1.
"..."
The very moment I grasped the ore in my hand.
Scurry, scurry, scurry!
The bathroom door deeper inside the room flew open.
"L-Lionel...?"
Dolores hurriedly ran out.
Whether she had just been preparing for bed or had only just woken up, I did not know.
She wore a robe over a thin nightgown.
Droplets were still dripping from the ends of her not-yet-dry hair.
"What happened? Are you hurt anywhere—"
"I'm okay."
After confirming that I was unharmed, Dolores let out a deep breath.
But wait a second.
The sky outside was dark.
I was pretty sure I had fallen asleep before the sun had even set.
"What time is it right now?"
"It's... just past five in the morning."
"What?"
I slept for a long time.
I had gone to sleep around six.
So I must have slept for nearly eleven hours?
"You said you would only sleep for an hour, but you were sleeping so soundly..."
She smiled gently and approached me.
"I was worried because you slept for so long..."
Dolores came to the bed and cupped my cheeks.
"Thank goodness. You woke up safely."
There was something Dolores always did whenever I woke up.
A good-morning kiss on the forehead.
Actually, she did it even when I had not woken up.
And she seemed to do it fairly often even when it was not morning.
Anyway.
Smack.
Today was no different.
Only after kissing my forehead did she...
look at the Hundred Flowers Crystal Ore in my hand.
Perhaps she sensed that it was no ordinary thing.
"...You've found a fortunate opportunity."
"I think so too."
Pat, pat.
She stroked my hair.
It was still ore for now, but soon it would become a hammer.
Because I was going to make it so.
Then was this my second day in the Tower?
The invitation ticket allowed me to stay for a total of one night and two days.
Since I had woken up at dawn, I figured I still had a full day left.
"Lionel, what would you like to do today?"
Before I could answer anything.
"Once it's light out, Mama... no, let's have breakfast together first."
Had she not just called herself Mama?
She seemed to secretly like that form of address.
"Then, would you like to go up to the eighty-ninth floor? We can look around the workshop you were curious about, and go to the market to buy the materials you need. Or we could go to the fifth floor too... it's nice there as well..."
Dolores's voice was a little more excited than usual.
It seemed that while I was asleep, she had planned out the entire day's schedule.
"For lunch, we can try foods that are only available in the Tower. And if we have time—"
"Dolores."
"Yes?"
"Let's go home."
"..."
Dolores blinked.
There was nothing more to gain here.
I had seen the Dwarf Company.
And I had met Voldr.
I even had some excellent ore in my hands.
Returning home quickly, then making the hammer.
That was the key.
And.
'I need to make underwear already!!!!!!'
Hugging the Hundred Flowers Crystal Ore tightly to my chest, I tried to climb out of bed.
Let's hurry home.
"..."
Dolores stared intently at me as I said that...
"You can't, dear."
"Huh?"
She lightly refused.
2.
Dolores refusing did not mean...
that she truly intended to lock me up in the Tower or anything.
"...You have received Gaia's grace, so you should greet Gaia before leaving."
"Ah."
If I had no further business on the dwarves' floor, she was saying that we should greet her once before leaving the Tower.
Once I heard that, I immediately understood.
Come to think of it, she was right.
I had been chosen by her.
Besides, according to Voldr's story.
Even when countless gods turned their backs on the Sun Dwarves, Gaia alone had never withdrawn her grace until the very end.
It really did line up rather well.
To receive only what I wanted from such a god and disappear without even greeting her?
'That's a little...'
Once this Tower Invitation Ticket expired, I would not be able to return for around five years.
Even if the hammer was urgent, I had time to offer my thanks.
"Fortunately, we won't have to go far."
The fifth floor, which Dolores ruled over, happened to be home to the largest temple devoted to Gaia.
How strange.
There was also a massive temple in Dolores's duchy.
If the fifth floor was the same...
"..."
Could Dolores perhaps be Gaia's BIG FAN?
A fervent believer, or something like that.
We headed straight for the Tower's inter-floor transporter.
I had a skewered mountain pheasant from the dwarf village in one hand.
I had wondered what sort of pheasant they were grilling, but it was surprisingly delicious.
