kscans

Chapter 343 - Where the Eyes Are

"See ya later!"

With a tension that never left the stratosphere, Lux departed, waving her arm with an intensity I worried would tear it from its socket.

In that moment, an overwhelming silence fell. The boisterous energy from just moments before had been so off the charts that the quiet felt more unsettling than calming.

Ashe and the others seemed used to it, but my partner next to me was likely feeling the same. Our eyes met, and the fidgeting Sora offered a smile with an indescribable expression.

"—That concludes the immediate business. If you are ready, I believe we should return to the conference room. What are your thoughts?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Yes, I'm ready."

With things settled for now… it seemed the private and individual talks were over. We both nodded in response to her question, and Helena-san nodded back, preparing to teleport—

"Haru."

—but before she could, Ashe's voice called out, putting a halt to the proceedings.

"Hm, what is it?"

"I want to talk, just for a moment."

Oh, this is… Judging by her gaze, which was directed straight at me, there was an implied 'the two of us' attached to that, wasn't there?

It might be inconsiderate to Sora—but honestly, it was convenient.

"Just for a moment?"

"Yes, just a moment."

"Alright. Sorry, Sora, could you head back first and wait for me?"

And… honestly, I wasn't sure how she would react, so I wondered what would happen—

"I'll be waiting patiently, so please, don't worry about me."

—but her response was a perfectly natural and gentle smile.

"Helena-san, if you would."

"As you wish."

There was no particular reaction, no hint of strangeness in her expression or voice.

My partner's inner thoughts, as she departed the waiting room accompanied by Helena-san, were too difficult for me to read. Was she truly not bothered at all? Or perhaps—

"I'm envious."

"Hm?"

"You both naturally put each other first. I've never seen such a pure partnership between a man and a woman… I'm envious."

Receiving what was a genuine compliment—now, should I puff out my chest, or should I offer a wry smile and say, 'It's actually pretty complicated'?

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

When dealing with Ashe, there's no point in choosing my words carefully or trying to probe her thoughts.

She's the type to give an immediate response. If it's something she can't talk about, she'll honestly say, "I can't talk about it." The only problem is that her responses are so quick that conversation topics tend to run out at lightning speed.

"First, I want to ask you about something. A little while ago, you said there was something you wanted to show me."

Oh, she remembered. The reason I thought her stopping me was convenient was precisely because I was trying to figure out the right time to share that information.

What I wanted to show her—it was, of course, that.

"It's about 'the Red'… about Riertahelia of the Red Circle."

I unhooked the dagger, sheath and all, from my lower back, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Ashe. It was a rather problematic item that she, too, had plenty of experience fighting against.

"[Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum]—I'm sure you know of Yukajin? A famous artisan. This is a weapon he made for me from that rabbit's horn…"

"Yes. It didn't break, even when it clashed with my sword."

"It's one of my prize possessions. Anyway, what I want you to see is the flavor text."

Check it out—I tapped the table, prompting her to tap the item. Ashe, who obediently opened the Rabbit Dagger's details window, replied,

"—…"

She let out a small, surprised breath, and then narrowed her eyes just a fraction.

Mixed in with her usual, hard-to-read blank expression was a bit of confusion and doubt… Well, that was to be expected.

<[Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum]> Production Weapon: Dagger
A crimson dagger carved from the demon horn of the Ruby Rabbit that guards the Red Spiral.

The demonic brilliance that governs the immortality of 'the Red' holds a curious authority—
Worship and revere it, fear and kneel. The Pillar is yet immortal, thus the gaze of the 'Red Circle' never fades.

Not only was the flavor text deeply meaningful… but the same wording was also included in the incantation for its hidden magic. Which means—

"The Pillar is yet immortal…"

"'The gaze never fades'… or so it says. I don't know, though. Flavor text is just flavor text, it might just be some random words to set the mood."

But still. Considering Arcadia's game design, which I could no longer think of as ordinary, a certain possibility inevitably came to mind.

My clearing of the [Spiral Crimson Tower],

My subsequent acquisition of the horn from the [Ruby Bullet Rabbit],

And the creation of the [Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum] from the [Ruby Rabbit Demon Horn]—

Of course, all of this happened after the Red Circle had been defeated.

"—'The Red is Here.'"

"…?"

"That's the incantation for the magic this thing has."

'The Red is Here,' 'Look to the ground, the eye is there,' 'Look to the sky, the eye is there.'
'Defeat, fall, despair, decay, yet stirring is the flame of devotion.'
'Worship and revere it, fear and kneel, the gaze of the Red Circle never fades.'

By the time I had recited the full incantation, the color in Ashe's eyes had clearly changed.

"—It sounds like it's saying it hasn't been destroyed yet."

"…Right? That's what I thought, too."

It's precisely because the Red Circle has already been defeated that this flavor text and incantation carry a significant, undeniable meaning.

"Governs… immortality… Infinite and immortal………… A different… entity… ?"

"I've thought about it a lot, but there was still an announcement that it was defeated, right? And the system expansion reward was definitely implemented."

On top of that, even Chitose-san from the development team believed the Red Circle had been defeated. That's what makes it so confusing.

This is probably the kind of mystery that has no answer right now, no matter how hard we try. We don't even know if we should be concerned about it or not.

"I really can't judge this on my own, so I figured I should at least check with a very small group before I start digging around…"

"…Yes, being cautious is a good thing."

Will it become a bombshell, or not? Now that I have a "colleague" with the same goal, it's best to avoid making a decision alone while the answer is unknown.

So, I had planned to just tell Ashe 'let's make some time for this later' and put it on hold… and in the end, I had frankly forgotten about it.

I thought it would be smoother to present my suspicions after she had seen the real thing, but if it was going to be this long, I should have just told her verbally beforehand.

"For now, I'll share this with Helena and have her gather information. If we start a new investigation with the premise that 'the Red' has not yet been destroyed, we might find something."

"Is that where you mobilize your renowned intelligence unit or whatever it is…"

"I'm fairly certain we've never conducted espionage on other factions, at least."

A small smile graced her lips as Ashe—

The master of Arcadia's largest clan, 'Alliance,' took the Rabbit Dagger from the table, offered it back to me, and nodded.

"Everyone is very capable, so you can count on them. Thank you for the information."

"You're so reliable it's almost intimidating… Alright, I'll leave this matter to you."

If the hegemonic clan with a total membership of over five million is taking on the task, there's nothing to worry about. Even more so if Helena-san is taking the lead.

And with that… my 'business' should be settled, for now.

"So… shall we hear what you wanted to talk about?"

When I asked again, Ashe nodded this time without hesitation—

"Sora… I've greeted your partner, so now I want to move on to the next step."

"…Hm? Ah, eh… next step?"

Her voice was perfectly level and clear. While vaguely guessing the meaning of her words… I asked for confirmation, predicting what was to come.

"The other one you mentioned before."

As it turned out, Ashe's intentions were exactly as I had read them….

"—I think love rivals should at least know what the other looks like, don't you?"

"…………"

"What do you think?"

Faced with the words of a princess who was nothing but honest, upright, and fearless, I quietly braced myself, thinking, So the time has finally come.

As I vividly pictured the commotion that was about to unfold—

"…………Can I ask for the other party's opinion first?"

As I opened my friends list to send a message, for better or worse, the name of the 'other one' was displayed, showing she was online.