'I'm sure you'll find companions like them again someday.'
A singular comforting voice echoed in his mind with his stare at the panel ceiling, accompanied by the soothing crackling of flames. Laughter, friendship. Laying there on the bed of a cheap and seedy Inn, he lifted his hand to the heavens. Hanging by a beaded chain was his name, Satoru, engraved upon a silver tag.
"That day will never come… huh?"
Satoru retraced his words as he overlapped them with the ones of encouragement from his long lost friends. Ulbert wanted him to live, so did the others. Nine's Own Goal and Ainz Ooal Gown were two groups of irreplaceable friends. One at a time after the death of Bellriver, his friends had left for priorities other than YGGDRASIL. He couldn't believe after two years in this world and after a sudden unexplainable reboot, that his mind was still on this.
That was when his gaze rested on one of the ten rings on his fingers. Shooting Star, an item that allowed him to cast a wish… he could steal anyone's talent. He could make it so he knew the fundamentals of this world's magic in a mere instant. Merely wish to learn all the spells in the world… not that he could use all of them due to class restrictions.
His gaze flickered to the door as the shutters to his room were closed, leaving him in a darkened enclosed space. Though he could see without fail thanks to his dark vision.
"Three days until the event… Hmph…"
Boredly he jingled the chain, once more eyeing the new tag he had gotten the night before. A faint smile formed over his lips as he recalled the small lecture Ninya had given him. New World Magic, as he knew, was connected to the world in some fashion or another. It was the same with martial arts and wild magic.
He just needed to change the rules a bit in the New World.
Resting the chain on his chest, he took out a piece of paper from the sack tied to his hip. A faint sigh left his lips as he peered over the contents of the parchment.
He could remember the smell of the bacon mushroom-infused stew that he never got to taste. Though he knew it was salty, far too salt for his taste. The adventurers didn't have any cooking classes, he was sure of that. All the same, what was camping but an abundance of horrible food and good friends to share it with?
'I cannot let myself feel sorry for something that hasn't happened.'
His thoughts went cold, attempting to throw those lingering emotions aside. There was nothing to fret about because things have already changed. Four Swords of Darkness could easily become six as plenty of the thirteen heroes' stories had inconsistencies. The only issue being the Blue Roses already having one of them.
Holding that hand out towards the ceiling once more, he used [Create Greater Item].
Sitting in the palm of his hand, resting so solemnly, became a shortsword. A dark sapphire jeweled hilt wrapped in black leather. A darkened blade and a small handguard. He smiled up at the form that had taken shape. Though it was just a mana construct, he could recall the campfire so easily amongst other things.
'Strength is Justice.'
Not even an hour later, Satoru was on his feet. Shambling towards the door like a zombie. Bringing up his wrist, he moved back his sleeve to peer at the magical wrist device he had gotten from Nigun. Four numbers appeared in the form of blue light, 02:34. It was two-thirty in the morning.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he felt guilty for not even feeling tired.
Pushing open the door to the room of the subpar low-ranking inn and walking into the corridor, he didn't expect anyone to be awake. Glancing down the hall, he could see there was still some light illuminating the bar area at the front of the establishment.
Taking a gander of his shoulder, he looked at the empty room.
Sebastian and Nabe had chosen to stay at Nazarick until it was time to resume their duties as Adventurers. While that seemed to be perfectly reasonable, his gaze cast down on the brown fluff ball at his feet. Kiwi was with him once again, making low guttural sounds.
"Huh? I woke you up?"
Satoru snorted at the bird's attitude as the creature circled him and stomped its little feet on the wooden floors. Without even the slightest bit of reservation, he leaned down and plucked the denizen from the floor and placed it on his shoulder. In an instant, Kiwi had gone silent aside from a strange cooing sound that was strangely similar to a cat's purr.
Turning on his heel, he made his way towards the front room of the Inn, curious of who was awake at such an hour.
The moment he stepped into the room, he blinked. Sitting in the far corner room, at a familiar table, was a red-haired woman. She had soft tanned skin, a messy hairdo, and a stressed expression on her face. Walking silently, he was quick to pick up on the scattered silver that was being counted upon the table.
It was none other than Brita, the iron ranked adventurer.
'I have three days before I can give her that potion if I want to remain on the old schedule… Though if I do this early… Nfirea will be out of the way.'
Truth be told, he had no idea how things were going to turn out. Especially if Nfirea was in the village of Carne instead of the Fortress City. He just figured things were going to turn out similarly.
With a shrug, he peered towards the bar. The owner of the place had already retired for the night. There was no buying her food or drink at this hour, though he could offer something from his item box.
'I do have candy… But would she want that? Maybe I could make a sandwich?'
Satoru had been standing there too long.
"What are you looking at?" Snapped the redhead, startled by his sudden appearance.
"Uh… I came to check who was up, pretty sure I heard voices." Lying seemed to be the norm nowadays for him and had since grown into a habit here. He didn't sleep. He didn't hear voices. Satoru just didn't want to sit around and do nothing even though he could without much disappointment.
Brita's stomach became verbal and he watched as she placed a hand over it.
"Oho… Have you not eaten?"
"T-that's none of...!" Her eyes flickered to his tag which was around his neck, resting against his chest. "Why are you bothering?" Brita's composure had changed, but she was still glaring at him for getting into her business.
"Is this seat taken?" He ignored her gaze of molten nails piercing through him as he finally approached the table.
"No." Brita creased her brows as she gave Kiwi a once over, "Hmph…"
It didn't take long before she began to ignore him completely. She was the rowdy type, and although she was his senior in terms of time, she was now his junior in rank. This was quite different than before.
"Saving up for something?" Satoru dared to pry.
"None of your business…" She sighed as she looked at him with dull eyes, "But if you must know. I've been skipping out on meals and quit alcohol." Now that he was closer, her gaze settled on his tag.
Quick to stiffen at his name, Brita pursed her lips. "Wait you're that…"
"Ah yes… My name is Satoru Suzuki, it's a pleasure to meet you Brita-san." Resting his elbows on the tabletop, Satoru rested his chin on the backs of his hands. There was this artificially smug look on his face. "You hungry?"
Visibly clenching her jaw, she gave him a once over. "...what's it to you, Satoru-san?"
"When you're away from the civilized world, what is the most missed commodity?"
Brita squinted her eyes at him, showing quite well that she was not having any of his trivia bullshit. Not that it mattered. It was just an opening he was giving her for the moment.
