Side Story Episode 4

[First, I should look for a few more possible escape routes…]

Minte, who had been speaking as if to soothe the sullen Bark, paused abruptly.

It was because she sensed a presence outside the tower. A presence?

According to her observations over the past few days, there were absolutely no humans approaching this tower. Not only did they not approach, they didn't even try to look at it, finding it ominous.

Bark, too, seemed to sense the presence like Minte, glaring at the closed door with wary eyes.

The two beasts held their breath. It was the moment Minte lowered her body, ready to deal with the unidentified intruder if necessary.

With a sudden creak, blinding sunlight poured through the opened door. And a person standing with their back to that light.

The shadow of a very familiar person appeared before the two beasts.

[Minte! Bark!]

The owner of the voice, filled with delight, was a black sparrow. A light returned to Minte's eyes, which had been full of wariness.

"You must have known I was coming."

Towards the white hand extended towards her, Minte moved as if entranced.

The face, which had appeared only as a dark silhouette against the light, revealed a clear outline as she drew closer.

The person smiling gently at her was their Captain. Ah, the Captain had come to find them.

[Captain.]

It was the moment Minte was about to speak with a bright smile.

[Captain! Zigore!]

*Thud!*

Due to Bark, who rose up in joyous excitement, a part of the low, flimsy ceiling was finally punched through. And the tower shook from the impact.

Minte, covered in a cloud of stone dust, spoke in a voice suppressing anger about the most urgent matter.

[Let's escape first.]

* * *

"Well, it was a tower I intended to demolish anyway…"

Heinri's expression as he stared at the pile of rubble was quite complex. I glanced at him, then quietly cleared my throat and averted my gaze.

Heinri may have intended to demolish the Black Tower, but he probably wouldn't have just torn it down.

Since it was an ominous tower from which Monsters emerged, he likely planned to call priests, perform a purification ritual, and dismantle it with due reverence. At the very least, he probably didn't plan to reduce it to powder like this.

"……Ahem."

Seeing his current state, that procedure was so obvious it was unintentionally embarrassing.

If only Bark hadn't burst through the wall when evacuating outside the tower, it wouldn't have collapsed so completely like that.

In that urgent situation where the first-floor ceiling was about to collapse, one couldn't expect the presence of mind to open the door and exit, but still, who would have thought he'd be the first to smash through the wall and charge out?

Moreover, after making a hole in the wall, he proudly told me he had created an escape route.

……I hadn't even properly set foot inside the tower in the first place.

"Anyway, it saved some trouble."

Was it an illusion that Heinri's hair seemed to have turned a bit gray?

Heinri, who had been laughing hollowly with a face that seemed resigned beyond benevolence, spoke in a calm voice.

"Still, please preserve the imperial underground tomb. It would be troublesome if it were destroyed."

"Of course."

"So, aren't you going to show me the culprit behind this mess?"

Bark, who had tried to jump into my arms but ended up destroying the tower's ceiling and walls, was now hiding inside the pocket dimension magical artifact I had brought.

If a large black bear suddenly appeared in the imperial palace, it would cause unavoidable chaos, so it was a natural choice for me.

However, Bark seemed to have fled out of fear of being scolded for the accident he caused. As evidence, Minte was glaring fiercely at the pocket dimension artifact.

It was fortunate Minte was with Bark. If I had released Bark alone, there would have been an uproar long ago, whether it was a Monster or a beast appearing in the imperial palace.

"Is there a need to see the culprit and get angry?"

"……Well, I suppose."

Heinri seemed suspicious that perhaps a Dullahan had appeared. His suspicion was correct, but since I couldn't tell him that outright, I had no choice but to feign ignorance.

When I kept my mouth shut, he didn't try to force it out of me either. He just turned his body with a weary face.

"I've already sent word to the imperial underground tomb, so you can visit whenever it's convenient."

"Yes."

"And, it's not that I don't trust you, but……"

"I won't destroy it."

When I answered firmly, Heinri finally showed a relieved expression. Xenon, who had been staring intently at Heinri's retreating back as he turned completely away, clicked his tongue sympathetically.

"That's a job even the Crown Prince can't handle."

"……It's the sin of making the wrong acquaintance."

"Are you admitting that you yourself are a difficult acquaintance?"

"You and I both."

Since I destroyed the tower, I suppose I should participate sincerely in the coronation ceremony. It's been a while; I should also spout some nonsense invoking the goddess that might help imperial authority.

Thinking of some suitable repayment I could give him, I also turned. I intended to visit the imperial underground tomb directly, without wasting time.

