"Hey, hey! Slow down a bit!"
In a corridor leading to the northern part of the old castle, Signe's voice echoed.
This was because she was in an unexpected game of tag with the divine beast. After parting from Leonardo and moving about 300m or so. The ball of fiery fur he had left behind suddenly raised its head and sniffed, going "sniff sniff." Then it began running toward somewhere at full speed.
Though it was supposed to protect her, instead of matching her pace, it ran off on its own, and Signe reflexively chased after the divine beast. It was absolutely not because she was afraid to be alone, and anyway, it wasn't because she was afraid. What if she lost her way or got sucked into another space?
Due to the vague fear that overcame her, she ran at full speed even while wearing military boots that weren't properly broken in. As a result, far from finding 'the turtle that took the train,' she found herself facing a shaded backyard without even knowing how far she had come.
"Huff... huff."
She had prided herself on having good stamina, but after repeated marches of riddles while staying up all night, she tasted metal in her throat. The pins that had secured her beret had fallen to the floor one by one, and now she would have to press it down firmly or risk it falling off while running.
Signe grabbed the wide-open windowsill, leading her trembling legs once more. She had clearly seen it leap over this way, but she had no idea where it had gone.
"Why are you so fast..."
As she scanned the surroundings, she discovered a door leading outside not far away. It was already half-open, but it was stiff and didn't move well. When she pushed it hard with her military boots, using her weight, the weeds underneath bent, creating a gap that was just enough to pass through.
The curious point was that despite the door being continuously open, there were no traces of external elements such as soil or plant spores having invaded inside. However, Signe, who didn't have time to think deeply, went out into the somewhat dark-atmosphere garden in search of the divine beast.
"Fox? Are you a fox? Where are you?"
The small backyard was densely covered with moss. Its structure was also much more complex than the place where she had first opened her eyes. If the place estimated to be the central garden was relatively warm and dry, the backyard was so desolate that the stone tablets erected here and there looked like tombstones.
She wasn't that afraid of people, but for Signe, who believed well in superstitions, it was the place she least wanted to approach. What if she received a curse by stepping into such a place?
Because of this, she became sensitive to even the smallest sounds.
Rustle—
She, who had lowered her upper body in tension, flinched as she passed by the side of a pillar.
"W-what is it?"
...Ah, it was just the sound of fallen leaves. She rolled her eyes while awkwardly touching the nape of her neck.
Signe, who had been peeking around various parts of the yard, discovered a classical pavilion where benches faced each other under a round ceiling and approached closer.
Though the divine beast had shrunk, it was still about the size of a pony, and it was a mystery where a creature with flames flickering from the tips of its fur had disappeared in an instant. She wondered if it had gone somewhere else by now, but Signe, who needed a moment to rest, led her drooping body to sit on a long bench made of stone. The coldness of the stone material cooled her heated body and loosened her stiffened shoulders.
"Maybe I should just go back first..."
"That's a good idea too."
An echo returned to her voice, which she had muttered as if talking to herself. Signe, whose eyelids expanded in an instant, turned to the side abruptly. A figure was sitting at the edge of the bench where she sat.
Though it hadn't been there until just now... Is it true that the body freezes when too surprised? Signe moved only her lower jaw with her breath stopped.
The person was a man, wearing a medical mask and a hat. The slender eyes revealed between them looked like a snake's.
The man smiled as he unfolded his crossed legs.
"Originally, people like us aren't supposed to enter here."
* * *
The divine beast moving with Leonardo paused midway. It raised its two ears, looked around as if searching for something, and even sniffed. Then it hurriedly ran somewhere again, stepping on the carpet laid on the slippery floor.
Even with short legs and a small body, its movements were as nimble as when it had nine tails. Leonardo, with his hands in his pockets, slowly followed behind the divine beast while scanning the surroundings.
"Do you actually know where you're going?"
At his question, the divine beast stopped in place and turned back, but then proceeded again in one direction. Leonardo didn't continue with his questions anymore and left it to go on its own way. A divine beast is a being that maximizes sensory abilities through the power of mana, borrowing the form and characteristics of an animal. Whatever it was chasing, it would find clues faster than he, a human, could.
Rather, what concerned him more was the internal structure that gave him a sense of déjà vu as they headed inward. Leonardo narrowed his eyes and rubbed his throbbing forehead.
'It's similar to Carseil Palace.'
A majestic interior made of gold, plants, and light. It looked like a simplified version of the Emperor's residence he had last seen a few years ago. Since the owner of this palace was also an Emperor, it wasn't strange. However, it wasn't exactly a good memory for him, so he felt an unconscious aversion.
The imperial palace gains legitimacy of power and sovereignty by continuing its long history and tradition. Therefore, the interior decoration method where light and nature harmonize, unique to Carseil Palace, had continued unchanged as a symbol of the imperial palace to this day. But to see it in an old castle estimated to have been built centuries ago. It was a part that could be guessed that the taste had been passed down from the first Emperor.
