abcnovels
Chapter 134 – Selica’s Past
Chapter 134 – Selica’s Past
Chapter 134 – Selica’s Past
Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes
Selica’s Past
?Oh... Nice place you got here.?
Selica sat on a chair and looked around, studying the room, not with malice, but only out of pure curiosity. At first Lavia and Paula stared at her, blinking incessantly, although they eventually concluded that she was not an enemy. The fact that Selica was alone and not with the other members of the Four Stars of the East also added to their peace of mind.
As always, Selica tied her long, black hair to both sides in pigtails. With her luxuriant hair, they looked more puffy than pointy. She wore the usual wizard’s robe, but this time it was deep green in color and of fine quality. She looked more like a lady from a reputable family, rather than an adventurer.
?So why did you come here??
?No reason, really.?
?You came here for no reason at all??
?Do I really need one? I’m meeting with the only other Japanese here. By the way, you’re quite fluent in this world’s language. How’d you learn it??
?Before I answer your question, are you going to keep speaking in Japanese??
?Yup. Their language’s accent is quite hard to master for me...?
Now that she mentioned it, she seems to always exclaim the end of her sentences. So that was simply because she wasn’t completely familiar with this world’s language yet.
?Also, I need to speak in Japanese sometimes or I’ll forget about it.?
Hikaru let out a soft sigh.?I’m sorry, but we’ll be speaking in my country’s language.?he told Lavia and Paula.?I’ll tell you what we talked about later.?
?Okay. Paula, let’s go over there.?Lavia said. They moved over to the sofa in the wide living room.
?Sorry for the trouble.?
?Then don’t drop by without prior notice. You surprised us.?
?How would I do that? There’s no phones or internet here.?
?You can write a letter.?
?Right... Everyone here writes letters...?
Selica smiled, a smile with a hint of loneliness—far different from the Selica brimming with confidence when she was in the company of her party members. The reason why Hikaru decided to humor her was because of sympathy. She wished to speak in Japanese, probably feeling nostalgic.
?How’d you even know where I live??
?The Adventurers Guild referred us to a real estate agent. We’re rank B, you know??
?Yeah, I know that...?
Does being rank B really get you that much privilege? It’s like an unwritten special right, in a sense. It might be a good idea to rank up.
?When did you get here??Selica asked.
?I’ll tell you if you tell me first.?
?Okay, sure. I think it’ll be almost a year since I arrived here. I got hit by a truck.?
?.........?
?What? Wait, don’t tell me that’s what happened to you too.?
?That’s exactly what happened to me. That just means we share the same cause of death.?
Hikaru was starting to get a headache. Do trucks in Japan have some sort of spell that summons people to a different world?
?What do you mean by that? I got hit by a truck on my home from school, collapsed, and then all of a sudden I was here. To my surprise, I was unscathed and I was in the middle of a meadow in a Ponsonian town called Pongee Elka.?
?In your uniform??
?Yup! I happened to have two boxes of Calorie Mate in my bag so I managed to survive for two days. I would’ve been in big trouble if I didn’t have those...?
?Why’d you have those in your bag??
?They’re important for us ladies, okay??
Was she on a Calorie Mate diet or something?
?What about you??
?I met a resident of this world in the afterlife. Only my soul was summoned here.?
?What? Does that mean summoning spells exist? Then can we go back to Japan?!?
?Apparently it could only send one’s soul to the afterlife. I do have some info on the art of crossing worlds. But it seems the research got stalled.?
?...I see.?
Selica was excited at the possibility of returning to Japan, but her enthusiasm quickly faded.
?Do you want to go back to Japan??Hikaru asked.
?Of course! Is what I’d like to say, but it’s quite hard. I have some lingering attachment over there. I love my Mom and Dad, and I had a cheeky little sister. And... I had a close friend. We met only recently, right after I entered high school, but we got along really well. I just feel sad that I’ll never see them again.?
?.........?
It was evident from the various relics that there were others like them—people transported from another world. Did they die with nostalgia in their hearts?
There could’ve been at least one person who returned to Japan, but it was hard to believe they’d come back here again. There would be some information if they did.
Maybe there’s information like that buried somewhere... But Hikaru knew the odds of that were low. After all, Roland, who studied crossing worlds, had no knowledge about it.
?But still!?Selica clapped her hands once.?I’m not lonely anymore since I got Selyse and the others. Close friends I made since I got here!?
There’s that exclaiming right at the end. She sounded like the Selica of the Four Stars now.
?How did you end up in their party??
?Once I found out I had the aptitude for magic, I practiced like crazy.?
?Ah, it looked like you’re able to use all elements.?
?Yup. Wait, how’d you know that? Do you have an Appraisal skill or something??
?Nope. Wait, do Appraisal skills exist??
?Never heard of it.?
?Of course...?
If there was one, it’d be more popular. Then again, my ability to see other people’s Soul Boards is similar to an Appraisal skill.
?So... I don’t know how to use magic. How do you train for it??
?I use Spirit Magic. By pouring mana to a Spirit, I can use its powers.?
?You can’t actually see Spirits, right? I know that much.?
?Yup. It’s more like I can see the element. No, not “see”, but more like “sense”. For example, there’s plenty of Air Spirits in this room.?
?Wow...?
