Chapter 288: Unearth (8)

"So the emperor himself will come to pass judgment?"

I nodded. I recalled that the meeting of Rubia's retainers had predicted the marquis would be sent instead. The emperor was a far more difficult opponent because it didn't matter if it was a scarecrow or a double. We knew nothing about him. Only one thing was certain: when he descended, Gith-Za-Rai would attempt to assassinate him.

What if I spread that fact?

The attempt could be thwarted without ever facing her directly, and the emperor might never come to Erast at all. With T&T's reach, scattering rumors would be trivial. That was only a stopgap. In the end, Rubia still had to be acknowledged as lord.

I was still lost in thought when Rubia suddenly asked, "Should we kill him?"

Startled, I took a step back.

Clatter.

Her voice was quiet and steady. "Should we kill Kirk Ray?"

I nearly tripped. "What?"

I had killed Kirk Ray myself countless times, but hearing the suggestion from Rubia's lips in such a calm, matter-of-fact tone was something I had never imagined.

"Is it strange to assassinate a rival? My uncle is brutal and incompetent. If he becomes the lord, the people of this land will only suffer more." Her gaze was level, her eyes cold. "Even if it isn't me, such a man must never take the seat of lord."

"

Hmm...

"

Has she always been this way?

I found it hard to argue against her. If Kirk Ray gained the title, he would enslave the citizens and revel in cruelty. I still remember the atmosphere when I entered the tournament he held after claiming the lordship. I had seen bloodsport as entertainment and misery in the streets.

Rubia was no sadist. To her, the life of a single villain weighed less than the happiness of the many. Perhaps I had only imagined her values differently. Or perhaps those faint dream-memories of mine had changed her, just a little. Either way, there was no reason to hesitate. With T&T's help, or even Isaac's, Kirk Ray's death could be staged, natural, and irrefutable.

I finally answered, "That would buy time."

If he died publicly in the tournament arena where all could see, Rubia's innocence would be undeniable.

"Of course. The ghosts and the Empire will not suddenly trust me. They will watch for a single misstep and perhaps even replace me with a puppet or an insect."

"..."

I felt uncomfortable with the way she spoke, as if she were reliving the events herself. Isaac had only ever heard of the future through my words, but she seemed to

feel

it.

"I don't want to abandon the city I've lived in since childhood. To keep it, I'll have to do as you said. I'll drive out the ghosts and build power." Her voice carried an unshakable resolve. "Erast is..."

Rubia explained the city's worth.

***

Although it seemed insignificant, it was more strategic than it appeared.

"Look here."

Rubia's delicate yet strong hand traced the map. Roads cut between the east, west, south, and north. Erast was a crossroads of the realm.

Rubia continued, "And this is the highest grain yield per acre in the Empire."

More than anywhere else, it was wheat.

"It's small, but the land is rich. My predecessor, the late lord, invested everything into it."

Rubia's smile faltered when she mentioned her father. The ghosts wouldn't watch so closely for something as simple as fertile soil. There had to be another reason.

Still, it didn't matter. A city didn't have to be great to become great. We'd force Rubia's growth with a flood of Lurium. We'd gather the goblins and the oppressed and drive them into the hidden tunnels. Or, we'd open the way for Gith-Za-Rai's skeletal legions.

Our discussion carried on until there was a knock on the door.

Knock, knock.

It was her knight. "Lady Rubia? Are you well?"

We both glanced at the hourglass on the desk. "

Ah...

"

Four hours of sand had run down. Rubia had meant to stay for only one hour.

She gave a rueful smile. "It's... already this late."

Outside the narrow window, the moon was already high.

"My lady?" Christina asked.

Clack.

Christina entered the library.

I turned with my helmet still on. She must have stood guard the entire time. Her bearing was sharper, steadier than when I first met her. She had grown.

Is it because she has something to protect?

Her eyes widened. "You!"

"You remember me?" I replied.

"Of course. You are my savior. I owe you everything."

Christina bowed deeply, but then she looked troubled. "Standing so close to the lady with a blade at your side... that is dangerous."

A short laugh escaped me. Her earnestness wasn't unpleasant.

"You're right."

I stepped aside, letting Christina place herself between us. She felt like a wall of steel, which was oddly reassuring. I had sent her to Rubia for that very reason, and she had grown into the role. If I gave her Lurium, she might protect Rubia even better than I could. The thought was almost absurd.

Flap!

"What's this? Did something good happen? What's with that smug hum? You know I hate this kind of atmosphere."

"..."

Isaac's irritated voice echoed in my skull. A black crow shimmered into view, and Christina stiffened, hand to her sword.

