Seeing Through the Mask
The voice changes when a person becomes an adult, making it impossible to identify, and appearance could be altered with magic.
If the other party recognized me first, that would be the most definitive proof. But since they had to conceal their identity during the trial, they might not be able to acknowledge me at all.
In any case, it seemed impossible to find the answer this way. Ash wouldn’t be able to give me one, and I couldn’t ask him directly.
That would clearly violate the rules.
“Impressive……”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
“You have quite the keen eye.”
“I’m from Dmitry, the land of knights. Just by looking at the shape of well-developed muscles, I can tell whether someone’s a strong swordsman or not. It’s basic.”
“Well. You don’t seem like an ordinary native of that land.”
Lox’s gaze as he looked at me sank for a long moment.
We quietly recognized that we were both intellectuals who had received equal—or perhaps even superior—educations.
If I dug any deeper, he would grow heavily guarded, so I decided this was far enough.
To shift the mood, I laughed out loud and swirled my glass. The scarlet fruit wine rippled inside, threatening to spill over.
“Feels good to eat my fill. I think I’ll actually get a proper night’s sleep for once.”
“Yes……”
“So, what are all of you planning to do tomorrow?”
Ash remained quiet, lost in thought, while Chad ate without stopping.
Only Lox, who had been carefully reading the room, answered me cautiously.
“We don’t have any particularly important schedules. Our companions in another country are supposed to send a telegram this way. We plan to leave as soon as we receive it. It should arrive in three or four days.”
“Then you’ll need to visit the Mage Tower, right?”
“That’s correct.”
In this world with so few means of communication, exchanging messages between travelers was rather cumbersome.
The standard method was to choose a city with a Mage Tower, send a telegram there, and have the other party pick it up at the appointed time. The disadvantages were that it was expensive and difficult for both sides to coordinate their schedules.
If the timing didn’t match, it was common to end up waiting for days.
“I happen to have business at the Mage Tower tomorrow. Shall I check for you instead?”
“I would be grateful if you could, but…?”
“In return, could you watch the child for me?”
“……”
“Why? Is there any loss for you?”
“It somehow feels like there is.”
“You’re probably imagining it.”
It was fortunate that Lox consistently used polite speech. He really did seem like a well-mannered person.
“You’re not going to eat this much and then just wipe your mouth clean, are you?”
Why did he look like he had fallen into a trap?
Lox belatedly smacked Chad on the back. It was probably meant to tell him to stop eating. But Chad kept right on eating even as he was hit, and even threw up a thumbs-up as if to say leave the kid to me. Looked like I would have to buy him another meal tomorrow.
These muscleheads were secretly pretty nice, weren’t they?
I returned to the room, locked the door, and sat down calmly beside the sleeping Einy.
Feeling the soft bed after so long, I closed my eyes in a proper posture and called out to Rai in my mind.
Hoping it would reach him truly.
Rai.
When I closed my eyes, I could feel myself more vividly. What I wanted to do became that much clearer.
What I wanted right now was to send my voice to my spirit.
Can’t you hear my voice? Rai.
He was definitely in the stable attached to the inn, so at most a hundred meters away—well within the range where we could communicate.
We had become able to speak to each other and convey our wills from much farther distances than before. We could hold a conversation from anywhere inside a small village.
But Rai gave no answer now. It seemed he was sulking. My closed eyes unconsciously furrowed deeply.
Rai, if you don’t actually want to sleep in the stable, you’d better answer me right now.
Heuk heuk!
Stop crying and speak properly.
You already know everything! I can’t live like this! It’s incredibly dirty here! It’s filthy! Master is bad! Heuuuk.
As expected, he really was an amusing fellow. He couldn’t stand anything unclean even though he didn’t feel pain.
Shut up. There are no people around, right? Transform into a snake immediately and come up to the second floor of the inn.
Right this instant?
Yes. It’s time to spy.
Even without closing my eyes, thoughts were transmitted, but this way allowed better concentration and clearer conversation.
I’m sulking, though.
That’s your one-sided opinion.
You’re too much… So cold! So heartless!
Want to be a mouse instead of a snake?
……So that’s why you gave me that form? Right? It was a threat from the beginning!
Rai hated transforming into a mouse far more than he hated becoming an ogre.
What had he called it? Lacking dignity? I had originally included the mouse form for spying purposes but had never been able to use it.
If you understand, then hurry up and move.
Tsk, aren’t you supposed to comfort a sulking spirit? Are you sure you love me? Your affection has cooled!
Is this the rebellious phase? You’re the only sulking spirit I’ve ever seen.
Master, you’ve been so cold lately! In the past you were at least a little kind… Wait, no you weren’t. Now that I think about it, you really are consistent. How can you stay so consistently ill-tempered? It’s admirable.
Ha, suddenly I want a pet mouse. What do you think?
Puhaha! A snake is best for spying! You know that, Master? I’m going right now.
