I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

60 – In Search of the Lost Heirloom (4)

[aaah!]

Orisin, who was about to say, “You madman!” hesitated. Orisin knew that Kriel possessed an abyssal sensing ability that he could not replicate in any way.

He had a rough idea of where that ability originated from. If Kriel was so adamant about smashing someone else’s heirloom, it must have been tainted by the abyss.

‘But still!’

In the Gabi family, as soon as he saw his father, he launched an attack on the old man, and now he’s activating ‘This heirloom is now mine’? Does he instinctively reach out whenever he sees the abyss?

From Nawiden’s perspective, it was an even more inexplicable act than seizing the heirloom. If he coveted the heirloom, it would be understandable, but to try to smash it as soon as he saw it?

Orisin turned his head towards Nawiden.

Even the gentle Nawiden seemed at a loss in this sudden situation, staring at Kriel with a confused expression.

[…Hey! What are you going to do? Hurry up and fix this!]

“Ah. I did it unconsciously.”

[At least say something!]

Kriel had said the same thing to Mazar Gabi, leaving him with just the word ‘speech’ before beating up Tushkin Gabi. However, unlike his two swords, Kriel considered himself a socially adept, upright young man – at least in his own mind – so he did not attempt to explain the exact past events here and now.

“I believe you must be quite bewildered by this sudden incident. I apologize.”

Nawiden didn’t know how to respond. If he knew, shouldn’t he have prevented this?

“Please, just look at the Chalice of Truth. It is both my excuse and my reason.”

The Chalice of Truth was shattered into a mess. It was the pitiful end of an artifact that had been passed down for centuries since the days of the ancient fairy nobility.

Just as Nawiden was about to let out a sigh,

‘Hmm?’

He looked at the Chalice of Truth again. It wasn’t something that should break so easily.

Nawiden approached the shards of the Chalice of Truth and picked up a fragment. It sparkled with a silvery sheen and even felt somewhat sacred.

But this was not the Chalice of Truth. The material of the Chalice of Truth was not ordinary silver. It was a special metal forged with the unique secret techniques of the ancient fairies, known as fairy silver.

It was not something that could be broken so easily.

Nawiden realized that a very clever magic had been cast on the shards of the Chalice of Truth. It was the power of mimicry. A similar-shaped chalice made of a different material had been enchanted with mimicry magic to imitate the original Chalice of Truth.

A cold sweat trickled down Nawiden’s forehead. The Chalice of Truth had been switched.

Who, why, when. Such questions flashed through Nawiden’s mind. Kriel continued speaking calmly.

“Since the Chalice of Truth was confiscated from Alberic, has anyone entered the storage room?”

“…We would need to check the personnel records to be sure, but probably not. After retrieving the Chalice of Truth from Alberic and returning it to its original place, we were the first to visit the storage room.”

“Then it seems the chalice was already a counterfeit at that time.”

Kriel deduced the situation. Someone who had stolen the Chalice of Truth had used the public image of the rogue Alberic.

“As soon as they stole the Chalice of Truth, they must have been cornered by the sudden arrival of a letter from Lewain’s advisor. With Viggo’s surveillance intensified, they couldn’t return the chalice to its original place, so they came up with the idea of using Alberic to replace the genuine chalice with a fake one.”

“Then there is a part that doesn’t make sense. If they had placed the fake chalice there from the beginning, it would have been a more perfect crime.”

Kriel recalled the nature of the Abyss. They enjoy hiding traps without anyone knowing for a long time. The purpose of the Abyss is not simple destruction. It is the corruption of the world.

Even the most devout can sometimes fall into corruption. Just as renowned holy knights fall into the Abyss and become dark knights.

Kriel frowned as he recalled the first moment he saw the Chalice of Truth. No, the Chalice of Deception. Seeing his distorted expression, Nawiden asked, “What’s wrong?” Kriel shook his head as if it was nothing.

“I was just thinking about something. Do you remember the poison ring I brought at first?”

“Of course. Because of that, you went through a lot of trouble.”

“The Chalice of Truth and the poison ring have something in common. Although their directions are different, they both change water.”

Kriel thought that the water contamination using the poison ring was a kind of experiment. How would humans or the harsh natural environment mutate after ingesting water imbued with the poison of the Abyss?

The reason it ended with simple symptoms like stomachache or diarrhea was because Kriel intervened early. If they had explored the water source with ordinary means and said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with the water,’ and looked for the cause elsewhere, leaving it unattended for a long time?

The village contaminated by the Abyss might have turned into a production base for monsters. Worse, the Abyss might have descended. Nawiden, a veteran of the Demon King War, had witnessed countless regions collapsing in such a manner.

