Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Chapter 22 - Remote Island #2
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"Sword Angel?"
The Sword Angel and Sword Emperor Clausewitz turned to look this way.
No, it was an illusion.
What unfolded before his eyes was literally the boy's journal.
The Sword Angel and Sword Emperor weren't here.
What stood before him was nothing more than a record of the past.
As proof, though the two were looking this way, Luther himself wasn't in their line of sight.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes, this is it."
As the boy Sword Emperor looked around, the Sword Angel smiled brightly and replied.
The previous journal entry had been recorded from the boy's perspective, but this one was from a third-person viewpoint.
Thanks to that, Luther could see the Sword Angel and the boy standing side by side, gazing at each other.
[The Sword Angel is taller.]
Integra's voice drifted in casually, once again proving that the scene before them was merely a record.
"Yeah."
Luther nodded slightly and looked back at the Sword Angel and the boy.
Just as Integra said, the Sword Angel was taller than the boy.
But the difference wasn't much.
At most, the length of two finger joints.
Yet because of that difference—or perhaps due to her unique aura—the two standing side by side felt less like a pair of young man and woman and more like an adult and a child.
Sword Angel.
Was she in the mid-170s cm tall?
Her refreshingly long limbs matched her bright, smiling face.
Black, flowing hair, a pale complexion, and green eyes.
Just watching her beaming face lifted his spirits as well.
Anne Rose, the Sun Maiden.
A sun-like person whose vitality empowered everyone around her.
She felt similar.
The Sword Angel gave off that same impression.
[Master, doesn't she resemble Karen?]
At Integra's words, Luther blinked in realization.
Because she was right.
"Maybe she's one of Karen's ancestors."
[That could be.]
They shared the same black hair and green eyes.
Luther's gaze shifted to the Sword Emperor.
Was he in his mid-teens?
He was still a boy, with traces of youth everywhere.
A handsome yet slightly baby-faced look, deep golden blond hair, and blue eyes.
The boy's eyes, gazing at the Sword Angel, brimmed with affection.
"Come on, you two! Stop goofing around and help out!"
A new girl's voice joined in.
The Sword Angel and Sword Emperor turned their heads, and far off, a red-haired girl came into view.
Wearing a large conical hat and holding a staff—anyone could tell she was a mage.
That made it easy for Luther to identify her.
"Clarice."
The greatest archmage of humanity, rivaling Sword Emperor Clausewitz.
Clarice D. Ordenpia, the Mother of the Empire.
But that was a tale for the distant future. Right now, all Luther saw was a petulant teenage girl complaining about how tough it was.
"Come on, seriously!"
Her cheeks puffed out in frustration as she whined—the girl, Clarice, was soaked head to toe, as if she'd fallen into the water. When she took off her boots and turned them upside down, water poured out.
"Clarice, hurry up and use some magic. You're gonna catch a cold."
"Yeah, let's dry your clothes first."
The Sword Angel and Sword Emperor each chimed in, and Clarice pouted as she trudged over to them.
"Seriously. What's so special about this deserted island anyway? Is there really something here?"
Rather than mirroring Clarice's irritation, the Sword Angel grinned widely and nodded.
"Of course. There's something truly amazing."
"So, what is this amazing thing?"
"It's amazing, that's what."
"Sis, you're teasing me right now, aren't you?"
"Yep, I am. Figured it out?"
"Ugh, come on!"
Clarice flailed her arms and legs in place out of frustration, prompting the Sword Angel to laugh heartily again while the Sword Emperor offered an awkward smile.
"Anyway, Clarice, calm down a bit. There's no way Master brought us to a place like this just to mess around, right?"
"Maybe she did. Last time—"
"Nope, not this time. This is the real deal."
Cutting off Clarice mid-sentence, the Sword Angel pointed once more toward where Luther stood—or rather, beyond him.
"It's over there. In that direction, there's something incredible that will give you two power."
The Sword Emperor and Clarice looked together in the direction the Sword Angel indicated.
Luther and Integra turned around to gaze the same way.
The most prominent spot on the small island.
Amid tall trees stood a massive black rock.
* * *
[Ending playback of Boy's Journal #79-1.]
With Integra's voice, the scene vanished, and reality returned.
Luther shook his head reflexively, taking in the now-empty beach before turning to Integra.
"Integra, what was that just now?"
[The Boy's Journal stored in Clairheim Morr played automatically.]
[We haven't figured out if it's a device malfunction or if it was set up that way from the start, but it seems that when we reach certain locations, footage recorded there plays.]
The Sword Angel, Sword Emperor Clausewitz, and humanity's greatest archmage Clarice had visited this island.
