The Magic Kingdom of Morian (5)
Now that we had decided to move forward, it was time to choose the path. One road was carpeted so thickly with flowers that there was barely room to set foot, while the other was so flooded with mud it looked more like a tidal flat than a road. Neither seemed particularly comfortable for a carriage.
"The fog only lets us see the beginning of each path. If we could see all the way to the end, we'd have more to go on."
"If we're thinking normally, the flower path seems better. At least the wheels won't get stuck in mud."
I nodded at Valkius's opinion. Whether this place even followed normal physical laws was another matter, but when there was no basis for choosing, the reasonable option was—hm?
Just then, a faint golden light flashed at the edge of my vision. It was something very familiar, almost the same color as the hazy fog. Like a guiding rope, it pointed toward a specific location—and that location was neither the flower path nor the mud path. It was the lake.
"...Valkius, what color does the fog look to you right now?"
I asked just to confirm.
"Hm? A pale red. Like a goldfish... or something similar. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. I was wondering if different people see different colors."
"You mean the fog itself has no color, and it's affecting our minds to make us see it differently? That's not impossible."
As expected of a court mage, one of the empire's top elites, he didn't dismiss my theory outright or treat me like an idiot. Instead, he began testing it with several spells. Of course, I had only said it to hide my ability, but it was convenient that he took it seriously.
The fog I saw was also the pale red he described. The only difference was that I could see golden fog as well.
I thought for a moment. I couldn't be sure this golden color meant "the correct answer." After all, the ability of The Greedy Prodigal was tied to "wealth" or "treasure," not to revealing the right path. It would point out where valuable items were, but it didn't account for any dangers along the way. Even if something precious lay at the bottom of the lake the golden fog indicated, we might get badly hurt or fall into crisis trying to obtain it.
...No, wait. I almost missed something important. The golden fog had only started appearing a moment ago. If whatever was in the lake had always been there, I would have noticed it much earlier on the way here. That meant this "something" hadn't existed until just recently.
The only difference between then and now was the presence or absence of that floating goldfish.
Goldfish. Lake. Flower path. Mud path.
Aha. So that's it. The Lake of Wisdom.
What I had done was more of a trick than actual wisdom, but as long as it worked, it didn't matter. And even if it turned out to be wrong, there was someone here who could handle the consequences.
"Hm, I've checked a few things, and it doesn't seem like the fog has any hallucinatory effects. We can't stay here forever, so let's take the flower path—"
"No, let's go to the lake."
"...What? What are you saying? We're already at the lake."
Valkius looked puzzled. I silently pointed at the shoreline, where the water was making loud splashing sounds like the sea.
"That's not a path—it's a goldfish. A goldfish belongs in water, not in a flowerbed or a mudflat."
"What nonsense is this? There are clearly two paths right in front of us, and you want to ignore them and drive into the lake?"
"But we were never told we had to choose between the two paths. We just assumed that ourselves."
"Whether we were told or not, that's the obvious conclusion!"
He exploded in anger.
"Do you even think before you speak? We're trapped inside this carriage. No matter how hard we try to get out, we just get pulled back in, as if the space itself is interfering. If the carriage sinks into the lake, we'll all drown!"
Hmm. How was I supposed to convince him? What Valkius said wasn't wrong. Objectively speaking, I was the one sounding insane.
"Why not just try it?"
At that moment, Princess Lyla spoke up.
"If we were only given two choices, the goldfish wouldn't listen even if we told it to go into the lake. But if it does listen, that means it's an action we're allowed to take."
"But Your Highness, this is far too dangerous!"
"Breathing won't be a problem."
With those words, she waved her hand. It was a light gesture, but the result was astonishing. A gust of wind blew, pushing the fog surrounding the carriage away in an instant. Just as I thought we might be able to see beyond the invisible paths, the fog that had been pushed back suddenly grew denser and surged back toward us. Princess Lyla frowned, and the approaching fog stopped just five meters from the carriage.
"I was hoping to secure a larger space, but this seems to be the limit. Still, at least we won't have to worry about drowning."
The goldfish curiously poked its head at the sphere of wind surrounding it, but the translucent wall of air merely stretched like an elastic soap bubble without letting the fish through.
"...A high-tier wind sphere? No, did you combine it with a mana barrier? Wait, if we apply this to long-range projectiles as well..."
Valkius stared at the sight and suddenly launched into his own world, muttering about mana efficiency and spell circuits. The princess gave me a meaningful look. She was reliable in a completely different way from Ligret.
I leaned out of the carriage and shouted.
"Goldfish! Let's go to the lake!"
The floating goldfish nodded up and down as if it understood, then began guiding the carriage straight toward the lake. With a splash, the bubble of air around the carriage touched the water first. The goldfish seemed annoyed that its body wasn't getting wet even after entering the water, shaking left and right, but soon gave up and swam deeper.
The inside of the lake was astonishingly clear and clean. Besides the floating goldfish, many other fish swam freely. A few approached the carriage curiously, but all of them bounced off the air bubble Princess Lyla had created. It was like a realistic aquarium, but unfortunately, we didn't have much time to appreciate the view. In what felt like only thirty seconds—thanks to the goldfish's unexpectedly excellent swimming skills—the carriage entered a cave inside the lake before an ordinary person would even need to take a breath.
Whether it was because the entrance opened downward or because some mysterious force was at work, the inside of the cave was surprisingly filled with air. Only then did I understand. Honestly, not everyone who challenged this place would be a monster like the princess. I had been wondering how ordinary people were supposed to solve this.
If you needed the ability to create a massive oxygen capsule just to clear it, was this really the Lake of Wisdom? More like the "Drown If You Can't Do This" Lake.
"So it was just a matter of holding your breath after all."
Princess Lyla seemed to have reached the same conclusion and spoke as she dispelled her spell. At first glance, it looked like we had gone through unnecessary trouble out of fear, but it hadn't been completely pointless.
"If that were the case, the three of us would be soaked like drowned rats right now. Keeping ourselves dry is enough of a benefit, isn't it?"
"Ahem, ahem! Indeed, Your Highness. A very wise choice."
Valkius, who had apparently come back to his senses, began defending the princess as if he had rehearsed it. After all, the reason she had used the spell was because he had worried about drowning, so he couldn't really complain. As a bonus, we had confirmed that the cave path he had denied was real.
Paying no attention to our conversation, the goldfish diligently pulled the carriage deeper into the cave. The golden fog in my vision grew thicker and thicker. Then we reached the second fork in the path.
The goldfish stopped again and looked at us as if asking which way to go. We stared at the two paths before us.
"They look identical from the outside."
"Are both of them traps this time too?"
"I don't know. There's no water this time, at least."
Unlike before, I couldn't distinguish them with golden fog—both paths were emitting golden fog side by side. Did that mean both were correct, or that we would gain something even if we failed?
Just then—
"Chrome? Chrome, are you there?!"
"Midas! Get over here, quick! It's urgent!"
From deep within the fork, voices of our companions echoed out.
The problem was—
"Don't fall for it, Chrome! I don't know what it is, but something's imitating us!"
"You bastard! How dare you mock the legitimate heir of Pendevig!"
The exact same voices were coming from the opposite cave as well.
"Lord Chrome! Help us!"
"Please, Midas! I'll reward you, just hurry!"
"Who are you?! Who are you to imitate me?!"
"How rude! Who do you think you're mocking?!"
Chrome, Valkius, and Princess Lyla exchanged glances.
What now?