The Calm Before the Storm (4)
The Feather Sword.
The True Name Awakening form of this divine relic had always received the highest praise.
In fact, it was highly regarded enough to rank first among all sword-type items.
However, if there was one drawback, it was that the Feather Sword was the ultimate late-bloomer weapon.
Until specific conditions were met, it was nothing more and nothing less than a sturdy, lightweight sword.
But now...
The map and the key Selena had handed over.
These two items served as the decisive clues that could drastically accelerate the conditions for the Feather Sword's True Name Awakening.
Since it was a reward I hadn't expected at all, the surprise was doubled.
"..."
Slide.
I silently ran my fingers over the map. The texture of the paper was rough.
The Lashutku Ruins.
A hidden region that could be unlocked using this map and key.
Originally, these items could only be obtained through the auction of the Ruins Merchant Group.
Even then, it was no simple task. If the timing was off by even a fraction, the Ruins Investigation Team would reclaim them.
The Ruins Investigation Team was obsessed with these items, and they would reappear at the auction house to buy them back at absurd prices.
...To think this was in Selena's hands during the very early stages of the game.
I had no idea.
After all, in the game, there was no reason to get involved with the Shadow Society at this point.
Whatever the case, this is a massive win for me.
I'll have to adjust my plans slightly.
Originally, I planned to head elsewhere after restructuring the power dynamics of Midtemple...
But now that I have the key to the Lashutku Ruins, it would be best to visit there as soon as possible.
Of course, that will have to wait until I've settled everything in Midtemple.
As I was systematically mapping out my next steps in my head—
"Lord Gaon...?"
Right at that moment.
Selena called out to me cautiously, reading my expression.
Had the silence been too long?
Shaking off my thoughts, I looked at Selena.
For some reason, she looked slightly anxious.
"I apologize."
"...?"
Then, out of nowhere, Selena offered an apology.
"If my gift has displeased you in any way, I beg your forgiveness."
Huh?
What is she talking about?
...Why on earth would I be displeased?
I looked at Selena, my brow furrowing slightly.
Her sudden apology caught me off guard.
What kind of misunderstanding did she cook up while I was lost in thought?
"Please do not misunderstand. We are not giving you this map and key because we deemed them useless to us."
"..."
"Quite the contrary. The Society has long recognized the true value of these items, which is why we have fought the Ruins Investigation Team for over a decade to protect them."
Hearing Selena's explanation, I finally understood what she was worried about.
Ah.
She was worried that handing over these relics would look like she was dumping useless junk on me.
She feared it might be perceived as an insult to my pride.
When I fell silent and delayed my response, she must have interpreted it as displeasure.
...It wasn't anything like that, though.
I was simply surprised by the unexpected reward.
In any case.
The fact that Selena was so carefully reading my every reaction meant she feared and respected me that much.
It wasn't a bad situation for me at all.
Shift.
As I was thinking this, Selena's gaze turned back to me.
Her eyes held the weight of carefully chosen words, not just simple excuses.
"Having slain the Transgressor and met the Great Sage Demarion... I believed that Lord Gaon would surely be able to perceive something we could not."
"..."
"These two relics are a gift to show my devotion to the great. What was merely an old key and map to our Society will undoubtedly become a grand tool to save the world in the hands of the Sword Master."
Hearing Selena's words, I almost let out a dry laugh.
Seriously, she has a silver tongue.
"Given how you speak, it seems the Shadow Society made little progress in deciphering them."
"That is..."
Caught off guard by my sharp remark, Selena flinched and trailed off.
"Yes. We attempted it for years, but we could only decipher a fraction of the ancient script. Even that was far from enough to pinpoint the ruins' location."
"..."
"Since it is a record of such an ancient civilization, reference materials were practically nonexistent. The clues we managed to find only led us deeper into a labyrinth."
Naturally.
After all, these relics could not be deciphered by conventional means.
No matter how brilliant the mages and scholars they assigned to it, there was no way they could grasp the meaning of this map.
Even the Ruins Investigation Team, experts specializing in ancient languages and civilizations, had failed to decipher it for decades. That said it all.
"To be frank... we had half-abandoned the deciphering process. That is why the Society intended to utilize these relics in a different manner."
"A different manner?"
"We planned to hand these relics over to the Ruins Merchant Group through Brother Berilof."
"..."
"We judged it would help solidify his position within the Ruins Merchant Group as a double agent."
In short, rather than foolishly clinging to a useless relic, they wanted to use it to infiltrate deeper into the Ruins Merchant Group.
So that's how it was.
Everything made sense now.
The reason why this map and key appeared at the Ruins Merchant Group's auction when I played the game.
The mystery of how those two items in Selena's possession ended up in the hands of the Ruins Merchant Group was finally solved.
"And if the Ruins Merchant Group succeeded in deciphering it, you planned to steal that information through Isaac Berilof and strike first?"
"...Yes."
Selena nodded, readily admitting to it.
Sly fox.
Not only did she want to elevate her double agent's standing, but she also planned to stab the Ruins Merchant Group in the back.
But seeing how the Ruins Merchant Group put these two items up for auction in the original game, they must have failed to decipher them as well.
Regardless.