To retrieve something the Sword Angel described as "amazing."
[But Master, is it really something amazing?]
[From the way she talked, she didn't seem all that trustworthy.]
Integra narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and Luther could only manage a wry smile.
He couldn't help picturing the Sword Angel teasing Clarice.
"Still, it's worth checking out. Whether in the Sword Emperor's era or now, this island is out in the middle of nowhere on the open sea. There had to be a reason they came all this way."
[The medicine you mentioned is somewhere other than that rock the Sword Angel pointed to, right?]
"Yeah, what I mentioned was herbs, growing on the opposite cliffside, not that rock."
[Hmm, so those herbs aren't the amazing thing she was talking about.]
"Pretty much."
At that, Luther and Integra simultaneously glanced back at the black rock.
Towering among the tall trees, it looked utterly out of place—almost artificial, especially now that he was looking for it.
[No Galactic Federation signals detected, but it seems worth investigating.]
[There might be new footage that plays.]
Luther thought the same.
The next ferry wouldn't arrive for over a day anyway, so to uncover the secrets of Clairheim Morr and the Boy's Journal, they had to check out the black rock.
"Let's go, Integra."
[Yes, Master.]
[Detaching Air Striker.]
At Integra's command, the Air Striker's head separated into a drone, while the rest split into a thick, long rod and a shield that clattered to the ground.
"Hey, Integra. Do I really have to carry this around all the time?"
He'd carried Chain Axe around back in the day, but at least that felt like a weapon. Now it just felt like lugging a pillar.
Integra replied kindly to Luther's question.
[Yes, Master.]
[Until we solve the energy issue, you'll need to carry it.]
Either secure a new energy source to boost total capacity or upgrade Integra's software for better efficiency.
Neither was feasible right now.
"Sigh, no choice then."
[Hang in there, Master.]
[You got this!]
Integra instantly switched to cheerleader attire, hopping in place and waving her pom-poms, which made Luther chuckle despite himself.
"Yeah, let's go."
Surely something was waiting near the black rock.
Maybe even a solution to the energy problem.
With his mind made up, Luther picked up the rod and shield and headed for the rock.
A few minutes later.
As he pushed through the woods and reached the rock...
[Playing Boy's Journal #79-2.]
Integra's voice rang out, and a new scene unfolded before them.
* * *
Before the black rock.
Up close, it was even larger than expected. Clarice reached out slowly, touching the rock's smooth surface.
"Sis, this... it's artificial, right?"
It was clearly a rock.
But its surface was too smooth.
No amount of rain could polish it that perfectly.
"Yeah, it is."
The Sword Angel confirmed it readily, and Clarice pursed her lips before asking cautiously.
"If it's artificial... from the Heavenly Realm, then?"
"Who knows."
"Who knows...?"
"Yeah, who knows."
With a cryptic smile like she was posing a riddle, the Sword Angel caressed the rock's surface, then spun around.
"Anyway, it's inside here. The amazing thing I mentioned is in there."
She glossed over it smoothly, but Clarice—used to this by now—merely pursed her lips without pressing further.
The previously silent Sword Emperor spoke up.
"Master, is there a hidden door or something?"
"Yeah, right here. But to open it, there's one condition."
"A condition?"
"Yeah, a condition."
The Sword Angel met the innocent gazes of the Sword Emperor and Clarice, her lips curling into a pitch-black smile.
A truly pitch-black smile.
* * *
[Ending playback of Boy's Journal #79-2.]
Minutes after the Sword Angel flashed that pitch-black smile at the Sword Emperor and Clarice.
As the footage ended, Luther and Integra stared blankly at the rock.
[Master.]
"Yeah, Integra."
[What did we just watch?]
"Uh... a dance?"
No, could you even call it a dance?
The Sword Angel had grinned wickedly and tapped the rock's surface in a specific pattern, activating a hidden display. The condition to open the door that followed was utterly shocking.
"It's simple. Just follow the moves shown on that display, both of you. Do them all, and the door opens."
The Sword Angel said with a devilish laugh, and the Sword Emperor and Clarice stared dumbly at the display.
A stick-figure person began dancing.
Clarice's eyes filled with confusion as she gawked, and bewilderment spread across the Sword Emperor's face.
"Y-You want us to do that? M-Me?"
To Clarice's question, the Sword Angel beamed.
"Yes, you and Clausewitz."
Her expression screamed pure delight, like she was about to burst.
But to Clarice, already spiraling into chaos, the Sword Angel's glee took a backseat to the horror of performing those humiliating moves herself.
"I-I can't! I can't do it! P-People have dignity as people!"
