328 - For Every Answer, Two More Mysteries
"If you found that person, what would you do, Divine King-sama?"
"I would woo them again, and this time take them as my wife."
"Huh?"
Such an unexpectedly passionate statement burst forth, making my eyes go wide for a moment. The Divine King carries an air of a reclusive hermit, but apparently his purpose in searching for someone for over a thousand years was marriage. It is so unexpected that the myths I have heard up until now race through my mind. The impression of the Divine King changes constantly between the myths, the plays, and the ritual prayers I hear at the rites, but his own words fit that image the least. In the myths he is a victim, in the prayers he is someone not to be angered, and he himself says he has been wandering in search of the woman who was to become his wife. None of these pieces connect in my head, and I can only hold my head in my hands.
"Umm...?"
As I hesitate, unsure how to respond, the Divine King gives a wry smile. My reaction was probably just what he expected.
"To take back the wife who was stolen from me. And this time, I want to live a full lifespan with her."
That is all he wants, he says with a face so bright I have never seen on him before. There was not a trace of the tragedy from the myths or the severity from the ritual prayers in that expression.
"...If that wish came true, would you return to this world, Divine King-sama?"
"No. If I live out my full life with her, then I will die. However, after that, the normal succession of Divine Kings would probably be restored."
The Divine King says that children with both eyes blue would be born into the bloodline. This strange blue eye appears in the Divine King's bloodline, and it seems both eyes being blue is something only the Divine King and the child who will become the next Divine King possess. The Divine King continues, saying the reason there is no Divine King in this world right now is because the Divine King of the myths, himself, is still alive. Because it is not yet time for the Divine King's era to pass the seat to the next generation, the next generation cannot be born. It is not because the Divine King hid himself for reasons like wanting to avoid conflict or not wanting to become a source of strife, as the myths and plays say. The truth is simpler than that.
"Um, so... the real Divine King-sama's goal is to get his bride back, the one who caused the incident in the mythical era was a young man who challenged the Divine King. Because of that young man, the Virup Desert was created, many spirits and people died, and to balance the world that was on the verge of collapse, souls were brought from another world...? The official story is that the Divine King hid himself to prevent another tragedy, but that is fictional. The truth is he has been searching for his bride's reincarnation...?"
I try to piece together the information I have heard, but it refuses to connect at all. With my thoughts back at the starting line, my head is starting to ache.
As I groan and wrack my brain, the Divine King offers me one answer. It was also a statement that only brought more confusion.
"Then I will give you one more piece of knowledge. When a power great enough to wither the land was used, there was an even greater power that suppressed it."
"The land withered because a reckless young man stole a divine sword and... something suppressed it...?"
The one the reckless young man challenged was the Divine King. Naturally, the person the young man swung the sword at would also be the Divine King.
"...I understand. The ritual prayers are true, are they not."
It is a prayer begging the Divine King, to fear him and to calm his anger. Against a god-made sword of power great enough to wither the land, there must have been someone who calmed it. That was probably the Divine King.
"Even so, I feel like I have heard some incredible secrets."
"Not really. If you were of this world, anyone would inherently know this."
The Divine King says that even if reincarnators, souls from another world, do not know, those with souls of this world would instinctively know. It is just that humans turned their eyes away from the fact that the Divine King grew tired of them because of the sins humans committed, and superficially forgot it, he says. The myths that have been altered over time are also not in their correct form because of that.
"Speaking of which, you said you put a mark on your bride. What kind of mark was it?"
I asked casually, thinking maybe I could help search too, but the Divine King's reply was a truly gruesome tale. A moment ago I felt like we were talking about a love story continuing from the age of myth, but what the Divine King calls a mark makes me want to tilt my head a bit if it is supposed to be love.
"I told you when we met before. One of her eyes is the same blue as mine. At the moment of her death, I had her eat my eye."
"Eat... your eye...?"
I cannot help but imagine it, and I cover my mouth with my hand. I am furrowing my brow heavily, but belatedly I notice something.
Was having her eat his eye some kind of metaphor? At the very least, both eyes of the Divine King standing before me right now are intact.
"...Huh?"
The moment I am distracted by the Divine King's two eyes, my consciousness is pulled sideways. I feel as if I have been suddenly expelled into an empty space, and when I blink, there is no one around me.
"Divine King-sama? Where is this?"
Even if I call out into the darkness, there is no voice answering me. But sound seems to echo. I can feel my own voice hitting a wall nearby and bouncing back, so it does not seem like I have been thrown into endless darkness.
"...It is cold."
Feeling the cold, I pull my fur shawl closed. Having the fur incorporated into my outfit as protection against the cold was nothing short of the right call.
...But then, being cold means this is reality now?
Until a moment ago I was in that strange place that was neither hot nor cold. The world I could see was the same, but I think I was in a world where I could not feel time or temperature.
As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I carefully step forward. I called out to the Divine King a few times, but there is no response at all. I suppose this is the normal distance between us, but being cast out without any explanation leaves me bewildered.
"Ah, is this... the Seat of Spirits?"
Whether light is seeping in from somewhere, or the crystal itself is glowing, once I reach the Seat of Spirits, I can see a little of my surroundings. It is dark because the torches prepared for the rites have been cleared away. When I came here before, it was bright enough that I did not feel uneasy, lit by the torches.
"If you are going to send me somewhere, you could have at least returned me to the detached palace."
Confirming there is no one around, I relax my shoulders. In this space where I do not need to act like a lady, I puff out my cheeks for the first time in a while and vent my complaint at the Divine King who is not here.
"...Well, it is fine. If I know where I am, I can go back on my own."
