Chapter 57: Gadaro: Welcome Home Frog

Wait, Aldo...

Huh? What is it, Cyrus?

......

Something strange is afoot.

Strange? What do you mean?

This wild state... It is quite unlike the forest as I know it.

Hmm... I do sense a strange aura emanating from this forest.

Maybe something happened before we came here...

I do not know. It has been a long time since I was last here, as well.

However, for caution's sake, let us be on our guard as we proceed.

Aldo, what's up? Why did you stop short all of a sudden?

Hold on... There's something over there!

Wh-What the heck is that?!

It is the ruler of this forest... The Sacred Beast! But there seems to be something wrong with it!

It seems awfully angry about something, doesn't it?

Whoa! Brace yourselves, everybody! Here it comes!

Nrgh!

Aldo?!

Temporary malfunctions are occurring in all of my sensors. The cause was that powerful elemental shockwave!

Urgh... We underestimated it! I can't move!

This is bad! They're done for!

Aldo!

Feinne?!

I-Is that... Geo Anguirus?!

Impossible! Altena... What is she doing here?!

Altena?!

It's all right, Guildna! I linked hearts with Feinne when we became Anguirus, so I know what's going on!

The Sacred Beast... It's terribly confused... And terribly angry... I think it's been caught up in something awful and has forgotten who it is...

It's all right... It's going to be all right... You don't have to be scared. I'm here with you now.

Altena?!

Rrgh... Where did they go?

Aldo?! Cyrus?!

Ahem! I am most ashamed of this ignominious defeat.

Aldo! Altena must have...

Yeah. Feinne... You must have become Geo Anguirus unconsciously. The power of Geo must have summoned Altena here.

It looks like Altena's spirit power has gotten stronger since she merged with Elemental Arms in the Ogre Wars. That must be how she was able to form some kind of bond with that Sacred Beast.

Altena...

The Sacred Beast has taken this area as its territory. It will not have gone far from here. We should be able to encounter it at another time.

It's all right, Feinne. We'll see her again soon, for sure.

There is no need to worry. Altena's power parameters exceed typical limits.

Yeah... That's true. I guess you're right.

In that case, let us continue ahead for now. We may be able to obtain some information in Cyrus' homeland.

You're right. Let's go!

More than ten long years have passed since I left these lands... Yet they remain unchanged.

Hey, Cyrus? If this is your homeland, does that mean the house you used to live in is here, too? If so, why don't we go there, too? You know, since you came all this way... We might as well, right?

Indeed... There may be nothing left of it by now, but... Ah, we may as well take a look, at least.

This is the home where I once lived. I thought it would have fallen further into ruin, but... It was here that Varn, my fellow student, and I lived together... After so much time, it all seems like a distant memory...

Yes... Huh? It looks like there's something over there.

You mean that? What is it?

Hmm... It is a comb. But how did it come to be here?

It doesn't look like it was dropped. Somebody must have put it there, don't you think?

Eh? But who would deliberately leave a comb at this house? Perhaps... It might have been Lady Himika...

Lady Himika... Is she an old friend of yours, Cyrus?

Mmm...

This mirror... For me?

Yes, of course. Please, use this mirror to reflect your lovely likeness, Himika. I polished it to perfection while thinking of you. Nevermore shall it be clouded!

Thank you, Varn. It's so beautiful... What a sparkling... Ahh!

Hm? Is something wrong, Himika?

It's nothing...

It didn't seem like nothing. You've gone as pale as a ghost. What's wrong? Did you catch another glimpse of the future? What in the world did you see, Himika? Don't worry. There's always more than one possible future. You've had hits and misses before, haven't you?

But...

If you keep it all bottled up inside you, it'll be too much to bear. You can tell me anything, you know. Go on...

...... Varn... Someday, you will betray Cyrus... Abandon your country... And leave this place...

What?! How could you even suggest something like that, Himika?

