Along with the message, a clear electronic sound pierced his ears, but nothing had changed. Gail, who had been performing a solo talent show, either didn’t hear Ban’s words or opened his mouth with an innocent face while showing off his bright yellow hair again.
“What? What did you just say?”
“Ah, I didn’t say anything.”
Though the word was ‘steal,’ Gail could still use Polymorph. Then could he understand it as a concept like copying? Or perhaps it was different because Gail was a dragon called the pinnacle of magic.
He didn’t know what the difference between spells and skills was, but Ban roughly understood that the unique abilities obtainable from the system were ‘skills,’ and the supernatural powers commonly called magic were ‘spells.’
Then could he consider skills as unique abilities that only he could obtain?
After pondering briefly, Ban decided to use the Polymorph acquired through Spell Steal later, and first reached the conclusion to obtain more useful spells from Gail.
When Orma congratulated Gail for being employed as a ‘magical artifact exclusive to Ban,’ he had inwardly thought ‘Then does that mean you’ll travel with us? But we reserved the ship to Yeru for 3 people…’ and brushed it off as a joke, but if it could be utilized like this, that was a different story.
Already treating Gail as either a cornucopia or a vending machine where you just needed to press a button to ask for things, Ban thought his god had given him an indulgence to relieve his guilty conscience and began coaxing Gail with a smile on his lips.
“That’s truly amazing. Dragons are really incredible… But since this is my first time seeing magic, could you show me other spells as well?”
“Haha! Humans are a mysterious race they can’t dare to covet! …Of course Ban, I don’t mean that about you. So stop glaring at me, Orma.”
“All I’ve seen so far are shabby street magic performances that imitate magic. Like switching cards without touching them.”
So if possible, I’d like you to teach me something useful. Ban looked at Gail’s mood while flattering him with the maximum effort he could muster. Whether he liked even the shabby flattery, Gail deeply pondered what to show him.
“Well… what would be good? If I show a dangerous spell for no reason and the floating island gets damaged, Orma will try to kill me.”
Well, to fix this place they’d have to call Banan… Well, thinking about it that way, Orma seemed to unexpectedly cherish the floating island. Since it was the island where he spent his childhood, he might regard it like his hometown. Ban thought so and just started spouting spells that would be good to obtain.
“Is there a spell to levitate objects in the air? Like telekinesis…”
“Of course there is! But this floating island is a sanctuary unaffected by gravity. That’s also why I fly directly and carry Orma on my back.”
Ah, right. There’s no way Orma, a god who causes all sorts of miracles, couldn’t levitate just his own body in the air.
The final battleground in the game was right here. However, it was a desolate scene covered entirely in black and white, a mixture of pitch-black darkness and ash where you couldn’t find even a trace of this beautiful and peaceful scenery, and overflowing light. Seeing that land floating around just above the sea, it was clear that the divine power maintaining the sanctuary had been collapsing due to the influence of the maddened Orma and the disaster.
As Ban slowly nodded his head, Orma, who had been quietly keeping his mouth shut, bluntly spoke.
“It seemed like you two shared a notebook. Gail, write down all the spells you know in there. Then he can just ask you to show him whatever he’s curious about later.”
If he means the notebook, he’s probably talking about the one I could exchange written messages with Gail, right? To notice that I have it… He probably guessed when talking about his relationship with Banan before.
Ban glanced at Orma’s mood, and Gail stuttered unable to hide his confusion, but Orma himself just pulled the corners of his mouth slightly while looking at Ban and smiled.
As if he knew why Ban was asking to see Gail’s spells, it was a relaxed smile as if he saw through everything from beginning to end.
* * *
“…Next, prepare your ticket in advance and state the name you reserved.”
As if proving it was dim dawn, the sky was still dark. Normally the sun would have busily risen and proudly revealed its presence, but the divine power Orma had manifested showed such influence from just briefly bringing forth night. Ban glanced up at the brightest star and thought it was just like being inside a fairy tale.
Looking around, the people of Gillia seemed to have finally realized it was winter, wearing thick coats in air considerably colder than yesterday. Those who had dressed dubiously in thin clothes shivered and frowned, clearly showing they wanted to hurry aboard the ship and hole up in the cabin.
