Chapter 170: Departure Festival (8)
Valen Zeisho rolled up his sleeve, revealing a clearly engraved brand on his forearm.
The moment the brand came into view, the three of us each reacted differently once again.
“……?”
Allen stared intently at the brand, a mixture of genuine confusion and slight bewilderment on his face.
He looked as if he were wondering how exactly that could be considered a form of compensation.
‘……Is it some kind of tattoo with a special meaning?’
No matter how hard he stared at it, it was nothing more or less than a strange-looking tattoo that gave off an odd sensation.
More than that, how could that possibly be something used as payment?
“That is……”
Just as Allen was about to ask what the tattoo was, he abruptly shut his mouth.
It was because he belatedly noticed the atmosphere around him had grown heavy—everyone but himself seemed deeply serious.
“……!”
Cecilia flinched reflexively the moment she saw the brand, her hand instinctively slipping behind her back.
It was the hand with her own brand engraved on it.
Having never experienced anything good tied to the brand, her rejection was purely instinctual.
But why?
The brand engraved on Valen Zeisho’s forearm… something about it…
‘……It’s different.’
The one on the back of her hand.
The one engraved in Archbishop Rahma’s eye.
And the one on Lian’s collarbone—none of those had ever felt like that.
There was… something more.
No, she was certain of it.
But it was like staring into a fog. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t discern anything more.
“……”
Lian, once again, said nothing as he gazed at the brand on Valen Zeisho’s forearm.
But his expression had turned as rigid as stone.
“……”
It was clearly even before Valen Zeisho had exposed his arm.
Lian had felt a faint yet distinct tremor near his collarbone.
It was a sensation both familiar and still strange.
From his past experiences, he had little trouble guessing what it was—and that it was “real.”
‘It’s not just that.’
Further back, the woman wearing the fox mask.
When she had stuck out her tongue and showed the brand engraved on her, and when their eyes had met—that immense, incomprehensible energy he had felt then.
There was definitely a similar energy mixed in now.
“……It seems you understand the value of this, which spares me the need to explain. I’m glad.”
Valen Zeisho spoke, his forearm still exposed.
“Let me say it again. If you help me, I will give this to you in return.”
He pointed to his forearm, his voice flat.
His tone remained detached and emotionless, but the weight of his words was more than enough to stir chaos in Lian’s mind.
“……”
“……”
“……”
A silence fell once again for a short while.
Lian stared at the brand engraved on his forearm, as if deep in thought.
Eventually, he slowly opened his mouth.
“……Unfortunately, that alone is not enough to cover the price.”
It was a clear refusal.
“……”
At his answer, Valen Zeisho’s face remained expressionless, though his eyebrow twitched ever so slightly—barely noticeable, but definite.
“……Would you care to explain? I don’t suppose you fail to recognize its value.”
“Gladly.”
Lian nodded.
“That thing seeks out its own master on its own anyway.”
His voice was calm, but his words were sharp.
“If I don’t even know where it’s ultimately meant to end up, what good is it for me to take it? Even if it comes into my hands, it could just as easily leave for someone else.”
“……”
“There’s no point in paying a high price for something drifting with the wind. There’s no guarantee it’ll stay with me. If it leaves me, then all I’ve done is waste my efforts and help someone else.”
As he spoke, a conversation from the Room of Memories surfaced in Lian’s mind—one he’d had with Talia Poas.
— The brand chooses its master on its own and leaves on its own.
— Even if you use every means to hold onto it, it will inevitably leave, as if by fate.
Yes, she had definitely said that.
And thinking back to that conversation and the way she carried herself, Lian couldn’t shake the feeling that neither she nor the other Wolpen Knights were the true owners of their brands either.
‘Even if that thing comes into my possession……’
What would happen if the brand tried to leave on its own?
Brands only disappeared when their owner died.
Lian had no desire to invite ominous signs any more than necessary.
More than anything…
‘This one feels different from the others.’
The energy emanating from that brand was unlike anything Lian had ever seen before.
So he had no choice but to be cautious.
“……”
What kind of response would he show now?
Lian looked at Valen Zeisho with that thought in mind.
But contrary to his expectations, Valen Zeisho nodded in agreement without hesitation.
“You are right.”
He nodded once more.
“Judging from your knowledge, it seems you met Talia. Am I correct?”
“Yes.”
“I thought as much.”
He muttered quietly, then added:
“You’re exactly right, Lian Gwendil.”
“……”
“According to Talia, I’m merely a messenger. ……To put it a bit more figuratively, I’m nothing more than a signpost standing by the roadside.”
Valen Zeisho let out a soft chuckle.
