Awakening in the Lucid Dream (6)
【Is this fact well known among humans?】 Veronica asked.
It was a question about whether humans knew the original purpose of the rune stones. I let out a groan at the unexpected inquiry.
“How should I know? I’ve never heard of it. But now that you mention it, it does seem strange. All you have to do is put the rune’s mana into the rune stone. If the conditions are met, other people should have figured it out too.”
【That may be so. Among the human race that has claimed most of the lands of the Middle Bough, are rune users not uncommon? Even the rune stones in my possession were items I barely obtained from remote wilderness or abandoned ruins. Few would have discovered the truth.】
I knew what she meant by Middle Bough. It was an archaic expression referring to the real world. Odin had said the same thing in my dream. Basically, it was the otherworld version of “Earth.”
I was originally planning to ask about the dream too.
I clicked my tongue. I had changed my mind.
That prophecy thing is really bothering me.
The prophecy of the bicorns. What exactly did it say? My own speculation couldn’t grasp the content. But Kang Bukho, whose instincts had been sharpened by 21st-century multimedia, could sense that the prophecy was closely tied to the curse afflicting the bicorns.
“Veronica. Can I ask you about that prophecy thing later?”
【Let us do so. From the beginning, I intended to tell you. It was pushed back because that ogre bastard interfered.】
“Thanks. If you were going to tell me anyway, you could’ve done it before bed yesterday.”
【Hehe. You probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep. You seem like the type who feels burdened when expectations are placed on you.】
“You caught me.”
Veronica laughed, but I couldn’t join in with a chuckle. Fuck. What kind of favor is she about to ask? Still, she was the type to repay debts with surgical precision, so she must have prepared something of equal value. Whether I accepted the request or not was entirely up to me. Thinking that way eased some of the pressure.
I checked my pocket watch. Only thirty minutes left. Thirty minutes. Not even enough time for idle chatter. We stuffed the rune stones into the bag as fast as we could. The ones with the old man were put in a separate bag that I carried myself.
“Any other luggage?”
【None. I brought a bit of human currency, so I will purchase what I need with my own funds from now on.】
“Suit yourself.”
She hadn’t brought any luggage when she came to me either. Since she originally lived in the forest, her self-sufficiency skills must be high. I slung the bag over my shoulder and stepped outside, then climbed onto Hildegarde’s back.
Hildegarde widened her eyes at the sight of the bags we were carrying.
【You brought quite a lot. Are you taking all of that?】
“I think it’ll be needed for Heu’s research.”
【Ah, in that case. And it seems Veronica has permitted it.】
【It is only natural. It is the price for my life.】
With those words, Veronica transformed into a hummingbird and perched on my shoulder. Thanks to the shoulder that had broadened from training with the iron staff, there was plenty of space for the tiny bird to sit. Still, I hadn’t expected her to suddenly transform into another animal like that.
“What the? You can transform into things other than a horse?”
【It is an application of the Berkanan rune. Transformation magic suits my magical aptitude well. However, aside from my true form and horse form, there is little meaning in transforming.】
“I guess that makes sense. But why turn into a hummingbird then?”
If she wasn’t in bicorn mode, Veronica’s self-dot-damage as a maiden would remain active. That was how the curse was designed. Because the curse was only half-lifted, her divine form had now become her base state. Wouldn’t transforming into a horse be more efficient if she was going to use mana anyway?
When I asked, Veronica tilted her head like a real bird.
【My legs are slow. If we are in a hurry, borrowing Hildegarde’s back is faster. I ask this of you.】
【As much as you like. You’re so light it doesn’t even feel like anyone is riding.】
Hildegarde scraped the ground with her hoof and dashed toward the magic circle. Her speed was even faster than when we had gone to the cave—probably because she too knew that time was running out.
When we arrived at the magic circle, it was packed with a crowd—no, a herd—of horses. It seemed the bicorns who had heard the explanation from Veronica had gathered. I didn’t know much about horse expressions, but since they were bicorns closer to humans, I could read their faces. Half expectation, half suspicion. Still, none of them were rude enough to chatter noisily.
—Flash!
Veronica transformed into her divine form as if making a declaration and spoke.
【This is a brief farewell. Next time, I will return with better news.】
It was a statement that could even sound arrogant. But it was also a declaration that she would not return until she had results. The farewell ended there.
Veronica, who had received the imperial seal from me, activated the magic circle. The bicorns watched us solemnly, with the eyes of those seeing off a comrade embarking on a pilgrimage.
What did Odin mean by “successor” in the dream? Did I really possess the means to lift their curse? The savior of a fallen divine race. It felt like far too heavy a burden for someone like me.
While I was thinking that, Veronica took my hand and pulled me toward the magic circle.
【You. The preparations are complete. Let us go.】
“Yeah, yeah.”
I stood on the magic circle with my back to the bicorns.
—Fwaaaaaah!
The activated magic circle twisted space and time to send us back to our original location. And so we teleported to the forests of Britannia.
Perhaps because the sun had almost fully risen, the magic circle in the forest—still bearing traces of yesterday’s battle—was nearly gone.
【Huuu…! Pwah.】
Veronica stretched like a salaryman who had just finished his work. She hadn’t said anything, but it seemed she had expended a lot of mental energy persuading her kin.
“Good work. If you’re tired, turn back into a bird on the way back too.”
