Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Swimming Through the Nightmare (3)
“The reason I called you is simple. The time has come to deal with the nightmare once again.”
The Imperial Princess plainly stated her purpose. It was the reason I'd expected. I calmly nodded.
“I'm fine with doing it right away.”
“I am not.”
“Ah…….”
I had a personality that preferred getting troublesome matters over with quickly, so I'd been hasty. The Vice-Commander chuckled at my flustered expression.
“Come at night. I shall send Sheila for you.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Whenever something like this happened, I felt sorry for the Vice-Commander. She said she did it because she liked it, so I couldn't exactly say anything about it.
I supposed that just showed how strong the bond between them was. Perhaps noticing that I was about to get up, the Imperial Princess raised her hand.
“Not yet. There is still something to settle.”
At the word settlement, I tilted my head. When the Imperial Princess gave her a look, the Vice-Commander pulled a thick pouch from her clothes and handed it to me.
I accepted it with a puzzled look. It was considerably heavy.
“This is also part of the treatment. You are treating none other than an Imperial Princess of the Empire. It is only right that you receive appropriate compensation.”
The Imperial Princess smiled confidently. I was grateful when she acted like this. She was already serving as the Religious Order's backing and had even given me a Skill Enhancement Ticket, and now she was giving me money.
Getting on the Imperial Princess's good side had been the right decision. When I glanced at the pouch, the Vice-Commander nodded.
The pouch was filled with precious-looking jewels.
“Come to think of it. You, Davide.”
“Yes. Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
“When will you give me my gift?”
“Yes?”
I ended up disrespectfully asking her to repeat herself. The response had slipped out unconsciously because I was so flustered. The Imperial Princess showed no particular reaction and merely smirked.
“Student Davide. At the auction back then.”
With a stiff smile, the Vice-Commander mentioned the auction. A gift at the auction. I thought carefully.
Then I remembered the note the Vice-Commander had given me. How about giving the Imperial Princess a small gift? I remembered that I'd even bought a ring for that purpose.
“Ahem. Ahem. A gift, you say? It is a tribute.”
“Oh-ho. A tribute, is it?”
I cleared my throat and began spinning my lie. When it came to scams, everything started with how you phrased it. The Imperial Princess reacted rather theatrically to my words.
I closed my mouth when I saw the gleam in the Imperial Princess's eyes.
“If you call it a tribute to an imperial descendant, it must be an appropriately precious object. My expectations of you are high.”
“……Of course. Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
I gave her a trembling smile. The Imperial Princess knew I'd forgotten. That was why she was teasing me like this.
“If it is an object befitting my station, I shall gladly commend your efforts with gratitude.”
I smiled confidently. It would be difficult for anything I brought to measure up to the Imperial Princess's incredible artifacts.
Unless it was a Relic. But I was confident I could satisfy the Imperial Princess.
“Will that student from the Far East be coming again this time?”
“Ah. She won't be coming this time.”
“Hmm?”
The questioning sound came not from the Imperial Princess, but from the Vice-Commander. Having witnessed the Necromancy Aro had performed, the Vice-Commander looked puzzled.
“It was quite difficult and complicated Sorcery. Will you be all right without Student Aro?”
“Yes. There's another method. It's much safer.”
I answered with certainty. The Vice-Commander tilted her head at my confidence. That was how complicated Aro's Necromancy had been.
Naturally, there was no way I could perform it alone, and an ordinary magician couldn't even imitate it.
“I'm going to use the Dream Bird.”
“The Dream Bird. I see. There was that method.”
At my words, both the Imperial Princess and the Vice-Commander nodded. They seemed to understand once I said I'd receive the help of the Dream Bird, a Spiritual Creature.
“The previous method involved bringing out Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess's consciousness, but this time I'll be the one going inside. The process is much simpler, so it'll also be that much safer.”
“……. You will enter my dream directly?”
“Yes? Yes. That's right.”
I continued explaining, but the Imperial Princess looked uncomfortable. I couldn't understand why she was making that expression.
Wasn't it enough that we'd both be safe? If anything, she should have been pleased. The Vice-Commander, who apparently knew the reason, chuckled.
“You, Sheila. I can see everything.”
“Is that so? Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
The Imperial Princess stared sharply at the Vice-Commander. The Vice-Commander merely responded casually with a gentle expression.
“Enough. You may leave now. It was an enjoyable time.”
I welcomed the Imperial Princess's dismissal. I nodded deeply and left.
***
“……What are you doing?”
“Something important.”
As soon as I returned to the chapel after class, I worked on the ring. If I gave it to her as it was, I'd get slapped across the face, so it needed some extensive modifications.
Winter, who had returned after finishing her classes late, looked puzzled. I answered simply by briefly meeting her eyes.
“Oh. That's the ring from back then.”
“Yeah. That's right.”
Winter immediately recognized the ring. She tilted her head while looking at it.
“But why are you suddenly working on this?”
“Because it's a tribute for Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
Winter had been examining the ring I'd handed her, but the moment the Imperial Princess was mentioned, she became extremely tense. She returned the ring to me with trembling hands.
“G-Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Winter left me with a small word of encouragement and moved away. I shrugged and placed several materials on the table.
