Chapter 87
The enormous Twin-Headed Basilisk gazed wistfully at the wild ginseng, which could easily be called a speck of dust by comparison.
The creature's vertically slit pupils alone were larger than Jade's height.
-Of course, we were tempted. Survival came first then. Even setting our siblings aside, many here preyed on us.
-Even hatchlings are still basilisks. We were unusual, too.
-But we did not eat it. Instead, we chose symbiosis.
“You absorbed the energy the wild ginseng was giving off.”
-Precisely.
The Twin-Headed Basilisk nodded.
Then it looked at Jade with astonished eyes.
Its expression made clear that it had not expected him to figure it out so easily.
“You chose the best option.”
-That is correct. Looking back, I think we survived this long because we did not give in to our greed.
“Though you do have rivals.”
-There are many monsters here. There are beings even we could not hope to oppose in our current state. And you, too, are a being no less formidable than the monsters here.
Although it had kept its power tightly hidden, the Twin-Headed Basilisk knew.
It knew that if Jade used all his power, the two of them could not be sure of surviving.
“Monster? I am still undeniably human.”
-You are human, yet not human.
“I can’t deny that.”
-The price is this thing you call wild ginseng. Is that not enough?
“Not at all. This is actually better for me since it’s easier to absorb. I can give the basilisk I caught to Whid.”
Kyaaang!
At the mention of the basilisk's heart, Whid licked Jade's face.
The heart had not tasted particularly good, but there was no harm in eating it.
If it meant becoming stronger than he was now, Whid could eat something even worse-tasting than basilisk blood.
“But aren’t you worried? I might eat this and come back for you.”
-Once we absorb the wild ginseng, I doubt we will even be worth your notice.
“Can you read minds after that much training?”
-Read minds?
Both heads tilted at once.
The term was as unfamiliar to them as wild ginseng itself, and they were both flustered by it.
“It means seeing straight through another person’s mind.”
-We do not possess such an ability.
-We may develop it someday, but not yet.
“I was joking, joking. You don’t have to take it so seriously.”
After casting the overly serious Twin-Headed Basilisk a sidelong glance, Jade looked at the wild ginseng again.
At the wild ginseng, which still emanated a mysterious energy.
It was difficult to estimate its exact age, but one thing was certain.
It had certainly existed for longer than they could imagine.
-We want you to promise us something.
“Humans don’t have such a thing as a pledge. We’re a species good at lying.”
-We know. But a human like you is different. And if you changed your mind, there would be nothing we could do. We could only call it fate.
“At this rate, you might really cultivate your way into becoming a dragon.”
Jade chuckled.
It had shed some of its monster shell by now, and with the right opportunity, it seemed capable of raising its level in an instant.
Of course, such an opportunity would not be easy to find.
-A dragon?
“Something similar to a divine beast. It could also be a dragon.”
-A dragon... If we were born as mere monsters yet became beings capable of rivaling dragons, that too would be meaningful.
“It would be even more meaningful if you defeated one in battle.”
The Twin-Headed Basilisk's mouth split wide.
It wasn't a threat; it was a genuine smile.
But Jade did not know.
He did not know that his words had just been etched clearly into both their hearts and minds.
-I hope you achieve your goal, too.
-Preferably, without coming back to look for us.
“I suppose we could meet without fighting.”
Seeing the Twin-Headed Basilisk joke as though they had grown fairly close, Jade joked back.
But the reaction was strange.
-You mean friends?
“We’re not friends yet. We’re merely acquainted. At least we’re not enemies, right?”
-I see.
-That much is acceptable.
The Twin-Headed Basilisk tilted its heads once more, then nodded.
That seemed like exactly the right phrase.
“Then take care. I don’t know whether we’ll meet again.”
-If fate brings us together, we will.
-Personally, I’d prefer for things to end here.
The female voice reminded Jade of the word tsundere, and he chuckled as he reached out.
He intended to place the wild ginseng in subspace.
The intangible aura extending from Jade’s hand carefully scooped up the wild ginseng and surrounding soil, placed them in subspace, and then he turned away.
Time passed like flowing water.
As he dealt with one matter after another and went about his work, two seasons passed.
Jade was watching snow fall from the sky with Della when Alfredo’s urgent voice came from outside the door.
“M-My lord!”
“What’s wrong? Why do you sound like that?”
Della, who stood beside Jade and Whid as they looked out the window, also stared at Alfredo with her eyes wide.
Although they had spent over half a year together, this was the first time Jade had seen Alfredo so flustered.
“An emergency summons has arrived from the royal family! You must go to the royal palace at once.”
“An emergency summons?”
“Yes. I couldn’t get any details. Communications are currently down. I think they’ve contacted the other territories too, but none of them can be reached. And they also asked for Lady Arelia.”
“Hmm.”
Jade narrowed his brow.
He was puzzled by the sudden emergency summons.
But since this was an emergency summons rather than an ordinary message, he had to go.
The warp magic circle made the royal palace only a short trip away.
-What could be going on?
“Who knows? I don’t really know either. We’ll have to go and see.”
Della had grown taller and put on a healthy amount of weight in half a year, becoming completely different from before.
She had grown so much that it was hard to imagine how skinny she had once been.
