Chapter 179 – You Take It
I had no particular talent for reading other people’s expressions, but even I could tell one thing.
Ratel was looking at me as though I had completely lost my mind.
His lips slowly stiffened.
He probably could not dismiss my words as mere insanity because they explained everything I had done until now.
“I read your life—and I did it in another world.”
After reaffirming the truth, I waited for the rigidly frozen Ratel to speak.
At last, he opened his mouth.
“Then are you saying you aren’t a prince?”
“This body is a prince. But the person inside it is someone completely different.”
Ratel looked confused.
It would have been a lie to claim otherwise.
The person before him was insisting that he had crossed over from another world and knew every detail of Ratel’s life.
After staring at me with a complicated expression, he suddenly turned toward the path leading to the center of the den.
What he had sensed before me soon revealed itself.
Roooooar—!!!
The ominous sound of water reverberated through the den once again.
Right. I had been wondering why something felt missing.
Moreover, the scale of the water this time sounded extraordinary.
When I thought about it, the power remaining inside the cave in the real world had been what survived after a thousand years of erosion.
Before the passage of all that time, it could only have been stronger.
Right, because it had not yet been eroded by time.
Wait—time?
I quickly lowered my head and looked down the cliff I had just climbed.
I thought I finally understood the vague source of the déjà vu that had been bothering me.
“Is there something down there too?”
Perhaps he found it strange that I was distracted by the wrong place when the direction of the sound was obvious, because Ratel questioned me.
“No. It isn’t that there’s something down there.”
Going back down would not reveal anything else.
“For now, why don’t we continue along our path? You’ll have plenty of opportunities to make me fall to my death later.”
When I indicated the arm he was holding, he silently pulled me up.
After setting me down, he stared at me without speaking for a long time.
He appeared shocked, confused, and perhaps even disappointed.
The emotions were so subtle and intertwined that I could not identify any single one with certainty.
Eventually, he spoke.
“I never said I was going to drop you. You assumed that on your own.”
After leaving behind that irritating remark, Ratel turned away.
* * *
When we reached the center of the orc den, we were greeted by a horde of unconscious orcs sprawled across the ground.
Judging by the water thoroughly soaking the floor, they appeared to have been swept away by the recent flood.
“Let’s hurry.”
After urging Ratel forward, I ran straight toward the center.
The fallen orcs were only illusions that could not touch me anyway.
The closer we came to the center, the more numerous the illusions became.
They had probably gathered because of what lay at the center.
When I spotted our target embedded there, I gradually slowed down.
Sierra’s sword.
Untouched by anyone, it shone alone within the dark cave.
“Why is that here?”
Ratel, who had been following at my pace, muttered, snapping me back to my senses.
“Because this is the medium of the contract that Sierra Abiran took away.”
Or should I say that she had not taken it yet at this point?
I continued forward.
When I finally entered the depression at the center, I felt warmth rising from the ground.
Several orcs lay unconscious around the holy relic.
Surprised that access to this place had been relatively unrestricted a thousand years ago, despite only the leader being permitted to enter it now, I reached toward the holy relic and grasped the cold metal.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’d better hurry. Someone is coming.”
At the warning from behind me, I turned my head while keeping the holy relic in hand.
Ratel had placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and was staring behind us.
“They can’t kill us anyway.”
“You seem to know who’s coming.”
“I already told you. Sierra Abiran is going to take this.”
Even if our opponent was merely a memory from the distant past, there was no reason to waste time.
I lowered the hand gripping the hilt and grasped the blade itself.
The sharp edge dug into my skin, and blood flowed from the wound.
After confirming that the red blood had run down to where the blade met the ground, I spoke.
“I have come to keep my promise.”
It was a sentence that made me uncomfortable every time I said it.
I could not shake the feeling that I was assuming responsibility for my own contract.
You were supposed to refuse to become someone’s guarantor even if your parents asked.
I did not have long to indulge in idle thoughts.
Sierra’s sword began to shine.
At the same time, a burning sensation spread through my hand as though it were being consumed by fire.
* * *
The light was beautiful.
It was also scorching.
The heat climbed through my hand and seemed to flow throughout my entire body.
I wanted to release it because the temperature felt hot enough to burn me, but the light gathering in my hand had no physical form for me to let go of.
That meant my only option was to endure the pain.
Grinding out curses between my teeth, I concentrated on the pain itself.
It was only slightly less painful than having my flesh burned.
I could endure that much.
If it was pain I already understood, I could endure it.
It would have been easier if I could be certain it would eventually end, but at least it was not enough to kill me.
Right. I wasn’t dying.
Compared with death, pain could become infinitely insignificant.
I endured while releasing short, strained breaths. Eventually, the end of the pain began to appear.
The light within my hand was gradually shrinking.
When it finally became small enough to disappear inside my palm, I opened my hand and examined the fragment that had formed.
As though its otherworldly, beautiful radiance had been an illusion, a small and crude object rolled across my palm.
“Hey, are you all right?”
At Ratel’s voice, who had been waiting quietly, I turned my head.
“......What does this look like to you?”
“It looks like the power that had been sleeping beneath the cave. The power you mentioned.”
When I asked in an exhausted voice, Ratel thought briefly before answering.
Right. It apparently looked that way to other people too.
Its nature must have been so obvious that no other explanation came to mind.
I sighed and extended the hand holding the object toward Ratel.
