Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 517

517

Climbing the stairs led to a hallway lined with doors, much like a hotel. Not every floor was lit, and this section was shrouded in darkness. I opened the third room, stepped inside, and parted the dresses hanging in a row behind the curtain. The person hiding inside immediately attacked with a sword, but I was quicker. I struck their wrist to make them drop the sword, grabbed their outstretched arm, and twisted it behind their back. The now defenseless person struggled wildly.

“Kugh, this is n……!”

“Shh! It’s okay. Davian sent me.”

I lowered my voice and whispered, and their resistance ceased abruptly. They looked back, disbelief on their face, and I gave them a reassuring smile. Their eyes, visible through the mask, wavered with agitation.

“You are…….”

“As you can see, I’m an ally. You were hiding very well. I’m glad I found you.”

I would never have found them if I hadn’t asked the spirits. When I asked them to tell me if there was anyone hiding or being chased, they all pointed to this place.

Seeming convinced, I released my hold, and they slowly backed away. Their gaze, as they rubbed their arm, still held suspicion.

“Davian sent you? What is your relationship with him?”

“He’s a friend. I met him here by chance and came to help because he seemed to be in trouble.”

“……Can I really believe that?”

“Is there any reason not to?”

Do people usually act like this when a stranger comes to help? I was about to wonder why they were so wary when I paused. Come to think of it, their voice sounded familiar. Wait a minute. Could it be who I think it is? To meet them here like this?

“Um…… have we met before?”

“…….”

“We have, right? You’re that priest I met back then?”

“……I am not a priest.”

The person who answered with a sigh removed the mask from their head. Dark skin and gray hair, hidden beneath the raised black cloth, were revealed. The revealed face was exactly as I had expected. It really was Ayra.

To think I’d meet them here. Every time I tried to meet them, we always missed each other, but now that we’ve met like this, I don’t know what to say. Besides, what’s their relationship with Davian?

“Oh, but you said you’re not a priest? I thought you used divine power back then.”

“Is that why you thought we were priests?”

“Yes.”

“……I see.”

Ayra’s face, after letting out a small sigh, was filled with embarrassment.

“We misunderstood back then. I am a temple knight. I am not a priest, but I can use divine power because I was baptized and dedicated myself to the temple.”

Oh, so you can use divine power even if you’re not a priest if you’re baptized and dedicated to the temple. I learned something new. Was it like this in my time too? Back then, the Demon God Temple was already on the path to ruin, and even priests were dwindling. I had never met the holy knights of other orders, so I didn’t know what it was like. Still, I was supposed to be the Pope, but I think I was too ignorant about the temple.

“The priest is Edith, who was with me back then.”

While I was inwardly reflecting, Ayra continued. I nodded lightly, thinking about what kind of person she was. I hadn’t had much conversation with her, so I didn’t have any particular impression. At most, she was a girl who looked to be about my age and was trembling in fear of the mermaids. ……That’s right. She was running away from the mermaids.

“……Just to be sure, can you tell me that the woman who is trapped in the underground chamber now is not that priest?”

“……I wish I could say that.”

So it’s true after all. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was still disheartening to hear. I could even guess why she was kidnapped. It was probably for the same reason as the guys who kidnapped Alisa before. Come to think of it, that was also a secret chamber connected to the underground.

‘Is this the villains’ specialty?’

It felt like I was repeating the past, but this happened before that incident chronologically, so it felt strange. But I guess it’s not as strange as being involved in similar incidents across two eras.

“How did you know she was trapped in this secret chamber? It wouldn’t have been easy to find the location of the secret chamber.”

“……Someone told me.”

Whoever it was, they didn’t come with him. If they had, Davian would have said from the beginning that there were three of them. Ayra’s tone didn’t suggest she was mentioning a colleague either. I guessed she had received an anonymous tip.

“Let’s rescue her first.”

Ayra, her eyes hardened, nodded.

Outside the mansion, it was still pouring rain. Perhaps because all attention was focused on the outside, the inside was relatively unguarded. We avoided the patrolling soldiers and quickly headed to the office.

When we arrived nearby, Baron Delusio and the Crown Prince were just coming out of it. It seemed they had checked the most worrisome area first, now that there were intruders. They probably didn’t expect to be robbed after they left.

