Chapter 105 — Contact (2)
Chapter 105 — Contact (2)
Roan's urgency had become industriousness.
He had been an emperor who moved without wasting time ever since his personality changed so drastically.
And today, he seemed poised to reach the peak of that tendency.
"Your Majesty, what brings you here at this hour...."
"Hm. There is something I wish to ask before the meeting."
"Yes. Please speak."
Normally, the Lord of the West Blood Territory's morning schedule was for training.
On this rare occasion, the Great Lord had been preparing for a meeting since early morning when he received the emperor in his office.
In the afternoon, the Chancellor, the Treasurer, the Lord of the West Blood Territory, and the Lord of the East Yellow Territory were scheduled to hold a meeting about this crystal research.
Since everyone was scattered at the moment, it would be a remote meeting using a magic orb.
"Might you know a great deal about the item you gave me yesterday?"
"Are you referring to the sword's gem?"
"Hm."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory seemed to be searching his memory.
"I do not know a great deal, but shall I tell you everything I do know?"
When Roan nodded, the Lord of the West Blood Territory spoke.
"The sword Your Majesty now wields is the sword that the late Empress used."
Roan narrowed his eyes.
He gathered together the sparse and scattered memories of the former Demon King.
Fiora had said so as well.
That her previous master was Kiruina — the Former Empress.
But had the Former Empress been a swordswoman? In the memories he had of the Former Empress, he could find no image of her taking up a sword and fighting.
A moment later, Roan realized that this was only natural.
No mother would wish to show her child the sight of her fighting.
And then a brief headache.
The Great Lord studied the face of the emperor, who had furrowed his brow.
What surfaced in Roan's mind was,
for the first and last time in the memories of the former Demon King, the image of the Former Empress holding a sword.
That time, when he had not been far from adulthood.
Roan sensed intuitively that it had been the final image of her.
'...A melancholy scene.'
Roan's voice sank slightly.
"The Former Empress was.... What sort of person was she as a swordswoman?"
A trace of fondness and regret flickered across the centaur's steadfast face.
"She was the only person who could defeat the late Emperor."
Roan's eyes went wide.
"Physically.... you mean?"
"That is correct."
"Then..., why did the Former Empress not become emperor herself?"
And the Great Lord's answer was clear.
"Because Your Majesty was in her womb."
"...Ah...."
A low exclamation of wonder escaped Roan's lips.
The Great Lord continued his explanation.
"As Your Majesty knows, in truth, among us demonkind, things such as noble houses and family lines..., those were institutionalized not very long ago."
"Since the nation has not even existed for two hundred years."
"Yes. Just as you say. And so, there were many more newly titled nobles and newly named houses than there are now."
"The Former Empress was one of those, then."
"Yes. I heard that Her Highness was the second generation of her house."
Which was apparently why there had been neither relatives nor in-laws properly near Roan. If the force that murdered the Former Emperor and the Former Empress possessed a thorough nature, they likely would have started by cleaning up the vicinity.
For demons, the result of a duel was absolute, but even so, there were those who chose the unsightly path of revenge out of familial affection.
That tenuous bond that a demon house represented had probably been picked off piecemeal, for nothing.
"And I heard that she inherited that sword from her family. Though I did not hear from which person exactly she received it."
"Hm...."
"It was something she had kept and passed down through the generations even before that."
"It seems it was a precious item."
However, the Great Lord's next words shattered that supposition of Roan's without mercy.
"Rather than that, she called it a Bewitching Sword."
"...."
No look of surprise appeared on Roan's face. The Lord of the West Blood Territory also accepted that fact as a matter of course.
In any event, the emperor had been the master who had wielded that sword for more than ten years.
It was only natural that he would know.
Roan was marveling at that title more than the Great Lord imagined.
Having seen Fiora's body and actions, he doubted there could be a name better suited.
"So, while pondering how to pass the sword down to you, she sealed away a portion of its power and then entrusted you with it."
Abruptly, a question rose in Roan's mind.
