43. Sanctuary Tour

Shiro led the three back to the cabin.

The monsters they encountered along the way were swiftly dispatched by Shiro and Mitoka—so effortlessly, in fact, that the other three just fell into step behind them, silent.

At the midpoint, the instant they entered the sanctuary's barrier,

“Huh? Barrier?” The three of them spoke as if sensing something.

"The sanctuary I call the Stone Stage has a barrier set up within a five-hundred-meter radius—no fiends can get through."

And Shiro explained.

"Five hundred meters is three hundred meters in this world's units," Mitoka added, "One meter is one point five meters, Shiro."

The unit of distance in this world is the metar. One metar is approximately 1.5 meters. Incidentally, 1,000 metars is called one karametar. One-thousandth of a metar is known as a millimetar. In terms of human perception, one metar is roughly equivalent to a mile—though the decimal prefix is applied to the mile-like unit for a more intuitive sense of scale.

"Wow, that's impressive. But then I can relax, right?"

And Aria replied.

I heard Shestia mutter, “Strong barrier magic, yet it doesn’t feel it.”

By the time they reached the cabin’s front, the three stood bewildered by the out-of-place structure.

I thought it’d be something like a makeshift hut, since I’d heard it was a cabin, but I was surprised to find a surprisingly well-built house here, amidst this sea of magic trees.

"...uh, why is there such a fancy house here, of all places?"

And Aria, startled, listened in.

"Ah, well, you know, kind of?"

Shiro gave a vague reply.

And I guide the three of them inside the house.

"Please, come in," Shiro said, guiding them inside.

The three who entered stared in quiet surprise at how modest the interior was—yet meticulously arranged. They noted the fine sofa and table, wondering where such things could have been crafted.

“First, how about some tea? I’ll prepare it right away—please wait a moment at the table,” Mitoka said, starting to set things up. While waiting, the four of them sat at the table and began talking.

"How long will you be staying here, Shiro?"

And, Aria heard.

That's right. About a month, I'd say.

"Did Shiro build this house?"

And, Albert heard.

No, not made, I guess… more like… I mean, it was already here, prepared for use…

Shiro didn’t say he’d pulled it out with his own skill—just waved it off with a vague excuse.

"Shiro, you're living here with Mitoka, just the two of you?"

And Shestia asked Shiro, her voice oddly irritable.

Yeah? Yeah, but...

Shiro was thrown by Shestia's demeanor.

Just then, Mitoka arrived with a cup, having just poured the tea.

That's right. It's just the two of us—Shiro and me—living together.

And, strangely, Mitoka answered Shestia with a smile, wearing an expression of smug triumph.

…… Shestia says nothing. Just expressionless.

Aria, sensing the odd atmosphere, asks a question.

"Um, Shiro? So, how long are you planning to stay here, again?"

Actually, I was just thinking I should head toward a town with people soon. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind guiding the three of us to the nearest town?

And, Shiro thought this was a perfect opportunity, so he asked.

"Yeah, then I'll ask you to help out too. You look strong—wouldn't mind having you join the fight if we run into trouble on the way to town."

And Aria replied.

“Shiro, come with us to our town,” Shestia said, her voice steady and sincere, a smile playing on her lips.

Shiro, their combat level seems quite high. Should we ask how they got this far?

And Mitoka offered conversation advice via telepathy.

(Oh, I see. Thanks for the advice.) Shiro replied.

"Anyway, everyone. This place is pretty deep inside the Great Tree Sea—how’d you manage to get here so easily?"

"Yeah, well. It was a real pain. Though I mostly avoided fighting the monsters."

And, Maria.

"Yeah. Even if we've got confidence in our skills, three of us taking on monsters this close to the city is pushing it."

Albert joined the conversation.

"Everyone here seems pretty strong, huh?"

And, Shiro.

"Yeah, we're a Level A adventurer party, but even we can't handle ten giant hedgehogs at once—no way."

And, Aria.

Ah, frustratingly, that’s exactly right.

And Albert acknowledged it too.

"I couldn't sustain my magic, even with me here," Shestia said, her face twisted in a sad, frustrated frown.

"So just what exactly are you, if you can wipe out something that fast—alone?"

And Aria fixed Shiro with a sharp look.

"If you're Shiro, the Apostle of the Divine, it's simple."

Shestia answered with a grumpy expression, a faint smile playing on her lips.

All eyes turned to Shiro.

“……”

Shiro hesitated—how much should he say? He didn’t even know the backgrounds of the three he’d just met, and explaining everything in detail felt too forward.

Still, Shiro thinks—maybe it’ll be alright, since Shestia seems to know his circumstances.

"Shiro, you can talk to Shestia and the others—no problem."

And then Mitoka sent a mental message.

Shiro turned sharply toward Mitoka, staring at her.

(Really? She's acting like she knows something...)

"Yes, no, I can't be certain, but Shestia might be involved with that 【rollback】. I have absolute confidence that Shestia and the others are safe."

(Alright.) Shiro thought.

Trusting Mitoka’s certainty—and the quiet confidence in her expression—he made up his mind to speak to them.

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