Every Morning, My Mirror Saves the World - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Ruiyin had never dreamed that the things in Bull Demon King Kandaru’s eyes were neither lenses nor corneas, but two Memory Crystals.

And not just any Memory Crystals. They were rare treasures capable of recording events from over a century ago, the sort that could be auctioned off for enough money to buy several cities.

The way she looked at Tio could not help but take on an air of heartbroken outrage. That look seemed to please the Little Demon immensely, and even her tone became much lighter.

“I can send you back into that memory,” Tio said. “Then you can search for a way through from inside. But remember, you must be very careful not to wake the Orc King. Once Kandaru wakes, forget about coming back alive. The entire world will be swallowed by the shadow of nightmares.”

Ruiyin frowned. “Mordova seemed to say something similar. What exactly does ‘wake’ him mean? What is so terrifying about Orc King Kandaru?”

Tio did not answer her. Lars had already spoken, his body still trembling faintly as he did.

“Very terrifying. You know this, Ruiyin. Humans and Orcs are locked in a bitter war right now. With humanity’s advantage in numbers, we can still barely hold our own. But once the Orc King wakes and joins the battle, the entire war will become one-sided.”

He raised his lashes, and deep awe filled his green eyes. “Do you know? In the last war, he destroyed an entire human allied empire all by himself. An incredibly strong physical defense, a body almost completely immune to magic… Tio is right. As long as he wakes, there will be no peace left on this land.”

“I understand,” Ruiyin said. “Then how do you plan to send us there?”

Tio reached out and tapped the crystal ball that was clinging stubbornly to its curtains. Only then did the thing very reluctantly open its shelves again. She found a jar on it, and when she opened it, a rich, sweet fragrance spread through the air.

“Maple syrup.” Tio stared at the jar with painful reluctance. She bent down and dipped a quill into the syrup, using it to draw a pattern on the floor. “This is something I’ve treasured for years. Honestly, the moment Mordova’s name comes up, other people’s treasures start getting taken away…”

…We have absolutely no interest in your treasure. Could you trouble yourself to use a more reliable material for a teleportation circle?!

Tio did not hear the roar in their hearts at all. Still muttering complaints, she quickly finished drawing the teleportation circle. She placed one Memory Crystal in the center of the circle, bit her finger, and pressed it to the edge of the syrup. In an instant, the golden lines lit up.

“You have…” She glanced at the hourglass beside her. “Three hours. Take the other crystal. If anything unusual happens, it can quickly teleport you back to the location of this one. I’ll say it again. No matter what you see, do not, under any circumstances, wake Kandaru.”

Ruiyin still wanted to ask something, but Tio had already reached out. With a gentle push, Ruiyin took a step back and unconsciously stepped into the syrup teleportation circle.

The wooden floor beneath her feet seemed to vanish all at once. Ruiyin felt her body sink, and she fell downward against her will. It was completely different from the sensation when the Black Knight had teleported them before. She felt as though she were descending at a steady speed through a thick, pitch-black liquid. She had no idea how much time passed before she finally collapsed crookedly onto the ground.

“That bastard…” She rubbed her forehead dizzily and sat up. “Where is this?”

“Ruiyin! Ruiyin, where are you?!” A panicked shout rang out not far away. She cursed under her breath, rushed over in a few quick strides, and, without another word, shoved the Little Knight to the ground, clamping one hand over his mouth. “Shut up! If you wake that guy, can you beat him?!”

The body beneath her stayed quiet for a long while. Then, in the complete darkness, a timid, shy voice sounded. “I… I won’t shout anymore. Ruiyin, can you get up? I think you’re touching my… um…”

The sensation under her hand did seem not to be skin. She instinctively gave it a squeeze. Badly worn leather armor, a very springy feel, and that shape…

“…Why are you blushing?! Has no one ever smacked your butt before?!” Ruiyin said, pretending to be calm as she withdrew the hand that had just thoroughly taken advantage of him.

…It’s this dark. How did you even see me blushing?! Lars instinctively complained inwardly.

Though there had been leather armor between them, the feeling of that squeeze still lingered in his mind. Lars sat on the ground for a long while before his rapid breathing slowly calmed. He groped around and helped Ruiyin up. When his arm went around her thin shoulders, he vaguely felt that the strange sensation he had noticed since a moment ago had grown even stronger.

The surroundings were a little brighter than before, but they still could not see anything. It was as though a dense white fog had risen around them. Lars and Ruiyin supported each other as they walked over uneven ground. Underfoot, it felt a little like damp earth after a fresh rain, and now and then, slender blades of grass brushed against their ankles. They walked for a long time before sunlight slowly dispersed the mist.

It was a highland sparsely covered in green grass. A sloping earthen hillside stretched upward, and at its highest point stood half of an enormous rock jutting into empty air. They seemed to have climbed all the way up along that incline, and now they were standing at the edge of the huge stone. A biting cold wind howled across their faces. Above them was the boundless sky, and below lay an endless great plain, the view so vast it felt lonely. When an eagle’s wings sliced across the deep blue sky, its trembling cry could even echo between heaven and earth like a falling shriek.

