The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

For the next three days, we thoroughly enjoyed sightseeing around the royal capital of Restamia.

The leisure facilities included attractions like the "Moving Grand Maze," fishing ponds, and cave mineral hunting, offering plenty of entertainment for both adults and children.

As for food, while there weren't any particular specialty dishes, being a region that prospered from coal mining, the local cuisine was generally characterized by strong flavors. There was especially a wide variety of potato and meat dishes, and perhaps as a reaction to the night-time alcohol ban, many people were drinking during the day.

Crafts and handicrafts were also thriving, giving the impression of a country with many artisan-minded people. It might feel a bit uncomfortable for outsiders like adventurers, but once you get used to it, it seems like it could be a pleasant place to live.

"Ruruk, we're heading to the Nogana Republic next, right?"

"Yes. Are you returning directly to Shaboom, Count Babel? Take care on your journey."

"Indeed, let's meet again. You all take care as well."

On the day we were to depart for Nogana, Count Babel had apparently finished all his meetings and was preparing to return home.

We had stayed for a total of four days, while Count Babel seemed to have been here for two weeks.

"You too, Miss Saaya. I look forward to seeing you even more beautiful the next time we meet."

"I'll do my best to meet your expectations. Please give my regards to my father."

"Indeed, I must brag to Karl about meeting you. He'll be quite envious."

"Ahaha."

After exchanging brief farewells, we left the inn.

The sky was a bit cloudy, but the weather looked unlikely to rain.

"So, how are we getting to Nogana? We have two choices, right? Either via the southern coastal route or going back through Bargia?"

"Well... since we've come this far, let's take the slightly longer southern route."

To get to the Nogana Republic from here, we need to go around the large crescent-shaped mountain range that separates this country from Nogana. Although going through Bargia would be quicker in terms of distance, choosing a route we haven't taken before feels more like a proper journey.

Besides, there's a place at the southernmost tip of the continent that I've always wanted to visit.

"Then we'll depart from the south gate. Saaya onee-sama, have you replenished our travel supplies?"

"Don't worry. I've bought enough for everyone."

These two reliable individuals are leading us well.

What a comfortable journey this is.

"Shouldn't Ruruk be leading? He is the only man, after all."

"Isn't it natural for these two to lead, given how incredibly reliable they are?"

"...I can't argue with that."

Both in terms of personality and capabilities.

Come to think of it, when it comes to fighting, women in this world tend to be stronger on average. I'd like to propose a theory that 70% of the cheat ability holders we've met so far have been women.

"But in terms of individual strength, no one can match Ruruk."

"There are always matchup issues. I probably couldn't beat Nagi, for instance."

After all, her sword can nullify and cut through all spells. Even my cheat defense would be like paper armor.

That said, Nagi can't defend against mass physical attacks, so she'd probably lose to Punisuke. And Punisuke could never beat Elen.

Elen is... wait, are there any opponents Elen can't beat?

"So the 'Elen is the strongest' theory stands."

"She's the epitome of cheat abilities."

The little girl walking ahead with Punisuke on her head ended the discussion.

As we were chatting like this, Lilith, who had been talking with Saaya at the front, dropped back.

"Brother, may I have a moment?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thank you. This morning, I received a report from one of our company members who has infiltrated the royal palace of this country. There's something concerning I'd like to report."

Something concerning, huh?

I'm more concerned about the fact that we have company members infiltrating the royal palace here, but okay.

Setting aside my minor question, Lilith continued:

"This is related to the reason Count Ketaaru is in this country, but it seems that the Kingdom of Restamia has opened a direct underground passage to the Nogana Republic."

"...Direct? Even with the mountain range?"

"Yes. Apparently, they've been digging under the mountain range. I thought this might have wide-ranging impacts."

"Huh. Well, they are a country of earth magic, so I suppose they could make an underground tunnel. Certainly, a direct route would affect both the economy and logistics."

As I was impressed by her insight, it turns out that wasn't what Lilith wanted to say.

