Chapter 127: 127 A Story No One Knows
An endless expanse of white snowfields. A biting wind, known as the breath of extreme cold.
In the northern lands, where an alliance of foreign tribes threatened the Dharma Empire. The Empire’s expeditionary force, traversing that region, had stopped at a mountainside.
Because they had discovered something unexpected.
"Is there anyone who can interpret this language?!"
Jogildong, the Knight Commander and Grand Master of the Dharma Empire, Meister of all swords, and the eldest son of a family that had served as Knight Commander for three generations, spoke up.
Soon, a Dark Elf mage came and scanned it. On his chest, no less than nine rings were intertwined.
"Hmm, this is similar to the language we use."
"It’s the Dark Elf language."
"But it’s a bit different. If I had to say, perhaps Elfae?"
"Elfae? What’s Elfae?"
At Jogildong’s question, the Dark Elf mage chuckled.
"They are said to be the ancestors of all elves known in the world. It is said they came not from this star, but from outer space."
"Now that you mention it, I think I vaguely heard something about it during advanced history class."
"For a warrior to know that much. Indeed, the Knight Commander is different."
"But what is written there?"
"Hmm... From my limited knowledge, it says, ’Lord Grant, rests here.’"
It was astonishing content. Jogildong stroked his chin.
"So, that legendary figure is sleeping inside this coffin?"
"Yes, oh?"
Creak, Thump!
The coffin lid opened by itself. The people tensed. Lord Grant was such a legendary figure that he could make the expeditionary force, composed of only the Empire’s finest talents, tense up in an instant.
"What?!"
However, there was nothing inside the coffin. Only traces that something had once been there.
The Dark Elf mage clicked his tongue.
"It looks like traces of a corpse that turned to ash and vanished."
"Is this really Lord Grant?"
"One thing is certain, he had a quite tall physique. And... his ears are strangely twisted."
"Ears? Like an elf?"
"No, like an Elfae."
Unable to find the answer, they buried the coffin and quickly departed. They had much work to do.
However, none among them knew the true answer. Why Lord Grant’s coffin was here. Why this particular place, and what exactly his identity was.
＊＊＊
Startled and dazed, I went and sat across from Aki.
Fiora sat next to me to rest even while organizing documents, and I saw her leisurely sip from her teacup.
"Wait a minute. What exactly does it say?"
Aki read a bit more, then replied.
"If I gather only the parts the nun interpreted for us... yes, like this."
Aki showed me her notebook. Of course, I still didn’t understand anything. Why isn’t there a Title that grants language mastery? Goblin language and script were manageable, though.
"Hmm, I still don’t know what kind of script it is."
"I’ll explain. Lord Grant, whom we learned about through history, is a being who travels between many worlds, right?"
"Yes, he traversed all sorts of multiverses, and in the process, he created or found amazing artifacts called holy relics."
The figure of Lord Grant here was almost on the level of a web novel protagonist. Whatever he did, he succeeded, he traveled through many worlds, and it’s even said he won over heroines of all tastes.
Aki suddenly put on her glasses with a serious expression. No, ’dick-glasses’?! But when Aki wears them, she looks pretty and intelligent!
Aki pointed at the notebook.
"What’s written here is the story after that. After history..."
"After that?"
"For example, it’s an epilogue to the story of Lord Grant that we know. After finishing all his adventures, he built a cabin on the moon and peacefully fell asleep."
"Yes, it definitely ends that way. But you’re saying it’s not true?"
"Yes."
The atmosphere seemed to grow heavy, as if an invisible giant was pressing down. To the point where breathing felt awkward. It wasn’t just me who was tense; everyone stopped what they were doing.
Only Piery brought tea before me. Aki explained.
"Lord Grant didn’t only have good things happen to him during his adventures. Inevitably, there were many unfortunate events, or times when his hopes and illusions were shattered."
"Uh... I suppose so. Probably."
"So he made a decision. Feeling a sense of responsibility for these worlds, he decided to sever them so they wouldn’t negatively affect each other, and he made it so that each world would have its own distinct laws."
"...What? What did you just say?"
I wondered if I had misheard. Historically, Lord Grant was a transcendent being. But just as there are various types of transcendent beings, he wasn’t a god. But what? Are you saying Lord Grant did something only a god could do?
"I know Lord Grant is amazing, but isn’t that something only a god could do?"
The others were surprised too. But were they as surprised as I was? To think that Lord Grant, a character who only existed in lore, was actually comparable to a god.
"Are you sure?"
The Goddess is a goddess. At the very least, she had exercised her power as a goddess before. So it must be certain.
Aki sadly shook her head.
"Whether he was a god or a transcendent being. He actually accomplished this, and as a recoil, he lost not only his power but also his physical body, they say."
"Then did he die?"
Strangely, I felt relieved. Why, when he wasn’t even someone I knew?
"No, unfortunately, that’s not the case. His soul remains."
Somehow, I grew even more uneasy. It felt similar to winning a game by luckily discovering a bug, only for the GM to go wild the next day, announcing they’d ban all bug users.
Aki shook her head.
