Ch. 214
「Tears of Truth
One of the five sacred objects said to have been gifted to humanity by God when the continent was formed.
The first to unify and command the continent, the originator who created the title of Dra. The only human who did not fear dragons.
Historically the strongest Emperor, the lost relic of the ancient monarch Dra Vüsdebalt.」
I looked down at the ring again.
You… quite—no, incredibly—valuable, aren’t you?
It was far too precious to be using just to check whether Chad liked Akia or not.
How pitiful. To end up in my hands. This ring truly had terrible luck.
[Welcome, Tears of Truth. Is this your first time with a pervert master?]
“Yeah, welco—hey! That’s not true. I’m not a pervert, I simply enjoy tormenting people. I’m not the only one who expresses affection that way, am I?”
[And to make it worse, you’re the most terrifying kind of pervert—a confident one!]
Seriously. Instead of Tears of Truth, I wish there was a treasure that could materialize Rai so I could beat him up. Something like that exists, right?
[Master! Are you ignoring Vüsdebalt’s relic right now?]
“What does it matter whose relic it is? Once it’s in my hands, I’ll use it however I want!”
[The ring is crying. It’s crying!]
“How can a ring have feelings!”
[I can feel it! I can feel the ring’s desperate sorrow!]
He sounded exactly like a shady street shaman.
It would be perfect if I shoved a crystal ball in his mouth.
“What? Don’t try to scam me! You crazy—wait. Can you actually feel it? Like when I touched Ash while wearing the ring—can you feel the emotions of metal too? For real?”
I had assumed he was just spewing nonsense again. But then it suddenly occurred to me: if not Rai, a metal Spirit, who else could feel the emotions of metal?
It wasn’t an ability he had before, but since Rai grows as I grow, maybe he awakened to a new power?
[Huh? Does that even make sense?]
Damn. He did awaken.
He stared at me with a presumptuous look, and I had to grit my teeth at the snake face silently asking if I’d lost my mind.
“Doo yoo reeeally feeeel it…?”
[Master, are you insane? How can metal have emotions? It’s inanimate. There’s no such thing. Pull yourself together!]
“You said the ring was sad!”
[I meant I would be sad! Why would you think the ring actually feels anything? Master, you’re so naïve. Puh-heh-heh!]
I’m going to kill him.
More urgent than the Tears of Truth, I needed a treasure that could materialize Spirits. No one else would need such a thing, so who would even make it?
I swear, I’m going to cut this guy short someday.
“…You scammer Spirit. You made me take you seriously for nothing.”
[Like master, like Spirit! You taught me everything! Master always says, ‘The one who gets scammed is the idiot.’ Ah—that doesn’t mean Master is the idiot, right?]
“It would sound more convincing coming from a metal Spirit. You should switch to being a Spirit of Sarcasm.”
I grumbled and continued reading.
The explanation was much longer than for any other ring, taking up several pages.
「Whether in pure material value or historical significance, it is considered the treasure of treasures—one of Vüsdebalt’s three great relics.
It takes the shape shown in the illustration. Its material remains unknown, though many believe it to be a creation of God. (For the other relics, refer to the Ancient Treasure Book Weapon Edition and Attire Edition.)
The Tears of Truth grants its wearer the power to read the emotions and thoughts of living beings.
Its power grows stronger with the mental strength of the wearer, and does not work on those with stronger mental strength.
Its effectiveness depends entirely on the wearer’s mental state.」
As expected, it wasn’t omnipotent. It only worked on living beings, and its effectiveness varied by opponent.
For example, I couldn’t read Adelaide’s true feelings. She was a real dragon. But Magi?
He’s a bit lacking, so maybe it would work. My mental capacity is definitely not lower than his.
「In the 9th year of his reign, after obtaining the Tears of Truth, Vüsdebalt executed three of the close aides who had helped him ascend to the throne, and permanently dismissed two.
Though no records remain detailing what he saw, the results show he lost trust in them.
The Tears of Truth was used for a long time to root out traitors, and thus greatly contributed to the peace of the continent. No one dared deceive Vüsdebalt.
However, Vüsdebalt grew old and neared death. Before dying, he entrusted the Tears of Truth to one of his closest aides, the Great Spirit Master Pel.
He ordered it to be sealed for generations, entrusted only to the purest and most selfless person.」
(T/N : Yep. Geenie is thw most selfless person ever. Yep. Right. Good job Pel. Yeah. lol )
Vüsdebalt was said to be one of the legendary ancients who lived over 300 years.
He was so extraordinary that rumors suggested he might have been a dragon in disguise.
And this was the ring that legend used.
「Pel devoted his entire life to protecting the Tears of Truth and, as per Vüsdebalt’s will, never wore it.
Forty-two years after Vüsdebalt’s death, Pel, facing his own end, commanded his disciple to hide it. That disciple was Kalrip, a Spirit Master of Water and Earth and successor of the Spirit Council.
