The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

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After seeing off Ruruk and the others of [Rozewill], Mirenia also offered prayers at her late husband's grave.

It had been quite a while since guests had come here.

She wondered if her husband would be surprised that such young adventurers had come to pay their respects. Would he be happy they had greeted him?

"Young sprouts are growing nicely in the future you protected..."

Mirenia whispered quietly to herself.

After a while, a strong crosswind blew across the rooftop. The spring warmth was still far off, and the wind was freezing. Trying not to shiver, Mirenia slowly exhaled a white breath.

"...Well, shall we go?"

The message from earlier was an urgent communication from the Nogana Republic's Senate.

It seemed that the Restamia Kingdom's Golem Division had begun advancing through underground passages towards this academic city. Though it was a much earlier move than expected, the Nogana national army had apparently also begun moving towards the mountain range.

The fact that Restamia was digging tunnels had become an issue in various countries.

Of course, the Nogana government had formally issued a protest and held four-country talks with neighboring nations. Naturally, they had also recommended halting the Golem Division's military actions during these talks.

However, Restamia's claim was far from there being no military action or declaration of war.

Apparently, as soon as the Restamia royal family and the upper echelons of the Golem Division grasped the situation, they tried to stop the underground passage development. But for some reason, everyone who went to the excavation site unanimously said, "There was no underground passage."

She had received reports that even the Golem Division Commander-in-Chief Zuckerberg and the king himself had returned from their investigations without being able to confirm the site.

However, spies from every country were reporting the existence of the underground passage. Information brokers with far-sight skills had also confirmed the underground passage, so it was corroborated.

Only the Restamia side couldn't confirm it.

This was clearly strange.

If it were a ploy by the Restamia royal family, they would make better excuses, and recently, a puzzling report had come in. Apparently, an automatic golem that should have had an emergency control function went berserk in the middle of the city.

The Golem Division seemed to have frantically dealt with the aftermath.

If that's the case, this series of events had nothing to do with Restamia's intentions, but rather the opposite—there was a possibility of the worst-case scenario Mirenia could think of.

"Have they started moving flashily now that the Master is gone? Is their target this country, or perhaps..."

Between this and the hydrophobia incident earlier, there were many concerns.

But for now, dealing with the imminent threat took priority.

No matter who the opponent was, she had to prevent a meaningless war.

There were many invisible opponents. Of course, those pulling the strings in this incident weren't the only threat. About a year had passed since Roze, the deterrent, had disappeared, and various problems had already begun to surface around the world.

But the "Dragon King" in the center of the continent was only interested in his own territory, and Ruruk was still like a child only a dozen or so years old.

Even if Ruruk had the resolve, it was probably just his devotion to his master driving him. She couldn't burden a child who hadn't properly enjoyed life with the weight of the world.

As a royal existence, it was Mirenia's duty to protect the world's order.

"Dear, Master... please watch over me."

Without hesitation, Mirenia jumped from the top of the tower—two thousand meters above ground.

Immediately after, countless steel threads shot out from inside her clothes.

These were threads made of Hihiirokane that didn't conduct magic. They writhed according to Mirenia's will, carrying her body.

From a distance, it would look as if she was flying freely.

Mirenia had absolutely no talent for transfer magic like the Master or Ruruk.

But she excelled at delicately manipulating multiple magical elements simultaneously. She prided herself on not losing to even the Master when it came to control techniques.

As if conducting an orchestra, Mirenia smoothly manipulated the magical elements.

Come to think of it, her husband had once told her, "When Mirenia touches magical elements, her fingers are as smooth and beautiful as glasswork." The scene of him smiling as he said this came to mind.

At the time, she had turned away in embarrassment, but now it was a precious memory.

Now, her beloved husband was no longer here.

But below Mirenia lay the academic city, which could be called her second hometown. For the sake of the people living there too, she couldn't let those who would disturb the order do as they pleased.

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The tavern at the Adventurers' Guild Headquarters was incredibly spacious.

However, the number of adventurers staying there was apparently far fewer than in the Stoania royal capital.

This was because the Nogana Republic was an academic city, and there were no dangerous areas inhabited by monsters or active dungeons in the vicinity.