Selena had given up all these potential benefits to gift me these relics.
She handed them over to me, abandoning the relics she had protected for decades and the political advantages she could have gained from them.
If she had just used these relics to plant Isaac Berilof deeper into the Ruins Merchant Group, she would have secured a golden pipeline for long-term intelligence.
Giving all of that up meant I had proven myself to be worth far more to her.
Can I take this as a sign that she completely trusts me now?
Well.
I had overlooked her attempts to exploit me several times, so it wasn't surprising for her to show her loyalty at this point.
In any case, many things were changing.
To think I could accelerate the Feather Sword's True Name Awakening so early through an unexpected reward.
In a way, it was thanks to Selena, but what drove her to make this choice was ultimately the overwhelming capability I had demonstrated.
Subduing two of the Five Nightmares, slaying the Transgressor, and entering the chamber of the Great Sage Demarion.
Those feats were what compelled Selena to make such a bold decision.
Everything is going according to plan.
Glance.
I looked down at my waist.
Staring at the faintly glowing Feather Sword, I made a promise to myself.
Just wait a little longer. I will call you by your true name soon.
My conversation with Selena Servich came to an end.
I made my way to the hospital room where Strawberry Latte was staying.
It was to finalize our plans one last time before leaving Wintersield Magic Academy.
"Wait here for a moment."
"Yes."
Just like last time, I had Adelia wait outside the door.
Having her with me would make it difficult to speak freely with Strawberry Latte.
Knock, knock.
After a light knock, I opened the door to the VIP room and stepped inside.
Strawberry Latte was staring blankly out the window.
"I've decided to go with Targon."
"...?"
...What is that supposed to mean?
As I furrowed my brow at his sudden remark, he added an explanation.
"It's my name. Just like you went with 'Gaon,' I decided to adopt this one."
"..."
"I can't exactly go around calling myself Strawberry Latte, can I? And using my real name in this world feels a bit... iffy, for that reason."
Did he choose Targon because it sounded vaguely similar to Strawberry Latte?
Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was a good name.
But as he said, it was better to use a proper name rather than calling him Strawberry Latte all the time.
Shift.
While I was lost in these thoughts—
Strawberry Latte... no, Targon, shrugged and turned his gaze toward me.
"So, did the first phase of the plan succeed?"
The first plan I had explained to Targon.
It was to enter the chamber of the Great Sage Demarion.
"It succeeded. I even found out the Blind Sword Master's true name."
"Oh?"
Targon's eyes widened.
"Crazy. That actually worked... Wait a minute."
Suddenly, his excited expression stiffened.
He stared at the map and key in my hand and asked,
"W-What is that?"
"This? The 'Opener' for the Lashutku Ruins."
"..."
A look of utter absurdity washed over Targon's face.
"No, who doesn't know that? I'm asking how you got it at this point in the game!"
"Selena had it. She gave it to me."
"...What?"
While Targon stammered in disbelief, I threw him a pop quiz.
"What would you do with this if you were me?"
"I would..."
Targon pondered for a moment before answering.
"Since you have the Feather Sword, wouldn't it make sense to head straight to the Lashutku Ruins and trigger the True Name Awakening?"
"No."
You shouldn't look at it so one-dimensionally.
The fact that this item fell into my hands at this point meant the original flow of the story had already deviated.
This item would no longer appear at the Ruins Merchant Group's auction, meaning the side quest associated with it would cease to exist.
Conversely, it meant we could now 'create' a story that never existed in the original timeline.
It opened up far greater possibilities than simply upgrading the Feather Sword.
"The Lashutku Ruins is a place of immense value. Holding the key to enter it is a massive bargaining chip with other factions."
"..."
"It means we can use this as bait to take the initiative in negotiations with the Ruins Investigation Team or other major factions."
"...Ah."
Targon's eyes slowly shifted. His expression brightened as he fully grasped my explanation.
"You're aiming for a snowball effect."
"Exactly."
That was what I had been doing all along.
One gain leading to another, which in turn brought even greater rewards.
This relic was no different.
Instead of just using it to upgrade the Feather Sword and calling it a day, I had to use it to paint a much larger picture.
"For starters, what I'm planning is..."
Whisper, whisper.
I briefly explained my thoughts to Targon.
And upon hearing my explanation, Targon...
"...Are you insane, hyung?"
As always, he simply looked at me as if he were staring at a madman.
Creak.
The door swung open along with the sound of approaching footsteps from afar.
Arwen von Goldheart raised his head to look at the visitor.
In that moment, his eyebrows arched in surprise.
"Lord Heibrun."
The man who had entered his office was none other than Jacques von Heibrun.
"It seems you have forgotten the courtesy of knocking."
Ignoring the sarcastic greeting, Jacques strode forward.
"I will get straight to the point."
"..."
"The Retrospective Eyes of Aether have vanished."
Arwen asked in a calm voice.
"Surely both of them haven't disappeared?"
"No, it seems the thief had a conscience. They left one behind."
"A blessing in disguise, then. In that case, we can simply use the remaining one to look back into the past and find the culprit—"
"I have already done so."
Jacques von Heibrun cut him off coldly.
His eyes remained fixed on Arwen's face.
"And that is why I have come to find the culprit now."