Chapter 74 — Everyone Has a Plausible Plan (2)
Chapter 74 — Everyone Has a Plausible Plan (2)
[ — Executive Producer O: The King of Merde invaded Evirgio targeting the power of the 'Dark Forest Seed.' When the seed wasn't found, he shifted his objective, saying he would at least have to locate the crystal mine containing its power.
The crystal mine is located at the entrance to the Dark Forest in Evirgio, close to the Merde border, so he thought he could find it within the duration of the war. However....
— Story Lead S: They couldn't figure out the condition of 'disembark from the waypoint, then when the full moon is at its zenith, a 30-minute walk following the shadow.' (laughs)
— Executive Producer O: Who came up with that condition? It's incredibly cruel. (laughs) (S: Our team's youngest planner did. Apparently, his house was that distance away.) (everyone laughs) It's a part that perfectly symbolizes the king's foolishness. That's why the character Grünent shines even brighter.]
Based on what we confirmed here in Evirgio, even if not everything was included, the stories in the setting guides and strategy books were never false.
So, it meant even brief planning interviews from those setting collections like the one above had credible aspects.
In the past, I had explored the mine in the game. I simply wanted to see what the crystals looked like. And it wasn't far from the waypoint.
I eventually discovered the cave, and after finding the glittering ore, I just laughed it off.
I had probably taken a commemorative screenshot and left.
The mine was a non-interactive background texture.
Since the game's dialogue proceeded according to the script and choices, there was no occasion for related conversations with characters.
But here, I could go in person!
However!
Only if I could find the waypoint that served as the reference point.
That mine was apparently a mystical zone, because you couldn't find it by simply walking there without passing through the waypoint. So the waypoint was absolutely necessary.
Those ruins I still hadn't found.
'As I thought, I have to see it for myself.'
Just then, Rauka asked.
"But Your Majesty, why are you looking for that crystal mine anyway? Since you're already searching for something. It's not even the seed itself."
As if the three women in the room had all been thinking the same thing, Grünent and Helen also waited for Roan's answer.
The Emperor, who had been lost in thought for a moment, spoke.
"The crystals from this mine,"
Everyone's expressions grew complicated.
"grow life."
Rauka's mouth fell open involuntarily.
"No way.... That level of thing only appears in fairy tales...."
"The crystals are real."
Helen and Grünent's eyes went wide.
Rauka stared at Roan with her mouth still open.
"I have no intention of finding the seed. If that seed is the origin of the Dark Forest, who knows what might happen if we carelessly meddle with it.
But the crystals formed as the seed's power seeped into the surrounding area should be safe. I intend to mine those crystals and use them for agriculture."
It was a statement hard to believe at face value.
The very basis of it, the so-called 'Dark Forest Seed,' was itself an object from a story that even children didn't believe.
Even Grünent, who trusted Roan's words absolutely, was hesitating over how to react to this fairy-tale-like story.
Helen cautiously spoke up.
"Then Master, do you believe Spros III was thinking the same thing as you? That he intended to find and use the crystals...?"
"That is correct."
Rauka's expression sharpened.
"How does Your Majesty know the crystals actually exist?"
"...I read about them in a book. I can say no more than that."
Because no one would have believed me even if I had explained further.
As Roan fell silent on that point, Grünent murmured, as if summarizing her thoughts.
"Then, perhaps my royal father might have read something similar and come to the same conclusion."
...There was no way. Because there was no way the King of Merde had read a setting guide and made that decision.
He was a man who, out of 'foolishness,' decided to believe in such a pie-in-the-sky story while waging a war anyway. That was how the character had been designed.
The fact that he invaded Evirgio to find anything—the seed or the seed's crystals—was a 100% established fact publicly proclaimed by the creator. If he found it, great; if not, the result would still be the weakening of the nobility through war.
All without realizing that no matter how much he strengthened royal authority, it was meaningless if the people collapsed.
But there was no need to correct the misunderstanding.
"The 'Dark Forest Seed' is said to have grown that vast forest. If the crystals also possess a similar power... it is certainly plausible to assume they contain an immense force."
