Back at Last in the Clearflow Lake Stratum
“Would you mind calling the others? I have something I need to ask these two.”
He must want to do the interrogating while we’re not around. It seems like there are things involved that our presence would cause trouble for; he’s telling us in a roundabout way to leave.
“Okay. We’ll go get Hulemy and the others.”
And Lammis is a keen girl. Without questioning him about anything, she and Mikenne turn their backs to him and begin to walk away. As I bump up and down on Lammis’s back, I stare after Mishuel, but I can’t read anything from a quick glimpse at his impassive face from the side.
“Mishuel must have a lot going on.”
“Welcome.”
“It’s hard to know how deep to pry in these situations.”
“Welcome.”
“I know he didn’t need our help, either, but I just couldn’t stay quiet. Maybe I should leave a little more distance between us.”
Lammis has been thinking a lot about this, too. I don’t know how to answer this question myself. Some people might think it was annoying, but other people might want someone to listen.
He looks like he’s afraid of getting someone involved. He isn’t refusing to have anyone else there; it feels more like he’s being considerate and trying not to let harm befall us.
While I ponder it, we meet up at the buar cart where Hulemy and the others are waiting, then head back to Mishuel in no particular rush.
It was about a thirty-minute round-trip, and by the time we get back, Mishuel is standing there by himself—the two magic caster–looking people are nowhere to be found. The corpses of the three men he slayed, too—vanished.
I think for a moment he let them escape, but when I look attentively at the ground, I can see faint burn marks. They sort of look human-shaped. Five of them. Which means, well, I know what happened.
“Looks like you took care of them, eh? Nice work.”
“I brought the others!”
Hulemy understands what happened here, so she purposely addresses Mishuel in a lighthearted voice. Lammis gives a little wave of her hand, too. No one can sense even a hint of seriousness coming from her.
“Welcome back. I have to apologize for getting you involved in personal affairs.”
“Don’t worry about it,” says Lammis. “Boxxo gets caught up in lots of stuff anyway—like getting kidnapped or falling through cracks in strata.”
“You’re not wrong,” remarks Hulemy.
“Too bad.”
They were the ones who took care of me in those situations.
After hearing our exchange, Mishuel’s tense expression loosens just a little. “I can’t reveal the details,” he says, “but for certain reasons, there are people after my life. If we stay together any longer than this, it could put your lives in danger, so I will return to the settlement ahead of you all and move to a different stratum. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done.”
“Oh, wait a second,” says Lammis. “If you’re a strong person with a lot on your plate, why not join the Menagerie of Fools? The captain said they were looking for people like that.”
“Right, he was rambling on about stuff like that, wasn’t he?” adds Hulemy. “Doesn’t matter where you come from, as long as you’re the real deal. He’s even bragged before about how everybody in his band has some kind of personal baggage.”
Of all things, an invitation? Come to think of it, Captain Kerioyl was certainly saying things like that. He’d probably go, “If someone’s after us, we just fight them off—it’ll be good training against surprise attacks” and be perfectly fine with it. He’s got a lot of spunk, after all.
“The Menagerie of Fools—that famous team of hunters?”
“Yup. It’s filled with interesting people. We promised to help them out once in a while, too.”
“Why not forget all the tough stuff and ask them? I think it’d be a good place to gain power.”
“I…see. I’ll look into contacting them. Now then, so long, until we meet again.”
He’s been bowing very deeply, but he swiftly straightens up and begins to leave. He cuts quite the dashing figure even when saying good-bye, but I didn’t miss the mutterings carried from him to me on the wind.
“The Menagerie of Fools… There’s so many people I don’t know there… I can’t do it…”
Ahh, I guess the hurdle is still too high for him. When he’s in hot-guy mode, he’s quite reliable. I suppose this gap is part of his charm.
Without anyone stopping him, we wait until his back is out of sight and then resume our progression. Things would be awkward if we sped up and caught up to him, so we slow down as much as we can, with me bouncing slowly and comfortably.
