Chapter 349 – Heartache

“Chieftain. Here…..”

“Hmm?”

“I have money in the depository. Here’s a voucher. I’m giving you a loan…”

“This loan is meant …… to be repaid someday… right? I must continue to write the Destiny series…….”

“Yeah.”

After receiving treatment, we returned to the basement.

“Well then, Young man. Present the Master Key to the elevator. The level we are bound for requires its use.”

“O, okay.”

I can’t get used to this moving “Elevator” thing at all.

“Hey, Big brother. What’s more, what’s going on? Is Big brother Hiro and Mamu’s child? Hey, right?”

“I’m from the future…… it’s true …….”

“…… From the future…… I’ve never heard of such magic…… also, in the future… the war… what about the war?”

The underground space was dimly lit, and the ceiling and walls were made of materials I had never seen before.

It wasn’t the area where the chieftain’s wife and the others were waiting, but according to him, we had to “go there first”.

“I was aiming for Shiznautmy… in other words, this place… to return to the future.”

“Eh…… re…… turn?”

Espie and Slayer with vacant faces. It’s no wonder they still couldn’t take in my story.

But……

“Well, here we are, Young man. The Master Key to the door once more, if you please.”

“…… okay!”

And there was a door at the end of the dimly lit passage.

As the Chieftain instructed me, I took out the master key.

Then, the center of the door suddenly started flashing red, and the door opened on its own.

“Oh…… I wouldn’t be surprised by anything else that comes my way.”

A world of darkness spread out behind the door.

But only for a moment.

The moment the Chieftain stepped into the room,

“””Eehh!!??”””

Suddenly, the room lit up and became bright.”

“O, oh, what is this? Is it light magic? I was immediately surprised again……”

“What? It suddenly got brighter?”

“Is anyone there?”

“I don’t feel any magic…… what the hell ……?”

As usual, I was nervous about the Chieftain not giving any explanation beforehand, but it seemed harmless enough this time.

And……

『A floor that can only be reached by using the Master Key…… doors that cannot be opened…… In other words, I have never set foot in any room beyond this one.』

“Huh!?”

That’s right.

It seemed that Tre’ainar used to explore various things in these ruins, and the people who lived in Shiznautmy also used these ruins, but only a small part of them.

The ancients who once lived in this underground area have something much deeper than that.

That’s exactly how I came to this era……

“Whoa…………”

“It’s huge …….”

“What room is this…?”

“…… this is?”

The lit room was spacious.

Long desks and fixed chairs arranged in a stepped pattern. At first glance, doesn’t this look a bit like a classroom at the Academy?

On the walls, there was a huge glass-like structure stretched all over.

“The main computer room…… is the power supply live…… if they ‘evacuated’, they ought to have shut it off…… well, at least we may recharge, and you can return, Young man.”

“Konpyuta~? Charju? Chieftain, what language are you speaking?”

The Chieftain walked up to the glass and sat down in front of it.

Then, with a slight movement of his fingertips on the table where the Chieftain was sitting, a part of the desk was turned up, revealing a board-like object and an indentation with a mysterious pattern on it.

“This is but a small section of the research institute. Once, ancient beings from a distant star descended upon this world, yet found themselves unable to adapt to its surface. Hence built shelters in the underground world. In their relentless quest to adapt, they conducted myriad experiments, blending the genes of countless creatures from this world. Through these trials, the Seraph Tribe, experimental creations like myself, and Lady Kaguya were born, all intended to integrate with this realm…….”

『…… Kaguya……』

“The Ancients…… the alien beings that inhabited the underground of Shiznautmy are no more…… Lady Kaguya was left behind, and the once-thriving city of the Shiznautmy has also perished…… well, we have little time now. We can delve into the annals of history some other day.”

“Some other day…… huh… ah, that’s right. For now, more than that, there’s something I have to spend the remaining time on……

As the Chieftain pressed the indentations with his practiced hand, as he had done with the door earlier, the huge glass that covered the entire wall suddenly lit up, revealing bright colors and patterns he had never seen before. moreover……

――Gacha

“”””Eehh!!??””””

