Chapter 21: The Star and Aquamarine (1)

As expected of the city of water, I suppose.

The interior of the grand temple, located in the heart of the city, was also filled with decorations using water.

Even in this reception room where we were now, water flowed like a waterfall down one entire wall.

It was a magnificent sight that cleared my mood just by looking at it, as if the stuffiness in my heart was being washed away.

“…Hoo.”

But for Ibi, who was also looking at the same wall, it didn't seem to be the case.

With a very displeased expression, Ibi was restlessly tapping one foot with her arms crossed.

“Why? Are you nervous because we’re meeting important people?”

“That’s because you…!”

Perhaps thinking her voice was too loud, Ibi glanced around once before glaring back at me and continuing in a lowered voice.

“Shit, it’s because I’m afraid you’ll do something crazy again and get me involved…!”

“Hey, what's with the worrying.”

“How can I not…?!”

As I mentioned at the tomb, I made an appointment to meet the ‘people in power’ as soon as I returned to Stout.

Of course, they were not beings that a mere adventurer could easily meet just by asking, but it wasn't a difficult task for us at all.

I didn't even need to show off my overwhelming charm.

Just one sentence was enough.

─ We are on our way back from conquering the 「Tomb of the Drunkard」.

The priest who heard this immediately guided us to this place.

“You don’t seem to know, but these noble-like bastards will try to chop your head off right away just for getting on their nerves a little.”

“I’ve heard plenty about the notoriety of Tiaria's great nobles myself.”

“Most of the higher-ups are all the same.”

“But the people we’re meeting here are priests, not nobles.”

“Ha! Powerful priests are even worse. Those bastards even care about the mood of the god they supposedly serve.”

“No matter how I look at it, aren't you the one saying things that would get on their nerves right now?”

“That’s why I’m fucking speaking quietly…!”

In fact, if they intended to eavesdrop, they would have used magic in the first place, so the volume of our voices wouldn't matter at all.

“Anyway, you get it? So stop doing stupid shit.”

“Well, don't worry too much. Have I ever put you in danger?”

“…Is this bastard being serious?”

Just then.

--

Eastwood

[Magic] Success

--

After this notification popped up, Rine, who had been quietly looking at the flowing water wall next to me, suddenly tugged on my sleeve.

As I lowered my body and tilted my head slightly, Rine also came closer and whispered in my ear.

“I can feel magical power from the water.”

That would be right.

It looks like an ordinary decoration, but.

“It seems to be magic that blocks sound.”

In truth, that was a kind of soundproof wall.

In other words, the water flowing there now meant that they didn't want the conversation held here to leak outside.

Or… that there was something to be taken care of without anyone knowing.

“I apologize for making you wait.”

Judging by the attire of the person who finally opened the door and entered, it seemed to be the former for now.

If it had been the latter, armored knights would have come in.

“I am High Priest Aqua.”

But the man with a tired impression who greeted me politely was a priest.

“I heard the story…”

Flinch, Aqua, who had raised his head, saw me and stopped in his tracks.

“…?”

The reason for his bewilderment was obvious.

“It is not a face I can show to others so carelessly. I hope you understand.”

“I-Is that so?”

As expected, it seemed he took it as some kind of unfortunate story.

“May the blessing of Lord Stareon be with you.”

Aqua suddenly clasped his hands and offered a prayer, and rather than correcting the misunderstanding, I simply feigned praying along.

“I have heard the story. You conquered the 「Tomb of the Drunkard」?”

“That is correct.”

“But… to be honest, it is puzzling. Why did you come to us instead of the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“I came to make a proposal.”

“A proposal… you say?”

“Let’s just be honest with each other, Mr. Aqua.”

“…Pardon?”

“Isn’t there a reason why someone like a High Priest would personally come for such a puzzling request from strangers whose identities are unknown.”

Of course, there is.

Even a place like Stout, which seemed endlessly peaceful and free of worries, had its own problems.

