Chapter 101: - A Thread

༺ A Thread ༻

I was led by the tattooed man towards the headquarters of the underworld.

Wondering if they expected my arrival, Sylvia's subordinates immediately escorted me to her.

Unusually, our destination this time was the basement of the headquarters. In stark contrast to the decadent feel of the surface, the basement exuded a chilly darkness and a prison-like atmosphere.

Sylvia was waiting for me right there.

She was an intriguing lady of necromancy, with distinctive bright pink hair and reddish-brown eyes. Wearing a skin-tight leather armor reminiscent of an assassin, she was in her original form of, whom I had not seen in a long time.

Her disguise, which never seemed to be anything but magic, was always incomprehensible. How she could transform her figure into a small, slender girl-like form was beyond understanding. It felt physically impossible to compress that.

Upon noticing my arrival, Sylvia gently crossed one leg and gave me a wry smile. As I approached her, the unique smell of roses wafted out, replacing the musty smell of the basement.

"Did you come? As expected, you arrived early."

"Yes."

I didn't ask her why she had chosen to meet in such a basement.

Instead, I went straight to the point, pulling out a note from my pocket.

"Is this note reliable?"

"Of course. I'm Sylvia Rosenfeld. Would I have written down unconfirmed information?"

I slumped down on a chair across from Sylvia.

"Tell me in detail."

"Since you beat the hell out of that bitch- ahem, Frida, the other three in the underworld have been quiet. They must have poured a considerable amount of money, and since they didn't get their money's worth, it's a loss, and if they're not careful, they'll get caught by the royal family or the royal guards. So, most of the informants operating in the underworld have been subtly keeping an eye out and sticking to me, and thanks to that, the collection of information has sped up so-"

I raised my hand, interrupting Sylvia's words.

"Enough with the chatter. Stick to the main point."

"...I was about to commend you for making things easier."

Sylvia rolled her eyes slyly before continuing.

"Our informants found a survivor from the Iona Kingdom."

"So?"

"But it's not just any survivor. She's a maid who worked in the palace until just before the incident, who reportedly served the king's illegitimate children directly."

"If it's the king's illegitimate children...."

According to previous information provided by Sylvia, there was a high possibility that Ella was the illegitimate child conceived when the past Iona King studied abroad in the Empire.

Therefore, the fact that she served the king's illegitimate children implied a very high probability that she had directly encountered Ella.

Seeing my deeply thoughtful expression, Sylvia broke into a small laugh.

"How about it? Quite interesting, isn't it?"

I couldn't deny that.

I nodded slightly and asked.

"Where is this maid now?"

"Regrettably, she's not in the Empire. Just before the kingdom fell, she escaped not to the Empire, but to the southern Kingdom of Gallia. It seems she's now living there with a relative. It would be rather difficult to bring her directly to the capital. However..."

Sylvia pulled out a small bead, the size of a pebble, from between her breasts. And then, she tossed it towards me.

As if it were only natural, I easily caught the bead.

The bead, warmed by body heat, emitted a strong smell of roses. Considering where she pulled it from, the intention seemed quite mischievous.

"...What are you doing?"

"Hehe, just a prank. I wanted to see your surprised expression, but you're still not easy to fluster."

"......"

I wasn't an adolescent boy to be flustered by something like that.

Sylvia's prank was not a first. Whether she felt a sense of familiarity with me, or had another intention... Of course, there was no need to respond explicitly.

I placed the bead on the desk. It was a crystal that recorded voices.

Whether it had already been activated or not, an elderly woman's voice soon echoed through the basement.

A voice full of anxiety, fear, and deep regret.

[...Yes, that's right... It was that child. Bright blonde hair, blue eyes like jewels... I've never seen the sea, but I imagined it would be just that color. All the illegitimate children I cared for had similar blond hair, but that child was different... No, special...]

[...Were there many children, you ask? Hmm, the past king... It's an odd thing to say now, since there's no king or country, but he enjoyed womanizing from his youth. He had many illegitimate children, both within and outside the kingdom. Queen Dahlia and Princess Daisy suffered a lot because of the king's promiscuity...]

