Ch.361Chapter 361 – The Meaning of Symbols

It was when Kay had gone with Chris to talk to the former holy knights of the Emiris Order.

Eve, Beatrice, and Sia were gathered in Sera’s cabin.

“…What did you want to show us?”

“Yes, this.”

Sera quietly opened the book.

A book she had brought from her grandmother Maria’s secret workshop.

Sera slowly turned the pages, showing them one by one.

And Beatrice quietly murmured as she looked at the characters written on the pages.

“Purity, charity, diligence, temperance…”

Following the two symbols seen in Albheim, two more symbols had appeared.

Then Sera turned to the next page.

“This time, it’s the symbol of kindness.”

A new page had appeared.

Beatrice thought for a moment before asking.

“When did you see this, Miss Sera?”

“For diligence and temperance, I’m not sure. I confirmed it in Firenze, but…”

Sera quietly added that it was around the time she met Gabriella and discussed the deal about the ship.

Eve spoke quietly.

“The timing is ambiguous.”

“It’s probably because I was negligent in checking. So now I make sure to check once every night before going to bed.”

Sera said quietly.

“How did you find this one?”

“Actually, I was looking through the book for information about the mana pearl we found, and suddenly felt strange, so I checked and found it.”

Beatrice tilted her head at Sera’s words.

“So it appeared while we were at the bottom of the sea?”

“Yes.”

Sera added that if she hadn’t been looking for information her grandmother left about the mana pearl, she wouldn’t have known about what had already appeared today.

“If we could confirm the moment they appear, we could at least form a hypothesis. That’s unfortunate.”

“But honestly, all I did today was cook in bulk this morning and collect mana pearls from the bottom of the sea…”

Sera said quietly.

Soon, Eve spoke quietly, as if finding something strange.

“It’s odd that it would appear now, since Miss Sera isn’t particularly unkind.”

“By that logic, she’s always been diligent, studying and researching every day. Yet that symbol appeared much later.”

Beatrice added to Eve’s comment.

Then Sia spoke as if something had occurred to her.

“Perhaps, could it be?”

“Yes?”

When Sera asked, Sia looked directly at her.

“This is just a hunch… but.”

Sia said quietly.

“I think this book might be linked to you.”

“Linked?”

“I suspect it displays these characters in response to what emotions you’ve felt or actions you’ve taken.”

“Isn’t that strange?”

Beatrice said quietly.

“Like I just said, Miss Sera is always kind and diligent. Shouldn’t those have appeared much earlier?”

“Then, let’s consider the standard from the time she obtained the book.”

Sia said quietly.

“From that point on, the book has been constantly receiving information from its owner and growing. And certain actions make it grow even more. When it reaches a critical point, it manifests as a symbol in the book.”

“What would be the standard?”

“I don’t know. Only the creator would know.”

Sia said seriously.

“But I’ll venture a guess. How about emotions and experiences?”

“Emotions and experiences?”

“You mentioned purity, charity, diligence, temperance, and kindness. I think these manifest as accumulated emotions related to those actions. Purity emerges from accumulated feelings of love, charity from emotions gathered to help others, diligence from continuously working for someone else’s sake, temperance from suppressing one’s desires for a greater cause, and kindness from making unrelated strangers smile happily.”

Sia said this while confidently crossing her arms.

“Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

The three women nodded at Sia’s words.

Then Eve quietly said.

“You just made that up as you were speaking, didn’t you?”

“You caught me.”

Sia’s bluff was immediately exposed.

But despite that, her explanation seemed plausible.

“It’s irresponsible speculation, but the creator would know the real answer.”

“I suppose so.”

It was such an obvious statement that Sera didn’t say anything more.

‘Really, what is this book for?’

As Sera was thinking this, Beatrice quietly said.

“A book containing experiences and emotions.”

“Why do you say that, Beatrice?”

“It’s nothing special.”

Beatrice smiled slightly.

“I just thought it’s a bit like a diary.”

“A diary?”

