A NEET’s Guide to the Parallel World: Healer, the Strongest Cheat? - 217 244

The next day, as the morning sun began to illuminate the walls of Demon King Castle and the garden that stretched over a painting on the property.

The house was huge and there was time, so I was walking down the hall.

It’s a hallway of a different specification and size than the hallway we used when we headed to Mr. Lucius’ study.

If you’re about an elephant, wouldn’t you have a problem letting me walk? I don’t know what will happen to the floor, but the walls won’t break.

After a while the white wall, which was visible on the left side, breaks and turns into a pillar. Long, thick, white columns placed one after the other at equal intervals. That stretches to high ceilings.

And those pillars surrounded it was such a spacious hall that it was likely to throw a ball.

There is nothing but wide. Probably the space used for those events.

A short walk further passed the hall, and a further walk saw the courtyard – the great garden – on the right next.

By that time, I also saw Mr. Lucius staring in the front, in a mirror large enough to tell even if he was away.

“… you’re early”

“Good Morning”

It’s a big outdoor room.

As opposite the Great Garden, there is its open large room in a position where it can be passed, the floor is as strong as marble, with meaningless circles in the center.

Right in the middle of it was Mr. Lucius and the mirror.

I’m not saying there’s nothing weird about it, but it’s a simple mirror with an oval shape.

And for the first time since I came right in front of Mr. Lucius, the mirror was floating in the universe.

It wasn’t supported by feet or anything, it was floating without support.

Mr. Lucius never looked back, just staring into that mirror in a serious way.

“What do you think of this mirror?

“Huh?”

Without any foretaste, Mr. Lucius suddenly asks that.

“It’s a mirror, right? Don’t you think that’s strange?

“Is that a mirror? Other than floating in the universe, I don’t think it’s particularly weird…”

“Well, except it’s floating… you were a different world after all”

“I say it because it’s nothing else to hide, but it is. How did you know that?

I didn’t know.

“Huh?”

“That’s haphazard. Just because you’re the Demon King doesn’t mean you know everything. You were just swallowed up on your own. It was worth creating an atmosphere.”

What? I mean, are you trying to tell me it was an act?

But Mr. Lucius’s atmosphere was no different than it was yesterday.

“But it was something that could be considered hypothetical. First of all, it is difficult for those in the playland to reach this continent in the first place. The waters surrounding the vanome are special, aren’t they? Well, that story is fine now. Anyway, there’s a better chance of thinking of him as one of the otherworlds summoned by Greyberg’s recent Summon for the Brave than as a playcountry. That’s all there is to it.”

“But people from playland are normal on this continent, right?

“That’s why I hacked and saw how it went. And I read the emotions. By then, I almost knew, didn’t I? Though you were acting with Toa, I’m not surprised to see the Demon King. Your mind is strange, no matter what you think. It shows heterogeneity with too little natural vigilance towards the demonic tribe. Mr. Nem and Mr. Suphilia have been on good alert since before we went into the study, right?

“I was properly vigilant” is a funny word.

“But you’d rather…”

“Yes, I was excited. It was the first time I had ever seen the Demon King, and it was a dream…”

“A dream… I see. You’re quite a freak with a different world, aren’t you? It’s getting harder and harder for me to leave Toa to you.”

“Huh?”

“Just kidding.”

In a strange atmosphere different from that of yesterday, the conversation continues as if it were more than yesterday, with a moment of silence flowing.

And Mr. Lucius spoke again about the mirror in such a vocal tone that he said it was the point.

“What about this mirror? The World Mirror.”

“A world mirror? That’s a grand naming, isn’t it? Is that a magic guide?

“Oh. I named it”

You put it on…

“Surely this could be a magic guide. But maybe not.”

“What do you mean?

“I haven’t known anything about this mirror since it showed up.”

“Any of that? You don’t know, but you named it a world mirror?

I don’t think so, I’m not making a fool of myself, but I put a scratch in it.

“I named it that way for a reason. That’s because this mirror reflects somewhere in the world.”

I see… somehow, but I’m beginning to understand.

I mean, a world mirror means what it is.

“Do you want to try?

“Can you?

“Oh. We’re going to use the magic of our users as a source. It’s a very groundbreaking tool.”

“Well, sweeten to your words”

I leave in front of Mr. Lucius without any particular vigilance.

And I confronted the mirror with half my interest.

And I try to shed magic into the mirror, like I always do when I use magic.

“What do you say? Something… you see it?

To answer that question, I shed more magic and peered into the world mirror.

…………

But I don’t see anything in particular. What’s this all about? You don’t have enough magic?

“I don’t see anything. You don’t have enough magic?

I look back to Mr. Lucius once, asking him if he was doing it the wrong way.

Then there was Mr. Lucius, who opened his eyes to such an extent that the expression intrigue was not sufficient, as if he were monitoring the mirror.

“Duh, what’s wrong?