After confirming that the two had disappeared elsewhere, we carefully entered the room. The interior was an ordinary office filled with bookshelves. Ayra took out a small stone-like object from her pocket. As she muttered something, it began to emit a faint light. It seemed to be a portable magic lamp.

“Do you know how to get into the secret chamber?”

“I was told there’s a device on the middle bookshelf.”

“A bookshelf?”

“Yes, I was told to take out a book with a red cover. Then, twist the picture frame on the left wall to the right. And then, move the vase on the desk to the side…….”

As expected of a secret chamber, there were three steps. It was quite a cumbersome device to use in an emergency. Fortunately, there was only one red book on the bookshelf right in the middle. Ayra walked over without hesitation and followed the instructions in order. But even when she moved the last vase, there was no reaction. Just as Ayra’s face hardened in dismay,

―No. The order of the devices has changed. You have to tilt the frame first.

―Then take out the book. Not the red one, the black one. They changed the cover.

―It’s in the third row. It’s a book with written in gold leaf.

―Don’t touch the vase on the desk, touch the ceramic document box. They changed its location too.

―We saw it all.

I chuckled at the chattering voices coming from above. Sylphs, who had gathered around to watch us, were now crowded together.

“You guys are really angels.”

―We’re spirits!

―Humans don’t know this very well, do they? An angel is a rank of the divine race.

―We’re called sylphs!

“Yes, yes. I misspoke. You’re really kind spirits.”

When I corrected my expression, the sylphs giggled and spun around in the air.

“Who are you talking to now?”

“There’s something like that. It seems the order of the devices has changed. Let’s try again.”

I told Ayra the changed order, who looked puzzled but silently followed my instructions. Soon, with a clunking sound, a section of the bookshelf moved. When I pushed it slightly, it slid open, revealing a space to enter. Ayra’s eyes widened as she turned to me, as if she hadn’t really expected it to open.

“How on earth…….”

“No time to explain. Let’s go in.”

The hidden interior was decorated like a small lounge. Since it was said to be a basement, I looked for an escape route somewhere below, and finally lifted the rug on the floor. As expected, there was a round door.

When we opened the door, stairs leading down appeared. Ayra and I exchanged glances for a moment, then immediately stepped onto the stairs and went down. The deeper we went underground, the darker it became, and a musty smell wafted up. After descending to the very bottom and walking a little further, a small space appeared before long. It wasn’t particularly well-maintained, and the dirt walls were filled with various messy things. There was no furniture or tools, so at first glance, it just looked like an abandoned hideout. ……If it weren’t for the girl slumped in the middle of it.

At first, I didn’t even recognize her as a person. She was wrapped in a piece of cloth that was no better than a sack, and her breathing was barely perceptible. It was fortunate that she was in the center, where she was easily visible; if she had been left in a corner, we would have passed her by.

“……Oh my god, Lady Edith.”

Ayra, groaning, staggered forward. The arms that frantically lifted the unconscious girl trembled like aspen leaves. Ayra muttered prayers incessantly, cutting the ropes binding the girl’s hands and feet with a dagger.

“Lady Edith, please come to your senses. Lady Edith?”

When Ayra gently tapped her cheek, the girl flinched slightly. Green eyes were visible within her faintly opened eyelids.

“……Ayra?”

“L, Lady Edith. Yes, it’s me. It’s Ayra. Are you conscious? Do you recognize me?”

A faint smile appeared on Edith’s lips.

“You came……. I’ve been waiting a long time. Is this a dream too?”

“No, it’s not a dream. I’m sorry I’m late.”

“……Yeah. I wish this wasn’t a dream. I’ve had too many painful dreams. Ayra……. I’m so scared.”

Edith’s eyes fluttered shut as she let out a faint voice. She seemed to have lost consciousness again. A tear trickled down her closed eyes. The same was true for Ayra, who swallowed a bitter breath.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect Lady Edith. I’m sorry. Ah, Demon God. Look down upon your servants.”

A stifled sob echoed beneath her head, bowed like a sinner. I watched the scene with a heavy heart and slowly looked around. I had been too busy checking on Edith’s condition to notice, but now I saw that a large magic circle was drawn on the floor. No, I thought it was a magic circle, but when I looked closely, it was a spell. Moreover, the format was all familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before. I couldn’t possibly not recognize it, as I had been investigating it recently.

