There Is No Place For Fakes

Le Guin stood up.

“I’m going.”

“Wait a minute. Before you go, fix my doll and go.”

Lexion pointed to his own figure in the corner of the lab. It was something that his father had asked him to do to get away from the surveillance placed on him by the imperial family. If there was a need to avoid the eyes of surveillance, his doll was put up as a substitute. It’s a flaw that he could only do repetitive tasks, but it was much more helpful than nothing.

A magic circle formed on Le Guin’s hand, which was placed on the doll’s forehead.

“It’s broken after using it for a long time. I can’t do this for a long time.”

“It can’t be helped. To take Phil to the Mage Tower.”

“The spell is very complicated. Can’t we just go to the Magic Tower together?”

“Honestly, we’re glad Phil is still here.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know exactly what she’s trying to do, but she needs our help to do it. If it wasn’t for that, Phil would have left long ago, saying she was looking for her own life.”

“Is it?”

“So let’s make sure to win Phil‘s favor while she still needs us.”

Hmmm, Le Guin thought for a while and put on an expression as if he had decided on something.

“Okay. I’ll try in a different direction from now on.”

Leaving those words behind, the Archmage disappeared in the blinding light. Left alone, Lexion murmured.

“Please don’t get into an accident…”

At that moment, his communications stone flashed and vibrated. It was a communication from the Magic Tower.

“Yes, this is Lexion.”

As soon as communication was established, a shout hit his eardrums.

“Lexion! When the hell is the Lord of the Mage Tower returning? We’ve got so many things to do that need to get his approval!”

As another secretary of Le Guin, he was the one who handled most of the affairs of the current mage tower master.

“I’ll tell him to visit the Magic Tower soon.”

A loud sigh came through the communications table.

“That important thing, there’s no sign of the end yet?”

“Yes. Le Guin is working hard too, but it’s not easy.”

“If a person of the level of the Mage Tower lord is having a hard time… Eliminating the highest level monsters? Investigating hidden ancient ruins?

‘Score points for his daughter.‘ 

Lexion swallowed his words to protect the prestige of the Tower master. After the communication ended, he shook his head.

“Who would imagine?”

The fact that the notorious mage lord was acting cute in the form of a cat these days. Even if he was the owner of the Magic Tower, it was difficult to win his daughter’s heart.

* * *

In Philomel’s residence. She was writing down what she had learned so far on a piece of paper.

First, the person ‘Ellencia’ changed at some point.Second, the middle name that reflects Ellencia’s soul was also different from the one in <Princess Ellencia>.Third, Elencia uses a magic potion of unknown origin. Fourth, Elencia’s diary was written in unknown characters from the moment she changed.Fifth, it was highly likely that <Princess Ellencia> and Ellencia’s magic potion bottle were from another world.Sixth, intruders from other worlds written in the Book of Gods steal other people’s bodies using evil tricks.

It was like this once she gathered together the clues that seemed important. To put it all together, Ellencia was possessed by a different soul, but that was an intruder from another world, and the intruder’s trick was a magic potion…? If so, the letters written in the diary were from another world, and <Princess Ellencia> must also be a book from there.

Philomel was troubled as she bit the soft flesh in her mouth. Was she too imaginative? It was a different world, but for some reason it was a hypothesis that didn’t seem absurd. In addition to the six sentences written in large letters, there were several small scribbles on the paper.

Philomel calmly went through them as well.

The author of <Princess Ellencia> seemed to like spicy food like Elencia.

When Philomel first came up with this speculation, she wondered if the author of the book was from the southern region, where spiciness was popular. However, if <Princess Ellencia> was an object of another world, the author must also be a being of that world. Judging from Ellencia’s liking for spicy food, it seemed that spicy food was universally preferred in that world.

‘Or that both of you lived in a specific area where spicy was preferred.’

Philodel took small notes and moved on to the next sentence.

Elencia pinned down the not-yet-famous Margaret and entrusted her with her own dress. Her debutante dress, made by Margaret, was quite similar to the one described in her book. In the past, these phenomena were considered fate.

Even if Philodel moved the timing forward by a year, what was supposed to happen eventually happened, but it wasn’t exactly the same… 

On the pretext of getting her dress tailored, Margaret, who was found by Philomel, told her.

