Yujun Furrowed His Brow, Just a Little
Yujun's brow creased, just a little.
"I don't need any treasure."
"It is no treasure of the sort you are imagining."
"Then what is it?"
"An item. I cannot say what manner of thing it may be, but given how harsh the place is, and how powerful the beings that dwell there, the odds are high that it will be something extraordinary."
"It could just as easily be a bad item, couldn't it? Or there might be nothing at all."
"That is true of every dungeon."
"Then why don't you go yourself?"
"As I said, it is a dangerous place. Far beyond what my own skill could dare."
"A place like that exists?"
A place even Sertiphs, commander of the Hardline Faction, would not dare approach? Where in the world could that be? Nothing Yujun knew of came to mind. The only name that surfaced was Sourtul Forest.
"You are not of the heavenly race, so you may not know of it. Most angels of any real rank are aware of the place."
"And where is it?"
"The Moonlight-Drinking Pond."
"...A pond?"
"Yes."
"When you say pond, it doesn't sound all that large."
"It is called a pond, yet it is hardly cramped. The true problem lies in the road that leads there. Spatial teleportation does not function in that region. One cannot spread one's wings, nor cast the Fly spell."
"It's in Heaven, then?"
"Of course."
"And you want me to go to a place that dangerous in your stead?"
"I believe that you, at least, could reach it alive and unharmed."
"Has any player ever made it to that pond?"
"There have been some."
"Did they go because of this map?"
"No. The place is known to be perilous, so they went to prove themselves."
"And what happened to them? Did they make it back out safely?"
"They entered the pond and vanished without a trace."
"..."
"So the problem is inside the pond."
"Yes. Whether that is simply because dangerous creatures dwell there, I cannot say. What I can say is that no one who entered the Moonlight-Drinking Pond has ever survived."
"Where did you get the map?"
"I came upon it quite by chance, in the midst of the war."
"What if someone forged it?"
"The map has been recognized as an item, so that possibility is vanishingly small. The System itself has acknowledged it."
"Give it to me for now."
"Do you mean to leave at once?"
"Yes."
"The coronation will be held soon."
"Coronation? Is someone becoming king?"
"Nothing so grand as a king. I have, however, been charged with serving as the provisional ruler of Heaven."
"You?"
"Yes."
"...And the Archangels? They're just going to sit still for that?"
"I became the leader by the Archangels' own consensus. I never had any great ambition for such a seat."
"For someone with no ambition, you threw yourself into the role of commander awfully hard."
"I merely do my utmost in whatever duty I am given. And it was thanks to you that my merits were rated so highly. You might say I became the leader because of you as well. I am grateful."
"I thought you said you had no interest in leading."
"I told you. Once a duty falls to me, I give it everything I have."
For all his denials, Sertiphs's hunger for power seemed anything but modest. At least, that was how Yujun read him. He did not think it a bad thing. Had he himself not received a great deal precisely because of that ambition? Above all else, there was this worn old map Sertiphs had given him. Already he found himself looking forward to whatever item it might yield. He could not rule out the chance of coming up empty, and yet, for some reason, his instincts felt good.
Does everything always break my way so conveniently that I've started growing confidence with no basis at all?
"I'll stay through the coronation, then go."
"Good."
Sertiphs smiled, plainly satisfied. He had acted as though it hardly mattered, but it seemed he had been hoping for it all along. The coronation was set for early morning, which meant only a few hours remained. Rushing it through like this made the intent obvious enough: finish the thing quickly and be done with it.
Yujun gave his companions a rough account of the coronation.
"Oh! Does that mean there will be delicious things to eat?"
Paranet brightened visibly.
"Why are you happy? You can't even eat."
"Merely beholding my master at his meal is enough to fill this humble servant's belly!"
"...That somehow makes me feel worse."
"And whyever should it, hm-hm?"
"The way you talk is giving me the creeps."
"..."
The coronation was grander than he had expected. He had wondered how splendid a ceremony held in the middle of a war could possibly be, but the heavenly race operated on a considerable scale. More precisely, the scale had swollen at Sertiphs's own demand.
"Thanks to Sertiphs, we get to eat well. Not bad."
At Kim Yohan's words, Yujun smiled and nodded.
"Wherever you go, the places where the highest powers gather always have good food. Even the Demon Realm was like that."
"Yujun, you've been to the Demon Realm?"
"Yeah. It wasn't all that long ago, if you measure it by time, but I've been. Though... can I really call it recent?"
"Want me to be honest? You arriving at the Tower of Infinity is what's recent. By our standards."
"...Fair enough."
Yujun ate something with the chewy give of rice cake, dyed in every bright color. It came on skewers, and the flavor reminded him so strongly of food from Earth that his hand kept going back for more. The faintly sweet sauce left his mouth feeling sticky, so he rinsed it with a cool, refreshing drink.
"Good thing I came."
As Yujun wandered about with a smile, Manuela and Paranet trailed after him like ducklings.
"Manuela. What's good, in your opinion?"
"This one..."
