The Spider That Collects Gold Coins
…….
After Kyle left the room without another word, the two women left behind fell into silence at the exact same moment. It wasn’t the result of any unspoken agreement. They were simply taking the time to study each other.
Knowing your opponent before you speak makes the conversation flow more smoothly; that was common sense. With enough information, you could read a person’s tastes and tendencies, then use that knowledge to steer the dialogue wherever you wanted. In that sense, it was only natural for the minds of these two transcendent beings to spin at full speed.
They were seeing each other in person for the first time. Although they had long since memorized every scrap of each other’s past and public records, a human being could never be fully understood through secondhand information alone. And so, the moment they laid eyes on one another, both women began their analysis simultaneously.
If Kyle had known what was happening, he would have been horrified, demanding why they were going that far. But to an emperor and a merchant, it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“So.”
The one who emerged victorious from that silent battle of wits was—
“What is your reason for wishing to speak with me in private?”
—the Emperor. A faint, triumphant smile played on her lips.
“Under normal circumstances, a request for a private audience would not have been granted even after a full year. Consider it an honor to your family and conduct yourself accordingly.”
Beatrice’s eyebrow twitched. Just as the Emperor said, securing a one-on-one meeting with the ruler of the Empire was normally impossible even if you waited a year. No matter how urgent the matter, the current Emperor had not left the imperial palace once since the Northern Conquest, and all state affairs were handled by the Imperial Chancellor.
Still, Beatrice knew the remark was meant to provoke her. She kept her composure and answered in a measured tone.
“I grew concerned when I learned that Your Imperial Majesty was meeting alone with a mercenary I personally commissioned. It seems even an Emperor of the Empire is not above coveting what belongs to another. How very… small-minded of me to worry so.”
Unlike when Kyle had been present, Beatrice’s provocation was far more direct. She knew full well that the woman before her was the Emperor of the Empire, yet she was a merchant first. And a merchant must never surrender what she possesses without receiving its proper value—especially when that possession was the most precious thing she owned.
“The owner of one of the five greatest merchant groups in the Empire, calling herself small-minded. How modest.”
“No matter how modest I may be, how could I possibly compare to Your Imperial Majesty, who has personally descended from the throne to exchange such lofty insights with someone like me?”
Words flew like spears and swords. No blood was drawn, yet the glint in both women’s eyes was utterly ferocious.
“…Those who reach for things beyond their station always choke in the end, Guild Master.”
The one who shattered the atmosphere was the same person who had created it—the Emperor. The icy chill in her gaze softened, if only slightly, as she looked at Beatrice.
“The first star of the Empire is far too large for your little merchant guild to contain.”
“I am.”
“What?”
“I am the first star, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Yet Beatrice continued in the same sharp voice as before.
“And I have always preferred to take a bite first, even if it tears my mouth apart.”
“Reckless.”
“I prefer the term bold.”
Beatrice smiled as she unfurled the fan in her hand. The Emperor stared at it for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Hohoho… hahahahaha!”
Beatrice’s own smile vanished instantly. She stared at the Emperor with open bewilderment. Unless the woman had suddenly lost her mind, why was she laughing like that?
“Ah… bold, was it? If your earlier words were meant to amuse me, then I must say you succeeded.”
Beatrice remained silent. To counter a provocation, one first had to understand it. But she understood nothing—not even the reason behind the laughter—so there was no way for her to respond.
Confirming that Beatrice was at a loss, the Emperor continued.
“It seems you truly don’t understand. He couldn’t possibly have failed to teach you this, so I can only assume you weren’t paying attention in class.”
“…What exactly are you—”
“Your Image.”
The Emperor rose slowly from her seat and pointed directly at the center of Beatrice’s chest. Yet she was not merely indicating her heart. She meant the foundation upon which one built their Rings, the stepping stone to the next realm, the root of the tower one would raise, the answer one offered to the world itself.
“Challenge is an opportunity granted only to the courageous. So when a coward who hasn’t even decided on her own answer dares to speak of bravery, how can I not laugh?”
Beatrice had not chosen her Image. More precisely, she had been unable to choose one. The Emperor had seen through that fact.
Whether it was because they were both manipulation mages, or because of the keen eye the Emperor had developed through years of political conversation, Beatrice couldn’t tell.
“I thought I had found a rival who looked at the same horizon. Instead, I find a junior who hasn’t even taken her first real step.”
