Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 85

A New Revelation

Connie was taken aback by this question. But she did not show it on her face. What she did however, was to answer her with another question. As if speaking to a child asking stupid questions. “Where did you get that silly idea? It is a well - known fact that only 7 Heroes may exist at the same time. And you’ve met the Hero of Calendia.”

“I – I had some doubts,” she said, slowly, her words spoken in a hurry, with skittishness. “B - but I am a woman of science. I didn’t believe in reincarnation or suchlike and y - yet here I am.”

“Such is the whims of the Heavens,” Connie commented with a shake of her head. “But I see now…you are tired. Last night’s ordeal must have shaken you more than you thought.” Connie said as she headed for the door, her voice placating. “You need to get some rest.”

Kim pulled the key out and hid it in her pocket.

“Be reasonable, Kim. Do you think a door can stop me?” Connie said with a tinge of annoyance.

“N – no,” the young woman said, her voice trembling. “But please. I need you to listen to me. I didn’t ask you this out of malice.”

“What you said yesterday. Is it true that you want to fight against the Hero of Vorzenny?”

“Yes,” Connie replied honestly. “That’s what I intend to do.”

“But he is a Hero! And I can feel that he is the strongest among all of us Hero right now. A – and he has Vorzenny behind his back!”

“I’m aware,” Connie said. “And I am also aware that the life of a single Dark Elf with no ties to the Kingdom means little to Calendia.”

“But you’ll still do it?” she asked, gulping her saliva in nervousness.

“Otherwise, who would?” Connie replied with another question.

With this, the young woman wiped a drop of tear from her eyes. “I told Haynim Abbas about the Hero of Vorzenny’s Charm Gaze, but he told me not to tell others but him.”

“They wouldn’t believe you. If I told King Gerard about this, he would just think of me as fanciful. And the King of Vorzenny will just deny it. The words of a scorned woman and a King, which one would they believe?”

“Yes. He told me the same thing.”

“Then why ask me this?”

“Because…because I want to help you! But what I’m going to say will sound crazy. Especially if you’re not an Otherworlder.”

“You want to help me?” Connie closed her eyes and opened them. “…is this you talking?” she suddenly asked, glancing lightly at the direction of the Red Prince’s chamber. “…or is this the Red Prince’s words?”

The young woman looked at her straight with glassy eyes. She looked like she was about to cry. She could see the tremble of her lips, the whiteness of her knuckles as her fist tightened.

The young woman closed her eyes to gather her courage. She was not a courageous person or someone who dreamed of lofty things. She had always been a simple person who only wanted a quiet life. To heal people as a Doctor. Sadly, that was not to be. Here, where wounds can be healed by Potions and even the most terminal of illness can vanish with Elixirs, all her skills became useless. Perhaps if she had more capabilities, she could. But she was just a Medical Student who had barely stepped into that world.

“He tried to hurt someone I considered my sister. Someone who taught me that my life is worth something. I owe her and her husband many things. As a human and as a Healer.”

Connie gazed at her and saw no falsehoods in her words. She sighed and told her to sit down.

“Just as you suspected, I am an Otherworlder.”

“I knew it!” Kim grinned as she wiped her tears with her sleeves.

“But how did you know?”

“You didn’t actually hide it well. People from this world wouldn’t know, but your gestures and words are very distinct,” she said. “Last night you talked about Dao and Meridian. Those were not words from this world. And what you did this morning clinched it.”

The girl play-acted a respectful clasped hands and bow gesture. “This. My mother had an old relative in China who still did this.”

“Chai…na? That doesn’t sound familiar,” she commented, a thumb rubbing her chin.

“You don’t know China? Where did you come from?”

“Da Hu Empire of the Twin Tiger Continent. The birthplace of most Cultivators in our world.”

“C - cultivator…?” a look of sudden revelation crept up on Kim’s face. “A - and what was your name? Is this how you look in your past life?”