The drawer of the desk where the Chieftain was sitting suddenly opened with a thud, and inside was….

“Oh, a watch!”

“Wow, there’s a lot of them…….”

Watches similar to the one I had were placed in the drawer, connected to some sort of string.

“Right, Young man, lend that to me. I shall connect it to the cord and set it to charge.”

“O, okay…….”

I couldn’t understand, so I handed the watch to the Chieftain, who snapped the strangely tipped string into a small depression in the watch that I hadn’t noticed, and the watch began to glow.

“Now, I shall adjust the settings…… Young man, how many years from now should I send you back?”

“U, uh…um…”

Settings? Um, what do you mean by that? How many years from now? Do you mean the era I came from?

『With Gouda’s death in battle…… come to think of it, we never paid attention to the date in the future…… Child, what day was your Graduation Match?』

「L, let’s see, I think it was the year 〇〇, day 〇〇 in the month of ×× …」

『Then, by my calculations…… from then, running away from home, traveling, and the stay in Cacretale…… tis roughly 〇〇 years and ×× days from now. It may be off by a few days, but…….』

“Oh, so it’s 〇〇 years and ×× days from now.”

“Understood.”

I’m glad Tre’ainar was here.

And the Chieftain was manipulating my watch.

And this…… if it wasn’t for the Chieftain, I wouldn’t have understood anything……

“Anyway…… there are a few watches…… are they the same?”

“Yes.”

A simple nod was given, an item that transcends time.

That’s how……

“Hey wait, I can’t believe there are so many of these…if these get abused…”

An item that allows you to travel to the past or future.

If you can handle something like this freely, you can do anything……

“It’s quite risky as I understand it.”

However, the Chieftain denied it.

“This device can transport only one person at a time, and the physical strain it imposes is immense. It can be used only a few times in one’s lifetime.”

“…… eh!?”

“It’s not magic, but technology. A computer analyzes the human body, transmits the molecules, and reconstructs them…… well, simply put, overusing it can shred your organs, blood vessels, and bones, leading to death. At least it cannot be used on children in their growth phase. Thus, you, Young man, were quite close to the limit. I heard that in some experiments, those who traveled four to five times ended up with their bodies in tatters and died.”

“Huh?!”

“This technology, a relic of the ancient people, was obtained by chance. However, due to the extreme risks, its use was prohibited.”

I didn’t understand the explanation at the beginning, but I understood the last part.

In other words, this can’t be used often?

Well, if I remember correctly, the first time I used it was when my father and mother were children, the second time was when I came to this age, and the third time will be when I return home……

“Ah, ah, that was close ~”

『I see…… transferring molecular information and reconstructing it…… the principle of moving through the space-time distortions is the same, but there is a difference between it and space transfer magic…… tis certainly quite dangerous.』

Tre’ainar also groaned when he heard the Chieftain’s explanation.

Future Espie will give me such a dangerous thing…… I mean…

“So you’re saying that if I use this and go back… it means I will never be able to return to this era…”

“If you’ve already used it a few times…… then, that is to be expected…… there is no guarantee that you survive it.”

I see, that means I can’t come back to check on Espie and Slayer.

So with this……

“Hey, Big brother. What do you mean ‘go back’? Are you going somewhere? Right now? Then, I left my things with Mrs. Yitea, so I’ll go get it.”

“Brother, are you leaving now? Can’t we just send the elves off? Well, if you say you’re going, we’ll just follow……”

They didn’t understand what we were talking about, so I…

“Espie…… Slayer ……”

“”?””

“…………… this is where… we say goodbye.”

“”…………………………?? …………………… Huh!?””

Ah, even though I knew that… my heart aches……

“”……………………………………… Huh?””

chapter-349
  • 14
  • 16
  • 18
  • 20
  • 22
  • 24
  • 26
  • 28
Select Lang
Tap the screen to use reading tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.