Ch#151
Ardiana was flustered.
'Princess?'
She had spent her entire life within the palace.
She had often attended festivals and banquets crowded with nobles, but she had never shown herself before the empire's citizens.
'How could she possibly......'
"Hello, Princess! I'm the Necromancer King!"
Ardiana clenched her fist beneath her cloak.
'Is she seeing through me?'
Before assigning the national request—known as the 'Clock Tower Mission'—to Agavert,
Ardiana had naturally looked into the Necromancer King.
A childlike appearance and behavior.
Immense power hidden within.
The informants who had investigated the Necromancer King all said the same thing.
'His true nature? It's hard to uncover. Dozens of informants couldn't figure it out.'
They said the Necromancer King thoroughly controlled his appearance and behavior.
'Picking up a fallen stone on the street to observe it? Suddenly following a butterfly! It's like he's swallowed a child whole. Of course, he's doing it aware of us watching.'
But Ardiana didn't dislike such a Necromancer King.
Though his actions were bizarre, looking at the path he had walked revealed his character.
'Staying in Pearl City to protect the residents, safely rescuing the factory owner trapped in subspace.'
Even the incident at Kaldbain Ridge.
Adelin, whom she had finally reached after a long time, said,
'It's not because I received help from him— the Necromancer King is truly good and pure, Your Highness.'
'May I ask why?'
'Because he harbors no malice whatsoever. I understand the caution due to all the rumors, but you'll come to know soon enough.'
Thus, Ardiana was able to completely set aside her prejudices about the Necromancer King.
'And as a mercenary, he's someone to be grateful for regardless.'
Unlike the emperor or Pides, she cherished the mercenaries.
Protecting the people was the duty of the nation, yet mercenaries sacrificed themselves to protect the nation in return.
Ardiana wanted to build a friendly relationship with Agavert.
She wanted to bring them into the association and guarantee their profits more systematically.
However.
"Princess, you're super pretty!"
She hadn't expected the Necromancer King to see right through her at this moment.
She had covered everything from head to toe except her eyes.
As she froze, her adjutant—who knew her identity—glanced at the Necromancer King.
It was a look asking what she planned to do.
After hesitating, Ardiana knelt on one knee to the ground.
She raised one hand to keep the other members from approaching and asked, looking into the Necromancer King's eyes.
"How did you see through me?"
The Necromancer King's face turned puzzled.
"Crystal?"
"Does my identity just... show plainly in your eyes?"
The Necromancer King gaped.
"I won't deny it. From now on, you and I will be in a cooperative relationship, and trust will be more important than anything. However, my identity must not be revealed to the world. If it's known that I'm the princess, the association I've worked hard to build will fall apart. Of course, then I couldn't guarantee your profits either."
Silence followed.
Ardiana watched the Necromancer King's face, which seemed to be grappling with anguish, and thought,
'Adelin, I trusted your word. Now, how will this one react?'
Adelin was a wise and capable maid.
So if Adelin said the Necromancer King was 'trustworthy,' Ardiana could trust him too.
Sure enough, after much deliberation, the Necromancer King whispered in a small voice.
"You're really... the princess?"
Then, leaning in close, he whispered into Ardiana's ear.
"And you're the Sori Association president?"
Ardiana, who had furrowed her brow, nodded.
"Yes. I'm hiding my identity publicly due to circumstances."
Tie was swept up in a huge shock.
'The princess and Tie... kindred spirits?'
Leading a group while hiding her identity.
The risk of losing everything if her true identity was exposed.
The princess and Tie had so many similarities.
Tie pressed both hands firmly against her cheeks and muttered.
"I see... so Tie figured out the president's identity......"
The members had said it.
The Sori Association president was a figure hidden behind a veil.
Even on days she appeared, she wrapped herself completely, making it impossible to confirm her identity.
'It was because she's the princess!'
Tie stared mesmerized into the princess's eyes.
She saw sky-blue irises that seemed to hold the heavens.
Every time the princess blinked, the pupils within slowly expanded and contracted.
Tie whispered with an excited face.
"Tie will keep the secret."
Then, looking back at the members standing far away, she added,
"Won't tell anyone! We're the same power purebreds!"
The princess froze for a moment.
But soon replied calmly.
"Thank you."
As the embarrassed Tie giggled shyly, the princess rose from her seat.
She raised one hand toward the Luminen family members who had arrived some distance away, along with the other members.
Once everyone had gathered, the adjutant standing beside the princess stepped forward.
"I am the secretary of the Sori Association."
Unlike Ardiana, she removed her cloak.
"The reason for this temporary assembly today is that the mana stone you'll be sieging in a week has a slightly special form."
Basto furrowed his brow.
"Special form? What do you mean?"
"It means a form we've never seen before. That mana stone is larger than any large type we've encountered so far. Its appearance is also quite different from what we've seen until now."
"Is that true?"
Edmund, standing beside Agavert, approached.
He gave Tie a light nod of greeting before asking.
"That's not information that came through strategy headquarters."
"The association only learned of it recently."
The secretary continued calmly.
"Everyone should be well aware of the Old Palace ruins to the north."
Old Palace ruins.
The site where the imperial palace had stood before monsters appeared in the world.
The Old Palace built there had long been in ruins.
It was only natural, as no one passed through anymore and mana stones had spawned nearby.
But for that neglected Old Palace to be the location of this mission.
"The problem is that the mana stone has engulfed the Old Palace. Our investigation revealed that the mana stone's origin is the Clock Tower in the Old Palace grounds."
She raised one hand and pointed to the towering Clock Tower behind them.
"The shape is identical to this one. However, the Clock Tower in the Old Palace grounds will be entwined with black vines. Your mission is to remove it."
Silence fell among the members.
The Luminen family members were equally speechless.
Until now, mana stones had only existed in the form of buildings.
But according to the secretary, this mana stone seemed almost like...
"You mean the vines are the mana stone?"
"That's what our investigation shows."
Edmund narrowed his brow.
The secretary continued.
"Since there's no precedent, we needed those whose skills are proven. That's why we granted the initiative to Agavert, who we deem at the peak of skill today, and the Luminen family goes without saying."
Instead of replying, Valentis looked at Astie.
'Sounds pretty dangerous.'
If he hadn't known Tie's identity, it might have been different.
But now that he knew, he didn't like involving the child in something like this.
Of course, Tie was nothing but bright and cheerful.
"Yes! So when do we go? In a week? How do we get there?"
The secretary hesitated at the sight of Tie excitedly tapping her feet, then parted her lips.
"In a week. You'll be dispatched with the Holy Knights unit. The association will provide the teleportation circle."
Tie turned around with a pounding heart.
Then, about to say something to Basto, she froze in place.
Across the square.
Along the straight avenue, a small dot was approaching.
Tie widened her eyes, then rubbed them with one hand.
The dot grew a little larger.
More precisely, it elongated vertically.
They were people.
"Huh?"
"Tie. I was going to tell you this morning......"
Lucarion approached and whispered, but it didn't reach Tie's ears.
The child couldn't tear her gaze from the figure at the front of the now-clearly defined group.
"Is this the extent of the association's capabilities?"
The man who approached and stopped flashed a cold gaze.
"I thought after using us like dogs for years, they'd finally toss us something."
Tese tan sneered.
"Only to snatch back the bowl they gave?"
Tie stared at him, forgetting even to blink.
