Truth

A knocking sound was heard, followed by a voice calling for me. It was without a doubt Mary's voice.

"Nazo? Are you awake?"

"Haaaah… Yeah…"

A yawn escaped from me as I closed the book I was reading. The cover has "Skill Bestowal and Activation Conditions, A Guide to Engraving" which were all written in English. It was a good read for passing time.

"Can I come in?"

Mary asked after knowing that I'm awake. I pondered for a little and quickly went to the door and unlocked it. After I opened it slightly, I could immediately see Mary wearing casual clothes standing outside.

"What's wrong? Got something to discuss?"

"… No, just wanted to talk… Is it okay?"

"I was just reading away anyway. Come in."

I invited her in and told her to sit anywhere she like. She sat down on the bedside. She was silently eyeing the mountain of books that I stacked atop the bed.

"… That's quite a lot of books… Did you buy them all? It must've cost a fortune…"

She said admiringly while picking up one of the closest books. After she opened it, she seem to be surprised. Well, that can't be helped. The one she picked up was written in Latin after all. There's no way she would be able to understand it as the only written scripts I have encountered are all written in Japanese. I think that it was the language used within this kingdom. I don't know about others though.

"Can you… Read this?"

She asked with her hands shaking.

"Well… I can. Though as Latin is one of my weaker languages, I may have a bit difficulties in understanding it."

"… Nazo… Really, which kingdom are you from? Perhaps you remember?"

I remember that I'm not from any kingdom. Based on her reaction, it seems that Latin is the language of other kingdoms… Wait… This may be the best time to tell them the truth.

Still… It would be better to tell all of them at once. Even if they think that I'm crazy and left me alone, I still have a ton of money to support myself. Yup. This sounds like a good plan.

"Mary? Can you call the other girls? I want to speak to all of you… Pertaining the truth about me…"

Hearing my serious sounding request, she nervously nodded and quickly went out of the door. After waiting for a minute, the three of them came. That was quick.

Mary resumed her previous position and sat down the bedside. Nina slowly took refuge on the only chair in the room while Blaire stood quietly beside the door.

"So? What do you want to talk about?"

Blaire, probably acting as the representative of the three, asked in a serious voice. Their faces looks stiff for some reason.

"Everyone… Sorry to have delayed this moment but I finally think that the time to tell the truth has come."

The three quietly stared at me. Unease was carefully hidden under their serious atmosphere.

"First of all, I…"

The Tension was rising. It was to the point that cold sweat seem to have appeared on their foreheads.

"Actually, I'm from another world."

There, I properly dropped the bomb.

The three of them looked stunned for a moment. It looks like it would take some time for my words to reach their heads.

"Also, my real name seems to be Nanami Kamizo. I was a citizen of the country called Japan on my world."

"Wait! Wait a minute! You mean, you're not from the Hayes Kingdom?"

Mary quickly asked.

"Nope. If you thought of that because I could read that book, then you're mistaken. In the first place, I don't know where this Hayes Kingdom that you're talking about."

"T-Then how could you read––?!"

"Calm down, Mary."

Blaire quickly stopped Mary who seems to have lost her cool. Noticing this herself, she quickly hung her head and remained silent. Then, Blaire took the opportunity to ask.

"Nazo– No, Nanami Kamizo, right?"

"Either way is fine."

"Then, Nazo. You claim that you came from another world just like from legends. However, believing you is a bit hard. Do you have a proof about this?"

I quickly pondered. The girls being suspicious about my claim was truly deserved. In the first place, not having them treat me like a nutcase was already a miracle. Still, a proof right?

"… I think Doctor Tessa knows about me being someone that came from another world. If you ask her, then she can prove my claim."

Hearing my words, both Blaire and Mary seem surprised.

"Doctor Tessa… Knows?"

"Yeah. You remember my first time meeting her? The time when she asked me where I came from? She knew the truth by then due to my answer."

Mary seems to be pondering about something then as if she remembered something, she looks a bit relieved.

"… Is that so… What a relief…"

Scanning the faces of the three, they all seem convinced already.

Determining that it was already the right moment, I jumped towards the main topic why I called them.

"Once more, I have something to tell you. It was about last night and the reason why I got this mountain of books here."

"… We're listening…" Blaire quickly answered.

"In my dreams, last night, a self-proclaimed goddess spoke to me."

"""...…"""

"In there, she told me about a truth of this world, how I came to this world and asked a request of me. I couldn't see her figure but her voice was definitely feminine."

"""...…"""

"She told me to destroy all the facilities that causes the mana distortion in this world. These books are given as support for me to create the best of equipment to fight the guardians of each facility."

"""...…"""

"So I was planning on preparing for this quest."

"""...… Is your head…? Alright?"""

Hahaha. So they finally couldn't believe what I said huh. Well, if somebody just said that they met a god, nobody would immediately believe. Or rather, they will look at him like a lunatic spouting nonsense.

"So it really didn't work huh… Well anyway, what I'm saying is that I want to have a quiet time for a while. I want to read these books and to make much stronger gears or weapons so I ask for you guys to leave me here. I promise to return to the village after a while."

After I finished speaking, silence fell.

However, as if seeing this as the right instant, Nina slowly stood up from the chair and walked towards me. In her hand was a piece of paper. An envelope.

"… Nazo… This is from Doctor Tessa. She said to give this to you if you ever decided to move on your own."

"… Thanks..."

I received the letter and after opening it, quickly passed an eye to the contents.

... Shit. This is bad.

"EVERYONE! WE'LL HEAD BACK TO THE VILLAGE ASAP!!!"

This is bad. Really bad. If what was written in it turns out to be true…

The three quickly snapped to action after my yell. They probably felt the urgency in my shout. On the other hand, I quickly placed all the books inside a magical pouch that was given to me together with the books.

After I finished clearing my things, I ran down and headed to the entrance. The other three were already there with a magic carriage waiting. Without much talking, we quickly boarded the carriage and asked the driver to head to the Travelling Agency, the agency that manages buying, selling and the use of magic carriages.

It took a few minutes for us to reach the said building. I ran towards the counter and bought a magic carriage, making the receptionist hurry.

I paid upfront and quickly ran towards the carriage I bought. I pulled an engraving knife from my pocket and dived under the carriage. There, I could see a magic circle connected to several others. It looks complicated enough.

Still, I don't have enough time. I quickly cut off the connection of the third and fifth circles and added a new circle joining the two. Then, I carved circles on all the four wheels of the carriage. All this took approximately 5 minutes.

After finishing, I quickly boarded it and activated the magic circles, or rather, the Magic Circuit. Holding the steering wheel, I quickly sped out of the lot and headed to where the three was.

The look surprised but quickly boarded the carriage. After that, we sped down the road while heading towards the gate. Our speed was worlds apart from the normal magic carriage due to the new circle I introduced. Also, the circled that I drew on the wheels and axles were for enhancing the sturdiness of the materials. In other words, we can run as fast as we can without a worry about the carriage.

After a quick stopover at the gate, we then sped towards the village. The speed we were travelling was over 4 times the normal speed of magic carriages. The speed the scenery passes by and the comfort of travel made the three of them stare wide eyed.

"… Where are we going? Back to the village?"

Mary asked with an uneasy voice. Both Blaire and Nina were the same as they look a bit scared.

"... Yes… If my estimate is correct, we may barely make it back in time…"

I continued to pray that we can make it in time.

However, at the same time, I was thinking of something else.

Is this the working of those Gods?

A doubt had budded inside my heart. I set it aside for a moment as there were much important things to think of. That was precisely, the contents of the letter.

I just hope that I was mistaken…

With that in mind, we continued travelling at high speeds.