Grünent looked directly at Roan.
"However, all of this is conjecture. Is it not an unknown story until we actually locate the crystals, Your Majesty?
And if Your Majesty had truly known about the crystals or the ore for a long time, you would not have simply agonized over it like this. You would have already retrieved them."
Grünent truly was brilliant.
Her sea-blue eyes met Roan's.
"There must be a reason you have not yet obtained the crystals."
"Hm."
Roan nodded.
"There is a clue to the mine. I've heard that if one starts searching from the giant ruins near the 'Dark Forest Monolith' you mentioned earlier, the mine can be found. I have dispatched an exploration team, but they have yet to achieve results."
After hearing Roan's words, Rauka spoke with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? There aren't any ruins near the 'Dark Forest Monolith.'"
"Indeed. That is the problem."
Their eyes met.
Both pairs of eyes held certainty in their own facts.
"Especially not 'giant ruins' like that."
"But they exist. They must exist."
Roan's eyes narrowed.
"Perhaps they are deeply buried or concealed. But they are definitely there."
At Roan's assertion, Rauka gave a skeptical look. It was a face that said that made no sense.
Strange.
Could it be that they really didn't exist?
In the game, even after the Hero unlocked a waypoint, Merde was the only place he could initially travel to. It was only after Rauka, whom Grünent helped escape, joined the party that the waypoint minimap was unlocked.
So naturally, I had assumed Rauka knew all the waypoint locations, or possessed a map.
But if this Rauka was saying otherwise....
Roan's mind grew complicated. Then I would have to start searching for the mine based on the monolith.
Did waypoints not exist in this world?
To find the mine, I absolutely had to register at the waypoint before heading out.
I wished the mine, at least, would just be sitting there.
No way.
Doubt began to gnaw at his heart.
Then, sensing his wavering heart, 'Will' comforted Roan. It's alright. Don't worry prematurely.
Rauka, who had seemed briefly lost in thought after Roan's words, spoke up as if suddenly remembering something.
"About that 'Dark Forest Monolith' you guys mentioned."
Rauka looked around at everyone.
"You know that there's more than one monolith on the continent, right?"
Helen nodded, but Grünent shook her head.
"Mm. There is also one near Basel."
When Roan answered, Rauka nodded with her arms crossed.
"Mm. There are several monoliths on the Moira Continent. So, has anyone among you actually read the inscriptions?"
Uh.... I'd seen them a lot in the game.
Did that count as actually seeing them?
In the game, they were written in squiggly, unreadable characters. I learned here that it was the ancient language. In conclusion, I'd never actually read them. I merely recited the contents from the setting guide.
In the end, everyone shook their heads.
"The demon capital of Basel in Evirgio. The human capital of Spros in Merde. Zeno at the entrance of the Dark Forest. And several other places have monoliths erected. But no one knows what they are for. The final phrase written on all of them in common is."
"「The Goddess left her footprints.」."
"...As expected, Your Majesty knows a great deal."
Rauka nodded slowly.
"But there's a phrase written only on the Dark Forest Monolith."
"...Hm?"
This wasn't in the setting guide.
"I've seen a few monoliths in other cities. Most of them had the final phrase worn away, but it remained in the Dark Forest. Since the area around the 'Dark Forest Monolith' is the borderland between us forest elves and the demonkin, no one ever goes there. Maybe that's why it survived."
Scratching her head, Rauka suddenly started a different story.
"This is a story I heard when I was little."
Why had this random tale come up all of a sudden?
But everyone lent their ears to Rauka.
"They say the sun, the son of the Goddess Laurecia, scatters life onto the earth, and the moon, her daughter, nurtures that life throughout the night."
Grünent and Helen nodded as if this was obvious. It was a story that even remained in the Demon King's memories, a tale every child on the Moira Continent heard in childhood.
A fairy tale about the great Goddess Laurecia creating everything, then making the sun and moon to distribute life and power to the land.
"But the story goes that the Goddess grew curious to see for herself how her children were handling their work."
"...Pardon?"
