STGB Episode 498

Quest 3

Despite the table of finely brewed tea and fancy appetizers prepared by Auyen, an awkward silence filled the room.

Eventually, Misha broke the silence first.

“This…”

“Hmm?”

“These are pastries from Rubat Bakery… They’re not bad here, but Nielon Bakery is cheaper and would suit your taste better…”

Why is she suddenly talking about pastries?

It felt out of the blue, but I assumed it was small talk to break the ice, so I casually replied.

“Is that so? Auyen takes care of these things, so I don’t really know. Oh, by the way, Auyen is—”

“I know. Auyen Roklov… the sailor.”

“…You do?”

“……”

For some reason, the conversation that had just started quickly fizzled out.

‘Sigh, she’s making me nervous for no reason.’

I decided to cut to the chase and get to the point.

“Misha, I assume you coming here today means you’ve made up your mind?”

“…Yeah.”

“So, what’s your decision?”

When I asked directly, Misha hesitated for a long time before answering.

“I’ll join… the new clan you’re forming.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm…”

Her little nod made me relax.

I had been preparing myself for a rejection, given how she kept hesitating.

“As long as you and your comrades are okay with it…”

I replied firmly to her trailing words.

“Why wouldn’t they be? Oh, you mentioned things weren’t good with Erwin, right? Don’t worry. You’ll get along like before. She’s in a much better state now.”

“Ah… really…?”

“Since we’re on the topic, how about calling her over now?”

“Huh, what…?”

“You didn’t get to properly greet her last time. Since we’ll be entering the labyrinth together, it might be good to have some time to talk…”

Misha looked confused for a moment, but soon nodded and agreed.

So, I left Misha alone and went upstairs to fetch Amelia and Erwin.

And then…

“……”

“……”

As expected, an almost suffocating silence filled the living room.

After a while, Amelia sighed and spoke up.

“Jandel. Stay upstairs.”

…Huh?

“If you want this resolved, just follow my instructions. If you’re here, you’ll only interfere.”

For some reason, I was kicked out from their conversation.

***
The conversation between Amelia, Erwin, and Misha ended after about an hour.

Amelia knocked on the door she had closed and gave me permission to come back down. I hurriedly ran back to the first floor.

The state of the living room was completely different from what I had expected.

“……”

“……”

It wasn’t exactly harmonious, but it wasn’t hostile either. It just looked like a typhoon had passed through, leaving chaos in its wake.

“Uh… Emily? What happened here?”

When I asked dumbfounded, Amelia replied as if it were nothing.

“After a long talk, the three of us decided to try to get along.”

“Well, that’s good, but… that’s not what I’m asking. Why does it look like things are broken everywhere?”

“Oh, that? Don’t worry about it. We just got a little carried away during the conversation.”

How could a “little carried away” turn the living room into such a mess?

As I glanced around, Erwin, who had caught my gaze, looked away.

“…Yeah. We got carried away.”

Right, that’s the story you’re going with, huh?

I shot a questioning look at Misha, but she also kept her mouth shut, offering no explanation.

I decided not to press further on the state of the living room.

I have enough sense to know when to stop.

‘It seems there was some trouble, but it ended well.’

If I had to guess, Misha and Erwen probably clashed, and Amelia mediated between them.

“I think… I’ll head upstairs now.”

Erwin quickly retreated to her room, and Misha also stood up.

“Then, I… I’ll be going too…”

“Huh? Where are you going? Just stay here. There are plenty of empty rooms.”

“Well… I thought about it, and I think it’s better if I stay somewhere else… It might be uncomfortable for everyone… I heard Aynar is doing the same…?”

Ah, that’s true.

Aynar has been spending all her time at the sanctuary, saying it’s really fun, living her days as the First Elder.

“So… can you let me go?”

I let go of her wrist, which I had grabbed impulsively.

Misha gently rubbed the spot where I had held her, as if it hurt a little.

“Th, then…”

Misha quickly opened the front door and left, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop her as she drew a line.

“…what exactly did the three of you talk about?”

I asked Amelia in frustration, but once again I didn’t get a proper answer.

“It’s a secret between us girls. You don’t need to know.”

Ugh, that just makes me even more curious.

What exactly did they discuss?

***

Another unexpected visitor arrived early in the morning.

“…Raven?”

“May I come in?”

“Ah, of course.”

After she ran tests on Erwin’s new essence, she had been busy with her job. It had been a while since her last visit.

“The house feels smaller than before?”

“Ah, this is your first time in the new house, right?”

After giving her a quick tour of the house, we started talking while enjoying the refreshments Auyen had prepared.

“You didn’t come just to chat, right? What brings you here?”

“What brings me here? Are you kidding?!”

“Ah, it’s about the MageTower, isn’t it?”

“Sigh…”

Raven let out a deep sigh but, surprisingly, didn’t say much more.

She knows the situation too.

Even if the process was a bit extreme, I only did what I had to do.

And most importantly, the matter was resolved amicably.

“So, what kind of magic did you use on him?”

That must be the real reason for her visit.

“For the Tower Master to make such concessions, I can’t understand it. To be honest, I thought war was the only option left…”

“So, that’s what you came to ask about?”

“…Partly.”

After some thought, I confessed everything about the deal I made with the Tower Master.

I wanted her advice on this part too.

“Lurendel Galinbaret… The Tower Master made all those concessions to protect her?”

“Do you know anything about her?”

“Not much. We were in different ranks, so I never had a chance to talk to her. And after I joined the military, I hardly did any Tower activities.”

