"An aura of knowledge?" Ebner frowned. Some inexplicable associations arose in his mind, and he then asked Edwina to lead the way so they could go and see that "Queen" for themselves.
Edwina gently nodded and did not refuse. After all, she was the one who had abducted the person, and she would have to release her sooner or later anyway.
Next, the three of them flew together into a cave in the mountainside and quickly arrived at the place where the "giant dragon" had previously stored its treasures.
Because Edwina had used her abilities as a "Grand Arcanist" to construct an ice-and-snow prison here, the Queen—only level 16—was completely unable to break free, so she was still obediently staying inside the treasure chamber.
When she noticed the three of them entering, the "Queen" was first stunned, then looked in surprise at the man leading them and exclaimed, "Viscount Ebner Bryan?"
As a lady who lived in Backlund and was enthusiastic about reading newspapers, she naturally couldn't fail to recognize the famous "Hero Detective."
Hearing his own name, Ebner—who had already had some guesses—carefully examined this neighboring country's "Queen" a few times. As if it were exactly as he had expected, he nodded and said, "Mrs. Philina, so it's you."
Mrs. Philina was the fifth survivor of that experiment eleven years ago. She had previously followed the Storm Church's "Mysticism Magister" Stuart to Disi Bay for a vacation, after which she disappeared without a trace.
Of course, after seizing the Trident, Ebner knew that Stuart had only used the vacation as a pretext. In reality, he had joined the secret mission involved in the "Sea Monster Scramble" around Sonia Island.
After advancing to Sequence 3, Ebner had even deliberately tried to "Insight" Mrs. Philina's whereabouts, but he hadn't obtained even the slightest clue.
He had thought that the "Sefirot" contamination on Philina or the Storm Church's protection had interfered with his "Insight," yet he never expected that she had fallen into the "Ghost Empire."
And judging from her appearance, she had clearly already recovered her memories… which made sense. She carried contamination at the "source matter" level within her body—on this point, Edwina and Xio really couldn't compare to her.
"You know me?" Hearing Ebner accurately call out her name, Philina became even more astonished, to the point of doubting whether the Ebner in front of her was real.
Could this be something generated by my "subconscious"? But that doesn't seem right… I don't have that deep an impression of this detective. If not for my own "special ability," I probably wouldn't even remember what he looks like… Even if the "subconscious" were at work, Stuart should be the one appearing here instead.
While Philina was letting her thoughts run wild, Ebner avoided the crux of the matter and replied, "I attended your exhibition… and Stuart is my friend."
In fact, even the formula for my "Mysticism Magister" came from reading his personal biography.
Then Ebner changed the subject and asked, "Mrs. Philina, how did you end up here?"
When asked, Philina hesitated for a moment, but still organized her thoughts and answered, "I'm actually a Beyonder… Previously, I obtained some ritual magic knowledge related to 'mirror traversal,' so after careful preparation, I attempted it once.
"As a result… even though I had accumulated enough 'luck,' an accident still occurred during the 'traversal,' and I fell into the gap between mirror worlds.
"When I woke up again, I discovered that I had been assigned the identity of this 'Queen,' and was then abducted by a giant dragon…"
At this point, she suddenly stopped speaking, because in this world her profession was "Arcane Scholar," which came with an innate "Appraisal" skill. Edwina's "attributes" were now displayed plainly before her eyes, letting her know that the cold-faced woman standing opposite her was precisely the dragon who had abducted her.
Seeing this, Ebner smiled and said, "Edwina was previously suppressed by an 'identity' just like you, which covered up her original memories… but she's already awakened now."
As he spoke, he smiled meaningfully at Philina and said, "The reason she subconsciously abducted you is probably because you possess some kind of trait that attracted her, don't you?"
This kind of trait had not only attracted the "Mysticism Magister" Stuart—apparently even Edwina, who was already a "Prophet," hadn't been able to escape it.
"The more dangerous the 'knowledge,' the more captivating it is?" Ebner mocked inwardly. Ignoring the sudden change in Philina's expression, he continued, "This place is extremely dangerous, and getting out will probably require going through many more 'worlds' like this one. Since we've met here, would you like to join my team?"
Seeing that Ebner didn't continue pressing the matter of her traits, Philina relaxed slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she asked instead, "What kind of place is this?"
"This is the 'Ghost Empire,'" Ebner answered.
"The 'Ghost Empire'?" Philina's heart tightened. She suddenly wondered whether she had added too much "good luck" when preparing for her "mirror traversal." Otherwise, how could she have happened to fall into this relic of the Trunsoest Empire that adventurers across the seas dreamed of?
But this kind of "good luck" was something she didn't want at all! After all, as a member of the "Life School," Philina knew very clearly that the "Night Emperor" was a true god! Just thinking about the countless dangers hidden within a legacy that he had poured all his efforts into was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Philina swallowed and seriously considered Ebner's invitation.
Although she was somewhat wary of this detective who seemed to know her background so well, if she didn't join him, relying on herself alone, she probably truly wouldn't be able to leave this "world"… setting aside everything else, she couldn't even defeat the Demon King in the Demon King's Castle. If she stayed here, it would only be a matter of time before she was killed by the Demon King's army.
As her thoughts raced, Mrs. Philina made her decision and nodded. "Viscount, I'll join you."
"Very good… welcome aboard," Ebner said with a smile as the corners of his mouth lifted.
This lady was tied to the ritual of the "Divine Casket," tied to many truths behind the arrangements of the "Seal of Catastrophe," and even her "coincidental" appearance here might very well have been "arranged" by some seal's setup. Ebner naturally wouldn't let her wander off alone—his invitation was just courtesy.
If Xio and Edwina weren't present, Ebner would have directly "hypnotized" her and taken her into Grosell's Travels for research.
"Mm, we'll take her along… I'd like to see what the 'Seal of Calamity' is really trying to do," Ebner narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered silently.
Xio and Edwina, who understood Ebner extremely well, exchanged a glance. Clearly guessing that he had other plans in mind, they accepted the addition of another member to the team.
Next, this four-person party, composed of a "Hero," a "Princess," a "Dragon Girl," and a "Queen" spent more than two hours traversing several "great nations" with city walls and more than a dozen "small nations" with only wooden palisades. They repelled multiple demon armies besieging cities and obtained considerable "supplies." In no time, the fame of the new "Hero" party spread throughout the "world."
"Mm, one man and three women—standard Japanese RPG hero party configuration…" Amid Ebner's faint inner complaints, the four finally arrived beneath the Demon King's Castle and encountered the first "Demon General" of this world—a level 21 lion-man.
Ebner didn't make a move. He let the three companions face the opponent instead, so they could "grind levels."
Yes—according to the "experience" in Ebner's memory, under the rules of the "Hand of Order," the "levels" across all "worlds" within the "Ghost Empire" were shared. That meant levels gained in this world could be carried into the next one.
And if they were following the correct "route," then each subsequent "world" would only be harder than the previous one… so it was better to let them level up a bit more now, saving him from having to constantly divide his attention to look after them later…
While Ebner was thinking this, the three ladies had already slain four "Demon Generals" in succession and advanced to the front of the Demon King's main hall.
At this point, Xio had reached level 18, Philina level 19, and Edwina—because her level was already too high and the earlier Demon Generals didn't provide much experience—was still at level 25.
After a brief rest, the four pushed open the doors to the Demon King's main hall and saw the figure seated on the throne.
"The former Hero?!" Xio, Edwina, and Philina exclaimed in unison, because of the false memories implanted in them.
Ebner, however, stared at that all-too-familiar figure with a strange expression and said,
"Giuseppe Castia?"
(End of the chapter)