Episode 178 – Souls in a Bottle (1)

Souls in a Bottle (1)

[Base of Dungeon Dungeon]

Soliette had been in Bethune Dungeon for almost a week. She had been exploring and farming the dungeon, and now she was back in the city, disposing of her loot.

“How much for all of this?”

“100 copper.”

“Alright, deal.”

Having received a fair price, she turned around, her basket jingling.

“……Hmm.”

Suddenly, she lifted her head towards the sky. The towering castle of the Count was visible.

Wrapped in a dense fog, its spire was obscured from view.

Who could be there?

Could Knightmare really be there……

“Halt.”

In the midst of this, the city’s guards called out to her. Soliette responded calmly.

“What is it?”

“It’s a period of intensive scrutiny for foreigners. Present your ID.”

To them, ‘foreigner’ meant user. In the Count’s city, foreigners were subject to execution.

“Here.”

Soliette presented her ID. It was a forged ID made in the black market.

The guard glanced at it.

She thought it was the end, but then he pulled out a small machine that looked like a reader.

Whirring─

The sound of scanning was ominously unsettling. Soliette fiddled with her fingers behind her back.

Beep.

“Captain. It’s a fake.”

Their expressions hardened in an instant. The captain smirked.

“I heard that foreigners have been sneaking in lately.”

Soliette quietly placed her hand on her waist.

In case she needed to draw her sword immediately-

“Ah. Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.

Soliette and the guards turned to look. Her eyes widened.

“That thing. It seems to be malfunctioning?”

Shion Ascal.

He casually walked over, snatched Soliette’s ID and the machine, and scanned the ID again.

Whirring─ Ding!

“See? It says it’s real.”

He showed them the screen. The captain frowned at it.

“……Who are you?”

“Ah. I’m this kind of person.”

He presented his ID. The captain tilted his head.

“‘Royal Palace Direct Investigator’……? Was there such a position?”

“You can check it.”

“……”

With a suspicious face, the captain scanned his ID.

Ding-!

Shion smirked.

“Is it real? Oh maybe, does the Count take precedence over the King?”

“……No! Salute!”

The captain hastily saluted.

“I apologize for not recognizing you! Everyone, salute! It’s a public servant directly under the royal palace!”

“Not a public servant, an investigator.”

“An investigator!”

““““Salute!”””

All the guards saluted loudly. Shion waved his hand.

“Don’t make it obvious that you’ve seen me. I’m a secret investigator. You may go.”

“Yes!”

They quickly left, and Shion gave Soliette a slight wink. She asked in a low voice.

“Shion, what just happened?”

“「Deception」. A unique skill of the Gambler.”

“I activated deception on the machine. It makes anything scanned appear as genuine. Of course, the ‘Royal Palace Direct Investigator’ ID is also a Deception.”

“Wow… a unique skill…”

“Is this the time to be envious? Didn’t you have to submit something for grad school?”

“…Oh, right.”

Soliette mumbled with a defeated expression. She had honestly forgotten, but she bowed her head a little nervously.

“But… Shion. No matter how I think about it, I don’t think college will be helpful to me.”

She doesn’t ask for much. She just has a simple yet difficult dream.

To reveal the true nature of Knightmare to the world and correct everything about him.

To make those who used him for their own benefit, including Knightmare himself, pay a proper price.

College doesn’t help with that dream at all.

“So…?”

Soliette’s words trailed off. She blinked as she looked straight ahead.

“…Shion.”

“What.”

“Why are you grabbing my hair?”

Because her hair was caught in my hand.

“To drag you along.”

“Excuse me? Uh-oh.”

Shion twisted her hair around his fist. Her hair was tightly tangled between his fingers.

“What, what are you doing, let go. Let go right now, eek──”

He pulled her along. Soliette screamed as she was dragged away.

……

Bang──!

Edsilla National University Admission Office.

A stamp was pressed onto Soliette Arkne’s application.

“Haah….”

The person herself sighed a small sigh as she looked at it.

“Here are your exam ticket and question paper.”

Soliette glanced at the envelope of question papers handed to her by the admissions assistant.

“Shion.”

“What.”

“Which colleges did you apply to, Shion?”

“Right here.”

“…Do you like this school, Shion?”

“Of course. Unlike you, I need to earn a lot of money. A lot.”

“I see.”

“You should also earn a lot, shouldn’t you?”

“I don’t really have a desire for money.”

“You have to pay me a salary.”

Soliette narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve never been late with your salary.”

“There’s also a success fee of ten million Ren.”

“…Ah.”

Then she made a surprised expression.

Indeed, she had forgotten about my success fee.

“You said you would definitely give me ten million Ren if I find Knightmare.”

“…Whistle-”

Soliette whistled to change the subject.

“Whistle-”

No, she’s just making a sound with her mouth.

