Chapter 83
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Trap (3)
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“Did you want to meet here?”
Roselin said this carefully as she opened the door and entered. Her gaze swept around the room once, but it carried an air of awkwardness.
She must have contacted me through Jenjen, but this space itself was unfamiliar to her.
“Jenjen. Step out for a moment.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Jenjen yielded the master's room without a hint of hesitation and swiftly left.
I looked at Roselin and asked,
“You came looking for me?”
“...Are you perhaps being pursued by someone?”
Roselin seemed to have pieced together why I insisted on this location.
And her guess was fairly accurate.
“It's not that serious.”
“Was it... after you killed Partan?”
“What's got you so curious?”
Even to my indifferent question, Roselin replied in a steady voice.
“To me, it's a matter I have to clarify.”
“Before I answer, it seems proper to hear your business first.”
“I see.”
Roselin nodded as if convinced, then spoke calmly.
“The reason I haven't been in touch... it was due to personal circumstances. Balancing academy life meant I had to be away often...... First of all, thank you for coming out so readily, even though I contacted you late, without forgetting me.”
“...”
Was this to build goodwill in advance? Or just basic courtesy?
I hadn't known her long, but the Roselin I'd seen seemed to prioritize sincerity over pretense.
And that expression of thanks appeared to be the lead-in to the main topic, as Roselin continued naturally.
“What I wanted to request separately is......”
Roselin pulled something from her bosom.
It was several sheets of parchment bound together, covered in dense writing.
The handwriting wasn't particularly neat, but it was legible enough.
I already knew Roselin came from commoner stock. She likely hadn't received formal education as a child.
Yet she'd reached Sword Master faster than anyone, which spoke volumes about her extraordinary talent.
The parchments detailed events Roselin herself had endured.
The first page described losing her parents to Partan. That was the beginning.
An incident from her early childhood. Left alone, Roselin was sent to an orphanage, and as time passed, she became entangled in strange events once more.
Assassination attempts on her life. The first at the orphanage came when a friend suddenly attacked her at night.
That child had been promised entry into the back-alley underworld in exchange for killing Roselin.
'Someone put them up to it.'
It had to be the indirect methods the Jackal mentioned.
There were more attempts after that.
They culminated in the most recent dark ghoul incident. That was the last one.
The odd detail was the absence of such attempts in her early orphanage days.
'As expected, Partan killing her parents was a coincidence.'
What Moonlight Afterglow was fixated on was the orphanage.
Roselin had entered after losing her parents to Partan.
Even if the Partan incident was coincidence, the string of assassinations afterward was enough to make her suspicious.
The more she survived them, and the more they persisted, the clearer the underlying intent became.
So Roselin began hunting the mastermind.
That trail led to Cedric—to me.
She first brushed against the entity's traces through Partan. Lina happened to be pursuing him too, and the incidents collided by chance.
Roselin's link to Partan was coincidence, but had he survived, their paths would have crossed inevitably.
She'd thwarted every assassination attempt.
The only recourse left was for Partan to handle it personally.
I finished reading the damp stack of parchments and looked up.
“What do you want?”
She steadied her breath and answered firmly.
“I want to know this mastermind faction's identity. Why they've targeted me... the truth behind the conspiracy stretching back so long. To me, it's my destiny.”
Conspiracy and destiny.
From her perspective, it could only feel that way. And it had to drive her thirst for answers.
'The answer......'
It's because she's the Hero. There was a clear answer.
But I couldn't reveal it yet. Not until I forged the sword.
Put another way, though, I could guide her toward discovering it myself.
In a sense, our goals aligned.
She'd pursue the hidden conspiracy until she realized she was the Hero.
Until I handed her the sword, I hoped she wouldn't be exposed as such—or face mortal danger. Simply put, I wanted her to stay put until then.
She'd take the sword I made, awaken to her identity as Hero, and naturally uncover the truth.
'The aftermath is the issue.'
The Hero is the vessel. The lord wields the primal mana.
The Hero fulfills the lord's purpose.
But so far, no grand purpose required commanding a Hero.
'Maybe the Oracle Stele will reveal something.'
Either way, Moonlight Afterglow sat at the conspiracy's heart.
Roselin hadn't fully grasped it, but she knew it went beyond Partan alone.
“Of course, I know Transcendents vary in strength. It's a realm beyond my grasp, so I might seem foolish for asking. But you're the only one I can turn to. If you refuse... I'll accept it.”
“If I refuse, what's your plan?”
“I'd have no choice but to sharpen my skills and chase them myself. Perhaps that's the proper path.”
Her voice dipped slightly at the end. Lack of conviction? Or anticipating rejection?
“Come to think of it, you're a Sword Master, right? You must want to ascend to Transcendent as soon as possible and uncover the truth.”
“......Advancing realms isn't entirely up to me, and more than that... I feel certain this is my last chance.”
Intuition, then.
A sharp one. Or rather, with her life on the line, sensitivity was inevitable.
She looked a touch embarrassed.
Maybe because she'd vowed to accept refusal, yet insisted it had to be now.
Well, both were sincere. Acceptance was genuine; so was the gut feeling this was her final shot.
“If I accept your request, what can you offer me?”
“Anything I can do to help.”
Roselin stared straight into my masked eyes.
No flicker, no evasion. Pure resolve.
This was the longest we'd faced each other, talking.
And only now did I notice.
When she spoke, her eyes held no tremor. Especially when sincere—it shone through unmistakably.
“It means tangling with various Transcendents. You prepared?”
“My skills aside...... I have to know.”
No fear this time, either.
Honestly, not the best sign for me. Resolve often blurred into recklessness.
'Better get her in the chat room fast.'
That way, I could rein her in or lend aid.
“Then do one favor for me.”
“A request?”
“Nothing major.”
What could Roselin help with?
She was undeniably talented, but useless for anything big right now.
This was naturally a ploy to plant the manaphone for her to find. No better chance to make it seem natural.
I rose from the chair.
“Fine. Follow me.”
“...Pardon?”
“I was chasing Partan's trail too.”
“Ah...? I see.”
“Moonlight Afterglow. That's who.”
“Ah, yes....... Yes?”
“Moonlight Afterglow. A Transcendent cabal. Transcendents aren't supposed to form groups.”
“...Is that so?”
Roselin seemed overwhelmed by the sudden info dump, struggling to process.
She blinked, straining to comprehend.
One reason I shared freely: she'd join the chat room soon enough.
Awkward, but she was practically one of us.
“And that's due to something called the Oath......”
I watched her face as I spoke.
She just kept blinking.
I'd dropped the ancient Hero oath just in case, but total blank.
I opened the door casually and stepped out with Roselin.
Jenjen stood waiting a short distance from the door.
“Ah, leaving now?”
“You were alone in this room the whole time. Got it?”
Jenjen caught my intent instantly and nodded vigorously.
“Yes, I haven't seen a soul here today.”
As Roselin and I brushed past Jenjen, I cloaked us both with natural mana in an instant. Our presences vanished.
“Huh? This is......”
Our vision unchanged, but she sensed it—presence or mana sensitivity.
“It's concealing us. Don't worry about it.”
“Ah, yes. I see. ......What should I call you?”
“Whatever feels right.”
“Hmm...... Uncle? Okay?”
“...”