Most of the quests in this city were for material collection rather than subjugation, and the clients were mostly scholars and researchers, with many transport quests. Perhaps because there were few combat-related quests, the average level was low, and apparently there were no S-rank adventurers in this city.

Nevertheless, the headquarters was a former dungeon. The entire first floor was a tavern, so its spaciousness was guaranteed.

Perhaps because the reception was on the second floor, although it was run by the guild, it was treated like a normal tavern. Not only adventurers but also citizens seemed to use it casually. Guild staff and people working in other places would also come here during meal times. As a result, it was always crowded, and apparently more than ten cooks were always on duty in the kitchen.

"Well then, good work today! Cheers!"

"""Cheers!"""

We were finally able to enjoy our meal.

As Mirenia had confidently said, the food was quite delicious. This country's main dishes were large platters centered around carbohydrates, with a wide variety of vegetables.

Although our party is generally meat-lovers, I'm originally a vegetable person. The colorful table of this country was to my liking. They used calculated cooking methods, utilizing the way ingredients were cut, how they were cooked, and flavor changes through food combinations.

Perhaps because the sea was half a day south of the city, they also used a lot of seaweed. Moreover, this country had a culture of making dashi stock, and they seemed to know about umami. As expected of an academic city.

Cooking is science. I remembered such words.

We ordered various dishes until everyone was full, thoroughly enjoying our meal.

We even had after-dinner tea and dessert until Elen and Saaya, whose stomachs were bulging, could stand up.

By the way, it's apparently normal in this country to add a large amount of sugar to tea. When I ordered it unsweetened, I got a look from the server as if to say, "What's the point of drinking unsweetened tea?" I understand the logic since there are many scholars, but... I wonder if these people are okay with their blood sugar levels?

By the time we had thoroughly enjoyed our meal over several hours, the sun had long set and the sky was pitch black.

There were brothels and taverns all around the guild, and the cityscape had quite a chaotic atmosphere. Although I had just a tiny bit of interest—about the size of a pinky nail—in the ladies at the brothel, there was no way I could peek with my companions around.

I quietly let Gatlin guide us to the inn. The inn was about a ten-minute walk from the guild.

"Thank you for the meal! I'm sorry for all the trouble!"

"No, no. Thanks to Gatlin-san, we were able to sightsee smoothly. We'll be counting on you tomorrow too."

"Yes! I'll come to pick you up tomorrow then!"

Gatlin ran off in the blink of an eye.

By the way, we're renting one large room and one small room at the inn.

Of course, they're the girls' room and my room with Punisuke. Since it's a high-class inn, each room has its own bath, so I probably won't be disturbed by the girls today.

I call out to the women who are choosing free amenities in the lobby.

"I'm heading to the room first, so see you tomorrow. Saaya, Lilith, I'm counting on you for the wake-up call."

"Alright. Good night."

"Yes, good night, Brother."

I parted ways with my companions and headed to my room.

My room is on the third floor, and the girls' room is on the fourth floor, which is the top floor.

Looking at the inn's facilities again, I noticed that there was indeed a small elevator in the back.

It would be tiring to carry heavy luggage up to the fourth floor, and nobles with bad legs might visit, so a high-class place like this would need an elevator.

I'm surprised they have such a thing.

"Master wants to go up with a whirr~?"

"Well, it's convenient. In some places, it's faster than stairs."

"Then I'll carry you~"

Punisuke enveloped my body and moved up the stairs in an undulating motion, like a sofa.

T-This is a Punisuke that spoils humans! It's amazing to be able to move without doing anything!

"We've reached the third floor! Master, which way is your room~?"

"Looks like it's the farthest room on the left."

"Understood~"

Punisuke carries me in a relaxed state.

The guests we pass by look startled. Sorry, sofa-type slime coming through.

"Oh, we've arrived, this is the room. Punisuke, the key is in my pocket—"

"It's okay~"

Saying that, Punisuke stuck a tentacle into the keyhole, transformed it, and unlocked the door.

Lockpicking...?

When did you learn such a skill? Ah, Punisuke has become a bad child.

