Chapter 78
"I brought the sword."
It's a plain sword that quite resembles a woman named Maria.
It's an utterly ordinary sword, but the hilt is heavily worn.
It looks like quite an old sword, but it seems to have been well-maintained; though there are scratches here and there, its center of gravity is balanced, and its edge is sharp.
Well, it's still a Corpse Sword, though.
"Maria......"
It's a name not in my memories.
It's also because the name Maria is so common, but among the names in my memory, Maria is not Carpe...
Anyway.
Because she was such a careless pilgrim, she remained vaguely in my memory.
"I just need to deliver it to the Order."
Putting Maria's sword into my spatial dimension, I looked around.
The smell of medicine and stale mold was piercing my nose.
There was no one walking around, yet strangely, it was noisy.
It was a place called the Forbidden District, where Sacred Gold Alchemists were densely packed.
Originally, it was a place where civilian access was strictly prohibited, and security was tight everywhere, but...
"Who are you?"
"A pilgrim."
Callius's current official position in the Order was that of a pilgrim.
"Unless there are special orders, pilgrims cannot enter here."
Naturally, I was rejected.
I expected as much up to this point.
What power does a pilgrim have?
So, Callius took something out from his bosom.
"Is this not enough either?"
"That is... Gasp!"
The guard's eyes widened.
A snowflake symbolizing the North.
And a wolf meaning Zervan.
A crest where snow and wolf were in harmony.
Embroidered on it was the crest of a sword, signifying a noble's rank.
Three swords. A token signifying a Count.
Moreover.
'The sword crest is made of sapphire.'
This meant it was the token of the Count representing Zervan among the Four Great Noble Families.
"Ah! Excuse me."
The soldier on guard had heard that the Count of Zervan was a middle-aged man, so it was a question why the Count before his eyes looked quite young.
However, since there was no falsehood in the token, he dared not ask carelessly.
"Let me ask you one thing."
"Please ask."
"Isn't someone named Beatrice living here?"
Beatrice.
"Hmm... Well. Since the Sacred Gold Alchemists rarely come outside, I don't know exactly either. Shall I bring the roster? All the Sacred Gold Alchemists residing here are listed on it."
"Bring it."
"Yes! Understood!"
On the roster in the arms of the guard who came running back out of breath, the name Beatrice was nowhere to be found.
'There's the name Maria here too.'
But it probably wasn't the same person.
Maria is a common name, after all.
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. Could I look around inside a bit?"
"Yes, of course. Shall I guide you?"
"No, I want to walk alone."
"But you never know what dangers there might be. Sometimes houses explode due to failed Sacred Gold Alchemy, so..."
There's no need to make things difficult for the soldier.
And no reason to move in secret.
'It's a shame Beatrice isn't here, but it can't be helped.'
In the first place, Beatrice wasn't a character Callius had created.
So he didn't know her detailed background.
The world was so vast, and as he meticulously adjusted each character, there existed people like this with settings he hadn't created. Since a game isn't something where a single writer designs all the settings.
'Should I go to Sellivian?'
That would be the most straightforward solution.
It might be a matter of days now, but Sellivian is still the best Sacred Gold Alchemist.
The reason he excluded her from the start was because her life was truly hanging by a thread, and he didn't want to form a bond with someone who was about to die.
'And she's not someone I can just meet carelessly.'
She's a Cardinal and of royal bloodline.
She's not someone you can see just because you want to.
'I can't just go back because Beatrice isn't here.'
A Sacred Gold Alchemist is necessary.
Even if it's not necessarily troll's blood, I do need to seek advice on making the Lightning Wolf Dragon's byproducts into an artifact.
If there isn't one, I'll just have to make do without.
"Then I'll ask for your guidance."
"Yes, I will guide you this way."
A moment later.
"I'm sorry. Most Sacred Gold Alchemists are like that..."
"It's fine. I know their disposition well, so don't worry about it."
I was turned away at the door.
It was already the third time someone shouted without even opening the door, telling me not to disturb their experiment.
I knew the temperaments of Sacred Gold Alchemists were eccentric, but I didn't know it was to this extent.
If it were up to my feelings, I would have smashed the door and thrust my sword in, but I held back.
There was nothing good about making an enemy of a Sacred Gold Alchemist, and above all, since the moment I showed the Count's title, my actions now represented the North.
"What about someone named Maria?"
I recalled there was someone named Maria on the roster. There was no particular meaning to it.
It was just because it kept lingering in my mind.
"Ah, then I will guide you to that place."
We walked for a long time.
It was the most cornered and remote place in the district.
A shabby, ordinary wooden house.
A house that looked like it would collapse at a touch.
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the door, but it was quiet.
I waited for a long time, but it was the same.
"It seems no one is inside. What should we do?"
"Hmm."
What should I do.
While I was pondering.
"The flowers have already bloomed. How strange. It's still cold, though."
At the soldier's words, I looked at the yard of the wooden house, and indeed, flowers were in bloom.
"What a mysterious flower."
"Right? The harmony of white and purple is quite exceptional."
Besides that, there were many other flowers and medicinal herbs.
It seemed like they were personally cultivated, but perhaps because a Sacred Gold Alchemist grew them, they were slightly different from ordinary ones.
The aura they exuded.
An entirely alien appearance.
And.
"How fascinating."
Most of the medicinal herbs were taking root and growing on bones.
Things like beast skulls.
"This is......"
Sweeping away a little dirt, a sword was visible.
A sword of low quality and poor condition, but containing a human soul.
It was a flower grown atop a Corpse Sword.
The flower blooming on the sword was open wider than any of the flowers on the beast bones.
