The Lake's Master (12)
Chrome and Laila locked eyes with each other.
"Lord Valkius really has a short fuse, doesn't he? If he'd just followed the rules quietly, he could've used our question slot to learn whatever he wanted. Then again, when an all-knowing sage who answers anything pops up right in front of a scholar, I suppose it's only natural for him to lose his composure."
"Isn't this a good thing for you, Chrome? Now you can use it to claim whatever rights you want."
"Haha, as if that would happen."
Even as he answered in that cheeky tone, Chrome was inwardly deep in thought. The Lake of Wisdom in his knowledge wasn't anything like this place, and this was the first time he'd ever heard of an entity called the 'Master of the Lake.' There were three possibilities.
One, the being before them was lying. Two, it was a character who existed in the original work but never appeared on the surface. Three, it was additional content from a DLC or some other reason he didn't know about.
And Chrome judged that the latter two were essentially the same thing. After all, if something like the 'Forgotten Ancient Civilization Scenario' appeared in the game, it would be new content from the player's perspective, but from the viewpoint of the characters in the story, it was simply something that had 'always existed' being discovered. Just like how players in the original work couldn't cross over to the demon continent, yet they already knew of its existence, and the in-game scenarios proceeded on the premise of their presence. Even things that weren't implemented in the game or only existed in the setting were already fully present in this world.
It also meant that the original knowledge he possessed had become even less helpful than before. But then again, when had his predictions and reality ever perfectly matched? If he realized his knowledge was lacking, he simply had to fill in the gaps from other sources.
"By the way, Master of the Lake. You said that breaking through the trial grants one question as a reward. Is that correct?"
[That is correct.]
"Then what about compensation for completing your request?"
[……What?]
If the Master of the Lake had a human form, it would surely be wearing an expression that said, What nonsense am I hearing right now? Chrome continued without mercy.
"Didn't we splendidly carry out the request to prevent the annihilation of the Mist Fairies? Shouldn't there be a separate reward for that, apart from the trial?"
[Y-You rascal! Wasn't the problem from the beginning that woman over there causing a commotion! I showed great mercy by not punishing you for rampaging in someone else's home, and now you demand additional compensation? Do you even have a conscience?!]
A perfectly reasonable counterargument, Chrome thought inwardly. Though it had a rather haughty and arrogant temperament, the being known as the Master of the Lake possessed more humanity than expected and seemed relatively benevolent. Whether that was its original personality or because Laila was a descendant of its close friend, he couldn't tell. Still, if a being with such power had threatened them with force, demanding obedience or else, it would have been quite troublesome for him.
But that was one thing, and this was another. He had no intention of taking advantage of a favorable being and creating bad blood, but he judged that pushing a few extra words was still within acceptable bounds.
"Of course, if someone barges into another's home uninvited and turns it upside down, that's entirely the intruder's fault. However, wasn't it you, Master of the Lake, who invited us without asking our opinion and even imposed a trial upon us? Moreover, we never even agreed to participate in any trial. To hold us responsible for that is... well, hm. My apologies. It's difficult for me to continue after this."
[If you have something to say, say it to the end! Don't leave it halfway and make things awkward!]
"My courage is simply too small. The thought of uttering words that might disturb the mind of a great being such as yourself and receiving retribution makes me tremble so much that I cannot open my mouth."
What?Who has small courage? Laila, listening from the side, doubted her ears. No matter what expression she made, Chrome's con... negotiation continued.
[Do I look so narrow-minded that I would punish someone over a few words from a mere human child! Stop worrying about such useless things and speak your mind to the end!]
"Oh, my insight was so narrow that I failed to recognize the magnanimity of such a great one. Then, speaking honestly, what you did, Master of the Lake, is no different from luring an unknowing young child into the garden of your mansion and then scolding them for not taking a walk according to the established etiquette and procedures."
[No, that's...]
"Of course, there are proper manners that should be observed between host and guest. However, you referred to us as little ones, as children, and treated us as such. You kidnapped a child without consent and made them wander lost, then blamed the child's lack of etiquette when the lost child damaged the flowers in the garden. And when trying to stop it, you left the task to another child out of fear that you might injure the first one. Yet while you call a child's wrongdoing wrong, you refuse to acknowledge a child's merit as merit. How can this be considered the behavior of a proper adult?"