"Punisuke-kun, who taught you that?"

"Little Sister Onee-chan! She said with this, I can always be with Master wherever he is!"

"I see, so it was Lilith. Well, can't be helped then."

Geez, Lilith, your love is too heavy.

If it had been someone else, it would have been a lecture-worthy offense.

Having learned about Punisuke's new skill, I enter the room.

Despite it being a single room, the bed is queen-sized for some reason, and there's even a three-seater sofa. Even though it's a single room, it seems like it could be used to invite someone... I wonder if there's a use for the room that I don't know about.

As I was thinking about such things, I suddenly felt something odd.

"...Hm?"

The bed was bulging.

Thinking they might have put a body pillow inside, I casually used my x-ray vision and—

"Huh!?"

I hastily pulled back the covers.

Sleeping there was the Grand Master we had parted with just hours ago—Mirenia Damuren.

A little girl curled up in sleep.

I appraised her just in case, but it was indeed Mirenia herself, no mistake.

I wondered why she was in a place like this, but soon noticed that her breathing was quite rough.

Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, and she was sleeping with a pained expression.

It seemed she had quite a high fever.

"Master~ Is that the Warawa Onee-chan from earlier~?"

"Yeah. Why is she in a place like this..."

It was puzzling, but for now, I should provide first aid.

There were no status ailments or external injuries, so the cause of the fever might be an illness.

The rabies from earlier crossed my mind. I don't think someone like Mirenia would be infected without noticing, and it's unlikely to develop so quickly, but just in case.

"'Domain Arbitration'"

I repel 'interference objects' such as wounds and illnesses from Mirenia's existence.

But.

"...It's not changing."

There's no sign of the fever going down or the pain easing.

Of course, I know this skill isn't omnipotent. It only directly removes the effects of external factors, so for example, it can't stop immune responses or allergic reactions after removing the cause. In such cases, naturally, neither healing magic nor potions would work.

It would be better to see a proper doctor and receive appropriate treatment.

"Where are the doctors in this city? I don't remember seeing any on the way..."

"For now, I'll cool her down~"

Punisuke extended a tentacle to Mirenia's forehead. Her expression seemed to soften a bit.

For now, it would be better to consult with my companions rather than dealing with this alone.

As I was thinking this and about to reach for the communication stone,

"W-Wait..."

Mirenia grabbed my arm and opened her eyes.

It seems she's regained consciousness.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"I-I can't say... Besides, I should return to normal... soon."

"Should I not inform anyone?"

"Yes..."

"I understand."

Looking closely, all of Mirenia's perception interference had been undone.

In this state, she couldn't act as either Millennium or Milly. If someone were to appraise her, it would be revealed that Mirenia Damuren was alive.

I don't have detailed information about Millennium or Milly's appearance or status, so I can't cast it for her. It would be better to hide her for a while.

"Then please rest, Mirenia-san."

"Thank you... I appreciate it..."

"It's fine. I'll be here, so please don't worry."

"...Alright..."

Saying that, Mirenia began to breathe quietly in sleep.

I keep watch over the surroundings just in case.

I monitor the area with "Mystic Eye" and confirm there are no suspicious individuals. It doesn't seem like she's being pursued by anyone.

In my companions' room, it seems they're making a fuss over bed position disputes, but as expected, only Lilith had noticed the anomaly in my room.

She was peeking this way with x-ray vision, so I gestured "Shh" to her. Lilith nodded obediently and joined the window-side bed battle.

What happened to her during the few hours we were eating?

There were many things I was curious about, but for now, I quietly tended to Mirenia.

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Author Notes:

  Afterword Tips ~ Punisuke's "Onee-chan" Nicknames ~

  Reference for how Punisuke addresses others besides Ruruk

  〇 Member Edition

  - Elen → Sheep Onee-chan

  - Saaya → Onee-chan

  - Seori → Dragon Onee-chan

  - Nagi → Sword Onee-chan

  - Lilith → Little Sister Onee-chan

  - Karmarike → Elf Onee-chan

  〇 Special Edition

  - Lakirala → Cunning Onee-chan

  - Mirenia → Warawa Onee-chan ← NEW!

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