"I'll Catch Up Later, So Go On Ahead!" I Said, and Stayed Behind in the Dungeon for Five Years. When I Returned to the Royal Capital, for Some Reason, I Had Become a Great Criminal, So I Decided to Retire. But Outstanding People Keep Gathering Around Me Though... - Episode 13: Beyond Standards
Episode 13: Beyond Standards
“It seems someone was in the kitchen just now…”
“What? Could it have been a sneak thief?”
“I believe so.”
The intruder had definitely used magic—specifically teleportation magic. It’s not something an average mage could use. But if it was a magic tool, it could be activated just by infusing it with mana. That said, obtaining such magic tools isn’t easy.
“A thief… That’s actually kind of scary…”
Lisel’s face darkens. It feels somehow connected to the incident in the royal capital. But there’s no solid evidence for that right now. In any case… I’ll just have to take precautions.
“Shall I set up a barrier with magic after the store closes tonight? I’ll make it very strict.”
“Haru, you can do something like that?”
“Yes. I can even make it activate only during the hours when the shop is closed.”
“Alright… Sorry, but I’m counting on you.”
“Understood.”
After that, we checked for any stolen items. But nothing seemed to be missing. As usual, we opened the shop. The first customer to arrive today was—Estelle.
“Good morning to both of you.”
“Good morning, Estelle-san!”
“Good morning.”
Since then, the saint Estelle had been coming to the shop frequently. Honestly, it’s a little awkward for me. But I’ve gotten used to dealing with her as Haru.
“Actually, I’ve decided to stay in Rothen for a long-term period.”
“Eh, really!? That makes me happy! But is it alright for a saint to stay in such a small town?”
“Yes, of course. I did kind of—forc—no, I properly discussed it with the church. So it’s fine.”
“…?”
Huh? Did she almost say “forced it through” just now? Well, anyway. So Estelle is going to be staying here for a while. That means I’ll probably be seeing a lot more of her…
“Well then, I’ll be going for now. Lisel, Haru—see you again.”
“Yes, thank you very much!”
“Thank you for visiting.”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt like Estelle was staring at me really intently…
The next person to show up was—Felina.
“It’s been a while.”
“Felina-san. Welcome!”
“Welcome.”
I’d heard more details about Felina since then—she was apparently now operating solo as an S-rank adventurer. One of the most well-known adventurers, even in the royal capital.
“Visiting the grave again today?”
“…Well, something like that.”
As she said that, Felina stared at me.
“Um… Is something wrong?”
“No, I was just thinking how well you’ve settled into this shop, Haru.”
“Yes. I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Hehe. That’s good to hear.”
Felina smiled cheerfully—her face still carried a trace of the past.
“Actually, recently I’ve been exploring a dungeon near Rothen instead of the ones in the capital. So, I’ll probably be dropping by more often. The bread here is just so good.”
“That’s wonderful to hear.”
“So, have you made any bread yourself yet, Haru?”
“Not yet. I’m still in training.”
“I see. Please let me know when you do. I’d love to try it.”
“Yes, I will.”
With that, Felina left. So she’ll be coming by more often… huh.
As we were about to close up shop, the last visitor of the day came—Luster. But I knew she wasn’t here as a customer. A carriage was parked outside. So she was probably delivering wheat.
“Good evening.”
“Luster-san, good evening. You’re delivering wheat, right?”
“Yeah. Ordo asked me to.”
“Thank you! Please unload it behind the shop.”
“Got it.”
“Ah, I’ll help out too.”
I helped unload the bags of wheat. As Luster was about to climb back onto the carriage to leave—
She smiled faintly and spoke to me.
“Haru. Working hard?”
“Yes.”
“Hehe. That’s good. See you.”
“Yes. See you.”
Phew… What a coincidence, meeting three of my former party members in one day. Well, things like that do happen.
Anyway, I need to set up the barrier now that we’re closed.
I immediately began expanding a barrier around the whole shop. Barrier magic was something I had used many times in Abyss Sanctum. A space undetectable to monsters was essential. I observed the shop and imagined how powerful a barrier would be needed.
“You can use magic, Haru?”
“Hm? Yeah. It’s not that rare for adventurers.”
“I see. But I think it’s amazing! I’ve never seen magic before!”
Lisel seemed to be observing me out of curiosity.
While she watched, I ran the construction formula to activate the spell. I would make it as strong as possible—something no ordinary mage could break. The royal capital incident still lingered in my mind.
I placed my hand on the wall and began casting the barrier spell.
“First Anchor: Balance Positioning.
Second Anchor: Connection Severance.
