Klyus exhaled sharply, steadying his breath.
It felt as though something were directly caressing his internal organs. He was on the verge of vomiting.
The only reason Klyus was still standing was his pride—as a Spiritfolk, and as a Hunter who had accepted a bodyguard commission.
Whenever one entered a Treasure Hall overflowing with high-concentration Mana Material, it was common to feel ill.
Every Treasure Hunter knew this, but Klyus couldn't believe it.
Klyus had a low certified Level, but he was unquestionably a first-rate Hunter. He had conquered numerous Treasure Halls and had absorbed Mana Material to strengthen his power. In all his experience, he had never once felt nauseous from Mana Material being too concentrated.
He looked out the window. The world that had been there moments ago was gone. He wanted to panic, wanted to scream, but somehow he held on to his sanity.
An otherworldly Treasure Hall—far above their league. It was extremely rare, but among Treasure Halls there existed some that, through excessive accumulation of Mana Material, formed worlds governed by entirely different laws. Judging from the absurd Mana Material concentration here, this wasn't just one or two levels above their rank.
And the child wearing the fox mask before him was unmistakably one of the Phantoms that inhabited such places.
Terrifying. He had never seen a monster like this. Compared to it, every dragon they had encountered up to now was nothing but a lizard.
The child's form was that of a child, but it was clearly no child. It spoke something resembling human language, but those were not words.
The instincts of the Spiritfolk, guardians of the forest, screamed ceaseless warnings.
Klyus gripped his staff tightly. He couldn't use magic. There was no chance for Klyus. Naturally, Frantz and the other bodyguard knights didn't stand a chance either.
But the reason he was still standing like this was that their leader, Thousand Transformations, stood at the front and remained perfectly composed.
Even at Level 8, Thousand Transformations was supposed to be human. Yet her bearing hadn't changed at all before and after the monster's appearance.
He couldn't sense any power. Yoiningen was still just Yoiningen.
But the fact that she could stand so casually beside a monster—even cracking jokes like "liar"—meant she was nothing other than a monster of equal standing.
He had to help her. He had to survive somehow. But he couldn't even grasp the situation.
"Yoininge—"
"Klyus, be quiet. You're rude sometimes, you know. Don't provoke it."
Yoiningen immediately pressed a finger to her lips.
!? Huh? There's no way I'd provoke it at a time like this!
He wanted to protest, but the atmosphere didn't allow it. The child wearing the fox mask spoke in a light voice.
"I'm not angry."
"Really? Can I say rude things?"
"Sure, sure. You can pet me."
The words made no sense. He couldn't understand them. If taken at face value, they were friendly. But there was no reassurance.
This crushing pressure—this was killing intent. Klyus and the others here were unquestionably prey, and the Phantom's words carried no genuine intent.
There was something unsettling about it, like the sound of wind coincidentally resembling human speech. How on earth could Yoiningen hold a casual conversation with this thing?
But now that things had come to this, frustrating as it was, he had no choice but to leave it to Yoiningen, who seemed to know what was going on.
The fox-masked child suddenly said, "I'm hungry. I want ice cream."
"Ice cream? If I give you ice cream, you'll let us go?"
"Of course. I might throw up, though."
"You're interesting, you know that...?"
"I want to retreat."
Yoiningen chuckled, looking relaxed.
But there was no way.
A Phantom wanting to eat ice cream, saying it might throw up—that was impossible. Thinking about it calmly, it made no sense, and Yoiningen had to know that.
It was far too creepy. He unconsciously tried to step back, but Klyus remembered he was gripping his staff.
*"Rounded World."* The staff he had borrowed from Yoiningen. Despite its dignified appearance, it was a defective product that couldn't properly amplify magic.
But what had Yoiningen said to Klyus back then... Right, she had said this wasn't a staff but a "translation device."
He didn't know how to use it. But Klyus reflexively channeled mana into the staff.
The jewel at the staff's tip spun. Then the Phantom opened its mouth. The meaning overlapped with the sound and reached him clearly.
*'Kill you. I will absolutely kill you. For trespassing into our domain without permission—die with regret.'* "!?"
"Hahaha, you're so funny."
It was a will filled with intense rage. His face contorted.
He had suspected as much, but their friendliness had indeed been superficial—the words didn't mean what they literally said.
And yet, Yoiningen was grinning as though pouring oil on a fire.
*'What is amusing? I can see it—the power you conceal. Among humans I've encountered—you are the lowest. Unacceptable. Kneel, and I'll kill you quickly.'* "Mhm, yeah, yeah. I want some chocolate too."
"Yoiningen!? You—"
She doesn't understand the words, use the staff, please!
Klyus was about to say this when Yoiningen stopped him.
"Klyus, I told you to be quiet, didn't I? Leave it to me. I'm having a nice chat right now—so I'll negotiate to get us sent home safely. What's important is not provoking them. Against them, we have absolutely no chance."
*'I've decided. I've decided—you, I'll kill in one strike. If you are prepared to fight, then take my hand.'* Was there some reason she was pretending not to understand? Yoiningen radiated so much confidence that Klyus couldn't help but wonder.
The child smiled sweetly and extended its delicate hand toward Yoiningen. At the same time, a dense killing intent so heavy it could be felt physically flooded the room.
Several of the imperial guards Klyus had helped earlier seemed to have lost consciousness. Everyone except Yoiningen was holding their breath, as if waiting for a disaster to pass.
