Chapter 74

Aldis crossed his legs, placed his elbow on them, and rested his chin on the back of his hand.

He stared intently at Marida, mulling over her words.

What Marida was saying was hard to believe.

But he couldn't ignore the fact that her words and actions suggested she truly knew the future.

Should he trust this woman? This was the question Aldis needed to ask to test her.

"Contents of the small envelope you gave Kiril. What were the words written on that card? How do you know about it?"

The words written on the card.

"Our swords for victory, our hearts for comrades. Let us go, to bring glory under our banner."

These were words well known to Aldis.

Words that only the many comrades who fought and died alongside him should have spoken.

If there was someone who knew these words, it meant they had survived the same perilous journey to reach here as Aldis had.

He didn't know who it was. No, it didn't matter who it was.

Perhaps he just wanted to confirm that he wasn't alone.

"Who did you hear it from? Is that person still alive? Where are they now?"

Faced with Aldis's serious gaze, Marida showed a troubled expression.

"Umm... Well... Ah... Those words? I saw them in a dream."

"A dream...?"

"Yes, a dream. My dreams aren't always the same, you know. Sometimes I have the same dream for several nights, but often they change from day to day. This one is a dream I won't have again, but in other dreams, you, Aldis, appear. In one of them, you were the one who said those words. So, I'm sorry, but I don't know the details."

This was far from the answer Aldis was looking for.

Hiding his inner disappointment, Aldis continued to question her.

"...How far in the future is this?"

"Hmm... Based on your appearance, I think it's more than a year or two from now. Probably not more than ten years, but maybe around five years?"

"Is there anything else you can tell me? The scenery around you, the people with you?"

"It was on a small hill. There were many soldiers and mercenaries around, and you were giving orders. The person next to you was a girl around seventeen or eighteen, with Alice blue hair. On the other side was a slightly older, beautiful woman with blonde hair, I think. There was also a swordsman with ash-blonde hair, a female swordsman with a lavender ponytail, and a sturdy-looking mercenary with a tough face."

"I see..."

This was a scene unfamiliar to Aldis. It wasn't the information he was looking for.

But he didn't think Marida was making it up.

The question was whether Aldis should trust Marida.

There was a possibility she was lying or that someone else was behind her, feeding her false information.

However, even if her story about seeing it in a dream was fabricated, she clearly had some source of information related to Aldis.

He might as well use her.

Aldis reached a conclusion similar to resignation.

He didn't need to trust her blindly. Even if she had some ulterior motive, as long as he was the one standing in the front, he could handle it.

"Alright."

With those words, Aldis asked his final question.

"This is the last one. You called me by a nickname the other day, right?"

"‘The Magician of a Thousand Swords’?"

"Yes, that's it. What does that nickname mean?"

"I don't know?"

Marida tilted her head and gave a straightforward answer.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm sorry. I really don't know. I only saw it in a dream, but it seemed like you were called that by the people around you. Maybe you have a better idea?"

"I don't. I've never been called that."

"Hmm. Maybe that nickname will come later."

Marida muttered, seemingly uninterested.

"It's a useless ability."

In the end, the only information he obtained was about Marida's own ability.

Indeed, this explained her handling of Kiril and her confident statements about the future.

But the source of the words he most wanted to know remained a mystery.

His disappointment seeped out as sarcasm from his mouth.

"Sorry. But as I've said many times, I intend to be your ally. If I learn anything from my dreams, I'll let you know."

"An ally, huh... What's in it for you to take my side? Did you see that in your dreams too?"

"Sure. At the very least, if I'm your ally, the guild will grow, and I won't die."

"What if I become your enemy?"

"No, I don't even want to think about that..."

It seemed she had experienced a future where Aldis was her enemy in her dreams.

The smile on her face vanished instantly, and Marida's face turned pale. Her voice even trembled slightly.

"I've had enough of your terrifying and monstrous nature. I don't have a death wish."

If she intended to harm Aldis and his comrades, he wouldn't show mercy, regardless of her being a merchant or a young woman.

However, he wasn't so vengeful that he would destroy everyone who opposed him, nor did he have a twisted desire to trample the weak for fun.

If she tried to deceive him with false information, he would likely just threaten her like Cesare did.

"I don't have any sadistic tendencies, you know?"