“Hmm? What are you doing?”
Aro happened to return from work just then and spoke to me. She immediately transformed into her Silver Fox form and climbed onto the table.
“What are you doing?”
“I'm making an accessory. Hey. Sparrow. Come here.”
I had a rough idea of how I was going to make it. I gave Aro a cursory answer and called Worden, who was sleeping in a corner.
Worden approached with a huge yawn. I gave him Astral's Hair.
“Braid this for me.”
Worden took the strands and began weaving them together one by one. He was creating a specific pattern.
I wore a gauntlet on one hand, so I couldn't perform precise work. Worden knew that perfectly well and worked without much complaint.
“This material is unusual? It looks even better than the silk I brought.”
Aro, who had been watching from beside him, spoke. I'd never shown Astral's Hair to the members of the Religious Order before.
Astral's Hair was tough. It also emitted a subtle, brilliant sheen. Recognizing its quality, Aro's eyes lit up.
“It's Astral's Hair.”
“Oh. There's even thread like that?”
“Thread? Ah. Right.”
Aro apparently thought it was some famous luxury thread important enough to have its own name. Astral's Hair. It certainly sounded prestigious.
I saw no reason to correct Aro's misunderstanding.
“Senior Aro. Carve a thin groove into this.”
“To connect the bracelet?”
“Yes.”
Aro readily nodded. It was the bracelet I'd obtained together with the Ring of Chastity. It didn't have any particularly significant effects.
It just looked fairly nice. But things changed when you had a magician.
“Cult Leader? If it's this tough, I think it could even be used for a weapon's handle?”
“A handle? That's not a bad idea either.”
Worden marveled at the strength of Astral's Hair. A weapon handle, huh. At this level, it could even be used as a bowstring.
It lacked elasticity, but bows fundamentally relied on the elasticity of the bow itself rather than the bowstring.
Looking at it that way, Astral's Hair could be turned into an excellent weapon material. It was just that no one among us used a bow.
“Cult Leader? Do you have any more of this?”
“Why? You want some? I'll give you some when I have extra. I'm barely scraping by right now.”
“Thank? you.”
Worden beamed, apparently satisfied with my straightforward answer. Thanks to Worden's incredible dexterity, the strands soon took on a beautiful appearance.
“Seeing how small it is, is it a gift?”
“Yes. A gift.”
Aro asked as she handed me the bracelet after carving a hole into it. I nodded.
“It looks? like it's for a woman.”
“……A woman?”
Aro's eyes gleamed at Worden's words. I clicked my tongue when I saw her glittering eyes and the red eye makeup blooming around them.
What was I supposed to do about this madness? I had no idea why she felt jealous over things like this.
“Who could the gift be for? Our Davide. Don't I get one? My wrist feels lonely too.”
“It's a tribute for Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
Aro seemed to lose her words. It wasn't as though there were Imperial Princesses everywhere. I snickered at her dumbfounded expression.
Aro, who had already seen the Imperial Princess's face before, tightly closed her mouth. It hadn't exactly been a pleasant memory. The Imperial Princess's charisma was considerable.
“If it's Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess. Um, forgive me for saying this, but will she accept a gift from us?”
“It'll be fine if I'm the one giving it to her.”
Aro gave me a strange look at my answer. Her expression was filled with distrust.
“Now. Shall we finish it?”
“But why are you making a tribute?”
Aro asked at my words. She knew most of the general relationship between the Imperial Princess and us. The Imperial Princess was friendly toward the Religious Order, and we assisted her in return.
But that wasn't enough of a reason to give her a bracelet.
“Ahh. Because my life is at stake.”
“I'll do my best.”
Despite my joking words, Aro became serious. I had been planning to ask her anyway, but before I'd even said anything, she raised her magic.
It looked like she intended to enchant the bracelet. I quietly watched her.
“You can enchant things too?”
“Of course. Though it's not the Imperial style.”
I watched Aro work with an interested expression. Enchantment performed using a Far Eastern method. This should be enough to catch the Imperial Princess's interest.
“I'll make this the masterpiece of my life.”
Sure enough, Aro's boast hadn't been empty. She enchanted it without pause. The results were visibly apparent.
It became smooth and gave off a pleasant fragrance. On top of that, strange patterns appeared engraved across its surface. It had become a piece that would sufficiently satisfy one's aesthetic sense as well.
“Oh. You're connecting them?”
Aro handed me the ring and bracelet. I immediately connected them. I used the strands Worden had painstakingly braided to connect the ring and bracelet.
Aro exclaimed in admiration as she watched. It was quite an unusual style of accessory.
“Not bad. I put a lot of enchantments on it, but will it actually have any effects?”
“Who knows. We used precious materials, but it doesn't really seem to do anything in particular.”
Although we'd made it using none other than Astral's Hair, it didn't have any major effects. It couldn't be used in battle, nor did it provide any benefits in everyday life.
Still, it was pretty and we'd put effort into it, so it should be fine. And someone like the Imperial Princess would probably have her eyes light up when she saw Astral's Hair.
“You don't have to worry. It's something you can't obtain even if you have the money.”
“……You'll make one for me too, right?”
“I'll think about it.”