How could anyone do that dance?
It wasn't even something lewd—no, it was a ridiculously comical routine of moves that made you want to abandon all human dignity.
"M-Master?"
Even the Sword Emperor's pupils quaked as he called out, but it was futile.
The Sword Angel shook her head firmly.
"No way. What's inside is really important. We have to retrieve it."
So they had to dance.
They absolutely had to.
"Clausewitz, Clarice. Only you two can do this. Only you two."
With hands clasped pleadingly, the Sword Angel spoke. The Sword Emperor glanced rigidly at the display, while Clarice flushed crimson as if about to explode—but eventually set down her staff and stepped before it.
And now.
Over a hundred years later in the footage's aftermath.
Luther touched the rock's surface with a grimace, and just like in the video, a hidden display appeared.
[M-Master, maybe we should recalculate.]
Integra sweated bullets as she spoke, but Luther shook his head.
The artificial object before them.
The Sword Angel had dodged the question of whether it was from the Heavenly Realm, but clearly, it wasn't native to this planet.
Galactic Federation tech or not, it was worth checking.
And the amazing item she mentioned might still be inside.
So they had to open it.
To open it, they needed resolve.
"Alright, Integra. Stand next to me."
"N-No way! No!"
It wasn't because Integra's pale-faced meltdown amused him.
[M-Master! You have to dance too!]
[It's not just me!]
Luther knew.
But wasn't there a saying about sacrificing a cow for the greater good?
He didn't want to do it either, but if Integra had to, maybe it'd be fine?
[Master, mutual assured destruction only leads to mutual ruin!]
"Nah. Let's just do it and be done."
Luther took position facing the display, and Integra's face turned redder than Clarice's. With a look like she might cry, she stood beside him.
[Master's an idiot.]
[A total idiot.]
"Yeah, yeah. Let's start."
And so the dance began.
In the absence of music, the roughly three-minute routine ended, and Integra collapsed to the ground, pretending to sob.
[Sniff sniff, my AI dignity has been trampled.]
Luther agreed.
The moves were that shocking.
Truth be told, he felt like climbing somewhere high and screaming.
"But Integra."
[Sniff sniff, what, Master?]
"Why hasn't the door opened?"
[Eh?]
Integra snapped her head up, eyes wide.
They'd completed the display's dance, but the door stayed shut.
"No way... Did we mess up a move?"
[N-No! Not twice! Twice is impossible! Too much!]
Integra repeated "too much" in a panic, face drained white.
And right then.
[Playing Boy's Journal #79-3.]
Clarice sprawled on the ground in a pose eerily like Integra's, while Clausewitz stared at the sky in dismay.
Behind them, the Sword Angel rolled on the ground, clutching her stomach in laughter.
"D-Don't laugh! A-And! Wait, that's it! It's weird!"
"Weird how?"
At the Sword Emperor's question, Clarice nodded vigorously and pointed at the Sword Angel.
"This is for two people, right? So it doesn't have to be me and you! Sis could do it too!"
Exactly.
There was no reason it had to be the Sword Emperor and Clarice specifically.
With three people present, they could've drawn lots or something to pick two.
Faced with Clarice's sharp point, the Sword Angel didn't flinch—instead, she grinned wickedly.
"I should've said that before you danced."
"Eek! Demon!"
Clarice's cry earned nods from Luther and even Integra.
[Trash.]
"Tell me about it."
Getting called trash by Integra? Yeah, total trash.
Separately from the others, the Sword Emperor—who'd been eyeing the door—turned to the Sword Angel.
"But Master... the door still isn't opening."
"What?!"
Clarice yelped in shock.
All that humiliating effort for one door, and it didn't open?
"W-Wait. Did we screw up the moves? N-No, not twice! No way!"
Clarice echoed Integra's panic, prompting the Sword Emperor to look flustered at the Sword Angel. She bit her lip but couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Pfft, heh. Khkh. Ah, sorry. Really sorry... Pffft."
Why? Why laugh?
Why laugh in this situation?
Sword Emperor, Clarice, Luther, Integra—all shared the same thought across eras. Wiping tears from laughing too hard, the Sword Angel stepped to the display and tapped its surface in another pattern.
The door slid open.
"Come on, let's go in."
She smiled brightly and stepped inside. Clarice and the Sword Emperor exchanged glances.
Luther and Integra did the same.
All four, transcending time, thought the exact same thing.
["We didn't have to dance at all!"]
Integra and Clarice's scream-like chorus.
Luther and the Sword Emperor stared blankly at the rock as the Sword Angel's laughter echoed from within.