39
Chapter 39
"Count Daph, what do you think? I'm curious about your impressions."
...I knew His Majesty the Emperor pursued absolute victory, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was being too cruel.
Unless Roy were the one fighting, the Princess had almost no chance of winning.
It seemed he was determined to send Princess Helena to Quasar no matter what.
"As expected of Your Majesty. How did you come up with such a brilliant idea?"
"Well, this is quite ordinary. I didn't take this throne based on bloodline alone."
He let out a hearty laugh and pointed toward the throne, seemingly pleased with my reaction.
"Your Majesty, may I ask one question?"
"By all means. Is there some problem with my plan?"
"It is not that, but I was wondering why you insist on sending Princess Helena... Our Intelligence Agency believes she has every potential to become a 6th Class Archmage, much like the late Noble Consort."
The children of the first, second, and third Empresses would naturally be opposed by their mothers and their allied nobles, but there are many other children of the concubines besides Princess Helena.
Of course, Helena is the only princess of marriageable age, but if he waited a few years, he could easily send another daughter of a concubine.
Considering how His Majesty usually cherishes those with talent, this was even more strange.
"It is not that I don't feel pity. But the Prince of the Quasar Empire wants her so strongly, what choice do I have? He certainly has an eye for beauty."
"If that were the only reason, surely..."
"I was joking. Of course, I wouldn't send Helena for that reason alone. You know that I value talent, do you not?"
"T... That is true."
As I thought, there was another reason.
"The Emperor of Quasar said that if I send Helena, he will hand over three territories: Nambillera, Karat, and Ashas. Not just the lands, but the lords and their households as well."
I understood immediately.
All the territories His Majesty mentioned were located on the southeastern border; they were originally part of the Beluga Empire, but they had defected to Quasar when the situation turned against them during the rebellion at the time of His Majesty's accession.
A 6th Class Archmage and three territories.
Even across the entire empire, 6th Class Archmages are rare, numbering only around a hundred.
However, that could not compare to the opportunity to reclaim three territories lost twenty years ago and deal with the traitors who got away.
Knowing His Majesty's personality, it was an obvious choice.
But I owed a great debt to Princess Helena.
"I had no idea there was such a reason."
"I suggested to the Quasar Emperor that we keep this between us, lest the traitors flee once word leaks. Well, since it's you, Daph, it shouldn't be an issue."
I was truly grateful to His Majesty for his boundless trust in me, but my heart felt heavy when I thought of the Princess.
After promising to keep it a secret and discussing a few matters regarding Intelligence Agency personnel, I left the Imperial Palace.
Now that I was outside the palace, I didn't know where to go.
Should I find the Princess first?
No, even if I went to her and told her everything, it's unlikely any real solution would come of it.
Instead of going home, I returned to the Intelligence Agency and thought for a long time, but I couldn't find an answer.
My shock at His Majesty's scheme earlier hadn't been an act.
How could he even think of such a thing...
Even if she was born to a concubine, she is still his flesh and blood; I realized once again just how cold-hearted he truly is.
Feeling that pondering this alone would be futile, I left the Intelligence Agency and headed for the Gate.
I didn't want to bother him further, especially since I had already harassed him by using his wife's name, but I had no choice.
I could already feel a headache imagining him grumbling about how getting to be a disciple of an 8th Class Wizard should be enough, but he was the one who had solved every impossible mission and situation.
After passing through the Gate and staying overnight, I arrived at Bio's residence, which had become quite familiar to me.
What's this?
There's no sign of anyone.
I forced the door open and stepped inside.
As expected of a former Black Agent's home, there were lethal traps everywhere, but I easily avoided them and searched every corner of the house.
Just as I first sensed, he really wasn't home.
Since most of the furniture was still there, I thought he had just stepped out, but he didn't return by dawn.
After returning to the Capital, I assigned an agent to simply monitor his house, but even after a week, there was no sign of Bio.
I tried contacting him through the crystal ball I'd given him as an excuse to grab a drink in the city, but there was no response.
Did he leave after all?