Having been there once before, finding the way wasn't difficult. And this time too, Xenon walked clinging tightly to me, his face pale and frightened.

"If you're this timid, how on earth did you manage Veladia Castle?"

"That place isn't a tomb, is it?"

No, considering how much of a ruin the abandoned Veladia Castle was, it must have been no less than this place. Moreover, that place wasn't just an empty ruin either.

"In Veladia, Skeletons migrated in hordes, didn't they?"

"……Adapting to them was the hardest part, to be honest. Honestly, I still haven't fully adapted."

Xenon, who had complained that he ran all over Veladia Castle because they kept chasing him, rattling their bones without any communication, trembled. He seemed to be recalling the scene from that time.

Thanks to all that running around, they seem to get along so well now. I guess physical interaction is the best way to become close, after all.

It was the moment I thought I should make the Monsters migrating to Veladia Castle run around with each other.

Someone suddenly popped out and blocked our path.

"You have come…… Resurrected One……"

"Eek!"

The startled Xenon clung to my arm.

Somehow, this feels like a familiar situation.

"Greetings…… I am Remia, the caretaker of this place……"

"Yes, I remember. You are very much…… the same."

Was it really necessary for even the greeting to be identical?

Remia, still with deep dark circles and ashen skin, greeted us with a languid voice. Only then did Xenon recognize her and quietly let go of my arm.

Even so, he remained pressed close to my side. Glancing at Remia while ready to cling to me again at any moment, Xenon spoke.

"I'd rather have the Skeletons. At least you can fight Monsters."

"I can hear you……"

"It was a joke."

Xenon, who had explained with a serious face, put about a step's distance between himself and Remia.

He acted so nonchalantly in front of Heinri, but seeing him so utterly weak against the tomb caretaker was both amusing and cute.

Anyway, with him around, it's never boring.

"Now, if you go this way…… Huh, Mee-mee……?"

Remia, who had guided me to the entrance, was about to step back but paused, her eyes gleaming. Her gaze was directed precisely at my feet.

Minte, who had been following behind with minimal presence, bristled in alarm. As if not seeing Minte's sharp reaction, Remia stretched the corners of her mouth into a wide smile.

"As I thought…… You haven't forgotten the mouse meat I used to give you……?"

[Kyaak!]

Minte, who had been hissing, leaped in a single bound into my arms. Catching Minte reflexively, I looked up sharply and met Remia's gloomy gaze head-on.

"……Well, thank you for guiding us. I'll be going now."

As I quickly passed Remia, I felt a gaze piercing my back.

I must have undoubtedly earned Remia's resentment. I hope my dreams don't become troubled.

* * *

"But why did you come here?"

Xenon, having regained his energy after escaping Remia, looked around.

"There's something I want to check."

"Check?"

Leaving the tilting-headed Xenon behind, I strode forward. With a goal in mind, there was no reason to delay.

"That sarcophagus is……"

Xenon, who had been watching me from behind, trailed off as if he had realized something. He seemed to have recognized at a glance what the sarcophagus placed before where I had stopped was.

I had stopped before the sarcophagus of the empire's first emperor. That is, Deiris's coffin.

[Deiris.]

Minte, who had already been here with me before, muttered in a sighing voice and stared at the sarcophagus.

"Should I open the lid again for you?"

"No, that's not it."

After all, the flesh inside has long since turned to dust.

Unlike the day I first faced this coffin, now no light seeped out. I felt no particular aura.

Of course, I no longer have any power left either…… But just by looking, I could tell. That not a single trace of Deiris remained in this sarcophagus.

I carefully brushed the edge of the coffin with my fingertips. White dust clung to my fingers.

"Deiris……"

Unlike the other knights, he could not make any choice, yet until the very end, he left his trace for the Captain—the loyal second knight.

He, who couldn't even formally greet me and scattered into dust, had been weighing on my mind, so I had resolved to visit this place again while at the imperial palace.

Since the final power had been realized, I wondered if his soul, which had vanished, might have been saved.

I thought I might find some trace here if I came, but it seems that was too much to hope for.

[Deiris would not have regretted it, Captain.]

Minte, who had hopped onto the sarcophagus, faced me.

[He chose to guard the key, and he fulfilled that duty. Because of that, your final power was also realized.]

As if understanding my complicated feelings, Minte spoke in a quiet tone.

[We have all met the end we desired.]

The yellow pupils of the cat looking clearly at me were as cold and calm as when we first met.

I gazed at Minte for a moment, then quietly extended my hand. Minte readily leaped into my arms.

"Let's go back."

Since only dust remains here, all I can do is remember Deiris in the time granted to me.