Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Mopping Up Remnants: Priella Atria (1)
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Celestia, the Illusory Archive.
In this library steeped in an antique atmosphere, meetings attended by all members were held at regular intervals.
Regular gatherings of the secret society, led by PhD Begerton Antares.
They were scheduled sessions for members to share valuable information and keep tabs on each other's movements.
And today, as usual, one such regular meeting was underway.
That was when someone who hadn't been focusing on the meeting since earlier caught my eye.
"Hmm—."
A girl wrapped in a black muffler around her neck, gazing at the sheathed sword secured to her thigh.
Priella Atria, sword inspector of the Eight Swords Society.
She didn't spare a glance at the table, fixating solely on the sword sheath placed before her.
Of course, the sword Priella was staring at wasn't just any ordinary item.
—The demon sword, Regulus.
It was a treasure I'd painstakingly modified just recently.
"......"
Naturally, it was impossible for Priella, who lacked the contributions, to acquire the demon sword so soon.
The demon sword she'd obtained required substantial contributions—
Which meant she needed the assistance of a member with equivalent contributions to check it out.
Shing-.
From the seat beside Priella, who had slightly drawn the sword, the very person responsible spoke up.
"She seems to like it more than I expected......"
Lua Polaris, mage of the Blue Tower.
The mage, wearing a floppy witch's hat, commented while watching Priella.
It was Lua who had accepted Priella's request to lend her contributions.
Perhaps thanks to the substantial contributions she'd accumulated assisting my research.
She had readily agreed to the near-reckless request.
"Yeah, I like it."
"It's good that you do, but still."
And the result was the scene unfolding before my eyes right now.
Priella repeatedly drawing and sheathing the demon sword.
Lua watching her with a troubled smile.
Austin eyeing the demon sword with lingering regret.
Amid the somewhat chaotic situation, the PhD's voice rang out over the table as he continued the meeting.
"So far, the cultivation is proceeding smoothly. It's thanks to our lab devoting all our efforts to the task."
Heh heh heh-.
The PhD's signature creepy laugh echoed through the meeting room.
Perhaps unable to simply ignore that piercing laughter.
Swish-.
Austin and Lua's gazes turned back toward the PhD.
"Cultivation... you mean the process of creating a new vessel using the World Tree's fruit?"
"Yes, exactly. We're preparing for the next descent ritual to bring forth the great one to the earthly plane."
"......"
"It's a vessel befitting a great existence, so I'm putting considerable effort into it from my position."
Talk of the third experiment continued.
Discussion on the next descent ritual using the World Tree's fruit as a medium.
The PhD's research on the descent seemed to be progressing in a somewhat constructive direction.
Conversation about the PhD's next experiment flowed between several members of the secret society, including Craton.
"Since it's such a hard-to-obtain material, we should see some results this time, right?"
"The World Tree is an extraordinarily special tree to begin with. An entire vast Great Forest sprang from a single one, after all."
"Indeed. But precisely because it's so special, there will be no shortage of variables during the research process."
Heavy topics flowed sequentially across the table.
Shing-. Click-.
Even amid all that, Priella, buried in debt, kept her eyes glued to the demon sword.
"......"
In her current state, that single demon sword was her entire fortune.
For a Sword Poor, the demon sword might be her one and only solace.
As Priella's fervent gaze remained fixed on the demon sword Regulus—
"That's why, before proceeding with the next descent ritual, I was thinking of asking our mercenary friend for a little favor this time."
"......Me?"
Swish-.
Priella's gaze, hearing the sudden mention, shifted toward the PhD.
Heh heh heh-.
The PhD's eerie laughter burst forth as his eyes met Priella's.
"There's a catalyst that's perfect for using in a situation like this."
The PhD's finger pointed to the translucent screen hovering above the table.
Celestia's new surveillance network, built using the magic tool Lua had presented.
From the PhD's lips came a voice laced with amusement as he indicated it.
"By a stroke of luck, I happened to overhear some interesting news this time."
It seemed the PhD had already started making full use of the surveillance network.
It was made for that purpose from the start, after all.
Rustle, rustle-.
