Ch.419Chapter 419 – Warrior’s Sacred Ground (3)

A strong light engulfed the surroundings.

Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly open my eyes, something that felt like Sia’s hand grabbed my shoulder, and I struggled to see ahead despite being unable to open my eyes.

Fortunately, my vision soon returned to normal.

Sia and I found ourselves in a completely white space.

“Kay, are you alright?”

“Yeah.”

Though we were both swallowed by the light, it didn’t seem to have caused any harm.

I didn’t feel anything wrong with my body.

Similarly, Sia didn’t appear to have any visible injuries.

We could tell that we were both safe.

“I’m glad you’re unharmed.”

“So where are we?”

I tried to deduce our location while looking around the completely white space.

But looking around, all I could see were Pia and Yuto.

There were no clues to figure out where we were…

“Wait, Pia and Yuto?”

“Kay, who are they?”

Sia asked, noticing my confusion.

And it seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised—Pia and Yuto were also looking around before turning to me with slightly startled expressions.

“…What a strange way to reunite.”

“Indeed.”

I quietly responded to Pia’s comment while simultaneously realizing where we were.

‘The mindscape.’

Pia and Yuto could only exist in the mindscape.

The fact that I could see these two revealed the identity of this white space.

‘But this isn’t my mindscape.’

When I met Pia, my memories would appear on something like a glass window.

There’s nothing like that here.

It was highly likely that this wasn’t my mindscape.

Which meant…

[I see you already know about mindscapes quite well.]

The voice we had heard just before reappeared.

Sia immediately changed her expression and looked in the direction of the voice.

“What are you plotting?”

[I simply wanted to have a conversation. I need to assess some things first.]

A sphere made of light slowly approached us.

Then the sphere addressed Sia.

[What business does the Demon Lord have at the Warrior’s Sanctuary?]

The voice had a lot of echo, perhaps to prevent us from hearing its exact tone.

Still, I could clearly understand the meaning, and as I marveled at this, the sphere’s form gradually began to change.

Meanwhile, Sia spoke to the sphere without any change in her expression.

“You’re quite perceptive.”

[Oh my, I thought you’d deny being the Demon Lord at first, but you’re surprisingly forthright about it.]

“Is there any reason to hide it?”

Sia quietly addressed the sphere, which had now taken the form of a small lamb.

“You already knew I was the Demon Lord before asking, didn’t you? There’s no reason for me to deny or hide what you already believe to be true.”

Sia spoke as if she were admonishing it.

Then, with a dignified face, she continued.

“Besides, the fact that I am the Demon Lord is not something I need to be ashamed of.”

[…This type, they talk a good game but wouldn’t reveal it first if not asked.]

The lamb shook its head back and forth as if saying “am I wrong for asking?” and continued.

[As you say. I knew you were the Demon Lord from the moment you set foot here. You couldn’t hide it even if you tried. Only the Demon Lord could inherit most of the power of the Caretaker, Prometheus.]

Both Sia and I narrowed our eyes at the lamb’s words.

This creature knew about the story we had heard from Evgenia’s seal.

“…So what do you want from me?”

[Nothing major. I knew right away when I met you.]

After saying that, the lamb looked at Sia.

[I can tell from the atmosphere. You didn’t come here to destroy this place or anything like that, did you?]

“That’s correct.”

Sia narrowed her eyes briefly as she looked at the lamb, then spoke quietly.

“I didn’t come here as the Demon Lord. I came here as Kay’s companion.”

After saying this, Sia looked down at the lamb and continued.

“I heard that someone called the Sword Saint left a message for Kay to come here. That’s why we came.”

The lamb nodded.

[So you’re guests. Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer you.]

“Then you’ll have to answer my question.”

Sia looked at the lamb and said.

“Who are you?”

[A small, cute lamb.]

“Don’t lie.”

Sia narrowed her eyes and said.

“I’ve never heard of lambs emitting holy power.”

[……]

“Reveal your identity. Prove that you mean us no harm by removing your veil.”

Sia firmly planted her sword on the ground.