Though he had remembered this question quite well from Blue Planet's little ramblings. Most of all, how he wanted to live in the wilderness of a world without pollution and acid rain. The idea had some merit, nature while always in chaos had a lucrative appeal. Sadly, he wasn't around to have such a dream come true.
She wasn't going to answer, though he could see the complicated thoughts going on in her head. For someone who didn't want to be bothered, she was curious despite her outward tough demeanor.
"Preserves," Satoru's smug grin turned into a friendly smile in the blink of an eye.
Taking his arms off the table, he revealed a paper-wrapped half-loaf of sliced bread and a jar out from under the table. It came from seemingly nowhere, but in truth, it was from his item box. There was no other place it could have come from after all.
Placing them on the table, he unwrapped the bread and popped open the jar.
Her stomach growled louder as the berry-like aroma filled the room.
"Eh?" Her eyes were locked on the glass jar. The container was a work of art. Not only was it trimmed with gold edges, but the flavor was just as powerful as the thick scent it gave off. The urge to bite at the air could be seen in her shifting jaw of uncertainty.
"Hungry?" Chuckling, he wafted the scent towards her with his hand.
"Yeah, sure. You're offering me something to eat for what exactly…?" Brita's gaze rested on his face as she leaned back on the chair she was situated on.
"What's all the silver for?"
"...Is it money you're after?"
"No. No, it's not. What's so important that you drop meals and alcohol to save up?"
"...Healing potion…"
"One gold and…"
"What do you want, Satoru-san?" Brita gripped at the edge of the table.
Satoru shrugged as he leaned back slightly, seeing that she was getting irritated. "I wanted to make a worthwhile friend." He reached into his 'sack' and pulled out a red minor healing potion. Placing it on the table, her jaw slackened.
"A red potion…?" Her eyes flickered from him to the potion and back. "...What is this?"
Seeing as she calmed down, he nodded lightly. "This is a rare potion. Though I'm sure you could sell it for perhaps seven or more blue ones… Enough for your whole team."
Brita's jaw clenched tighter, but she didn't believe him entirely. Satoru already knew that once he gave her this item, she was going to run off to get it appraised. He just didn't know when she was going to do that, or if the same thing was going to happen.
"S-seven? That's almost at least eight gold..." Sweat was visible on her forehead from just her thoughts alone. Two or four gold pieces was enough to feed a small family for months, but it was hardly enough for full-plate armor.
"You're offering food and a potion… just for a friend?"
"Hrm… A worthwhile friend," Satoru fidgeted with the glass vial between his fingers.
Dragging her fingernails across the wooden surface of the table, she eyed him cautiously. "And what is a worthwhile friend to you exactly?"
For a few seconds, Satoru didn't move and he almost forgot to emulate breathing. As he had pointed out before in his mind, he had never asked anyone out before. Let alone pulled this kind of stunt. So breathing in sharply from his nose, he made himself appear to shift nervously in his seat.
"Would you like to go to the pavilion with me for dinner tomorrow?" He tapped his finger against the table, seeing the pleasantly surprised expression on her face.
As an iron rank, that was one of the places she could not afford. She couldn't even step into the place to order food or purchase a bed. It was where the higher-ranked adventurers and nobles went to stay when they were in town. The food, the smell the place gave off, was more than enough to grab her attention.
"Ah...are you asking to court me?"
"Just for a night, what do you say?"
Though she was practically salivating, she swallowed hard and wiped her forearm across her lips. "This is a ludicrous deal… What are you rich ladies man… A fallen noble from the Empire or something?"
"What do you have to lose?"
Brita gulped, she had everything to gain here and very little to lose in comparison.
"Just think of it as if I'd like to know my colleagues… Closely."
Though he was sure that business gatherings outside of their parties in the culture of adventurers were foreign, he figured it made sense. Connections were everything, especially those who wanted to climb and couldn't on their own. Last time it had taken him less than a week to become Adamantite, so Satoru viewed himself as an invaluable asset.
"Just one night out?" She understandably asked for affirmation, watching as he spread some of the preserves between two pieces of white bread.
Satoru shrugged one shoulder and looked at her with mild expectation, "Just one unless you want more." He held the sandwich out to her as he finished putting it together.
Slowly she reached across the table and took it into her hand. "Soft…" Brita was likely used to hard or stale bread. Especially if she wasn't buying anything fancy while saving up.
In mere bites, the sandwich was gone before even a minute had gone by. She was sure hungry. A gradual exhalation of relief escaped her, though her stomach still grumbled. There was this look of satisfaction on her face, though she eyed the hand she once held the sandwich in.
Using magic, he created a plate and went on to make a half-dozen sandwiches. Once he was finished, Satoru nudged it towards her before slipping the potion into his sack.
Hardly any words left his mouth until he stood from the table, "See you tomorrow then, Brita-san." He folded his hands behind his back and walked towards the front doors, leaving the establishment in the first few hours of the morning.
A couple of hours later in a soft flash of light, Satoru stood in the center of the E-Rantel cemetery. For those who died on the battlefield, or within the city, this is where they were laid to rest. Though as he stood there, watching the undead shamble about in the fog, he was all too sure that there was no resting here. The negative energy in the area was thick and becoming even more so.
A skeleton hardly brushed past him as he stepped out of the way.
"That Mausoleum… she'll go there at some point..."
With the first few steps, he knew exactly where he was going. Minutes, hours? It didn't matter how long it took from his starting position. Considering all of the members of the Death Cult that were present had been eliminated last time, he had no way of telling when Clementine was going to arrive. Not only that, when her body disappeared he couldn't reanimate her either to learn more.
The red hues behind his eyes glowed lethally in the dark. So far he didn't see any of the military guards. Part of him knew he wasn't going to see any, mostly because they were on the walls. If they were in this place, they were open to assault.
Sighing at their laziness and fear, Satoru shook his head. That was when his gaze shifted towards a fresh zombie that went shambling past him. Considering the reports of missing peoples since five years ago were still ongoing, he was certain quite a few were already dead.
"If I remember correctly the authorities said something about a series of catacombs…"
He brushed past a group of skeletons which blatantly ignored him due to his nature as an undead. Though he felt it was strange considering his human disguise. Was it the eyes?
Letting out a huff, he already knew that previously they ignored him unless he attacked. That was normal for undead beings, especially skeletons and zombies. Unintelligent undead didn't attack one another or at least didn't make a habit of doing so. It was just convenient that way, though that was something that could cause a problem if he was with a group of living people.
"Adventurers probably won't be entering the cemetery unless they're doing that strength test…" Satoru talked freely to himself as he peered towards the general direction of the entrance. There was just a faint hint of the light coming from the lamps on the street.
