Chapter 157: Banshee Valley (Patreon)

"I'm sorry, for choosing to greet you this way at first."

The Great Banshee conveyed her goodwill once more.

"My name is Laqeramaline. I'm a Banshee."

"I'm Saito. You can just call her the Administrator. The one in the back seat is W."

After the brief introductions, Laqeramaline extended her invitation to the two of them again.

"So, are you two interested in taking a look around the valley?"

Faced with the lady's invitation, the two of them opened the team channel at almost the same instant.

[Administrator, what do you think?]

[I think it's a bit dangerous. Maybe we should just decline.]

Doubts filled Saito's thoughts. This Laqeramaline hadn't shown any hostility toward them so far, but the Convallis of the Banshees was still their territory, and he had no way to gauge how much truth lay in the oath she'd spoken of.

After all, his understanding of this land, and of the Sarkaz, still ran shallow.

[I actually think we could go take a look.]

The Administrator, however, gave a different answer.

[The Siren clan suffered heavy losses in the great war of the past. Many years ago they moved their entire people out of Kazdel to their current home. As far as I know, there's been no sign of the Siren Court getting involved in this civil war.]

Understanding flickered across Saito's eyes.

In other words, the Elegiac Court hadn't been dragged into this civil war yet—it was still neutral for the time being. That was clearly a good chance for them to learn more about the situation in Sarkaz.

What's more, as one of the Six Heroes herself, Laqeramaline was likely quite familiar with the two figures now on opposite sides of the civil war.

So Saito and the Administrator quickly reached an agreement.

"It seems the two of you have already made a decision."

"Yes. We've decided to accept your invitation."

Saito nodded with a smile, as if the earlier conflict had never happened at all.

"I'm honored."

A faint smile touched Laqeramaline's lips. She pointed lightly toward the distance, and her figure vanished into the void once more, leaving only that dreamlike voice lingering over the rift valley.

"This way, please, both of you."

Following Laqeramaline's guidance, the vehicle soon broke free of the rift valley. The moment they passed through an invisible barrier, the scenery before Saito's eyes transformed completely.

The light sound of running water grew brighter, and the canvas before them shifted gradually from gray-yellow to a green that spoke of life. Upon this land that had endured so much hardship, a picturesque oasis valley rose into view.

"What a beautiful place."

Saito felt a quiet wonder. He hadn't seen scenery this beautiful since Talos II.

It felt a little unfair to say so about their own base, but the Frozen Plains truly weren't fit for anyone to live in. Given the chance, he was determined to fly the OMV Bifang out of Ursus—staying in that place was pure torment.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Without either of them noticing, Laqeramaline's figure appeared beside them again. But this time neither Saito nor the Administrator showed the slightest surprise, as if they'd already sensed her there.

"This place was chosen by a good friend of mine."

Compared to the war-torn Kazdel outside, the valley before them felt like a secluded paradise cut off from the world.

From a distance, they could faintly make out a few lovely figures playing by the riverbank. Only as Laqeramaline led the group closer did they stop, curiosity spreading across their faces as they stared at the three people behind her.

Incidentally, W was currently being carried on Saito's back. She was too young—though there was no malice in Laqeramaline's incantation, it had still been more than she could handle.

But according to Laqeramaline, she'd be mostly fine after resting for a while.

"Lady Laqeramaline, who are they?"

The Siren at the front bowed respectfully to Laqeramaline first, then her gaze drifted involuntarily toward the three people behind her.

The Convallis of the Banshees had been sealed off for so long that they hadn't seen outsiders in ages, let alone ones brought in personally by Lady Laqeramaline.

Could it be that Lady Laqeramaline, lonely since little Aefanyl had left, was planning to get little Aefanyl a new little sister?

Because of the Banshees' unique nature, most of their kind were female, so since ancient times they'd kept the custom of marrying outside their own people. Otherwise, with only a scarce handful of male Sirens to rely on, the Siren clan would likely have died out naturally long before any war ever touched them.

"These are my honored guests. Mind your manners."

A trace of helplessness showed in Laqeramaline's eyes—she knew exactly what these girls were thinking. But since the valley really had been sealed off for so long, she only scolded them in words and didn't hand out any real punishment.

The Sirens, for their part, were sensible enough—once Laqeramaline finished speaking, they obediently withdrew.

"Forgive the display."

"Not at all."

Saito shook his head—there was nothing to forgive. Still, he found himself even more curious now about why Laqeramaline wanted to bring them into the valley.

If the Convallis of the Banshees had been sealed off for so long, why bring in a few outsiders now?

With that question still on his mind, they soon arrived in front of a house.

It was a very plain house, not much different from the log cabins he'd seen on the Frozen Plains—hardly a fitting match for the title of ruler of the Siren Court.

Laqeramaline opened the door with practiced ease and gestured for the two of them to enter.

Saito and the Administrator exchanged a glance, then stepped together into the house, which was full of the warmth of daily life.

The three of them sat down around a round table inside, while W was laid on the bed in one of the bedrooms and tucked under a blanket.

It was one of only two rooms in the house, and it looked like it belonged to Laqeramaline's child. Judging by the portrait at the head of the bed, it seemed to be of a rather cool, aloof young woman—though from the state of the room, she'd clearly been gone from home for a long time.

"Ms. Laqeramaline, I suppose you can tell us what this is really about now?"

Saito lifted the teacup in front of him and took a small sip, choosing, as always, to get straight to the point.

"Please, set your mind at ease. I mean you no harm."

Laqeramaline's tone was gentle. In truth, she hadn't wanted to greet them that way in the first place, but Saito and the Administrator's behavior along the way had simply been too astonishing. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she'd decided to test them a little.

"I sensed the presence of an old friend on you."

"The presence of an old friend?"

Saito blinked in surprise, but he quickly realized what Laqeramaline meant.

"Do you mean this?"

He pulled a white bone fragment out of the void—the same fragment that had flaked off along with the Originium crystals when he treated the Captain's Oripathy.

They hadn't met many Sarkaz on the Frozen Plains, and of those, the only ones who could possibly have any connection to someone of Laqeramaline's stature were Mudrock and Bozkasti, both themselves part of the Sarkaz royal court.