the room. Even the Man Gnomes who had gone to the adjoining room glanced sharply at Hikaru.

“Hmm,” the Grand Elder nodded slightly. “First, we need to determine if you are trustworthy. Raiga, take our guests to the assembly hall.”

“We didn’t even want to come to this place,” Hikaru protested. “I don’t care about trust or whatever—”

“The Grand Elder’s decision is final.” Raiga gave Hikaru a sharp look.

Hikaru turned to see five additional Man Gnomes, all heavily built and armored in metal.

“…”

“Lord Silver Face.”

“I guess we have no choice but to do as they say,” Hikaru said.

He and Paula were escorted to the assembly hall, surrounded by the armored Man Gnomes.

The spacious hall was simple, with a dirt floor, walls, and a roof supported by nine pillars. The only light came from high windows, making the interior dim and chilly.

“Stay put here,” Raiga said. “We’ll be back.”

“…”

“Silver Face, why would… No, never mind.”

Raiga slid the door shut and locked it from the outside. This was one of the rare buildings in the village with an actual roof and proper doors.

Hikaru heard the footsteps of the Man Gnomes receding.

“Lord Silver Face, over here! There’s a table and chairs,” Paula’s voice called from the back. There was one large skylight, with six chairs arranged around a table. “That was nerve-wracking.” As soon as she sat down, she plopped her face on the table.

“…”

“Lord Silver Face, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just thinking that you’re not asking why I acted so arrogantly. Oh, and you can take off the mask. There are no Man Gnomes around.”

Hikaru’s Mana Detection still wasn’t working perfectly, but there were undoubtedly few inhabitants in this village.

“Um, I know you must have a reason, so I just follow.”

Apparently, Paula hadn’t thought much about it.

“I see. You might want to reconsider that habit of not thinking ahead.”

“What? Am I thoughtless?!”

“Well, considering that you started a dubious religious group called the Society of Wandering Light and became its leader in the two weeks I was away, it’s not unreasonable to say so.”

Hikaru had traveled to Japan, met Ayano Sasakura, also known as Soaarunay Saak, and live-streamed a land dispute in a provincial town called Fujinota to the world, before coming back to this side. After making it out of the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas, he managed to get back to Ponsonia’s royal capital, where Paula had become a religious leader, much to his surprise.

“Th-There was nothing I could do about that.”

“I know. I’m the one who told you to use your magic at your discretion, and that hasn’t changed. But you shouldn’t let others push you around. Sometimes, you need to be assertive.”

“Y-Yes, you’re right. Oh, was your behavior earlier your way of showing me how to be assertive? You’d do that for me?!”

“…”

Paula blushed and squirmed. She was clearly pleased, making it hard for Hikaru to correct her misunderstanding.

“Well, anyway, I think I’ve figured out their stance.”

“Their stance?”

“We came here without knowing much about the Man Gnomes or their intentions. I wanted to gather information about them before revealing anything about us. We don’t know much about this village or how the Black Wedge Gate works.”

“I… see?”

Paula inclined her head, clearly clueless about his point.

Hikaru’s only objective was to get the spell for crossing worlds working again. The Man Gnomes had detected a spell being cast and tracked him down, seemingly aware that it had something to do with the spell for crossing worlds.

Knowing that they have a technological advantage alone is great. I should gather as much information about them as possible first before learning more about the spell for crossing worlds.

His arrogant demeanor was a strategic move to ascertain their true nature. Despite Kagurai and Unken being his acquaintances, Hikaru wasn’t naive enough to trust the Man Gnomes just because of that connection.