The Price of Return

Three pairs of eyes were fixed on Kang Taeyoon. Then a translucent window appeared before him.

Return?

Kang Taeyoon's eyes went wide. The word he had been waiting for had appeared at last.

Finish this, and I can go home. Is that it?

He wanted to accept on the spot. The line written above it, though, caught in his chest.

Secure their safety? So saving them once isn't enough?

He turned the word over for a moment, then looked at the three of them. They had made it out of the capital, but they were still fugitives. At this rate, the Waltern Empire's army could take them again. Or some noble they went to for help might seize them instead.

Last time was just about getting them out. This time I have to leave them safe even without me. Stowing them away somewhere would not see the matter finished. Just as they themselves had said, he would have to gather troops and give them the strength to protect themselves.

Damn. This isn't going to be easy.

Even so, a way home had opened. Kang Taeyoon lifted his gaze from the quest window.

Seraphina's lips parted. Ariane stared at him, startled.

"You really... mean you'll stay with us?"

"Yes. Having come this far, I can hardly just leave you."

I have to get back, too.

Of course he could not say that part aloud. To them, a man they had met for the first time today was offering to keep risking his life.

"Thank you. Truly, thank you."

The corners of Seraphina's eyes reddened. Ariane let out a breath that sounded like relief and caught his hand.

"We'll do everything we can as well. We won't leave the whole burden on you, Sir Taeyoon."

"Please. I can't manage it all alone either."

"Yes. I'll help the two of you gather people."

Veronica raised her head. Relief rose even across the face that had been rigid only moments before.

"I will not forget this kindness."

Kang Taeyoon nodded. He could not go on leaning on a single window, though. Raising soldiers would take money, and he himself would have to grow stronger. Fortunately, he had the knowledge of the original story.

"Then there's a place we should stop before we go looking for a merchant company. Do you happen to know where Mount Erbein is?"

"Mount Erbein? It's a mountain north of the capital. It isn't far from here, either."

Ariane answered at once. He looked in the direction she indicated, but the trees hid the mountain from view.

No need to go far, then.

All he knew from the original was the mountain's name and a description of the entrance. The rest he would have to learn from the people of this world.

"Why do you want to go to that mountain?"

"The Imperial Secret Vault is there. Gold coins, jewels, and all kinds of equipment are stored inside."

It was the vault Leonhardt had opened in the original story. Chests lined along the walls had been packed with gold coins, and the smaller boxes had held finely cut gems. Beside them, swords, armor, and the rest of the gear had been stored in rows. With that fortune, Leonhardt had built the faction that followed him.

This time, we use it.

That bastard had already gone back to the past. Which meant the vault's rightful owner was the Ariane of this world.

"You're saying the imperial secret vault is there?"

Seraphina asked, startled. Veronica looked as though she could hardly believe it.

"I've never heard of such wealth being left outside the capital."

"I had heard the imperial family kept a secret vault. But I never knew where it was...!"

Ariane's voice rose.

"If what you're saying is true, Sir Taeyoon, we can gather soldiers. We can get weapons, and buy food to feed them!"

She spoke with her face alight, then suddenly looked at Kang Taeyoon.

"But the location of the vault is a secret passed only to the emperor and the crown prince. Even I, an imperial princess, don't know it... How do you, Sir Taeyoon?"

"I was wondering the same thing. You knew the imperial guardian spirit was in my bracelet, and even how to awaken it. And you were chosen by the spirit and received its power... Are you perhaps from a clan that guards the imperial family in secret?"

The moment Ariane finished, Seraphina asked. This time Ariane and Veronica turned toward her.

"A guardian spirit?"

"I saw it myself. A golden lion came out of the bracelet and gave Sir Taeyoon its power."

Seraphina spoke with complete certainty. Kang Taeyoon thought of the bracelet he had tucked into his pocket.

Well. A man who knows the imperial secrets got power from the guardian spirit on top of it.

Veronica's gaze passed lightly over him. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed interested in the fact that the guardian spirit had chosen him. Kang Taeyoon shook his head.

"It's nothing like that. I'm simply someone who came to help the three of you. I only know a few of this world's secrets."

"This world's secrets?"

"Yes. The location of the vault is one of them."

He could not go so far as to say he had read it in a novel. Ariane still looked curious, but instead of pressing him she nodded.

"All right. I'll show you the way."

"For now, we ought to confirm the vault."

Veronica rose as well. Seraphina gathered the waterskin and looked at Kang Taeyoon.

