“Hmm.”
Eliya nodded with satisfaction and looked around.
‘Is this size good enough?’
It didn’t take long to dig into the mountain.
The space, shaped in a semicircle, wasn’t that big.
Maybe enough to fit a few palaces?
Compared to the size of the mountain, it was really tiny.
‘It was worth the effort.’
As she dug deeper into the mountain, there were a few spots where the soil was spilling down or the ground looked precarious.
Avoiding those areas, she eventually found a suitable place to dig, and this was it.
The arched walls were all packed tightly with hard soil, so they didn’t collapse.
‘It looks like the ventilation holes turned out well too.’
She had made small holes everywhere that were hard to see with the eye.
When she started work, she had lit a few candles, and the air wasn’t stagnant.
A sign that air circulation was good.
The candles couldn’t illuminate the wide space thoroughly, so she set up golden flames in various places.
A brightly lit, cage-shaped burrow.
In the center, Eliya slowly turned around with a smile.
‘I like it.’
It wasn’t time to bring Judas here yet.
She needed to fill this space with various objects.
Like the bed they would lie on together.
‘I’ll need a place to wash up too….’
Even though she was a versatile genius, she had no idea how to install plumbing all the way down to this mountain range.
‘Should I draw water from the ground? That could work.’
She’d need cooking facilities if she was to keep meals prepared.
Something like a stove.
‘It’s a bit disappointing that there are no windows….’
If she wanted to see the scenery, she could do that whenever she wanted.
Just use teleportation.
‘It feels a bit bleak if it’s just furniture…. Should I pull up a tree with its roots and plant it? But it might wither without sunlight.’
There’s always the method of completely opening up the top of the space.
Blowing off the top of the mountain.
It wasn’t impossible, but she didn’t feel like it.
‘I shouldn’t mess with the ecosystem….’
Thinking of various plans and imagining executing them brought joy to Eliya.
‘I want to cultivate this place and bring him here soon.’
What kind of expression would Judas make when he saw this place?
If she locked him up here, no one would be able to find him.
Nobody could touch him.
Only she could come and go freely in this place.
‘Mine.’
With a warm, swelling feeling in her chest, Eliya smiled.
*
Eliya excused herself saying she had personal business and went somewhere.
It worked out perfectly.
I also had something to do.
‘I guess I can fill my mana stat.’
Being near Eliya meant I had to follow her schedule, leaving no time for personal errands.
Now was a chance to recover the dropped stats.
‘It won’t be easy, though….’
Finding quests isn’t hard.
But, the rewards are all random.
Very few give fixed rewards, and even among them, mana is almost non-existent.
It wasn’t for nothing that I was surprised when I received mana from Yuel.
‘At least it’s not completely absent.’
I looked down at my hand.
The hand I had clasped with Eliya at the founding festival.
My palm was blackened.
It wasn’t entirely black, but it had spots that looked burned.
It didn’t hurt much.
Sometimes it tingled, or felt hot and numb, but it was bearable.
Eliya still hadn’t noticed.
‘First, I’ll do what I can, and if that doesn’t work, then I’ll really have to say something.’
So today, I came to the Magic Tower.
More precisely, the Magic City that sprawled around the Magic Tower.
Since it was related to magic, there were plenty of elements in this place where I could reliably obtain mana.
Since it was a bit far, I rode Yuel.
I had to gather mana from Yuel whenever I could.
And there was no helping the people around whispering about this side.
A large Moon Deer was striding along the main road.
“What is that…? Is that a Moon Deer?”
“Did someone tame that Moon Deer?”
“Why, you know, that’s Lady Eliya and that….”
“…Ah!”
If they spoke a bit louder, I’d hear what they were saying….
It’s a problem when your hearing gets too sharp.
It’s not all gleeful when you can easily eavesdrop on others.
Anyway, I wandered around Magic City with Yuel, solving fixed quests.
[Hidden Quest, ‘Potion Addict’ completed.]
Drink more than ten potions within a set time limit.
[Hidden Quest, ‘Human Apothecary’ completed.]
