Suddenly, Jaekiel stopped abruptly.
"Stop."
"Oh, huh? Yes! Understood!"
Tether's enthusiasm was burning brightly.
In a situation where she had fallen off a cliff, she grabbed onto a lifeline
named Jaekiel. Her life depended on what he did next.
"Hm."
Jaekiel tilted his head slightly.
'It's certain. I seem to be the cause.'
The spirits' energy grew stronger as they approached the vault. There was
no need to think further. The cause was Jaekiel.
Their current position was probably the last safe zone.
It was a problem that they couldn't approach further.
'We only need to go a bit further, but we can't proceed.'
As Jaekiel got closer, the spirits increased their energy accordingly. In other
words, by the time they set foot in the vault, all the holy relics would be
damaged.
Spirit stones were originally meant to be on the second floor. If they
unleashed their elemental energy at full power, the holy relics on the first
floor couldn't withstand it.
If so…
'I need to take action from this position.'
Finding a way to calm the spirits without approaching further was urgent.
"Let me concentrate for a moment."
"Yes!"
Jaekiel slowly closed his eyes.
Instead of spreading it out, he absorbed the spirits' energy.
─Jae… ki… el…!
────!
He began to hear their voices.
He focused his mind further. It was time to seize the momentum.
─Jaekiel! It's definitely Jaekiel, that guy!
─Don't come any closer! Someone stop him!
─Salamander, increase the heat!
─You crazy fools, I'm freezing to death too…!
"…"
Jaekiel fully realized his responsibility for this situation.
He truly was the cause.
Meanwhile, Tether couldn't stay still, watching Jaekiel. Seeing the person
who held her life in his hands deep in thought made her anxious.
Finally, Tether couldn't hold back and asked.
"Au-Auditor! How is it?"
"Hm."
The Auditor put a Sun Grass in his mouth instead of answering.
"So, are the spirits' conditions very serious?"
"That's not it."
"Ah~ It's not serious! Huh? What did you say?"
Tether blinked in disbelief.
"Are you saying that's not serious?"
"Yes. The spirits are just a bit excited."
"Excited? Why are they excited?"
"Who knows? Maybe they encountered something pleasant."
Hoo.
Jaekiel exhaled the Sun Grass smoke.
"Anyway, I know how to solve this. Let's start."
Inhale.
Exhale.
"…"
Inhale.
Exhale.
In a position where the Royal Treasury vault was visible, Jaekiel made an
ice chair and continued to smoke the Sun Grass. Tether watched, not
understanding.
'What kind of herb is Sun Grass again?'
It was hard to possess and was sometimes used in tiny amounts for
medicinal purposes. Smoking it raw…
'…People usually smoke it only when committing suicide. Sun Grass… '
But Jaekiel was different.
Hoo.
He smoked one after another without getting tired, as if it were just another
herb, continuously in front of Tether.
"Indeed, the Sun Grass from Luiple is quite good."
"Hm…"
What kind of person is he?
It was amazing that he could smoke Sun Grass raw, but what puzzled Tether
even more was why he wasn't entering the Royal Treasury vault right away.
Tether cautiously spoke up.
"Um, Auditor."
"What?"
Jaekiel, who had inhaled an entire Sun Grass smoke in one breath,
answered calmly. His lung capacity was unbelievable. Tether's face turned
almost terrified.
"It's just… the spirits' rampage…"
"I'm calming them now."
"What?"
"Wait. That's your job."
"…"
Jaekiel rummaged through his left pocket. Finding nothing, he brought out
an empty hand, which was a relief for Tether.
"Did you finally finish smoking…?"
"No."
Jaekiel reached into his right pocket. Soon, he pulled out a handful of Sun
Grass.
"…"
…Is he trying to commit suicide?
"You smoke an awful lot of Sun Grass…"
"I don't usually smoke this much."
"Then why now…?"
"I have no choice."
Tether looked like she was about to cry.
"Auditor! I was really wrong!"
A moment later, Tether knelt down.
