Chapter 45: Looking for Party Members (2)

[Luna: …Are you saying mana that resonates with all types of magic really exists?]

[Irene: I don’t lie.]

[Luna: Even so, that’s just…]

Luna trailed off.

It was just that hard to believe.

Which was totally understandable.

It was basically like telling a chef,

“Hey, there’s this one ingredient that makes every dish taste amazing!”

[Irene: It sounds ridiculous. But it exists, so what can you do.]

But in Lios Fantasy, something like this was actually possible.

And in fact, it could be used to make Luna even stronger in the game.

That’s what I was aiming for—the hidden form called “World Resonance Luna.”

“If only I can pull this off…”

They say Lios Fantasy has insane freedom of gameplay.

And true to that, this game had a wild mechanic:

NPCs could awaken through interactions with the player.

It was the same concept as Elian transforming into “Knight of Hope Elian” by consuming a certain relic.

But the thing is—

Almost no one ever used this system.

[Irene: Just… be mentally prepared, okay?]

[Luna: Mentally prepared…?]

Because the side effects were… not small.

First off—awakening wasn’t guaranteed.

There was a success rate involved.

Meaning if you weren’t lucky, you could end up wasting a super rare item on just one NPC.

But even worse than tha5…even after awakening an NPC, most of the time, they were just not that useful.

Honestly, it was five times faster to just grind and level up your own player character
than to invest all that effort into awakening an NPC.

In fact, most people only tested out the system once, using Elian as a curiosity.

That was it.

No one actually built a whole party around Elian or anything like that.

Even if he got stronger, at the end of the day, he was still just an AI.

“But it’s different now that they’ve become real people.”

I had to believe that.

Because I needed party members who could at least be on par with me.

And considering the Queen of Mirrors could make her move any moment now…
I had to act fast.

While I was deep in thought,

Luna sent me another message.

[Luna: Alright. But when exactly should we do this?]

The sun had just started to dip below the ridgeline.

…Although I was technically in the Demon Realm right now.

Still, I’d checked Elian’s livestream—so I was sure about the time.

And honestly, that was a good thing.

Because this kind of mana could only be obtained at night.

I didn’t want any delays, so I started typing as fast as I could.

[Irene: 3….]

[Luna: In 3 days? Got it. Before that, I’ll—]
[Irene: 2….]

[Luna: ?]

As everyone settled in for the night, a lone figure appeared in the dark, almost empty plaza.

“Could it really be true…?”

Luna muttered to herself, feeling uneasy.

She had been trained as a magician at a magic academy for many years, so she knew well that magic resonating with all types of magic didn’t exist.

Besides, if something like that existed, Irene herself or some other great magician learning a different type of magic would have already claimed it.

There was no reason for it to be given to Luna.

The dark time of night, with only the moonlight remaining,

Luna was starting to doubt that Irene had been lying to her.

But then, she heard footsteps coming from the opposite side of the plaza.

A figure Luna was all too familiar with was walking toward her.

“I guess calling you out at this hour is a bit rude, huh?”

Luna shook her head in denial after hearing Irene’s words.

It seemed like she wanted to firmly reject the idea.

“N-No, if such magic exists, like you say, then I don’t mind.”

“I thought you’d say that.”

Irene smiled lightly at Luna. It had only been a week since they first met,
but it felt almost like they were old friends meeting again after a year.

An awkward silence lingered between them.

“I’m so sorry about what happened before… I thought I needed to defeat you and Elian-senpai…”

Luna apologized first, thinking the cause of the conflict had been the guild’s internal strife.

At first, she hadn’t seen Elian on the battlefield and thought she was being helped.
But in the end, Luna threw a fireball toward Elian’s back.

Irene had just recalled that fact,

but Luna couldn’t forget it due to the guilt she felt.

“Don’t worry about it. Just relax. If you’re not at ease, you’ll increase the chances of failure.”

To Irene, it was no big deal.

She brushed it off easily, as if it was only natural.

It made sense.

Irene had also stabbed Luna with a knife in the past.

If Luna was going to apologize first, there was no reason not to accept it.

She actually thought it was a relief.

At the same time, Luna was left confused by Irene’s words.

“Failure? What exactly are we trying to do?”

Luna asked with a mix of worry and anxiety.

Irene only smiled lightly in response.

Was she planning on committing some kind of crime?

Irene just left a vague message like, “Luna shouldn’t know about this.”

From Irene’s perspective, it was a perfectly normal choice.

In Luna’s awakening process, the text often included phrases like “Calm your mind.”

…Knowing the source of this mana wouldn’t bring any good.

Irene slowly walked toward Luna, and just as Luna wondered if she was about to hand her something,

“Aaaah!”

“Shh. My little kitten.”

Irene suddenly grabbed Luna and lifted her up, her tiny frame surprising Luna with a strange feeling.

It was almost embarrassing, in a way.

But that thought quickly passed, as Irene threw Luna toward the fountain.

With a splash and a “plunk!” sound, Luna’s pink hair emerged from the water, dripping wet.

…Was this some kind of new bullying?