I must have pestered him too much.
Perhaps he anticipated that the Princess or I would come back to bother him again....
Heartless bastard, he could have at least left a letter.
I could find him if I mobilized all the Intelligence Agency's resources, but I didn't want to go that far.
That would be far too cruel.
I closed the document file, stood up, and put on my overcoat.
"Director, where are you going?"
"I'm heading out on personal business. I'll be late, so handle most of the paperwork yourself."
It might not be of much help, but I felt I should tell the Princess now, just in case.
****
The sun had completely set.
I think I've waited about thirty minutes, but there's still no sign of Ark.
Just as I considered changing clothes due to the sudden drop in temperature, Ark reappeared as I felt magic being drained again.
"Are you okay?"
"Were you actually worried about me? This body is composed of magic, so I'm perfectly fine."
"Is that so? Then, what are the results?"
"There is a ruin, but there's a slight problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"The owner of the ruin beneath us is Evankel."
"Evankel? Why is that a problem?"
Ark let out a sigh and began to explain slowly.
Unlike today's wizards, swordsmen, or rangers, Evankel belonged to a profession that existed only in the past: a magical engineer.
He used magic and engineering to create all sorts of inventions, and he was heavily involved in the design of Ark and the spaceship used for the final escape.
"So, what exactly is the problem?"
"The entrance is blocked."
"If it's blocked, you can just open it."
I said it confidently since I'm experienced in opening locked doors, but Ark looked at me with sheer pity.
"If it were as easy as you make it sound, would I have called it a problem?"
"If it won't open, we can just break it."
"......It would be better if you saw it for yourself. Let's go."
I was about to ask where we were going, but Ark shoved me toward the sand vortex.
I tried to resist, but for such a small thing, he was incredibly strong; I lost my balance and plunged into the vortex.
'Hold your breath, close your eyes, and surrender your body to the flow. It should take about ten minutes.'
Ten minutes?
"You son of a..."
I wanted to snap at him, but as the sand engulfed me instantly, I had no choice but to follow his instructions.
Before I knew it, the sand had completely swallowed me.
It was unpleasant to feel the gritty sand clinging to my limbs, my face, and even inside my clothes, but I endured it.
Just as I began to gasp for air and wondered if I was actually going to die, the pressure on my body began to ease.
The pressure, which had been gradually fading, suddenly vanished entirely.
My eyes were still closed, but I could sense a bright light. Had we finally arrived?
'Open your eyes. We're here.'
As Ark said, I opened my eyes and couldn't help but be amazed.
Not only were there massive crystals emitting multicolored lights, but above my head was a transparent, pale yellow membrane with sand constantly circulating over it.
I think we passed through that, but I never imagined such a place existed beneath the sand vortex.
'The ruins are a bit further in. Follow those red crystals.'
After walking along the red crystals for about ten minutes, a massive metal door appeared.
All sorts of characters were engraved around it, similar to the ruins where I had found Ark.
Back then, I couldn't interpret any of it, but things were different now.
'What does it say?'
'It's Evankel bragging about being the smartest and cutest in the world... and an explanation on how to open that door.'
There's even an explanation?
Then can't we just open it as instructed?
Wait, the place where I found Ark opened with just a touch, so I tried placing my hand on the door just in case.
Unfortunately, the door didn't open, but blue glowing characters appeared on the metal surface.
'What does this say?'
'It says the lineage verification system is in progress, so don't remove your hand.'
After a short wait, the text changed again.
'Verified as a descendant of the Seven Stars. Cutest... gosh, this woman really... Anyway, it says to solve a problem to enter.'
'A problem?'
As soon as I asked, a massive amount of text appeared, filling the metal wall entirely.
'When X is a smooth projective complex algebraic variety, all Hodge classes of X are algebraic. That is, the Hodge classes of X are always linear combinations over the rationals of cohomology classes of sub-algebraic varieties of X...'
'What are you talking about? Say it in a way people from my era understand.'
'Am I not explaining it in your era's language?'
