Volume 2 Chapter 33 Quest： Obsidian To Roses (Revisit) III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Am I really the ‘Azrael’s Death Sword User’? What a joke.”
”I dislike convoluted methods. If we’re going to settle this, let’s do it here and now.”
”By the way, which ‘Azrael’s Death Sword User’ are you referring to? Is it about that criminal organization? Or the honorable title given to Azrael’s Twelve Divine Generals?”
Oswald furrowed his brows.
The flames that had been burning in his golden eyes began to subside.
”It’s the title from your homeland. Isn’t that right?”
”I might have mentioned it before, but I was exiled from Azrael 15 years ago. After that, I drifted to East End and have been living as a lower-rank adventurer for 14 years. Not to spread the teachings of Azrael widely, but just to survive day by day. …Does the highest apostle of Azrael live a life like that? The name of the Death Sword User has fallen to the ground.”
”From my perspective, that is indeed perplexing.”
Oswald slowly stepped away from Kian.
He was casting a suspicious glance.
”I had the gall to check your official Adventurer’s Guild records. It says that you registered as an adventurer 14 years ago, and have been languishing here ever since without doing anything noteworthy. Looking at the records alone, you’re just an ordinary adventurer with nothing special about you. …However…there’s no way that a mere lowest-rank adventurer could have defeated a griffin alone or dealt the final blow to a vampire. I even suspect that the documents are forged. Or…that the mediocre adventurer named ‘Kian’ is no longer in this world, and that someone else with superior abilities has taken his place.”
”So Sir Oswald thinks I’m an apostle sent by the Guild and Azrael in cahoots with him?”
”Who are you?”
Oswald said, hands on hips.
”You were able to slaughter comrades targeting Her Excellency so easily; whose side are you even on?”
”I am on my own side. However, I will protect the Quest’s escort target with all my might, and I will do my utmost for my friends and lovers. Sir Oswald would do the same, right? In fact, everyone should.”
”…Can I trust you? I don’t want to kill you.”
”I’m neither ‘Azrael’s Death Sword User’ nor an assassin targeting Sir Oswald. If I were an assassin, I would have attacked long ago.”
”…Right. That’s true. Just now, when I turned my back, you could have drawn your magic sword and attacked. You didn’t do that. If you were an assassin, there would be no reason not to. You’re not my enemy, are you?”
”I’m glad you understand.”
”…I’m sorry. After all, I hold a position with many enemies.”
”No.”
”Since I’ve decided to trust you, I’ll trust you completely. I won’t make the foolish mistake of continuing to doubt you.”
Oswald said this as he extended his ring-covered right hand.
It was meant to be a handshake to reconcile.
Kian took his hand without hesitation and shook his arm.
”Shall we continue our search? We need to find something left behind for Esther.”
”That’s right. I want to find the living space of the ‘Leanan sídhe’ that lived here. I hope there are still her diary and important relics left behind. Let’s go.”
Oswald said, and without hesitation he stood in front of Kian and started walking.
His back is completely exposed.
He stopped at the fork in the passage and looked back at Kian.
”If you turn left, you’ll be able to go out to the courtyard from the balcony. Kian, aren’t you coming?”
”No. Sorry.”
After apologizing, he catchs up with Oswald.
Oswald seemed to have completely forgotten the previous scene, and his eyes were fixed on the candlesticks attached to the ceiling of the passage.
Soon the two of them passed through a dark passage and came out onto a bright balcony overlooking the courtyard.
* * *
The courtyard was a large space measuring 50 meters square.
From the east, west, south, and north of the mansion, white stairs protruded from the second floor, allowing access to the courtyard.
There were several shallow pools set up in the courtyard.
It seemed to be a space for hosting parties with other nobles and artists.
Even when this mansion was built, inviting someone to hold a grand banquet appeared to be the greatest entertainment.
”It’s spacious. The water has been drained, and the flower beds remain bare soil, but with proper care, it seems fit for inviting royalty.”
”Have you ever seen the faces of royalty, Kian?”
As Oswald lightly jumped over the balcony railing, he asked.
He landed silently on the cobblestone of the courtyard.
His agility was like that of a cat.
When Kian followed after him, Oswald frowned.
”Hey, use the stairs.”
”I thought it would be disrespectful to use the stairs since Sir Oswald jumped.”
”What kind of reasoning is that? If that strange magic sword you’re carrying hits the railing and breaks the stone, I will certainly charge you for the repairs.”
”That would be troublesome. The money I earned from the recent escort Quest is meant for purchasing valuable magic tools in this mansion.”
”I hope that magic tool isn’t a vampire’s relic. Just so you know, the negotiation with McCutchen is first come, first served. Heh, don’t blame me if you lose to me.”
Oswald grinned and glanced at a large vase placed in the corner of the courtyard.
A white vase in a courtyard made of white stone.
If he were to plant flowers, would it be better to have brightly colored flowers like red or pink?
”It seems that ‘Leanan sídhe’ had an artistic sense. I have seen the candlestick designs and they all match very well. It is not as if she just spent a lot of money on her furniture.”
”The flower beds are leveled, but the edges are worn, showing signs of long-term use. Perhaps the gardener used charmed travelers and adventurers to buy fertilizer and flower seeds from somewhere.”
”The Leanan Sidhe understand art, but at heart they are monsters, and are said to have a different sensibility from us. Do you know that?”
