I Became a Druid in Another World

It's the same type as those other boxes.

The decorations on this black box connected to the ones on the red and gold boxes, each featuring similar designs. There were even ancient Ansgar letters carved into it, though they were still too obscure to decipher. The only difference was…

This box has a keyhole.

I touched the keyhole on the black box. It seemed to be made of mithril or a similar metal, and for some reason, it felt hot to the touch.

Just as I expected.

The other two boxes had no keyholes, so I figured there must be at least one or two more matching boxes somewhere. I didn't expect to find one here. With the "key to open anything" I received from Liadel, all that was left was to open the box…

"..."

However, this wasn't the place to open it right now. I glanced outside the window. The moon had risen higher than before. It was time to hurry back. I placed the box in my space ring, then turned to El who was tidying up and erasing any traces left behind.

"Let's head back, El."

Just securing this box was a huge success. I activated the [Beast Transformation] skill again and transformed into a mouse before climbing onto El's outstretched hand and slipping into the pocket of her apron.

– Creak…

– Thud.

We slipped out of Dawood's bedroom.

Midnight was approaching. Lloyd and Louis would be waiting. We quickened our pace toward Louis's bedroom.

– Knock, knock.

When we knocked, Louis himself opened the door. After giving El's pale face a quick once-over, he guided her inside and closed the door behind us.

"Your master seems to be running late."

"No."

El cautiously slipped her hand into her apron pocket and lifted me up. I jumped from El's palm, did a quick spin in the air, and returned to my original form. Louis nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"I'm glad you made it back safely."

I simply nodded in reply. It wasn't worth mentioning that I'd almost been sliced in half by a cook's knife…

"Theodore. We found nothing. There were no new traces of anyone coming through the secret passage."

"Do you think they caught on to our surveillance?"

"It doesn't seem that way."

"Which means there's no need for them to use the passage anymore."

"..."

"In other words, they have already completed whatever they planned."

Louis cut in with an uneasy voice.

"Are we really okay just leaving things as they are? We could go after Dawood right now…"

"It's fine."

"What do you mean, 'it's fine'?"

"I already have someone positioned on Dawood's side."

"All the mercenaries are already in his grasp, and you've barely been in Corin long enough to…"

"Louis, I understand your concern. But the more urgent it is, the more carefully we need to proceed."

"'The more urgent, the more careful'? What's that supposed to mean…?"

"It's a wise saying left by my ancestors."

What would a man from Corin know of the great proverbs of Korea? Cutting off Louis's words, I continued with the next part of my story.

"It's unfortunate that you two didn't find much, but fortunately, El and I did manage to obtain something useful."

Louis looked at me briefly, clearly wounded in his pride, before giving a reluctant nod.

"…Fine, go on."

I began by sharing what I had heard from the kitchen maids.

"Do you know a maid named Annie?"

"I don't. There are so many maids here. Unless it's the Headmaid, it's impossible to remember each maid's name."

"Well, I didn't really expect you to."

"..."

Louis looked irritated, but he didn't retort. Of course not; he didn't uncover anything himself, did he?

"Apparently, that maid has disappeared from the castle. From what I heard, she supposedly stole Dawood's precious ring from his bedroom before fleeing…"

"..."

"The strange thing is, no one saw her leave. She was seen entering Dawood's chambers, but not a single soul saw her come out."

"That can't be."

"Exactly. In a castle teeming with servants, that's simply impossible like you said. Even if she escaped, there's no way she could have avoided everyone on her way out."

"In that case, Dawood must have…"

"Yes. Dawood, and whoever is with him, must be involved in her disappearance."

Perhaps they used her for experiments before turning the lord of Corin into a "Frozen Soul"… Or perhaps they sacrificed her to create that "mirror" in Dawood's room…

Either way, it's horrific.

"The maids said that Dawood paid a large sum of money to Annie's father."

"Money?"

"Yes. It doesn't make sense, does it? If she had truly stolen something as precious as that, they would have held her parents accountable. Yet, instead, he gave them money…"

"..."

"That means he's covering something up."

Louis looked utterly disgusted. How could he not be? If his own brother had committed such repulsive acts, affecting not only their father but also others… As a member of the honorable Corin family and as a knight, he would feel nothing but contempt.

