The Third Trial: Solitude in the Depths
For some reason, the gazes directed at me from those around felt icy cold. To think this was the treatment given to the primary contributor who had worked hardest to resolve the incident. Where on earth had justice vanished to?
"By the way, how long do we have to keep talking like this?"
"Hmm. Indeed, conversing with only our faces exposed like this is rather uncomfortable. We cannot even step outside the carriage."
As Pino and Rabaul had said, the current situation was far from ideal for holding a conversation. Before that, how was the other carriage even moving without a goldfish? It would be convenient if it moved on its own like at the beginning when there was nothing there.
I decided to ask the one who seemed to be the organizer. "Goldfish, what are we supposed to do after this? And can't you bring them along too?"
The act of sticking my upper body out the carriage window to question a levitating goldfish wearing a saddle was undeniably surreal, but this was a fantasy world. What else was new?
The goldfish stared at me for a moment before silently beginning to pull the carriage forward again. Trailing behind our carriage like some sort of train car was the second carriage.
"Your skills as a diplomat are quite impressive, Chrome."
"Would it count as a plausible career entry on a resume? What do you think, Lord Valkius?"
"What exactly is a resume? I can roughly grasp the meaning from context, but my colleagues would certainly take interest if they saw it. 'What is this insane record? Bring the man in and have him explain,' they'd say."
It seemed the aggro tactic worked just as well in this world.
As the carriage advanced, the golden mist grew increasingly distinct. This was... almost on the level of what I'd seen with Dantalion's Monocle or the Cube Generator. No, it might even surpass them.
A substantial reward was welcome, but given our current location, I couldn't simply rejoice. So far, what I'd experienced differed from the 'official trials' I knew, but my original knowledge had been wrong more than once or twice. I couldn't blindly trust it.
If someone could prepare a stage like this for a non-official trial, they would be extremely dangerous. And if this truly was a proper Star Trial, that presented its own problems.
After all, one of the rewards was a Star's Blessing.
The effects of the Clear Mirror Star's blessing were the granting of mental resistance and an increase in intelligence. The latter was essentially a bonus that came from being able to think calmly at any time, while the main benefit was the mental resistance.
In game terms, it provided immunity to mental status effects such as confusion, fear, hallucination, frenzy, and charm. Powerful as it was, from my perspective it felt somewhat unsettling.
It was similar to how analgesia might prove helpful in battle yet couldn't purely be called a buff. Not being surprised when one should be, not fearing what was frightening, not getting angry when provoked—if one remained cool and collected through it all, it would certainly make one strong. But would that person still be the same as the current me? I wasn't so sure.
Since it was difficult to know how the effect would manifest in reality rather than a game, it wasn't a blessing I wanted to touch lightly. To be fretting over the possibility of receiving a blessing that others would desperately fight to obtain—what kind of situation was this?
At that moment, the carriage jolted to a stop.
"Have we arrived at our destination?"
At Princess Lyla's question, I checked outside the carriage. I'd wondered what sort of grand space had been prepared, but the reason for stopping was unexpectedly simple. The path had simply become too narrow for the carriage to pass through.
Moreover, while faint light had leaked from the cave walls up to this point, keeping the way from being dark, the material of the walls seemed different from here onward. There was no light at all, and a damp, ominous energy hung heavily in the air.
It was the kind of visual that would prevent anyone with claustrophobia from taking even one step forward.
I asked the goldfish, "So what now?"
The goldfish looked at me, then began to gradually shrink its body. The size that had been larger than a decent horse reduced to that of a small chihuahua. Well, it was still much bigger than a normal goldfish.
Freed from the saddle, the goldfish swam freely through the air as if relieved, and after sufficiently enjoying its liberty, it came before me and opened and closed its mouth repeatedly.
Naturally, no sound emerged.
"A truly bizarre creature. Though I'm not even certain it can be called a creature," Valkius said, his expression a mix of scholarly curiosity and a working adult's instinct not to poke something unnecessarily.
Regardless, the goldfish simply continued its mouth movements. What was this? Could the trial be 'Successfully communicate with a being you cannot speak with'?
