Chapter 78 — In which they have a nightmare (3)
“Then let’s return to our conversation.”
After making sure that Citrie will survive another day, the group returned to their discussion.
Yesterday they carried out the operation proposed by Saffra.
Apric and Tangeri searched the Eternal Happiness Foundation’s clerk Monachra’s residence and placed a magical listening device Saffra quickly made with the resources secretly provided by Mimosa.
Mimosa checked on Golderodi’s family’s old home with her two subordinates.
And Saffra, Craya and Citrie acted as a distraction.
The third group was set up to deceive spies that would be observing the group.
Mimosa’s actions naturally drew attention as she was a throne’s ruler candidate, and her sudden change in attitude towards Saffra would be a center of attention right now.
Before, though it was well known that Mimosa was close with Saffra, she kept her distance from her little sister to prevent her from getting involved into the dirty struggle for the throne.
But how she suddenly took Saffra with her, and though they said it was a ‘vacation’, no one really believed it.
Therefore, to deceive the eyes and convince people that Mimosa was still keeping Saffra at a distance from the main war, Saffra spent a day strolling around the town and playing.
Citrie was another decoy.
He played a role of a suspicious, new knight recruit, who Mimosa decided to keep close to keep an eye on.
Well, to be precise, it wasn’t a lie until Saffra vouched for him a day ago.
Mimosa was still suspicious of him, but she seemed to trust Saffra more than her own instincts.
“Tell us what you found.”
Saffra returned to the main topic and asked Apric and Tangeri to describe what they noticed during their mission.
She heard some bits in the evening yesterday, but she wanted to hear the full report when everyone was around.
“So…”
Apric started first.
She was tasked with infiltrating Monachra’s residence while Tangeri was distracting her.
And also planting a listening device.
Apric concisely described what she saw.
The personal items that were hidden away, the alchemical set and vague feeling of artificiality she got.
Saffra didn’t know if she should feel relieved or worried that Apric didn’t find any strange symbols like Mimosa.
Then was Tangeri’s turn:
“I kept feeling like something was wrong when I was talking with her, but she answered the questions as I expected, and mentioned the events that we went through together… Besides some changes in taste, like picking up a liking in herbal teas and new alchemy hobby, I couldn’t find a real difference. I’m sorry, My Lady, perhaps I was just spooked by the Golderodis’ case? I mean, it’s possible that for a person you didn’t see for a few years to change dramatically…”
Tangeri mumbled with a worried and ashamed face.
Saffra agreed that it was more logical and reasonable to assume that, but she believed that there was a conspiracy afoot, and wasn’t going even the slightest doubt slip.
When she was about to reassure Tangeri like that, the lady-in-waiting abruptly raised her head, as if she just remembered something:
“Right. There was also that book… It was in a language I didn’t recognize. Perhaps one of you will know it…”
A book? A language Tangeri didn’t recognize?
As Saffra wondered what it was about, Tangeri took out a piece of paper and using a reed pen she wrote the title she memorized.
The face of Saffra who saw the completed title turned strange.
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“Huh? I have never seen a language like that…”
Apric, who checked the writing, frowned and Craya besides her nodded as if she also had no clue.
On the other hand, Citrie, who was in a half-dead state before, blinked a few times as he closely examined the twisted letters and then exclaimed:
“That’s the ancient language!”
“Ancient language?”
“Yeah, the language that was used on this land before Luminere was established and our current language, Collre, was introduced. There are very few records of that language remaining, and it’s impossible to translate it with our current knowledge… But you’re saying she had an entire book in that language?”
“Yeah… At least the title was.”
“That’s strange…”
Mimosa, who also closely examined the note, slightly narrowed her eyes.
“There are very few short manuscripts in that language left, and they’re under strict control of the throne rulers. They’re almost never shown to outsiders unless you’re a highly educated scholar. For a low-born girl like her to have a book in that language…”
Mimosa’s words trailed off.
Tangeri was about to say something, but before that...
“Miss Tangeri.”
Saffra called out to her.
Her gaze didn’t leave the writing as she continued to speak with an even voice:
“If you can confirm that the entire book is written in that language, it will become certain that Miss Monachra is not a person you know. And as for that title… It means ‘Conversion of water and life force’. A translation of a popular advanced alchemy book written in our Collre language.”
Just as Citrie said, there was no way people of this era could write or even understand that ancient language.
So for a person to understand it, it could mean only two things:
Either they lived for longer than 400 years and remembered it.
Or they, in a way similar to Saffra perhaps, gained memories of a different life, that contained the knowledge of that language.
Saffra, who remembered the ‘kingdom without death’ mentioned by Spider Golderodi and the strange symbol Mimosa found, felt as if she was struck by lightning again.