The pages of the magic tome in my hand turned one by one.
The PhD's story continued.
"There's nothing quite as entertaining as eavesdropping on others' conversations. Apparently, a catalyst I've been looking for has flowed into the Black Market."
"You have such a wicked hobby, Doctor?"
"When you're holed up in your room doing nothing but research, even trivial rumors become amusing. Isn't it fine to have a hobby like this once in a while?"
No one raised any objections to the PhD's claim.
Everyone present accepted it as a rather tame hobby for someone like him.
Likely because of how eccentric the PhD's personality was.
"Anyway... With that in mind, I'd like to request our mercenary friend recover the catalyst. What do you think?"
Priella's gaze turned to the PhD.
Her eyes were still hard to read.
Words urging Priella on poured from the PhD's mouth.
"My lab is quite a distance away from it, you see. To pay off the debt you just incurred, won't you need to hustle for a while anyway?"
"That's......"
"You should test out your new demon sword too. Aren't you curious how well it'll suit you?"
Priella's eyes drifted to the demon sword in her hand.
Regulus's performance test.
Acquiring contributions for the secret society.
After pondering the PhD's proposal, Priella nodded.
"......Got it. I'll go."
With an expressionless face, she delivered her answer while clutching the demon sword to her chest.
She must really like the demon sword.
And so, a mission befitting the secret society's newest member was assigned.
Swish-.
Priella, hugging the demon sword, suddenly turned her gaze toward me.
"Hey, Johan."
"......"
My reflection appeared in her blue eyes.
I looked up at the girl who had addressed me.
"The promise from before... you won't just vanish once I take the demon sword, right?"
Priella directed her question at me.
A brief silence descended on the meeting room.
Hmm-.
After a moment's contemplation in the quiet, I answered her.
"For the first member to visit Celestia, I prepare special gifts of my own."
The first day Priella came here.
She had looked at me and said this.
—Even if Lapharia makes a mistake, I hope you let it slide just once.
A memory from some time ago resurfaced in my mind.
That had been Priella's first wish revealed to me.
Then as now, my response to it was but one.
"If what you desire hasn't changed, then the promise I'll keep is but one."
"......It hasn't changed."
"Then my answer remains the same."
The girl with sparkling blue eyes gazed at me.
When would I finally understand the emotions hidden behind that expressionless face—.
Anticipating the day that would come someday, I let a faint smile play on my lips.
* * * * * *
The border region of the Islat Kingdom.
Atop a wild mountain grave where her master lay buried, Sword Ghost Lapharia leaned against a familiar tombstone, catching her breath.
Considerable time had passed since Lapharia left the Great Forest.
Yet her journey pursuing the truth behind the incidents she encountered there continued to this day.
—"You're asking me to find a place where the World Tree's fruit might be?"
The voice of a longtime comrade flowed into the ears of Lapharia, who sat leaning against the tombstone.
Exile Acheronar.
The old comrade, banished from the Great Forest for breaking taboos, was still moving to aid her even now.
Nod-.
Lapharia, head resting against the tombstone, spoke to her old comrade.
"It's essential work to uncover their identities."
—"Well, it's not that difficult. Such a special item tends to make its presence strongly known."
"......"
—"You're thinking they'll misuse the 'World Tree's fruit' for something dangerous?"
World Tree's fruit.
She too knew that the item stolen from the Great Forest's altar hid an ominous secret.
Lapharia had always viewed the World Tree's existence with suspicion.
Thus, it wouldn't be surprising if the fruit borne by that perilous tree concealed some heinous secret.
"There must have been a reason Porfort tried to feed nutrients to the fruit through the harvest festival. An item like that is likely to be used for something far from ordinary."
—"Well, the World Tree itself isn't something you can just call an ordinary 'tree' to begin with."
A divine tree not to be called a mere tree—
Its fruit was a dangerous thing that grew by feeding on the flesh and blood of intelligent beings.
The image of black mages chasing only the fruit, unaware of that fact, resurfaced in her mind.
"Acheronar. The black mages in the Great Forest were trying to offer the fruit as tribute to 'entities from the outer world.'"
