◈ Episode 366. Even If My Ears Itch (2)
[You have entered the top floor of the Space-Time Social Hall.]
The top floor.
The scenery was, how should I put it.
Strange.
‘……
Not that [『Strange』] here.’
It was strange as in grotesque. The lower floors of the social hall, where the majority of Transcendents stayed. And the upper floors, permitted only to a tiny minority including the Four Houses. From the very first impression, this place was different from both.
Unlike the floors below, which at least lived up to the name of a social hall, the scenery of the top floor was such that, had the message not appeared, I would never have been able to see it as a social hall at all.
It was like a rift.
And an extraordinarily chaotic one at that. If a rift was a place where two completely different worlds, the Arcana Continent and reality, coexisted……
‘This place is more like a patchwork.’
It looked as though countless worlds had been mixed together.
So, if you examined each piece one by one, you could see the splendid appearance of a social hall.
But when they were all lumped together in layers, it was more like incomprehensible modern art.
To the point that—
“Too much of anything is as bad as too little.”
Even Granfell’s aesthetic sense delivered an icy evaluation.
Among them, the most overwhelming sight was the countless clocks, as numerous as the mixed scenery.
They all came in different shapes and forms, but one thing was certain: the times their second hands pointed to were all different.
‘In any case.’
First, even in this bizarre place.
Should I check whether the social hall system still works?
I took a single gold coin from my inventory.
[Gold Coin of Space-Time]
[Grade: Epic]
[Restriction: Transcendent]
[Effect: Can be used as currency in Space-Time.]
[Description: A gold coin circulated in Space-Time, the domain of Transcendents.]
Then I placed an order.
“I shall have green tea.”
This was Space-Time, where Transcendents of the Arcana Continent, not reality, gathered.
As I had grumbled on my first visit, it was an environment where something like green tea should not exist. And yet, soon after, the gold coin held between my fingers evaporated.
[You have paid 1 gold coin.]
Steam rose in wisps.
Before I knew it, I was holding a teacup filled with green tea. At that moment, I became certain. The top floor of the Space-Time Social Hall. As expected, it was no ordinary place.
“Mm.”
As I swallowed the green tea down my throat, I had the illusion that my head was spinning faster and more sharply. At this rate, I was no different from an office worker addicted to Americano.
Still, thanks to that, I was able to grasp the situation.
Apparently, this top floor……
‘It seems the time periods are mixed together.’
Beyond that, there was also a strong possibility that completely different worlds had been mixed together. You could tell just from the fact that, unlike the lower floors, I could order green tea here, couldn’t you?
“Not bad.”
Not to mention the fact that the green tea that appeared matched Granfell’s picky palate, which showed displeasure unless it was teabag green tea. Suddenly, a guess occurred to me.
‘……
Could it be?’
The reason there was no menu, unlike the lower floors.
Was it because almost anything could be purchased with gold coins?
The moment I realized that, a worldly desire for possessions began blooming in my chest.
After all, the foods that could be ordered at the Space-Time Social Hall—
Each and every one of them had absurd effects.
Even ordinary bottled water was like that.
‘Who would buy bottled water with a gold coin, you ask?’
The bottled water of the Space-Time Social Hall had effects no different from a high-grade elixir.
If bottled water was that much, there was no need to even mention the effects of the food. The heads of the Four Houses, who held banquets on the upper floor of the social hall day after day, had not ruled the continent for nothing.
‘Then doesn’t that mean I can order things like spiritual medicine too?!’
Spiritual medicine.
If rain herbs were to grow without the blessings of spirits or the care of elves, even a thousand years might not be enough. But if anything could be ordered, then perhaps even that precious spiritual medicine could be ordered.
‘There’s no law saying it’s limited to consumables either.’
If I went by how I felt, I wanted to conduct all sorts of experiments with the remaining ninety-nine gold coins. However, I must not overlook it. Having tasted the end of wealth, Granfell-nim could remain composed even before rare gold, silver, and treasures—his incorruptible integrity……!
Clack—setting down the teacup, he murmured.
“This shall suffice for today.”
……
Yes, yes, you truly never change.
Thanks to Granfell pouring cold water—
No, green tea—over my rising excitement, I came to my senses. It wasn’t as if I could visit the top floor only today. Impulsive spending simply to confirm things wouldn’t be good.
‘More than anything, do you know how I earned those gold coins?’
A duel in Space-Time.
I had seized victory over none other than Shegwin, the Sword Saint of the Arcana Continent.
