73. Treasury
73. Treasury
Aunt Diana hated being called a teacher. Even though she was only in her mid-twenties, she also hated being called "big sis."
So I called her "aunt."
Aunt Diana was an adventurer.
Not a particularly famous one, though.
But looking back, Aunt Diana had been incredibly strong.
And fittingly, she had a violent temper.
She beat Paulo and me—a pair of pickpockets—constantly, saying she'd fix our sticky fingers.
Not with her bare hands, though.
She said hitting us barehanded would put emotion into it, and that wasn't right for little brats. So she beat us with a club she'd picked up somewhere.
But that was a lie.
There was emotion in those beatings.
Of course, at first there was no emotion at all, but as time went on, emotion crept in.
Worry and pity.
And a strange, ticklish feeling for no reason.
From the moment I felt that emotion, Aunt Diana started raising us.
She was still violent, but she took an interest in us, taught us the sword, taught us how to kill Monsters and Demons, and taught us how to survive in a shitty world.
And so, five years later.
Around the time Aunt Diana was turning thirty, she killed a Demon that was trying to kill Paulo and me—and then she died.
It was a predictable story, the kind that happened often, all too often, to people living in that era.
And it was a story I couldn't forget.
Anyway.
There was a sword Aunt Diana used to use.
It had a common shape, but the letters engraved on the pommel told me it was Aunt Diana's sword.
D, R, P.
I didn't know why it was there.
I didn't know who had used Aunt Diana's sword either. I could have read the description below to find out, but I didn't particularly want to know.
All I knew was that it was the most finely crafted sword there,
enchanted with semi-permanent self-repair magic,
that Aunt Diana used it,
and that it was the sword I wanted Eurasia to use.
"...How about this one?"
I shook off the old memories and handed it to Eurasia.
If Eurasia didn't like it, I'd have no choice but to pick something else, but I planned to try persuading her.
That persuasion had my own petty greed mixed into it, but it was also an excellent sword for Eurasia to use.
So I was going to try my best, but...
"I love it!"
Eurasia took the sword I handed her without a single question and smiled brightly.
"You don't need to check it separately?"
"There's no way something you picked out after careful thought could be bad, my lady!"
I was momentarily stunned by her utterly transparent emotions and voice.
"Well... that's true, but weren't you eyeing the other weapons?"
"That's true too, but the sword you picked for me is still the best. Hehe."
"...Then, well... yeah. Let's go with that."
"Yes!"
Lately, I'd been feeling this... slightly bone-tingling emotion more often.
It was the kind of feeling I'd want to wash away by doing something mischievous, but it wasn't unpleasant either. It was a subtle feeling that wasn't as bad as I'd thought.
My mood kept getting weird.
Fidget, fidget.
I clenched and unclenched my tingling hands as I walked.
Twenty minutes later.
We finished making our selections and left the treasury.
It didn't take long for me to find something for myself.
I couldn't use weapons anyway, and armor was uncomfortable, so I didn't like it.
So I picked an Artifact.
"...What is that, Eli?"
As soon as we came out of the treasury, my father's eyes went wide when he saw me.
"They said it's bandages enchanted with self-repair magic."
"...And?"
"Um... they said it recovers Mana and stamina quickly, heals wounds, and is incredibly tough and sturdy."
Father's trembling eyes stared at the pure white bandages in my hand for a long time.
Then, gulp. He swallowed dryly and spoke to me carefully.
"I-is that so. Really... um... are you sure that's enough? If you'd like, this father of yours could speak to His Majesty the Emperor."
"Mm. It's fine. I like this."
I shook my head and smiled softly.
It wasn't a forced smile.
It was just... a smile that came naturally because I felt good.
Of course, the people around me—
even the captain of Nameless—still wore bewildered expressions.
That was only natural.
After all, what I'd brought out of the imperial palace's treasury was nothing more than bandages.
I'd have been dumbfounded too if I were them.