“A book where you write what you did that day and how you felt. There are actual differences, but conceptually, isn’t there some similarity?”

A diary.

Now that she mentioned it, it made sense.

Even if it didn’t record what happened each day.

“They say that when diaries accumulate, they become a person’s life.”

“Life.”

At Eve’s words, Sera’s expression stiffened slightly.

Something felt off.

‘What is this discomfort?’

She felt like she had noticed something fundamental in their earlier conversation.

‘…I think Lord Dvel mentioned something about this…’

Sera tried to quickly search through her memories.

But soon, realizing it wasn’t coming to her, she let out a small sigh.

“…I wonder how many of these symbols are left.”

“Perhaps not many.”

“I just hope this book provides hints toward the Philosopher’s Stone.”

With that alone, she could save Kay.

Thinking that she couldn’t solve the book’s secret right now, Sera sighed.

And Eve, as if noticing something, looked slightly surprised and then smiled lightly.

“Shall we return to our cabins and rest? I think it’s about time Kay comes up.”

Sera nodded at Eve’s words.

‘He must be coming up.’

Someone else might have just accepted the possibility, but this was Eve speaking.

Her saying that meant Kay was indeed coming up now.

Having spent considerable time together, Sera could immediately pick up on this.

“Yes… it’s time for him to come up.”

Beatrice nodded as if she had noticed something and said.

“Perfect timing. I just remembered something I need to do, so let’s go rest.”

“Indeed. Let’s discuss this with the other two later.”

“Yes. Rest well.”

Sera nodded in response to Beatrice and Sia’s words.

Soon, the two began leaving Sera’s cabin, and Eve quietly said to Sera.

“Then… shall we see each other again later?”

“But will that be alright? Kay looked a bit tired…”

Eve smiled at Sera’s words.

“We’ll just be resting.”

“But still…”

“And I’ve heard that nothing brings comfort like human body heat.”

Eve said with a smile.

“Let’s experiment with that today.”

“…Alright.”

With a “See you,” Eve also left Sera’s cabin.

A moment later, Sera looked in the direction Eve had gone and smiled slightly, as if thinking “What am I going to do with her?”

Then, Sera quietly murmured.

“…Where did I put that thin nightgown?”

Thinking she should start preparing, Sera quietly began checking her belongings.

+

I carefully headed toward Chris’s cabin.

Normally, Chris would have locked her cabin door so I couldn’t enter, but Diana had already confirmed that Chris had dozed off and eventually fallen asleep.

So, without me even asking first, Diana handed me the key to Chris’s cabin.

She was managing a set of spare keys in case of cabin emergencies.

“Put the child to bed and lock the door. You can return the key tomorrow, it’s fine.”

“Yes.”

“But don’t do anything inappropriate just because your blood is suddenly running hot. Understood?”

“I understand.”

After giving me these stern warnings, Diana looked at me for a moment and sighed lightly.

“…Well, I suppose I don’t need to worry about such things with you.”

With those words, Diana gave a bitter smile and said.

“You care a lot about Chris.”

“…She resembles my daughter a lot. That girl Kara too. …I can’t help but worry about them.”

“I see.”

Diana nodded quietly at my words.

“…If my child had had children, they would be about Chris and Kara’s age now.”

A hint of regret briefly crossed Diana’s face.

“I have a portrait, would you like to see it? Ah, I should send you on your way, right? Isn’t that position uncomfortable?”

“It’s fine. Honestly, Chris is light enough that she’s not much of a burden.”

I spoke confidently to Diana.

Of course, it was partly bravado.

I could definitely feel the weight of a person.

And at that moment, Chris shifted slightly and buried her face against my arm with what looked like a happy expression.

‘…Is she awake?’

I looked down at Chris, wondering.

But judging by her steady breathing, it seemed to be just a coincidence.

Diana spoke with a bitter voice.

“I’ll have to show you the portrait another time.”

“Let’s do that.”

Chris was the priority right now.

I parted ways with Diana and continued toward Chris’s cabin.

