Chapter 61 – That Can’t Be Reality (3)

The Imperial Palace’s guest chamber overflowed with amenities and comforts.

But compared to the structures unique to elves—formed by planting parasitic trees atop sturdy ancient branches—it lacked a certain harmony with nature. If there was anything to complain about, that would be it.

Even the garden had its own artificial beauty, but from the perspective of forest dwellers like elves, it felt fundamentally unwholesome in many ways—an unavoidable sentiment.

At least Geornia wasn’t particularly sensitive to such things. A slight change in air quality didn’t make her wrinkle her face or, in extreme cases, retch.

So it was tolerable enough.

No, to reveal her true feelings, it was actually quite pleasant. With no need to be mindful of the stubborn ones’ opinions, she could devote herself to rest and research in her own way.

“Are you certain about this? You are, after all, this country’s Empress. Are you really comfortable allowing me such access so easily?”

Geornia gestured toward her own forehead as a metaphor when she asked. In response, Melineos, the renowned Empress of Magic, nodded calmly with gleaming eyes.

“That’s why we’re establishing a contract, isn’t it?”

“…Well, yes.”

Among High Elves, some possessed unique abilities.

One such ability was discerning the color of souls, a talent that could be developed to eventually glimpse even into that soul’s past.

However, this power was strictly taboo.

Even those permitted to use it faced severe restrictions. Using it recklessly would result in the extreme punishment of having both eyes and tongue torn out.

Therefore, this wasn’t a matter that even someone of Geornia’s stature could decide lightly.

Above all, to handle such matters independently without reporting to higher authorities?

…If discovered, it would undoubtedly lead to complications.

Yet they could proceed only because those requesting it stood at the core of the Empire’s power structure.

And because those individuals had granted their explicit permission.

Nevertheless, approaching carelessly could cause ripples in unintended directions, which was why they used a contract to control both the scope and pace of the process.

…When one considers it, weren’t contracts originally creations of the Demon Realm and its demons?

Throughout the Demon Realm’s 6,000-year history, there had been two—or counting more recently, three—Great Demon Kings.

The first Great Demon King established the “Demon King Contest,” creating a merit-based system where anyone meeting the qualifications could become a Demon King, laying the foundation for hierarchy in the Demon Realm.

The second Great Demon King, seeking to reform the Demon Realm where chaos still reigned despite these measures, collaborated with the Demon God to institute the [Absolute Compliance Contract].

This Absolute Compliance Contract was designed to be jointly overseen by the Demon God, a neutral god, and a benevolent god.

Because of this three-fold oversight, the contract was structured to prevent any bias or unfairness in its terms.

Of course.

This didn’t mean there were no exploitable loopholes. Forced or coerced contracts still occurred.

But those were merely reflections of real-world circumstances—individual situations beyond the contract’s purview.

In the Middle Realm, such contracts were once viewed as tools of demons and demonic races.

However, with the rising social status of mages and the acceptance of the clergy, the Absolute Compliance Contract entered a new era of legitimacy.

Take the Edenrevan Regiment, for example—barely over a decade ago, they were proper invaders from the Demon Realm.

The very reason they gained acceptance into the Allied Forces of Humanity was precisely because they had signed one of these Absolute Compliance Contracts.

“Verify this:

First: What I examine will be strictly limited to what you, Melineos, have explicitly permitted.

Second: As per your request, I will only investigate conditions that have exerted external pressure or mental influence on you, limited exclusively to negative or malicious influences and effects.

Third: My findings will never be disclosed under any circumstances. They will be conveyed only to Melineos herself.

Fourth: What I, Geornia, examine with my abilities will be strictly confined to only portions of Melineos’s memories.”

Geornia inscribed glowing letters in the air as though transferring them onto parchment, then handed them over with a look that silently requested confirmation.

“…Even with such strict limitations, will we truly find the answers we seek?”

“What then? Should I rummage through your brain and everyone else’s too? All based on some absurd talk of curses or whatever—like believing in poisonous mushroom fairy tales?”

“……”

“You mentioned Alessius, right? I’ll use these same conditions with him too. If you’re uncomfortable with this, we can stop now.”