It was a curious thing. And a Sacred Gold Alchemist who cultivated such things was rare.
'Meaning she's an eccentric.'
The corners of Callius's mouth rose.
Cultivating medicinal herbs meant there was a high probability she was a Sacred Gold Alchemist deeply involved with potions.
"It wasn't just an ordinary beast."
Judging by the shape of the bones and the lingering Demonic Qi, these were the bones of a Demonic Beast.
Researching demons was supposed to be a taboo, but she had the guts to ignore that.
I quite like it.
"What will you do? To another place..."
"No, I'll wait."
A Sacred Gold Alchemist like this was worth waiting for.
"Then would you like some of this? It's my lunch, but..."
The bread he pulled from his bosom.
It looked like hard bread.
Come to think of it, it was lunchtime.
I had unintentionally taken the soldier's lunchtime.
"What is your name?"
"I'm Pedro."
Callius pretended to put his hand into his bosom and took out ten gold coins from his spatial dimension.
"Pedro, go bring food. It would be even better if it's a stew that goes well with that bread."
"Ah! Understood. If it's stew, a meat stew called Spezzatino Manzo is really delicious when dipped with this bread!"
"I look forward to it."
"Please wait a moment. I'll be right back. Ah, but..."
Ten gold coins was too much for just one meal. Pedro tried to return them, signaling that one gold coin would be enough.
"I eat quite a lot, so I'd like the food to be generous. You can do what you want with the rest."
"Understood!"
The guard Pedro came to like the Count of the North a little better.
* * *
Meanwhile.
"Stay still! If I forget about you now, it'll be the end of my neck... Argh! Stop biting, you son of a bitch!"
Swish, swish.
Brance, who had raised his voice, looked around to see if anyone was nearby.
Only after confirming no one was there did he let out a breath of relief.
"Ouch! Stop biting, you brat! His Lordship doesn't bite and only licks, so why do you keep biting me! I'm gonna whack you! Just. One good smack."
Vivi struggled in Brance's hands, clearly disliking him quite a bit.
-Grrr!
Bzzt!
"Urgh-bl-bl-blargh!!"
In the past, it was only at the level of static electricity, but now the current it emitted was quite formidable.
"Argh!"
When he lost his grip due to the lightning and moisture attack, Vivi darted away like an arrow.
"Come back! If I lose you, His Lordship might kick me out!"
Whether that was the case or not, Vivi ran.
Sniff, sniff.
There was a scent.
Getting closer.
"Hello? Little one."
The scent came from a woman.
But it was faint.
Long hair. Not him.
"You're a Demonic Beast. And not an ordinary one either. Are you perhaps of the Dragon Bloodline? Today's my lucky day."
Vivi ignored the woman and ran off somewhere again.
"Where are you going!"
She tried to stop him, but it was impossible.
Vivi emitted electrical currents from its entire body.
"Ah!"
The moment the startled woman stepped back, Vivi shot forward like an arrow.
A thicker scent.
"Huh, what's with this dog..."
Vivi stopped in front of a soldier holding an armful of food.
And tilted its head, because the scent had been smelled faintly.
"Want some of this? I didn't buy it with my money, but this much should be fine. I bought a lot, and the person I'm dealing with seems quite generous, so he won't mind."
The soldier tore off a little bread and threw it to Vivi. But Vivi didn't even look at it and growled.
"Why is it doing that? Is it sick?"
This guy wasn't him either.
Vivi ran again.
A place with a foul smell.
"What's that. What kind of mutt."
"It's not a mutt."
"Stop it! Stop it! Don't you know you can't let it in here!?"
The soldiers scrambled to block Vivi's charge.
But it was a futile effort.
Moving at a lightning-fast speed, Vivi darted left and right, making a mockery of the soldiers and carving a path through.
Strange, stale smells.
But amidst it all, the scent was there.
His scent.
His own rich fragrance.
"Hmm? Vivi? How are you here?"
-Woof!
Vivi leaped at him in a heartbeat.
"Why are you alone, leaving Brance behind?"
Vivi, as if saying he didn't know such a guy, busily licked here and there.
Callius eventually gave up, the corners of his mouth curling up as he petted Vivi.
"Is it a dog you know?"
It was Pedro.
In his hands, food was packaged and held in an armful.
"Well, yes. Did you meet it on the way here?"
"Yes. I threw it some bread, but it didn't eat it. Come to think of it, it must have been looking for you, Count."
Was that so.
I thought it was with Brance.
But where is Brance?
He doesn't come even after waiting a long time.
Did he really lose Vivi?
"Useless guy. Let's just eat first."
"Me too?"
"You haven't eaten either."
"Then... I will gratefully eat."
It was then.
"Could I join you too?"
A third party intervened.
The woman with undone violet-black hair had an ordinary face at first glance, but her aura was extremely calm.
"If you've started a meal at someone else's house on your own, you must have prepared something for the owner too, right?"
"You are..."
For a moment, I thought she was a different woman.
But no.
"Aren't you Maria?"
The vibe is different, though.
She was clearly the Maria who had charged in earlier with the pilgrim group.
The pilgrim Maria.
But her way of speaking and gestures.
And above all, her eyes themselves were completely different from earlier.
Her personality itself had completely changed, as if she were a different person.
Callius's eyes narrowed.
"You, your name."
At his question, the corners of her eyes curved like a crescent moon.
"Beatrice. Beatrice Sol Maria. Can we eat now?"
As she tilted her head, her violet-black hair poured down like a waterfall.
Callius looked at her wordlessly, then let out a chuckle and nodded.
"...Of course."