Prisippi approached the place, specifically she was in front of the wall in the inner corner. The rusty shelves were collapsing one by one, as if they had completely hit the thin wall. Considering that it was made of wood and already rotten, it was not surprising that it disintegrated.
But what Precipe found wasn't like the rest of the things sitting on the shelves or scattered on the floor. Rather, it was something that had been stored inside the wall to begin with. That is, inside an old gap that had already been destroyed.
In other words, it was sitting inside a very old hole that had been carefully sealed.
“……”
Finally, Precipe held a small package in her hand. It was wrapped in old cloth that was starting to decompose a little, as if there was something inside of it.
“What is this…?”
The beam was still shining slightly, almost invisibly, but it was definitely due to something inside the beam.
“Should I touch this this way?”
While Prisippi was thinking about this, she heard Malia's voice shouting in the distance.
“Precipie!”
From a distance, Malia's urgent voice was getting closer.
“Why, I was moving some things outside, and suddenly I heard a strange sound...Are you okay?”
The sounds of her heavy footsteps filled the narrow basement as she approached.
It wasn't good for Malia to notice what was going on here, especially not knowing what this thing was. Quickly, Prisippi hid the package behind her back.
“Pressipi…?”
The voice was closer now, and when Malia reached the door, she opened her mouth in surprise and stopped speaking.
“Oh, you've tripped.”
Prisippi smiled slightly and whispered.
“Don't worry, I'm not hurt.”
"But if the Grand Master finds out, he'll make a big fuss. You'd better quickly go up and check your condition…"
“I still haven't been able to inspect this place completely. You can continue examining the first floor.”
“But...”
"If we work together, we can get this done more quickly. Then, we can see if you've been hurt."
Prisippi seemed to have memorized these words, and she blurted them out quickly.
“Then, I will continue searching here, and if you find anything, let me know immediately.”
Although Malia was still worried, she nodded in agreement and then walked back up the stairs.
Prisippi was finally left alone. She sighed softly, then listened with her ear to see if Malia had already left.
The sound of Malia's footsteps was gradually getting further away, and only then did Prisippi open the package she had been hiding behind her back.
"this…?"
Precipi stared at the package in amazement.
“It's a bouquet of flowers?”
Even at first glance, the bouquet was very old. When her fingers touched the bouquet, it made a slight crumbling and scattering sound, as if it was turning into dust.
“Why did you hide this?”
At that moment, Precipe blinked slightly. Among the flowers, there was a small thing that was still glowing mysteriously, along with a small paper carefully folded.
“So, this is the light source.”
The little thing was about the size of a palm, and it shone with strange colors. At first I thought it was black, but when the candle lit it, multiple colors appeared like a rainbow.
Prisippi feared it might be some kind of magic, so she carefully touched it with her finger, but she felt nothing strange, and nothing painful happened.
But, it was something strange.
“Does it… look like animal scales?”
If this was an ordinary animal, it wouldn't have scales.
If she were in a normal village, she might have considered it a strange fantasy. But this area is close to the Forbidden Forest.
Therefore, perhaps this is not an ordinary animal but rather an abnormal creature.
Plus, if those flowers belong to Vanessa, it gets even weirder.
“Is...it's a dragon?”
Presibe looked at the little crust with suspicious eyes, then hid it in her bosom. Then I opened the small leaf hidden between the flowers with the scales.
“I'm sure you know what these peels mean to me.”
Prisippi read the text in a low voice, her eyes focusing on the words.
Of course, these peels were the same.
“No matter what it takes, I will come back to you, so please trust me. And realize how much I loved you, love you, and will always love you.”
The words were full of emotion.
Prisippi smirked, then looked at the end of the paper.
“Forever, Nidhogg.”
This was… maybe a name?
But it was a strange name. Throughout her time playing the game, and in her travels with five male characters, she had never heard that name before.
“Anyway... let me tidy things up a bit...”
First of all, Priscipe is not the Emperor's daughter. According to what Ivan said, she was probably the daughter of an evil creature.
In fact, Vanessa was found unconscious near the Forbidden Forest before she became a slave in the Imperial Palace.
After spending some time in the palace, she was executed, and before her death, she asked Prisippi to go to the Forbidden Forest.
From the circumstances, it appears that Vanessa was having a love affair with a potentially evil creature named Nidhog.
"my dad."
