Trial of Illusions – Part 02

“What are you guys waffling about?” Waffa snapped. “If some false rumor spreads that I lost to some scrawny human, how do you think that’s gonna make me look?”

“It was surprising, but it’s not exactly false,” one of them muttered.

“What?!”

“All right, all right, we get it. But like I said, other clans are watching. If this escalates, it could reflect badly on your grandfather.”

“Tch… dragging Grandpa into this? That’s low,” Waffa grumbled. “When you really think about it, this mess started because he claimed he killed the saber-toothed tiger and conned Gittan Trading out of a reward. I did nothing wrong!”

“Actually, we’re the ones who killed the saber-toothed tiger,” Sophie interjected. “Hikaru had nothing to do with it.”

“What?!” Waffa looked incredulous. “You’re saying someone as slow-looking as you took it down?”

“To be precise, it was our party,” Sophie clarified.

“Hey, old man, did you hear that?” Waffa sneered. “Hilarious, right? A human claiming they took down a saber-toothed tiger and got paid for it!”

“I heard it attacked travelers on the highway,” the pompous Dwarf said, eyeing Sophie skeptically.

“Believe what you want,” Sophie replied. “We accepted the Gittan Trading Company’s commission and completed it.”

“Hmm. That beast was so dangerous we considered deploying our military, yet you claim your group killed it?”

Considered deploying our military, my ass, Hikaru thought. If they’d acted sooner, fewer people might have been hurt. Thanks to the Four Eastern Stars, the beast was dealt with before anyone died.

“Are we done here?” Hikaru asked. “I don’t have time to waste on your petty posturing.”

“Hah, typical human. Doing something dirty and running off the moment they’re about to get caught.”

“They say, the weaker the dog, the louder it barks.”

“What?! You little…”

“All right, enough of that.”

Waffa, ready to lunge, was held back by one of her companions. Despite Waffa’s impressive strength—enough to wield a battle axe like it was weightless—the companion appeared equally formidable.

“Miss Waffa, perhaps you could consider leaving this matter to us,” the pompous Dwarf suggested.

“Not a chance! This guy is the Golden Boar Clan prey!”

“All right, all right. Let’s take a breath, shall we?”

The companion stepped between Waffa and the pompous Dwarf. It was one thing after another.

“So, what now? The national army wants to haul him in, the lady’s seething, and the Church swears they’re innocent. Quite the tangle.”

“It’s not just the Church,” Sophie said. “I assure you, in the name of my party, the Four Eastern Stars, that I am telling the truth.”

“The Four Eastern Stars?”

“Yes. Are you familiar with us?”

“Uh well, kinda. Lady Waffa?!”

Waffa pulled herself out of her companion’s arms and stepped forward. “So, you’re the Four Eastern Stars, huh?”

“That’s right.”

“A Rank B party, and an all-female group like us. Yeah, I’ve heard of you!” Waffa’s voice rose, her tone brimming with excitement. “Garrison officer.”

“Ah, er… I’m not from the garrison. I’m from the military.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. If they’ve got nothing to hide, why not have them do that thing? You know, the classic way of proving a Dwarf’s innocence.” Waffa smirked.

“A-Are you suggesting these humans undergo the Trial of Illusions?! Th-That place is sacred ground. Outsiders shouldn’t—”

“Shut it! I’ve already made up my mind. So, humans. No, Four Eastern Stars. Here’s your chance to prove you’re not lying.”

Waffa pointed toward a mountain in the region. Adjacent to the hilly area, its surroundings were shrouded in a thick fog.

“The task is simple. Climb that mountain, fetch water from the summit, and bring it back. Do that, and I’ll believe you. Pretty easy, right?”

“No thanks,” Hikaru said.

---

“Not this ceiling again,” Hikaru muttered.

He was in a dim stone structure.

“Isn’t that a line from some Japanese anime?” Sophie asked.

“You know it? It’s famous, but it’s pretty old.”^[1]

“I’ve never seen the anime, but I came across a parody of that line. It piqued Sara’s interest, so she looked it up and told me about it.”

“I see. Sara really has a thing for TV series and movies, huh?”

Sophie giggled. “She does. Out of all of us, Sara’s probably the one who wants to visit Japan the most.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I hope we can go soon.”

“Same here.”

The conversation trailed off into a deafening silence. Hikaru continued staring at the prison cell ceiling, the same one he had been thrown into yesterday with Dodorono and Dodonno. This time, the cell was locked tight.

After Hikaru flatly rejected their earlier demands, Sophie’s earnest plea led to him being brought to this place by the pompous Dwarf. For some reason, Sophie had come along too.

