CH 105

{Sword}

――Where’s this?

If I remember correctly, I――『we』 should have conquered the dungeon. We got close to the last floor――defeated an ice dragon――and then…

Oh right, that girl should have said that us two would be able to handle ‘nythin’, even if it was somethin’ unexpected, before the two of us charged into the next area. But, this place…

Did I die?

I’ve been tossed into a pitch black world where I can’t hear a thin’ or feel ‘nythin’ ’round me. The last area was an instant-death area?

――Or wait, is that girl a’right?”

I don’t mind dyin’. I’ve been livin’ while thinkin’ that, so I got no regrets, really.

But, even if I don’t care, what ’bout her? Even if we might’ve entered an instant-death area, I can’t believe that she’s died.

In that case, what is she thinkin’ while lookin’ at my corpse? Ain’t that seriously dangerous?

Ugh, can’t I get back to life somehow? I mean, even Sir Dungeon Core shouldn’t wish for the end of this world, right?

Oh shit, if I don’t get back to life, that girl’s goin’ to destroy the world――

Just as I thought all that, a gentle light filled my sight. It had her shape. And immediately followin’, the Ryokus emerged as lights. And at the end, I could see my own body shinin’ as well.

“……You okay? Nothing less of someone possessing a sixth sense. You’re a class of your own. Being able to stay so calm even without the glasses, huh…?”

Her voice sounded relieved.

“No, I panicked a bit. I’m a normal human, you know?”

Isn’t she somehow…let’s see…yes, overestimatin’ me way too much? With that thought in mind, I’ve been repeatedly tellin’ her that I’m a normal human.

――Honestly! And I mean it! I do hate bein’ considered inferior by her! But, won’t she totally mistake me for some crazy superman of sorts if I don’t keep tellin’ her that I’m a normal human!?

Of course, if I’m told to follow in her footsteps or some such, I’ll do it! But, it ain’t like I can do it with a yawn all the while ‘kay? It’s something I can pull off while concentratin’ all my efforts on it, you see?

Usually you’d die if your hit by magma, and you’d also die if you carelessly stepped into a poisonous swamp. Somethin’ like takin’ on an ice dragon’s breath, just to shake off the ice as if nothin’ happened is impossible for me!

――Once I pulled myself together, I looked ’round me.

“…Where are we?” I asked a very ordinary n’ reasonable question.

“We probably entered the last area. I see, so that’s how he’s going to play it, huh…? A space of zero gravity, no sound, and no light. Is it representing space or something else altogether…? Either way, it’s very interesting,” said Indra while lookin’ extremely excited.

So even this room doesn’t make her change her ways, eh? She’s a truly reliable partner!!

“…Hmm? Wait, you said no sound, didn’t you? How are we talkin’ then?”

“We’re transmitting our thoughts through soundless waves. The Ryokus and I had been able to do so from the very start, but you were limited to perceiving malicious intents. However, feeling the danger of this nullifying space, you’ve become able to do it as well, I guess? As I thought, you’re really incredible. Your ability to perform without any practice is quite astonishing.”

――I’m bein’ praised by her, but somehow I feel happy and at the same time got the urge to insist that I’m a normal human…

Suddenly an idea struck me.

“Ah. …Have you been able to stay calm since you can 『see』 even without it bein’ bright?”

“That plays a part, too. But, there’s probably no setting that would go beyond this as an area above an ice and snow region. And if there is, I’d sure love to see it.”

……I see. Because she’d prepared herself after bein’ unable to come up with ‘nythin’ followin’ this, now that we went through magma, ice, and snow, she could come to terms with this place, is what she’s sayin’?

…But yeah, she’s gotta be right about there bein’ nothin’ beyond this.

I mean, I thought I’d died.

“What are we goin’ to do?”

The shinin’ Indra pointed below when I asked.

“The deepest floor comes after we descend ten floors, right? As far as I can see, there exist no walls, ceilings, or floors. I don’t see any enemies either. All we have to do is descend. It’s going to be a ［Space Walk］, I suppose,” she said happily.

