Chapter 59 – Reward

“Evil… star…”

The Demon’s last gasp.

Before it could say any more—crack.

I crushed its head with all my strength.

“Damn, this bastard really almost let something dangerous slip.”

And with that, the Demon died.

Its unstable body turned to ash, disappearing, and the labyrinth core, drained of all magi, slowly began to crumble.

As a result, the barrier separating inside from outside started to fade.

And then—

“Hmm…”

It seems that my chance to wield weapons might be completely gone after this.

The higher my rank rises, and the more mana I use—

I’ve noticed that my time wielding weapons is getting shorter.

I had thought I’d be able to wield them occasionally until I reached the sixth rank.

But just a moment ago, as I stabbed with that last dagger, I could feel it.

I can no longer wield weapons.

Well, I might still be able to swing them physically, but not while channeling mana.

So, I might as well consider that I can’t use weapons anymore.

I wriggled the hand that had been wielding weapons for nearly an hour.

Despite my decision to give up on weapons, I had wielded them.

Of course, I had no other choice.

It would’ve been too difficult to kill it barehanded.

This body might be hopelessly lacking in talent for handling weapons, but there is still some inherent ability.

Ronan’s experience and instincts remain.

So with enough weapons, I could easily kill a weak, half-formed Demon like that, even if they came in hordes.

Now that I can’t use weapons, that’s no longer possible.

“Sigh.”

I sighed and turned my back.

There’s no point in feeling regret over this.

Now, it’s time to focus on minimizing the trouble that’s about to arise.

Rubbing my tired eyes, I surveyed the people still collapsed around me.

No one appeared to be conscious.

The academy students were also down for the count.

Not that they were dead; they’d just lost consciousness.

If I’d been any later, it could have been dangerous, but for now, they’re all alive.

And in front of them—

…were Fabiana, Silina, and Yurasia, all wearing extreme expressions.

It seems they hadn’t heard the Demon’s last words.

“…Eliaernes.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Is that a question you’re asking me?”

“Yes. I didn’t get hit once. Didn’t you see?”

“Ha.”

Fabiana scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I… I have a lot of things I want to ask you.”

Then she stood up straight, reaching out her hand to me.

“But I won’t ask. You don’t seem to want that.”

“…It might be better if you asked instead of making assumptions or misinterpreting things on your own.”

“Ha… No. I won’t assume or misinterpret. I will… only believe what I saw with my own eyes today.”

Fabiana’s straightforward nature came through, and I gave a bitter smile as I grasped her hand in return.

“Thank you.”

“No, I should be the one thanking you. Eliaernes Eustetia. As Fabiana de Hermann, the Empire’s First Princess, I express my sincere gratitude.”

“Then… about all these weapons I broke today, uh, Princess Fabiana, you’ll take care of that?”

“I’ll handle it so you won’t face any repercussions. You needn’t worry.”

With a nod, I looked over at Silina.

“Is Princess Silina alright?”

Silina, who had been lost in thought, steadied herself and stood.

Then she fixed her eyes on me.

“Eliaernes. And Yurasia.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, um…?”

“Thank you.”

“Gasp…”

“Oh… I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

Silina’s straightforward expression of gratitude left Yurasia and me momentarily stunned. I had expected Silina to express it in a more roundabout way.

Guess she isn’t as prickly as I thought.

“I heard from Fabiana that you asked her to keep today’s events confidential.”

“Beloved sister. It pains me to hear you call your elder sister, two years your senior, by name so casually.”

Ignoring Fabiana’s remark, Silina continued.

“I’ll keep it to myself. I’d even swear an oath.”

“That won’t be necessary. Just… yes, a verbal promise is enough.”

Silina nodded readily, exchanging a brief look with Fabiana. The two, so alike yet different, shared a glance before both turned their eyes to me.

Fabiana was the first to speak.

“I will open the royal treasury.”

“Oh…”

“Not pleased?”

“No, it’s not that. Is it alright to decide so quickly on a reward for this?”

“What reason could there be to withhold anything from the hero who saved the lives of two princesses, saved those citizens back there, and finally killed a real Demon, saving the capital?”

Well, I guess I did quite a lot… But isn’t the treasury mostly just weapons?

“Hmm… then, could I request some weapons for Yurasia instead?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Fabiana gently helped Yurasia to her feet.

“Yurasia will also enter the treasury.”

Yurasia’s eyes went wide.

“Me… me too?!”

“Yurasia. You saved Silina’s life. You eliminated the palace traitor and saved all those people. Beloved sister, Silina, what do you think? If Yurasia hadn’t been there, could you have survived this labyrinth?”

Silina shook her head.

“If it weren’t for Yurasia, I would’ve died at Untra’s hands.”

“That settles it. Yurasia Espilot. You are a hero who saved the Empire’s Second Princess. The palace will give you the highest possible reward. There will be no objections. There will be no consequences. So neither of you need to worry; trust me.”

