After meeting Rowen and Reaper on the 30th floor, we headed for the surface together. We discussed the terms of our deal on our way, but we still managed to defeat the monsters without much trouble. Rowen’s agility was comparable to mine, and he completely overwhelmed the monsters on the 30th floor.
Besides, if things got dangerous, Reaper would come out of me to help. Her reason was, “Big brother is mine. And I’m the one who’s going to kill Rowen.” She clearly didn’t want us to die. Reaper can’t materialize unless she’s in our blind spot, but that also means she can perfectly cover our blind spots. Reaper’s scythe attacks are powerful. She could even bisect that Crystal Golem in one blow, so she was a fully capable immediate asset.
Incidentally, Reaper is no longer naked. It seems clothing can be formed as long as there’s a supply of magic power. At the suggestion of both me and Rowen, she’s now clad in a completely black coat. With the three of us in our party, with no blind spots, we safely reached the 20th floor.
Then, we used Connection to move to the office of the Epic Seeker. Snow was dozing by the window. Seeing that she had returned to her usual traditional attire, it was clear she had finished her business with the Siddharuku family. Noticing us appear through Connection, Snow rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked our way.
“……W, welcome back?”
Snow’s eyes went to the space behind me, a question mark hanging in the air. I brought Rowen forward to introduce him.
“Um, this is Rowen, the guardian of the 30th floor.”
“I’m Rowen. Nice to meet you. As you’ve heard, I’m a monster from the labyrinth, so you don’t need to use polite language.”
Rowen placed a hand over his chest and bowed deeply. Snow reflexively bowed in return.
“……H, hello. I’m Snow. N, nice to meet you. …Huh? But, um, wait?”
She seemed unable to grasp the situation. It’s understandable. Guardians are seen as objects of fear by explorers. Anyone would be flustered if someone claiming to be a guardian suddenly appeared before them.
“To put it simply, he’s not a bad person, so I brought him with me.”
I conveyed that there was no danger for now. Understanding that it was safe was the priority.
“……Wow.”
Snow looked at me with eyes as if she were seeing something unbelievable. She was definitely taken aback by my actions.
“Rowen will die if he becomes a great knight, so I’m planning to cooperate with him. Guardians apparently disappear when their Lingering Desire fades. It’s much safer than fighting.”
I stated my perfectly reasonable motive for bringing Rowen.
“……You, believe that?”
“I believe it. I’ve judged that I *can* believe it. —I intend to have Rowen stay as a guest of the Guild ‘Epic Seeker,’ so please take care of him in various ways.”
“……Eh?”
And then, I shared a part of the deal we had made on the way with Snow. It was a way to keep Rowen as a constant combat ally. When I told her about being troubled by that duo, he offered his services as a bodyguard. Reaper has also agreed to this, by the way.
Having communicated the minimum necessary information to Snow, I checked the darkness outside. The sun had set, and it would be completely dark in a little while.
“Also, I’ve been afflicted by a ‘Reaper.’ I need to look into it. It’s almost closing time, so I’ll be right back. You two wait here.”
I seem to recall there being a place within a public institution that handled books. However, it might be inaccessible if it gets too late. I quickly leaped out of the office window.
“Eh, a, a ‘Reaper’? So, what happened in the labyrinth?”
“Hmm, I’ll explain that. I’m bored while we wait.”
As Snow tried to get an explanation, Rowen offered to answer in my stead.
“……Ee. Ah, yes.”
Snow became quiet before the guardian who politely tried to explain. Confirming this with Dimension, I headed out to the city of Laura Via.
Then, I ran towards the library with all my might.
“…What is this?! Amazing! Are all these books?!”
Reaper, who had been quiet since the 30th floor, suddenly became energetic the moment we entered the library in Laura Via. It seems this was the first time she had seen so many books lined up. She looked like she couldn’t contain her excitement.
Hearing Reaper frolicking behind me, I immediately reduced the magic supply with Dimension Winter.
“…W, Whoa! Wh-why!?”
I had instructed her not to float outside the labyrinth, so to the people around us, she just looked like a noisy child who had entered. I approached the de-materialized Reaper and spoke in a low voice.
“Be quiet in the library. Otherwise, you’ll be kicked out.”
“Library? Why do we have to be quiet in the library?”
