Reset Life – Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Time to Grant the Request 1

Imperial Year 375, November 1st.

Excluding Lucy, who was going crazy trying to uncover even a tiny bit of the secret, the week-long journey to the Imperial Capital could be considered quite a peaceful trip.

Aila used a completely incomprehensible method to lead us through the ‘Path of the Spirits’, something that only appears in ancient legends.

The Path of the Spirits is a path that only has records of ‘having been opened’ even in ancient times, when various races, including humans, lived in the world.

I don’t know the principle, but this path is said to have the power to make you travel long distances in an instant.

Lucy muttered strange words like spatial refraction, dimensional distortion, and space-time penetration as she fell into her own thoughts about this path.

If you depart in the morning and ride a horse and walk moderately until around 6 PM, you’ll travel a distance that’s dozens of times greater than the distance you should have traveled.

Lucy was determined to figure out at least how to open and close this path, but Aila shook her head and refused to teach her.

“This isn’t magic in the first place. It’s a technique that’s different from both sorcery and holy spells. So no matter how much you cling to me, it’s useless.”

“Master!”

“Go away. Shoo, shoo.”

“Master-!”

“Let go of me! Who’s your master! Let go!”

“Masteeer―!”

That was roughly the situation between the two of them for the past week.

In the end, Lucy had no choice but to give up while grumbling. Because it was visible to the naked eye that Aila was becoming more and more haggard every time she opened the Path of the Spirits once a day.

I wanted to tell her not to push herself, but time was of the essence. I’ll have to repay this favor later.

After Lucy’s frenzy and Aila’s overexertion, we finally saw the Imperial Capital on the horizon.

“Phew, I’m going to die……”

Aila had dark circles under her eyes and couldn’t shake off the look of exhaustion all day.

She said that opening the Path of the Spirits takes a considerable amount of energy. She also said that it’s dangerous to be on the Path of the Spirits for more than 12 hours a day.

“Thank you. You worked hard. Get some rest.”

“Haaam. Yeah, okay. I think three days of rest will do. Until then, I can’t lend you anything but my head.”

“It’s okay. Don’t push yourself.”

“Oh, I can lend you my chest too if you want something soft.”

Hey, don’t make bad jokes with that tired voice. Well, I mean, it would be soft, but……

The next moment, I had to curse the sad instincts of a man. I heard Levidian’s displeased voice.

“Risel……”

“I have committed a grave sin.”

“Yes. Continue. They say a cat has nine lives, I wonder how many Risel has?”

Hey, Levidian, don’t say you’ll easily slice someone up while smiling so brightly. It seems like the curse hasn’t been completely lifted. Considering that eerie aura is still lingering.

Ah, was she always like this?

“Well, let’s go to the river over there…… We’ll get a good rest once we enter the Imperial Capital……”

Aila listlessly drove her horse towards the river flowing in the distance. As if receiving its owner’s energy, the horse’s gait also seemed listless.

I also drove Finder and followed Aila.

“Aila, did you prepare everything by any chance?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah. I gave instructions beforehand. Haaam……”

“Oh, so people from Mangya and Sky Ears will be coming out?”

“Heung.”

Aila made a nasal sound that I couldn’t tell if it was positive or negative, and continued on, half-asleep. Oh dear, drowsy horseback riding is dangerous.

Walking towards the western sky where the sun was slowly setting, I thought about what I had to do next.

Aila’s analysis, or rather Sky Ears’ analysis, is expected to be quite accurate. My father’s declaration as a traitor is almost certain, and the 3rd Prince’s ascension to the throne wouldn’t be far off.

The Emperor’s sudden death was probably caused by Artshever or his associates.

If there was evidence, I could accuse them, but they’re not some third-rate villains from a story, so they would have already destroyed all the evidence.

First, once I return to the Imperial Capital, I need to check on my family’s situation. And I need to find a date for the rescue and an escape route, as well as a route back to Orknesia.

The Path of the Spirits is convenient, but seeing Aila’s condition, it seems true that 4 people is the maximum capacity. And it’s not something a friend should do to ask her to push herself.

