Wish Enforcement
The tavern must have decided not to open at all today. I could sense Elly and Rydia moving around inside, but the door to The Elf and the Silver Coin was firmly shut, complete with a closed sign hanging on it.
“Hmm….”
Click, clack… clunk.
“Elly! Lady Rydia! What should we have for lunch? I’m craving something with meat in it!”
“W-what the—?! I haven’t unlocked it yet! How did you get in?!”
“Yona. Did you break the doorknob? I didn’t hear anything….”
Elly, who had been walking out from the hall after sensing my presence, and Rydia, who had been quietly sipping from her glass, both stared at me with startled expressions. At their intense reaction, I flashed a V-sign with both hands and answered.
“I just opened it and walked in?”
“How?!”
“No matter how you look at it, that’s not a lock, it’s a latch….”
Elly and Rydia looked utterly bewildered. Honestly, it wasn’t that impressive. I had simply made a slight application of the new authority I’d obtained—Basileus.
I pointed at the wide-open doorframe, specifically near the latch. There, unlike the smoothly finished surface around it, a strangely protruding tree branch had sprouted.
“The doorframe is made of wood, right? I found out I could manipulate it with the authority I just got.”
Pull out a branch from the frame, use it to release the latch, and push the door open. Done.
“…But that’s dead wood?”
“It’s still wood. And a plant.”
“…….”
Elly pressed her lips tightly together. Meanwhile, Rydia carefully snapped off the elongated branch, turning it over in her hands as she muttered blankly.
“This. It’s alive.”
“Of course it’s alive. That’s why it grows.”
“…How can a living branch grow from dead wood?”
“That’s the miracle, isn’t it?”
“…….”
“…….”
Elly and Rydia—powerless… no, authority-less—exchanged glances before huddling together and whispering.
“Look. I get that it’s amazing, but it’s really not that big a deal, okay? At first glance it might look like I brought dead plants back to life, but technically it’s closer to converting my divine power into a branch. It’s so inefficient that I can only grow something this small.”
“We’re surprised you can already handle it this well.”
“We don’t have any authorities ourselves, but we’ve seen people who do. Never seen anyone adapt as fast as Yona.”
“Well, that’s because….”
It was my first time obtaining an authority from a dungeon, but I’d pulled plenty of skills and authorities from gacha before. The knowledge forcibly imprinted on me, the unfamiliar power that suddenly settled inside—it was already a familiar experience.
Of course I couldn’t tell them that, so I simply shrugged and decided to show off a little.
“It’s possible because I’m a genius. Ahem.”
“Maybe that really is it… Rydia. What do you think? You’ve been watching from right beside him.”
“Yeah. To my eyes, Yona is a genius. But there’s something else besides talent.”
“That must be the Goddess’s blessing, right?”
“Could be.”
The two of them nodded seriously as they exchanged words. Hey, I was joking, but if you acknowledge it that earnestly I just end up feeling awkward, you know?
I let out a long sigh and sat down at the seat in front of the counter.
“Enough of that. Both of you, come over here. Don’t we have something we need to talk about?”
“…Ah.”
“Right.”
The pair, who had been half-jokingly whispering, locked the door again and sat down on either side of me. Just moments ago they had been chatting about nothing important like usual, but the moment I said we had something to discuss, the atmosphere around Elly and Rydia completely changed.
A strangely heavy air settled over us. Elly was the first to speak.
“Yona. You’ve finally decided to tell us?”
“It’s okay. We’ll listen to anything properly. We’re on your side, Yona.”
“Huh? What are you even….”
When I looked puzzled this time, Elly shook her head with a bitter expression.
“There’s no need to keep pretending you don’t know after everything that’s happened. I’m sorry. For making you choose that. I’m sorry I couldn’t take your place.”
“…Huh?”
Elly suddenly patted my shoulder as she said that. Rydia wasn’t much different.
“Now that you’ve cleared the first floor, you’re my baggage carrier. I won’t let you go until you’ve paid back every coin you borrowed. …So keep entering the labyrinth with me from now on.”
She was seriously bringing up the debt and demanding repayment. On the first floor I had fought alone and taken all the profits for myself, but if I became a baggage carrier, I’d only get the carrier’s allowance. Just how long did she plan to drag me around? Wasn’t this child exploitation?
But if she was going to exploit me anyway, couldn’t she exploit my sperm instead?
I firmly suppressed the nonsense that kept trying to leap out of my mouth and carefully considered what Elly and Rydia had said.
Me, who had suddenly come out as a saint (not really). Elly, who felt sorry for making me bear it alone. Rydia, who was trying to keep me by her side no matter what.