When I ask him that, Mr. Lucius regains his normal face again, as he returned to me.

What? That’s scary……

“Um?…”

“I can’t use it.”

“What?”

“I can’t use this mirror.”

“I can’t use it… But I hope it works now, right? Hatter again? This is a mirror where you can see the world, right?

“The way I called it, and that’s just what I named it. This one day, when I realized it, it was there.”

With that said, Mr. Lucius pointed to a short roofed staircase supported by columns leading from the large room to the large garden, a flat place with pure white tiles with no gaps located just beside it.

Just situated on the border between the garden and the room.

“Were you showing up? Does that mean someone brought it in?

“I don’t know.”

“Come on…”

“And since it showed up, to this day, only Toa could use this mirror properly…”

“Just Toa?

“I still remember that. That’s a story from a young age, when Toa is only about my back length below my knees. Toa didn’t always stick away to Rosalia. The first person to find this mirror that appeared in the garden was Rosalia. And there was Toa, as always beside him.”

Ms. Lucius spoke in a somewhat sad atmosphere, looking back at the time.

“At that time, I was walking in the garden with Electra by chance, right? We… asked Rosalia what was going on… and I still remember…”

What?… After explaining that, suddenly Mr. Lucius silenced to stare somewhere far away.

“… Mr. Lucius?

“Hmm?… Oh, I’m sorry. Huh… a little, I was remembering the old days. You were talking about the mirror, weren’t you?

“Yes. So, I found this mirror, and then what happened?

“I couldn’t do anything”

“Huh?…”

“I couldn’t do anything about it. Like I said, only Toa can handle this mirror.”

Now it’s my first time thinking about what Toa used to say.

I’m talking about seeing me in the mirror.

They saw me wandering around the dungeon there.

“That’s when, out of curiosity, Toa reached for the mirror. Then the mirror emitted light, as it responded to Toa. It’s a flash of light that fills my vision. But it immediately converged, and then something appeared in the mirror.”

“Something?… what is it?

“I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

I don’t know why anymore.

“I didn’t see it. There was probably something in the mirror. That’s what I could tell if I saw how Toa was doing. Because Toa did seem to be looking at something, didn’t she? But no one but Toa would have been mirrored, seeing something of it. But…………”

“But” – after I said that, Mr. Lucius looked me in the eye more or less.

I didn’t know why I was in a hurry, and I said with my eyes, ‘What happened then?’ and bump into doubt.

If you can read emotions, I’d like you to just answer them.

“Toa said…”

Does Mr Lucius recall the time?

The words are interrupted and somewhat frustrating.

“Toa said?

“Oh. Looking in the mirror, like, asking in the mirror…… I squealed”

“What?

“Toa…”

I approach Mr. Lucius as he asks for answers.

“What about Toa?

“Toa…”

“Masamune?”

That’s when I suddenly heard Toa’s voice and I looked back reflectively.

And I was there again not like when I was traveling…… would this be a room wear?

Beautiful white lace, he looked like Toa dressed like a dress.

“Toa…… good morning. Fast, huh?”

The sun is already rising. Isn’t that early?

“Masamune is early, isn’t he? Morning……”

“Oh…… sort of?

Toa at home in Demon King’s Castle. That’s somewhere fresh and looks even prettier than usual.

I was blinded when I realized, I was just staring at Toa.

Then I hear Mr. Lucius cough behind his back.

“Masamune-kun, we’ll talk about the mirror again”

“Huh? But…”

“There’s no rush. You’re gonna be in this country for the time being, aren’t you?

“Well… if it’s okay to stay,”

“I’m not telling you to leave. I hope you like it as much as you like. That’ll do Toa good.”

My daughter is an imaginary father.

After Mr. Lucius said so, Toa and I had a gentle morning greeting and walked away somewhere with the mirror.

Afterwards, what a funny look in the mirror that goes on.

It’s like he’s bringing a mirror with him.

“Hey, what were you talking about with your father?

“Hmm?… Oh, I’m talking about the world mirror. Speaking of world mirrors, they can only be used on Toa, right?

“What do you mean?

“So you’re talking about the mirror that just went on behind Mr. Lucius, right? That’s only for Toa, right?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Naturally, Dad can use it, right?

“I don’t know about Mr. Lucius, but I couldn’t use him, could I?

Then Toa clogged the words, as confused by my words. What’s wrong with it?

“Nevertheless, I knew I was going to ask…”

Then as Toa learned what my words meant, she stared at me with her head tilted.

“You mean what Toa whined about?

“Talk about what?

“When Toa was young, you found that mirror with Mr. Rosalia, and that’s when the mirror only reacted to Toa, right?

“I don’t know…”

“Then Toa whined something into the mirror, didn’t she? Don’t you remember?

“He said he didn’t know!

That’s when Toa yelled at me for some reason. As if, angry.

“Duh, what’s going on?