[...I'm sorry, I've gotten off track. It was about that child, right? That name... I still can't forget it. Ella... She called herself Ella. She asked to be called just Ella, without any honorifics...]

"......"

Without realizing it, my fist tightened.

But the woman's voice flowing out of the bead continued for quite a while.

[...I don't know where the previous mage went... or what kind of experiments that new elf mage in the palace was doing, but most of the children taken to that place didn't come back. Even those who did return often died in a matter of days, suffering terribly.]

[...The atmosphere of the Star Palace was supposedly royal, but in truth, it was no different from a prison. The child who came in at that time was Ella. She was special. Even when taken for the mage's experiments, she came back just fine. That elf mage was very pleased and told me to take good care of Ella. Since then, I worked as Ella's personal maid.]

[...Years passed like that. Ella's lively expression gradually lost its light and began to wither... but she was definitely alive until then. Her presence, in fact, gave hope to the other children who were taken long ago but had not yet been sacrificed, that one day they could get out.]

[...But then one day, she suddenly said. That we would all die if we stayed like this. That we had to get out of here right away... I wonder what she saw in that mage's lab? She gave me a pack of unknown origin and some gold coins, saying we had to run away that very day.]

[...But that child didn't want to escape. She said they'd immediately notice if she escaped... and that she'd be safe, so not to worry unnecessarily... She said she'd buy time for me and the other children to escape.]

[...In the end, I honored Ella's request. Ella, along with the other children, were like my own, after all. I would have done anything if it could save them. We attempted escape that very night. It was quite miraculous. Somehow... I felt as if mysterious beings were helping us with our escape.]

[...But we were eventually caught. By that mage... There was a flash in front of my eyes, then I heard Ella's voice telling me to run away quickly. We all scattered. When I regained my senses, I had somehow escaped the palace all by myself.]

[...What more could an old woman do on her own? There was no way back to the palace, and it would have been wrong to throw away the life that child had saved... So I ran away by myself. I headed towards the Kingdom of Gallia, where my married younger sibling lived. After a while, refugees began to flood out from near the capital. They said the undead had appeared...]

[...So I joined the refugees, and that's how I survived all alone. Is that child still alive? Are the other children safe? I continued to look for them, hoping to hear some news if they had safely escaped like me...]

[...No, that's not right. It's all excuses. I knew it. If I had stayed there, I would have eventually been killed... It was my only chance to escape. I abandoned that child... Yes, I...!]

With the old woman's lament as the last thing, the crystal lost its light.

I kept my mouth shut for quite a while. There was much to think about.

Sylvia didn't rush me, but waited for me to speak.

The woman's story was long. But it contained a lot of information about Ella.

There were many things to think about one way or another... but there was one thing that was most important.

I spoke with a stern look on my face.

"This isn't enough."

I understood what Ella had gone through in the Kingdom of Ionia. But there were too many gaps to be certain that she was alive.

Sylvia was thorough in this respect. If this was all the information she had, she wouldn't have written the note saying that Ella might be alive.

There must be more, isn't there? With that thought, I looked at Sylvia.

My guess seemed to be correct, as a slight smile spread across Sylvia's lips.

"Of course, there's more information. Have you heard an expert's opinion about the ritual that the elf wizard, the commander of the Undead Corps, performed? He happens to want to talk with you... would you like to meet him?"

"An expert?"

While I was puzzled, I nodded slightly. If Sylvia referred to him as an expert, his skills were likely reliable.

"Alright. But he's waiting?"

The only signs of life in this underground space were from Sylvia and me. There was no one else.

It was at that moment.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a pale flame began to burn in the middle of the basement, which was only lit by the faint light of a magic lamp.

The small flame, like a tiny bonfire, quickly grew, and before long it had transformed into a huge flame, towering over a person's height.

And the flames ceased their random movement, shaping the figure of a man.

"I've been waiting for that invitation."

The man, wearing a deep hooded robe, had only his nose and mouth barely visible. However, I could immediately recognize him by his familiar voice.

"You're...."

He was none other than the great mage, known as the Crimson Sage.

Ruellyn Elsid.