The Worst First Meeting (3)
"Hold it right there!"
"Hah!"
Irelphi had been on the verge of entering the Great Cavern. I had shouted her to a halt in desperation, and her reaction was a masterpiece in itself.
She sprang back like a cat that had just heard a beast's roar, snapping into a combat stance. Her hand hovered near her scabbard, ready to draw at an instant's notice, while her qi sense flared out in every direction—the unmistakable bearing of the world's strongest.
There was not a trace of the clumsy girl she'd been before; only the Commander of the Knights stood there now.
Of course I can read this—because I'm inside Netionpis's body.
I knew she wouldn't let go of her suspicion, but when it was this blatant, I had to change my approach.
"Don't move. Speak from where you stand."
"Th-that is..."
Even as I fumbled, dozens of decisions were made and reversed in rapid succession. The tension flooding in from pure survival instinct was grinding my brain to a halt, leaving me grasping for an answer.
Should I fight? With Netionpis's power, maybe I could manage something...
But I quickly concluded that was the worst possible move.
There's no way I can win. Irelphi's power is outright cheating. And without knowing Netionpis's real specs, I can't handle her.
I had a strong gut feeling that if a fight broke out, I'd end up diced into five pieces and re-sealed—a textbook bad ending.
So I offered my mind a different route.
...Should I run?
This body was immortal. If I gave up on fighting entirely and evacuated even a few chunks of flesh, given enough time, they might regenerate.
But would it actually work? Sure, being cut into five pieces would regenerate without question, but could a pile of severed limbs really reassemble into a whole body? Common sense says no.
That, too, was a gamble with far too much risk, since I had no precise knowledge of Netionpis's abilities.
Damn it!
No matter how many moves ahead I looked, I couldn't claw my way out of the swamp of multi-bad-endings. I wanted to keep deliberating, but time was mercilessly slipping away.
In the end, I was forced to give my answer.
"So, um... the thing is—it's a pleasure to meet you. The truth is, I *am* Netionpis?"
I desperately forced out a bright smile. I had to lower her guard, even a little—
"Ghk...!"
But I couldn't get another word out. The instant I admitted my identity, Irelphi's qi transformed in the blink of an eye.
It felt as if my whole body had been thrown onto a blade's whetstone, and my consciousness threatened to flee entirely. All I could manage was to forcibly lock my buckling knees and stay upright.
Transcendent killing intent.
My plan was to negotiate first, run if that failed, and fight as a last resort... I messed up!
Run? What a luxurious thought. The moment I was exposed to that killing intent, simply standing on two legs was all I could manage.
My body might have been Netionpis's, but my soul was just a worthless gamer from a peaceful world. I had forgotten that obvious fact.
During my time sealed in the Great Cavern, the boundary between me and Netionpis had worn thin, and without realizing it, I had grown arrogant.
The escape plan of fleeing as severed limbs also fell apart the moment I reconsidered it.
I'm the guy who convulses when a paper edge nicks my finger—and I'm supposed to endure being cut into shredded meat and stay rational afterward?
I might genuinely lose my mind. No, I definitely would.
Even now, as I agonized, Irelphi's killing intent was constricting my soul in real time.
"Khh... wait... Irelphi, please. I can... I can explain everything...!"
"If you intend to ensnare me with wicked words, it is useless. The mental attack you inflicted on me once will never work twice."
When did I ever attack her mind?
Irelphi's hand crept steadily closer to her sword's hilt. She must have refrained from cutting me down the instant I revealed myself because she truly believed I was the Founding Noble.
She would layer caution upon caution, preparing for any possible counterattack. In a game, David never beats Goliath—but in reality, David wins all the time.
Irelphi understood that perfectly well.
"Irelphi Justiha, Commander of the Nelprugia Knights. By imperial command, I shall execute the wicked."
As Irelphi lowered her stance, a presence like a majestic mountain surged forth. Her lower body rooted itself into the earth, evoking the image of an ancient tree that had lived a thousand years.
It was the moment Irelphi's eyes and mine met.
Shwaaek!
A sharp hiss of splitting air rang out.
I had no idea what had happened. I didn't realize Irelphi's sword had already been drawn until the very moment before I understood it.
Still unable to process the situation, I stood there blinking—until suddenly my body lost its sense of balance, pitched sideways, and collapsed in a heap.
Thud-dud.
My left arm and left leg, now masterless, drifted into my field of vision. Then pain beyond comprehension swallowed me whole.
"AAAAAAAARGH!"
My leg! My arm!
The cut surfaces were so clean they were practically flat planes.
Nnn... gh... kuh... this is...!
Even while suffering pain enough to drive me insane, I knew exactly what this was.
The Formless Sword—one of Irelphi's patterns.
From the hiss of parting air to the result, I was familiar with every part of it. What made me despair was the knowledge that this was merely a harassment attack.
In game terms, this was nothing more than one of Irelphi's basic attacks.
"Netionpis, Founding Noble. Weakened by your long imprisonment, I see."
"Weakened, my ass—!"
Irelphi murmured as she watched me crawl along the floor. She had meant it as a private mumble, but in the Great Cavern even such sounds resonated and amplified.
"Though your immortality appears to be fully intact."
A peculiar light dawned in her eyes. My leg and arm had reattached themselves so naturally you'd never guess they'd fallen off. The pain, too, faded in an instant, and I quickly recovered my senses.
Now I understand. A counterattack is absolutely out of the question. Once you're her enemy, there's no coming back!
My gaze instinctively drifted to where my limbs had fallen.
They're still there! So Netionpis's immortality really is regeneration-based.