“…No.”

Melineos shook her head.

“I believe this is necessary.”

“You, at the very least, needn’t go this far. Something troubles you, doesn’t it? Perhaps a dream you cannot recall?”

“…Yes.”

She felt she had dreamed something.

But she couldn’t remember what.

This wasn’t entirely unprecedented for her.

But this time, an overwhelmingly ominous feeling suggested it was more than just an ordinary forgotten dream.

“I understand. So, when shall we begin?”

“Is there any reason to delay?”

“Fair point.”

Exhaling deeply, Geornia surveyed the room and said,

“Everyone out. You too.”

“Me as well?”

Hamerne, who had been standing by behind Geornia, asked.

“We cannot risk even the slightest disturbance.”

“Understood.”

Including Hamerne, the Empress’s attendants quietly withdrew from the guest chamber.

“Lie down there. Or should we move to your bedchamber? If this bed is uncomfortable…”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ve always been one who could sleep soundly even with just some grass spread on hard ground.”

“I appreciate that quality in you. Had you been enamored with gold, silver, copper, and such superficial things to the point where your mind sparkled with them too, I might have needed to give you a proper scolding.”

Such materials only served to corrupt the spirit from within.

Geornia’s admonition—though not quite a lecture—continued until Melineos reclined on the bed.

“Haah. Very well, let us begin.”

A delicate white hand.

Small, befitting her petite frame, reached out to touch Melineos’s forehead and lips.

Before long, Geornia found herself standing in a desolate corridor.

“Hmm?”

It was unmistakably a hallway within the Imperial Palace.

It seemed both familiar and unfamiliar—the atmosphere completely transformed from what she knew.

Gloomy and oppressive.

Despite the palace’s vastness, the absence of even the slightest human presence felt unnatural. Outside, dark clouds shrouded the sky, casting everything in shadow…

Even the hallway lights were extinguished, so despite it being daytime, the place felt not merely bleak but utterly barren.

It wasn’t simply the absence of people.

At a fundamental level, the very territory itself seemed neglected…

“With a structure this vast, maintenance must be truly laborious.”

Though she didn’t recognize this particular corridor, Geornia walked through it with strange familiarity.

Even within the Imperial Palace, there were distinct sections.

The reason this place felt vaguely recognizable must be because it was the Second Palace—Melineos’s residence, commonly known as the Empress’s Quarters.

She had visited several times before, and hadn’t she been there quite recently as well?

Perhaps that’s why,

“Lalalalalaa~?”

Even when she spotted a strange girl whistling and humming in the distance,

Geornia thought little of it.

She was preoccupied with determining why she was here and how everything connected.

This was the depths of Melineos’s memory, yet why was Melineos herself nowhere to be seen?

Was this imagination? A dream?

She needed to identify the perspective.

Was she observing from an omniscient viewpoint, constructing an imagined scene?

Or watching as an observer within someone else’s dreamscape?

After all, it was Geornia herself who had taught Melineos how to interpret her prophetic dreams, at least to some extent.

Even if she didn’t appear in the dream herself,

Even if she had transformed into an entirely different character or form,

Such things were possible within dreams.

Which meant this was very likely a dreamscape.

So then…

…Who was this golden girl?

Why had she appeared so suddenly?

What kind of being was she?

Look at her, exploring the hallway with childlike curiosity.

…For some inexplicable reason,

A shiver ran through Geornia.

Her jaw began to tremble involuntarily.

The golden girl passed by Geornia with innocent nonchalance, as if she weren’t even there.

Only after the girl’s presence had completely faded into the distance,

Did Geornia finally exhale in relief.

Then, as she turned around,

The girl was right there before her.

“…?!”

A scream nearly erupted from her throat.

But perhaps due to the intensity of her shock,

Even that sound caught in her throat.

“My, my. What an unusual visitor.”

The golden girl, still smiling, floated in midair and brought her face directly before Geornia’s.

Geornia could hear her breathing. The warm exhalations tickled her skin and fine hairs.

The distance between them—barely the width of a fingertip.

“I thought as much. You came to peek, didn’t you? Naturally, you’d be curious.”

