103
Chapter 103
The work proceeded incredibly smoothly.
Since my drawing skills aren't exactly outstanding, I was worried about whether they would understand this bizarre blueprint.
Yet the Dwarves understood my chicken-scratch blueprint perfectly.
On top of that, Mr. Kishua, who had recently joined us, smoothly handled the concealment of the large-scale construction and the supply of various materials, causing the work pace to really take off.
But...
My expression couldn't exactly be described as bright.
Of course, recruiting Mr. Kishua was definitely a good thing.
-It is an honor to meet you!
-To acquire the Mana Train technology that no other country could steal, so easily...
-As expected, you are...
He looked so loyal that I wondered if he had used an affection cheat code.
I would be lying if I said it wasn't a bit overwhelming that he used honorifics so strictly and made a fuss over my every move, praising me constantly.
After all, having a capable person follow and respect me so faithfully was by no means a bad thing.
But even so, the reason I couldn't simply be overjoyed was because his very survival was proof that the original story had been twisted beyond control.
'He definitely died in every route.'
Even in the 'Empire Revolution Route', where the protagonist cooperates with Kishua to spark a revolution in the Empire, Kishua uses himself as bait to protect the protagonist and meets his demise.
In other routes, he attempts to start a revolution on his own, fails, and dies.
That was the very reason I never even tried to look for Kishua, despite knowing how capable he was.
'I knew something had gone wrong with the previous protagonist.'
Even without contacting the protagonist, Kishua still starts a revolution on his own, fails, and dies.
That was definitely supposed to happen.
Yet here Kishua was, alive and well with all his limbs intact. I couldn't even begin to guess how the original plot had gotten so tangled.
However, that wasn't the only problem.
I took the artifact out of my pocket once again.
A pendulum-shaped Dowsing.
A Guide Stone was attached to its end.
An item I had taken ownership of from Rob. Its usage was incredibly simple. You just say the name of the person you want to find, and the Guide Stone points to their location.
"Saintess, I want to find Yulli."
I muttered once again.
The person I originally aimed to recruit as a comrade.
The daughter of the previous protagonist, and the name of the Saintess.
But... the Guide Stone didn't budge at all.
This was the case even though I had been trying continuously since yesterday.
Because it was disposable. I wondered if it was broken since I had already used it once, but the mystique was definitely still there.
Yet, it showed no signs of working.
This could only mean one of two things.
Either she was being hidden by something that surpassed the power of the artifact, or she, as a person, didn't exist in this world anymore.
And regardless of which one it was, one thing was certain: things had gotten extremely complicated.
'The more I find out, the more questions I have.'
Kishua's survival, Yulli's status, the Hero whose very existence had been erased.
The more I grasped the situation, the less I understood what had happened ten years ago.
'...This might be the time to make a decision.'
I couldn't just leave the unknown as it was.
Building up power to prepare for the apocalypse was certainly important.
But mindlessly gathering strength without knowing what I was supposed to be fighting was just absurd.
What happened ten years ago.
Why the Holy Sword had fallen, and what had happened to the Predecessor. I needed to know the truth.
And as for the method... I had been suspecting it for a while. I just hesitated to try because it was dangerous.
'But I can't keep avoiding danger forever.'
My preparations were sufficient.
The me from a few months ago and the me now were completely different.
I needed to inscribe the Curse Formula, and to prevent a repeat of the previous incident, I had to leave someone behind to protect the non-combat personnel, so I couldn't bring Lucy along.
Me, Ciel, and Rien.
With just the three of us, we could easily handle most dangers.
I recalled the words I had heard at the Black Market before.
-It is an ominous sword found in the Demonic Realm. Just what kind of story could a Demon Sword that radiates such an evil aura possibly have...?
The other half of the Holy Sword.
The memory of the protagonist's final moments, which should be imprinted on that land. The reason why the Holy Sword fell.
I had no choice but to take risks to find those things. There was only one thing I needed to do now.
I steeled my resolve and stood up from my seat.
It was the moment the destination for my next journey was set.
*****
"...So, why did you call me here?"
In the heart of the Great Forest.
The First Prince asked with a deeply displeased expression.
