Chapter 47 : Adventure Level 35 (2)

As the system transitioned from closed beta to open beta, various things seemed to change, yet not change, but ultimately did change.
A prime example was that previously, only those who had hunted the slimes that briefly appeared in the city could log in, and those people were roughly called explorers, but now, anyone could log in.
There were various social problems and changes resulting from this, but that wasn’t my concern.
“Mom, aren’t you going to level up?”
“Why would I?”
“Grandfather was just boasting. Said he feels alive now that leveling up made him healthier.”
He’s apparently abusing the party system, leveling up while sitting at home without hunting himself.
I don’t know what the system administrators are doing, not improving the system.

“That’s because Grandfather is getting senile, ahem. He usually felt aches and pains, so he must feel liberated. I’m actually worried, Mom. There are many reports that mana has negative effects on the body, and the prevailing opinion in academia is one of concern, yet he has no worries. Speaking of which, daughter, want a health check-up today?”
“Frequent check-ups aren’t good.”
“Frequent check-ups aren’t good.”
Mom glanced over my lazy attire and chuckled softly.
“Don’t want to go out?”
“That wasn’t exactly what I meant, just that it’s unnecessary.”
“Then want to go for a walk with Mom?”
“Is there really a need for a walk? I think just stretching would be more efficient.”
As I shook my head, Mom hugged me.
“Why is my daughter so cute?”
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
“There’s no ‘suddenly’ when it comes to cuteness.”
“That’s true.”

A KakaoTalk message arrived, so I pushed Mom away and checked the content.
It was Yu Mina saying she had persuaded Do Yugeon to go to the island.
Things are proceeding well.
“I’m going on a trip with friends this vacation.”
Mom put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression, then casually remarked,
“Home?”
“That’s not going on a trip.”
“Mom and Dad already planned everything for this vacation, though?”
“You two go without me then.”
Mom cheered and lay down on the sofa, pulling out her smartphone.
She was probably texting Dad.
What? She seems genuinely happy, which feels a bit disappointing.
I thought I was a reasonably good child, but was I actually burdening my parents?
Well, okay, that’s possible.
Carrying a subtle sense of disappointment, I returned to my room.

As I rolled around on the bed for a bit, thoughts popped up.
Even so, isn’t she showing too much happiness in front of her child?
That’s harsh. Mom is mean. Dad is mean too.
I crumpled the blanket, then checked the KakaoTalk notifications I had been ignoring because they were annoying.
Yu Mina was spamming messages asking if I read and ignored her.
–Stop spamming, it’s annoying.
–Finally!
–Yeah. Finally saw it. Congrats.
–A troublesome problem has arisen.
–Did Do Yugeon suddenly say he doesn’t want to go?
–He accepted very happily.
–Then what’s the problem?
–We need to invite one more person besides Do Yugeon, right? But there’s no suitable person.
The scenario is that I was planning to go with friends and invited Do Yugeon additionally, so we need to pad the numbers appropriately.
–You have lots of friends.
–True, but when I mention our lady’s participation, refusals keep pouring in. They’d rather hang out with other kids. Maybe having four people including themselves is burdensome.
–So you couldn’t find anyone?
–Not exactly, but…

Then what does she want me to do?
–You’re beating around the bush. What’s the point?
–Can I bring the magical girl?
–I only know one magical girl.
–Her!
–Okay, fine.
After chatting briefly, I turned off my smartphone.
If it’s the magical girl, it must be the one who uses space-time magic.
Turning back time…

I got out of bed and sluggishly sat down at my desk.
I stretched once and composed my mana.
Searching my memory, I recalled the simplest magic circle among the space-time magic I briefly saw.
It was incredibly complex, but not impossible to replicate.
I took out a reasonably small handbook and placed it in the center of the desk.
Moving my mana, I traced the magic circle according to memory.
I roughly formed the frame, built the shape from the outside inwards, and adjusted the finer details.
When I felt I had completely replicated it, I looked at the handbook expectantly.
Nothing happened.
Based on what I saw, the handbook should have teleported.

