Incidentally, that woman belonged to the elven race. Viewed by many as a dream-like species, their longevity meant that, even after a long period of time, her beauty would still remain intact.

  Although players in Ark Earth Online couldn’t choose any race other than the human race, NPCs weren’t bound by that restriction. And not only Elves, there were many other famous species from fiction that they could belong to, such as the Dwarves, Gnomes, Sirens, Werewolves and Giants. Game-original groups also existed, including the sturdy-bodied Garidia Clan and the ones known for having a human-like appearance, except for their cat-ears and tail: the Meow Tribe.

  “Who might you be, young lady? This floor can only be reached through the elevator and even then, only a few people should know how to do it.”

  Emanating a tense aura around her, Litalia’s eyes were deeply filled with suspicion.

  “Like I was saying before, I—oh... of course...”

  At that point, Mira remembered that, currently, her figure was that of a little girl and not of the solemn Dunbalf. And since Litalia couldn’t use “Inspect”, she had to ask who the little girl was. Mira wasn’t sure if the aide would believe her if she told her real name. But the biggest problem wasn’t that. What if those who already knew the great Dunbalf started to think, wrongly or not, that he actually enjoyed living as a little girl? It would be completely unbearable for Mira if that were to happen.

  She wouldn’t mind telling that secret to Luminaria, though. First of all, Mira had witnessed it countless times before and knew that her friend was someone who enjoyed that kind of stuff more than anyone else. If Luminaria were to see Dunbalf’s current state, she would say with confidence that it was “cute”.

  However, what happened now was a bit unexpected.

  Mira remembered it too late, but just as Litalia had said, only a few people should know the special method to reach that floor using the elevator; it was a mechanism added in order to block desperate fans from invading the Sage’s Room. And as one of the elders, Mira obviously knew how to do it, easily arriving at the topmost floor of the tower. But Litalia could only wonder how the little girl in front of her was able to get there. With that, Mira couldn’t try to conceal her identity by using the excuse that she was just a mere Summoning Expert, passing by to visit the Sage’s Room.

  ◆◆◆

  While tracing her chin with her fingertip, Mira was deep in thought, trying to find a way out of that predicament. She had to think of a convenient explanation that would keep her identity a secret and still justify how she knew about the elevator’s security mechanism. It had to be something that also allowed her to freely move in and out of the tower.

  Suddenly, a great idea came to her.

  “Lady, do you know who Dunbalf is?”

  Displaying a confident smile, Mira broke the silence and turned her eyes up at Litalia.

  “Obviously! He is the Elder of the Tower of Summoning!”

  Sounding a bit more lively, the aide immediately replied.

  “Yes, good. I am the pupil of that same Dunbalf. He had a few words to tell Lumi—... Lady Luminaria, so I was ordered to come here and transmit the message.”

  With her heart beating like crazy, Mira still managed to not let her appearance falter a single bit while telling a completely fabricated story. She then tried to check Litalia’s reaction to it.

  “Dunbalf-sama’s…!? If that’s the case, then certainly… no, wait. I have never heard of Dunbalf-sama having a pupil such as yourself.”

  For a moment, right after Mira professed herself, Litalia revealed a clear look of excitement on her face. Of course, the aide’s reaction was something completely natural. Right before her, that young girl called herself the apprentice of someone who had been considered missing since thirty years ago.

  “Indeed. I only became his pupil after the disappearance incident.”

  “After he disappeared!? Then, that means Dunbalf-sama has returned to the Kingdom!?”

  Not looking satisfied, Litalia pressured Mira even more, causing the girl’s expression to lose a bit of her usual confidence.

  “Exactly. However, due to some circumstances, he is unable to move from where he is. That is why I came in his stead.”

  “Is that so? Dunbalf-sama is… but, just what in the world happened to keep him stuck in a place?”

  “Ahh… hmm, you see...”

  The idea was perfect, but it still lacked specific details. With that in mind, Mira thought of an appropriate excuse that used something she often did as Dunbalf. Assuming it was also a fact that happened in the history of that world, it would probably work.

  “He has been stuck at the City of Mythical Beasts in order to train a new Summoned Spirit.”

  Mira answered with unease, wondering if it would really work.

  “...Training yet another Summoned Spirit. That is so like Dunbalf-sama. Sometimes he would suddenly leave for that place to grow one of his spirits. I guess he never changed, huh? If that is the case, I can understand why he cannot move from there. Oohh, Dunbalf-sama, how I wish to see your face already.”

  It was an excuse born out of desperation, but apparently, Litalia was satisfied with it as she nodded in agreement. Also, Mira was now confident that, one way or another, her past actions had been engraved in the world’s history.

  The City of Mythical Beasts was a pretty popular farming spot for players. But even though it was called a “city”, no one really resided there. That was because the ruins of an ancient city occupied the entire place, only serving as home to a great variety of monsters and mythical beasts.

  Dwelling within that town was an ancient blessing that could be earned after killing the monsters there. It steadily increased in power as the player defeated even more monsters, boosting their experience and recovery rates and also increasing the chances of a rare item dropping. With the wide number of enemies that spawned in that city, it was a classic farming spot for high ranked players.