Now that I thought about it, it was indeed the Imperial language, but I didn't understand a single word.
'What on earth is this problem?'
'It's a question asking how far one can calculate an approximation of a given object's shape by attaching simple geometric components of increasing dimensions.'
Dimensions? Geometry? Object shape approximation?
What is he even talking about?
'It's only natural that you don't understand. Even in my era, the Hodge Conjecture was a conundrum that was hard to grasp without a master's degree in magic engineering.'
'Do you know the answer?'
'Evankel did prove it, so an answer must exist, but no records remain.'
In other words, he doesn't know.
'Then the only option is to just smash it open, right?'
'Smash it? You think that'll work?'
Ark sounded highly skeptical.
The walls where Ark had been previously wouldn't break even with aura, but the situation was different now.
Even if I was only half a Sword Master, I was still one.
I drew the dagger from my waist and infused it with magic power.
My mana core felt tingly because Ark had consumed so much magic power to materialize earlier.
Knowing I couldn't maintain it for long, I quickly struck the door with the dagger, now coated in an Aura Blade.
Ting—
Contrary to the thunderous sound I expected, the Aura Blade vanished the moment it touched the door, and the dagger snapped.
I was genuinely shocked.
The previous ruin hadn't been scratched either, but that was just aura, and it didn't feel like this.
'What did I tell you? A member of the Seven Stars could have broken it easily, but with your current skill, you don't stand a chance.'
'How did this door... neutralize the Aura Blade...'
'It's an alloy I've never seen before, infused with the ability to absorb mana. Evankel hated dullards, so she likely intended this to stop someone from trying to brute-force their way through like you did.'
If that's the case, why bother verifying the lineage?
'What a wretched woman.'
'Evankel had her reasons.'
'What reasons?'
'She confessed her feelings to the Sword King, only to be rejected because he hated women smarter than himself.'
...For a reason like that...
'Actually, the real issue was that Evankel just wasn't the Sword King's type, regardless of her intelligence.'
'That's enough.'
I have no interest in the love lives of my ancestors.
Knowing that doesn't change the fact that I have to solve the problem to get inside.
It's such a shame to find the place and not be able to enter.
I looked around thoroughly for another way, but there wasn't so much as a crack.
It would have been much better if there had been a lock of some sort.
I pondered for over thirty minutes, but no clever solution came to mind.
'Let's just come back here later.'
I said that, but honestly, I don't know when I'll be able to return.
According to Ark, the Sword King, the strongest warrior among the Seven Stars, would be a Grand Master in our era, and the Magic Emperor was a 9th Class Wizard of similar standing.
Could I, who hasn't even become a full Sword Master, ever reach such a level?
'Right. I'll just come back in about a month.'
'A month? I don't consider myself untalented, but a month seems a bit optimistic...'
Even if I ate wild ginseng for every meal, I couldn't become as strong as the Seven Stars in just a month.
'What are you talking about... Wait, don't tell me you plan to get stronger and break this place open?'
'If not, then what?'
'I meant it would take me about a month to solve Evankel's problem.'
'But you said there were no records...'
'I said there were no records, not that I couldn't solve it. I told you, Evankel created me. If it's a problem she proved, then I can do it too.'
...You should have just said that from the start.
'I get it, so let's go back now.'
'Right. For now, we'll go back...'
Why did Ark stop mid-sentence?
'What's wrong?'
'Ark?'
'Ark!'
I called out to him for a long time, but there was no response.
After about ten minutes of silence, he finally spoke.
'By the way, you bought plenty of food at the market earlier, right?'
Why ask that all of a sudden? Wait, don't tell me...
'I'm sorry, but it seems we have to solve the problem first to get out of here.'
...They say a bad feeling never fails, and here I am, stranded.
'You acted so confident about leaving, and now you're telling me to stay here for a month?'
'It didn't occur to me. After all, I can just deactivate my materialization.'
'Are you seriously saying that right now?'
He spends every waking moment calling me ignorant.
'Since we're already here, we can just train and ration our food to survive the month, right? I'll do my best to shorten the time.'