About a month had passed since the battle at the prison. Surprisingly, the nobles never launched a counterattack. The capitulation of the prison had been far beyond any expectations. The royal palace was in chaos, so they had yet to determine any plan of action. According to Crow, it meant Cobalt’s collaborator within the palace was hard at work.
During that time, Cobalt’s situation had changed drastically. All of the Amrita Dimitri had left behind was recovered. With Amrita in hand, Cobalt chose two people to receive it as an experiment: Crow and Senak. There had been objections to the leader himself serving as a guinea pig, but Crow shot them down.
“I’m no good at fighting. If I don’t brave at least this much danger, nobody will follow me anymore.”
In the end, the experimental administration of Amrita was a success. Crow and Senak gained the physical strength and regenerative abilities of nobles.
“Still, you’re even weaker than a low-ranking noble. And you’ve got no blood caliber.”
That was Keele’s evaluation after a mock battle with Senak.
Dimitri had a hearty chuckle over this. “Obviously. Noble lineages are supposed to be chosen based on their compatibility with Amrita. It matches my hypothesis that commoners have poor compatibility. Well, it’ll probably get better over time with repeated doses, but we don’t have that much of the stuff.”
According to the scholar, the effects would fade away in about a month.
“This stuff’s amazing. I can actually have a proper fight with Keele,” Senak said in awe of his newfound strength.
“Lemme just tell you now, I held back a whole lot.”
“I know. Even a normal knight would be a cinch for you. Still, it’s crazy to think you’re not on par with the royal guards yet.”
Keele now had a large quantity of Halahala at his disposal and more experience fighting against nobles. His martial prowess was also greater than before. Nagi had been serving as his training partner. Well, he called it training, but it was pretty close to one-sided bullying. Nevertheless, Nagi had managed to grow from it, but he felt like the gap between their skills was growing ever wider. It was understandable for Senak to be pleased over having a “proper fight.”
“This will give our forces a real boost. And that’s not all,” Crow said. He was planning to apply the outcome of their experiments elsewhere. “We’ll also publicize the fact that commoners can use Amrita. Our bodies are proof of that. That’s the other reason Senak was a guinea pig for this.”
Soon after, Crow and Senak split up and began going around to villages in every region. They administered small doses of Amrita to people who came forward in each village. The results were dramatic. With the reality that even commoners could gain immortality from Amrita thrust before them, the people’s attitude changed completely. Rumors began to spread, and Cobalt gathered up allies all across Agartha in no time.
Meanwhile, Nagi was acting separately from them. He went back to Garuga Village with Tess. According to Bandore, they had to report to Zamin that Nagi was now their honored guest.
“You’re here,” Zamin murmured, lying in his bed. He seemed much weaker than the last time Nagi had visited. “No need to look at me like that. As you can see, I don’t have long left.”
With that, Zamin smiled in amusement. Nagi had no idea what to say.
“It seems Bandore has decided to make you our guest.”
“Yeah.”
“As such, you are one of us now,” Zamin said with a nod. “There is something I want to tell you. Tess, could you help me up?”
“You’re fine as you are, Chief,” Tess told him, but Zamin was stubborn.
“That won’t do. This is important. Tess, you must listen as well. I’m glad you came here, Nagi; Garuga Village is filled with hot-blooded types who don’t care to hear about the past,” Tess helped him sit up against the wall. “Now then, where to start...? Aah, let me tell you about Lady Saya first.”
“About Saya?”
“Yes. That is the name of the one with silver hair who bears the True Crest. Such is the legend passed down among us Crestfolk.”
“What makes the True Crest so special?”
“Our crests are imperfect. That’s why we suffer. However, it’s said that one day, the bearer of the True Crest will return and guide us.”
Nagi recalled how Zamin had treated Saya with a strange amount of respect when he first met her. The change came about when he had seen the color of her hair. Moreover, he had decided to cooperate with Nagi only after hearing Saya’s name.
“This legendary Saya is said to have the True Crest on the back of her hand.”
“Huh? She doesn’t have—”
Nagi stopped. Hadn’t he seen something like that before? The vague recollection tugged at his mind.
“Well?” Zamin asked.
“Wait a second.”
Back when Nagi had defeated the noble in the Garden, a crest had taken shape on the back of Saya’s hand.
“I saw it. Yeah, it was on the back of her hand. There was a red crest there for just an instant.”
“Oh my, it’s just as the legends say. We village chiefs have carried this story all on our own throughout history, merely hoping... Goodness me.”
A single tear ran down Zamin’s cheek.
“Chief, explain it a little more clearly,” Tess said with a troubled grimace.
“The Crestfolk were born long, long ago. It was right after the Intelligence departed Agartha. At the time, we devoted our loyalty to the bearer of the True Crest. However, its final inheritor, Lady Saya, suddenly vanished. Ever since then, we have been waiting for her return. And now, she has finally come back to us.”
“Hang on, that was a super long time ago, right? They can’t possibly be the same person.”
Nagi recalled that Saya was a noble, so she could have been living for hundreds of years. She herself had said that she was over a century old already.
“Was that person really Saya? She never mentioned anything like that.”
“It’s said that Lady Saya was but a baby when she vanished. It wouldn’t be strange for her to know nothing of this.”
If so, it meant Saya had been in the Garden ever since then. Nagi couldn’t even fathom the amount of time she had spent there.