The Artifacts sleeping in the treasury all had extraordinary effects.
For example, there were ones that completely erased your presence, ones that let you move faster by borrowing the power of wind, Mana tanks that could store enormous amounts of Mana, and ones that amplified Mana.
Even so, I chose the bandages.
Those bandages were, at that moment, the most important and necessary Artifact for me—more than anything else.
I gripped the bandages with my heated hands.
"Alright. If that's what Eli wants, then that's that..."
"Thank you for worrying about me."
Giggling, I looked at the Emperor, who was staring at me with the same slightly puzzled expression as my father.
"I'll take this one."
"Hmm, very well. Since you've decided, it would be strange for Us to object. Let it be so."
"Thank you."
After that, Eurasia also finished reporting to the Emperor with knightly etiquette, then beamed as she hung the new sword at her empty waist.
"As Duke Turius Eustetia requested, the award ceremony will be concluded quietly. Is there anything you wish to add to Us?"
At the Emperor's words, Father's gaze turned to me once more.
He was giving me one last chance to change my mind.
I shook my head without a moment's hesitation.
Even if someone beat me to death, I wouldn't change it.
*****
A short meeting was held between the imperial side and the Eustetia side. The agenda was about the observer for the Forbidden Archive.
The imperial side attaching an observer was, apparently, a condition they set under the assumption that the information I knew might leak elsewhere.
It meant the imperial family wanted to keep track of the kind of information I'd grasped.
And it meant that if the Forbidden Archive's information ever spread outside, they'd come down hard on me.
Standing in opposition, Eustetia said they were attaching someone so that I, frightened by such conditions, could feel at ease—and to free me from any potential pressure from the imperial family.
That was Eustetia's surface reason.
I didn't know the true intent hidden behind it.
Why would they attach an observer even at the cost of friction with the imperial family?
Well... if I just accepted the surface reason as the true intent, there was no need to rack my brain over it.
It could genuinely have been that they were attaching someone out of simple concern for me.
But... looking at Father's expression, it seemed like he was hiding some other secret.
Is there information he's reluctant to tell me?
If so, is it a secret of Eustetia?
There was one thing I was suspicious about...
"My lady, do you have something on your mind?"
While I was mulling it over, Eurasia, sitting across from me, asked cautiously.
"Mm. Nothing I'm worried about."
I shook my head and crunched on the cookie I'd been eating moments before.
Anyway.
Being the imperial palace, even the reception room was incredible.
Eurasia and I didn't participate in the meeting and were shown into a separate reception room, and they said we could eat as much of the refreshments here as we wanted.
And each and every cookie was incredibly delicious.
The cookies baked at Eustetia were tasty too, but the imperial ones were even better.
As expected of the imperial palace, I supposed.
Crunch, crunch—
I devoured all the cookies called "scotch cookies" and sank into a large chair.
Eurasia was just beaming with happiness.
She was diligently polishing the sword at her waist, radiating flowers in every direction.
"You like it that much?"
"Yes! I love it!"
Eurasia laughed, her golden hair—as if melted from the sun—swaying.
Seeing her laugh so joyfully like that... makes me want to tease her.
You know that feeling, right?
When you see a cute animal, it's so cute it takes your breath away, and for no reason you want to pinch it, bite it, and torment it.
That's exactly how I feel right now.
So I couldn't hold back.
"Huh, it seems like you like this sword more than the one I gave you as a gift?"
It was a joke with not even 1% sincerity.
I just said it because I wanted to see Eurasia flustered and stammering.
If anything, I was just grateful that Eurasia liked that sword.
In a way, the sword belonged to someone who could be considered my benefactor from a Past Life, and now Eurasia—someone I held dear—was using it. So I couldn't help but be grateful.
But...
"Oh, don't tell me... are you jealous, my lady?"
"...W-what?"
"You're jealous because it seems like I like this sword more than the gift you gave me, right?"
What's wrong with her?
This isn't the reaction I expected.
"...No? Why would I be jealous?"
