第１１６４堀：そこまでしてやってきた理由 (Part1)
**Chapter 1164: The Reason for Coming All This Way**
**Side: Mikos**
I was being prompted by Comet and Agil, discussing magic with Hivia, when the conversation turned to the origins of our ideas. When I mentioned that games and manga were the source, Yuki-sensei suddenly opened the door and stood there.
"Huh? Yuki-sensei, what are you doing here?"
"Eh? Oh, Yuki."
My surprised question acted as a signal, and Kagura and the others all turned their gazes toward the door in unison. Hivia, of course, did the same.
"The Principal and... who is that?"
Ah, right. I suppose Hivia and Yuki-sensei hadn't met before.
Actually, hadn't they said that meeting Hivia carelessly might provoke her?
Wait, is this current situation bad?
I panicked, but Yuki-sensei just wore his usual charming smile.
"I’m Yuki. An acquaintance of the Principal. And, I’m also an acquaintance of Comet and the others here. Nice to meet you. Let’s see, your name is..."
"I’m Hivia. If you’re an acquaintance of Comet and the others, then you’re an acquaintance of mine, too. Nice to meet you."
Huh? They’re just greeting each other normally. Why?
"Um, Sota-sama, Mizu-sama, is this really okay?"
I whispered into my mic to Sota-san and the others who were on standby.
*"There is no particular problem. I had already judged that it was safe, which is why I had them go there."*
"Oh, is that so?"
*"Indeed. There is no issue, so you may rest easy. Hivia is remarkably stable."*
Well, if it weren't, Yuki-sensei wouldn't have come here in the first place. If I have the seal of approval from Sota-sama and Mizu-sama, I suppose there’s nothing to worry about.
"So, what were you talking about? I thought I heard something about manga."
"Ah, yes. We were talking about where Mikos gets her ideas for magic. I heard it was from manga and games. That sounds interesting. Do you know about them, Yuki?"
"Of course I do. Want to read some?"
Whoa!?
Yuki-san seems surprisingly proactive toward Hivia. Is this really okay? Provoking her like that...
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah. Manga is meant to be read. It’s fun to look at the same things and talk about the same stories. Plus, it serves as a source of inspiration."
"I knew it! Then, let me read some! Though, I wouldn't know what to start with."
"What kind of manga were you talking about?"
"Um... what was it again?"
"You know, the one where a guy goes to another world..."
"Why are you guys reading that kind of stuff?"
"Ahaha. It’s a precaution."
Ah, I see.
Agil and the others wouldn't just show her manga packed with Earth's technology right off the bat. Besides, even if they did, Hivia wouldn't be able to understand it. A world where science has advanced so far that iron horses run on the ground, iron birds fly through the sky carrying people and cargo, and people live in comfortable temperatures regardless of summer or winter—even I thought it sounded like nonsense until I went to Weed and saw it with my own eyes.
"In that case, something where science surpasses magic would be good."
"Oh, that’s a great idea. It’ll be good for studying science, too."
Ah, I remember that manga. Wasn't it based on a light novel?
...Come to think of it, why do people from Earth want to come to such an inconvenient world? It’s a total mystery to me, Mikos.
But, I should just be happy that Yuki-sensei came. As I was thinking that, Yuki-sensei took a series of manga and light novels out of his item box.
Man, keeping them on hand—is that normal? Or is it like how we girls carry cosmetics? Yeah, let’s go with that.
"Whoa. Yuki, you can use an item box? And you have so many books inside—isn't that amazing?"
"Eh? Oh, I just think of it as a convenient storage bag. Anyway, can you read? This is your first time with manga, right? Here is the manga. And these are books with just text."
"Oh, right. I’ll read them right away."
Hivia picked up a manga and opened it...
"Whoa, is this manga? The art is so cute and the scenery is beautiful. Amazing. It’s completely different from a picture book."
Yeah. It’s a surprise when you see manga for the first time. It really is different from a picture book. Not that there’s anything wrong with picture books, but you can clearly tell they are two completely different things.
"Ugh, I can't read these letters. What language is this? I’ve never seen it before. It looks so... blocky."
Ahaha, the manga is in Japanese, of course. There’s no way Hivia could read it. Wait, then what was the point of giving it to her?
"Here. This is a ring with a translation skill."
"What’s that!?"
"You know how we’ve been interacting with another continent lately?"
"Eh? First I’ve heard of it. Another continent? You crossed the ocean?"
"Yeah, and the people who met countries with completely different languages were in trouble, so they made this."
"Huh. I suppose it would be a problem if you couldn't talk. And since magic tools that grant skills aren't exactly unheard of, it makes sense if you limit it to just translation."
Heh. As expected of a student at this academy. She truly grasps the essence of magical technology. Even though she’s so small, the knowledge in her head is the real deal.
"Anyway, never mind the explanation of the ring. Can you read it now?"
"Okay, let’s see... Yes! I can read it! But it’s so strange—I’ve never seen these letters before, yet I understand the meaning!"
Yeah, I know that feeling well. When the Japanese was directly injected into me via skill, it felt so incredibly strange to suddenly be able to read it.
"Heh... Ho... Amazing! Alright, time for an experiment! Let’s see... fire burns because there is air... and if the oxygen levels increase and the heat output rises..."
"Wait a minute, Hivia!? If you do that suddenly, you’ll start a fire!"
"Exactly. Save that for the lab—wait, this is a lab. At least put the manga down first! Are you planning on burning it?"
"Oh, right. Well, I can do that later. I’ll just read for now. I’m curious about what happens next."
Perhaps captivated by the charm of the manga and the knowledge written within, Hivia began reading with intense seriousness. After watching her for a while, I noticed Yuki-sensei and Principal Popuri leading Agil and Comet into another room.
What could it be? If they’re taking those two, it must be about their research...
"Stasia. I’m curious about what Yuki-sensei and the others are doing, so I’m going to go check."
"Understood. I will handle things here. There must be a reason why the Master came all this way to meet those two while Hivia is here."
That’s what I thought, too. So, Mikos opened the door to the room where Yuki-sensei and the others had gone without hesitation.
"Yuki-sensei. Would you mind if Mikos joined you?"
"Hm? Oh, sure. Here, have some tea."
Yuki-sensei didn't seem to mind at all that I had come to check on them; he even poured me some tea. Green tea.
"So, why did you and Principal Popuri come here, after all? Especially with Hivia around."
Yes, Sota-san said it was fine, but I still wanted to know why they took the risk to come here at this time. Did something happen?
"It’s not a particularly strange story. You saved a severely injured person the other day, didn't you? She was in quite a bad state."
"Ah..."
I could only return a short response.