Wondering if my memory was wrong, I used the Magic Record skill I rarely use to check the magic circle’s shape, but my memory wasn’t mistaken.
What’s the problem? Hmm. Come to think of it, I feel like this magic wasn’t made of mana?
There’s precedent—like when Schrödinger turned from the Encyclopedia into a cat, the magic circle formed was made of blood, not mana. So, there’s no absolute need to create magic circles with mana.
There must be a good reason to use blood instead of convenient mana.
However, if I recall correctly, the space-time magic circle wasn’t made of mana, but it wasn’t written in blood either.
What was it? The only other suitable thing is souls.
But I have absolutely no idea how to handle souls.
If that magical girl used magic directly like me, asking her would be the best way, but according to Yu Mina, magical girls rely on magical tools, using them without knowing the principles or processes.
Frankly speaking, the magical tool is the magician, and the magical girl is just the fuel tank.

There’s no answer.
Should I draw the magic circle, offer beef as a sacrifice, and chant an incantation?
Sounds plausible?
Since the world is fantasy, it seems completely plausible.
Isn’t that more fundamental anyway?
Shaking off the silly thoughts, I went to find a needle.
A bad life of not donating blood is meant for moments like this.
I drew blood and drew the magic circle.
There was no real need for this, and I wasn’t even sure if using blood instead of souls was correct, but a small desire urged me on.
The thick, red magic circle activated, and the handbook in the center teleported, landing with a thud on the edge of the desk.
Wow, success.

My heart pounded, and my mind tangled with all sorts of thoughts.
I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts.
After calming down for a moment, one finger throbbed.
I should have treated it after drawing blood, but I was too engrossed in the magic to heal it.
Thanks to that, blood dripped onto the desk and made a mess.
I hurriedly healed the finger with magic and grabbed tissues to wipe the desk.
Even while doing so, various thoughts flowed.
More capital, more opportunities, more power, more honor.
If only I could turn back time, I could obtain even things I only imagined.
“Wh-what pointless thoughts.”

Feeling somewhat tired seemed like a side effect of the magic.
It must be.
Looking at it through common occult thinking, blood is part of the body and a symbol of the soul, so using blood for magic could be interpreted as tampering with the soul.
Seems plausible?
Just changing the handbook’s position caused noticeable fatigue, so the side effects for something on the scale of turning back time would obviously be unbearable.
Yeah, it’s better not to learn space-time magic.
It’s full of downsides. Pointless greed isn’t good.
“Wasted time.”
Then couldn’t I just use someone else’s soul for magic?
With the precedent of magical girls, it seems possible.
I got up from the desk and lay down on the bed.
Enough pointless thoughts—I should just take a nap.

“Don’t say it. Let me guess. That ship over there is the one we’re taking, right?”
Yu Mina pointed at the largest yacht in the marina. It was a yacht with several sails.
“Nope.”
Cha Haneul shook her head.
“No? Then that one?”
This time she pointed at the second largest yacht.
“I think I know what you’re thinking, but absolutely not. Do you know how much the maintenance costs for that? The one we’re taking is small.”
“Then?”
“That one.”
Cha Haneul pointed to the yacht next to it. It wasn’t particularly small.
“Ah, that one.”
“Your reaction isn’t great? It might look relatively small, but it’s plenty big enough for four people.”
“That wasn’t my intention. Is it yours?”
“No. It’s rented.”
“You rented that?”

Yu Mina’s eyes sparkled.
She instantly imagined a future of playing on a yacht with friends.
“How much is it? What kind of budget makes it possible? Could I rent it too? Is there a separate rental company?”
“I don’t know how much it is either. It belongs to my grandfather.”
“Ah, I seee.”
“Well, if you want, I can ask him. Surely he wouldn’t refuse?”
“Wow! You really are a good friend!”
“Okay, okay. When Do Yugeon arrives, make sure to stick to the scenario. I’ll be checking the yacht. Got it?”
“Yep, yep.”
Cha Haneul approached the person waiting in front of the yacht.