“…What are you? A demon?”

“How insulting. Why compare me to such garbage? It’s revolting.”

With a small, dismissive laugh,

Her innocent smile belied something deeply unsettling.

“There was this one time, you know. Some fool dared to defy the Great Demon King and started whining. Would you like to hear what they said?”

“……”

Who was this being that spoke so casually of the Great Demon King?

Gold.

…Who could she be?

Gold.

“……”

I know who this is.

I just… don’t want to believe it.

Geornia’s subconscious frantically sealed away that realization, forbidding her from acknowledging it, from even imagining whether it could be true.

“‘Why can’t I defeat you? If absurd beings like you exist, what meaning is there to our efforts or willpower?’ He practically wailed as he demanded answers. Now, care to guess how the Great Demon King responded?”

“……”

“Exercising your right to remain silent? Very well! Enlightening fools is also a royal virtue, so I’ll tell you myself. That moment defined the limits of my own life too. Let’s see…”

The golden girl cleared her throat momentarily, then began:

“One born as the sun… is, by its very nature, the sun.”

That was how it started.

“Therefore, that being must accept the fate, the aspirations, and the destiny of the sun.”

And so, that person is the sun, condemned to a life where nothing else is permitted but to be the sun.

“And when the sun dims, the world plunges into despair. Those who inherit the sun’s fate know better than anyone the tragedy that inevitably follows.”

However,

“You, mere weed. You insignificant wild grass of the field. You can become anything. Don’t lament that no one would notice if you disappeared.”

And thus,

“Your seemingly abandoned, forsaken fate is yours alone to forge. No one can dictate it to you.”

Because only you can,

“Choose to advance, retreat, or remain where you are.”

What a…

Liberating life that is!

…Hah.

That concluded her speech.

Like an actor completing her performance, the golden girl placed a hand over her chest, beaming as she shared her not-quite-reflection.

“…Those are words that only one who is the sun could possibly utter.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Oh, come now. Stop being so childish. Isn’t it time you realized? I know you. But you don’t know me?”

“……”

“Didn’t your sister once say something to this effect?”

If,

“If she hadn’t been the first to witness me—if it had been you instead—you too would have willingly pledged your loyalty to me without hesitation.”

“…That’s impossible.”

Why.

Why.

Why!

“Why are you here?! Because this is a dream? Even in a dream, why must it be you…?!”

“Whoa, whoa! Yes! It’s a dream, absolutely! Completely a dream! I just happened to get pulled in here too, alright? This is merely some lingering thought of mine, so confronting me is rather pointless. Well, not entirely meaningless, but you understand. It is what it is.”

“……”

“And right now, before you stands the Palace of Wisdom and Gold. I’m dead. I’ve vanished. What remains is merely a repository, a vault, a treasury of wisdom, you see? So? Aren’t you curious why your sister chose to serve me?”

“…What scheme are you plotting this time?”

“Oh please! You know perfectly well I have no interest in schemes or dark magic! Such things don’t even belong to the realm of wisdom.”

What I told your sister wasn’t anything extraordinary.

“I simply answered her questions. I revealed to her the truth of this world, the future of your people… a reality so preposterous it makes one want to weep.”

“……”

“Aren’t you even slightly curious? Truly? You two were so close, like blood sisters, weren’t you?”

Geornia firmly rejected the suggestion.

“I haven’t forgotten the advice you once gave me.”

“Oh? Is that so? Let’s hear it then. What was it?”

“The more knowledge you acquire, the more desires arise. The stronger your cravings grow. The deeper your thirst becomes.”

“Really? Did I say something like that? Sounds like excellent advice. And it’s true, isn’t it?”

“…Which is why you warned me to curb excessive ambition, didn’t you?”

To a mage, such counsel was worth its weight in gold.

Yet simultaneously, it was a merciless curse rooted in brutal realism.

Because that very advice,

Was the fundamental source of the despair and nightmares that consumed all mages and practitioners of magic.

Those who delved into truth only to lose themselves within it, surrendering their humanity, their original purpose, their will—ultimately becoming demons themselves.

That was the fate of most truth-seekers.