Also, chew more than ten kinds of herbs raw within a set time limit. Something like that….
There was only mindless content like this.
People looked at me with strange expressions as I stuffed my mouth full of herbs.
I wasn’t in a position to hide.
[Hidden Quest, ‘Gourmet Enthusiast’ completed.]
[Reward provided.]
….
After completing almost all the fixed quests, I briefly checked.
[Mana: 40.0]
Thanks to the trait “Lured by the Moon,” my mana stat was increasing threefold.
As a result, I secured a total of 21.
Quite a high number, but it was too soon to relax.
Considering how fast Eliya was pulling ahead, it was utterly insufficient.
‘Now there’s just one left. If I do this, I can ultimately secure 30.’
This was something I didn’t want to do if possible.
But as mentioned, I wasn’t in a position to hide.
I stepped into a comprehensive magic item shop right in front of me to progress the quest.
And a moment later….
“Um….”
A shop assistant carefully approached and asked.
“Do you have any complaints…?”
The goal of the last remaining quest. Visit this shop more than 30 times.
Usually, this type of quest is naturally completed while going back and forth.
But right now, I couldn’t go back and forth naturally, so I kept entering and exiting the shop.
‘…This is just ridiculous.’
To be honest, it was embarrassing.
But I wasn’t in a position to nitpick.
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Then why….”
It’s like they were wondering why I kept doing that crazy thing.
That expression.
A huge relief was that I had just completed a quest.
[Hidden Quest, ‘Persistent Regular’ completed.]
[Mana: 49.0]
“It’s just something I had to do… Anyway, I’m sorry. I’ll be going now….”
I said I was leaving and tried to flee when someone clattered out from inside the store.
“…Judas?”
That was a title I hadn’t heard before.
But I recognized the voice.
“Princess?”
Inside the store was Hagal.
“I was wondering who was causing such a commotion by continually coming in and out… It was you?”
“Um….”
Even with good reason, my excuse felt poor.
So I decided to change the subject.
“What brings you here, Your Highness?”
“I came to look for a teleportation artifact for evacuation, since that item made by your owner is famous.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it.”
“But you seem to be interested in my plans?”
“No? I just asked out of courtesy.”
I bowed to the shop assistant to apologize.
“I’m sorry for troubling you. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Embarrassed in many ways, it was better to leave quickly.
I distanced myself from the astonished shop assistant.
…However.
“Do you have any business with me?”
Princess Hagal followed me.
“I was just heading this way too.”
…That wasn’t true.
“Are you feeling conscious because I proposed once? What if the Lady finds out and gets mad?”
“……”
“Oh my, you’re not denying it?”
“Let’s keep some distance if you’re aware.”
“…You’re not really fond of throwing around your power, but it’s not like I’m just anyone; I’m a princess.”
“Hmm… I hear that too often to have much of a reaction….”
“Ha!”
Hagal gave a scoffing laugh as if she found it absurd.
Whether she cared or not.
I climbed up on Yuel.
Trying to keep my distance.
“Anyone who sees this would think I’m clinging to you. But I’m really not that interested, you know?”
“Thanks for that.”
“Seriously….”
Looks like I could burst with frustration as I crossed my arms.
She glanced at me with annoyance but suddenly nodded and smiled.
“You weren’t like this when I saw you last time… Did something happen between you and Lady Eliya in the meantime? I mean, did something happen during the festival?”
“……”
“You’re not good at hiding your expression.”
That hits home.
On the second day of the founding festival.
Enjoying the festivities together and taking a walk holding hands that night.
Since then, things between Eliya and I had become somewhat delicate.
It felt like a subtle wall had formed.
Yet, it wasn’t like we had grown distant. This was just….
It was far too complex and ambiguous a territory to explain precisely and clearly with words.
The real issue was, I wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
Eliya seemed to be entangled in her own complicated feelings too.
That added more chaos.
I had no clue about what to do or how to navigate this since it was all so new to me.
“While someone’s terrified of war and coming to buy a teleportation artifact, the one at the center is having a spring day…”
Hagal let out a hollow laugh.
