Chapter 30
1.
Yuna's VPN was ultimately obliterated by censorship.
[No, no, no, that can't be!!]
No matter how much I denied reality, there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn't as though I had some brilliant solution.
Just great. I had become a dwarf living in the Outer Tower.
“Just kidding.”
Actually, I couldn't blame Yuna, either.
If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have known a thing, let alone been able to disguise myself.
“The location information definitely says I'm in the Inner Tower, right?”
[Yes, yes, yes ㅠㅠ I really did blur it as thoroughly as I could…]
Then, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Let's try insisting on it for now.
By the way, there's a ■ constantly appearing in the middle.
Is communication bad where the dwarves live? The messages are showing up corrupted.
It seemed to have happened when we opened the document last time too, and it even gives me a slightly ominous feeling.
“I live in the Inner Tower, though?”
Let's insist on it for now.
Yuna typed it immediately.
[Sun Dwar■]: Aha! Is that so■?
It was still a horribly garbled error message, though.
[■un Dwarf]: Then might I ask when you plan to enter the Inner Tower?
Damn, that didn't work.
They've got quite a stubborn streak. They aren't budging at all.
I'm starting to think insisting won't get me anywhere.
They seem to have an incredibly strong personality, if nothing else.
For now, I got the feeling I would be thoroughly outplayed no matter what I said.
In that case, I'll answer this question with the bare minimum of information.
“Sorry, but could you get to the point?”
It was a little rude, but this was the right move.
[Sun Dwar■]: Hmm.
[Sun Dwarf]: So you're going to come at me like that■?
“What kind of dwarf goes around saying ‘Hmm’ like that?”
That exclamation was rather strange. It felt as though it was shattering the image I had of dwarves in my head.
Let's not answer. Probe them, probe them.
“What are you going to do if I come at you like this?”
But it was then.
[Sun Dw■rf]: Do you know of a way to enter the tower even without obtaining the qualifications to climb it?
- Flinch.
“Huh…?”
[… …Huh.]
I was a clueless kid who knew nothing about the ways of the world—and even what little I knew, I knew very little indeed.
“That's not something you say to a dwarf, is it?”
Why would a dwarf born inside the tower climb it in the first place?
It wasn't that I wasn't curious about the question itself.
It was actually quite interesting. But it was as though they already knew I couldn't enter the tower.
“Yuna.”
[Yeah.]
“I'm a little scared, you know?”
[I'm analyzing every possibility I've witnessed.]
Yuna suddenly became extremely calm and composed.
That meant the situation was just that strange.
How much do they know about me right now?
And even whether the person on the other side is actually a dwarf.
[We can't know everything]
[What we know for certain is that this message is being sent from the Inner Tower]
[Even if Oppa is exposed as much as possible, the only information they have about Oppa is that he lives outside the tower, that's all]
And now another question arose.
“That black-square error message—isn't it similar to the one we saw last time?”
[But the communications connection is fine right now]
Then….
“Let's block them.”
Let's block them right now and eliminate every variable.
Ah, wait. Then one last test.
Let's ask them just this one thing and cut them off.
If they're Sun Dwarves, they should definitely be able to answer this question with their eyes closed.
“Kindle the fire in the furnace~ Hammering the iron~”
[Oh?]
“…Send it.”
The traditional dwarf anthem I'd listened to for four hours just now.
According to Kim Yuna, for Koreans it was something on the level of “The East Sea and Baekdu Mountain.”
Even if I sent only this, without saying anything else.
If they were real dwarves… there was no way they couldn't reply with the next line.
I had memorized the entire verse after only four hours, too.
I swallowed as I waited for a reply,
and if something nonsensical came back at this point.
One….
Two….
Five seconds—at least within five seconds.
“…Hammer it a thousand times~ Quench it ten thousand times~”
Anxiously, I unconsciously hummed the next line softly.
And then.
【Dwar?!$%■?】: Interesting!$%indeed■.?
- Flinch.
Along with the sensation of every hair on my body standing on end.
