Defense specialized, symbiosis.
Maple descends the stairs. The walls hold no light. The steps are made of rough-hewn stone. A different atmosphere lingers here than in the orderly archive from earlier.
— Don’t fall. — — Um, lighting prepared —
Maple takes out the light she had Iz make and activates it. The spherical device floats near her upon activation, following her and illuminating the surroundings. Convenient, unlike a lantern, which blocks one hand.
The walls match the same crude stone as the stairs. Anyone dropped here without warning would mistake it for a dungeon.
Yet, despite this, no monsters appear. It is, after all, within the royal palace. Only Maple’s footsteps echo in the dark. No other sound.
After walking for a time, the light reveals a single door ahead.
Is there nothing else here?
She checks around before opening the door. No other path. Nothing distinctive. Nothing but the door. Maple grasps the handle. She turns it slowly. The door opens.
She steps inside. Dust rises in the faint light, stirred by the air from the opening. The space has not seen use in years.
Is this place no longer used?
Like the floor above, it was once a library. Shelves line the walls. Some books remain, left behind.
She walks a full circuit. Decides to return. Maple moves through the old archive.
Is there anything here…? Hmm. Only strange books.
The shelves hold space between them. Not packed tight. Some books lie overturned, their spines exposed. Their covers bear strange details. Eyes carved into the leather—so lifelike they seem to blink. Others pulse faintly, as if alive. Some bear crimson stains, dark and spreading. None appear in good condition. None catch Maple’s interest.
“Higher shelves had better books. I’ll read from there.”
Many lack titles. If she cannot know their contents, no reason to pick them up.
Maple walks the room’s full circuit. Turns to return. Only her footsteps echo. Then—another sound.
Behind her. At her ear.
……“Come here.”
“W-what! Who’s there!?”
Maple jerks around at the rough male voice, but only darkness stretches ahead. She felt as though someone stood directly behind her, yet if that were true, even if faster than Sally, they could not vanish from sight.
The voice was unfamiliar—no memory of it. Not the prank of a known friend. She scans the room. Nothing matches the sound.
Yet she cannot believe she misheard. She moves through the archive, seeking the source.
“Over here. This way.”
“W-what! Again…!”
She startles at the sudden voice, but no harm comes. She follows the sound, the only clue, stepping toward where it leads.
What stood there was not a bookshelf, but a stand reaching to Maple’s chest height. Upon the stand lay a single book, sealed with a bandage-like ribbon inscribed in red characters, obscuring its text.
“Just open it.”
“…This? You’re just going to vanish after saying that…?”
No reply comes from Maple. There is nothing to do but obey.
“Should I unroll it?”
As Maple lifts the book and removes the wrapping cloth, a violent wind erupts from within, spreading crimson effects through the room—similar to those used in magical sigils.
The sudden gale knocks Maple off her feet. She realizes something is wrong and scrambles across the floor, closing the book and rewrapping the ribbon with haste.
Whether her action was correct or not, the storm subsides. Silence returns to the archive.
Startled... what was that?
Thank the stars. I’ll borrow your magic for a while.
W-wait, who’s there!?
Maple looks around, but the voice still echoes as if no one else is present.
She is at a loss, unable to respond to the one-sided conversation, when the door behind her swings open with a sudden bang.
W-what!?...C-Your Majesty?
There, standing before her, is the dragon king of the realm— the same one she last saw in the throne room.
She walks close to Maple and peers intently into her face.
How did you get in here?
Well, I came down the stairs...
You were called in by someone here, thinking you were an ally... hmm?
The king grips both of Maple’s cheeks and pulls them firmly.
W-what are you doing!?
"Being treated as a companion to forbidden texts... are you truly human? Would something strange emerge if I tore you apart?"
As the king released his grip, Maple hastily stepped back.
"It won't come out!"
In truth, her body harbored countless things—nothing unusual about that. She might even be more like a monster than an ordinary one, but classification remained unchanged: human.
"Whatever it is, coexisting with such a thing will consume you. A punishment for your own choosing."
