Chapter 68
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: The Vault Keeper
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In the distant past.
In an age when nations still existed.
There was a king in a peaceful land, albeit one weaker than its neighbors.
A great king, born with innate talent and outstanding character, who had transformed his poor country into a prosperous one.
Unfortunately, however, this king was rather unlucky.
His life was riddled with betrayal.
By a trusted friend.
By a beloved family.
By a minister to whom he had shown grace.
By the people he protected and cared for.
By those who coveted his treasures, his throne, his power, and his glory, the king was betrayed in every conceivable way.
Despite facing numerous assassination attempts, rebellions, betrayals, and schemes, the King of the Dark Grotto overcame every crisis with his incredible talent and good fortune.
And though he bestowed upon them minimal punishment and showed mercy… his reward was to lose his throne and be confined.
Thus, having lost everything, the fallen king eventually exacted a desperate revenge with power obtained from a demon.
From family to friends, ministers, and his people.
Those who betrayed the king faced his retribution without a single exception, and in the end, the nation fell to ruin.
That was the King of the Dark Grotto.
A king who stood alone against the world, so feared for his immense power and madness that numerous nations formed an allied force just to defeat him.
Of course, this was all a legend.
A story from the bygone Old Kingdom era, a tale for which records were scarce even in Odobaekryeong.
Thus, a forgotten rumor.
No, a piece of history remained.
—That just before his death, the King of the Dark Grotto left behind a legacy containing all that he was.
Even if it was a fallen kingdom, the legacy of a king who had monopolized all its wealth and treasures was in itself a staggering thing.
More so if its owner was the King of the Dark Grotto, a prize that even other monarchs would covet.
That was why, after the King of the Dark Grotto’s death, countless individuals and nations alike searched for his legacy.
But perhaps it was the king’s curse.
Or perhaps it was simply bad luck.
The legacy of the King of the Dark Grotto was never found before the end of the Old Kingdom era.
As a result, the King of the Dark Grotto’s legacy waited for ages, long after the era had changed.
In the deep darkness.
Where not a single speck of light could reach.
Where not a single sound could be heard.
Where one could not even tell if time was flowing.
In a place that could only be described as a void.
Waiting for the day a worthy person would come for it.
Regretting the chances so foolishly missed, lamenting the futile failures, yet never giving up.
Waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
And then…
*Tap.*
Finally.
The time had come.
With a drop of blood that fell into the void.
As frozen time began to flow again, as darkness receded, and as sound returned in a strange sensation.
—The legacy of the King of the Dark Grotto awakened.
***
“…So.”
Her face was about three times more expressionless than usual.
And her eyes, about thirty times colder.
The dark elf maid spoke bluntly.
“Are you telling me that this idiot is the legacy of the King of the Dark Grotto you mentioned?”
“Who are you calling an idiot!”
“I am, of course, referring to the little girl screeching before my eyes looking like an escaped slave.”
“Y-You…!”
Long purple hair dragging on the floor.
A chain around her neck and shackles on her feet.
Even a straitjacket binding both her arms.
As the girl with a peculiar—to put it nicely—or rather, bizarre appearance, the ‘Vault Keeper,’ flared up.
Dion nodded leisurely.
“That’s right. She’s the guardian who protects the King of the Dark Grotto’s vault, and the examiner.”
“Guardian aside, what do you mean by examiner?”
“The King of the Dark Grotto hid his legacy quite meticulously.”
Finding the [Lamp of the Dark Grotto King] to awaken the Vault Keeper was merely the first step.
To fully obtain the King of the Dark Grotto’s legacy, one had to pass the trials he left behind, one by one.
And the examiner for those trials was this very girl.
Hearing Dion’s words.
The Vault Keeper wore a triumphant expression.
“Hmph, it is a relief that you are not entirely foolish, as befits my master, though you are somewhat lacking.”
“…”
“Therefore, you over there should try to get on my good side from now on.”
“And why should I do that?”
“…Did you not hear me? I said that I will be the one to test your master.”
“And what of it?”
“…”
As the Vault Keeper stared in disbelief, Parsha spoke in an icy voice.
“Will getting on your good side make the trials easier to pass?”
“W-Well, that’s…”
“If that were possible, it would mean the King of the Dark Grotto employed a rather incompetent vault keeper.”
“Nonsense! There is no way His Majesty would have made such a mistake!”
“In short, it means that whether you dislike us or favor us, nothing will change.”
“…”
As if struck by the truth.
The Vault Keeper was at a loss for words.
Watching her with cold eyes, Parsha continued softly.
“Above all, whether the trials become more difficult or not is none of my concern.”
“W-What is the meaning of that?”
“It means that even if the trials become harder, the one who suffers is the Young Master, not me.”
“Is that something a maid who serves her master should say?!”
“If you are displeased with my attitude, then try persuading that dolt of a Young Master to dismiss me.”
“Ahaha, that’s a funny joke. As if I’d ever fire Parsha.”
“…”
Whether it was Parsha, who acted as if she couldn't care less about her master despite being a maid.
Or Dion, who serenely accepted his maid’s attitude despite being her master.
After staring dumbfounded at the two, whose relationship was too bizarre to be called master and servant.
With a truly reluctant expression.
The Vault Keeper opened her mouth.
“Hmph. As expected of an elf, it appears you receive special treatment.”
“?”
“But do not get too carried away. No matter how noble the elven race may be, you are not as great as I, who has inherited His Majesty’s will.”
What in the world was this nonsense?
While Naru blinked his eyes.
And Parsha’s eyes turned frosty.
