The Imperial Treasury (1)
"The Koshat siblings are the legitimate heirs to the Lashutku Empire."
"Therefore, what we did was not theft. It was merely a rightful inheritance."
A soft rustle filled the air.
A brief silence followed.
Emperor Tarosk still did not let his guard down, but he could no longer cut me off so easily.
The name of Aurelius.
And the truth behind the fall of the Lashutku Empire.
Now that I had laid bare those secrets, my words carried a weight that could no longer be ignored.
"And that is also what Aurelius wanted."
Hearing his brother's name once more, Emperor Tarosk's eyes wavered.
I continued in a calm, measured voice.
"From the moment I set foot in these ruins, I have maintained our innocence."
"But you refused to listen. Instead, you forced your trials upon us."
Of course, Tarosk might have felt justified in his own right.
I had never explicitly revealed the identity of the Koshat siblings. I had only trailed off at crucial moments and occasionally provoked him on purpose.
This attitude had stoked his anger, ultimately driving the impatient emperor to push me into the trials.
But...
That was exactly what I had intended.
I had deliberately needled him to force him to impose an unjust trial on the innocent.
And the moment he fell into that trap, Tarosk incurred a clear debt to us.
—Why are we playing along with their childish games anyway!
—...
—I can just blow this entire place to pieces with my magic! Just give the word!
Suddenly, Biorf's words from the Silent Ball came back to me.
I had stopped Biorf back then for a very simple reason.
The Lashutku Ruins are no ordinary dungeon, nor are they just some run-of-the-mill trial.
It was a record of someone's life, a place holding someone's final wish.
And...
The master of the trials always bestowed a corresponding reward upon those who knew how to respect that intent.
"Alongside the heir of your noble bloodline, my party has passed the trials designed by you and your brother by the book."
"We saw through the bond between you brothers, understood its meaning, and as a result, we have reached this audience chamber."
Had I not said it many times before?
Lost Elder was a world of high risk and high reward.
The rewards always matched the player's suffering with absolute precision.
"I will overlook your first discourtesy for Aurelius's sake... but the second is different. I have no intention of letting it slide this time."
Not only had we taken on risks we didn't need to, but we had also cleared them flawlessly.
Therefore, it was time to claim our rightful compensation.
"Surely you don't intend to force innocent people through your trials and send them away empty-handed, Tarosk?"
Emperor Tarosk, who had been looking down at us in silence, sheathed his greatsword.
He let out a heavy sigh and turned his back to us.
"...?"
Thud, thud.
Tarosk walked silently toward the deeper recesses of the audience chamber.
We began to follow him cautiously.
At the far end of the chamber stood a small altar.
Atop the altar, which appeared to be made of ancient marble, sat a transparent crystal ball about the size of a palm.
Tarosk said, looking at the Koshat siblings.
As if it had known this moment would come, the crystal ball sat silently, looking as though it had waited a long time to fulfill its purpose.
A heavy silence descended.
Natalia Koshat carefully drew a small awl from her belt.
Though she had appeared as an adult when they first arrived in the audience chamber, the restriction had returned her to the form of a child.
Standing there with the awl clutched in her small hands, she looked somewhat pitiful.
"Are you ready, Brother?"
"...Yes."
Marcos nodded briefly. Tension was clearly visible behind the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.
Prick.
Natalia carefully pricked the tip of her finger. A drop of bright red blood welled from the tiny wound.
She wiped the bloodied awl on the edge of her sleeve before making a shallow cut on Marcos's fingertip.
"Now, then..."
The siblings exchanged a brief look. Then, almost in unison, they took a step toward the altar.
*Drip. Drip, drip.*
The drops of blood fell onto the crystal ball.
"..."
"..."
Marcos and Natalia both swallowed hard, unable to hide their nervousness.
After all, they couldn't be sure themselves. What if nothing happened? Would they have to face Emperor Tarosk's wrath once more? Such anxieties flickered across their faces.
Flash!
Right then, a brilliant golden light erupted from the crystal ball.
As if the sun itself had descended upon the altar, a radiant and intense light illuminated the entire audience chamber.
Tarosk's voice trembled faintly. The doubts he had harbored crumbled silently before the truth.
