"..."

"..."

Verdandi and I sat silently in front of the stream.magic

Should I call it the residence of the Holy Grail Seekers... or a hideout? Anyway, it was right beside that place.

How long had we been quietly watching the babbling brook? Verdandi spoke up awkwardly.

"How did you know to come here?"

"I've known for a while. That you've been staying here."

I keep track of where all my party members are.

In case of battle, I need to know where everyone is.

"More than how I knew to come... you must be more curious about why I came?"

I gave Verdandi a faint smile. She awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

The reason I sought out Verdandi quietly today.

It was... to talk about the 'Holy Grail' we were about to find.

I hesitated a bit but then gathered my courage and spoke.

"Verdandi."

"Yes."

"The Holy Grail certainly exists, but it might be a bit different from what you're thinking."

The reason Verdandi is searching for the Holy Grail.

It's to use the immense regenerative magic within the Grail to resurrect the dead World Tree.

And to revive the World Tree... and activate the ancient magic it holds, to rebuild the Elf Kingdom.

This is why Verdandi has been searching for the Holy Grail beneath the Lake Kingdom for over a hundred years.

But... the Holy Grail is a bit different from what Verdandi thinks it is.

Having secured the Holy Grail in the game before, I knew its true identity.

And I also knew that Verdandi's goal would inevitably be frustrated.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Verdandi said,

"Ash, do you see that dirt plot over there?"

She pointed to the plot beside the stream. I looked in that direction.

"We've been planting sunflower seeds here continuously. But, they never sprouted."

"..."

"Whether it's because there's no sunlight, or the soil here is contaminated from the dungeon... I don't know the exact reason. Anyway, the seeds died and never sprouted."

A bitter smile hung on Verdandi's lips.

"I know now that sunflowers won't bloom here. But, we kept planting anyway."

"..."

"Even though it's a slim chance, the possibility that sunflowers might bloom... that hope remains. For that hope, we've continued this futile task."

No sprouts are visible in the finely tilled plot.

"But I know. There's nothing more foolish and heart-wrenching than holding onto a vain hope."

"..."

"Sunflowers won't bloom here, and... using that Holy Grail to revive my homeland, in reality, is also an absurd notion."

Even while denying her past hundred years, Verdandi remained composed.

"I'm well aware. But we just want to see."

Tears glistened in her eyes as she firmly gazed forward.

"The true identity of what we've been searching for over a century. The result of our futile efforts."

"..."

After quietly listening to her, I gently asked,

"What about after that?"

"...What can we do?"

Verdandi shrugged.

"We've done our best so far. We'll shake it off and start searching for another way."

To save her homeland, searching for a Holy Grail that might not even exist.

A century buried in that quest.

Verdandi had long accepted that the Holy Grail they finally find might be entirely different from what she sought.

And then - again.

To save the Elven Kingdom, she will continue her new fight, searching for another way.

"Verdandi, you are strong."

I uttered without realizing.

In fact, I found her a bit admirable.

I too started this fight to convey a word of encouragement to that child lying in the hospital bed.

But, just imagine.

If that encouragement meant nothing. If it brought no change. How frustrating would that be?

Yet, despite this, Verdandi declared she would continue to fight and search for the next method.

Whether this was due to the responsibility she bore as a member of the Elven Royal Family, the unique temperament of the long-lived elves, or her own strong will, I'm not sure. However.

I thought I should learn from her attitude.

...Life doesn't end with the fulfillment or failure of a wish.

We must continue to fight until the end of our lives.

Verdandi smiled broadly at me."Thank you for helping me find the Holy Grail, Ash. Without you, I wouldn't have made it this far."

"We help each other. You've given me a lot of strength too, right?"

I extended my hand to Verdandi.

"I'll continue to help, both in finding the Holy Grail and in the battles that follow."

"..."

"We're comrades, aren't we?"

Verdandi now skillfully reached out her hand to grasp mine, shaking it vigorously.

With tear-stained eyes, the Elf Princess smiled brightly.

"...Yes! Because we are, comrades!"

***

The next day.

As I entered the dungeon of the Lake Kingdom, I looked up at the tower in front of me.

The spire rose sharply, a slate gray color.

The magical lights surrounding the tower swirled in a bizarrely twisted manner, reminiscent of a scene from a Van Gogh painting.

Zone 8. The Mage Tower.

I surveyed the party members gathered in front of this place.

Evangeline's Knight Party. Damien's Sniper Party. Junior's Mage Party.

The Holy Grail Seekers. The Penal Squad. The Dragonblood Knights.

Along with me and Lucas, there was a total of 32 members, a large group.

The other heroes were left at the Crossroad, in case of an emergency. The defense forces at the Crossroad were also necessary.

"As I explained yesterday!"

After looking around at my party members, who were gazing up at me with bright eyes, I shouted.

"Just follow my instructions to pass the trials, and we can clear it safely without any combat."

Everyone answered in unison, "Yes~!" It felt like being a teacher leading a group of kids on a field trip.

Leading the way into the main gate of the Mage Tower, I said,

"Let's go!"

Upon opening the large glass door and entering the lobby of the tower, the familiar dungeon information window appeared before my eyes.

[Zone 8: Mage Tower]

- Clear Progress: Normal Rooms 0/10, Boss Room 0/1

- Treasure Chests Acquired: 0/11

The lobby of the Mage Tower was circular. In this perfectly round lobby, a total of ten doors were lined up in a row.