Shaking his head again, he made his way towards the only known headquarters of Zuranon. There were a few ways he could set up a trap. Reason with the one in charge, or leave his fuzzy friend here to intercept.
As if hearing his inner thoughts, Kiwi released a series of guttural protests as he remained perched and nestled in Satoru's shoulder.
"I know it stinks, zombies here decay… No need to complain about it, Kiwi."
As he continued thinking about it, he was sure that was a bad idea. His guardians didn't want him to be alone. For as far as he could remember, he was never left unattended. Even in Nazarick, he was never truly alone.
So as long as he had Kiwi with him, he was essentially free to do as he pleased. Though even then he was sure Demiurge and Albedo weren't going to be easily pleased with that. Only a level one hundred would suffice for them.
Exhaling slowly, he came to a stop in front of the mausoleum.
"So this is the place…"
Satoru immediately felt eyes on him–someone was watching–from a remote location. In that instance, he activated a silent skill and the divination was immediately blocked. He didn't even have to move. Gradually his gaze dropped towards the ground as he looked over the pathway to the front of the building.
"If I remember correctly… The report said that there was an entire system of tunnels."
He lightly tapped his foot on the ground as he was thinking about what to do next. Perhaps lure the man in the weird red robes out? His gaze shifted towards the large double doors of the mausoleum. However that may be, it won't be hard. He had a gut feeling that he had already done so.
That was when the door opened and a handful of dark-robed individuals with wooden staves emerged. In the middle of all of them was the man in red. His sunken eyes and his sickly pale skin painted him as the natural villain in this scenario.
"A silver-rank adventurer? Hmph. Child's play. I've spent five years––"
The moment Khajiit began speaking, Satoru had vanished. Standing on top of the mausoleum steps directly behind him, the mage chuckled.
"Eh!?" Their entire group spun on their heels, their magic weapons pointed in his general direction. "How did you get over there!?" Khajiit inquired in a forceful tone, but it wasn't much of a question, for the man likely knew the answer:
Teleportation.
Satoru's eyes rested on the orb of death as he remembered its voice in his head. He chuckled as he had given it to Hamsuke the time before. "Orb of Death, huh? It's been a while… Not that I am in the mood for its incessant babbling in my head..."
"Oho~ You recognize the Orb of Death?"
"That isn't important, Khajiit-san."
Khajiit froze at the mention of his name––he was surely surprised by this. All of his present disciples began preparing their spells, but they didn't begin their attack.
"Who exactly are you…?" Khajiit kept his voice calm, but cold as ice and sharp as fangs.
"I could kill you before either one of your skeletal dragons' attack… Zuranon Disciple."
Clenching his jaw, Khajiit shifted his gaze around the cemetery then back to him. It was just one silver-ranked adventurer before him. That was the only thing he could think about. Appearances truly were deceiving, weren't they? He had brought no one else here.
Shedding his humanlike form, Satoru took on his Overlord appearance.
The cemetery had suddenly become more silent than naturally possible. These disciples of Zuranon could only stand there and stare.
A Cult dedicated to Death and Destruction was all but unable to comprehend what they were seeing. Had a human being spontaneously become a Lich, or had a Lich been masquerading as a human being!? That must've been what they were thinking as he could almost feel his hearts in his hand, freely squeezing it. Killing them was a mere prelude to what he truly wanted. He had to hold off.
"A-An Elder Lich? H-how is that even possible?" Khajiit moved in front of his men, flabbergasted and completely bewildered by what Satoru had done.
"Ah… Not quite… But I can see why you have been confused. No matter. I give you one chance, complete this task and I'll bestow upon you a single wish."
"A single wish…? You are in no–– Eh?"
"[Grasp Heart]," In Satoru's hand was one of his men's hearts. Stupefied, the man could hardly move as Khajiit turned to see all the others had backed away from the target.
"What… What magic is this…?"
He spun to face Satoru just as he crushed the heart in his hand. Without caring to look over his shoulder, he heard the thud behind him. Khajiit almost instinctively knew what had just happened. That heart that he had seen was no symbolic meaning, it was the man's heart. An eerie wide smile appeared on the living dead man's face.
"Uh-huh… Hmph. As I said, one chance."
As if slapped in the face by a new reality, the man nodded in defeat. "What is it you wish, mighty undead magic caster...? Are you here to witness my Death Spiral Ritual?"
Death Spiral Ritual, the ritual with a chance to become an intelligent undead such as a lich. Though as far as his knowledge went, this was an entirely bogus ritual and a waste of his time. "Lady Clementine is coming to E-Rantel, on the run with the Crown of Wisdom. I want her and the Crown."
'As a collector, I can't resist… I couldn't get it last time, but I got the chance now!'
"Ooooh~? The other fragment of Quintia is coming here? Intriguing..."
Holding out the hand he had once used before, he pointed it towards the fresh corpse.
"[Create Low-Tier Undead: Elder Lich]."
A shroud of liquid shadow consumed the body slowly, and in the place of the body, something else had been born. Standing with the same features as he did in death, was a fresh new Lich. All of the members of the cult nearly fell to their knees.
"Hmm…" The cloaked figure looked over his former colleagues, then towards Satoru. At least not until after reclaiming the wooden stave on the ground where he had once lay. "Master," it dropped to one leg before him, "I serve at your command, your wish is my desire!"
"Cassius-san?" Khajiit could only stare at his underling.
"Khajiit? Do you dare address a herald of the harbinger of death itself directly before him?! As a gift to the one who brought me new life, I will strike you down!" The Lich turned and raised his stave towards his former master, only for Satoru to place a hand on the undead's shoulder.
Ceasing hostilities immediately, the Lich seemed to calm at a mere touch from his fleshless fingers. "Now that you have seen a mere fraction of my power, do you still doubt my word?"
"None…" Khajiit stared at the one he had identified as Cassius, then back to the Overlord.
"Umu… What is your wish… Khajiit?"
"You can give me the goal I wish to fulfill!" Khajiit proclaimed his hands in the air with stave and orb in hand. A wide grin across his face as he couldn't stop smiling. It was like watching a demented clown covered in whiteout and bleach.
"You wish to become an Elder Lich, huh? The moment you complete your task..."
Satoru's gaze surfed over those who were present, he found himself grinning internally.
"Your wish will be granted."
That was when his gaze dropped to his newest creation. Satoru squeezed his shoulder slightly before releasing him. Gesturing away from the group, he used silent magic to cast [Gate]. A massive swirling vortex of black and reddish-purple energy emerged from nothingness. "Cassius was it…? You will leave this place. The Great Tomb awaits your arrival in the intelligence corps."