Third Anchor: Intrusion Rejection.
Fourth Anchor: Mana Diffusion.
Fifth Anchor: Interference Control.
Sixth Anchor: Circulation Maintenance.
Seventh Anchor: Core Fixation.”
The basic process was secured. I pushed the spell formula further.
“Heptacode Sevenfold Anchor—Phase Deployment.
Barrier Shell, begin projection.
Multilayered Interference—Three-Layer Structure: Outer, Middle, Inner. Deploy all simultaneously.
Outer Layer—Spatial Severance, Physical Blockade.
Middle Layer—Magic Formula Diffusion, Mana Neutralization.
Inner Layer—Observation Block, Limited Consciousness Interference.
All layers phase stability confirmed… Response clear.
Final Fixation—Seal Complete.”
The spell was complete. The barrier spread across the entire store, without a single distortion. Not bad, even by my standards. With this strength and scale, no matter what attacks us, we’ll be fine.
“Alright. That should do it.”
“Eh? It’s already done? That was fast.”
“It’s already active. Try touching it.”
“Th-then… Excuse me…”
Lisel nervously reached out—and her hand was stopped by an invisible wall. It was unable to pass through.
“Wow… So this is barrier magic.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you so much, Haru! You’ve done everything for us—and this barrier looks amazing!”
“It’s not that big a deal.”
Lisel bowed deeply in gratitude. But truthfully, I was the one who wanted to thank her—for taking me in when I had nowhere to go.
“Please, let me do at least this much. From now on, I’ll activate the barrier whenever we close up. Although… if you or the boss—or someone else—shows up at night, it could be a problem. I’ll have to add *target designation* too…”
As I was thinking about upgrading the barrier, the boss poked his head in.
“Haru. All done?”
“Yes. No issues.”
“Then take this.”
“Eh…!?”
He handed me a burlap sack—filled with gold coins.
“Boss… this is too much…”
“Take it. It’s your official payment.”
“But…”
“What? Not enough?”
“No no! Then… well, thank you. I’ll gratefully accept it.”
“Good. Now, let’s get ready for tomorrow’s prep.”
“Okay!”
“Yes!”
†
Night fell. After that, Haru enhanced the barrier further. It allowed designated individuals to pass through it freely.
In barrier magic, “target designation” was a concept Haru had developed uniquely in Abyss Sanctum. It was far beyond standard practice—but Lisel and the others had no way of realizing that.
Even Haru himself wasn’t aware it was special—because he didn’t grasp just how much he had grown in Abyss Sanctum.
That night, the person who came to the shop was—Charlotte. She rang the bell. But no one responded right away.
“Excuse me! Is it open!?”
She had been staying around Rothen to investigate the Disaster Fang Beast—Orug. But recently, thefts had also been occurring nearby. She came to the bakery to inquire.
“No answer… the door is…”
As she reached for the doorknob—*zap*! Her hand was repelled. That was undoubtedly proof that Haru’s barrier magic had activated.
“Huh…? A barrier? But this scale… No, wait—what is this spell formula? It’s beyond just complex…”
Charlotte had pushed herself to the brink for a certain purpose. And over the past five years, had become known as one of the world’s top-tier mages. Fewer than five in the world could rival her.
Even at the pinnacle of magic, she was stunned by the strength and intricacy of the barrier. Even Charlotte couldn’t fully comprehend the magic formula.
“Excuse me! Do you need something…!?”
Lisel came running in a panic.
“Ah, right. Umm, this stick…”
“What is it?”
“Sharo-san, please touch this stick.”
“Okay.”
As soon as Charlotte touched the stick, mana flowed into her—and she could now pass through the barrier.
“What is this?”
“Apparently, if you touch this stick, you can temporarily pass through the barrier.”
“Who… did this?”
Charlotte asked, almost fearfully. She had originally come for an investigation. But now her mind was completely occupied with figuring out who had created this barrier.
“It was Haru-san. He’s humble about it, but this barrier really is amazing, isn’t it!”
“…Haru? That guy?”
(Unremarkable appearance. No presence to speak of. Doesn’t seem to possess any particularly strong magic power. But… he did this? A magic of this level — there’s no one else in the world who could do it… No, wait. Haru, could it be that…? But Sensei couldn’t possibly have come back from that dungeon. The door has already been completely sealed…)
“Sharo-san, is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. There seem to be a lot of thefts happening around here lately. So be careful.”
“Okay! Thank you for going out of your way to tell me!”
“Mm. Well then, I’ll be going now.”
Charlotte set off on her way home. Her heart — was pounding faster than it ever had before.
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