“That very day, the sacred artifact broke in half. I found out later that all the power within it had been depleted and it could no longer function. So, we hastily procured a fake to put in its place.”
“…And when was that?”
My question made Flux pause to count the days.
“Approximately two weeks ago, I believe.”
“What if the barrier had fallen in the meantime?”
The more I listened, the more absurd it became. So, there was a secret black market operating in this city. He heard that a dangerous item was up for auction there, went to see it himself, and the thing exploded. He suffered an irreversible injury, so he secretly stole the sacred artifact to heal himself, and in the process, it broke, so he replaced it with a fake?
“Fine, so you were infected with demonic energy and couldn’t get help from the temple. But did you not even consider getting help from the House Castrain?”
“Your Imperial Highness.” Flux shrugged. “Perhaps you, in your innocence, do not know. There is a famous saying in the North: ‘When a soldier slays monsters and more monsters, and becomes a monster himself, the Duke of Castrain will personally behead him.'”
“…”
“Of course, there might be many people like me, but if they declare, ‘You’ve become irreversible, so die,’ should I just die?”
I got up from the bed. Seeing me approach him, Flux looked confused. I slapped his cheek as hard as I could. CRACK. My palm was stinging.
“…What is this…?”
“So, because you didn’t want to die, you’ve condoned this whole mess—this entire thing with the sacred artifact—acting as if it’s none of your business whether the city’s citizens you’ve loved and cared for die? Aren’t you a total son of a bitch?”
Flux’s cheek twitched faintly.
“There was no other way. The southern barrier, unlike the north’s, was originally more…”
“Then why am I in danger if I perform the ritual with that fake?”
“We hastily got a fake that only resembled the sacred artifact, but… there was a problem with it.”
“What problem?”
Flux’s voice trailed off.
“…I found out later, but it was similar to the item that was being circulated at the auction. When we investigated afterward, we found that far from being a sacred artifact, if mishandled, it acts as a lure to attract monsters.”
My insides were about to burst from listening to him. Unable to contain my surging emotions, I shouted.
“Well done, just brilliant! You couldn’t even get a proper fake! You should have at least recovered that fake then!”
As if to make an excuse, Flux opened his mouth in a hurry.
“Time was too tight, and with the Devotion Ceremony approaching, surveillance was extremely strict. And with things having come to this, I couldn’t trust anyone inside the temple, either.”
“So, your solution was kidnapping? At this rate, why didn’t you try to find a way to contact me before I even got here?”
“The temple’s internal lodgings are the most vulnerable. If my current state were to leak to my enemies, what kind of weakness…”
“I thought the Empress Consort was just being difficult and ignoring me, but I guess that would have been better.”
I gritted my teeth. This never happened in the original story. The sacred artifact for the Devotion Ceremony wasn’t a crucial element. In fact, the most important part of the ceremony was a ‘person with the power of the gods’ proving their power directly. Maybe that’s why the southern barrier is okay right now… But what if it isn’t? Will a horde of monsters attack immediately?
“On top of that, you go so far as to kidnap me, and your solution is for me to just destroy the sacred artifact? You know full well what will happen to me—who came all the way here to hold the Devotion Ceremony—if I destroy the artifact and ruin the ceremony, don’t you?”
“I heard you’re under the protection of the House Castrain.”
“You are truly irresponsible and annoying.”
I ground my teeth. I squeezed my eyes shut, then looked toward the shadow lingering next to the canopy in the distance and said, “Hey. Come out.”
“Yeppers!”
Vivi popped out from the corner with a bright voice. Flux was shocked to see Vivi stomping her feet with a cheerful motion.
“W-what? I was told there was no one else here…!”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“It didn’t look like he was trying to harm Your Imperial Highness directly, and you just wouldn’t wake up! I was going to observe the situation first, since I could take care of those clumsy guards and that young master all at once if something happened!”
“…Right, well, I was the one who ordered you not to intervene first.”
I let out a heavy sigh. Vivi had been in the room right next to mine. No matter how lax the temple’s security was, she couldn’t have been completely unaware that I was being kidnapped in the next room. I had a feeling she was around, and I was right.
“Fine. As you can see, I’m under the protection of the House Castrain. Besides her, the second young master is also my personal escort knight. So, if I break the sacred artifact during the ritual, all the responsibility will fall on me, others will have to deal with the aftermath, and you won’t lose a thing. Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it?”