[If someone comes and asks where I am, simply tell them that I died. Don't tell them anything else. They may come today, or in ten years, or even after several decades, but... I ask you to do this several times.]
Malia's words were consistent with this situation. If Nidhogg is an evil creature, he will never age, so he could come at any time.
However, Vanessa probably did not want Nidhogg to know the truth about her situation, because it might be a betrayal to him, and he was afraid that he would attack the Emperor if he found out the truth.
“Now, the question is what does this mean as a signal...”
If there had been no mistake, and if the secret mode had been implemented correctly, would Prisippi have gone to the Forbidden Forest as Vanessa had asked her to? Was this the right order to meet the real hero?
But what might you find there? It seems to be nothing but evil creatures?
“Church statue...”
Suddenly, I remembered the horribly broken statue. If this is the evidence, it seems that the only creature who might be the true hero is the Demon King.
“Pressipi, I found some of Vanessa’s stuff here!”
Malia's voice came from behind Presippi as she thought.
“It was completely worn out, but I found some clothes that she liked to wear, and some diaries that she used when she was little.”
In fact, she didn't need these trivial things. She had already found clues that could lead her to solve the mystery.
But, because of Malia's kindness, Precipe thanked him in a sweet voice:
“Thank you. I will go there now.”
Then Prisippi carefully placed the dried bouquet back into the wall. It was worthless now, but she wanted to keep it. Maybe you understood a little the heart of Vanessa who couldn't get rid of the dried flowers.
In return, Prisippi cautiously took the letter from Nidhogg and the piece of scales that could be evidence.
—
When Priscipi left Vanessa's house, it was nearly evening.
“At least we found something, and that's a good thing.”
Malia whispered as she held Vanessa's things in her hand.
“But, since they are very old things, I don’t know if they will mean anything to Presibe.”
"What are you saying, Malia? Of course it makes sense."
Presippi replied, smiling.
“You're the one who took the trouble to look for her, right? That's enough for me.”
Malia smiled softly, grateful for Priscipe's words.
“Now you should go back to rest, I will make you a delicious dinner.”
"Good."
But, what about Duke Fenric? Is he doing well in the investigation? When will he return today? Had Siegfried done something wrong?
While Prisippi was worrying about Fenric, Malia suddenly stopped walking beside her.
“Oh my God, I forgot.”
Malia said, stopping in her tracks.
“Pressipe, I’m sorry, it looks like I left Vanessa’s bag at home.”
“Ah, shall we go together?”
“You just fell, so we can't go together. Can you wait here for a bit? I'll go and come back quickly and pick you up.”
Although Kevin was not there, soldiers were in the village, and Siegfried was investigating Fenrik, so she was not worried. So, Prisippi nodded as if she understood.
“Hmm...”
Thus, leaving Presibe alone, she began fondling her breast involuntarily.
Exactly, the place where she hid Nidhogg's scales and the letter.
‘First, I will go back and think about it a little before the Duke arrives. Maybe I can gather some information before I leave.'
She's found out the name of the person who might be her father, and if things go well, she might be able to gather a lot of information before she leaves.
'Then, when the investigation is safely finished, I may request that he take me to the Forbidden Forest.'
Looks like I should go there at least once, it might help me with the landmarks.
“……”
While she was thinking, Presippi's gaze suddenly turned to the front.
To the corner that bends to the left.
[I heard that there is a branch passage connected to the Forbidden Forest in the western part of the village. They say he's under surveillance, but you shouldn't go near him.]
Oh, is this the bypass?
When I thought about it, the sub-path connected to the Forbidden Forest was very close to Vanessa's house.
‘Should I go and check on him for a bit?…’
Since he's under surveillance, I can't go inside, but since I'll be safe, it's okay. With that thought, Prisippi began walking cautiously towards the bypass.
Then I realized something strange.
There were no soldiers near the bypass.
Not even a single soldier.
As if someone had used magic to hide them.
Then, before Presibe's light violet eyes, the wide bypass opened up as if it were looking out onto the horizon.
And that was the moment I remembered something.
[They said that the soldiers are the ones who guard... but...]
A voice that was strange to her.
No, it was a voice she had forgotten for so long that it felt like a completely new voice.
[...there's no one?]
The voice was the voice of young Prisippi in her first days of training.
[Yes, anyway, I have to take a look.]
As she heard her little voice ringing in her ears, Prisippi cautiously approached the bypass.
She looked as if she was enchanted by something, her eyes expressionless.