Chapter 122 - Disguise

Growth was something that demanded endless consideration.

Without getting stronger, you couldn't survive. Situations were always developing, after all.

In that regard...

◆ The First Vow: Revised

Divinity whose user-specific qualities have been unlocked through a direct blessing from the god of purification at a sacred altar.

Reflecting your unique qualities, this divinity's attributes can be freely “reversed.” Flame of Regeneration is provided as a basic function.

Its growth direction has not yet been determined. This supernatural power will grow according to the “function” you desire.

Failing to give serious thought to how he would wield a supernatural power bestowed by a god herself could be called a sin in its own right.

And surely, the only time he could devote to thinking deeply about it was inside the Mindscape.

Outside, he spent more time having to act than having time to think. There was no telling when trouble would erupt.

“You're really something, you know.”

Fortunately, today there was someone who would sympathize with him rather than treat him like a lunatic as usual.

“Even I can't think about other things while doing this.”

Teresa, sprawled beside him with a broad smile, offered that comment.

She had just been cleaved in two by Meyer and was speaking with her halves still separated.

“I'll agree that he's something.”

Meyer flicked his sword clean, looking too weary to offer further commentary.

He looked back and forth in disgust at Teresa and Aiden, who were chatting perfectly normally despite looking as though their entire bodies had been fed through a grinder...

“Watching you two lunatics is starting to convince me it's normal for people to die and come back to life. Maybe carrying on a casual conversation while dead is something anyone can do?”

[“... I can't, you damned human.”]

“Right. Thanks. You're the last thing keeping my sense of reality intact.”

As Meyer and Reaver, who was likewise unable to maintain his shape, forged an odd bond, Teresa chuckled and protested.

“Oh, come on. You make us sound like monsters.”

She was still smiling, chin propped on one hand, as her severed upper and lower halves joined back together.

... She had no business calling Aiden remarkable. Just as Meyer thought, this woman wasn't sane either.

But, well.

'It's good to see her.'

It had been so long that even this sight was welcome.

She had spent all this time hiding deeper inside the Mindscape, saying there was something she wanted to research.

When she finally showed her face, he asked whether she had finished the “research” she had shut herself away to conduct. Her answer had been as follows.

[“Hmm... I'm almost done. But I don't think I can show you yet.”]

[“Is there a reason?”]

[“It's definitely powerful, and it'll probably be indispensable to you... but it's too dangerous for you. Maybe once you understand qi a little more deeply.”]

[“Hmm. What sort of technique is it?”]

[“I'm not telling someone who steals hearts as easily as breathing while refusing to give Noel a straight answer.”]

[“...”]

[“Still, you can look forward to it. It's my greatest masterpiece, you know?”]

... Well, then.

Her stated reason for not telling him was unfortunate, but her promise that he could look forward to it was worth taking seriously.

She was entirely responsible for laying the foundations of the pure-white energy Noel used, both its basics and its applications. Her contribution to Aiden's somehow surviving the powerful opponents he had encountered, despite having never even received combat training, was hardly small.

'Wasn't she more of a theorist than a fighter in the game, too?'

Her personal combat prowess was terrifying, but where she truly distinguished herself was in research, developing theories of combat.

Given the burden Aiden bore of “saving the world,” he couldn't ask for more than her help on that front.

She certainly seemed to have finished researching some technique, just as she claimed. Compared to before, she appeared to be testing various things rather than simply enjoying the sparring.

Sometimes she and Meyer would even discuss applications of supernatural power at a level so lofty that Aiden couldn't understand a word.

'... Well, it'll be fine.'

He still had one skill-copying opportunity left for her. When she said she was finished, he could see the technique for himself and decide whether to use it then.

After all, he possessed a far more efficient learning method than simply being taught techniques by someone.

“So, what's on your mind? If I can help, I will.”

And when someone like her asked a question like that, being honest was likely to get him some help.

He'd heard that developing supernatural powers was a matter of a person's true nature, and she had given him a clear answer on that subject before.

“Honestly, I don't know either.”

“...”

Which was why that answer caught him completely off guard.

“A person's true nature is defined by their desires. I think yours hasn't emerged because you haven't firmly decided there's something you'd be willing to die for. I can't decide that for you, can I?”

“... I've already risked my life plenty of times.”

“That came from your sense of duty. Your true nature is about what you want.”

“...”

The conversation felt as though it had suddenly veered into philosophy.

As Aiden scratched his cheek with a frown, Teresa chuckled and continued.

“Put simply, I mean what you want to do, not what you think you have to do. There's a slight difference.”

“... Well, if we're talking about what I want...”

After a moment's thought, Aiden tilted his head slightly.

“If I could just live peacefully with my family...”

“I don't think that's it.”

“...”

Her flat dismissal shut his mouth.

“That's something you think you have to do, even if it means risking your life. You're the one giving. Wanting means something you'd like to receive from other people.”

“...”

“Aiden Kellermain. What do you want from the people around you?”

... Something he wanted to receive? Something he desired?

Aiden blinked in confusion.

What did he want from Noel or Katya?

“...”