‘……
Strictly speaking, Gwicheol was the one who won, but anyway.’
They were the hundred gold coins I had acquired.
Now that I had learned a new use for gold coins.
That meant I would need to diligently earn more gold coins from now on.
Most of all, it was like a cat had learned of the existence of a fish shop.
“Remember my choice.”
Because this green tea addict—
Would always order the same thing.
Let’s see, considering the gold coins I’ll spend on green tea in the future……
‘I’ll have to check quickly.’
The highest-tier Space-Time quest that I could now carry out.
Of course, I was already well aware of the existence of Space-Time missions.
But I simply had not had the time to carry them out.
However, I could no longer put it off.
I had come to understand my place, hadn’t I?
I thought I had grown in my own way.
Only to find out that I had finally, just barely reached a level where I could speak on equal footing with the upper-ranking Demon Kings.
‘I have to struggle by any means necessary.’
So how do I carry out this highest-tier Space-Time quest?
No, before that.
What kind of system is it that lets me receive Space-Time requests in the first place?
A question sprang from my mouth.
“I shall carry out a request.”
Of course, in Granfell-style speech, where he was always the one in the superior position.
And immediately after.
A change came over the top floor of the social hall.
Tick, tick—
The second hands of the countless clocks began to rotate.
Some clockwise.
Others counterclockwise.
Then, at last, only a single clock stopped moving.
Ti……
ck—
As I approached, the background of the clock began to expand rapidly.
The background swallowed my vision.
A message rose.
[Myth Quest: Against the Current]
“!”
Because the scenery was changing so rapidly.
I could not confirm the details exactly.
But just one line was enough.
[Myth]
A quest of that grade. What kind of quest was this……?
It was a grade that exceeded Arcana’s common sense.
In the Arcana system, the quests evaluated as the highest tier were [World]-class quests. Of course, I was also carrying out the [Main]-class quest, [Warring States Period]……. But between World and Main, it was impossible to rank one above the other.
And yet, this was Myth.
Just from the grandiose name, I could instinctively tell.
‘This is no ordinary quest.’
As if proving my conjecture.
A message appeared.
Without warning.
[Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo has begun a Myth Quest.]
My embarrassing full name……!
Even World Quests—
Had caused one’s name to ring out thunderously to those in the same world.
And this was a Myth-class, something beyond that.
Moreover, I was not the only one currently on the Arcana Continent.
It must have risen before the whole world.
That damned message, even to other players……!
‘Raymon Sean, you bastard.’
I ground it out inwardly and took a deep breath.
I composed my chest, which had unexpectedly grown overwhelmed, and focused on the changing field of view.
It was the first highest-tier Space-Time quest I was carrying out, and also a [Myth] quest.
I had no idea what would happen, so I could not let my guard down.
In that sense, an even mind was an incredibly reliable place for me to lean on.
“…….”
Thanks to that, I was able to face it with my usual expressionless face.
“C-C-C-Claudi?!”
And an orc who, upon facing me, looked so shocked he might stop breathing.
*
Kichi let out a yawn.
“To be honest, I’m not interested, okay? In your long-winded story.”
“What?”
Ulrich looked hurt, but what did that matter? The only reason she had quietly listened until now was purely because the story involved Claudi.
“You sounded so meaningful, I wondered what you were going to say.”
The manager of Orc Auction and the orc chieftain.
Ulrich had said this.
—“Rise, the Great Sage who foretells the future in Pandora’s Attic. I witnessed that person’s final moments through a gap in the window of that attic……!!”
He had clearly witnessed Hoyeol’s final moments with his own eyes.
To Kichi, it was impossible to believe.
Then who exactly was the Claudi she had faced?
However, she could not simply disregard it.
Because Kichi had experienced both completely different worlds.
The Arcana Continent and the world of the adventurers.
‘He cannot be both Claudi and an adventurer.’
Because she knew that fact.
She had once wondered whether Hoyeol had not actually been born in the world of adventurers. After all, from their first meeting until now, Hoyeol had acted more like a person of Arcana than an adventurer.
Kichi soon shook her head.
‘……
No, he has definitely existed in that world.’
But Hoyeol was fully aware of information that only an adventurer could know. On top of that, blood relatives who shared his blood were unquestionably living in the world of those adventurers.
Kichi’s gaze turned toward the silver hair on the table.
‘……
Unlike Claudi.’
Damn it, no answer came no matter how much she agonized.
The more she thought, the more complicated her mind became.
At Kichi’s reaction, Ulrich clicked his tongue.
