77. Forbidden Archive

When the illusion shattered, what I saw was a pure-white mask.

Behind me... I could feel a cold, hard floor.

And behind my head... something soft. A thigh...?

So I was lying down.

"...Did I pass out?"

Nod. As if worried, the Nameless captain nodded her head.

"Ugh... Sorry for making you worry."

I rubbed my throbbing temples and tried to get up. But.

Pat.

The Nameless captain grabbed my shoulder.

Shake shake.

"No, I'm fine."

I brushed her hand off and sat up.

I let out a deep sigh and looked inward at my body.

Nothing... wrong. Except that my Mana was completely drained.

Mana exhaustion, then.

"How much... time has passed... what the hell."

I looked at Balamir, who had been serving as a high-performance alarm clock, and couldn't finish my sentence.

"...Wh-why is that guy knocked out over there?"

I blinked, then stared at the Nameless captain.

"Did... you, Captain... do that to him?"

Nod.

"...Why?"

Shake shake.

So it's a secret?

No, even so... is it really okay to beat the commander of the Royal Guard into that state?

"...Do you think Sir Balamir saw something?"

Shake shake.

The Nameless captain shook her head and sank into thought for a moment, then pulled a small notepad from her coat and scribbled at high speed.

[Look behind you.]

Behind me?

I slowly turned my head.

At the same time, goosebumps rose all over my body.

"...Huh."

Arisa's handwritten record... its final page was torn.

The page with the doodle.

The page that had shown me the illusion had been ripped to shreds, and one side was scorched as if burned by fire.

"Th-then... did Sir Balamir see this happen too?"

Shake shake.

"You knocked him out... before he could see it?"

Nod.

A rather proud nod.

"Captain... you're incredibly strong, aren't you?"

Now she didn't even nod—she just lifted her chin.

I could even hear a small snort from behind the mask.

I watched that... somewhat dumbfounding display for a moment, then bowed my head.

"First of all... thank you. But what do we do about this?"

It looked like if I touched it, even the remaining pages would all tear apart.

As I was racking my brain over it—pat.

The Nameless captain started stroking my head.

"...Wh-what's this all of a sudd—"

The captain tapped her own chest—tap tap.

"You're saying you'll take care of it, Captain?"

Nod nod.

"...Are you sure? You don't really have to..."

The captain shook her head and tidied my disheveled hair. Then she patted my back—tap tap—and pulled a pocket watch from her coat, showing it to me.

"...Less than an hour left."

Nod nod.

"Ugh... well, thank you. For everything."

I bowed my head to the captain and got to my feet. A thick wave of dizziness made me sway, but not enough to fall.

The captain returned to where she had been and brought her hand down once more on Balamir's throat, which had begun to twitch.

...Is she extending his unconscious time?

The captain didn't seem like a sane person either.

"Hoo..."

I let out a ragged breath and turned the cover of [Demon King's Seal] again.

I saw the familiar handwriting.

Maybe because I'd just seen the illusion, I could almost hear their voices too.

And, at the end.

What I had seen, heard, and felt before the illusion broke.

Arisa's figure, her voice, her emotions.

They hadn't disappeared. They remained intact.

Arisa. And I.

We faced each other.

It was brief, but we definitely talked.

Arisa ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recognized me.

Even though my appearance had changed, she knew I was Ronan. She wasn't surprised. Her face said she'd expected it.

No, she did seem a little surprised.

Because I was prettier than she expected?

Well, I am pretty cute. I mean, I am.

And.

Arisa Eustetia.

She knew about my Reincarnation.

She thought I would read this handwritten record.

Even though she'd stuffed it away in the Forbidden Archive, she thought I would read it someday. Arisa did.

That's a perfectly predictable thing.

If it were me, I would have hidden this kind of information in the Forbidden Archive too.

Therefore, that was not a simple illusion.

It wasn't a message left behind predicting my answers.

Her expression, her voice, her pitch, her trembling—all of it was vivid. It was Arisa. It wasn't an act.

Then, was that Arisa's soul? Arisa herself?

I don't know. It's not something Arisa could do on her own.

If she could pull off something like that and maintain it even now, four hundred years later, then Kaloso, Luna.

In other words, Kaloso and Luna are alive too.

If Luna is alive, then Paulo is alive too.

I heard the Sacred Relics never returned.

Everyone is alive.

I don't know about the others.

But Arisa is definitely alive.

Arisa, who knows all the secrets, is alive.

The figure I saw at the end was definitely real.

That was enough.

I closed the book. I placed it on the pedestal and returned it without any lingering attachment.

My head was throbbing, but there was still something I needed to check.

What I was about to check wasn't for the distant future. It was for right now.

I placed my hand on the crystal and thought of keywords.

'Eustetia, collateral line.'

'Verheigen.'

'Black Magic Tower.'

'Imperial Capital, southern district, sewer facilities.'

*****

The allotted time ended.

Balamir, having regained his senses, shot a sharp glare at the Nameless captain, but she ignored him with her usual cynical air and walked on.

And the person I saw as soon as we stepped out of the Forbidden Archive was.

"...Eli."

My father, wearing a worried expression.

He didn't know that I had collapsed inside.

If that's the case... he must be making that face because he's afraid I'll feel betrayed after learning the secret of House Eustetia.

I know my father didn't hide it with bad intentions. I want to believe that.

So I shook my head at my father and spoke as gently as I could.

