Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: A Guest More Precious Than the Holy Relic! ()
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“An... Ancient Dragon Word... deciphered...?!”
1st Princess Ether muttered in disbelief. She was so shocked that her eyes looked even larger than her glasses lenses.
Of course, she wasn't the only one. The entire area was in an uproar.
“He's activating the stone tablet engraved with the Ancient Dragon Word?”
“They say if it activates, it'll be a spectacular sight we'll never see again!”
“I can't wait to see it!”
The rampaging spirit had already been a major incident, and now a princess along with a dragonkin had appeared on top of that.
Chaos upon chaos.
But it showed no signs of stopping. Not content with battling the dragonkin and winning, he was now going to activate the ancient stone tablet right here on the spot...
“Today's show just keeps going, huh?”
“Talk about good luck! I'm so glad I came!”
One thrilling spectacle followed by an even more thrilling one, so the crowd had no reason to thin out. On the contrary, the population had swelled dramatically with even more people flocking in.
Meanwhile, Hedera asked Zekiel.
“Inspector, what in the world are you thinking?”
Uncommonly, bewilderment was evident in the princess's eyes peering over her mask.
“I haven't mastered the Ancient Dragon Word yet. It's a puzzle that requires patient, dedicated effort.”
“No need to take it slow. Graduate today.”
Hedera's eyes widened even further.
“...You call that reasonable?”
“What could be impossible for the 2nd Princess?”
With that, Zekiel clamped his mouth shut, leaving Hedera to stew in her remaining bewilderment alone.
Right then.
“Hey, Inspector. And Your Highness.”
A dragonkin approached readily.
“Are preparations just about ready?”
It was Gromon, the dragonkin with thick white whiskers.
“So many people have gathered now that it's impossible to turn back. When do you plan to proceed?”
“Right now. However, we can't easily reveal the princess's power. I'll erect a barrier to block the view until just before the tablet manifests.”
Zekiel replied leisurely, but the dragonkin sneered.
“A barrier... A barrier, huh...”
Evidently, seeing him go so far as to set up a barrier made him certain of failure.
“Well, a human mage's barrier can last three hours at most, right? No issue there. Just decipher it properly.”
Gromon's tone dripped with blatant disdain.
“...”
And Hedera's face, struggling to hide her anxiety.
Fuu—
Zekiel exhaled Sunweed smoke leisurely.
The stone tablet deciphering began just like that.
Near the stone tablet, Hedera and Zekiel stood.
“There's no time limit. Focus comfortably and give it your all.”
Hedera felt a dizzying wave of vertigo.
Time wasn't the issue now. Deciphering the Ancient Dragon Word demanded ability, not the subject's time.
“...What in the world are you thinking?”
She repeated the question she'd already asked.
She still couldn't fathom Zekiel's intentions.
“Your Highness, focus on this part.”
Zekiel traced a thin line of ice across the tablet. It precisely divided the tablet into five equal sections.
“Inspector, what have you been saying since earlier...?”
“Then let's begin.”
Shooo—!
Zekiel created a cubic ice barrier enclosing only Hedera and the stone tablet. The inside and outside were completely cut off, blocking any view of the exterior.
Hedera hurriedly sent a telepathic message.
—You're serious? Suddenly decipher this?
—Too late to back out now. Hurry.
“To think you'd pull something this reckless...”
Hedera muttered softly as she drew up her mana.
The water was already spilled. She wasn't foolish enough to cling to an unchangeable past, so deciphering it for real was her only option now.
First, using the same method she'd tried before.
There had been a time when infusing power while concentrating made the tablet react. Hedera planned to employ the same approach to navigate this crisis.
But.
Did I put in this much power back then...?
No, I need to empty my mind first...
“Your Highness, are you really doing okay in there?”
Then, a human voice leaked in from outside the barrier. It flew like an arrow straight into her ear.
Whoosh—!
The power she was pushing into the tablet immediately scattered.
Moreover, the rebounding force made her hands tingle, and Hedera furrowed her brow.
“...Damn it.”
Come to think of it, yeah.
This barrier doesn't block sound.
Hedera quickly tried to refocus.
No, she tried desperately to focus but failed.
“The princess is in that tiny barrier, right?”
“I'm curious! I want to see her!”
“Maybe if we press our ears against it, we can hear something?”
Suddenly, Hedera felt suffocated.
The cubic barrier wasn't very spacious and only served as a screen. In reality, wasn't a huge crowd practically plastered right up against her?
Her head began to throb gradually.
For the first time in ages, the sensation of tension welled up.
Even so, she desperately tried to concentrate.
But.
“It's weird. It's already been two hours...”
“...!”
Hedera startled violently.
Already two hours?
As Gromon had said, humans couldn't maintain a mana-devouring barrier for long. Especially not one this intricate.
Moreover, Zekiel, the caster, was in a state far from peak condition. Naturally, her mind grew urgent.
Whoosh—!
But again, failure.
The tablet repelled her power as if rejecting it, and her concentration began to wane. Anxiety quickened her breath, and her confidence dwindled.
“...How much longer do we have to wait?”
“This is gonna fail, isn't it?”
“I'm starting to get anxious.”
Every word hammered into her ears.
She had to concentrate, but how could she?
Her mana began scattering without being properly gathered, and suddenly everything grew jumbled and confused.
Suddenly.
A voice whispered from within her heart.
...Hedera, you already knew this deep down, didn't you?