[……Kgh! Fine! Three! I will allow up to three questions from you! No more than that! Besides, didn't you already take the contents of that box anyway?!]
"I am deeply grateful for the generosity shown by the Master of the Lake."
Nice! Chrome cheered inwardly with a victory pose before immediately continuing with his questions.
"Earlier, you trailed off when mentioning the fourth case where one who overcomes the lake's trial receives a reward. Could you tell me the details?"
[You humans seem to think of this place as simply a location where a great deal of magic power gathers, but that is not entirely accurate. The term 'Star Land' is not a mere metaphor. It is a place conceptually connected to the stars. Therefore, it is possible to acquire a Star's Blessing postnatally, even though it is normally something one must be born with. However, even I can only vaguely understand the exact conditions. No, even the assumption that a 'Star's Will' possesses the same kind of 'intelligence' we think of is nothing more than speculation. I trailed off because nothing is certain.]
At that answer, Chrome let out a small sigh of relief. It seemed he could set aside the speculation that this being called the Master of the Lake might be a star incarnation or something similar. As a bonus, he had secured the 'official answer' he could give when Valkius asked later.
"While going through the various trials, I realized that the fairies here can steal people's memories and use them however they wish. Do you know of any ways to counter such methods?"
[Whether through sorcery or supernatural ability, 'mind reading' is something that digs into emotional agitation. Therefore, if one can maintain composure, its effectiveness is greatly reduced. Aside from that, one can receive the Myeonggyeong Star's Blessing like myself, deploy a mental protection spell, or carry a magical tool with similar effects. Teaching you the spell itself isn't particularly difficult, so I shall show you.]
Water droplets in the air gathered of their own accord and began forming shapes, expressing the theory of the spell and the paths of magic power. Thinking the service was better than expected, Chrome tried to memorize the spell, but he suddenly felt a sense of incongruity. Hadn't something incredibly important just casually slipped by?
"...So you possess the Myeonggyeong Star's Blessing. As expected, that's impressive."
The reason he didn't ask 'Really?' was thanks to the sense of crisis that he might waste his question opportunity, but because of his agitation, he couldn't completely hide the subtle disbelief mixed into his words.
[What is it? Do you have some complaint?]
"No, I was simply thinking that your emotional expressions are quite rich."
[Hmph. If it were a power that severed the natural joys and sorrows one should enjoy and turned one into a puppet, it wouldn't have been called a 'blessing' in the first place. It is precisely because one can enjoy their original emotions while maintaining reason and intellect that it can be called a power of the stars that transcends cognition.]
It was information that struck Chrome like a slap to the back of his head. He had been inwardly rejecting the idea of needing any Star's Blessing obtainable here. Besides, judging from what he'd heard so far, it didn't seem like something one could simply obtain by wanting it like in the game, so whether he could have gotten it even if he'd aimed for it from the beginning was questionable.
Chrome consoled his regret by telling himself it was fortunate enough to have obtained the mind-reading prevention spell. Finally, he took out the stone whose details even Dantalion's Monocle couldn't identify and asked.
"What exactly is the true identity of this?"
[What? You took only this without touching any of the other treasures, even though you didn't know what it was?]
"Some unknown intuition guided me."
[Hmph. Hundreds of years ago, a traveler visited this place. For a human with such a short lifespan, he possessed an extraordinarily outstanding ability. He reminded me of Morian during her living days. Whether he sensed my presence deep within the other side of this realm or not, he offered this stone and said the following.]
"Master who resides in the Star Land, I beseech you to place this stone within your dwelling. It is to prepare for a distant future calamity."
At the enigmatic words, Chrome asked again.
"Was that all he said?"
[Yes. And as if in exchange, he left behind a large quantity of jewels before departing. Unlike a certain someone who resorted to blackmail.]
At the seemingly accusatory tone, Chrome simply shrugged. Once Chrome finished his questions and stepped back, Laila stepped forward next. As if she had already thought of her question in advance, she asked without hesitation.
"Master of the Lake. You who call the founding queen your close friend and reside in the Star Land. What exactly is your true identity?"