At that time, the Spirit Masters were already struggling, worsened by Pel’s death.
As the Spirit Council collapsed due to internal division, Kalrip disappeared without a trace.
The Tears of Truth vanished with him and has remained missing for 8,000 years. A tremendous reward is still offered.
For example, in Elan Imperial Calendar 984, the King of Beilan promised the title of Count to anyone who delivered the Tears of Truth, regardless of their status.」
The Elan millennium celebration had been held only recently. That meant the King’s offer was less than two decades old.
They had been searching for this ring earnestly for 8,000 years. A dream treasure for those in power.
The fact that a single ring was worth a Count title said everything.
「Currently, only the words Vüsdebalt left when entrusting the ring to Pel remain:
Truth is sharper and more painful than lies.
Do not touch the truth you cannot bear.
There is a demon in human ugliness—do not gaze into the demon.
He who can face the abyss without going mad, the ring shall follow.
He who has crossed loneliness like death shall bear the ring.
Only he who knows no fear shall rule the ring.
He who is unmoved by others’ hearts—he alone shall obtain the ring.」
Vüsdebalt must have feared the scars left by reading the hearts of others.
Unlike physical wounds, emotional wounds never fully heal. That must be why he sealed the ring and wanted it used sparingly.
Come to think of it, I had never read a heart so horrible that it caused me pain.
The ring had only ever been fun—because I mostly read the hearts of men who loved me.
The hearts of men full of love for me are soft, sweet, pleasant—like little treats. Even when they’re intense, I don’t dislike it.
Ash always makes me feel good…
Tap tap.
Tap tap tap!
“……”
“Ahem! Heu-heu-heum.”
While I was standing and reading, the clerk started dusting loudly above my head with an oversized duster.
He was blatantly telling me to leave.
[How dare they! Want me to bite him?]
[No.]
[Then bury him alive?]
[Stop it. You’re making it sound like my inner personality is foul. Don’t forget: what you do reflects on me.]
[Of course. The subordinate’s mistakes are the superior’s responsibility! I always trust Master and cause trou—no, do things!]
[Never mind.]
I’d been standing too long, so the clerk was growing irritated. And since the book was for sale, the right thing was to buy it.
Who does he think I am—a beggar?
I’ll buy it! I’ll buy this and the Attire Edition and the Weapon Edition too!
With my pride wounded, should I just buy the entire bookstore? Perhaps I’m becoming the Spirit of Overconsumption.
“Customer, what do you need?”
“Where is the bookstore owner?”
“Why are you looking for him? He’s not here right now.”
The spirit that had briefly left my body returned instantly when the scent of dusty books reached my nose. Come to think of it—I don’t even like books.
Habits are terrifying.
As expected of an Academy graduate, I instinctively turned to books when I was curious. If I bought this place, I’d feel obligated to read everything, so let’s not.
Besides, I already had a mountain of unread books piling up in the dormitory.
“No. I’ll just buy this book. And the Attire Edition and the Weapon Edition too. Where are they?”
“Right away, customer!”
He immediately brightened—an excellent clerk indeed.
“There are four volumes of the Weapon Edition and two volumes of the Attire Edition. Would you like all of them? There are also Earring and Crown editions of the Accessory series you’re holding.”
“…If I buy them all, it’ll be quite thick, won’t it?”
“Of course. Altogether, it would be about this much.”
He spread his arms wide—so wide it exceeded his shoulders. Then even wider.
My mood darkened.
“Do you deliver?”
“Yes, as long as it’s not too far. Delivery is 2 Silver as a base fee.”
“Then deliver them to the inn over there. Third floor, room number…”
I instantly switched to polite speech.
Because I hate carrying things.
“And do you have any books about ancient Spirit Masters? I’m looking for something on Pel and Kalrip. Preferably detailed.”
I didn’t know anything about Kalrip, who was presumably the dungeon’s owner, but I knew a little about the Great Spirit Master Pel.
Any Spirit Mage would. He was a legendary figure—someone who had contracted with the Water Spirit King as a youth. A genius Spirit Master.
I also suspected that Heidrike would have more information about him than Dmitri.
This was the nation of Spirit Masters.
Tiatrajen, the only currently known High Spirit Master—and Great Spirit Master—was a nobleman of this country, and he raised Spirit Mages here.
Heidrike’s favorable view of Spirit Mages was largely because of his existence.
Well, these days, people call you a Great Spirit Master just for contracting with a High Spirit, which shows how far the average had fallen since Pel’s era.
“Well? I’m not sure. The manager might know. He’s really into Spirit Masters… but he’s gone to buy Toomdra tickets with the owner, so we haven’t heard back. No clue when he’ll return…”
“You don’t know when he’s coming back?”
“Yes. Didn’t you know? Ticket purchases are first come, first served. They’ve been standing in line for two days.”
I didn’t know.
I had simply trusted the letter of introduction Lox gave me.
And I had entrusted the task to the dumbest member of our party—Chad.