Trying to ignore her and increase the distance further, I spotted a familiar face approaching from the front.
“…Hmm?”
He recognized me too.
“Levi?”
It was Levi de Bevel.
Arriving surrounded by his escort knights, he seemed to have come to buy something.
‘He probably came to look for tools to prepare for Eliya.’
Levi frowned as he looked up at me, then chuckled lightly.
“I knew you were odd, but I never expected you’d call me by my name. I can’t decide if that’s bold or rude…”
“Do you want to hear me call you ‘young master’ with my voice?”
“…That’s another new kind of threat. Just imagining it is awful, so please don’t.”
Levi waved his hand as if in disgust.
I simply shrugged my shoulders.
He then belatedly greeted Hagal.
“Princess, it’s been a while.”
“Good to see you again.”
“But why are you accompanying this large brute?”
“We just happened to cross paths.”
“Is that so?”
Levi’s friendly smile focused on me.
‘Why does he have to be such a pain?’
Even when looking straight at me, he just keeps smiling.
It’s almost like he’s recalling something wicked and enjoyable.
*
Levi had recently spoken with Cain.
“About that incident from before.”
Cain, who was polishing his sword, glanced up slightly.
Levi thought of Judas, who had had an intimidating presence while he was polishing his sword.
Cain had no such intention at all, but Levi shook his head to shake off the thought.
“Remember when Eliya first came?”
“Ah, you mean that time when I was training at the Black Spot? I remember. Why’s that coming up now?”
“You mentioned there was a survivor, right?”
“When I checked later, there was one survivor.”
“Was it someone with golden eyes?”
“I heard so.”
“But why ask about something that happened ages ago? Are you trying to tease me about missing someone now?”
“No, I’m just….”
Levi laughed as if it was no big deal.
Golden eyes weren’t that rare.
But they weren’t common either.
What’s important about information isn’t whether or not it’s true.
It’s whether the person hearing that information can take it as truth. That’s far more critical.
The truth is, in terms of importance, secondary.
Levi knew a little about Judas’ background.
That suspicious intersection.
And those golden eyes.
The consequences of Eliya’s mistakes….
After some thought, Levi leaned back against the sofa and smiled.
‘If this is true, things are about to get interesting.’
*
Recalling those memories made Levi itch to speak.
Should he play that card now or not?
He had no time to deliberate.
“I don’t know how to interpret this situation.”
At some point, Eliya appeared right in front of Judas.
“…Lady?!”
After digging into the mountain, Eliya had come to find Judas.
But beside her was Hagal, and in front was Levi.
Eliya alternated her gaze between Hagal and Judas.
Her crimson eyes glimmered coldly.
The princess involuntarily stepped back in tension.
Eliya slowly blinked.
Levi behind her wasn’t her concern at the moment.
Instead, she grabbed Judas’s hand as if snagging him and said,
“Come with me.”
Judas barely had the chance to respond.
Their figures disappeared.
Only Levi and Hagal were left awkwardly standing in the street.
“……”
They nodded awkwardly at each other before going their separate ways.
*
Eliya brought Judas to the depths of the mountain.
To the hemispherical space she made herself.
A colossal cage.
Judas was taken aback by the unexpectedly altered view.
Plus, the location was too unfamiliar.
The surroundings were dark and excessively wide.
Thanks to the dense darkness, he couldn’t gauge how spacious it was.
It felt like a gigantic cave.
“Lady…?”
The sole reassuring figure was her.
Although Yuel was nearby, Yuel seemed equally startled and was looking around.
“Where is this…?”
She turned to look back at him from a step away.
Her crimson eyes stood out boldly against the darkness.
She suddenly appeared out of nowhere and brought him here without an explanation.
She only observed silently for a moment before smiling.
It was a bright smile, but it possessed an eerie undertone.
Then she answered playfully.
“It’s a secret.”
As she slowly approached him, an inexplicable fear gripped Judas.
It felt as if she was going to devour him.
“Uh, Lady…?”
Even as he cautiously called out to her, Eliya kept coming closer.
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