After somehow escaping the attack by the Dragonias, we came across a strange temple-like building on a planet. The temple stood alone on the planet, but it's unusual size bothered me more than its appearance.
"Is this really a… human temple?"
As Iris-san noted, the size of the temple didn't look like it was built for humans.
From a distance, I could see that there was only one entrance. There was no door; just a gaping hole that led into the structure.
However, the size of the entrance was strange. It was so huge that even the huge spaceship of the Dragonias that we had just fought could easily fit through it, not to mention Merl-san's spaceship that we were currently on.
In order to explore the planet first, Merl-san lightly operated the panel, and the spaceship landed quietly.
We arrived safely on the planet, but the closer we got to the temple, the more I realized how huge it was. When I stood at the entrance and looked up, I couldn't even see the top of the entrance from directly below.
"T-this is really built by Sage-san, isn't it?"
I was overwhelmed by its size. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't imagine that it was built for humans…
Even from the alien Merl-san's perspective, the building in front of us seemed strange, and her eyes widened.
(This is the first time I've seen such a strange structure… Was it built for some giant race?)
Yes, as Merl-san said, the size would be more convincing if we were told that it was built for gods or giants.
However, as if to deny our idea, Ouma-san, who landed on the planet with us, shook his head.
"No. This is exactly what the Sage created and what Yuuya should inherit."
"E-even if you say I should inherit it… what was the purpose of building such a large temple?"
"I don't know what he's thinking. Let's just go."
"Wait!"
As Ouma-san walked into the temple without hesitation, we hurriedly followed after him.
Once inside the temple, the walls were covered with a strange, slippery material that looked like marble.
Meanwhile, Odis-san touched the wall and tried to channel some magic power, but he quickly shook his head.
"Fumu… I have no idea what it is. I've never seen anything like this in our world either. But given that this wall is impervious to magic, I'm guessing that this material is used to protect something from magical attacks."
As I was listening to the results of Odis-san's brief analysis, I suddenly heard a tremendous sound. I hurriedly turned my attention towards it and saw Master Usagi kicking at the wall.
"Master Usagi!"
(Mm? Oh, I'm sorry. I've never seen this material before. I was curious about its durability, but I didn't expect it to be… unbreakable.)
"Even if you were curious, would you normally kick it?"
(Don't be so angry. It didn't break, so it's fine, right?)
"That's not the point though!"
Isn't everyone really acting too freely? Or am I just too nervous?
Then, like Odis-san, Merl-san also touched the wall and seemed to be operating her device to check something.
(…This is an unknown material that hasn't been registered in our database. I did a contact analysis, and as Odis-san said, this material is quite resistant to magic power. In addition, as for its strength… Was it called the [Black Hardwood Tree] that grew in the [Great Devil's Nest]? It seems to be even harder than that.)
"It's more than that tree?"
[Black Hardwood Tree] is an extraordinary plant that can not be damaged by Master Usagi's skills or Sage-san's weapon, but this material is harder than that…
I hadn't even gotten to Sage-san's legacy yet, but even here at the entrance, I was already preoccupied with other things.
I couldn't see the ceiling because it's too high so I didn't know what kind of light source was used, but the building was brightly lit… The more I searched, the more strange things I discovered.
"Look at that."
"!?"
As we walked down the corridor for a while, a huge door suddenly appeared in front of us.
It was a door as big as the entrance, with a sci-fi design on the surface.
There were glowing lines running all over the door, rather than otherworldly feel, it gave it a futuristic look.
Or rather…
"W-what's with this door all of a sudden? If it's this big, I think it's strange that we couldn't see it all the way from the entrance…"
Yes, with a door this big, it should be possible to see it from a distance. But at the time we were walking down the corridor so far, we hadn't recognized this door.
Then, Ouma-san considered the reason.
"Perhaps he's setting it up so that if we're lucky enough to slip through the magic that's been cast around here, and someone other than Yuuya or myself enters the temple, they won't be able to get to this door. He must have constructed the magic so that the door would appear only when someone who is qualified to inherit the legacy, such as Yuuya here, visits. If anyone other than Yuuya enters this building, they will continue to go deeper without ever reaching the door."
"Whoa…"
It's indeed Sage-san's legacy, so it's not surprising that he's strict about it. However, it would be a tragedy for those who came here by mistake…
Anyway, it seems that the reason this huge door appeared was because of my presence.
"So, how do I open this door?"
"Just like that time, you can touch it with your hand, and it will do fine."
I nodded at Ouma-san's words and touched the door.
Then──.
"!?"
The moment I touched it, the door slowly began to open, and an intense light flooded out from inside. The light filled my surroundings, and it was so dazzled that I had to cover my face with my arm.
