A quest has appeared.
And it’s two of them!
[Quest: Convince Edengard Trie von dem Schulzenburg that her father has died.]
[Difficulty: ★★★★☆]
[Reward: 6 shop coins]
[Quest: Escape Whist Forest before dawn.]
[Difficulty: ★★★★★]
[Reward: 10 shop coins]
The moment I saw both, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
But didn’t they switch difficulties?
If I tell Trie about her father’s obituary right now, she’ll just freak out and never accept it.
Still, I decided to give it a try.
I have no idea how to escape the forest yet, so I might as well tackle the first quest.
So—
“I may not know the limits of magic, but I know the truth of the world. The dead cannot be resurrected.”
“What are you talking about—”
“Trie. Your father is dead.”
And here I am, in this situation.
Honestly, I thought, ‘Oh no,’ even after saying that.
This isn’t delivering the news of an obituary; isn’t this just trash talking?
I felt like I should’ve considered the context a bit more, but…
Whatever, it didn’t matter. No matter how I delivered it, Trie would’ve reacted similarly.
“You just made a mistake. I’ll give you a chance to take it back.”
“It’s not a mistake.”
“Are you saying that was sincere?”
“Yeah.”
“It was sincere…?”
Suddenly, chills ran down my spine.
Even though we couldn’t see Trie through the bushes, I had the delusion that I could see her deadly glare.
If it weren’t for the situation surrounded by mines, she probably would’ve rushed over and punched me right away.
“You’re contradicting yourself, Schlus. You wanted me as a comrade, and now you’re infuriating me?”
“I didn’t want to infuriate you. It was to save you time.”
No matter how much you learn magic, your father, Gawayn, isn’t coming back.
Because that guy was stabbed to death by that damned Hertlocker’s dagger.
Even if one reaches the realm of the Grand Magician, it might be possible to have a short conversation with Gawayn’s soul, but beyond that, resurrection is absolutely impossible.
That’s the truth I set in this world while writing the novel.
The dead cannot come back to life.
So I was telling her to give up on magic and pick up a sword again…
But somehow even I could hear how rude that sounded.
It became a situation that truly provoked her as she said.
“Ha. Save time? You think it’s a waste of my time learning magic?”
“……”
“Do you think it looked like a waste of time?!”
“Yes.”
“Don’t joke around! Who do you think you are to say our father is dead? Do you even know who our father is?”
“I know. Gawayn von Shulzenburg.”
How could I not?
Anyone living in the Empire would know.
“Right! Gawayn von Shulzenburg! The strongest magic knight in the Empire’s history! He once single-handedly defeated hundreds of elite kingdom soldiers! How could someone like him die!”
“……”
That’s true, by the usual standards.
Gawayn’s swordsmanship could pierce through anything, and the barrier surrounding him was said to be unpierceable by high-level magic.
But Gawayn, being human, has things he can’t overcome.
Cold and hunger.
If he were to be isolated on the snowfield for an extended period, Gawayn would eventually weaken.
Of course, even when weakened, he was strong enough that Hertlocker struggled to deal with him.
But I couldn’t just relay the pathetic story that he met a kingdom assassin and got killed while starving in a cold environment to his daughter.
“Everyone dies, Trie.”
“I know! But that doesn’t mean my father is dead!”
“When facing a stronger enemy, there’s a chance your father could die too.”
“……”
The screeching from beyond the bushes had stopped.
I expressed things as delicately as possible, but it seemed Trie had taken some kind of shock.
I had said so many discourteous things that I didn’t even know which part shocked her.
“……Prove it.”
Trie spoke through gritted teeth.
Her voice dripped with poison.
If I triggered her feelings again, she’d probably ignore the mines and charge at me in rage.
“I saw the late hero’s sword, Judgment Day.”
“What? Where?”
“In the Imperial Palace’s underground storeroom.”
“……?!”
That was a lie.
But it’s true that Judgment Day is in the Imperial Palace underground storeroom.
I probably feared seeing it, so the emperor covered it up with bandages so that I wouldn’t recognize it.
If nothing else, revealing that would shake the whole country.
So in a way, I was passing information to Trie that could upset the entire empire.
“Wh-what does that mean? Why is Judgment Day in the palace?”
“It was retrieved exclusively by the royal family after a search.”
“That can’t be! If they had retrieved it, they would’ve told me!”
“Then they would have to inform you of your father’s obituary. The royal family decided to make Gawayn a living legend. A legendary figure who went missing in a majestic battle. That’s how it motivates the people.”
