Chapter 498: Quest (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 498: Quest (3)
Despite the table of finely brewed tea and the handful of fancy appetizers that Auyen had prepared with the utmost hospitality, an awkward silence filled the room. Missha was the one to eventually break it.
"These snacks..."
"Hm?"
"These are snacks from Lubat's Bakery... They're not bad, but the ones from Nielon Bakery are cheaper and are probably more to your taste..."
Why was she talking about the snacks all of a sudden?
I thought this was very weird, but I figured that she must have just been trying to make small talk to ease some of the tension in the air. "Really? I don't know much about stuff like that since Auyen takes care of it. Oh, right. You don't know who—"
"No, I know. Auyen Rockrobe... He's your navigator."
"...Yeah?"
Once again, the conversation came to a screeching halt as the awkwardness came back with a vengeance.
Ugh, why am I so nervous?
If this was going to hurt anyway, I might as well just rip off the bandage. With that settled, I got straight to the main point. "Since you came here, you must have made up your mind, Missha?"
"...Yeah."
"So what did you decide?" I asked bluntly.
Missha hesitated for a moment before replying, "Your new clan... I'll join it."
"Really?"
"Yeah..."
When she nodded, the tension finally melted from my shoulders. I was sure she was going to turn me down, given how she kept fidgeting and hesitating. I'd even prepared myself for rejection beforehand.
"As long as you... and your teammates are..."
I cut her off before she could even finish her sentence. "Of course everyone's going to welcome you! Though, right, I forgot. You and Erwen didn't part on good terms, huh? It's fine. I'm sure you'll be able to be close like you used to be. She's doing a lot better now as well."
"Oh... Is that so...?"
"Why don't I call them down now?"
"H-Huh...?"
"You weren't able to really chat with them last time. Since we're all going to be heading into the labyrinth together now, we should all get along..."
Missha looked taken aback by my suggestion but eventually nodded her head in agreement. I left her and went upstairs to grab Amelia and Erwen.
However, once we were all gathered in the living room, the suffocating awkwardness raged on. After sitting in silence for an unbearable amount of time, Amelia let out a heavy sigh, and then glanced toward me.
We'll just end up sitting here all night at this rate, so she must have decided to take the initiative.
"Yandel. Wait upstairs."
"...Huh?"
"If you want us to get along, don't talk back and get going. You'd only get in the way."
I was kicked out from the get-go.
***
Amelia, Erwen, and Missha talked for about an hour. Eventually, Amelia came up to my room and knocked on my door, telling me it was okay to come down. I rushed back to the living room, but things there were completely different than I had expected.
They were neither getting along nor fighting. But the room was a mess, almost like a hurricane had just passed through.
"Um... Amelia?" I asked, dumbfounded. "What happened here?"
"After a long conversation, the three of us have decided to get along from now on," Amelia replied like there was nothing amiss.
"Um, that's great and all, but... that wasn't what I meant. It looks like... some stuff is broken?"
"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. While we were talking, my hand slipped."
How could her hand slip so badly that she wrecked an entire living room?
When I glanced at the other two, Erwen quickly avoided my gaze. "...That's right. Her hand slipped."
So this was the excuse they were all going with? I then turned my gaze to Missha, but she kept her mouth shut without giving me a proper response.
Well, since nobody is hurt, I guess it's fine...
I decided to stop interrogating them about the living room. I wasn't that clueless.
They must have argued for a bit, but it looks like everything turned out all right.
Though if I had to be more exact, I would say that Missha and Erwen were probably still at odds, but Amelia had agreed to mediate between them.
"Then... I'll head up first." Erwen quickly fled to her room.
Missha also got up from her seat. "I w-will... go too, then..."
"Hm? Where are you going? Why don't you just stay here? We have a lot of empty rooms."
"W-Well... I've thought about it, but I think it would be better if I lived separately... Me being here would only make things awkward... I heard that Ainar was doing the same...?"
Ah, that's true. Ainar told me things in the holy land are pretty interesting these days, so she prefers to spend her time there as First Elder.
"So... can you let me go?" I let go of Missha's wrist, which I had grabbed. She gently cradled the part that I'd been touching like my grip had been too tight. "G-Goodbye, then..."
Missha quickly left through the front door. In the end, I was unable to overcome the distance between us.
"...The three of you. What did you talk about?"
