81. Information Guild
81. Information Guild
I stared at the Labyrinth symbol for a long while, then let out a sigh and leaned back.
"...Did you find your people's bodies?"
"We couldn't find them."
"The snake ate them?"
Ophelia's eyes went wide.
"...How... did you know?"
"You don't need to know that. Anyway... yeah. What happened after that?"
"We sent in twenty staff members and five mercenaries. But... only one person made it out of there."
Ophelia held out a new document.
The document depicted the shape of a massive maze. But it wasn't complete. There were gaps here and there, erased sections, and holes where the lines didn't connect.
"After that Black Wizard appeared, something like this enormous, complex maze formed beneath the Imperial Capital. And so... we also couldn't recover the bodies of the staff who weren't slaughtered by the Black Wizard."
A Labyrinth.
Except... it was the kind of Labyrinth Labyrinth liked to make, with the barrier that separated the inner space from the outside removed.
Its scale was enormous, too.
Spatial distortion magic seemed to be in effect as well.
The empty spots in between looked like teleportation portals had been installed, and the broken paths... were probably sections where the Labyrinth shifted, so they couldn't be drawn.
It was on a completely different level from the crude maze that had been created in the museum.
This was Labyrinth's Labyrinth—the one I'd seen, experienced, and been trapped in countless times in Ge Vihenum.
Is it connected to the museum incident?
There is a connection. There definitely is.
Then why cause such a conspicuous incident?
To draw attention.
And why did they need to draw attention?
-Yeah. I'll keep staying inside Pina's soul. But I can't always come out like this. Even now... I was only able to slip out because you caught that Demon for us.
-Pina hasn't grown enough to hide the spirits yet.
-Ronan. Be careful underground.
To erect a barrier that could deceive the eyes of the spirits.
Creating a barrier to deceive spirits requires an immense amount of Demonic Energy.
If that much Demonic Energy were manipulated, even ordinary imperial citizens would be able to feel its waves.
So they diverted people's attention, manipulated the Demonic Energy, and created a barrier to deceive the eyes of the spirits.
And while they were at it, they joined hands with the imperial family's lackeys and even siphoned out information.
Assassinating Silina wasn't their main objective.
The main objective was the spirits.
If there are spirits, can that door be opened?
Given the circumstances... that possibility is high.
First of all, since Arisa would have arranged it, if I go, that door will definitely open.
But as for what principle it opens by—
I could say it's because of the spirits' existence.
No matter how great Arisa was, she couldn't use magic or miracles.
So she wouldn't have been able to place any special magical treatment on that door leading to the cavity.
But she would have needed to conceal it.
There's no telling how many important things are inside.
Then how could she have concealed it?
The power of spirits.
As Sparkle said not long ago, in my Past Life, I'd drawn the interest of countless spirits.
And the same goes for the current me, Eliarnes.
What do the spirits see in me that makes them follow me? When I think about it—it's the soul. Sparkle said that Ronan's soul and Eliarnes's soul are the same.
And Arisa would have known that fact, too. That even if I reincarnated, my soul would remain the same.
So on the path to the cavity where she hid her arrangements for me, she erected a door imbued with a spirit seal.
The seal on the door used a spirit... probably something she received from that World Tree lady.
Therefore, a spirit is needed to open that door.
Countless spirits that follow me after seeing my soul, or a light spirit powerful enough even as a single entity.
The representative light spirit is Sparkle.
"Haa..."
A sigh escaped on its own.
Stella, Pina, Silina.
There isn't a single one of these girls who isn't in danger.
Has Nameless started moving?
Would it be good to pass this matter on to Nameless?
No. There's no way Nameless wouldn't know information that the bastards running this shoddy Information Guild managed to figure out.
At the very least, they'd have learned of it a step faster than me.
In that case... there's no need to tell them.
Then, what's the Realm of the Black Wizard scheming inside that Labyrinth?
If they can manifest a Labyrinth of this scale, at least 7th Circle.
At most... 8th Circle.
Should I go before Nameless does?
As for reinforcements I could bring... I don't have any.
I sighed again and tucked the documents Ophelia had handed me into my coat.
"I can take these, right?"
"...They're... copies."
"You got any other information worth giving me?"
Ophelia's face crumpled.
"I'll pay you properly, so bring out everything you've got."
"...Just kill me. If I... leak information like this, the Cartel will kill me anyway. So just kill me right here."
"You're a bunch of thugs, and you're still playing hard to get. Tch."
I tossed the bundle of money I'd brought in advance onto the table with a thud. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven......
Ophelia's eyes went round at the sight.
"...Wh-what is this?"
"Payment for the information. Why, you want more? It's not enough? You're not thinking of charging me for those bastards' hospital bills, are you? If you say you are, I'll give you funeral money instead of hospital bills."
For a moment, Ophelia gulped and sank into thought. But the deliberation didn't last long.
Ophelia shook her head and beamed.
"It's more than enough! No, it's overflowing! I'll provide you with information worthy of this price, my lady!"
She went from "you" to "my lady."
If you were going to be like this, why play hard to get in the first place?
Still... well, reeling her in with money is better than bending her with fear.
The money I'd just pulled out wasn't even thirty percent of the cash from the allowance Father gave me for the first semester.
The card is separate, of course.
Ophelia, now bustling about eagerly, presented all sorts of documents and booklets before me in under thirty seconds.