“The culprit’s goal was not simply to steal the heirloom, but to corrupt the Chalice of Truth into a source of contamination like the poison ring and return it to its original place.”

Such a plan should have been carried out swiftly without anyone noticing. But before they could complete the corruption, Viggo’s guards became strict, and the theft was discovered.

“…They intended to use our heirloom to create a baptismal font of the Abyss?”

[A baptismal font of the Abyss. How quaintly elven.]

Although the formal initiation procedures differ by religion, the most common act involves using water, such as pouring holy water on the head or body. The implication is to wash away the secular filth with water.

A baptismal font is a basin that holds the holy water used for such baptisms. If the Chalice of Truth were corrupted, its power would no longer be purification but the corruption of the Abyss, so Nawiden’s analogy was spot on.

“That’s what I think. However, this inference only holds if there is some connection between the maker of the poison ring and the thief who stole the Chalice of Truth.”

Nawiden gathered the broken pieces with a stern expression. Although they were destroyed and the magic scattered, they were evidence in themselves.

“I want to convene a family meeting. Would you mind testifying?”

Kriel nodded.

*

“Young master.”

Oife called to Alberic through the bars.

Alberic turned to Oife with a sly smile.

“So, how did it go?”

“Nothing. There’s no clue at all. They only testified that you were loitering near Viggo that day.”

“That wasn’t me. Would I be crazy enough to steal the heirloom?”

Oife was about to tease the young master as usual, but seeing Alberic unusually serious, she shook her head. Until recently, the Chalice of Truth had been used for Lady Pand’s life-prolonging treatment.

It was used to prevent the deep-seated scars of the abyss from consuming her body. Although fundamental treatment was impossible, the spread of the wounds could be stopped. It had become an old story since Lady Pand stopped her life-prolonging treatment and prepared for death.

Alberic, who wished for his mother to live even one more day, swore he would never sell the Chalice of Truth, which would be used when Lady Pand changed her mind.

“But hey. You said you got drunk and blacked out somewhere that day. You don’t even know your own whereabouts, so discussing the existence of a doppelganger based on your testimony alone is…”

“I don’t intend to discuss it publicly with the family. Something that mimics me must not notice. That’s why I called you.”

Oife sighed at the young master. This too was a friend, and he would become her lord when the elder of Nawiden passed away.

“Alright. I’ll look into it more. Don’t get your hopes up.”

It was the moment she turned to leave the underground prison. “Senior! Senior!”

“Huh? Niamh?”

“Senior, we’re screwed!”

“What do you mean, screwed?”

“Huh? Ah, you don’t know. As expected, only half-baked elves. Yeot is a dessert made using rice and barley.”

Alberic added an explanation. Was it a peculiar plant-based food of the World Tree Elves? Oife held her head and spoke.

“Alright. I get the gist from the sound, but what happened?”

“The Chalice of Truth is shattered! No, it’s completely gone!”

“No way.”

Oife looked at Alberic. Alberic grinned.

“See, I told you it wasn’t me?”

*

It takes considerable time to convene a family meeting. In the meantime, Criel checked his attire in the guest room he was guided to.

“Master. Come here. If your appearance can’t be helped, at least your attire should be good.”

“…No. It’s not an ugly face, is it?”

“It’s not ugly. But it looks strange.”

Tuon cornered Criel with an innocent attack. The ‘strangeness’ she mentioned referred to the overall sense of alienation exuded by Criel’s appearance, combined with the ominous atmosphere unique to a dark knight. A chilling impression as if standing on the boundary between the living and the dead. Criel gave up on arguing.

“Don’t you have any clothes other than travel light armor? A knight should have dignity befitting his position.”

Criel, who spoke confidently, was about to answer that armor was the knight’s formal attire. Seeing his mouth forming the word ‘armor,’ Tuon instantly crushed Criel’s ambition.

“If you intend to claim ‘I brought a ring from the Abyss and wear really suspicious armor, but I’m not a dark knight,’ I won’t stop you.”

Criel quietly accepted Tuon’s opinion instead of arguing that the armor was not from the Abyss but a holy armor crafted by the saint of Eve Kaha.

“There should be something in the bag.”

Tuon, who had finished combing Criel’s hair and completing his hairstyle, began to search the bag. Orisin whispered to Criel.

[Didn’t you have the uniform you got from Morigina? It would be perfect for a formal occasion.]

A luxurious black uniform made from night raven silk. However, Kriel shook his head.

“That one has the Eve Kaha emblem. No need to reveal my status as a great warrior for nothing.”

[If this is related to the Abyss, you’ll end up revealing that status anyway….]

“I think I should hide it for now.”

[Why?]

“As soon as I saw the fake Chalice of Truth, I heard a voice saying, ‘You and I have the same goal….'”