"It's okay."

"...Is it?"

"Yes. You don't need to worry."

I didn't say what was okay, or what he didn't need to worry about.

But my father understood exactly what I meant and nodded weakly.

Soon after, the stern-looking woman standing behind him spoke.

"That concludes today's schedule. It has been an honor to serve Eustetia, the Spring of the Empire, and Nameless, the Empire's dagger. This has been Julai Petrona. Thank you."

The stern-looking woman's name was Julai Petrona.

I bowed my head to Julai, then nodded to Balamir, who stood behind her... still visibly furious.

"Thank you for today."

Balamir, who had been keeping his expression stiff, put on his usual gentle smile the moment he received my greeting and knelt on one knee.

"It was an honor to serve Lady Eliarnes Eustetia, the Spring of the Empire and the cherry blossom of Eustetia."

That greeting is incredibly burdensome.

"Ugh... yes. About what happened inside today... I mean, you'll keep silent about the information I looked up, correct?"

"That is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠correct. However, I must submit a handwritten list to His Majesty the Emperor. And while I will swear an oath regarding the information I know, for the sake of credibility, it can also be done in your presence. Shall we go to the audience chamber together?"

"No. There's no need for that. If we can't trust the imperial family, who can we trust?"

Of course, I don't trust them.

But... there's no reason to go out of my way to keep it top secret.

So I just nodded vaguely.

"If the opportunity arises, I'll see you again."

"Yes."

Balamir rose from his spot and crossed the imperial corridor with Julai toward the audience chamber.

And so, only my father, the Nameless captain, and I remained in front of the Forbidden Archive.

"Uncle Kerion must be busy."

"I suppose so. He's handling Nameless affairs on his own, so he can't help but be busy."

My father trailed off and glanced at the Nameless captain for a moment, then looked back at me.

But he didn't say anything.

He just... seemed to be waiting for me to say something.

I watched him for a moment, then took a step closer.

"It's okay. Really."

"...You weren't surprised?"

"Well, saying I wasn't surprised would be a lie. But... honestly, it doesn't matter."

Right. It doesn't matter at all.

So what if I'm not a descendant of Arisa ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eustetia?

It's not like Arisa's blood is what makes someone strong.

I didn't awaken some secret Eustetia tradition.

I didn't inherit some family Elixir, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or secret, or family craft passed down through the generations.

I never went around waving the name Eustetia, or the bloodline of a Hero's descendant, making a damn scene.

I'm strong because I'm me.

I'm confident because I'm me.

I've been a piece of shit since birth because I'm me.

And our family has nothing to be ashamed of.

Hmm... actually, I'm not sure about that.

There was information about Eustetia in the Forbidden Archive, but I didn't read it.

I wanted to hear it from my father rather than read it myself.

I didn't want to read, think, and judge before hearing my father's words.

...Well, what is it.

Still... yeah.

Because we're family.

I wanted to prioritize and trust my family's words.

Anyway, from what I can see.

I don't know about the past, but the current Eustetia has nothing to be ashamed of. We can hold our heads high. We can.

So it doesn't matter at all.

Hmm, it doesn't matter, but I do have things to say.

Quite a few.

I lifted my head and looked at my father.

He seemed to be having a silent conversation with the Nameless captain.

I tugged at the hem of his clothes—tug tug.

"Dad."

"Hm? Yes, my daughter. What is it?"

"Are you busy today?"

"Well, I am busy. I have to meet with the imperial faction nobles in thirty minutes."

"Ugh... then it can't be helped."

"Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to eat together. But since you're busy, let's eat another day instead of today."

Gasp. My father sucked in a breath.

For a moment.

"I have time now."

In a voice more serious and weighty than ever before, my father spoke.

"What? You just said in thirty minutes—"

"Now that I think about it, it was tomorrow, not today. Haha, this old dad must be getting forgetful with age. Hahahahaha!"

No matter how I look at it, he's totally playing hooky...

"...Really?"

"O-of course! This dad doesn't tell lies."

"Hmmm..."

I narrowed my eyes and stared at my father.

My father... averted his gaze with a face that looked like he'd been caught.

Seeing that, a soft laugh escaped me.

Yeah. Well... so what if he plays hooky a little.

He's the head of House Eustetia.

If they don't like it, they can be the duke themselves.

And... well, this much isn't even abusing the family name.

"Okay."

"Mm! Yes! Let's go! What does my Eli want to eat? Daddy will buy you anything! If you want, I can even rent out an entire restaurant! Hahahaha!"

"Let's eat what you want today, Dad. Oh, and before we go, I'll send Eurasia back to the academy."

"Hm? She's not joining us for dinner?"

"...Eurasia says she's not feeling well."

For me, it doesn't matter since you're my parents, but for Eurasia, eating with her employer... an employer of such staggeringly high status would be absolutely dreadful.

"Mm, I see. Then it can't be helped. Then Daddy will wait outside the Imperial Palace."

"Okay. I'll be right there."

My father walked off with an incredibly light step.

And behind him, the Nameless captain followed.

...?

"You're coming too, Captain?"

In that instant, flinch. The captain's body trembled violently.

"No, it's not that I don't want you to... isn't it hard to eat with the mask on?"

Nod nod.

"Then why are you going?"

The captain tilted her head.

She looked incredibly dejected.

"...Well... fine. Let's go together."

The pure-white mask brightened a little more.

...What an odd person. That woman too.