I, Roslia Minkgott, was in the middle of infiltrating Salengre Cathedral with my fellow Arriver Sofie. The cathedral was a tourist destination, so actually entering the premises was simple. The main church and rear sanctuary were closed to the public, but we were able to get into the main church thanks to Note and Suiz taking out a good deal of the guards. Our role as decoys was to make a scene, but since our plan was rather haphazard, we didn’t have any specific instructions on how to go about doing that. Thus Sofie and I were currently strolling around the worship hall. When we turned the corner, we came across a swordsman.
“Trespassers, huh?” He grasped his katana in a fighting stance as he introduced himself. “I’m Juran, master of the legendary blade Calm Night. Here’s to a fair fight—”
“Wait, we’re not trespassers. We’re just maids. See? Look at her uniform,” I said, gesturing at Sofie.
The swordsman stared at Sofie’s outfit while muttering, “Oh, you’re totally right. My bad, my bad.” He then moved aside to let Sofie pass, but stopped himself mid-step and turned back to me. “I can see that she’s a maid, but how come you’re in armor—”
“Sofie, do it,” I ordered.
“As you wish.”
Sofie planted her fist in the man’s stomach. As he bent forward, I dropped an elbow on him that left him swooning.
“Nice tag-team move, Sofie!”
“That wasn’t so much a coordinated effort as it was you jumping in...”
“Come to think of it, did this guy just say he had a legendary blade?”
“Are you listening to me?”
Ignoring Sofie’s protests, I picked up the man’s sword. “Is this a good weapon, Sofie?”
“It’s worthy of being called a legendary blade, I suppose so...”
“Then let’s take it with us. Force needs a new sword, after all.”
“Yeah, that would make this a mugging,” Sofie criticized me with a harsh look in her eyes.
Tch, and I’d thought it was a great idea...
“Listen, Sofie,” I said, “at this rate, we won’t be causing much of a commotion.”
“That’s true, but...”
“I know! How about we try to break into the treasury? I’m sure they have lots of good stuff here!”
“We’ll become thieves if we take anything, so no.”
“We won’t take anything! I’ve always liked looking at national treasures in the vaults. When I was little, I’d often ask my father to show them to me. Let’s go and see what magic artifacts Aifan holds!”
“The vaults aren’t open to tourists... Moreover, what were you doing as a girl that you had access to someone’s national treasury?”
“Whoops. Pretend you didn’t hear that.” I stuck out my tongue jokingly and brushed off the matter.
“I don’t really follow... But whatever you say,” Sofie acquiesced.
I couldn’t say the same for anyone else, but Sofie never forced the issue by asking too many questions. Was it because she was considerate, or because she didn’t really care? Either way, I was grateful.
“Anyways,” I said, returning to the topic at hand, “I don’t think hitting the treasury is a bad idea. If we get into where the nation keeps their valuables, they’ll have no choice but to send security after us.”
“That’s true...”
“We’re supposed to be decoys! It’s our job to cause as much trouble as possible!”
“I guess...”
“Plus, I’ll get my treasury tour. It’s two birds with one stone!”
“You just want to see the valuables.”
“Jokes aside, how about it? Let’s go to the treasury and cause a big scene, all right?”
“If we must...”
Although she nodded, Sofie didn’t look entirely persuaded. It wasn’t every day that I had the chance to scope out Aifan’s national treasury. Who knew if I’d ever get an opportunity like this again? I had to convince Sofie no matter what.
“Has Princess Leyfa ever told you you’re stubborn, Sofie?”
“Her Highness has mentioned that I stick to orders too closely...”
“Exactly! Right now, the Arrivers have sent us on a mission to distract the soldiers here—but they never said how we should do that. If we don’t put on one heck of a show, we’ll just be doing the boring old bare minimum.”
“I don’t like that idea...”
“Who would? If we disappoint Note and the others, Princess Leyfa will be disgusted too!”
“All right. Let’s do it. I’m not some girl who just follows orders.”
Sofie was surprisingly simple sometimes. After being on the receiving end of her lectures on a daily basis, I’d come to understand how to deal with her—just bring up Princess Leyfa’s name, and most anything could be resolved peacefully.
“Now, time for the Aifan treasury tour!”
“I feel like I’ve been duped...”
I decided to ignore the mumbling I could hear behind me. Onward!
As soon as we entered the treasury, a blaring alarm went off throughout the church.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“A magical sensor,” Sofie replied. “The type that sounds when someone enters its range.”
“It’s pretty loud... Feels like my eardrums are going to burst. What a pain.”
“That’s not all. Now that they all know someone’s entered the treasury, the soldiers in the church will come flooding here. Thinking it through rationally, we’ll never be able to escape against that many of them. I was the fool for going along with your little plan...”
“No point crying over spilled milk. Go block the door with your earth magic, if you’d be so kind.”
“At least show some remorse...”
Despite her reproachful stare, Sofie complied and used her earth spirit arts to barricade the entrance. She really was dedicated, following orders even while complaining.
“Now no one should be able to get in for a while,” I said approvingly.
“But we can’t get out either,” she replied.
“Guess it’s time to take a thorough tour of the treasury!”
“How can you be so easygoing about this? Talk about rose-colored glasses...”
I ignored Sofie’s criticism and picked up a blue shield sitting nearby. “Look at this! Isn’t it beautiful? What kind of enchantment does it have, Miss Tour Guide?”
“I’m not a tour guide. High Appraisal tells me it’s just a normal ornamental shield. And not a very durable one at that.”
“That sucks. I’ll just toss it over here.”
“Be more careful than that. What if you broke it?”
“Hey, look at this! It’s a full set of armor! Is this enchanted?”
“Are you listening?”
My excitement increased with every new treasure we laid eyes on, but Sofie remained coldly calm. I thought it was a waste not to enjoy this rare look inside the treasury, personally. While I was checking out the trove, there came loud yelling from the other side of the door.
“Halt, thieves! Get out here now!”
How rude. That was a completely false accusation. We were just looking around, not stealing anything.
“This could be bad,” Sofie said, grabbing my arm while I was gawking. “The soldiers are trying to force the door open. We’ll be safe for a while longer, but it’s only a matter of time before they break through and catch us. We have to escape.”
“I wanted to look around a bit more, but I guess we have to cut things short. Oh, look, there’s a convenient door that leads deeper into this place.”
“You’re right. But it looks really heavy—”
“How ’bout this?!”
I summoned Fractus and took a horizontal swing. Even if I couldn’t use my weapon’s full potential, it was still a holy sword. A mundane door was no obstacle.
“What is this place?” I muttered.
Since the next room was deep inside the treasury, I was hoping to find even greater wonders, but it didn’t look like a storage room. Pipes sprawled across its walls and a huge sphere sat in the center of it all. What was this?
“It’s the power core of the fortress...” Sofie mumbled quietly.
“What’d you say?”
“Do you remember the story our driver told us on the way in? About how Visril was a fortress created by a dwarf named Forge?”
“Now that you mention it, that sort of rings a bell. What about it, though?”
“The city has lost its function as a fortress over time, but this device was once the heart of it all.”
“Ah, so it’s important. That’s why it’s hidden in the depths of the treasury.”
I approached the sphere and lightly put my hand to it. It was smooth, metallic, and cool to the touch. From what I could see, it and the surrounding structure were both made of materials I’d never seen before. No wonder this couldn’t be replicated with modern technology. I was kinda taken aback to know that it had all been created with a holy skill just like mine.