Me, betray Cyrus and abandon my country? That could never happen, could it?! It's all right, Himika. I swear to you. I will follow in my master's footsteps, and wield my sword to protect my country... And to protect you! I'm sure of it.

I know...but...even so, the way I feel about you, I've always kept it a secret...

Himika...?

Even I can't see what will happen next... A great change of some kind is coming, and everything seems to be melting away, shrouded in mist...

Hey, you two! What are you doing, fooling around together up there?

Cooking duty falls to you today, Varn! Don't tell me you've forgotten!

All right, Cyrus, I know! I'll come down and start on it soon!

I'd better go, Himika. Don't worry about a thing. I'll be all right!

Yes... I suppose you must be right. I'm over-thinking this. I understand, Varn...

......

Who are you people? And what are you doing here?

I heard your voices carrying all the way outside, and it worried me.

This house is vacant. Nobody has lived here in more than ten years, eh? There used to be a couple of students living here from some school of swordsmanship. They both left the place suddenly in a big commotion. Some kind of disagreement over who would inherit their master's teachings, or so I heard...

......

I was a childhood friend of theirs. I haven't a clue where they are now, or what they're doing... I hope the poor fellows are all right.

Ah, well, I suppose if you lot want to loiter around in this vacant house, there's no stopping you, eh? You came all the way to Gadaro, after all. Why don't you have a look around the dogu workshop and whatnot? See you around.

I see... Let us take this comb and attempt to visit Lady Himika's home. It would not do if I failed to show my face there even once after coming back like this...

Hey, Cyrus... You used to know that guy, didn't you? Are you really okay with not talking to him at all?

It might bring you joy to renew an old friendship!

Too much has happened in the span of ten years... I am no longer the same Cyrus that I once was. It is best to leave it at that.

Yeah... I see what you mean. Okay, then. Let's go and find this Lady Himika person.

Pardon me. Is Lady Himika at home?

Oh... And who are you?

We are adventurers from the West. We found a comb we believe to be the Lady Himika's at the vacant house where two students of the sword once lived. We have come here to return it to her...

That was kind of you. I thank you... Yes, that comb you have there does seem to be Lady Himika's... Now that you mention it, I heard something about them. They say the Lady Himika was once a very dear friend of those students, when she was younger...

......

I don't know when Lady Himika left that comb at the vacant house, or what she was thinking. And I don't know what connection you all have to those two students who vanished... But if Lady Himika left that comb there on purpose... Then I think the comb is a link to connect her to you. Lady Himika has the power of foresight regarding things to come, you see.

A link to connect us to Lady Himika, eh?

Oh, I'm sorry, I should have said earlier. I am Tazil... I am studying the ways of magic under Lady Himika's tutelage. That is to say, I was... But now Lady Himika has vanished somewhere... Unfortunately, I have been left to fill Lady Himika's shoes as well as I can, for now.

Wait, she vanished? You mean, she's missing?

And is it really true that you don't know where she might have gone? Hmph... What strange happenings are afoot in these lands?

I do not know...but you are quite right that all manner of strange things have been happening. Have you already heard the tales of weird goings-on in the Dragon God's Swamp? Or the vanishing of Iwato Island? Rumors have even reached my ears that our usually-docile Sacred Beast has gone feral and is on the rampage. Come to think of it, it usually makes the forest its territory, but it has often been seen in the Dragon King's Swamp of late.

The Sacred Beast is in the Dragon God's Swamp? Are you sure?

Aldo! That means Altena must be...

Aldo!

All right! Let's go search this Dragon God's Swamp place. Somehow, I have a feeling we might find the key to all this mixed-up business while we're there...

Do you mean that? We would all be greatly in your debt, if you would be so kind! You have my gratitude in advance.

Nrgh...! Iwato Island always used to be just ahead, here, but... True enough, now one cannot even catch a distant glimpse of it. Which means... It must have been hit with a powerful shock in the Great Timequake...

Huh?!

There it is! The Sacred Beast!

There really is something wrong with it!

Wait, everyone!

