105 Curiosity

"Alright everyone, are you ready?" Saku asked to the customers of Sandy Fish, who are all currently having their lunch or their midday drinking session in the dining area.

The customers, feeling excited after Saku informed them on what's about to happen next, eagerly raised their glasses at almost the same time.

"Brother Ren, are you ready?" Saki asked, as she stood on top of a crate beside me, with a spatula in her hand that she held like a microphone.

"Err...do I really have to do this?"

"Of course, Ren!" Saku replied with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Now that you have that kind of power, it would be a waste not to show it to our beloved customers! Come on and make us proud!"

"You twooooo..." I looked at them sharply, while my fingers tightly clenched the bottom of my shirt.

From the bottom of my heart, I kept on regretting that I told them anything about the [Magician].

When we went back from our tour around the town last night, I informed the siblings who were taking a short break at that time that we found an Arcana inside the weapons shop owned by Alisha's family, and I successfully absorbed it into my body. At first they were in disbelief, but they were shocked when they saw right in front of them an empty glass being filled by water, then turning the water into ice and lastly, into stream—all done without me even lifting a finger.

I thought that by showing to them what I can do with the Arcana they'll start realizing that I can be of greater help to the inn, that we're not just mere freeloaders, but I never expected that they already have other things in mind at that moment.

And thus, here we are now, standing in front of many people as they waited for me to start using my new Arcana. Most of the people here have only seen a magic spell a few times in their whole lives, that's why they were so thrilled when Saku told them that the inn have prepared a 'show' for them.

We were supposed to go to the Guild HQ today, you know? But no, because in Sandy Fish, the Rainens' words are the law.

"Oh my, it seems that Brother Ren needs some encouragement before he can show us his tricks. Everyone, let's cheer up for him, shall we?"

At Saki's urging, the customers began cheering for me in a rowdy way: some clapped their hands, some whistled by placing their fingers between their lips, and some shouted 'Go! You can do it, young man!' while keeping their glasses raised.

If I was some other guy I would've appreciated what they're doing but because a few customers are already looking drunk, I'm starting to sense an aura of sarcasm coming from their supposedly positive gesture. At least be more sincere if you're trying to cheer sometime up.

"Um...I don't believe this is a right thing to do, Saku."

"Don't worry, Miss Lerish. He can refuse doing it if he wants to," Saku told Lerish, who is watching from inside the kitchen while feeling worried.

Meanwhile, Aoi doesn't seem to care about what's going on as she's busy stuffing her mouth with the cookies Lerish has made earlier this morning. This little girl, how can she always do that while leaving me to suffer?

Ugh...fine. I'll just do it one time, okay? Just one time...

"Oh, so you're ready now?"

"Nn. Let's get over with it."

"Do you hear that, everyone? Let's give him a round of applause once more before he starts showing to us what real magic is," Saku announced to the audience.

"""Woooo, yeah!!!""" The customers cheered once more.

With everyone looking at me with eyes of expectation, my legs seem to be frozen in place as I can't take a step back. I took a deep breath, and then, the cue.

"Alright. Saku—"

"I'm on it!" he said as he carried on his arms a bucket full of water.

For a moment the audience have no idea what we're planning to do until Saku started to throw the water into them. Panicked, many of them stood up from their seats to prevent themselves from getting wet, but—

"My turn!"

With a wave of my hand, the water that's about to fall on the audience instantly stopped in midair and coalesced into a large ball in front of them.

This is just the beginning.

Like a balloon artist forming a balloon up to his imagination, I used the [Magician] to form the water ball into various animals that are present in my previous world—dog, cat, bird, snake, even large animals such as elephants and whales, and made them move around and interact with the audience as if they were real.

"Alright, raise your empty glasses once more."

As soon as they raised their glasses, the water animals flew straight into them, filling each of their glasses with ice cold liquid.

"We're not done yet," I said as I glanced at Lerish at the back.

"E-Eh? Ah, alright."

