Chapter 42: The One More Precious Than A Sacred Relic Has Arrived! (3)

✦  Chapter 42 – The One More Precious Than A Sacred Relic Has Arrived! (3)  ✦By now, the lower bodies of the guards were already frozen; the chill crept upwards from below, the freezing sensation rising from their feet to just below their chins. At that moment—

“Eeeeeek!”

An unusually shrill scream pierced the air.

“Stop! Stooop! Pleeease stooop!”

Pop!

In an instant, the space shimmered like a mirage, and a small-framed mage dropped from thin air.

With her hair braided into two pigtails and round glasses, she looked like a rabbit reborn as a human.

The female mage’s name was Tether.

Ezekiel observed Tether, who had appeared out of nowhere.

‘Surprisingly, for such a noisy one, she’s got some skills.’

There was a saying that empty vessels made the most noise; just like small dogs barking desperately, usually the noisiest ones have the least ability. However, this woman was not one of them.

Her actions were comical and noisy, but she actually seemed competent; her capabilities were not ordinary. She must be a high-ranking mage.

The small-framed mage shouted at Ezekiel.

“I, I will! I’ll explain everything!”

However, perhaps because she had rushed in without any countermeasures, Tether’s body was also beginning to freeze from the cold.

“Ugh, it’s cold! Please do something about this cold first! I’m on your side! I’m definitely not your enemy!”

At this, the imperial guards stared at Tether with widened eyes. She belatedly began waving her hands frantically.

“…That doesn’t mean I’ve betrayed the Imperial family! I’m Tether! I’m still loyal to the Empire!”

This time, Ezekiel calmly gazed at Tether.

Tether, her face now on the verge of tears, cried out—

“Ah, I’ll explain everything! I’ll explain, so…!”

.

​.

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​.

​.

“…Yes, that’s how it happened.”

Tether’s explanation was simple and clear.

She introduced herself as the Second Princess’s secretary and stated that Ezekiel was undoubtedly an honored guest designated by the Princess, so the dispute should cease.

“Come on! Everyone, apologize to the Inspector immediately!”

She then produced something from her pocket. It was a gold coin engraved with a black dragon, a token indicating she was acting on Princess Hedera’s orders.

“…………..”

Only then did the soldiers begin to bow their heads one by one.

“Inspector, we’re sorry.”

“Our rudeness was inexcusable.”

After confirming their response, she then turned to face Ezekiel, wearing a friendly smile, “Ahem, we’re truly mortified by this situation.” She bowed politely; though a simple gesture, it was deeply respectful, betraying her long experience serving distinguished individuals.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly once more. I am Tether, secretary to the Second Princess.”

“Ezekiel, Inspector of the Imperial Magic Tower.”

However, his brief response carried an overwhelming presence.

She clearly sensed it. From the cold aura that had effortlessly frozen the soldiers, this man was far from ordinary.

Of course, there were many other surprising aspects.

‘An Inspector at such a young age…?’

The position of Inspector was said to be attainable only after significant academic achievements and reaching a certain age. Yet here was this young man at the pinnacle of the Magic Tower.

‘Either his abilities are extraordinary, or his connections are…’

…Perhaps both?

Tether was certain—

If she had been even a little later, it would have been a disaster.

Her attitude naturally became even more respectful. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“It would be rude to keep an honored guest waiting, wouldn’t it? I’ll guide you right away!”

“Before that.”

Ezekiel abruptly cut off Tether’s words, “It seems the soldiers here weren’t informed of anything. Couldn’t this have been communicated earlier?”

“…………..”

A cold sweat ran down Tether’s spine.

It seemed that this man’s sharp senses were not limited to magic. He was accurately grasping the essence of why this situation had arisen, the core of it.

What should I do?

Should I just tell the truth?

No, I can’t do that.

If I do, it’s definitely going to be a big deal!

“In-indeed! I can see why you might think that!” She struggled to maintain a facade of calmness, “It’s because I received the order not long ago. This is how quickly I arrived after receiving the Second Princess’s command, without any delay…”

“I see.”

Ezekiel nodded unexpectedly easily, somewhat relieving Tether. Was this enough?

She felt a pang of conscience for lying, but surely this much was acceptable. Yes, this much…

However.

Tether soon realized her assumption was wrong.

“So, the Second Princess is in the vicinity, then.”

“………….”

She involuntarily swallowed hard.

‘Where is the Second Princess right now?’

The guess that the Second Princess was nearby was correct. She would be around the palace with the dragon-people.

What if the Second Princess were to run into Ezekiel?

What if she mentioned the task she had entrusted to Tether?

…No. That absolutely cannot happen.

“…Ahaha! Of course, it wasn’t an order given face-to-face. She merely left a brief letter for me to confirm!”

Lying is wrong, but…

Somehow, one lie keeps leading to another…

Ezekiel nodded, and Tether felt relieved for now. After all, shouldn’t she prioritize saving her own life first?

She then took a deep breath and quickly continued, “Now then, let’s move swiftly. Sacred artifacts have been prepared for you, Inspector. You must see them right away!”

Her hurried urging was disguised as enthusiasm.

