Chapter 17: Chapter 17
Chapter 17 - Peering into the Shame of a God
The Attendant looked startled and asked back.
"Excuse me? Are you saying that you intend to take her in, my lord?"
"Think about it. By your own admission, this child can’t properly carry out even the simplest task and will keep causing trouble. Then you’ll be the one cleaning up after her every time, won’t you?"
"......"
The Attendant’s lips jutted out in dissatisfaction.
That was exactly what had been happening, and the thought that it would continue to happen only made irritation well up inside him.
"You have the authority to give that child orders, don’t you?"
"Y-Yes, that’s right."
"If you possess that much authority, then you can also order her to leave this house."
"Hmm... Even so, she’s a child my master cherishes."
"You say you cherish her. But think carefully."
Ferda tempted the Attendant.
"A jewel shines brilliantly, but that also makes its flaws stand out all the more. In the long run, who do you think will suffer? Your master is now being hailed as the Sage of Water and is enjoying a life of prestige. Isn’t it the duty of a loyal Attendant to correct and conceal the flaws of such a person?"
"......"
The Attendant’s expression changed.
Ferda’s persuasion was beginning to make an unsettling amount of sense.
The very fact that he was hesitating meant he had already been won over.
Ferda decided to deliver the finishing blow.
"Allow me to make that decision easier for you."
Ferda took out three gold coins and pressed them into the Attendant’s hand.
"W-What!? G-G-Good heavens...!!"
The Attendant’s eyes grew wide.
Three whole gold coins.
An ordinary commoner could spend an entire lifetime working the fields and never once hold even a single gold coin.
Receiving three at once was enough to make anyone lose their senses.
’That’s right... If it’s for the sake of covering my master’s flaw, getting rid of a brat like her is nothing...!’
The Attendant cleared his throat before rubbing his hands together obsequiously.
"My lord, what would you have me do?"
"It’s simple. Every language carries power. All you have to do is issue an order. Tell her to abandon her name from this moment onward."
"Of course, my lord. Hey, brat! Put that down and come over here!"
The little girl stood up and quietly walked over beside the Attendant.
"Now then, you worthless little brat. Listen carefully."
The girl nodded at the Attendant’s words.
"From this moment on, you’re abandoning your name. And from now on, this gentleman will be your master. So you’ll follow him from now on. Understood?"
The girl’s vacant eyes slowly lifted toward Ferda.
Those unfocused, hollow eyes seemed to silently question him.
Looking directly into them, Ferda asked,
"Will you acknowledge me as your master?"
In response to Ferda’s question, the girl answered.
Nod. Nod.
"Good. That settles it."
Ferda raised his head and looked toward the middle-aged Attendant.
The women was completely absorbed in stroking the gold coins.
"Now that the deal has been concluded, let me tell you something interesting."
"Something... interesting?"
He had already gotten what he wanted.
Now it was time to reveal the truth.
"Do you know why your master treasures that foolish little girl so much?"
"Well... Because she’s pretty, I suppose..."
"No. Your master, Hellus Fovidas, likes women with large breasts. He also likes women who burst into laughter over his terrible jokes as though they were the funniest things in the world. He’s a man consumed by inferiority. He has no confidence in defeating intelligent women, so he prefers women with empty heads. And no matter how pretty she may be, there’s absolutely no reason he would cherish such a wooden, childlike Attendant."
The middle-aged Attendant’s face gradually stiffened.
She had no idea why Ferda was suddenly saying all this, but somehow every word screamed that she had made a terrible mistake.
"What if I told you that this girl is actually the source of the insight your master possesses?"
"W-What do you mean? A fool like her could never..."
Confusion filled her eyes.
Only then did the Attendant realize.
She had been nothing but greedy and completely lacking in perception.
And that she had fallen into a trap.
Her trembling hands hastily offered the three gold coins back.
"P-Please... I-I take it back. I’ll return the money, so please give the girl back—"
"No. There’s no need. And even if you did return them, you still wouldn’t make it back alive."
"W-Why not?"
"Because you’ve already understood what I just told you. What you’ve heard is no different from peering into the shame of a god. I hope you understand that as well."
There was no choice.
Anyone who looked into a god’s shame was destined to die.
The Attendant’s face turned deathly pale.
"The reason I told you all this is the last kindness I can offer. Take that money and run as far away as you can."
Ferda advised her in the same cold tone as always.
"The moment your master catches you, you’ll disappear without leaving so much as a trace."
***
"Do you believe that humans can suddenly attain enlightenment?"
Ferda asked Luri.
Luri answered without hesitation.
"I do."
"And why is that?"
"People believe they live by accumulating knowledge over the years. However, accumulation alone cannot sustain them. I believe humanity survived because there are flashes of inspiration that cannot be reached through mere accumulation of knowledge."