“Well, isn’t the dress I vaguely envisioned and the dress the princess wanted are strikingly similar? I really thought it was in and out of my head!”

After complimenting Ellencia on her debutante dress, Margaret brushed off her affair with Ellencia. It was more like a direction created by Ellencia than fate. It was as if she knew in advance what she would have to do a year from now and fitted reality into it. With that thought, the doubts she had felt so far were resolved.

‘An unnatural first meeting with Nassar…’

Why did Ellencia, who should be in the western palace, come to the southern palace and climb a tree? Because Nassar was there.

Ellencia’s maid at that time was Emily. According to her personal information later, when Nassar entered the palace, it was Emily’s duty to find out where he was and inform Ellencia. She could also guess why Ellencia was trying to save the cat that was lying peacefully on the tree.

“The cat was just an excuse for her to climb a tree to create a situation similar to what would happen a year later.”

Then, does Elencia see the future?

“It’s not like that.”

She showed several loopholes in knowing the future. If she knew the future, she couldn’t have drowned while trying to get on the boat, and she wouldn’t have let Roseanne ruin her first tea party.

‘Yes, rather than the future… I think she knows the contents of <Princess Ellencia>.’

Philomel calmly continued her thoughts. Considering the fact that the book was also from another world, that was a more reasonable reasoning. That there was another <Princess Ellencia> in that world, or that Ellencia had read <Princess Ellencia> before.

Philomel took the book returned from Le Guin out of a drawer and picked it up. According to him, as of now, all possible investigations have been completed. How did the intruder who entered Ellencia, or Ellencia’s body, read <Princess Ellencia> in that world?

‘Why is the future of this world written in a book of another world? Why is it written in the language of this place even though it is a book from another world?’

It was still full of unknowns. Even thinking about it, she couldn’t come up with a plausible hypothesis. More than anything, she couldn’t get a sense of what that ‘other world’ was like. The divine world or the demon world in the legend?

“Or is it another world?”

Philomel thoughtfully tapped the desk with her fingertips. The content of the ‘other world’ written in the Book of God was too ambiguous.

‘I wish someone could give me an explanation.’

However, all the people who left records in the book were people of the distant past. No one was worth asking about the Book of God.

“Whew, that’s difficult.”

It was then that Philomel let out a big sigh.

“Phil!”

Le Guin burst into Philomel’s room. He was somehow more motivated than usual.

“What’s going on?”

Philomel asked as she got up from her seat.

“Let’s go on a trip!”

“…yes? Suddenly?”

“You haven’t been able to travel because you’ve been living in such a stuffy place, right?”

“There were very few outings that could be called travel, to be sincere.”

The only heir to the throne could not travel with peace of mind. There were also safety reasons, and… she couldn’t even afford it. At least, the time she visited with Nassar was close to the first trip.

Nassar…

Philomel’s heart was heavy at the sight of his face that reappeared. It was said that Nassar was currently confined to the Duke of Avrydon. Refraining from all outside activities, including Ellencia’s birthday party.

“You said you feel like a friend, so I want to be your friend Miss Philomel.”

The last time she saw him, he said that with a bright face, but there was no way it wasn’t difficult. As Philomel’s expression darkened, Le Guin asked cautiously.

“Don’t you want to go on a trip?”

She picked her words.

“Even if you ask me out of the blue…”

If he asked where she wanted to go… Philomel had listed all things she wanted to do later. Still…

“I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood right now…”

Philomel firmly shook her head.

“Why?”

Le Guin asked with a somewhat heartbroken expression.

“My head is complicated with other things.”

“What happened?”

Philomel gave him a summary of the story of the Book of God and the other world. It must have been absurd, but he listened to Philomel’s words without showing anything like that. After he heard it all, Le Guin said.

“Then I’ll have to go on a trip with you even more!”

“…why is that?”

“I’m going to meet someone who might know about that old book.”

“When is that ever recorded, is such a person still alive?”

“The person must be dead.”

After emphasizing the word ‘person’, Le Guin smirked.

“If it’s a non-human being, it could still be alive.”

“A non-human being…?”

“The oldest of all living beings in this world, older than dragons.”

Philomel realized what he meant. It was someone she knew.

“…?”

Le Guin confidently held out his hand.

“Okay. Let’s go see the World Tree for now.”

Having said that, she took his hand.