A Strange Scene
We arrived at Roton, one of the great imperial cities.
My standing with the Empire had dropped considerably, but with the permission of Leo—mistress of this city—I could come and go freely, at least within Roton itself.
"This way, please."
Following the servant's guidance, I stepped into the reception room. Inside, there was Leo, dressed in extravagant finery, rolling the condensation stone I'd given her this way and that.
A tiny little child—far too small to be the master of a marquessate. A stranger would have taken her for a noble lord's young daughter without a second glance.
"Ah! You're here!"
She beamed at me, radiating pure sunshine. Then, like an eager puppy, she trotted over on little feet, grabbed my hand, and tugged me back toward the table. I didn't resist, letting myself be pulled along. The servant, apparently well accustomed to this display, gave a polite bow and set two cups of tea before us.
"It's a tea made from herbs that grow only in Roton and the rest of the Empire's southern provinces."
"Thank you."
"And for the Marchioness..."
"Yeah! Me?"
Thud.
The servant handed Leo a tea that looked slightly different from mine. She puffed up both cheeks and shook her head hard.
"No! I hate the bitter stuff!"
"I'm afraid not. The Marchioness herself gave the order."
"What?! I am the Marchioness, what are you talking about!"
"You said so six hours ago."
"Doesn't matter, no! And I can manage just fine without it!"
Six hours ago...? I blinked at the exchange, only half following, before it dawned on me—the Penalty Leo had been carrying.
Ah, the one that turns her into a small child.
It wasn't to the point of losing her memories, but it clearly changed her decision-making a great deal. That tea was probably meant to soften the Penalty—prepared in advance, no doubt, before it fully took hold. Leo was trembling in both eyes as she shoved the cup away. Tea sloshed and spilled, staining the tabletop.
"Not drinking it!"
"...That cup of tea costs thirty gold, my lady."
"Six hundred thousand won is no big deal!"
Six hundred thousand won for a single cup of tea? Even accounting for what it does to the Penalty, wasn't that a bit excessive?
"Lady Lily! I can speak perfectly well! And there's a misunderstanding here—I don't just go all, um, dumb when I'm like this, okay?! I remember all this too!"
"I never said anything."
"Anyway!"
This is much worse than before, isn't it. When we first met here, she was at least mostly normal. She must have been inside DeoEn far longer this time.
"Anyway, the reason I called you here is..."
"Perhaps you'd like to drink that first?"
Swoosh. The servant calmly offered back the cup that had sloshed over. Leo's pupils trembled.
"I hate the bitter stuff..."
"We can only have a serious conversation once you're somewhat back to yourself, Lady Leo. Not that I dislike you in this state, of course."
The childlike Leo was plenty adorable in her own right. But she'd said something about a problem with the mana stone mine, so there had to be business afoot.
Something important enough to warrant preparing a tea like this.
Gulp. Leo let out a deep sigh, then grabbed her teacup like a steer being led to slaughter.
"Erina..."
"Yes, my lady."
"Can I, um... have some sugar cubes..."
"Absolutely not. You yourself stated that adding impurities to the tea diminishes its efficacy, my lady."
"...Uuuugh. Damn you, past me!"
Hoo! With that, Leo steeled herself and gulped the tea down in one mighty swig. Gak—! She very nearly spat it right back up, but perhaps she'd been through this enough times, because she forced it all down to the last drop. Some of it trickled down from the corner of her mouth, and the servant whipped out a handkerchief at lightning speed and dabbed it away.
Leo shuddered all over. About thirty seconds passed, and then a somewhat steadier gaze lifted up to meet mine.
"Ha... God, that's embarrassing."
"Lady Leo?"
"Ah, ugh... hello there..."
Her face flushed crimson. Did she remember everything from the tantrum she'd just thrown? A curse that kept her in this state every time, in exchange for power that made her nearly the strongest there was. It seemed like a fine deal, and yet seeing her like this made my heart ache for her.
"Haa... Erina. You may go."
"Yes, my lady."
The servant handed Leo another cup of the same tea, then closed the door of the reception room behind her. The two of us sat in the sudden quiet.
"...This is the first time you've seen me like this, isn't it?"
"It is, yes."
"Ahem! Then let me introduce myself properly. I am Leo, spirit mage of the four elements and Marquess of the Empire."
Unlike before, her eyes were cool and collected as she looked at me and extended her hand. The body was still that of a small child, but there was a genuine noble's dignity to her now. I clasped her hand in mine.
"I'm Lily Elbrit. I don't really have a title, I suppose. I just dabble in a lot of things."
"You were hardly 'dabbling,' as I recall."