"Here you are!"
"Hey... hasn't your whole vibe changed way too much? Until a bit ago, you still had a bit of a... well, not a wolf, but a hunting-dog feel. Now you're just a mutt."
"Kyahahaha! You're so funny, my lady!"
"...Sure. Whatever... do what works for you."
Shaking my head, I skimmed through the information Ophelia had handed over.
It included the investigation process of the client who'd commissioned the work in the past, and even a brief account of combat with the Black Wizard underground.
...Their information-gathering ability seems better than I thought.
"Not bad."
"Hahahaha! We may not look it, but we're quite good at our work! So please trust us anyti—"
"Enough. This is too much. You got a bag or something I can carry this in?"
"Of course we do! A bag is five hundred thousand cel—"
"Hey, do I still look like a fucking idiot to you?"
"—but for a VIP, it's complimentary!"
Ophelia, sweating cold, scrambled to her feet and brought out two bags.
"Give me the one in your left hand."
I picked the large duffel bag.
It was big enough that I could probably fit inside if I folded myself up well.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll pack it for you."
She didn't get paid for the bag, but Ophelia was still grinning as she briskly packed the documents into the duffel bag and handed it over.
I took it and immediately rose from my seat.
Just as I was about to walk out—
I tossed one more bundle of money and added,
"Look into information on the Eustetia collateral line, too."
"The collateral line... what kind of...?"
"The backers behind those bastards."
"...Backers... you mean?"
"Yeah. You’ve got two days. Bring the information to Karelai Academy in secret. I’m under an off-campus ban."
"...A-an off-campus ban...?"
Ophelia's expression turned strange.
Whether she cared or not, I moved my feet.
*****
After arriving at the academy, I roughly finished showering and laid myself down on the bed.
It had been a long, long day.
A horribly long, complicated, chaotic day.
"Nnngh..."
Savoring the feel of the blanket wrapping my bare body, I hugged a large pillow. While I was at it, I carefully held the doll by my bedside—the one Father had personally made and gifted me long ago.
"...Arisa. Arisa Eustetia."
What the hell were you hoping for when you left behind that illusion?
To let me know there were things arranged underground that would help me?
I don't know. I don't know, but I don't think it was for such a simple reason.
Arisa's actions were always out of nowhere, but they unexpectedly had deep meaning.
'Still... yeah. As expected, Ronan is Ronan.'
'You're the Ronan I know this time too... I'm glad.'
But no matter how I think about it, those words are strange.
"Ronan is Ronan" was something she always said.
Ronan is Ronan.
Ronan is always Ronan.
Ronan is unchanging.
So I couldn't feel anything particularly odd about it.
But the words attached after it.
This time too.
"What the hell is 'this time too' supposed to mean?"
I stroked the pink hair that tickled my face—like Arisa's, but different.
"Crazy bitch. If you were going to raise a disciple, you should've at least taught her martial arts. Why the hell did you teach her my techniques?"
Did she realize how embarrassing it was herself?
No, no.
She didn't completely erase her own techniques.
The lion Beastkin, Leona Megenberta.
Leona was using Arisa's Martial Art, too.
Not changed into Eustetia techniques or lost in practice—it was exactly, completely Arisa's.
And that question still hadn't been resolved.
Nothing about Leona was contained in any of the Forbidden Archive's information.
But there was no trace that Leona's information had been deliberately erased. It felt like she'd just suddenly popped up from somewhere.
Arisa's disciple. A descendant not connected by blood.
It felt like she'd suddenly popped up from somewhere, like the second head of House Eustetia.
Which means Arisa intentionally hid Leona's information.
No... no. It's too early to assert that.
Leona might not be Arisa's direct disciple. There's a possibility she's a disciple several steps removed.
"...It's complicated."
Letting out a deep sigh, I burrowed under the blanket.
The soft feel of the blanket and the plush bed wrapped around my body.
I raised my hand and pressed the button by the bedside.
The room's lights all went out at once, and only a faint orange indirect light illuminated the room.
In the comfortable darkness, I closed my eyes.
I recalled Arisa building a crude grave underground. From that cold, expressionless face, I recalled the smile that had bloomed wide. I recalled her voice. I recalled her way of speaking.
I recalled the words she left behind.
'Ronan. I miss you so much.'
"Miss me, my ass."
My Reincarnation. Kaloso's erased traces.
The information left behind so far, and what she arranged.
The Demon targeting Stella. The Labyrinth beneath the Imperial Capital.
The illusion.
All of it.
It's all revolving around me.
Except I'm only the center.
I'm not the master of that flow.
Even I am being swept along by it.
And that pisses me the hell off.
"...You dare try to use me?"
Fuck that.
Whatever you arranged, whatever you want, whatever you hid.
I'll do things my own damn way.
Still... I'll take what Arisa left behind.
"It'd be a waste to throw that away..."
I smirked and fell asleep just like that.
*****
That night, I had a dream.
I don't remember what the dream was about.
But the feeling remains.
A feeling that was somehow familiar, yet unfamiliar.
It was a dream I'd never experienced, yet felt as if I'd experienced it once before... an unsettling dream.
In that dream, the voice in that dream said this to me:
-They say beautiful flowers are precious because they wither. But I don't really like the word "precious." It's a little... how should I put it. It feels stiff, doesn't it?
-So I... prefer the word "dear."
-Because you can put emotion into the word "dear."