”Not only ‘Leanan sídhe,’ but even among us humans and elves, our aesthetic senses differ. The same goes for dwarves and beastmen. In the past, when architects from each race were given the same materials to build houses, they ended up looking completely different. It’s a famous paper by Azrael, you know.”
”That’s interesting. Elves seem like they would build homes that are harmonious with nature, probably filled with lots of bugs. Dwarves would go for a burrow. Am I wrong?”
”Generally, that’s not wrong. To add, beastmen favored airy structures that were relatively simple in appearance. Humans, having less strength than the other races, made use of the terrain to create their dwellings effectively. When they saw their finished works, everyone unanimously declared, ‘My architecture is the most beautiful!’”
”So everyone has their unique sense of aesthetics, then?”
”No, there’s more to the story…. As I listened to the explanations of the external and internal designs, I noticed a commonality among the 4 architectures.”
”What is it?”
”It was that they were ‘practical’ for living.”
Kian looked up at the stairs that could be climbed even by a lady in a dress.
”None of the 4 architects created houses that were difficult for themselves to live in. The stairs were designed for everyone to climb, and the kitchen was made for cooking. Each of their architectures had its own ‘practicality.’ From this, researchers hypothesized that what we all share as ‘beautiful’ might actually be ‘practicality.’”
”Hmm…? I see. So, looking at this interior, perhaps the ‘beauty’ of the Leanan sídhe also has a ‘practicality’ that we can perceive.”
”Yes, but…”
Kian pushed up the bridge of the ‘glasses’ and pointed to the inner wall surrounding the courtyard.
”When you sell it, you might want to add more lighting so that it’s more comfortable for humans to live in. It looks like it’ll be pitch black at night…”
”Let’s set up lots of equipment for kindling bonfires. That would be more ‘rational’. The place to store firewood would be──the basement, I guess.”
Oswald shook his sun earrings and saw a wooden door standing alone at the edge of the courtyard.
It seems to be quite spacious. It may have been a wine cellar or something in the past. There is a strong magical item response below… There is a possibility of combat occurring, though.
”I don’t mind it, but my longsword has magic inscriptions for dealing with ghosts, and at worst, I can use the power of the sun to incinerate. I need to be careful not to damage the property. Are you alright, Kian?”
”I’m always ready.”
Kian nodded slightly.
”The warrior monks of Azrael possess a mindset suited for constant battle.”
’Even during s*x, right?’
(Please be quiet for a moment.)
* * *
As seen through the ‘glasses,’ the underground area was quite vast.
Directly beneath the courtyard was entirely the space of a wine cellar.
Numerous old barrels were lined up.
However, it seemed that no wine had been stored, and none had shown signs of use in a long time.
It appeared that neither the Leanan sídhe nor the ghosts had a taste for alcohol.
According to Robert, during his captivity, he was served human-like meals and wine every day, so maybe these food storages were used only during that time.
Oswald held up his torch and frowned.
”This is a nest for rats and bugs. There are even spider webs. Perhaps an entire ecosystem has been running down here.
”There are several passageways. That way must lead to the baking area.”
”Maybe… There are no labels saying ‘pending retrieval’ anywhere.”
Oswald lowers himself slightly so that the ends of his gelled hair don’t touch the ceiling.
He waved the torch and peered into the darkness beyond the rows of barrels.
”Wait, what’s that door over there?”
’Kian, be careful. I feel a strong magic power from below.’
”…It seems to be connected to the bottom. It seems to have a dangerous magic power reaction. What should we do?”
”Of course I’ll go. I’ve got a plan that will earn me at least 8,000 gold coins. Of course I’ll go.”
(I see… If Oswald hadn’t had his eye on it, I could have taken this property for myself. Is there any way to get it now? Eventually, I want a country, but for now, I just need a spacious bed to create a harem.)
’Good grief. A banker blinded by money and a greedy, smelly monk, huh? In some stories, both would have ended up as the initial victims, possessed by a ghost and killed.’
”Fuhaha, splendid! A space this large underground is a significant advantage! It will definitely sell!”
The young man with a blond mohawk approached the door with glimmering eyes. Upon realizing the door would not open, he began looking around for a key.
”I’ll open it. No need to kick it down.”
”Nice.”
”No. A bit more toward me with the torch. Thank you.”
After a few seconds successfully unlocking the door, Kian pushed it open and stepped inside.
Beyond the door was an even larger space, situated one level lower than the wine cellar.
A passage extended sideways from the door Kian had pushed open, with a stone staircase leading down.
It had an atmosphere reminiscent of a secret underground empire, but both Kian and Oswald grimaced at the stale smell wafting up from below.
”Hey, what is that smell? Isn’t it blood, Kian?”
”It’s dry. There’s no fishy odor, only a strong metallic scent coming through. Shall we go down?”
”There’s no option to turn back now that we’ve come this far. Is it impossible to fill this place in the layout? Should I tell Aisha to handle it with magic?”
Muttering this, Oswald took the lead, turned 90 degrees to the left from the entrance, and began to descend the horizontal stone staircase.
The sound of 2 pairs of boots echoed through the iron-smelling basement.
Finally reaching the bottom, Oswald raised the torch above his head.
Kian stands next to him and holds up his light in the same way.
There seemed to be many small rooms in the back.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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