As soon as Lerish went out of the kitchen, the crowd became even more excited as the men started to also cheer for her. She didn't expect to be called by me, that's why her face has turned deep red.

'I'm sorry. Even you had to also get roped into Saku's shenanigans,' I whispered.

'It's alright. If it means that we can make our customers happy, I'm fine giving a bit of service from time to time,' she winked at me.

'Lerish...'

Okay. Let's do this.

For the next part of our performance I asked Lerish to stand beside me, then using the Arcana once more, I made rising winds around her body strong enough to gently lift her off the ground.

'Just tell me if you're starting to feel uncomfortable up in the air. I can catch you anytime...'

She shook her head. 'I will only go down once the performance ends.'

Since she's fine being floating around for some time, we continued with our show. As I controlled the air around her to keep her from falling, Lerish started to dance gracefully and elegantly, bearing inspiration from the birds in the sky. Matching her movements, I made it so that she's 'flying' around the dining hall to make her performance more convincing and pleasing to everyone.

Both of us are still hesitant to perform in front of this many people but after seeing their reactions, I started to have this fluffy feeling in my heart.

Maybe doing things like this isn't that bad at all, I think...

-----

I was wrong. What I said earlier was a very, very big mistake.

"...Big brother, it's been three hours already since the customers has left. Are you planning to stay on that corner until tomorrow?" Aoi asked as she repeatedly poked my seemingly lifeless body with her finger.

"Leave me alone Aoi...I just want some peace after what happened..." I replied in a soft, hoarse voice.

After the show, I instantly retreated to the private dining area at the back of the inn and curled myself at a corner, waiting for the earth to reclaim me.

"...Was that really of a big deal to you, big brother?" Aoi yelled at me. "In the end, everyone seems to enjoy your performance. There's no reason for you to feel embarrassed, you know?!"

"Aoi's right," Saku said. "You did well for your first time, and because of you we earned quite a lot today. Thank you very much, man."

"It's your fault that I can't show my face anymore to the world, you bastard Saku!" I snapped at him.

Damn it! I should've not agreed when they asked me to do it, knowing that I'll definitely die of embarrassment afterwards!

Hrgh...how stupid, Ren!

"Leaving Brother Ren aside, Big Sis Lerish's dance was also amazing! Have you experienced dancing in front of a crowd before?" Saki asked.

"Eh? U-Um...my performance earlier, that was my first time."

"""For real?!""" all of us exclaimed in surprise.

"Fufufu."

While we're bantering with each other we heard the door chime rang, indicating that someone has entered the inn.

"Who's that, a customer?"

"I don't know. We've already placed a large sign in the entrance that says 'Closed - Personal Reasons' on it, so the person should've had already read it before entering."

"But it looks like the person simply ignored the sign," I said.

"...Hrghh..."

"Miss Aoi? What's wrong?"

Meanwhile, Lerish noticed that Aoi's face turned sour as she tried to detect the presence of the visitor. Storming out of the room, she approached the visitor with heavy steps and said—

"...So you decided to disturb us again, you despicable woman."

Sitting in a womanly manner, the visitor sipped on her wine as she waited for Aoi and I to come out. She must've bought her wine bottle here for her to drink, as the inn doesn't sell expensive wines to its customers.

"My, my. It's been a while since we last met, but you still haven't changed at all, you noisy brat," the visitor retorted.

"Myriel, what are you doing here?" I asked her.

As always, she's in her flashy suit each time she visits our place. Does she not have any other decent clothes in her closet?

"Oh, my boy, this elder woman here has been missing you all this time, no? Come, let Big Sis hug you real tight."

As she spread her arms wide while becoming me to come, I can see her humongous mountains shake with each little movement she does, forcing even Saku to stare intently at them.

I've accidentally touched them before and I can guarantee that they're very soft and elastic. Maybe I should give in and dive straight into the—

No, be strong, Ren! Don't lose yourself to the temptation! Once you go in, you can never go back!

"Just tell us why you're here, Myriel."

"What else would be the reason of my visit here, other than wanting to see my little brother?"

"I'm not your little brother."