“Can’t you tell? Take it. Our purpose in coming here was for you to absorb Sierra’s power.”
I extended my hand again, but Ratel refused to accept it and stepped backward.
“Why should I? You risked your life to obtain it.”
Was he seriously asking that?
“What am I supposed to do with this? What use would I have for strengthening my ability to transform into an animal—no, into another living creature?”
“You could transform into a monster and return whenever you wanted. Have you forgotten how long it took you to change back from an orc into a human?”
That did sound appealing.
But that was not what mattered.
“My point is that there isn’t much I can accomplish with my ability. Even if I transformed into an orc, I couldn’t defeat a single member of the imperial family.”
Besides, I did not particularly welcome the idea of making this ability stronger.
“The members of the imperial family hunt monsters for sport. Even now, monsters they released for amusement roam through the Imperial Forest. You already know that eliminating a single orc would be effortless for them.”
Ratel appeared to agree.
Nevertheless, he still seemed unwilling to accept Sierra’s power.
He stubbornly stared at my outstretched hand.
I never expected to finally sympathize with adults who told children to stop complaining and simply accept what they were given.
Growing frustrated, I approached to force the object upon him if necessary.
“Just take it already. It’s Sierra’s power, so accepting it can’t harm you, can it? Swallow it whole or grind it up and eat it. Do whatever you want.”
My words clearly did not help persuade him.
Ratel narrowed his eyes at the object I was offering.
“I strongly feel as though you’re dumping something troublesome on me.”
His remark struck home, but I maintained an expressionless face.
“Do you have any idea how many troublesome things I still need to handle while destroying the remaining holy relics? Do you think anyone will notice if I push this one little thing onto you?”
Apparently, he thought that sounded reasonable because his expression relaxed slightly.
In the end, I was the first to surrender with a sigh.
“Fine, you stubborn bastard. If it bothers you that much, just hold on to it for now.”
“Are you trying to sneakily push it onto me?”
“How can you trust yourself when you’re suspicious of everything? Don’t you ever question your own existence? When you open your eyes in the morning, don’t you wonder whether you might actually be someone other than Ratel?”
At my exasperated sarcasm, the corners of his eyes rose.
I glared back without yielding.
“You must have some ulterior motive for insisting on giving it to me.”
He continued questioning me without letting go of his suspicion.
At last, I stopped glaring at him and offered a confession mixed with a sigh.
“......I can’t keep it myself.”
“Why? Is it too heavy for those frail arms of yours?”
He never missed an opportunity to mock me.
“Yes, it’s too heavy for my frail body to carry. I’m worried someone might rob me before I can even resist properly.”
For example, some unspecified golden-haired individual.
“After going through all this trouble to obtain it, wouldn’t it be a loss if someone stole it so easily?”
So at least you should protect it.
Still not entirely free of suspicion, he extended his hand.
“I’ll only hold on to it for now, so I can return it to you at any time.”
I obediently nodded.
His personality was terrible, but Ratel still possessed an innocent side.
I placed the small, warm crystal in his hand and immediately seized his hand with mine.
That innocence was why he kept falling for things like this.
“Damn it.......”
Quickly sensing that something was wrong, Ratel ground out a curse.
But it was already too late.
The crystal was already emitting an intense light as it was drawn into his hand.
I twisted my lips into a grin while meeting Ratel’s furious gaze.
The moment the small crystal had formed, I realized just how troublesome a matter I had become involved in.
It meant my role in the protagonist’s adventure had grown a little larger.
After all, if power could be extracted, it could also be placed back inside someone.
Through my vision blurred by light, I saw the entrance in the distance.
I thought I saw someone with golden hair as beautiful as the light entering the cave, but I could not confirm it.
Before I could focus my eyes, my vision went completely black.
“Are you beginning to regain your senses?”
Jing’s worried face entered my vision as he looked down at me.
Apparently, I had lost consciousness again after transferring the power to Ratel.
Damn it. Do I really need to undergo special training with Lia and Jing?
When I forced myself upright to answer him, terrible pain struck my entire body.
“Ugh......!”
When I groaned, Jing quickly lowered me back down.
The soft sensation behind my head and the scent of wet grass cleared my mind.
Beyond Jing’s face, I saw dense branches extending high and wide overhead.
Thin rays of sunlight slipped between them and tickled my face.
“Your entire body is in terrible condition. I recommend resting here instead of forcing yourself to rise.”
His face and tone were far too refreshing for the grim content of his words. When I gave him a crooked smile, Jing smiled as well.
“Did I come out with all four limbs intact?”
My voice sounded dreadful as it passed through my throat. It felt as though I had contracted a severe illness.
“Yes. You aren’t missing so much as a fingernail.”
Jing answered while looking down worriedly as I frowned.
“Are the others all right?”
“Yes. Lia is resting inside the cave, while Ratel.......”
Jing trailed off and pointed behind himself.
Only then did I notice Ratel sleeping against a tree trunk.
“Ratel lost consciousness like that immediately after I emerged. I owe all of you an enormous debt.”
As Jing spoke, his expression appeared both bitter and relieved.
“It seems living inside the holy relic suited you rather well. Your face looks healthier.”
“At least I feel as though I’ve been born anew. Perhaps a few of my wrinkles have even disappeared.”
“I’m not sure about the wrinkles, but your expression does look considerably lighter.”
“Yes. I think...... I feel a little more at peace.”
Even after I denied his supposed rejuvenation, Jing’s smile did not disappear.
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