"No, no, no, no. Even if you don't intend to, being on the receiving end of your hostility is no joke!"

The ease she had shown earlier was gone as Marida frantically shook her head while retreating on the sofa.

Aldis couldn't help but chuckle at her comical behavior.

"You're quite different from my first impression. I thought you were more arrogant."

Marida, who had been laughed at, pouted and looked away, mumbling defensively.

"That's unavoidable. If I don't act mysteriously, you always do the unexpected... I wish you could understand my struggles a little."

Perhaps she felt relieved that things had gone according to her dreams. The mask of a shrewd merchant fell away, and Aldis saw a more genuine face, appropriate for her age.

Seeing Marida without her peculiar tone, Aldis's guard lowered.

"Fine. For now, I'll believe your story."

"Sure. For now, that's enough. I never expected to gain your full trust right away."

Though harsh, her assessment wasn't wrong, so Aldis couldn't argue.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

Marida, once again wearing her merchant's smile, asked for confirmation.

Aldis, instead of answering, took out a bundle of Nere's hair tied with a string from his bag and placed it on the table.

"It's the agreed item. As per the conditions, I'll be present when you use it."

"Sure. It's a beautiful Alice blue color. I wish I had hair like that."

Holding the bundle of hair, Marida gave her personal opinion.

"But didn't you say ‘a lock’? This looks like more than just a lock, more like a whole person's worth of hair..."

"…I didn't cut it, you know?"

Nere had cut all her hair without hesitation, even before Aldis could say "a lock is fine."

"I don't think there's a problem with having more."

Marida gave him a somewhat accusatory look.

"Since you made her do this, you should at least buy her a gift as an apology. Maybe I can get you a suitable accessory from our guild?"

"No, thank you. I don't want to receive items with detection magic or anything like that."

"Wow, you really don't trust me."

Aldis silently agreed with "Of course not" while watching Marida dramatically sigh.

For now, she didn't seem to be an enemy, but it was too early to call her an ally.

"Save your little act for after I leave."

"You're no fun."

"So, what are you going to do with this?"

Ignoring Marida's comment, Aldis asked, looking at the bundle of Nere's hair on the table.

"Let's move to where the sword is. I can't bring the sword here, after all."

Gently picking up the bundle of hair, Marida stood up.

She led Aldis out of the reception room and down to the basement of the building.

They arrived at a room Aldis had visited before.

The first thing visible upon entering was a magical array on the floor.

In the center of the array was a sword, bound by several beams of light extending from the array.

The same scene as before, but Aldis felt the light was slightly thinner than the last time he saw it.

"The effect will wear off tomorrow or the day after. At least it's in time."

"So, how are you going to use this hair?"

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

Marida casually gave up on answering.

Aldis's exasperated voice echoed emptily in the room.

"I saw in a dream that this was needed, but I didn't see how to use it. If I could see everything in my dreams, life would be much easier."

"Hey. …Then what do we do?"

"Maybe we should just try something?"

Aldis, who was exasperated, watched as Marida walked to the center of the magical array and quietly placed the bundle of Alice blue hair next to the sword.

"Look, look. It's reacting."

As Marida said, the sword in the center of the array began to glow mysteriously in response to the hair.

Red light began to search the surroundings as if looking for something.

Eventually, the light found the hair and moved like a liquid across the floor.

When it reached the hair, it spread to cover it, and the hair began to unravel and be drawn to the sword.

"The sword... is being wrapped?"

As Aldis described, the unraveled strands of Nere's hair began to envelop the entire sword.

"It looks like a cocoon."

The sword, completely wrapped in the hair, resembled a cocoon of Alice blue.

"Hopefully, this is right. ‘Easier done than said’ is true."

"So, what's going to happen now?"

"Who knows?"

"Who knows, you...?"

"There's nothing I can do. If I didn't see it in a dream, I wouldn't know. Without this ability, I'm just a merchant's daughter. I don't know what I don't know. Worrying about what I don't know won't solve anything."

Marida shrugged.

Aldis's forehead creased.

"Maybe something will be born from the cocoon?"

"Something? What?"

"Who knows? I hope it's not a monster..."

The unmasked Marida seemed more casual and unreliable than he had initially thought.

While less frustrating than her initial impression, her carefree attitude was somewhat disappointing, and Aldis massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on.