Chương 215: Chapter 2: "Yu Begins His Journey"

I rode on the back of the giant bird named Aln, cutting through the wind as we soared through the sky. The upper atmosphere slapped my cheeks incessantly. The air was crisp and chilly, making me feel cold even though I was dressed warmly. The red-haired girl controlling the bird in front of me suddenly turned around. She extended her right hand with her index and middle fingers pressed together.

"I'm Alice. Alice Luckin. Would you mind telling me your name?"

"... Yu." I probably don't need to give my last name. It would sound out of place in this world anyway. Alice kept her two fingers extended with a smile for a while. Is that a greeting here or something? Unsure, I didn't respond, so she eventually withdrew her fingers, looking a bit disappointed. Instead, she offered a polite smile and said,"That sounds kind of like a girl's name."

"It's actually a name often given to girls too." I recall it was given with the wish that I'd grow up to be an excellent child or something. Well, names don't really matter.

"Heh. Coincidentally, you have quite a feminine face too. If you were a girl, you'd probably be very popular."

"If I dressed the part, I could probably pass for a woman." I've cross-dressed to deceive pursuers while fleeing from a job before.

"......"

"......" After that, the conversation didn't continue. We seemed close in age, but with no common topics, it's hard to find things to talk about with a stranger of the opposite sex. Or maybe it's just hard to talk to someone like me. By the way, there was one thing that had been bothering me for a while. That is, I could understand her words naturally for some reason. The words she spoke were automatically translated into Japanese in my head, and the words I spoke seemed to be understood normally.

It's unlikely that Japanese is used in another world. Is this a fragment of the ability of a FabL that Ena mentioned? What the hell is going on? Let's test it. I switched the language I was assuming in my head to English. Eventually, she noticed something and said,"Now, don't you feel cold?" I see. It seems that whatever language I think in is automatically translated. Conversely, would it be understood if I spoke in English?

"Well, I'm feeling a little." I said that, then immediately switched my assumption back to Japanese.

"I knew it. I thought so looking at your outfit." Looking at me dressed in a black jersey and vest, Alice nodded knowingly. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. This outfit was comfortable for the autumn sky in Japan, but it was certainly unreliable for traveling in the cold sky. She was dressed for air travel from the start, wearing fluffy, thick clothes. A pink scarf was her charm point. Anyway, it's getting through.

It seems the words I speak are automatically translated and conveyed. Then, she said something I didn't expect.

"Actually, I'm good at fire magic. I'll warm you up."

"Fire magic?" Magic? Before I could be surprised, she held her hand over me and declared in a solemn tone.

"Heat. Keep the freezing cold away from him. 《Volake》." Instantly, the chill vanished as if it were a lie. A film of warm air enveloped my body. Unable to hide my surprise, I asked.

"What on earth did you do?" She puffed out her chest—which was flat no matter how favorably you looked at it—proudly.

"I told you, magic.... Wait, what's with that reaction? Don't tell me you don't know magic?"

"Yeah. I don't." I know it as a concept, but naturally, I've never seen such a thing in reality. It must have been very unexpected, as she stared blankly into my eyes.

"I've never seen anyone like that these days. You know, I'm a fledgling mage planning to enroll in a famous place called Sacris Magic Academy."

"Heh. Magic, huh." I never thought the day would come when someone would say such a word to me with a straight face as if it were natural. Taking my surprise as admiration, she seemed to be in a good mood. Her face brightened again, and she continued.

"The one I used on you just now was a very plain one, but I can also do things like this."

"Fireball. 《Volket》." A fist-sized fireball appeared from her palm. It shot out at considerable speed, flying straight into the sky. My eyes widened. Fire appeared from nothing. Shown such a thing so clearly, there was no room for doubt. It seems supernatural powers called magic certainly exist in this world. To me, who was at a loss for words, she smiled with a smug face.

"Well, it's like this. Amazing, right?" —Interesting. For the first time in years, I felt such an emotion welling up from the bottom of my heart. Another world. A world I don't know at all spreads out here. I thought it was a boring world. I thought there was nothing. A cynical smile leaked out. The world? What did I think I knew at this age? The universe is so vast. The world is so full of the unknown. They say there are as many as the stars. Something like this. Isn't it wonderful?

Suddenly, Ena's words crossed my mind. Perfectly memorizing all world information in the 'World of Heart' and utilizing all of it. If true—should I try it? Uncharacteristically, I felt like believing someone without doubt. When I closed my eyes, I could clearly recognize my'World of Heart', which had appeared in my dreams. In the space like a pitch-black universe, all the world information I had accumulated filled it in a chaotic state.

To use that information, I just need to recognize the information to use individually. I somehow knew how to do it. No, I knew it from the beginning. It just became clear what I did back then. Right. My immature self let this power run wild and killed those relatives.... It's already in the past. It can't be helped. Anyway, to use the power, I just have to draw in the memory and extract the information to use from it.

When I focused on the memory of the magic Alice just cast, a fragment of memory floated up from the pitch-black darkness. The extracted memory emitted a pale white light. When I touched it—I felt an indescribable unknown power welling up inside me. Something warm gently filling my whole body. If I knead that out into the external world, it will surely become magic. Understanding that somehow, I returned my consciousness to the real world. Opening my eyes, I unleashed it as the unknown power dictated.

"《Volket》." A fireball appeared from my palm. Not a single difference from the one she generated. Glancing sideways, this time it was Alice's turn to be shocked. The fireball flew in the trajectory I imagined and disappeared into the end of the sky.

"... I did it." To me, who muttered blankly as if dreaming despite doing it myself. Alice held her head in astonishment and shouted.

"Ehh!? No way!? Succeeding on the first try..." She must have been so shocked that she collapsed on the spot. She placed her hand flat on the feathers growing densely on Aln's back. I thought she would be depressed for a while—but almost the next moment, she stood up quickly and grabbed my hand vigorously. Exaggeratedly moved, with a happy face as if it were her own matter.

"You have amazing talent! Even though you didn't know anything, you memorized magic just by seeing it once!"

"I-Is that so?" Feeling a bit overwhelmed, she continued.

"You should definitely study at Sacris Magic Academy too! It's a waste not to develop and use this talent!"

"......" I must have obtained it. The power to leap over the frame called the world. The possibility that everyone surely dreamed of once but threw away to reality as impossible. And I must have obtained it. Terrifying power enough to overturn the logic of the world. The power to dominate all incorporated world information. In exchange, surely, I must have obtained it. The destiny of an endless journey. The cursed destiny where even death is not allowed. On the journey from now on, I will probably change gradually.

I might be able to grasp something I couldn't grasp while on Earth. And in exchange, I might lose something. Because I have this power. Because of this power. Anyway, it has begun. My journey. Next to the innocently frolicking Alice, I quietly felt the beginning of a grand destiny.