Side Story 3: Genia and Merula’s “Let’s Test it!”(2)

MISTERLP

Souji had an awfully muscular physique for a man of the cloth, and

normally he never would have fit into a sack like that; but once it was over

his head, he went in easily. He was completely inside in no time.

Merula was flabbergasted at what just suddenly happened. "Wait! Is

this really okay?!"

"No worries, no worries... Probably."

"What do you mean, probably...?"

"For now, let's wait."

Was it around ten minutes later?

Genia slowly took Souji's body out of the bag.

When Souji flew out and landed flat on his butt, Merula rushed over to

him.

"Souji! Are you okay?!"

"Ow, ow, ow... What? What in the world just happened?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, right?! Do you have two arms and

two legs?! Do you have two eyes, noses, and ears?!"

"No, it'd be weird if a human had two noses. Wait, but, huh?"

When Souji looked restlessly around the area, Genia asked him a

question.

"Old Man Souji, just now, I put you in a bag. About how much time do

you feel has passed?"

"Time? I wasn't counting, but... you pulled it off me right afterward,

right?"

"Nope. You were actually inside the bag for about twenty seconds."

"Don't be stupid. There's no way it was that long."

"Hm... Ow!"

As Genia was trying to think—smack—a fist dropped down on her

head.

When Genia turned around, Ludwin was standing there with a smile on

his face and a pulsing vein on his temple. In response to that threatening

look, Genia managed to force a smile, her face twitching.

"B-Big Brother Luu? I-I can't say I approve of domestic violence."

"You be quiet! What do you think you're doing, suddenly using Sir

Souji for your experiments?!"

"It was for the advancement of science..."

"There are things it's okay to do, and things that aren't! Now, listen

here, you..."

While Ludwin was starting to thoroughly lecture Genia, Merula was

staring at the Hero's Sack which had been left lying on the ground.

Souji noticed her line of sight and spoke up. "H-Hey... Merula?"

Even after he called her name, Merula's eyes were still fixed on the

sack.

Souji remembered. Merula Merlin was a bundle of curiosity, and she

would keep charging forward even after it killed the cat. For instance, she

crept into a holy place, the main church of Lunarian Orthodoxy, to steal a

glance at the Lunalith, a monolith which relayed prophesies from the moon

god Lunaria, who was the object of worship in Lunarian Orthodoxy, were

said to descend. That was how she was declared a witch by the Orthodox

Church and ended up on the run.

As if she resolved herself to do it, Merula shouted and thrust her head

into the sack.

"Merula?!" Souji shouted.

Then Ludwin and Genia noticed the situation, too.

"Madam Merula?!"

"Merumeru!"

Unlike Ludwin, who was genuinely concerned for her well-being,

Genia moved next to Merula, who was shoulders-deep in the bag, then

pulled out a pocket watch and called out to her.

"Merumeru, can you hear my voice?"

"Yes. I hear you," the reply came from inside the bag. It looked like

she was okay.

"Merumeru, what's it like in there? Did you see anything?"

"I saw something black just past the entrance. I don't know how to say

it, but it was like darkness. I ended up thrusting my head inside it, but now

I can't see a thing."

"Darkness, huh... Can you hear my voice without any time lag?"

"Yes. I can hear you. In my current situation, it looks like the flow of

time isn't any different from outside."

"Hm... I wonder how far you have to go in for the flow of time to

change. Will you move forward?"

"I'll try. Could I get you to hold onto my ankles, just in case?"

"Gotcha. I'll hold on tight."

Genia gripped Merula by the ankles as she slowly crawled forward into

the bag. Even when she was halfway in, Merula seemed to hear Genia

properly, without any time lag.

"Merula, can I get you to sing something as you move forward from

here on?" Genia called.

"Okay. ...La. La lu la."

A clear, pretty singing voice came from inside the bag.

It was a melody no one here knew, but the song might have come from

Merula's homeland, the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan. While they could hear

that singing, Merula's body kept advancing into the bag. Then, when

Merula's feet and Genia's hands were all the way inside the bag up to her

wrists, it happened.

Merula's singing stopped dead.

"Merula, can you hear me?" Genia called out to her, but there was no

response.

However, Genia's hands were definitely still gripping Merula's ankles.

From there, Genia got help from Ludwin and Souji to pull Merula out of

the bag. When they did...

"La la la."

The moment they started pulling, they heard Merula's singing. She

continued singing as if nothing had happened. When she was pulled out,

Merula tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"The way it felt to me, not long after I started singing, you immediately

pulled me out. I hadn't even finished my first song yet."

When she heard that report from Merula, Genia said, "Hm..." and

thought deeply about it. "It would seem that when a 'target' is placed

inside the bag, that target's time is stopped when it is fully inside. That's

why, when Merula's feet were sticking out, and when I had just my hands

inside, we weren't affected."

Having said that, Genia clapped her hands.

"Well, for now, let's summarize what we've learned in a report.

Overscience relics are fascinating indeed. I think even just what we

learned today will be enough to satisfy the king."

"You're right. It was a truly fascinating item."

The women went about writing their report on the day, full of energy

for some reason.

Looking at the two of them, the men sighed.

"Hahh... It looks like it ended without anything going too wrong," said

Ludwin.

"Hey, Ludwin, do you get put through this all the time?" Souji asked,

sounding concerned, and Ludwin responded with a dry smile.

"Yes... But now we'll have some quiet for a little while..."

"Come to think of it, Merumeru," Genia commented, "I've had a

request from the king to investigate the Summoning Room, you know?"

"Oh, that room they used for the summoning ritual that brought His

Majesty here from another world? That sounds very interesting indeed."

""...""

It seemed a second episode of "Let's Test It!" had been confirmed.

Seeing the dazed look in Ludwin's eyes, Souji patted him on the

shoulder.