SOTBW - 122

Venus’ office was a chaotic mess of books scattered everywhere. The walls were covered in scribbles attempting to decipher ritual structures, and a makeshift bed was tucked into a corner.

Since Gwyneth had brought him an unfamiliar ritual formula, Venus had immersed himself in decoding it, eating and sleeping in his office. A person’s divine energy was finite, so he couldn’t push the research forward too quickly, but Gwyneth had been there to support him.

To decipher the four-layer ritual structure, Venus poured in his knowledge, and Gwyneth offered her divine power. Gwyneth’s temporary absence from the Romsoa Order was for this very reason.

Venus, checking whether he had shaved properly, glanced up at Gwyneth and Belshua as they entered his office.

“So, the person Archbishop Gwyneth mentioned was you,” Venus said, sounding surprised. Belshua was slightly taken aback to learn that Venus already knew of him.

Not wanting to intrude on their conversation, Gwyneth discreetly stepped back.

“You know me?” Belshua asked.

“There aren’t many knights who have lasted nearly ten years in this place,” Venus replied in a calm, composed voice.

Standing before Venus’ desk, Belshua responded with an inscrutable smile.

“Daniel has lasted just as long as I have.”

“Are you close with him?” Venus asked, placing his pen into the inkwell with an air of curiosity. He had never once visited Romsoa to check on Daniel, not even when Daniel was injured or achieved great merits. Venus consistently maintained his indifference.

Likewise, Daniel never went out of his way to reveal that he was the son of the Duke of Luamars or that he was the nephew of Archbishop Venus. Even among the knights of Romsoa, the only thing known about Daniel was that he came from a noble family; the details were entirely unknown.

That was why Belshua hadn’t expected Venus to ask such a question. Despite both being in Noctis Fortress, the two had never sought each other out. Yet Venus’ inquiry about whether he was close to Daniel carried no hidden motives—it seemed he was genuinely curious. He resembled a timid uncle who wanted to keep in touch with his cherished nephew but held back out of concern for making his nephew’s position more difficult.

“…I suppose you could say we’re somewhat close,” Belshua finally replied.

“That’s a rather vague answer.”

“I am always indebted to Daniel.”

With that, Venus asked no more personal questions.

Straightening his posture as if transitioning from uncle to archbishop, Venus fixed his gaze on Belshua.

“If I had more time, I’d engage in casual conversation, but as you can see, I’m extremely busy. From what Archbishop Gwyneth tells me… you’ve been investigating Aron Noctis? Normally, I wouldn’t grant an audience, but since you serve Noctis, I’ve made an exception. What is it you wish to know? Are you searching for Villar’s Shield?”

“Villar’s Shield will reappear someday. That’s not what matters right now.”

At those words, Gwyneth, who had been wandering near the bookshelves, quickly raised her head.

Belshua’s brown hair turned into a radiant silver before her eyes. Venus stared blankly as Belshua’s face slowly transformed, failing to grasp what was unfolding in front of him.

Belshua, now with eyes glowing like the midday sun, looked down at Venus. His irises were vertically slit, exuding an aura of otherworldly pressure. Venus’ hand trembled faintly in response to the overwhelming sense of unease and power.

Breaking the heavy silence, Mahilen spoke.

“I am the one tasked with witnessing the beginning and the end. I am Marquis Herberta Sylin. Among humans, I am known as Mahilen. It’s a pleasure to meet you, wise priest of the Luamars family.”

“…”

“…”

Both Gwyneth and Venus were rendered speechless. Gwyneth was shocked that Mahilen had revealed his true identity to someone else, while Venus was paralyzed by the realization that the last dragon, who had vanished alongside the appearance of the Seriths, now stood before him.

The very dragon who had shared his life with Astrun was here, in this place! Venus, his mouth opening and closing in disbelief, glanced at Gwyneth.

“W-what… now… what is…?”

Stammering and wearing an utterly bewildered expression, Venus demanded an explanation. But Gwyneth was just as flustered. She fidgeted with her fingers, at a loss for words, and finally stammered, “Uh, um, well… you see…”

“That’s right. This one is a dragon. Just so you know, His Holiness the Pope is aware of it too.”

In the end, Gwyneth let out a sigh and briefly explained. It was almost embarrassing to call it an explanation, but after hearing Gwyneth’s words, Venus seemed to snap back to attention in a hurry.