"I know you're helping us, Sir Taeyoon. You saved us with that power, after all."

Feeling a little awkward, he picked up his spear. Not every question would be settled. Even so, they seemed willing to trust what he had done so far.

"Let's go."

The party kept off the main road and traveled along the forest. Ariane gave the direction, and Kang Taeyoon walked ahead, watching their surroundings. Whenever they had to cross a road, Veronica lowered herself first and made certain no one was passing.

After they had walked for a while, the mountain began to show between the trees.

"That's the one. The imperial hunting grounds are there, so I've been a few times."

Ariane pointed to the trail ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that ran down toward the foot of the mountain. Kang Taeyoon called up the description he had read in the original.

"Halfway up, there's a rock split in two at the top. We have to find what's behind it."

"I don't know exactly where that is, but I know the path up to the middle slopes."

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the three women were growing short of breath again. The party drank a little water, then chose a gentler slope and started the climb. Seraphina gathered the hem of her cloak in both hands, and Ariane moved along gripping branches.

"Take my hand."

At the steep places Kang Taeyoon stopped and hauled them up one after another. Hurried as he was, he could not leave them and go on ahead.

Only as the sun began to sink did the rock they were looking for appear. The crown of the great boulder had split into two forks.

That's it!

Kang Taeyoon went around behind the rock. Vines hung over the cliff face, but nothing looked like a door.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes. Please wait a moment."

He stood the spear beside him and drew the vines aside. In the stone laid bare, three grooves wide enough for a finger had been cut side by side. Seen plainly, they would have passed for marks worn by wind and rain.

Left, right, and the center last.

Kang Taeyoon pressed the grooves hard, in the order he remembered. When his finger sank into the center one, something caught beneath it — a mechanism seating itself. Then he spoke the code.

"Number 501."

KRRRUMBLE.

A blue line surfaced across the rock. Inside the shape of a door, the stone slowly pushed backward. The three of them drew back in surprise.

It opened!

Kang Taeyoon took up his spear again. Beyond the opened entrance, magic stones set into the walls began to kindle one after another, and their light revealed a vast interior.

"It... really was here."

Seraphina's murmur was barely above a breath. Kang Taeyoon, too, was briefly robbed of words by the sight before him. Spear in hand, he stepped inside first.

Great chests stood in a line along the walls. On the shelves farther in sat all manner of treasure boxes, and opposite them weapons and armor wrought of magical metal had been set in order. The scene he had only ever read was spread before his eyes, unchanged.

Once the three had come in, Kang Taeyoon pulled the handle on the inside of the entrance. The stone door shut, and the wind from outside was cut off. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leaned his spear against the wall and lifted the lid of the nearest chest.

"Oh...!"

The cry broke from Ariane. The chest was full of gold coins. When Kang Taeyoon opened the small box beside it as well, red gems and blue ones glittered.

How much is all of this worth?

Ariane set a hand on the rim of the chest.

"With this much, we can truly begin. We won't only be asking people to come — we can give them weapons and wages!"

The face that had been worn out from the climb only moments ago brightened. The Restoration Army, until now nothing but words, could actually be raised.

"We'll be able to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raise a force that moves as Your Highness wills. And we'll be less at the mercy of people who demand authority for the favor of sponsoring us."

Seraphina smiled. Veronica looked over the equipment set beside them.

"First, we'll take the gold coins. We need food and horses at once, and funds to send word. The gems should be sold only after we've secured a buyer we can trust."

"And the equipment?"

"There's far too much for the four of us to carry. We'll have to recover it after we've arranged troops and transport."

Veronica drew out one of the coin pouches that had been packed in the chest with the gold. She loosened the tied string, checked the contents, and handed it to Seraphina.

"We should divide the gold and carry it separately."

"Let's do that."

Seraphina took the pouch and slipped it inside her cloak. Ariane was gathering her own share when she turned to Kang Taeyoon.

"If it weren't for you, Sir Taeyoon, we wouldn't even have known something like this was still here."

"I'm glad it helps."

He answered while turning his gaze deeper into the vault. Money mattered. But right now there was something he needed just as much.

It has to be in here.

He could not rest easy simply because he had dropped a few soldiers. From here on, he might have to fight knights who wielded Aura. He needed the power Leonhardt had obtained in this place in the original story.

A power that will make me far stronger than I am now.

To find it, Kang Taeyoon walked deeper into the vault.