She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

TYRIEL SLUMPED OVER sadly, still stricken by the revelation that demons had fallen to evil.

Kagura patted the angel on the back to try to cheer her up as she summarized the information they had so far. “So whoever it was couldn’t have stolen or willingly received the power, but without it, the coffins can’t be opened. But they were. So the power to do it was out there somewhere. Where, though…?”

Mira murmured, “A god’s power, hm…? Holy Sword Sanctia is the Spirit King’s daughter… Could she have the power necessary to break the seal?”

Holy Sword Sanctia, made from the Spirit King’s pinky, had so much of her father’s power that she rivaled gods. And Mira had first seen her in the hands of someone with the oni curse. This was beginning to look like a plausible theory.

However, the Spirit King struck that theory down at once. Sanctia might be able to break the seal, but if she were used, there would be traces of her power. The Spirit King governed all of nature; if anyone would know, it was him. Was there any other way, then?

“Then what about this?” asked Mira. “Rather than breaking the seal, perhaps they simply bent it? As far as I can tell, there is no way for a demon to properly undo it. We should consider whether they poked a hole in it or something. Even if they still need a god’s power to completely undo it, that would at least give them some access.”

They had only considered ways of properly opening the catacombs so far. But looking back, the War-Torn Burial Ground had seemed almost as if someone had broken into it. Mira had noticed the difference.

“Poking a hole rather than releasing the seal, hm? I see. Perhaps that is possible,” the Spirit King replied, impressed. In order to open the catacombs, one would have to neutralize the barrier that obscured its connection to the world and convert the special substance that surrounded it—the divine mineral—into mana.

That kind of power to neutralize and transform belonged to the gods. It was necessary to open the catacombs the intended way. But if one could tear through the barrier and gouge out a little of the divine mineral within, then it was indeed possible to gain access.

“Either way, it requires power rivaling a god. Without that, one wouldn’t be able to interfere with the barrier at all. Such power isn’t easy to come by, but it is true that it does open up the range of possibilities.”

“Hrmm… So the minimum condition is to have power akin to that of a god. And destructive power, at that.” Mira racked her brain. Before long, she arrived at a conclusion: if one couldn’t receive a god’s power, then what if they obtained an item that already had the god’s power? “How about artifacts, then? As I recall, those are items given to man by gods.”

“Ooh, something crazy like Iris’s Holy Lance? Artifacts might work!” Kagura agreed. At least this line of inquiry stopped them from running in circles trying to identify a being with the power to open the tombs.

“Artifacts” were the common name for relics believed to be gifted by gods in ancient times. Each was unique and extraordinarily powerful.

The Spirit King’s response was unexpected. “Artifacts… Ah, the Heroic Weapons. Indeed, they were given to humanity by the gods, but they do not bear the power of gods. Rather, they bear the power of miracles. They resonate with the hearts of man and bring their dreams into reality. Their power is attuned to humanity; they cannot interfere with the seals.”

“Goodness… I had no idea artifacts worked that way.”

“It’s a shame that wasn’t the answer to this riddle, but, wow, what a thing to learn.”

Mira and Kagura had always simply thought of them as powerful items. The truth as revealed by the Spirit King left them astounded and moved. This might be a historical discovery.

“But you may be on the right path,” he noted. “There do exist divine items that truly have the power of gods within them; the three major nations in your world own several,” the Spirit King said. That meant that Grimdart, Alisfarius, and Ozstein all might have the means to open the tombs.

“Ooooh! Wow. Okay, so that’s it!” Kagura piped up abruptly. She ignored Mira’s surprise and said, “Wait just a sec,” before running out of the room.

“What’s with her…?” Mira muttered, gazing at the open door.

“It seems she’s hit upon an idea,” the Spirit King chuckled. He seemed to be in a chatty mood. This was the first time in many years that he’d had such an extended conversation with people. No one would have known, but the Spirit King felt warm in a way he hadn’t in a long time.

Mira was still holding the angel’s hand. The angel continued to look down, never pulling away.

Mira watched over Tyriel until Kagura returned. “Phew!” she shouted as she burst back in. “Found it. Take a look at this!” She confidently spread out a bundle of papers atop the table.

“Hrmm, what’s this? Where am I meant to be looking?” Mira demanded.

“Here! Right here! Look!” Kagura took Mira’s hand again and pointed at one of the papers. They all just seemed to be…documents.