Without a second thought, the newborn Elder Lich was gone and the portal vanished.
"A doorway of darkness…" Khajiit was in absolute awe, as were his followers. "From the power that you possess, could you be very incarnate of Surshana-sama? The Great God of Death? Jashin-sama…?"
Satoru stared idly as he only recognized one of the two names. Although he remained in silent confusion, the necromancer appeared to have taken his lack of response to be an affirmation. In seconds he found Khajiit kneeling before him with the Orb of Death being offered in both hands.
"If you are truly to grant my wish… Then I need not this orb to handle Clementine Quintia."
"You will be at my mercy."
"I have worked five years to turn this city into a city of the dead… To learn all I must do is submit before our Great God of Death and to do his bidding… The twelve disciples will stand beside you!"
"You are merely one of the disciples… Do you speak for all of them?"
Khajitt stressed the orb towards the Overlord as if silently begging him to take it.
"Very well…" Satoru sighed and grasped the orb. The sentient item immediately connected with him, causing the Overlord to cringe internally as he remembered the last time he held it.
'You… You are the one that this one has been waiting for! This one had always believed it to have been born to spread death and destruction... but after meeting a mighty King of Death like yourself, this one realized that it had been truly born to serve you!'
"Eh…" The beginning of the dialogue had been different from before, but most of the rest was the same. Satoru remembered rather well, considering it was one of the reasons why he gave it away. The loyal NPCs were one thing; he didn't want a fanatic orb talking in his head, even though it gave insight.
"Spread the word to your followers, and message me when Clementine arrives and just go along with whatever you already had planned, those are your standing orders. That will be all for now…"
"W-what shall we call you!? Surely the name Satoru is just an alias!"
Not wanting to be connected to this Cult by name, Satoru fixated his glowing gaze on the red-robed necromancer. "Uh, oh… Momo the King of the Undead."
'Ahahaha! These buffoons cannot see what this one sees, Satoru-sama~!' These words echoed in the back of his head as the orb was speaking to him. Sadly his mental immunities weren't stopping it from doing so.
"Momo-sama! The next time you return, Clementine will be in your grasp!"
"Uh-huh… Don't disappoint me." Raising the orb in his hand, Satoru instantly teleported from the Cemetery, vanishing without a trace. At least he was able to get one good thing out of all this. As he re-emerged back in front of the Castle built upon Nazarick itself, he stared down at the item.
"Tell me about the Liches of this World…" He hadn't met very many in his last two years, but there were plenty of rumors. What he wanted to know though, was the forms that they took and so on.
'This one knows of many, several which are within the Cult this one had been annexed from. The greatest legendary undead is known as the Night Lich. Though as this one can feel your might, they are nothing to you...'
"Oh…? If I recall correctly, one must be connected to the World to learn magic…?"
'Yes. Connecting to the world allows this one to feel the magic around it. To feel the power of others. Learning magic is about feeling the organization of mana, shaping your will, and executing it. Are you by any chance… not connected to this world like this one is?'
"So it is exactly as Ninya said last night…"
'Ninya…? A name of a mortal? She is important to you.'
"She is a friend. One that I lost once and didn't bring back… I vowed I wouldn't lose any more friends, even to death." Satoru's gaze shifted over the orb, "And I made a promise to a lost friend..."
'That you didn't bring back… But she is back? This one is confused.'
"And you will stay that way."
Satoru went ahead and placed the sentient item into his inventory, thinking it'd be silenced. That was at least until he heard it once more speak into his mind. Even putting the object into its item box didn't silence it.
'This one does not understand…'
Saying nothing he raised his hand towards the moon that hovered in the sky. White light appeared in the form of magic around him. Without a doubt, his Shooting Star Ring had activated. "Oh, ring! I wish I had the talent to learn the new magic in this world and to create spells of my own by connecting to the world!"
Covered in the light as he accepted the effect on himself, mitigating his world item, the wish was granted. Everything felt different from before, almost naturally, he could feel mana just by concentrating.
Peering to the ring, he saw one of the three star-like gems had gone dark. His first wish had been granted. Like being plunged into a foreign ocean of sensations, he could feel his other seven hundred plus spells still in his mind. Yet after being connected to the world, they have changed only slightly.
'This one has never felt such power… You are truly a king–no–a God of Death…!'
"Satoru-sama!" Pandora's Actor emerged from the stairs leading down to Nazarick's entrance.
Turning, Satoru narrows his eyes to the saluting Greater Doppelganger. He was no longer wearing his desert uniform. Instead, he wore a black one combined with a black shoulder cape with red inner-lining. It was quite a bit more refreshing–a bit more powerful than before. Still, he wore the medals of his previous uniform and the red dress shirt with a black tie.
"You gave Demiurge his new suits?"
"Yes, Satoru-sama~!" Pandora's Actor dropped his hand as he held his dramatic poise. "He is quite pleased that you have predicted his longing for new suits, My Lord."
"How is the Educational Corps coming along?"
"Under Librarian J delegated by the orders of Titus, the former Sunlight Scripture is being reformed with ease. Their duties will begin soon enough, just as you wished not too long ago, my Lord. Titus has already begun to decrypt the native written language to create improved learning material."
Satoru nodded to the reports and smirked to himself, taking on his humanlike form, letting the red glow pleasantly exhume from behind his irises. "Any word on Shalltear?"
"She is currently en route for the Capital of the Empire as you've instructed. I've given her an incredulous disguise as you have ordered… But why did you want the other Overlords to watch her, my Lord? Is she not to be trusted?"
"Eh… She is being watched because I trust her, Pandora's Actor, but no one is perfect. It is for her protection so that if she needs to be extracted, it is done smoothly."
"Aye!" Pandora's Actor saluted again. "I am sorry for questioning you, My Lord!"
"As you were… Stop saluting."
For the time being his creation complied and lowered his hand, albeit rather uncomfortably so.
"Hmm…" Settling his eyes on the ring with two more charges to be used, he figured there were quite a few things he could use it for. Speeding the process up for any one of his plans was key. He had three of these rings, so eight wishes remained.
'Imagine an entire city appearing overnight...' He thought to himself as he let out a heavy sigh.
That was when he paused. Satoru knew that the people of this world could create spices with magic, along with water and other simple things that weren't mana constructs. Without a second thought, he held his hand out to the side, wanting to test something with great urgency.
"[Create Greater Item]," a shortsword identical to the ones owned by the Swords of Darkness clambered to the floor. His eyes centered on it, the cost of mana was about the same. This was one of the spells that had changed. As he leaned down, he picked the weapon up and stared at it.