“You can’t whistle, can you.”

“…Hmm.”

Cough, cough- She coughed and I said to her.

“Just get admitted. Take one semester in the Knight Department and then take the knight exam right away. And join the Knights. Then you’ll have a lot of free time.”

The knight exam doesn’t really matter when you take it. The qualification requirement is ‘Knight Department student or graduate’.

Someone like Soliette can easily pass.

“By the way, did you solve all these questions, Shion?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you lying? They look difficult.”

“I solved the most difficult question. Number 12.”

“…Hahaha. I see.”

Soliette laughed scornfully. I ignored her.

“It’s true.”

“Hahaha. Shion, you’re always so humorous.”

“……”

“Hahaha… Ahem.”

Noticing my expression, Soliette changed the subject.

“Then, let’s go back to Bethune. Shion, I have something to discuss with you at the base.”

* * *

[Base of Dungeon Dungeon]

Soliette led me to a mansion somewhere in the city.

“Where is this place?”

“This is Miss Sheron’s mansion. Our party members and I stay here.”

“Oh, really? But why do they have a mansion?”

“They say it’s provided by their connections.”

Ding-dong-

Soliette rang the bell. A voice flowed from inside.

─Who is it?

“It’s Soliette. I’ve come with Shion.”

Drrrrr──

The gate opened. As soon as we entered, a familiar middle-aged knight greeted us.

“Ah~ Shion, is it you? Nice to see you. Did you do well on the college board?”

It was the knight ‘Raelro’, who had reached level 19 by now.

The one we met when we defeated the giant of the abyss, he was now a high level.

“Yes. I think I can get into the national university.”

“Oh. That’s good news. Come in. Have you heard the quest explanation?”

“No.”

“Alright. It’s a serious matter, so let’s get straight to it.”

Raelro led us to the living room and said.

“In short, the ‘Count’ of this city is the root of all evil.”

I asked back.

“By ‘Count’, do you mean Knightmare?”

“Hmm… It’s not certain whether the Count is Knightmare, but anyway, the problem is the ‘Count’ named Knightmare.”

He spread out some kind of blueprint on a large table.

“That ‘Count’ is coveting the souls of users.”

“Souls?”

“Yes. Have you heard that when you die in this game, you become an NPC?”

“If you die twice.”

“Right. The purpose of [Bethune] was that from the beginning. Collecting the souls of users, making the game itself a part of reality.”

I looked at the blueprint on the table. It was a large fish tank-like container.

“……What is this container?”

“It’s evidence that the Count is coveting those souls.”

“Coveting?”

“Yes. If you sacrifice about a thousand lives, you can get a mana nucleus. If you sacrifice about ten thousand, you might even get a philosopher’s stone. But what if you sacrifice a hundred thousand?”

“One might even be able to fulfill a wish.”

Soliette finished the sentence for him.

I also slightly furrowed my brows.

“Is this why there were rumors that wishes would be granted?”

“That’s right. However, the original purpose of this game is not something like an individual’s wish. Bethune was designed with the purpose of ‘becoming reality’.”

Raelro pointed at the blueprint with his finger.

“But, the Count is trying to intercept the power of those souls. He has put the souls gathered in the game into his own tank.”

“By tank, you mean this?”

Souls in a bottle. (I changed this purposefully so it can demonstrate the idea of Wish in a bottle)

It’s a somewhat familiar concept.

“That’s right. Like a brain in a jar, he has trapped souls in a tank. Probably inside this tank-”

“It would be filled with happiness.”

The voice this time wasn’t Raelro’s. Nor was it Soliette’s.

Above the railing.

Sheron Aventagher, with the world’s most tired face, yawned── and looked at us.

“Only fun things are in the tank~ Because the souls can’t escape…… Hello~?”

Sheron waved at me. I didn’t react at all. Her arrogant expression distorted grotesquely.

“Hey, asshole. Aren’t you going to greet me?”

“Hello. Sheron. It’s been a while.”

Soliette bowed her head slightly.

“Not you.”

“……It’s been a while.”

I raised my hand slightly. Sheron, raising her eyebrows, continued.

“Anyway. I don’t know what wish he’s trying to make by gathering these souls~ But these are souls for everyone, we can’t let individuals fulfill their wishes, right? Whether it’s because of a stomach ache, or for world peace.”

Sheron shrugged her shoulders.

“So, I’m thinking of stopping it~ And make a profit on the side.”

I looked back at Raelro.

“Do we have a method?”

“It’s simple. Destroy the tank before it’s full. Then the souls will escape outside the castle, and the ‘original purpose of the game’ will be achieved.”

“The original purpose of the game, you mean, the transcendence to reality?”

“That’s right. This [Bethune Dungeon] will become a real dungeon.”

Raelro clenched his fist, somewhat excited.