Aila probably already has a rescue plan, but…… No, I have to do this myself.

It’s about rescuing my family, how can I leave it in someone else’s hands?

Let’s ask Aila for help with information and investigation. In the future events, Aila will help me while getting everything she needs.

By the way, how do we escape? It’s difficult to even prepare a route to Orknesia. We need to get out not only my family but also all the servants in the mansion.

Just because a thief is caught doesn’t mean the tools they used are destroyed. However, if the crime of treason is acknowledged, or sentenced, it’s ‘common’ punishment to not even leave the dog of the house alive.

Before the Imperial Era, when kingdoms were scattered across the continent, it was common to dig up the graves of a traitor’s ancestors and completely destroy their corpses and remains.

When it comes to punishment for crimes, classicism prevails. The old ways were truly exemplary.

Honestly, the worst case scenario is to abandon all the servants and only take my family, but the key to this mission is to devise a meticulous plan so that doesn’t happen.

The goal is to rescue everyone safely!

Well, let’s decide on the details after entering the Imperial Capital.

After thinking that far, I called out to Aila in a panic.

“Aila, wake up! There’s a river ahead……!”

“Huh? Ah, uh-huh. Oh my, you stupid horse……”

Neigh!

Aila’s horse seemed to understand her words, as it snorted and grumbled at her.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around the river, and soon, as if she found something, she started to drive her horse in that direction. It was the opposite direction of the Imperial Capital, and there were two fishermen casting several fishing rods into the water.

Even though they should be able to hear us approaching, the two fishermen were only focused on watching the bobbers of their fishing lines in the water.

Aila approached with a yawn and said nonchalantly.

“Did you catch a lot?”

The fisherman on the left shook his head. Perhaps due to the cold weather, both of them were wearing bulky clothes. Judging by their shoulder width, neither of them had a particularly strong build.

Aila continued in a leisurely manner, uttering what seemed to be a coded conversation.

“Then, do you have anything to sell? It’s rare for me to eat fresh fish these days.”

This time, the fisherman on the right shook his head.

Aila said.

“Are they all small fry? Then, can I wait a little? I’ll buy them as soon as you catch a big one.”

This time, both fishermen nodded. And they both stood up at the same time.

The fisherman on the right took off his hat and grumbled.

“Phew, that was boring. And that incredibly dull code, my head felt fuzzy just listening to it. We received the request, but sneaking into the Imperial Capital at a time like this, the payment better be guaranteed…… Huh?”

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“What’s the boss doing there?”

I looked at my subordinate, Jay, with a dumbfounded expression. Then my eyes naturally shifted to the person next to him. He also took off his hat and bowed politely.

“It’s been a while, Master.”

“Oh, yeah, Old Man.”

Seeing my subordinates, whom I had definitely sent to Prema in Restart, I couldn’t help but be bewildered. Then suddenly, something came to mind, and I called Aila.

“Hey, Aila…… Hey, are you sleeping?”

“Hmmnyaa……”

Looking at Aila, who was sleeping with her head down, I could only move my lips.

“I was wondering what it was all about when I suddenly got a request from Sky Ears. No wonder.”

“Whether it’s no wonder or whatever, why are you in the Imperial Capital? What about Prema?”

“Huh? Didn’t the boss send people there? They were really competent guys. They finished in a month what we thought would take half a year. Nothing to do, so we left Lucy there to manage things and came back. The situation seemed to be turning strangely anyway.”

“Lucy?”

“Yeah? Oh, you’re Lucy too. A colleague who works with us. A drop-dead gorgeous lady.”

“Oh, I’d like to see that.”

I remembered something I had briefly forgotten. Lucy and Jay had a strangely good rapport. Especially in a weird way.

In a situation that Al would lament as an increase in fools, I asked Old Man.

“How much have you interacted with Sky Ears?”

“Not for long. It started about three months ago when we contacted them to track down the strange individuals who suddenly appeared around Master’s family.”

“Maya.”

“If you want to die, keep calling me by that name, okay?”