"Actually, it seems the military opened this passage. Count Ketaaru is a military noble guarding the southwestern border of Mataisa—that is, the border with the Kingdom of Restamia. It appears he attended this four-nation conference to inquire about the true intentions behind this military action."

"Oh, that's an unexpected reason. So what's concerning about it?"

"It's strange that Restamia would take military action against the Nogana Republic in the first place. At least on the surface, their relationship is going well. Especially the Central Magic Society and the Golem Corps have a deep, friendly relationship."

"They even conduct joint research. So do we know the reason for this military movement? From what I've seen of the citizens, there doesn't seem to be any sign of war preparation."

"For this country, war is just deploying the Golem Corps, so even if a battle occurs, while resources might decrease, there's hardly any reduction in human resources. As for the reason... that's the most worrying point. It seems even the kingdom side doesn't really understand."

What does that mean?

At the very least, digging a tunnel that crosses the mountain range must have required considerable effort and budget. Even for a country with excellent earth magic, it's not something that can be done easily.

"It seems completely unclear who's leading this. It's certain that it wasn't ordered by the king, and they've been investigating since last month."

"Could it be an independent decision by the military's upper echelons?"

"No, it seems that's not the case either. Even the commander-in-chief we met is trying to stop this abnormal situation, but his orders aren't getting through at all. Even when he tries to go to the site directly, it's as if he can't reach it."

This has suddenly turned into a horror story.

I can't understand the situation at all, but given Lilith's information network, it's unlikely to be misinformation.

The mysterious golem rampage incident, and now this mysterious military action that even the king and commander-in-chief can't grasp. This country seems to have a lot of deep, dark secrets.

"Come to think of it, when we passed through another town before, there were nobles scheming too."

I remembered the time we reunited with Mererosu.

By the way, she's now in a party with Karmarike as senior adventurers. They apparently argue a lot, but when it comes to battles, they work well together despite their bickering.

Anyway, it seems Restamia isn't as united as it appears. That's natural for a country, I suppose.

However, this information doesn't seem to concern us at the moment.

"Brother, what should we do? Should I have them investigate further?"

"It's fine. It's not like we're being directly affected."

"I see. But if it interferes with your journey, Lili won't forgive them."

"It's fine to be enthusiastic, but don't do anything weird, okay?"

If we get caught up in trouble, we can always run away.

"Understood. Then I'll instruct them to just gather information."

"Thanks, I'm counting on you."

As I said this, Lilith was speaking into her communication stone bracelet. Apparently, the group communication stone has group call and voicemail functions, allowing her to give instructions to executives.

After Lilith finished talking, Nagi, who had been quiet, spoke with a puzzled expression.

"The timing of us heading to Nogana... is it a coincidence?"

"It must be a coincidence, surely."

"If you say so, that's fine."

Nagi's expression showed a hint of anxiety, as if she had a bad feeling.

I lightly patted her head and said,

"Well, if it gets dangerous, we'll figure something out. So don't worry, okay?"

"I-I'm not particularly worried... Hey, why are you patting me all of a sudden!"

Nagi stormed off angrily towards the front.

She walked next to Saaya, smoothing down her hair and glancing back occasionally.

As planned, we had arrived in the southern part of Restamia.

Beyond the southern tip of the continent stretched a vast sea, and the climate here was quite chilly. It wasn't cold enough for snow, but our breath was visible in the air.

The seas in this world, except for some areas, are not friendly enough for navigation. There are large monsters teeming in the sea, so ships can only travel in shallow waters.

Speaking of large oceanic monsters, the most notable is the "Calamity Island" in the eastern sea of the Mataisa Kingdom. Its body alone is said to be larger than the Mataisa royal capital. According to stories, it has been there for over 2,000 years, and its danger level is immeasurable.

While the Calamity Island is an exception, the southern sea of Restamia is not a place where fishing boats can venture out. Fishing is mainly done by beach seines, and the fishing villages in this area aren't particularly prosperous.

As a result, the coastal road is rarely used and not well-maintained. Ordinary horse-drawn carriages would almost never choose this route.