“Of course not. I was a man! This body was simply borrowed, though I did modify it a bit,” she postured and puffed her chest, right palm opened as he spoke. “My name was Wang Tian Gu. Middle Stage Treading Earth Cultivator. I was an Alchemist dabbling as a Healer.”

She did not spoke about her being a villain. After all, she did not need that complication now.

“Y – you are a character in a cultivating world?” Kim could not hide her blooming smile. “Oh my God. You are a Xianxia Character aren’t you?”

“Xianxia? Immortal Hero? Well, I am not immortal. I can still die.”

“I see, I see. So, your world is that kind of world!” she said. That explains how arrogant and show-offish she is! A Xianxia protagonist! That was really out of left park!

“Alright, enough about me. What is so important that you needed to ascertain whether I’m an Otherworlder or not?”

“Y – yes. About that…what if I tell you that you are…actually a character in a Visual Novel?” she said.

“Visual…Novel?” Connie scratched her head upon hearing the foreign word. Hurriedly, Kim explained in simpler terms.

“So…in short, I am a character in…a book? Some sort of story with moving pictures? And my voice is not my voice but of another person?” Connie mulled the words and found it unpleasant. “…Indeed, I can see why most people would think this is mad.”

“Do you also think that I’m speaking nonsense?” she asked, looking exhausted and dull.

“No. No. Let’s not jump to that now. I will keep a very open mind. Very open,” she gave her a pat on the shoulder. “So, what is its significance?” she asked again.

“Because you are one of the Heroines in Blade Reverie. In other words, you are a part of the Hero of Vorzenny’s story.”

“WHAT?!”

After that bout of surprise and bewilderment, Kim told her about what the story should have been like. About the Heroines, which Connie had met in the party, and a few other key characters that existed in this world.

Connie had to sit down while she listened to her. In her past life, she had discussed the meaning of life and death with the Abbot Cloud Watcher, mused about the meaning of the sword with the Golden Lotus Vagabond, and debated about the esoteric with the demonic Fox, Zhou Daiji for seven days and seven nights. But none have ever made her head hurt as bad as this current discussion of hers.

Visual Novel. Games. Voice Actors. Routes. Dialogue Choices. Things that did not make sense to her at all.

Still aghast and in disbelief, Connie had to make the black-haired woman to summarize it.

“He has gathered all of the Heroines in the game. All except for Cornelia Asterium Steelheart,” the young woman explained. “To do this, that man called Kurosaki Yuuji must follow a specific storyline, otherwise one or two will be missing from the party.”

“Is Akula also included in that?”

“I – I don’t think so. There was no such setting of a Centaur in the game…as far as I know,” she said. She was really worried about the Tonsulde.

Connie shook her head. The Centaur - judging by strength alone – was stronger than her. And those party members she met during the Ball was no slouch either. Especially the one with the liver problem. She could see that she was a Master. “I…will try to save her from under his thrall. But I make no promises.”

“T – thank you. Er, continuing…In the story, you are supposed to be a proud but weak Hunter. And at the time of his visit here, he will take you away and help you find happiness. Taking you from the tyranny of Prince Mikael and Serin Gladstone. In return you will show him the location of the treasures of the First King of Calendia. And one of the treasures he gained was Grunford.”

“But Grunford is already in the hand of Akira.”

“Yeah. That’s one thing that I was surprised to see. I’m sure he was surprised as well,” she said. “Did you tell Akira where to find Grunford?”

“In a sense,” Connie nodded. She deemed that telling her what she actually did to be an unneeded information. “Nevertheless. That sword is his now. I have no intention of taking it back.”

“Well, okay. Anyway, in the story it said that you know where The First King hid his many treasures. And only you can access said treasures.”

“I don’t know about the latter part. But I do know where they are,” she said with a raised eyebrow. It was a weird feeling to hear someone else talk about her and knew more about her than she did.

“And that’s the problem. He knows that you know other places where the First King hide his treasures. He will aim for you.”

