Volume 3 Chapter 70: The Creator’s Diary

After being shown around the various rooms inside the foundation of the “Floating City Pharamament,” I was guided by Tesea to one specific room.

Within the foundation, there are rooms for controlling the Floating City and others housing small airship-like vehicles for descending to the surface. However, entry to these rooms requires a key, which Aizon always keeps on his person. Similarly, the room storing the “Sacred Artifacts” is off-limits without the key.

Since the incident involving the escape of the fourth-generation Divine Child, Aizon has become highly vigilant. Entry into critical facilities is only permitted when he personally accompanies someone.

It seems that, to escape this place, I’ll need to confront Aizon again. Could I somehow exploit his belief that I am a god and convince him to hand over the key?

No, claiming that the creator of this city cannot access certain rooms without a key would sound absurd.

Likewise, commanding him to release Tesea and me would be suspicious. If I were truly the being Aizon worships, there would be no need to give him such orders. I need to avoid making suspicious statements. This role isn’t as convenient as I had hoped.

Even when entering the Great Divine Orb chamber, Aizon seemed reluctant. He doesn’t blindly obey everything I say. Aizon believes in his ideal version of a god, and if I act contrary to that, he’d likely turn against me in an instant. Based on what Tesea has told me, my impression of Aizon is that he’s a self-centered zealot forcing his ideals onto his god.

Even if I were the real deity, Aizon would refuse to acknowledge me if I didn’t align with his expectations. That’s the kind of man he is.

Thus, the only option is to forcibly take the key from Aizon and escape.

The issues are that I currently cannot use mana and that I have no idea how strong Aizon truly is. He prolongs his life by transferring his consciousness into young, capable bodies, so he undoubtedly wields considerable power.

Considering that Tesea, who excels at assessing others’ abilities and is no slouch herself, hasn’t been able to escape the Floating City by force, Aizon must be far stronger—perhaps even a formidable opponent. If he’s in charge of managing the “Sacred Artifacts,” I must also remain wary of those.

Avoiding combat would be the best course. I’ll need to devise a strategy.

If only I could use mana again… I can feel my strength gradually returning, but I don’t have much time before my facade slips.

For now, I’ll have to plan without relying on mana or magical equipment. Frustrated, I rubbed my chin as I surveyed the room Tesea had brought me to.

“This room… what’s it for?” I asked.

It was a simple room. Though, to be fair, every room I’d seen in this city so far was simple. This circular, domed space was mostly empty, save for a mysterious floating orb at its center.

Compared to the other rooms, the floating orb gave this one some character, but its purpose was utterly unclear at first glance.

Tesea, standing beside me, tugged at the white cloth wrapped around her body. The motion caused her chest to dangerously reveal itself, but she seemed utterly unbothered. Perhaps she’d grown up in an unusual environment, as she seemed to lack any sense of modesty.

Well, she’s a dead ringer for my little sister, so my Noil-kun isn’t about to mature into Noil-san. Still, you’d better not do this sort of thing once we get to the surface.

“This is the room for making that,” Tesea said.

“That…?” I echoed, holding up the corner of the white cloth I was wearing. Noil-kun nearly made an accidental appearance, but I wasn’t trying to show off. The ill-fitting garment and my unfamiliarity with this attire made it awkward.

“Yes, that. Cloth. When I use Analyze, it just shows up as ‘cloth.’ The creator apparently never gave it a proper name. People here call it ‘Divine Cloth,’ though. You can make it from that orb. It used to be bigger, but every time it’s used to create cloth, it shrinks. Analyze calls it a ‘Cloth Maker.’”

How vague.

As always, this city exudes an air of careless abandon.

Come to think of it, the so-called creator of this city doesn’t actually seem to go by the name “Ryumelherk.” While I saw that name written in large, unreadable script on the wall of the grand hall inside the foundation, Tesea told me it’s the name of the city, not its creator.

However, Aizon interpreted it as the name of the god who created the city. Though incorrect, it seems that once he convinces himself of something, it becomes truth in his mind.

“But this cloth is amazing. Inside the Floating City, you can even fly with it,” Tesea added.

“Wait, what?”

She smiled mischievously and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Copy me,” she instructed.

Confused, I mimicked her posture.

“Now, jump lightly.”

“Uh, okay…”

Doing as she said, I jumped lightly along with her—and my body remained floating mid-air.

Eyes wide with surprise, I felt an odd, buoyant sensation.

“Now, kick your legs like you’re swimming.”

“Uh, alright.”

Moving my legs as if swimming, I began to ascend further. My mind struggled to process the situation, but the sensation was clear: it felt as though I was swimming through the air.

Though not nearly as fast as the “Longing Sky of Desire” that the shopkeeper wields, this was something anyone could easily do. It might look a bit silly, though.

That bastard Aizon—why didn’t he recommend this white cloth when I asked for something to wear? This would’ve been perfect, considering it was made in the Floating City, and thus divine by association.

…No, if he thought of me as the creator of the city, then he’d expect me to already know about the cloth. Since I asked for something to wear, he must’ve assumed I wanted something other than this.

“It’s the rule here to only wear this cloth,” Tesea explained, flying up to meet me at my height.

“Plus, you only get one piece. That’s why those guys just drape it over themselves and go around practically naked. It’s ridiculous.”

They’re perverts, huh? So they choose to look like me right now? Disgusting.