"I fully realize that I made a huge mistake! But I can't endure this false
hope…! Please, just punish me right now!"
"The Royal Treasury vault is fine."
"…What?"
"I said it's fine."
Jaekiel added a word along with the smoke.
"Get up. You're a secretary; it lowers the dignity of the royal family."
"Oh, yes."
Tether stood up awkwardly.
"If you're anxious, go check it yourself."
"Huh…?"
Tether quickly ran into the Royal Treasury vault.
A moment later, she returned with her eyes wide open.
"The spirits seem much calmer than before! Auditor! What did you do?"
"What you see is all there is."
He lowered his cold aura by smoking Sun Grass.
…He couldn't bring himself to say that.
Instead, Jaekiel offered something else.
"Do you want to smoke one too?"
"No…"
Tether took the Sun Grass and sat down quietly.
She had plenty of experience serving VIPs in the royal family, but this was
the first person of this kind.
A person whose inner thoughts were completely unreadable, seeming lazy
yet exuding dignity. Truly mysterious.
'So endlessly relaxed. As if confident in everything.'
A man who seemed untrustworthy yet strangely captivating.
No, she had to believe. She just confirmed with her own eyes that the state
of the Royal Treasury vault had improved.
Even now, while Tether was deeply lost in thought, Jaekiel spoke very
calmly.
"Hey, Tether."
"Yes! Auditor!"
Tether answered loudly with hope.
"Was the story about the 2nd Princess leaving far away a lie too?"
"I'm really sorry, but yes…"
"There's nothing to be sorry about."
Jaekiel continued as if it didn't matter.
"What would the punishment be if the Princess knew about your actions?"
"Punishment, you say? Punishment… Hm…"
Tether thought for a moment.
"She's very strict, so any punishment wouldn't be surprising. But it
wouldn't be lenient either… Why do you ask?"
"The 2nd Princess is on her way here."
"Aaaah!"
The Sun Grass burst in Tether's tightly clenched fist. Overwhelmed by pain,
she started hopping around, clutching her hand.
"What should I do now? What should I do?!"
"What do you mean, 'what should you do?'"
Finally, Jaekiel exhaled his last Sun Grass smoke.
Temporarily, the coldness had significantly subsided.
"Let's go into the Royal Treasury vault."
His lips curled into a slow smile.
The man's expression was filled with calm confidence.
On the way to the Royal Treasury vault.
Hedera led the way, followed by the three dragonborns.
─By the way, is it possible to calm the spirits with an incantation?
One of the dragonborns whispered telepathically.
Gromon, hearing the question, snickered.
─Not at all. An incantation can't control emotions.
─Then, as expected…
─Your guess is correct. If the Princess fails spectacularly, we'll push for the
soul transaction as we always do.
─Understood.
Gromon and the other dragonborns smiled slyly.
Spirits were very sensitive beings. If dragons were difficult due to their
immense pride, spirits were hard to handle because they were extremely
timid.
─I don't know why they started rampaging, but unless a spirit guardian is
called, it's impossible to calm them. We'll soon see something interesting.
─I'm really looking forward to it. Since she's a princess, if the transaction
is successful, we'll gain a lot too.
But then.
When they finally arrived at the Royal Treasury vault.
Hedera, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.
"…"
Tension filled the air among the dragonborns.
─Did our telepathic conversation leak?
─That's impossible.
In the midst of that, someone felt a sense of incongruity.
─By the way, are the spirits really rampaging?
─There's no sinister energy at all.
Yes, the sense of incongruity was the warm atmosphere nearby. Far from
rampaging, it was filled with peace.
Finally, unable to bear it, Gromon stepped forward.
"…"
In an instant, a bizarre sight filled his vision.
"…?"
It was a man with his arm around a spirit stone.
As if using it as a pillow, he had his arm comfortably around the large spirit
stone, like it was a friend.
And a moment later, he couldn't believe his ears.
"Why are you so tense?"
The man, chewing on Sun Grass, said that.
"And relax your face."
Hoo.
He exhaled a long puff of smoke.
"We're friends, aren't we?"