Ruiyin was a commoner from a city of steel, while Lars was a country boy who spent his days with the knight order. Confronted all at once with such wild, open vastness, both of them stared in a daze. And so neither of them noticed when someone appeared behind them.
“Have you made up your mind?”

The sudden voice startled them both. They turned around with frightened looks on their faces, only to find two shadows behind them, one tall and one short, slowly making their way up the slope. As they drew closer, Ruiyin could vaguely make out the shorter one’s silver hair and pointed ears. One of the Dark Elves.

Lars jumped, instinctively grabbing Ruiyin and looking for somewhere to hide. But out here in the open, there was nothing but sky and earth. Before Lars could decide whether or not to leap off the cliff, the two shadows were already in front of them. Then, as if Lars and Ruiyin did not exist, they passed straight through their bodies.

“Shh…” Ruiyin gently pressed a finger to his lips. “This seems to be the Orc King’s memory. They can’t see us.”

Lars’s face abruptly burned from that instant of closeness. The shy, awkward feeling made him want to spring away at once, yet the desire in his heart made him desperately reluctant to give up such a rare moment. While the young man was caught in that dilemma, the two figures walked to the edge of the rock and stopped.

One was from the Dark Elves. The other, naturally, was the owner of the memory: Orc King Kandaru.

Ruiyin needed only one look to realize just how unreliable Lars’s textbooks were. Kandaru was indeed huge and imposing, but only about the same size as the skeleton they had seen. He did not have the Godzilla-like presence of something that could flatten Tokyo Bay with one stomp. As for his appearance, he was even further from the green-faced, fang-baring monster in the textbooks. He had a pale, smooth, bony face, sharply defined hide armor, and a pair of blazing red eyes. He looked so magnificent, so extraordinary, so peerless, so beautiful…

To look basically the same alive as after death. What kind of tragedy was that?

Once she was done observing him, Ruiyin finally shifted her gaze to the other, less important person. With just one glance, she nearly cried out.

“T-Tio!!!”

That face, so pretty it blurred the line between genders. That stubby little build. And that eternally flat chest! It was absolutely that impossible-to-imitate king of lunatics, Mad King Tio!!!

However, although both her face and figure were identical to the Tio they had just seen, the Tio in Kandaru’s memory wore an ornate black robe. Pure white silver thread wove nine small white roses in the shadowed hem, hinting at her noble status: Queen of the Night Elves, the priestess capable of communicating with the God of Darkness.

“Yes. I hate troublesome matters like this, but the other side is clearly even more troublesome.”

“I thought you would follow him forever.”

“How could I?” Tio said with a smile that was not quite a smile. “For Dark Elves, there is no such thing as eternal loyalty or friendship. We only came together with him because of that person. Now it is long past time for us to part ways.”

The Orc King looked at her expressionlessly. Of course, that might also have been because skeletons did not have expressions to begin with. “So you thought of dragging me in as an ally?”

Tio smiled slyly. “You are Orc King Kandaru. Surely you aren’t afraid of a mere Fallen Knight? Besides… you don’t want to go back to the underground world either, do you?”

“Orcs never belonged to the dark faction in the first place. So even if we do not ally with the Dark Elves, we will not suffer retaliation from the Dark God. I consider this proposal entirely unnecessary.”

“Of course it’s necessary.” Tio wagged a finger mysteriously. “Don’t you know? Mordova has gone mad.”

“…”

“Of course, that man was never normal from the start. I saw that long ago. But ever since… he has become even less normal. He has conquered many cities and villages, and even a dark-element Holy Archmage skilled in Undead magic has joined his side. With those two madmen together, do you really think the Orcs can stay out of it just because of their physical advantages?”

Orc King Kandaru was silent for a long time. He watched a lone goose, startled into flight, vanish into the horizon before slowly turning back.

“A reason,” he said simply. “To ally with the Dark Elves, I need a very good excuse.”

“The reason is…” Tio rolled her eyes. “‘Dissatisfied with the division of territory, Orc King Kandaru led his army in an attack on Dark Capital Antik, causing great losses to the Dark Elves. To avoid the destruction of her race, the wise and mighty Queen Tio therefore did not stand up at the critical moment to support the God of Darkness.’ What do you think?”

“An excellent scheme to drag someone else down with you. Then the Orcs will also be placed on the God of Darkness’s list for retaliation,” Kandaru said coldly. “There is no benefit in this for me.”

“Don’t be so absolute,” Tio said with a grin, tugging on his sleeve like a little girl wheedling an elder. “You will definitely gain the thing you want most from this. Think about it. The thing you dreamed of for so many years, the thing that became more and more of a fantasy as you grew older…”

“…”

“Well? I am willing to swear in the name of Dark God Seres: when the Dark Moon descends upon the world again two hundred years from now, everything you dream of will come true.” Tio smiled and extended her hand, her crimson eyes blinking up at him.

Kandaru was silent for a long time. Then he extended his enormous hand and lightly shook Tio’s. “Fine. Deal.”

Even after the two monarchs who had reached an agreement left the place, Ruiyin and Lars still did not move.

After a long while, Ruiyin finally turned her stiff neck.

“I don’t know if this is a problem with my knowledge reserves, but would you mind explaining to me exactly what that completely incomprehensible conversation just now was supposed to mean?”