Leo fixed me with a sharp, penetrating look. If she'd learned to read the flow of mana with the condensation stone, that was only natural.
Understanding mana's movement is just the beginning. There was still a mountain of things I had to teach her.
"...Anyway, we're short on time, so I'll get to the point. The Penalty is powerful enough that ten minutes is my limit."
"Only ten minutes?"
The tea was a consumable—something she couldn't reuse—at a staggering six hundred thousand won a cup, and it only bought ten minutes?
Leo nodded.
"My species Penalty is extremely strong. It's unfair, I'll admit... but that's the price of great power."
"A price..."
A price. Yes—the price of power always exists. It was true for me as well.
"That's understandable."
"Right? So, to the matter at hand: there are two things. The first is that some trouble's come up at my mana stone mine."
"Trouble... of what kind?"
This was a mine owned by the Empire, which held sway over most of the continent, and ruled by Leo, who was called near the very peak of all rankers. What kind of problem could possibly have arisen there?
"They keep hearing a strange voice from deep inside the mine, and because of it, the miners can't do any excavation work."
"A strange voice?"
"It's definitely not spirits. Our best guess is an undead type—ghost-like—but even I can't resolve it easily. No matter how many spirits I send down, I can't identify the cause."
A ghost, of all things... If even Leo couldn't detect it, what on earth was down there?
"I can't simply smash everything, either—the damage to the mana stones is a concern... It's left me in a difficult position in a lot of ways, and mana stone supplies are about to get choppy."
"Were you unable to secure this week's mana stones, then?"
"No, I set those aside in advance today."
Leo flicked her hand, and a bolt of lightning leapt from empty air, leaving behind a single chest. Two hundred blue crystals—slightly more than last time. This batch she couldn't even sell by slapping a 'Soulbound' enchantment on it.
"Today and next week... I can just about manage, but beyond that it'll be tough."
"Securing them at all is gratitude enough. I'll transfer the payment right away."
"Thank you."
Normally her giggling through everything dragged conversations out endlessly, but with her in her right mind, things moved along at a far brisker pace. Leo, who had been rolling the stone condensation stone in her fingers, checked the deposited funds and continued.
"So, there's something I'd like to ask of you..."
"Yes?"
"I have a feeling that if anyone can do it, it's you, Lady Lily."
Before I could ask what it might be, a system window popped up before my eyes.
[Sub] The Strange Voice of the Roton Mine
🎯 Objective: Identify and defeat the source of the 'strange voice' heard in the mana stone mine of Leo, Marquess of the Empire.
🎁 Reward: 100,000 EXP, 300 Gold, Leo's Trust (As the requester is a player, this reward may be subjective.)
"...What is this?"
"A quest. As a Marquess of the Empire, I'm able to issue them."
"That's possible?"
"Yes."
A player issuing quests to another player. The rewards would be coming out of Leo's pocket directly, but it was a pretty fascinating feature all the same.
"It beats just asking a favor—you get free EXP on top."
"...Wait, the EXP comes from you separately?"
"Yes. I can't very well hand over my own experience points, now can I?"
Leo flashed a grin. For some reason, I found myself thinking that holding a noble title might not be such a bad thing after all.
"Of course, I can't just hand them out to anyone—there are limits. I can only issue quests tied to the marquessate, and obviously I can't manipulate the rewards."
"That alone sounds more than good enough."
"You think so? Anyway, will you accept?"
"Hmm..."
Exorcism wasn't my specialty, but I'd dealt with my fair share of matters involving the demonic. And above all, if the mana stones stopped coming, I'd be the one suffering for it.
"Alright. I'll do it."
You have accepted [Sub] The Strange Voice of the Roton Mine.
The stated rewards will not change unless both parties agree to a revision.
"I don't have to start right away, do I?"
"No, take it at your own pace. And if it turns out you can't manage it, feel free to give up anytime."
"And...?"
Leo trailed off, deliberating for a moment.
"There's more?"
"...The truth is, the reason I called you here isn't just the mine. It's also the reason I forced the Penalty off early."
She looked deadly serious. What on earth could it be?
Leo held out the stone condensation stone to me.
"...I saw something strange while it was converting. It was over in a flash, so I couldn't make out the details—but the moment was so intense that the memory is vivid."
Delve deep enough into DeoEn's dungeons and quests, and you'd occasionally find yourself observing someone's memories or past. It was all the more likely for Leo, who shared a portion of her mind with spirits rather than being fully human.
But that memory had been more extraordinary than anything she'd experienced before.
A colossal lecture hall that brought to mind a city of gold. Countless students, and an enormous condensation stone. And standing before it all... something ashen white.
"I think I saw you, Lady Lily."