The king brought his hands together before his chest, then slowly parted them. A crackling, crimson light burst forth. A mirror, large enough to reflect Maple’s entire form, materialized in midair.
She approached, understanding the gesture. Her eyes widened as she stared into the reflection.
"What... is this?!"
She must do something before the thing inside her body drains her dry and leaves her withered.
A black pattern covered half her face and her neck, as if she had applied face paint. Rubbing it did nothing. It looked as though it were eating into her flesh.
Maple stared, confused. The quest began anyway, forced upon her without regard.
“‘The Forbidden Lord’... ugh, I’ve never heard of that...”
The quest name, absent when speaking with Sally and Mii, offered no clarity at all.
“If you’re like this, you won’t be able to use magic properly. I’ll just collect your bones when you die. I don’t need more scattered remains.”
“Eh?!”
Maple checks her skills. Nothing, not even abilities that activate through equipment, seems to work. Her renowned defense remains—being a passive skill—but now she is little more than an unusually hard statue.
From the king’s tone, she will not return to normal until this quest ends. With events approaching, this is unacceptable.
“Hurry!”
Maple leaps from the palace to clear the quest.
835 Name: Nameless Greatsword User
Wait a minute! Your daughter’s gone off the rails!
836 Name: Nameless Bow User
Probably just a fashion choice.
837 Name: Nameless Spear User
Who?
838 Name: Nameless Greatsword User
Maple-chan.
839 Name: Nameless Spear User
Ah…
840 Name: Nameless Mage
Off the rails? She looks that way, but her mind hasn’t changed, has it?
841 Name: Nameless Greatsword User
We passed in the Town. Half her face was covered in something like a black stain.
842 Name: Nameless Spear User
Could be a side effect of some skill?
Too many possibilities match...
843 Name: Nameless Archer
Maybe it's just fashion!
844 Name: Nameless Mage
Feels like her sense has gone askew, but not in that direction.
845 Name: Nameless Greatshield User
Oh? Did it happen?
846 Name: Nameless Spear User
Guardian—
You’re not watching closely enough. Something’s going off.
847 Name: Nameless Greatshield User
We were all talking about it.
Letting her act freely seems to work best.
848 Name: Nameless Archer
I wish for a shift in education policy!
I wish for it!!
849 Name: Nameless Spear User
Ah… once again she’s strayed from the path.
It’s your fault.
850 Name: Nameless Greatshield User
Isn’t that splendid?
851 Name: Nameless Mage
Mad scientist, perhaps?
852 Name: Nameless Greatshield User
I haven’t heard what it actually does. It might be fashion, for all I know.
853 Name: Nameless Spear User
Not entirely zero, that’s true.
Face paint is sold in shops by the dozen.
854 Name: Nameless Greatshield User
Still, from what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem to be that.
Even so, it should be a bit… cuter, don’t you think?
855 Name: Nameless Spear User
Conclusion reached.
Ah… once again she’s strayed from the path.
It’s your fault!
856 Name: Nameless Greatsword User
Don’t send a cute one on a journey!
857 Name: Nameless Archer User
Still, I’ve never seen a skill that permanently alters appearance. Might not be a skill at all.
858 Name: Nameless Greatshield User
The event is near. Test the effect with your own body.
859 Name: Nameless Greatsword User
At least ask with those eyes.
860 Name: Anonymous Mage
Nothing good comes to mind when I think of black.
861Name: Nameless Spearbearer
Simply letting her relax makes her stronger—low cost indeed.
862 Name: Nameless Archer
Yet in truth, Maple’s range of suitable skills is narrow. Even a good one may, in the end, prove unsuitable.
863 Name: Anonymous Magus
Raising it through status ratios won’t help anyway.
864 Name: Nameless Greatsword User
We always say it, over and over—
She does not do it because she cannot transform.
865 Name: Nameless Mage
Forgive me... please...
866 Name: Anonymous Archer
Everyone! Same side! Let’s go!
There is nothing to worry about if they are allies. In events, buffs and other effects can be applied over a wider range. If the acquired skill falls within that scope, it is more than fortunate.
Thus, resolve renewed, the faces of the bulletin board returned with this information to their respective guilds.