But the biggest difference was that she had learned to use mind-speech.
Della had trained almost frighteningly hard, wanting somehow to communicate, and had finally learned how to convey her thoughts recently.
-I want to come too.
“Of course. When Master goes, the disciple naturally follows.”
-Me too! Me too!
Though six months had passed, Whid remained adorably small and hopped up and down as he shouted.
Surprisingly, Whid had also learned to send thoughts.
They had stuck together like siblings, and no sooner had Della mastered mind-speech than Whid learned to use it too.
Unlike Della, who always used honorifics, Whid still couldn’t tell polite speech from casual speech.
But considering he was only two, it was truly remarkable.
Moreover, because the people always around Jade mostly spoke casually rather than using honorifics, Whid seemed to have learned that from them.
“Let’s all go together once Arelia arrives.”
-Yes!
-Yeah! Yeah!
“I sent a servant to fetch Lady Arelia. She should be here soon.”
Click.
Perhaps the saying about speaking of the devil applied here, too.
No sooner had Alfredo finished speaking than the door opened and Arelia entered.
“You called for me?”
“The royal family sent an emergency summons.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know either. I think we’ll have to go to find out.”
“What’s going on? They wouldn’t send one without a very good reason.”
Arelia muttered, shaking out her wet hair as though she had just finished washing up.
But no amount of worrying here would tell them anything.
“Let’s go for now. Alfredo, get ready too.”
“I’ll attend to it immediately. You can request anything you need from the royal family. I’ve also had a warp magic circle prepared.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
As expected, Alfredo had everything handled efficiently, so Jade took Della’s hand.
Now that Whid was two, he no longer needed to be carried and flew through the air instead, so Jade headed with Arelia toward the place where the warp magic circle had been prepared.
Fwoosh!
The view in the room changed amid dazzling light.
They had arrived at the royal palace in an instant.
Yet the atmosphere was strange.
The area around them was bustling as if a war had broken out.
“Why is the atmosphere like this?”
“I wonder too.”
“Marquis Jade!”
Jade looked bewildered as nobles continued appearing in flashes from the nearby warp magic circles, when a familiar voice sounded.
Baron Steven came running toward him, panting.
“What’s going on?”
“The Crown Prince will explain everything. Let’s move for now.”
Steven managed a strained smile, his face haggard as though he had not slept properly for days.
Jade was puzzled by seeing him more exhausted than he had been during the civil war, but asked no more questions.
Since Lloyd had said he would explain, Jade planned to hear it from him.
Besides, this was hardly the time to ask questions.
“Your Highness, Marquis Jade, Baron Steven, and Lady Arelia have arrived.”
Taking the now-familiar route, Jade arrived at Lloyd’s office.
The chamberlain stationed outside the door announced their arrival.
“Bring them in.”
“Yes.”
A voice came from inside, just as laden with exhaustion as Steven’s.
When the chamberlain opened the door, Jade entered and saw Lloyd, whose face had grown gaunt.
But Lloyd was not alone.
A refined young man Jade had never seen before sat facing Lloyd.
“Haha, you were surprised by the sudden emergency summons, weren’t you? But it couldn’t be helped, given the circumstances.”
“What’s going on? The palace seems chaotic too.”
Despite his fatigue, Lloyd greeted them warmly, but his expression was bitter.
He, too, was bewildered by the current situation.
In a sense, it was like a natural disaster.
Even so, Lloyd composed himself.
“Before that, let me introduce this gentleman. The explanation may take a while. He is the Third Prince of the Arhan Kingdom.”
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Gent Pen Arhan. I’ve heard a great deal about you, Marquis Jade.”
The young man in his early twenties politely greeted Jade, his eyes filled with peculiar anticipation.
Yet despite Gent’s elegant greeting, Jade still looked puzzled.
He wondered what the disturbance in the royal palace had to do with the Third Prince of the Arhan Kingdom.
“A civil war has broken out in the Arhan Kingdom. The Fifth Prince killed the First and Second Princes, not to mention the king, and took the throne.”
“……!”
Both Jade and Arelia looked shocked.
The news was far too sudden.
But their shock was nothing compared with Lloyd’s and Gent’s.
“And my maternal grandmother has also passed away.”
“Clora?”
Arelia’s eyes flew open.
She had been merely surprised before, but now a subtle anger showed in them.
Though Clora was a half-elf, she was still a member of the War Elf clan.
Thus, a faint killing intent appeared in Arelia’s eyes.
“Yes. Every member of the royal family except the Third Prince here has been killed.”
“……I happened to be at the main family estate, so I escaped the disaster. I fled here while the Fifth Prince was carrying out a bloody purge at the royal palace.”
Gent squeezed his eyes shut.
His eyes closed on their own as self-loathing and shame filled his chest.
Even so, he wanted to live.
Since he did not want to die pointlessly, he headed to the Polstein Kingdom as soon as he heard that his youngest brother had rebelled and killed his two older brothers.
“How did the Fifth Prince succeed in his rebellion? As far as I know, the Fifth Prince had long since fallen out of the line of succession. He never showed any desire to take the throne, either.”
Arelia asked with a grim expression.
She was not interested in human affairs, but since they were Clora’s descendants, she knew the basic details.
She had even seen them in person, albeit from a distance.