"If you're going to stand guard, do it properly. You slack off and laugh, and he goes soft right alongside you!"

Isaac pecked at my helmet.

Clang! Clang!

At least they couldn't hear him.

"A pet, isn't it?" Rubia asked carefully.

"Something like that."

"Hmph."

Did he already finish his scouting? He came back earlier than expected.

I asked Isaac,

"Any suspicious signs?"

"None, which is the most suspicious thing."

"What do you mean?"

Grumbling, he continued,

"This place is swarming with ghosts, but there isn't a trace of magic anywhere. There's nothing to study or sense. That's what's suspicious."

His tone soured as he added,

"Either there really is nothing... or it's hidden so well in ways I can't yet pierce."

Given everything that had happened in Erast, the latter seemed far more likely.

Isaac scraped at my helmet with his beak.

Creak.

"Don't just stand there slack-jawed. Ask her. See if there's some hidden history tied to this place. You never know what you might dig up."

I followed his lead, but when I asked, Rubia only tilted her head.

"I love this city dearly, of course... but I've never heard of any special history."

"

Hmm...

"

Something about Erast nagged at me. Then I remembered what I'd forgotten.

"Could you show me that book?

The Grand Mage Trapped in the Cracks of Time

..."

I'd been so caught up in conversation that I'd overlooked its presence here.

"

The Grand Mage

? Just a moment."

Rubia seemed to carry the library's layout in her head. Though the shelves were lined with near-identical bindings, she plucked the volume without hesitation.

The Grand Mage Trapped in the Cracks of Time by Kevin Ashton.

The cover was adorned with a red-scaled dragon and a shattered hourglass. This was my second time seeing it, though never here, within these walls.

Flutter...

I brushed my fingers absently across the painted hourglass, then turned to the real one sitting on the desk.

"How long has that been here?"

Is it a coincidence, or something more? It's not broken like the cover illustration, but whole.

The hourglass was nearly thirty centimeters tall, glimmering like a shard of glass in my vision. Both the book and the desk ornament caught my gaze at once.

I touched the desk hourglass.

Thunk.

The resemblance was uncanny. Blue-dyed sand filled it. Rubia had been here more than four hours, yet the upper chamber still had plenty of grains. However, the hourglass on the cover was shattered. Its sand color was lost to time.

"I don't know. One of my ancestors must have loved books... perhaps it was theirs."

"Heh. You're thinking the two hourglasses are the same thing?"

"Maybe... Do you sense anything from this one?"

"Nothing. Smash it, if you're curious. While you're at it, why not resurrect the red dragon on the cover?"

The dragon had red scales. The sight wasn't unfamiliar. I studied the cover a while longer, then opened the book and began to read.

If you climb far enough, you'll break free of the enclosed space, into the Twilight Realm...

The phrasing struck differently now, after hearing Isaac speak of the heavens.

Tap.

I flipped to the last page.

A ridiculous bell rang in my head as a message appeared:

[Wisdom has increased by 5.]

This status window... was the heavens.

[Perk acquired: Insight (D+)]

[— Not especially remarkable; ordinary insight at best. Occasionally brushes near the truth.]

[Assimilation Rate has decreased.]

[66.31% → 66.17%]

Though the drop was small, it was enough to settle it. I would have to begin every visit to Erast with the library.

"Are you... all right?" Rubia asked softly.

"May I see another book?"

Asking was faster than searching. She nodded, as though it were natural. Ashton's books stirred changes unlike any other. Isaac's power could not pierce the secrets lingering here. Erast felt like a forest of hidden truths, so dense that even sunlight could not reveal them. To glimpse even a little of it... I would need to linger here.

***

From the necromancy manuscript Rubia had once carried to my grave, I pulled out the book that had been tucked inside.

On the Hair Color of Sovereigns from Seiron I to the Present Emperor by Isaiah Reigrant.

I'd never seen that name before.

Isaac perched close and remarked,

"Meticulous chronicling of trivialities. This one's new even to me. Hair color, of all things..."

It's not by Ashton, but who can say what secrets a book might hold?

I read carefully, line by line.

"Seiron I. Silver-haired. Seiron II. Silver-haired. Seiron III. Silver-haired. Did they need to repeat the name as well? Even the surname and titles are identical through three generations..."

"Shh! Hold it."

Isaac jabbed my hand as I tried to flip ahead.

"What is it?"

"Go back! To the beginning!"

I obeyed, turning back through the tedious foreword to the first chapter. When I reached the section on Seiron I...

"Here. This is it."