Chapter 19

Chapter 019

As expected of an invitation from a noble house, we did not travel on foot.

Captain Gordon guided me to a carriage waiting at the edge of the plaza.

‘I never thought I would be going to the royal capital already.’

Although Ebla was described as a city, the royal capital was treated as a separate district even within it.

A space reserved for the king and the nobles.

Ordinary people could not live there, let alone enter freely, and to get inside, one had to accumulate no small amount of fame or form a connection with a noble.

“I thought I would only be able to go after two or three years.”

“Did you say something just now?”

“Nothing.”

When Gordon, who was sitting across from me, reacted, I quickly glossed over it.

It was nice that the carriage was large, but sitting in that space with only the two of us made the pressure no joke.

“Do you not have any companions? I heard there was also someone named Ishara.”

“.......”

So that was how it was.

I had thought it strange from the moment he confirmed only my name and sword before bringing me here, but it seemed Persica had not told him separately that I was the sword.

“As for my companion...... I will tell Persica myself.”

“Very well.”

After that, the quiet carriage ride continued.

Just as I was nodding off because of the fatigue piled up in my body, a jolting sensation brought me back to my senses.

Before I knew it, the scenery outside the window had completely changed.

The carriage had entered the royal capital.

“Wow.......”

Buildings on a completely different level from the ordinary district I had seen before stood in every direction.

A space filled beautifully with cleanly organized streets and splendid, luxurious buildings, as if proving that this was a separate world.

And far away, in a place so distant it seemed unreachable, I could see an enormous structure standing faintly white.

‘So that is the royal palace.’

The place where the king of Ebla resided.

Even in the game, it had been one of the few spaces I had never managed to enter until the very end.

Countless users had challenged it for a long time, but no one had ever entered the royal palace. No one had ever met a member of the royal family either.

The royal palace was truly a mysterious space in and of itself.

“From here on, this is Ortanis territory.”

After racing through the royal capital for quite some time, the carriage entered a vast estate.

A sprawling garden so wide it was difficult to take in at a glance, and a splendid mansion visible at its far end.

It was the kind of sight that made me realize just how much authority a member of Trinity possessed.

“For now, please take a bath first.”

“Ah...... Yes.”

After traveling for quite some time and arriving at the mansion, I was first advised to bathe.

Of course, that was only natural, because I looked like a beggar right now, and not just any beggar. No one said it aloud, but I smelled terrible too.

Guided by a maid, I headed to a guest room.

“Please give your clothes here.”

“Ah, yes. But why are you coming in with me......?”

“To attend your bath.”

“......It is all right. I can wash by myself.”

“Pardon? But.......”

“It is truly all right.”

So it was true that nobles had someone bathe them.

To be honest, I was a little curious, but since I had spent my whole life in a country steeped in Confucian values, that was a bit.......I washed in a bathroom that was far too large for one person, and in the meantime, I put on my clothes, which had been neatly cleaned.

......How did they do that when it had not even been thirty minutes since I handed them over?

“The young lady is waiting for you. This way.”

And so I was guided to Persica’s room.

‘How should I explain this?’

That the one who had come was not Ishara, but me.

That she had become a fairy and fallen asleep, and that I had inherited her power and become human.

As someone without much eloquence, I could not find an answer as to how I should convince her.

“My lady. The guest has arrived.”

“Come in.”

There was no use agonizing over it. I had no choice but to face it directly.

I stepped through the open door.

Inside, Persica, dressed in ordinary clothes, was waiting while drinking tea.

“I did not think you would come this quickly. Isha.......”

Her face, which had turned toward me slowly, filled with bewilderment the moment she discovered me.

As if asking why I was standing there.

“Hello.”

***

A heavy silence settled over the room.

Persica was staring endlessly at the sword I had handed her.

“No.......”

I think it took around thirty minutes to explain.

I told Persica everything except the facts that I was a Possessor and that Ishara had returned to the past.

“This...... is Ishara?”

Her trembling hand brushed over the sword.

Her expression was filled with disbelief, clearly showing that she could not believe it at all.

“Ishara.”

At my call, the sword gave off a gentle vibration.

It was the unique characteristic of a Starting Weapon.

Once Persica confirmed that it truly was Ishara, she drew in a slight breath.

“How is this possible...... Something...... I have never heard of anything like this.”

Of course she had not.

There might have been many Possessors who used Swap, but there would not have been anyone who even switched positions.

“Ishara became a fairy, and you became human in Ishara’s place......?”

“That is right.”

“You expect me......”

Grind.

Persica, who had ground her teeth together, glared at me with a sharp gaze.

“You expect me to believe that?”

From the voice she spat out as if chewing each word, I could feel the deep suspicion she held toward me.

