A Covert Meeting (1)
The next morning.
As soon as the sun rose, I headed to the Goldheart estate.
Arwen, who was waiting for me in front of the main gate, welcomed me with his usual easygoing smile.
"Ah, you've arrived. Right this way, please."
We headed straight to the drawing room.
After locking the door behind us, Arwen pulled something from his breast pocket.
It was a leather pouch that fit snugly in one hand.
"Here is the item you requested. I couldn't bring both, but... one should be more than enough."
"Good work."
"It was nothing. It wasn't particularly difficult."
Arwen shrugged as if it were no big deal.
But I knew better. Smuggling this item out under everyone's noses was no easy feat.
After all, it was a holy relic kept under Midtemple's tightest security.
Stealing a holy relic without proper authorization is a capital offense.
Arwen had broken Midtemple's absolute law for my sake.
If this ever came to light, even the Goldheart family wouldn't be able to escape political ruin.
Yet, there was only one reason Arwen took such an immense risk to hand this relic over to me.
"Please make good use of it."
"..."
"I truly hope your plan succeeds, Sir Gaon."
...Because that very relic was the linchpin of the plan I had devised.
High risk, high return. That's how gambling works.
To bring down Midtemple's Traditionalist faction and the giant that was Jacques von Heibrun, a stake of this magnitude was the bare minimum.
"I will be in your hands, then."
Arwen bowed deeply.
It was a gamble that staked not only his family's future, but perhaps the very fate of this world.
Yet, the eyes Arwen directed at me were filled with absolute conviction.
As if he believed I could pull off whatever crazy stunt I set my mind to.
"..."
Honestly, I didn't get it.
How could he show such blind trust in me when we barely knew each other?
Unbelievable.
A chuckle escaped my lips.
Arwen's image overlapped with someone else's.
Like brother, like sister. They act exactly the same.
It was a thought I had every time I saw Arwen.
"Whew..."
Arwen let out a sigh. A relieved smile played on his lips.
After wrapping up his brief meeting with Sir Gaon, he had returned to his bedchamber to read for the first time in a while.
Knock, knock.
About three or four hours had passed when someone knocked on the door.
"Brother, it's me."
It was Adelia's voice. Hearing it, Arwen closed his book and opened the door.
"Good morning."
"Yes. Did you sleep well, Brother?"
After a brief greeting, Adelia got straight to the point.
"Actually... I heard Sir Gaon stopped by this morning."
Adelia asked with a slightly worried expression.
"Did something happen?"
Arwen hesitated for a moment, then shrugged, dodging the question.
"Who knows."
"...Pardon?"
"I think it would be better to ask the Seeker directly."
It was such a sensitive matter that he was wary of speaking it aloud.
If Adelia needed to know, Sir Gaon would tell her himself.
Arwen decided to keep his answers vague and leave the judgment to Sir Gaon.
"Anyway, I hear you're leaving tomorrow?"
"..."
Hearing Arwen's playful tone, Adelia pouted. She realized he was deliberately changing the subject.
Even so, Adelia didn't complain. Her brother surely had his reasons.
"Yes. I thought about resting for a few more days, but I recovered faster than expected. We plan to leave tomorrow."
"I see."
Arwen smiled.
"Take care of yourself, and make sure to study swordsmanship diligently by the Seeker's side."
"I will."
"Ah, and... I hear the movements of the Shadow Society have been unusual lately."
With a serious expression, Arwen shook his head and sighed.
"Now that the Ruins Merchant Group has quieted down, I don't know why those bastards are acting up... Anyway, avoid getting involved with those heretics if you can. Understood?"
"Don't worry," Adelia nodded. "That will never happen."
Even if she got caught up in something dangerous, she would be fine as long as Sir Gaon was with her.
"Sir Gaon, it's Adelia."
Knock, knock.
The next day, Adelia arrived at Midtemple's guest quarters with a face full of anticipation.
Since their business in the Holy City was finished, it was time to travel the continent with her once again.
Fortunately, Adelia was in peak condition. Thanks to Almond's dedicated treatment, she suffered no lingering side effects.
"I'm glad you recovered quickly."
"I think so too. It's all thanks to Almond."
Adelia chuckled sheepishly.
Well, my condition was also at an all-time high. I couldn't remember the last time my body felt this energetic.
Was it because I had finally gotten some proper rest after obtaining the Dragon Body?
I could clearly feel how much my physical condition had improved.
Before, I would feel dizzy and lightheaded just standing still, but now, I felt no such discomfort.
"By the way... what is that backpack?"
Adelia was wearing a massive backpack I had never seen before. It was stuffed so full of things that it looked ready to burst.
"Ah, this?"
Adelia replied with a proud look.
"Since we don't know how long our journey will be, I packed some essentials."
