Uninterpretable
by Afuhfuihgs
A huge crowd had gathered in the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace. Their sole purpose for gathering was to enter the labyrinth located beneath the Imperial Palace. The Imperial mages and knights moved busily to maintain order due to the endless stream of people.
“Is there still no information about the labyrinth?”
The vice-leader of the cult, hidden in robes, spoke. Estelle, quietly looking around, adjusted her cat mask and shook her head.
“According to the Imperial Palace records, the last person to enter the labyrinth was decades ago. The report he wrote was also recorded as being discarded immediately after the Emperor confirmed it. The reality is that there is no information about the labyrinth at all.”
Estelle swallowed the unspoken words, ‘Except for Ross.’ The vice-leader stared at Estelle, who had finished explaining, before turning his head elsewhere. Just as Estelle was about to look around again to find Ross, the vice-leader’s voice reached her ears.
“…The leader-nim has high expectations for you.”
“The leader-nim…?”
“He said that you will prove your worth in the labyrinth.”
“…?”
Estelle, not understanding the vice-leader’s words, tilted her head, but the vice-leader changed the subject without further explanation.
“There have been reports that a person called Lily is killing our followers in the capital every day.”
“…I am sending reports about Lily to the cult every day.”
Fearing that he might find fault with her, Estelle spoke in a tense voice, but the vice-leader shrugged as if it was okay and crossed his arms.
“I’m not blaming you. I wouldn’t do something stupid like asking the information guild for force. It’s just that the leader-nim is very interested in the rumor that Lily uses space magic.”
“…It’s not a rumor, it’s a fact. There are many people who have directly seen Lily using space magic. She is currently in negotiations with the current Emperor regarding a new portal.”
The vice-leader, who had been scanning Estelle for a moment, asked in a dry voice without much reaction.
“Do you think Lily will enter the labyrinth?”
“I’m not sure about that….”
Estelle trailed off, and suddenly the surrounding buzz grew louder. Puzzled, she turned her head. Soon, she was able to figure out the reason for the commotion. A huge illusion made with magic was floating above the entrance of the Imperial Palace. It was so large that anyone in the capital could see it.
The illusion was of someone Estelle knew. The Emperor who had newly become the sun of the Empire, Bella, greeted everyone waiting to enter the labyrinth with her hands clasped together in a refined manner.
[Brave souls who seek to enter the labyrinth, a place more dangerous than anywhere else on the continent and where great rewards await, the Emperor sincerely welcomes you.]
– Waaaaa!!!
– Long live the Emperor!!!
– Let us enter quickly!
Bella, with a faint smile at the enthusiastic response, said to everyone.
[Today, a total of 892,421 people have expressed their hope to enter the labyrinth. Regardless of the number of people, everyone can enter the labyrinth, and as stated in the labyrinth’s terms, entry will begin on a first-come, first-served basis.]
The gates of the Imperial Palace had not yet opened, but people were gradually starting to move forward. Everyone wanted to enter the labyrinth even a little faster than the others.
“Everyone, prepare to fight immediately.”
At the vice-leader’s words, the members of Confession, who had been quietly keeping their places in robes, nodded. Estelle, glancing around, bit her lip with an anxious heart as she couldn’t find Ross no matter how hard she looked.
‘Where the hell is he?’
[As the promised time approaches, I will open the gates of the Imperial Palace. If anyone who passes through the gates of the Imperial Palace does not obey the orders of the Imperial mages and knights, they will be summarily executed as an example.]
Bella warned in a stern voice, but people didn’t care, just cheering at the thought of being able to enter the labyrinth soon.
[Then, I will open the gates―]
When Bella suddenly stopped speaking, the people who had been cheering and preparing to run were puzzled and raised their heads towards the sky, following Bella’s gaze.
“What, what is that?”
“Hah, the sky…?”
The sky that people looked up at was split. And from the crack, a huge black hole appeared, and someone slowly revealed himself from within. It was a person wearing a bizarre mask, dressed in robes and holding a black spear.
The people who discovered the figure each said a word.
“T, that mask?”
“It’s Lily! It’s Lily!”
“…Is that the rumored space magic?”
As people who looked similar to Lily continued to appear from the black hole, the commotion in the plaza began to grow. A noble who confirmed the face of a girl who appeared last shouted loudly without realizing it.
“…G, Golden King-isida!”
“What? What king?”
A mercenary standing behind the noble asked back in a dumb voice, and the noble shouted again as if frustrated.
“You stupid mercenary! The person over there is the ruler of the West, the Golden King, I tell you!”
As the noble’s cry spread, those who recognized the Golden King began to add a word each in surprised voices.
“I, it’s true. It’s the Golden King.”
