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Chapter 121
“What do you want?”
If it had been immediately after she possessed this body, she would have probably just asked for money, or written “don’t look for me” and run away, taking up mercenary work while figuring out how to return home. But the amount the emperor could give her would be far too little to get back to Earth. So naturally, she wasn’t foolish enough to simply ask for money here.
Yet, saying something else recklessly wasn’t an option either.
…Her list of wants had grown far too long.
She wanted to find the person who had attempted to poison her, to uncover the secrets of the sacred relics, to learn about Elegia’s past…
…and above all, she worried about the people left behind here.
Would Finn be okay now that his identity had been revealed?
If monsters continued to appear in this world, and it truly was racing toward destruction, would many people get swept away?
“…Sigh, it’s complicated.”
If she had thought everyone was just NPCs as before, she might not have cared. But the more she learned, the less this seemed like a game, and the more cautious she became.
Elegia lifted her head. The emperor was still watching her. Without hesitation, she finally spoke.
“I want to examine the relics kept by the royal family.”
“…!”
She had already checked the relics stored in the Mage Tower. She had even destroyed those kept in the temple herself.
‘But I haven’t seen the ones in the royal family yet.’
Each had unexpected powers and connections to dimensional travel. So it was necessary to examine the royal relics as well.
“Hmm…”
The emperor fell silent briefly, as if surprised by her words.
‘Is he not going to allow it?’
As Elegia tensed, the emperor slowly smiled.
“…Very well.”
“Some procedures are required, so wait a little. You may look forward to it.”
‘Look forward to it?’
She was only checking the relics—what was there to expect? Was there some information she didn’t know?
Despite her curiosity, Elegia quickly composed herself and expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Having safely finished the conversation, Elegia quickly glanced around. Thankfully, her swift intervention had kept casualties surprisingly low. The emperor and the ministers were unharmed, and the duke had only minor scrapes. Even those were immediately healed by the priests’ divine power.
However, there was a problem.
‘His expression’s been dark since earlier.’
Throughout the conversation between the emperor and Elegia, the duke’s tension was clearly visible. He kept glancing back and forth between the emperor and Finn, his face taut with vigilance.
‘…Could it be that the duke always knew Finn’s identity?’
When Finn revealed himself, the duke had seemed strangely calm, as if he already knew.
Now that she thought about it, he had warned Elegia before—when Finn had given her a dress, perhaps.
Even afterward, he had said a few times that “Finn is hiding something.”
‘You knew the Mage Tower Master’s identity all along, Father?!’
So that was why he had been so wary.
The Mage Tower Master—the highest authority of the tower, checked by both the royal family and the temple, in the center of dangerous missions, and a mysterious figure with little known information.
“…Miss Semperion,”
Finn spoke beside her. Startled, Elegia instinctively stepped back.
“W-what is it?”
“Well, um…”
Finn removed the trace of amusement from his face and spoke seriously.
“I apologize for not being able to tell you sooner.”
“…Ah, it’s okay.”
Judging by the situation, even the ministers seemed unaware. It would have been unreasonable to be upset just because he hadn’t told the duke’s daughter the secret that he had shared only with the emperor.
Elegia cleared her throat. She had lightly tapped her shoulder out of mild betrayal, but it wasn’t serious.
‘No, somehow… now that I think about it, the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.’
The powerful magic, the carriage and dress, the fact that Finn had been acting in Jerome’s place…
‘It means that instead of the deputy tower master, the Mage Tower Master himself had been acting directly.’
So even when Finn appeared instead of Jerome, the emperor had allowed it.
“…So that’s why he could come and go in the Mage Tower Master’s office!”
All the talk about authority had just been him giving himself permission!
“Oh, yes. It was actually my office.”
“….”
Elegia gave Finn a look of disbelief at his shameless answer. Finn smiled awkwardly and added:
“I won’t quit right away, so you can continue to visit the library. But from now on, if you say you have an appointment with the Mage Tower Master, you’ll be guided directly.”
“….”
“…Don’t you like that?”
Elegia lowered her gaze without answering. The confident air she had shown in front of the emperor was replaced with slight unease. Finn tilted his head, observing her expression. In that careful approach, he drew dangerously close, their eyes meeting.
“…!”
