The Spider That Collects Gold Coins' Mindscape Realization
Mindscape Realization. A technique that wove one's own will into mana manipulation, elevating it to the next level. Unlike ordinary manipulation mages who could only control physical matter, those capable of using mindscape realization could manipulate concepts that transcended mere substance.
Just looking at the mindscape Beatrice had unfolded proved it. The mana infused with a demon's malice was a force that mocked the laws already etched into the world. Steeped in pure malice that saw the entire world as a toy to play with, it possessed destructive power that should have been impossible to obtain. For a mere human to seize such a twisted slash, manipulate it, and send it back was utterly impossible. It required more than transcending humanity—one had to establish oneself within the world itself. The superhumans called this act of planting oneself into reality a mindscape.
Crazy...
That was why my eyes widened at the technique Beatrice had unleashed. Her own will shimmered in the empty air. Fragments of the mindscape realization, torn apart from blocking the demon's slash, drifted through the world. And the slash she had twisted around—
Crack.
......
It didn't stop after completely blowing off the right arm of the demon holding the sword. Instead, it pulverized the entire wall of the room. Fortunately, the barrier the Emperor and I had erected blocked it, but if it had struck Beatrice directly, she would have been annihilated without the slightest chance to defend herself.
That was what made her feat even more astonishing.
This wasn't the assignment I gave her expecting her to pull it off in such a short time.
Will was the vessel that contained one's mindscape. And a mindscape wasn't something you could obtain simply because you desired it. Only at the very peak of 6-Ring—or upon reaching 7-Ring—could one look inward, reflect on oneself, and create a world within the heart. That was what formed a Mindscape Realization.
Of course, Beatrice hadn't reached a level where she could truly deploy one, but...
"Ascending to 6-Ring in the middle of combat..."
She had realized her own mindscape and, in the same instant, forged another ring of her own. Given how fiercely she pursued her desires, I had expected her realm to rise eventually, but this...
"Did you predict even this?"
I turned to look at the Emperor, the one who had orchestrated this entire situation. She was the very person who had stopped me when I judged that Beatrice couldn't handle the demon's attack and tried to intervene. Of course, even if I had stepped in, the outcome of subduing the demon wouldn't have changed. But Beatrice's ascension to 6-Ring alongside her mindscape realization would never have happened.
Even though the result spoke for itself, expecting Beatrice herself to produce such an outcome was nearly impossible. So I asked, half in disbelief.
"No, We did not know either."
The Emperor shrugged with a perfectly calm expression. Her face suggested this was the most natural thing in the world, and I could only stare at her in utter amazement.
"...Are you really saying that right now?"
"Is it not obvious? Realizing one's mindscape during a battle with a demon and rising to 6-Ring. Anyone who heard it would surely scold Us for speaking such absurd nonsense fit only for cheap theater."
"But you still blocked my path."
"Because that child asked Us to."
Beatrice had asked her directly? At the Emperor's words, both my gaze and hers snapped toward Beatrice, who stood in the middle of the room. Having subdued the now one-armed demon, she was breathing hard. Although she had reached 6-Ring through her mindscape, the recoil from suddenly unleashing such a technique seemed severe.
"She said that if you tried to intervene, We must stop you."
The Emperor spoke softly while watching Beatrice lean against the wall to catch her breath.
"She claimed that if she thought she couldn't block the attack, you would definitely rush in to save her."
......
"But if that happened, her resolve would lose all meaning. So she begged Us to stop you no matter what."
With those words, the Emperor withdrew the barrier she had already deployed. The wall of mana slowly scattered—the same wall that had held me back, even if only for a moment.
"What if she had died?"
"Then it would have been her responsibility."
The Emperor's voice was ice-cold. And she wasn't wrong. Beatrice had staked her life on this challenge and succeeded. Even if she had failed, her determination would not have been in vain.
When I fell silent after realizing this, the Emperor pulled a long cigarette from her robes, placed it between her lips, and continued.
"Living in this era, the moment for a challenge always arrives. Those who advance do not fear it. Those who remain stagnant are the ones who have abandoned it."
......
"In that regard, that girl challenged without hesitation. And she succeeded. She has taken another step forward as her reward."
Huuu. Gray smoke billowed from the Emperor's mouth as she tapped the ashes onto the floor. Then, in a tone as light as the fallen ash itself, she muttered.
"Some madman We know used to treat such challenges like eating breakfast."
......
"Spouting nonsense about knowing the future in every direction, throwing his life away on claims no one would believe."
"...Your Majesty."
"The damage he inflicted on Us alone..."
One word with every breath. As I watched the cigarette shrink rapidly, I quietly lowered my head.
"I was wrong..."
"Not those words. You know the answer We prefer."
"......That's a bit much."