I asked Amelia out of frustration, but once again, she didn't give me a proper answer. "That's a secret between us girls. There's no need for you to know."
There wasn't even a single clue I could glean from that response to figure out what in the world those three had discussed.
***
The day after Missha's visit, another guest showed up at our front door.
"...Raven?"
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, of course."
Ever since she ran tests on Erwen's new essence, Raven had been busy with her job. It had been a while since her last visit.
"This house is smaller than your last one?"
"Oh, right. It's your first time here." I gave her a quick tour of the house as Auyen prepared refreshments for us. Then the two of us sat down to enjoy them as we talked. "I'm sure you didn't come here just because you're bored. What's up?"
"'What's up?' How can you ask me that after what you did?"
"So this is about the Magic Tower."
She let out a heavy sigh but, surprisingly, didn't give me too much of a hard time. She knew the context. Even though my way of handling it was a bit extreme, at the end of the day, I was just doing my job as chieftain of the barbarians. More importantly, everything ended peacefully. Which meant...
They were neither getting along nor fighting. But the room was a mess, almost like a hurricane had just passed through.
"Um... Amelia?" I asked, dumbfounded. "What happened here?"
"After a long conversation, the three of us have decided to get along from now on," Amelia replied like there was nothing amiss.
"Um, that's great and all, but... that wasn't what I meant. It looks like... some stuff is broken?"
"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. While we were talking, my hand slipped."
How could her hand slip so badly that she wrecked an entire living room?
When I glanced at the other two, Erwen quickly avoided my gaze. "...That's right. Her hand slipped."
So this was the excuse they were all going with? I then turned my gaze to Missha, but she kept her mouth shut without giving me a proper response.
Well, since nobody is hurt, I guess it's fine...
I decided to stop interrogating them about the living room. I wasn't that clueless.
They must have argued for a bit, but it looks like everything turned out all right.
Though if I had to be more exact, I would say that Missha and Erwen were probably still at odds, but Amelia had agreed to mediate between them.
"Then... I'll head up first." Erwen quickly fled to her room.
Missha also got up from her seat. "I w-will... go too, then..."
"Hm? Where are you going? Why don't you just stay here? We have a lot of empty rooms."
"W-Well... I've thought about it, but I think it would be better if I lived separately... Me being here would only make things awkward... I heard that Ainar was doing the same...?"
Ah, that's true. Ainar told me things in the holy land are pretty interesting these days, so she prefers to spend her time there as First Elder.
"So... can you let me go?" I let go of Missha's wrist, which I had grabbed. She gently cradled the part that I'd been touching like my grip had been too tight. "G-Goodbye, then..."
Missha quickly left through the front door. In the end, I was unable to overcome the distance between us.
"...The three of you. What did you talk about?"
I asked Amelia out of frustration, but once again, she didn't give me a proper answer. "That's a secret between us girls. There's no need for you to know."
There wasn't even a single clue I could glean from that response to figure out what in the world those three had discussed.
***
The day after Missha's visit, another guest showed up at our front door.
"...Raven?"
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, of course."
Ever since she ran tests on Erwen's new essence, Raven had been busy with her job. It had been a while since her last visit.
"This house is smaller than your last one?"
"Oh, right. It's your first time here." I gave her a quick tour of the house as Auyen prepared refreshments for us. Then the two of us sat down to enjoy them as we talked. "I'm sure you didn't come here just because you're bored. What's up?"
"'What's up?' How can you ask me that after what you did?"
"So this is about the Magic Tower."
She let out a heavy sigh but, surprisingly, didn't give me too much of a hard time. She knew the context. Even though my way of handling it was a bit extreme, at the end of the day, I was just doing my job as chieftain of the barbarians. More importantly, everything ended peacefully. Which meant...
"What kind of magic did you use on him?"
This was the real reason she was here.
"I can't understand why the lord of the Magic Tower would concede so much to you. To be honest, I thought for sure that this was going to lead to all-out war..."
"You came because you want to know how I convinced him?"
"...More or less."
I hesitated for a moment but decided to tell her the full story, including the deal I made with the lord. Actually, I wanted her insight.
"Lurendel Garlinbarret..." she murmured. "He conceded all of that to protect her?"
"Do you know anything about her?"
"...Not really. In the past, we never had a reason to talk much since we were different ranks. And since joining the military, I barely visit the Magic Tower."
"Still, you're a wizard just like she is. I'm sure you know more about her than me. Any information you have will help."