Mahilen pulled a chair and sat down across from Venus. Venus watched him for a moment, then suddenly had the urge to slap himself. It was impossible to believe that an ancient being was sitting right in front of him. But Mahilen, whether aware of Venus’ shock or not, or perhaps not caring at all, casually crossed his legs and spoke matter-of-factly.

“Since you’re busy, let’s get straight to the point. I’m searching for the last magic stone left behind by Aron. I was planning to look through books related to Aron, but almost everything I found was written by you. Have you ever come across any enigmatic sentences? Perhaps in his journal or in the scriptures left by Aron’s disciples?”

Mahilen went straight to the point.

Only then did Venus snap out of his stupor and hurriedly replay Mahilen’s words in his mind.

“You’re searching for the magic stone...?”

Venus trailed off, lowering his gaze and sinking into thought.

It seemed like he didn’t have time to be dazed by the fact that he was facing a dragon.

“There are too many sentences with hidden meanings, so I can’t point to just one. Particularly, Sir Lugresil, Aron’s seventh disciple, left records related to Astrun in a very difficult cipher... Do you happen to know any other names or metaphors for the magic stone? For example, a sparkling stone, or an egg with will, or a self-illuminating fruit... something like that.”

“I’ve never heard of the magic stone being called by another name.”

“...Then, I suppose we’ll have to search one by one.”

Venus muttered, sounding troubled.

But Mahilen didn’t seem overly disappointed. He had expected this outcome.

“Belshua, did Aron hide the magic stone somewhere invisible to people?”

At that moment, Gwyneth, who had been listening to their conversation, asked a question that seemed obvious.

Mahilen gave a confused look, as if questioning why such a question was asked, but then realized Gwyneth’s intent.

“Are you talking about a place invisible to people’s eyes?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a plausible theory. After the war with the Seriths, people couldn’t accept that magic had vanished, and they desperately tried to create a new magic stone. Even after Aron’s death, many people couldn’t give up on magic. Aron was worried that his magic stone would be wasted on foolish things, so he hid it somewhere. Neither I nor Aron’s disciples know where it is. We can only guess that it’s somewhere here, since he passed away in Noctis.”

“Then he wouldn’t have just buried the magic stone somewhere in the ground.”

At Mahilen’s explanation, Gwyneth wiped her cheek.

Venus silently agreed.

“A place where no one would dare to search...,” Venus muttered, thinking hard. He had always prided himself on knowing everything there was to know about Aron.

Aron, known for creating mysterious artifacts, was also skilled at hiding things. He hid sacred relics returned by heroes all over the Noctis Fortress to prevent them from being misused. His skill was so remarkable that even after the Church had gained recognition in several countries, they couldn’t find the relics.

Though Noctis Fortress officially belonged to the Kingdom of Bastronia, Mackanon would often invade and plunder the sacred relics. What Mackanon did with the relics after taking them was unknown. There were rumors that he took them as mementos or that he destroyed them out of some secret hatred for Aron.

Mackanon easily found the relics that Aron had hidden. Inside the church where priests prayed every day, beneath an ancient tree in the middle of the market, inside the seventeenth brick of the western wall…

Theologians investigated how Mackanon managed to find the relics and came up with two theories. One was that the relics resonated with each other, making them easier to find, and the other was that he used rituals to excavate the relics. One thing all the theologians agreed on was that Aron used rituals to hide the relics in a way that ordinary people’s eyes could never perceive.

Unfortunately, the theologians of that time couldn’t prove either theory or how Aron had hidden the relics. Later, some divine practitioners tried to use their divine power to locate Villar’s Shield and the cursed one-eyed relic but failed. As a result, the Church, in order to soothe public sentiment, announced that Villar’s Shield was located in the Astien Empire and that the cursed one-eyed relic didn’t exist.

After quietly recollecting his thoughts, Venus slowly raised his head.

“Dragon, is it possible to seal items as well?”

“By ritual, you mean? It’s possible. Since Aron had experience sealing Serith, hiding something like an item would be no problem.”

Mahilen answered without hesitation.

At Mahilen’s bold response, a glimmer of hope appeared on Venus’ previously lost and confused expression.

“If Aron used a ritual to seal the magic stone, what would be required to break the seal?”

“There are various conditions and the person’s command words.”

“Command words?”

Gwyneth muttered as if hearing the term for the first time.