“…Ah.”
So that’s it. That’s what this is about. I understood everything now.
“Elly.”
“Yeah.”
“You and I are going to keep seeing each other’s faces for a long time, right? Isn’t that so?”
“Uh… y-yeah?”
“Then please stop saying you’re sorry. I’ve received so much help from you until now, and I plan to keep receiving it. You’ve always been someone I’m grateful to, Elly. Always.”
“Yona….”
Elly’s eyes grew misty, as if she was a little moved. Good. That side was taken care of.
Next was Rydia. I stared straight at her expressionless face and slowly opened my mouth.
“Lady Rydia.”
“Yeah.”
“You said it yourself, didn’t you? That you’re always on my side.”
“That’s right. I am Yona’s….”
I wasn’t sure if she was deliberately trailing off or if she had simply stopped herself, but one thing was clear—Rydia definitely held goodwill toward me. It just didn’t seem like she wanted to help me for free like Elly. She clearly wanted something from me.
It was probably related to me being a saint (not really)…. “Hmm.”
If there was only one reason Rydia would go this far, it had to be that. Knight.
Rydia’s ultimate goal wasn’t success and a comfortable life like most adventurers. The labyrinth and adventuring life were nothing more than means to an end. Tools to obtain power and fame as a knight.
What Rydia truly wanted was to become a knight and restore her family’s honor. That being the case, one question inevitably arose.
Couldn’t she become a knight right this moment? It wasn’t like she wanted to be a duke or anything—just a knight. Who would refuse a talented individual who had already earned the title The Noble if she said she wanted to become a knight?
Yet the reason Rydia remained an adventurer instead of a knight was… yes, only one thing. The reason a person with both proven skill and character like Rydia couldn’t receive a knighthood anywhere. There had to be some kind of ‘dishonor’ weighing on her family.
From that perspective, the title of Saint’s companion was an offer too tempting to ignore. Who in the world would dare point fingers and call the Saint’s party member dishonorable?
I had no plans to enter the temple yet, but I couldn’t stay away from it forever, so becoming an official saint was only a matter of time. In other words, from Rydia’s point of view, I was the perfect low-risk, high-reward investment right now.
Who knows? Maybe the day would come when I, as an official saint, would appoint her as an honorary holy knight. Unlike regular knighthoods, holy knights didn’t pass down their authority through bloodlines, but the position guaranteed honor far beyond that of an ordinary knight. At the very least, it would be enough to wash away the dishonor her family carried.
Having organized my thoughts that far, I patted Rydia’s shoulder. Just like when appointing a knight.
“Even though you told me not to say it, Lady Rydia, I sincerely believe you are already a wonderful knight.”
“That’s….”
“Hold your back straight. Chest out, head held high with pride. My knight. You have done nothing wrong.”
“…….”
Her lips parted slightly. In contrast, her eyes widened as far as they possibly could. I gave her a bright grin. Adding in the noble young master act that she had been so ridiculously into last time.
“Thank you for everything until now. And I look forward to your continued support.”
“…Yeah!”
Rydia nodded half a beat late, her expression stiff. Good. With that, the saint (not really) coming-out was wrapped up.
I was still reluctant to reveal my gacha ability itself… but at least I no longer needed to hide what I obtained from gacha or make up plausible excuses. I could just say, ‘The Goddess of Love gave it to me,’ and that would be the end of it.
The shop fell quiet. Somehow I ended up being the only one who said what I wanted to say, but… the results were good, so it was okay, right?
I flopped face-first onto the table, rubbing my cheek against the cold wood as I spoke.
“Oh, right. I just came back from visiting Eden to see Miss Eve, didn’t I?”
“Eh?! Yeah! That’s right. You did say you were going. Something about having business there?”
“Exactly. When I had the Unicorn Dagger made, instead of paying with money, I promised to lend her the power of the World Tree once I obtained it. I only showed her what kind of authority it was today, though.”
“…She actually agreed to that? That’s basically the same as making it for free.”
“She might still feel like she owes me a little for saving Lemon and Apple. Oh, and there’s one more thing I should mention just in case.”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“Miss Eve proposed to me.”
“…….”
“…….”
Elly froze mid-motion as she habitually reached for her mana herb cigarette. As for Rydia, she clapped both hands over her mouth, her eyes spinning wildly.
A suffocating silence. Exactly three seconds later, Elly lit her cigarette and stood up from her seat.
“Alright. I’m going to go kill that Eve or whatever for a bit.”
“Stop with the murder threats…!”
Why are you saying that so casually?!