I wonder if those “restrictions” are similar to how one has to meet certain conditions to communicate with divine beasts. The Argent Armor is related to God, so I can see how it might be in the same vein.
As for the ending Sita mentioned, maybe Nike’s the type of person whose passion burns bright but also burns fast, and he just got bored. Why did he become disappointed? I have a feeling I’m probably too much of an average Joe to empathize.
“What we know for now is that after Nike left, Agard ventured outside,” I concluded. “That was when he became lauded as the Argent Knight, and that armor is the divine armor and has a soul, right?”
“So it seems,” Sita agreed. “While we’ve found the link between Agard and the armor, I still can’t figure out how this all ties back to Noa...” She cast a contemplative glance at Noa, who was nodding away sleepily, clearly not paying attention to our conversation. Sita and I cracked smiles.
“Let’s call it a day, shall we?” I suggested. “We should head for bed.”
“Yeah,” Sita replied. “Hey! The memoir!” After I tucked Noa into bed, I went to Sita and took the book from her hand, no questions asked.
“I’ll confiscate this until tomorrow morning. You should get some rest too, Sita,” I said.
She groaned and frowned, but knowing that it was only for a night, she obediently followed my orders and lay in bed.
Agard, the armor, and Noa... If I unravel the link that these three share, I feel like we’ll be on track to learning more about the Argent Knight. But...just because we can do this, does it mean we should? Is it really okay to solve these mysteries? I gazed at Agard’s memoir and recalled Noa and the armor’s relationship as a dark cloud of anxiety loomed over me.
The next day, we had breakfast at our lodging’s cafeteria and discussed our future plans.
“So, our next destination is the ruin,” Emilia said. I wasn’t quite sure how she’d arrived at this understanding, but it had Sita beaming like a giddy child.
“Huh? I thought we didn’t have any time to tour the royal capital,” I said.
“Indeed, we do not.” Emilia nodded. “That’s why we’re heading to the ruin.”
“Emilia, would you care to provide an explanation?” She had always been the type to hurry things along without ever fully explaining herself, but this time, I was putting my foot down. Heh. Last time I was here, I was frazzled the whole time because I let you lead me around by the nose. But no more! I’m a new woman now—a big sister, in fact. I have to be the one to hold the reins.
“If we head to the Prison Tower from the royal castle, the guards will be an obstacle,” Emilia clarified. “We should sneak into it through the back entrance.”
“The back entrance?” I asked. “Is there a secret escape route like you always see in castles and such?”
“Sure is.”
“I see. Makes sense.” I’d actually done it—I’d managed to stand firm in the face of adversity and ask Emilia for details about the plan, just like a big sister should. I was positively chuffed at my accomplishment...
“Um, Your Highness?” Rachel asked. “Isn’t that a secret passageway reserved solely for the royal family?”
And just like that, my breath was instantly taken away by the incisive, hard-hitting interrogation skills of a true big sister. I guess a fake like me can’t possibly compare...
No, stop it, Mary. Asking good probing questions has nothing to do with being a big sister, and you’re just going on a tangent.
“Indeed,” Emilia replied. “Is there an issue?”
“Are outsiders like us allowed to set foot there?” Rachel asked.
“Well, technically, no, but technically, we should be okay.”
“Which is it?!” I snapped, completely unwilling to let Rachel’s perfectly sensible question fall victim to Emilia’s casual nonanswer.
“Now, now. You know what they say—it’s not a crime if you don’t get caught.”
“I think you need to recheck your dictionary!” I cried. “We’ll be trespassing!”
Emilia broke out in a cold sweat. “D-Don’t worry about these trivialities! Just take a look at Sita over there. Do you really want to tell her we’re not going?” She gestured at Sita in her desperate attempt to deflect. I turned to look, and...while we were talking, Sita had already hurried back to her room and packed up her things for the trip. She was fully equipped and ready to embark on a journey to the ruins, her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“Come on, gang!” Sita called out encouragingly. “The ruins await! It’s going to be so exciti— I mean, the queen awaits! Her Majesty is waiting for us!”
I knew that even if I shot Emilia down here, she and Sita would probably go together to explore the ruins and inevitably get embroiled in some kind of incident. It was saddening that I could so easily imagine it—with the troublemaking trio of Emilia, Sita, and Orthoaguina working together, it was practically a guarantee.
I gazed up at the sky, knowing full well I had no choice but to tag along with this unexpected turn of events. And yet, despite all my pensiveness, there was a glaring issue about our group I failed to consider. Sure enough, without anyone present who had sufficient retorting power to shepherd us toward rational decision-making, there was actually a hidden fourth troublemaker: the lovable scamp known as Mary Regalia.