"Louis, go and speak with Annie's mother. She's still looking for her daughter."

"…Understood."

"Do not contact her father. He accepted money even after losing his daughter, so if you approach him, he'll immediately report back to Dawood."

"Haah… Fine, I won't."

"And one more thing."

All eyes turned to me. After a brief pause, I took out the familiar "black box" from the spaced ring, followed by the red and gold boxes.

I held up the black box.

"This is what I found inside the mirror in Dawood's room."

"A box."

"Yes, but it's no ordinary 'box'. It might be unfamiliar to you, but it's not new to us."

"..."

"There's a pattern to where these boxes are found. They're always in places swept up in the 'tragedies' that the crows bring."

"..."

"The fact that we've found one of these boxes in Corin… means that Corin too will soon be caught up in a 'tragedy' brought by the crows."

"Such a thing…!"

"But."

I placed the black box on top of the two already joined boxes. The black box was placed in the little groove on top of the gold box.

Click.

With a satisfying sound, the boxes merged perfectly, as if they had always been a single box from the start.

"…This time, we were one step ahead."

Now that they were united, the fragments of the combined box began to emit a faint glow, like a pulse of magic. The fragments themselves seemed to form a kind of magic circle.

Good grief…

A magic circle that could create and work magic all by itself, without any magic stones. I had never seen or heard of anything like it. I swallowed dryly and traced my fingers along the fragments, then started studying the now complete ancient Ansgar text.

"Fulfill…"

As I spoke, the magic began to pulse ominously.

"….mother's…"

The faint glow flowing across the fragments brightened, shining even more intensely.

"…revenge."

The moment I finished speaking, clatter! The box shook violently as if something alive were trapped within it. And then—

– Wooooong…

The engravings and symbols etched on the box began to swirl around its surface, like moving illustrations. Or perhaps…

It feels alive…

A cold sweat trickled down my back.

Holding Liadel's "key that could open anything", I searched for the keyhole on the box. Like the engravings and symbols, the keyhole kept moving and changing location every second.

I fit the key into the keyhole.

"..."

Or rather, I tried to.

But I had a feeling. A deep sense of foreboding that whispered, "You must not open this box." An unknown fear and unease swept over me.

"..."

Just then someone grabbed my wrist. It was Lloyd. His rough, calloused hand gripped my wrist and he looked at me.

"Theodore."

The only remaining gray eye looked at me. It felt as if my soul, which was about to escape, was being held by those firm eyes.

Clink!

I finally came to my senses at the sound of the key hitting the floor. Only then did I realize that my hand was shaking, and sweat was pouring off me as if I were a mouse cornered by a cat.

"Hah, ha… Goodness. What's gotten into me?"

I picked up the fallen key and put it back in my pocket. The merged box continued to glow softly, and its fragments kept shifting in an incessant wave-like motion. Symbols, engravings, and gems rippled like flowing water… I stared at them for a moment before finally placing the box back into my space ring.

"…It'd be better to open this somewhere more secure."

"Yeah. I guess that would be a good idea."

It was a pitiful outcome for all the confidence we had in being "ahead". I wiped the sweat from my forehead and let out a long sigh. Right, this was the rational choice. What would we do if I opened the box and it caused a massive explosion? There was no way I could cover the damages if Corin's castle blew up. If that were to happen, let alone escape, I'd have no choice but to spend the rest of my life as a slave in this pseudo-medieval land!

…Well, there are plenty of ways to try.

First, I could create a stabilized space in the forest by setting a boundary with [Forest Barrier] and using [Forest Protection] to form a shield, and then open the box inside that safe zone…

If anything happens, I'll be the only one who has to handle it.

If the contents of this box turned out to be vicious or terrifying, [Forest Protection] should prevent it from escaping into the outside world. And if it came down to it…

I can always retreat to the Dimensional Garden.

Yes, I had ways of dealing with whatever might happen. I dealt with things like this before, didn't I? I calmed myself and worked to steady my still uneven breathing.

"..."

And yet, where did this ominous fear come from? This fear that I couldn't shake off? With the title [Nemesis of Evil], fear, confusion, or shock had long since become foreign concepts to me… Even if there was a demon in the box, I wouldn't be afraid. And yet, and yet…

What the hell is this, exactly…?