"Why then did she give it to you? For instance, there is the Chancellor who has served since the previous generation."
The Great Lord burst into a hearty laugh.
At the unexpected reaction, Roan opened his eyes wide.
"Her Highness said that if Your Majesty should ever come looking for that sealed gem, I was to give you a good smack upside the head."
"...Huh?"
It was a dumbfounded interrogative, the first he had uttered in a long while.
"According to the late Empress, 'This sword is a Bewitching Sword. It would not be strange for our innocent Roan to become enthralled by it at any time. So I shall divide its power so that its evil energy is lessened. However, since this is a sword that seduces people, a day may come when Roan throws a fit, demanding that I hand over this gem. Then you are to tell him not to be ridiculous and give him a solid kick with your hind legs.'"
Roan wore a blank expression.
Mother, if I were to be kicked by those hind legs....
Would I not die?
More than anything, innocent Roan, she said.
Considering the former Demon King's past actions, it was a word truly far removed from him.
On the day I first arrived here, he was engaged in a foursome.
Innocent.
Had the Former Empress been profoundly blinded by her love for him,
or had something about him changed far too much?
"That is considerably more than 'giving a good smack.'"
"Ha-ha. Did Your Majesty not brush off something like a kick from my hind legs even as a child?"
Roan shut his mouth.
A promising seedling, was he.
When he thought about it, he was the son born between a father who suplexed wyverns and a swordswoman mother who handled Fiora.
His skills aside, he was, in the end, the heir born between this nation's first-ranked and zero-ranked strongest.
His physical specs would have to be extraordinary.
"And so I too asked her: if that is the case, would it not be even more proper for Your Highness to keep the seal yourself?"
"And her answer?"
And the Great Lord smiled bitterly.
"She answered that she did not know if she would be able to hand it to you personally, since her fate was to surrender the throne and die should a challenger appear. She said that she would do her utmost, but she was doing this... just in case."
"...."
Though the morning sun had settled upon the Great Lord's office, the air was stiflingly cold.
A silence passed for some time,
and Roan asked quietly.
"If it was such a dangerous thing, would it not have been better not to bequeath it to me at all?"
"It seems that was not the case. She said that when Your Majesty was capable of surpassing her, you would be able to handle it sufficiently."
Roan's eyes narrowed.
Strange.
The power of Fiora that Roan had encountered was not of that degree.
Fiora had displayed a speed that Roan, the strongest person in this world, could not even react to.
Seeing the doubt in Roan's eyes, the Great Lord added one more remark.
"Though I found it difficult to understand, she said it was because that sword is lenient toward men."
"...E-eu-eum."
Roan's brow furrowed ambiguously.
In other words,
she had no intention of killing men.
Or rather, she was utterly bent on enjoying herself with them.
And the Former Empress had known all of that as well.
Recalling Fiora's beautiful and bewitching smile, Roan felt that particular guess gain weight.
"She also remarked that one who possesses that sword has no choice but to grow."
"...Eum."
"And so she wished to hand it over to Your Majesty as quickly as possible."
"...Eu-eu-eum."
Just as Fiora had said,
it seemed the Former Empress had grown to dislike Fiora's training as well.
The Great Lord, who had never personally experienced Fiora, observed Roan's reaction and spoke with a gentle expression.
"From hearing the late Empress's words, I had been surmising that Your Majesty's sword was either a Sentient Sword or a Magic Sword. But to think she was in such a hurry to pass on to her son a sword that aids growth.... As I thought, Her Highness was a mother."
A smile rose upon the Great Lord's face.
"To the extent that she gave up on her own growth as a swordswoman. Motherly love is a tremendous thing."
Roan swallowed a bitter smile.
In all likelihood, the Former Empress too had merely disliked Fiora's relentless drilling.
He felt that listening to the story up to this point would suffice.
Now, in hindsight, the Former Empress's judgment in hiding the gem to prevent manifestation, because Fiora was a Bewitching Sword, appeared to have been the correct one.