“It’s a word used when sealing or unsealing something. When magic advanced and complex magic circles became easier to interpret and copy, skilled magicians started using command words to protect their research. You can think of a command word as a kind of lock. If you don’t recite the exact phrase, you’ll never be able to open a tricky lock like that.”

“...I remember seeing the term ‘command words’ somewhere.”

Venus, muttering to himself, suddenly stood up.

Venus approached the bookshelf where Gwyneth was leaning and pulled out thick books.

“I saw that ancient language on Aron Noctis’s tombstone. I’m sure it’s here. There must be a paper about it...”

Venus handed a book to Gwyneth, who awkwardly caught it, and then searched for another. Startled, Gwyneth took the book and nearly lost her balance. Venus quickly flipped through the old books, then exclaimed joyfully.

“Here it is.”

Venus came over holding the open book. Mahilen stood up and took the book from him. The book depicted Aron’s tombstone and the inscription on it.

“‘When the Eye of Wisdom, the Pure Water, and my unique command words come together, the meaning of love and sacrifice will finally shine.’”

Mahilen stared at the book in silence.

Venus, eager to uncover new information, explained what the Church had thought about the inscription on Aron’s tombstone.

“Until now, we believed this was simply a metaphor for human wisdom, purity, and the spirit of Aron Noctis. Could it mean something else?”

Venus looked at Mahilen with an expectant gaze.

At that moment, a conversation Mahilen had with the Pope many years ago crossed his mind.

‘Ah... There’s a young priest from the Lua Mars family named Venus... He’s really devout, or maybe too good-hearted, a fine young man, but... He’s very obsessed with Aron, asking about him during every scripture decoding session... I hear that before he entered the priesthood, he wrote seventeen books about Aron... Every time he asks questions, I feel the madness typical of the Lua Mars family in his gaze... Even though I’m the Pope, it still scares me...’

That conversation was about twenty years ago, yet Venus still revered Aron so fervently.

Mahilen, unusually flustered, opened his mouth.

“If I tell you, will you write another book? I saw that half of this one was devoted to praising Aron...”

“What?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

Mahilen quickly closed the book and explained.

“The Eye of Wisdom refers to the ancient term for a dragon’s eye. Dragons were once revered as gods of wisdom. The Pure Water likely refers to holy water... The problem is with Aron’s command words.”

Did Aron use command words?

Command words have no limitations, so multiple phrases can be used in turn, but if the user forgets them, they can never unseal the item again. So usually, only one phrase is used, with slight variations in the words. The problem now was how to figure out what that command word was.

Mahilen’s expression darkened for a moment before returning to its usual neutrality. There was no need to be pessimistic. This alone was a significant discovery. Without Venus, who blindly followed Aron, they would have wandered much longer. Mahilen handed the book back to Venus and smiled faintly.

“Thank you. This is very meaningful.”

Venus, holding the book, stared at Mahilen as he left the office, then suddenly shouted, “Wait!” and rushed after him.

Venus desperately grabbed Mahilen’s arm and, unexpectedly, pleaded.

“...If you have time, may I visit you? I just want to hear a little, really just a little, about Aron. Even if it’s something trivial. Just something about his life, even a small story would be fine... Ah, I won’t come empty-handed, so don’t worry. If you’re busy, just a day, or even an hour, or even just a brief moment of your time would be enough...”

“Aron was a fragile beauty.”

Before he knew it, Mahilen had returned to Belshua.

Belshua didn’t shake off Venus’ hold on his arm and spoke calmly, continuing.

“Because he was known as the sorcerer who beat up Serith, everyone thought Aron Noctis was some burly man. Probably the vulgar curses in his diary contributed greatly to shaping that rough image. But that’s not true at all. He was the weakest among the Astrun. He was always drunk, so his health could never improve. Still, he was the most beautiful human being I’ve ever met... at least in terms of appearance.”

Belshua briefly thought of Aron’s face.

His hair had turned white from the mental strain of needing to always perform magic, his skin was just as white and beautiful, his large, captivating eyes, his irises as blue as the summer sea, his deep and thick double eyelids, his sharp and prominent nose even when viewed from the side, his slightly upturned and full lips, and his body, always slender because muscle wouldn’t easily stick...

Having lived for thousands of years, seeing and experiencing everything, I’ve never seen anyone surpass Aron in beauty.

Aron was beautiful then, and he’s still beautiful now.

And the one fortunate thing is that back then Aron was a drunkard, but he isn’t anymore.