"Perhaps it simply means we cannot proceed any farther by carriage, so we should get out, Chrome?"
"But if we get out, won't we just return? ...Wait, is it fine now?"
I tentatively opened the carriage door and set foot on the ground. Originally I should have been sent back at this point, but even after waiting several seconds, nothing changed.
As if confirming I'd chosen correctly, the goldfish drew a large circle in the air. For a creature without any facial expression, it certainly had rich ways of showing emotion.
Valkius and Princess Lyla stepped down from the carriage as well. Seeing this, the others in the second carriage tried to exit too—but—
"Hah, I am finally escaping this stifling prison. To subject the next head of House Pendevig to such humiliation—I will surely punish whoever is behind this matter."
With a majestic, confidence-filled stride, Eagle stepped out of the carriage, only to be returned to his original position before he could take more than two steps.
"Why!"
"Huh? Wait, does that mean we can't get out?"
Seeing this, a flustered Pino stepped out as well, but the result was the same.
It seemed...
"It appears that only those who have officially passed the trials can proceed from this point," Valkius observed.
At his words, the faces of the party watching from inside the carriage twisted.
"Hoo, then we must continue waiting here?"
"Prepare the barrier, Hau. If it has come to this, I would rather destroy the carriage!"
"Stop with the foolish ideas, brother. What if something serious happens?"
It was exactly as Hau Pendevig said. Stepping outside the carriage returned you to the inside. But if the carriage itself were destroyed? What would happen if the 'inside' to return to disappeared?
It was far too risky to attempt without other options.
"Chrome, can you lend me some money?"
"I can lend it, but why right now, in this situation?"
"No, if I have a debt to collect, it seems like I wouldn't just abandon it and fail to return later."
"Hahaha, I see. I'll lend it. Let's go with compound interest."
"On second thought, such a guarantee isn't necessary between friends."
She was quick to detect danger.
Guided by the goldfish, Princess Lyla, Court Mage Valkius, and I walked deeper into the dark cave. The path was narrow but not so much that we had to stoop, and breathing posed no major issue.
The problem of poor visibility due to the darkness was something I had planned to solve with a spell, but the goldfish began emitting a faint glow first, illuminating the way ahead.
"A versatile creature indeed."
"How about taking it back and raising it?"
"Well... does the Academy allow pets?"
"If it's forbidden, wouldn't you be the one to find a way around it anyway, Chrome?"
That trust weighed heavily. I am not a magic lamp, Your Highness.
But wasn't this request originally meant to draw the Morian Kingdom's attention? Ever since entering the lake, we'd been acting entirely on our own. I wondered how effective it could possibly be. Perhaps drawing attention only during that brief period when we met and parted from the margrave would have been enough.
"Now that I think of it, Lord Valkius. Regarding that demonic beast's heart— what were the Empire's findings after investigation?"
"Something like that isn't something I can casually reveal... No, come to think of it, you were the one who obtained it, so you have the right to know. It is certainly no ordinary object. Skilled artisans, alchemists, and mages all examined it, yet every one of them said it was a material they'd never seen before. If we were to embed it into another beast's body, what do you think would happen?"
They even conducted live experiments? No, in this case, not doing so would have been stranger.
"The limit of what it could endure in terms of mana-induced mutation increased dramatically. A creature that would normally strengthen only from 2 to 10 at best could now reach 15 or even 20."
"To think you'd entrust students with something so dangerous and let them carry it around."
"After two rounds of experiments, serious cracks appeared in the heart itself. If it was going to break anyway, the opinion was to investigate it through other means. That's why a court mage like myself was dispatched."
From the way he spoke, it seemed he wasn't aware of the deeper circumstances behind this request either. In truth, even judging by its surface, it was an extremely important request.
"Still, this is quite a long path. I wonder how much farther we have to go."
There was no answer.
I turned my gaze toward where he had been, but no one was there. Not only that—Princess Lyla's figure had vanished as well at some point.
All that remained was me and the goldfish, swimming ahead alone as if urging me to follow quickly.
It seemed the third trial had already begun.