Dion, on the other hand, spoke leisurely, as if it were only natural.
“I told you. The King of the Dark Grotto is a figure from the Old Kingdom era.”
“Does that mean…”
“It means Shuttle’s common sense is also fundamentally stuck in the Old Kingdom period.”
“…”
Roughly a thousand years ago.
An eternity even by the standards of long-lived races.
A girl who was practically a living history book, born in an age before Odobaekryeong even began.
Parsha, who had been staring blankly at the Vault Keeper, said curtly.
“In other words, you’re just an outdated ghost who hasn’t adapted to the times.”
“Are you calling me a ghost?!”
“She doesn’t have undead properties. If I had to make a comparison, she’s less a ghost and more like a Gidoryeong’s automaton.”
“I see. So, a piece of junk.”
“Step outside right now! I will smash that filthy mouth of yours to pieces!”
As if she could bear it no longer, the Vault Keeper charged at Parsha.
Her momentum was truly one of righteous fury.
Reminiscent of a vengeful spirit intent on tearing flesh… but.
*Thud.*
“L-Let go of me!”
…In the end, Parsha simply placed a hand on her forehead and pressed down, easily subduing the Vault Keeper.
In the first place, charging with both arms bound in a straitjacket was never going to be a threat.
Even a child could have stopped her with ease.
Thus, Parsha turned to Dion with an even colder gaze.
“…Did you really come all this way and cause such a ruckus just to get *this*?”
“Ahaha. Her seal isn’t fully released yet. Once the vault’s seals are all undone, our Shuttle will be incredible, you know?”
“That is right! I am incredible! So show me more respect!”
After puffing up with pride at his words.
The Vault Keeper suddenly looked at Dion with a puzzled expression.
“But why do you call me Shuttle?”
“Well, you seem like you’d be good at shuttle work?”
“…I do not know what that means, but my title is the Vault Keeper. Please call me by my proper name from now on.”
“Got it, Shuttle.”
“Master, were you even listening to me?!”
It was as if they were born for it.
As the Vault Keeper jumped up and down, her temper frayed by the master-servant duo who took turns getting on her nerves.
Naru cautiously watched them before speaking up.
“Um, in any case, this means you’ve achieved your purpose for coming to the underground city, right?”
“I suppose so.”
“Then you’ll be returning to the Crouching Dragon Villa now?”
Perhaps because the experience of infiltrating the Jewel Villa and getting caught in a fight was so shocking.
Or perhaps because he had many tasks postponed due to their hasty departure.
The Myoto boy, whose face was so clearly filled with delight it was visible even with his bangs covering his eyes.
To Naru’s question, Dion replied with a gentle smile.
“No.”
“Right? Then we’ll look for a gate to return right away… wait, what?”
“I said we’re not going back.”
“Whaaat?!”
Was it because he had heard something so unexpected?
As Naru blinked like a broken rabbit doll and Parsha narrowed her eyes.
And while the Vault Keeper sulked at being left out of the conversation.
Dion continued leisurely.
“I told you before we left. That I’d start operating under my original identity soon.”
“No, but after all this happened…”
“It’s precisely because this happened.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I told you earlier that the hunting dogs who came for our dear pushover used a Holy Relic, right?”
What did that have to do with anything?
To a skeptical Naru and Parsha, Dion said with a gentle smile.
“That Holy Relic was originally kept by my brother Ren’s maternal family.”
“The Iron-Blooded Mad Demon, Ren Unlight’s maternal family… D-Don’t tell me you mean the Iron Combat Demon House?”
Naru’s expression was one of shock.
Relic-grade items were rare.
Each one possessed power comparable to a transcendent-class Awakened One, making them tantamount to tactical weapons.
They were not something that even one of the Hundred Great Families could easily acquire.
This was especially true for Holy Relics.
That was why Naru, an envoy of the Guild, couldn't even guess the Holy Relic's origin, never imagining another of the Hundred Great Families would be involved.
Parsha, naturally, felt the same.
“…How do you know that?”
“I just happened to find out.”
Dion shrugged.
He couldn't very well explain that the Iron Combat Demon House had used that Holy Relic during the Calamity War in his second life.
Parsha stared at Dion with cold eyes before finally speaking bluntly.
“Setting aside the certainty of that information, what does the origin of that Holy Relic have to do with you not returning?”
“It means it would be unfair to just let it slide.”
“Even though the Young Master getting hurt in this incident was not part of the Fifth Young Master’s plan?”
“But he tried to lay a hand on our dear pushover, didn’t he?”
It was obvious what Ren was aiming for by giving up a family Holy Relic.
To pressure Dion by bringing down his fiancée, who could have reluctantly become a supporter.
Using a Holy Relic for such a matter was an incredible waste, but…
Ren, the Fifth Young Master of the Unlight family, possessed the wealth and power to afford such waste and more.
“I may have set out to stir up some trouble, but I had no intention of picking a fight so openly just yet…”
“…”
“—But my dear brother touched what’s mine first.”
He had let it slide when they stormed the City of No Night because of what happened at Soma Fortress.
But since Ren had insisted on trying to break ‘what was his.’
He would make Ren understand the feeling of losing ‘what is his’ as well.
At a trembling Naru.
A frozen Vault Keeper.
And a silent Parsha.
With a beaming smile on his face.
But with no trace of mirth.
Staring at them with blood-red eyes that were deep and murkily sunken.
The boy who despised losing what was his, concluded in a truly cheerful voice.
“So, as his younger brother, isn’t it only right that I return the favor, however small?”