“I was prepared to die.”
“Whether you die or not, you should take responsibility first, shouldn’t you?! Do you have any guesses about the culprits?”
“I did find out that some mages are smuggling in that item. And the merchant guild that mainly dealt with it. But the identities of the people in the guild were all fake… When I tried to find out more and requested an investigation from the <Hecate’s Pub>, they refused, saying it was too dangerous…”
“What in the world does the sacred artifact even look like that you had such a hard time getting a fake?”
Vivi answered with a cheerful voice.
“Oh, that! Actually, to be precise, it’s called a sacred artifact, but it’s probably just a giant, special-attribute mana crystal that can support the barrier’s core! I overheard that while working on the North Barrier repair project!”
“Doesn’t the Duke of Castrain have a lot of those?”
“They have a lot… well, not a lot but they probably have some…? Or maybe not?”
Vivi’s face showed a rare moment of indecision. But hey, if it’s not even in the House Castrain’s treasury, there’s no way to get it! So this problem isn’t something I can solve on my own! I decided to just let things happen and asked about the situation.
“Is Lisianthus still at the temple?”
“Yeppers, since he’s a male escort knight, the temple gave him a room far from Your Imperial Highness’s. And the second young master looks like he’d immediately smash the invader’s head and the temple’s pillars if he saw you getting kidnapped! So I didn’t tell him!”
Vivi smiled brightly as she came over and held something out to me. It was the familiar emoticon-faced sword.
“You always take it wherever you go, so I brought it just in case!”
“Oh… thanks… so much…”
I took the sword with a strange feeling. From now on, I’d just tie the scabbard to my wrist and sleep with it. That seemed better. The sword in my hand started to whine.
—WAAH, WAAAAH, CONTRACTORRRR! Why is our relationship so rough?! (Ĭ ^ Ĭ) Why are there so many trials and tribulations constantly coming between us?!
‘Can I fix his condition?’
—’His’ condition? Who?
‘Him, the one who broke the sacred artifact because he didn’t want to die, kidnapped an innocent person, and is now whining for me to take responsibility with him.’
—Uhhh… (◑.◑)
The sword’s voice became hesitant.
—Uh, you, Contractor, you basically use the power of light, you see? (‘◇’)
I had a feeling that was the case… The types of powers I could use increased when I was wearing the Emblem of Gloriana. And it was muttering about my master rank getting higher. When it was babbling about gods and whatnot, it was about the god of light. I thought I’d heard that if the power of light is incredibly strong, it can overpower all other powers and accomplish anything. I’m not sure if I’m even close to that stage, though.
‘So?’
—To be honest, the power you use… most others can’t use it. Not even the Holy Emperor or the High Priest—at most, the power the God of Light has granted them is just a bit of healing! (⊙_ʘ) But well, you’re the rightful heir who will inherit everything, so your basic performance is different.
‘No, so what’s the conclusion?’
—It’s possible, but at your current master rank, it’s just a liiiiittle bit? (ɿ(｡･ɜ･)ɾ)
I tried to ignore the ominous feeling rising inside me.
‘What does ‘a liiiiittle bit’ mean?’
—…You’ll have to keep holding his hand for it to get better, you know? All day? For nearly a month?
‘…’
‘…’
I tried to stay calm and asked inwardly. Flux and Vivi looked at me strangely as I suddenly went quiet. I took a deep breath.
‘…Why?’
—Well, you can only use the power of light through me right now. You can’t transfer it directly! So you need to have physical contact to purify him somehow…
‘I hate him and I have a fiancé, first of all?! What excuse am I supposed to use to hold his hand?!’
—Uh, if you’re asking me that… (；◔д◔)
‘Is there no other way?!’
—Or, as they say, ‘strike while the iron is hot,’ you could just finish it off intensely and passionately all at once. (ಠ‿↼)
BANG! The sword suddenly rolled on the floor, and Flux was startled. I picked it up and slammed it on the floor a few more times. Vivi tilted her head, watching me stomp on the sword’s tip with my foot.
“Umm, Your Imperial Highness? Is there something wrong with the sword?”
“It got dusty.”
—B-but you asked if there was a way, and I just gave you an answer…! (8ㅅ8)
As I listened to the whimpering voice of the sword, I came up with an idea. The world, after all, is a place where simple is best.
