Arc 11: Dragon Heart (1)

The Imperial Palace.

In Silester, the capital and heart of the Terst Empire, heading farther north into the city brings you to an enormous outer wall, recognizable even from a distance.

That is the outer wall of the Imperial Palace. A single side stretches a full twenty kilometers.

Pass through those massive walls, which form a perfect square, and the inner castles each display their splendor before you. Only after passing all of them and reaching the very heart of the complex do you see the inner castle where the emperor lives.

Everything the people living within the outer walls need is available inside. Supermarkets, of course, but also restaurants, hair salons, laundries, hospitals, and even entertainment facilities such as bars and karaoke rooms.

A castle version of a mixed-use residential complex, you might say.

Soon, I found myself facing the magnificent inner castle. It simply stood there, immense and imposing in its lofty majesty, on such a ridiculous scale that its designer might have drawn it up without a second thought.

The car stopped in front of it, and Philly and I got out.

“From here on, we must cover your eyes. I ask for your understanding.”

When I nodded, the driver came over and wrapped a cloth around my eyes. It was only a single layer tied around my head, but I couldn’t see a thing.

For a mere driver, he had quite an intimidating presence. Did he double as a bodyguard in an emergency?

At Philly’s direction, I spun around on the spot, then started walking somewhere. Every time we reached a junction, I had to spin around again before continuing.

By that point, anyone would lose not only track of the route but their sense of direction as well.

... Of course, I already knew the entire layout of the Imperial Palace. Philly’s efforts to keep its interior hidden from me were admirable, but pointless.

I simply kept quiet because saying so wouldn’t do me any good.

“There, you can take it off now.”

At Philly’s words, I removed the cloth and looked around. Weapons, armor, and shields of every kind filled the room.

It was the Imperial Armory.

“I’ll fulfill your conditions first. I’ll take the information afterward. That would be the proper order.”

I nodded and surveyed my surroundings. Pretending to search for a suitable weapon, I stored everything inside in Weaving’s Workshop.

Of course, with my skills, how many of these could I actually use properly? Still, having more weapons in the Workshop certainly couldn’t hurt.

Then I stopped in front of one display. Following my gaze, Philly spoke.

“Ah! Just so you know, you can’t have that weapon.”

“I know.”

One weapon was displayed differently from all the others, floating loftily in midair amid elaborate magical devices and security measures.

A short-handled hammer. Its rectangular steel head was perfectly symmetrical on either side of the haft.

The strongest weapon in the Terst Empire’s possession.

Thor’s Divine Relic, Mjolnir.

‘That takes me back.’

Back in my old world, one topic came up constantly in Etius communities.

‘Which is stronger, Thor’s Mjolnir or Zeus’s lightning bolt?’

It was a childish debate, like asking who would win in a fight between a lion and a tiger.

The reason the debate never ended was that Aster, the protagonist, couldn’t use either of them. As you could see, Mjolnir was enshrined in the deepest part of the empire, and the emperor wielded it in times of crisis.

As for Zeus’s lightning bolt, “Astrape,” no one had even seen it. People simply assumed that since Etius was a game where gods existed, surely Zeus’s lightning bolt had to exist too.

‘But I can use it.’

I had already stored it in the Workshop.

That didn’t mean I could use it right away, though. Even with the legendary weapon Gram, five seconds was the longest I could maintain its Weaving. I probably couldn’t even manifest Mjolnir.

‘... Someday.’

For now, I would simply keep it safe in the Workshop. The day would come when I could use it.

I picked up a suitable sword nearby. I had skimmed its details while storing it in the Workshop, so I knew it was a superior piece even among the weapons here.

“... You have a good eye.”

“Thank you.”

“Then let’s move on.”

Once again, I was blindfolded, spun around, and led along. Much later, when I removed the cloth at Philly’s instruction, a long staircase stood before me.

“Be careful from here. We’ll be going down the stairs. This area was built in a hurry afterward, so the facilities are incomplete.”

I followed Philly toward the dark staircase.

How far had we descended?

Just as Philly had said, this place was clearly unfinished. They had merely dug down into the earth without even lining the walls. There was nothing but bare rock.

By the time I thought we must have descended ten floors, we reached level ground.

“Wait here while I open the door.”

With that, Philly walked toward the door. Then she suddenly stopped.

THUD!

A fairly large rock fell in front of her.

“E-eek!”

Philly recoiled in fright and stumbled backward. Apparently, a rock had come loose because the place hadn’t been properly repaired. Had it struck her, it might not have killed her, but it could have injured her.

But that sight... Surely I wasn’t just imagining how strange it looked.

‘What was that?’

Philly had stopped before the rock fell, as though she had known it was coming. Yet once it actually fell, she jumped in fright and trembled.

‘Was that an act for my benefit? Why?’

If that had been acting, I would have to assume every expression Philly made was an act. Even if it was, she had no reason to put on such a performance for me.

How had Philly known the rock would fall? And if she had known, why was she so startled?

“A-ahem. Well, then. Shall I open it?”

