Chapter 75

Day 299 of Banishment: Exploration (5)
"To think I’d be hit with a flying kick out of nowhere..."

"Oh, do forgive me. It was so sudden, and more than anything, your face is quite... striking, you see. It startled me."

And so—

The skeleton that had been kicked by Marylia now spoke to her, looking dejected, reduced to nothing but a skull. It was an exceedingly bizarre sight. Marylia couldn't help but be impressed, thinking, "Dreams really allow for anything, don't they?"

"Well, I suppose that’s true... I am a skeleton, after all... Hmm, my apologies."

"It’s quite all right. Now that I look at you closely, you’re actually rather cute."

Marylia smiled warmly at the drooping skull. Though she had just attacked it, she carried herself with the dignity of a noblewoman magnanimously forgiving someone who had startled her. At times like these, it was best to act high and mighty. Not just in negotiations, but also when it came to magic—she couldn't afford to be intimidated.

Yes—magically speaking.

After all, this was a dream. From what she could surmise, this situation had been caused by the magic of this skeleton.

In other words, to some extent, Marylia was already caught in the skeleton’s spell.

If that was the case, she couldn't afford to show any weakness. Rather than being overwhelmed by the skeleton, she had to assert dominance and seize control of the situation. If she could do that, the skeleton’s magic would have less effect on her.

"R-Really...? Cute, you say...?"

"Yes. You’re all white and glossy, and just a little bit adorable."

As she beamed at the fidgeting skull, Marylia inwardly sighed, wondering what to do about this situation. Well, since this was a dream, and they were indoors, looking up at the ceiling wouldn’t reveal anything. Even within her own thoughts, there was a sense of confinement!

"So then, what brings you here? You deliberately entered my dream, after all. Surely you have some kind of purpose?"

There was no use letting the skull fidget forever. Marylia cut straight to the heart of the matter while maintaining her gentle smile. She couldn't afford to let her opponent gauge her.

Shallow or deep, how much she understood or didn’t—she masked it all behind a serene smile. The skull wavered slightly at that.

"A-Ah, yes, well..."

As a result, the skull hesitated, fidgeting and wriggling... and then—

"... I wanted to thank you."

It murmured, sounding somewhat lonely.

"Thank me? But I haven’t done anything..."

Marylia was perplexed by the skull’s words. And rightly so—she had no reason to be thanked by this skeleton. They had only just met, and she had no recollection of doing anything for it. She could only be bewildered.

"No, no, Young miss. You certainly did save me."

Before the puzzled Marylia, the skull bounced up and down as if flustered… It bounced. Apparently, this skull could move around quite freely. Quite an impudent little skull.

"You offered food, didn't you?"

"... Ah."

"And you offered prayers. Your prayer was pure, dignified, and truly soothing."

Before Marylia could fully process it, the skull happily hopped up and down. Looking closely, it seemed to be using its jaw to push off the ground. Marylia was beginning to feel a sense of respect for its sturdy jaw.

"I see... Well, if I was able to help you, I’m glad."

Though Marylia didn’t put much stock in the power of prayer, if this seemingly deceased—or at least skeletal—being had found solace in her prayer and the meal she had left out thinking, "I'll just put tomorrow’s breakfast here," then she supposed that was fine in its own way.

At the very least, the skull seemed to be friendly toward her. Confirming this, Marylia tilted her head slightly—not too much, just enough to appear graceful rather than mocking.

"And who exactly are you? Judging by your bearing, I’d say you were once of noble status."

She added a playful smile for good measure, and the skull, rather than growing wary, spoke eagerly.

"Ah, indeed. I was once the chancellor of a country called Baltoria."

"... Huh?"

For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

In the peculiar, dreamlike stillness, Marylia’s thoughts spun in circles, unable to settle.

This skull was once the chancellor of Baltoria?

Baltoria was a country that had "once existed"?

And why was he telling her all this?

"Ah, I suppose your surprise is only natural. Baltoria was a small nation, but a peaceful and good one... Unfortunately, it was destroyed when the king was slain by the Mirasta Kingdom..."

The skull, misinterpreting her silence, nodded solemnly and continued.

"I fled to this island. Along with the young prince, the other retainers, and two shiploads of slaves... But even with slaves, life on this island was harsh and miserable..."

As she listened, Marylia thought, "It’d be a little more fun if you had golems instead," but she refrained from saying it.

"Even so, the prince persevered, leading his retainers, commanding the slaves... But in the end, he reached his limit."

The skull slumped slightly, its bones clattering softly. The dry sound of bone against bone evoked a feeling of desolation, like a withering autumn breeze.

"One day, the prince ordered his retainers to wear... the collars of the slaves."

"Oh my."

"By then, many of the slaves had already perished. The prince must have decided he needed to preserve his workforce. The collars were beautifully crafted... but even that felt ironic."

Marylia suddenly recalled the slave collar she had found by the river. A beautifully made slave collar.

… It seemed that it had been the work of the “former” prince of the fallen nation of Baltoria.

"That is... unfortunate."