Behind his visor, a wave of indescribable emotions flooded his eyes. Longing, relief, guilt, and joy—all mingled together, shaking Tarosk to his core.
Tarosk slowly bowed his massive frame, lowering his head deeply. In that moment, he looked less like an emperor and more like an older brother who had suffered under the weight of guilt for ages.
"..."
His voice carried a calm, solemn resonance that was distinctly different from before.
*Thud, thud.*
Tarosk began to walk once more.
Following behind him, the Koshat siblings still looked utterly dazed. It seemed they had yet to fully process the fact that they were indeed descendants of the imperial family.
*Rustle.*
Just then, Pean slid up beside me and quietly asked a question.
"May I ask how you knew?"
"..."
"I can understand you knowing about Emperor Aurelius and the truth behind the fall of the Lashutku Empire. After all, you are a primordial being."
Pean paused for a moment before continuing.
"But how did you discern that those siblings were their descendants?"
Strawberry Latte, who had been listening to our conversation, glanced back at us.
His face was expressionless as usual, but his eyes gave him away. A trace of anxiety was clearly visible.
How are you going to answer this? his expression seemed to ask.
But I did nothing and simply kept my mouth shut, staring at Pean in silence.
It was something I had realized long ago: in certain situations, silence was the most effective answer.
Besides...
Pean, this guy. I'd noticed it since the easter egg incident, but he was incredibly good at letting his imagination run wild.
He attached immense meaning to even my smallest actions. So, if I just stayed quiet like last time...
"As I thought, you utilized Super Sensory."
Right on cue.
He was misunderstanding all on his own again.
"Amazing. A spiritual projection is merely a clone, so you shouldn't have been able to sense any trace of their bloodline."
Pean looked back at me and continued.
"To still remember the aura of someone you met in the primordial age and detect it within those siblings... That is truly an insight worthy of you."
"...?"
"Even during the trial of the split paths, you overcame the restrictions using Super Sensory, didn't you? I felt my own authority resonating at times."
No.
Wait a minute.
"You are truly incredible, Gaon."
Pean continued to marvel in earnest.
"It took me hundreds of years just to master Super Sensory. Naturally, I thought you would require some time as well. But... to handle it so flawlessly in such a short span of time, I never could have imagined."
This was getting a bit out of hand.
I had been misunderstood yet again. This time, as a monstrous prodigy who had mastered Super Sensory in a flash.
Of course...
...I can't even use it properly yet, my friend.
Super Sensory was still uncharted territory for me. I recalled using the ability during the trial just moments ago.
My head had felt like it was on fire, and my brain had nearly overloaded from the flood of incoming information.
I had even ended up with a nosebleed right after the trial, so that said it all.
And yet, Pean is under the illusion that I've already adapted to it...
Seriously, where did he learn to jump to such spectacular conclusions? You're building my plausibility all by yourself, aren't you, Pean?
Ding!
"...?"
Right then, a notification chimed in my ear.
I wondered what it was, only to find that Strawberry Latte had sent a reaction emoji.
What is this?
It was a face with a long nose. Was that Pinocchio? Was he... calling me a liar?
As soon as I sent the message, Strawberry Latte replied immediately.
What the...
I had no idea why those kinds of reaction emojis even existed. There were way too many varieties. At this rate, we could probably communicate entirely through emojis even without a proper chat function.
Just as I was thinking that, Emperor Tarosk's low voice echoed.
I looked up to see a massive door looming before us.
It gleamed with a golden light, boasting an overwhelming majesty far surpassing any door we had passed through so far.
Emperor Tarosk stood before the door and turned to look at us.
*Creak!*
With his words, the door slowly began to open.
The intense light spilling from beyond flooded the entire corridor.
Natalia let out a soft gasp. Marcos also adjusted his glasses, marveling at the sight. A scholar's curiosity burned brightly in his eyes.
*Thump.*
I could feel my own heart racing.
Though I had seen this treasury many times over the course of my two hundred playthroughs, reality was bound to be different from a game.
Finally.
It was time to face the true reward of the Lashutku Ruins.
The moment to break past my greatest limitation had arrived.