Eve von Lohengrin’s fury pierced the heavens.
“Head Librarian. Let me ask you one thing.”
“P-Please speak freely, Princess Eve.”
“That’s not what matters right now. Just answer my question.”
“Y-Yes, ask me anything, Princess. I am always ready to answer.”
She treats the imperial family—the protectors of all humanity—with due respect. It’s a natural attitude that everyone working in the Imperial Court should maintain, but her killing intent is another matter.
Her opponent is none other than Eve von Lohengrin.
A monster who can wield magic power equal to that of the First Emperor from three hundred years ago.
Without a doubt, she is the genius representing this generation’s “humanity.”
If she so wished, she could incinerate an ordinary lower noble like himself with 【Light】 without any legal repercussions—a supra-legal existence.
“First, how many volumes in here were collected before the great ancestor’s time?”
“Twenty-three million, two hundred five thousand, three hundred seventeen volumes.”
“I see.”
The middle-aged head librarian, who became director because he possesses the 6T unique skill 【Informationization】 despite being a lower noble, answered the princess’s question immediately.
“Then I need to check the remaining collection after excluding those…”
That number is roughly sixty million volumes.
“I understand that the great ancestor managed the collection without any particular system, but…”
There’s a reason why the library of the Zefflin Imperial Court has so many books.
Books are the most fundamental tool for passing down magic and technology.
After protecting the rights of the Middle Realm against the Celestials and Demons, the Middle Realm once faced a crisis of division.
A controversy over “Who is truly the First Emperor’s legitimate wife and closest ally?”
It seemed this would escalate into a major conflict, so the First Emperor gathered all books—except those necessary for preserving culture and customs—into the Imperial Court.
“The most efficient education comes from a unified system. Especially when we don’t know when the demon bastards might invade, our descendants must keep growing.”
“I will respect the culture of each faction, but rebellion against the center would be problematic. The originals of books containing secret meanings stay at the center. Copies will be given to each faction.”
“We must unite. That’s what Zefflin is for. All education starts here and ends here! You think so too, don’t you, Clausolas? So let go of my collar. Ah, seriously! Please!”
Saying that to the Chancellor of the time, Zefflin—the pinnacle of all educational institutions in the world—was born.
“…So this Imperial Library is where the original texts of all books from around the world are housed.”
“Yes. That is correct, Princess.”
In hindsight, it was close to tyranny and provoked resistance, but as a result, both this library and the archives greatly helped maintain the imperial family’s authority.
But…
“There are way too many books. And none of them can be taken out.”
“Yes. That was the great Emperor’s will.”
“I’ll just have to read them here. First, Head Librarian, please set aside those ten million volumes over there. I won’t be reading those.”
“Understood. I’ll begin immediately.”
“Please do.”
After the head librarian quietly withdrew, Eve let out a deep sigh as she gazed at the space that was less a library and more a forest made of books.
Wolfram von Lohengrin said he gained his knowledge from the books on these shelves.
Eve wasn’t naive enough to believe those words purely.
Wolfram von Lohengrin, using cunning and petty tricks, had left hints within his words.
Yes.
He had obtained a fortuitous encounter from the shelves.
A fortuitous encounter that allowed him to follow the great path laid out by the First Emperor.
“It’s not a lie. But that’s precisely why it’s even more malicious.”
Without that, there’s no way that incompetent, trashy, petty Wolfram could display such meticulous, accurate, and precise—
“No, he’s still trash!”
Anyway, there’s no way he could show such strides.
“Fine. It’s certain that Wolfram found something in this library… So I’ll search too. No—I *will* find it!”
So all she has to do is find it too.
The First Emperor’s fortuitous encounter—the beginning of the path prepared for his descendants!
“You won’t be able to act all high and mighty in front of me anymore. Get ready, Wolfram!”
—
Let me be clear.
The First Emperor’s treasures aren’t all amazing.
Hark von Lohengrin, by official setting, is an eccentric.
Among them are 9T items.
But even so, the reason this is truly one of the end-game contents is that the drop locations are “completely random each playthrough.”
They’re scattered somewhere on the map, and as you search for them, your reaction evolves from “Oh, it’s here too?” to “Why is it *here* too?”
No heroine route requires more than five treasures, but all the rotten veterans end up doing “treasure runs” to find these items.
Then why do the decayed veterans do it?
No particular reason.
For the achievements.
And what’s really annoying is that some treasures are time-limited, so you might have it in Act 3 but not in Act 4. As a result, I never once obtained all of Hark’s treasures in a single playthrough—even before entering this game, I was doing that.
Anyway, even so, there are a few treasure points you can definitely obtain.
And the hint for the first treasure lies with El Pirane.
“So, it doesn’t seem like you came for me this time—what exactly have you come for, Descendant?”
“I came to approach the darkness beyond this forest.”
“…How do you know that? Hark wouldn’t have told anyone.”
“Who do you think I am?”
“W-Well… your eyes are a bit fierce, but you’re not bad, and the age gap is less than a thousand years…”
What are you talking about?
“When I first came to find you, El Pirane—how do you think I knew where to look?”