"[All Appraisal Magic Item]." Satoru's jaw dropped–just like the spice and water–the weapon was real. And judging by the YGGDRASIL rules, he shouldn't be able to use it… Raising the shortsword in his hand, he swung with such might that wind burst in all directions.
The weapon was still in his hand, it hadn't fallen like before. He was connected to the world, and thus he was connected to its rules. Like the people of this world, he wasn't limited to his classes. All he was going to lack was the perks of the Warrior Class. Similar to how he was when he used Perfect Warrior and wielded two massive cleavers.
A deep chuckle formed into a victorious laugh, "Glorious…"
Recreating his current attire after dispelling it, he found that the renewed version had become real. Concentrating on his item box, Satoru could feel the divine-class robes were now in his item box. Excitement ran through the Overlord as he held back the urge to cheer externally.
"As to be expected of my creator, mein Gott! You have advanced your own magic!" Pandora's Actor applauded his master and creator. Though he couldn't smile, he couldn't make any expression, after all his face was flat with three black holes within it.
"Hm… Regaining access to Nazarick's user interfaces would give a unique advantage… There should still be some levels left… Or I could wish for the denizens of Nazarick to be able to level up?" That would ultimately give him forty-one homunculus maids with the ability to level up into various different categories. Considering they were all level one to start with, that was an immeasurable boost for the Great Tomb alone.
"I suppose I'll put that on the backburner for now… Too many options..."
Taking the Orb of Death out of his item box, he held it towards Pandora's Actor.
"What's this, Satoru-sama?" He held out his four long-fingered hands to accept the magic item.
"It's a level forty sentient magic item. I wish for you to put it on my desk in my suite..."
'Please! This one wishes to sta–––'
Before the telepathic device could finish speaking, Satoru handed it over to Pandora. A soft sigh escaped his lips as his mind was greeted with the natural sound of his thoughts for a change. "Ah…"
With his creation gone, having used his ring to go to the ninth floor of the Great Tomb, Satoru rested against the halfway. Raising his head, he stared up at the sky before peering over his shoulder.
In the nearest completed house where the two newest residents were now staying, he could see the lights were still on. "Interesting…" He uttered quietly before returning his attention to the sky above, thinking of what came next.
As the sun peaked in through her window, Ninya's eyes fluttered open with a delicate gaze. "Tuare-neesan…" She muttered under her breath, recalling her soft hum when they were alone.
Shoving the blanket to the end of the bed, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sighed. Trying to smile, it was rather hard. She had her friends, she had goals and a dream. Peering over her scrawny legs, she sighed and sat up straight as she went to fix her loosened binds.
Pausing as she caught something in the corner of her eye, her gaze set down upon something on her bed's nightstand. Blinking a few times, she clenched her jaw in worry. "Someone was in here…?"
Standing up, she stood over the nightstand as she let her loose binds fall to the floor at her feet. The item on her stand was a padded vest-like object. A piece of folded parchment rested on top of it. Pursing her lips she flicked open the piece of paper and looked over the writing.
'Morning, Ninya. This is the gift I was talking about earlier the night before. This might be more comfortable than cloth bandages and won't need constant adjustments. Sorry I came in while you were asleep, see you at the guild. – Satoru Suzuki.'
"H-he… was in my room." Near instinctively she covered her chest as her face flushed red in surprise. "W-when did he do that…?" She swallowed audibly as she turned towards the door.
The alarm spell was there still, no one had dispelled it. So he had not only entered the room, but came in somehow without triggering her security measures. Had he come in through the window? She peered at the barred window of her dorm. That didn't seem to be it.
'He teleported into my room…?'
She sighed quietly and narrowed her eyes as she picked up the vest-like chest-binder. It was soft to touch and as she went to put it on, the item hugged her petite torso like a gentle hug. Not only that, it even resized itself to fit her perfectly.
"It's a magic item?" A surprised gasp left her lips as she looked to her clothes she had folded on a chair near her bed. "Had he used… divination magic to find out which room was mine?"
Getting dressed as fast as she could, pulling the chair over to her bed for easier access. She hardly got past her first layer of clothes before she noticed something was up. Once more Ninya found herself frozen as she felt the flap of her pouch was open.
'...Did he read my diary!?'
In a panic, she went reaching over and peering inside.
Nestled between her faded leather journal and the other items in her pouch, was a book. No, that's not quite right, it wasn't just a book. Grasping it by the strangely marked spine, she took the object out of her pouch. Examining it, she found the cover was hard and professionally made. Unlike her journal, it was a real book. There was a strap that kept it closed, with a small lock on it and a tiny key to fit.
She blinked at what she was seeing.
The parchment had golden trim but the same strange characters were on the front of the book along with an engraved fictional magic circle. Four lines that looked like a pair of equal signs and a sideways ship's mast. Subtly the corners of her lips tugged into a faint trace of a smile.
"Is… this supposed to be my name?"
Her fingers coursed over the foreign characters before opening the book with the key.
On the title page there was the same fictional magic circle and this time her name was written out in the regional language. Though in the lower right hand corner was a note signed with a more complex set of foreign characters she couldn't identify.
'As your friend, you probably don't want just anyone to read your diary, I didn't try to make a copy of its contents. All the same, the leather handmade journal is a bit shoddy… So I made you this one.'
"He knew I liked writing in my journal–––Wait... he called the journal my sister made shoddy?"
Sighing and shaking her head, she huffed hot air through her nose.
"Thought that counts… thought that counts…" She closed the journal and put it into her pouch, along with the key. That was when she noticed there was a second new item. "Hm?" She took a little white stick out of the pouch that had the strange simple characters on it, another note attached.
"What is this…?" Holding the note in her free hand, she raised a brow as she read it slowly, "Break to use...?" Ceilicia's gaze flickered back to the item and then to the note.
A rapping of knock knock knock sounded heavily at her door.
"Ninya! We're heading to the Guild, are you ready?"
It was Peter. She could hear Lukrut chuckling in the background and Dyne's shadow under the door. She let out a slow exhale before standing away from the bed and broke the item in her hand.
In the blink of an eye her outer layer of clothes were suddenly stripped off, folded and replaced. Completely caught off guard, she looked down at the new set of attire she was in. It was a baggy set of clothes similar to that of what Satoru himself wore as its design was geared towards magic casters. Connecting her pouch onto her new set of clothes, Ninya prepared herself.