It was an opinion befitting the Attendant of an immortal.
"You’re partly right. But you’re also mistaken."
"In what way?"
"There’s an old saying that you can’t dig a well by endlessly digging where no underground water exists. No matter how great the enlightenment, wisdom cannot suddenly spring forth where none existed."
Ferda lowered his gaze to the list of names.
Hellus Fovidas.
"The same applies to this man."
"Then... are you saying that the Sage of Water is merely a puppet..."
Luri shifted her gaze.
Standing quietly at about her own height was a blonde-haired little girl.
Her eyes lacked any focus, making her look exactly like the sort of child people would call hopelessly dim-witted.
"Are you saying this vacant little girl is the true source?"
Pretending to tug on a leash, Ferda replied,
"Have you ever heard of a Slave Sage?"
Humanity stores knowledge, compresses it, learns from the past, and pioneers the future.
That was what they were called in Ferda’s world, where people did not rely solely on physical strength.
They predicted the unpredictable.
They controlled the uncontrollable.
That was the essence of those who pursued knowledge, and each sought that destination in their own way.
Some combined existing knowledge to produce entirely new conclusions.
Others rediscovered lost technologies through exploration and excavation.
Still others pleaded with the gods to obtain the answers they desired.
And some stepped into forbidden domains that should never be entered.
’Of them all, the forbidden domains are by far the most effective.’
Not witnessing a god’s smile.
Not receiving a god’s kiss.
But peering into the shame of a god.
The girl Ferda had taken in was one who had stepped into that forbidden domain.
The wisdom capable of shaking the entire world demanded an equally enormous price.
And that price was astonishingly simple.
"Who am I?"
She could no longer ask herself that question.
It was an unbelievably simple question, yet it was also everything.
Knowing who you are is inseparably linked to understanding what you live for.
And what you live for determines your actions.
Yet because she could no longer think that thought, she had managed to survive.
The ultimate knowledge.
The ultimate wisdom.
Unable to move of one’s own will.
Unable to think of one’s own accord.
The ultimate tool.
"That is how a Slave Sage is born."
"To lose oneself in exchange for power... What an utterly foolish choice."
"Yes. It truly is."
Ferda muttered bitterly.
Luri could not understand why he wore such an expression.
"So what forbidden power did she obtain to become like this?"
"It’s simple."
Ferda lightly tapped the girl’s head.
"The Library of All Things."
"The Library of All Things?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that this tiny head contains more books than Escolleia?"
"......."
Luri quietly glanced at the girl.
She possessed not even the slightest trace of Mana, nor any sinister aura.
She was an utterly ordinary girl.
If they had simply passed each other on the street, Luri would have dismissed her as nothing more than a simple-minded child.
Yet Ferda claimed she held more books than the Library of All Things, the collective repository of humanity’s wisdom.
She couldn’t believe it.
But neither did she argue.
After all, the one who had chosen her was Ferda.
The responsibility belonged to him alone.
"Look at me."
Ferda instructed the girl.
The girl’s eyes turned toward Ferda.
"Before I grant you a name, I will issue your highest-priority command."
Speaking one syllable at a time with perfect clarity, Ferda declared,
"This command shall become your very breath, your heartbeat itself. It shall be remembered as an absolute and eternal truth."
She nodded.
As though reciting an incantation, Ferda gave his command.
"The great ruler of power, the Red Dragon, Grand Duchess Valdrova, shall be the beginning of your existence and your ultimate end. You shall devote your entire life to serving her."
She nodded.
"I, Ferda Valdrova, possess authority to command you as the representative of Grand Duchess Valdrova, and I shall issue orders to you."
She nodded again.
"However, should any command contradict Grand Duchess Valdrova’s beliefs, or run counter to her will, you may raise an objection. And if, in the end, you still cannot understand..."
After a brief silence, he spoke once more.
"As a final resort, I permit you to rebel. Have you remembered everything?"
She nodded.
"Good. From this moment onward, your name is Mori."
The girl was given the name Mori.
A faint spark of life slowly began to return to her empty eyes.
***
"It seems you’ve successfully recruited everyone except Vernel Marquis."
Inside the study of Valdrova Castle.
"He’ll come soon enough."
"You’re that confident?"
"I’ve already said what needed to be said. If he still doesn’t come after that, then I’ll simply give up."
He had no obsession or burning desire that insisted I must have him at all costs.
It felt as though he simply allowed relationships to flow wherever time carried them.
’That’s no different from how immortals behave.’
Even Luri, who normally distinguished those two things without fail, found herself momentarily confused.
Luri looked down at the sheet of paper, where four names had been crossed off.
"So these four are all you’ve gathered for now?"