Perhaps because we were in an empty white space, I could clearly feel the magical power and sound spreading around us.

The lamb remained silent for a moment.

Instead, I got the feeling it was smiling.

[You already have a good idea of my identity, but you want to determine whether I’m dangerous or not first.]

“……”

[It’s useless to try to hide it. This is a mindscape. For someone like me, it’s not difficult to read what you’re thinking. That’s why I brought you here, Demon Lord.]

After saying that, the lamb spoke again with what seemed like regret.

[So I understand. You’re a benevolent demon who truly loves the legend of the hero and his companions.]

“…I won’t deny it.”

[I appreciate your honesty.]

The lamb nodded at Sia.

[If someone like you had been there back then, perhaps that person and I could have completed the unfinished task.]

“Task?”

[Yes, a task. But unfortunately, you’re not the one who can finish it.]

The lamb looked at me.

[It’s you. The otherworlder carrying the will of two dragons.]

Our eyes met.

“What do you want from me?”

[Something a bit scary?]

The lamb said with a slight smile.

Just as I was about to ask what it meant, the lamb’s voice changed slightly.

[I’d like to tell you more in detail, but unfortunately, with just the power left here, I can’t stay in this space for long. So let’s postpone the answer about me for a bit.]

“So you’re just going to say what you want and run away?”

I spoke to the lamb in disbelief, and it nodded with a smile.

[I suppose that’s one way to put it. …So before you get your answer, prove that you’re qualified to solve the final task for that person and me. Only then can you speak with me again.]

I could immediately tell that some annoying mechanism had been set up.

I looked directly at the lamb and asked.

“What do you mean by ‘prove’? What am I supposed to do?”

[It’s a test. You’ll understand when you enter the sanctuary.]

The lamb spoke quietly.

[First, a riddle. Find the answer and awaken the fragment.]

“Fragment?”

[What I need to tell you, and something that will test your qualification, is contained in that fragment.]

The lamb looked at me and said.

[Awaken the fragment. Take the test, prove your qualification. Then you’ll be able to understand what I need to tell you.]

“Can’t we do it here and now?”

[There’s always the possibility, you know. An annoying god who might be watching this place from somewhere.]

The lamb smiled slightly.

[Think of it as keeping secrets from him. It should be relatively easy for you, with the blessing of the benevolent Demon Lord.]

Then the lamb quietly added.

[Of course, you can ignore it if you want. I’ll accept it as fate if you just sightsee and leave right away. But, if you don’t want to see the people you love living in an oppressed world.]

Finally, the lamb’s form changed.

Something closer to the appearance of a woman looked at me and quietly said.

[Find my fragment, prove your qualification.]

With those words, the light disappeared.

For a moment, Sia and I stared at the place where the light had vanished.

Then, Sia spoke with a slightly grumbling tone.

“That lamb certainly said its piece and left.”

“Yeah.”

But on the other hand, it had mentioned not having enough power.

Perhaps coming here was already a strain for it.

Of course, it must have had a compelling reason to come despite that.

‘First, it wanted to know whether Sia was dangerous or not.’

Sia’s true identity was the Demon Lord.

It wouldn’t be strange for someone who knew about the Demon Lord to be wary.

And it seemed to have retreated with peace of mind after learning that Sia had no malicious intent.

‘I wonder what it would have done if it had judged that Sia came to destroy this place?’

I was a bit curious.

But I also felt that it probably had some kind of contingency plan.

“…We just encountered quite a remarkable being.”

“Pia.”

Pia spoke up, seeming to have some insight about our visitor.

Sia immediately looked at Pia and asked.

“Who are you?”

“White Dragon, Pia. Consider me the will that remains in this man’s heart.”

Pia answered Sia cautiously.

Sia immediately widened her eyes slightly and continued.

“If you’re in his heart…”

“Unfortunately, I’m just a fragment of remaining will, so I can’t restore his lifespan.”

“We’ve been somehow managing the flow of magical power to prevent it from rampaging out of control.”

Yuto interjected with a somewhat displeased tone.

Sia glanced at Yuto briefly, then looked back at Pia and said.