  However, once a player left that town, the blessing would be reset. So it was common sense amongst everyone that, if one really wanted to farm there, they had to give their all by buying a large quantity of items and spending as much time as they could killing monsters.

  “Yes, that is what happened. So, about the matter with Lumi—... Lady Luminaria...”

  Mira thought it was a good opportunity to ask Litalia, who seemed to be in some kind of a trance.

  “Oh, right. Currently, Luminaria-sama is… oh no, wait a moment… I cannot say that yet, really. Indeed, what you told me was something that Dunbalf-sama would often do. But anyone familiar with him would know that, so it does not prove that you are his pupil. Do you have any kind of evidence to prove it?”

  Litalia’s respect for Dunbalf, who once supported the Kingdom together with Luminaria, went beyond admiration. After hearing about the possibility of him being alive, her whole face lit up with hope but she quickly composed herself, determined on finding whether it was the truth or not.

  “Evidence? Huummpf… this should be enough, right?”

  After considering her options for a bit, Mira opened her Item Box and took out something that only Dunbalf possessed, an item that could easily work as the proof. Of course, it was the silver card engraved with nine towers, the Master Key.

  “This is… the Master Key to the Tower of Summoning! So you really are Dunbalf-sama’s… would you honor me with your name, young lady?”

  As soon as she finished verifying the item, Litalia let out a smile.

  “My name is Mira. Litalia, I have already heard about you from my master. And again, is Lady Luminaria not here?”

  “Indeed. Luminaria-sama has left for the Lunatic Lake and will only return tomorrow.”

  “Oh, I see. Then there is no other option for me but to come back later.”

  If she wasn’t there, Mira couldn’t do anything about it. Traveling to the Lunatic Lake right now would be too troublesome, so she concluded it would be fine to visit the tower again after Luminaria had returned.

  “My, look at the time! It is already late at night and you could simply stay in my room. If you are fine with it, we could wait there until Luminaria-sama returned, right? Then, if possible, I would like to hear so much more about Dunbalf-sama!”

  Litalia suddenly approached the little girl, like a cat aiming for its prey. With her back pressed against the door, Mira’s expression stiffened as she averted her gaze from the aide.

  Even though Litalia only wanted to hear about Dunbalf, it would be just something fabricated on the spot by Mira. It wasn’t a good idea to prolong a story that could fall apart without a moment’s notice.

  “No, I have a few more things to take care of, so I hope you let me return here tomorrow.”

  Mira spoke without any hesitation. Quickly running away from there was the best course of action she could take.

  “Ahh, no way… forget about the entire night then, I just want a little bit of your time. Mira-sama, what happened thirty years ago? Please tell me what Dunbalf-sama had to go through!”

  “Now is not the time for this. I have to first take care of the tasks entrusted to me by my master.”

  Pulling herself free from the clinging Litalia, Mira leaped inside the elevator and started it, moving towards the first floor. There, she decided to think of a suitable excuse to give in case of an emergency—such as the one she had just experienced. While feeling a bit of regret from what she had said, Mira tried looking up at the top floor, only to see the complete change in Litalia’s appearance, her entire body clinging to the transparent tube. The girl let out a deep sigh at that sight.

  “She seemed way more intellectual...”

  That kind of behavior wasn’t something the NPC Litalia had before. When that world was still a game, she always gave off the impression of being a hardworking secretary. Was it because thirty years had passed? Or was she like that all along? While supporting her chin with a hand, Mira smiled wryly, looking at the the floors going past her.

  After several seconds, Mira reached the first floor and, with regained composure, took the opportunity to encourage the researchers with a “Do your best!” shout, right as she was passing by them. It was a habit of sorts she had as Dunbalf and, unbeknown to her, when the researchers heard the cheers of an unfamiliar girl that had suddenly walked through the tower, many of them got fired up for their all-nighter.

  Having left the Tower of Sorcery, Mira went directly to the Tower of Summoning. Luminaria would be coming back tomorrow, but until then, the girl wanted to confirm something by herself. The fact that she had tasks to do wasn’t entirely a lie: Mira had to verify her base of operations, the Sage’s Room. If the girl could use it just as she always had, then it wouldn’t be a problem to spend the night there.

  ◆◆◆

  The structure inside the tower was the same as the Tower of Sorcery, its dead-silent interior as bright as day, illuminated by the flickering light generated with Abstractionism. Mira squinted a bit at that and, while thinking of later adjusting the amount of light generated, operated the elevator to reach the top floor.

  Differently from the other tower, that place was completely deserted and she couldn’t see any researchers working on the floors she passed by. At that sight, Mira remembered how the knights told her that Summoning was something unusual. It was obvious, now that the number of Summoning Experts had decreased. After personally experiencing such a fact, it felt like she were seeing off her retired comrades, a feeling of helplessness welling up inside her.

  Chapter 6

  The top floor of the Tower of Summoning. Its layout was the same as the one inside the Tower of Sorcery, a large circular corridor giving access to each one of its four areas. And walking down that corridor without any hesitation was Mira, her destination right ahead: the Private Room.

