There was no more time to hesitate. Since things had escalated this much, we had to resolve the issue quickly before it became irreparable. We immediately headed to where the artifact was.
“Hurry and retrieve the relics from the flooded area! You, go and request civilian support. If you explain the severity of the situation, they won’t be able to resist coming voluntarily.”
The loud voice of Pedro, whom we had seen earlier on the screen, echoed. Just like wolves, foxes are part of the canine family, and their sense of smell is incredibly sharp. But now, there was no need to worry.
They were completely uninterested in picking up unfamiliar scents. Moreover, the pervasive smell of water made it difficult for even the sharpest noses to detect distant odors.
“It’s certain. I can’t even catch the scent of that fox, Pedro.”
“At least our wolf noses are better than a fox’s. That much is certain.”
Lady Kisea’s assertion made me a bit uneasy, but the two wolves said this. With my poor sense of smell and the Princess’s, we had no choice but to trust them.
Swoosh!
Since I summoned the water, I could also push it away. Wherever I walked, the water split into two, opening a path for us.
Thanks to that, we could head to where the statue was without getting our feet wet. Not making any splashing sounds was a bonus.
Splash!
“Someone’s coming. Let’s hide for a moment.”
Occasionally, when others approached, stepping on the water naturally made noise. The wolves, with their keen ears, caught the sound, and Lady Kisea, with her thief’s intuition, pointed out the safest hiding spot.
Perhaps it was the fully bloomed thief’s intuition, but hiding in such places, the foxes never noticed us and passed by. Thus, we finally reached a place where only one door stood between us and the hall. Everyone hesitated for a moment, exchanging glances.
“If we open this door… we’ll finally find my parents…!”
Lady Kisea, stepping forward, grabbed the trembling doorknob and opened it. It was locked, but she pulled out a hairpin, inserted it, and twisted it open.
Click!
The door opened, and…
Clang!
What happened next, I didn’t see. A clash of energies collided.
A sudden surge of crimson flames shot up before me. Fortunately, before I could be swept away, the Princess and Roka quickly deployed their energies to protect me. But what about Lady Kisea?
“Ju…!”
I was worried, but thankfully, she was unharmed.
A familiar voice came from beyond the smoke. Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.
“I almost died! What kind of nonsense is this!”
“You’re not on Epirna’s side, are you?”
Beyond the subsiding flames, a red-haired man with a mane like a lion’s stepped forward. He looked at us with a guarded gaze, then suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
“No, no. You’ve changed so much I didn’t recognize you. I last saw you as a newborn baby, Robo’s daughter.”
“Kisea? Is Kisea really here?”
A gruff voice echoed. Lady Kisea’s eyes widened.
The voice trembled.
“Sir Urban.”
Too young to be called an old man, yet too old to be called just an uncle.
A man with a solemn demeanor, boasting a large frame, appeared before us.
“Kisea…! It really is you. You’ve grown so much, but your scent hasn’t changed.”
I couldn’t tell the difference between his yellow ears and Roka’s, but the man also seemed quite surprised.
This must be one of the reasons we came here, the hound Urban.
“My goodness. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Old man Urban. Do you know these people?”
“I don’t know. Who are you? Why have you brought Kisea here?”
“Uncle, more importantly, where are my parents? Are they inside?”
This was the first time I’d seen him so anxious and flustered. Lady Kisea clung to the hound and asked.
When he couldn’t continue and fell silent, my heart sank. Could it be that they weren’t here from the beginning?
“Robo and Blanca are gone. I don’t know. We’ve had no memories since we turned to stone. We don’t even know where this place is, so perhaps they’re somewhere else.”
I had assumed they’d be here, but they weren’t. I wanted to ask for clues, but those who had been turned to stone wouldn’t know.
This meant we’d have to start tracking Lady Kisea’s parents all over again. And there was no guarantee we’d find them. Things had gotten completely tangled.