“More importantly, you seem to know something about that entity.”

“I heard about it from Lord long ago.”

Mentioning the Dragon Lord, Pia fell into thought for a moment.

Then she looked at me and said.

“First it was Rubrum, and now this person. Considering the Lord as well, you might be a truly important key for them.”

“I see.”

The lamb had mentioned a task earlier.

It said that only I could solve it.

So it was easy to understand that it had high expectations of me.

“I don’t know what kind of test it will be, but do your best.”

Pia looked at me and said.

“Whatever they’ve prepared, it’s surely something you need.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Pia nodded at my response.

“I’ll send you back now. And…”

“I know.”

She probably wanted to tell me to go to the Dragon Lord.

Having come this far, I definitely hadn’t forgotten.

“Thank you for remembering.”

“I’m sorry it took so long.”

“It’s alright. The Lord knows you’re close by.”

Pia spoke quietly.

“The Lord might even send escorts for you.”

“Escorts?”

“Just a guess. Now, I’ll send you back.”

Pia extended her hand.

A magic circle appeared beneath Sia and me, and Pia smiled and said.

“I hope you can hold out until you reach the Lord.”

With those words, Sia’s and my vision was once again filled with light.

+

When we opened our eyes again, Sia and I were sitting in front of a campfire.

‘Time didn’t pass…?’

After adding firewood and stirring it with a poker, I had been talking with Sia before we were briefly pulled into the mindscape.

Yet the firewood still looked freshly added, and the poker was still warm.

Either very little time had passed, or none at all.

That’s how it seemed.

“…Hmm.”

Sia held her sword and looked toward the inner part of the sanctuary.

Perhaps she thought the light might appear again, or maybe she found something suspicious.

I couldn’t guess what she was thinking since I couldn’t see her expression.

“Sia?”

“…We seem to have encountered quite a formidable entity.”

Sia quietly muttered.

“What I felt was definitely holy power. But why would holy power emanate from that lamb?”

Sia began to articulate the sense of incongruity she had just felt.

“Holy power certainly comes from gods. Only gods can wield it directly. But the only remaining god is Emiris. So what appeared just now…”

“There is one more remaining god.”

That god is currently sleeping in the carriage.

As I thought this and looked toward the carriage, Chris immediately rushed out.

“What happened?!”

Chris had come out without her usual priest’s hat, wearing only thin outerwear over her nightgown and carrying her staff.

She looked like she had hurried out in quite a rush.

“…Chris?”

“I felt holy power just now. I rushed out, but what…”

“It seems Chris detected what just happened.”

At Sia’s quiet remark, Chris looked at her.

Responding to her gaze that seemed to ask for an explanation, Sia spoke.

“I’ll explain in detail later. …But Chris, didn’t you sense anything strange about this place?”

“Strange?”

“For instance, feeling the presence of a god.”

Chris’s expression darkened slightly at Sia’s words.

“…So it wasn’t my imagination.”

“I see.”

“To be honest, I kept quiet because it didn’t make sense. With only Emiris and me left as gods, the existence of another god…”

It seemed Chris had noticed something but couldn’t be certain because she believed there couldn’t be another god.

Sia thought for a moment, then looked at me again.

“Be careful, Kay.”

Sia said, looking at me.

“Though they spoke as if it were nothing, if we’re dealing with a god, there’s no telling what they might have prepared.”

Sia looked at me and continued.

“They said you could ignore it if you wanted to. For safety’s sake, you could just ignore it. Or you could play along with their game.”

“True.”

“We still have a long journey ahead. But the right to choose is yours, and I’ll follow your decision.”

Both Chris’s worried eyes and Sia’s trusting eyes looked at me.

“What will you do?”

I thought for a moment at Sia’s question.

‘If you don’t want to see the people you love living in an oppressed world.’

Find my fragment.

“How can I ignore it when they say something like that?”

Whether to ignore them or play along with their scheme.

The answer was already clear.

“I really do get the short end of the stick.”

Even as I lamented to myself, I quietly looked toward the sanctuary.