The Magic Dagger

L takes the dagger she brought and offers it to Tina.

“Hm, thanks, L-kun.”

Receiving the dagger from L in a polite manner with as always a dramatic gesture, Tina inspects the dagger without even taking it out of the sheath.

“I see……At the very least, I can’t see the magic power light from the characteristic of the magic sealing tool in this state.”

At the muttering of Tina, Tatsumi interjects in his mind.

Not just Tatsumi, but the excellent magic users Calsedonia and Giuseppe too, cannot examine a dagger’s magic power from its light while it’s still in the sheath at one look.

“……This sheath’s use is to seal magic? Let me see……”

Tina squints her eyes, concentrating in silence.

She was a person from the ages before magic incantations, in other words “Chanting Magic”.

For that reason, she is the same kind of “Magic User” as Tatsumi.

Tina continues to concentrate in silence. Tatsumi’s group continues to watch over her state silently.

For how long did they do that.

While Tina loses her strength suddenly, she lets out a sigh with a ‘fuu’ sound.

“Right now, I just used the <> magic on the dagger but……When blood sticks to some part other than the dagger’s edge, it becomes the key and releases the power to cross worlds.”

“Yes, that’s what it does. At first I thought you had to just take it out from its sheath, but that wasn’t so in reality.”

The very first time —- When L teleported from her home world to the Earth, the dagger accidentally drew her blood.

That released the magic power from the dagger, and sent L to the Earth.

After L’s husband was called by heaven, L who tried to leave Earth took the dagger out of its sheath.

But, just doing that didn’t release the magic power.

Certainly when she had brought the dagger out from the sheath and its magic didn’t work, L, who had thought that bringing it out from its sheath would do it, has a hurried and upset memory.

After that, remembering the time she first had teleported, she cut up her own pinky a bit with the dagger, and succeeded in releasing the magic power of the dagger from the attracted blood.

“……I see. The place to teleport is random……so you can’t cross worlds while specifying a place……huh?”

It seems the effects of the <> magic are continuing. Tina continues looking at the dagger in her hand while continuing to talk.

“This kind of Gambling Magic Item, exactly who made it……oh?”

Tina’s face, saying so, slightly cramps.

“<>-dono, what’s wrong?”

Giuseppe, who had noticed Tina’s situation, asks mysteriously.

Tatsumi, Calsedonia, and L, as well as Jardock and Mil-il, everyone in the room focused their attention on the legendary <>.

“…………………………This is, the person who created this dagger……It seems that it’s me.”

While unsteadily waving around the dagger in her hand, Tina gave a dry laugh.

“Eh? Eh……m……Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?”

L gives out in a loud voice.

Everyone except L and Tina, everyone else in the room who couldn’t speak thought so.

“Th, That dagger……The <>-sama had made this!?”

At L who had opened her eyes widely, Tina gave a troubled face.

“That’s right…… I carve a stamp onto the magic things that I make, and on this dagger is that stamp. Though, I have no memory of making this dagger. In other words, it would be the future me who makes this dagger. Though, I don’t know at what point I made it.”

A magic item that can cross the wall between worlds, where you cannot choose your destination. It’s an extreme item that causes inconvenience to others, but it certainly seems like Tina would create it because it seemed fun.

Though they don’t try to talk, Tatsumi and co. agrees.

“It’s something that I made, but why was it at L-kun’s homeland’s world……That far, I don’t know. Though, we’re talking about me, so I could have dropped it while I was wandering around differing worlds I think?”

“Saying it like it’s someone else’s problem……”

“At the very least, if you look at it from my perspective it’s like it’s somebody else’s problem.”

At Tina, who was laughing ‘Hahaha’, Tatsumi breathed out a powerful sigh.

At the side of that Tatusmi, Tina gives L back the dagger in a smile.

“Thank you, L-kun. But, did I…… Did the future me cause you any trouble? If it’s something I can do, I don’t care if you want me to do something?”

“No……Sure, I had to endure sadness and pain to obtain that. But, it’s also true that thanks to that dagger I was able to happen to meet my husband and precious friends. I will never regret getting this dagger.”

At L’s decisive declaration, Tina’s smile deepens.

“I see. Then……I know, let’s at least politely grieve for the adventuring companions in your life story that you’ve recited. As someone who can pa.s.s through time, I have decided to never interfere with the past, so I won’t save your adventuring companions. But, just this much is okay.”

“Okay…..That’s good enough. Please, do so.”

L gets up from the stool, and lowered her head deeply toward Tina.

Just like the strangely quiet atmosphere was blown away, after that a light discussion rose through the group.

L and Giuseppe, as well as Tina, had an interesting conversation about magic and magic power.

“……Then, you’re the same kind of teleporter, but L-dono is different from son-in-law-dono and <>-dono, and don’t have the magic?”

“It seems that way. I have no concrete evidence, but I was from the start born with magic. The nature of this magic wasn’t steeped with Teleportation or the system.”

“……That’s an interesting inquiry. That said, I regret having stopped investigating that as I can’t verify that.”

“Then, in Calse’s case, which type of opinion do you have? Calse has come to this world like son-in-law-dono and <>-dono?”

“That’s right. In Calse-san’s case, it wouldn’t be teleportation, but reincarnation……If you a.s.sume that magic resides not in the soul but the body, then wouldn’t it be understandable is Calse-san doesn’t have the magic?”

“That too is an interesting inquiry. But, if you look at it through my eyes, spirit magic is also an interesting subject. What do you think? Can you beat my spirit magic?”