Mm, fortunately Duke Lebesi doesn’t seem to have closed the port… Though he would know where I’m going, and the captain might refuse boarding belatedly, so Ban decided to keep his nerves taut until the end.
Even if Ban didn’t know… Orma was a being called the Evil God, so all the more.
“But are we really okay leaving like this?”
“If you want to stay here, stay here.”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”
How could even Jaena not know about the commotion that happened yesterday? Though Ban and Orma hadn’t shown themselves for an entire day, he had roughly guessed what happened from the rumors people spread.
‘Ban, the son of Duke and Duchess Lebesi, is a sodomite who likes men, and his lover is none other than the Evil God Orma. When his lover whispered intimately, Orma manifested his divine power to unfold night, and the two fled together’… Such a considerably accurate yet somewhat bizarre rumor spread rapidly through Gillia.
Lady Lebesi, who directly witnessed that scene, fainted on the spot, and the duke, shocked by this news, was taking care of his wife.
Both Ban and Jaena were curious why Duke Lebesi hadn’t closed the port despite such a situation, but they roughly accepted Orma’s words with an indifferent face saying “He must have finally given up.” The fact that the very existence of Orma was a reason he couldn’t accept Ban was both ridiculous and somewhat irritating.
Perhaps all this time Ban had been imagining and creating a family on his own and was disappointed. If they’d give up with just this much… it might have been better to live as an orphan instead.
“Next.”
“…Reservation for 3 people under the name ‘Ban.'”
Still, as if he remained a person of interest, the captain, who had been checking the ticket and reservation list, hesitated at Ban’s appearance. He raised his head to look at Ban, then rolled his eyes and glanced furtively at Ban’s companions as if stealing a look. His slightly pale face looked like it would refuse boarding any moment, and as Ban was swallowing nervously, surprisingly the captain spoke with a reluctant expression.
“…Pass, go in. You don’t seem to have large luggage, but if necessary, use the cargo hold in the lower center of the hull and write the luggage list in the record book. The cabin you reserved is the 3-person room at the very opposite end from the captain’s cabin.”
“Thank you.”
I thought he’d say something. Or recognize me… Or I thought he’d show reluctant eyes toward Orma and not want to let him board. Since sailors who strongly believe in superstition tend to make up all sorts of reasons to refuse boarding if there’s even the slightest ominous thing.
Is it because we reserved the most expensive premium cabin? Tilting his head while guessing the reason alone, Ban could only understand what had happened after hearing Jaena’s words whispering while sticking close to Orma’s side.
“Orma-nim, Orma-nim. That person seemed to be pretending not to know Orma-nim, did you perhaps show some divine power?”
“Calling it divine power for something like this.”
“Aha, you did do something!”
“I just lowered his recognition a bit. If you put darkness slightly into the ear, it flows into the brain and thoughts become hazy so he can’t think clearly.”
“Gasp! Is it not dangerous?”
“Well, how dangerous could it be if it’s dangerous. Think of it as being quite drunk. As time passes, like sobering up from alcohol, his mind will also become clear.”
“Then what if he comes to his senses later and tries to throw Orma-nim out?”
“Me? That’s curious, let’s tell him to try if he wants to die quickly. Go incite him. Hurry.”
“…Orma-nim, pl-please hold back. If the captain dies before we reach Yeru, we’ll be lost in the middle of the sea!”
Orma only snorted without answering and turned his head. Ban, who had been boarding the ship first, heard the two’s conversation and hesitated, staring with a blank face.
Still, his apostle seemed to trust him. In the past, he would have been startled and tried to check if the captain was okay, but now wasn’t he just blinking his eyes while staring at him with a dull face? Cutely.
“Why?”
Orma asked with a sly smile, pretending not to know even though he did. Then Ban rolled his eyes around and awkwardly changed the subject.
“…For the month it takes to reach Yeru, the three of us including Jaena-ssi will be sharing one room, will that be alright?”
“Ah.”
That’s not alright though.