...You're not talented enough to touch the Ancient Dragon Word, are you? You've tried, hit your limit, and collapsed. You've just been avoiding it, putting it off. So how does facing it like this feel?
Each word tormented her, and the ironclad princess's expression slowly crumbled.
“Ugh...”
The 2nd Princess clutched her head.
Thinking back, it was true.
Had Hedera earned her dragon blood through effort?
Had she awakened Word Command through effort?
No.
She had accepted her mediocrity and lived lagging behind, only for it to suddenly appear one day.
In other words, aside from talents bestowed upon her, Hedera had never accomplished anything. She had no talent whatsoever for the Ancient Dragon Word.
“I don't have it. I have no talent...”
Hedera clutched her head.
How much time had passed? She couldn't tell.
Before long, the voices filtering in from outside had dwindled.
From a hundred murmurs to fifty, fifty to ten, ten to one... Of course, Hedera still hadn't accomplished anything.
Finally.
All sounds quieted.
“...”
Hedera wiped her face in abject despair.
....
....
The inside of the barrier was utterly silent.
Suddenly, Hedera felt as if she'd fallen into some isolated world. She even thought she'd rather stay trapped here forever than go out.
It was fear and self-loathing.
Deep down, she knew. She shouldn't make a soul deal, but she also knew she couldn't decipher the Ancient Dragon Word through her own efforts alone.
“Ahh.”
That sound, nearly a sigh of surrender, was the last.
She simply couldn't decipher this.
From the beginning, from the moment she had no talent.
The 2nd Princess sent a telepathic message to Zekiel.
—It's a failure after all. It won't work.
—Take it slow. You can do it.
—No. It won't...
Come to think of it, Zekiel hadn't rushed her at all.
No, since he'd orchestrated this, it was only natural. This wasn't her fault. It was Zekiel's fault for forcing this unreasonable deciphering. Hedera was blameless...
“Ugh...”
It really felt like laying her neck on the execution block.
What reactions would people have upon learning of her failure? That terrified the 2nd Princess.
—How many people are gathered now?
—No one. You can relax.
...No one?
Well, quite a bit of time had passed, it seemed.
Wait, then how is the barrier still up?
—Dismiss the barrier. It must be consuming a ton of mana.
—I'll dismiss it once you've finished deciphering.
“...I said it won't work.”
But Zekiel wouldn't relent.
....
In the silence, Hedera tried again.
Her entire arms were numb. Even lifting them was hard.
....
Thud!
Anger surged, and she slammed the tablet.
It felt like someone was strangling her. Just suffocating.
....
More time passed like that.
—How much time has passed?
—From the last message, just 10 minutes.
...10 minutes?
—Time doesn't pass as fast as you feel. Take it easy. It will work.
....
In the silence, Hedera tried again.
Tried and tried again.
....
—How much now?
—5 minutes. You're messaging too often.
...Am I really just being hasty?
The moment Hedera felt that.
“...?”
Suddenly, she understood the meaning behind Zekiel's division of the tablet. It was a sudden realization, like a light bulb flicking on.
Stroke.
Formula.
Lineage.
Attribute.
Harmony.
—Inspector, I think I might actually be able to do it.
No reply came this time.
Instead.
The barrier melted away.
“...”
It was the moment Hedera absentmindedly turned her eyes.
“...!”
Hedera's eyes went wide. Her mouth, hidden behind the mask, gaped open unwittingly.
The moon hung boldly in the sky—it was nighttime.
'Night? When did time...'
She understood. Zekiel had lied.
At the same time, Hedera sensed another incongruity.
The area was packed solid with people. Countless eyes were fixed on her.
“Shh...”
Zekiel. It was him.
He was pressing a finger to his lips, silently urging quiet.
In a state that looked ready to collapse any second, with traces of blood at his mouth from coughing it up, he'd maintained the barrier all this time by deceiving her about the time.
And even now, he simply turned his leisurely gaze toward Hedera.
“What...”
...Hedera had seen this situation before.
A familiar scene. She'd definitely experienced it.
In the distant past, when she couldn't even touch the assignment Zekiel had given her. It had been too difficult.
—Teacher... It's too hard. I can't...
—No. You can do it.
When she had to demonstrate before His Imperial Majesty without a shred of progress. Yes, this was unmistakably like that day.
Zekiel turned toward the crowd.
—Your Imperial Majesty, thank you for waiting so long.
“Everyone, you've waited far too long.”
A raspy voice, yet laced with joy.
—Once again, the princess has achieved brilliant success. You can look forward to it.
“The princess is finally ready. Wake your neighbor. Everyone, get your heads in the game.”
The time was different, the place was different.
The people before the princess were entirely unlike before.
However.
One man who believed in Hedera without a doubt.
That alone was the same as years ago.
Thump— Thump—
Suddenly, her heart began pounding hard.
Hedera's assignments. The results had always been success.
—Your Highness, let's surprise His Imperial Majesty.
“Your Highness, let's surprise everyone.”
Years had passed, but it was still Zekiel's back.
Like a spot-the-difference puzzle.
The moment that scene overlapped with one from the past.
Hedera's heart no longer wavered.
—Right now.
“Right now.”
This moment.
Thump— Thump—
Something that had been frozen began to thaw.
Regeneration, or perhaps birth.
Thump— Thump—
Hedera's halted time finally began to flow again.
As always, or already,
And now.