Chapter 72
A brown box the size of his palm.
The mont he opened it… he saw another box.
…What?
With an incredulous expression, Aquila pulled out a black box from within.
He turned it over in his hand, wondering if there was sothing special about it, but it was nothing more than an ordinary box.
Frowning, Aquila opened it again.
“Hah.”
Another box.
This ti, he removed a red box from inside.
A matryoshka? So it is another pointless prank.
In hindsight, Ark had occasionally enjoyed teasing people in the most unexpected ways.
With a scoff at the all-too-familiar mischief, Aquila opened the red box at once.
Contrary to his expectation of yet another trick, this ti it contained a proper item.
“This is….”
However, the mont he saw what lay inside, Aquila’s expression stiffened.
He carefully drew out the object secured within.
A transparent, silvery gleam.
Sharply carved to such a fine edge that it seed it might cut at the slightest touch—
It was an arrowhead.
Mithril.
When Aquila lightly brushed a finger across the tip under the light, the joint of his finger was instantly sliced, and blood began to flow.
Gazing at the vivid red line drawn across his skin, he furrowed his brow.
Mithril was originally a difficult material to handle.
Yet the surface of this arrowhead was so smooth and refined that even soone ignorant of craftsmanship could tell it was no ordinary work.
When he brought it closer and examined it carefully, he indeed saw a magnificently engraved mark.
It was a signature all too familiar to him.
Kanherz. The work of that dwarven master. When it cos to weapons, none can rival him… but at this ti, he should still be in seclusion….
There were two arrowheads in the box.
After staring at them for a mont, he placed the one in his hand back inside and slowly ran a hand over his face.
The purpose of the arrowheads was obvious.
The Demon Dragon.
They were necessary to kill that mad dragon.
Only mithril could withstand that level of poison and pierce through the Demon Dragon’s hardened scales.
Aquila glared at the arrowheads as though they were Ark himself.
The items he had purchased two days ago from Bejiana’s stall—
The Severed Salamander Tail, the Huntwal Cocoon, the Basilisk’s Tears….
There were, of course, additional components required, but when all the materials were combined, they would produce a poison capable of killing the Demon Dragon.
Once applied to these arrowheads and fired into the Demon Dragon, it would be over.
Mithril was the strongest tal in the world.
No matter that the Demon Dragon’s hardened scales could easily snap iron in two, a wound inflicted by mithril was another matter entirely.
…Does he know that I purchased the herbs as well? Did he assu I was heading east and leave this for because of that?
He could not make sense of the situation.
Ark Batchel was supposed to depart on his journey two years from now.
So how was he already here in Portplum, and how did he know the na Aquila had used in the twenty-ninth regression?
For what purpose did he take the Eye That Sees the Hidden in exchange for these arrowheads?
No, that was not it.
Those questions were riddles that needed solving, but more than that—
Why did he attack ?
Aquila drew in a deep breath.
Releasing the tension in the hand covering his face, he gently touched the back of his head.
The wound, now cleanly healed under Divine Power, showed no trace of blood, nor even a scar.
But he rembered it.
The violent agony that had been strong enough to knock him to the ground.
It was not rely because he had trusted that Ark Batchel would never attack him.
The “Fanatic Warning” ssage did not appear. That ans he was in his right mind.
Thanks to his upgraded passive ability, Aquila could now sense the presence of a fanatic nearby.
But when he encountered Ark earlier, no such window had appeared.
And yet, in the previous regression, when Ark had pierced Claude’s chest, the “Fanatic Warning” had clearly surfaced.
Or does this passive also have activation conditions? Perhaps I must see his eyes….
Frowning, Aquila brushed his hair back.
No matter how much he thought about it, the questions only piled up.
There was no thread to unravel the mystery, and no one to provide answers.
It reminded him of long ago, when he first learned that this world was a ga and that it would only end upon clearing the main scenario.
He recalled the suffocating sense of helplessness he had believed he would never feel again.
…I have no choice but to settle matters quickly and head east. There must be more clues there.
The appearance of a new nad monster in the dungeon, the items purchased from Bejiana’s stall, even Ark leaving the mithril arrowheads behind—
Everything pointed toward the east.
If he could go there and et Kanherz, he might hear more about Ark.
Of course, the real problem was what excuse he would use to go that far.
If nothing else, I may have to run away from ho.
After staring at the box on the bed for a long mont, Aquila hid the red box back inside the inner pocket of his coat and put the rest away.
Then he lay back down.
His mind churned busily with plans for what lay ahead.
***
As expected, no suspicious individual was apprehended in the vicinity.
Ark had likely already left Portplum or was avoiding the search.
In the first place, many were still enjoying the final day of the Founding Festival, making it impossible to search beyond a certain range.
With a vexed expression, rien added additional guards around Aquila’s lodging and declared that surveillance would be strengthened.
At the murmurs suggesting it might have been the work of the Guild of Darkness, Aquila nearly stated firmly that it was not—but stopped himself.
If he did, it would imply that another force beyond the Guild of Darkness was targeting him, and the situation would only grow more complicated.
He felt no guilt about casting suspicion toward the Guild of Darkness.
If he has a complaint, he can show himself.
That was Aquila’s honest thought.