“Hrmm, o-kay,” Mira muttered as she gazed at it without understanding. Then she saw the sentence Kagura was pointing at. She gasped in amazement, “Goodness!”

Impressed, the Spirit King murmured, “Well. This is intriguing…”

The words were written there plain as day: The divine item has yet to be found.

“What is this about, exactly?” Mira asked.

“Heh heh. Weeell…” Kagura chuckled smugly as she explained that this was a report on an investigation of the Archeological Research Group.

When Mira had first contacted the Isuzu Alliance’s Sentopoli branch office about the catacombs, Kagura had given the order to collect all documents related to the ARG’s activities. This was one of the latest reports on the investigation.

During Mira and Kagura’s interrogation a week prior, Gregorius had claimed that the bodies of the research team were offered up on an altar beyond a hidden door. Armed with this information, Isuzu embarked on a more in-depth exploration of the War-Torn Burial Ground. At this point, Louise, one of the officials from international legal affairs, had asked to join in.

Behind the carefully hidden door, they had found a whole group of bleached human skeletons. The neatly arranged corpses still had their belongings on them, making them easy to identify. However, the report noted that the number of bodies did not match the official list of ARG member names in the country’s archives. Of course, this took into account members who’d survived the massacre, such as Gregorius.

Who was missing, then?

“The captain, Ludwig Bernstein, seems to have disappeared. I asked Louise, and she said Ludwig had been allowed to borrow the divine Hadean Mace. So? Sooo? It’s all coming together, right?” Kagura grinned with satisfaction at her discovery.

Captain Ludwig was the only one who hadn’t been identified among the missing or the living, according to the documents. Furthermore, as the ARG’s true objective was to find the City of Angels, their mission was of great national importance—so important that they’d permitted the use of a divine item.

Now the captain and the divine item he had in his keeping were both missing. The search continued in secret to this day.

“A mace, hm?” the Spirit King mused. “If it’s a divine item that takes the form of a weapon, then it could break a hole in the catacombs.”

This was the proof they needed to show that the ARG was able to open a path to reach the sealed oni coffins. The powers bestowed by the gods were manifold, but for items, they generally matched the form they inhabited.

The documents had unraveled one of the mysteries, and Kagura now proudly offered an answer to the next: How had the Archeological Research Group found a place that shouldn’t be perceptible to humans? “What this means is…their captain was a demon!” Kagura declared. 

Finally, the conversation was back on track.

“You may be right,” Mira agreed. “There have been instances where duke-tier demons have impersonated kings in order to rule nations. It wouldn’t be surprising if Ludwig had been replaced. A captain has lots of influence, as well; he would easily be able to lead them to the tomb.”

Mira felt Tyriel tense. It was inconceivable to her that demons might do such a thing. She looked down in pain, but she didn’t release Mira’s hand or try to flee; she simply resolved herself to accept the truth.

Perhaps because they were both still connected to the Spirit King, Mira could feel some of Tyriel’s feelings through her hand. Mira asked, “One thing is still bothering me. Can demons wield these divine items? You did say that demons cannot be given the power of gods, didn’t you?”

“Not easily. They may be able to simply carry such items around, but if they were to wield it, they would feel intense divine energy. No matter how powerful they are, a demon tainted by evil would be badly injured.”

“I see… So they couldn’t use it carelessly. Good; I’d hate to happen upon a demon swinging a divine item around.” Mira breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she squeezed Tyriel’s hand and said softly, “My friend knows a way to return modern demons to the way they used to be. Next time we run into one, I promise that I will neutralize it and entrust it to him. Don’t you worry; it may take time, but some day, they will be the demons you knew once again.”

It might be unthinkable for people of today, but demons used to be on the same side as angels. Ever since she’d learned this fact from Wallenstein, Mira had stopped thinking of them as humanity’s greatest foe—and seeing Tyriel’s dejection filled her anew with resolve.

Kagura took Tyriel’s other hand, smiled, and said firmly, “Yeah. She’s right; it’s gonna be okay. He’s my friend too; I know he’s the kind of guy to see things through.”

Tyriel might have looked like a little girl, but she was over ten thousand years old. She gazed into the eyes of the mortal girls before her, then held their hands to her heart and replied, “Thank you.”

For the time being, the angel Tyriel would reside at the Isuzu Alliance headquarters. From there, she could help Kagura and her people to find out how her other pieces were faring.