“So, why am I even locked up here? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Hikaru grumbled.

If Sophie wasn’t around, he could’ve easily slipped away.

“I know you didn’t,” Sophie replied.

“You were looking at me earlier like I might have stolen the treasure.”

“What? N-Not at all!”

“And you were not telling the guards to lower their weapons. You were telling me not to do anything.”

“Well… if I didn’t, you would’ve killed them, right?”

What?

“I wouldn’t!”

“But you could’ve, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Exactly.”

“But I wouldn’t have! What do you take me for?”

“Someone who massacred countless monsters in the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas.”

“That was a kill-or-be-killed situation.”

“So, what exactly were you planning to do with those guards?”

“I was going to incapacitate them. They were pissing me off, so I was thinking maybe hit them two or three times.”

“Unbelievable.”

“I-I’m just kidding. Don’t give me that look.”

“You must be tired. Would you like a lap pillow?” Sophie asked, her tone suddenly soft.

“Please don’t. That’ll just lead to trouble later.”

“Trouble later?”

“You’d probably use it to rope Paula deeper into your faith or something.”

Sophie neither affirmed nor denied it. Instead, she just smiled, which made her all the more unnerving.

“But seriously, those guys were awful,” Hikaru said.

Hikaru recounted the events leading up to Sophie’s arrival. Sophie hadn’t thought that Waffa attacked him out of nowhere, and realizing that the Four Eastern Stars had caused trouble for Hikaru by slaying the saber-toothed tiger, she bowed her head in apology. Hikaru, not particularly wanting an apology, forgave her immediately.

“Hmm. This country has such a bad vibe,” Sophie said.

“You think so too?”

“Yes. At this rate, it’s bound to collapse.”

“They openly look down on other races while their clans hoard all the privileges. Maybe it’s fine if it falls apart.”

“Are you serious?”

“Mostly.”

If a small country like this fell, it would probably just get absorbed by another. There wouldn’t be a refugee crisis to destabilize neighboring nations. The Confederacy of Einbiest, a coalition of diverse races, could easily assimilate the Dwarves into its fold.

“That’s easier said than done,” Sophie said.

The Dwarves’ smithing prowess was beyond dispute. Their weapons and steel were sought after by many nations. Their engraving techniques were just as impressive, producing high-value accessories.

One would expect Ponsonia or the Quinbrand Empire to covet their craft, but the nation’s remote location and the Dwarves’ strong attachment to this land had allowed Ironforge to maintain its independence.

“They say they can’t leave the Progenitor’s Forge,” Sophie added.

“I see.”

“You don’t seem very interested.”

“Are the clans fighting over this Progenitor’s Forge?”

“I wouldn’t know the details, but I did hear that Lord Brigid gave some kind of divine revelation to the clan chiefs. They haven’t shared what it was, though.”

“Hmm.”

“Your friends, Dodorono and Dodonno, seem to have gotten tangled up in all this.”

Hikaru had been thinking the same thing. If Dodorono and Dodonno were safe, he would have left this place without hesitation. But it seemed the two had been arrested.

“Well, if I can prove my innocence with this Trial of Illusions or whatever it’s called, I’m free to go, right?”

“A moment ago, you were completely against it. What changed? Wait… you’re not thinking that once you’d proven your innocence, you could do whatever you want, are you?”

“…”

“What’s with that smirk?!”

“Weren’t you planning to have me take that trial to resolve things anyway?”

“What? No, I wasn’t.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes.” Sophie nodded. “If the argument earlier had escalated, I thought Selyse or Serika might wake up and…”

“…”

Apparently, she’d been worried they might lose control and make things worse.

“Do you really think they’d lose it? Maybe Serika, sure, but Selyse?”

“If Selyse saw you being treated unjustly like that, I think she’d definitely lose her temper.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Are you… serious?”

“Yes? I’ve been trying to have a serious conversation this whole time.”

Sophie let out a deep sigh. “This is going to be tough,” she muttered under her breath.

Before Hikaru could ask what she meant, a distant cry followed by the clamor of multiple footsteps interrupted them.

“Hikaru! Sophie! Are you okay?!”

“What’s going on here?! If it’s a prison, I’ll just blow it apart with magic!”

Selyse and Serika burst into the room, grim-faced.

Sara strolled in casually behind them. “I can’t believe we knocked out a guard.”

“Losing control, huh,” Hikaru muttered.

“Yes,” Sophie replied awkwardly.

---

1. A reference to Shinji Ikari’s recurring line when waking up in a hospital in the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion.