Chapter 183: The Little Prince (2)
Chapter 183: The Little Prince (2)
I navigated the rowdy taverns, asking around about the middle-aged woman.
I learned that her name was Frey and that she had once been a beautiful Star Priestess. Known as the "Rose of Antoine," her transformation into her current state was tied to a mysterious figure known only as the "Little Prince."
"So, you're curious about Priestess Frey."
Of course, the information I had gathered so far was insufficient.
The most crucial piece of the puzzle was missing: the reason why the Golden Star had led me to a person rather than a sword. On the Fair Scale, I had clearly seen a blade. Yet, the needle of the Golden Star was pointing toward a human—a middle-aged woman living a pitiful life.
"She’s broken now, but she was once the pride of Antoine. Even among the Star Priestesses, who are famous for their beauty, she was special. She was a rose blooming in a field of wildflowers. Her nickname was the Rose of Antoine. The rose that no one could pluck."
I had to figure out what this meant.
Did it mean that Frey possessed the sword I needed? Or did she hold the clue that would lead me to the blade I had seen? The Golden Star only pointed the way; it didn't provide a specific method for finding what I required. It was like the voyages of old, where explorers relied solely on stars and maps to sail into the unknown.
"Traveler, I’ve heard you’ve been going around asking about Priestess Frey. Rumors travel fast in a small city."
"Yes, I was personally curious."
"A fine attitude. The travelers I saw when I was young were the same. They held curiosity for the small things, asked questions about the lives of the insignificant, and sought their own answers. In essence, travelers and pilgrims are one and the same."
In the end, there was only one way. I had to do the legwork myself.
"But now is not the time. It’s good to satisfy your curiosity, but for today, go back to your inn and rest by the hearth. Then, as soon as the sun rises, leave this place."
"Why is that?"
"This city... is cursed."
Despite my efforts to search the city, I couldn't find the answer I wanted.
"Leave."
Everyone reached the same conclusion. Get out.
"This is advice for your own good, traveler."
But I couldn't just listen to them and walk away. The Golden Star had already been unfurled, and for the journey ahead, devouring a new sword was essential. Had I never started, it might have been different, but now that I had taken the first step, there was no turning back. I had to move forward.
"...Thank you for the advice."
"You’re not going to listen, are you?"
To get the answer I sought, I had to go elsewhere.
"You’ll get hurt."
"I’ll be fine."
She was the only clue the Golden Star provided. The middle-aged woman, Star Priestess Frey.
"Steel, after all, only grows harder the more it is tempered."
I had to go to her directly.
* * *
The nights in Antoine, the City of Stars, were short. Even considering the Southern Continent's characteristic long days and short nights, the darkness here passed in the blink of an eye. This was a trait of the Ferry region in the western Southern Continent. Unlike the blistering heat of the day, the desert nights were as frigid as the North. A single day here contained both summer and winter.
"Hmm."
I didn't head out to meet Priestess Frey immediately. First, I caught some sleep at a nearby inn to replenish my strength. Crossing the desert had taken quite a toll on me. It would have been madness to push myself for two days straight with a body weakened by the Golden Star's restrictions. I didn't have the Heart of Steel right now. That meant my stamina wouldn't recover without proper rest.
'It’s only been a day since the restrictions were placed, and I’m already frustrated to death.'
Of course, complaining wouldn't change anything. If I couldn't change the situation, I had to adapt my actions to fit it. Before I began moving in earnest, I assessed my current status.
'I can't move without sufficient rest. I have to plan my route wisely. I need simple rations to supplement my nutrition and water to prevent dehydration in the desert. The scorching heat of the day and the bitter cold of the night—both are lethal to me in my current state. I need to prepare countermeasures for both.'
Fortunately, most of what I needed could be bought with money.
"Buy more water than food. The most terrifying thing in the Ferry desert isn't venomous scorpions or sandstorms; it's thirst."
"I don't recommend clothes for the cold. Those are for merchant caravans that have to move through the night. Instead, buy these two: clothes that block the heat and a magic tent to shield you from the sandstorms. This magic tent can store the heat from the day to keep out the cold at night. Unless you're in a hurry, it's best to rest during the desert nights. The days are long and the nights are short, after all."
Furthermore, while the merchants of Antoine initially eyed me with suspicion, they dropped their guard and showed kindness once I began picking out items a traveler would need. Just as the old woman had said, the people of this city were friendly to travelers. Some merchants even rolled up their sleeves to help me pick out the best goods.
「It’s because you look so weak that even a stray dog would be a threat to you, let alone being a menace yourself. Why would they stay on guard when you look like you’d drop dead if someone just poked you? Instead of suspicion, they probably feel a surge of protective instinct. It’s like watching a child playing near a dangerous river.」
"..."
He wasn't wrong. There was a reason the Arena had given me the nickname "Small Gladiator."
"That should be enough for daily necessities..."
Of course, just because I had returned to a weak body didn't mean I would despair or give up. I was someone who had spent more of his life without a sword than with one.
The weak have their own way of fighting.
The wisest course of action is, naturally, to avoid a fight altogether, but in my experience, that isn't a choice the weak get to make. When the powerless fight, it's not because they want to, but because they are swept up in it. In this chaotic land, could I really expect to pass through without incident?
It was possible, but I didn't trust my luck.
"I’d like to buy this crossbow. It’s fine if the power is low, as long as it’s lightweight. Oh, and if you have any ranger trap sets..."
Therefore, I would doubt and prepare in advance. In my own way.
* * *
After packing everything I needed, I set out to find Frey. Finding her wasn't difficult, as I had the needle of the Golden Star to guide me to her location.
"A favor... I have a favor to ask."
Following the needle, I found the middle-aged woman, Frey, crawling on the ground again today. Pedestrians were walking carefully to avoid stepping on or bumping into her.
'No matter how many times I look at her, she doesn't look like a priestess.'
Frey looked less like a former priestess and more like a washed-up prostitute from a red-light district or a madam drowned in booze—the kind of person you often saw in the slums of the Iron Kingdom.
"Priestess Frey!"
However, today was different from yesterday.
"Oh dear, why do you keep crawling on the ground? Let's get up."
A young girl was sitting beside Frey. The girl was huffing and puffing as she tried to help the crawling Frey to her feet.
"Don't be like this. Let's go get some lunch. Or would you like to wet your whistle? I managed to get some camel milk this morning."
Strangely, the girl was wearing oversized priestess robes. They were the same kind of robes the corpses hanging from the observatory had been wearing—robes that didn't fit her and dragged on the ground, embroidered with a large pentagram.
"Come on, now. Hurry."
A middle-aged woman crawling. A girl in priestess robes struggling to help her. I watched the peculiar scene for a moment before approaching them.
"Hmm?"
Hearing my footsteps, the girl slowly turned her head.
"Oh, a traveler? Wow, it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve seen one. How strange. B-but there should be terrifying Crusaders roaming the Ferry region right now. How did you...?"
"I managed to find a way through."
"Aha! Welcome to Antoine, the City of Stars. May the starlight illuminate your path... Oh, wait. Now isn't the time for blessings."
"..."
"A-are you trying to get into the shop behind us? Then we’ll get out of your way immediately. P-Priestess Frey, come on. Even the Goddess of Stars said not to block the path of free travelers. Let's get up, okay?"
The girl seemed quite scatterbrained.
"I’m not trying to go into the shop."
"Huh? Then what?"
"I have business with this person."
"With Priestess Frey...?"
I answered with a simple nod. The girl scratched her head.
"Um, traveler. P-Priestess Frey might look like a beggar right now, but she’s not an actual beggar. If you’re trying to offer a coin out of pity, I’ll have to p-politely refuse. The Star Order’s situation is a bit dire, but... we can't take money from a traveler."
"That’s not what I’m doing."
"Then what?"
I looked away from the girl, who was blinking at me, and focused on Priestess Frey instead. She was still babbling incoherently, her eyes glazed as she scanned her surroundings. I lowered myself to eye level with her and spoke.
"Priestess Frey."
"He... hehe."
"By any chance, do you have a sword?"
It was a direct approach.
* * *
"Mmm! This is delicious!"
I had taken a bold, direct approach.
"Traveler! C-can I order one more? It’s not that I eat a lot, it’s just that I’ve been starving lately. It’s been s-so long since I’ve had a proper meal!"
"Order as much as you want."
The result? Zero progress.
"Wa-wow! Astra, the Goddess of Stars, will surely bless you, traveler!"
"Priestess Frey, you eat too!"
"Draw... draw me a sheep."
"Why do you keep asking for a sheep? Just eat the mutton, hurry."
Priestess Frey hadn't understood my question at all. To my inquiry about whether she had a sword, she only repeated the same things: draw her a sheep, or that she had a favor to ask.
'Is she really insane?'
If so, was the Golden Star wrong? Perhaps. Zeppelin Gold often showed a clumsy side, so it was possible that the authority he unfurled was flawed in some way...
「Flawed? He’d throw a fit if he heard that.」
"..."
「The Golden Star is not wrong, young descendant.」
"It’s not wrong... Are you sure?"
When my repeated questions yielded no progress, I decided to change locations. I figured it was better to eat something than to keep repeating the same words under the scorching sun. Since it would be a hassle to find Priestess Frey again after eating, I brought her and the girl, who seemed to be her companion, to the restaurant with me. That was how the current situation had come to be. But even as the meal was nearly finished, Priestess Frey hadn't uttered a single useful word. Not one.
「Think of the essence.」
The essence?
「The Authority of Steel possessed by a Caravan is to devour swords. But in essence, it is to prey upon and absorb the soul contained within the blade.」
"Right."
「Look only at the core. The blade is merely a shell. What matters is the soul contained within it. If that is the case... if the soul is present, is the physical blade even necessary?」
The blade isn't necessary. That made sense. But if what Master said was true—
"...Then does that mean there are two souls inside that woman's body?"
「That is for you to find out.」
Two souls. It was rare, but not unheard of. Didn't the Orcs who completed their coming-of-age ceremony house multiple souls in a single body? But Priestess Frey was a priestess. A being who served a god, housing another soul in her body? And not just any soul, but one related to a sword?
'And even if Master is right, it’s still a problem.'
Right now, I’ve lost all the power of my swords. Even if there are two souls in Priestess Frey's body, do I have a way to separate them? And even if I could, how would I go about absorbing that soul? Until now, I’ve activated the Authority of Steel by physically putting a blade into my mouth. But if there is no physical form... how am I supposed to trigger it?
「Those, too, are part of the trial, young descendant.」
Dammit.
While my head throbbed with the complexity of it all, the girl was still cheerfully stuffing food into her mouth as if she hadn't eaten in days. For some reason, it was a bit irritating.
"I have something to ask."
"Ah! A-ask anything, traveler! Since you’ve shown us such kindness."
"I want to hear the story of Priestess Frey."
"Oh, a-about why the Priestess ended up like this..."
Well, what else could I do? I had no other clues. I had to take it one step at a time.
"It’s a long story. Hmm, where should I start?"
And then.
"Oh! If I start from there—"
"Mister, it’s amazing."
Priestess Frey, who had been repeating the same words all along, suddenly snapped her head toward me. Her eyes, which had been glazed over, were now sparkling like stars as she stared intensely at me.
"You have so many flowers, Mister. So many flowers, so beautiful they’re dazzling. It’s like a garden, a beautiful rose garden..."
"..."
"You are loved, Mister."
Priestess Frey leaned in close. Uncomfortably close.
"Flowers... no, would you understand better if I called them swords? But what does it matter? Names aren't important. You have so many swords, Mister. So, so many."
"..."
"Mister, there’s something you must never forget."
Priestess Frey's eyes were like stars in the night sky. In that moment, everything except her eyes seemed to fade into darkness. It felt as if nothing else existed in this space but her gaze.
At the same time, her voice changed.
『You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.』
It was the voice of a sword.
『To be tamed is to risk shedding a few tears.』
In that instant, Priestess Frey was no longer a middle-aged woman, but a boy. A boy with eyes sparkling like stars, smiling innocently. The boy held his hands together carefully, cradling a single, beautiful rose.
I felt it instinctively. The sword that had called to me before I even set foot on the Southern Continent—the blade that had sat on the other side of the Golden Star's scale—was right in front of me. Yet, that blade felt both close and impossibly distant. I couldn't even begin to fathom how to grasp it, how to devour it, or how to accept it.
And then...
"Hide!"
An ear-splitting scream snapped me back to my senses.
"Hide, quickly!"
Bang!
The sound of a door being thrown open echoed through the restaurant. A large man burst in, frantically gesturing to the customers with a panicked expression.
"The Crusaders! Those bastards with the crosses are back!"
Dammit. It was such a crucial moment.
'...I’m going to massacre all of you the moment my restrictions are lifted.'
The timing was truly impeccable.