Chapter 108
"... Take this."
Liana handed me the Artifact necklace Shiren had made, an Artifact that could change one's appearance.
"As long as it's not broken or removed, you won't be exposed, so you can act freely while wearing this."
"Good."
"... Yes. And this Artifact also has Perception Reduction Magic and Confusion Magic applied to it. Please keep that in mind when you're active."
... So that's how it was.
Hearing that, I nodded and offered my thanks.
"Thank you."
"Oh, it's nothing."
Liana, who usually maintained a composed demeanor, always acting as if the world was in the palm of her hand, was now blushing so intensely that her face turned bright red at the slightest touch. It was quite amusing.
I tried to suppress my laughter and continued.
"So, where should we go?"
"W-well, we'll be staying at a nearby Lodging for now. We arrived a little earlier than the day of the Banquet, so... I'll show you where the Lodging is."
The word "Lodging" sparked my playful side, and I couldn't hide my smile as I spoke.
"Oh, so we'll be sharing a Lodging? And the same Bed... *Ack!*"
"What, what are you saying!"
Liana couldn't take it anymore and began shaking me violently by the collar.
I was jostled like a character in a foreign cartoon, and I quickly apologized.
Only then did she release her grip and let out a deep sigh.
"Honestly... if you do that again, next time it won't be your collar, it'll be a slap!"
Her reaction was so entertaining that teasing her was incredibly satisfying.
I thought it might be good to tease her periodically, when Liana pushed my back and said,
"Anyway, the Lodging is this way, so remember it. If there's any problem, at the Lodging..."
I cut Liana off mid-sentence.
"Wait, do we really need to do that?"
"Huh?"
"Instead of getting a Lodging, couldn't we just live in the Shadow City?"
"Ah."
Liana seemed to have forgotten the sheer convenience of the Shadow City, and she nodded with a blank expression.
I chuckled at her reaction and attached a Shadow to her.
"If an emergency arises or you wish, you can enter the Shadow I've attached to you. To call it, just say my name, and it will Summon you automatically."
"Ah... Thank you."
Seeing my selfless gesture, Liana seemed to feel bad about her earlier anger, and she nodded sheepishly.
To tease her a little more, I pulled something from my pocket and offered it to her.
"And this."
"... What is it?"
"Karsaril's Emblem, the one you always wanted."
"What?"
Liana looked utterly flustered, as if she never expected me to give her such a thing.
"C-can you really give this to me? What if I do something with it?"
"Now that we can trust each other, I figured it wouldn't matter."
"Ah..."
A different kind of embarrassment bloomed on her face, unlike when I'd tickled her foot.
I found Liana's reaction quite amusing and watched her for a moment before turning and saying,
"Anyway, if you need anything, just say the word. I can invest anything in you."
"... T-that's unfair."
I wasn't sure why she called it unfair in this situation.
Her reaction was so entertaining that I considered teasing her more, but then I thought,
'*She's really going to sulk for real, so I should stop here.*'
Exercising superhuman patience, I decided to hold back and told Liana to finish her respective tasks and meet me in the Shadow City.
"Yes... Yes. Then I'll be going."
Liana clutched Karsaril's Emblem to her chest, smiling brightly, unlike her usual self, and then departed.
*
It was a scene of peace so profound it was hard to believe a war was raging, creating countless Refugees and a severe Economic Crisis.
Recalling the countless Refugees pouring out of the Underground Passage and the massive Human Experimentation Dark Mages had conducted there...
This scene felt excessively artificial and unpleasant.
'*Of course, it’s not like the people here have to be unhappy too.*'
It felt as if their misfortune had been foisted upon others, making it not a very pleasant sight.
'*Well, it’s not my concern anyway.*'
In any case, this wasn't something I needed to worry about much, so I ignored it and looked away.
"I hear there's a Banquet nearby?"
"Ah, yes, I heard. Soon, some valuable goods will be pouring out."
"I wish there were more Banquets, you know. Nothing guarantees quality quite like the items from the Banquet."
As I listened to the information about the Banquet from those around me,
I unexpectedly overheard a rather interesting piece of news.
"Come to think of it, recently, apart from the Princess, there's been no activity at all."
"I heard rumors that the First Prince will participate in the Banquet... but even he won't be directly involved, they say."