“Ah, no way…”
“Moreover, it would help keep the Shulzenburg family in line with the royal family. You guys are spending massive budgets every year to search for Gawayn, after all. There would be no reason to stop a mercenary family from weakening their power. Furthermore, if the news of Gawayn’s death were officially delivered, his old allies would lose influence and you’d gain control of the family as the only daughter. The royal family would want to maintain a regime that communicates well.”
“Ahh…”
I thought I had explained it logically and reasonably.
But whether it would reach Trie’s thought process completely was another issue.
In an excited state, people tend to only hear what they want to hear.
So I could only hope Trie stayed as close to sane as possible.
Seeing her incessantly piloting that *ugh* sound, it seems that ship had already sailed.
“That’s a lie! That’s a lie! Who sent you? Vigenstein? Lichtenburg? You’re trying to make me quit magic! You’re trying to keep the sword family, Shulzenburg, from reaching magic! I know it all!”
“Trie…”
“I believed that made sense! But I won’t be fooled! Once I get out of here, I’ll report this to the royal family. You insulted the royal family with nonsensical claims.”
“……”
The quest was crashing in real-time.
Along with it, Trie’s affection level was dropping to rock bottom.
After going through all that effort to get close, it felt like destruction could happen in an instant.
If I give up now, Trie and I would become closer than strangers.
And I’d be stuck under the royal family’s scrutiny for the sin of witnessing something I shouldn’t have.
To prevent that from happening, I had to hammer in a wedge.
So far, it had only been circumstantial evidence.
I had nothing but evidence that could be fabricated with words, so it was time to lay out evidence that couldn’t be dodged.
“Why are you doing this? Why now? Why?! I thought you were my friend! I trusted you! I thought you were different from those other filthy nobles!”
“Trie.”
“Don’t call my name! It’s creepy!”
“Gawayn’s—”
“Not even my father’s name! How dare you speak it!”
“Do you know the ornament on the hilt of Judgment Day?”
“Why?”
“It’s called demonic stone. It is a gem that shines by absorbing the user’s mana.”
“How do you know that…?”
“The gem had already lost its color.”
“Huh?!”
I heard the *thud* as she slumped down.
The fact that the demonic stone lost its light means that the user no longer has the ability to produce mana.
It’s virtually impossible to destroy the dantian without taking a life, so it’s safe to conclude it means death.
Moreover, not many people know that the demonic stone is on the hilt of Judgment Day.
Only three people know: Gawayn himself, the sword’s creator, and Trie. Just the three of them.
So she had no choice but to believe my words that I had seen Judgment Day.
I thought Trie had gotten the message that Gawayn had died.
Now what remained was whether Trie would accept that truth.
That was it.
“Really… is it really true…?”
“I swear it is.”
“Swear on the sky! To Lady Aigis! No! Since it might be pagan, swear on your conscience! Swear that what you just said is true!”
Trie’s voice trembled.
It sounded like she was about to cry.
“I swear to the sky and Lady Aigis. I swear on my conscience and everything as a magician that what I just said is true.”
She said ‘what I just said,’ not ‘everything I said.’
While it was a lie that I had seen Judgment Day, the fact that Gawayn had died was the truth, so I could swear without hesitation.
Of course, if it was all a lie, I wouldn’t hesitate either.
“Why… why… Why can you swear? If you say that, I can only believe it… that my father is dead…”
“……”
“Ugh… Ugh… Why is it that you only tell me this now…?”
Trie couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into tears.
“Why?!”
Her wailing echoed through the forest.
The emotion packed into that desperate cry was resentment.
I don’t know if she resents me, the royal family, or if she’s even resenting her father.
Well, I understand.
Right now, she probably wants to blame anyone.
“Ugh… Ha…”
Has it been about 5 minutes of crying without a break?
Before long, the crying stopped, and Trie was sniffling, catching her breath.
“You said it was all true…”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll confirm again. Is it certain that my father has passed away?”
“Absolutely. However, the words I should have conveyed came late.”
“What is it?”
“I’m truly sorry, Trie. Your father, Gawayn von Shulzenburg, was a hero of the Empire. I regret delivering the news of such a person’s death only now.”
“……”
The crying had ceased, but that didn’t mean Trie’s voice had returned to normal.
It sounded as if she was forcibly swallowing her sobs.
Even without seeing her face, I could easily tell.
“Th-thank you for telling me… really… really true…”
“Trie.”
“……”
“You can cry a little more.”
