Volume 3 Chapter 45 To The Underground Arena
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Come to think of it)
He suddenly remembers.
(Jibril, whom I met in Sarah’s memory world, said that if I cut ‘thunder’, then I should ‘pursue the shadow’.)
At that time, he thought the strong enemy he mentioned was Abbas based on the flow of the conversation.
But now, he feels that the real strong enemy might be Sarah herself.
The ‘thunder’ he spoke of refers to a strong enemy using ‘Thunder’.
And ‘pursuing the shadow’ likely refers to the ‘Pursuit of the Shadow’──.
The shadow of Jibril, who is just a phantom in the memory world, was teaching him a way to break Sarah, the master of this world…?
That would be a rebellion of characters against their creator.
Thinking that Jibril’s phantom uttered that line beyond his role is quite an abnormal situation.
(If the ghost of Sarah wanted me to overcome my past self, then it’s possible she used Jibril’s shadow to intentionally convey a strategy. That makes sense since Jibril appeared unnaturally as if he forced himself into that world. But)
But what if that wasn’t the case…?
(Hey ‘glasses’, remember when Jibril showed up? You felt something was off about his presence, didn’t you?)
’Yeah, he had a completely different aura from the other characters.’
(Maybe he had the same vibe as Sarah and me back then?)
’Well…’
Kian narrowed his eyes.
The night view outside the carriage window flowed by.
In the darkness, he felt like someone chuckled softly.
(Hey, ‘glasses’)
His heart thumped loudly, echoing in his ears.
(That phantom of Jibril, could it be that someone was inside him, just like us?)
* * *
”Lord Kian, are you listening?”
Lost in his thoughts, a beautiful face of the white-haired witch suddenly filled his vision.
Her slightly pouty expression showed she wore her usual black witch attire today.
The faint orange light from the magic stone lamp lit up the carriage, casting a deep shadow over half of her body.
She was the guide, but it seemed she would join the audience for the gladiator slave exhibition in the underground arena.
She said, “You have to socialize.”
Kian thought that attending the high-class gathering in Châtillon made it hard to call her a recluse.
”Sorry, I was just thinking.”
”I’m surprised by your thick skin, Lord Kian. You are destined to be a spectacle for nobles as a gladiator, and in this carriage is the head witch of Châtillon, the one who caused trouble last night. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
Priscilla spread her arms wide as she said this.
He didn’t really think much about it, but if he had to say something, it was that the carriage felt unusually spacious after her renovations.
Tonight, Natra and Rufna were staying behind because they were going to the strictly limited underground arena.
That left Kian and Priscilla alone in the carriage.
Natra and Rufna were probably practicing the Secret Technique ‘Pursuit of the Shadow’ at the training ground ‘Sandy Beach,’ which they had reserved for the night.
Once they mastered ‘Pursuit of the Shadow,’ Kian’s learning speed would increase a lot.
Since they were sacrificing their free time for training, he would have to make it up to them later.
Kian suddenly remembered the thorns from the ‘Thorn Demon’ that Maribel had given him.
The blonde princess had said, “Please make a magic tool with this.”
It might be a good idea to ask Guy to introduce him to a magic staff maker.
Anyway.
”I’m really sorry about yesterday. Even in an emergency, making Ms. Priscilla do that… please forgive me.”
”Huh? I won’t forgive you. You trampled on a maiden’s pure heart.”
”I understand how you feel. If you don’t want to see my face, can you tell Lord Guy to change the guide to another witch?”
”So, Lord Kian plans to eat that witch, right? That’s the worst!”
”No, I really wouldn’t do something like that.”
”Is that so? You have a weakness for witches, don’t you?”
(Even her… How little trust do I have?)
Priscilla swung her white legs peeking out from her witch dress.
”I may be a witch feared by everyone in Châtillon, but Lord Kian comes at me without any fear.”
”It’s hard to fear a woman who looks as lovely as you.”
”You flirt so easily. You’re the kind of person women should never trust.”
”It seems I’ve really been disliked…”
”I would love to see someone smiling while having a man’s thing in their mouth.”
Priscilla’s words made Esther’s face pop into his mind first.
That serving girl was a serious worker but a total flirt.
She seemed to like Kian’s p**is too, as their friends-with-benefits relationship was still going strong.
’That serving girl is getting her reward, huh…’
”I’m angry with you, but I must do my duty. Was there anything wrong with the ‘sandy beach’ I lent you as a training ground? If you want a different place, I can suggest a few options.”
”‘Beach’ is fine. Thank you.”
”I will fully support you to clear the quest. If you have any other requests, just let me know.”
”Then, I have one thing. There’s something I’m curious about.”
”Hmm…?”
Kian talked about Jibril, whom he met in Sarah’s memory world, as Priscilla tilted her head, urging him to continue.
Priscilla listened quietly at first, but her expression grew serious.
”That’s strange. I shared my view through the scent pouch, but I didn’t see anyone who looked like Jibril.”
”What did you say?”
”Just so you know, I’m not joking. You really met the young Jibril and talked to him, right? You even got hints to break Lady Sarah.”
”Yes, that’s correct.”
As Kian nodded, Priscilla stared at the bubbles rising in her glass.
”Now that you mention it, there was a strange moment when the image got all fuzzy. I thought it was just noise from the world being created by the World Master, but maybe that was it…? Lord Kian, did you think the Jibril you met in that world was the real Jibril? Or did he feel a bit different, like something was off?”
”From what I remember, he was just like the Jibril I know. The conversation was a bit off──hard to pin down.”
”It’s about 2 thousand kilometers from the far west of Vahid’s territory to here. Normally, you can’t interfere in the ghost world.”
”So, Jibril is just a shadow created by Sarah?”
”I don’t know. I can’t say for sure. Even if a third party interfered with Lady Sarah’s memories, I can’t tell if it was the real Jibril.”
”――――.”
”Soon, we will enter the ‘Night Crier’ memory world again. I will keep a close watch to see if anything strange happens. Also… I will have my subordinates check if any suspicious shamans have come to the nearby village. The forest is too dangerous to send people in, but if there are any intruders nearby, they might come down to get food or magic catalysts, so we might catch a glimpse of them.”
As she spoke, Priscilla took out a piece of paper and quickly started writing notes.
When she finished, she opened the small window of the carriage and tossed the paper out.
Kian saw the note turn into a butterfly just before it floated away from the window.
It would carry the message to Priscilla’s subordinates in that form.
”If you notice anything else, let me know. As per our agreement, I will help Lady Sarah. I won’t hold back on preparations.”
”Thank you very much.”
”I’m just doing what I need to do. It’s not something to be thanked for.”
Priscilla said this and tilted her glass.
She then asked, “Would you like something to drink, Lord Kian?” and chuckled, “Oh right, you’re not drinking water.”
”We will soon arrive at the underground arena. I hear my brother is here too, so first, you should greet him. He will explain more about the gladiator matches. I will stay by your side until you finish talking with him, but after that, I will go with my brother to the audience seats. Please follow the instructions of the host regarding the flow of the presentation.”
”Understood.”
When Kian nodded, the carriage jolted.
He felt the speed slowly decreasing.
It seemed they had arrived at their destination.
After a moment, the carriage came to a complete stop, and he heard the sounds of armored soldiers moving and talking in front.
The sound of a massive gate creaking.
The carriage started moving slowly again.
Eventually, it entered a parking area and came to a full stop.
* * *
When they got out of the carriage, they were in front of a huge circular arena.
It was even larger than the arena inside Izerland fortress.
There were many bonfires lit around, and he could see guards lined up at the entrance, holding shields with the Châtillon family crest.
”Ms. Priscilla.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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