Was there anything?

He had no idea.

“Well, take your time thinking about the serious stuff.”

Meyer addressed the bewildered Aiden calmly.

“Let's change the training regimen starting tomorrow, then. I think we can stop doing this now.”

[“I-is that true?!”]

“...”

That was probably the liveliest voice Aiden had heard from Reaver since they'd met.

“You've improved a bit. Even I'm having trouble taking you on with just my physical strength now.”

In response to Reaver's voice, relieved at the prospect of dying a little less, Meyer cracked his neck and continued.

“And since you're thinking about supernatural powers anyway, we'll start seriously training you to use them tomorrow. You've worked hard.”

Aiden's eyes widened.

'... Did he eat something that disagreed with him?'

Really, anyone would be surprised to hear that from a man who had never uttered so much as the first syllable of a compliment.

And now he was saying they'd worked hard?

Was the sun going to rise in the west tomorrow...?

“So starting tomorrow, let's put you through hell and make everything we've done so far look like child's play.”

... Aha.

He'd been building up to tearing into them even more viciously afterward.

Understanding now, Aiden nodded as he petted the utterly dejected Reaver. Meyer continued calmly.

“Besides, I get the feeling you're about to undergo some major change. It's about time we increased the intensity.”

“... What?”

“What? Why are you acting like this is news to you?”

Meyer sounded incredulous.

“I'm not you, so I don't know exactly what happened. But take a good look at yourself. From what I can sense, you're definitely on the verge of changing at your very core.”

“... Where is this coming from?”

“You get people like that sometimes among those who wield multiple supernatural powers.”

Somehow, his next words carried a weight of significance.

“... People who reach a turning point and move beyond the realm of humanity. Through entanglements with the inexplicable.”

“No, I'm asking what that mea—”

“Just think of it as getting fucking strong.”

“...”

“There could be some fucking serious side effects, but getting fucking strong is guaranteed.”

... Still, Aiden appreciated the concise explanation, so typical of the man.

▣

“Aiden, are you tired? You haven't looked well since yesterday.”

“I don't know what I want from other people.”

“... Have you hit puberty?”

Noel sounded incredulous, but Aiden was serious.

He simply couldn't get what Teresa had told him yesterday out of his head.

He had more than a few headaches to contend with. Enough, in fact, to break his own rule of only thinking about such things inside the Mindscape.

And it wasn't just Teresa's words. Meyer's parting suggestion to take a look at himself had given him something else to worry about.

-System Log

▶ You perceive “Mystery.”

▶ The beings of the pantheon watch over you.

▶ You meet the minimum requirements for a change in “Race.”

This window had appeared when he first made contact with Sier.

He had been too overwhelmed to examine it properly at the time. Looking at it now, he had no idea what it was supposed to mean.

'What the hell does it mean, a change in race?'

Of course, Aiden was well aware that races other than humans existed, but the notion that someone could cross the boundaries between them was entirely new to him.

As he mulled over those thoughts, he suddenly noticed the bustle around him.

'... Oh, come to think of it.'

Wasn't today the day the outside personnel were arriving for the third rite, “Black Night”?

It was a welcome occasion for the Grand Temple's residents, who were living cut off from the outside world. They could receive needed supplies from outside and catch their breath amid the succession ceremony's packed schedule.

'Maybe I should hear some news from outside, too...'

The Grand Temple might be hosting the succession ceremony, but it was fundamentally an educational institution, so naturally it took in students as well.

Ordinary students, not royalty. To Aiden, they were also valuable sources of the outside news he'd missed while stuck on the island. Most of them were ordinary people of low social standing, after all, and most such people lived in circumstances that forced them to become resourceful.

They also had a fairly important role in the Black Night rite, participating as partners to the royals.

'... Wasn't this a rite that emphasized teamwork?'

The essence of the Black Night rite was for a royal and a commoner student to form a team and complete a series of tasks over the course of a night.

In that respect, taking a look at the students wasn't a bad idea. One of them would end up as Aiden's partner, after all.

Letting the bustling crowd stream past, Aiden looked for a student he could strike up that sort of conversation with.

And amid the crowd...

“...”

Suddenly, something that should never have existed was walking toward him.

His face went pale.

His hands and feet grew cold. A chill ran down his spine.

'... What the hell is that...!'

What was it?

His eyes trembled. He couldn't believe the sight before him.

It was as though reality were crumbling, and metaphysical horror were seeping through a cosmic rift...

And then, the “thing” that had approached Aiden opened its horrifying mouth.

“Hiii! I'm a newbie who's just been sent to the Grand Temple☆”

The Pontiff, disguising her appearance with divinity to look like a girl in uniform who had only just started school, gave Aiden a cutesy wink.

She even threw in an adorable little hand gesture.

“...”

Katya and Noel, who had been walking beside him, hurriedly clapped their hands over their mouths, their faces pale.

Apparently they were feeling sick. Quite genuinely.

“Are you Aiden-oppa☆?”

“...”

“I'm looking for someone to do the Black Night rite with meee☆”

... By this point, Aiden could certainly sympathize with them completely.