“…You said you obtained Hark’s information, I believe? I question whether I can trust that. Hark always seemed carefree but was someone you could never read his true intentions… Are your words genuine?”
El Pirane looked at me with doubtful eyes.
Fairies can detect lies through magical patterns, so I have to be careful.
Here, I need to bluff, not lie outright. It’s tiring dealing with El Pirane because you can’t lie to her at all. On her route, you can’t tell a single lie to get the happy ending. Lucky Regina, my ass.
“Yes. I obtained the great First Emperor’s fortuitous encounter, and I was able to read his personal writings. Therefore, I 【know most of the arrangements the First Emperor left behind.】”
If I speak casually and then finish strongly with imperial bloodline authority, even if the earlier words are false, the listener will only take the skill-mixed final part seriously.
It might become a non-sequitur, but it’s enough of a bluff to get by.
“…I see. So it’s all Hark’s arrangements. Or… you know the truth Hark left behind.”
“Yes. Now is the time to speak of the treasures Hark von Lohengrin hid—and the truth hidden within them.”
“…Are you going to tell Tia all of it?”
“Yeah.”
“Understood. I shall prepare.”
El Pirane and I exchanged words that only we could understand.
“…Auntie? Little brother? What are you talking about?”
“Follow the Descendant. Then you’ll understand.”
“Yeah.”
Of course, Filtia doesn’t know.
The truth hidden beyond this fairy forest—the truth meant for her.
—
El Pirane left, saying, “This is as far as I can guide you,” and returned to the Fairy Paradise.
The Fairy Paradise is hidden in the early part of the eastern forest. Let’s say you take the warp portal. The interesting thing is that there’s a map beyond that as well. And this place can only be entered by passing through the Fairy Paradise.
To be precise, it’s like an “extra map you can enter with a key obtained by freeing El Pirane.”
So a hidden map leading to an extra map. This is the real second-playthrough farming map.
【Black Forest】
And at its entrance lies the second-playthrough gatekeeper.
*Grrrroooaaar!*
“Hmm.”
The demon of the swamp in the Black Forest.
A monster with normal-attack immunity; once you take damage, continuous dot damage sets in, and it applies slow and bind, telling you not to even think about fighting it without magic. El Pirane is a pure mage, so a warrior-type would actually be easier for taking it down, but the devs placed a second-playthrough gatekeeper here that says “don’t even dream of warriors”—I applaud them.
But it’s fine.
We have a dragon!
“Sister Filtia, can you take that down?”
“Oh my, what do you take your sister for?”
“Ah. I’ll hit it with a status-effect potion first, then leave the rest to you.”
“Hehe. Just leave it to your sister.”
*CRASH! THWUMP!*
Just like that.
The boss died.
“As expected of a dragon.”
“Hehe. Do you finally realize how amazing your sister is?”
“Of course.”
【Incredible Achievement!】
【You have hunted a second Gigant Monster!】
【Gigant Slay Collection adds the Swamp Demon to the Eastern Forest Golem!】
【As a reward for the Gigant Slay Collection, a Mid-Grade Skill EXP Boost Ticket is awarded!】
Wow.
Dragons are amazing. I want to keep getting carried.
—
Filtia nodded.
When she spread her magical power to sense the surroundings in this Black Forest her brother had brought her to, there were no monsters on par with herself, but it was a place extremely difficult for humans alone to break through.
Then why did her beloved brother bring her here?
What connection does this place have to sealing the Demon Realm Gate?
Is it related to finding Dad’s treasure?
When she gave him the Dragon’s Trial, she felt it too—this child is certain of the result, and carries out the process from the beginning without a single doubt.
In a way, he’s a mysterious bad man.
That’s probably why his fiancée is so deeply smitten she can’t pull herself out.
Well, that’s fine. She can give about a hundred years to that girl.
After that, she’ll turn him into a half-dragon and spend the remaining four thousand nine hundred years together.
But it’s not good to make an older woman too curious.
It’s a bad habit.
“So, aren’t you going to explain to your sister soon?”
“Sister. Do you know why the current Lohengrin Empire can’t deploy manpower to unexplored territories?”
Her brother calls her “Sister” politely while using casual speech at the same time.
Cute.
“Because you only have one life?”
“Not a bad deduction. But the bigger reason is the danger of mutual annihilation.”
“Mutual annihilation? You mean perishing together with monsters?”
“Places where magical power is weakly gathered attract only weak monsters. But places like this—where there’s a cause for strong magical power to accumulate—those kinds of monsters appear.”
“…How does that lead to mutual annihilation?”
“Where strong magical power gathers, there is usually a great treasure. If the nation invests its budget there, they will inevitably encounter strong monsters. And once they’ve bet on it, they must invest even more assets to squeeze out a profit. And here, assets mean soldiers and mages.”
“I see. That’s an interesting thought.”
The idea of “just take it and pay it back” isn’t something the Empire, which must maintain world order, should entertain.
But why is he telling this story now?
“And here, too, there is such a treasure.”
Only then did she understand her brother’s words completely.
I see.