"Huh? You're my fan? That's, well, quite... an honor."
!?
There was no time to stop her.
Even if she couldn't understand the words, there was no way she couldn't sense this killing intent, yet Yoiningen showed not a moment's hesitation and grasped the child's hand.
§ § § Quite the friendly Phantom. I felt relieved for the moment, looking at the smiling fox-masked child.
The Treasure Hall "Lodging of Lost" housed two types of Phantoms—a colossal fox spirit at its core, and countless kin. The great fox was supposed to be enormous and always dwelling at the center of the Treasure Hall, so the child before us must be one of the kin.
Even the lowest-ranked Phantom in this Treasure Hall possessed impossible power. From what he'd heard, since their emergence, the number of kin that had been defeated could be counted on one hand. In terms of raw strength, they would likely be equivalent to the boss of a high-level Treasure Hall.
Even if Term had been on their side, the odds wouldn't have been great. Term's magic was terrifying, but that was because they had been fragile humans—for Phantoms, it likely wouldn't be effective.
Therefore, I had to think only of appeasing them and getting them to let us go. Pride could go to hell.
Fortunately, although they possessed terrifying power, they didn't come to kill with murderous intent like ordinary Treasure Hall Phantoms.
Last time, we had offered tribute, prostrated ourselves, and been forgiven.
But this time was apparently a little different. The Phantom hadn't demanded prostration, nor had it asked for tribute.
It simply spoke broken words with a smile, making no particular demands. It seemed friendly enough to let us go even if we did nothing.
Could this "Lodging of Lost" be different from the one I had stumbled into years ago?
Could the welcome really not have been a lie? You don't need to welcome me—just let me go home.
"I'm actually a fan. Please accept this."
The Phantom extended its hand, so I took it. To have my name known even by Phantoms—just what kind of culture had I built?
Klyus let out a short, scream-like sound.
He didn't know what had happened. There was no color, no sound, nothing.
All I understood at that moment was that the most expensive Barrier Ring had activated. I hurriedly looked around. Klyus was standing with his eyes wide in shock.
I didn't quite understand. I blinked and looked at the Phantom, which was frozen with its hand still extended.
"...? Did you do something?"
"...That was fun."
!? ???
The Phantom, which had possessed a solid form, began to vanish. From the tips of its feet, as though being corroded, it crumbled into dust. The hand I had been firmly gripping cut through empty air.
A clattering sound. All that remained was the fox mask the child had been wearing.
"I... bleeeaaagh!"
Suddenly, Frantz dropped to all fours and vomited profusely.
I stared at the sudden eruption. The Emperor hadn't vomited, but his face had gone pale.
Klyus, equally ashen, pressed his hand over his mouth and said, "So... that's how you defeat... the Phantoms... here..."
"Huh?"
What was he talking about? I blinked, and Klyus took a step back from me. His gaze was fixed on the fox mask.
"A condition? You can't lie...? It died because 'it didn't kill in one strike'... Ugh... Yoiningen, how are you so calm in the midst of all this Mana Material?"
"Hmm? Well, it's comfortable."
Everyone looked unwell, but the cause was Mana Material sickness.
I had almost no ability to absorb or retain Mana Material, so I had never experienced it myself. But for talented Hunters with high Mana Material absorption capacity, Mana Material sickness—caused by drawing in more Mana Material than their bodies could handle—was apparently quite common. Like muscle soreness.
Last time I came here, everyone except me had it.
I picked up the fox mask. This was... a forgotten item? A drop? Why did it die just from a handshake? Was holding hands its weakness? That was ridiculous. Then why ask for a handshake?
What was it made of? The mask was smooth and hard. Well, if they left it behind, I might as well keep it as a souvenir. If anyone asked about it, I could just return it...
But outside the ship, everything was still white. In the direction Term and the others had fled, the familiar scenery of the "Lodging of Lost" stretched out.
There was no point staying here. This Treasure Hall was no ordinary Treasure Hall. The last thing I wanted was to go deeper, but the only way to escape this Treasure Hall, as far as I knew, was to get permission from the boss.
"Can't be helped... I'll go."
I was the only one who could. For this Treasure Hall's Phantoms, all humans were essentially the same, so the survival rate would be higher if I—someone who knew a bit about this place—went instead.
This Treasure Hall has rules, the Phantom I had encountered here long ago had told me.
The gods are bound by nothing. Only a god can bind itself.
Klyus spoke in a panic as I approached the exit—entrance?
"Yoiningen, the staff—"
"Hm? I don't need it."
It's heavy. Carrying that around would just tire me out.
Klyus's eyes went wide as he looked back and forth between the staff and me.
"Then why did you go out of your way to prepare it!?"
"...I thought Klyus might want to use it."
"!?"
Besides, the Phantoms in this Treasure Hall could all speak. A staff wasn't needed.
What was needed—was love. Love. You must not be hostile. For this Treasure Hall's Phantoms, humans were trivial things.
I took one step from the airship's room into the Treasure Hall. Suddenly, a voice came from right at my feet.
"I want fried tofu. If you don't give me fried tofu, I'll attack."
Moments ago, there had been no one there.
Sitting in the vermilion-painted corridor was a child wearing a fox mask, just like before.
However, this one was slightly different in appearance, spoke fluently rather than in broken phrases, and was a girl. Her hair was a pale gold.
A slender finger was pointed at me.
Fried tofu... Sorry, but I don't have any this time. All Citry had stocked for me were preserved foods.