CH 94

"What's this?"

Luna looked around with a puzzled expression as she entered the cabin.

Upon stepping inside, she saw a completely ordinary household interior.

A kitchen and a dining table were present, just like any typical home.

However, the place looked as though it had been abandoned for years.

Spiderwebs spanned the shelves in the kitchen with rats scurrying about.

The dining table was broken, its wooden fragments scattered all over.

“Rudy...?”

Luna cautiously scanned the cabin's interior.

A cursory glance revealed nothing suspicious.

“Could there be a secret passage or something?”

There was no immediate sign of anything like that.

So how was she supposed to find it?

Luna recalled a method she had learned when she was about ten years old, during her mischievous days.

It was about finding hidden things.

“Wind Cutter!”

Bang!

“Wind Blast!”

Crash!

The method was quite straightforward: simply break everything in sight.

If something was hidden, destroying things would reveal it.

It was like tipping a basket to find something at its bottom rather than searching through its contents.

As she was wreaking havoc inside, Luna noticed something.

"Huh?”

A random spell hit the bed, breaking it and revealing a hole beneath it.

Luna smiled.

It was such a cliché hiding spot.

“Rudy...!”

She quickly cleared the debris from the bed to get a better view of the hole.

Stone steps leading downwards came into view.

“Ignite!”

She conjured a flame with her magic to illuminate the passage.

While the magic did shed some light, she couldn't see all the way to the bottom.

“I guess... I have to go down?”

Luna was apprehensive, but she had no other choice.

Using the flame to light her way, she began her descent.

A few steps in, Luna sensed something was off.

Flick!

“Huh?”

Suddenly, her spell extinguished with a soft sound.

“Why did that happen?”

Luna tried to use the spell again in panic, but nothing changed.

“Ignite!”

Flick!

No matter how many times she tried, the outcome remained the same.

“Ugh…”

In the dark stairwell, where she couldn’t see even an inch ahead, and with her magic rendered useless, fear began to grip her heart.

Placing one hand on her chest and the other against the wall, Luna carefully continued her descent.

"───.”

Suddenly, she began hearing faint whispers.

“Wha...?”

It sounded like a human voice.

Luna remembered Professor Mcguire’s words: He had mentioned that no one else was here except Rudy.

So why was she hearing voices?

A feeling of dread washed over Luna.

“Who... who's there?”

She asked cautiously.

However, her voice was so faint from fear that it barely came out.

“Don’t do that ───!”

Suddenly, a louder voice echoed, as if someone was in conversation with another.

"Who...?"

Even if it was Rudy's voice, there was no one for Rudy to talk to here.

Because there was no one else in this place.

Could it be...

Luna thought.

It had been about three days since Rudy disappeared.

Being alone in such a dark space could slowly deteriorate one's sanity, or so she had heard.

For one's mental well-being, it was essential to see some light and interact with people.

However, the current situation was incredibly bleak, devoid of any stimuli.

Due to its underground location, the air was also damp and carried a musty scent.

In that case...

Alarmed by her realization, Luna began to descend.

"Ru-, Rudy! Rudy!"

Luna hurriedly made her way down the staircase.

As she did, a voice grew clearer and more distinct.

It was unmistakably Rudy's voice.

"No! That's not how the rules work!"

Rules?

The words she heard made no sense to her.

Then, his voice rang out again.

"That's the fun part! The process of overcoming your opponent!"

The tone sounded agitated.

Hearing Rudy's voice like that, Luna felt tears well up.

Rudy... Rudy...!

She rushed down the stairs.

Suddenly, instead of another step, the ground leveled out.

"Ah!"

Luna's foot caught on the unexpected flat surface.

She lost her balance and, with a thud, landed on the ground.

"Ouch... That hurts..."

Rubbing her wounded hand, Luna looked up.

"Luna...?"

Then she heard Rudy's voice.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she recognized shapes in the dimness.

"Rudy!!"

Rudy was confined behind a set of iron bars.

And surprisingly, he was sitting there, looking relatively fine.

"...Huh?"

However, what he was doing seemed strange.

Holding a small stone in his hand, he was scribbling something on the floor as if he was writing.

It appeared as if he was marking scores, almost like he was playing a game.

"Ru-, Rudy..."

Seeing this, Luna's face fell.

"I'm so sorry...!!! I should have come sooner...!!"

With teary eyes, Luna approached the bars.

Rudy, seeing her emotional state, looked bewildered.

"Lu-, Luna! What's wrong? Calm down!"

"Sob... I'm sorry, Rudy..."

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

Locked behind the bars, Rudy could only look on with a stunned expression, unable to console her.

---

---

"So, this game is called 'Number Baseball'."

[Baseball? What's that?]

"Ah, the name isn’t that important."