“Is it Dad’s treasure? And those monsters are drawn to its magical power?”
“Simply put, yes.”
Dad’s treasure is here.
At those words, Filtia felt a small spark of interest.
“What kind of treasure?”
Her brother stepped over the completely annihilated monster’s remains and found it.
With a sound of *Ugh, kuh, damn…* he approached, holding it in his arms.
“Ah. Found it. This is it.”
“…A giant teddy bear?”
“Yeah. This is the great First Emperor’s treasure.”
“I-I see.”
Dad did have his eccentric side, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to hide something like this.
Filtia thought that, but then she quietly held her breath at her brother’s next words.
“This teddy bear is… a doll that the great ancestor sewed himself.”
“…Huh?”
“Read it. He even embroidered a message, but it seems he couldn’t give it to you.”
Filtia lightly received the teddy bear with one finger and scanned the words inscribed beneath it.
【To my beloved daughter, Filtia. From Hark von Lohengrin.】
—
【Teddy Bear for His Daughter, Sewn by Hark Himself】
【5T】
This giant teddy bear, about the same size as her own body, was made for Filtia Bluebreeze.
And I know the story behind this item.
Should I call it bittersweet, or a pitiful consideration?
“I never knew such a thing existed even three hundred years ago… How on earth did you know, little brother?”
“To explain the process would require a fairly long and complicated story. But to start with the conclusion—it’s because of the First Emperor’s self-reproach.”
“Self-reproach…? Dad’s self-reproach?”
“Look closely at that doll’s options. It has self-recovery, infinite regeneration, and a skill attached, right?”
“…Yeah.”
【Detective Third Eye】
【5T】
【Attached only to items with eyes, it provides the user with a third field of vision. It allows you to constantly monitor, 24 hours a day, the place that the skill-attached item is watching, without any cost such as magical power consumption.】
Simply put, think of it as an infinite-power CCTV.
And this is truly a gift for Filtia.
“In simple terms, it’s a doll that can monitor one of the Demon Realm Gates 24 hours a day. A doll filled with affection for you, Sister.”
“I-I see.”
“But at the same time, the First Emperor thought: wouldn’t giving this be committing a cruelly harsh sin?”
“……A harsh sin?”
For the next few hundred years—no, a few thousand. At worst, ten thousand years.
Filtia, who must uphold the destiny of the Middle Realm’s protector.
His own daughter.
The Demon Realm Gate of Zefflin has strong arrangements from the First Emperor and other dragons placed upon it.
As a result, the Demon Realm Gate of Zefflin is sealed extremely stably. It won’t budge for the next hundred thousand years. It’s almost a semi-permanent barrier.
However. This comes with the premise that Filtia does not leave Zefflin.
Since the barrier is centered around her, if she steps out, that stability wavers.
“Even your sister knows that much. Did you think I didn’t know my own mission? So what is this doll supposed to…”
Filtia’s voice rises.
Why did her father, whom she followed so dearly, hide this gift until the very moment he left?
It’s simple.
“Wouldn’t it be too cruel a gift to give to a daughter who would be trapped here for up to ten thousand years?”
“……”
“If seeing that teddy bear brought comfort, that would be one thing—but what if it bred resentment? He had that anxiety.”
“Resentment…?”
“Yeah. Resentment toward a father who abandoned her, leaving behind only such a gift. The great ancestor, Hark von Lohengrin, was afraid of that. …So it’s been passed down.”
“……”
“Sister Filtia, when you spent three hundred years guarding the Demon Realm Gate with that teddy bear, are you confident you wouldn’t feel even a tiny bit of resentment? Confident you wouldn’t think, ‘He just left me this one gift and abandoned me?’ It might be easier without it. That’s probably what he thought.”
“……”
At my words, Filtia fell into a long silence.
She could have interpreted it as: “I’m going to disappear now, so you take this gift and watch the Demon Realm Gate for ten thousand years—good luck!” and felt abandoned.
Hark had an anxiety that she might take it with that kind of trashy mindset. …So says the setting book.
He was quite the weirdo too.
“Then… then, little brother.”
“Speak.”
“Then why did you give this to me? …I might keep resenting you for giving me this. I might curse you for the next ten thousand years.”
“Ha. That’s ridiculous. Is a dragon’s memory that short?”
“Huh?”
How many times do I have to say it for you to understand?
“I said I’ll get you out of here. Didn’t you hear me?”
When a veteran speaks, you should listen. Got it?
“Li-Little brother.”
“What?”
“You… you dare? To your sister?”
“Ah, yeah. My bad, sis—”
“No. That wasn’t bad.”
“Huh?”
“H-Hmm. Yeah, f-from time to time? I’ll forgive you for calling me by my name or using ‘you’ instead of ‘sister.’ Only occasionally, though. Basically, you’ll call me ‘sister.’ Got it?”
“……”
“Come on. To strengthen our sibling bond, try it once.”
“Filtia.”
“Ugh.”
“What’s wrong? Your face is red.”
“Uwaah!”
She likes that I, who is several hundred years younger, treat her as an equal?
…Whatever.
I’ll just mix it up as I go.