……Amazin’. I seriously respect her. She’s havin’ fun in this situation?

――Then, teach me how to have fun as well!

“Wait, your sayin’ somethin’ incomprehensible ‘gain.”

“My knowledge might not apply to this world. That’s why let me warn you: all that follows stems from my otherworld knowledge. This world, or better, this planet has gravity…in other words, the power causing things to fall to the ground. You, me, and many other things are being dragged down. So what would happen if that power pulling us would wane? The answer is our current situation,” explained Indra and spread both her arms.

Her appearance as she was floatin’ while shinin’ brightly looked like that of a goddess.

“The power pulling us has its limits. Umm, what do you think would happen if we suddenly jumped out of the power’s range? The answer would be this here. Light, sound, and everything is energy. And that energy would be for naught. However, only magic elements alone can’t be erased. That demon said it before. Magic elements are energy based on a concept existing outside the normal framework.”

…

She’s gleefully explainin’ it all in detail, but sorry, none of it registers with my head.

But, I got it.

“It’s gonna be the last floor once we get down all the way to the bottom, right?”

“Indeed. This place has air, unlike ［Space］. That means it’s also possible to manipulate air. You’ll be able to descend to the bottom, if you cast wind magic.”

With her bright smile, Indra truly looked like a goddess.

“…Why are you shinin’?”

This light is weird as heck. Different from light magic, it’s much more frail and solemn――

“Oh? You realized? This is, you see, a new technique! This light is called ［Chemiluminescence］. It doesn’t emit any heat, and its intensity is low, but it’s extremely useful to let others know of my position in a pitch black darkness like this! I know of two luminescence methods, but I implemented this one as…”

“Yeah, okay, okay. I totally get that it ain’t solemn.”

…This girl gets really scary when she starts explainin’ while all high-strung. She always rattles down some nonsensical theories with such a rough nasal breathin’ that it makes you think it’d’ve been better not to have asked. If not for that, it’d have ended at me regardin’ her as solemn…

She’s truly and utterly a disappointment as a person!!

I spat out a sigh and snorted glumly.

“What? You are interested in this light, no? Sure, it doesn’t have the intensity to brighten up my surroundings, but in exchange, it’s not being hot even when I’m clad in it like this, you know? Quite amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s awesome. But, I simply got slightly devastated after havin’ to listen to your explanation that totally spoiled my admiration of it bein’ divine work.”

“It’s no divine work! As if I’d be ever able to pull off something crazy as that! Rather, you people are doing divine works! Magic that ignores all logic and that ridiculous super-duper sixth sense of yours are the very definition of divine acts in my eyes!”

She thrust a finger at me.

“Hee…Well, I guess you’ve got a point. Your always talkin’ ’bout all this tedious, small stuff, but all of it is based on theories you can comprehend while my actions are based on theories you can’t comprehend, huh?”

She’s right, though. I don’t have a clue why we can use magic by just chantin’ a spell. I don’t understand, but since it works either way, I haven’t given it much thought.

“There even exists a reason for the morning sun to rise in the east, and yet you can make magic explode by just chanting a spell. I don’t get the principle behind that. I…all these developed theories aren’t anything I came up with. I’m merely putting on a face as if I’d know the differences of the theories researched by scholars based on findings of adventurers.”

……Oh. I said something bad. It looks like I made her all depressed. I wanna console her, but my hands won’t reach.

…No, she said it’d be fine if I used wind magic, didn’t she?

“…Uff,” I crashed into Indra once I cast it.

But, as expected of a superwoman. She didn’t budge in the slightest even without any foothold.

“…Even if I understood the theories behind it, the one usin’ all of them is you, right? I’ve received all kinds of stuff from you thanks to those theories. So, don’t worry and keep usin’ your knowledge as much as you want from now on. Ain’t like you puttin’ ‘nyone on the spot ‘nyway.”

When I hugged and stroked her, she apparently became mellow.

“……Then I’ll take you up on that.”

Or some such she muttered under her breath.