In other words, it meant there was an ‘important quest’.

“So, enough with the sounding out, just decide whether to accept or not.”

And this man would try to hide it as much as possible… but I had no intention of letting him.

“……!”

I suddenly heard a gasp and turned around to see Ibi, her mouth agape in horror.

She was clearly not making a sound, yet.

‘Y-You did it…!’

Her expression seemed to scream.

‘You said you wouldn't do anything crazy, you son of a bitch…!’

To that, I also replied with just my expression.

‘When did I say that?’

Well, it’s not like he could see it because of the sack anyway.

“For the reward, I’ll take one of the treasures you have in storage. There are no negotiations.”

“You crazy son of a──”

Did she finally lose her patience?

Ibi's voice slipped out.

It must have been unintentional.

When I looked back again, she had already hastily covered her mouth.

But despite that, perhaps judging that this was beyond salvaging.

“I, I don’t know these guys.”

She finally made this decision.

To pretend she didn’t know them.

“It’s a proposal made by a bunch of guys who have nothing to do with me. I know nothing about it.”

Ibi started frantically waving her hands, desperately trying to distance herself from me.

Not a chance.

I immediately grabbed her hand tightly and pulled Ibi towards me.

“Additionally, you'll have to give all three of us a hefty share. Absolutely no one can be left out.”

“If you’re g-gonna die, die alone, you crazy bastard…!”

In the meantime, Aqua's expression, which had clearly been dumbfounded at first, had hardened coldly.

It was a wary gaze.

“How…”

Depending on my answer, he looked ready to call the armored knights waiting behind that closed door at any moment.

“…How do you know that?”

“I am a Bard who wanders the continent. I can't help but be sensitive to rumors and local legends.”

However, in the end, that won't happen.

“As you said, there is also the option of going to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“…….”

Branches of the Adventurer’s Guild existed in all 12 cities.

(Or, they used to.)

From the cities' perspective, even if it was a mutually beneficial relationship, it was essentially an independent union outside their jurisdiction, and ultimately an interest group that prioritized its own profits.

Therefore.

“Make your choice.”

They wouldn’t just stand by and let a clue about the holy relic of the god they serve flow into a place they couldn't control.

“…I understand.”

Indeed, his deliberation was not long.

“However, I must first confirm what you found there.”

“Go ahead.”

I immediately took the stone tablet out of my bag and showed it to him.

“──!”

The moment he saw it and realized it was truly what he was looking for, Aqua suddenly turned his gaze to Ibi.

“You, milady, are you really not involved in this proposal at all?”

“…Huh?”

Ibi, who was so suddenly singled out, just stared blankly with her mouth open.

It seemed she had overloaded and broken down due to the continuous unexpected situations.

“It’s a story I would rather not have known to many people, you see.”

Knock knock, as Aqua knocked lightly, two armored knights burst open the door and entered the room.

“Knights, would you please guide this lady to the exit so she doesn't get lost?”

For reference, those words really just meant to guide her to the outside.

This grand temple was vast, and not a place to let someone of unknown identity wander around alone.

“Ah.”

Unfortunately, however, the place where Ibi grew up was a place where calling over such burly men to ‘guide to the outside’ was usually used with a different meaning.

For example, when telling them to go bury someone somewhere.

“This way──”

“Ah, ahh Just kidding, just kidding! Hey, it was just a joke.”

Sure enough, as the knights approached, Ibi suddenly put her arm around my shoulders.

“We’re, uh, such close friends that we sometimes play these mischievous jokes on each other. Aha, ahahaha.”

While saying that, she urgently tapped my leg, and I suppressed the laugh that was about to escape and added a word.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, this son of a…”

“…Then should I assume you are part of the group?”

“Yes, we are a group. She was just kidding.”

At my words, Ibi immediately nodded her head up and down.

“Is that so.”

