Chapter 3: Live or Die
Shortly before Aishia executed her final shot, in the skies far above the Galarc Castle, Reiss had a hand under his chin in thought as he observed the battle below.
Where did those two disappear to?
His mind was occupied with Celia Claire, the target he wanted eliminated the most, and Ayase Miharu, whom he hadn’t considered a threat until just now.
Miharu had suddenly used the ancient magic of the Wise Gods, halting the golem in its tracks before teleporting everyone from the mansion to safety and then vanishing along with Celia.
That black-haired girl is Ayase Miharu, if I recall correctly. I thought she was summoned here along with the hero, but...
She was a completely unexpected force of nature. Reiss thought of the boy the Proxia Empire had newly welcomed as their hero—Sendo Takahisa.
Once I’ve returned to the Empire, I’ll indirectly ask him who the girl is. But there’s something else I need to take care of first.
The Wise God Lina must have something to do with their disappearance. But why isn’t she showing herself in this situation? That woman should be able to defeat the golem, no matter how difficult...
Yet the Wise God Lina had placed Celia and Miharu in the firing line while withdrawing herself. At least, that’s how things appeared in Reiss’s eyes. What was the reason?
There must be some kind of circumstance preventing her from using her power freely, a reason she can’t move of her own will...
Several possibilities came to mind, and Reiss narrowed his eyes as it felt like he was getting close to understanding the situation.
There isn’t enough information to form a conclusion yet. Moreover, before I worry about where Lina went, I should think about why Ayase Miharu and Celia Claire disappeared.
Reiss couldn’t afford to be distracted by Lina’s absence right now. He sighed and racked his brain for where the two could have vanished to. Did they escape by themselves when they realized they had no chance against the golem? Or did they hide to prepare something to turn the situation around?
Reiss’s gaze fell to the rooftop garden of the Galarc Castle. The residents of the mansion that had been teleported away by Miharu were standing there. From Reiss’s point of view, they seemed to be placed to lure the golem into attacking them, but—
It has to be a trap.
Reiss suspected that Lina had purposefully evacuated them to the conspicuous rooftop garden on purpose. He then frowned, realizing that was exactly what Lina wanted, and what made her so annoying to deal with.
To Lina, her power to see the future wasn’t something to hide from her enemies. If anything, she was first to volunteer that information herself. After all, by informing her enemies that she knew the future, she’d be able to use all kinds of situations to her advantage. The cunning goddess was the only one in this world who had the ability to see into the future.
And so, if Miharu had been moving according to Lina’s wishes, then the evacuation of the mansion residents to the rooftop garden of the castle could be interpreted as both a trap, or as her purposefully moving people she didn’t want attacked somewhere they would be more likely to be attacked.
What a pain...as always.
He was left with no choice but to observe the situation closely. Perhaps even this situation was all part of Lina’s plan to buy time.
Oh well. If it’s a trap, then I’ll just treat it as an opportunity to see what tricks she’s got up her sleeve.
Reiss prepared himself for the worst and held out his right hand.
“Vocare: Lutum Monstrum,” he muttered.
One of the multiple rings on his hand glowed eerily, and a transparent orb several dozen centimeters in diameter appeared. Reiss touched the orb and poured his essence into it, and a moment later, the light of a complex spell formula began to appear around the orb.
It was right at that moment when Aishia’s final attack landed on the golem. Her powerful slash took out a chunk of the golem’s torso, causing it to fade on the spot.
I activated the golem with restrictions, and she put up a good fight. However...
Reiss watched the scene unfolding below with the leisure to widen his eyes in awe. He knew that the golem couldn’t be defeated that easily. Aishia wouldn’t have the strength left to defeat it again once it regenerated. At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before the battle came to an end.
Just for insurance.
Reiss let go of the orb he was pouring his magic essence into. The light of the spell covering the orb disappeared, and an immense amount of essence started flowing out instead. The command input had been completed, and the second golem was activated.
The orb immediately vanished, and a humanoid combat weapon just like the one Aishia and the others had been fighting appeared. The overflowing essence wasn’t something that could be hidden, so those below were quick to notice the second golem. It was just as the first golem regenerated too.
There were certain people whose deaths could mess up his future plans, and others that could become potential annoyances later, but Reiss decided against using any more unnecessary limitations.
Whether it was a hero or royal, kill anyone who gets in the way—that was the order he had given the golem.
“Now, it’s time to get to work. Erase everyone in the rooftop garden.”
As though responding to Reiss’s call, the second golem began its descent towards the Galarc Castle.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, as Reiss was deciding on sending the second golem into the fray, Miharu and Celia were still using the mana crystal to search for Rio’s coordinates while deep beneath the Galarc Castle.
