Episode 180 – Souls in a Bottle (3)

Souls in a Bottle (3)

The summary of a news article I once saw was as follows, [Elise is trapped in the magical realm of the mage camp]. Not for a day or two, but almost a month.

So, what is this ‘magical space’?

Literally, it’s a ‘space made of mana’. To explain it a bit more simply, it’s a ‘space created within mana’.

There are two main ways to enter this magical space.

The first is through a ‘magic circle’ connected to the magical space. You enter through the magic circle of summoning and reverse summoning.

Elise was trapped here because the magic circle of reverse summoning was damaged—someone had damaged it.

The second way is through a ‘gap’ that directly connects to the magical space. In this case, you can walk in with your two legs.

I found that ‘gap’ and came in. It was quickly discovered when I scanned it with SZX-9500.

“……So, you’re on a trip?”

“Yeah. A trip and an exploration.”

I beat around the bush with Elise.

“I saw something interesting and when I looked, I ended up here. It was a gap in the tree roots.”

Elise glanced at me with suspicious eyes. I shrugged nonchalantly.

“What a coincidence. I didn’t know there was such a magical space.”

“……Did you come alone?”

“No. I came with Soliette.”

At that, Elise pouted her lips slightly.

“Where is Soliette?”

“She’ll be here soon. What’s up? Sit down for now.”

I sheath my sword and pointed to the fishing chair. By the way, I had already taken care of the phantoms last night.

“What……”

Elise sat on the chair. I glanced at her as I gripped the fishing rod.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Hey.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“You also play ‘Bethune’, right?”

“……How did you know that?”

“Bethune is hot these days. You’re a famous NPC in the community.”

The number of concurrent users in Bethune has increased 30 times recently.

Rich people flocked in because of the rumor that it grants wishes, and ‘gold diggers’ flocked in because of the rumor that rich people were flocking in.

In that respect, Elise is the only doctor in the beginner’s village. Her job is a High Priest, which is quite rare.

“I’m not an NPC, how can I be an NPC? I’m a user.”

“……That’s just a figure of speech. Anyway, What level are you?”

“……Why are you asking?”

“I have something to ask. What level are you?”

Elise answered in a small, somewhat embarrassed voice.

“……23.”

23 is quite high. She seems to have worked hard.

“That’s high.”

“What’s high? If you play for three hours a day, you get like this. If your level is lower than mine, you’re lazy.”

She talks a lot unnecessarily. She must be embarrassed about playing the game so hard.

“Then……”

I was about to suggest a party when I belatedly noticed Elise’s condition. She had dark circles under her eyes and her face looked quite worn out.

“Let’s talk later. Rest for now. Go ahead and sleep.”

“……okay.”

Elise, who responded curtly, leaned into the fishing chair. She fell asleep right away in that state.

“She must be tired.”

I gripped the fishing rod.

─Hello!

The doll, Cookie, hanging from her waist waved at me.

I glanced at Elise. She was almost half unconscious.

─Hello!

I spoke to the greeting doll.

“You’re Yael, right?”

─……

The doll Cookie fell silent.

He stared at me with doll eyes and asked.

─……How did you know?

His voice deepened. Too deep for a rabbit.

“I have good eyes.”

The color of magic captured by SZX-9500 is different.

─Well, nice to meet you.

Yael. Elise’s older brother by blood. The benefactor of my life before regression, my first friend.

He was watching over Elise through a rabbit doll.

“When did you connect?”

─Not long ago. After the second quarter of the College Board ended, my sister visited me once. That’s when I did it. I was curious about the outside world too.

“Really?”

─Yes.

I looked at Yael. He perked up his rabbit ears.

─Friend. I’m curious about something.

“What is it.”

─Why are you helping Elise?

The reason for helping Elise.

It was a strange question.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Because she’s your sister.”

─……That’s it?

“At first.”

At first, it was because of Yael.

Yael, who sacrificed his life for me before regression. To fulfill his promise to ‘protect Elise’.

─And now?

“Now…… I’ve received quite a bit of help from Elise. So, I’m trying to make it even.”

I don’t want to owe Elise. I don’t want to owe anyone.

Perhaps we feel the same way, so we help each other.

─……You don’t have to. We owe you too much.

“That’s your thought.”

Rustle─

Just then, the sound of brushing through the grass.

─Hello!

Yael turned back into a rabbit.

I looked in that direction.

It was Soliette.

“Shion. I found the exit.”