I came here once last year. I spent nearly half a day chatting with Christoph, so I have a rough idea of where things are. Now that my eyes are used to the dark, it should be easy to get back to the door.
"Huh?"
Getting to the door leading outside was easy even without light, but opening the door was difficult for me. After all, this is an underground chamber with a revered ornament called the Seat of Spirits. There is nothing strange about the door protecting it being sturdy and heavy.
"Ah, it will not open...! It is heavy...!"
I push the door with all my strength with both hands, and when it does not budge, I put my whole body weight into it. Even then the door does not move, and out of frustration I give it a hard kick.
...Well, I guess kicking it will not make it move.
It is a door that will not move even with my full weight against it. A kick lighter than my body weight would not do anything.
"Someone! Is anyone there? Open the door!"
I shout toward the other side of the door. Since this door protects an important place, there might be at least one guard knight outside.
I slap the door, but the sound of my hitting bounces off the Seat of Spirits and fades away. There is no response from outside, not even a hint of someone moving on the other side.
"Divine King-sama, your work is way too careless!"
I am grateful he brought me out of that uncomfortable space, but even if he was going to drop me somewhere, it was too sudden, our conversation was cut off mid-way, and the location is terrible. If he had at least dropped me during Christoph's rites or put me back in the Seat of Spirits before the cleanup was finished, I could have immediately reunited with the adults, but because he cast me out into the Seat of Spirits after the cleanup was finished, I cannot even open the door. All I need to do is return to the detached palace, but because the door will not open, I am stuck.
I press my ear against the thick door and listen carefully for any sound. I even crawl on the floor searching for a tiny gap, wondering if the door is too thick to let sound through. As a lady, this posture might be questionable, but there is no one here. Maintaining proper posture would just be foolish.
"...Seems like there is no one nearby?"
I try peeking through the gap to see if there is a guard knight's feet, but it is too dark to see. More than the darkness, I feel like the door being too thick is the problem.
"For now, I will just have to wait for someone to pass by."
I mutter to myself, wondering if someone might catch my voice. Even if it is just my own voice, having some sound makes me feel a little braver.
"I hope Christoph-sama has something prepared again this year."
My stomach growls, and I remember that last year Christoph took out snacks and liquor from the hidden door built into the pedestal of the Seat of Spirits. If he has prepared something again this year, there should be something to eat.
"I wonder how much time has passed. I am hungry..."
I go back the way I came and reach the Seat of Spirits. Going around to the back and opening the hidden door in the pedestal, I find liquor for Christoph and fruit juice that seems to have been prepared for me. Happily, there are even dried fruits and baked sweets packed inside.
"Yay... wait, nothing has been eaten?"
The liquor bottles and sweets are neatly packed inside, with no sign of anything having been taken out. I wonder if they did not spend half a day here after the rites this year, and then it hits me.
"Maybe... they could not afford to slack off because I was missing?"
This is not the time to be leisurely eating sweets, I think, grabbing sweets and juice in both hands. I was planning to use the Seat of Spirits as a table and eat the sweets properly like last year, but to get someone to notice me as quickly as possible, I should probably stick by the door.
"Ah."
One of the baked sweets I was holding in both hands slips from my grasp and falls. I crouch down to pick it up, reaching out my hand, when my vision dims slightly and I frown.
...What?
Something felt off, and I follow the shadow. What I end up looking up at is the Seat of Spirits. I thought it was a rectangular throne decorated with crystal, but there seems to be a dark shadow-like thing inside. What is that? I squint, and for an instant the shadow looks like a knotted wooden staff, then disappears.
...Huh? Was that my imagination?
The moment I thought I saw something, it vanished. If I look closely, maybe I can see it again, so this time I press my forehead against the Seat of Spirits and peer inside, but the transparent crystal only shows the pedestal below.
...What was that, just now?
I have some vague idea of the answer, but there is a strange feeling that my head is refusing to arrive at it. An intuition-like instinct within me is clamoring that I must not think about this.
I stare at the Seat of Spirits for a while, then eventually change my mood and move to the front of the door. While filling my stomach with sweets and juice, I keep listening for anyone passing by. Sometimes I get bored of waiting and make a ruckus. Open up, let me out, Divine King-sama you idiot, if you were going to send me back you should have put me somewhere with people around, I shout, and when I get tired I wrap myself in my fur and lie down a little. I repeat this several times, and just as I am starting to worry that maybe this door only opens once a year, I finally hear footsteps approaching.
The sound of a lock being removed wakes me, and I sit up while still wrapped in my fur. I do not have the nerve to greet someone while lying down, after all.
The door opens with a heavy sound, and the lantern light spilling from the other side makes me sniffle with relief. Maybe because I fell asleep pressed against the cold stone floor, my body feels chilled.
"...Sorry, I am not suspicious. Finally open."
The sound of sniffling coming from the Seat of Spirits, where there should be no one, makes the person holding the lantern become wary, I can tell. I understand being on guard, but I have no hostility, so I quickly raise the white flag and ask for help. What I want is to get out of the Seat of Spirits as soon as possible and let everyone at the detached palace know I am safe.
"...Christina-sama, is that you?"
"Yeshu."
The lantern light is directed at me, as if to confirm my face. It is blinding from my side, but I think it is necessary for the other person's peace of mind, so I endure it.
While I blink and let my eyes adjust to the light, it seems the person holding the lantern has finished their confirmation. As my eyes also adjust, I can make out the figure holding the lantern.
"...Ah, Alf-san's mother."
Why are you here, I thought, and I am sure she felt the same way.