Reaper replied in a small voice, mimicking me. From the way she sensed the situation and lowered her voice, she seemed like a child who, despite lacking common sense, would listen if told.
“Reaper, you don’t even know what a library is?”
“Don’t expect anything from me, big brother. I only know how to kill Rowen.”
She sounded somewhat proud. She seemed to take pride in her mission to kill Rowen. However, at the same time, she sounded like she was boasting about her well-meaning older brother. Their good relationship was now a certainty.
“…How old are you?”
“Hm, not even a year?”
“Haa…”
I sighed and beckoned with my finger, guiding Reaper outside.
“Listen, Reaper. I’m going to borrow some books from the library now. Wait here until then.”
“Eh, eh?! I have to wait here alone?! Hey, tell me about the library!”
Once outside the library, Reaper’s voice immediately grew louder. It sounded like it could reach inside the library, making me nervous. While she was maintaining the rule of not shouting inside, she didn’t seem to grasp any other applications of it.
“I’ll tell you later. I’ll even borrow books for you. So please wait patiently. You’re a good girl, so…”
“Good girl? Yeah, I’m a good girl?”
Reaper reacted to the word “good girl” and became quiet. After thinking for a moment, she slowly nodded.
“…Okay, I’ll wait.”
“Ah, ah…”
She was more obedient than I expected. Reaper sat down at the edge of the path and began playing by drawing in the dirt with her index finger. Normally, it would just be a way to kill time, but Reaper looked like she was enjoying it. It’s possible that everything on the surface is new and fascinating to her.
Realizing she could hold out for a while, I hurried into the library. I asked the staff to look for books on ‘Fairy Tales’ and ‘Curses.’ Both the fairy tale ‘The Reaper’s Shadow’ and books on ‘Curses’ were found quickly. They were both common topics, so it was easy to find them.
First, I speed-read the fairy tale using Dimension – Multiple Expansion. This fairy tale has been passed down orally for a long time and is apparently widely known. In this world, when one hears the word ‘fairy tale,’ ‘The Reaper’s Shadow’ is the first one that comes to mind.
It was an unremarkable story. It served as a lesson about being careful in dark places, a tale that could exist in my world as well. There were a few rather grim expressions, but they weren’t particularly unusual. In my world too, the original versions of fairy tales are often frightening. I didn’t think there was anything to particularly worry about.
In the end, all I learned was that ‘The Reaper’s Shadow’ refers to ‘a reaper that attacks when it’s out of your sight.’ There were no weaknesses or solutions mentioned.
Resigned, I picked up the next book, ‘Curses.’ It was an old magic book covered in dust. Apparently, many ‘Curse’ magic spells were popular in ancient times. However, after a person called Saint Tiara laid the foundation for magic, this type of magic declined. Unlike Saint Tiara’s magic, ‘Curses’ required a significant price to cast, which naturally led people to shun them.
Even after reading a bit, I could see how inconvenient ‘Curses’ were to use. Firstly, they consumed not only MP but also HP, making them impractical. They could also harm one’s health, shorten one’s lifespan, and even lead to illness. Failure meant self-destruction. Furthermore, it was stated that when cursing others, one often dug their own grave, and the curse could easily return to the caster.
If this explanation was correct, then the caster of ‘The Reaper’s Shadow’ was me, and the target was Rowen. This meant ‘The Reaper’s Shadow’ was a ‘Curse’ that could potentially kill not only Rowen but also me. I sighed, lamenting that I had picked up something so troublesome, and turned the pages. Then, I found the word ‘Reaper’ in the ‘Curses’ examples section.
There were few examples listed. This was partly because they had declined in ancient times, but also because they were designated as forbidden magic. However, I was fortunate that this book contained an explanation of the ‘Reaper’ Curse. The ‘Reaper’ Curse was confirmed a thousand years ago, supposedly on a battlefield. From the outset, I thought it lacked credibility. With this world’s level of culture, I doubted they could accurately convey events from a thousand years ago. Nevertheless, I figured it was better than not reading it at all and continued.
A thousand years ago, during a great war between humans and monsters, a ‘Curse’ magic spell appeared. The ‘Curse’ suddenly materialized in the center of an advancing knight’s corps and killed many soldiers. The ‘Curse’ could not be killed by a sword or magic. It would vanish like mist and reappear behind them, reaping many heads. It was truly a ‘Reaper,’ and nothing less. The story ended with an unnamed knight sacrificing himself to take down the ‘Reaper.’ The ‘Reaper’ could only be killed in one way: by swinging a sword at it while it attacked from a blind spot. The unnamed knight, in exchange for his own life, severed the ‘Reaper’s’ head. After that, the ‘Reaper’ Curse never appeared in the world again—or so it was written.
