Gacha Kingdom Buildi Chapter 67: The Travelling Merchant Steps In The Dark

I've had my Gift for so ti now, and while I'm probably not using it in the most effective way possible, I believe the pace at which I'm going is good enough.

At the sa ti, there's so much I've yet to touch... I'm sure amongst them there's a lot I could do that would hasten my progress.

While that would normally be a good thing, I'm filled with anxiousness whenever I think about testing my Gift.

By exploring [Gacha Kingdom Building] I might understand it better... but there's also a big chance that I will discover sothing that was better left unknown.

There's simply too much here, it seems limitless in its possibilities and sotis I get this dreadful feeling that if I step into its darkness, I might not be able to co back.

I'm not so dumb as to not notice the oddities scattered all around, a bunch of things have been raising questions in my head, but...

But as long as I don't think too much about them, I could just keep living the way I am now, what would be the problem with that?

I don't really need answers if they are going to beco a problem.

Sure, I might never reach a conclusion, but that might also be for the better, after all, so things are better left untouched ...

"Things are good enough"... I've convinced myself that I could advance like this without creating problems for myself.

So what if sothing feels off? As long as we are all safe, it should be fine...

But the presence of the Travelling rchant changed that.

The rchant wasn't satisfied. He wanted to probe as further as he could, and so, he forcefully brought

along in his search for answers.

rchant: "There are so Gifts out there that can create a pocket dinsion, but the ones that allow you to modify that created dinsion are only a few... what's more... you're not capable of either spatial or ti magic, right?"

Miwen: "If I could do either of those, I would've tried it out on you."

rchant: "Hm... pocket dinsion Gifts usually give the user at least one level in [Spatial Magic], what's more... your Gift managed to delay my arrival using [Ti Magic], it was quite smart and...reactive... it's hard to believe it wasn't done on purpose..."

Purpose...

So the rchant is also thinking about that.

I didn't try to use my Gift against him, it acted on its own.

Miwen: "Are there Gifts that act on their own?"

Here on Earth, I know about so Gifts that activate automatically to protect the user, but it's not really the sa thing... I think the rchant also understands what I'm trying to get at.

It's not that it asly tried to protect ... it trapped the rchant, even if for a while, using a smart tactic, not a simple barrier.

What's more, that isn't sothing I have access to, and nowhere in my Gift's description does it say that [Gacha Kingdom Building] is going to protect .

What's more, the whole situation felt like an ergency that ca thanks to so unexpected circumstances.

But that would also imply that my Gift itself...or soone... expects other events...

rchant: "Usually Gifts that allow for summoning or interaction with souls can kind of act on their own in a way... say for example your Gift was a creature that you can summon, it could be a sentient being that needs to be convinced in order to act."

I see...

If a Gift is just another creature that gets summoned to you, then that creature itself is the Gift, and by extension, it's a Gift with a will.

It's sothing I'm already familiar with since that's basically the case of the girls that ca from the [Companions Banner], but at the sa ti, that's just a small part of my Gift, it's not the Gift in its entirety.

Furthermore, whenever I wonder about the existence of a consciousness behind my Gift, I don't really think about the girls... it's more about how it feels like there's an intent for the way things are...

rchant: "In your case though, it's hard to determine... especially since your Gift knows more than you do, which is also odd."

Miwen: "There are plenty of Gifts capable of acquiring information for the user though."

When it cos to dungeons, the best teams usually have a dedicated scout with a Gift that helps info gathering, this way, they avoid getting into risky fights whenever possible.

rchant: "Sure... but when you add it to the rest, you get a Gift that is capable of acting independently, knows more than its user, and can also co up with a counterasure against an enemy by itself. If not by the lack of a physical body, I'd say it's pretty much a living being... oh wait, there is a candidate for a physical body actually."

Miwen: "What do you an?"

rchant: "This pocket dinsion itself."

... so he thinks the kingdom might be its body, in case [Gacha Kingdom Building] is alive...

Sohow I don't think that's quite the case...

After all, if it was truly alive, why would it give

control over its body willingly then?

Furthermore, there's also the whole thing of unlocking new buildings for the kingdom too, I think those would be available from the start if my Gift was so independent from .

I tried to convince the rchant, but when I said that...

rchant: "...Self-growth... and it's communicating... that's too much..."

Miwen: "Hm? Is sothing wrong?"

rchant: "Yes... there must be sothing wrong."

His usual smile was nowhere to be seen, and I felt quite a lot of tension in the air.

For a mont, I thought I had said sothing wrong and ended up triggering him, so I was about to escape, but...

rchant: "Normally, the strongest Gifts are the ones with fewer restrictions. My Gift for example is quite strong, its effect is a simple 'Nothing will limit your ability to travel'. Even when inside a ti cage, ti itself was losing its grip over , and even if I hadn't been released, I would eventually reach the place I had already decided to go."

Miwen: "So it's not just teleportation."

rchant: "Yes, the teleportation is more of a side effect. I can travel in ti, between dinsions, and cross space in a blink, nothing can truly impede ."

... I rember that in the event description, it was said that the rchant couldn't be stopped, but he would at least be delayed, so that's the reason...

rchant: "As a rule, the higher beings get stronger Gifts. Yours would be the strongest Gift I've seen in a mortal, if not for the limitations thanks to randomness and the fact that you don't get full access to everything from the start... but the scale and pace are still too great... No offense, but I don't think one such as you ets the requirents for this much."