Hikaru couldn’t really tell even though she already explained it to him. This sucks. He could just put a point on his Soul Board so he’d understand right away. But I can’t really waste points.
?So I shot magic into my own palms.?
?...Excuse me??
?You know how this world has Soul Ranks, right? I realized those were like levels! Then I found out the higher levelled I got, my aptitude for magic also increased. Why don’t the people of this world increase their rank??
?Ah...?
Hikaru told her about his speculation. Ranks weren’t really quantified and this world didn’t have the concept of “levels”. Selica sensing her magic aptitude increasing was her own subjective feeling. People couldn’t really give concrete proof.
Seriously though, firing magic at your own palms? Is that why her Magic Resistance is maxed out?
?Soul Board?Selica Tanoue
Age: 17 Rank: 104
29
?Vitality?
..?Natural Recovery?4
..?Stamina?4
..?Immunity?
....?Magic Resistance?5 (MAX)
....?Disease Immunity?1
....?Toxic Immunity?3
?Magical Power?
..?Mana?19
..?Spiritual Affinity?
....?Fire?5
....?Air?5
....?Earth?5
....?Water?5
......?Spirit’s Affection?3
......?Magic Principle?0
....?Magic Creation?2
?Dexterity?
..?Tool Mastery?
....?Pottery?3
He checked her Soul Board.
?I got a question. Did you kill tons of monsters to raise your rank??
?Of course! To get rid of evil!?
Again. That sounded just like the Four Stars Selica.
?Though if you only use one kind of magic, the other spirits start sulking... So I used everything. I got better at magic and my rank went up. It was fun!?
?.........?
Come on. A three-digit rank is going overboard. Hmm, maybe getting better at all the elements and unlocking Spirit’s Affection makes it easier for the other stats to go up. She said she arrived here a year ago. Wait, getting this strong after only a year is incredible, now that I really think about it.
Selica was nodding to herself as she thought about the past.
?Selica. Are you perhaps a gamer??Hikaru asked.
?Yeah! And a hardcore one! I played shooter games with my friend from the US and Germany! Wait, why are you addressing me as just Selica?! You’re younger than me, aren’t you?!?
?Don’t worry about it.?
?I worry about it! Such arrogance!?
?Being arrogant is sorta my specialty.?
?That’s a weird specialty to have. My friend said having an arrogant junior will only bring trouble.?
?You want to go back to Japan so you can play games??
?Well, just a little bit. But it’s much more fun to shoot things up here. Then again, killing monsters left and right made me stand out in a bad way and that’s when I met the girls. Ever since I joined them though, I didn’t have to hover between life and death.?
Selica wore a distant look on her face. What kind of hardships did she face when she got here?
?I’m glad that I came to this world though.?
?Because you met Selyse and the others??
?There’s that, but also because this world’s fair.?
?Fair??
Fair? How? There were plenty of unreasonable things in this world. For someone like Hikaru who grew up in a democratic country, a noble system was hard to believe at first—in other words, having inherent privileges.
Of course those born in a wealthy family back on Earth had good fortune. But they didn’t have the same level of privilege as the nobles here. You couldn’t plot to kill someone that easily. And there were no wars.
Indeed. Count Morgstad taking the life of Roland’s parents was nothing short of unreasonable.
Selica probably had to struggle to survive as soon as she arrived here. She might not have seen the ugly side of people.
?Frequently using magic will make you better at it. Killing monsters gives you power. Magic and souls... things that aren’t found in Japan. In this world, they’re being balanced.?
?Balanced...?
Fair didn’t quite fit, but balanced made sense.
?You can’t use magic, right? You might awaken to your gifts if I fire my spells at you.?
?I’ll pass. Thank you.?
?Now you sound polite all of a sudden... That reminds me, your friend can use powerful magic! How?!?Selica said, pointing at Lavia sitting on the sofa.
Lavia gave a start. Hikaru nodded at her, indicating that everything was fine, and made Selica drop her finger.
?No comment.?he replied.
?Not that again. You promised to tell me if I told you my story.?
?You’re asking about Lavia, not me.?
?Oh, her name is Lavia? Is she your girlfriend??Selica asked, grinning.
?No, she’s not.?
?Really? You live together, right? Come on now. Don’t be shy. Tell me the truth.?
?She’s my life partner.?
?Ugh! Too much for me! What the heck?! You’re younger than me, aren’t you?!?
?Your story of eating monster meat after running out of calorie mate is worse.?
?How’d you know that?!?
?Aha, I knew it. You had this distant look in your face a moment ago.?
?You tricked me! It’s your turn to speak! Let’s start with your most embarrassing experience.?
?Finding out that the only other Japanese person here was a hopeless ex-high school student was quite embarrassing...?
?Don’t say it with a straight face!?
Lavia and Paula happened to just listen to their conversation in a language they couldn’t understand.
?Hikaru-sama seems different. He looks like he’s having fun.?
?Yeah...?
Lavia felt happy, yet a little sad as she watched Hikaru having fun talking with Selica, even though he seemingly didn’t want to.
?I guess talking to a fellow countryman would be great...?
?Lavia-san??
?It’s nothing.?
Lavia shook her head slightly. Right now, she had Hikaru. She was happy. Wishing for more would be asking too much.
?I’m happy as long as Hikaru’s happy.?
?So deep!?