After the Creature that Devours the World left, the Empire was somehow trying to manage the chaos.
With a dragon circling the sky, there wasn’t a single human who could stand still, so miraculously, the fact that there were no souls lost was significant.
It was also critical that the damage was primarily concentrated on buildings and the streets, as the creature didn’t cause a ruckus here out of sheer curiosity before swiftly departing.
Considering it was the final boss of Brightest Darkness 4, it all ended quite gently.
‘Seriously, was it just here to check how I killed that thing? What kind of creature is it?’
Of course, there had been a bit of collateral damage that left my sanity slightly displaced.
Thanks to that, we naturally delayed our audience with the Empress. According to Aurora, it seemed we would have to stay at the Imperial Palace for at least a month.
In such a significant situation, it’s usually common to send all guests away and reschedule for a later visit, but ‘for reasons we don’t know’ Kaiquilia apparently didn’t allow our return.
Emphasizing that ‘we really don’t know,’ she stared at me intensely, which was a bonus. I couldn’t argue much since there were a couple of truths that hit close to home.
‘… Surely, I must have seen something.’
Ever since we confronted the Creature that Devours the World, Kaiquilia’s gaze toward me had completely changed. It was a determined glare that seemed intent on making me hers.
Still, I was treated exceptionally well. Even Aurora and the knight commanders seemed puzzled as to whether we deserved such luxury.
It was eerily similar to the situations back in the Holy Kingdom.
“Minerva, do you not wish to research the Crystal Scroll?”
“Are we finally going to look for it?!”
While Aurora was away on some business, and the knight commanders volunteered to help in restoring order in the capital, I took the opportunity to seek out Minerva.
I asked her to persuade Kaiquilia using the Crystal Scroll as bait.
For Minerva, it wouldn’t be a losing deal either. From the very start of negotiations, she had put it down that searching for the Crystal Scroll would happen only after I obtained a weapon.
My thoughts hit the mark perfectly, and after several hours of her grand ‘persuasion,’ I finally received permission to leave the Imperial Palace.
‘I need to hurry up and think of a plan.’
If this was the level of interest being shown to me already, it wouldn’t be strange to wake up one day in Kaiquilia’s bed.
Unlike Lize, who seemed to want to expand her options but insisted on taking all the firsts for herself, or the Pope, who openly hinted at polygamy, it seemed like Kaiquilia had very possessive tendencies.
‘Not that I mean to arbitrarily increase the number of women…’
With just Lize, Floretta, and Luna, I felt guilty enough.
Especially toward Lize.
“Child, regarding the Crystal Scroll—”
“As I said, it’s after I get my weapon.”
“Why not go for the scroll first—”
“Are you sure you could handle going out of the Mage Tower if I find it first?”
Minerva, who had been pressing me about when we’d go find the scroll, immediately fell silent at my words.
She knew fully well that the moment she found the Crystal Scroll, she wouldn’t be able to focus on anything other than her research. It had been the same in the game too.
“Well then, please let me know if we can leave right now.”
“The preparations are almost complete. It’s time to start.”
I gathered the brooch with the sun and moon that the Pope had delivered. That was the last of the supplies. The weapon was broken and gone, and everything else was taken care of by Minerva.
Minerva seemed to be trying her best to maintain a dignified appearance, but her every action dripped with urgency. She was ready to throw away the poise from her 400 years of life.
The enchanting and mysterious atmosphere from our first meeting seemed lost.
“Where is the place we’ll teleport to?”
“Just a moment, let me check the location…”
She unfolded a map. It was the one Minerva had brought.
The Empire’s details were meticulously marked, while the Holy Kingdom’s map was detailed but not as much. The northern and southern parts of the continent were just vague outlines.
Since, like in the game, the player wouldn’t simply be drawing terrain by walking around, the map must have been created as people checked the ground, using magic or footwork.
Thus, it’s not surprising that the southern Poison Marshlands and the freezing mountains up north didn’t have a proper map.
‘I’ll probably end up visiting the Poison Marshlands at least once later. And there’s no need to go to the snowy mountains, since there are no items to gather there.’
I contrasted the map that users had made with the one in front of me, searching for where to go. Minerva stood beside me, looking anxious.
“Do you really want the Crystal Scroll that much?”
“It should be around here. I’ll have to check where we are exactly.”
I pointed to a part at the very edge of the Empire with my finger. The map’s scale was indeed much larger than in the game, but this area seemed right.