“As expected, it seems you cannot believe my words.”
At Kichi’s attitude, Ulrich made up his mind.
It seemed he would have to explain in detail.
What kind of history existed between the orcs and Claudi.
“Kichi, do you know about orcs?”
“What? I know them well. First of all, their faces are all mashed in.”
“……
I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“What is this all of a sudden? Why are you acting so serious?”
“It concerns our true nature. If it is the Shadow Mercenary Corps, I imagine you must have encountered them several times through requests. My uncivilized kin, that is.”
Requests related to orcs.
As befitted a leader, Kichi had carried out many requests. After finishing a request, getting dead drunk and losing consciousness was part of her daily routine. Thanks to that, she did not remember everything clearly, but……
“How could I forget those monsters?”
The savage orcs who rejected civilization.
The memories of facing them were engraved deeply in her mind. Explosive brute strength bursting from muscles on a completely different level from humans. She had suffered quite a bit because of that strength.
As the afterimages slowly surfaced, Kichi stuck out her tongue.
“Of course, maybe because they couldn’t see anything in front of them. If you used your head even a little while facing them, you could bring them down. So why are you suddenly bringing up your own kind? Are your blood ties tugging at you now?”
Ulrich gave a rotten smile.
“Pfft! My kind? I can endure the insult about my face being mashed, but being treated the same as those irrational brutes is unpleasant, Kichi. They are still utterly ignorant. The law of the jungle in this day and age, of all things.”
“……
Is that really something you should be saying?”
Orc Auction.
As a magnate of the underworld, it was packed with goods that could not be obtained in the light of day. Naturally, the prices were set high. But for such words to come out of the mouth of Ulrich, who was especially notorious for overcharging humans—
Kichi continued, folding her fingers one by one.
“Let’s see, should I list only the rumors I’ve heard roughly? You lend gold coins at absurd interest rates to humans whose eyes roll back from rising auction prices. You sell goods piled up in the Orc Auction warehouse by inflating the price to ridiculous levels, saying it’s an opportunity that will never come again. And also……”
“Ahem, what a dishonorable slander. Where did you hear such things?”
Thud—
As if the subject was unwelcome, Ulrich hurriedly took out a book and placed it in front of Kichi. She could have looked at its title, but Kichi was thoroughly distant from books.
Ulrich knew that as well, so he immediately explained.
“Please do not look away this time, Kichi. This is the memoir left by the first Ulrich of Orc Auction. His meeting with Claudi is recorded in detail, so I myself have read it several times.”
“Huh?”
When she said she couldn’t believe him.
Now he was even shoving evidence at her?
Kichi shot Ulrich a sharp look, dumbfounded.
But Ulrich paid it no mind and shamelessly opened the book.
“Of course, lately I have been busy with work and have had no time to open it. As I said, Garfield of the Diamond Merchant Guild. That human fellow has been grating on my nerves terribly. Now then, let’s see……. It begins here.”
Slide—
Kichi still looked like she didn’t care in the slightest.
But Ulrich steadfastly traced the letters with his thick finger.
“……?”
Yet for some reason.
Ulrich’s complexion began changing rapidly.
Tremble, tremble—
Like an orc who had seen something he should not have.
Ulrich turned ashen and opened his mouth.
“……
Kichi, what did you say earlier?”
“What, that you’re ugly?”
“No!”
Ulrich asked again in an agitated voice.
“I mean Claudi’s name in the world of the adventurers……!”
Kichi wondered what this was about, but answered casually.
“Name? It was Lee Hoyeol……”
At Kichi’s answer, Ulrich could not continue speaking for a long while.
Because at the place Ulrich’s finger pointed to—
It was written clearly.
『The head of Claudi, Lee Hoyeol Claudi.』
In that era.
The name of the Claudi family head that he had simply thought was unusual.
And then moved on from.
Ulrich let out a gasp.
“H-How is that name in the distant past? Then does that mean the adventurer impersonating Sir Granfell existed since the distant past? Then who in the world is the current Sir Granfell……? What on earth is going on here!”
*
A Myth-class quest.
If its influence were to be explained in one word, it was simple.
It could transcend space-time and change the “past.”
Shall I explain using a familiar magical analogy?
That was right.
It meant interfering with the past.
And manifesting a new reality.
In other words……
“My name is Lee Hoyeol.”
I screamed internally as I looked at the moved orc.
“Lee Hoyeol Claudi……! I shall remember it clearly!”
Please, don’t attach a surname before and after my name……!!