<Episode 62>
‘What would Rue look like with those fancy jewels in his ears?’
I decided to stop imagining because I was blinded just by the image in my mind.
The item Rue carefully chose out of the gems was a pair of earrings with a pure white pearl on top and a smaller-sized turquoise pearl hanging below in a design.
When Rue pulled on the radiant pearl, a spark of white light burst forth.
Shiing.
‘That scared me.’
Soon, in the direction he pulled it, a long, white-hilted sword appeared.
A longsword with an elegant and sharp appearance – nothing like what you’d expect to come out of a little earring.
With a swift motion, Rue lightly spun the sword in his right hand.
It was a very brief movement, but I could instantly recognize it.
‘That is not the skill of someone who’s used a sword just once or twice.’
He was familiar with it. Rue carefully checked the handle and blade of the sword then put it back in the pearl.
And then he held it out to me.
“Here.”
“…Is it for me to use?”
“Yes.”
Thank you for lending it to me, but I can’t easily accept it. It feels like some precious treasure…
Rue jumped to his feet and came to stand behind me.
He locked the magic tool on my right ear without saying a word. No, he pierced my ear.
“…Ah!”
A bright spark of pain erupted in my earlobe.
Instinctively, I ran to the mirror and checked my ears. The area near the magic tool embedded in my earlobe was now red and swollen.
‘Oh, right. This body has never worn earrings.’
I forgot.
“Did it hurt?”
It was an unusually friendly question.
“A little.”
“How cute.”
Was it a new type of bullying to call something cute with an expressionless face?
While I glared at him with disgust, Rue handed over two more magic tools to me.
One was a luminous ring that would illuminate the path in darkness. The other was…
“A trap dismantler. It can be used twice. It’s a consumable magical item, so discard it after use. After a certain time, it turns into dust, leaving no trace.”
“…Isn’t this a very expensive item?”
Rue, putting the ring on my right index finger, smirked.
“A maid like Miss Daisy Fager won’t be able to pay me back for it even if she worked all her life.”
Pretending not to hear, I moved on.
Rue, whom I was ignoring, tugged at my winter scarf, tightly wrapping it around my lower face.
“Are you going to leave like this?”
“Yes, this is for the best. Even if my face is changed with magic, it’ll be released once I go underground.”
The earth itself was one of the biggest factors that disrupted magic retention.
In particular, high level magic like transformation spells were greatly affected by it, and once we go underground, the magic would quickly unravel.
Unless the caster went down with me, there was no way to maintain the spell.
‘And I’m not going down with Rue.’
It was my plan to have Rue watch over the entrance. It was the best precautionary measure in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
“Miss Leyna, please also provide me with a mask that can cover the area below my eyes.”
Now, it was time to go.
* * *
‘…It tickles.’
I stuck my hand inside the mask and scratched my chin.
How long has it been since it was last washed? How could it itch just after putting it on?
I slowly looked around, enduring the damp smell that wafted up in the air.
“It feels refreshing.”
This place was at the western edge of Westwinterre. There was a stream nestled within the dense summer birch forest, where the milky way reflected in its curves.
I put my hand on the sword on my right hip and began to slowly warm up.
It’d been a long time since I’d warmed up with a sword.
“Hmp.”
Okay. Finished warming up.
Before descending into the underground royal vault, I drew my pearl sword and checked its condition.
Just like the first time I’d held one, there was no resonance.
‘I had high hopes, but it’s a shame.’
To be honest, I had somewhat expected this. Resonance was a phenomenon that occurred when the sword and its owner’s ego became one. Since the magic war was over, I, who held no affection or feelings towards the sword other than it being a tool, could not resonate with it.
I put on the Pierrot mask properly, which was slightly raised enough to scratch my forehead.
“Take good cover there, Mr. Rue. If anyone tries to come in, please block me.”
A soft chuckle erupted from above my head. Rue was perched on the birch tree, wearing his black nightgown. Sitting on a thick branch, leaning against the tree, he looked as comfortable as if he were taking a rest in his own bedroom.
The pink slippers dangling from his feet looked incredibly cute.
‘Isn’t he cold?’
The location of the royal vault was deep within the forest. Although the forest was densely packed with trees, the brightness of the full moon and the Milky Way made it relatively easy to distinguish the surroundings.
The cold air of the evening while the season was about to change made the fluffy hairs on the back of my head stand.
Rue, who leisurely swung his legs under the branch, whispered playfully.
“Our dear Miss Daisy can’t do anything on her own, so what choice do I have?”