Who was the one always scratching at my temper like this?
You said a long-haired man with glasses, right?
Since Ash had no distinguishing features, I had told Rai to use Lox as the standard. People who wore glasses were rare in this world, after all.
Found him? He should be on the second floor. I don’t know the room number, though.
Yes, I think I’ve found him. Glasses and a necklace.
Necklace?
I didn’t know what he did when he was away from me, but Rai was extremely skilled at espionage. Since he wasn’t a living creature, he gave off almost no presence, making him nearly impossible to notice.
Even though a spirit resided inside, it was precisely metal—in other words, an inorganic state.
One of them is wearing a strange necklace.
Is it the brown-haired man?
Yes. There are only the two of them in the room.
I retraced my memories to see if Ash had been wearing a necklace.
The firm body beneath the dark blue leather shirt came to mind first, followed by the neat waistline cinched with a black belt.
His shoulders had looked broad and solid too. That guy’s body really was excellent.
Only after recalling all the parts I had mentally caressed and liked did I finally remember the bone necklace carved in the shape of a knife.
Wearing a knife-shaped necklace as a wish for good luck was extremely common among men regardless of status.
That necklace, by any chance…
It has magic cast on it. It appears to be of the transformation type.
Oh ho.
Our Rai really did have decent magic detection abilities. The probability that Ash was Ash was rising rapidly.
Are you certain?
Of course! After absorbing the Dragon Heart, I’m confident when it comes to sensing magical energy!
I opened my eyes for a moment and stared at the ceiling.
I had already suspected that if Ash had changed his face, the method would be magic. And not direct casting, but the use of a magic item.
For a swordsman to use magic, that was the only possible way.
My prediction had been correct, and it wasn’t particularly surprising.
I drew my knees up, rested my chin on them, and closed my eyes again.
Go closer. Tell me everything you sense.
I’ll approach as much as possible!
Rai had always been sensitive to magical energy. It was far more useful and reliable than my own senses as a Spirit Master.
It seems like partial polymorph.
Partial… Well, completely transforming the whole body like demonic energy would be difficult for a human.
It appears to only affect the face… I don’t sense any other magical power.
Affecting only the face meant that if the necklace was removed, I would see his original appearance. How could I get it off him? Even without removing it, things were almost certain, but I was still curious.
Are those men talking about me?
They’re having a rather serious conversation.
Eavesdrop and relay it exactly as it is.
Um… They’re talking about some suspicious woman. One of them says he suspects she might be a spy… He just said, ‘She might have approached you after learning your identity.’
As expected, Lox seemed to be the prince’s attendant. The prince’s aide and watcher.
His role was to monitor in various ways—whether the prince broke any rules, whether anyone had noticed the existence of the trial and was threatening the safety of the prince who was now exposed in the world without defenses.
Was that the one with the glasses?
Yep. And the one with the necklace said, ‘Seeing as he travels with a child, it probably isn’t that’… He’s defending you somehow. Is this about you, Master?
Yes. Keep relaying.
The big guy just came in and the conversation stopped.
That would be Chad. His identity was probably a secret from him as well.
The essence of the Path of the Trial was how excellently a prince could gather companions while hiding his identity.
Which prince could gather more outstanding guardians with stronger charisma was of utmost importance.
The princes who gathered guardians while traveling the continent for a fixed period would return to the imperial palace.
Only then could they reveal their identities to their companions.
The trial did not end there. The prince’s guardians would bet everything on a ‘duel.’ Historically, there had never been a better way to prove strength.
What came afterward was simple.
The prince whose guardians won the duel would become the crown prince.
As soon as the big guy came in he started talking only about food? And now he’s bragging that he just took an incredibly thick shit…
Ugh, disgusting.
Talking about eating and shitting at the same time! What a strong stomach!
……That’s enough. Come back to me.
The spying ended there. I threw myself onto the bed, crossed my legs, and sank into thought.
There was no longer any room for doubt. All the pieces fit together perfectly.
That ordinary man was definitely Ash, and he even had attendants with him.
“Wait, then that means Chad is a guardian?”
Rather than amazement or joy at miraculously meeting Ash, worry flooded in first. Even though I wasn’t usually the type to worry about others.
“Is it… going to be okay?”
I didn’t know when the trial had started, but he had to gather companions within the time limit… and he only had one so far! And it was Chad, of all people!
Ash, you! Can you even pass the crown prince examination like this?
“Ah, he did say companions would be contacting him. So that makes two? The attendant isn’t a guardian, so we’ll exclude him…”
How many were they supposed to gather in total?
Was it five?
When was the deadline?
As I muttered to myself, I eventually clutched my head, growing serious.
This wouldn’t do. I had studied too half-heartedly before, so there were too many things I didn’t know.
As soon as dawn broke, I would have to visit the Mage Tower. And I needed to contact Drickey. The dean would definitely know all the details.
I wanted to know! Everything about the Path of the Trial!