“What… the Golden King doesn’t leave El Dorado! How could someone who didn’t even attend the inauguration ceremony be here….”
“Could it be that Lily and the Golden King have joined hands?”
“But how are they floating in the sky? Even if they used flight magic, they wouldn’t look so comfortable standing there.”
Amidst the endless commotion around her, Estelle looked up at Ross with an absurd expression. She never expected him to appear so openly as Lily. Even though she knew that the cult was targeting Lily.
As expected, the vice-leader, feeling great interest in Lily’s appearance, leaned towards Estelle.
“Is that person definitely Lily?”
“…It’s certain.”
“Hmm, seeing the Golden King next to him, it seems that Lily and the Golden King have joined hands.”
Estelle felt uneasy for no reason at the vice-leader’s relaxed appearance, nodding as if he had roughly grasped the situation. The reaction was less than she had expected.
“…Won’t the Golden King be a variable for us?”
“It’s okay. We have a way to control the Golden King.”
“…!”
Estelle, surprised by the vice-leader’s words, flinched without realizing it. Could it be that the cult had even anticipated the Golden King’s intervention? The vice-leader whispered softly to Estelle, who was biting her lip anxiously.
“Do you perhaps know the identity of the Golden King?”
Was he testing her? After a moment of consideration, Estelle trusted her intuition and answered.
“…I suspect he might be a dragon.”
The vice-leader looked at Estelle with a surprised expression at her answer.
“Hoo, that’s really amazing. Even though you’re the head of the information guild, to know information that only a very few in the cult know.”
“…I don’t know what the method to control the dragon is either.”
Estelle spoke tentatively, but the vice-leader raised his head to look at Lily instead of answering. Estelle, glancing at his profile, sighed softly.
‘As expected, the vice-leader of the cult doesn’t have any flaws….’
While Estelle was regretting inwardly, the vice-leader muttered quietly as he watched Lily slowly descending from the sky.
“The lover that the Golden King is desperately searching for is in the leader-nim’s hands.”
“…Yes?”
“The leader-nim personally sealed her away and hid her so that no one could find her. If we use that lover well, the Golden King will surely hand Lily over to us.”
Estelle swallowed the words that were about to escape her throat and clenched her fist. This was a huge problem. Even at the risk of being exposed as a spy to the vice-leader, she had to convey this fact to Ross, who was unaware.
Surely, the Golden King was more likely to choose the lover he loved over a hatchling he was seeing for the first time. While Estelle was anxiously considering how to contact him, Bella, who had stopped speaking due to Lily’s appearance, continued her words.
[I will now open the gates of the Imperial Palace.]
No sooner had those words been spoken than the huge gates of the Imperial Palace began to open without any loud noise. As the gates fully opened and people began to move, Estelle urgently said to the vice-leader.
“Wouldn’t it be better to enter first? I will clear the way ahead.”
At Estelle’s suggestion, the vice-leader pointed to Lily’s back, who had come down from the sky and taken a place near the entrance.
“Yes, shall we say a light greeting before entering the labyrinth?”
As soon as permission was granted, Estelle immediately built up her momentum. The momentum, filled with murderous intent and fighting spirit, passed by the people who unknowingly stepped aside as she approached Ross quickly.
Estelle, creating a note using blood from a wound on her finger so that the vice-leader and Confession following behind her wouldn’t notice, balled up the note like a ball and threw it towards Ross with magic power.
***
Tak-!
“…?”
Something hit my head. It wasn’t dangerous, but I couldn’t avoid it even though I was guarding my surroundings. When I turned my head absentmindedly, I saw something falling to the ground.
What fell to the ground was a small ball made by crumpling paper, commonly seen on classroom floors.
I bent down and picked up what had fallen on the ground. I looked around to see who had thrown it, but I couldn’t tell because the entrance was crowded with people.
When I unfolded the crumpled paper, I realized that it was a note sent to me by Estelle.
– You stupid pig! The cult leader has the Golden King’s lover! Be careful!!!
I frowned and read the contents again, scratching my forehead. Edio was just with us until recently, and decided to stay at the secret hideout with the Golden King on the way back to El Dorado for safety. So the lover the cult leader has isn’t Edio.
Come to think of it, I never set up any settings regarding the dragon’s sex life. Just in case, I leaned slightly towards the Golden King and asked quietly so that no one else could hear.
“Um, do you have any other lovers besides Edio?”
The Golden King, looking at my question with drowsy eyes, shook his head slightly.
“…Edio is my first and last.”
I nodded greatly to the Golden King, meaning that I had corrected the misunderstanding, and tried to understand the note sent by Estelle once again.
…Then what is this?
0 Comments