The skin was nice and chewy.
"Munch."
Hundred Flowers Crystal Ore.
Meeting Voldr.
The Dwarf Company's corruption.
Gaia's flower.
In many ways, it had been a fruitful trip.
"We're going to the fifth floor."
"Understood."
When Dolores took my hand and spoke to the attendant,
the transporter immediately activated.
Hummmm...
As we stepped onto the machine, the pattern inscribed beneath our feet glowed,
and I felt as though my body briefly floated.
Then.
Whoosh!
The surrounding scenery completely changed.
The first thing that felt different was the smell.
The scent of metal, fire, and coal.
Unlike the dwarves' floor, which had been thick with the smell of burning.
"...Sniff, sniff."
This place smelled of damp earth and grass.
And then.
"Wow..."
It was vast.
A broad avenue paved in pure white stone...
And lamps set at regular intervals along the road.
Waterways and flower beds stretched throughout the area,
while enormous buildings stood in rows beyond them.
How should I put it?
It felt like looking at an imperial palace inside the Tower.
Compared to the dwarf village we had just left, it had the feel of a very affluent district.
"This is the fifth floor?"
"Yes. It's one of the residential floors where the most people live in the Tower."
And Dolores ruled a place like this...?
That was no joke.
The atmosphere was completely different from the dwarves' floor.
Once we emerged from the inter-floor station, an even more striking sight came into view.
Most people on the streets were human.
There were people who appeared to be climbers, as well as residents dressed in ordinary clothes rather than armor.
There certainly were many humans.
There were many humans, but...
Every now and then, I spotted people who stood out in particular.
Most were slender and not especially tall, but... hmm.
They had long limbs and excellent proportions. Their figures had curves in all the right places.
Objectively speaking, they had great bodies.
They did not look much different from humans, but the tips of their ears extended sideways, long and pointed.
"Their ears are unusual, aren't they?"
"They're elves."
"...Elves?"
"Yes."
"..."
What?
Elves?
I stopped chewing my skewer and looked at them again.
They did not have wings on their backs.
And though they were not tall by any means,
they were at least not tiny the way I had imagined.
No.
"Aren't elves usually this tiny?"
I made a shape the size of my palm with my thumb and index finger.
"With transparent wings and stuff."
"Ah."
Dolores smiled as if she had figured out what I was confusing them with.
"Elves are smaller on average, but they aren't that small."
Then she added,
"Those kinds of fairies are a human fantasy."
"I see..."
I examined them once more.
Human-like appearances.
Long, pointed ears.
Rather than fairies, these were...
No.
Anyone from the modern world who knew even a little fantasy would think exactly the same thing.
'They're just elves, aren't they?'
It seemed this world called elves the elven race.
Wait a moment.
Now that I thought about it.
The inter-floor war between the elves and the dwarves...
Once I replaced "elven race" with "elves," everything suddenly made sense.
I did not know why, but...
'Elves and dwarves.'
They were a pairing traditionally notorious for not getting along.
That gave me a slight chill.
So I had acquired not elven race techniques, but elven techniques...
With that belated realization,
Dolores and I made our way toward Gaia's temple.
Its name, apparently, was the Grand Temple of Earth.
However, something I noticed as we walked was...
"Lady Dolores."
A person walking down the road recognized Dolores and bowed.
"Good morning, Lady Dolores."
Whenever passersby spotted Dolores, they stopped in their tracks and greeted her.
From ordinary residents to armored climbers.
Humans, of course, and even long-eared elves.
Dolores met each person's eyes and returned their greeting.
They omitted her title of duchess, but considering this was the Tower,
she was this influential even within the Tower.
It really struck me anew.
Our Mama is the best.
After passing along the avenue,
we finally arrived before the Grand Temple.
Up close, the temple was even more immense than it had appeared from afar.
Beyond the open front gates stretched a sanctuary spacious enough to hold hundreds of people at once and still have room to spare.
Inside... for some reason,
a faint scent of earth and grass lingered in the air.
Tree branches spread overhead in place of a ceiling.
It was a rather unfamiliar style of architecture, but with sunlight filtering through them...
