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Thus the Die is Cast – Part 03

Doyama insisted on beefing up security and increasing the patrols of the security company. Moreover, he strongly advised Hikaru and the others not to come back to his place.

Ayano, however, wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. If she could have given up by now, she would have, then chose to continue her journalism career in Tokyo. She said she wanted to dig deeper into the activities of the land sharks.

Hikaru and Lavia returned to the café to discuss their next strategy. Of course, they had removed their masks.

“He’s unbending,” Lavia said.

Since she had yet to master Japanese, Hikaru shared what Doyama told him. Unbending sounded like a noble word, but to Hikaru the old man was just pigheaded.

“Speaking of which, when he talked about Mt. Midori…”

Hikaru raised his question, sensing a different nuance between the Mt. Midori locals referenced and the one Doyama spoke of.

“Why not ask around? Are there no information brokers in this town?” Lavia asked.

“Ah, that’s not really a profession here.”

In the modern world, people turned to the internet for trivial matters, but in the Kingdom of Ponsonia, there were seasoned individuals functioning as walking encyclopedias. In exchange for fees, they would provide various intel. Alternatively, the Thieves Guild could undertake an investigation, but that seemed more akin to a detective agency.

“Looking into local history might give us some clues,” Hikaru said.

“Local history?”

“In every region, there’s usually a book or something that talks about the history of that area. The local library should have it.”

“L-Library! A Japanese library!”

Lavia, who adored books, couldn’t contain her excitement. Her eyes sparkled.

“Shall we go? It might be on the smaller side.”

“Let’s do it!” Lavia jumped to her feet.

The library in Fujinota sat not far from the station. An extension of the community center, the structure itself was new, tidy, but unvisited.

“Wow…”

Hikaru realized he hadn’t taken Lavia to a bookstore yet. He thought about exploring a larger one once they returned to Tokyo.

“When we get back to Tokyo, huh?”

With only three days left in their ten-day stay, the execution of the spell for crossing worlds was imminent. Once cast, regardless of any disappointment, they would have to return to the other world for the time being. Lavia had apparently compiled a sort of to-do list while in Japan; Hikaru wondered how much of it she’d managed to accomplish.

While the library held compilations of local history for Fujinota and its neighboring areas, they were privately published editions not available in regular bookstores.

It took some time, but Hikaru eventually found the description he sought. A description of a shrine situated in Mt. Midori. A festival known as the Midoriyama used to be held there.

“Hikaru, what does this Midoriyama mean?” Lavia peered in from the side.

“Mi is a polite prefix, do means soil, and the tricky part is ri. Ri is a kanji used in words like ruri and hari, meaning lapis lazuli and quartz, respectively.”

“So, does Midori mean the soil is a gem?”

“Hmm, that doesn’t feel right.”

“Maybe it implies there are jewels or treasures buried there.”

“We can’t rule that out. But Doyama had a mission to protect the mountain… protect the mountain inhabited by a god. I don’t think treasures have anything to do with it. Besides, there’s no security or anything around the mountain. If there were treasures, they would likely be stolen quickly.”

“True. He didn’t seem financially troubled, so there’s no need to protect it.”

The two racked their brains, but no clear answer emerged. They didn’t find any more information.

After leaving the library, Hikaru ruminated on the facts.

Mt. Midori. Doyama spoke of the mountain making noise two months ago. We could go to the mountain to investigate, but what good would that do? The mountain is vast. Where and how do we start?

At lunch, they visited a renowned soba restaurant in Fujinota. Lavia struggled with chopsticks but managed to slurp it all. She knew about Japan’s use of chopsticks beforehand, so she practiced secretly.

“Hikaru, what’s that?”

On the restaurant’s TV, a lunchtime talk show was airing with the caption Thorough Verification of How to Use Magic. Hikaru nearly spat out his noodles. He was on the screen.

The footage showed the Four Eastern Stars seemingly using magic to rescue a person in a traffic accident. Next they showed the moment a rift appeared in space due to the spell for crossing worlds. Captured with a high-definition camera, it faintly showed Hikaru on the other side. His face was barely visible, so there was minimal risk of identification.

Adults—experts—gathered to discuss magic.

“Magic or similar supernatural abilities have long been considered dubious, but now it has become a reality.”

“Yes, but one thing to keep in mind about this magic is that it might only work for people who’ve been to the other world. Given that magic has never been confirmed on Earth before, we shouldn’t dismiss this part of our history.”

“Wait a moment. Just because it can’t be explained by science doesn’t mean things like supernatural abilities or ghosts weren’t recognized. Magic can’t be explained by science either.”

“You can’t lump in magic, supernatural abilities, and ghosts together.”

“I just can’t believe that people from another world can use magic. Could it be an edited video?”

The discussion amassed conjectures, but lacked substance. Forget magic. There was hardly any mana in this world, so there was no way to measure it.

Since humans here didn’t have mana in their bodies, using Mana Detection on people yielded no response. If Hikaru ever lost sight of Lavia, he could use Mana Detection to find her immediately.

“But why isn’t there mana in this world?” Hikaru muttered.

“It’s not completely nonexistent, right?”

“Hmm… yeah, not exactly zero.”

Although there was no tangible response, Hikaru hadn’t completely refrained from using Mana Detection. There were times when he felt a very faint reaction, and when he checked in that direction, he would find a museum. Exhibits were imbued with faint traces of mana.

When Hikaru tried Mana Detection at the Doyama residence, there was no reaction. There was nothing inside the mansion.

“Will the day arrive when humanity can wield magic? Won’t someone guide us in mastering it? Despite the commotion, the government remains tight-lipped about the existence of magic.”

As the commercial played, Hikaru and Lavia, having finished their meal, rose from their seats.

Hikaru’s chest stirred—his Instinct sensing something.

Why was this happening? They had to return to the other world in three days no matter what. Was there something they needed to do before that? Not really.

Hikaru recognized this kind of restlessness from past experiences. He didn’t take his intuition lightly. In moments like these, danger always lurked somewhere. However, he had no clue about the nature of that danger.

Even in Japan, where violence was rare, a few incidents occurred, but they were nothing compared to the battles in the other world. There shouldn’t be any danger.

Or so he thought.

“Ahh?!”

From the back alley of the shopping street, where more than half of the shutters were closed, a figure emerged, carefully carrying something like rugby players cradling a ball—a camera.

“Wh-What are you doing?! I’m a journalist from Nitto Shimbun!”

Ayano Sasakura had once again found herself in trouble.

“After her! Get the camera at all costs!”

What was happening? What did she do? Also, the intonation of the man’s Japanese was a bit off.

Hikaru briefly contemplated leaving Ayano behind, but he judged that the danger this time was greater than yesterday’s attack, so he decided to help.

“Lavia, let’s meet at the inn.”

“Got it.”

In moments like these, Lavia immediately trusted Hikaru’s judgment. It made things easier. Her utmost faith in him made him happy.

Putting on his mask, he broke into a run.