She had grass in her ruffled hair, and her eyes widen.

“Oh. Shion, you found Elise too.”

“Yeah. She seems really tired.”

Snore……

She’s snoring, albeit very quietly.

“Let’s go when she wakes up.”

“Yes. Understood.”

* * *

The next day.

As Soliette and I walked towards the exit, we suggested Elise join our ‘Bethune’ party. Elise shook her head with a contemptuous attitude.

“……You guys. It seems like you’re misunderstanding something. It’s still the exam period. The third quarter hasn’t ended yet.”

“I know. Anyway, the operation will be carried out after the entrance exam.”

“Even after the entrance exam, I have a full schedule.”

“……You’re really good at pretending to be busy.”

“It’s not pretending to be-”

“Whatever. But you’ll regret it, won’t you? It’s an opportunity to turn a game into reality.”

“……Did you take some drugs? How can a game become reality?”

I glanced at Soliette. It was a gesture asking her to explain.

Soliette cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Miss Elise. Allow me to explain. The story I’m about to tell is not at all frivolous, nor is it a hallucination or auditory hallucination stemming from drug abuse……”

……

“……You guys sometimes believe in too many frivolous things.”

Despite Soliette’s explanation, Elise still looked skeptical.

“It’s not a lie. Why else would the number of users increase?”

“The number of users, huh……”

As Elise was about to refute Shion’s words, suddenly.

She remembered the Aventagher twins.

The Aventagher, a great family, had moved within the [Bethune Dungeon]. Both successors were involved.

It was by no means an ordinary event.

“……Are there any other party members besides me?”

“The only ones you would know are from Aventagher.”

“……”

Elise’s mouth opened slightly.

Soliette didn’t miss the opportunity.

“The goal of this quest is to destroy the Soul Vessel created by the Count. Then, the Bethune Dungeon will be incorporated into reality. If we fail, countless souls will be exploited by the Count’s selfish desires.”

“Who’s this Count?”

“Count Knightmare.”

“……Knightmare?”

Elise looked at Soliette. Her gaze was somewhat worried.

“Soliette. You’re not still-”

“Knightmare is alive.”

This answer came from Shion.

Elise sighed and rubbed her temples.

“Haah…… You guys are all……”

Elise, who was about to say something, suddenly froze.

Because of the phantom that appeared in front of them.

“Please, take care of it.”

Saying so, she hid behind Shion’s back. Shion chuckled in disbelief.

“Hey. Why are you whining about something like that?”

“……Whining. It’s the worst match.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not tangible. Telekinesis doesn’t work.”

“Says who?”

“It’s science, science.”

Elise pouted from behind Shion’s back.

All matter has magnetism. But things that do not have matter do not have magnetism. Therefore, telekinesis doesn’t work.

Such an obvious fact-

“So what’s the problem? If there’s no magnetism, you can just apply it.”

“……Huh?”

Shion put his hand on her head. His large fingers tightly gripped her small head.

“Ah, what are you doing? Let go, let go!”

“Think a little. Don’t set your own limits. If there’s no magnetism, you can artificially apply it.”

“……”

Elise’s eyes widened slightly.

Thinking about it, he might be right.

Her 「Spectrum」 is not ‘using magnetism’.

It is magnetism itself.

“……I got it. Now let go.”

Shion didn’t let go of her head. Instead, he rubbed it refreshingly.

“Ah, haaah…… No.”

Thanks to the refreshing sensation, Elise unknowingly moaned, but soon she pushed him away.

“Let go.”

Then she took a deep breath. She stretched out one hand. The phantom, which did not possess magnetism. Towards the non-material entity.

Elise sent her magic to its heart. First, she precisely set the vector point, and then artificially applied ‘magnetism’ to the corresponding area……

Thud-thud─

Blood rushed to her temples. Her nose bled.

At the same time, a definite sensation arose.

“……I got it.”

She clenched her hand in the air.

Zap───!

The phantom was squeezed into a single point.

Not a trace was left.

“……”

Elise, panting, wore a vacant smile.

Shion put his hand on her shoulder.

“See. The compatibility is rather the opposite. If you just apply magnetism, because there is no matter, you can squeeze it much more easily.”

“Wow. You’re amazing, Miss Elise.”

Soliette also clapped her hands. Elise licked her lips, glancing at Shion.

“Hmph. It’s nothing big.”

“Wipe your nose if it’s nothing.”

“……Huh?”