Unwilling to be grouped with them, I headed toward the orb at the center of the room.

Flying through the air, I realized that my inadequately short garment left Noil-kun fully exposed to Tesea trailing behind me. But it’s not my fault—it’s the cloth’s fault for being too short.

Landing in front of the orb, I lowered my arms and touched down softly.

Patting the orb, which Tesea called the Cloth Maker, I turned to her and asked, “How do you operate this thing?”

“Draw a spiral with your finger.”

Following her advice, I touched the orb and moved my finger in a spiraling motion. From beneath the orb, fabric began to emerge with a soft shrrrrr. It seemed the fabric would continue to flow out as long as I moved my finger. Once I judged it to be a suitable size, I stopped, picked up the fabric, and wrapped it around my waist.

Now looking like I was wearing an oversized towel, I removed the white cloth Tesea had lent me and spread my arms.

“How do I look?”

While I was still bare-chested, this was a marked improvement from earlier.

It wasn’t as though I wanted to flaunt my body. This was purely to check if I looked less like a pervert.

Tesea gave a wry smile as she looked at my confident pose.

“Not bad. Not bad at all.”

With that, I had managed to achieve some semblance of decency. Compared to being completely naked, this was a hundred times better. I handed the white cloth I had borrowed back to Tesea.

She silently stared at the cloth I had worn, then unexpectedly began sniffing it.

I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“Does it… smell?”

I asked hesitantly, terrified of the answer. Tesea immediately raised her face from the cloth in a panic, waving her hands frantically.

“No, no, no! It’s not like that… um… I was just curious about the scent…”

I wanted to die even more.

“So… it does smell?”

“No, that’s not it! It’s just… this is the first time I’ve smelled someone from outside the Floating City… and I couldn’t help myself.”

Hugging the cloth tightly, Tesea blushed faintly and looked up at me with apologetic eyes.

“Sorry… it doesn’t smell bad. Actually… I might even… like it.”

With her face half-buried in the cloth, she said this shyly. Hearing that, I couldn’t help but feel a sudden urge to pamper her. If Tesea and Shiara were together, how impossibly adorable would these sisters be?

Without realizing it, my hand reached out to pat Tesea’s head.

“Ah… ehehe… I think I like the way Noil pats heads too…”

Not to brag, but I’ve perfected the art of head-patting thanks to Shiara. I know all the right spots. Being her twin, Tesea seemed to enjoy it just as much.

I couldn’t help but see Tesea as a little sister. There were moments when she reminded me so much of Shiara that it was uncanny.

Though I knew Tesea was Tesea and Shiara was Shiara, their resemblance influenced how I treated her. Still, if Tesea ever showed discomfort, I’d stop immediately.

With that thought in mind, I withdrew my hand from her head.

Tesea touched her head briefly as if savoring the memory, then straightened up and moved toward the back of the room.

“Come with me. There’s something I want to show you.”

“Something you want to show me?”

I followed her, curiosity piqued.

“Yeah, something that reveals the truth about this city.”

“Wait, what?”

She stopped in front of what appeared to be an ordinary wall at the back of the room. Placing her finger on it, she traced a spiral ten times before pressing her finger into the center. The wall indented slightly, revealing itself to be a hidden switch.

As I expected, the wall silently slid upward, unveiling the entrance to what appeared to be a hidden room.

“This is a secret room that even Aizon doesn’t know about.”

Following Tesea, I stepped into the hidden room.

The room was modest in size. Unlike the other rooms, it wasn’t domed or rounded. It was just an ordinary rectangular space.

The walls and floor were no longer the usual white but appeared to be made of wood. Or at least, that’s how they looked to me.

There was a simple bed, a desk, and a chair, giving the room an undeniable sense of lived-in comfort—something completely foreign in this city.

On the desk, illuminated by a small lamp, lay a single book.

“This… might’ve been the creator’s bedroom,” Tesea said.

“When they were forced to live in the Floating City, they hastily added this room. Its aesthetic is so different from the rest of the city that they hid it as a secret room.”

While I was marveling at the unusual surroundings, Tesea picked up the book from the desk and turned toward me.

“What’s that?”

“The Creator’s Diary.”

“What!?”

“Well, it’s more like a journal. They only wrote in it when they felt like it.”

My voice rose involuntarily. If what she was saying was true, this was an incredible discovery. Scholars from all over the world would go to any lengths to get their hands on it.

“I can’t read everything, but I can understand most of it,” Tesea said, holding up the book.

Of course, she had Analyze.

Even if the contents were incomprehensible to most, her ability could decode anything within its range.

I swallowed hard.

This might be a book capable of shaking the very foundation of our world. Depending on its contents, everything we’ve believed in could be overturned.

But… was I really ready to know?

The creator of this world had left behind the “Sacred Artifacts.” Facing the truths in this diary filled me with hesitation and a trace of fear.

“So? Do you want to know what’s written in here?”

Tesea’s gaze pierced through my inner turmoil as she asked.

She had said before that she didn’t believe in gods. It was likely because she had read this book.

To be honest, ignorance would probably make life easier.

The mysteries of this city, the being who created it—the truth of a god.

Knowing these truths was undoubtedly terrifying. But I had to know.

Because…

Being the only one who knows the truth in this world… would be unbearably lonely.

I smiled at Tesea and nodded.

“Can you tell me?”