“My parents are gone?! What do you mean, Uncle? You’re lying, right?”
“Have I ever joked with you about something like this?”
Lady Kisea’s face turned pale. Truly, there was no color left. Watching her, Azahadaka, perhaps out of spite, offered advice.
[If that man Pedro knows the situation, why not just kidnap him? Since we’ve come this far, it’s unlikely things will stay quiet.]
“That’s it. Wait a bit. I’ll be back.”
[Well, since things have come to this, it’s better to make a bigger scene. It’s more fun that way.]
Lady Kisea dashed off without a word. Her figure leaping out through the high window was as nimble as a weasel snatching a chicken.
“If only Robo and Blanca are safe. They probably are. That guy always had good luck.”
Watching her retreating figure, Urban turned to the rest of us and asked.
“By the way, who are you? I’m curious who you are to come to such a dangerous place with Kisea.”
“Well, you might not believe it, but I am Ardein, the Imperial Princess of the Illumina Empire.”
“The Imperial Princess? Really?!”
The hound was greatly surprised. As the Princess nodded, his gaze turned to the Dragon’s Sword.
“That’s definitely a sword made from dragon bone. There are countless swords made from various materials across the continent, but few are made from dragon bone.”
“And this is Kyle, the Saint who serves the Ancient God. He came here to undo the Cockatrice’s petrification.”
The hound flinched and looked at me.
“The Saint of the Ancient God! I see. So, you’re the one who summoned this water.”
“You’re the Saint of the Ancient God?”
The man called Leon looked up with red eyes. He also seemed surprised.
“It’s hard to believe, but I have no choice. Being able to undo petrification… only someone like the Ancient God could do that.”
“The Imperial Princess. And the Saint of the God. And…”
Passing over the Princess and me, the hound looked at Roka and widened his eyes. He blinked, staring at her without speaking.
The annoyed child retorted.
“And what?”
“You… what’s inside you… who left that womb? If only it could be forged, the greatest weapon ever would be born.”
“The greatest weapon?”
“Perhaps a weapon to defeat the King.”
Roka scratched her head.
“Why should I defeat that King?”
“It’s just a saying. You don’t hate Epirna, do you? You’re not from the plains, are you?”
The old man coughed and laughed.
“Living in the plains, you’d want to kill the Queen three times a day. It’s just frustrating not having the ability to do so.”
“Uncle, I have a request. Do you know about the Sunstone and Moonstone?”
“I do.”
His ears perked up.
“Aren’t those the rarest minerals left by the legendary dwarves?”
“I’d like you to make a sword with them.”
“A sword? About the size of the one you’re holding now?”
Roka nodded and pulled out a sword made of dark metal.
I also took out the Moonstone and Sunstone and held them out. The stones, imbued with the power of the moon and sun, emitted a dazzling light.
“So the writings in the ancient texts were true! I’ve only heard of these stones, but let me see them. My, such a radiant light!”
Like playing with pebbles, he held the two stones in his hand and marveled. His eyes sparkled like the two stones.
“If I forge a sword with these two, it could be the masterpiece of my life. It would undoubtedly be a weapon to discuss as the greatest under heaven. But…”
“But what?”
“Inside you, there’s already a stone shining brighter than anything. Forging that first would be the natural order. I don’t know who placed that raw stone in your heart, but it surely wasn’t an ordinary person.”
The child, with a bewildered expression, asked again.
“There’s something that incredible inside me?”
“If we have the time and means to forge it, I can confidently say it would be the greatest weapon ever. But whether we’ll have that much time… I can’t guarantee.”
The hound glanced around and spoke.
“When Kisea returns, let’s immediately lead the people inside and escape. Epirna might personally come here at any moment.”
He looked down at the water flooding the ground.
“No, she’ll definitely come. It’s just a matter of time.”
“First, come inside. I’ll introduce you to the people inside.”
The lion gestured and turned around. We nodded and followed him inside.
