Third Outer World Story Series: Pumpkin Sorcerer - Chapter 117

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

“So this is it.”

At midnight, Pumpkin was in front of the door leading to the 3rd training room of Madosa Institute to meet the girl.

As for the academy’s security, everyone was sleeping soundly, as if the girl had done something to them. Pumpkin himself additionally employed [Resonance Spell?Sleep Cloud], so it was unlikely that they would wake up until the end of their discussion.

“She has magic power, and she’s present.”

The girl and the wolf-like mass of magic power that stood over 4 meters tall and had roughly the same magic power as the girl were present in the 3rd training room as far as could be seen through the door.

The 3rd training area, according to Uriko, was encircled on all sides by walls with a few observational windows, with no ceiling and a floor of dirt, which would be excellent for these types of conversations as there would be absolutely nowhere to conceal oneself.

Before opening the door, I should remember in my mind the precautions that Lean-sama told me to take when negotiating with beings of the Outer World.

First of all, mentioning Lean’s name would be out of the question. There was a possibility that the person with whom he was to be negotiating was an antagonist of Lean, and even if she wasn’t, who could tell if anyone was listening in or where.

Secondly, no information about Lean’s abilities or appearance was allowed on… or rather, virtually no information related to Lean can be divulged.

How much information to give out about Pumpkin was up to his own discretion, but it was said that there were those with the ability to curse people using their names, so extreme caution should be exercised.

The bottom line was that while the other party’s capabilities and moves remained obscure, negotiations should be undertaken with the utmost caution.

“Well, it’s time to go.”

Pumpkin then entered the 3rd training room after opening the door.

—————

“Did I make you wait?”

“No. You’re right on time.”

“Woof!”

When entering the 3rd training room, a girl with black wolf ears and a huge wolf were seated in front of Pumpkin.

“Now… before introducing ourselves, let me tell you this. First of all, I have no intention to fight you.”

“That goes for me, too. At the very least, I have no desire to fight Taiga, Uriko-chan, or you.”

Therefore, before negotiations even began, they both showed their lack of hostility, even if it was only in a formality.

“Now, for my part, I would like to go in such a way that we each pose one question at a time and then answer it, okay?”

“That’s fine. I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving Taiga’s life, so you go first.”

“Okay.”

The information exchange began after the negotiating guidelines had been defined.

“Then, let’s introduce ourselves to each other. My name is Pumpkin. I am a sorcerer.”

“My name is Izumi Hearts. A pseudonym, close to my real name, but you seem to be the same, so I guess it’s all good.”

“?”

The girl… Izumi’s words raised a question mark in Pumpkin’s mind.

It is true that I chose my own name, but it is not an alias, I guess?

Well, anyway, this is question one and answer one for both of us.

“Right. You are unaware of it. Then let’s not dwell on it.”

“A-Ah. Next, how did you end up in this world? You and Majik seem to have had something happen in a previous life, but you didn’t know he is here, so there must be some other reason, right?”

At any rate, since the matter has been swept away and its priority was low, he put this matter on to the back and asked the next question.

Because of what she had learned from Uriko, Izumi was able to sense Majik’s presence, which astonished Pumpkin to no end.

“I came to this world to search for something at the request of someone. Why did you come to see me?”

“I see. My part is to investigate. I heard from a certain source that people from Outer World will be coming to this city this time of the year.”

“Hmm. If I am a dangerous existence, you will do whatever you can to defeat me, otherwise you will exchange information with me. Well, we don’t have a choice but to treat it as such, do we?

Ah, yeah. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Well, even if I don’t know if I could prevail or not, I would be the one most likely to be able to defend myself in case something were to fall into disarray.

As Izumi said, as a person with power, she couldn’t be left unattended in any case.

“What is it you are looking for? If it’s hazardous and you bring it back without any harm, I’ll cooperate with you in your search.”

“The thing I’m looking for is a certain weapon. I cannot disclose the details. Thanks for the offer, but I am only interested in locating it, not bringing it back, so I probably can’t take you up on that offer.”

“I see. Well, that’s alright then.”

But still, a weapon. If it is a weapon sought by a being that can travel Outer World, that would be rather ominous…

At this point, the word “weapon” reminded Pumpkin of one thing.

Right. A weapon is a thing that leads to destruction in some form or another. If so, I must have done a lot of digging about it.

“Here’s a question for you. Have you ever seen or heard rumors of large-scale devastation anywhere in this world?”

“…”

Although she may not have read his mind, Izumi’s question was exactly what he was thinking at the time, as if demanding that he speak his mind.

The question left Pumpkin on the fence.

What if Izumi is not… Izumi herself, but the entity behind Izumi is a force that is hostile to Lean-sama? Perhaps that someone would be willing to use the weapon… that would cause “Kage-Ochi”.

But at the same time, there is also the possibility that the entity behind Izumi is on Lean-sama’s side. If that is the case, this proposal should be accepted.

A false statement will be… out of the bound. They will undoubtedly find out, and if they do, further discussions will be impossible.

If so, this was a gamble.

If the endeavor was successful, the full nature of the “Kage-Ochi” phenomenon will be disclosed; but, if it was unsuccessful, there existed the risk that the world’s destruction will be triggered right here and now.

“What’s wrong?”

“I understand. I’ll tell you what I know.”

Pumpkin then went on to tell Izumi that there was a phenomenon called “Kage-Ochi” in this world and that it had led to the downfall of several civilizations, as well as the tale that the wind spirits had informed him some time ago, betting that Izumi and the entity behind her were on his side.