  A red carpet was laid over the hallway and a collection of black armor, similar to the Dark Knight, decorated the way to the room. They were items awarded to Dunbalf as proof of his achievements in the wars he had fought for the Kingdom. After giving a quick look at the two pieces standing in front of her, Mira reached out for the imposing black door that was located between them.

  “Oops, I almost forgot it.”

  She suddenly stopped her hand and, while thinking she would never really get used to doing that, brought out the Master Key out of her Item Box. As if it were glad for its master’s return, the moment Mira held the item close to the door, a *click* could be faintly heard near the door knob and its lock came undone. With the cool sensation from touching the metal spreading through her warm hand, the girl twisted the knob and entered her Private Room, only to be assaulted by a strange feeling of discomfort.

  First of all, since the entranceway didn’t have a special spot for the footwear to rest, Mira couldn’t find a proper place to remove and drop her boots on, so she just left them there. When it was still a game, she never had to take her shoes off while entering a room. But now, with that vivid sense of reality there, the girl couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable while wearing boots indoors.

  Finally barefoot, the girl advanced into the room she was already familiar with, and caught sight of something that covered four fifths of the entire floor: a carpet made with the pelt of a demon beast king, the Grand Caecus. Its shining gold fur was soft to the touch but extremely strong; it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that even if martial artists sparred on that carpet it would still remain intact after the battle.

  That rare item was something Dunbalf asked an artisan to make, using the pelt he had received as a reward from the “Demon Beast King Subjugation Tour”, an event where all the Nine Elders participated. Raw materials collected from monsters of that class were considered high grade components for the best kinds of equipment. So it wasn’t a surprise that, when ordered to make a mere carpet out of the fur, the first-class leatherworker complained to Dunbalf and asked him, over and over again, if he was really sure about doing that with such a precious pelt.

  In a sense, it was an item that brought memories of Mira’s past.

  The carpet lay there, as if bowing down to its master, sharing place with several other familiar accessories gathered by Dunbalf. However, their positions were slightly off.

  “Did Mariana do this?”

  She could think of only one person as being the source of that out-of-place feeling: Dunbalf’s particular assistant, a resident of the Tower of Summoning. The girl reached that conclusion simply because there could be no one else capable of entering the Private Room—except for her, who held the Master Key, and her aide. Since its owner had been absent for thirty years, it was clear to Mira that it was none other than Mariana who tidied up the room, just like she had always done before.

  The Mariana from Mira’s memories was exactly the kind of person who would do that. There were many places for storage inside the Private Room; whenever Dunbalf returned from farming monsters, leaving his loot in complete disorder there, the next time he logged in everything would be perfectly sorted in their respective storages. In short, every time the room got cluttered, the very next day it would appear tidied up.

  Because of that, since Dunbalf became an elder, he never had to do any kind of cleaning anymore. If one were to describe Mariana as a character from a rom-com, she would be the stubborn childhood friend that always took care of the main character’s needs.

  Now, regarding the items’ positions that made Mira feel anxious, it was a fact that, when it was still a game, her aide had been diligently reorganizing them every month. Mariana was someone who seemed obsessed with the likes of fortune-telling and Feng Shui, so whenever Dunbalf left her to do as she pleased, the room would turn up like that. It was possible that, during those thirty years, the assistant still kept doing the same thing, every single month. That sudden thought made Mira feel a bit worried about Mariana.

  However, the girl decided to leave those matters for tomorrow, since her body was already begging for rest—and she still had to find where the bed was. Before, if Kagami felt tired while playing, he could simply log out and sleep on his own futon. But the circumstances were different now: there was no way to “log out” so Mira had to sleep there. The problem right there was, because she had never required to use the bedroom of that room, she didn’t know its location.

  It would obviously be there, in one of the many rooms that occupied her Private Room, so Mira had to search them, one by one.

  The first room was the Collection Room. It had a lineup of rare and strange items collected all around the world.

  The second one was the Refinery Room. It was full of materials and information related to the refinement techniques developed by Dunbalf.

  The third was the Storeroom. Things like weapons, armor and experimentally refined items were neatly arranged there. As someone who knew that Dunbalf was the kind of person to leave his items scattered around, if Mariana saw that room she would surely make a fuss, wanting it for herself.

  The next one was the Restroom. Mira instantly remembered that since arriving in this world, she had yet to relieve herself. As if on cue, the girl was afflicted with a very familiar feeling coming from her abdomen, indicating that her body needed to do a certain something.

  It wasn’t that she had forgotten about that. She just wanted to forget about it. Even before she had arrived in Silver Horn, the signs had already been there, coming and going from time to time. But no matter what, Mira didn’t want to accept it. Her entire being screamed that if she actually did that thing while in a little girl’s body, there would be no turning back anymore.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a matter that would simply disappear if the girl endured it. Rather, the more she held it in, the more it would be worse for her body. And now, after seeing a room that had all the tools she would require to actually finish that deed, the things Mira tried so hard to forget resurfaced, just like something thrown in the Dead Sea. It was a warning that her body was nearing its limits.