Ch.109109. Elysium

Elin.

Though it had been three years since they’d been together, Rex actually knew very little about her.

She avoided meat and mainly ate fruits and vegetables. While her emotions seemed subtle, she would sometimes smile secretly when no one was looking. She liked flowers and trees. He knew such trivial things about her.

However, he didn’t know much about Elin as a person. Who her parents were, where she came from, what she had been doing before meeting him.

Her suggestion to visit her homeland made Rex recall facts he had forgotten.

“By homeland, do you mean the Great Forest?”

While he didn’t know much about Elin personally, he did know about elves as a race. The homeland of all elves is the Great Forest, Alfheim. Under the massive divine tree, they are born and live their entire lives. Of course, some like Elin occasionally travel the outside world, but ultimately they all return to the Great Forest to end their lives.

Their most notable characteristic is that elves maintain a closed attitude toward other races. Alfheim is a paradise exclusively for elves, and other races cannot easily enter or leave that place.

“…Yes. I’m not saying we should go right away. But if the opportunity comes later… I’d like to invite you at least once.”

“I don’t particularly mind. But would I be able to enter?”

“Don’t worry about that. I can take care of it. Rex just needs to come.”

Elin answered with a resolute tone.

Alfheim is located east of the Empire. It would take quite a long time to get there, but hadn’t they already promised to go together to the sea, which was even farther? He was curious about Elin’s homeland, and there was no particular reason to refuse.

“Alright.”

“Good.”

Elin nodded with a gentle smile.

***

“Are you planning to make him your successor?”

Dawn. While Rex and the others had all gone to bed, Charlotte was alone, staring at the campfire. She wasn’t on watch duty. An Apostle’s senses could detect others approaching even while sleeping.

That’s why she had already noticed Vivienne approaching from behind. Though she didn’t speak first, Charlotte said while tossing a log into the fire:

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’m talking about Rex.”

Vivienne clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers. Sitting down on a plush chair that appeared from her dimensional storage, she continued:

“At first, I thought he must belong to the Order of the Sword. I wondered if you had raised a monster without my knowledge.”

“That boy is not my successor.”

“I suppose not. If he had received the blessing of the Order of the Sword, I would have noticed long ago, but even with my Divine Eye of Gold, I couldn’t determine his origin. That means Rex serves a deity I don’t know. But what deity could nurture someone to mid-level Radiance at just eighteen, no matter how talented…”

“I don’t know what deity he serves either.”

Charlotte chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. Vivienne’s curiosity was something Charlotte herself had naturally felt before.

There are countless deities in the world, but not all stand on equal footing. The most common criterion for distinguishing divine rank is fame.

Order, Life, Mercy—there are major deities commonly followed by ordinary people, while deities of Chaos, Death, and Pleasure are preferred by the wicked. The point is that well-known gods with many followers are considered higher in rank.

Higher-ranked deities can bestow more blessings and divine power upon their followers. While not always true, it generally is. The orders that produce Apostles all worship famous deities across the continent. Yet none of them had produced Radiance at Rex’s age. And Rex wasn’t from any of those orders.

To begin with, near Lindvale—no, his hometown of Oakbrook—there are no temples or dungeons where one could become a Consecrated. Perhaps there might be an unknown deity’s dungeon nearby, but even that wouldn’t explain everything.

Rex had lived his entire life in Oakbrook and came straight to Lindvale after awakening as a Consecrated. This meant he hadn’t left the village before becoming a Consecrated. It was a timeline that made no sense, both chronologically and logically.

“You didn’t even ask him?”

“He was forthcoming about everything else but tried to hide only that. I could have forced it out of him, but I’m too tender-hearted, you see. I can’t bring myself to forcibly uncover others’ secrets.”

When Vivienne frowned with an incredulous expression, Charlotte rose from her seat with a smirk.

“Anyway, to answer your initial question… I have no intention of making Rex my successor. I couldn’t even if I wanted to since he doesn’t meet the conditions, and he’s not one to be satisfied with just this position. He’s destined for something greater.”

Charlotte added as she threw a final log into the fire:

“If anyone, it would be Chloe. Though overshadowed by Rex, her talent is also sufficient.”

“Twenty-one and at mid—no, late-stage Sacred Flame… That’s about our level when we were young. I noticed you’ve passed down Arcane techniques to her too. Haven’t you already made up your mind?”

“Nothing is certain yet.”

Charlotte replied in a flat tone before entering her tent. Vivienne stroked her chin, lost in thought for a moment, then shook her head and left the spot.

***

A piercing gaze. Rex turned his head with a sour expression. That was a mistake. His eyes met Vivienne’s reflection in the window. Rex cleared his throat and threw the window open. The reflected face disappeared, but he could still feel her dissatisfied gaze drilling into the back of his head.

“Are you really not going to tell me?”

The question flew at him immediately, and Rex didn’t answer. Vivienne was the owner of the continent’s largest merchant guild and simultaneously an Apostle of the Order of Wealth. Considering that, ignoring her words was disrespectful.

But he had no choice.

‘Doesn’t she ever get tired of this?’

Vivienne had been repeating the same question for a month now. Asking which deity had blessed him. At first, he had politely explained that he was unable to answer.