“But you’re both mages, so you must know more than I do. Tell me anything.”

“Well…”

Raven hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Lurendel Galinbaret is the mage who has published the most papers on the Barbarian’s Heart. The Triten school is also very interested in that research.”

“Hmm, so that’s why she wanted my heart.”

“Maybe. If it’s her, she probably genuinely wanted to study your heart, which is why she made that request.”

“And that research must be important enough to interest even the Tower Master.”

“That’s likely the case… Otherwise, the Tower Master wouldn’t have made such concessions.”

“…Raven, could you look into this for me?”

“Hmm… Sure. I’m a bit curious about this too. If I find anything, I’ll share it with you.”

“Thanks.”

And with that, the conversation on this topic ended.

Since Raven was here, I decided to ask her something else.

“Raven, by the way. Is it possible to gain ‘knowledge’ in the labyrinth?”

“Knowledge…?”

“Yeah, knowledge. Like suddenly being able to read and write ancient languages you couldn’t before—”

At my example, Raven slammed the table and stood up.

“Ancient languages! You can read ancient languages now?!”

“Ah, no… That was just an example—”

“An example? That’s exactly what it sounds like!”

This is why sharp people are troublesome.

I figured she wouldn’t believe me if I tried to dodge the question, so I just admitted it outright.

“Yeah, I can read ancient languages now.”

“To what extent…?”

“Well? I haven’t really tested it yet…”

As I trailed off, Raven pulled out a book written in ancient language from her subspace and made me read it.

But…

“Maharniarsus pleaded for his wife’s return, but Kaprakadah firmly refused, claiming he could love her more than Maharniarsus ever could… Wait, what kind of book is this?”

“Never mind, just keep going.”

“…So Maharniarsus drew his sword and plunged it into his rival’s heart. As Kaprakadah bled, he reached out. But all he could do was…”

The more I read aloud, the darker Raven’s expression became.

“Th, this is a book I can’t even read properly without a dictionary…”

I know she’s one of the mages who studied ancient languages diligently.

“Muthen Aviyur Bukrath.”

“…What did you just say?”

“It means, ‘I can speak ancient languages.'”

As I shrugged, it took a while for her to react.

“…………Jandel, do you want to get hit?”

Raven raised her small hand, clearly not as a mere threat.

“Kkiatho Kkikheh Kkuekheh.”

“……?”

“Ah, that means I don’t want to get hit—”

“Are you making fun of me?!”

…In the end, I got hit.

Well, it was her hand that swelled up, though.

“Ah, seriously… Why are you like this, Jandel?”

“Sorry. Anyway, back to the main topic. Have you ever heard of something like this happening?”

“…Not that I know of. But… what happened to you? Is it… the reward? Related to the achievement recorded on the Stone of Honor this time…”

“Well, something like that.”

“………Can you tell me about it?”

Raven asked cautiously, and I was happy to tell her what had happened.

Even though we’re not comrades like before, she’s still the woman who helped me even after she found out that I was an evil spirit.

Besides, I needed a mage’s insight.

“The things you experienced there can’t just be made-up stories. No, they must have been real events from the past! A clear cause-and-effect relationship between the Floor Lord and the witch!”

Raven couldn’t hide her excitement after hearing my story.

“This is a huge discovery! It proves the hypothesis that the labyrinth isn’t just another dimension! It’s possible that the labyrinth’s dimensional coordinates aren’t based on space but on the axis of time!”

Of course, I was indifferent.

Whether it’s space or time, it didn’t make much sense to me.

“Is that so?”

“Versil Gowland! What about her? She’s a mage too! She is probably researching it, right?”

“No, she doesn’t seem too interested either.”

“Whaaaat?!”

Well, Versil is a player, after all.

She doesn’t seem too interested in historical stuff.

But it must have been hard for Raven to understand.

“H, how could that be…? How could a mage not care? If I were in her place…”

Raven, who had been raising her voice in disbelief, suddenly stopped speaking.

“If you were?”

“…Never mind. It’s a pointless conversation anyway.”

The mood suddenly turned heavy.

Feeling like I needed to change the subject, I brought up some news that would make Raven happy.

“Oh, right! And there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you.”

“…News?”

“Misha’s back.”

I briefly explained how I had reunited with Misha and how she had decided to rejoin the Clan.

But what’s this now?

“………Is that so? That’s good to hear.”

“I’ll give you her address. You should visit her sometime. Misha would love to see you-”

“Later.”

“…Huh?”

“I, I should get going now. I have work to do back at the unit.”

With a darker expression, Raven left the house as if fleeing.

***

Even after Raven’s visit, the busy days continued.

I checked on Rotmiller’s adaptation at the Sanctuary, visited the dwarf’s forge to monitor progress, and met with all the clan members several times to discuss the next exploration plan.

Most days were filled with routine tasks, but not every day was just filled with daily quests.

Like today.

“Lord Goodrix sincerely welcomes you to the House of Goodrix.”

A total of 31—no, now 32 families make up the Melbes. I had been invited to the residence of Viscount Goodrix, one of its members.

“Hahaha! It’s a pleasure, Baron. I am Viscount Goodrix. I know you’re busy, so I truly appreciate you accepting my invitation!”

True to his dwarven bloodline, Count Goodrix spoke in a more boisterous tone compared to other nobles.

However, being a noble, his preamble was long, and it wasn’t until I gave him a subtle hint that he finally got to the point.

“So, why did you call me here?”

“On behalf of Melbes, we have a request for Baron Jandel.”

It was the first exclusive quest for Melbes.

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