With a hastened stride, she flung the door open and found her friends standing there. Just like her, they were wearing dark monotonous clothes fitting towards their choice of class. Peter in half-plate, Lukrut in a mix of leather and chainmail, while Dyne had dark druidic clothing that almost looked like it was bended from nature.
"Oho~! You already put it on?" Lukrut immediately looked over her new gear before putting pinching his chin curiously. "You're wearing almost the same outfit as Satoru-san."
"He got you guys new things too?" A more predominantly awkward smile formed on her lips now.
"Yeah, we woke up and found weird sticks with our personal belongings. It was really awkward when it instantly dressed us." Peter chuckled before looking at the open pouch on her belt.
"I have never met someone as strong as him to be this generous," Dyne gave a sagely nod.
"Well! Whatever his plans are for us, we won't disappoint." Peter nudged Lukrut in the side with his elbow who in return wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "So did he give you some sort of spell book?"
"N-no. It's a replacement for my diary."
"That's a journal...? Fancy. It has similar characters as those weird little sticks, huh..."
Ninya nodded to Peter's observation before closing her pouch and snapping it shut. Whether or not they were weird little sticks or not, they had been magic items. Just like the gift she couldn't speak of. Was it because he was teaching her magic? Was this what he meant by making her his apprentice?
That didn't explain why he had given her entire team new gear. Perhaps it was a gesture of friendship? It was a grand one if that was the case… Or was he taking over? Their entire group only had leather, now they had capable attire to fit their rank of silver if not higher.
Noticing a bit more of their things were different, she raised a brow.
On Lukrut's back was a light repeating crossbow made out of some unknown metal with an interesting form of craftsmanship. At Peter's hip was a blackened sword similar to the shortsword they used as a symbol for their party. It even had the little black sapphires on the hilt but it was as big as his primary sword that was sheathed at his opposite hip. There was even a matching small shield on his back.
Parting her lips, she slowly turned her head to look toward her stave in the corner of the room.
Directly beside her old wooden stave was a new one. She reached up and caressed her face in mild shock at the appearance. Much like everything Satoru had given her friend and her, the stave was monotonous black with a brilliant white sheen to it. The shaft appeared to be made of metal, and the head was crescent shaped with a floating orb of black sapphire in the center.
"He gave you a pretty good item too, huh?" Lukrut peered into her room.
"Uh… Something tells me he really likes dark colors…" Running her hand up through her really short brown hair, she walked over to the stave and plucked it from the wall in a single swift movement.
"Let's go see if he is at the guild," Peter seemed a bit more excited than before.
"Yeah… He's probably waiting," Ninya sighed as she followed them out after packing her things.
Not a single hour had passed them by before they arrived at the Adventurer Guild building. Her blue hues rested on Satoru who was waiting in the front of the building with Nabe beside him. Looking around, she didn't see Sebastian though that didn't bother her. She smiled a bit as she and her group approached.
"Swords of Darkness! I see you got the items I left in your rooms."
"Aha! Yeah, how did you get into our rooms?" Lukrut got up into his space with a grin on his face.
"Teleportation," Satoru snorted as he likely left any other details to the wind.
"So uh… Why did you give us these items?" Ninya, known as the humble Ninya, voiced hushly.
"They're all items crafted by a dwarf that recently moved into Carne Village and put up shop. I brought the first shipment of goods this morning, though the mayor bought up most of it." Satoru rubbed the back of his head, grasping at his short hair as he had his dark eyes resting on her.
As if sighing in relief, she smiled. "You know… I never asked what the name of your party was."
Satoru rolled his jaw slightly before shrugging, "Darkness."
"That does make sense, considering…" Peter caressed his chin in observation, "most of your party has black hair and eyes. And your attire had always been dark."
Taking a gander over his things, Ninya was quick to pick up on something new. Sheathed at his side was none other than an enchanted katana. It wasn't the same as theirs, and wasn't made out of similar material. Little did she know, it was Brain's katana that he had left behind.
"Is that a Katana from Eryuentiu?" Peter exclaimed, staring at the weapon.
"Ah. It doesn't surprise me you would know about that place…" Satoru appeared amused, "Considering the name of your group and where the Thirteen Heroes had gone in the past."
"You––You're a fan of the Thirteen Heroes...?" Ninya took in a deep breath as she nearly tripped over her own words excitedly.
"Considering not all of the members of the Thirteen Heroes were humans, yes. Very much so."
"Ah yeah… The more popular versions don't even include them…" The group sighed as they knew all too well that the humans preferred stories that supported their superiority.
Satoru had this small smile on his face that seemed to be searching for the words to say. Though it didn't take him long to come up with some. These words left him as if he were a silver-tongued devil of some sort. "Though I'd have to say my favorite has to be the Vampire Lord, Landfall, who joined them."
"She is a popular companion for sure. It's not everyday a Vampire Lord would help humans." Dyne had his arms crossed over his chest as he kept his lips curled into a pleasant musing expression.
"Ohh, I'd beg to differ…" Satoru responded while thinking of the Blue Rose member known as Evileye. The little one in red seemed to look remarkably just like the one described in the bedtime story in Nemu's room. Which was the reason he sent her a coin in the first place.
So, if she responds in any way, his suspicion will have been proven correct. Though of course, Ninya had no idea of such thoughts. And even though she knew of the Blue Roses, she was still ignorant of the fact that the Adamantite Party Leader had one of the Four Swords of Darkness.
"Anyways, I have a job for us today." Satoru pulled out a piece of parchment with job details sealed with a stamp of approval. "Escorting two carts of metal and weapons to Carne Village, the Mayor is commissioning the residential Dwarf for item maintenance and crafting."
"Really?" Dyne raised his brows in surprise.
This was the second known personal request that he had gotten from the Mayor. Not that she could really blame the nobleman. Though as she looked at the reward at the bottom of the flyer details, she clenched her jaw.
"Ten silver coins…?" That was about one tenth of a gold coin, and the average income per month was three gold coins for the typical worker. Though as an adventurer, there was no guaranteed average income. If it was split up amongst all of them, they could live several days in a cheap inn with cheap food.
Though when the taxes are pushed onto them, then it was going to become very uncanny to live on. Since in E-Rantel a family of three could live on less than a gold per month if they skipped out on luxuries. Then there was all the preparation they needed to go on a job which undoubtedly cut earnings.
Five copper for room and board for one night, meals included, at the cheap Inn run by the Guild. Ten silver divided between all of them, not including Sebastian was about a hundred sixty-six copper per person. This ultimately gave a little more than a month of food and bed, not counting supplies or luxuries. Ninya began to rub the side of her face as she was done with the math.