“…Ah, yes. Th-thank you…”

Watching Yurasia, still a bit overwhelmed, bow her head, Fabiana nudged her toward me with a nod.

“Since Silina and I need to check on the others, you two should stay here and rest.”

“…Why?”

“Surely, my beloved sister isn’t planning to burden Eliaernes and Yurasia with even that?”

At Fabiana’s playful grin, Silina scowled and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

“You’ve made a wise choice. Heh heh.”

As the two sisters began walking, I quickly called out to Fabiana.

“Princess Fabiana.”

“Hmm?”

“By the way… could I possibly go to the Forbidden Library instead of the treasury?”

Fabiana paused, glancing back at me.

“The Forbidden Library?”

“Yes.”

“What do you hope to find there, that you’d choose the Forbidden Library as your reward?”

“Well, I’m a big fan of reading.”

Squinting as if trying to gauge my intentions, Silina quickly nodded.

“The treasury and the Forbidden Library. Both will be opened. But as for the Forbidden Library, I can’t guarantee how that will go.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“…Eliaernes. You really are… a hard person to figure out.”

“I am a bit of an enigma.”

“Very bold and also quite aggravating.”

“It’s natural for geniuses to be aggravating.”

“…Ha ha. I can’t argue with that.”

Fabiana chuckled, then nodded, gazing at the dissipating barrier.

“As for what happened today, I’ll invite you to the palace soon so we can discuss it further.”

I’m not too thrilled about going to the palace… but if it lets me into the Forbidden Library.

“Sounds good.”

“Alright. We’ll handle today’s matter as discreetly as possible.”

Fabiana smiled with satisfaction and continued walking.

And left behind, Yurasia turned to me with a wavering voice.

“L-Lady… Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

I waved my arm, showing off my uninjured, blood-free limbs.

At my gesture, Yurasia hesitantly approached.

“How about you?”

“Huh? Oh… I’m alright now.”

“Come closer.”

“H-huh…? W-why?”

“Stop asking questions, hurry up.”

“H-here…? I-I’m all sweaty…”

Not sure why she’s so flustered.

Glancing around with her blue eyes, Yurasia finally relented.

“O-okay…”

She brushed her lips with the back of her hand and moved closer to me.

I took her arms firmly in mine.

“Huh…”

Her body trembled, and for a moment, I thought she was still in pain, but that wasn’t it.

She just seemed startled.

Even though Yurasia’s done knightly work, it’s understandable she’d be jumpy after such a close call.

Sighing quietly, I began examining Yurasia’s body.

Her broken bones seemed to have set. Her torn muscles and split skin had healed, and her breathing was steady.

No lingering issues, and a week of rest should have her back in good condition.

Now, what about her insides?

I placed my hand on her lower abdomen.

“Eek!”

“What? Why so jumpy?”

“N-no… it’s… it’s nothing…”

“I’m not doing anything weird, just checking your mana channels. Advancing to the fifth rank too quickly can cause channels to twist or burst.”

“Ah…?”

“What? Thought I was going to do something else?”

“N-no… I mean, not really…”

“Then?”

“Um…”

Yurasia’s blue eyes darted around nervously as she bit her lip and sighed.

“…I was really scared, but… I thought of you first …when I was afraid. Thank you for coming… for saving me.”

I chuckled softly and wrapped my arms around Yurasia, giving her a comforting pat on the back.

“Sorry I was late. You did well.”

After a short moment, the barrier that had isolated the museum disappeared.

The labyrinth, classified as high-level, had been vanquished.

***

When we emerged outside, we were met by priests, academy professors, and members of the Royal Guard, as well as anxious Imperial Palace knights standing guard.

The sight of the gathered crowd made me grimace, but Fabiana immediately took charge, ordering everyone to disperse, sparing only those necessary.

She went so far as to declare that anyone who bothered Yurasia or me would lose their hands, and anyone who spoke to us would have their tongues cut out. Thanks to that, we were able to head to the sanctuary in peace.

After three hours of treatment, we were advised to rest for a week. But Yurasia insisted on returning to the academy immediately.

Though she might skip classes tomorrow to rest, she seemed determined to recuperate at the academy dormitory.

Once back at the academy, I escorted her to her room, staying by her side until she fell asleep.

She must have been utterly exhausted, as she was sound asleep less than a minute after lying down.

Watching over her for a short while—

A sudden thought hit me, reminding me of something I’d forgotten.

“…Stella and Pina.”

They’d been bound so tightly they couldn’t move.

They hadn’t wet the bed, had they…?

Quickly, I slipped out of Yurasia’s room as quietly as possible and headed back to my quarters.

The moment I opened my door—

[Aaaahhh! Ronan!]

A dazzling swirl of light came rushing toward me.

“What the hell!”