Can Someone from a Tradition-Ridden Village Pull Off a Narou-Style Story in a Modern Dungeon? ～The Higher Being Behind Me Is Way Too Much of a Final Boss～ - Chapter 143: Guest (Patreon)

-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and CannedbreadFollow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-

House of The Sun was, at first glance, just a children's welfare facility.

This facility, whose creed was to stay close to the hearts of children amid nature, was actually built halfway up a certain mountain.

The white house that suddenly appeared amid the deep green gave those who saw it a strange sense of reassurance.

That did not change even for Senano, who had finished that incident.

"......Why?"

She still clearly remembered the burned-down roof.

The walls that had been eaten many times and become riddled with holes, and the sight of what had once been family writhing as if dancing in the flames.

It all should have been reality.

Yet the white house before her was there, as if laughing at it all.

As if saying that everything she had seen until now was the dream.

"......Reproduction of memories, turning a place read from the target into a labyrinth. I suppose that's about it."

As if suppressing her pounding heart, Senano voiced a calm analysis.

Even those words, which should have been an accurate analysis, seemed ridiculous when she was actually before the house.

It was if the white house was asking.

Why desperately deny it when reality was right before her eyes?

If the hand extended to her was a lie, then what exactly was the problem?

"In any case, an investigation is necessary."

With a declaration that sounded like an excuse, Senano approached the house.

The bicycle with training wheels that she had always begged her older sister for and was finally given, the worn-out shovel whose paint had peeled and had originally been red, and so on, with each step the memories took on clearer outlines and invited Senano deeper in.

The house was roughly surrounded by a white fence, and it had no meaning beyond dividing nature from a human dwelling.

In fact, when Senano was little, she too had recognized the area beyond the fence as the yard and played there.

"It really reproduces even the finest details..."

Crossing the fence, Senano stopped in front of the entrance door.

The bird-designed door knocker, whose red paint had peeled to a dull blue-green, had been out of reach for the Senano of the past.

Now, feeling a strange emotion at being able to reach it, she slowly stretched out her hand.

But before she could grasp the door knocker, a voice came from behind.

"――Senano?"

"!?"

A voice like warm sunlight reached her ears.

A voice filled with a soft smile as if it would wrap around her.

But at the same time, what she felt was a chilling sensation, as if cold water had been splashed over her.

In the distance, small birds sang; the wind swayed the short grasses and flowers, making a faint sound.

In a world where everything was calm and slow, Senano timidly turned around.

Graceful chestnut hair swaying in the wind, and eyes that drooped somewhat sleepily.

Her lips always formed a loose arc, expressing her mood.

Everything, everything was hers, the one Senano had loved.

"Onee-chan...?"

"Yeah. That's right, but what's wrong?"

She drew closer while peering into Senano's face with a puzzled look.

Taking a step back, Senano asked.

"R-Really, Mikama Karin...!?"

"Why suddenly call me by my full name? Could it be that's a trend in the city? Or are you teasing me again together with Enshin-nii-san?"

"Enshin-onii-chan is here too...!?"

As she tried to take another step back, her back hit the door with a dull sound.

Leaning her weight backward, Senano spat out the words as if biting down on them.

"They should be dead..."

"Huh?"

"Everyone except me should be dead."

"W-Wait, Senano?"

As if hammering reality home, Senano shouted.

"They died, everyone. Everyone except me. They said they were offering us to Kagutoa-sama and were taken there. So this is impossible. ...An Aberrant Entity that interferes with thought? Rather than the sea itself, it exists like the shape or sound of waves, so no matter how much of the black sea is processed, it's meaningless? No, but there was a response. Then should I after all treat this as one of the phenomena of that sea's Aberrant Entity? For that, the types of power are too scattered. There's no common point. Before that, I need to first investigate what lineage of Aberrant Entity this belongs to――"

"I told you to calm down already!"

The reason her thoughts were interrupted was because Karin had hugged her.

That scent and softness, all of it robbed Senano of her thoughts as an Enri Bearer.

"Are you okay? Is this what they call neurosis? The city sure is scary. There, there. For now, let's go inside?"

"............Okay."

Senano gave a small nod in Karin's arms.

(There's also the possibility that only the exterior was made similar. I need to investigate this place much more.)

Was that her remaining reason, or an excuse to herself?

With Karin holding her by the shoulder, Senano disappeared into the white house.