Instinctively, Elegia turned her head away, feeling her cheeks flush. She quickly covered her face with her hands and muttered a reply.
“I’ll, uh, think about it. I don’t really have a reason to go right now.”
“Huh?”
Taken aback, Finn stepped closer, but Elegia dashed in the opposite direction.
“I’ll ask later, so just wait!”
“…!”
She fled, hiding her face.
‘Should I stop here?’
After running a bit, she calmed down. She leaned against the palace wall, catching her breath.
“Elly!”
Two figures approached urgently from afar.
“Miss Semperion! Are you okay?”
It was Howell and Prillien. Their clothes were torn, and they bore some blood from monsters. Still, they had no injuries—Prillien must have patched them up along the way.
Prillien, seeing Elegia, called out with a relieved expression.
“Are you hurt? I’ll treat you right away!”
Immediately casting a treatment skill, causing the priests nearby to be flustered. One whispered:
“Miss Saint! You should treat His Majesty and the ministers first…”
The saint had been brought to assist the emperor and ministers, yet she immediately treated the duke’s daughter—her disregard for protocol was apparent. Elegia stopped her gently.
“I’m fine, Saint. Please attend to the others first.”
“Oh, yes…!”
Prillien acknowledged and followed the priests to the emperor’s side.
“You’re really okay, right? And Father? Is he safe?”
Howell’s voice trembled as he approached. Elegia nodded.
“He’s fine. Completely unharmed.”
She checked the area above Howell’s head.
Vigilance: 260%
‘This one has dropped a lot.’
He seemed more relieved than before.
As Elegia turned her head, she noticed someone else.
“…There you are.”
“Father! Are you alright?”
The duke had caught up to them. Howell immediately ran to him. Elegia looked at the duke, noticing the indicator above his head:
Disappointment: 478%
“…What?!”
She exclaimed, shocked. The duke looked at her as she frowned.
‘I really can’t understand. Why is it so high?!’
The incident was over. They were supposed to be rewarded by the emperor. Everyone was safe.
How long was this going to continue?
She couldn’t hold back.
“…Why are you so disappointed, Father?”
“…?”
A silence fell. The duke frowned slightly as he interpreted her words, then slowly spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you disappointed in me?”
Elegia pressed on boldly.
“Weren’t you going to ask why I acted without telling you, about the sword energy, and so on?”
“….”
Struck to the heart, the duke didn’t reply immediately. Finally, after a pause:
“…I’m not disappointed in you.”
‘Then what’s that indicator?’
She didn’t ask, staying silent. The duke sighed.
“Well done. Because of the monsters… it must have been very scary and shocking.”
“….”
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
Unexpected words. Elegia couldn’t think of a response. She stayed silent. Howell interjected.
“Do you know how scared the saint and I were? You ran out suddenly—it made our hearts stop!”
“….”
She realized she had worried everyone. After pondering what to say, she finally spoke.
“…Let’s go home.”
“What?”
Howell looked surprised. Elegia smiled faintly.
“Let’s go home. I want to rest.”
“….”
“Yes. Howell, you go home first. I’ll handle the rest.”
The duke added calmly, reassuring them. Elegia nodded.
Staying longer would mean more questions from the ministers or the emperor about the relics or the sword energy. Even other knights seemed eager to ask her things.
‘I need to leave as soon as possible.’
More than that, she had a reason to go home, not to the Mage Tower. Elegia fell silent, lost in thought.
“Miss!”
“Miss, you’re here?!”
“Miss! Have you eaten?”
She hadn’t expected such a warm welcome from the servants at the duke’s residence. They seemed full of curiosity: were the meals okay at the Mage Tower? How was the cake she had prepared? They didn’t want to disturb her rest, and so on.
Elegia enjoyed a long-awaited meal at the duke’s house. There were no warnings of poison, suggesting the attempted poisoner was still hiding carefully, which was reassuring.
“Miss, rest well and sleep peacefully.”
As time passed, the maids who had arranged her bedding were leaving. Elegia called out to one.
“…Dora, wait a moment.”
“Yes, Miss?”
All the other maids left, leaving only Dora. Elegia studied her expression. Dora had helped her escape before—a loyal maid.
‘How much can I trust her?’
This seemed a safe question. Elegia spoke after deciding.
“…I want to ask you about Mother. Can you answer me?”
