v3 Chapter 7: The Attic Room

“I see.”

Silas, who had been listening silently to Riku's story with his arms resting on the table, straightened up and leaned back in his chair.

“You... believe me?” Riku asked hopefully.

“No.”

He doesn't believe me? While accepting somewhere inside that it made sense, Riku still felt a little down.

“In this world, as you call it,” Silas explained, “'goddess' refers to the Goddess of Creation. No one has seen her form, but her existence is believed through the art of healing. We have churches, too.”

True, she was a self-proclaimed goddess. Thinking about it, there were plenty of male gods back on Earth too, so there was a possibility she was different from those. And if you questioned whether she was really a god, she certainly was suspicious.

“Even if you say you were from a different world and nearly 30,” Silas continued, “right now you look no older than 10, and I've never heard of such a thing. Though the part about a god hunting souls... well, I thought that might be possible.”

He believes that part? Riku was confused, unsure what criteria Silas was using to evaluate his story.

“So you don't even know that basic fact?” Silas realized. “In this world, people's bodies are formed based on the soul's memory.”

“Soul's... memory?”

“Still don't get it? Here in the Plains, not many suffer severe injuries, so many don't grasp it, but I hear injuries are common in the Deep Forest and Iwadou where there are many hunters. Even if injured, as long as the soul's memory exists, the body heals back to its original state. They say healers draw the power to heal from the Goddess's source.”

Riku gaped, his mouth open. Silas watched him with amusement.

“This world has monsters, and by defeating them, we obtain meat and magic stones. Magic stones are...” Silas stood up and took something from his coat pocket. “This came from that slime earlier.”

“This is... a magic stone.” Riku murmured.

Silas then placed it properly in Riku's hand. The object, about the size of his index fingertip, was dull but shone with a pale blue light, like a gemstone. Riku held it up to the light. Magic stones, which had only existed in game worlds, were right here.

“This is the source that powers various tools,” Silas explained. “The most convenient are cooking and heating, I suppose.”

So it's like petroleum? Riku grew increasingly excited.

“Mind you,” Silas added, “there aren't many monsters in the Plains. If they do appear, it's usually just slimes like before, or lizards, and even those are rarely seen outside of pastures.”

“You said earlier that meat also comes from monsters, so what do people do for meat here?” Riku asked. I think there was something like bacon in this morning's stew.

“Hmm, chickens too old to lay eggs, young roosters, male cows, plus lizards, and since the sea is close, sea fish.”

Sounds like a decidedly tough lineup. Besides, fish isn't meat.

“Well, there isn't much of that, and we usually don't have trouble since we can get it cheaply from the Deep Forest or Iwadou,” Silas clarified. “We export wheat and other things in return, so well, this world generally runs smoothly.” Silas seemed to like the phrase 'this world,' saying it cheerfully.

“More importantly, Riku, your eyes lit up seeing magic earlier, but are you bad at it?”

“Magic!” Riku leaned forward eagerly. “There was no magic in my world. Hey, can anyone use magic?”

“Starting from there...?” Silas muttered. “I thought maybe you were the child of some important person, but that doesn't seem right either...” He probed further. “What happened at the Trial of Aptitude?”

“Trial of Aptitude?”

“You don't know that either? This is troubling.” Silas furrowed his brow and made a gesture as if pressing his hands together. “Like this, you pour power into a large crystal pillar, and it glows green or some other color.”

“I don't know anything about that.”

“I see.”

Silas said that, stood up, poured Riku another cup of tea, “I'm stepping outside for a bit,” and went outside without even putting on a coat.

What's wrong? But Riku also had many things to think about. Monsters, magic stones, soul memory. Magic and the Trial of Aptitude. Wasn't this too much information to cram in one day?

Eventually, Silas came back inside with a bang.

“I've thought about it.” Apparently, he had been thinking outside. He probably wanted to think it over alone. Riku understood that feeling well, but he couldn't help wondering what conclusion Silas had reached.

“Basically, Riku, you have no parents in this world. Right?”

“That is correct,” Riku couldn't help using polite language.

“Then it's just as I decided at first. You should stay here.”

Silas's face looked clear and bright, as if he'd decided it was just that simple.

“I, um...”

“What is it?”

“I'll be in your care from now on!”

“Yeah. That means I'll be your guardian. Nice to meet you.”

“Yes!”

Guardian was an unfamiliar term, but well, that's probably what it meant.

“Right,” Silas continued, “if you're going to live in this house, we need to decide on a proper room.”

“Eh, no, the place you let me stay yesterday is fine...”

“Well, that place is fine too, but... well, follow me.”

Saying that, he headed to the edge of the living room. A few steps away, upon closer inspection, there was a ladder attached. No, rather than a ladder, it was probably more accurate to call it steep, inclined stairs. Where the stairs ended, namely the ceiling, there was a small opening just large enough for an adult to pass through.

As Silas climbed the stairs, he instructed, “Climb up after I reach the top.”

Riku waited excitedly. When Silas's feet disappeared into the ceiling, Riku flew up the ladder. Popping his head up, he found it was an attic room. Come to think of it, this house didn't have a second floor.

“Awesome.”

Although partitioned by a wall partway through, the large room, about half the size of the house, had two walls slanted along the roofline, and one straight wall fitted with a glass window, making the whole space bright. A bed pushed near the window and a rug laid before it were primarily blue and green. A small writing desk and chair. On the desk, a small lamp.

If there were toys scattered around, this would definitely be a boy's room. It was clearly different from the guest room, which felt fine no matter who stayed there.

“Isn't this someone's room?”

“Ah, no, no one's ever used it. So don't worry, go ahead and use it. More importantly, I thought there might be clothes just about Riku's size...”

Silas crouched beside the bed and pulled out a box from underneath it.

“Around 10 years old... should be around here. Well, the style's a bit old, but kids' clothes don't really have trends.”

Saying that, he brought out a full set of folded clothes, including a thick coat.

“We'll gather anything else necessary later, but between what you're wearing and these, you should be set for a while. Now then, starting tomorrow, it's pretty heavy labor. Don't lose heart.”

“Yeah!”

The reply that slipped out sounded just like a 10-year-old boy, which felt a little embarrassing, but I'm starting life over, so this is fine, Riku told himself.