I was preparing a game to play with Priscilla.

Fortunately, I found a small pebble on the ground and thought of a few games that could be played with it.

Initially, Priscilla and I just chatted, but there's only so much you can talk about.

"So, you write a number here…"

I began to slowly explain the rules of the game to Priscilla.

However, the response I got was entirely unexpected.

[Why go through such a process?]

"Huh? Because it's fun?"

[Do humans find that amusing? Why not just tell each other the answers from the beginning? That way, you can enjoy more games quickly.]

I was taken aback by Priscilla's perspective.

Trying to persuade her, I explained,

"If we do that, we can't determine a winner or loser. It's fun when you beat your opponent."

[Is that so? Then I'll just tell you my answer. I doubt I'll find much joy in winning anyway.]

"No! That's not how the rules work!"

It was at that moment that I deeply felt the difference between elementals like Priscilla and humans.

[Sigh, you humans and your tedious games.]

I could sense a hint of exasperation in Priscilla's voice, but I continued,

"That's the fun part! The process of overcoming your opponent!"

[Sigh… Alright.]

Why couldn't she understand?

Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps approaching, the sound echoing as if someone was quickly descending the stairs.

Was someone coming?

I paused my conversation with Priscilla and turned to look at the stairs.

As I did, a figure rushed down the steps.

"Eek!"

The person descended swiftly but tripped on the last step, tumbling to the floor with a thud.

I focused on the person's face and clothes, recognition lighting up my face.

"Luna...?"

"Rudy!!!"

Luna burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry...!!! I should have come sooner...!!!"

"Lu-Luna! Calm down! What's going on?"

... A brief moment of chaos ensued.

After consoling Luna, I updated her about my situation, and she filled me in on hers.

"Aha... You were talking to Priscilla, the elemental...?"

Luna chuckled awkwardly, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"Yeah... I usually avoided speaking with her in public because of how people might react..."

[Humans really do worry about the strangest things.]

"It's the elementals who are peculiar, not humans."

I retorted, slightly annoyed by Priscilla's comment.

"Huh?"

Luna tilted her head, looking at me with curiosity.

"Ah, never mind. Priscilla just made a comment."

"I see."

Luna nodded understandingly.

"For now, let me get you out of there!"

With that, Luna extended her hand towards the iron bars.

“Wind Cutter!”

With a whoosh, a sound reminiscent of air escaping from a balloon echoed.

From Luna's hand, instead of a blade of wind shooting forth, there was only a feeble gust.

“Sigh...”

“Huh?”

Luna looked confused.

Seeing her like this, I spoke up,

“Luna, listen closely. Magic can’t be used here.”

“Can't use magic…? Oh right, when I was descending…”

Luna, as if she had realized something, clapped her hands together.

“So... how do we get out of here?”

Luna stared at me intently, seeking an answer.

“In truth, the best way would be to bring something from outside to cut through these iron bars..."

However, that was nearly an impossible option.

In this world, using magic was the most efficient method to cut through such iron.

So, finding a tool to cut these bars would take a very long amount of time.

We didn't have that kind of time.

According to Luna, Professor Mcguire was outside, holding Ian.

We needed to escape, and fast.

“...Luna, I've...”

While being trapped here, I’d thought of a way to get out on my own.

In my contemplation, along with Priscilla, we reached a conclusion.

We could induce Priscilla to go on a rampage.

A rampage, in this context, referred to raw mana bursting out uncontrollably.

I could use Priscilla this way regardless of this room's unique ability to disrupt one's ability to control mana.

The problem was that doing so might destroy me.

“By any chance... how far along is the magic circle for calming the mind?”

“Huh?”

To be honest, it was a shameless question.

Asking about its progress just two weeks in could be considered impolite.

Yet, I believed in Luna's potential and so I asked.

“It’s mostly complete, but…”

Luna trailed off.

“There are some parts I need to modify. I did get some help from Professor Mcguire when I came here, but…”

Her gaze shifted back to me.

“Should we... try it here?”

I met her eyes.

“I told you before, it was going to happen at some point.”

I had been thinking a lot since then, especially while I was alone.

The elemental rampage was an inevitable occurrence.

But what if I intentionally triggered it?

Wouldn’t that change the events to come?

If the future where the elemental goes on a rampage is set, then that future won't change.

But if there's a way to alter that eventuality?

If I personally set it off, then wouldn't that prevent it from happening afterward?

That was the thought I clung to.

I initially planned to test this once both Rie and Luna had finished their magic circles, but there was no time for that now.

“Luna, can you make it as quickly as possible?”

Luna pondered my question for a moment.

Then, lifting her head, she looked at me with determined eyes.

“I'll try, Rudy.”

Luna said with a confident voice.