Chapter 19 - The Spirit

"... You really are something else."

After laughing uproariously for a good while across the table, the prince wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke.

"Dame Noel certainly brought along someone bizarre. Even I didn't see someone like you coming."

"...?"

Honestly, Aiden had practically been picking a fight, yet the response was far milder than he had expected.

Was the prince really going to try offering him something else? He was about to speak when the prince beat him to it, as though reading his mind.

"After you've gone that far, I have no intention of making any further offers. Why not simply stay where you are?"

"...?"

Aiden's eyes narrowed further at how decisively, almost refreshingly, the prince gave up.

"After all, if you're staying because you like her, it would be rather unseemly to force you apart."

"..."

"However," the prince continued with a smile, "I will assume you're prepared to accept whatever 'dangers' that entails."

His voice was calm and as courteous as ever.

"Until next time, Mr. Aiden."

But beneath the words he left as he rose from his seat lay a chill cold enough to freeze Aiden's spine solid.

"I'm certain we'll meet again."

... On that point, Aiden wholeheartedly agreed.

▣

"Mr. Aiden."

"Yes?"

"Dame Noel is behaving rather strangely. Would you happen to know anything about it?"

"..."

Met with Stella's question the moment he returned to the banquet hall, Aiden's eyes darted about.

"Strangely? In what way...?"

"She was so distracted, it was as though her soul had left her body. Then she suddenly said she felt unwell and returned to military headquarters. She's never done that at an official function before..."

"..."

"Her face was so unusually flushed that I don't think she was lying... But she's hardly someone who would fall ill so suddenly."

... So that was why she had been nowhere to be seen.

Aiden nodded with an odd expression as Stella continued voicing her concerns.

Did he have any idea?

-System Log

▶ Target 'Noel Astria Seamus's affection increases.

▶ The increase in affection is tremendous!

▶ Bond skyrockets from Level 3 to Level 5.

▶ You gain 2 additional skill copies!

▶ Sufficient Bond has accumulated. The application of 'Weaver of Fate' will change soon!

▶ Related content will soon be added to the Main Quest!

▶ A new entry is added to the quest 'Sham Marriage'!

He did.

He certainly did, but...

"... I'm not sure myself."

For now, that was all he could say.

Honestly, if Dame Noel had overheard that conversation, the increase in affection itself made sense.

He had staunchly defended her against the prince, and toward the end...

'... Honestly, I want to die of embarrassment.'

His face burned at the thought of having blurted out something so much like a confession in public.

He would have to find some way to explain it away to Noel later. It would be awkward if she genuinely misunderstood.

Actually, on reflection, it wasn't entirely a problem. He had gained two skill copies, after all.

'A gain is a gain, I suppose.'

But this time, he hadn't done it deliberately, which left him distinctly uncomfortable. The fact that his relationship with her kept deepening was also worth noting.

'This is dangerous.'

... He knew he was contradicting himself.

In his current situation, he needed to grab every skill he could to survive, and Dame Noel was far too powerful to leave off his list of targets.

Even setting her abilities aside, maintaining their 'marriage' was one of the crucial factors that determined whether he lived or died. Any way he looked at it, his relationship with her and her affection were essential to his survival.

But conversely, that was precisely why growing genuinely close to Noel on a personal level would be a headache of its own.

It wasn't that he disliked her, or that she wasn't important. Quite the opposite: she was 'too important.'

'I need to be careful with all the main characters.'

What he had to do hadn't changed much. Ultimately, raising their affection was an absolute necessity.

But with no protagonist around, Aiden would have to keep dealing with them until the main scenario ended.

What if they grew truly close, only for him to make some mistake and ruin it?

The higher you rose, the farther you fell. Once a close relationship suffered a deep rupture, repairing it was all but impossible.

It wasn't even uncommon for people to become more capable of hurting each other the 'closer' they grew. That was simply how life worked.

And Aiden was at least wary enough to know that it could happen to anyone.

He therefore needed to approach every one of them carefully and delicately.

"..."

Still, he could worry about that later.

There were other things that needed his attention right now.

-Skill Info

◈ Weaver of Fate

⧾Arden Brimstone Lionel

- Malice: Level 1

- You may imitate 1 skill.

