Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Souls, and Souls (3)
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‘Those boxes are the same type.’
The red box and the gold box—the decorations matched, and they continued seamlessly. Ancient Angsar script, still unreadable to me, seemed to be engraved on it as well. The only difference...
‘This box has a keyhole.’
I touched the keyhole on the black box. The keyhole, made of what seemed to be mithril, felt inexplicably hot.
‘Just as I thought.’
The other two boxes had no keyholes, so I’d figured there must be one or two more matching boxes somewhere. I hadn’t expected to find it here. I had the ‘Key that Opens Anything’ from Riadel, so now all I needed to do was open the box...
“......”
But I couldn’t open it right here and now. I glanced out the window. The moon hung higher than before. It was time to hurry back. I stored the box in my subspace ring, tidied up around us, erased any traces, and spoke to El, who was finishing up.
“Let’s head back, El.”
Finding the box alone was a massive haul. I activated [Beast Form] again, turning into a rat. I climbed up El’s offered hand and slipped into the pocket of her apron.
-Squeak...
-Thud.
We slipped out of Daud’s bedroom.
Midnight was approaching. Lloyd and Lewis were waiting. We quickened our pace toward Lewis’s room.
-Knock knock.
When I knocked, Lewis opened the door himself. He glanced at El’s unusually pale face, guided her inside, and closed the door again.
“Your master seems to be running late.”
“No.”
El cautiously reached into her apron pocket and lifted me out. I jumped down from her palm, spinning once in midair. Returning to my original form, I nodded as Lewis did the same.
“Glad you made it back safely.”
I nodded in response to Lewis’s words. Though I’d nearly lost half of me to the cook’s cleaver... No need to mention that.
“Theodore. We didn’t find anything. No fresh signs of anyone passing through the secret passages either.”
“Did they notice the surveillance?”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Means they won’t be using the secret passages anymore.”
“......”
“So they’ve already finished what they planned.”
Lewis cut in with an anxious voice.
“Is this really okay? Shouldn’t we go after Daud right now...?”
“It’s fine.”
“What’s fine about it?”
“I already have someone on Daud’s side.”
“The mercenaries are all in his pocket, and you’ve only been in Corin for how long? How could you possibly...”
“Lewis. I appreciate your concern. But the wise saying goes, ‘Haste makes waste.’”
What would a Corin native know about great Korean proverbs? I cut Lewis off and continued.
“It’s a shame you two didn’t find more... but luckily, El and I got something useful.”
Lewis stared at me with a wounded pride for a moment before nodding.
“...Fine. Tell us.”
I started with what I’d heard from the kitchen maids.
“Do you know a maid named Annie?”
“No. There are too many maids here. I might know the head maid, but memorizing every single one’s name? Impossible.”
“Well, I didn’t expect much.”
“......”
Lewis looked annoyed but didn’t snap back. Of course not—he had nothing to show for it.
“The maids said she vanished from the castle. Word is, she stole a precious ring from Daud’s bedroom and fled...”
“......”
“The issue is, no one saw her leave. They saw her enter Daud’s room, but no one saw her come out.”
“No way.”
“Exactly. In a castle this size with servants everywhere, that’s impossible. Even if she escaped, she couldn’t slip out without running into anyone.”
“Then Daud...”
“Yes. Daud, and whoever’s with him, are connected to her disappearance.”
Probably used her as a test subject before turning Corin’s lord into a ‘frozen soul’... Or maybe as a sacrifice to create that ‘mirror’ in Daud’s room...
Either way, it was horrific.
“The maids said Daud gave Annie’s father a large sum of money.”
“Money?”
“Yes. Doesn’t make sense. If she really stole something valuable, he’d have gone after the parents too. But paying them off instead...”
“......”
“Means he’s got something to hide.”
Lewis’s face twisted in contempt. Understandable. If his brother had done something this vile not just to his father but to others... As a proud member of House Corin and a knight, he couldn’t help but despise it.
“Lewis. You go meet Annie’s mother. She’s still looking for her daughter.”
“...Got it.”
“Don’t contact the father. He took the money despite losing his daughter—he’d rat you out to Daud the second you approach.”
“Sigh... Fine.”
“And one more thing.”
All eyes turned to me. I paused dramatically, then pulled out the black box from my subspace ring. Followed by the red and gold ones.
I held up the black box.
“This is what we found inside the mirror in Daud’s bedroom.”
“A box.”
“Yes. But not just any box. It’s new to you, but not to us.”
“......”
“There’s a common thread where these boxes were found. They’re tied to the ‘tragedy’ brought by the Crows.”
“......”
“Finding one in Corin means Corin is next on the list for their ‘tragedy.’”
“No...!”
“But.”
I placed the black box atop the already-joined red and gold ones. Into the small groove on top of the gold box.
-Click.
It snapped perfectly into place, as if it had always been one single box.
“...This time, we were faster.”
The now-unified box began emitting a faint glow from its fully connected pieces. Mana. The pieces themselves functioned like a magic circle.
‘My god...’
A magic circle that generated and manipulated mana without a magic stone. I’d never heard or seen anything like it... Gulp. I swallowed dryly, traced over the top, and slowly read the now-complete ancient Angsar script.
“The mother’s...”
As I spoke, the mana began to churn ominously.
“...vengeance...”
The faint glow flowing over the pieces brightened intensely.
“...shall be fulfilled.”
The moment I finished, rattle! The box shook violently, as if something alive were inside. And then.
-Hummm...
The engravings and script on the box began circling its surface, like a living drawing. Or...
‘Is it alive...?’
For some reason, cold sweat trickled down my back.
Holding Riadel’s ‘Key that Opens Anything,’ I searched for the keyhole. Like the engravings and script, it darted around, changing position constantly.
I aligned the key with the keyhole.
“......”
Or tried to.
But my instincts screamed. ‘Don’t open this box.’ An inexplicable dread and anxiety surged over me.
“......”
Then, someone grabbed my wrist. It was Lloyd. His callused, rough hand gripped me firmly as he stared into my eyes.
“Theodore.”
His one remaining gray eye locked onto mine. That steadfast gaze snapped my wandering mind back into place.
-Clink!
The key hit the floor, and only then did I come to my senses. Only then did I realize I was sweating like it was raining, my hand trembling. Like a mouse before a cat.
“Whew... My god. What’s wrong with me?”
I picked up the dropped key and pocketed it. The joined box still glowed faintly, its pieces flowing ceaselessly like waves—engravings, script, jewels... I stared blankly before storing it back in my subspace ring.
“...Better to open this somewhere safer.”
“Yeah. That’s for the best.”
For all my confident talk about being ‘ahead,’ it was a pathetic end. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and let out a long sigh. Yeah. This was the rational choice. What if opening it caused a massive explosion? I couldn’t cover the cost if Corin Castle got blown away. If that happened, I’d be slaving away in this pseudo-medieval land for life! No escape.
‘...Plenty of ways to try safely.’
In the forest, I could create a stabilized space with [Forest Barrier], erect a wall with [Forest Protection], and open it inside...
‘Whatever happens, I can handle it alone.’
If whatever’s inside is utterly vile and horrific, [Forest Protection] would keep it from escaping. And I...
‘Worst case, evac to the Dimensional Garden.’
Yeah. There’s a solution no matter what. That’s how I’ve handled things so far. I calmed my still-erratic breathing, reassuring myself.
“......”
Yet this lingering ominous dread and fear—where was it coming from? Thanks to [Bane of Evil], I barely remembered what fear, confusion, or shock felt like anymore... Even a demon in that box wouldn’t faze me. And yet...
‘What the hell is this...?’