Chapter 43

Chapter 43 : Ice Blue (7)

The tip of the blade barely touched the end of my Adam’s apple, radiating cold.

I had seen this sword before.

It was so identical to the delicate model sword held by the Ruler of the Sky’s doll in the office that it was astonishing.

I did not know who had made it, but they had clearly seen the real thing and copied it exactly.

Twisting the awkward smile I had dragged onto my face, I followed the sword with my gaze and stared hard at Etel’s cold face.

“First of all, I will explain that I am not…… but is resorting to force part of Sky’s identity?”

“First of all, you are not……? Ha, then who are you?”

“You know perfectly well. I am Riwin.”

“I am in no mood for wordplay.”

“I am not in the mood to die either.”

It was far too clear which part had made her suspect I was Sek, so there was no room to make excuses.

The issue had already been decided the moment I tamed Phantasmal Species and solved the Phantasmal Species problem that even the Ruler of the Sky could do nothing about.

Besides, I myself was still doubtful when it came to the question of whether I was Sek or not, so I had even less to say.

I had been openly called Sek by a Phantasmal Species. At this point, even I was starting to wonder if I really was Sek.

The Former Underworld Lord and current Fixer, drifting around after losing his memories for some mysterious reason!

Was that not a fine title?

“Excuse me…….”

I frowned on one side at the sting in my throat and tilted my head away.

But the sword trailed after me, allowing not even the slightest room to move, so it was not much use.

I thought I might get through today without seeing blood, but why did every commission from a ruler have to involve putting my life on the line?

“Is it not you, rather than me, who has not properly revealed your identity?”

“……Do not change the subject with something irrelevant.”

“It should be the same subject, Ruler of the Sky, Ingfrek Etel.”

At my words, the sword trembled slightly. Even if she could hide her expression, she could not hide the fact that something else had been shaken.

“You said you were twins, but you are the Ruler after all.”

“I am not.”

“……I know this sword is the Ruler’s sword. How about putting it away first so we can talk?”

Etel raised her brows and reluctantly withdrew the sword.

I had wondered where the sword had suddenly come from, but when I saw it being sucked straight into a gap in distorted space, a hollow laugh escaped me first.

The only dagger I had been carrying lately had also been taken away because weapons were not allowed, so I had been uneasy. Now I was reminded that this was a place where one did not need to carry a weapon in order to draw and use one at any time.

Sweeping back my hair, I asked Etel, who had returned to her expressionless face.

“Was your real objective my identity, not the commission?”

“……The commission is my objective.”

“Then that is fine.”

“Do you not suspect me?”

Her hollow gaze looked down at me.

I reflexively thought of the Phantasmal Species I had met today.

At the very least, if she cared about creatures like them, perhaps she was only acting that cold on the outside.

“What use is suspecting you? I am Underfolk.”

I meant I had no way to use that suspicion.

Anyway, Gorong kept moving toward the sun, and the sun that never set dulled one’s sense of time.

The negotiation schedule had enough leeway, so that was not an issue, but I had a lot to do.

I had to find Ice Blue, figure out the details of the negotiations, and interfere at the right time. On top of that, I also wanted to find out whether that legendary flame existed.

Even two bodies would not be enough.

While sighing, I stared hard at Etel, who seemed lost in thought.

It was true that Etel, who should have been busy preparing for the negotiations, had no business being here.

It would have been far too much trouble to take all this time just to lay a trap and find out whether I was Sek.

‘Does she use some kind of clone technique?’

I shook my head at the absurdity of the thought that had crossed my mind.

“Go back. I will guide you.”

“Back? I would be grateful if you sent me to the main domain, Ruler of the Sky.”

“Have you never been told you are shameless?”

“This is the first time.”

“……Fine. Do as you like.”

Etel, having given up, climbed all the way to the very top of the Ice Castle’s tall spire.

The Ice Castle felt less like it had been built for people to live in and more like a work of sculpture made to show the limits of splendor.

Because of that, impractical rooms, staircases, and other strange things jutted out here and there.

Their placement seemed to declare a willingness to tolerate inconvenience for the sake of beauty.

At the top of the spire, a magic circle of the same kind I had stepped on when I first crossed over to this place was drawn on the floor.

Under Etel’s guidance, I stood quietly in the center of the octagon, nodding along, then tilted my head slightly.

“There is one thing I am curious about. What were you going to do if I really was Sek?”

It was a light question, asked while I touched the stinging wound at the nape of my neck.

But Etel did not seem to take that question lightly at all.

She answered my question with a faint laugh.

I thought she would say, If you really were Sek, of course I would have to kill you. Instead, Etel fell silent again, as though lost in memories.

In the meantime, the magic circle activated, and a faint scattering of light drifted through the air.

I waved my hand to say a final goodbye.

Etel stared at my hand with the same expressionless face, then abruptly seized it and leaned forward, whispering very softly into my ear.

“I am Blue Etel. In Sky’s Domain, Ice Blue refers to me.”

Uh……?

Before I could ask the question again, the fully activated magic circle swallowed me whole and hurled me down into the main domain below.

Then how am I supposed to get the material for Ice Blue pigment?

---

I pulled the hem of my coat up to my chin and stared around the immigration hall where a cold wind blew.

The place Etel had sent me to was the immigration hall within Sky’s Domain.

Unlike the forest, this was a place with proper buildings and procedures. Most of those who flew in from outside after stepping onto a magic circle came out of the Gate within this building and waited in the immigration screening waiting room.

I was the same.

The view outside the window was ordinary. Unlike the ice city above, where brutal snowstorms raged, this was a place where proper houses and warm heat remained.