"Where is Sebastian?" Dyne asked, peering around candidly before resting his sights on Satoru.
"Ah… He's assisting in directing the construction project you saw earlier this week."
"Eh? What exactly is he doing there anyway?" Lukrut creased his brows, his eyes flickering towards Nabe before resting on Satoru. Ninya could only assume he wanted dirt on the girl's father, though she can't imagine why.
"Uh, Directing the golem and delicate manual labour?" The side of Satoru's head fell to his shoulder as he eyed Lukrut for a few seconds. Then he turned his gaze towards Ninya as he fixed his neck. "Shall we get going? The shipment should be waiting for us at the northern gate."
"Y-yeah, we should..." She raised her new staff in approval as the rest of her team fell in line.
Standing behind Peter, the group walked to their destination. It may have felt like forever, but they got there in only a few minutes. And as they arrived, she walked over to the back cart. Shining from the gleam of the sun, she could see all the metal and excess material. Glancing to the forward cart, there was tons of metal weapons and pole arms in barrels and crates.
"Ah, this is the Swords of Darkness?" A stranger spoke and took her attention.
Sitting on the front cart was one of the garrison soldiers with reigns in his hands. "Ah, uh… hello. I'm Ninya," she raised a hand in a weak wave.
"Taton is the name, don't wear it out," he chuckled, fixing his helmet with one hand. "You're quite the famous one aren't ya? Ninya the Spell Caster, right?"
"Y-yeah… You can say that… Please don't call me that..."
"And I'm Peter! This is Dyne and Lukrut." Her leader announced the others as he thankfully took the limelight away from her, keeping a cheerful and respectful tone as usual. "Satoru-san said he had gotten a job for us with you…?"
"Aye. He said something along the lines of needing a Druid since we're following the path along the edge of the forest… And a trained Ranger to spot danger before it hits." Taton chuckled as he looked over the bunch. Ninya could tell he was taking mental note of their apparent skills and items, not that she expected much else.
Before long they were on the road, there was nothing else she could do but walk beside the carts at a mediocre pace. A sigh left her lips as she glanced over her shoulder as the city shrank inch by inch.
"Satoru-san..."
"Oh? What is it Ninya-san?"
She locked eyes with him from across the side of the back cart, "Ah…"
"Hmm… So what do you plan to do once you find your sister anyway?"
Considering she wasn't expecting him to choose a subject so willingly, she blinked. "Uh… Hm…" She really hadn't thought about it. Truth be told, she had no idea what kind of trauma she had gone through or what her needs were going to be. If she was even alive.
"I suppose I'll have to… Work for two. I've always depended on her… So when I get her back, she can depend on me..." Ninya gave a favorable expression, knowingly ignorant of her current fate.
"Honorable. She is lucky to have a little brother like you," Satoru winked.
With her face flushing slightly as he put emphasis on the name brother, Ninya nodded. "O-of course…" She tried to sound humble as she averted her eyes, but didn't entirely turn away from him.
"Though that will probably make it harder…"
"Harder... for what?" Caught by surprise by his choice of words, she snapped her gaze right back onto him. Though as he remained silent, she pursed her lips as he seemed to be looking towards the sky.
Was he teasing her? That smile on his face made her take in a deep breath before looking forward. She knew she was soft and kind to other people. Heck, that was how she was raised. If you're kind and reliable, you could either go places or be killed in the process. The one thing she lacked though was resources and if she could just afford to go to a magic school…
Her eyes moved to the sky as she let the thoughts of meeting other mages flutter throughout her mind. She had heard of the Imperial Academy in the Baharuth Empire, but that was too far away. On top of that Adventurers had it even worse there if they weren't already of higher rank.
A sigh escaped her lips.
She couldn't even afford to go to any kind of academy, she hardly made ends meet, even though she did have the talent for it. Her gaze shifted back towards Satoru, remembering the night before. He had voiced his interest in pouring resources into her.
He had given her things to study too.
Taking in a sharp inhale, she turned to him again after several minutes of silent contemplation. "Satoru-san, how come… You chose to hold back your offered rank...?"
With that question, she watched as the senior leveled Mage sputtered in surprise. "Ninya-san, Who told you that I held back my rankup on purpose?"
"Ah… So you did…" Overlapping her lower lip with her upper lip, she cocked a brow. "Why?"
Satoru's mouth hung open behind his high standing collar before letting out a sigh. "Hmph… You really got me there… It makes sense for a mage to be astute anyways… It appears I'll have a perceptive student."
"St-student...?" Though she was expecting his help as he had offered it, she never assumed he'd see her as a student or even an apprentice. "What is this… all of a sudden?"
"You two alright?" Peter slowed down and began walking beside Satoru, looking at her with a blank smile across his lips. She could see the curiosity in his blue eyes, causing her to sigh in frustration.
"Oh, uh... We're fine, just bonding." Satoru reached over and gave Peter's shoulder a hard pat.
"Hah! So, Satoru-san, you're looking to take our Magic Caster as your pupil? You're destined to make him famous since you're already known as the one who saved the Kingdom's Warrior Captain!" That was when it became dreadfully clear that Peter had been listening the entire time.
Ninya simply smiled faintly, her eyes staring at Satoru for a straight answer this time around.
Satoru furrowed a brow at this–he actually didn't think of that–and soon looked like he was remembering something else. So she slowly tilted her head at the thoughtful expression he was making. He still wasn't giving any form of answer.
"Satoru-san...?"
"Taking Ninya-san as an apprentice sounds like an interesting idea… Perhaps we will be able to teach each other as well. I've been looking into learning new spells myself."
Those words were enough to make her smile brightly, though she didn't know what to expect. If he was an effective teacher or not, she didn't know. From the one session she had at the wall with the mirror of remote viewing, she was sure he had gone in circles. She had done more explaining than he had now that she thought about it. All the same, pure excitement caused her heart and eyes to throb in the moment.
"Well, I already have a place where he can study, expenses will be taken care of."
"Expenses…?" Peter blinked a few times as Satoru started nudging at him to move up.
"Ah, right. After I sold an Artifact I found to the Magicians they paid for it with land instead of gold. So, once everything is set up, there are enough bedrooms available for both of our teams and more."
"Eh…?"
Ninya couldn't even comprehend the value of a magical item that cost a large home. What did he give the guild? Just thinking about the power he could be hiding in his coffers was terrifying, but exciting at the same time. A fellow adventurer teaming up with them and then willing to hand them beds?
What kind of guy is this Satoru Suzuki anyway…? Was this generosity? What was his angle?