“This is bad. It’s about time the second golem joins the battle,” Miharu muttered, as though she knew what was going on aboveground.
Celia was stunned for a second, then repeated Miharu’s words for confirmation. “Huh? S-Second? There’s a second one?!”
It was doubtful whether they could stop even a single golem, and now there were two.
“Like I said, we have to hurry before it’s too late,” Miharu replied plainly.
“Will it still take time to summon Rio?”
“Yes. We need a little more time.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for one of us to return first, then?” Celia asked hesitantly, but—
“No, because I’m activating another sorcery at the same time. If either one of us leaves, the spell will be ruined.”
Miharu curtly shook her head.
“Huh...?”
There was no physical tremor, but the torrent of magic essence that came pouring down from above was enough to give the illusion of the room shaking. Even without seeing the surface, it was easy to presume the second golem had appeared.
An intense look of impatience crossed Celia’s face. She was worried about those aboveground.
“Just so you know, even if we return to the surface, there’s nothing we can do besides delay the inevitable. It’d be one thing if it were one thousand years ago, but I’m just possessing this body with lowered specs right now, so I can’t defeat any golems.”
Miharu explained the situation to Celia in a nonchalant tone. She was aware that panicking wouldn’t help anything.
“Miharu... You said ‘before it’s too late’ earlier, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What kind of situation would be ‘too late’ in this case?” Celia asked with an air of frustration.
“I can’t answer that. The future I know cannot be shared with others like a fixed answer. I can only give advice without disclosing the exact details, or reveal things with enough room for interpretation...”
The implication in her choice of words suggested there were risks and limitations even in the case of exceptions.
“I see...”
Even so, Celia wanted to know the future; that was what her expression said.
“The future isn’t something for humans to know,” Miharu warned her.
“Why not?”
“The future is a series of possibilities. There are some futures that are close to absolute, but most futures can branch over the slightest thing. What will knowing the future do?”
The sudden question was abstract, but Celia considered her answer carefully. “If I knew every possible future, I’d try and grasp the best one possible,” she said.
“But what’s the best for someone could be the worst for someone else. Knowing the future could cause you to make decisions and change it for the worse. In order to reach the future you desire, you could be required to ignore someone else’s misery. Those who know the future are easily manipulated by it. Then, they manipulate others.”
Celia gulped, sensing an invisible weight to Miharu’s words.
“In the first place, knowing every possible future is the domain of the gods. If a human tried to know every future, the amount of information would burn up their brain in an instant. The most you’d be able to handle is fragments of the most probable future.”
Miharu paused after saying that much, then suddenly hurled a question at Celia. “So hypothetically speaking, if you had the power to see the future, would you use it to see which future you’re most likely to get hitched with Rio in?”
“Huh?!” Celia immediately blushed.
“Hey, don’t lose control of your essence. I’ll go along with your chatter, but stay focused on the task.”
“I-It’s your fault for asking something so weird...”
Miharu laughed teasingly, making Celia turn away with reddened cheeks. “So what’s the answer? Do you want to know which future is the one that you and Rio are most likely to get hitched?”
The color in Celia’s cheeks receded as she paled. Unable to give an immediate answer, she fell silent for a while.
“You’re afraid you won’t be chosen,” Miharu said, seeing through her thoughts.
“Ah...” Celia’s eyes widened as though Miharu had hit the nail on the head.
“This is what you’re thinking: if it isn’t me, then who’s most likely to get together with him? But what will you do once you learn what the most likely future is? Will you try and change the future so you can have him instead?”
Celia fell silent in hesitation.
“Like I said, the future is a series of possibilities. Even the most probable future could be changed over the slightest thing. Would you strive to change the future?” Miharu threw question after question at Celia, as though she was reading her thoughts.
“Maybe I don’t want to know the future...” Celia eventually answered with a frown.
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying the idea of knowing the future and being able to change it was. It almost made her hate herself. It was better to do her best right now, without knowing the future.
“That’s how humans should be. Humans cannot know the future. That is the absolute law of this world, the natural way of things. Breaking it would inflict terrible karma. That’s why it’s better for humans to know nothing of the future.”
Was the dark shadow over Miharu’s expression a figment of her imagination? Either way, it was only there for an instant.
“I knew you’d be there, Eru,” Miharu suddenly muttered out of the blue.
“Huh?” Celia was puzzled.
“It’s nothing. I’ve identified his exact coordinates. Here goes.”
The light flowing out of the mana crystal increased in brightness, and a complex three dimensional spell formula appeared. Celia squeezed her eyes shut on reflex, when a thick pillar of light rose from the mana crystal and up towards the ceiling.
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