※ It is impossible to build a 'Bond' with this target. Skill effects will differ from the originals!

He had just wrung this skill copy out of the prince, but its mechanics felt somewhat different from those he had used until now.

For a start, it said 'imitate' rather than copy. Opening the skill window and examining the effects made that difference even more pronounced.

'They've been severely weakened.'

Compared with the skills the prince actually possessed, every one of them was inferior.

Their power and range of application had all been reduced, and several were crossed out in red, apparently unavailable even for imitation.

What stood out, however, was this:

▶ The target's 'Malice' level is low.

▶ Only 'Imitation' is currently available.

▶ Raise the Malice level to unlock additional functions such as 'Repulsion,' 'Filtering,' and 'Sealing'!

Compared with skills copied through affection, these seemed to come with a host of additional utility functions.

He couldn't use a skill at its original strength, but in exchange, it felt as though he could exert some sort of 'influence' over the skill itself.

He would only learn the details once he raised the Malice level.

'More importantly, if the requirement is called Malice...'

... Did that mean the more this person hated Aiden, the more skills he would have access to?

"..."

Surely that was an absurd activation requirement.

He actually had to earn someone else's ill will?

Aiden heaved an inward sigh and rose from his seat.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes. I've met everyone I came to see."

That was what he said, but in truth, he still had to meet the biggest headache of them all.

A short walk outside the banquet hall brought a knight in full plate armor into view, perched on the edge of a fountain with a hand propping up a sleepy-looking head.

... Not that she was actually a knight.

"I'm sooo booored."

The moment she spotted him, Katya kicked her legs and launched straight into a complaint.

"What's with this? It's no fun at all. Isn't there some big incident happening somewhere?"

"... What sort of big incident?"

"You know, anything we'd get in trouble for if we got caught."

"..."

"Beating someone up, burning them, killing them. Anything like that?"

"..."

This was the very same person who had insisted on becoming his aide, claiming he would draw disapproving looks at official functions otherwise.

"Weren't you the one who insisted on becoming my aide? You should take your duties seriously."

"That only applies when we're 'spending time together.' Did you forget? I became your aide so I could stay with you for ages."

"..."

Casually saying things that made other people uncomfortable was just like Katya.

Aiden pressed his throbbing temples as he replied.

"Then shall we go do something fun together? I'm finished with the banquet."

"Really? What are we going to do?"

Aiden turned his head slightly and surveyed the area around the building where the banquet was being held.

The banquet was taking place inside the imperial palace, after all, and that sprawling edifice was filled with places steeped in history and secrets.

His destination was one of them.

Still, as for what their actions would look like from the outside... How should he put it?

Hmm.

Scratching his chin, Aiden considered a milder way to describe what he was about to do.

In the end, he realized it would amount to the same thing however he phrased it, so he simply said it.

"Grave robbing."

"... Oh."

▣

"The Hall of Honor?"

Having 'infiltrated' the place with Aiden at his request, Katya spoke up.

She seemed to know exactly where they were.

"This is an actual tomb. You really meant grave robbing, not figuratively?"

Honoring great figures was a custom found all over the world, and the Empire was no exception.

Here in the Hall of Honor, objects associated with such figures were displayed and their achievements commemorated.

Strictly speaking, it was a museum, but Katya wasn't wrong to call it an actual tomb.

Where possible, even those great figures' 'remains' were preserved here.

Perhaps intrigued by the place, Katya looked around.

Aiden, who had been meekly following behind her, was giving her a horrified look.

'... She really is a monster.'

It went without saying that security throughout the imperial palace was of the highest standard.

Yet she had bounded through it effortlessly with Aiden in tow, leaving him wondering whether she was royalty or a professionally trained infiltration operative.

It felt as though she had more than a few tricks hidden up her sleeve.

"... Your Highness. You weren't fighting seriously against Dame Noel before, were you?"

"Huh? That wasn't even a fight."

"..."

Once again, he felt just what a monster he had taken on as his aide.

Shaking his head, he stepped inside the Hall of Honor.

"Anyway, grave robbing means we're stealing something from here, right? What are you after? Weapons? A secret manual? Armor? Anything from this place ought to be top quality."

She sounded thrilled to be doing 'something that would get her in trouble.' He might have been imagining it, but even her eyes seemed to sparkle.