"Even if we don’t know where that soul resides, he is worshipped, revered, or has become the protagonist of oral traditions under various names among the common folk. Even now..."
"For example?"
When Fiora asked, Aki hesitated for a moment before replying.
"Here... there are many names listed. Tracker of the Multiverse, Frail Storyteller, Bearer of Frustration, Walker of Boundaries, Tris Narg, Alfe de Prima, and so on..."
"Huh, he was really called by many names. Crazy."
In fact, they were all names I didn’t know. No matter how much I played the game or delved into the original work, I had never seen these names. To think that a being I thought only existed virtually was actually such an incredible entity. The surprise left me speechless.
But Piery, who had been quiet, trembled. Like an aspen leaf.
"Uh, uhh..."
"Piery, what’s wrong?"
When I asked, Piery pointed at the notebook. Her hand was trembling like crazy. At this rate, she’ll wet herself.
I approached and put my arm around her shoulder, calming her down.
"It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t worry."
"That name, Tris Narg..."
"Yes, what about it? Have you heard of it? Where?"
"This is also the name of the god worshipped by Those Who Recite Sins!"
At Piery’s words, we all gasped. Aki tilted her head.
"Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing it. Faintly, though."
"You must have heard it from Lao, who was acting as the fake Lord!"
"Ah, that’s right. That man...!"
"Haa, disgusting. Even if I don’t remember everything, I do recall Lao frequently mentioning this name during his morning prayers when he was pretending to be the Lord. It just got memorized even though I didn’t want to!"
Piery might have been even closer to Lao than Aki. If so, whether it was his words or actions, she must have seen and heard them even if she didn’t want to.
Feeling uneasy, I unconsciously threw out a question.
"Are you saying the god worshipped by Those Who Recite Sins is Tris Narg, and that’s Lord Grant?"
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed unrealistic. Those Who Recite Sins were just a pseudo-religion, merely for show. Those guys worship a legendary being who actually existed as a god? This is too much of a coincidence. How could this be? Unless someone was deliberately manipulating things.
Thump.
Fiora emptied her teacup and looked around at us.
"Then are you saying Tris Narg created Kahlum? Not the Demon Lord?"
"All sorts of bad things are indeed related to the Demon Lord, but if this story is true, then Kahlum must have originated from Tris Narg."
Everyone was surprised by the unexpected story. Kahlum had clearly been the energy primarily used by Those Who Recite Sins until now. Even the Black Army was created by that so-called Kahlum. No one but Those Who Recite Sins, who worshipped Tris Narg, could have done this.
Aki spoke as if concluding.
"Anyway, all the stories on that stone tablet we saw in the underground passage point to Lord Grant."
"Uh, but Lord Grant’s holy relics, I have them all right now...?"
I felt a bit awkward for no reason, but I raised my hand and stated my opinion. As I showed them the sword, necklace, and ring one by one, Fiora tilted her head.
"I thought something was amazing until now, but those are all holy relics? And the holy sword is Lucian’s family heirloom, isn’t it?"
"Yes, that’s right."
Fiora’s face suddenly darkened. It was the same expression she had when she saw Jawoon in pain back when he was a young.
"Something’s strange."
Min Jiyu, who had been quiet until now, interjected into the conversation. When we looked at her, Min Jiyu stuck out her tongue.
"Ah, I was just going to listen. But there’s something strange."
"What’s strange?"
At my question, Min Jiyu shrugged as if it were obvious.
"It says Lord Grant had three holy relics, right? In the archives. But right now, coincidentally, Lucian has all three."
"Right?"
"And it’s not like you just luckily got them all at once; doesn’t it seem like someone deliberately made Lucian acquire them one by one, as if giving out rewards in a game?"
"...What?!"
"Ah, of course, it could just be my misunderstanding, but the timing is a bit... off."
I was speechless. I immediately looked down at the holy relics I possessed. It felt as if an invisible, cold icicle had pierced my heart. I wanted to think only positive thoughts, but after hearing Min Jiyu’s words, I couldn’t.
"It’s as if someone deliberately arranged for me to have all the holy relics, isn’t it? Can I just brush this off as protagonist-buff? No, am I even the protagonist?"
Moreover, one of the holy relics, the sword, had been our family heirloom from the very beginning. Could this be mere coincidence? Could it be explained simply by the ’fortunate encounters’ that only protagonists have?
Min Jiyu approached me, who was speechless.
"But you were talking to some woman earlier. Who was she?"
Then Fiora chimed in.
"Yeah, who exactly was that woman?!"
The women’s gazes immediately focused on me. And they were like hawk eyes.
"Ah, a directive came from the Imperial Palace. They’re organizing a Demon King subjugation force, they said. They want us to prepare and come within a week?"
"Whaaat?!"
At my reply, all the women were aghast. As if it were unbelievable.
"A, a Demon King subjugation force?!"
"Already?!"
"Lucian, no...!"
"The northern expeditionary force hasn’t even returned yet."
Everyone seemed quite surprised. But my own heart was even more surprised. The holy relics I possessed, the things that had happened until now, and the fortunate encounters. Could all of this truly be a coincidence?!
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