After truly obtaining the authority of the Marquis’s Lady,
Lady Shudrian finally began her secret investigation.
And she learned that the last Blessing that Aleris received from a higher being was from one known as the “Black Wanderer.”
Legend has it that this higher being seems capable of appearing anywhere, with no apparent purpose, no demands—perhaps its very existence holds neither meaning nor logic.
It merely wanders through every corner of this world.
Not to appreciate the scenery, nor to explore the unknown.
Simply, just as its name implies, it wanders—nothing more.
And precisely because its actions are incomprehensible and it displays almost no powers,
its followers are few…there is almost no organized group, and it seems to have no desire for mating, so its kin, its bloodline, are nearly nonexistent as well.
At first, Lady Shudrian thought that the problem might have originated with this higher being.
Using the Marquis’s network of influence, she started searching relentlessly for all information concerning the “Black Wanderer.”
In the end, she actually managed to find a follower of the “Black Wanderer” within East County, and that person was even a transcendent.
The power he excelled in…was an oddly unsettling form of spatial movement.
Though most followers barely understand the higher being they worship, they are quite familiar with themselves.
According to that follower, after receiving the Blessing of the “Black Wanderer,” the side effect was not the growth of black hair on the body
but rather the slow fading of emotions, like watercolor washed away, little by little, by constant streams of water.
If this continues…one day, one would become a blank page that only knows how to wander with no thought at all.
“Ah! This kind of ability…” Ileya recalled her first encounter with the Black Lady, the other’s ability to vanish at the corner.
And those nearly untouched graves and the “unopened” coffins.
It matched perfectly with what Mother had described as the power granted by the “Black Wanderer,” and the Black Lady herself…was extremely lacking in aggression—even when Amisa and Insmouth attacked her, she never retaliated.
But…
That crystal and the black hair…are clearly the Blessing of the Crystal Giant Tree…
What is really going on here…
At that thought, Ileya’s red eyes narrowed sharply, looking at her mother in astonishment.
“Auntie, she…”
“She received the Blessings of two higher beings at the same time. This…is the reason I discovered behind Aleris’s death.”
Lady Shudrian spoke out, one step ahead of Ileya’s guess, sharing the results of her investigation.
But…there’s still something wrong with this…
Ordinary people might not understand, but Aleris had always sought greater strength…she absolutely understood every step and Taboo of becoming a transcendent…
Such a thing…accepting the Blessings of two higher beings…anyone would know this is a [Taboo], something unthinkable—how could she ever do it?
If…
This aunt of hers had already become the “Strongest Human” standing atop the world and wished for further breakthroughs, it might be understandable…
But…clearly, that was impossible…
“Just as you think, I do not believe…my own younger sister would do something so foolish, so…I abandoned that conclusion and pursued other perspectives.”
Lady Shudrian’s voice gradually softened, as if recalling…her years of tireless investigation.
“I couldn’t believe she would provoke two higher beings, so my focus shifted to the most shocking, most obvious, and unique feature of her corpse.”
“And that is—the body covered in black hair!”
After that, Lady Shudrian continued to investigate, searching for anyone with the same circumstances as Aleris.
But this kind of investigation…was like throwing a stone into the ocean.
In this world, every day, countless people die or mutate from all sorts of bizarre incidents.
Even if the King sent his finest intelligence agents to gather information, it would never be enough.
However…
A few years ago, Lady Shudrian obtained a stone tablet chronicling ancient history from a Sage of the Lighthouse School.
These stone tablets, salvaged by Pioneers who dedicated their lives to exploring the unknown, recorded…a disaster from a distant age.
According to the record, it happened around the time when the Hero King Gilgamesh, along with the Golden Apple Heroes,
wielded the Sword of Legend, slew the Great Rock Dragon Horsi Ruisifa, and founded the Kingdom.
To put it simply, during the earliest days of the Kingdom, a terrible Disaster struck: strange black hair began to grow on people’s bodies, and eventually, they turned into horrific monsters.
At the critical moment, the Hero King appeared like the blazing sun, effortlessly resolving the crisis.
Though…this may have been just another story singing the praises of the Hero King, the Disaster mentioned in it…was exactly what befell her own sister.
But.
Sadly, on the stone tablet, there was far less information about the Disaster than there was about the Hero King’s virtues.
As if the slaying of the higher being by the King was just a brief footnote; the rest was all praise for his bravery and might.
So, even after countless careful readings…Lady Shudrian could not reach any useful conclusion…and though she asked other scholars from the Lighthouse School to keep an eye out for any historical records about this,
searching for a specific record from the Divine Age Chronicle was like looking for a needle in a haystack…
And until now, there had been no further news.
“In truth…I also thought about whether I could become a transcendent myself and personally dig out the truth behind all this.”
Having finished recounting the years of her investigation, Lady Shudrian smiled helplessly at her daughter.
“If it were before, I might have, without hesitation, chosen to pursue the truth myself…”
“But…after having you all…I gradually…gave up that idea.”
“I don’t want my own child to grow up without a mother, just because of this matter.”
“Hehe~ It’s a bit funny, isn’t it…perhaps, that’s just my excuse for being cowardly.”
“It’s not!!” But before Lady Shudrian could finish,
Ileya’s voice, for the first time, interrupted her mother…her crimson eyes fixed intently upon her.
“It’s not cowardice at all…Mother, to me…for our sake, you let go of the resolve you’ve held for over a decade to search for the truth, let go of your own inner longing…”
“This…that is true courage! You…you’ve never been as cowardly as you say!”
As she spoke, the girl sat up.
That small, youthful figure seemed to block out all the stars beyond the window…filling Lady Shudrian’s whole vision.
“Mother gave up the truth she had always sought for my sake. In that case…let me take up this task!”
Pa! The young lady slapped her slightly flat chest, looking determinedly at her mother by her side.
“I promise! I will get to the bottom of this…let Aunt rest in peace, and you…put your mind at ease.”
Lady Shudrian first stared in a daze at the daughter before her…this girl who seemed, in an instant, to have grown so much taller…
Then…as she let out a somewhat bitter smile, crystal tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
At this moment…she was like a student who had finished her studies and set her heavy books aside, or a farmer at harvest’s end, sitting on the ridge to feel the autumn breeze…
There was exhaustion in her eyes, but more than that…was relief.
“Ah~ Then…I’ll leave it to you.”