"S…Satoru..." She needed to know why so she couldn't afford to hold back, "Why are you helping us... like this? Getting us involved with personal requests... made out towards you?"
"Where I came from… Connections are everything… and true friends are hard to come by. My mother was worked to death–she had no connections–I had no father. I didn't have friends until the day I was saved by a white-armor clad Paladin with sword and shield..."
Not really expecting an introduction to his past, Ninya lowered her head depressively. Not because what he said was sad, but because she could relate. Not only did she know what it meant to lose someone, but to lose everything.
"...He led me to three more friends, who led me to two more. All of which were new connections–––we were unstoppable… Until we weren't…"
"You don't want to stand alone… I know the feeling," Peter chuckled as he returned the hard pat onto Satoru's shoulder. Though strangely enough as she watched, she could see he was vastly unaffected by his touch. Not in the sense that he didn't react, but in the physical sense. Nothing.
It was like Satoru didn't even feel the impact of Peter's hand.
Peter smiled faintly as he dusted Satoru's shoulder and let his hand fall to his side. "I'll head back up to the front cart. Holler if you need me, I'll come running!" He nodded with a thumbs up to the two of them before moving to the front of the convoy.
For the better half of a day they moved at a slow pace to the Village of Carne. Ninya though had kept her mind occupied, watching Satoru and his friend Nabe. She had to note, their pace was consistent. Even as her friends and her slowed from fatigue, or sat on the sides of the wagons, he continued without stop. Even Nabe didn't take a rest from all the walking and they were both magic casters.
Was this what it was like to be strong? She couldn't help but imagine how long it had taken for them to get to that stage. When he started training, who his teacher was, and so much more. She wanted to be strong like him, that way… She could realize her dream and save her older sister.
So as they reached the Great Forest of Tob they hugged the treeline, but her eyes never left him.
"Waaah~ …So why did we take this way again?" Lukrut wasn't pleased with the route.
"It's safer, just in case a dragon might attack us from afar…" Ninya mumbled under her breath, but that wasn't enough to hide her words from the ranger much to her dismay.
Just like before, the ranger snapped at the young mage; not like she'd feel a pinch of deja vu. "Eh!? What's that supposed to mean, Ninya!? What kind of plot development would that be? How would that even work!?"
"It's as you say, it is impossible…"
Ninya sighed as the light that had once been in her expression dimmed. She was not liking the fact he yelled at her for thinking they may come across some sort of dragon trouble. One can never be too careful.
"Although it's just stories about dragons being near E-Rantel… Dragons in ancient times had the power to shake the heavens and the earth. There just so happens to be a colony of Frost Dragons in the Azellisia mountain range, towards the north..."
"Ah––"
Ninya immediately snapped to attention as she heard Satoru speak up, bringing a smile back to her lips and light to her eyes. Not only did he have interest in learning more magic, he had interest in dragons. If she didn't know any better, there were stars in her eyes.
"This dragon that can shatter heaven and earth, do you know it's name?"
"Ah, I'm so sorry Satoru-san! I don't know the name, but I can look it up once we return!"
All smiles, she hardly noticed the look of nostalgia and accomplishment on his face.
"Mm, Ninya-san. Could you help me learn more about dragons, if time permits?"
"Understood, Satoru-san!"
"We should be coming up on Carne Village soon!" Lukrut shouted, content on interrupting the moment. There was this big flashy grin on his face as she peered in his general direction. "What?"
Ninya rolled her eyes and peered away for a smidge, keeping only a hint of a smile on her lips.
As they came up on a hill, the wagons slowly came to a stop as they came within eyesight of the village. Ninya moved to the front as her friends were staring out over the horizon in complete awe.
"What's going…" Her voice trailed off as she narrowed her gaze on humans and goblins in the distance building a strong looking fence. Demihumans and humans working together.
'If I hadn't met Satoru-san before coming all this way and meeting those people in the ruins… I would've thought this was a little weird.' A sigh escaped her lips as she crossed her arms, the trace becoming a solid smile once more.
"Goblins got your tongues?" Satoru leaned over Lukrut's shoulder as he spoke monotonously.
"Wai-wait! Are you mocking me?"
"Know your place, earth worm." Nabe held her nose up high as she walked on. Her movements looked seriously planned, as if it was used to egg Lukrut on. She then passed by them as she marched towards the village, Ninya could've sworn she had seen Satoru nudge her forward.
"How long do you think it took them to get that much wood?" Peter rubbed the back of his head as he watched Lukrut jogging after his dark-haired crush.
"Two days at most… It doesn't look like they've collected enough to finish it all the way around." Ninya knew how it was living in a village, the threat of death was daily. Or even worse, being abducted by the local lord to become their plaything. Just the thought made her shudder in her boots. Though she began to wonder why such an old village this far out didn't have a protective barrier in the first place.
"Hm… A concrete wall would probably be better…"
"Concrete?" Peter, Dyen, Taton and Ninya all turned to look at Satoru as he coined a new term.
"Ahaha…" Satoru gave a nervous laugh.
Ninya blinked, seeing as he wasn't expecting them not to know what it was. "Is it… some sort of building material or something?" She smiled reassuringly, as she recalled several places that used stone bricks and wood to create defensive barriers and walls.
"It's a, uh…"
For a time it looked like he was searching his mind for information until he nodded to himself. Visibly going over whatever he wanted to say before looking directly at her. "Concrete is a steady mixture of cement, air, water, sand, and gravel. Err… You're able to replace the gravel with metal though."
Ninya turned her head and looked to the village, where there weren't any large stones or quarries in sight. Her gaze slowly shifted back towards Satoru with a brow raised.
"There's no way they could get enough stones for a wall… It's all grassland and woodlands."
"True, and I doubt they have the money to purchase such materials…"
Satoru began fidgeting with the hood of his robes before peering down at the device on his wrist. Once he pulled back his sleeve, Ninya could see numbers appear. Whatever the magic item was, it was telling the time.
'Did he have to be somewhere? Or is he just curious of how long it took for us to get there?'
She peered to the Village as they made their way towards Carne, when all of a sudden she saw a flash of light from the corner of her eye. Gradually turning her head, her jaw dropped as Satoru was nowhere to be seen.
"Eh!? Where did Satoru-san go!?"
Nabe, who was being pestered by Lukrut per usual, stopped and looked over her shoulder. Locking eyes with Ninya as she heard her sudden outburst, she parted her lips. "Prior engagement. He'll return come morning."
Ninya lowered her stave at the strange and mysterious alluring words of Nabe, who turned on their heel and continued walking. "Th-that's all… No warning?" She mumbled under her breath.