The snow piled along the streets had not melted, and there was Perpetual Snow on the mountains in the distance, but that much was truly a landscape worthy of a tourist destination.

It was the sort of winter that felt refreshing just to look at.

“You look…… fine?”

“Hey.”

The moment I saw Pan ambling toward me, the anger I had forgotten surged up. I meant what had happened yesterday, when the two of them had baited me and thrown me away.

“You timed it well.”

“Do not talk to me about timing.”

“Without me, you cannot even pass immigration screening and would have to sleep rough, yet you have quite a lot of nerve.”

“Ah…… is that so? What an entertaining way to threaten someone.”

I narrowed my eyes sleepily, rose from the chair, walked right past Pan, and headed straight for the exit.

Pan hurriedly trotted after me at my calm behavior, but I did not look at him.

“What is this confident attitude?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Why? Are you sulking?”

“Slave No. 1 has no idea what you mean.”

Scratching the scabbed, itchy nape of my neck, I whistled at the view outside the immigration hall.

It was a city that suited Christmas carols. Snow piled here and there, sparkling decorations, and long-hung objects unique to tourist destinations made up a winter scene, yet somehow warmth could still be felt from it.

For no reason, I thought of Etel, who would be left alone in the Ice Castle above, and rubbed the tip of my nose with a finger.

“Did you find Ice Blue?”

Pan finally slung an arm around my shoulders, pretending to be friendly, and I sighed, pitying myself for having had to stay awake all day.

“I did not.”

“You did not go to the Ice Castle?”

“……Slave No. 1 has no idea why you are asking when you already know everything, so if the master bastard kindly explains his intention, I may at least listen.”

“Why does that sound polite and sarcastic at the same time?”

“You saw correctly.”

I shook off the heavy arm pressing down on my shoulder and shoved my hands into my pockets with my drowsy eyes half-closed.

Perhaps because I had spent all day walking through snow and getting tormented, the accumulated fatigue did not disappear easily.

“If you are grumbling because I left you behind, I would be grateful if you assumed there were circumstances.”

“As if. I am fine.”

If anything, I had gained more.

I had learned that I could communicate with Phantasmal Species, that there were different grades among Phantasmal Species, and that even to them, I looked like Sek.

Ah—.

“The Ice Blue I needed was a pigment material, but there, it was a person.”

“Ah…… so that is why you are in a bad mood?”

“If you are going to keep probing like that, why do you not just shut up? I really am about to get in a bad mood.”

I followed Pan as he led the way and kept my mouth firmly shut.

I nearly told him that complicated, crowded streets made me shrink back for no reason, so mentally, it had actually been easier up there, but stopped myself.

It was true that Pan, who kept needling and sneering beside me, was unpleasant to look at.

“I am glad you seem all right.”

Well, would you look at that.

When I raised one eyebrow and finally glared at Pan, he shrugged and quietly quickened his pace.

“I will look into nearby art supply shops for Ice Blue when I have time, so go then.”

“Ah, that. Was the Ruler of the Sky a twin?”

The sword I confirmed at the end had definitely been the Ruler’s sword.

It was not an ordinary longsword. From the grip to the blade, it was entirely pure white, and even the guard was thin and long enough to resemble a cross, so it was not a common shape.

If she claimed she could easily draw and wield such a sword because she was his twin, then I would have nothing to say.

But no matter how I looked at her, she seemed like the Ruler.

“She said she was a twin? Etel did?”

“Was she not?”

“Um…… if Etel says she is a twin, then she is a twin.”

“What is that? If you hide it that openly, it feels even worse.”

“Ask Etel yourself. I know nothing.”

Pan picked at his ear and quickened his pace even more. I grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

Pan had known even the contents of the commission and thrown me there. On top of that, he had personally gone on about invitations and whatnot, yet now he was trying to back out.

“The place where Etel beat you still aches, so handle it yourself.”

“……She beat me?”

“Do not look at me with those pathetic eyes. You even bled, did you not?”

Pan pressed the scab at his nape and shrugged. Because of that, the barely healed wound split open again.

Ah, seriously. How childish.

Laughing in disbelief, I scrubbed at my face to drive away the sleep pouring over me.

“What is the status of the negotiations? Did you properly revise the plan?”

“I cannot tell who is reporting to whom.”

Pan laughed softly and pushed at my back.

“There are people I need to introduce you to because of that, so why not hurry a little?”

Mm, was I finally going to properly meet Ariti, the heroine of the Original Work?

May I expect some Contribution?

---

“Hello. It is nice to meet you, Riwin. We have met before, haven’t we?”

Ariti was every inch a heroine. I meant she looked like a protagonist.

Her pale sky-blue hair spilled down in waves and barely passed her waist, while her large, clear Green Eyes sparkled brightly despite nothing having been added to them, as though all the worn hardships of the world had passed her by. Her gaze felt burdensome.

Ding!

[Encountered an important character from the Original Work.]

[The Executor’s Contribution to the Original Work increases significantly.]

[Executor’s current grade: Minor Role B → Minor Role A.]

Above all, my stagnant Minor Role grade had risen simply because I faced Ariti and exchanged a single greeting with her.

That was the first time anything like this had happened since I first met Pan.

“I am Ariti Reda, Ruler of the Spring. I apologize for the unpleasant way we met last time.”

She meant the birdcage incident.

“That was a long time ago. It is all right.”

You are someone who can make my Contribution shoot up, so that little knot in my heart has already been crumpled up and thrown into the trash.

Let us continue getting along from now on.