Rest (5)
"You couldn't hear it this time either."
"...Yes."
Even after that, Yuria tried again and again. She rephrased it, spoke in fragments of single words, even tried saying it backwards. She exhausted every method she could think of, yet to the very end Rubia heard nothing.
"Strange. Charlotte could hear it without any trouble, and she isn't even a Challenger..."
The anger that had finally settled began to rise again.
"There's... nothing we can do. Haa... Everything feels off today."
In the end Yuria threw up her hands and sank into the sofa. She had been able to hear and understand every single word about the Challengers without missing a beat. So why was it that the secrets of the world itself refused to reach her ears? The only being capable of something like this... had to be Lilith.
Is it because I'm a priestess? Could an ordinary person hear it? Could Noah... hear it?
A swarm of questions crowded in, but she shook her head hard and cast them aside. She didn't want to think any further. Her mind was already stuffed with new information; she had no desire to pile on fresh worries before she had even sorted through what was already there.
And yet... there was still something she needed to hear. Reluctantly she straightened her posture. This wasn't for her own sake. It was for Noah, so she had to listen carefully.
"Charlotte. Sirin... interrupted us earlier. Could you finish telling me about the trial?"
Charlotte, who had been propping her chin on one hand and scribbling something on a scrap of paper, jerked her head up.
"Huh? Ah, the trial... Right. Where did I leave off?"
"Um... You'd gotten as far as Erden's trial."
"Oh... Yeah. Good memory. Right. Erden's trial is the one where you face your trauma and overcome it... that kind of shitty ordeal."
"That's... right."
"This one's more like facing your trauma and resolving it."
Resolving trauma? Overcome versus resolve... Rubia tilted her head, turning the difference over in her mind, and a sly little smile curved Charlotte's lips. Annoyed for no good reason, Rubia spun her thoughts faster.
"Unlike simply enduring it... you guide it in a better direction."
"Exactly. That's the feeling. But the difference is, unlike Erden's trial, if this one goes wrong... you die."
"Why...? Aren't all the trials supposed to take place in the mental world?"
"Erden's does, sure, but this one doesn't. It happens in reality... Ugh, this is seriously hard to explain with words. You step into a certain space and the scenery just whoosh—changes, and everything becomes as vivid as reality... No, not 'like' reality—it is reality..."
Charlotte scowled, waving her hands and feet for emphasis, then finally slumped her shoulders.
"Ah, fuck. Too hard. Yuria, you explain."
"Yes, um... That trial..."
Now that the explanation had been dumped on her, Yuria also frowned and cocked her head, choosing her words with care.
"Charlotte's description is... appropriate? Or maybe a little off. The scenery changing is correct, but rather than changing, it's more like... the place itself is manifested... No, am I being sucked into it? Uh, hmm..."
"See? Even Yuria's struggling. Anyway, Rubia. This doesn't happen in the mental world—it happens in reality. On top of that, your own body changes to match that time period, so if things go wrong, you can actually die."
The explanations were vague enough that Rubia couldn't grasp every detail. But one thing was certain.
"So in any case, because the trial takes place in reality, death is a real possibility."
"Yeah. That much is solid."
"And of course no one else can enter with you."
"Obviously."
"I... see..."
Charlotte rummaged through a drawer as if she had run out of mana cigarettes, then let out an irritated sigh.
"By the way, did you also take your trial in the same place as Charlotte, Lady Yuria?"
"Yes. I underwent mine at the Sanctuary of Memory near Cartia as well."
"...The Sanctuary of Memory?"
"Yes. Are you familiar with it?"
Of course she was. That was exactly where she was headed right now. But if a trial like that took place there... did that mean she would have to face it too? Could even a priestess like her awaken a Unique Ability?
"Yes... The Sanctuary of Memory is my destination."
A look of puzzlement crossed Yuria's face.
"You know its location as well?"
"...I do."
"Huh...? How does Rubia know about that place?"
Charlotte, who had been flipping through a book nearby, also spoke up with open curiosity.
"Um... I was told."
It was awkward to say.
"By who?"
"...Do I really have to say?"
Charlotte stepped closer, her expression suddenly serious. She glanced once at Yuria, received a silent nod of agreement, then opened her mouth.
"Look... I'm not doubting you, Rubia. But is there any chance Lilith might overhear this conversation through you...?"