Hibari, having alighted on the fence, watched that scene without doing anything.

Its blazing wings did not burn that house for its master's sake, and its inorganic eyes continued to reflect the white house unchanged.

■

When Senano entered the house, the first thing that jumped into view was the familiar hallway.

The old wooden hallway appeared at first glance to be entirely ordinary.

However, cubes about thirty centimeters across jutted irregularly out from the walls, giving it a terribly warped shape that was not straight.

The reason small objects and vases were placed on top of them was Karin and Senano, who had said the scene was bleak.

"I got some good tea. Shall we drink it together?"

Saying that, Karin went down the hallway first as if showing her an example.

In a hallway with too many bumps to walk side by side, this was the only way one person could proceed.

(I shouldn't... take off my shoes.)

Keeping her shoes on, Senano stepped up into the house.

Then, like a child before being scolded, she glanced at Karin, but Karin waited for Senano at the end of the hallway as if she hadn't noticed such a thing.

Sunlight streaming through the small window illuminated the dust dancing in the air and Karin.

"Come here."

"Yeah, I'm going now."

Senano then proceeded down the hallway with a practiced ease just like Karin.

That path, which naturally required a unique step, was deeply familiar to her.

Without any particular difficulty, she soon reached Karin's side.

(Now I understand. This had meaning too.)

As she convinced herself alone, Karin suddenly patted Senano's head.

"You didn't fall today."

"Of course not."

"You're right. I treated you like a child again."

Karin smiled without any sign of remorse and opened the door at the end of the hallway.

That was the living room where everyone in this house gathered.

"Now then."

Karin took Senano's hand and led her inside.

But contrary to expectations, what awaited her was a girl who shouldn't exist in this house.

"We meet again."

"...I'm glad you showed yourself. If you hadn't, I'd have just been wallowing in sentimentality, and it would've been boring."

The girl in a hospital gown sat in a chair in the familiar living room.

In other words, she was the Aberrant Entity itself that had been floating on the black sea.

"Let's talk a little, you and I."

"Yes, I'd be glad to."

The seat Senano took was, naturally, the one in front of the girl.

In the kitchen further in, Karin began brewing tea for three as if it were the most natural thing.

Along with the drifting scent of herbal tea, Senano began her conversation with the Aberrant Entity.

■

【Enri Academy Investigation Record】

Document Code: EN-TM-3937

Record Date: Heisei ██ Year, May 1

Recording Officer in Charge: Deputy Assistant Officer of the Pacification Division Rakuraku Miraku

Observation Target: Organization Code H338

■ Overview

This report was the first investigation report concerning the Special Observation Target Organization 『House of The Sun』.

On-site investigation data using observation devices had already been sent separately.

■ On-Site Status

As per the preliminary investigation, a white structure coated with a special paint was discovered halfway up ██ Mountain.

Observation was continued from Point F over three days, and four children who appeared to be in their late teens and one girl estimated to be around three years old were confirmed.

Furthermore, at 17:00 a middle-aged man visited by car from outside, but descended the mountain in about 10 minutes (over the three days, the longest was 9 minutes 29 seconds).

Several men always rode together in the car, and while the man was visiting, they began patrolling as if to keep watch over the surroundings.

From their physiques and strides, there was a high possibility that they were individuals trained in combat skills.

■ Important Events

As previously reported, a high heat source reaction was detected inside the structure from 23:00 to 4:00 the next morning.

However, no spread of fire or other abnormalities were observed in the structure, and despite being confirmed on all three days, no other anomalies were found.

■ Recommended Response and Future Measures

As initially predicted, since there was a high possibility that it was a god-worship-structure-type window, immediate intervention by Enri Bearers was required.

In addition, among the underage residents, slight confirmation was made of temporary cessation of movement and slowed behavior, which were behavioral signs of a mental encroacher.

Since the sealing-response value had already greatly exceeded the Pacification recommended value, an Enri Bearer of A rank or higher was required.

■ Remarks

The joint Enri Agency organization dismantling plan might be long-term, and there was a high possibility that the target organization, and by extension the target Aberrant Entity, would increase in threat level.

Therefore, it was necessary to proceed with the immediate dismantling of the target organization by the Enri Academy, in an arbitrary and idiosyncratic manner.

Now was precisely the time when this case should be handled as the S-rank promotion exam for Enri Bearer Touen, wasn't it?

-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and CannedbreadFollow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-