Why is it difficult?

I have my reasons.

What reasons?

Well, I can’t explain those reasons either.

Can’t you just tell me?

The barrage of questions continued. Charlotte had refrained for the sake of her own dignity, but Vivienne didn’t suppress her curiosity. Thanks to that, Rex had been constantly pestered by Vivienne during the month-long journey to Elysium. After trying to appease her in various ways, he now lacked even the energy to respond.

‘Lord Kaordix.’

[What is it, my warrior?]

‘Do I really have to keep it secret?’

Rex sighed inwardly. It would be so much easier to just tell her. Unfortunately, Kaordix spoke in a solemn voice:

[Impossible. This directly concerns your well-being. As I’ve told you, I have many enemies. Though most humans have forgotten my name over the centuries, the deities still remember me. Boreas is one, and even Pandemius showed interest in you as my blessed one, sending his followers after you.]

It was undeniable. The image of Boreas grumbling about Kaordix being a “troublesome giant” remained vivid in his mind. For whatever reason, Kaordix seemed quite disliked among the gods. According to Kaordix, if word spread that Rex was his vassal, it could bring harm to Rex.

‘But why did you make so many enemies in the first place?’

[Hmph. They simply chose to antagonize me of their own accord.]

‘I doubt they’d dislike you without reason…’

[At most, they either lost followers to me or had their divinity usurped. One of the two. It’s truly laughable how these beings, despite achieving divine status, remain fixated on such trivial matters.]

That seems like plenty of reason to hate someone. Rex awkwardly scratched his cheek.

[In any case, be especially careful in Elysium. My traces might remain there.]

‘Yes.’

Rex repeated dully as he shifted his gaze. After a month and a half, the carriage was finally approaching Elysium. The bumpy road gradually became smoother and wider, and they encountered more travelers along the way. Living up to its reputation as the center of the continent and the most splendid, prosperous city, a massive wall came into view across the open plains.

“…So that’s Elysium.”

Chloe let out a small gasp of admiration. Rex also poked his head out the window with wide eyes.

The city was too large to take in at a single glance—and it was white. Not covered in snow from the sky, but the walls themselves were white. The road leading to the gate below, and everything inside the gate as well. Everything was made of pure white stone.

“Everyone who visits Elysium for the first time is amazed. It’s an exotic sight you can’t see anywhere else.”

Vivienne smiled at their reaction, as if finding it endearing.

Bright sunlight descended upon Elysium. The pristine white landscape of Elysium gleamed without a single blemish. It looked less like a city where people lived and more like a sacred place where pure and noble rituals were performed.

As the imperial capital, hundreds of people were waiting at the gate. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait in line. Vivienne’s carriage bore the symbol of the Order of Wealth, and the soldiers let their group pass without any delay.

“There’s still a month until the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony. Until then, you’re welcome to stay at my mansion if you’d like.”

“I’ll decline. Since there are Edenhart family members in Elysium… we’ll go there.”

When Charlotte answered promptly, Vivienne smiled as if she had expected that response.

Even though their destinations differed, they were heading in the same direction. As the Empire’s core, Elysium housed numerous nobles. Commoners, merchants, and nobles—districts were divided by status, and even within the noble district, there were further subdivisions.

Naturally, Charlotte and Vivienne’s residences were located close to each other. Near the imperial palace, in a space given to the Empire’s highest class—an area with the tightest security throughout the day. It was the most spacious yet least populated area.

“This is where I leave you. I’ll be busy preparing for the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony for a while, so we probably won’t see each other often.”

“Thank you.”

Rex stepped out of the carriage and bowed to Vivienne. Despite being constantly questioned, without Vivienne, they wouldn’t have been able to arrive so quickly and comfortably. Vivienne raised the corner of her mouth and waved.

“I’ve put it aside for now, but that doesn’t mean my curiosity is satisfied. If you change your mind, come visit me anytime.”

“……”

“I’m joking. You’re as stiff as Charlotte. Well then, goodbye.”

As Vivienne closed the door, the carriage slowly moved away. Rex watched her departure with a wry smile before turning around.

“She could have taken us all the way since we’ve come this far.”

Charlotte grumbled in a curt tone. Vivienne had dropped them off halfway between her mansion and the Edenhart villa. In the end, they had to walk the rest of the way to the villa.

While Elin silently followed behind Charlotte, Rex and Chloe were different. The two looked around with curious eyes. They had entered Elysium, but perhaps because they had been in the carriage the whole time, it didn’t feel real yet. Could this really be the imperial capital? Even though they were quite far from the central district, everything around them was unfamiliar.

As they were taking in their surroundings,

Something suddenly caught his eye.

‘That is…’

A massive sword pointed toward the sky, with a long spear planted right beside it.

Eyes burning as intensely as the sun constricted his breathing. For a moment, after exhaling roughly, he realized it was just a carved statue. Though so intricately crafted it seemed about to come alive, it was still just an immobile statue. As he stared at it intently,

Their eyes met.

Thump!

A pulsation suddenly began to spread. Thump, thump… Rex widened his eyes and placed his hand over his heart.

The mark was vibrating.