She had no choice. From Tether’s perspective, sending Ezekiel away as quickly as possible was the best course of action. If they lingered too long, there was a chance the Princess might make a late appearance…

But just then—

“Miss Tether! Miss Tether!”

A group was running towards this place quickly; the only thing they had in common was that they were desperately looking for Tether.

Tether also easily recognized the identities of the group.

“…The guardians of the Imperial Treasury?”

Their identities were the guardians who protected the interior of the Imperial Treasury. Tether called out, her eyes wide, “What’s going on? How could you leave your posts!”

“That’s not the issue right now…!”

However, the guardians’ expressions were extremely urgent.

“The elemental stones inside the treasury have started to go berserk! Especially the fire elemental stone! It’s severe!”

“This is a serious problem. If any relics get damaged… We need to resolve this quickly!”

“Huh…?”

The treasury contained not only relics but all manner of precious items. Among them, the elemental stones were extraordinary objects containing elemental spirits.

For them to go berserk was unprecedented.

In the midst of this chaos, a thought flashed through Tether’s mind, turning her hair white—

— Check the interior of the treasury countless times.

— The relics must be in the best possible condition when presented.

…Oh no.

If this goes wrong, is it my responsibility too?

“…Gasp!”

Tether jumped on the spot.

Among the Princess’s orders was an instruction to thoroughly check the treasury’s condition for the soon-to-arrive Inspector.

This was bad. Truly bad.

“No… No! Why now of all times?”

However, even Tether felt this was quite unfair.

‘It was perfectly fine until last night!’

Tether might be sleepy, but she always did her best with her assigned tasks. She had checked the treasury’s condition right before falling asleep, so why now!

Why now of all times!

“What on earth… What have the guardians been doing?!”

She shouted in frustration.

Of course, she was met with incredulous responses.

“We are literally just guardians. We don’t know anything about the principles or effects of relics and elemental stones! Isn’t that entirely your domain, Miss Tether?”

One of the guardians began to argue point by point—

“Why are you still here anyway? From what I heard, you should have already escorted the honored guest into the treasury, right?”

“Hm?”

Tether’s eyes widened.

“The Second Princess told us guardians that Miss Tether would bring the guest in the morning, so we should be careful with the handover.”

“Hmm…?”

So the Princess gave you detailed instructions too?

Hmm.

But if I mention that…

“Don’t tell me you overslept again? Again?”

“Overslept…?”

“We’ve already checked the attendance log. There are signs of time alteration again. Did you try to cheat once more?”

“…………..”

“We’ve had enough! Figure it out yourself, Miss Tether!”

By now, everyone was staring at Tether.

“…………..”

She chewed her lip for a moment, then—

“Wait, wait!”

She carefully raised one hand.

“I understand. I know you’re all angry, but…” She continued, gauging the reactions around her, “What’s our best move right now? Let’s all calm down first and think of a way to soothe the rampaging elemental spirits─”

~~••~~••~~

​

At the entrance of the Imperial Treasury, chaos had already erupted.

“What should we do now?”

“If the Princess finds out, we’ll be in serious trouble!”

The guardians and guards began to speak frantically, all gripped by fear and confusion.

“First, we need to do something about the rampaging elemental stones! Isn’t there a way? Ah, you said the fire elemental is going berserk, right? Maybe if we request help from the Red Magic Tower…!”

“Are you out of your mind?!”

However, one of the guardians shouted angrily.

“We’re not here to brag about problems in the Imperial Treasury. Are you joking? We absolutely can’t let anyone know!”

“But this is unprecedented. We don’t know how to handle it. There’s no way we can resolve this on our own…!”

“If we can’t, we can’t! It’s not just the fire elemental acting up. The fire one is just the most agitated.”

As the commotion continued endlessly, Tether could only observe cautiously. With everything in such disarray, she didn’t know where to begin.

In the midst of all this—

“That’s enough, everyone.”

With just those few words, everyone fell silent.

Ezekiel had finally spoken.

“………”

“We apologize. We dared to…”

Everyone cleared their throats and averted their gaze.

No matter how urgent the matter, causing a disturbance in front of an honored guest was undeniably rude; they all expected words of concern about the state of the relics or admonishments about proper etiquette.

They quietly waited for the rebuke that was sure to come.

However, after a moment—

Ezekiel asked something unexpected.

“Guardian, you said the elementals are going berserk, correct?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. They’re rampaging…”

“Does that include the ice elemental?”

“The ice elemental? Well, the ice elemental…”

The guardian’s eyes widened.

“Huh? No. The ice elemental is as quiet as a mouse.”

They answered to the best of their ability, but no one understood why the Inspector was suddenly asking about this.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel was pondering something else.

The sudden rampage of the elementals. He had an inkling.

A memory from the past suddenly surfaced.

Long ago, when he had encountered elemental spirits—

— H-human! I get it, so please stay away for now!

— It’s cold! It’s unbearably cold!

— Is this really a human?

— What’s this, a chill colder than even the ice elemental Glacia…!

The reactions of each elemental, shuddering.

The ice elemental was fine, but the fire elemental was raging.

It was certain.

“………”

…This rampage, no matter how he thought about it, was caused by him.