“Huh… Ugh… Ughh…”
The heart-wrenching sobs continued.
It was the kind of cry that made me want to rush over and embrace her right away.
Even though I spewed words like ‘everyone dies,’ I too am a coward who weeps and laughs at the death of each person.
If I couldn’t be indifferent to the death of someone I didn’t know, like Miss Mary.
How could Trie, who believed her father was alive for years?
Trie had every right to cry a little more.
She had every right to let out her pent-up frustration.
“The truth is… I somewhat felt it… I instinctively thought he might be dead… Guh…”
“……”
“So… the mood at home was like that, searching for a corpse… Ugh… I just couldn’t accept it. I couldn’t believe people would so easily accept my father’s death… Ugh…”
I thought that was a kind of rebellious psychology.
No one in the Shulzenburg family genuinely believed Gawayn was still alive.
They couldn’t afford to sink all their family’s wealth into searching for Gawayn.
Someone had to make arrangements and make a decision.
To let go of their attachment to the past and move toward the future.
But to Trie, that appearance may have seemed like they were pushing her father away.
She was likely convinced her father was alive, despite everything.
Now that I think of it, I had set up Trie to detest the elders of the family.
I didn’t realize that such a thoughtless setup would perfectly align with this.
“I’ve arranged my feelings too… I’m okay now. I accepted it. My father is dead… I’ve now come to terms with it.”
“Trie.”
“You don’t need to worry either. I’ve known for some time. I can’t keep acting like a child anymore. No one is here to indulge my whims anymore…”
“……”
It stung.
Hearing her speak in an adult-like tone with that youthful voice was excruciating beyond imagination.
The guilt and pressure from the fact that I made her into this pressed down hard on me.
But in the end, things turned out well.
Trie reached a result whereby she accepted reality willingly.
She wasn’t stuck in the past and was moving toward the future.
It was as if I had pulled an event from the original story that would happen years later.
“It’s okay to cry a little more, Trie.”
“Oh, I’m really not going to cry anymore.”
“Better to cry it all out in front of someone than to do it alone…”
“I told you I’m okay! Really!”
What’s she saying?
She’s still sniffling.
“By the way, you asked me to be your comrade earlier, right? I got it. Honestly, I was a bit unsure, but now I know. Schlus, I can trust you. You speak only facts regardless of my feelings.”
“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
“It is a compliment! It means I can trust you that much. I can follow you. You’re different from those selfish nobles who only look out for their own interests.”
“……”
I felt a little taken aback.
I had planned to use Trie as both a shield and a close-range dealer.
To gather opportunities in difficult areas that would be hard for me to reach.
Thank goodness her expression wasn’t visible.
Because I probably wouldn’t have been able to maintain a poker face and it would’ve easily shown.
“But I’d appreciate it if you could pretend you didn’t hear about the royal family.”
“What? Why?”
“It would probably be pretty annoying, but still, I want to avoid turning the royal family against us.”
“Ah…”
Those guys had intentionally concealed her father’s death for years.
I thought it would be hard to forgive them easily.
“Well, I understand.”
Wait, really?
That easily?
“Schlus, I don’t want you to get into trouble. Let’s delay facing the royal family.”
“……?!”
Chills ran down my spine.
That sounded like she was planning to confront the royal family once she separated from me.
What kind of murderous thought was this?
I felt like a civil war could happen in Edengardt rather than the southern colonies at any moment.
Maybe it wasn’t wise to mention the royal family to Trie.
“So, are you picking up your sword again now?”
“Of course. I just put down my sword temporarily to focus on magic. Yes, it’s a reward for sharing such valuable news.”
“……?”
“I will become your sword, Schlus Hainkel.”
That was a heart-pounding line.
I never expected to hear something like that.
“It’s typically something a knight says to their lord, but… that doesn’t mean I’m pledging complete loyalty to you! I mean, I’m saying I trust and will follow you! Don’t get the wrong idea! You don’t have the right to command me!”
“Ha. I understand. Then now magic…?”
“Oh, right! It won’t be long until I start teaching you magic? The midterms are coming up soon!”
“What? You’re not quitting magic?”
“What are you talking about? Why would I quit magic when I’ve just entered the Imperial University? Plus, there’s an amazing magic teacher nearby.”
“……”
At Trie’s nonchalant words, I nearly grabbed the back of my neck.
She has no thought of quitting magic…?
Even with overwhelming sword talent, she plans to keep learning magic…?
Suddenly, my blood pressure shot up.
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