What was certain was that the Emperor had found a weakness Beatrice herself did not possess. The match had been decided. This private audience was Beatrice’s defeat.
The realization left Beatrice looking utterly devastated. Anyone who knew that maintaining one’s expression was a merchant’s most basic skill would have immediately understood just how devastating this loss was for her.
The Emperor watched her for a moment, then spoke again.
“Still, as your senior, it would be improper not to offer my junior at least a word of advice.”
“……”
“Countless transcendent beings offer vague, complicated theories about the Image. They call it the answer one gives to oneself, a cry directed at the world, the qualification to reach the heavens, the root of the tower of Rings, and so on…”
Whether Beatrice was truly listening was uncertain. She might have been tuning it out entirely, dismissing it as the winner’s taunt toward the loser. Even so, the Emperor continued without concern.
“The same applies to the first star of the Empire. In the end, the Image is simply yourself. It is not something that can be learned from another.”
Well, there were exceptions, but anyway.
The Emperor briefly thought of someone else before drawing a thread of mana into her palm.
“Instead of such vague, poetic advice, I shall give you a single question.”
The Emperor’s mana thread moved with blinding speed. A colorless string too fast for the eye to follow snatched the fan from Beatrice’s hand. As Beatrice stared in shock at her empty fingers, the Emperor posed her question.
“Tell me this: Are you the master of one of the Empire’s five great merchant groups, The Spider that Collects Gold Coins? Or are you simply the woman named Beatrice?”
“……What?”
Beatrice’s expression showed she genuinely didn’t understand.
“If you can answer that question, your worries will likely lighten considerably.”
Leaving the stunned Beatrice behind, the Emperor walked slowly out of the room.
“Until then, I shall hold onto this fan.”
In her hand, she held Beatrice’s own fan, opened like a trophy.
**
“This is driving me insane.”
Three days had passed since the Emperor’s departure. I stood alone in the training grounds, steadying my breathing. It wasn’t really for recovery or practice; it was simply a way to calm my emotions.
Once the heat in my chest had subsided, I recalled the Emperor’s words.
“One week, huh.”
That was what she had said before leaving the guild. I had no idea what conversation had taken place inside the room, but the Emperor—having exited before Beatrice—had looked at me and declared she would give me one week. She left no further explanation, but it was clear that when she returned after seven days, she expected an answer to her proposal.
And since I had no real justification to refuse her, it was as good as decided.
The name Khan itself was the problem. He was one of the final-boss-level entities tied to the game’s destruction. The great northern invasion had also been one of the scenarios that led to the world’s end. Naturally, I had to stop it. Fortunately, the entire continent was sensitive about the North, so it had been resolved without major incident. I had even confirmed Khan’s death with my own eyes and stopped worrying about it, but now—
“What the hell is a second Khan?”
This was something I had never encountered while playing the game. If it had been foreshadowing for a sequel, maybe I could have understood, but there had been nothing of the sort. This was purely an event occurring in this world.
Luckily, it was still within the range of what I could handle, so nothing catastrophic had happened yet. But there was no telling what might come next. In the game, I could prepare in advance because I knew the future. That advantage no longer existed.
And worst of all—
“The frequency is increasing.”
In the game, scenarios that had been built up over decades would naturally explode alongside the player’s growth. But looking at Arlea’s incident or this second Khan, that pattern was gone. Instead, after the slightest hint, events suddenly detonated without warning.
When you considered that all these consecutive incidents had occurred in less than half a year, it was more than strange. And the fact that every single one was directly connected to the apocalypses I had prevented in the past made it even more unsettling.
“One week…”
I muttered the deadline the Emperor had given me and glanced upward. Beatrice still had not emerged from her room. For three full days she had remained inside, making no movements whatsoever. I had heard that even her branch managers, who had come to discuss guild business, and her personal secretary had been turned away at the door.
Beatrice had simply locked herself away without giving any reason. It was like she was doing closed-door training straight out of a martial arts novel.
I frowned, watching her window for a moment, then resumed my breathing exercises. I had planned to do my best as her private tutor during the remaining week so she could get as close to 6-Ring as possible, but—
“With my student in that state…”
It was meaningless.
I let out a deep sigh and continued training alone in the empty training grounds.
And then.
Exactly three days later—six days after the Emperor had left—Beatrice finally emerged from her self-imposed seclusion. With exactly one day remaining until the Emperor’s promised return, she came straight to me and said,
“Stay with me for one day.”