Aqua then sent the knights back outside without another word, and at the same time, Ibi, who had quickly removed her hand from my shoulder, let out a small sigh of relief.

From Aqua’s perspective, he had every right to be dumbfounded, but there was no such reaction.

“How much do you all happen to know about this stone tablet?”

As if now was not the time to be concerned with such trivial matters.

“I know that the language written on it is Ancient Elvish, the language of the Age of the Gods.”

“…!”

Aqua’s half-closed eyes opened wide again.

“…You figured out that much. That is impressive.”

“We weren’t able to decipher it, however.”

“Nevertheless, the fact that you came to us, does it not mean you have a rough idea of its contents?”

I answered by nodding my head.

At that, Aqua seemed to glance around the room, then.

“In that case, it would be better to move to a different location first.”

He said, heading for the door.

“Follow me.”

***

Stout is a theocracy ruled by the church that serves the God of Water, Stareon.

Therefore, this grand temple was not just a place for worshiping a god, but also a type of parliament where state affairs were discussed.

And the man walking ahead of us now, Aqua, was a being involved in almost everything that happened within that grand temple.

Because of this, one might think of him as the true power or an absolute authority… but the reality was a bit different.

“As you may already know, the Grand Priest recently led the troops himself and left on an expedition.”

It was simply because they were short on people to do the work.

As you could tell just by looking at the dark circles under his eyes.

“The Wall, I presume.”

“…Yes, that is correct.”

Although the 12 cities had been ruled independently ever since they split from a single empire after a great war long ago, there were rare occasions when they would unite as one, like in the days of the empire.

Such as when the ‘Demon race’── ‘Heretics’ who did not believe in their gods at all──tried to cross The Wall.

Even in the days when the 12 Gods fought on this land, killing and trying to kill each other, they still considered one another as the same kind.

That atmosphere continued to this day (well, strictly speaking, the influence of the empire that unified the continent merging them into a single religion called the ‘Religion of the 12 Gods’ was the greatest), and the 12 cities saw each other as sects of the same religion, even if the gods they believed in were different.

But the ‘Devils’ beyond The Wall were a different story.

They were considered a great threat even to the gods.

As they were seen not as beings to be served, but as targets for conquest.

And in reality, they had the ability to do so.

Therefore, they had their believers build a long wall to keep them in check, and that remained the same to this day.

However, the land beyond The Wall, which was usually a literal ‘Demon's Den’ busy with internal strife and ranking battles, suddenly became quiet one day… and became a single, huge, unified force?

It was already a major incident.

“Not only the Grand Priest, but most of our key figures have accompanied this expedition.”

To the extent that even in Stout, the city farthest from The Wall, the head of state himself would leave on a large-scale expedition.

“To prevent excessive confusion, it has not yet been announced in any city… but it's a situation that people like you, who are quick-witted, have already noticed.”

Of course, someone like a Grand Priest wouldn't suddenly take half the city's forces out for a stroll.

Sooner or later, it was something everyone would find out.

That something unusual was happening beyond The Wall.

“Well, even so, I think everyone will just end up drinking more booze to ease their worries. The alcohol here will sell like hotcakes.”

“Haha. I can hardly deny that.”

“You must be very busy.”

“That statement… is truly even harder to deny.”

Aqua gave a weak, bitter smile.

In short, most of the useful personnel had been drafted for the expedition.

The only reason Aqua remained here amidst all that was because he was the last bastion.

“To be frank with you…”

The one who barely kept Stout functioning as a proper nation.

“There was no one to whom I could entrust this task.”

It couldn't be helped.

Even outsiders, meaning skilled adventurers, had mostly caught the scent and were all heading up north.

“So…, yes.”

Therefore, when I, who had appeared out of nowhere, took out the stone tablet and showed it to him.

“I accept.”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that for him, it seemed as if a ray of salvation had descended.

“Your proposal, that is.”

Given by the master of that giant stone statue he had suddenly stopped to look up at──Lord Stareon.