"That... I can't guarantee. But you've already told me everything about Challengers and the rest, haven't you?"
"That part's fine. Lilith already knows Challengers exist. Hmm... Lilith, you fucking bitch!"
"...Pardon?"
Without warning Charlotte launched into a stream of curses aimed at Lilith.
"Useless piece of shit. Creepy, pathetic bitch. All swagger and no power, just bossing her apostles around. Filthy whore. Peeping-tom pervert."
She kept it up for quite a while, then drew up a pulse of mana and nodded to herself.
"Yeah. That should be enough. Honestly, if she doesn't react after being cussed out that hard... she's probably not listening."
"Charlotte. A goddess... is not an idiot."
"I know that, but... ha, fuck. If you know about it, Lilith might know too, so I'm just gonna say it."
Raking a hand through her hair, Charlotte finally gave up and spoke.
"That place is known only to Challengers and a tiny handful of people who side with them."
She dropped her voice to a near-whisper, plopped down beside Rubia, cleared her throat, and continued.
"And... it's one of the very few places in this world that can completely escape the gaze of the goddess Lilith. That's why who told you about it is a pretty serious question. If it wasn't someone connected to our side... then we're in massive danger."
"...Then I suppose I have no choice."
The truth was, she had been too embarrassed to say it.
"Th-that... um... a g-ghost..."
"Huh? Can't hear you."
"A g-ghost... A ghost suddenly rose up out of my blanket and told me. B-but... I was so s-startled that I missed some parts in the middle... Anyway, it told me to go to the Sanctuary of Memory in northern Cartia."
Yes. A ghost had told her. But she had been so terrified that she jumped, and a few tears—just a few—had slipped out, so she hadn't caught everything properly. Of course, that had been when she was young. Well, not exactly young. Right after she became a priestess, around twenty-one... Yes. Younger than now, at least. Back then she had been afraid of ghosts. Someone might say a priestess who was scared of ghosts was useless, but she had only just become one, so she thought it was understandable. Besides, it wasn't really something to be ashamed of. Everyone was scared of ghosts when they were little. It wasn't just her. So there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
She cleared her throat, composed her expression, and spoke again.
"Ahem... I don't know what kind of being it was, but five years ago, while I was sleeping, I heard a voice. It told me that five years later I was to go to the Sanctuary of Memory in northern Cartia. Leave through the northern gate, spread my Divine Power, and I would naturally sense the path."
Charlotte and Yuria both tilted their heads. Rubia ignored them and pressed on.
"As for how to enter once I arrived... I was told to spill my blood at the place that felt like an entrance."
"Your blood, Rubia?"
"Yes."
Charlotte's and Yuria's gazes met in midair. They exchanged an unreadable conversation with their eyes, then nodded.
"I guess that could make sense... since you're a priestess. Then, can you tell us why it told you to go there? No, wait. Actually... yeah. You should tell that part to someone else, not me."
"Someone else?"
"Yeah. You'll find out who... in due time. I shouldn't just blurt it out—whoa... pfft... What the hell, I'm starting to talk like that little brat Sirin. Hmm... so this is how it feels?"
Chattering to herself, laughing to herself, understanding to herself—Charlotte was thoroughly annoying. Rubia couldn't understand why everyone today seemed determined to say things only she couldn't follow.
"Anyway, you, me, Yuria... all of us have a lot on our minds, so how about we call it a day and rest?"
"Yes. That sounds good."
Rubia nodded readily. She needed time to organize her thoughts. And she needed time to buy Noah's jelly and rope—no. Jelly and the other supplies.
"Alright. Rubia, Yuria, you'll stay here, right?"
"I... don't mind."
"I'm fine here too. Free and comfortable."
"Great, great. Then pick any empty room you like and get some proper rest."
Charlotte pulled the paper she had been scribbling on closer and waved them off with a casual flick of her hand.
Two days later, word of Carpeng's materials arrived from the central guild. Hepais threw herself into forging the equipment, while Yuria began brewing potions and nutritional tonics of every kind. Charlotte buried herself in a mountain of documents and refused to leave her office.
And so half a month passed.
The air had grown a little cooler. The equipment Hepais had been crafting from Carpeng's materials was finished. Yuria's potions were complete. Even Charlotte's stack of paperwork was finally beginning to show its bottom.
Noah, however, still had not woken.