Entrust the Water Great Spirit to the Dark Great Spirit, and we push through the crowd, north, northward.

"Hikaru, the Great Spirits cannot enter the domains of other Great Spirits, so once we pass through the labyrinth, we'll be safe!"

Refreia says, running.

Our residence lies within the domain of the Water Great Spirit, near the labyrinth and thus close to the heart of the city, so escaping from the Water domain won't take long.

The Dark Great Spirit's delay should be sufficient.

The Labyrinth City of Meltya is shaped by the presence of four Great Spirits.

To the north lies the Earth Great Spirit.

To the west lies the Fire Great Spirit.

To the south lies the Water Great Spirit.

To the east lies the great spirit of wind.

At any rate, we have no choice but to run as far away as possible for now.

The labyrinth is right at our doorstep.

The presence of the great spirit is distant, it seems the dark great spirit is successfully holding it back.

"North, east, or west— which way should we go?"

"If we keep running, north would be best. What do you say? Should we just leave the town now?"

"Yeah. It'd probably be better to put some distance between us."

We might just barely escape, but there's still danger.

We—no, humans can't possibly stand up to a great spirit.

"Is Grapefloo okay?"

"I'm good at running, but what should we do next? I'm not really catching on to the situation."

"Sorry. I'll explain once we're safe."

The area surrounding the labyrinth is open, making it easy to travel in any direction.

The north and east sides have fewer buildings compared to the west and south.

While there are some structures along the outer edge of the labyrinth square, beyond that, farmland stretches out. You can run through it at full speed without any issues.

So, pass by the side of the labyrinth and head north.

According to Refleia, we should now be out of reach of the water spirit’s pursuit… but…

"Let’s keep going all the way to the neighboring town. We were planning to leave the city anyway, so why not just keep traveling?"

"We can’t just leave Jeanne behind, though."

"Is that so? Then I guess we’ll have to find her—somehow, eventually."

"Eventually?"

Once you dash down the road stretching across vast farmland, it's as good as certain you've escaped the city.

The Great Spirit of Water can no longer pursue.

I never imagined being exposed as someone beloved by the Great Spirit, and I can't guarantee such a situation won't happen again.

I'm a transmigrant, currently being watched by millions of people.

But once I leave the city, almost no one will know me.

So it's safe to say I've passed the immediate danger.

"Maybe it's best to head to my family's home for refuge. It's not too far away."

"Wait, didn't Reifrea's family have the Great Spirit of Light? I don't want to end up in the same situation again."

"The Great Spirit of Siltyon is over at the Nature Temple, so it's perfectly fine. There's no record of them killing someone beloved, after all."

"I suppose that's how it is."

Hearing that, it suddenly struck me that a labyrinth city that commands a Great Spirit must be rather twisted.

Well, that's probably why the profit from the spirit stones obtained from the labyrinth is so high—and why, once you've learned about it, you can't survive without it.

Just like humans on Earth can't imagine living without electricity now, it's probably the same thing.

"Exactly! That's the best way! I want to make Flora—oh, she's my sister—say thank you to you!"

Reflira, already fully committed, ran ahead with enthusiasm.

Indeed, if we're going to travel far to another continent, we'll probably need to pay our respects to our family home at least once.

Perhaps calling it a farewell for this life is an exaggeration, but in a world where transportation is undeveloped, living without regrets might be even more important than the way people live in Japan, given that the future is unknown.

"So, let's do it then. Where exactly is Siltyon again?"

"It's northeast of Meltya. It's a single road, so it won't take long."

"Won't take long, you say? It's impossible to get there in just one day, right?"

"Maybe three days if we run."

Then, I suppose I'll have to meet up with Jeanne first.

I'm running through the domain of a giant earth spirit, with farmland stretching to both sides.

Suddenly, the connection I had with the summoned spirit of darkness snapped.

Whether it's because I'm too far away or because it was defeated by the spirit of water, I can't tell.

"The spirit of darkness has been defeated."

"No problem. The Great Water Spirit won't be able to follow us past this point."

The moment Refrea spoke those words,

a column of water—no, a wall of water—rose up before us.

It shot straight up vertically, blocking the road, forcing us to stop.

People on the road nearby looked around in surprise.

"Ahyahyahaha! Oh, look at that! So they're actually here! Humans are so slow!"

The voice came from just nearby.

Water. Spirit power. The overwhelming presence of that force made it clear to me instantly what it was.

It was like instantaneous teleportation.

...No, it was probably truly moved there in an instant.

"U... ugh... this can't be..."

"Didn't the Great Spirit say they couldn't cross into another domain...?"

"That should be... but... why...?"

It was the water great spirit that had just moments ago been trying to take my life.

Though its size had been reduced to that of a human, there was no mistaking it.

The god of water, brimming with immense spiritual power.

"I'm just gonna catch you and take a little taste before going back! Haha, this is way too easy!"

Brighter than the giant water great spirit, almost... silly-looking.

"That doesn't really feel like a water great spirit at all. But the appearance is still that of a great spirit..."

"Reflia, this one's probably a great spirit summoned by the water great spirit."

"You can tell that just like that?"

"Just a hunch. It feels like the way the spiritual energy is concentrated—it's like two different elements sharing the same form."

In that sense, Reflair's "Light" and my "Darkness Fog" are also the same thing, just different attributes. This can be felt intuitively.

Looking at the status panel, you'll see things like "Shadow Manifest" or "Shadow Call," indicating the type of technique. While I haven't seen many techniques before, not all of them are identical.