Above each door was a magic lamp, all of which were currently lit with red light.

"Something about this..."

"It doesn't feel like a dungeon. Really..."

The heroes murmured in confusion.

I felt the same. It seemed less like a dungeon and more like... perhaps the entrance to a high-rise building on Earth.

After bringing the heroes to the center of the lobby, I pointed to the first door and said,

"These ten doors each lead to individual dungeon rooms. Each room has a designated trial... and each trial requires a different person who can effectively respond."

Then I swept my gaze over the heroes.

"So, I will select different members to enter each dungeon room. The rest of you will comfortably rest and wait here."

Immediately after, I pointed to one of the heroes.

"Damien!"

"Ah, yes! Your Highness!"

"Come here."

My overpowered sniper quickly stepped forward. I slung my arm around his shoulder and nodded.

"Then, be on your way. Let's go, Damien!"

"Huh? Oh, yes!"

As the two of us headed for the first dungeon room, a flustered Evangeline hurriedly asked,

"Wait... Just the two of you are going?!"

"Yep."

The first trial can be cleared with just Damien.

I planned to let as many of the others rest as possible, excluding those needed. However, when it came to actually entering with just the two of us, the other heroes objected.

"Don't you need escorts? I will go as well."

"Me too, me too! I'm curious, so I want to go!"

Lucas and Evangeline quickly followed suit,

"I'm, I'm also a main party member of your Highness!"

Junior hesitantly followed, feeling perhaps left out.

"Ash, may I accompany you too?"

"What? Are all of you going? Then, myself will also join."

"If it has come to this, let's just have all party leaders join!"

Verdandi, Dusk Bringar, and Kuilan all hurriedly followed.

I nodded happily.

"Fine, follow along. Though Damien will likely clear the first trial alone... it's good for everyone to understand how it works."

So, along with each party leader, we all entered the first dungeon room.

We walked down a long, dim corridor.

I wasn't tense, but the other heroes were unnecessarily cautious, gripping their weapons tightly.

Guys, there's no combat if we don't fail the trial.After walking through the corridor for a while, a brightly lit room suddenly appeared before us.

On each wall of the bright room, large murals were drawn.

They were pictures of magicians building a tower. However, interestingly, the two pictures were almost identical.

"Two identical murals...?"

"Hmm? What do they mean?"

Amid the puzzled heroes, I chuckled and looked at Damien.

"Damien."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"What do you think? Are these two murals really the same?"

Then Damien immediately shook his head.

"No. They are similar, but... these two, they are different."

That's right.

The first trial of this Mage Tower was...

[Mage Tower - Room 1]

- (Wave 1) Find the differences between the two presented pictures.

It's a spot-the-difference game!

In the center of the room were paintballs and a slingshot. I pointed to them and instructed Damien.

"The left wall is the original, and the right wall is the comparison. Mark the differences with these paintballs."

Nodding, Damien loaded the slingshot with a paintball and precisely shot it at the right wall.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

With each paintball Damien shot hitting the mural, the heroes groaned.

"No way... a different leaf decoration in the hair? How did you find that?"

"How could you tell the direction of the eyes is different!"

"Who could distinguish between white and beige clothing colors!"

Everyone complained about the impossible difficulty, but we had Damien on our side.

After Damien hit ten paintballs, the mural started to rumble... Then,

Koogooong!

The wall with the mural sank downwards... revealing a new mural behind it.

[Mage Tower - Room 1]

- (Wave 2) Find the differences between the two presented pictures.

Evangeline broke out in a cold sweat.

"...It's not over?"

"If it ended that easily, would it be a Zone 8 dungeon?"

The mural became even more complex and elaborate. And was it just my imagination... or did the figures in the mural seem to glare at us...

It depicted magicians conducting experiments inside a completed tower. They were seemingly grafting branches with magic.

Damien calmly launched the slingshot again. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Koogooong!

Once again, the wall descended, revealing a new mural behind it.

This mural was much more complex, detailed, and larger in size.

"..."

Something... feels like the difficulty has escalated compared to the game...

But no matter how complex or enlarged the picture became, it was futile. We had a clairvoyant on our side.

Damien, without blinking an eye, kept firing the slingshot.

After solving a total of five different spot-the-difference waves -

[Mage Tower - Room 1]

- CLEAR!

The clearance announcement displayed.

Kururururu!

Chulck, Dulkgruk!

This time, the wall in front split open, and along with a misty fog... a large treasure chest appeared.

Standing in front of the chest, I grinned mischievously.

"Just like this. Okay?"

I was calmly smiling, but the heroes looked pale.

They were looking not at the treasure chest, but behind it. Curious, I turned around too.

"Ah..."

Right behind the chest, there were dozens of Mage Tower cannons loaded with various attack spells, and dozens of defensive golems in a stance ready to burst forth.

"If Damien had been wrong, these would have tried to kill us."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"But Damien couldn’t possibly be wrong, right?"

"..."

Everyone wore a horrified expression. But, after all, the probability of Damien getting such puzzles wrong was zero.

"Well done. Damien."

Grinning, I opened the chest.

"This item is for you."

Flash!

Golden light burst forth from the opened chest.

Eventually, the golden light condensed into one... transforming into a sharply shaped rifle.

--TL Notes--

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