I Healed the Cold Dark Goddess’s Loneliness, and Now She Won’t Let Me Go! - Chapter 23

The next day, Lady Reine and I walked through the forest to reach Lord Sulug’s domain… Or not. Using Lady Reine’s power, we were teleported in an instant to the border between the domains of Light and Darkness.

As my vision shifted, the Domain of Light spread out before me, offering a truly startling sight.

“Whoa…”

The word slipped out before I could stop it.

The first thing that hit me was the light. It was bright. It was daytime. Sunlight poured down from above, and the sky was a clear, brilliant blue. I knew it was a different sun from the one I’d relied on back home—an otherworldly sun— लेकिन seeing it for the first time in a year made my eyes dazzle.

And then, I saw it.

“Lord Sulug’s domain… it’s a city!”

A bustling cityscape filled with people coming and going. The border area was like a cliffside, and looking down, I could see rows of stone buildings and main streets lined with stalls. Compared to Lady Reine’s domain, the scale and the energy were on a whole different level. It felt like the difference between the Stone Age and the Renaissance.

I felt a little conflicted, realizing why the village youths might want to migrate here, but the sheer impact of the sight made my excitement win out.

“It’s amazing!”

As I looked around with sparkling eyes, I heard a sigh from beside me.

“…Hmph.”

It was Lady Reine. She was looking down at the city with cold, detached eyes. Displeasure was written all over her face. Just like she said, she really does hate this place. I couldn’t quite read the reason behind it, but… yeah, I should probably avoid acting too giddy in front of her.

Using Lady Reine’s power to safely descend the cliff, we headed toward the city. Right now, neither of us was wearing our usual divine Goddess or Priestess attire; we were dressed normally in traveler-style clothes common to this world. Lady Reine had specially prepared them to be comfortable but inconspicuous, so we shouldn’t draw any unwanted attention.

It was then. As we drew closer to the city, the foot traffic started to pick up. Among the crowd, I saw something unbelievable.

—A man was carrying heavy-looking luggage by making it float.

“Eh?! I-it’s floating…!?”

I was so shocked I accidentally shouted. The man, a middle-aged fellow must have heard me, because he turned around with a chuckle.

“Ah~ are you from the other side? I guess it can’t be helped if you don’t know~”

Something about his attitude and the tone of his voice gave it away. My intuition immediately went: Oh, he’s looking down on me right now. But it wasn’t something worth making a scene over, so I ignored it and asked what was on my mind.

“Um, what exactly is that…?”

“Oh, this? This is ‘Magic’.”

“Ma-Magic…!”

T-that’s right…! Come to think of it, Contrast was a world with magic. I’d completely forgotten because I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of it until now, but you can use magic in Lord Sulug’s domain…?!

“If you want details, go ask over there. They’re handling newcomers from the other side at that building.”

He pointed toward a structure near the city entrance that looked like a checkpoint.

“I-I see… Thank you very much!”

When I thanked him, the man just gave a casual wave and walked off.

Watching him go, I felt a tiny bit of gloom in my heart. He wasn’t exactly a bad person, but something felt off.

“Utterly irredeemable…”

Suddenly, a low voice spoke from beside me.

“Lady Reine? Is something wrong?”

“No… it is nothing.”

Liar. Even I could tell it wasn’t “nothing.” Lady Reine’s expression was even harsher than before, and her eyes were swimming with loathing. Yes, loathing. It felt different from the anger she occasionally showed.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t fathom what she was thinking.

“Um, for now, shall we head to that place he mentioned?”

“…Do as you please.”

Lady Reine was clearly in a bad mood, but we couldn’t just turn back now. We’d come all this way; I really wanted to look around a bit. I took Lady Reine’s hand and headed toward the checkpoint that was supposedly handling reception.

There were surprisingly few people at the checkpoint. Well, thinking about it, it’s not like dozens of people migrate from the village every day, so I guess that makes sense.

“Welcome~. Ah, are you from the other side, by any chance?”

The person at the counter was a young man with a listless expression.

“Y-yes. It’s our first time coming from the Domain of Darkness…”

“I see~. Well, first off, do you have a ‘tribute’?”

“A tribute…?”

“Yeah, yeah. Did you bring anything from over there? Local specialties, rare items, that kind of thing.”

When he said that, I was at a loss. I hadn’t brought anything like that. In fact, I didn’t even know such a rule existed. I glanced to my side, but Lady Reine was just standing there with her eyes closed, acting as if it had nothing to do with her. For some reason, it didn’t look like she was going to help.

“W-we don’t have anything…”

“Hah? That’s a problem~. If you don’t bring something, I can’t exchange it for currency, and you can’t survive in the city without at least some pocket change. Oh, do you know what ‘money’ is? Unlike over there, you need it to buy things…”

“M-money… I see.”

Of course, I knew. But that’s only because I’m from Earth, and it was a word I hadn’t heard in a very long time. I could tell this guy was talking to us on the assumption that we had no concept of money. After all, the village in Lady Reine’s domain didn’t have a monetary system.

What should I do? We won’t be able to enter the city like this… Just as I was starting to panic, Lady Reine, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

“There is no need for exchange. I have funds on hand.”

Saying that, Lady Reine pulled something from her pocket. The man at the counter’s eyes widened in shock.

“Huh? I-is that a Large Gold Coin…?! Why would a bunch of hicks have something like—”

In that instant, the air changed.

The atmosphere surrounding Lady Reine turned frigid. It was a freezing, murderous intent reminiscent of a howling winter blizzard. So cold it made my spine tingle even though it wasn’t directed at me.

“Did you say something?”

“Hieee!? N-nothing at all…!”

The receptionist shook his head frantically. His face had turned pale, and he was visibly trembling.

“Hmph…”

After looking down at the man with a terrifyingly cold gaze, Lady Reine started to turn away. I suppose it meant we were done here but I still had something I wanted to ask.

“Um, I heard I could learn about magic here.”

Lady Reine stopped in her tracks, though her back remained toward us. I had a sneaking suspicion this guy wasn’t exactly virtuous, but I still wanted to hear about magic.

“Eh? A-ah… you’re interested in magic?”

“Yes!”

“Hmm, well then, first, drink this water. Let’s see~ the price is~”

As he spoke, the man took a small vial from a shelf. Inside was a transparent liquid.

“Eh? Water…?”

“Yeah, yeah. You can’t even start the conversation until you’ve had some of this~. Once you drink this, you’ll be able to use magic too.”

“Is that how it works?”

It was at that moment.

“Haruno.”

Lady Reine’s voice was firm. She gripped my wrist tight—so tight it almost hurt.

“You must not put that in your mouth.”

“Eh… Y-yes.”

Lady Reine’s tone was unusual. It was filled with a powerful, absolute will. This might be the first time she’s stopped me with such force. There had to be a reason.

“If you are thirsty, I shall provide for you. Do you understand?”

“…Yes. I understand.”

I trust Lady Reine. So, without offering any protest, I looked into her eyes and nodded.

“W-well, maybe next time then…”

After telling the receptionist that, we left the checkpoint.