At the Tip of the Sword
After Lee Yu-seong brought Trixie along and the group waited for a moment, the Saintess and Agatha came in together not long after. As usual, the Saintess strode in with a cake in one hand, beaming from ear to ear.
"You two went out separately, and now you're coming back together?"
"Yeah, I ran into Agatha Knight out front. Here, I bought another one. Let's eat it together later."
The Saintess handed the cake to Hilde. The wrapping paper on the box looked very familiar.
"Really? You already had cake this morning, too. Don't you ever get sick of it?"
"Hehe. It's not like I can eat it again for a while anyway. I might as well stuff myself while I still can."
The Saintess and Agatha neatly took off their shoes and came inside. When the Saintess saw Lee Yu-seong and Trixie sitting across from each other at the table, deep in conversation, one thought flashed through her mind.
Oh, we have guests. The two of them feel kind of similar—could they be from the Hero's hometown?
As she thought it, her eyes met those of the girl she had never seen before, and the Saintess' eyes widened.
Wow... so that's what people mean by odd eyes. I thought they'd look strange, but they suit her really well.
"Hello. I take it you're a guest of the Hero?"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Trixie."
The Saintess knew every bit of the network surrounding Hilde and Agatha, almost as if she had it all in the palm of her hand. Hilde, especially, was easy enough to read, since she wasn't the type to have a wide circle of acquaintances.
Once Lee Yu-seong, the Saintess, and Hilde were all gathered, he brought up the main point early on.
Trixie's open-ended temporary accompaniment.
The Hero's party could add companions beyond those who had received the revelation, if necessary. If it made their assigned mission easier, then any means available were permitted.
Lee Yu-seong explained why Trixie should be temporarily added to the Hero's party, and stressed that she was a trustworthy person.
"I'm from Hoback, and it's a pretty closed-off place, so people from the mainland don't know much about it, right? But the fact that she knows the king, the history, and the local place names inside and out means she's not a liar. Ah, you do know what Hoback is, right?"
"Oh, yes—I've heard of it in passing. I remember being taught that while it may not have vast territory, its distinct culture and military power can't be ignored."
The Saintess sipped her tea as she searched through her memories. Lee Yu-seong had already checked things over, and there was no reason not to let Trixie into the Hero's party.
"Then I'm in favor!"
"From now on, Trixie will be one of our companions. Please take care of us."
"But don't we need to ask Edan?"
The Saintess looked a little confused. Edan had said he was going to stay at the magic tower for a few days, then vanished in a flash of teleportation. It was a fair distance away, but with Edan's magic, the round trip wouldn't take long at all.
"We told him before you got here. He even gave us a communication crystal when he left, remember? We contacted him with that, and he said to just decide for ourselves."
"Oho. Then that means he trusts us that much."
The Saintess turned to Trixie, who had now become a companion.
"By the way, Hero, you've got a real touch for this, don't you? You're amazing."
"Heh. It's nothing, really."
As Trixie tried to brush it off, Lee Yu-seong grew a little excited and said, "She may look young, but she's actually an expert who's reached Rejuvenation Through Regeneration. I still can't forget that sharp attack of hers."
The Saintess tilted her head at the unfamiliar term.
"Hmm... what's Rejuvenation Through Regeneration?"
Lee Yu-seong opened his mouth, suddenly realizing he'd slipped.
It was the wish of sword masters handed down in Hoback. It was said to be the phenomenon that occurred when one reached the limit of what the human body could achieve, and if one broke through that wall, the body would grow younger in accordance with that new realm, transforming into a Heavenly Martial Body and greatly extending one's lifespan.
But most people dismissed it as nothing more than fantasy. The successful cases of Rejuvenation Through Regeneration, preserved only in records, belonged to an unknown world that remained undiscovered in the present day.
After hearing the explanation, the Saintess was stunned. Then how old was this woman, exactly?
At the very least, older than Agatha—if not older than herself.
"Uh... Trixie. You can speak casually with me."
When the Saintess suddenly began to sound awkward, Trixie waved a hand.
"Sure. But it feels weird for me to be the only one making an effort, so let's just talk comfortably."
"Really? Are you sure that's okay?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I prefer it this way."
"But even so, you must be at least three times my age..."
"...Could you stop joking around now, Saintess?"
At the Saintess' shameless tone, Hilde let out a quiet sigh to herself. To be honest, Trixie looked the youngest of them all. It was true that Trixie was an old expert.