"...Essentials?"
"Yes."
Just what kind of essentials required that much space?
I stepped behind Adelia and peeked inside the zipper.
And the items inside were...
"It's all food."
"Yes."
Adelia nodded proudly.
"Last time, I left empty-handed and struggled because I couldn't eat properly."
"...I see."
I frowned slightly.
"Still, carrying months' worth of food in a backpack seems highly inefficient."
"Pardon?"
"We'll reach another satellite city in a week anyway, so why not restock then?"
"..."
Hearing my words, Adelia fell silent for a moment, then tilted her head.
"This is only a week's worth of food."
"...?"
Huh?
This?
What kind of nonsense was she...
...Ah.
At that moment, a memory flashed through my mind.
—Here! Eat this too!
—...Is the meal not finished yet?
—Oh, come now. There's still plenty of food left.
—...
Back when we stayed at the inn in Durdamel, why had the landlady brought out so much food?
It was simple.
She kept cooking because someone was devouring every single dish as soon as it appeared.
For the record, I usually threw in the towel by the third dish.
The one who had kept stuffing their face the entire time was...
"..."
...Adelia, you must have suffered a lot from hunger back then.
I had no idea Adelia was such a glutton.
It was a trait of hers I had never noticed. Even when we ate, I had been too busy formulating and revising plans to pay attention to anything else.
There was no way to know this when playing the game...
The only physiological activity NPCs or players did was sleeping to save the game.
Since Lost Elder was an RPG, it didn't have a satiety gauge like survival games. Aside from potions, there was no real reason to eat food.
It really hit home that this was a real world. Perhaps there were other character traits that were invisible in the game?
There had to be a way to exploit them.
Anyway.
Brushing aside my stray thoughts, I explained the next step of the plan to Adelia.
"We are heading to the headquarters of the Shadow Society next."
"Pardon...?"
Adelia flinched, her eyes widening in shock.
What was that about? Why was she so startled?
"T-The Shadow Society...?"
"Yes."
"You want to go to the den of those wretched, heretical cultists?"
I simply nodded without a word. At that, Adelia's face contorted with even greater bewilderment.
"Why on earth would we go to such a filthy place... No, wait."
Adelia's eyes narrowed.
"If you say we're heading to their headquarters, does that mean you've already located them?"
"Yes."
"H-How? The investigation team hasn't been able to find them despite tracking them for decades...?"
"I have my ways. Besides, I've already finished speaking with the Blood Empress."
"T-The Blood Empress...!"
Adelia gasped in horror.
Shock, disbelief, and a myriad of other emotions washed over her face in rapid succession.
Impressive. She really knew how to use that pretty face of hers. If I tried that, my facial muscles would have cramped up.
"The Blood Empress is the leader of the Shadow Society, isn't she? And you've contacted her? How did you manage that?"
"I have my ways."
I repeated the same answer like a parrot.
It was too tedious to explain the situation in detail. Besides, I didn't need to make her understand.
Adelia opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to believe the situation.
After carefully choosing her words for a long moment, she finally asked a question.
"Sir Gaon."
"Speak."
"Putting everything else aside... is it really alright to announce beforehand that we are invading their headquarters?"
"...?"
What was she talking about?
We had to let them know we were coming so the Shadow Society could prepare.
If we visited the headquarters of a secret society without warning, wouldn't that just look like a declaration of war?
"Well..."
Perhaps noticing the look of absurdity on my face, Adelia's voice trailed off.
"Didn't you mean... we were going to, you know, wipe them out?"
"..."
No.
I was planning to propose an alliance.
...Forget it.
Come to think of it, Adelia was a Midtemple person to her very core.
I had briefly forgotten. This girl was also a fanatic who believed all heretics should be burned at the stake.
Well, fortunately, I had an excellent cheat key to handle these Midtemple zealots.
"Does it trouble you?"
"Yes... since you said we are seeking out those cultists..."
I nodded, speaking in a deliberately solemn voice.
"It is only natural to feel that way. It is impossible for mere mortals like us to comprehend the will of the Great Ones."
"Pardon...?"
Adelia tilted her head slightly, looking as though she hadn't fully grasped my meaning.
"But do not doubt. The Great Ones would not have handed down such a revelation without a plan."
"Ah."
In the next instant, the doubt clouding Adelia's face began to clear.
"So... you mean all of this is the will of the Elder?"
"Indeed."
"...!"
Soon, Adelia's eyes went wide. Her face lit up as if she had just attained enlightenment.
"Forgive me. I was looking at the situation with such narrow vision."
Whew.
Problem solved.
"Then let us depart immediately."
"Yes."
We set off toward our next destination.
Before heading to the Shadow Society's headquarters, there was a place we needed to stop by first.