With my recovered sanity, I scrambled for a way out of this situation.
Could I abandon my current body and regenerate from those limbs?
There was no tutorial for Netionpis's abilities—of course I had no idea. And this was hardly the leisurely occasion to test-drive skills.
Then—
Shwaaek!
That familiar hiss of air. And yet I couldn't even react; I simply took the blow in full.
A thin red line drew itself slowly across my waist. What came next was obvious at a glance.
"GRAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
Spouting a fountain of red, my upper and lower body split in two. This was pain of an entirely different caliber than losing my left limbs.
It was my first time watching my own torso and legs, separated, flop limply to the ground.
From my own point of view, no less.
"Gheok!"
I regenerated quickly and faced Irelphi again. When I turned my head to look behind me, I could see my severed upper half lying there, eyes still open.
It occurred to me then—fresh and new—that this was the first time I had ever seen Netionpis's face.
I'd known about the black hair. But the combination of ominous crimson eyes and sickly pale skin was unsettling enough that even I thought, yeah, that's a villain.
"No counterattack whatsoever... unexpected. And a thoroughly unpleasant ability."
Irelphi's gaze was fixed on what had been my upper body. I deliberately initiated regeneration from my lower half instead—apparently there was no restriction on which part could start the process.
As a result, her eyes wrinkled in disgust, as if she were looking at a revolting insect.
"Just hold on, Irelphi. I have no intention of being your enemy!"
"Whether you oppose me or not is of no concern. I merely carry the imperial command. As a knight of the imperial house, I execute it."
"The imperial house?"
In that instant, my eyes flew wide open. It felt like I'd found the light.
Of course—Irelphi has been executing an imperial command from the start...!
There might be room for negotiation. If she was here not for a personal goal, but on official business—the Emperor's orders—then!
"Unfortunately, sealing you again seems impossible. But if I carve you into pieces, even your regeneration must eventually reach its—"
I stopped her, casually brushing aside her ominous words.
"Wait, Irelphi. I make a request—as a Founding Noble. Take me... to the Emperor!"
At that, Irelphi shot back a look of sheer incredulity.
"Have you lost your mind? You're telling me to present a walking calamity to His Majesty?"
I cut her off and spoke with near-certainty.
"No, you *will* gladly deliver this calamity. Because the imperial command says so."
"The command I received is your subjugation."
"That's the command *as of now*."
I was confident I could turn the imperial command on its head like flipping a palm. With the shell of a Founding Noble and the knowledge of a player, it was more than enough.
"Did you bring a means of communication? Tell the Emperor: I will stake my life and, as a Founding Noble, pour out everything I know!"
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"Isn't it up to the Emperor to decide whether to believe it or not? I know the imperial family's secrets that even the Emperor himself doesn't know—scandals, every hidden thing in the Eld Empire."
Seeing Irelphi hesitate, I smiled my best smile.
"Isn't this a matter far too big for a mere knight commander to handle on her own? I am certain the Emperor will want my information."
"Hmm."
"I've told you again and again that I have no intention of fighting you. For all my title as a Founding Noble, I was sliced in two—and never once struck back."
The more I recalled it, the more terrifying and infuriating it was. As the memory of that pain flared, the Great Cavern trembled, as if echoing my boiling emotions.
...Wait. The Great Cavern is trembling?
Rrrrrrumble...
What is that?! Scary! Is it the aftershock of Irelphi's Formless Sword?
Frightened out of my wits, I rushed on without missing a beat.
"My madness was cured over a century ago, and my resentment has faded. If I could just live outside, I'd need nothing—not the rank of Founding Noble, not money, nothing at all. So please... deliver my true feelings, exactly as they are."
I bowed my head low and squeezed my eyes shut. I had said everything there was to say; all that remained was Irelphi's decision.
Even if she dismissed it out of hand, if she just kept her mouth shut, no one would ever know of my proposal.
Amid the suffocating tension, Irelphi stood utterly motionless for a long while, deep in thought—then finally sighed and rummaged through her coat.
What she produced was a Communication Stone. It should have been a mass-market item even commoners could afford, yet somehow hers carried an unmistakable air of luxury.
As she activated the stone and explained the whole situation, the changes in Irelphi's expression were extraordinarily dynamic.
"Netionpis is a dangerous individual, and—"
"But Your Majesty—!"
"...Understood, Your Majesty."
I didn't even need to listen closely to the call to know the outcome. Irelphi's tightly-clenched, deeply satisfied expression told the whole story.
Before long she pocketed the Communication Stone, turned her head sharply, and looked at me.
Unable to withstand the intensity of her gaze, I averted my eyes. I must have looked utterly pathetic.
"...Netionpis, Founding Noble. By the command of His Majesty the Emperor."
"..."
"..."
A heavy silence. Irelphi simply stopped there, staring at me, saying nothing more.
Cowed by that imperious stare, I found myself instinctively dropping to one knee. Only then did Irelphi speak again.
This is the correct answer?
I learned later that this was, in fact, the proper etiquette for receiving an imperial command.
"...... And so, Netionpis, Founding Noble, shall be granted audience with the Emperor, under the supervision of Irelphi Justiha."
"It would be my honor to comply."
"Honestly, does His Majesty have ANY sense of danger?! From my position, responsible for his personal security, at the very least...!"
Irelphi seemed determined to express, with her entire body, that she still could not accept this. As a timid little act of revenge, I raised my middle finger at her back.
...Truly a pathetic revenge.
And so, the first crisis I'd faced since arriving in this world was, for the time being, resolved.
Yes. That's what a certain foolish man believed.