“Aim for me? You mean…”

“He…er, he will try to take you into his Harem,” she made and awkward gesture. “That’s...the kind of story it is.”

“Oho, is that one of the…setting of the story?” Connie flared out. “Me? A member of that little shit’s harem?!”

“Good. Very good,” she rubbed the bottom of her chin with a thumb. However, her expression did not match her words. As her other hand was crushing the handle of the particularly expensive chair she was sitting on. “Alright, what happens after he got the treasures?”

“I…well, I did not finish it. I changed to another Visual Novel soon after.”

“Fine. If what you said is right, then he seems to be following the story as best as he could, despite the variables. Do you think that he really needed the treasures?”

“I think so. The First King of Calendia was very famous even in Al-Khemiya. Anyway, the next event should happen in Calendia’s Hunter’s Guild. Where he saved you from a thug while you are looking for a quest.”

Connie folded her arm and leaned back on the chair, thinking. After a while she made up her mind.

“Hmm…I’m still a bit skeptical,” Connie said in honest. But before Kim managed to voice her objection, she raised a finger to stop her. “But! That…is why, we will stake the Guild out. Can I ask your help with that? I also have to prepare some things on my end before we can hope to do this. You may tell the Prince if you want. I think he would love a chance to give Vorzenny a piece of his mind for trying to charm his wife.”

“Yes! Anything!” she answered instantly.

“Now then. That shithead knows the story, and perhaps even better than us. But now that we know that he knows the story, it becomes a game of which one could utilize the information better. Can I get you to write some of the key elements in the story again? I need to plan around it.”

Kim gave an enthusiastic nod and went off to get a piece of paper from her notebook.

While she did so, Connie glanced at the book that had been nagging at her and gave the cover a look. The cover felt very smooth and pleasant to the touch.

“Introduction…to the Biological Nature of…Infectious Diseases…” she said it slowly, giving the foreign words a taste.

She then flipped a few pages. And then the next. And then the next.

Her heart raced. Her mind raced even faster.

There were many foreign terms in the book. But just by skimming it alone she knew that this was a Medical Book. One that was far more advanced than the ones she had read in her world. They were practically outdated by hundreds of years.

“Kim. Kim,” she said out loud.

“Y – yes?” she looked up from her notebook and looked quizzically at the blonde-haired girl.

“This book. This is a Medical Book, isn’t it? Who wrote this?”

“Oh? That’s a book that I was reading when I was preparing form my exam back on Earth. That’s my old world.”

“The pictures - How did they draw such realistic pictures of a person’s innards? And these words…I know about parasites. But what about Virus? Bacteria? And this bulb on the man’s head, Tumor?” Connie’s eyes beamed so brightly with interest as she jabbed on the book. “You must know a lot about this if you read this book.”

“I’ve read it back to back. That’s just an introductory one. I have more advanced ones.”

“More advanced ones?!” she was practically shrieking by now. “I want this book! How much do you want for it? A hundred gold coins? Two hundred?! Say your price”

Kim was flabbergasted by this new side of Connie that she saw. “Um, wait. Aren’t we supposed to plan how to take care of Kurosaki Yuuji?”

Connie calmed herself down once she heard this. But the effect of her excitement could still be seen on her face. “Yes. Yes. Of course. Sorry. Need to focus on that. Yes.”

“Look. I – I can give it to you for free. And I’d love to explain the book to you as long as we had the time. We are friends, after all.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Back in the room where Illumca slumbered, Martell placed his palm on the forehead of the dark elf. The heat had lessened quite a bit.

“I’m going to replace the water, Mister Martell,” Hirun said. “It’s warmed up too much.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The Maidservant gave a short nod and left. A cold wind came in through the gap and made the beastfolk boy’s ears shiver.

“She is getting better,” he muttered as she watched the Dark Elf’s face twitching. “But that’s definitely not a restful sleep.”

And indeed, as he said. In her sleep, Illumca dreamed.

She dreamed of the past. Of the days before there was fester on her skin and rot on her flesh.