When we arrive back at the settlement after taking over twice the time it normally would have, dusk has started to blanket the sky, so we decide there’s no reason to hurry and spend the night at the only inn in the labyrinth.
“A lot happened, but now we can finally go back to the Clearflow Lake stratum!”
The next day, Lammis is the only one among those standing on the transfer circle who seems to be full of energy. Hulemy stifles a yawn, and the Band of Gluttons sleepily rub their eyes.
I can’t blame them. It’s still early in the morning when the sun has just started to rise, so it must be a rough time of day for night people and nocturnal folk.
Yesterday, we reported to the Hunters Association that we found nothing strange, and after only a quick explanation, our mission was complete. After that, people bought large quantities of items from me, making noise until late in the night, which brings us to now.
“I’m ready to relax and do some research for a while.”
“What are the Band of Gluttons going to do now? I think there are a lot of jobs available in the Clearflow Lake stratum, so you’ll probably be able to make enough money so you won’t go hungry.”
“Then let’s cut loose for a while. I hope we can eat until we’re full.”
“I want to take a bath.”
“Director Bear governs that place, after all. Nothing bad will happen to us.”
Hulemy goes without saying, but the Band of Gluttons are evidently coming to live in the Clearflow Lake stratum. I’ll be able to expect them as regular customers in the future, too.
It will mean leaving the Labyrinth stratum, but we’ll probably never come here again. Besides, if I hadn’t been caught up in the stratum fissure, I never would have fallen here from the sky.
We met new people, but Clearflow Lake is still the best place for me to relax. We’ve only been gone for a little under a month, but I seem to think of it quite fondly.
I want to hurry back to business in my spot in front of the Hunters Association building, catering to my beloved regulars. Everyone else is probably looking forward to it, too. Seeing their happy faces when they buy things is something I enjoy as a vending machine.
“All right, we’re going home!”
Her voice was the signal for the worker to activate the transfer circle. Light rushes up from our feet to cover us, and I feel my body grow lighter, as though it’s floating.
And not a moment after I feel my consciousness cut off, the light at our feet disappears to reveal completely different surroundings.
The room we were just in was less than thirty square feet and made of wood, but now we’re in a giant room made of stone. Lights that look like magic items are installed on the walls in the four corners of the room, and despite a lack of windows, their magical light ensures more than enough visibility.
“It looks like we’ve arrived at the Clearflow Lake stratum.”
So this is the kind of place they set up the Clearflow Lake transfer circle. There’s a lot of people and a lot of transportation of goods, so unless they make the room big, they might run into a bunch of issues.
Lammis throws open the door, big enough to carry me through with room to spare, and exits into the hallway. Doors line up neatly to our right, and a large window adorns the left wall.
The passage is wide enough to let four or five adults walk side by side without a problem, and it secures over ten feet in height as well. Judging by the light filtering in through the window, the Clearflow Lake stratum is experiencing clear skies.
Another large set of double doors is on the end of the long passage. When we open it, we find ourselves in the first-floor hall of the Hunters Association.
No hunters are in the hall, just the Association employees.
The ladies sit on the other side of the counter in a line as usual, and when they see us… Why is one putting her hand to her mouth in surprise?
“Huh? How did Boxxo get there?”
Huh? Oh, right. I fell through the stratum split, so obviously she’d think it was weird that I returned through the transfer circle. That must be why she’s surprised.
“Boxxo got pulled into a stratum split and fell into the Labyrinth stratum. We recovered him and just came back.”
Hulemy explains for me right away. The worker’s questions must be cleared now.
“Oh yes, the director informed me, so I’m aware of that, but…”
Huh? Wait, why is she surprised, then? If she knows that, aren’t things settled?
“Mr. Boxxo, you were doing business in the settlement this morning—no, for over a week now, correct?”
“Huh?”