Clutching at knowledge like the last desperate hope, they pursued it, extracted it, and chased it,

While being pursued by time, overtaken by life itself.

And so,

Most mages and practitioners,

Whether great or humble, extraordinary or unremarkable,

All met their end equally.

Even those who fought against this destiny,

Were no exception.

It wasn’t that the path itself was wrong.

But precisely because of that, most were destined to fail.

Therefore,

“…You told me to cease climbing.”

“Precisely. Because the limitations of knowledge are self-evident. Attempting to attain truth through knowledge? Trying to reach wisdom with mere knowledge, when even wisdom itself cannot reach it? That’s comparable to desiring life without a heart or brain. Had you heeded that advice of mine, you would have been the wisest among all mages. That much, I guarantee.”

“…I cannot comprehend how you can assert that with such confidence.”

“Ignorance and unawareness are certainly the greatest sins of the living. But they aren’t inherently original sins. So don’t blame yourself excessively, you foolish, deaf little thing.”

What you need to acknowledge is,

“You need only recognize what you don’t know. That’s the sole way to begin anew.”

“Enough with your pretentious philosophical discourse. So, why are you here?”

“Surprisingly enough…”

The golden girl spread her arms wide.

“I’m here to bestow kindness upon you all!”

“Don’t spew such absurdities! How dare you!”

“No, no! It’s entirely true! Whether you believe it or not is your choice, not my concern.”

It makes no difference to me either way.

“Do you want me to reveal the truth? Or not? You want to know what Melineos witnessed, don’t you? You ventured this far to glimpse it, didn’t you? Well done for making it here.”

But,

“If you see it… you truly won’t be able to bear it. You’d be better off not knowing. Can you… genuinely endure it?”

“……”

Suddenly, terror gripped her.

Geornia found the deranged ramblings of that golden entity utterly terrifying, unreasonably so.

This was her first encounter with its human form.

But that distinctive presence,

Despite the girl’s diminutive stature, radiated with overwhelming force.

Most wouldn’t recognize it.

But someone immersed in magic like herself,

Understood just how ancient and deeply-rooted this being truly was.

How vast its existence truly was.

Though wrapped in the form of a small girl,

…That entity still seemed capable of engulfing the entire world in gold.

How had Luelde ever managed to defeat her?

Even in nightmares, people feared she might reappear. No one dared speak her name—it was taboo.

They derisively called her the Golden Beast.

But… that entity,

Was none other than the Demon King of Wisdom.

Throughout the Demon Realm’s extensive history, no one had ever truly valued such a concept.

Certainly, there were many who sought knowledge, conspiracies, heresies, and forbidden lore.

But none had willingly embraced wisdom as their destined path.

This being had scorned and mocked demons, creatures hierarchically superior to demonkind.

Though neither born a demon nor of demonic lineage,

She had willingly cast aside everything to become something as lowly as a mere demon.

…The ancient Spirit King.

“Ah! But you needn’t decide immediately. I am merciful, so I shall grant you time to reconsider.”

“What?”

In an instant, Geornia’s consciousness was violently torn away from that place.

No,

This was…

“I’ll allow you time to contemplate! Return outside and collect yourself.”

I told you.

It’s kindness.

“Even if I offer kindness, it’s your prerogative whether you perceive it as a nightmare, a curse, or a calamity. Even if I curse you, whether you receive it as a blessing, a grace, or a gift,”

That’s entirely up to you.

“That’s what it means to never taste defeat.”

Regardless of which path you choose,

As long as I lose nothing, all is well.

“If I desire nothing? Then I have nothing to lose!”

Kyahahahaha!

Ahahahahaha!

Her laughter, like piercing screams, erupted violently in Geornia’s mind.

It sounded like the innocent laughter of a child.

But what lurked beneath that laughter—

“Gahk!”

“…M-Master?”

At the bedside, Geornia suddenly retched and tumbled from her chair, collapsing beneath it.

Melineos, who had been lying there semi-conscious, forcefully gathered her wits.

And as she watched Geornia trembling and huddled on the floor,

She instinctively sensed that matters had become far more serious than she had anticipated.