"So um… What about my rewards?"
Aria carefully voiced out. Medina themselves had suddenly sounded quite demotivated, perhaps she had done something wrong.
Just in case, she didn't really want to get on the bad side of this Administrator if they're the only one that's able to give her the rewards.
[Sigh, Oh well. Let the bygones be gone! Let's look forward to the future, ok? Anyways, rewards. With these kinds of achievements, you should be looking forward to them!]
Click
[System reactivated]
[Giving out rewards in accordance to the Administrator's will]
[Receiving rewards:
-The current location of the Saint
-The recipe of the medicine 'Otherworldly Cure'
-Progress towards the 'End' increased by 0.5%
Rewards can be claimed anytime]
[Alright! How are they? Aren't they amazing? I handpicked each and every single one of them to make sure you got the best of the best!]
Medina excitedly called out into her head.
Aria's eyes widened at the sentence written out for her.
She had to organize her thoughts first just so she could process what it is that she had actually received.
First of all, the location of the Saint.
This could help her tremendously had she received it a couple of weeks back when she had first gotten the quest.
Even so, getting it now was better than getting it later, so that's still a win in her book.
"Yes, you're right. Thanks, Medina."
"Speaking of which, what is this 'End' that has been on the panel since it first appeared?"
[Ah, you don't need to worry about those for now! It actually doesn't hold any sorts of relevance towards any subject '⬛'. At least, not this early… But considering the fact that you've met Tiamat already… I guess telling you a little bit wouldn't hurt.]
[So ba-si-ca-ly~ Work hard to fill in the numbers! Perhaps by reaching 100%, you'd be able to return home~? Maybe even revive a dead companion! The possibilities are endless!]
[So? Are you interested?]
Aria had to pause herself.
'...revival is possible?'
There's only one thought in her head.
'Then that means… there's a chance…'
"..."
Her darkened eyes moved towards the gray sky.
It seemed to her as if the color had somehow returned. It was as if the blue hues still existed in this world lacking contrast.
Medina waited for her response, as if it knows what she is thinking of.
After contemplating for a couple dozen more seconds, the response she awaited for arrived. But there's also something else.
It was dark.
There's no life in them.
"I see. So that's the game you're playing."
Medina stayed quiet.
But Aria could somewhat tell what kinds of expressions they might have.
They're smiling.
They know they got her right in the palms of their hands.
And she could do nothing about it but agree.
After all, she herself doesn't think of this arrangement as a bad thing.
There's clearly something this 'Occurence' needs from her.
Perhaps it is something only she could give.
But that's alright.
Because she also knows now that there's something she could only get from them.
Therefore this relationship is not one sided.
"...Alright then. I get it. Now explain what it is that I need to do."
She asked impatiently.
[I don't need to explain. You already know what it is you need to do, no?]
…They're right.
The first step. [Cure the Blind Saint]
"Fu…" Exhaling some breath to calm herself down, she pressed onto her second reward.
[Otherworldly Cure:
-A medicine to fix any and all disabilities on any being. Materials required may differ depending on the species of the targeted individual and the kinds of injuries this cure needs to cure.
-Please select a target in order to receive the list of materials needed.]
She read through everything. It was a very simple explanation.
And now she needs to somehow select the Saint as her target. Fortunately, the first reward had her covered on the toughest part.
-The current location of the Saint
She pressed her finger onto the floating panel.
Suddenly something fell out of the sky and landed on the ground right in front of her.
Picking it up, it seemed to be a phone from her old world.
Confused by the sudden familiarity, she pressed the power button.
Right as the screen lit up, a dot of yellow surrounded by green lines was seen on them.
She read through the words written above the dot.
-The Saint is approximately 5 meters away from your current location.
What was written baffled her.
Her head turned slowly like a door with a rusty hinge, finally meeting the body of the nun that had accompanied her this whole way.
"You mean to say…?"
Her mind overclocked.
But if she really thinks about it… it makes quite a bit of sense…?
'No no no no, wait a moment. This whole time I've been chasing someone who has been living with me?'
Let's think about this for a moment.
Alright, the topic of today's discussion is Rachel's identity.
First of all let's conclude how much we know about Rachel.
-Blind
-Faithful
-Rich
-Pretty
-Lives in the slum
-Seemingly have no other connections than her
-Lives alone
-Good at healing magic
-Can give buffs
"...?"
No wait. Could she herself actually be dumb?
If she really thinks about it, all the signs literally point her toward Rachel…
But it also makes sense that she wouldn't immediately think of Rachel when someone described the Saint.
Why would anyone think that the person they're sharing the same roof with could also be an Idol?
At most, people would just think of it as coincidence and not pay it any mind, right?
But now that she's got hard evidence, she finally realized the identity of this nun that had saved her.
It was her, The Blind Saintess.
"...Rachel."
[Alright then! Now that I've got the rewards out of the way, is there any question you'd like an answer to? Of course, don't expect every question to have an answer, I can't give some confidential stuff for free, after all.]
"No, I think I've received enough as of today."
[O-k~ Ah, but one more thing. It seems that you can only communicate with me through this place. I don't really know why but keep that in mind the next time you want to meet me!]
"Alright, thanks again."
As she said her final piece, the voice in her head stopped.
[Connection between the subject '⬛' and the Administrator has been terminated.]
One last sentence from the 'Occurence'.
And the color of the world returned, the phone in her hand disappeared after she confirmed the target of her search.
Rachel was still praying near the tombstone.
Aria thought of the way to select her as a target for the 'Otherworldly Cure'.
Almost in an instant, some knowledge entered her head.
The materials needed:
-A Maiden's tears
-The Demon King's Miasma
-The Light of a Thousand Civilization
-The Lifeforce of an Otherworldly Being
As the name of the materials needed appeared in her head, so did the way to create the medicine.
'Throw it all into the purifier provided and the system shall do all the work?'
'The System? Is that what others call this 'Occurrence'?'
So much new information. It seems she has gotten more than she is owed since arriving in this place.
While processing them, Aria heard Rachel calling her.
"Aria? We have arrived, what is it that you need here?" The Saintess questioned.
Aria thought of an answer for a second before answering, "I already got what I needed here, but this place is really interesting, isn't it?"
"I do not think so. There is nothing interesting in this place."
"...Well, look at that infrastructure, doesn't the castle just look majestic?"
"..."
For some reason, Rachel stopped responding to her words.
Not knowing how to restart the conversation, Aria simply let the silence consume the atmosphere.
Perhaps sometimes silence is better than anything.
She looked away as the panel appeared again, explaining where and how to get the materials.
But this time, the world did not lose its color nor did everything stopped moving.
It is simply there, existing alongside everything else.
[A Maiden's Tear:
-When a Maiden cries, the magical properties of the world cause their tears to be infused with magic, making them extremely pure.
Can be obtained through the tears of the Saintess caused by sheer emotional fluctuations.]
[The Demon King's Miasma:
-During the war, the Demon King was defeated. In a last ditch effort to curse the world, he bestowed upon his castle a curse that would kill every being that enters them.
Can be collected by breathing inside of Lucifer's Castle.]
[The Light of a Thousand Civilization:
-Throughout history, humans have prospered many times, yet not all of them managed to survive long enough to fight against the enemies of humanity.
Can be collected through the act of surviving [The Bringer of Destruction]'s attacks.]
[The Lifeforce of an Otherworldly Being:
-The rarest elements of the world, in which even the greatest of individuals struggles to obtain them. In recorded history, there have only been 2 otherworldly beings. First being the Demon King and the second being the Hero.
Can be obtained using the subject ⬛'s lifeforce.]