Altena!

The Sacred Beast has just lost control, that's all! It doesn't mean any harm! But my power isn't enough to pacify it completely.

Get away from it, Altena!

Here it comes!

Altena!

It's all right... The rage and fear of the Sacred Beast is fading now. There's nothing to worry about anymore. It seems like spending all its power in battle actually helped it get ahold of itself. Thank goodness!

I'm going to stay with it a little longer. I want to keep it company until it's back to normal again.

But, Altena...

I can handle it. It shouldn't be set loose yet in this state. Your tracks will be easy to follow. I'll catch up with you when the Sacred Beast is feeling better. Please, Guildna! It's all right, isn't it?

Hah... Just do as you like.

Thank you!

All right then, Sacred Beast, let's go. We'll find a nice quiet place for you to rest...

It's all right. I'll be your friend now, okay? Forever and ever...

The Sacred Beast must have been driven mad by the strange effects of the Great Timequake upon this region, as well. But if that is the case, does that mean that Iwato Island, which vanished, is Amato Island in Mahora Lake in the Present? Oh, no...could Lady Himika have vanished along with Iwato Island?

The villagers of Ikarga in the Present were saying that Amato Island is a phantom island that appears and disappears... So that means that it wasn't simply flung into the Future by the shock wave of the Great Timequake.

It would seem that the spacetime around the island is now unstable, and a tear has been opening and closing at random. The island may be trapped in a wandering state, roaming along a spacetime tunnel that stretches from Antiquity to the Future.

If that's true, then the maiden in the chapel, the Daughter of Time... Is she really this queen of yours, Cyrus?

Hmm... I do not know about that... But that Daughter of Time person seemed to have a very different air about her than Lady Himika. Then again, I have not seen her myself for these ten years and more, so I cannot say for certain...

Did you say...Cyrus? You're Cyrus?

Real-time biometric authentication, complete! This person is unmistakably Specimen A! The mysterious middle-aged male we met at the former home of Cyrus!

Yeah. There was something strange about you that bothered me... So I followed you on a whim. But...are you really that Cyrus? It can't be... Well? Hey, come on, tell me!

My name is indeed Cyrus. But...I am not the Cyrus that you once knew. I am sorry.

Oh...so you're somebody else, after all... That's a shame. If you really were the Cyrus I knew, there was something I wanted to tell you...

Tell m...er, him? What was it that you wanted to tell him?

Oh? Well, I heard some fellow who was fishing in these parts the other day reeled in a strange mirror. It looked to me like the same mirror that Varn gave Lady Himika, back in the day.

What?! Can this be true?! Why did you not say so sooner?!

Huh? What?! What do you mean, why didn't I say so sooner? You said you weren't Cyrus, so what does that story have to do with you, anyway?

This has nothing to do with that! Do you mean to tell me Lady Himika kept Varn's mirror all this time?

Er...yes... I heard that after those two vanished, she treasured it and always carried it next to her heart. She must have believed Cyrus and Varn would return someday. I guess she was waiting for them...

Hmm! If what you say is true, then she would never have carelessly thrown it away. If it really was Varn's mirror...then it would have been imbued with great spiritual power from being carried on Lady Himika's person. If it were handled ineptly, dreadful things could result...

Tetsuji! Tell me, who was the man who fished it up? Where might we find him?

Huh?! Uh...er... It was a fisherman from Zami, the country near the coast, but... I never told you my name...

I see.

Aldo, we must make haste. We must go to Zami and see this mirror the fisherman caught for ourselves! Perhaps we were guided this far by Lady Himika's comb.

But...hey, how did you know my name?! You...really are the Cyrus that I knew, aren't you?!

That is a long story, Tetsuji, which I must tell you at some other, less frantic time! Just now, we must hurry. Farewell! I pray we shall meet again. Come, Aldo!

R-Right... Gotcha. Let's go, everybody. We're off to this Zami place!

Ahh! Hey, wait...! Cyrus?!