"Then..." Raven paused for a moment before admitting, "Lurendel Garlinbarret is the Magic Tower's most prolific expert when it comes to researching barbarian hearts. In fact, the Tritten School itself is primarily focused on studying them."
"Hm, so that's why she wanted my heart."
"Probably. There's a good chance that she only made the request because she genuinely wanted to study your heart."
"And that must mean there's a good chance her research is something the Magic Tower is highly interested in."
"It seems so... Otherwise, there'd be no reason for the lord of the Magic Tower to give up so much just to save her."
"...Raven, could you look into it for me?"
"Hmmm... All right. I'm curious as well. I'll do my own investigation and let you know if I find anything interesting."
"Thanks."
That was the end of that, but since Raven was already here, I decided to ask a question of my own. "Raven. Hypothetically, and I do mean this completely hypothetically... Has anyone ever gained... knowledge from the labyrinth?
"...Knowledge?"
"Yeah, knowledge. Like for example, someone suddenly gaining the ability to read and write in an ancient language even when they couldn't before—"
Raven shot to her feet, her hands coming down on the table hard. "Ancient script? You can read it now?"
"N-No... I-I was just giving an example—"
"What do you mean, an example? You're obviously talking about yourself!"
These women around me are all way too sharp.
I decided to fess up. She wouldn't believe me if I said no, anyway. "Yeah, I can read in the ancient language now."
"How much...?"
"I'm not sure? I haven't tested it, so..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Raven once again jumped up and pulled out a book from her sub-space, forcing me to read what was, of course, a text written in Rafdonia's ancient language.
"'Mahniarsus earnestly begged for his wife's return, but Kaprakadakh flatly refused his request. He believed that he could love her more than Mahniarsus ever could...' What kind of book is this?"
"It doesn't matter. Keep reading."
"...'So Mahniarsus drew his sword and stabbed it into his rival's heart. As Kaprakadakh bled to death, he reached out his hand, but the only thing he could do was...'"
"What kind of magic did you use on him?"
This was the real reason she was here.
"I can't understand why the lord of the Magic Tower would concede so much to you. To be honest, I thought for sure that this was going to lead to all-out war..."
"You came because you want to know how I convinced him?"
"...More or less."
I hesitated for a moment but decided to tell her the full story, including the deal I made with the lord. Actually, I wanted her insight.
"Lurendel Garlinbarret..." she murmured. "He conceded all of that to protect her?"
"Do you know anything about her?"
"...Not really. In the past, we never had a reason to talk much since we were different ranks. And since joining the military, I barely visit the Magic Tower."
"Still, you're a wizard just like she is. I'm sure you know more about her than me. Any information you have will help."
"Then..." Raven paused for a moment before admitting, "Lurendel Garlinbarret is the Magic Tower's most prolific expert when it comes to researching barbarian hearts. In fact, the Tritten School itself is primarily focused on studying them."
"Hm, so that's why she wanted my heart."
"Probably. There's a good chance that she only made the request because she genuinely wanted to study your heart."
"And that must mean there's a good chance her research is something the Magic Tower is highly interested in."
"It seems so... Otherwise, there'd be no reason for the lord of the Magic Tower to give up so much just to save her."
"...Raven, could you look into it for me?"
"Hmmm... All right. I'm curious as well. I'll do my own investigation and let you know if I find anything interesting."
"Thanks."
That was the end of that, but since Raven was already here, I decided to ask a question of my own. "Raven. Hypothetically, and I do mean this completely hypothetically... Has anyone ever gained... knowledge from the labyrinth?
"...Knowledge?"
"Yeah, knowledge. Like for example, someone suddenly gaining the ability to read and write in an ancient language even when they couldn't before—"
Raven shot to her feet, her hands coming down on the table hard. "Ancient script? You can read it now?"
"N-No... I-I was just giving an example—"
"What do you mean, an example? You're obviously talking about yourself!"
These women around me are all way too sharp.
I decided to fess up. She wouldn't believe me if I said no, anyway. "Yeah, I can read in the ancient language now."
"How much...?"
"I'm not sure? I haven't tested it, so..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Raven once again jumped up and pulled out a book from her sub-space, forcing me to read what was, of course, a text written in Rafdonia's ancient language.
"'Mahniarsus earnestly begged for his wife's return, but Kaprakadakh flatly refused his request. He believed that he could love her more than Mahniarsus ever could...' What kind of book is this?"