But then I saw a vision of something huge behind the door… falling towards me.
And then ── a voice rang out in my head.
"──You've come…"
"!?"
It was a man's voice, and it sounded very calm.
When I was confused by the sudden situation, the voice continued.
"You seem to be confused, but don't worry. I won't make it worse. As you may have noticed, I am what you called the Sage. My name is Zenovis, but… is more commonly known by my alias as the Sage. Good to see you, my successor."
"!?"
What a surprise, the voice belonged to that Sage-san!
It was so sudden that it made me even more confused, but Sage-san continued.
"Well, there's not much time left. What I want to tell you this time is about this thing I left here. In fact, a long time ago, I landed on a different world called Earth. There, I met a man named Yuunosuke and was able to experience the culture of the planet Earth. It was there that I came into contact with an exciting and unknown concept."
It could even excite Sage-san… What the heck was that?
"So, I did my own research and succeeded in creating something close to that concept… but I was too excited. Argena told me that it was too much for her to manage, so I hid it far away on this planet."
Sage-san? That lighthearted Argena-san… In other words, you have created something that couldn't be left in the different world?
I can't tell how many times I've been surprised by Sage-san's outrageous stories, and I'm sure many more outrageous events will be found in the future.
"In the end, I only used it a few times before I sealed it up on this planet… Still, I'm delighted by it. Well, go ahead and use it."
Sage-san said he was satisfied with it; it must be really outrageous, right…?
As my face tightened up involuntarily, Sage-san's voice gradually faded.
"Now, my successor, who has arrived at this place… enjoy yourself to the fullest. What was mine is now yours──"
As Sage-san's voice faded away, not only me but everyone present endured the intense light, and eventually, the light gradually subsided.
"…Eh?"
As my eyes adjusted to the original brightness, I looked beyond the open door and saw that nothing existed there.
"E-empty?"
"That's ridiculous…"
Ouma-san also walked through the door in disbelief.
We hurriedly followed him into the door, but there was still nothing.
It was just a huge space.
"There is nothing here, is there?"
"There's nothing here."
"…The material of the walls of the room itself is no different from the corridor we've been walking through. Either way, it's an unfamiliar material…"
(It's a bit of a letdown, considering how ostentatious the staging was.)
I still can't believe it, just like Master Usagi said.
"Woof…"
"Buhi."
"Pi?"
Night and the others were also looking around the room, but they couldn't find anything in the end.
Then Ouma-san tilted his head.
"It's strange… Before we opened the door, I could strongly sense the presence of the Sage from the inside of the room, and then all of a sudden that presence disappeared… What the hell is going on?"
As everyone was puzzled by this situation, Iris-san looked at me with a sudden realization.
"Ara? Yuuya-kun, have you ever worn a bracelet like that?"
"Eh?"
I also looked at where Iris-san was looking, and surprisingly, I saw an unfamiliar bracelet on my arm!
"W-what the heck is this?"
I don't remember wearing it at all, so I hurriedly tried to take it off, but…
"Fuh… Nnggh!? Nnngghhhh!"
No matter how hard I pull, it won't come off my arm! No way!
I immediately activated my [Identification] skill and found that it was…
[Contract Bracelet] :: A contract bracelet.
What is the meaning of this skill!
What do you mean the item's name and description are the same! What does the contract say in the first place?
As I was confused by the questions that were coming out of my mouth at an alarming rate, Ouma-san approached the bracelet.
"…I see. The Sage's presence I had felt in this room was from that bracelet…"
"U-um… I mean, what is this?"
"Perhaps the bracelet is the legacy of the Sage. What do you think? Do you know how to use it?"
"Not at all."
"Well, that's just the way he is. He must have set it up so that you'll know how to use it at some point."
"I hope so…"
I tried to use my skills to look into it, but nothing came up, and I also tried to channel my magic power, but it didn't work.
However, if Ouma-san is right and this item is Sage-san's relic, then we have no more business in this place.
When we left the room, the door that had just reappeared just disappeared again like smoke.
"…It really is a strange building. The Sage's magic is unfathomable…"
Odis-san said while observing the door disappearing. Even from the perspective of a magic specialist, Sage-san's magic was still outstanding.
"…Umu. Other than the bracelet in Yuuya's hand, there is no other sign of the Sage in this place."
"Yes… I'm not particularly attracted to anything anymore either."
Whenever I came to this place, I felt as if I was being called by something, but after I got the bracelet, I didn't have that feeling anymore, so I could assume that our business here was over.
"Merl-san, it's been a little long, but we're good to go here. Let's go."
(I understand. From here, we can warp all the way to the area around Amel, so let's leave right away.)
After nodding to Merl-san's words, we left the planet.