“Let us say what you said is true.”

“It is true.”

“Shut up! Ishara followed you a great deal. You knew a lot of strange information. You could have deceived Ishara...... and taken that child’s body from her, could you not?”

“.......”

I could not deny it.

My knowledge. Ishara’s goodwill.

If Persica had seen both of those things, it was only natural that she might suspect that.

She rose from her seat.

Holding Ishara, she pointed the tip of the blade at me while I remained seated.

“How do I know your words are the truth?”

“If you cannot believe me, stab me with that.”

“What?”

“No. It will be faster to show you directly.”

I stood up and tightly gripped the blade pointed at me.

Persica, startled, tried to pull the sword away, but before she could, I pushed my body toward the blade.

“What are you doing......!?”

Persica’s shrill cry could not continue to the end.

Even if it was a Starting Weapon, a sword was still a sword.

The blade should have dug into my chest, and my hand should have been cut.

But the sword did not dig into my chest at all. The hand gripping the blade was also unharmed.

“What on earth is this.......”

“Ishara does not turn her edge against me.”

Even when I rubbed my hand along the blade, not a single wound appeared.

Then the sword, which had been trembling, shook itself free from Persica’s hand and flew up before turning the direction of its blade toward Persica.

As if telling her to stay away from me.

At the sight of the sword threatening her, Persica’s eyes trembled greatly.

“Come here, Ishara.”

When I called her and reached out my hand, the sword was grasped in my hand as if nothing had happened.

A brief silence flowed.

Thud. Persica sank helplessly back into her seat and let out a sigh.

“......It really is that child.”

Faced with a truth she had no choice but to believe, Persica eventually lowered her gaze.

***

Only after the storm had passed did we belatedly have the leisure to look at each other properly.

“This room is flashy. You are flashy too.”

“I am a noble. And an Ortanis at that.”

The room, filled with all kinds of luxury goods and furniture...... It truly was not enough to call it the height of splendor.

On top of that, it was so wide.

It was no joke. There seemed to be enough space left over even if one played soccer here.

“Why did you come looking for me?”

Fortunately, Persica quickly composed herself.

I did not know whether she had accepted it or simply buried it for the moment, but at least she was more willing to talk than at first.

“I heard a guarantee is needed for an apprentice to participate in a boss expedition.”

“So you want me to provide that guarantee?”

“Yes.”

She set down the teacup she had been drinking from.

A boss expedition. It meant going down below the dungeon.

She did not say it was too early.

Because she knew the knowledge and power I possessed.

“Why?”

“I am going to the bottom of the dungeon.”

Persica’s eyes narrowed.

The bottom of the dungeon. She must know what was there.

“Are you also going to repair the Golden Rule and make a wish?”

“Yes.”

“What are you going to wish for?”

“Well.......”

Normally, it would be to return home, but if I could make a wish other than that.

No, if I were given the chance to make a wish at all.

“I want to ask it to turn Ishara back into a person.”

“.......”

In the game, when the final chapter was cleared, the script appeared.

And the one who recited that script was the fairy. It meant the fairy might awaken if one reached the very end.

But in the end, that was still only a fairy.

I wanted her not to remain as a fairy, but to return to being human again.

“You are serious.”

I did not know what she read in my words and gaze, but she saw through the fact that it was not a lie.

Persica spoke.

“It will be difficult. There are already many adventurers with the same goal.”

“I suppose so.”

Most adventurers entered the dungeon to make a living.

Once they reached a certain level, they entered the dungeon for honor.

And if they climbed even higher than that.

From then on, adventurers began challenging the supreme treasure of this world.

“If you go to the lower floors, there will be countless strong people. From the sixth floor...... from what we call the Deep Floors, you may even meet a ‘Master.’”

Master.

It was a term referring to people who had not only learned Aura, but had trained it to its extreme.

A realm beyond the simple projection of supernatural power, where one could even change the surrounding environment.

They were so powerful that each and every one of them was treated as a person of interest, and in effect, they were handled no differently from strategic weapons.

“There is only one wish. To obtain it, you may inevitably have to fight people like that.”

“.......”

“You have to risk your life.”

I clenched my fist tightly.

That was a fact I already knew.

“I have already risked my life several times.”

I had gone into the dungeon.

I had not explored all of it yet, but I had experienced firsthand just how unforgiving that place was.

I had also learned that a life was so trivial it could vanish absurdly from a single mistake.

“Hah.......”

Persica let out what might have been her umpteenth sigh and spoke.

“You asked me to let you join a boss expedition, did you not?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I will do it. I was going to go anyway.”

Having readily accepted my request, she spoke.

“I will let you join there.”

“You were planning to go too?”

“Why? Am I not allowed to go?”

