Fate Flows Like the Sea
“Here it is.”
“Already?”
Lox had been running his hands along the outer wall beside the door, but he soon turned back to me with a triumphant grin.
“This is easy enough. It’s a simple mechanism.”
He pressed several protruding stones on the wall in a specific order. Gears ground inside the door with a series of creaks, and a circular section in the center slid open.
Right in front of my face, of course.
“It’s not even a complicated method. They kept it very straightforward. The dungeon’s owner must be quite considerate. Unlike a certain golden-haired someone.”
“The hell? You talking about me?”
“See the spot where you can place your hand? Channel mana into it and the door should open. Inside this massive door, intricate mechanisms are interlocked like the gears of a clock. Mana will act as the lubricant that sets them in motion.”
Everything Lox did made my stomach twist with irritation. Yesterday I’d tried brute force and failed to find anything, yet he’d located the mechanism so easily. It felt downright unfair.
I couldn’t accept it.
How could I not do what Lox could do? How could that guy know something I didn’t?
Even if dungeon mechanisms weren’t exactly my specialty!
“Could you step aside, Miss Jeanie? Ash, this one’s on you.”
Right. This was Ash’s role.
I’d been blinded by a brief surge of jealousy, grumbling in front of the mechanism, but I moved aside to give Ash room.
After all, we’d come here because of Ash, and the imperial family of Elan was the one that wanted the treasure.
The ultimate goal of this treasure hunt was to solidify Ash’s claim to the throne.
When I reminded myself that was why Lox was so worked up, I hated him a tiny bit less. For about two seconds.
“Everyone staring at me like that is a little embarrassing.”
Ash looked awkward, but no one questioned that he should be the one to do it.
After all, the only ones here capable of manifesting mana outside their bodies were me and Ash. Beyond that, he was the leader of our party.
He was the responsible person who had guided us all this far, and the protector who worked so hard to keep any of us from dying. He deserved our trust.
I stood quietly beside Chad and watched as Ash slowly raised his hand toward the mechanism under everyone’s gaze.
It was such a simple moment, yet it overlapped in my mind with the image of Ash’s coronation.
We really had come this far. Maybe the day would actually arrive when Ash became the true emperor.
Will that day really come? I’m not sure if Ash is the type of man who belongs on the imperial throne. Still… I don’t want him to lose that fight and die.
Another quiet thought followed. If someone tried to kill Ash, it felt completely natural that it would be my job to kill that person instead.
Must be my rotten personality.
I could never forgive anyone who touched what was mine.
I stroked my chin, watching as Ash poured his mana into the device.
His mana had a gentle, deep green hue that clearly resembled lush greenery. Given that most mana appeared as cold blue, it was a rather rare color.
“…No reaction.”
“Keep going! You probably just need a little more mana!”
Despite Lox’s encouragement, Ash was concentrating hard. The manifested mana was strong enough to lift his hair continuously into the air.
To someone who couldn’t do it themselves it might not look like much, but if it had been me, I’d be sweating buckets by now. Only a swordsman like Ash could endure it.
Consuming mana internally and manifesting it externally consumed stamina on completely different levels.
Time continued to pass, but the door didn’t budge. How much more mana did it need?
If it was going to open, the mechanisms inside should have made at least some sound by now.
But there was no sign of anything. Only after expending a considerable amount of mana did Ash shake his head and step back from the door.
“Lox, it won’t open.”
“That can’t be…! This shouldn’t be happening! I told you it wasn’t a difficult mechanism! The structure is simple!”
I’d had my doubts about Ash’s abilities before, but the amount of mana he’d just used gave me a rough idea.
If he wanted to, he could probably kill everyone here except me in under ten seconds.
He might even be comparable to Robenin… Not enough to win, but perhaps enough to hold his own for a while?
“Maybe we missed another mechanism? What did we overlook?”
“Lox! What if it only reacts to a specific type of mana?”
“That’s possible! It could be designed for the person who created this place. Remember that other dungeon? The one that only opened for someone carrying that family’s blood…”
“Sigh… If that were the case, they wouldn’t have sent a letter telling a friend about this location. The mechanism is clearly designed to activate the door by channeling mana into it.”
“Then what is it?”
“Maybe this door is just a decoy, and the real one is hidden inside the rock with magic?”
What had seemed easy at first had led us to another dead end, and that alone left me pretty exhausted.
This was my first treasure hunt, but one experience was enough to make me never want to do it again. The way everything kept going wrong at the last second was more than my temper could handle.
On the other hand, the men were already putting their heads together, brainstorming other ideas.