Kyung, kyeeng—
Around that time, the divine beast that had stopped whimpered toward Leonardo. It scratched the floor in front of a certain door with its front paws. It meant it wanted it opened.
"What's there?"
Leonardo, who approached without much concern, looked up once at the large door the divine beast was circling around. The height of the door alone was more than three times his height. Though the texture was wood with a deep brown color, it looked as solid and heavy as an iron door. The water drop pattern engraved on the surface harmonized with the antique design of the handle.
After hesitating for a moment, Leonardo brought his hand to the handle to open the door.
And at that moment, an ominous current spread throughout his entire body through his arm.
'...!'
He startled and immediately stepped back, clutching his hand. A chill that felt like it would burn his skin and goosebumps flowed down his spine. Whether it was magic or someone's thought, a presence that felt like it shouldn't be approached was felt from beyond the door.
'It's cold.'
Instinct strongly warned him not to approach. If he made a careless mistake, something strange might attach to him again. Anyway, this was the space of a deceased person who possessed powerful mana in his lifetime. He judged that it wasn't good to rummage around carelessly.
The shop owner had also said something like avoiding actions that create grudges.
"It seems like we shouldn't enter here. Is that guy possibly in here?"
The divine beast, which had been scratching the floor, stopped its action and suddenly tilted its head. Then it changed direction to another side and continued running. Occasionally, it would wait, swaying its tail. That behavior seemed like it was beckoning him to follow.
Though it was his divine beast, sometimes it was as willful as if its intentions were unknowable. Leonardo followed, increasing his speed more than before, while letting out a silent sigh. He glanced back at the door he had almost entered a moment ago, but it was just for a moment.
They passed through a gallery where the ceiling was connected in a rounded arch shape, and went up and down a short slope for matching the level difference. The path repeated similar backgrounds like a labyrinth, but there were subtle differences for each space. The incoming light gradually changed from diagonal to more vertical. Around the time when an intuition that they had reached the southern direction flashed by, a vast hall with a radiance of pure white, which could only be seen in classical masterpieces, unfolded.
A space where an entire wall was made of glass windows. The light pouring in a straight line through it brilliantly illuminated the golden decorations inside. Between the regularly arranged marble pillars and golden candlesticks, an incongruous sound of water was heard. The reason was that there was a watercourse along the edge of the floor following the curved wall of the hall.
It was an artificially created indoor waterway. In the watercourse, whose depth was unknowable, a gentle stream of water flowed like a brook embroidering the land. It was a mysterious structure. To draw an analogy, the temple-like space unfolding before his eyes was as if it were surrounded by a lake.
The divine beast jumped without hesitation into the isolated island in the middle of that small lake.
'How did they make something like this?'
Leonardo stepped forward one by one, genuinely admiring it. It was a space where it felt like someone's affection, transcending a thousand years of time, had been fully felt, putting effort and thought into the architecture. It was not lacking as a proposal place dedicated to a king.
However, the purpose of this hall was unclear. If one were to guess, judging from the massive glass window, grandfather clock, and plush sofa facing each other at the front, it seemed to be meaningful for appreciating the scenery outside the window. As if to prove that prediction wasn't wrong, the scenery unfolding beyond the sunlight harmoniously blended the fields they had been wandering through, the sun's reflection on the lake, and the small station of beginning and end like a picture.
Leonardo stared blankly at that scenery. There was no fog. Despite being indoors, it had a clear three-dimensional feeling as if standing in the middle of a vast plain. This place, with the refreshing sound of water from the artificial waterway added, was indeed a space that embraced the Castle of Romance, nature, and land.
Kyung—
At that moment, he turned his head at the sound of the divine beast's cry. There was a fairly large structure in a corner in front of the window. The beast climbed on top of it and settled down.
Covered with a rectangular glass shield, it was difficult to recognize its form at first, but soon he could identify it as a model precisely reduced from this old castle.
The main castle situated under a semicircular roof that encompassed the complexly intertwined buildings and gardens. On all four sides, tower-shaped columns and watchtowers were erected in balance following each direction. The entire structure seemed to rise as if floating from the ground, and the piloti-style support method that raised it by emptying the space below was reminiscent of something.
"This is..."
There was no room for doubt. Just as the last phrase written in the memo flashed through his mind, an iron horse exhaling steam from the distant station crossed the scenery at high speed. The long train entering the station building passed under the piloti of the model according to the appropriate perspective. At last, the two elements engaged like one entity.
Leonardo murmured in a choked voice:
"The turtle that took the train."
At that moment, the sound of a massive grandfather clock, enough to make the entire hall vibrate, announced exactly 4 o'clock. The tip of the pendulum that rang the bell while making a pendulum motion inside the wooden case. Something connected to that place made a rattling sound and fell down.
Leonardo, who had reflexively flinched, looked at the grandfather clock beside the sofa. Inside the glass case of the clock, a carved canary doll moved left and right as if saying look here. In its beak was a white note.