There he goes showing off how high and mighty he is.

But I can see that he's being honest, he truly believes that there's sothing else going on.

rchant: "Without divinity, it might be too much even for ... there's gotta be at least sothing taking the brunt of it... hm...."

Well, that's what you get for prying too much into it. My man here got so lost in thought that even calling up to him didn't bring him back.

The rchant seems to believe that the limitations on my Gift are not enough to justify a creature like

to have it on its current scale, but I don't see much of a point in questioning that...

The truth is that it is the way it is, and there's never been soone I could make shoulder [Gacha Kingdom Building].

I an, there was that tent in the middle of the kingdom but...

rchant: "I would've noticed traces of divinity or demonic power though... Ahh... so be it then, let's give up on that front."

Well, guess he wasn't wrong when he said we were similar. Seems like neither of us is capable of reaching a conclusion on what is going on here.

rchant: "Alright. Another thing that's been bugging

then. The girls you summoned and the weapons you possess... they both co from the ]Banners] right?"

Miwen: "Yeah...?"

rchant: "I see, then... can you summon the sa object twice?"

That's a strange turn...

I don't really know to be honest. In the [Mana Banners] I often get the sa type of item, but even though the daggers I summon there are always the sa type of item, upon close inspection you can see that they are different from one another.

I could apply this logic to the normal [Banners] but the thing is... I can get exact repeats of skills from it, so I'm not really sure if the objects that co out of the [Banners] can be a repeat or if they only fall under the sa category but are actually different weapons, like two different Iron Swords for example.

It doesn't help that the pool of things available for summon on the [Banners] is much bigger than the [Mana Banners].

Miwen: "You lost ... What are you trying to get at?"

rchant: "It's simple... if you can get two exact copies of the sa item, that ans your Gift is creating at least one copy of it, if not both. If you can't, that ans you're summoning the original, which would an that it disappears from wherever it was prior."

I guess that makes sense.

It would be funny if I got the sword of soone when they were in the middle of a fight though.

Miwen: "I guess it creates the copies while the original item still exists sowhere else, it would be really strange otherwise..."

rchant: "I also think it's what makes the most sense, but... if we assu that's the case... are the girls you're summoning also a copy and not the original being they believe they are?"

...

This... is exactly what I was afraid of.

I can't answer him. I don't know the answer to that.

I don't want to think that the girls are a fake construct with inserted mories, it doesn't add anything and only weighs on my mind.

But if they are the original, why are their bodies in perfect condition when they are summoned?

Claire, for example, should have a bunch of wounds and bleed to death as soon as she was summoned given the circumstances of her death.

rchant: "... It wasn't my intention to make you like this, sorry."

It isn't his fault.

I know it isn't.

But I wish I didn't have to think about this at all.

Miwen: ".It is... fine... more importantly, what is your opinion on that?"

I feel bad for the rchant, but I didn't really want to answer that. If anything, I wanted him to share so knowledge that would explain everything in a satisfying way, even if I couldn't think of a satisfying answer to that at all...

rchant: "... I dunno, maybe it works differently for objects and living creatures? The soul is a mysterious thing even for , so maybe it's recreating the body and transferring the soul to it... since your Gift doesn't seem to have any regard for ti too, it could be the case that it's copying them a mont before their death, then simply healing and summoning them back...

to be honest, there are too many possibilities, I don't know why I even decided to focus on that, it was pretty dumb of ... Oh, it could also be the case that..."

He kept going on and on for a while, bringing up alternative after alternative in an attempt to... cheer

up...?

I swear old people are such a problem. First, they make you go all existential, then they desperately try to cheer you up. Such a grandpa.

rchant: "Maybe it performs a miracle even without divinity, I an, if you ask , it's already doing so anyway-"

Miwen: "It's fine already, I'm not letting that get to my head, so you don't need to worry."

rchant: "...Are you sure?"

Not at all, much as I'd like to bury that thought, I know it's sothing that will resurface from ti to ti.

I'll do what I can though, and that is to keep treating the girls the best I can.

Not a spec of what we discussed here will matter. I'll be sure to create a future with them so that we will only look forward.

Even if it's the worst case, I can at least try my best to make that true.

Miwen: "Yeah, but I still need so ti to sort out my thoughts, so I'll be leaving for now. What about you?"

rchant: "I thought you lived here, so I was thinking about staying for a while..."

Miwen: "Only so of the girls live here, I live on Earth, the world Catherine blessed."

rchant: "I see... alright then, can you make

a house at least so I can stay the night? I wouldn't mind sleeping with that pretty lady though..."

Is that about Beatrice?

This guy...

Miwen: "Fine... clean it all up and I'll create three houses."

Everything was basically destroyed or in shambles, so it was better to just create the houses anew.

rchant: "Sure... but here, keep this as advance paynt. If the Goddess from your world decides to attack you, just pass so of your mana through it and I'll co to lend you a hand."

Why would Catherine even try to do that?

But I guess that's fine, with the card he gave , I can at least call him if I happen to run into so trouble... I think...

I don't know what he ans by advancent paynt though.