The moment I heard that, a thought suddenly struck me.
“*Now that I think about it, in the original story, only the Princess appeared; the Emperor or Prince never did.*”
Considering that what I'd realized since coming here was the duality between the original story and reality...
It was highly probable that the reason those two didn't appear wasn't simply because they were busy.
'*And in such cases, there’s a high probability that Dark Mages are involved.*'
So, assuming that Dark Mages might be deeply connected to anything related to the Imperial Family, I continued to wander around, planning my actions accordingly.
Just then, someone called out to me from behind.
"Hmm, you there. Do you happen to know where the Train Station is?"
Hearing that, I turned around.
A woman with such immense mana that "overwhelming" was the only fitting word for it came into view.
"It's hard to find my way when I'm old. Could you tell me, please?"
She seemed to be hiding her identity, but to my eyes, those of a High-grade Expert soon to be a Highest-grade Expert, I clearly saw who she was.
'*Dale's master, an ancient dragon who has lived for countless ages.*'
Celeste.
One of the heroines who, despite being Dale's master, didn't have much information revealed about her.
In fact, it was even ambiguous to call her a heroine, as she barely appeared after a certain point, making it unclear if "heroine" was the right term.
“*Because she”s pretty and the protagonist likes her, she's a heroine by that logic.*'
She was treated as a heroine for various reasons, but honestly, there was an undeniable ambiguity to it.
“*Anyway, that”s not what's important.*'
The Celeste before me was one of the most powerful beings, known as one of the World's Strongest.
Therefore, as I had discussed with Ruen, I wanted to bring Celeste to my side if possible, but...
“*It would be difficult.*”
Forcibly bringing Celeste, who was free-spirited and acted only on her whims, to his side would be next to impossible.
So, rather than trying to force her, I decided to leave her be for now and gave her directions to the Train Station.
"Thank you. By the way..."
She suddenly approached me, staring intently, and spoke with interest.
"You have a very good feeling about you."
"Huh?"
"Huhu, a feeling worthy of being loved by Spirits. It's truly been a long time since I've seen something like this."
Come to think of it, Penril had said something similar when I met him before.
As I nodded with a wry smile at her words,
Daisy suddenly poked her face out from my arms and meowed.
"Meow!"
Seeing this, Celeste looked at me with surprise and admiration.
"The Spirit of the Sun? Oh, how curious. To think a Spirit would go to you. Hmm, hmm, things are unfolding differently this time."
After a few short exclamations, she smiled and patted my back, saying,
"And your growth seems to be going well too. Truly commendable."
Knowing Celeste's true identity, I was less flustered than I would have been. If someone who didn't know Celeste had been in my place, they would have been beyond flustered, perhaps even dumbfounded.
As I awkwardly smiled at Celeste, who was laughing heartily in front of me, she seemed to remember something, looked into the air, and chuckled softly.
"Well, I must be going."
I couldn't hide my bewilderment as Celeste immediately departed.
“*Why would she take a train when she could just Teleport?*”
Furthermore, why was she even here?
It was all so incomprehensible, but for now, the Banquet was what mattered.
I decided to explore the surroundings a bit more and moved on.
*
About a week later,
Liana called me, informing me that the time had come.
"We'll be disguised as Princess's Soldiers for a while. I've made arrangements beforehand, but if any unforeseen variables arise, they won't be able to help us. So, please keep that in mind while you're active."
It was an obvious point, so I nodded in affirmation and decided to head that way.
After putting on the necklace Shiren had given me and the clothes Liana had prepared, a rather astonishing sight unfolded before me.
'*Everything feels like it’s made of Illusion.*'
A place made of blue, ice-like walls.
As I looked around the area, Liana pointed to one side and said,
"You'll be working together in this area for a while. You're supposed to be a new recruit, so just act the part for a while, then slip away at an opportune moment and act on your own."
I nodded, agreeing to do so.
As I headed to the designated area, I saw a very lavish Banquet Hall surrounded by numerous Soldiers.
While observing this, I noticed a group of Monsters forming a battle line in the distance.
“*Is that what I need to stop?*”
As I watched without much thought,
I discovered something rather unexpected among the Monsters.
“*Essence of Power?*”
The moment I saw it, I let out a hearty laugh, thinking that by defeating these Monsters, I might reach Highest-grade Expert without any problems.