And, for better or worse, Aiden had an answer ready that certainly wouldn't disappoint her.

"... The great figure in person."

"What?"

Katya tilted her head, but instead of explaining, Aiden strode onward.

As mentioned earlier, several sets of preserved remains lay within this place.

Aiden stopped in front of one that was in particularly good condition.

The spirit dwelled in the flesh. The better the condition of the body, the higher the chance that what he was about to attempt would succeed.

"... The Knight of Dawn?"

Having identified the preservation case Aiden had stopped before, Katya spoke the name.

"You know of this knight? An imperial historical figure?"

"Wouldn't it be stranger if I didn't? The 'first knight' is still a favorite subject for artists, you know."

An imperial hero with countless military exploits, victories, and tales of valor.

Conqueror of the Nameless Valley, the mighty victor who toppled the Spire of Heaven, a one-man army, the first and strongest, the goddess Karva's most faithful servant.

The first person to discover how to use energy and the training methods for it. A knight who wielded energy in its purest state, whom no one but Dame Noel had yet surpassed.

"Even the Holy Kingdom holds the Knight of Dawn in incredibly high regard. I doubt there's anyone on the continent who dislikes the knight."

That was probably true.

The knight's achievements genuinely merited that reputation. Even considering only the lore Aiden knew from the game, the Knight of Dawn's legacy consisted entirely of heroic deeds worthy of praise.

Yet Aiden picked at his ear and replied indifferently.

"There's one thing I should correct."

He spoke calmly.

"This person wasn't all that great."

"..."

In a truly rare occurrence, Katya's expression turned peculiar.

She clearly hadn't expected an imperial citizen to disparage his own people's idol.

"... Hmm, uh, really? But this is still someone the Empire reveres as a hero, right?"

"People romanticize the dead. This one was nothing special, really."

"..."

"It's only a personal suspicion, but some of those achievements might even have been fabricated."

"Uh..."

Rather than answer Katya's bewilderment, Aiden silently operated his window.

After everything he had said, there was a good chance he would start getting a 'reaction.'

-Skill Info

◈ Weaver of Fate

⎨ Rania A`shan ⎬

- Bond: Level 1

- You may copy 1 skill.

He intended to use the skill copy he had obtained from Rania earlier.

He copied a skill he had already picked out.

[ Copying the skill 'Spiritual Attunement'! ]

< Copied Skill >

◆ Spiritual Attunement

Those who have touched the divine can see, converse with, and make contact with beings others cannot see. Unlocks a sense that detects spiritual beings.

The moment he copied the skill, he began to detect subtle 'presences' at the edges of his vision.

In response to what he had just said, something like smoke was slowly rising around the Knight of Dawn's remains. He was probably the only one who could see it.

As expected, the knight seemed to be here. The remains were well preserved, and a 'soul this strong' wouldn't fade away so easily.

'... Summoning spirits isn't normally this easy.'

A meeting between the living and the dead naturally defied the order of things. Normally, it would only just be possible with an extraordinarily skilled shaman summoned from the Far East. But under the right special conditions, even a nobody like Aiden could manage it.

For example, the soul of a person of strength beyond all reason might temporarily return upon hearing something they couldn't bear even in death.

The Knight of Dawn was a similar case.

This person's achievements were dazzling enough to make one's head spin, but as for the personality...

"Petty little bastard."

Aiden gave a soft chuckle and continued.

"If you've got a problem with that, come out and prove me wrong."

At those words, the smoke inside the preservation case began to quiver more violently. Before long, it started having a 'physical' effect on its surroundings.

"... What's going on?"

Wind blew, nearby objects shook, and skin prickled—enough to leave even Katya bewildered.

It was absurd, certainly. To cause such phenomena through mere 'presence' alone.

It was an indirect demonstration of just how powerful the 'spirit' inside was.

As the game's players called the knight:

The 'world's strongest petty bastard.'

For all that extraordinary ability, the knight was so impossibly small-minded that not even death could make an insult tolerable.

In short, even dead, this person was far too easily enraged to put up with what Aiden was saying.

["What did you just say, you punk?!"]

... There we go.

The moment he saw the enraged spirit burst out of the remains, Aiden chuckled inwardly.