Ferda shook his head.
"Actually, there’s one more."
"And who would that be?"
Ferda wrote down the name of the person he had already decided upon.
—Luri Valdrova.
"That would be you."
That was what Ferda said.
Luri looked at him with genuine disgust.
"I have absolutely no intention of standing on your side. Don’t misunderstand just because we’ve become slightly more familiar."
Ferda did not overlook her loyalty.
"That’s fine. It’s not what I want, either. If anything, I’d rather you continue watching me with the same caution and hostility as before."
"...What do you mean?"
"If Mori ever leads a rebellion, then you must be the one standing at its forefront."
"......."
Luri’s expression froze.
She was even more shaken than when he had first called her an ally.
"Are you saying... that I should kill you?"
"That’s right."
"But why?"
Ferda answered calmly.
"Unlike immortal beings such as dragons, humans are destined to die someday."
".....!"
Without realizing it, Luri clenched her fist tightly.
Those were words she herself had once spoken to Valdrova.
"Because humans die someday, they inevitably change. Their judgment becomes clouded. When that day comes for me, I may begin claiming that everything I do is for the sake of the Grand Duchess, while in reality I’m only satisfying my own desires."
His eyes curved into a strangely sorrowful expression.
Then they slowly lifted toward Luri.
His blue eyes gazed at her with quiet sincerity.
Luri could clearly feel it.
"So you, as Grand Duchess Valdrova’s Attendant, must keep watch over me."
This man...was prepared to offer even his own life.
"So that my king... my fiancée... will never be hurt."
With trembling lips, Luri finally managed to speak.
"...You sound just like those foolish humans who don’t know their place."
The harsh words escaped her mouth almost unconsciously.
Yet she nodded at his proposal as she answered.
"Very well. Having heard your reasoning, I believe I can do at least that much."
"Thank you. As expected of a loyal Dragon Spawn."
"However, there is one thing you seem to misunderstand, so allow me to correct you."
Luri erased the family name she had written.
In other words, she was not one of Valdrova’s Spawn.
"My true name is this."
—Luri Silverwind.
"Then, if you’ll excuse me..."
Luri left the study.
Ferda silently stared at the name she had written.
’I didn’t expect this.’
The surname Luri had written shocked him more than a little.
Once a Dragon Spawn completed the Ascension Ceremony, they received the dragon’s name as their family name.
Just as Ferda had become Valdrova instead of Rosnova...
...Luri should likewise have inherited her dragon’s surname.
Yet she was not Valdrova.
She was Silverwind.
’That means she’s a Silver Dragon Spawn.’
Looking back, there had been clues all along.
Her incredible mobility.
The ability to move in the blink of an eye.
Her affinity for wind magic.
Everything fit perfectly with someone who possessed the blood of a Silver Dragon.
Yet at the same time...
It made no sense whatsoever.
’Silverwind died at Valdrova’s hands.’
After killing the Black Dragon, Godwin...
Valdrova had gone berserk.
There had been one dragon who sacrificed his own life to stop her.
That dragon had been the Silver Dragon...
Silverwind.
’The two were practically sworn enemies.’
The reason Valdrova had ultimately become the Evil Red Dragon was largely because the Silverwind faction had exerted overwhelming political pressure.
Silverwind had commanded countless Spawn and possessed immense prestige.
’A Silver Dragon Spawn pledging loyalty to the Red Dragon...’
Resting one hand on the armrest, Ferda lightly tapped his chin.
’Does that mean she’s merely pretending to be loyal?’
He immediately rejected the thought.
’No. Luri is more loyal than anyone.’
There was no room for doubt.
Everything she did for her solitary master...
No mere sense of duty could explain such unwavering devotion.
’Then... is she rejecting the blood of the Silver Dragon itself?’
He dismissed that possibility as well.
Blood was thicker than water.
Among dragons, that truth held even greater weight than it did among humans.
’I don’t know.’
Ferda looked back upon the future he had once experienced.
Come to think of it, a few things had always bothered him.
It was when he had gone to kill Valdrova.
’Luri wasn’t there.’
The castle she had built lay half-destroyed.
Inside the Lair, the only one remaining was Valdrova herself...
Waiting quietly for death.
Even as she drew her final breath...
Luri never appeared.
’If only I knew why...’
The old Ferda had never cared enough to investigate.
There was no way he could have known.
All he knew now was that this woman, whose loyalty seemed beyond question...would one day turn her back on Valdrova.
’Perhaps it’s something I need to uncover.’
Whether he liked it or not...
It was certain to become a source of sorrow for his beloved.
And so Ferda did not hesitate.
***
The following day...
A single carriage arrived before Valdrova Castle.
Vernel Marquis had come.
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