"Fufu, deny me all you want, boy. Soon enough you'll beg for me to become your elder sister..."

"Ren? Aoi? Is she..."

"Oh, look who's here," Myriel's crimson eyes gazed at Lerish, who just came out from the back room. "Aren't you the royal princess, young lady? What a surprise seeing you here."

"E-Eh?! H-How did you—"

"...She's...just like me," Aoi replied to her instead.

By 'being just like Aoi', she quickly realized that the woman in front of her is a powerful goddess that can see right through her concealment. Out of respect, she bowed her head down and spoke:

"Forgive me for not knowing sooner, Miss Goddess. I am Lerish, it's my pleasure meeting you."

"You don't have to introduce yourself to me, young lady. I have already known everything about you before you were even born."

"W-Wah—"

"Myriel?!" I scolded her.

"Relax, boy. I'm not the person who will just divulge that matter to anyone," she replied with a grin.

Well, if she say so, then I think it's fine. I've never had trouble with her regarding that anyway, so her words do have some weight.

"Where's the boar guy?"

"He went to a place even I don't know," Myriel replied. "The two of us aren't obliged to tell our whereabouts in the first place, that's why I didn't care to ask him where he is right now."

That's...too bad. Unlike her, that man is more reasonable and is easier for me to approach, even though I'm always bothered by the appearance of his boar mask.

"Um..." hesitant, Lerish raised her hand as she looked at Myriel and spoke, "it seems that my presence here is preventing the three of you from proceeding with your discussion. If it's alright with you, I shall excuse myself from here."

"A-Ah, we'll excuse ourselves too!" Saku also spoke.

"No, no, it's fine," Myriel waved her hand slowly. "Actually, the reason why I came here is to see you, young lady."

"M-Me?!"

Myriel then stood up and walked towards Lerish. Confused and intimidated by the aura that she emits, Lerish cowered back, but—

"Ahhh, the sweet scent and softness of a ripening woman. You must've took a great effort to maintain your beauty, I see..."

"M-Miss Goddess...?!"

Wrapping her arms around Lerish, Myriel began closely examining her body. Shocked by the sudden turn of events, I immediately covered Aoi's and Saki's eyes with my hands, just in case Myriel does something outrageous to Lerish.

This woman really does whatever she wanted, huh.

"Myriel, stop it. If you came here just for that, then I won't let you come near her or any of us again."

"Fufu. My bad, my bad. I just can't help it, no? Seeing a beautiful maiden in front of me makes my heart flutter with joy," she chuckled.

Myriel returned to her seat and regained her composure after just that. She sipped her wine again, and spoke:

"Young lady, are you aware of the existence of the Great White Tower?"

"Great White Tower, you ask?" Lerish, who also regained her calm not long after, started to ponder for a moment. "It's a famous legend here in Narashel, I believe. According to the legend the tower is kept hidden from everyone's eyes to protect the treasures stored inside it, and if discovered by anyone his eyes will instantly turn blind..."

'So far, none has ever succeeded in finding the tower,' she added. Still, there are several adamant people that are trying to comb through the entire world just to verify the tower's existence.

"Unless one finds the tower for real, it would remain forever as a mere figment of imagination created by our ancestors," Lerish sighed.

Seeing her becoming depressed, I—

"That tower...I think I've seen it before."

"Ren?!"

"...Nn. I also think I've seen it before," Aoi agreed.

Hearing our responses, Myriel's eyes quickly flashed as she turned at us.

"Are you sure you've seen the tower once, boy?"

"I'm not sure, but if you're asking me if I saw a white column so tall it reached the clouds before then yes, I've seen something like that."

When we saw that thing while we're traveling in the desert, I only thought of it as just a mirage that quickly disappeared after we entered Plate Town. I've always thought of it that way, so I never expected that there's a mystery behind its existence.

"Can you tell us more about it, Ren?" Lerish asked, also feeling curious.

"A-Ah, okay..."

"Hm. Things just got more interesting, I see," Myriel muttered with an intrigued smile on her face.