No matter what, that was crossing a line. When I showed the slightest hesitation, the Emperor took another drag, signaling she was about to launch into the scolding she'd been holding back. Once she started grumbling, it wouldn't end even if we stayed up all night. Her personality had always been that she wouldn't calm down until she got exactly what she wanted.
"Haa..."
Letting out a deep sigh, I slowly spoke the words the Emperor desired.
"I will do better from now on."
"And?"
"Sion Nu..."
"Nu?"
"Sion Nuna..."
I swallowed my embarrassment and gave her what she wanted. Only then did the Emperor set down her cigarette with a satisfied expression.
Sion Frederia von Reikus. She had always pestered me to call her by her real name and "Nuna."
"Huu..."
Thinking the major hurdle had finally passed, I breathed a sigh of relief—but that relief vanished instantly.
"...What did you just say?"
Beatrice had approached without me noticing. Looking into her eyes, I was forced to retract my previous thought.
Another day passed.
Despite the massive commotion that had erupted in the back alleys, the incident was handled quietly. Part of it was because the Emperor and I had erected barriers to prevent their fight from spreading, but mostly it was because the battle had taken place in the back alleys.
No matter the city, back alleys were always a headache. That was why most incidents there were buried. In fact, there were more people eager to cover them up. After all, while the trouble broke out in the alleys, the ones who suffered were the entire city.
This case was no different. It was an earth-shattering event—a 6-Ring demon had been captured in an imperial city—yet most residents simply dismissed it as another back-alley thug getting killed. Those who dug deeper for information quickly tucked their tails at the mere mention of the Empire's Emperor.
The current Emperor, Sion Frederia von Reikus, held absolute power. She had silenced the noisy factions, subdued the North, and eroded the flames of war. Under her reign, the Empire prospered daily, so it was only natural that her authority continued to grow.
Therefore—
"We must return now."
It was impossible for someone standing at the pinnacle of power to abandon all her duties and linger in a quiet rural backwater like this.
She looked at me with a faintly regretful expression.
"You're finally leaving."
"Even though it has been so long since We last saw your face, your tone still makes Us want to smack you."
The Emperor briefly raised her fist before letting out a deep sigh.
"Yes, We must go. Even now, We can hear the Prime Minister's voice screaming at Our clone to return at once. Despite his age, that eardrum-shattering voice of his has not diminished in the slightest."
"And who do you think is responsible for that?"
"...We do not believe it is because of Us, at least."
Did she have no conscience at all? When I shot her a sidelong glance, she burst into laughter and slowly climbed into the carriage.
It was the imperial carriage that held the demon Beatrice had captured, securely bound. Special agents with white masks covering their faces escorted it. The Emperor, whose carriage had every window covered by curtains, slightly opened one and handed me something.
"Ah, now that We think about it, We had not given this to you."
It was a familiar fan—Beatrice's. The Emperor passed it to me and asked me to deliver it properly.
"Well, whether she uses it again is her choice."
With those final words, the Emperor departed. The carriage, treated to make no sound at all, vanished silently.
And then—
"So you're leaving now?"
After the Emperor left and I returned to the merchant group, those were the first words Beatrice spoke to me. I nodded slowly.
Just as the Emperor had left, it was time for me to depart as well.
"Even if you try to hold me back, I won't stay."
"......"
I stayed silent at Beatrice's words. From the moment I witnessed her mindscape during that fierce battle with the demon, I had realized she still hadn't forgotten the events of the past. It had only been a single gold coin, yet she remembered it clearly.
Still, that didn't mean I planned to remain here. The news that the Khan of the North—the king of the barbarians—had returned was information I could not possibly ignore.
As if she understood that, Beatrice approached me and said,
"We still have a debt between us, don't we?"
Yes, we did. Even after combining the tutoring fee she had provided with what Scarlet gave me, I still owed a massive eighty million cells. Was she planning to use that as an excuse to keep me here?
Beatrice laughed when she saw my pupils tremble faintly. Then she took a sheet of paper from her waiting secretary and handed it to me.
"This is..."
"Your debt contract."
It was the agreement I had signed with her when I first borrowed the money. Beatrice tore it neatly in half and passed it over.
"And now it's nothing but a meaningless scrap of paper."
"......"
"This is the price for the technique you taught me this time—and for rising to 6-Ring."
Paying the price for both the mindscape realization and her ascension to 6-Ring. I nodded at her words. I'd originally thought it would end at twenty million cells, but she was adding another eighty million on top. For me, this was pure profit.
"And this..."
While I was still nodding, Beatrice handed me something else. A gold coin gleaming with brilliant golden light. In its center was an engraving of Beatrice's face.
"Repayment for the first act of goodwill I received."
Unlike before, no matter how I probed it with mana, I couldn't sense even a trace of demonic energy. I gripped the coin she gently offered and quietly muttered that I was sure it was illegal, but—
"Then now that you've accepted it, you're an accomplice too, right?"
Beatrice smiled playfully and accepted my grumbling with a teasing laugh.