Chapter 130. Review (5)
“You think I’ll answer?”
She smiled cryptically, countering.
“You’re asking someone once in Vendetta. Even if I knew, you’re sure I’d spill it?”
“No reason not to.”
Sitting on the poker table, Persona tilted her head, puzzled.
“Oh? Got a hunch?”
“Hunch? More like certainty.”
My blue-black eyes met hers.
“At least, you didn’t seem that loyal to Vendetta. Even Tantalus himself didn’t seem attached.”
Tantalus.
Her eyes chilled at the name. I silently manifested a sword.
“…You.”
“Am I wrong?”
Tension crackled in the room. I swallowed dryly.
The Last Sword Saint stood by, but I had no intention of leaving this to him.
“…Fine, I’ll ask. How sure are you?”
“No need to say.”
No lie. I knew Tantalus’s actions fragmentarily from the original story. He didn’t fully engage when Vendetta ramped up.
Thus, Persona didn’t strike me as blindly loyal to Vendetta.
“If you won’t say, convince me.”
“You were loyal to Tantalus, not Vendetta. And… I don’t sense hostility from you. Oddly.”
Silence fell.
After a quiet pause, she stared coldly, then lowered her lashes and sighed softly.
“Gods, you’re reckless. Judging hostility or killing intent directly?”
“Sounds silly, but somewhat.”
Her relaxed tone prompted me to lower my sword.
Thanks to the Last Sword Saint, I’d honed reading intent with Sense of Mana, predicting attacks.
I knew.
She no longer saw me as an enemy.
Beyond logic, my gut trusted it. No need to justify it.
If I’d ever misjudged, I wouldn’t be standing here.
“You’re amusing, Enoch. Even your arrogance makes me wonder if it’s needed for unique mana.”
She sighed, lightly gripping her arm.
“I hate admitting it, but you’re partly right.”
“Not denying my words.”
“Nope. Vendetta often hurt Tantalus. Some officers opposed him. Personally, I despised them. Let them crash.”
She crossed her legs on the table.
“…But, sadly, I don’t have solid intel on Vendetta’s plans. Didn’t need to know.”
“Didn’t need to? Why?”
“I didn’t care what other officers did. No bonds.”
“No bonds? Weren’t you an officer’s confidant?”
“Didn’t you just say it? I was loyal to Tantalus alone. Vendetta’s goals didn’t matter.”
Smirking, she twirled a finger in the air.
“Listen, I followed his orders. I don’t know Vendetta’s inner workings. But I heard things.”
“Not getting it.”
“Tell me your goal, and I might give a fitting answer. I’m curious too.”
Hugging her arms, her eyes sharpened.
“Why the relic artifacts?”
“I learned from Vendetta’s fight with Ixion. Their objective.”
“…”
“He said Vendetta would exploit a coming catastrophe, using relics. Replicas, specifically, but…”
I smiled faintly.
“Not just Vendetta. I’m intrigued by ancient relic artifacts too.”
“For squad enhancement?”
I didn’t deny it. True, in the original story, some artifacts and gear for follower families were “relics.”
To survive this reality, checking those wasn’t a bad move.
Still skeptical, she tilted her head.
“Hm, not just for that. You’ve got ulterior motives.”
Her sharp insight made me nod. Her quick grasp reminded me of her unique magic’s nature.
“Snatching Vendetta’s relics could stop their plans while boosting my strength.”
That was the biggest perk—thwarting Vendetta’s power while gaining ours.
“Got it. Your reasoning clicks something.”
She pointed at me.
“Like you want relic locations, Vendetta had people tracking them.”
“Who?”
“Several. The guerrilla squad led the hunt.”
Guerrilla squad.
Flare’s unit?
My mind flashed to Rhodes’ ruins. She’d been there on orders.
Was she after a relic there?
I shook my head.
Too little to conclude. I’d do what I could.
“Any info on the guerrilla squad?”
“I know roughly where they’re headed and what they’re eyeing. Recently, they focused near the Victoria Kazimieśi domain.”
“Victoria Kazimieśi…”
I nodded softly.
Vendetta’s guerrilla squad. Victoria Kazimieśi.
No doubt. It tied to the main storyline. Likely not false.
“You look satisfied. Don’t think I’m lying?”
“It matches what I know.”
“Hm.”
At her teasing, my smile widened quietly.
I’d come for the Sword Saint’s growth advice, but getting a bonus from Persona was a steal.
Quite the haul.
Persona cut through my spiraling thoughts.
“Oh, one more thing.”
Her cold gaze pierced me.
“Enoch Elsyde, you don’t seem to know yourself well.”
She added meaningfully.
“You can’t stay ignorant of yourself forever.”
Her piercing words stabbed my chest. I lowered my head.
Though from a former enemy, I couldn’t deny it. It echoed the Last Sword Saint’s words.
This was my Inner World, yet I knew so little about it.
“Well said.”
Glancing aside, the Sword Saint, quietly listening, nodded.
“Not just sword inheritance. You must understand yourself, the Inner World’s foundation.”
“Planned to.”
A bitter lesson. I’d neglected self-understanding while chasing growth.
I’d resume sword training, the only way to reclaim my original memories.
As I thought this, I recalled.
“By the way, you’re here, Last Sword Saint. Where’s the Sword Saint of the Waves?”
Though time was limited, I could now freely talk with him.
But the second Sword Saint, whose sword I’d inherited, only appeared during inheritance, never spoken to.
“I wondered that too.”
He answered briefly.
“Seems the degree of inheritance is lacking.”
“Degree?”
“Yes. That’s the only distinction between us Sword Saints.”
His concise reply confirmed my guess. I nodded.
—Memory’s Origin.
The story closest to a Sword Saint’s will.
I’d need to fully inherit her core memories, like the Emperor’s, to converse freely.
Talking to her was for later.
No rush. I’d asked to gauge future communication’s benefits.
My tasks remained unchanged.
I’d fully inherit this Sword Saint, absorb all, and one day transcend.
As I thought, the world around me blurred. Time was up.
I opened my eyes slowly.
The limousine’s vibrations grounded me as reality returned.
Turning, I saw familiar urban scenery outside, with Elsyde’s Fortress walls looming like a curtain.
The long nomination mission had ended.