Huh? My thoughts overlap with the sounds Lammis and Hulemy make. Wh-what’s going on? I just got back now, and I fell to the lower stratum about a month ago. Things don’t add up. It’s impossible, no matter how you look at it.
“W-wait a second. Boxxo has been in the Labyrinth stratum this whole time. He never came back here.”
As Lammis grabs the counter with both hands and leans forward, the employee raises a hand to stop her, somehow managing to maintain her business smile. “So you say, but I saw Boxxo myself in the settlement. Right?”
“Y-yeah. I used him yesterday, too.”
The employee sitting next to her nods. They don’t look like they’re telling a lie. But if it’s true, then do we have an imposter—or a similar item?
“In other words, there’s a fake Boxxo going around… This is an alarming situation.”
“A fake… We have to go complain!”
Lammis seems like she’s about to burst out of the place in fury, so I declare, “Too bad.”
“Boxxo, why are you trying to stop me? It’s an imposter. I won’t allow anyone to do business pretending to be you. We have to go make a complaint and get them to stop.”
She’s right, but I’m extremely interested in what they have to gain by doing this. Are they trying to replace me because I was gone? Or were they just trying to imitate me to make a profit?
If it’s the latter, then calling them out on it would be barking up the wrong tree. It’s basic moneymaking practice to mimic other businesses. And I’m also plainly interested in how they figured out how a vending machine works.
“Calm down, Lammis. If we don’t know what they’re after, we shouldn’t do anything careless. Let’s report to Director Bear and then go scout it out together.”
Hulemy has the same opinion as me. Of course, in her case, she’s probably suggesting the plan out of pure academic interest.
Lammis’s anger hasn’t been quelled, but she reluctantly agrees, so for now, we all decide to go to Director Bear’s room.
Life had finally caught up with Director Bear while he was out searching for me, and he has apparently been buried in paperwork ever since coming back.
“Director, can we come in?”
“Lammis? You’ve returned. Please come in.”
Director Bear’s lethargic, utterly exhausted voice reaches us from the other side of the door.
When we open it, we find Director Bear giving a disgusted stare at the piles of paperwork on his desk. He is skillfully gripping a pen with his bear paw, but I worry needlessly whether he can write letters properly.
“I was just thinking of taking a break. Boxxo, can I purchase a cold drink?”
“Welcome.”
After buying a lemon tea, he sits, sinking deep into the sofa, and downs the contents in one go. It’s plain to see the fatigue has built up.
“You can all take a seat as well. Could I get you to report the results of the request?”
Hulemy, as the representative, tells him of the situation at the labyrinth outskirts. And though she seems to waver for a moment, she tells him all about Mishuel, without hiding anything.
“Mishuel? I’ve heard he is a talented hunter, but he never joins a group. He must have some kind of important reason for it. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
Well, one of those reasons is his social anxiety.
“Also, Director, did you know that a Boxxo imposter has appeared in the settlement?”
“An imposter? I’m sorry, I’ve been holed up in this room the whole time. I know little of worldly affairs.”
“Apparently, there’s someone like Boxxo out there, and everyone believes it’s Boxxo. We were thinking of doing a little snooping. I wanted to know if we needed the Hunters Association’s permission first.”
“No, you can do as you please. Any other person— Well, this expression is difficult in this case, but Boxxo is a resident of the Clearflow Lake stratum. If someone is deceiving others by saying they are a resident and making a profit, we will have to punish them appropriately. I’ll make it a request from the Hunters Association. I want you to find out who they really are. But I ask that you do not resort to violence. All we need is sufficient evidence to solve the problem.”
“Okay, got it. I’ll unmask them, for sure!”
Lammis clenches a fist. I don’t think she’ll do anything violent after the director specifically warned her about it, but I’m still a little worried.
An imposter… I wonder who they are. A bit—no, a considerable amount of interest is starting to well up. I decide to look to the future in anticipation of just what we may encounter.