A black magic that swallows the tears of a fallen angel.

I swallowed the curse that swirled in my mouth and clenched my fist tightly. At that moment, a chilling sensation that heightened my senses swept over me. I could feel a presence from above.

“Someone’s coming. I think we’ve been discovered.”

Ayra, who was wiping away tears with the back of her hand, gasped. Should I just wait for them to come down and take care of them all here? A rational and easy solution came to mind, but I tried hard to suppress it. There was no guarantee that the Crown Prince would be among those coming down (that cunning bastard had clearly prepared to make others do it and run away himself), and there was something I needed to confirm first.

“Are there any other priests who have been kidnapped like this?”

Ayra paused and slowly nodded. Yes, I didn’t think they would have only one of these workshops. Then I have to find the rest. I swallowed my annoyance and took a slow breath. When I looked up, the sylphs in the air were gesturing for us to follow them.

“First, carry the priest on your back. Or should I carry her?”

“No. I’ll carry her. Is there a way to get out?”

“Here, it seems to be a structure connected to the outside. Follow me.”

We ran, almost sprinting, in the direction the sylphs were moving. The passage was not just one, perhaps to shake off pursuers. After passing through repeated forks and winding paths, the terrain became increasingly unstable. After going on like that for a long time, a dead end appeared.

“There’s no exit. What do we do now?”

Ayra asked with a stiff face. It was a dead end no matter where I looked, but I wasn’t particularly flustered. The sylphs were smiling and pointing in one direction. It was a pile of bushes that were dried up at the bottom of one wall. When I removed the bushes, a hole appeared that was just big enough to crawl through. Ayra looked at me with an astonished face.

“It looks like we can get out through here.”

“What on earth are you?”

“I’m just a spirit master with slightly good eyesight. I’m just going where the wind path tells me to go.”

“A wind path……. Aren’t you a water spirit master?”

“I told you I have slightly good eyesight.”

“……Is that really just slightly good?”

No, in fact, it has to be very good. I don’t know why you’re asking when you already know it’s a humble way of speaking. Ayra must have thought it was a foolish question, as she swallowed a hollow laugh. Anyway, the hole we entered was indeed connected to the outside. After passing through a long passage and reaching the exit, a desolate forest appeared. Seeing the outer wall in the distance, it seemed we had come out of the mansion grounds altogether. A drizzle was falling, as if the dark clouds I had summoned were affecting even this place.

“We really got out…….”

Ayra, who was receiving raindrops with her palm, muttered with a face that lacked a sense of reality. Of course, it wasn’t a safe place yet, so it was too early to indulge in sentimentality. Fortunately, there was a dead tree nearby that looked useful, so I roughly dragged it over and blocked the front of the exit. It was thick and heavy, so even if someone who was following us arrived, they wouldn’t be able to push it away and come out at once. I dusted off my hands with a satisfied feeling, but then I saw Ayra with her mouth open. Her face was somewhat blank.

“What’s wrong?”

“……It’s nothing.”

She had a face that clearly had a lot to say, but I didn’t bother to ask since she didn’t want to say it. More importantly, which way should I go from here to get to Lamias’ house? By now, Davian should have arrived, so Lamias would have grasped the situation to some extent. I slowly looked around to gauge the direction. At that moment, I heard footsteps rustling nearby. Someone was approaching this way.

What, could it be that they’ve already set up an ambush here? While Ayra, her face hardened, took care of Edith, I also stepped forward, wary of the two. But what appeared was not an army, but a single man. Moreover, he seemed to be an ordinary person without any weapons. To my bewilderment, as soon as he saw us, he bowed his head as if he had been waiting for us. The words that followed were even more absurd.

“I was sent by Duke Sepion.”

“……Pardon?”

I lost strength at the unexpected name. Moreover, now that I looked again, I felt a sense of familiarity. The other person was so ordinary that he seemed almost not ordinary. That was the very phenomenon that appeared when wearing a specific magic tool.

As I had suspected, the man, whose eyes met mine, smiled meaningfully. The moment of doubt instantly turned into certainty. It wasn’t just someone sent by Lamias, it was Lamias himself. He had not only grasped the situation, but had come directly himself.