*-*-*
Phlox strolled the gardens of the Universe Temple late in the evening.
Normally she would already sleep at this hour, unless there was a ritual that needed her to stay up for a night.
Or His Excellency had another order to carry out.
But not today.
Today she just really wanted to stay awake a little longer.
Because she would have ‘that dream’ again.
Every year, she would dream the same dream on the same day.
Even if she forced herself to stay up, she would end up just dreaming it on the next night.
Like a curse telling her to watch it.
She couldn’t even cut it in the middle.
She would just return to the moment when the dream was cut short.
Phlox studied numerous scriptures and asked numerous mystical scholars and masters about the meaning and origin of that dream.
But no one could provide her with an answer.
Perhaps it was half Phlox’s fault.
Because when asked what the dream was exactly about, she always dodged the topic.
But she didn’t dare to tell anyone what she dreamed about.
So she walked around, admiring the elaborate flowers and sculptures.
And then spotted an unexpected person.
His Excellency Amara was gazing at a small pond, shimmering with blue light in the moonlight.
There was no attendant in sight and Phlox realized it was one of those ‘meditative walks’ Amara did almost every day, when he would send away all attendants and assistant priests, and take a lonely walk in the gardens.
He wasn’t completely alone of course, there were guards hidden somewhere around, but there was at least a semblance of privacy Amara usually lacked.
Realizing that she was disturbing him in a very private moment, Phlox was about to quietly retreat, when:
“Priest Phlox.”
Amara, who was gazing into the pond a moment ago, looked up and called out to her.
“Your Excellency…”
She bowed in greeting, and then realized something strange.
‘Did His Excellency just call me a priest?’
Usually, Amara would use ‘miss’ when there were unwelcome ears around, to give an impression that he was fed up with Phlox and didn’t welcome her around.
Because failing to address someone from among mystic practitioners as ‘priest’ was no different from an insult.
So for him to use ‘priest’… didn’t it mean that there was truly no one around.
As he waved his hand for her to come closer, she hesitantly asked:
“Are there no guards around?”
“The moonlight is so bright today, it seems they mistakenly followed its illusion.”
It seemed that His Excellency played a little trick on them to get some real privacy.
“Why aren’t you sleeping, Priest Phlox?”
It also seemed that Amara was well aware of Phlox’s sleeping habits.
“… I think I’ll have a bad dream today and I can’t resolve myself to get through it.”
“Sounds like a not so ordinary bad dream if it makes Priest Phlox so scared.”
“I’m not scared of it, it’s just…”
She bit her lips.
“It’s like having to go to break up with your girlfriend.”
Amara didn’t reply for a few seconds, as he looked into the pond, and then asked:
“Does Priest Phlox have that dream every year on this day?”
“Huh…?”
Phlox was surprised.
She never talked or even offhandedly mentioned her dreams before to Amara.
How did he know?
‘No, isn’t it just like His Excellency? As expected, those who listen to the whispers of gods are different.’
If Phlox knew that the content of those ‘whispers of gods’ right now was an in-depth discussion about the benefits and disadvantages of sleeping with your personal potato bag, she wouldn’t accept Amara’s unexpected insight so easily.
Luckily, she had no idea.
“… Yes.”
“I see. I could teach Priest Phlox a method to control your dreams, so you could avoid your unfortunate ‘breakup’ dream, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t work for this particular dream.”
“Do you know what that dream is, Your Excellency?”
Amara was silent for a moment.
His eyes were dark and hazy, as if he was contemplating something deeply.
“As Priest Phlox should be already aware, our memories are contained in the mind, which connects our body and soul. But there are also beings without body or soul. Those beings often appear no different from other entities, but there are a few differences. One of them is the ability to dream. Therefore, it appears that dreams are a direct result of communication between those two realms of our existence.”
Amara’s voice was soft, like a whisper in the wind.
“Another difference is that upon death, the body and soul are ripped apart and so is the mind. The soul undergoes a reincarnation, while the body returns to earth. But both of them still retain pieces of mind. And sometimes, the events in our lives leave a mark on us so profound, it’s engraved on those pieces of mind, just like our fate.”
The first droplets of rain fell into the pond, causing a ripple.
“So even after you reincarnated and gained a new body and created a new mind bridge between your soul and body, a piece of the mind attached to your reincarnated soul has such a deep wound that you have no choice but to relive a memory of that event over and over.”
Phlox looked up at the moon that still shined brightly, even though it was starting to rain.
“Does it mean that my dream was a real event? And did it perhaps take place tonight?”
“Perhaps… When a really long time passes, it gets tricky to tell.”
They quietly stood in the rain for a minute.
*~*~*