Soon, when Chris’s cabin came into view, I carefully opened the door so as not to wake her, and laid her down on the bed.

“Good night, Chris.”

She seemed to be in deep sleep, so she probably wouldn’t hear me.

Afterward, Chris made a small mumbling sound as if in response, and I closed the door and locked it.

Thinking that my task was now complete, I turned my tired body toward my own cabin.

Just then.

An unexpected visitor appeared.

“Oh, you really came.”

“Beatrice.”

Beatrice approached me with a grin.

I quietly asked her.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“I am. But I figured the helmet would be coming up around now.”

Beatrice said she was on her way to my cabin.

Then, her expression became a bit more serious.

“…So, did the talk with the holy knights go well?”

“Yes.”

Looking at Beatrice, I spoke quietly.

“They follow Kara even more than I expected. I’m still cautious just in case, but I think they’re trustworthy.”

“I see.”

Beatrice nodded quietly.

I felt I needed to make it clear to Beatrice not to interfere with them, just in case.

“Well, it’s the helmet’s judgment. It should be fine.”

“Huh?”

I was surprised by how easily Beatrice agreed.

Soon, Beatrice narrowed her eyes slightly.

“What? Did you think I was going to sneak off and eliminate those holy knights behind your back?”

“Something like that.”

Beatrice looked at me incredulously at my words.

“Normally, people would deny that, wouldn’t they?”

“Honestly, I really thought you might do that, so I was about to tell you not to touch them.”

“What kind of image do you have of me in your head…?”

Beatrice lamented.

“Anyway, since you came looking for me, shall we go to my cabin?”

“Oh, helmet. Now you’re casually inviting women to your room?”

Beatrice’s expression changed slightly.

I immediately responded.

“It’s because I don’t want to wake Chris. And I can’t go to your room either.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you snuck into my room, though.”

Beatrice said this and then looked at me with a smile.

“Since we’re on the topic, let me tell you. If you ever fight with the others and don’t want to go to your room, you can escape to mine.”

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go.”

I turned and headed toward my cabin.

And Beatrice, as if it were natural, began to follow me.

“Why were you waiting for me anyway?”

“I was worried about various things. How your talk was going, if your physical condition was okay, that sort of thing.”

Beatrice spoke in a voice without any playfulness.

“Well, it seems the nun gave you some amazing treatment, but I honestly can’t be sure if it can stabilize your occasionally unstable mana flow. So I thought I should check frequently.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. Since I examine you differently than Miss Sera or the nun, I should take charge of it as much as possible.”

“Isn’t it bothersome?”

Beatrice grinned at my words.

“Even if it is, I have to do it. It’s absolutely necessary.”

“I see.”

“That’s right. Many people would be sad if you disappeared.”

Beatrice said quietly.

“You were planning to rest afterward, right? Take off your helmet and armor when we get to the room.”

“That’s fine, but anything else?”

“No. I’ll handle everything else.”

Beatrice answered as she stopped walking.

We had already arrived at my cabin.

I opened the cabin door and entered the room with Beatrice.

Then Beatrice’s expression became a bit strange.

“…Helmet, what did you do in here?”

“What?”

“The air seems unusually clean.”

She’s sharp.

I needed to change the subject quickly.

“What might you have done here?”

Beatrice looked at me with half-closed eyes and asked.

Naturally, I knew better than to answer and risk whatever she might say, so I quickly averted my gaze and asked.

“You said to take off my armor too, right?”

“…Fine, I’ll let it go for now.”

Beatrice sighed softly.

Deliberately ignoring her, I began to remove my armor.

“Ah, since it’ll take time anyway, let me do one thing while your helmet is off.”

“What?”

“Something necessary for a detailed examination.”

Beatrice placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Let me tell you one thing in advance, helmet. This is necessary for the examination, so don’t avoid it.”

“What?”

I asked, wondering what she was talking about.

And Beatrice answered quietly with a serious face.

“Me.”

As I looked at Beatrice, wondering what she meant.

After licking her lips once, Beatrice’s face was approaching mine.