“Block them, quickly!!”
[Aaaahㅡ!!]
I slammed the button in the upper-left corner of the DM window.
[
■■■■■]
Would you like to block them?
“Do it! Do it!”
[■■■■■] has been blocked.
“…….”
I wiped my face.
Just now, I had experienced the greatest terror of Lionel's life.
For reference, the second-greatest terror that had just been pushed into second place was dealing with the spotted cow's excrement—the first thing I encountered after coming to this world.
Once I closed the blocking window,
[■■■■■]: Interesting.
[■■■■■]: See you again later.
“…….”
The name had been completely painted over in black.
As though that had been its name all along.
With trembling hands, I scrolled the chat window upward.
[■■■■■]: Aha! Is that so?
[■■■■■]: Then might I ask when you plan to enter the Inner Tower?
[■■■■■]: Hmm.
[■■■■■]: So you're going to come at me like that?
[■■■■■]: Do you know of a way to enter the tower even without obtaining the qualifications to climb it?
Every message we'd exchanged just now had returned to normal.
The only thing that had changed was the name.
Dumbfounded, I sat in the chair and stared blankly at the sky.
Why would this trial befall me just when I was feeling good about obtaining a latent ability…?
I felt like I'd had a similar experience before, too.
This ominous feeling, this inexplicable chill….
More precisely, I had opened a document with a similar feeling.
“Yuna, could you bring up just the name of the document I opened last time?”
[🔒] [■Λb■y■■s5■]
Oh, this one.
The document I'd thought was a Sun Dwarf document.
I'd opened this document before. It had definitely appeared to be a Sun Dwarf document on the surface.
“Don't open it yet.”
[Abyss…?]
“Abyss?”
[If you insist on reading it… ABYSS, ‘Abyss.’]
I happen to be good at English, so I know what abyss means.
It's the deep. The abyss.
What a name.
“Yuna, I'm scaaared.”
I had a strong feeling that I absolutely shouldn't get involved with this.
I wanted to rush into Doloris's arms and bawl my eyes out right now.
Mommy, please get rid of the scary thing.
Even so, I had to do what needed to be done….
I steeled myself and called Yuna.
“Abyss… ah, could you search that for me….”
It was then.
“……Abyss?”
“?”
A familiar voice cut in from behind my head.
I turned my head, and….
There stood a woman with violet hair hanging down and a king's ribbon pinned to the back of her head.
It was Isabella, her bright eyes shining wide and clear.
They were exactly like the eyes she'd had during the chess opening.
“…….”
“…….”
“…Abyss?”
“…More or less.”
I tried my best to evade the situation.
“Lionel, you just said ‘Abyss,’ right…?”
“…….”
Isabella covered her mouth with both hands.
She even seemed a little moved.
What was that reaction supposed to mean?
An ominous premonition began creeping up on me.
Just then.
[I just looked into Abyss, and it seems to be a highly legendary concept at its core]
[It's based on the concept that the tower has floors not only above, but below as well.]
[No one has ever been there, but there are records of mysterious mana and energy being detected.]
[Apparently, there's a school of thought that studies it to draw dimensional power from that abyss.]
“…….”
[People call them ‘Abyss Scholars,’ and the most famous person among them is….]
[Isabella….]
Oh, this is insane.
I slowly turned my head,
and at some point, Isabella was shining her sparkling eyes right in front of my face.
“As expected of you, Lionel…!”
“No. I don't know what you're thinking, but no.”
“You didn't even answer me back then….”
- Swish.
My small body was suddenly lifted into the air.
I resent my small body whenever this happens.
- Plop.
I was placed right on Isabella's lap,
leaving me unmistakably nestled in her arms.
“So you really did want to become my disciple, Lionel?”
“I did not.”
“Originally… the head and body are honest.”
Isabella lowered her voice to a whisper beside my ear.
“……Are you curious what Abyss is?”
She turned her head slightly, then.
“Not above, but below—a world where everything is inverted. That's what Abyss is.”