Our boys might be a bit dumb, arrogant, and loud, but they were all full of energy. That part deserved some respect.
Rai, can you eat this door?
I could, sure. But it’s protected by magic, and the spells are solid and powerful. To destroy it I’d have to nibble away at the unprotected sections first, breaking it down gradually… That’ll take some time.
Would an hour do it?
It’s engraved incredibly intricately, with multiple types of magic… plus it’s ancient…
So how long, exactly? Just tell me how long!
Miss, how much research did you even do beforehand?
You piece of horse dung… What about two hours?
Can you go a little higher?
…Fine. A day?
Rai’s head-shaking was longer than usual.
That meant it far exceeded my expectations. I made a generous offer.
A week…?
I’d need about three years, thanks.
Hahaha!
I had underestimated ancient magic.
Destroying it would take years? Ridiculous!
Think about it, Master! Restoring two fist-sized spirit stones is still taking months and you haven’t even finished yet, right? Now look at the size of that thing. Even though destruction is easier than restoration, obviously…
“Ugh. I seriously hate magic.”
I hated it. Loathed it. If it weren’t for the spells, I could just have Rai slurp the whole thing down.
If the person who cast the magic was weaker than you, Master, I could undo it in seconds like I did with the dark elf’s handcuffs… But this is the work of someone far higher level than you. Still, there is exactly one way to do it faster!
What is it? Spit it out.
You just need to become about twice as strong as you are now, Master! Then it’d be possible within a year!
You scam artist of a spirit.
So there was no real solution after all!
Waiting three years would be faster than becoming twice as strong!
“Lox! Hand over the letter.”
My impatient nature made me give up on using Rai to open the door. I joined the men in brainstorming.
There might be a clue in the letter. Something we’d missed.
“I’ll show you, but… don’t damage it! Even though it’s a copy, this is the only one we have right now!”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”
“Please, just this one thing!”
“You’re really scolding me over one broken marker. And that was an accident! It sounds like a lie even when I say it, but it’s true!”
I snatched the letter and flipped through it quickly.
From what I remembered, the back side definitely contained more about the treasure.
The preservation state was relatively good, so the content was easy to read. There were no strange codes either.
However, there seemed to be no hints about opening the door, which was probably why Lox hadn’t examined it closely.
The passage itself was fairly ordinary.
Treasure, whose hands will you flow into?
Where will fate lead you? Will you save the world, or save the nation? Or will you become nothing—a mere nobody?
I pray that you remain in peace, that you sleep for a long time as a nobody.
Nevertheless, if the world needs you and you flow to the one who inherited my will, then grant that person shining glory and help them find your light.
If you cannot sleep forever, become part of the world and fulfill your purpose. But do not be used for evil. That is the only thing I truly wish.
In the name of the Mother Goddess. All according to her will.
It was hard to find anything particularly special about the content, but a few things caught my attention.
“Lox, what was the writer’s profession?”
“We can’t know for certain. We can only speculate that they were a mage.”
I looked down at the letter again.
After reading certain passages repeatedly, I took a step back from the massive door in front of me.
I kept walking backward until I no longer had to look up at the door.
I quickly moved far from the group, but my surroundings were still crowded.
Rai was stuck to my feet, Undain floated beside my shoulder, and Adore hovered above my head.
With a light gesture to Adore, I had him shine more strongly toward the upper part of the door.
“Rai, can you see that too?”
You mean the letters?
“Yeah.”
I had thought the raised decorations on the door were just patterns.
But from a distance, I could tell they were ancient script.
They were covered in moss and impossible to read, but that wasn’t much of a problem.
With a simple nod, I sent Undain flying that way.
The moss slid off in clumps under the stream of water, and soon a complete sentence was revealed.
“As it should be… it shall come to pass. Destiny is…”
Destiny is like the sea. No one knows where it will flow.
“So this thing…”
Huh? I swear I’ve heard that somewhere before. Where was it?
I examined the letter again.
The writer had used the expression “flow into” multiple times, not just once or twice, but consistently across different sections.
And a person’s sentences always revealed their rank, profession, and personality.
“Flow to the one who inherited my will…”
I slowly retraced every step of the path that had led us here.
The sea. The lake. The Mother’s will.
“Hey, kids?”
“What? We’re busy as hell over here.”
“Stop groping the walls and pay attention to me, will you?”
One good thing about our boys was that even when they grumbled, they still did what I asked.
I gathered the men in front of me. Then, with a bright smile, I made today’s surprise announcement.
“I think… I’ve figured out how to open this place.”