“That’s the story…… I don’t know”

“Don’t you know? You mean you don’t remember? Well, it sounds like we were talking at a very young age…”

“You haven’t heard anything… you don’t know that, do you?

“Haven’t they heard?

“It’s the first time I’ve ever known that mirror could only be used by me. My father never told me that before…”

Is that what you mean……

But what do you mean, “never”? You mean you didn’t bother to tell Toa?

“Besides, stay away from that mirror, because that’s what they said…”

You mean he was hiding it on purpose? Then why didn’t he stop talking to me?

From the circumstances, you knew Toa was going to ask me.

“… you let me talk to you?

“Masamune?”

Why do you need to do that?

“Why did Mr. Lucius keep his mouth shut to Toa?

“… I don’t know? Something I haven’t been taught anything about. Just stay away from the mirror anymore, that’s all…”

“So when I looked in that mirror, what was it showing?

“It’s…”

“You remember that?

“Did you see Masamune?

“What? Me?

Shortly after that, Toa’s cheeks became red for some reason.

“Hmm? What’s going on?

Why is it lit up? More than that……

“What did you mean when I showed up? You know, when we were kids, right?

“No? That was months ago, wasn’t it?

I see, that’s the story… that’s not what I’m asking.

“I snuck into the treasure trove…”

Then Toa begins to cut out so hard to say why.

Toa nods embarrassingly at my question. And the cheeks are still red, and I have no idea why.

“And then?”

Toa was trying to cut it out even though it was hard to tell, so I asked him to talk to me.

“Then… I found this mirror.”

I mean, Toa broke the story.

Toa used to say, “I saw Masamune.” I already know about that. It’s about that World Mirror. You must have seen me on that one.

A mirror that mirrors the world shows me in the dungeon by chance.

“So you used a mirror?

“It wasn’t on purpose, was it? I just touched it. Then it moves in the mirror…”

“Move?

“There, I saw Masamune…”

It is a story I heard once. But at that time, before I set up a night raid on Greyberg, there was a lot of flutter.

“What was I doing then?

“Masamune’s been walking in the dark. I haven’t been watching this all my life, either, but at one point I was fighting a big knight.”

Armor giant…… mimic.

“Then the next day, I came back and looked, and now I was asleep with my wine bottle squeezed”

It must be about the vault. I’ve been seen out of the blue.

“Then Toa was in Tanya Village before I spoke…”

Toa stares me in the eye in the light, and nods softly.

“… I knew. Then I knew right away.“ You “…”

Somehow I know why Toa is blushing her cheeks.

Like me, you must have remembered that night.

And I think it was a good idea to tell this story.

……

Right… that’s why Toa trusted me right then. Because I’ve been watching.

“But wouldn’t it be strange to trust you immediately? ‘Cause you were just looking through the mirror, right? And speaking of me in the dungeon, I was just walking alone, right?

“Masamune has been walking alone in the dark the whole time. I fought a monster that big on my own, and I didn’t give up even if it hurt me. I thought that was… awesome…”

“Amazing?”

“Yeah……”

“Awesome” is overrated. I was just walking inert, and if I got attacked, anyone would get up.

Besides, I had power. That’s just it.

But… right.

What would I think if someone helped me where I was caught by bandits in the woods and that was who I was in the mirror? If you were in the opposite position……

As Toa said before…… Destiny doesn’t have to think so.

And I believe that somewhere. I believe so, that this is some sort of meaningful encounter.

No, you hope so, don’t you? But still.

“So I have to thank you?

“Huh?”

“The mirror that pulled me and Toa together, right? Then you have to thank me, don’t you? In that mirror?

“……………… yeah. Right?”

The cheeks that were blushing became as usual when she noticed, and Toa smiled.

I don’t know why that mirror only responds to Toa, but it looks like Mr. Lucius is looking into it, and, well, nothing. Now would be a good time.

Now you just have to thank me.

The entrance to the open room. And the big garden.

We stared at each other for a bit and had a time when the occasional morning breeze just went through.

I admired the rosy student life and went to school, but that didn’t come true. I guess I didn’t have the right environment for school in the first place.

But here… with Toa, I feel like I can have a happy time.

Toa said it was fate. But fate or not, it’s none of my business.

I’m not leaving Toa anymore.

“Are you hungry?

“So, do you want it for breakfast? I’m sure he’s ready for you, huh?

”You’re ready for me” or… the princess is different after all.

I’m pulled over by Toa and I’m leaving the room behind.

Who would have pulled my hand before?

No, nobody tried to take my hand.

– Except for Toa.

Bright colors appear, like flowers blooming in the garden, in the sight that was only gray.

That day, the wind caught the hood, and from that moment I found Toa, I was able to see a world of extreme colors.

Depressed, and even as ashes covered the world, a vibrant world and rest came just as Toa appeared in sight.

I get pulled over by Toa and smile the same way as I stare at Toa’s smiling side.

Toa……

“Thanks……”

It doesn’t sound like Toa.

Now, that’s fine.