“Understood. Prepare.”
Minerva immediately began to prepare her magic. Thump, the tip of her staff lightly tapped the floor. The magic circle that appeared in an instant unleashed a column of blue light skyward.
Now completely accustomed to the floating sensation, our bodies found themselves entering the mountains before we knew it.
All around were grass and trees. Thick ancient trunks blocked out light during the day, creating a dim atmosphere. When Minerva tapped her staff again, the area lit up.
“Is this the place, Child?”
“We’ll need to search further. I don’t know how far off we are from the location I know.”
We teleported to some spot by pointing to a place on the map showing the entire continent. The margin of error was unknown, possibly stretching tens or even hundreds of kilometers.
In truth, only someone with Minerva’s level of magical prowess could make this happen. A normal mage wouldn’t even be able to find the coordinates I pointed to without a struggle.
After all, ‘Eternal Magician’ wasn’t just a nickname; she was revered as a living legend among almost all mages on the continent.
Even though she had appeared slightly flustered just moments ago about finding the scroll so desperately.
‘Thank goodness Minerva was here; I would have been in deep trouble.’
It was the right decision to suggest trading interest in the Crystal Scroll.
Setting aside how to carry out the quest, just getting to that location would have been a significant problem. How on earth would one find a single house in this dense forest and vast mountain range?
“Could you scan the surroundings for us, Minerva?”
“Are we just looking for a house?”
“Yes. If it’s not strictly a house, anything that seems human-made will do.”
The surrounding area was just forest and mountains, so it would probably be just that.
Even if there were people, how many would build a house deep in such a dense forest? Checking each one would take time.
Minerva closed her eyes and infused her staff with mana. A circular wave radiated from her silver staff. The grass and trees touched by the wave shone a faint green for just a moment.
After a while of sending out the wave, Minerva, who had been keeping her eyes closed, quietly opened her eyelids.
“I’ve found something.”
“What does it look like, Minerva?”
“It’s a wooden structure, a simple one-story house, with one section made of stone.”
“Yes, that sounds like it.”
Nodding in agreement, Minerva immediately used teleportation without hesitation. With a brief moment of closing and opening her eyes, we were stood in front of a peculiar wooden building that was half a normal family home and half a shrine, its oddity further emphasized by the stone portions.
“Here it is. Thank you, Minerva.”
“It’s just my job. Now, let’s move.”
Minerva nearly pushed me toward the building. After climbing a few steps, I knocked firmly on the door. BANG BANG BANG! The dull sound echoed.
After waiting a moment, nothing happened. I knocked again. Still nothing. I knocked for the third time. Once again, no response.
Watching me knock from the side, Minerva frowned slightly and spoke up.
“Is there no one inside?”
“No. There must be someone.”
“Then that means they’re pretending not to hear. If you want me to break in, just say the word, Child. I can do that right away.”
“No, it’s fine. They’ll show up soon.”
In the game, it required selecting to knock five times in a row before this NPC would appear. Thus, at least five knocks would be necessary here too.
As a side note, in the game, if you knocked three times, there would be a description hinting there was likely no one inside, causing many players to waste their time with that misunderstanding.
With the fourth and fifth knocks following, before Minerva could raise her staff with a frown on her face, she exclaimed:
“Ugh, this persistent one! I tried to ignore it, but why won’t it give up!”
The door burst open, and someone sprang out from inside. A woman with long orange hair and orange eyes.
Seeing her recite the exact lines from memory made me chuckle. The NPC that had been male in the game was now a woman, and I wasn’t even surprised at the gender swap.
I should be surprised at seeing the NPC still have the same gender, wondering what role she had that kept her the same.
“I have a request.”
I immediately got to the point. She didn’t seem to have changed her personality much, so I could just do as I did in the game.
“A request? What is it?”
As I expected, the woman showed no signs of panic despite hearing a sudden request from a stranger. That was just her character.
“Could you give me one of the weapons you crafted?”
“One of my weapons?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The woman stared at me intently with her orange eyes.
“I don’t know where you heard the rumor, but… I can give it to you, but you come empty-handed?”
“Of course not.”
I inwardly hoped that the overall quest wasn’t changing as I continued.
“If you give me a weapon, I’ll bring you the materials for the potion you’re currently making.”
It was time to embark on the ugliest, most annoying quest from Brightest Darkness 4.
