Chapter 459: 16 Year Old Inglis and the Highland on Distance Sea (68)
Leave a comment
And then, after the Order of Arcane Warden returned from Alucard… Inglis and the others once again stepped into the Sarcophagus of Greyfriar.
Before them, the memory of the space was being projected. Two cylindrical devices, used for the transformation into Hyrule Menaces, stood side by side, and inside them were Cystia and Yua.
In front of them, a young man who had fallen from outside the sarcophagus stood.
"H-Holy crap! It really is Yua!" Ripple exclaimed in surprise when she saw it.
"Maybe a look-alike?" Yua had a weary expression, tilting her head slightly.
"No, it definitely looks more like the real you, Senior Yua. Don’t you think?"
Yua, as usual, disrupted Inglis’ composure.
"Don’t you remember anything, senior?"
Even in response to Rafinha’s question, Yua just shook her head slightly.
"Hmm… I don’t know."
Perched on Yua’s head was Maurice, now transformed into a tiny magic stone beast, shaking his head in agreement.
"I-I see."
"But—"
"But what?"
"This lady, I met her before."
She pointed to Cystia.
"She helped me shrink Bean Sprout down."
"Does that mean, on the battlefield in Arlman…?"
The other day, on the battlefield in Arlman, where they were facing off the Bird Prisma. It was during that battle that Maurice turned into a magic stone beast.
Apparently, Maurice had some connection to the Ironblood Chain Brigade. The Prism Powder he was carrying reacted to the Prisma and caused him to be the first one turned into a magic stone beast.
Indeed, Cystia had also been present on that battlefield, coming to their aid. It appeared that Yua and Cystia had already crossed paths before that encounter.
"Yeah. She seemed to want to become my underling."
"H-Huh? Did Miss Cystia really say something like that?"
"No… She just started acting all submissive."
"Submissive?"
"Yeah. The way she spoke."
"With honorifics, like showing deference?"
"Something like that."
Yua nodded firmly.
"………."
From what Inglis had seen, Cystia was a rather proud individual.
Although she seemed to swear absolute loyalty to the leader of the Ironblood Chain Brigade, the Black Mask, it didn’t seem like she would ever bow to others for no reason.
"So, in other words, for Cystia, Senior Yua is an old acquaintance, someone she respects."
"I don’t even know her… but, you sure it’s not a look-alike?"
Yua seemed determined to insist on the ‘look-alike’ theory.
"No, it really looks like it was you… but rather, it seems more likely that this transformation into a Hyrule Menace caused you to lose your previous memories. That seems like the more probable explanation."
The reason Inglis thought this was because of their encounter with Charlotte in Illuminus, who clearly resembled Liselotte and even shared the same name as Liselotte's mother, yet she didn’t seem to remember anything.
It seemed that the Hyrule Menace transformation might have such side effects. However, since Eris, Ripple, and Arles still had memories from before becoming Hyrule Menaces, it didn’t necessarily happen to everyone.
"Oh, she fell!" Principal Miliera raised her voice.
It appeared that only Yua had fallen to the ground from the Sarcophagus of Greyfriar.
"Wait! I see a rainbow-colored glow below… Is that a Prisma!?" Special Envoy Theodore raised a surprised voice at the sight that followed.
The people currently present were Inglis, Rafinha, Yua, Ripple, Principal Miliera, and Special Envoy Theodore.
Originally, the plan had been for Special Envoy Theodore to observe the situation with Eris and Princess Meltina of Venefique inside the Sarcophagus of Greyfriar, and, if necessary, to make a decision about whether to destroy the device and rescue them.
Visit freёwebnovel.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.
Yua's situation was not the main subject, but since Inglis was also concerned, they decided to have Yua come along and ask about the situation.
"Based on the situation, this young man could be the leader of the Ironblood Chain Brigade, the Black Mask. We might be witnessing the moment when he and Cystia encountered each other."
If Black Mask had saved Cystia from Illuminus and she felt gratitude, leading her to swear absolute loyalty to him, that would make sense.
"That might be the case." Principal Miliera nodded in agreement with Inglis' words.
"Therefore, we can assume that Senior Yua herself has no connection to the Ironblood Chain Brigade. After all, she's been separated from them here."
It would be unfortunate if Yua were to be suspected of having any secret ties to the Ironblood Chain Brigade. Inglis felt the need to say something to clear that up.
"Yes, that seems to be the case." Special Envoy Theodore nodded in response to Inglis.
"Yua doesn’t seem like the type to secretly live a student life while hiding connections with the Ironblood Chain Brigade." Ripple added, agreeing with the Special Envoy.
"Special Envoy Theodore, how was this incident —or should I say, accident— reported in Illuminus?"
Principal Miliera asked.
"Good question. This is quite a significant matter for the Highland, after all."
“Everything regarding the Sarcophagus of Greyfriar and the transformation of Hyrule Menace is kept confined to Professor Vilkin’s and my father—Duke of Art's circle. This is the first I've heard of it.”
Special Envoy Theodore replied, shaking his head.
"I don't think Miss Yua knows anything, but Mister Maurice was a member of the Ironblood Chain Brigade. It's possible that they were watching Miss Yua after tracking her whereabouts."
"That’s possible. Perhaps they originally wanted to recruit Senior Yua as one of their own, but since Senior Yua doesn't remember anything from her past, they couldn't do that…"
"Yua, do you have any idea…?"
Ripple turned to Yua, but Yua was no longer there. She was crouching in front of the young man, who seemed to be the Black Mask, staring intently at his face.
"Oh, he's quite handsome."
"Ah, you're right ♪"
And Rafinha was with her too.
"But I think Little Devil’s brother is more handsome?"
"Huh? You mean Big Bro Rafa?"
"Yeah. He's a handsome god."
"Hahaha… Since I’m the sister of a god, that makes me a goddess too! Yay!"
"And in the future, you’ll be my little sister too, okay?"
Yua lightly tapped Rafinha's shoulder.
"Eh!? But-, but Big Bro Rafa needs to marry Glis! Right, Glis?"
"I’m not getting married! Forget about that! More importantly, both Rani and Senior Yua, please listen properly…!"
"Now, now, forget about that. Glis, come over here and take a look."
"Come on, Boobie Girl, it’ll be good for your eyes, right?"
Rafinha and Yua both waved their hands in an inviting gesture.
"Geez…"
Since the conversation wasn’t progressing, Inglis decided to follow their lead.
Now that she thought about it, even when she was alone here, she hadn’t bothered to scrutinize the face of the young man who seemed to be the Black Mask. She hadn't paid it much attention.
‘Well, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look,’ she thought.
Inglis moved around to the front of the young man, casually leaning in to get a look at his face. "Eh—!?" She couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.