Chapter 202: Reaching the Heavens Part 8 Part 1

This feels completely different from what I would usually feel after gulping down energy drinks. It feels as though all of my senses have become sharpened…… Or maybe not that. It feels as though my thoughts have become a lot smoother. Yes, right about now I’m feeling as smart as that certain child detective who always arrives at the right conclusion, no matter how much of an ass-pull they may seem to the reader. No matter what kind of mystery stands before me, I am going to lay it all bare right here right now!

「Alright, you’re getting your ass destroyed!」

「Shouldn’t we think about it some more before we do anything rash!?」

It was behind the throne. It was there that our team ‘Mortals’ managed to find the ‘stone’ that the diary of the city’s former ruler was talking about. As for the ruler itself, it was hard to actually figure out if it was a King or the Queen.

I can say with all certainty that my expectation had been betrayed. I was honestly expecting to find some sort of a secret chamber here in the throne room, and what would be inside of that chamber would be a huge chunk human resembling meat, with the look of perpetual agony written all over its deformed face and only being able to whisper “Kill me…… Kill me……” over and over again. Instead, we have found this thing…… just sort of laying there as if it was the most natural thing to do in this situation.

「A humanoid…… crystal?」

「It looks like it could be worth quite a hefty sum of money.」

「…… Akitsu Akane, read the mood for once, why don’t you?」

「Oh, yeah! That’s right! I am so terribly sorry, Rust-san!」

「No, but like, seriously. Can you imagine just how much cash we could receive for a gemstone this big!? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try!」

OUCH! Don’t just kick my ankles like that all of a sudden, Rust, you bitch! What are you, some kind of a demon or what!?

Sh*t…… Oh well, doesn’t really matter. What matters here is the fact that this thing is indeed a gemstone, but it has humanoid shape. I don’t know if this is the actual ‘stone’ that the diary was talking about, but it surely looked as though it would fit the description quite nicely. Or at least let’s hope it’s like that……

「Sanraku-san! There is some sort of inscription at the back of the throne! But unfortunately I am unable to read it!」

「Alright, time to find the solution for this mystery! I by solving it I mean smashing it to pieces!」

「Has something happened to Sanraku-san!? His thinking patters became so straightforward all of a sudden that it’s actually disturbing!」

No, you know that I’m right, right? I mean, without a doubt destruction is the simplest and quickest solution to all of your problems. When facing a locked door, it is always the quickest solution to smash it to pieces rather than back away in order to find a key that would unlock it, wherever that key might be. Oh, and there is always an option to just smash through the wall that is right next to the door. A little bit more effort, but it’s quick and efficient all the same. There were even games that were giving you so much freedom to do as you please that you could even reach the last boss inside of the final dungeon that way: smash through the walls and no gimmick would be able to stop you.

「…… I don’t get what’s going on either, but if Sanraku keeps on acting up like that, I will become a huge problem for us. We must keep an eye on him at all times.」

「Aha, Ahahahaha…… But I must say, that is one very well-made crystal, if I do say so myself……」

「………」

This is something that only I, no, only Emul and I know for now. A humanoid figure that looks as if made out of crystal, or strictly speaking -- ghost-looking. …… How could I ever forget such a sight?

As a matter of fact, I have no idea who that crystal was modeled after, but even though the figure was made out of crystal, it was so intricate that it was possible to recognize the style and pattern on the figure’s robes.

(Surely, Setsuna of the Distant Past had the same style of clothing……)

Just who the hell is this person? I know that it could be virtually anyone, but just who is the woman that was the model for this crystal figure? Sh*t, there is too little information on this subject. Even with my thinking potential fully unlocked for the moment, I cannot seem to arrive at the answer. So I guess that smashing it might be the only solution after all……

「But surely you must all admit that the image in the crystal is quite gorgeous.」

「…… I mean yeah, sure it is. Just look at those eyes. They look like made out of ruby.」

「But isn’t that part here intriguing? It looks like a necklace of some sort, but the center piece looks different. As if there was a diamond stuck in there that did not belong there in the first place. And the way in which it is cut certainly looks different from all the rest…… Hm?」

「………」

「………」

For a moment out there Rust and I just stand there, looking at one another in complete silence. We were just making sure that our minds were being on the same track about this whole situation. Once we confirm that it is indeed like that, we each give a small nod with our heads and start acting without much hesitation.

「…… SOI!」

「SEI……!」

Rust’s two fingers instantly sink into the ruby eyes of the figure, and my fingers aim towards the necklace hanging around the figure’s neck. Both of us just grab the gemstones that were shining brightly in their respective sockets. While everyone present were too shocked by our sudden display of violence to react in any way, we managed to accomplish what we set out to do. That is grabbing the gemstones and pulling them out of the figure.

「Wait, wait, wait, wait just a moment, Rust!? What the hell!?」

「Emm, umm…… Sanraku…… -san?」

「Transferring the right to rule. What is it that makes a king? I mean in a symbolic sense, not political one?」

「…… And it should be obvious, right? This is a game, so it is only natural that the key to unlock some locked doors would not be hidden away in the same place.」