Left alone, Yu Mina considered browsing social media during the wait, but Do Yugeon arrived quickly, so she couldn’t.
“You’re early! Do Yugeon, the one coincidentally invited to join an already planned schedule to hang out together!”
“Still sticking to that concept?”
Do Yugeon said with a dubious expression.
“Cha Haneul just insisted on it before she left.”
Yu Mina pointed toward Cha Haneul, who was still talking. Do Yugeon sighed.
“I really don’t know why she does that. Why tell such obvious lies?”
“Who knows.”
“She does this often, and almost always leaves many loopholes, seeming like she doesn’t even intend to hide it.”
“She probably intends to hide it.”
“Intends but doesn’t follow through?”
“Seems plausible.”
“What kind of state is that…”

Cha Haneul tilted her head, watching the two of them, then stopped her conversation and approached.
“What are you two talking about while looking at me?”
Do Yugeon waved his hands dismissively.
“Gossiping about you. Go away. Shoo shoo.”
Cha Haneul frowned, puffed out her cheeks slightly, glared back and forth between them, then returned to the front of the yacht.
And kept glancing back.
“Is she sulking?”
“Probably not sulking.”
Shortly after, the magical girl also arrived.
Yu Mina introduced her to Do Yugeon.
“You might recognize each other, but this is the first time you’re properly meeting, right?”

Do Yugeon had encountered the magical girl every time during the brief Rift conquests.
But Yu Mina usually did the talking then, so they had never properly introduced themselves.
“Right. I’m Do Yugeon, nice to meet you. I heard we’re going together this time, so even though I don’t know your name, I was happy to hear it. Knowing someone’s face makes them feel familiar, right?”
“Uh, right. Nice to meet you.”
Do Yugeon waited for a moment, but the magical girl said nothing else.
Do Yugeon glanced at Yu Mina.
When Yu Mina shrugged, he looked back at the magical girl.
“Glad you feel the same. Seems like our minds connect. It’s a good sign. Cha Haneul wasn’t like that when I first met her. Ah, Cha Haneul is that girl over there. Anyway, so what’s your name?”
“Call me whatever.”
Do Yugeon looked at Yu Mina again.
“I don’t know her name either.”
Do Yugeon looked at Yu Mina for a moment as if saying Does that make sense?, then turned to the magical girl.
“You’re a very amusing person! I was worried we wouldn’t get along, but I’m relieved! This vacation is going to be really fun.”

I approached the magical girl.
I thought about it a bit at home, and I really should see the time-reversal magic at least once.
Whether you use knowledge and information or not, knowing it in the first place is important, right?
When I asked for a demonstration, the magical girl retorted,
“Where did you hear that?”
“Schrödinger told me. That cat has a loose mouth, you know. Besides, he told me you’re guarding Yu Mina. To someone who isn’t even involved.”
“That too? Does Yu Mina know?”
“Of course not.”
“That’s a relief. Keep it a secret from Yu Mina.”
“Okay.”
The magical girl sighed.
“I heard I could use it since becoming a magical girl, but I’ve never actually used it.”
“Then you can try using it now?”
“No way. The price will obviously be huge. Going against the movement of celestial bodies and the twinkling of stars.”
“How huge?”
“Won’t I definitely die?”
That’s not very big.
Considering it turns back time, even if just briefly, one person’s soul is incredibly cheap.

“What will you do if Yu Mina dies? Will you turn back time?”
“I have to. I made a contract.”
“Then you die instead of Yu Mina. Like a spare life.”
“That’s… right.”
I see.
“I like you. Relax and have fun. Let me know if you need anything.”
“There is one thing.”
“Tell me. I’ll grant it.”
“Could you please go away? My mood is getting too good right now.”
“That’s sarcasm, right?”
“You know well. What a relief.”
“Does that mean your mood becomes desolate? Your mental fortitude is weak. You need to recuperate. The timing was opportune. Have fun. By the way, there’s one thing I’m curious about—”
“Stop bothering her.”

Do Yugeon came over, grabbed me, and lifted me up effortlessly.
I looked up and glared at him.
“Bothering? What do you take me for?”
Do Yugeon ignored me and looked at the magical girl.
The magical girl nodded.
“She was bothering me, so could you please take her away now? Being near her is distressing.”
“That’s a lie. We were talking just fine.”
“Yes, yes, my lady. Let’s go now.”
Do Yugeon carried me and moved away.
He’s not putting me down…