【Hehe. The curse would make it difficult. No matter. My legs may be slow, but I am confident in my stamina. After all, I have traversed this vast continent relying only on my own two legs.】
—Slap.
Veronica openly patted her own exposed legs. Her thighs, literally horse-like, were sleek like part of a statue. More like a Venus than a muscular Greek sculpture, though.
“Heh heh. You seem pretty confident? Is it because you’ve traveled so long?”
I asked thoughtlessly, like making small talk in an airplane seat—since we still had time before the magic circle activated.
【Hmph. Despite how I look, I am a horse of the divine race. Humans seem to pride themselves on long-distance travel, but I believe my stamina is in no way inferior to yours.】
Veronica answered with a slightly dissatisfied tone after her boast was ignored. Well, people who are confident in their body tend to get prickly if their figure is dismissed, regardless of whether the other person is interested or not. If some bastard mocked my macho body as “entry-level bodybuilder Instagram muscle,” I’d get pissed too.
In times like these, honest praise was effective. I spoke with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“That’s amazing. How many years did you travel?”
【Well. About ten years, I suppose.】
“Ten years? Wait, how old are you exactly?”
I shouted in shock. Without the horn, she looked exactly like a human, so I had unconsciously judged her by appearance. Still, gathering that many rune stones would have required at least that much time.
When I asked her age, Veronica pouted and answered.
【……In human years, I am twenty.】
“Don’t give me that bullshit that sounds like the auntie who owns the pet salon.”
Of course, as a former veterinary student, I knew the formula for converting dog years to human years. But that was just a mental comfort formula for dog owners! The only thing revealed about Veronica’s biological age was that it was under three hundred. It was a biological mystery on par with why salon aunties dye dogs’ ears.
【Anyway, if you look at it that way, my travels were also work as a prophet.】
Veronica changed the subject, apparently reluctant to reveal her age. It was such a violent drift that even a twenty-ton dump truck would flip, and I felt like I’d get dragged in and die if I tried to stop it, so I shut my mouth.
【That person is the liberator of the fate of the two-horned beasts, the guide of the ten thousand beasts. The mercy to be bestowed upon the descendant of the divine demon shall arrive at the twilight hour when the era draws to a close.】
The playful atmosphere vanished, replaced by a solemn tone like someone reciting scripture in a ritual! This seemed to be the prophecy passed down among the bicorns.
【It is said: A berserker who does not fall to beast form. One who is not devoured by savagery and rage, yet a king who grants rest to fallen beasts. On the day he descends, all beasts shall vacate their thrones and pay homage to the king.】
“……Grants rest to what now?”
It sounded familiar. Was I mistaken? I tilted my head as the memory of hearing the exact same phrase in Tabula’s death scene came back to me. How did that bastard know a prophecy passed down to the bicorn race, who were divine beings of Germania? Maybe similar prophecies were handed down in the villages of the barbarian tribes—the berserkers—from the same region.
【This is the prophecy left by the prophet. We bicorns have relied on these words and waited endlessly for the day of salvation.】
Veronica spoke as the wind whipped her hair, as if reflecting on her clan’s past.
【Thus, thousands of years passed. The curse continued, and the holy land left by the prophet crumbled. Yet the clan remained shut inside the holy land, waiting only for the time of salvation. Even though some could not endure it and tried to bring about the ‘end of the era’ mentioned in the prophecy with their own hands.】
At those words, I thought of the unicorn with the broken horn—Abidus. That black mage and necromancer had committed evil deeds with dark magic. I had wondered why a unicorn, called a holy beast, would do such things, but until now I hadn’t really cared. As I often said, trying to understand the thoughts of a madman was a waste of time.
Perhaps a similar prophecy had been passed down to the unicorns as well. That would explain the appearance of heretical preachers who had gone astray. Something like that.
【That is why I took it upon myself to be one who remembers the prophet’s words. When the golden city built by humans fell, I sought the lost records among the rune stones.】
“So you left the holy land to find other prophecies?”
【Correct. Well, because of the curse, I showed you quite an unsightly side from our very first meeting.】
Veronica brushed her wind-tangled hair behind her shoulder. Then she lifted the imperial seal she was carrying. Since we had already exchanged it several times, I reached out for it again, but Veronica swiftly dodged my hand. Like a wild horse avoiding a rope.
What the hell? Had she suddenly developed an attachment to the mana battery?
I thought it was impossible, yet the idea crossed my mind. Veronica stroked the broken handle of the imperial seal and spoke.
【You. The rune mana that should be inside the imperial seal has decreased slightly. If it is not my mistake, it appears you have recovered a portion of the mana you had stored. Is that correct?】
“Huh? Ah, yeah. That’s right.”
【Is that so. Truly a remarkable thing.】
When I answered honestly to the barrage of questions bouncing around like stress balls, Veronica’s eyes sparkled. The atmosphere felt strange. She approached with silent steps, just like before she ambushed the ogre.
【My knowledge is lacking, and I have never heard of being able to ‘succeed’ rune mana from a defeated opponent. Yet you claim to have extracted and stored rune mana without even using the Jēra rune. Rune mana is originally inseparable from its owner.】
Veronica’s eyes shone. Clear joy was evident in her gaze.
【Not only can you handle our speech, but you possess so many extraordinary abilities. Is it not natural, then, that I would place my hopes in you?】