Even if the old man before him was the Chief of the Elves, there was no reason to show him any courtesy.
Elves were nothing more than an inferior race, bound to the World Tree and unable to even move freely.
Why should he show respect to the representative of such inferior creatures? Originally, he and the Chief would never have been able to sit in the same room and have a conversation.
Despite this, the only reason the First Prince was exercising patience was solely because of Black Fang.
-It bothers me that pointed ears keep being mentioned in the eyewitness accounts.
Those were the words his utterly incompetent younger sister had brought up during their meeting.
At first, he had mocked her ignorance, asking if her brain was malfunctioning since it was common knowledge that Elves couldn't survive away from the World Tree.
Surprisingly, however, it turned out to be true.
He had only tested the theory on a whim. The Chief spoke.
He said that if it was a monster capable of surviving away from the World Tree, he had a guess who it might be, and would gladly cooperate if they were looking for him.
Because that guy also had Elf blood mixed in his veins. He said that given enough time to conduct a ritual, they could pinpoint his location.
However, the day the results were supposed to be ready was not today.
Even if the ritual was progressing more smoothly than expected and they managed to track the location of that Half-Elf named Ciel today.
It would have been enough to simply relay that information to him.
There was absolutely no reason to waste his precious time by sending a message summoning him all the way to the Great Forest.
"You have stolen my time, so you had better show me a reason worthy of calling me here."
"O-Of course."
Trembling under the Bloodlust radiating from the prince, the white-haired Chief replied in a shaky voice, continuing his explanation with a pale face.
"While the ritual is indeed still ongoing... there is a way to capture him without having to go through something like a ritual."
"You can find his location without a ritual?"
"Y-Yes! Not only can we locate him, but we also have a way to lure him right here."
The Chief of the Elves explained.
Today.
He said that Ciel would come to the Great Forest. So they just had to wait a little bit and capture the guy.
The overwhelming Bloodlust bearing down right in front of him.
It was a situation where his neck could fly off at any moment if things went south. Yet, the Chief's eyes were filled with absolute certainty as he spoke those words.
Actually, it would be stranger if that weren't the case.
Ciel always visited the Great Forest on the anniversary of her mother's death.
'That wench still thinks her mother's grave is here.'
Though it wasn't by her own will, she was a filthy whore who slept with a Demon, and a cursed monster that tainted the honor of our race.
The Chief had exiled them both.
Since Elves cannot survive without the World Tree, it was practically a death sentence.
And a few years later... the monster didn't die, returning with her mother's corpse in her arms.
She said that even if she was a creature that shouldn't exist, her mother was innocent, and that it would be wrong if she couldn't rest in the World Tree's embrace because of her.
Barely clinging to life, she had returned to ask them to bury her parent near the World Tree according to tradition.
'Well, that whore's corpse isn't actually here, though.'
If she was going to tarnish the pride of our race, she should have at least died gracefully.
Not only did she stubbornly give birth to a child, but there was no reason to give such treatment to the shame of our race who insisted on raising such a thing.
Finding the eyeless corpse quite revolting, the Chief had ordered them to throw it away in the most fitting place.
The corpse had likely long become a meal for some monster somewhere in the Demonic Realm. But....
'That monster doesn't know the truth, after all.'
Perhaps she couldn't even comprehend the meaning of the word exile.
That cursed wench would sneak into the area where the World Tree was and make various reports to her dead mother.
It was utterly sickening and disgusting to see the monster desperately faking her emotions, but the Chief smiled, thinking that this was a good thing for once.
"That is certain, I assume."
"Of course! I can assure you. That monster bastard will come to the Great Forest today."
"Can you stake your neck on it?"
A chilling voice.
The First Prince, infamous for his filthy temper and harsh treatment of his subordinates, had asked the Chief exactly that.
But the Chief nodded without any hesitation.
There was no way what always happened every time wouldn't happen today. This was actually a chance to earn achievements and advance his standing.
Believing firmly in that thought.
*****
"Ciel, do you happen to have any plans?"
"I do."
"Huh? Really? Is it important? I was planning to go on a four-day trip with you... Should we delay the plan a bit?"
"...Come to think of it, I don't think I do. Let's leave right away."