“In any case, to be clear—this is not mine. That’s why, from your point of view, I may look like a mere deliveryman putting on airs as though I were the owner.”
Then, suddenly, he turned a question on Lian.
“One more thing. The Talia you saw—was she young?”
“……Yes. She was young.”
The Talia he had seen in the Room of Memories had indeed appeared youthful and attractive.
At that, Valen Zeisho let out a faint chuckle and murmured,
“How nostalgic.”
He continued murmuring with a faint smile on his face.
“In her younger days, she was more dignified and confident than anyone. Even the mighty Great Emperor would break into a sweat and flounder before her.”
As he said that, he gestured slightly to the brand engraved on his forearm.
“I received this from her during her later years, beyond the time you remember her… To be exact, it was just before she ascended according to the Divine Mandate. Along with it, I was entrusted with a few messages.”
Then Valen Zeisho muttered,
“This belongs to you, Lian Gwendil.”
He looked down at his forearm once more and murmured quietly.
“It was one of the messages she asked me to deliver. The reason I came all the way to human lands, to the heart of the Empire, and even further to the Academy—one reason, as I mentioned earlier, was to retrieve my wife’s remains. But another was to deliver this and her message to you.”
“To give it to me?”
“Yes.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“To be precise, it was to be given to someone who fit the conditions Talia described. And right now, you are the only person who matches those conditions.”
Valen Zeisho added under his breath,
“If you ever decide to grant my request, and in doing so obtain this brand—then seek out Talia once again.”
“What exactly do you mean……?”
“Beyond that, I do not know.”
Valen Zeisho replied without missing a beat, as though he had expected Lian’s reaction.
“I simply passed along what she asked me to. Beyond that, I know nothing.”
In the end, everything remained uncertain.
And more than anything, it had all happened so suddenly.
An Elf suddenly revealing himself as a hero from the past.
The brand on his forearm, exuding a force more peculiar than anything else.
And the cryptic story spilling from his mouth.
“……”
Lian silently met his gaze.
Eyes whose depth, whose thoughts, were unreadable.
And above all, the faint resonance he felt from the brand.
“……Understood. I’ll do as you say.”
At last, Lian nodded.
“But before that, I have one question.”
“Ask anything.”
“If something were to happen related to this matter… or if I found myself in desperate need of help…”
Lian looked at Valen Zeisho.
“Would I be allowed to ask for your assistance then?”
“……Heh.”
Valen Zeisho let out a small laugh.
Then, shaking his head slightly, he replied,
“If you call upon the name of Jeil Enbarso, I will gladly help you. But if you call upon the name Valen Zeisho, I’m afraid I might not be able to meet your expectations.”
And then he murmured in a voice tinged with a hint of melancholy,
“The reason I tried so hard to part ways with my comrades and withdraw from the mortal world… it was simply because my body had become too damaged. Now, I just wish to live quietly and pass on.”
With that, he glanced around.
Lively noises echoed all around, as if the festival were heating up.
Laughter from the people.
And raucous music playing from afar.
“In any case… I believe that’s enough talk for now. I’ll take my leave. Must be the festival—it’s getting far too noisy. I hope you all enjoy this time as well. I’ll go enjoy the chaos in my own way.”
With those parting words, he turned to leave.
But he had barely taken a few steps when he came to a halt and casually added,
“……Someone has been watching us from afar for a while now. Doesn’t seem like they overheard our conversation, though.”
“Yes, it does seem that way.”
Lian responded calmly.
Valen Zeisho nodded, as if to say he already knew.
“Well, I figured as much since you quietly deployed something like a sound barrier earlier. Still, I figured I’d mention it—just in case.”
“Thank you for the consideration.”
Valen Zeisho gave a slight shrug.
“It doesn’t seem like a hostile presence. But when someone lingers like that in one spot, persistently waiting… it usually means trouble’s on the way.”
“……Yeah, I have a guess.”
“Good luck.”
At Lian’s reply, Valen Zeisho walked off again.
And the moment his figure vanished, as if they had been waiting for it, several people appeared—encircling them.
“Excuse us.”
Before them stood two knights in ornate armor who had approached silently.
Emblazoned on their armor was the unmistakable crest of the Imperial Family.
The knights walked straight up to Cecilia and offered a deep, respectful bow.
“We are from the Imperial Knights. My name is Griff, sent by order of His Highness, the Second Prince.”
Imperial Knights.
And the Second Prince.
Lian’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
Cecilia, too, wore a thoroughly displeased expression.
But the knight paid it no mind and continued as he looked at her.
“His Highness has requested a moment of your time. Would you kindly accompany us?”