But Hilde was puzzled. She knew the reason had nothing to do with something like Rejuvenation Through Regeneration.
Can't the others feel it?
A faintly spreading aura of savage cruelty radiated from Trixie. It was unfamiliar, yet somehow deeply familiar to Hilde. One of the defining traits of the dragons who protected the continent.
She can't be the Ancient Dragon herself. Then who is it? I'll have to keep watching.
Dragons, bound by the oath of the covenant, could not speak lies. So when Trixie explained that Lee Yu-seong was an expert who had reached Rejuvenation Through Regeneration, she chose not to correct her.
"All right. Then our business here is done. Let's go, Lee Yu-seong."
"Huh? Go where?"
Trixie rose from her seat. Lee Yu-seong stared at her, completely lost.
"Obviously to train. Don't you know time is money? See you all later~"
Trixie grabbed Lee Yu-seong's arm before he could react. Waving with her other hand, she dragged him out.
Hilde didn't know what Trixie was scheming, but one thing was clear.
"The Hero is going to have a hard time."
"I agree. But he brought her here himself, didn't he? I guess that's his fate."
- - -
Three days passed. The royal family's ban on entering the castle, imposed in order to excavate the mythic item, was lifted, and the first thing they did was call the Hero's party. The king himself had handed over the item and asked them to make good use of it.
By the time they no longer needed to remain in Marinella, the Hero's party had ridden magic all the way to the empire's border and hired a carriage.
"Wow. I've got three mythic items in my hands now. Aren't I the richest person in the world?"
"Saintess... please mind your words. You haven't forgotten the three precepts of a believer, have you?"
Inside the carriage bound for the empire, the Saintess had laid out objects that looked like accessories and was looking them over one by one.
The Saintess recalled the rules that had flashed through her mind: frugality, mercy, humility.
"Tch. And you, Hilde, practically flew off in delight as soon as you got yours."
"......"
Hilde had nothing to say, so she calmed the emotions rising in her chest. Honestly, nothing hurt more than hearing something that was true.
"Besides, if we used teleportation, we'd get there in no time. It's such a shame that from now on we have to travel by carriage only."
"It's a hassle, but it's the law. We should follow it."
To Lee Yu-seong's complaint, Edan answered without much concern.
"My, even Edan is scared of the empire?"
At the Saintess' words, Edan shrugged.
"The empire has its own magic system."
The mages of the Scotty Magic Tower were treated like nobles above nobles, and wielded influence over every kingdom. But the empire had many strong mages of its own, powerful enough that it didn't need the Scotty Magic Tower's help at all.
"Now that we're near the empire, I'm getting a little nervous. It would've been reassuring if Agatha Knight had come with us too."
"My mother is busy with a personal assignment, so it can't be helped. She said coming to the capital with us was already something she squeezed in during a busy schedule."
"If she can come out for fun, let's bring Agatha Knight next time too. Heh heh."
"...We're here by imperial invitation, not on a trip for fun."
"I know that, too. Hehe."
Seeing the Saintess glowing with anticipation, Hilde unconsciously turned her head away. Then, almost by reflex, she checked on Trixie, whose expression seemed off.
"Trixie, are you all right?"
Direct and forthright, with a personality as brisk as her speech, Trixie had already blended well into the Hero's party. Seeing the way Lee Yu-seong trusted and relied on her had made Hilde feel oddly pleased as well.
"Ah, I'm fine! I was just spacing out for a second. Thanks for worrying about me."
The Trixie who had picked a fight with Hilde on the day they first met smiled kindly now. In the few days she'd spent getting to know and observe her, Hilde had found her personality to be remarkably clear and open. But even while Trixie wore a bright expression, her thoughts continued.
There's definitely no question that Lee Yu-seong's level is high, but where is he getting stuck? It's not like he lacks talent, and his mana capacity looks large enough too....
Over the past three days, Trixie had pushed Lee Yu-seong hard, and the unsettling feeling she sensed kept bothering her. When she'd first seen his Flying Sword training, she'd been disappointed because his mana amount was similar to Jin Yul's; compared to that, Lee Yu-seong's sloppy use of Flying Sword had looked pitiful.
Of course, he's strong by human standards, but it's still a shame. There's no way his power is supposed to stop at this level.