"It doesn't matter. Keep reading."
"...'So Mahniarsus drew his sword and stabbed it into his rival's heart. As Kaprakadakh bled to death, he reached out his hand, but the only thing he could do was...'"
Raven's expression grew more and more dejected as I continued to read the book to her. "Th-that's a book even I can't read properly without a dictionary..."
Hm, so that's how it is...
Raven was even considered somewhat of an expert in ancient languages compared to most wizards.
"Muttin abiyur bukrath," I replied.
"...What did you just say?"
"That means, 'I can even speak in the ancient language.'"
When I shrugged my shoulders, she was left completely dumbfounded. It took a while before she could get a hold of herself enough to speak. "...Mr. Yandel, can I hit you?"
Raven raised her small fist, which didn't look threatening at all, at me.
"Keeatho keekeehu kooekhu. Oh, that means, 'I don't want to get hit' in—"
"Are you making fun of me?!"
In the end, I got punched. The only one who ended up with a bruise was the one who hit me, though.
"Ah, seriously... What's wrong with you, Mr. Yandel?"
"Sorry. Anyway, back to my story, have you ever heard of a case like this before?"
"...As far as I know, no. Nothing like this has ever been recorded. But... what happened? Was it... a reward? Is it related to your name being written down on the Stone of Honor...?"
"Well, something like that."
"...Can you tell me?" Raven asked hesitantly.
Despite her caution, I decided there was no need to keep this a secret from her. We may not have been as close now as we used to be back when we were teammates, but she'd still helped me out despite knowing that I was an evil spirit. Plus, I also needed a wizard's insight.
"What you experienced there wasn't just an illusion. No, it must have actually happened in the past! There is clearly some sort of connection between the Lord of the Floor and the Witch!"
Once I was done filling her in, Raven couldn't hide her excitement.
"This is an incredible discovery! This substantiates the hypothesis that the labyrinth isn't from another dimension! Maybe the labyrinth's coordinates aren't delineated by space, but rather, the axis of time!"
I, of course, didn't understand a thing she was saying. Axis of space, time, whatever—none of it really made any sense to me. "Is that so?"
"Versyl Gowland! What did she say? She's a wizard too, right? I'm sure she's elbows deep in research after making such an unbelievable discovery!"
"No. She wasn't all that interested in it, to be honest."
"W-Whaaat?!"
That was because Versyl was also a player. Players like us didn't have all that much interest in the history of this world. We pretty much just ignored it.
"N-No way... Even though she's a wizard? If I were there—"
Raven, who had been shouting in apparent outrage, suddenly went quiet.
"If you were there?"
"...Never mind. It's a pointless thought, anyway."
The mood suddenly plummeted. For some reason, I felt like I had to change the subject, and fast. I hastily brought up some news that I was sure would make Raven happy. "Oh, that's right! I have some other news to tell you."
"...News?"
"Missha came back."
I briefed her on our reunion with Missha and how she had decided to join our clan.
"...Is that so? That's great."
What's with her reaction?
"I'll tell you her address later, so you should visit her too. I'm sure Missha will be happy to—"
"Later."
"...Huh?"
"I-I should get going now. I've got work to do."
Raven then high-tailed it out of the house, a dark expression on her face.
***
Once Raven was gone, I started tackling my long to-do list for the day. First, I stopped by the holy land to see if Rotmiller was adjusting well. Then, I swung by the dwarf's forge to check on his progress. I even summoned all the members of our clan to discuss our next quest too. Most of the days that followed were made up of similarly menial tasks, but they didn't take up the entirety of my day.
Today, for example, I had something else to do.
"We are delighted to welcome you to the House of Viscount Goodrix."
I visited Viscount Goodrix's mansion after receiving a letter of invitation from him. He was one of the members of Melbeth, which was made up of thirty-one—No, thirty-two noble houses.
"Haha! It's a pleasure to see you, Your Lordship. I am Viscount Goodrix. I'm sure you're busy as it is, so I'm incredibly grateful that you took the time to accept my invitation."
Since he was a dwarf, his tone was much more cheerful than most other nobles'. However, since he was still a noble, he spoke in the same roundabout way they all did, with no shortage of pleasantries. After I finally managed to convey to him that he could skip all of that, he finally got to the point.
"So," I asked, "Why did you call me here?"