"Ah... We were abandoned by the prince! That is why we decided to escape from this island! We deemed that the Baltoria bloodline had effectively ended... and that we had no obligation to serve a prince who would make us slaves!"

The skull spoke in a low voice, tinged with frustration and anger. Since it somehow had a vengeful spirit-like quality, Marylia thought, “That suits a skeleton perfectly.”

"So? What happened to your escape plan?"

Now then. A crucial piece of information had surfaced.

If they had attempted to escape, then they must have tried to prepare a ship or something similar. That meant there was either someone capable of designing one, or they had blueprints… Marylia, growing restless, urged the skull to continue.

However—

"But that plan was thwarted... The remaining slaves, it seemed, rebelled against us."

The skull said this while shaking its head. Seeing just a skull nodding and shaking was quite a bizarre sight.

"So many slaves attacked us that we couldn't believe that many had survived... and they destroyed the very ship we had used to come here!"

"Oh my...!"

The words coming from the skull were truly shocking! To think... the very “ship” that Marylia desperately wanted had existed on this island about a hundred years ago—only to be destroyed a hundred years ago! Despair!

"I managed to escape here, but still... Ah, I can never forget that terror. That's right. I can't forget it. Even now, after death..."

"I-I see..."

Marylia felt disheartened about the ship, but well, it couldn't be helped. Expecting a skeleton to have blueprints was clearly a mistake...

… Now then.

From here, the skull began recounting, in great detail, how it had fled to this place but was ultimately chased down and killed by the slaves. No matter how much they struck down the slaves, they just kept coming. Their relentless force was terrifying.

So, while Marylia nodded along sympathetically, she was thinking about something else entirely.

Namely—”What on earth is this skull even talking about!?”

First of all, there was something fundamentally strange about the skull’s story. The claim that “Baltoria was destroyed.”

… In truth, about a hundred years ago, Baltoria did indeed engage in a war with a country called the Mirasta Kingdom. This was recorded in Fractalia’s history.

However, the outcome was... Baltoria’s overwhelming victory.

The exact details of the war were unclear, but after several years of fierce fighting, the last nation standing was Baltoria. It was said that the Mirasta was annihilated by Baltoria’s powerful military forces.

Furthermore, records indicated that after the war, a prince of Baltoria ascended to the throne as king. Even in Fractalia, there were accounts of an audience with this new king of Baltoria, making this information highly credible.

… Which meant that what the skull was saying was already contradictory! A nation that was never destroyed was being treated as though it had been! A prince who supposedly vanished on a deserted island actually went on to rule the country! The inconsistencies were endless!

Of course, it was possible to assume that the skull’s story was entirely true.

Perhaps, after the skull had died, the prince somehow managed to escape this island, returned to a nearly destroyed Baltoria, won the war against Mirasta, and rebuilt the kingdom. That wasn’t entirely impossible.

After all, records of Baltoria from a hundred years ago were scarce in Fractalia… and even within Baltoria itself, very little information remained.

Well, Baltoria soon faced a turbulent era—the royal bloodline ended abruptly, a new king with no royal ties ascended, a civil war broke out, and then another war doubled the kingdom's territory… so it was quite a chaotic period.

… Still, it was suspicious. The inconsistencies were too great.

If Baltoria was on the brink of destruction, forcing the prince to flee, how did they suddenly manage to defeat Mirasta? If they deliberately destroyed their only ship, how did they escape? Considering all these factors, it just didn’t add up.

"You, Young miss. There is only one thing I wish to tell you. Beware of him."

As Marylia remained unconvinced, the skull continued to speak. She straightened her posture.

"There is a hidden relic on this island said to grant great power. That is why we chose this island as our refuge."

Marylia wanted to tilt her head and think, “I've never heard of such a rumor... That’s precisely why Fractalia chose this island for my exile…” but instead, she simply nodded with a solemn expression.

"The prince might still be alive. If so, he may have obtained power to dominate others. He seemed to have lost interest in reviving Baltoria… but it is possible that he was behind the attack against us! If he has awakened to his ambition, he might even target you!"

Marylia wanted to tilt her head again and think, “There’s no way he's still alive at over a hundred years old…” but she solemnly nodded once more.

"You, Young miss. You are a kind soul who prayed for me and offered me food... I truly wish for your safety. Please, do not approach him..."

"Thank you. I am grateful for the knowledge you have shared."

Then, as the skull trembled slightly, Marylia gently cradled it in her hands and smiled warmly.

… With that, the skull seemed to let go of its regrets. It gave a single nod and then, within Marylia’s hands, became motionless.

And so—

"... That was such a strange dream."

When Marylia woke up, she sat up in the still-dark room, tilting her head in confusion.

"Hey."

She spoke, but the skeletal remains in the corner of the room remained silent. The surrounding Iron Golems tilted their heads.

… Then, deciding to put it aside for now, she went right back to sleep.

And the next morning—

The 300th day of banishment.

"There are things that concern me, but either way, I need to explore that town."

Marylia took up her crossbow and spear... and smiled brightly at the golems.

"Which means, we have to deal with that dragon first."

What do you think about this chapter?