“Just in case, you know, just in case. It would be a shame not to use the good weapon I brought along.”
“Miss Daisy is the first person to treat me like a tool.”
“I’ve had enough of that comment.”
“Already feeling tired, huh?”
I stood in front of a waterfall while engaging in an unpleasant conversation.
According to the blueprint, to enter the inner chamber of the royal vault, one had to navigate through a considerably troublesome terrain beyond this waterfall.
‘Even while getting out, this is the best path.’
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was possible.
There were over ten possible entry routes, but more than half of them were likely traps, so it seemed like I would have a hard time.
“Miss Daisy, think of yourself as the clever Viscount Weatherwoods to increase your intelligence. Otherwise, you’re likely to get stuck in that vault and starve to death.”
“I can see how highly Mr. Rue thinks of me.”
Leaving Rue, who was lightly waving at me, behind, I moved towards the inside of the waterfall.
Shoot.
The narrow crevice in the rocks revealed when the curtain of water was lifted. It seemed too fortunate if one could even breathe in there. There was no room for anything like a mask.
“…Hmm, alright.”
I couldn’t be stubborn and risk dying of suffocation. After throwing the mask into the river, I squeezed my body into the rocks.
40 minutes.
I chose my path carefully while regulating my breathing in the crevice. There was hardly any space to walk, most required crawling. I took a wrong turn halfway through, doubling the time it took.
20 minutes.
I moved through the underwater cave. I was submerged for over 15 minutes, struggling to breathe at times and nearly lost consciousness.
The ceiling was so low that I could count the number of opportunities I had to catch my breath on one hand. It truly felt like swimming in darkness.
If it weren’t for the luminescent device Rue lent me, I would have succumbed to claustrophobia. The water was rising more, almost drowning me.
And finally, the last 10 minutes. The time it took to reach the cliff leading out of the underwater cave towards the entrance.
“Whoa.”
I climbed the cliff. Indeed, it was a challenging obstacle that needed to be overcome to reach the treasury.
However, I was a maid, three months into my job.
Scaling a cliff with bare hands was nothing extraordinary.
‘I can’t come back here again.’
I didn’t feel any inclination to ever become a treasure hunter.
I would just live as a maid, not stain my life with thievery…
Today, once again, I reflected on how happy the life of a maid was.
With that in mind, I occasionally drove my pearl sword into the wall, resting on its sturdy blade before resuming the ascent for another 30 minutes.
Finally, plain land greeted me. It was an unremarkable land.
However, according to the blueprint, there were iron bars surrounding the deep parts of this plain, and various jewels were stored inside each bar.
I walked along a long and wide corridor, reminiscent of a temple. Thud, thud. Apart from the sound of water dripping underground and the faint breeze blowing from somewhere, only the sound of my footsteps echoed in the world.
I walked for a few minutes like that. 10 minutes? 30 minutes? 1 hour?
Oh, yes. I had definitely passed the two-hour mark.
Around that time, I became convinced that I had fallen into a hallucination trap. It was a trap that hadn’t been mentioned in the blueprint. And here I thought I was being cautious and observant…
Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. A large hand passed by in my field of vision. Reflexively, I stepped back and locked eyes with the owner of the hand for a fleeting moment.
I felt my heart drop to the ground.
“…Raphael?”
Clammy with sweat and blood, his forehead was sticky, his golden hair matted. Stiff lips. Broad shoulders and thick arm muscles. And, relieved crimson eyes.
[Sigh, damn it! You, Andert, you…]
He hugged me. As his familiar body scent wrapped around the body, my head felt like it was spinning.
Why was Raphael here all of a sudden? In the uniform of the magic alliance?
How on earth… with that face from four years ago?
Daisy is too strong, man. I would’ve passed out in ten minutes in a space like that. Also they both called each other cute this chapter hehehehe
And also, Daisy’s demons never stop haunting her…
Thank you for the chapter!
Dumb question: if Daisy who lived longer as a man than woman but is a female, becomes triathlon athlete and wins women competition, will it spark debate about transgender athletes? It’s stupid but since in my head she takes all medals in women sports easy-peasy people who don’t like it could make silly arguments.
nahh since she’s not actually trans. she just lived as a man since it was more convinient, and being a man did not actually give her ultra advantages, since she’s back to being a woman, she’s only working on the skills and natural strength of her own body. although people like to argue about everything hehe so maybe + fun fact, Daisy lived longer as a woman! she seemed to have joined the army at around 20ish and spent 10 years as Andert.
Got it. I thought that she is younger.