132. Hero Fanatic
132. Hero Fanatic
Starting with the pocket watch, familiar objects and recognizable items kept appearing one after another.
Among them was the sword sheath I had given to Uncle Kerion—the one Luna had lost gambling.
"...Where in the world did you pick these up?"
"Ge Vihenum. I picked some up there, seized others from Demons, occasionally purchased some from relic shops run by swindlers, and won bids on others at auction houses. Well? Are there any objects among these that you recognize?"
"Ah, um... yes. There are quite a few that appeared in the... journals Ronan left behind."
I said that, but there were a lot.
Most of them were things that remained in my memory.
"Euh-he... ahem. That is a relief. As I said before, this Flame Emperor's ability is to trace remnants and read the memories of the past. Thus, even if it is a pebble lying by the roadside, if some being has touched that pebble, I can see that being's form."
The Flame Emperor scratched the scar engraved on her forehead and stroked the sword sheath.
"I can state with certainty that this is the sword sheath Ronan Luzarak used. It appears clearly, though not as clearly as that pocket watch. However... in the case of that dagger or the arrow over there, Ronan Luzarak's image is faint. So I could not be certain."
The dagger. I remember it clearly.
It was a dagger Luna bought for me, and I mainly used it for cooking. And... I lost it in less than fifteen days.
The arrow... that was probably the Heavenly-Eye Bow Saint's arrow. She was a woman who went around boasting that she could see the future, but whether she couldn't see her own death, she died right in front of me.
The bow shaft was broken and only the arrow remained, so I remember shooting it with a different bow in her place.
"Well? Does this Flame Emperor's gift... please you?"
I stared blankly at the things that had come out of the Flame Emperor's bag, then raised my head.
The Flame Emperor was looking at me with a worried expression.
It's ridiculous. For someone who is, in her own way, one of the people vying for the title of strongest in the Empire to take that kind of posture.
Is the Flame Emperor a good person?
Can I accept her, just a little, as she is?
If she's this kind of person, why was Leona so wary of her?
Is there something I don't know?
Even if she looks like this on the outside—
[This isn't the world of 400 years ago.]
Right. This isn't the world of 400 years ago.
It's a world where I don't have to force myself to think like this.
But still... it's not certain yet.
No, regardless of certainty, revealing my identity to multiple people is dangerous.
Among Demons, there are those that eat human brains and recall their memories, so there's no harm in being careful right now.
So later. I'll tell her on a day not too far off.
"Yes. I really like them."
Having finished my thoughts, I smiled for the first time while talking with the Flame Emperor.
"What a relief. Euh-huh-huh... truly... what a relief."
The Flame Emperor doesn't know the countless calculations that ran through my head. But even if she did know those calculations, the Flame Emperor would have smiled just as brightly.
"Um, then do you also have items from the other Heroes? Like... Paulo... or Luna, or Arisa?"
"Of course I do. But... I have none of Arisa Eustetia's belongings."
The corners of the Flame Emperor's mouth drooped down.
"Why not?"
"Three years ago... everything I had was seized by the Fist Demon—ahem. I... gave them to the Fist Demon."
"Ah-ha..."
So Leona took them from her.
No, wait.
Since Leona is ultimately Arisa's last disciple, isn't giving them to Leona not that wrong?
There's no way the Flame Emperor doesn't know that.
Even Leona's casually thrown punches contain Arisa's image.
So why is she so sad about it?
"But, um... isn't the Vice Dean also Arisa's disciple anyway?"
The Flame Emperor's mouth fell open blankly again.
"...Truly, you are astonishing. Eliarnes. Just how much do you know, and from where to where?"
"I can't speak carelessly about it either, but for now, I think I know everything that you know, Flame Emperor."
"Is that so? I see. Yes, I suppose so. In the end, you are also a direct descendant of Eustetia, and... you would have entered the Forbidden Archive as well. Then, do you... know about the secret of Eustetia?"
When it comes to secrets, there's only one. That Arisa's blood does not flow in House Eustetia.
"I know."
"Huh... Are you all right?"
The Flame Emperor's voice grew cautious.
I nodded as if it were nothing.
"Yes. I'm fine. It's not as if that makes me—makes us—any less Eustetia."
"You are brave and bold. As expected, this Flame Emperor is quite fond of you."
"...Do you also like women, by any chance, Flame Emperor?"
"Hmm? I do not. The only beings this Flame Emperor likes are the Heroes of 400 years ago and magic."
"What a relief."
I let out a small sigh and shifted my body back from where I had leaned away.
"Anyway, since the Vice Dean is ultimately Arisa's disciple too, isn't she included among the people you mentioned?"
"That is true, but... still, I wanted to hand them over to a direct descendant of Eustetia."
"Then you could have given them long ago. To my father, or... um, my grandfather... people like that."
"Turius Eustetia. Apart from that man, there was no one qualified to receive Arisa's belongings."
The Flame Emperor shook her head and answered in a voice more serious than ever before.
"As it is a matter of House Eustetia, this Flame Emperor cannot presume to pass judgment, but they were not qualified. And Turius. I thought that man was sufficiently qualified. But he himself refused. He said he was not qualified."
"...Qualified."
The elders and various collateral branches of House Eustetia were killed by my father and uncle.
I still don't know the reason. I was only told they would tell me when I became an adult.