“Spirit magic is above all else a.s.sumed to be telecommunication abilities with spirits, so no matter how great a magic user <>-sama is, he won’t hear or see the figure of spirits, and can’t use spirit magic I think.”

“Yea, it’s impossible for me. That’s a disappointment.”

On the other hand, Tatsumi and Calsedonia talk about the incident in Calsedonia’s homeland to Jardock and Mil-il.

“……To pick a fight with Tatsumi and Calsedonia……There was a fool there huh.”

“Really. Not only that, he said in front of Tatsumi’s eyes that he would make Calsedonia a slate too? That’s no stranger than sticking your head into a dragon’s mouth. If it was me I would never behave like that.”

“He equates to an idiot, that guy.”

And Tatsumi and Calsedonia listened happily to the experiences of Jardock and Mil-il’s hunting events.

“Fire bears and flying fangs, monkeys, and thunder wolves……? That is again, a formidable enemy.”

“Yeah, thanks to you we earned a plentiful more than we thought.”

“That’s thanks to the boar carriage and Pager that Tatsumi had lent us. WIthout the boar carriage, we could never carry that much prey.”

“That’s right. Ah, we can return Pager-chan at any time. Tell us if you have a good day for it.”

“Recently, because of the dragon’s disturbance I’ve gotten a lot of work from the temple. Next time, I would want to go magic beast hunting with everyone.”

“Yes, Danna-sama. Next time let’s go with everyone.”

Visibly meeting smiles with Calsedonia, Tatsumi’s group of three happily loosen their cheeks.

An hour of time pa.s.ses while each person happily talked to someone else from Tatsumi’s group.

“By the way, why does Tina-san wear suits and sneakers?”

“That’s right, Tatsumi-kun. It’s simply because it’s easier that way. See, comparing the roads in this world to Earth’s aren’t good enough for that to be called a compliment. Especially in your age, even if it’s the roads in the royal capital they seem poor?”

In response to Tina, Tatsumi nods silently.

The main street in the capital and the surrounding roads are roads splendidly laid with stones, but even so compared to modern j.a.pan’s asphalt paving, it’s quite inferior.

In those places, if you walk on a hill, especially with high heel shoes, your heels will certainly get caught in cracks in the stone pavement.

“And, if you go a bit away from a big road deep in alleyways and such, it’s not rare for the paving to become just scatterings of trash. Thinking about walking in those places, sneakers is the best.”

The Royal Capital Levantis’s public order is certainly good. That being said, danger in dim places will still exist.

Just as Tina says, deep in alleyways, people sleeping and sitting down are there daily, and there are factory workers and criminals and such too.

There’s animal corpses and feces, as well as things like food sc.r.a.ps laid all over, and at times you see human feces and corpses.

Due to her strong curiosity, it seems that she goes into those places often.

“Mostly, it’s so that I don’t step in filth or scattered trash in the road with my high heels.”

“Ah, I’ve heard that story before. At that time it was something about a man wearing high heels.”

“If we’re talking about men’s high heels, my favourite is in seventeenth century France — the age with the most showy style in the royal court of Versailles, at that time the seat of the head of political power, when Louis the Fourteenth wore high heels to show off the beauty of his feminine legs. The peculiarity of putting red leather on the heel, called ‘High Heels’ and became almost a uniform-like thing for the royal n.o.bles.”

At Tina’s words of “I’m a pragmatist so I use the most effective thing though”, Tatsumi gave a dry smile as he listened.

The words of “If I had to say, you would be someone that just lives for the moment”, rose up through Tatsumi’s throat, but luckily did not flow out of his lips.

And so as the sun approaches the ground, the fun time faces its end.

L put the mood to good use, bringing into the room food and drink, where it mostly disappeared into the stomachs of Tatsumi and co.

“Man, today was really fun. Crossing over past s.p.a.ce and time was worth it!”

Tina gets up from her stool aimlessly, in a good mood.

“But, I’m a vagrant exile in s.p.a.cetime. I can’t always be in the same place. Therefore, I will soon have to go.”

In Tina’s pupils reflect in order Tatsumi, Calsedonia, Giuseppe, L, Jardock, Mil-il, and everyone in the room.

“Today I earned a new friend, and got to discuss various things. Today would fit on my five fingers for completion out of all the days in my life.”

“So you’re going <>-dono…..No, Tina-dono. Once again, visit again any time.”

On Giuseppe’s face cut with wrinkles spreads thanks and sadness.

“Yeah, if I feel like it I’ll come again to play. When that time comes, let’s talk and have fun like today.”

With her right hand on her chest, and her left hand behind her waist.

And, pulling her right leg behind her, Tina elegantly bows. That gesture was the most dramatic out of all of them from today, and the one that fit her the most.

“Then, my newest friends……Tatsumi-kun, Calse-kun, L-kun, Jardock-kun, Mil-il-kun, and Giuseppe-kun. I pray for your lives to be happy–”

Tina, raising her lowered head, smiles.

And her figure became golden light, and disappeared in front of them.

“……Just as sudden as she appeared, she also left……”

Looking at the remains of the golden light, Tatsumi mutters.

And getting close to his side was Calsedonia, standing and holding his arm with hers.

“Just as Tina-san said, let’s come again to play.”

“Right. But, where will Tina=san go after this?”

Saying so, Tatsumi believed.

Just now Tina had said so too. Not saving L’s adventuring companions from their unnatural death, instead mourning.

Perhaps, using L’s magic power wave as a clue, in order to fulfill her promise the <> went to the past.

Holding that belief, Tatsumi turns to L.

Perhaps it’s because L’s long years of worry about the accident has been resolved, but she has an expression of relieved rea.s.surance.