"Hmm... really?"
And what's with that coy nasal tone?
"Hah... E-Eurasia."
"Yes?"
"Where did you learn to do such sly things...?"
Eurasia's eye-smile deepened.
"Who knows?"
Then, giggling coquettishly, Eurasia reached out and wiped the corner of my mouth.
Following her touch, cookie crumbs that had been stuck somewhere pattered down.
"You always get crumbs on your face when you eat, my lady."
What the? What is she doing? Why is she acting like this today?
Is she crazy?
While I blinked at her sudden bold action, Eurasia—having brushed off the crumbs—licked the cookie off her finger.
"Huh...? Why are you eating that?"
"Oh, out of habit... hehe."
What kind of habit is that...?
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Eurasia.
Whether I glared or not, Eurasia just smiled slyly and said,
"So you do get flustered, my lady."
"I'll devour you soon enough."
"You'll devour me?"
"Yeah."
"Aww... but you can't do that yet."
"Yet? Ye-et? Hah, you're still wet behind the ears and you're talking about 'yet.' You're 400 years too early."
"Whoa... you sounded exactly like my grandmother, my lady."
"Oh, really now."
Glare—I shot Eurasia a look.
Eurasia just stuck out her tongue primly and smiled radiantly.
"So, my lady, my lady."
"What."
"Those bandages... do you really like them?"
Eurasia's gaze turned to the bandages placed on the table.
Neatly rolled pure white bandages.
I stroked them gently and nodded.
"Yeah. I like them."
"Oh... but still, aren't they a little... plain compared to the other Artifacts?"
"They are plain."
They were utterly ordinary bandages.
Just bandages imbued with the same sort of magic found on other Artifacts.
"But."
When I reach Tier 6.
For me at that time.
"It’ll become an Artifact more important than anything else."
"...They're that significant?"
"Yeah."
I didn't know what kind of expression I made.
But after that, Eurasia didn't say another word.
*****
"I asked you to make an Artifact, and you went and made something weird. What is this rag?"
"If you'd just shut up, you'd at least look half-decent, but you morons always have a problem with your mouths. Open your eyes and look. Does this look like a rag to you?"
"This is an Artifact?"
"Open both eyes and look carefully. You wrap it around your hand like this, and if you channel at least Tier 6 Mana through it in a steady flow—ta-da. See?"
"Ta-da my ass. What is this?"
"Right now, this white thread is connected to my heart, see? This is an Artifact that can locate me."
"It's trash."
"You fucking bastard. How is this trash? It's an Artifact containing an immense essence of miracles. The effect doesn't end there. It has automatic repair on a completely different level from ordinary magic, and durability that even most dragon teeth can't tear through. What's more, this pattern is one only we can recognize, so even if some random nobodies steal it, they won't be able to use it properly."
"Automatic repair is basic, so set that aside. So what can you even do by pinpointing your location?"
"On a battlefield where we might inevitably get separated someday, it could be incredibly useful."
"Why would we get separated?"
"Who knows? A Labyrinth could appear and trap us separately, or we could get caught in Luxrina's illusions and be unable to escape. Especially morons like you—without my miracle, you'd obviously die. So how amazing is it that you could come find me in a situation like that?"
"Your premise is wrong from the start. Why would I ever leave a weakling like you alone? Protecting you anytime, anywhere is my job. So this rag is completely useless."
"...Anytime, anywhere, you'll protect me?"
"You talk like there was ever a time I didn't."
"...Hah, ha, ha! R-right. Well, anyway. Hehe, someday. Someday... even if it's not me... Arisa, Paulo, Kaloso—if all of us ever get scattered to far-off places, wouldn't it be nice if we could find each other?"
"Well, if that happens, I suppose we could all gather."
"Right. If everyone follows this white thread, if they come to where I am, we could all reunite. This is an Artifact for exactly that."
Pure white bandages.
"Its name is Havar."
The meaning was.
"Reunion."