9-15. Secret of Boruenan
Satou’s here. When I went to the Huis Ten Bosch in Sasebo, I was surprised with the overflowing exotic atmosphere of that theme park. I was slightly shocked when I happened to catch a sight of the women who had been wearing Holland national costumes in the daytime wearing t-shirts and jeans at the pub during the night.
◇
How far are we going?
“Just ahead.”
While looking at the town scape that the elves have adapted naturally, I follow Mia from behind.
“Here.”
Mia is beckoning from an open space that’s encircled with multi-colored mushrooms. There are two layers of the circles.
The AR indicates that it’s called [Fairy Ring].
“What is this?”
“Ring.”
Is this a place for holding some kind of ceremony? Let’s pray that it has nothing to do with something like marriage.
“Teleport (Relocate).”
With Mia’s signal, the two mushrooms rings are flashing reciprocally. I don’t know where we’re teleporting to, but since it’s Mia who’s doing it, it shouldn’t be anything bad.
As the rate of the blinking light rise, intense light burst out from the floor. When the reciprocal blinking ends, the teleport begins.
The next moment, we’re on top of a hill that overlook a town with systematically built bungalows.
When I look up, there’s transparent canopy supported by what seem to be tree branches. The size is such that it covers the entire town.
It’s underground huh?
“The true town.”
Mia parts her hand, and goes toward a place slightly away that looks like a tram platform. There’s <> of nature magic floating at that station-like place. The boards are transparent, but they have color so it’s probably different than the one from nature magic.
A bit later after we arrive at the platform, a young man who’s riding the board arrives. His appearance looks like a boy, but since he has beard that doesn’t suit him, he should be a young man. M, my past trauma– It’s fine even if it doesn’t suit him isn’t it.
“Welcome back, Mia. You’ve already brought him haven’t you? Heya, I’m Tsutoleiya. Please call me Tsuya. I had studied in humans country about 100 years ago.”
That young man candidly speaks to me.
According to him, the place where we’ve been just now is something that’s been built to look like a [Genuine] elf town play for visitors.
That said, the elves are not doing it out of ill-will, it’s all for entertaining guests. I am told that the Saga hero from 400 years ago, who had grown tired of fighting and lived here for the rest of the hero’s life, made it.
Since the young man’s story is long, the sulking Mia pulls my sleeves, and so I promise the young man to meet again and leave that place.
Mia skillfully jumps over the place that looks like a platform. The board floats back to its former height after sinking a bit. I jump to the board beside her board as she’s advised. The board receives series of number that seem to be house number she’s announced, and it starts running. Even though I don’t say anything to the board I’m riding, it follows after her afterward.
Every house is about 200 tsubo wide with walls that look like they’re made from white resin-like material, and slates roofs. The walls are overran with ivies though so I can see the color only slightly. The houses are divided not with fences, but with hedges and flower beds. If I have to say, the flower beds seem to be more dominant.
However, there’s no one here.
I wonder if everyone is participating the banquet at the town above?
The boards we’re riding at 20 Km/H flies through the town as if gliding. The road is asphalt, or rather it looks like tennis court’s ground, or rather it’s made from pebbles that look like small light brown beads put together.
I asked Mia about it, but since she didn’t seem like she had interest with it, she replied, “Don’t know”. Let’s ask that seemingly well-informed young man if I meet him again.
And then, we’re stopping slowly in front of a house. The boards gently descend to the ground, and disappear into it as if sucked.
◇
The house where Mia leads me to looks more like a modern building than a fantasy one.
What makes me think that is quickly apparent.
It’s the windows.
Windows in this world are relatively small, all of them are holes made from woods for the purpose of ventilations or lighting.
However, Mia’s house before me are adorned with big glass windows and glass doors with high degree of transparency. Back at the duchy capital, there were some mansions that used oak glass for windows, but there were none that used them as many as this, and most were fixed fittings. Since the ones here are fitted on windows frames that have rails, they probably can be slided for opening and closing like on modern constructions.
When Mia touch the front door, I can hear a sound like air escaping, and the automatic door opens. After I enter as leads by her, the automatic door closes behind. This is quite SF sthick. Might as well have multi-layered airlock doors, probably would have been more interesting.
The ceiling on the corridor is transparent, and the light of the sun from beyond the canopy shines here.
Yet, the light is gentle since it has penetrated two layers of glasses.
Mia leads me by hands as we walk through the corridor.
As expected, seems there’s no magical structures on the corridor.
“Here.”
It seems that this is Mia’s room.
There are one bed and one desk. Dolls with the shape of penguin-like deformed birds are lined up in the fixed-fitting shelf beside the bed. The room is generally dyed in pink color. There’s nothing like houseplants.
So she wanted to show me her room.
How do I say this, it looks like the room of a junior high school girl from modern time.
“Don’t look.”
Mia enters a clothing room that looks like a walk-in closet.
I won’t peep even if you don’t say it.
Since it’s become quiet, I use [Telephone] magic to contact Arisa.
“Yesh, the common Arisa-chanspeaking~.”
“Sorry, wrong number.”
Since Arisa is clearly drunk judging from her words, I cancel the [Telephone] magic. This time I invoke [Telephone] toward Liza, but there’s no reply. Looks like she’s sleeping. It connects to Mia’s mother in the end, so I tell her that I’m visiting her house.
That day I accompanied Mia on her fashion show until late at night. Genuine elf native dress complete with green tricorne, one-piece-like clothes, and three-quarter length pants with short skirt, there were plenty more variations than I had thought.
I put Mia, who had become sleepy after she was tired, on the bed and let her sleep, and then I also slept together beside her.
As for my excuse, it was because I was tired from the confrontation with the black dragon, and the all-night drinking bout yesterday.
I fell deep in sleep like mud without even dreaming.
◇
“Guilty, or not guilty!”
“Guilty~”
“Guilty, nano desu!”
“Master, guilty desu.”
Before my eyes who has woken up, there are Arisa who’s lifting the corners of her eyes, Pochi and Tama who are happily diving to the bed, and Lulu who looks like she’s about to cry. Nana and Liza are here too, but the two keep silence. No, Nana steps forward and put a hand toward Arisa.
“Arisa. The lower official me will advocate for master.”
Oh, a defense lawyer has appeared.
No wait, I’m innocent in the first place.
“What, does Nana approve affair?”
“Arisa, listen well.”
“Go on and say it.”
Arisa edges back slightly from Nana who presses on calmly.
I wonder why, I can’t help but feel that Nana will say some unnecessary things.
“Master and Mia are from different races. Descendants will not born even if they try to mate. Therefore, it is not affair.”
Nana is making a proud expression that I haven’t seen for awhile, but as expected, her advocacy is off-the-mark. And, didn’t she imply that I’ve done the mistake with Mia?
“Mia!”
Uwa, Mia’s father has come.
“Ara ara, you’re getting along well.”
“Nn, mutual love.”
Like I said, there’s no romance.
Mia’s mother seems to have understood while enjoying the scene, but Mia’s father is misunderstanding it.
Mia’s father misunderstanding wasn’t cleared until after Mia’s mother assisted. No, rather than clearing the misunderstanding, I feel that it’s left hanging after the machine gun talks of Mia’s mother drowned it.
Mia’s mother gets down to business after she has talked aplenty.
You should have cut in faster if you have business.
“Now then, Satou-san, we’d like to hear about what happen with Mia step by step, so would you be willing to meet with the elders council?”
I may be able to meet the rumored high elf.
Looking at the elves here, I can’t expect dynamite body, but since normally I shouldn’t have been able to meet them, I’m slightly looking forward to it.