Grünent's eyes widened.
"As a forest elf, I don't get it, but humans seemed to understand."
Roan furrowed his brow slightly.
My mother had run away from reality, Grünent had been abandoned by her royal father, and Helen was an orphan.
We were all a mess.
In the end, all three of us just stared back at Rauka with blank expressions.
Rauka looked at us with an incredulous face.
"...Usually, the reaction is 'That's so like a mom, never trusting me!' but... ahem. Anyway."
Looking slightly embarrassed, Rauka crossed her arms again.
"But the Goddess was worried about the young life forms. She got the idea that the life forms might be too startled if they suddenly met her. So, the Goddess secretly went for a walk at night."
Oh-ho.
Grünent and Helen's eyes sparkled.
How considerate of the Goddess, indeed.
"The Goddess gathered starlight, wove it together with moonlight to make a lantern, and began touring the continent every night.
And the story of the Goddess's walk like that is something we forest elves hear about in our childhood."
At the mention of starlight, my heart flinched for no reason.
Helen glanced over at Roan once.
"But you know."
The next words Rauka spoke were surprising.
"Something similar is written on that 'Dark Forest Monolith.'"
"What does it say?"
"「Only after shining the lantern will those who come after be able to find the Goddess's benevolence.」"
Helen, who had been listening quietly, asked carefully.
"Then Rauka, do you think that 'lantern' is the Goddess's lantern from the story?"
"It gets more and more fanciful, but yes."
Rauka shrugged.
"First of all, I've been to the monolith carrying a lantern, but nothing happened. So no one bothered with it. But if, like His Majesty said, something really is hidden nearby...."
"Then the inscription on the monolith could be a clue."
"You said the 'Dark Forest Monolith' is a place no one ever visits. Rauka, what business took you there? Were you exploring something?"
At Grünent's question, Rauka laughed.
"No. I went because they told me not to."
"...Excuse me?"
Helen involuntarily asked back, and Grünent let out a small laugh.
"They were constantly telling me not to go there. Near that area. I don't remember what it was about, but I was angry anyway. So I ran away and hid around there."
Under Roan's slightly withering gaze, Rauka spoke as if making an excuse.
"...I was a kid, just a kid. But there's a reason forest elves don't go near that place."
"What is it, Rauka?"
"It's a place with a strange energy. If you go there, your mana gets drained."
"...!"
Roan's eyes grew wide.
Right. Mana decreased near that area.
The closer I got to the mine, the more my mana dropped. At first, I thought it was my imagination, then I panicked.
But since it recovered when I went elsewhere and I wasn't heading to the mine to fight anyway, I hadn't paid it any mind. After all, if things went south, I had the option to force-quit and reload.
But if the entire region is like that... could that whole area be a crystal vein?
"That's why forest elves don't go there. No, they can't go. When a forest elf's mana is depleted, it becomes far more dangerous than for a human."
"Mana dissipation... you mean."
"Yeah. It's apparently similar to how a person dies if they don't drink water. I nearly died hiding there too. It might be okay for an adult, but it's truly dangerous for a child."
Rauka spoke of her life-threatening experience as if it were a fond, amusing memory, with a slight smile, completely nonchalant.
"After I was found later, I got scolded terribly. The elder, my parents, and my older sister all took turns...."
Roan organized his thoughts.
I needed to investigate this Goddess's lantern. And first, I had to see it for myself.
Whether waypoints truly didn't exist, or whether they simply hadn't been discovered yet. Perhaps recreating the actions the Hero took while escaping back then would help.
"Rauka."
"Huh?"
At the sound of Roan's voice, Rauka turned to him with a cheerful expression.
"It seems you will have to search with me after all. The mine."
"...What?"
Rauka's expression darkened in an instant.
"Why...."
"There is no one who knows the forest as well as a forest elf. It is time for you to earn your keep."
"No, wait...."
Suddenly, at the sound of knocking on the door, Rauka shut her mouth.
"What is it?"
"Your Majesty. It is time to attend the Imperial Council."
Roan rose from his seat.
It was the final Imperial Council of the year.