I clicked my tongue at the book’s insufficient information. The fact that the ‘Reaper’ story was cited as ‘local mythology’ alone made it unreliable. Many crucial details were missing: why this ‘Reaper’ was judged to be a ‘Curse,’ why it only appeared once, and who its caster was. Realizing further investigation would be fruitless, I stood up. I called the attendant and, using the name ‘Epic Seeker,’ borrowed children’s picture books before heading outside.
From outside, I heard the playful voices of two young girls. Reaper was there, playing with a girl she didn’t know. She was making black mist appear and disappear, entertaining the girl.
“Wow, amazing! So much black mist! You really are a magician, big sister!”
The girl’s eyes sparkled as she chased the black mist. However, Reaper noticed my arrival and dispelled the mist.
“—Ah, my big brother is here. Sorry, I can’t play anymore…”
“Eh? Big sister, play more.”
The girl approached Reaper with a displeased expression. To stop her from leaving, she reached out to grab her hand. Reaper flinched and dodged.
“I, I’m really sorry! I can’t. That’s my rule… It’s getting late, so you should go home.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
Seeing Reaper’s demeanor, the girl gave up.
“See you again.”
“Yeah.”
The two waved goodbye and parted ways. Once the girl was out of sight, I spoke to Reaper.
“You act like a normal girl when ‘I, the caster,’ and ‘Rowen, the target,’ aren’t around, Reaper. Sorry, it seems I interrupted.”
“No. It’s not like that.”
Reaper quietly shook her head. I slowly voiced my thoughts.
“You can communicate normally with someone that age. That’s surprising.”
“Communication?”
“Yeah, it means being able to play together.”
“Play together? I play with Rowen too.”
“No, that’s different. That’s not playing.”
“Not playing?”
“You might have fun, Reaper, but Rowen doesn’t. Playing means both parties have fun.”
“Oh.”
Reaper listened to what I said and nodded repeatedly. I found it surprising. Perhaps due to how we met, I had assumed she was more unhinged and unreasonable. It might have been a misunderstanding.
“You know, you’re more well-behaved than I thought. You.”
“Why do you think that is? What you say is easy to understand. Rowen’s words are totally incomprehensible!”
“No, I think what Rowen says is normal…”
“How do I put it? Your words sink into my body. Maybe it’s because we have the same magic? They really resonate with my heart.”
“Same magic… I see… Maybe that’s it.”
The reason why I can understand her words and Rowen cannot might be because Reaper was created that way. If she was created to listen to the caster and not heed the target, it would make sense. If it was an offensive magic spell with intent, it wouldn’t be strange for such conditions to be built-in. However, that was extremely unpleasant.
Reaper is magic. Not a person. Yet, I could loudly declare that this was inhumane. An anger I hadn’t expected surged within me, and blood flowed from my clenched fist.
“What’s wrong, big brother…?”
“No, it’s nothing…”
I put my bleeding fist behind my back and put on a fake smile. To distract Reaper, I searched for a random topic in my mind.
“…By the way, why do you call me ‘big brother’? You heard my self-introduction, didn’t you? My name is Aikawa Uzunami.”
“Hmm, why could that be…? You feel like a big brother. Can’t I call you that?”
“No, it’s fine by me…”
There was no reason to refuse. Reaper’s appearance was such that calling her “big brother” was acceptable, and I was of an age where being called “big brother” was appropriate. There should be no problem. Even though there should be no problem, my chest tightened slightly. Being called “big brother” was painful. I shook my head, trying to dispel the emotion.
“Well then, let’s go back. I borrowed a picture book, so ask Rowen to read it to you or something.”
“Picture book!? That picture book! Thank you! Ah, but you have to properly tell me about the library. I won’t be fooled by just that!”
Taking Reaper’s hand, I headed back to the Epic Seeker.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell you on the way.”
“Fufu, this world has so many fun things. I’m having fun!”
We walked through the dark path, chatting. If seen from afar, would we look like siblings? That thought was unbearably comforting, and at the same time, unbearably unsettling.