Since I still remembered completely ignoring her and turning her away at the door a few days ago,
I had some guilt about it, so I eventually calmly spoke with her.
To be honest, I was a little curious too.
Rather than being chased by some incomprehensible monstrosity, it was somewhat better to be chased by Isabella, an acquaintance who lived in the abyss.
“…Then, have you ever been there?”
“No.”
“……?”
As though rejecting my expectations, Isabella calmly shook her head.
“I'm still researching it diligently!”
“……Ah, yes….”
She clenched both fists and her eyes sparkled.
[But… I don't think it's right to look down on her completely, Oppa]
[Apparently, she's the first climber to discover and study the concept of Abyss.]
[…The person Oppa is sitting on]
This soft, fluffy woman I was sitting on seemed to be a pioneer of knowledge in her own way.
I can respect that, at least.
Pioneers of knowledge have it hard, after all.
[But according to the evaluations of someone named Isabella, she's supposed to be incredibly scary and sharp…?]
That can't be right.
It's clearly all lies.
“If you ever have any questions about Abyss, contact me anytime.”
“Yes… I will….”
As things stood, asking more about Abyss was impossible.
I hadn't even climbed the tower yet, so I could hardly come right out and say,
‘I got a message from the Tower Messenger. What do I do…?’
That simply wasn't something I could do.
So it seemed all I could do was keep watch, since no problem had arisen for now.
She must be quite an impressive person.
Just as my opinion of Isabella was beginning to soar majestically,
“…But you did come once last time, didn't you?”
“…Huh? Yes, I did.”
“I'm sorry about that time. I was so busy.”
“Hmm?”
Isabella tilted her head….
Then she let out a snicker.
“……A Great Archmage doesn't dwell on such things.”
“Ohhh….”
She was more broad-minded than I'd expected.
“Even if you ignored me for exactly 27 minutes and 31 seconds and talked over me while threading the toe of a stocking approximately 181 times, that is merely a trivial matter.”
“…….”
I was already beginning to feel exhausted.
Just as my energy was draining away in real time.
Isabella suddenly turned her head, and.
“Anyway, Lionel, may I take it that you've now become my disciple?”
“No.”
I shook my head with a smile.
This woman really didn't listen to people.
I understood, though. She was a noble Great Archmage, after all, so I hadn't expected her to be particularly adept at human relationships.
“I'm Lady Doloris's disciple.”
“…….”
For a moment, Isabella's eyes turned melancholy, but then she averted her gaze and.
- Rustle.
Her hand reached toward the gloves lying on the table.
“……These are the gloves Doloris used to wear, aren't they?”
“Th-That's right?”
- Flinch.
I inadvertently averted my gaze.
She mustn't find out that I made them.
The unfortunate thing was that just a few days ago, this woman had clearly seen me knitting the toe of a stocking.
“You said there was a hole… so I sewed it up for you.”
“Then I should try them on.”
Before I could stop her, she put on the Apprentice Blacksmith's Warming Gloves, and.
“How do I look? Do they suit me?”
Still hugging me tightly, she showed them off by alternating her hands.
Whether she did so or not, before my eyes.
─────────────────
[Apprentice Blacksmith’s Warming Gloves][★☆☆☆☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility][9/40]
[Enchantment Level: 16]
─────────────────
[It is equipment that does not cause harm, but there is no reason to wear it.]
[… …The person it suits is, ‘definitely,’ someone else.]
─────────────────
An honest compatibility of 9.
Since there was no way I could read this aloud as it was,
“Yes, I suppose they suit you.”
I offered a suitably soulless compliment, and.
- Whoosh.
“Oh, it even shoots fire. How fascinating.”
She was enjoying the first use of the enchanted gloves while hugging me….
- Creak.
The door opened,
“…….”
and I had to meet the eyes of Doloris, who had opened the workshop door.
“My gloves, my Lionel.”
The temperature inside the workshop, in an instant,
“Put both of them down.”
dropped.