Aila glared at me with a tired expression filled with killing intent. As I thought before, it seems to be a name she really hates.

She pouted and grumbled.

“You said you wanted me to take care of your family. Who knew your organization would be involved? I’m innocent. Hmph.”

“Was my belief that you would have taken care of that yourself wrong?”

“Of course, I was thinking about that, but the way your organization members acted was awkward. I wanted to fix it a little.”

“Ah, is that so?”

I sighed in exasperation. And seeing Old Man looking confused after hearing our conversation, I decided to help him out.

“Ah, Old Man. You know my friend Aila, right? She’s also the leader of the assassin groups Sky Ears and Mangya. The people who appeared near my family are members of Mangya.”

“Hmm. Is that so? I’ve always felt that she was an extraordinary person.”

“Ah, an assassin?!”

Old Man and Jay are always contrasting. To Jay, who was gaping in surprise, I decided to tell him a little more.

“Yeah. It’s an organization as outstanding as the Black New Moon. Oh, and you know the people who went to help in Prema? They’re the Black New Moon. Ibi here is their leader.”

“Heeiiiik?!”

“……”

Jay, who was surprised without any dignity, is one thing, but this time, even Old Man widened his narrow eyes in surprise.

Certainly, anyone would make that expression if they knew Levidian was the leader of an assassin organization.

Levidian, with a more dignified expression than the two, smiled and said.

“I’m worried that my subordinates might have caused trouble. Are they still in Prema?”

“No, trouble? They were a great help.”

“Ah, they were there when we came back.”

Jay’s tone had three grains of reverence added to it. What kind of expression would he make if he knew she was the Sword King? Come to think of it, Jay and Old Man are the only ones around me who don’t know that.

I decided to put off revealing her identity in order to have another chance to surprise them later. It wouldn’t make sense to introduce her as the leader of an assassin organization and then say she’s the Sword King.

Aila yawned next to me.

“Haaam, I told the Black New Moon to come up except for a few people who are maintaining the status quo. I lied and said it was the client’s order.”

“When?”

“Well, they’ll be here tomorrow or the day after. So in the meantime, we have to work hard on planning and preparing for execution. We don’t have time to chat and make introductions…… Haam. None.”

Aila stretched widely, showing her willingness to actively participate in the meeting. The rest of the people also stopped chatting and looked at Aila with bright eyes.

She looked around at the gathered people and said with a satisfied expression.

“Everyone has good concentration. I’m satisfied. Then I’ll go in and sleep. You guys can handle this on your own, right? Oh my, I’m sleepy.”

And with that, she got up and walked away abruptly.

……That’s so like you.

Imperial Year 375, November 2nd.

If a suspect of treason arises, the Special Security Maintenance Unit of the Security Bureau is dispatched to arrest the suspect and imprison them in the basement level 3 of the Security Bureau. In the 375-year history of the Empire, and in the 382-year history until my death, such a thing happened exactly five times.

My father’s case was much better. Even if he was a suspect of treason, they couldn’t imprison the Duke of Orknesia, who was of a different class, in a cold underground prison.

Eventually, house arrest turned into house confinement.

I clicked my tongue as I looked at the security personnel standing with spears every 3 meters around the mansion. Artshever or Duke Mujaindos, whoever it is, they seem to be quite determined.

Old Man showed me the data he had gathered through various investigations and said.

“Visitors are subject to quite strict scrutiny. Even so, the number of people visiting is minimal. Marquis Ventailican Ma Lorand is about the only one who comes to visit his daughter. People inside the mansion are prohibited from going outside.”

“That’s a natural measure. Then what about the living conditions inside? They have to eat, right? It’s the house of a treason suspect, no one would want to go near it. Do merchants sell them goods?”

“The Security Bureau seems to have put some thought into that. The Security Chief’s exemption was sent to the places they usually traded with. They say that as long as they comply with the set conditions, they won’t be subject to guilt by association. Considering it’s the Herduke family, it’s quite a treatment even though they’re suspected of treason.”

“Of course. Tsk. It’s the founding contributor family of the Empire.”

Even as I said that, I felt bitter.

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