Though Lee Yu-seong had shown remarkable growth over the past three days, he still looked unfinished in Trixie's eyes.
"Yu-seong."
It was a whisper, but her voice was so clear that Lee Yu-seong flinched. A chill crept down his spine all at once.
"Let's work even harder from here on out, okay? It's for your own good."
"Y-yes... thank you...."
Lee Yu-seong was starting to regret taking Trixie in as his teacher.
"Wow! Can you see that? How high did they raise that thing? My God."
Some time later, the Saintess, looking out the window, raised a fuss. Curious, the others all turned to look outside at once.
A massive wall surrounded the empire, stretching beyond the horizon until the end could not be seen. Watchtowers had been installed atop the thick wall, and its height looked to be a hundred meters at least.
"Waaah... I've only heard that the empire is impressive, but this is insane from the very start...."
"Human strength really is something."
At the Saintess' words, Trixie responded almost unconsciously. Hilde, too, was dazed by the immense scale, simply staring.
So this is what it really looks like.
In the game, the empire had only ever appeared as a system message, with not a single illustration to accompany it. In reality, it was far more majestic and impressive than the small game world had ever suggested.
"That sort of thing can be built quickly with magic. What's important isn't the height, but the work of inscribing defenses to block enemy attacks. If it's just big for the sake of being big, it's inefficient."
Edan clicked his tongue and said it flatly. The mood-killing remark made the others look a little sullen.
"You really don't have a shred of romance in you."
"Hm?"
"I just said it's nice how consistently unromantic you are. Hahaha."
Eventually, after some time had passed, they arrived at the gate guarding the city wall. When they showed the token proving they were the Hero's party, the disciplined soldiers bowed their heads and let them through.
"Salute to the protectors of the continent!"
Receiving such perfectly crisp treatment left the Hero's party feeling a little embarrassed.
"That's a little embarrassing. The soldiers in Marinella weren't that strict."
"Yeah, they're really rigid. And it's not even a wartime era right now."
Once they passed the gate, a broad main road unfolded before them. The streets were neatly paved, the sidewalks built with tidy brickwork, and every building looked refined and luxurious.
"This is an outer city, and yet it feels almost like the capitals of the kingdoms."
Everyone agreed with the Saintess. It wasn't lacking even compared to Marinella's capital, where they'd recently been staying. Seeing an inn nearby, Hilde spoke up.
"For today, should we rest here and leave early tomorrow?"
"That sounds good. We still have a little time. Maybe we can look around a bit."
Then, all at once, the carriage lurched to a sudden stop. Everyone swayed from the inertia, but no one fell.
"What is it?"
"Ah, uh...."
At Edan's question, the driver shook violently. Raising one eyebrow, Edan stepped down from the halted carriage, and the others followed.
The moment they got out, Hilde spotted a man blocking the front of the carriage.
His hulking body and height of over two meters made it obvious he weighed at least three times as much as his actual mass should have suggested.
What was a little unusual was that the man's armor was alive with finely detailed magical circuits, shifting as though they were living things. The insignia embedded on his shoulder was also striking.
The image of a roughly drawn sun being cleaved by a sword struck Hilde as somewhat arrogant.
"H-hwaryu...? Why is Hwaryu here...?"
The driver bowed his head as though he'd seen a grim reaper. He seemed so frightened that he was muttering while trembling.
Officially, Hwaryu was said to appear only when carrying out the execution of the Empress' enemies. As a result, very few citizens of the empire had ever actually seen them.
The man who had stood guarding the road like a statue finally spoke.
"Are you the Hero's party?"
"We are."
Lee Yu-seong answered for the group.
"I've been ordered to escort you to the Imperial Palace."
"Then why are you just standing there instead of guiding us?"
Edan crossed his arms. For some reason, the imperial knights seemed to be standing still.
After the standoff dragged on for a moment, the man drew his sword.
"There've been a lot of impostors lately. I'll verify whether you really are the Hero's party."
The Saintess, now thoroughly exasperated, snapped back. Her earlier excitement sank like a stone.
"We've already proven ourselves with the Hero's token. You really think you can treat us this rudely and get away with it?"
"Could be a forgery. It's just a simple test, so don't worry."
The man crooked his sword toward Lee Yu-seong.
"I am Kaijin, First Seat of Hwaryu and a loyal subject of Her Majesty the Empress. If you can withstand even a single strike from me, I will treat you with due respect."