“It means we can take out the wealth we’ve gathered in the game, like businesses.”

“Hmm…….”

“For that, we need manpower. An elite minority. Those with combat sense, high level, and clearly trustworthy…… Soliette. Shion. Your party.”

At those words, I looked back at Soliette.

She quietly nodded her head.

* * *

……The Count’s castle.

In the deepest, most intimate part of the place shrouded in dark fog, there is a large tank. Inside it, countless souls are overflowing, colliding, and shimmering happily.

The ‘Count’ sits on his throne and gazes at the scene. The colorful cluster of soul lights reflects in his eyes.

“Is it a tank of rest, Count?”

Someone spoke to the Count. The Count looked up at him.

‘Noah Lucille’.

The head of The Spectres, he smiled at the Count.

“Should I call you Knightmare to get a response?”

Still, the Count said nothing.

Again, he turned his gaze to the tank of souls, as if lost in some thought, or chasing some illusion…….

“What are you going to do? Soon, many people will come to kill you. Including Soliette.”

─…….

“Many families on the continent are worried. If your existence is exposed, the chaos on the continent won’t be small, right?”

─……Tell them there’s no need to worry.

His voice fell low.

“To whom? To Arkne?”

The Count let out a small sigh, then gripped the greatsword slung over his back.

“Oh, oh, oh. Sorry, sorry.”

─…….

Noah stepped back, waving his hand. The Count put his sword down again.

“Phew… But, Count. This is a really tempting thing. Can I go in for a bit?”

The souls inside this tank are living happily, unaware that they are already dead.

To put it simply, it’s a ‘virtual reality within a game’.

─Do as you wish. If you can overcome it yourself.

The Count warned.

“I can’t overcome it… I can’t do it.”

Noah Lucille quickly retreated.

─No.

Suddenly, the Count’s eyes sharpened. His reddened irises flashed as if boiling.

─I’ve changed my mind. I can’t forgive trespassers.

“……Hm. Is that so?”

Noah Lucille chuckled.

─…….

The Count glared at him in silence.

“I got it, I got it.”

He took a dive position.

“I’ll just go in.”

Noah Lucille jumped straight into the tank. The Count watched his retreating figure, frowing.

* * *

Meanwhile, I logged out with Soliette. To fill our hungry stomachs.

“Do you want to eat something?”

Outside was my residence in the Endex district.

My resting place, which I would soon have to leave.

“It doesn’t matter. But…….”

Soliette pointed somewhere. It was towards the window of the residence.

“What?”

I also turned around, puzzled.

“Huh.”

There was a man. A familiar face. He scratched the back of his neck, looking somewhat flustered, and coughed awkwardly.

“Hem hem……. Are you, by any chance, living together?”

Belingham Kantar.

The executive of Libra, blushing in my house. I wonder what indecent thoughts he’s having.

I shot him a dissatisfied look.

“Did you trespass?”

“Um…… Technically, Shion, you’re the one who trespassed? Trespassing and squatting.”

“…….”

Belingham alternated between looking at Soliette and me, giving a bitter smile.

“Well, if it’s a love escape, I understand……”

“No, it’s not. That. It’s not a love escape.”

Soliette quickly denied it with a flushed face.

“We were just playing a game together. Why are you here?”

“Oh. Nothing much.”

He clapped his hands.

“67th place in the entire College Board. Congratulations. It’s almost a sure score for admission to a national university.”

“Did the rankings come out now?”

“No, not yet.”

I quickly picked up my smartphone and stopped.

“Have you solved the national university interview questions by any chance?”

“Yes. I solved them all.”

“Hahaha. Shion, you’re lying again. Did you solve question number 12, Shion? If it’s true, I’ll be Shion’s younger brother-”

“…….”

I glared at Soliette. Soliette quietly averted her gaze.

“You said you’d be my younger brother, for sure.”

I glared at Belingham again.

“No, why are you here?”

“……This is why.”

He handed me an invitation.

“I came to deliver a message for you to participate in the Libra internship.”

“Internship?”

I accepted the invitation. The content was a genuine Libra internship card.

“But I’m not even a college student yet?”

“It’s just one month, from January to February, before the start of the college semester. Think of it as a privilege for your loyalty to Libra so far. You’ll probably be able to take home not only an intern salary of 200,000 Ren but also various gifts.”

“200,000……”

I carefully looked at the card. Soliette clung to my side with curious eyes.

Belingham gave a wry smile.

“Do you want one too, Miss Soliette? I can give you one anytime.”

“No, I’m fine……”

Then, as if she had a good idea, she wore a mischievous smile.

“Yes. If possible, please give me one too.”

“What?”

I quickly turned to look at Soliette.

She hurriedly spoke to Belingham.

“I want to experience Libra. I want to see what’s in Libra that makes Shion so loyal……”