Thanks to that, since no one's around, we can travel as fast as we want.

"The sea is vast."

"Yeah. I might be seeing the sea of this world for the first time."

Nagi and Saaya were gazing at the sea through the window, impressed.

It's my first time seeing it with my own eyes too. The rough ocean waves don't look too different from Earth's seas. If there were no waves, it might look a bit clearer and more beautiful.

"Ugh... the wind stinks."

"Mm. Sticky."

Seori and Elen weren't fond of the sea breeze.

They were spending their time with sour expressions, not enjoying the scenery at all. Well, Elen's expression is always the same.

I tapped their shoulders and said,

"I understand your complaints, but you should look out the window now."

"Not interested."

"Me neither."

"Don't say that. Look, you can see it now... the pitch-black darkness."

"Pitch-black darkness!?"

Seori jumped up and pressed herself against the window. What a simple-minded one.

However, there was no lie in my words. A huge black sphere was indeed becoming visible ahead on the sea side.

A scene that seemed to absorb light, or as if there was a hole in the world.

That was undoubtedly...

"The 'Dark City'... it really exists."

Saaya's voice trembled slightly.

This was the most famous and most feared city in this world.

It's a place spoken of in numerous stories, including "The Three Sages."

In terms of education, it's often used to scare children who don't listen. It plays a role similar to the Namahage in Japan. For elves, they say "You'll be eaten by demons," but for humans, "I'll take you to the Dark City" is common.

According to the legend, once you enter, you can never come out of that space.

"So this is the place that even the master couldn't stop..."

In the story of "The Three Sages," this was the one episode where the master of the protagonist's companion—the Mystic King—failed.

A boy, embracing darkness and betrayed by many, went mad and created this space. The protagonist and the Mystic King tried to save the boy and stop it, but it was too late, and the city was engulfed by all darkness... That was the story.

Afterwards, the protagonist—the Sage of Magic—created a wall to cover the city, but that too has weathered away, and now the dark sphere is exposed again.

In the story, the reason the boy created the dark space was described as "Everyone has madness within them, and with deep despair, they engulf the world," but of course, not everyone can do such a thing.

When I was reading it, I didn't think much about it, assuming it was fiction, but now I understand.

That is, the true nature of that Dark City is—

"...I too, if I had made one wrong step, could have ended up like that..."

Saaya muttered softly. Her voice trembled with loneliness and regret.

The Dark City was, in the end, the result of the negativization of "Numerology 1," which manipulates existence and probability.

After considering the negativization of numerology with Saaya, we came to this conclusion.

Eternal darkness means the annihilation of existence.

In other words, in that space, all matter returns to "nothingness." It doesn't matter how small, how fast, or how strong something is. All matter disappears, returning to the darkness that existed before this world was created.

If Roze hadn't become my heart and stopped Saaya, there might have been another city just like this one.

"...I was about to do something irreversible..."

Saaya looked at me with a face on the verge of tears.

I shook my head slightly and gently held Saaya's hand.

"It's okay... it's okay. Saaya, you didn't become like that. You didn't involve anyone. There was a possibility, but that future definitely didn't come."

"But, that's because Roze-san..."

"That's right, it's because we had a master. Thanks to our master, we avoided becoming great sinners. But including that, it means all of us didn't choose that future."

One of Roze's regrets must be this city.

From the moment she met Saaya, she was so hostile towards her, probably keeping this Dark City in her heart as her own failure, trying to use it as a warning.

Roze must have been willing to kill Saaya to prevent this future.

But she didn't make that choice.

By sacrificing herself to save me, by giving hope, she stopped Saaya.

"Roze-san... I'm sorry, and thank you..."

Saaya pressed her forehead against my chest—my heart—with tears streaming down her face.

She was trying to convey even a little gratitude to our master who was there.

As I embraced Saaya's shoulders, I stared intently at the Dark City as we passed by.

So that such a future would never come again.

So that Saaya's heart would never create such darkness.

I silently vowed this to my heart.