Hmm, I could feel the philosophy behind it. Not bad.
"Lady Dolores."
Her popularity was no different within the temple.
Those who had been praying rose one by one and bowed their heads.
Even the priests placed hands over their chests and showed their respect.
"You've returned."
"Yes. It's been a while."
After greeting them like that,
"Come along."
She took my hand and led me onward.
"Weren't we here to pray?"
"That's right."
Hmm...
The sanctuary was over there.
"We need to go a little farther inside."
A little farther inside?
Though I tilted my head, I followed her.
It was not as though we went far.
Right beside the grand sanctuary bustling with people,
there was a small wooden door obscured by a pillar.
When the priest guarding the door spotted Dolores, he opened it immediately without asking anything.
"Please pray in peace."
"Thank you."
It seemed to be Dolores's private prayer room.
Creak.
Once we entered, the door quietly closed.
Compared to the grand sanctuary, it was an exceedingly modest space.
At the front stood a stone statue of Gaia and a low altar.
A fragrant scent filled the air as well.
Damp earth and grass.
It smelled similar to the forest where I had first met Gaia.
Rustle.
Dolores knelt on the cushion before the altar.
She folded both hands neatly before her chest.
I watched her for a moment from beside her.
Rustle.
Then I did the same.
That kind of thing, you know.
If you just do what the person in front of you does, you're halfway there.
Dolores closed her eyes.
"We are forever grateful for the embrace of the earth. We give thanks for the blessings You have bestowed and for Your benevolence in always watching over us."
Then, after hesitating briefly,
"Yesterday, I was too flustered to properly greet You before departing."
Dolores bowed deeply.
I hurriedly bowed my head too.
What should I say?
I felt a little guilty about simply repeating what Dolores had said.
According to her before we came in,
I did not need to stand on ceremony and could simply say whatever I wished to offer.
So, simply...
"I'm thankful too."
I spoke honestly.
"You gave me flowers. And you came to find me yourself as soon as I entered the Tower."
I raised my head and looked at the statue.
"Thank you for liking [The Cradle of Earth] too."
Then, after pondering for a moment, I added one more thing.
"You looked... incredibly beautiful wearing it."
At that moment.
Fwoooosh...
The fragrance hanging in the room grew a little stronger.
How strange.
Apparently, she did not dislike it.
"Once I leave the Tower now... it will probably be five years before I can formally return."
That was a little disappointing.
"I will look forward to the day we meet again."
That should have been
pretty clean and well done.
Of course, I intended to keep sending divine offerings.
If not Gaia, who else would I send them to?
"..."
But I sensed something strange beside me.
With her head bowed, Dolores had both hands neatly folded atop her knees.
Twitch, twitch.
"Y-Yes. Yes... I fed him."
It felt as though she were answering someone.
"I peeled fruit for him too... What? A skewer doesn't count as a meal... He's a child who barely eats as it is... Yes."
Her head lowered further and further.
"Yes... I'll take proper care of him from now on. But honestly, this seems like something Gaia does not need to concern herself with... Ah, yes, yes..."
Her shoulders were trembling.
She looked like someone getting scolded.
"Yes, but I'll handle it myself, yes, I'll take care of him..."
There was no answer.
"D-Dolores?"
"Yes, ah, it's nothing. It seems Gaia likes you very much as well."
The instant she finished speaking.
Rustle...
Beneath the statue.
A flower bud emerged from the bare earth.
Pop.
It raised its head.
Then it slowly bloomed in full before us.
And right by my ear.
『I, too, will wait....』
A warm voice sounded.
"...!"
It was that voice I had heard at our final parting.
I could never forget it.
I lowered my head deeply.
Then.
Drip...
Drip...
The sound of water droplets falling echoed through the prayer room.
When I slowly lifted my head.
The statue of the Earth Goddess.
Droplets were flowing from the two stone-carved eyes.
As though it were weeping.
The droplets rolled down the statue's cheeks and...
Drip.
fell atop the flower that had only just bloomed.
The petals trembled slightly.
And by my ear.
『Let's meet again next time, little one?』
Gaia whispered that.
To her question.
"...Yes!"
I answered confidently.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register