Had it not been for that, the former Demon King might have kept Fiora at his side and led an even more debauched and brutal life.
In the end, if he wanted to investigate Fiora's origins,
he likely had no choice but to look into the Former Empress — his mother's family.
Roan expressed his thanks to the Great Lord who had told him the story and said,
"I have heard a valuable account. Thank you for making the time."
"Not at all. Then where does Your Majesty plan to be today?"
"I mean to stop by the forest briefly before the afternoon meeting begins."
The faint smile that had been lingering on the Great Lord's face vanished utterly.
He spoke in a stiff voice.
"You returned barely yesterday morning, and you mean to go again at once."
"I have no intention of dragging this person or that along. Only Helen and I will go."
"You mean the human female holy knight?"
"Hm."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory was aware that she was both a knight and a priestess.
Because at the New Year Festival banquet, he had witnessed from the front row the miracle of her mending the young man's wrist.
Moreover, he would also know the report that she, possessing holy power, had freely operated even within that magic-draining forest.
"In any case, I cannot take a mage who uses mana. I brought a forest elf with me as a guide. If I were to bring knights or soldiers, that would only draw even more attention."
At the present moment, Helen was the most stable combat asset.
And since she could use healing in an emergency, the Great Lord reluctantly nodded.
As if to reassure him, Roan continued speaking.
"If it is just Helen and myself, a forest elf is unlikely to perceive it as threatening. It would be dangerous for them to reveal themselves there, and if they were to suddenly kill us with arrows, they would lose any way of learning what demons seek in that place."
"Every word you speak is correct."
The Great Lord's words contained a multitude of 'however's.' Yet Roan drove the wedge home firmly.
"In that place, forest elves cannot use magic either. Even if some arrows fly our way, neither Helen nor I will die from mere arrows. I understand your worry, but there is no need to overprotect. Great Lord."
At Roan's half-joking words, the Great Lord flusteredly waved his hands in refusal.
"Not at all, Your Majesty. How would I dare toward Your Majesty such a...."
"In any event, there is no one else who can discover those crystals if not me."
When Roan shrugged his shoulders, the Great Lord dropped his own shoulders in dejection and conceded.
"There is not a single word wrong in what you say."
"Do not worry."
Hearing the voice imbued with the power of 'Appeal,' the Great Lord reluctantly bobbed his head.
"With what power could I, your servant, obstruct Your Majesty's steps? However, more than the forest elves, please take care that you do not end up trapped somewhere as you were last time. Was that not something that Your Majesty's own power could not contend with?"
"Hm, that is...."
In the end, Roan had to conclude the negotiation over his forest stroll by slinging a simple survival backpack onto his shoulders.
With Helen and him running there and back, it would amount to a hike of just an hour or two; a survival kit, what a notion.
Roan sighed as he exited the office.
'Not that I fail to understand his worried feelings....'
Even knowing that it was an impertinence, what he sensed from the Lord of the West Blood Territory's words was concern alone.
Was he perhaps trying to offer now the protection he had not been able to offer until now.
It was both something to be grateful for and a little bothersome, but.
Roan decided to accept it with the feeling of performing something akin to filial duty toward his father's friend.
'Since I would stand out no matter what, I must refrain from visiting the Waypoints for a while.'
No matter that they were ruins invisible to their eyes, having that place draw attention would genuinely lead to no good.
'Later, I shall have to inform them about the Waypoints as well.'
So that he could use them openly.
In any case, the Small Council already knew that he was exploring ruins for some kind of reason.
The exploration team's search objective had now changed to investigating the location where the 'monolith' was.
Once Deep Winter ended, results would follow soon after.
If he exerted just a little more effort, travel within Evirgio could become dramatically faster.
When that time came,
he would reveal the existence of the ruins to the Small Council and the Great Lords, and he would be able to swiftly travel between cities.
Roan moved his steps.
Just as swift as his own footsteps,
the transformation of Evirgio was drawing near before his very eyes.