That was because it was too soon.

I had a suitable objective, but I could not help wondering why Persica, who lacked nothing, would try to take on such a risk.

“I also have a reason to go downward. That is why I became an adventurer.”

“.......”

“So do not get arrogant and try to stop─”

“All right.”

“me from doing it─ Huh?”

“Your skill is certain.”

I answered honestly.

“Ishara was simply too outstanding. You are impressive too.”

“Did you have to say it like that?”

If I kept it too short, there could be a misunderstanding.

I acknowledged that she was impressive, but the most impressive one was Ishara.

That had to be made clear before we moved on.

“But the boss I am trying to defeat is somewhat dangerous.”

“The one in the center of the dungeon. Are you not talking about that place?”

“You know about it.”

“It is famous.”

A boss whose difficulty had risen higher and higher until it became too difficult, eventually causing its strategy to be abandoned.

It seemed it was famous enough that even Persica knew about it.

“That was where I was going too.”

I had thought she was accepting it too readily.

It seemed our routes simply overlapped.

“The expedition is in one month. Until then...... No, never mind. Where are you staying right now?”

“At the temple.”

“The temple? They gave you a room there?”

I showed the Platinum Token to her as she tilted her head.

Seeing the token that was said to have appeared for the first time in a hundred years, she let out a hollow laugh.

“......I am not even surprised anymore.”

I had clearly heard that she had received the Gold Token, one rank lower.

I thought she would boil over, saying she had lost again, but surprisingly, she simply nodded without saying much.

“Go back today, and come to the dungeon early in the morning the day after tomorrow. Then go down with me.”

“......Together?”

“Do you dislike it?”

“I prefer being alone.”

“Shut up. Do as I say. Otherwise, I will hang you from a stake and burn you.”

“.......”

In the end, Persica set the schedule however she liked.

Watching her, I could not help but think.

‘In what way is she graceful?’

Felix’s eyes were definitely defective.

***

After Isran left.

Persica, left alone in the room, was quietly stroking a single sword.

“......Cecil.”

The sword in which her fairy, now asleep, dwelled.

When she lightly brushed the blade, her finger was cut, and a drop of blood welled up.

This was normal.

Because it was normal, she could understand just how strong the will Ishara had held...... the will to protect Isran, truly was.

“Do not peep. Come in.”

At that, a man opened the door and entered.

“You are late, Uncle.”

“I told you to call me Felix. Uncle sounds too distant.”

Felix Ortanis.

The man Isran had run into in the dungeon was the younger brother of the head of House Ortanis, and Persica’s uncle.

“Since it was the child you mentioned, I took a look at him once...... and he certainly was astonishing. But did you not say it was a girl?”

Persica flinched and slightly averted her gaze.

“Did I? You must have misheard me say it was a boy.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Felix, who let it pass without saying much, laughed heartily.

“In any case, to think my niece finally has a friend. This uncle is happy!”

“It is not like that.”

There had been a child who said she wanted to become friends when they met again.

Persica had hoped for that too.

However, the one she had met again was Isran.

The one she had wanted to become friends with was not him, but Ishara.

“By the way, he was fascinating.”

“What was?”

“I approached him while pretending to be a third-floor adventurer, you see? For an apprentice, that fellow has no fear.”

On top of that, he seemed unaware of what the “Ortanis seal” meant.

Usually, a blue seal was used, while direct knights used silver.

And only the direct line of the family used gold.

That was why the guard at the outpost had been startled out of his wits upon receiving the seal.

“So, you see. If he does not know something like this, could he perhaps be.......”

“A Possessor?”

“Exactly. There were more than one or two suspicious things about him. He even knew about the Engraving Stone, I tell you.”

The Engraving Stone referred to the one in the boss room.

It was a Mana Stone whose identity Trinity had hidden, and which had been embedded in place without budging at all.

No one had managed to take it all this time, but Isran had taken such an Engraving Stone as if it were only natural.

It was only natural that Felix would be suspicious.

“......That is a little strange.”

“Right? So he must be─”

“But he is not a Possessor.”

Persica denied it in the end.

Isran did not have the distinctive Mana of a Possessor, and to begin with, she had never heard of a Possessor becoming a fairy.

More than anything, he lacked the bewilderment that Possessors showed immediately after possession.

Unless he had no emotions at all, he could not possibly be that calm.

‘He must know because he is a fairy.’

In the end, her conclusion was the same.

“So you do not need to suspect him.”

The suspicions were settled that way.

But if, by some chance, he really was a Possessor.......

‘......It may not matter.’

If one discovered a Possessor, one had to inform the temple.

However, she thought that she probably would not do so.

“Hah.......”

In the end, all she could do was let out a self-mocking laugh.