Then did my father say he was unqualified because he was an unfilial wretch who killed his collateral relatives and parents, or... because Arisa's blood doesn't flow in House Eustetia?
"But... yes. As you said, the Fist Demon is also Arisa's last disciple, so I do not think it was such a bad choice. It is just that the process of her taking them from this Flame Emperor was somewhat violent, so I am not pleased with it."
Having said that, the Flame Emperor shuddered and smiled bitterly. Then she took a sip of the mint-choco latte I had handed her and savored the taste with an elegant expression.
"It is delicious."
"You have quite refined taste."
"Mm."
We sat in silence for a while, wetting our throats, and when an expression of unbearable impatience appeared on the Flame Emperor's face, I opened my mouth.
"The name of the technique Ronan... used."
"Hup...!"
"Ahem... I know quite a lot."
"Huh, huk...!"
"Are you curious?"
"C-curious...! Please, please tell me!"
"The name of the technique that allowed Ronan to be called the Calamity Star..."
I took two breaths.
In just two breaths, the Flame Emperor's hips were bouncing up and down in a frenzy. And yet she didn't pester me.
She seemed to be enjoying the wait itself.
Just how much does she like the Heroes... like us?
Kik-kik—unable to hold back the laughter that escaped on its own, I finally parted my lips.
"Deceptive Body."
It was the name Luna shuddered at, calling it lame.
Arisa smiled bitterly, Kaloso shook his head, and Paulo made up something similar to my name.
The Flame Emperor?
She trembled as if struck by lightning.
And then, with tears pouring down—pat-pat—she said,
"...It's magnificent."
Not satisfied with that alone, she clapped her supple hands—clap clap!—and rose from her seat.
"Magnificent. A perfect... name. Deceptive Body. I cannot possibly think of any other name but that."
"Right? It's cool, isn't it? It's got impact, doesn't it?"
"Mm...! It is cool, and it has impact. It is also quite vicious, yet I can feel the gentleness contained within it. And not only that... I can even feel Ronan's unyielding spirit—what a perfect name it is!"
"Heh-heh..."
The Flame Emperor's trembling hand stroked one of the gifts she had given me. At the same time, gentle Mana began to seep from her body.
Scarlet eyes. Faint smoke reflected in eyes where flames had been flickering. A bright smile hung on her lips, and her other hand clenched into a tight fist.
"Deceptive Body... this Flame Emperor made great efforts to use Ronan's Deceptive Body."
"You're a Wizard."
"Hmm...! That is irrelevant. Do not interrupt this Flame Emperor. Hmph, anyway, this Flame Emperor put great effort into trying to use this... Deceptive Body, which bears such a magnificent name."
The Flame Emperor's voice was frustrated, but it shifted into a tone that seemed to say that made it even better.
"But I could not do it. Even with the control of this Flame Emperor, whom the world calls the Flame Emperor, I could not imitate Deceptive Body. My arm broke, my leg was torn, and my neck nearly twisted around. It is only natural. It is, after all, Ronan Luzarak's technique. To dare to imitate it, I believe one should stake one's life."
The light returned to the Flame Emperor's eyes. The Mana that had been drifting around her subsided, and her body, which had been standing rigidly straight, plopped back down into the chair.
"But you use that technique. Deceptive Body, quite freely."
"Want me to teach you?"
"Hut... ah, no. That cannot be. It must not be. That is... something only you, who have been chosen by the Heroes, can learn and use. It must never be divulged to an outsider like this Flame Emperor."
The Flame Emperor, who answered firmly, clicked her tongue as if regretful, yet smiled with satisfaction.
"This Flame Emperor... is satisfied merely by seeing beings like you. Those who have been chosen by the Heroes."
Watching the Flame Emperor like that, I deliberated.
There's something I want to ask.
It's been there since earlier. My lips are itching to the point of tingling.
Kaloso Verheigen.
I want to ask... about that bastard.
But would it be right to ask?
The Flame Emperor surely knows.
She has to. If she sees memories of the past, she would have seen Kaloso's image too.
But Kaloso's existence remains nowhere in the Empire. That bastard's name can't even be found in the Forbidden Archive.
Would it be right to ask about such a being?
Still, for now... rather than asking about that.
"I know quite a bit about other things too. Shall I tell you?"
I've received something, so now it's my turn to give.
"O-other things... what kind of things do you mean?"
"Like the names of other techniques... or the names of the weapons Ronan used... or the foods he liked. Things like that."
The Flame Emperor blinked several times.
Then tears poured from her eyes like crazy.
Her face and expression weren't crying, but tears just kept pouring from her eyes.
"I... I, no. This Flame Emperor... even if I hear such things, I cannot pay an equal price..."
Even her peculiar speech pattern nearly broke.
"It's fine. I'll just tell you."
"...Is it truly all right? You are telling me such... precious stories, and I need not give anything in return?"
"Yes. Well, if you really want to give me something."
What I would receive from the Flame Emperor.
I had already decided.
I cut my thoughts short and spoke.
"Could you increase the right to ask a favor... the wish vouchers we talked about last time, from one to two?"
"Haht!"
The Flame Emperor smiled brightly and spread her slender fingers wide—fwoosh!
"I shall increase them to five...!"
"Wow!"
I get to use the Flame Emperor five times just for talking about the things I like.
What a sucker... no.
There's no good person like this. Truly.
Giggling, I clapped my hands and opened my mouth.