In any case, after Cahena retrieved the shattered Black Crystal from beneath the well, efforts began to resolve the incident known as the “Mysterious Black Tragedy in Portplum.”
Even if they attempted to conceal the discovery of the corpses, it could not be completely hidden.
There had been shouting, and there had been witnesses.
Four corpses had appeared, after all.
Fortunately, only those involved had seen the black, vine-like veins spreading across the faces, preventing imdiate widespread panic, but rumors could not be stopped.
The Old Items Auction was halted for these reasons.
With wealthy rchants and nobles present, it could not continue in a place where corpses had been found.
However, they did not conceal the fact that the Guild of Darkness was involved.
Their danger—
Even if it remained unclear exactly what they had intended, the re fact that they had attempted to use a Black Magic circle within Portplum was enough to firmly impress the threat of that organization upon people’s minds.
Of course, that did not absolve the Raiesel family from responsibility for allowing such an intrusion and for the event’s suspension.
Once rumors spread, their honor would suffer.
The Grand Temple of Portplum attempted to ease Raiesel’s burden by stating that the Guild of Darkness, feeling threatened by their recent achievents, had orchestrated the incident.
In any case, the aftermath continued to be handled in this manner.
The tempest that had once swept across the Delvion continent had now begun anew in Portplum.
For better or worse, it was only natural that all eyes would turn toward the city.
***
The morning after the Founding Festival ended.
Bejiana and Ridim ca to the lodging.
They had originally planned to wrap up their stall as intended and visit Aquila the previous night, but the area around the lodging had been too chaotic.
People had been deployed everywhere in search of a suspicious individual and for reconnaissance.
Fortunately, they had managed to deliver a note, which allowed them to visit the following day.
“Good heavens….”
When Bejiana and Ridim finally stepped into the lodging, they seed more than a little shocked to learn that the one who had purchased goods from their stall was Aquila Reschenhardt.
After all, the young man they had t at the stall had black hair.
Seeing Aquila’s hair now, they stood agape in astonishnt.
They wondered if he was soone else, but even from that brief encounter, his face, his distinctive expression, and his voice were exactly the sa as that young man.
Bejiana confird it once more, and Aquila nodded in affirmation.
Ridim nearly dropped the items he was carrying but barely managed to steady them.
“I will be the only rchant who can say that House Reschenhardt caught a thief for her. Is that correct? No, perhaps I should say every ti I sell sothing that I gave House Reschenhardt a twenty percent discount….”
Bejiana muttered to herself.
Ridim jabbed her side with his elbow, wearing an exasperated expression.
“Cough, ahem! A-Anyway, the goods are here!”
Setting the box down on the table, Ridim continued in a trembling voice.
They had already received paynt, so once they left, their business would be concluded.
Having only recently risen, his face still languid, Aquila looked at the large box occupying the table.
“Do you have any black tal in your possession?”
“B-Black tal?”
To their bewildernt, Aquila explained that the eastern dungeon had been temporarily closed, causing black tal to be sold at high prices.
He had previously said he would inform them when they ca to deliver the goods.
Listening to the explanation, Bejiana blinked.
“No. Soone purchased it, so I sold it. Since a thief had stolen it, I thought it might fetch a higher price and raised it, but they were pleased to buy it anyway. I had no idea there was such a reason.”
“I thought I had completely overcharged them….”
Bejiana shrugged nonchalantly.
Though she claid ignorance of the circumstances, she spoke quite freely of swindling.
Realizing this, Ridim’s complexion changed again, and he cleared his throat once more.
Aquila paid it no mind.
Instead, his attention shifted to their belongings.
Bejiana and Ridim were dressed like people preparing to depart.
“Are you returning east?”
“You may speak more casually….”
“We had not intended to return, but after hearing that a new monster has appeared, I think we should head back east.”
Unlike Ridim’s flustered manner, Bejiana answered briskly.
“You said we were going south. Have you changed your mind again?”
“They said the dungeon has changed. When such an exciting event occurs, how could we ignore it and go elsewhere? Ridim, you are coming with , right?”
“Ah, how could I ever win against you….”
“You have never won! Anyway, why do you ask about the east?”
“I have a favor to request.”
Listening to their familiar and well-practiced exchange, Aquila nodded.
If they returned east, he asked whether they could inform him of any changes in the Egoril Mountain Range.
According to the original scenario, the Demon Dragon should not yet have left its nest, but one could never be certain.
He added that a letter would suffice, even if it took ti.
“The Egoril Mountain Range? It is such rugged terrain that hardly anyone travels there… but very well!”
Bejiana nodded without further inquiry.
When he said to send it to Igrail, her eyes glead briefly, remarking that she had always wanted to visit there at least once.
Having concluded all their business, they left with farewells much like before.
Perhaps they would et again.
Next ti, not here, but in the east.
Watching them leave with light steps, Aquila turned his gaze to the box of materials.
“Shen.”
“Yes, young master.”
“I need to go out for a while. Would you prepare things for ?”
Despite the concern in Shen’s voice as he asked whether it was truly all right, Aquila nodded.
With an untroubled expression, he rose from his seat.
Now that all the materials he had purchased had arrived, it was ti to find a person.
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