There's no equivalent to Reflair's "Photon Ray" or "Cure Glow" in darkness, nor is there a technique like Jajarudan's "Water Screen" in the dark.

Therefore, mutual cancellation only applies when techniques of the same attribute system exist.

Conversely, this means I have no way to counter Photon Ray, and Reflair has no way to defend against Shadow Bind.

Either way, as long as it's a summoning technique, it can be dealt with.

Before the opponent made their move, I linked hands with Reflair and Grapefleur, stepped to the side of the road, and shattered the barrier stone.

Instantly, a translucent barrier enveloped us.

That was all it took—our opponent could no longer act, and unlike a true great spirit, this one should vanish under time constraints.

There was no need to face it head-on.

"Ah! That's cheating! Once you use that technique, I can't do anything! You—!"

The Water Great Spirit (summoned) was hopping up and down in anger, but since it looked human-sized, it wasn't particularly frightening.

People passing by seemed curious, but they didn't appear to realize this was a great spirit—probably because the Water Great Spirit looked quite human-like.

The Dark Great Spirit, on the other hand, was darkness itself...

"So the Great Spirit can also use summoning magic...?"

"Of course, if humans can use something, the Great Spirit can too. I think the Water Screen the Great Spirit just used was the same one. Anyway, what should we do next..."

For now, I can't move as long as that summoned Water Great Spirit remains.

"Ah, um... what should I do, meow?"

"I'll explain."

I've caused Grapefruit a lot of trouble.

No, it's not just simple trouble. I might have even been killed.

It was something entirely unrelated to her. She was targeted just because I'm her weak point. It's entirely my fault.

That's what it means to be seen by billions of people and exposed to ill intent.

I... hadn't truly understood that before.

I thought I had understood it all, but there was undoubtedly an overly optimistic side to me.

I told Flue everything.

Even after hearing my explanation, she didn’t seem to grasp it very well.

In fact, I hadn’t even told her that I was a transmigrated person from another world.

We were employer and employee, so she never tried to learn about my background, and I believe she kept a clear boundary in our relationship.

From my side, too, I tried to maintain that boundary,

at least in my own mind.

　

But look at the result now.

The masked man was still around somewhere, and since he was likely targeting me, I couldn’t possibly send Grape Flue back to town.

"Flue, I'll pay you properly—just stay with me for a while. Is it possible to leave town for a bit?"

"Nyanyanyanyanya... I think it'll be fine if you apply properly through the mutual aid association."

"Ah, then I'll go talk to them. I also need to find Jeanne."

"Sorry. Can I ask a favor?"

"Well, I guess there's no help for it. Just a loan. A loan."

"I'll definitely pay it back."

It's not entirely safe for Reflair to move away from me, but the Great Spirit won't harm Reflair—after all, Reflair is unrelated to the townspeople. The masked man can't track Reflair without direct visual confirmation, and the same applies to the other travelers.

And right now, we're in an open area with no signs of other travelers nearby.

"I think the man in the mask is probably still somewhere in the city. He's unlikely to try anything against Refrea, but stay cautious. Well, even if we had a map, Refrea wouldn't be able to find her location unless she's a traveler, so I suppose it's safe."

"Hikaru, you really are a worrier. Well then, let's go around the city once and return from the area of the Flame Spirit. Should we change our appearance?"

"Disguise? Maybe that's a good idea. If we change clothes and cover our faces, we won't be easily recognized."

"……I was joking, though. Well, if it makes Hikaru feel better."

I took out the cloak I'd bought for Refrea from my Shadow Storage, along with a long cloth to hide my face. Since I'd planned to set out on a journey, I'd been gradually packing items into my storage, and now it came in handy.

"Well then, I'm off. Wait—what happens to this barrier if we go outside?"

"Speaking of which, how about this? Let's prepare one more barrier stone."

There's a great water spirit outside.

Though it might be risky to go out now, Reflia shows no sign of worry at all. She must have absolute trust in that great spirit.

Reflia steps out from the barrier.

I had feared the barrier might vanish the moment she left, but it remained intact.

It seems the barrier only disappears if everyone leaves it.

Upon Reflia stepping outside, the water spirit (summoned) raised one eyebrow.

"Hm? Hoho. What's this? Aren't you supposed to be protecting that young one? Reflia Ashbald?"

"I have another matter to attend to."

"Ah, I see. You've been growing stronger lately. Keep it up."

"Thank you, Great Spirit."

A somewhat relaxed conversation between Refrea and the Water Great Spirit.

There's a stark contrast in tone compared to when they faced me directly, but I see now what a true Great Spirit truly is.

Guardian of humanity, a god.

It's me—the one they're attached to, or rather, the "beloved one"—who's the anomaly.

...Wait, I'm actually supposed to remember names. Great Spirit, huh...

　

"Then, Hikaru. I'm off."

"Ah, yeah. Please be careful."

Refrea ran northward.

I can't move until this Great Spirit—whose existence is uncertain—vanishes.

(My summoning spell lasts only about five minutes, but something created by a Great Spirit must last much longer—there's no doubt about that. It's already been thirty minutes, and it hasn't disappeared yet.)

Worst case, it might never disappear.

For now, as long as this barrier holds, we won’t need to worry about it—once it breaks, we’ll have to figure out what comes next.

But as long as the barrier remains, we’re safe.

It’s uncertain whether it’s possible, but we could try summoning the Great Spirit of Darkness once more.

The Great Spirit of Water, too, initially resisted fiercely, but now seems half-given up, just standing there blankly.

All that’s left is for Refreia to bring Jeanne here—