Clearing her throat in apparent embarrassment, Philly grasped the doorknob. That seemed to activate a spell, and a click signaled the lock releasing.

Fingerprint magic. The Roach family’s cabin annex had used it too, but the locking spell here was probably far more advanced.

Setting aside the odd feeling Philly had given me, I entered with her.

An object glowing blue rested in the center of the room. Its shape reminded me of a triangle—the musical instrument. A very small, slender triangle, shaped as though thick, round rods had been joined into a triangular frame.

A Dragon Heart was right before my eyes.

‘... Hold on.’

Come to think of it, why not try this too?

Without giving it much thought, I stored the Dragon Heart in the Workshop as well. It wasn’t a weapon, so I doubted I would have any use for it.

‘But what would happen if I used Weaving on this and ate it?’

... Something about that felt dangerous.

“There, you’ve seen it, haven’t you? Now it’s your turn, Mr. Frondier.”

“Information about the Dragon Heart, correct?”

“Yes.”

Philly waved a hand and cast a spell.

Wind Whisper. Quinier had used this spell before to keep our conversation from being overheard. I couldn’t imagine who would hear us in a place like this, but she was certainly thorough.

“Is the information you have about the Dragon Heart truly worth all this?”

That question was very unlike Philly. She couldn’t trust me at all, yet she was asking the seller how much his information was worth.

Was that how desperate she was?

“All I can tell you is that it is.”

“... Of course.”

Philly’s red eyes studied me from every angle, as though trying to see through me, to expose my bluff.

Not that doing so would change anything.

‘Philly Terst. I’d like her on my side, if at all possible.’

In Etius, Philly was as morally gray as a character could get. Depending on how you played, she could become either the protagonist’s enemy or his ally.

I wanted her as an ally. But offering kindness without reason would only arouse suspicion. And until I knew her true intentions, such kindness could end up tightening a noose around my own neck.

“... Ms. Philly.”

I addressed her without calling her Empress or using an honorific befitting her rank.

Philly’s eyes narrowed.

“Hmm? What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Why do you need the Dragon Heart?”

“Thaat’s none of your business. I don’t believe that was included in our deal?”

True. She would never have intended to tell me in the first place. She was keeping it hidden even from the imperial household; there was no way she would tell me.

“Ms. Philly.”

“I’ll overlook it once—though even once is more than enough grounds to have your head. But if you do it a second time—”

“What did you do to Aten?”

Philly’s eyes widened at my words.

In the game, Philly was intelligent, capable, and well versed in politics and calculation. But ultimately, her daughters came first.

Elysia, Sale, and Aten.

And among them, Aten took precedence over everything. It was fair to say that Aten was the reason Philly exercised political influence, saved the Terst Empire from crises, and did everything else she did.

That was why gaining Aten’s trust first was necessary to make Philly an ally. Yet for some reason, Aten treated Aster with extreme coldness when they first met.

Until now, I had assumed that was simply her personality. Seeing her as Frondier, however, revealed another side of her.

Aten disliked Aster. She disliked someone she had never met, even though there was nothing wrong with his reputation, behavior, or looks. In fact, he ranked among the very best in all those respects, and she disliked him for no reason.

‘... Magic.’

That was the only explanation I could think of.

Aten was under some sort of spell. Probably the kind that made her feel aversion toward a designated target.

But magic that influenced a person’s mind that way wasn’t easy to cast. It only began to take effect after prolonged, repeated exposure. It was similar to brainwashing.

And keeping that process hidden would require even greater intricacy and care.

... There was only one person who could do such a thing to Aten.

Philly.

“Whatever do you mean?”

For now, Philly played innocent.

It didn’t matter. Aten was far too great a weakness for her.

“I know you love Aten. I know you live for her, even if it means giving her everything you have.”

“...”

Philly didn’t answer.

“That makes it difficult to imagine why you would cast a spell on Aten to make her dislike Aster.”

“So you know that much too.”

Philly no longer denied it. Denial would accomplish nothing if I went straight to Aten and told her about this.

Having brought me this far, Philly had few moves left. Kill me to keep me quiet?

I might not amount to much myself, but I was still a son of the Roach family. This wasn’t something she could simply hush up and move on from. Doing so risked exposing all her secret dealings involving the Dragon Heart as well.

A spell that made Aten feel aversion toward Aster. In other words, Philly didn’t want Aten and Aster to grow close.

But her love for Aten was absolute. That meant the spell, too, must have been for Aten’s sake.

Yet as the game progressed, Aten became Aster’s companion in almost every possible route. Philly’s spell was eventually broken.

And once that happened, Aten would fight alongside Aster, until finally—

‘Now I understand.’

Philly had avoided the falling rock in advance, then acted startled after escaping it. That strange contradiction, combined with the game’s cruel ending that only I knew...

I spoke.

“Ms. Philly, can you see the ‘future’?”

At my words, all expression vanished from Philly’s face.

But soon her gentle expression returned. With an awkward smile more natural and more truly her own than any she had shown so far, she answered.

“... A little.”