—"......"
"Even if dangerous beings emerge on the continent to receive the tribute, it wouldn't be strange. It might even draw something more horrific than what the black mages were aiming for."
—"That could be. There are plenty of perilous existences beyond the world's edges, after all."
Countless possibilities flashed through Lapharia's mind.
There was definitely an organization moving with suspicious aims.
They had already shattered the Great Forest's peace, and now sought to impose even greater peril upon the continent.
Blasphemer, Sirius—
To reverse everything by finding clues about him, she had to pursue the World Tree's fruit somehow.
"So, to stop it, the only way is to retrieve the fruit."
—"......"
"If you just find the location, I'll handle the pursuit. So——."
Hee hee-.
A light laugh burst from beyond the tombstone.
Lapharia, her face stiff, looked toward the tombstone.
—"You're still trying to shoulder everything alone, huh."
"......Acheronar."
—"Don't worry, Lapharia. I won't leave my one remaining ally to fend for herself."
Zing-.
The light enveloping the tombstone gradually faded.
The last words of her comrade flowed into Lapharia's ears.
—"Come back in a fortnight. I'll scour the continent as much as I can by then."
Thud-.
Lapharia's gaze, left where the connection severed, lifted to the sky.
Beyond the distant heavens.
Someone was surely watching over her even today.
* * * * * *
—The Leoblant Brotherhood.
A massive criminal syndicate that amassed vast wealth and power through underground markets boasting no item they wouldn't sell.
Once thriving and prospering under Isaac Leoblant's name, they were now splintered into dozens of factions, locked in mutual strife.
Within the Black Market, self-proclaimed next leaders popped up daily, and warehouses scattered across regions withheld goods under all sorts of excuses.
The Brotherhood's Warehouse 11, located in the eastern reaches of the Empire, was one such holdout refusing to send out its goods.
"It's already been a month with the goods locked down. Is this really okay?"
Glenn, a low-ranking member of the Leoblant Brotherhood, was currently patrolling around Warehouse 11.
Thud, thud-.
The sound of Glenn's leather boots echoed around the deserted warehouse area.
His comrade, hearing Glenn's words, let out a huge snort in response.
"You idiot Glenn. Don't you know elf slaves are in short supply, so demand outstrips supply right now?"
At his comrade's words, the dim-witted Glenn scratched his head vigorously in protest.
"No, I get that, but... I'm just worried about not sending anything to HQ."
"That's 'cause big bro's got it all figured out. You know what kind of guy he is, right?"
Hoo-.
A faint sigh tinged with worry escaped Glenn's lips.
"Haa... Whatever."
Glenn himself knew full well that the keeper of Warehouse 11 was a man of great ambition.
And that the current chaos was the perfect time for him to realize it.
But worry was unavoidable all the same.
People like Glenn in the underworld could die at any moment without it being strange.
'Lately, my dreams have been really uneasy.'
His complicated footsteps pressed forward.
Cooped up in this deserted mountain with nothing but the same scenery day in and day out—had it made him more timid?
It was just as Glenn moved with such thoughts.
"Huh......?"
Plop-.
Suddenly, a cold droplet fell on Glenn's cheek.
Thinking it might be rain, he wiped his cheek, only for an oddly sweet scent to spread.
"Glenn, what's up all of a sudden?"
"No, something just fell from above......"
Swish-.
Glenn, wiping the droplet from his cheek, quietly lifted his head.
A massive tree blocking the sunlight.
His eyes quietly rose to a spot where no one should have been.
"......"
"......"
Directly atop the sturdy branch.
There sat someone eating an apple, entering Glenn's view.
Crunch-.
It was a girl with an indifferent face, wrapped in a black muffler, perched there biting into a large apple.
"Wh-who are you......!"
Spotting the mysterious intruder, Glenn raised his spear in panic and shouted.
The girl, who had calmly bitten into her apple while glancing alternately at Glenn and his comrade, soon—
Plop-.
Tossed the apple in her hand and spoke.
"It's a secret."
Slash-.
Beneath the tree where a massive shadow spread, Glenn's vision tilted toward the ground.