Elise touched her nose with her hand. A clump of blood came out.

“Gasp.”

She quickly covered her face. Shion gestured.

“Follow me. Let’s get out.”

“You, you go ahead. I’ll follow.”

“……Shion. Let’s go.”

Whether Soliette understood Elise’s feelings or not, she dragged Shion away.

“……”

Elise inadvertently watched their retreating figures.

Soliette and Shion, walking side by side. The two of them, sharing some conversation, giggling about Bethune or related stories.

……She bowed her head for a moment.

Once, she had seen a very interesting statistic.

Adult mages are surprisingly often single, or the proportion of strategic marriages is high. Even if they get married, the divorce rate is 53%.

On the other hand, knights are surprisingly often bound in a hundred-year pact with other knights, and the proportion of love marriages is high. The divorce rate is much lower than that of mages.

But……

Elise wedged herself between Soliette and Shion. She almost separated the two.

She asked Shion.

“Are you sure about that?”

“What.”

The closer Soliette gets to Shion, the more dangerous it becomes for Shion. Because Arkne is not a normal family.

“That the game becomes reality.”

“Oh, of course.”

Soliette quickly answered. Elise asked one more question.

“Bianca. Can I bring my pet camel too?”

“Pet camel, you have something like that?”

“Yeah. My hospital is the Bianca Clinic.”

“Hmm…… Well, it should be possible. I’ll make it happen.”

“……”

Despite Shion’s uncertain answer, Elise hesitated a bit, then nodded as if sighing.

“Okay. I’m in.”

“Nice!”

Soliette’s cheer, not Shion’s. She scratched the back of her neck, seemingly embarrassed by the words she’d blurted out unknowingly.

“Hahaha… I’m just too happy. High Priest is a precious class. It’s a very valuable class, Miss Elise. I’ll protect you so that you won’t be disadvantaged. I’m a top player in Bethune, Miss Elise. Just trust me.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

Whooooosh───!

At that moment, a gust of wind blew in from behind. It was mixed with an ominous smell.

We turned to look. Four men in robes were standing there with their Magic Bodies activated.

Shion drew his sword and said,

“…Looks like they’re the ones who damaged your magic circle.”

The ones who damaged the ‘reverse summoning’ magic circle and blocked Elise’s reverse summoning.

In other words, the mages who tried to kidnap Elise.

The motive for this incident itself is nothing special.

The arrogance of the ‘magic families’.

An act to intimidate Ken Petra, who didn’t sponsor the magic community despite trying to raise his child as a mage.

If Ken Petra sponsors them, they would release Elise, but of course, Ken Petra didn’t sponsor a single penny. He considered this itself as a hardship for Elise’s growth.

“Stop right there. If you don’t want to see blood.”

Four mages, in black robes and even wearing masks to hide their existence.

They’re probably the offspring of the magic community. Their research, their mage career depends on the sponsorship of the magic community, so they would be desperate no matter what the order is.

“Go ahead. I’ll handle this alone.”

Shion said so, picking up a branch from the ground.

He intended to use the branch instead of the sword. Because mages are national talents, if something goes wrong and they get killed, it would be a big problem. He could get in trouble for no reason.

Soliette and Elise frowned.

“Alone? Don’t underestimate active mages too much.”

“That’s right, Shion-”

“What are you talking about? You know me.”

Shion brushed it off calmly.

“What a senseless thing to say……”

Elise seemed about to scold him, but then a thought seemed to cross her mind, and she wore a subtle smile.

“Come to think of it, you’re right. Let’s go, Soliette.”

“Huh?”

Elise dragged Soliette away.

“It’s okay, just guide us to the exit.”

“But still…”

Soliette glanced at Shion as she was dragged away.

“──Don’t do anything foolish!”

The mages growled, releasing their magic.

Whooooosh───! A Gale blew fiercely. But there were no other effects.

With one swing of Shion’s branch, everything was destroyed.

“It’s okay. We just need to go.”

Elise explained to Soliette, who still looked a bit puzzled.

“When I think about it, Shion Ascal…”

Shion has a peculiar trait. Whether it’s anti-magic or something else, it’s a power whose identity is still unknown.

As a result, he has tremendous resistance to various magical interferences that try to invade his body, whether it’s magic, formula, or whatever.

Therefore──.

“He’s a mage’s nightmare.”

He will not lose to mages.

Whether the opponent is an active mage or whatever, he has a diabolical advantage that can easily overcome at least three tiers of difference…