"On behalf of Melbeth, I have a request for you, Baron Yandel."
I'd gotten my first Melbeth-exclusive quest.
Raven's expression grew more and more dejected as I continued to read the book to her. "Th-that's a book even I can't read properly without a dictionary..."
Hm, so that's how it is...
Raven was even considered somewhat of an expert in ancient languages compared to most wizards.
"Muttin abiyur bukrath," I replied.
"...What did you just say?"
"That means, 'I can even speak in the ancient language.'"
When I shrugged my shoulders, she was left completely dumbfounded. It took a while before she could get a hold of herself enough to speak. "...Mr. Yandel, can I hit you?"
Raven raised her small fist, which didn't look threatening at all, at me.
"Keeatho keekeehu kooekhu. Oh, that means, 'I don't want to get hit' in—"
"Are you making fun of me?!"
In the end, I got punched. The only one who ended up with a bruise was the one who hit me, though.
"Ah, seriously... What's wrong with you, Mr. Yandel?"
"Sorry. Anyway, back to my story, have you ever heard of a case like this before?"
"...As far as I know, no. Nothing like this has ever been recorded. But... what happened? Was it... a reward? Is it related to your name being written down on the Stone of Honor...?"
"Well, something like that."
"...Can you tell me?" Raven asked hesitantly.
Despite her caution, I decided there was no need to keep this a secret from her. We may not have been as close now as we used to be back when we were teammates, but she'd still helped me out despite knowing that I was an evil spirit. Plus, I also needed a wizard's insight.
"What you experienced there wasn't just an illusion. No, it must have actually happened in the past! There is clearly some sort of connection between the Lord of the Floor and the Witch!"
Once I was done filling her in, Raven couldn't hide her excitement.
"This is an incredible discovery! This substantiates the hypothesis that the labyrinth isn't from another dimension! Maybe the labyrinth's coordinates aren't delineated by space, but rather, the axis of time!"
I, of course, didn't understand a thing she was saying. Axis of space, time, whatever—none of it really made any sense to me. "Is that so?"
"Versyl Gowland! What did she say? She's a wizard too, right? I'm sure she's elbows deep in research after making such an unbelievable discovery!"
"No. She wasn't all that interested in it, to be honest."
"W-Whaaat?!"
That was because Versyl was also a player. Players like us didn't have all that much interest in the history of this world. We pretty much just ignored it.
"N-No way... Even though she's a wizard? If I were there—"
Raven, who had been shouting in apparent outrage, suddenly went quiet.
"If you were there?"
"...Never mind. It's a pointless thought, anyway."
The mood suddenly plummeted. For some reason, I felt like I had to change the subject, and fast. I hastily brought up some news that I was sure would make Raven happy. "Oh, that's right! I have some other news to tell you."
"...News?"
"Missha came back."
I briefed her on our reunion with Missha and how she had decided to join our clan.
"...Is that so? That's great."
What's with her reaction?
"I'll tell you her address later, so you should visit her too. I'm sure Missha will be happy to—"
"Later."
"...Huh?"
"I-I should get going now. I've got work to do."
Raven then high-tailed it out of the house, a dark expression on her face.
***
Once Raven was gone, I started tackling my long to-do list for the day. First, I stopped by the holy land to see if Rotmiller was adjusting well. Then, I swung by the dwarf's forge to check on his progress. I even summoned all the members of our clan to discuss our next quest too. Most of the days that followed were made up of similarly menial tasks, but they didn't take up the entirety of my day.
Today, for example, I had something else to do.
"We are delighted to welcome you to the House of Viscount Goodrix."
I visited Viscount Goodrix's mansion after receiving a letter of invitation from him. He was one of the members of Melbeth, which was made up of thirty-one—No, thirty-two noble houses.
"Haha! It's a pleasure to see you, Your Lordship. I am Viscount Goodrix. I'm sure you're busy as it is, so I'm incredibly grateful that you took the time to accept my invitation."
Since he was a dwarf, his tone was much more cheerful than most other nobles'. However, since he was still a noble, he spoke in the same roundabout way they all did, with no shortage of pleasantries. After I finally managed to convey to him that he could skip all of that, he finally got to the point.
"So," I asked, "Why did you call me here?"
"On behalf of Melbeth, I have a request for you, Baron Yandel."
I'd gotten my first Melbeth-exclusive quest.