Manuela was eating something that resembled a pork cutlet. The crust, he had heard, was not wheat flour at all, but a grain that existed only in Heaven, ground fine. The texture and flavor were subtly different for it, yet the taste was undeniably good—no doubt because a great deal of money had gone into it. For Yujun, who had always favored the cheap diner-style cutlets back home, the only disappointment was a sauce that leaned a little too hard into sourness.
That was when it happened.
Sertiphs strode out from behind a crimson curtain, a magnificent spear raised high.
"Lord Sertiphs!"
"He's here!"
"Look at that dignified bearing. More than enough to represent the prestige of our race. He overflows with it."
"And those broad shoulders? Strength alone doesn't give you a body like that. He must put himself through grueling training every single day."
"What are you talking about? Bone structure is hereditary. Shoulders especially."
The heavenly race produced beauties and handsome faces at a rate not far from the elves, and even so, they prized outward appearance more fiercely than other peoples. A commander's looks, or a leader's, were therefore one of the things that mattered, and Sertiphs was one of the few who satisfied that requirement in full. Across both the Hardline Faction and the Moderate Faction, there were not so very many who objected. Had the Moderates won this war, Gerbain would likely have become the leader instead, but there was no point in discussing that. Yujun had already killed him.
Ukria had gone missing, and Paulo, who had reported her death to his superiors, had not been punished. The Moderates had not merely been pressed into a close fight. They had been utterly defeated. In the course of folding the Moderate Faction into the Hardline, the ranks of many angels tied to Ukria had fallen sharply, and some had even suffered the misfortune of dropping below Paulo himself.
There were those who refused to believe Ukria was dead. They were not many. If she were not dead, it would have been strange for her never to show herself, and those who had witnessed Yujun's martial power with their own eyes judged that such an outcome was entirely possible. For Ukria, who had wanted to disappear, it had worked out rather well.
"Yujun! Yujun!"
Yujun had been listening to Sertiphs's address. At the voice beside him, his eyes narrowed.
"Hm? Yenil?"
"The situation is rather more at ease now, is it not? I believe the time has come for you to keep your promise."
"Ah..."
It was Yenil, the Black Sorceress.
"What are you talking about? A promise?"
"New-Generation Magic. New-Generation Magic. Surely you have not forgotten."
Yenil said it with a thoroughly sullen face. Yujun felt the awkwardness of a bill come due, but he did not let it show.
"Once the coronation's over, if I have a little time, I'll teach you then."
"Y-yes! I shall prepare at once!"
The moment she had his firm answer, Yenil's face brightened noticeably, and she left the spot with an excited step. Yujun clutched his head.
What do I do?
The truth was that he had entered the soul contract intending to deceive her. He would keep the promise, but this so-called New-Generation Magic fell far short of Ancient Magic. Yenil would be disappointed. She would realize she had been tricked.
If things sour between us this early, that's a problem...
By the binding of the soul contract, Yenil would have to accompany him regardless. That fact would not change. The problem was that it would be forced. If she set her mind on being uncooperative, things could turn very inconvenient indeed.
"Yujun. She was going on about New-Generation Magic again. What was that about?"
Manuela, who had been watching the whole exchange, asked. Yujun glanced around, set a small barrier, and explained everything from the start: that he had offered to teach her an even shoddier magic in exchange for taking her on as a companion; that he had proposed the deal and bound it with a soul contract; and that the whole thing was, in truth, a deception bordering on fraud.
"..."
Manuela stared at him, dumbfounded.
"I know what you're going to say. Just bear with me."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I have to honor the terms of the soul contract."
"Call it New-Generation Magic all you want. It's just Ancient Magic skimmed over and patched back together. Yenil's an ancient mage. She'll see through it immediately."
"I know. That's why the future looks bleak."
"Amazing. I don't think I've ever seen you this anxious."
"I've never been good at lying. That's probably why."
"...What are you talking about? Yujun, you have a natural gift for lying. Spinning bald-faced lies without so much as a change in your expression—you're the best I've seen among any players."
"No. You really don't have to flatter me."
"I'm not flattering you."
"Anyway, what do I do..."
Yujun brooded over the problem of Yenil, and then he made up his mind.
"This won't work. I'm going to have to create a magic."
"Huh...?"
Her face said it plainly enough: What is this idiot talking about?
"The magic we already have isn't going to satisfy Yenil."
"Obviously not."
"Then I have to make something new. What else can I do?"
"..."
"What?"
"Even a genius couldn't do it. It would have to be different from the current system of magic and different from Ancient Magic, and on top of that it would have to be a more advanced form. A dragon's grandfather couldn't pull that off."
"I'm not talking about inventing a whole new system. I'm not going to teach Yenil everything at once, either. I just need a single groundbreaking spell."
"I don't think even that is possible."
"Let's put our heads together and make just one. I have to put out the fire that's already burning."
"The fire you started..."
"So you're not going to help me?"
Yujun put on the most pitiful expression he could manage.
It worked perfectly.
Manuela's resolve wavered.
"Ugh, fine. I'll help. I just don't know if I'll actually be any use."
"You will. I'm sure of it. We don't have time, so let's start right now."
Yujun slipped away with Manuela and headed for somewhere out of the way. He had to create a single spell, no matter what.
Before the coronation ended.