The fact remained that there was a demon at large who could poke holes in the wards around the tombs. If a second or third burial site started spewing oni mist into the world, a new Chimera Clausen might emerge. Just as the Spirit King expressed this concern, Tyriel offered to help.

There were seven sealed oni catacombs in total. The War-Torn Burial Ground was the smallest of them. Open or not, Tyriel suspected that none of them were in good shape. If the curse was weak enough that it could be purified, Tyriel asked for Mira’s aid in doing so. Mira readily agreed and promised that she’d come running when called. 

***

Once they’d learned everything Tyriel could offer, Mira and Kagura discussed future communication methods in the spirit airship’s private cabin.

After a while, a member of the crew entered and asked where they should put the spoils looted from Chimera Clausen’s headquarters. Apparently, they had considerable assets hidden in their base, and the cargo bay was already packed full.

“I’ll go take a look.” Kagura left to check the remainder of the loot and allocate passenger space to be used for the cargo.

“Loot, huh? Sounds fun!” What sorts of treasures had they recovered? Spurred on by pure…curiosity, Mira jumped out of her seat and ran after Kagura.

They first stopped by the cargo bay. At a glance, it looked more like an armory; it was full of precious weapons, magical tools, and other rare items

“Oho. This is quality and quantity enough to fell a small nation,” Mira mused.

“So Chimera Clausen didn’t just use spirits. I wonder how they collected all this stuff?” Kagura wondered. All the items were first-rate. Low-rank adventurers would never be able to get their hands on anything like this. 

Most weapons that already had special powers or abilities couldn’t be turned into spirit weapons; those awful enhancements required a blank slate. However, if a powerful holy sword or demonic sword could be made into a spirit weapon, one could only imagine its power.

“Perhaps they wanted to turn these into spirit equipment, as well?” Mira said half-jokingly.

But Kagura furrowed her brow and muttered, “I wouldn’t put it past them.”

No matter; it was all in the past now. Chimera Clausen had been exterminated, and there was no chance of any spirit being sacrificed for any such goal. They were curious how strong those weapons would be, but Mira and Kagura didn’t want them, nor did they care to find out.

After a quick look around the cargo bay, they checked the remaining loot. Mira gazed at it and suddenly exclaimed, “Ooh! Is that what I think it is?!” When Kagura asked what she meant, Mira picked up a sword and held it aloft. “This is the Sword of the Crimson Lotus King, isn’t it? Say, what if I were to take this as my reward?”

As the name implied, the sword was as red as a flame. It was one of the items Luminaria had requested in exchange for her Encyclopedia of Skills. Mira had to get her hands on that book. She immediately got down to haggling.

“Well, I don’t really mind letting go of anything in particular, but… How about, I’ll give it to you if you have a good enough reason?”

Wasn’t her defeat of a Chimera elite good enough to earn Mira an ample reward? Kagura was willing to let her take what she wanted…but her interest was piqued by Mira’s desire to have a sword of all things. Kagura had to know why.

“Ngh. Fiiiine.” Mira hated having to explain, but she quickly summarized her reasoning anyway: The sword would be a new catalyst for sorcery, and Luminaria had asked her to get it. In exchange, Mira would get the newest edition of the Encyclopedia of Skills.

“Ooh, really?! It’s so hard to get your hands on the Encyclopedia of Skills these days.” As a fellow Wise Man, Kagura was just as interested. Even she had been unable to obtain a copy. The Encyclopedia of Skills was created by the player-formed Hinomoto Committee and was extremely rare. It had a strictly controlled supply. As such, even most former players had trouble obtaining them.

Kagura was quite interested herself, so she tagged on one more condition. “Okay. You can take it, but you gotta let me read it when you’re done.”

“I don’t know when I’ll be done, but very well,” Mira agreed and deposited the Sword of the Crimson Lotus King into her Item Box. She realized something and asked, “You know, if these things don’t fit in the cargo bay, why not stow them in your Item Box?”

“I’m not going to be here forever,” Kagura replied. “I want to make sure there isn’t anything that relies on me when I’m gone.”

“Ah, of course. Tidying up before your departure. You’ve thought things through.” Mira’s tone was complimentary.

“Heh heh, yeah, I have.” Kagura puffed out her chest proudly—yet her posture contained just a hint of sadness.