Luna briefly wondered, her thoughts swirling.

Irene spoke as she looked at Luna.

“Clear your mind and empty your heart. And, um… preferably, don’t think of anything.”

What did that even mean?

Luna was full of doubt, but, having come this far, she decided to trust Irene one more time.

After all, it was Irene, not just anyone.

Even if this turned out to be some kind of bullying,

it could still be an opportunity to get closer!

With that thought, Luna quietly submerged herself in the water.

Like a therapist speaking gently to a patient,
Irene spoke softly.

“Now… Luna’s consciousness will slowly blur, and she will come face-to-face with the source within this fountain.”

That was the last thing Irene said.

From that moment on, Luna couldn’t hear anything else.

However, as long as she hadn’t been told to rise,

Luna remained still in the shallow fountain.

When she regained consciousness,

Luna found herself in a completely different place.

“Hmm… Now that Luna’s been submerged, what should I do next?”

Luna wouldn’t wake up for at least three more hours.

That was certain.

Even in the game, it had taken exactly three hours.

It might take up to an hour more.

For now, Luna was undergoing the Moon’s Trial,  so it didn’t really matter to her.

The problem was with me.

Luna was currently undergoing the trial, which meant she was completely defenseless.

Naturally, leaving Luna like that and walking away wasn’t an option,so I decided to sit and wait.

About thirty minutes later,

I glanced to the side and noticed a woman sitting next to me.

When I looked at her, the woman smiled.

“I guess Irene really knows everything.”

“…Aren’t you supposed to be managing the guild?”

“Hmm… I haven’t been involved in that for quite a while. Actually, calling me the Guild Master is a bit of a stretch now. If I had to describe it, I guess I’m more like… a cheerleader.”

“The strongest cheerleader in the guild, huh.”

I responded in disbelief, and Exina poked my forehead with her finger.

“There’s someone here who’s even more unbelievable, so what’s the problem?”

“Why am I the unbelievable one?”

“You’re a high-ranking demon lord, and you still haven’t looked back at what you’ve done?”

I was left speechless.

Come to think of it, Exina had been alive for over a hundred years.

…She was just as experienced as Tania.

I began to regret starting the conversation.

When I didn’t speak,

Exina decided to speak up herself.

“Everyone has their own reasons, so I won’t ask. But sometimes, why don’t you take care of yourself?”

“I’m already healing plenty.”

It wasn’t an empty claim—after all, I had Luminal!

They say when you raise a child, you live through them,
and that’s exactly how I felt right now.

“I don’t think so. You’re constantly pushing yourself. Honestly, I don’t know why.”

“So, what’s the real reason you’re here?”

Exina looked up at the sky.

The moonlight shone on her face as she seemed to be pondering something.

“You said you were going to defeat the Mirror Queen, right?”

Suddenly, an unexpected topic popped up from Exina’s lips.

I had expected that Exina would ask what I had done to Luna, or maybe question what I was doing so late at night.

But when I silently nodded,

Exina clapped her hands as if she had expected this reaction.

“I figured you’d be in a situation where you’re lacking party members. Am I right?”

By then, it was harder not to understand Exina’s intentions.

Is she really trying to join my party?

To avoid me feeling uncomfortable,
Exina added quickly,

“I’m neither a Guild Master nor a hero now. I’m just a retired old man, watching everything from the shadows.”

“So, you really are a shady old man, huh?”

“Sometimes, don’t you think you should make friends with young, fun people instead of just hanging around with the same old, tired emperors?”

Exina reached out her hand.

Suddenly, an incredibly strong ally appeared.

…At the same time, she was one of the few people who could openly insult the emperor while being a citizen of the empire.

I took Exina’s hand.

Since she had already declared herself retired, there was no reason to refuse,
and there was no real reason to turn her down either.

“But after officially retiring and hiding your identity all this time, are you really going to reveal it during the Mirror Queen hunt?

The viewers will swarm the broadcast.”

Exina tilted her head, looking confused.

“Of course! That’s the only way the viewers will know that you and I are friends, right? Then the emperor, who’s been bragging about getting close to Irene, will be put in his place!”

“So, you’re revealing your identity just to compete with the emperor about who’s closer to me?”

Exina paused for a moment.

She then nodded without hesitation.

But she quickly denied it with words.

“It’s not that I’m hiding forever. I’ve been hiding to prepare for a crisis, and this is exactly that crisis, right? Competing with the emperor… that’s just a bonus!”

“You even made a bet?”

“Well…”

Exina closed her mouth.

Her reasoning made sense, but that didn’t necessarily mean she was a completely sane person.

…Is this what happens to everyone who lives for such a long time?

Still, I gladly accepted Exina’s offer.

“Welcome to the party. Once Luna’s done, we’ll head back to the Demon King’s castle and form the party.”

Exina nodded.

“Right. I’ve been to all sorts of places. There’s no reason I, a former Guild Master, can’t go too. Once we have the full party, let’s make a pact!”

With that, Exina and I looked at Luna, as if we had made an unspoken agreement.

Now that we had a reliable party member,

it was Luna’s turn to deliver.