Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [315]
And so, Mitsuru became a guest at the Crystal Palace.
Mitsuru later asked how many Travelers like him had visited the palace before.
Only one, the emperor told him. Once during the peak of the war to unify the north. “The records say that this Traveler, too, was a man of great power. It was he who first proposed the idea that land should be governed by a single race. He taught us that peace, prosperity, wealth, and power come only to those unified by blood. This became the basis for our empire, and brought us victory in the war of unification.”
Mitsuru wasn’t sure whether to be astonished or bemused. So the source of the oppression of non-ankha, and the genocide that had occurred in the north, had all been another Traveler’s idea. Not to mention the fact that the emperor seemed to think this Traveler was a true emissary of the gods.
Mitsuru was surprised at his own shock. He had decided a long time ago that after what he had been through in the real world, nothing could surprise him.
Still, his bewilderment lasted only a moment. I’ve got more important things to do, he told himself. Events in Vision have nothing to do with me. I need only to reach the Tower of Destiny and do what I came here to do. Then I’ll go home. And I’ll use whatever means I have at my disposal.
The next day, when he awoke in the luxurious guest chambers, his life as an honored guest of the palace had already begun. He was brought before the beaming emperor, his family, and the retainers at the Crystal Palace, and informed that an elaborate welcoming ceremony was in the works. He was shown around the palace and told about its making, and he began to learn the history of the Empire.
But, of course, Mitsuru wanted none of this. Feeling unusually pressed for time, he sought another private meeting with the emperor.
This was when he revealed the reason he came to the north. He told the emperor that the last gemstone he sought was none other than the one adorning the Imperial Crown. If he only had this, the way to the Tower of Destiny would open to him. And he needed it as soon as possible.
He also explained how he had learned of a need for haste in his journey. By this, of course, he was referring to Halnera.
Mitsuru did not care to lose to Wataru in the race to reach the tower. Not that he was worried. But now that there was a danger of one of them being chosen as the sacrifice, it behooved him to achieve his goals and make it back to the real world as swiftly as possible.
But the emperor’s only response to Mitsuru’s urgent request was to laugh. “We know nothing of this Halnera in our empire. Nor do any of our scholars acknowledge such a thing. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was all a legend cooked up by the United Southern Nations government. I’m afraid you’ve been hoodwinked, Master Mitsuru.”
This was a possibility. But the reverse was also true. Maybe you’re just ignorant. Mitsuru gritted his teeth in silence, and it took a great deal of effort to not let his frustrations show.
“Then, are you saying that I am not to worry about Halnera?”
“Why concern yourself with something that does not exist, my dear Master Mitsuru?”
“Yet, even if Halnera is merely some scheme dreamed up by the south, I would like to reach the Tower of Destiny and finish my journey as soon as possible.”
To this the emperor frowned and lifted his heavily bejeweled person from the throne, “I understand how you feel, but I must ask you to wait,” he said in a harsh voice.
“Whatever for?”
“This jeweled crown you claim to seek—this is most surely the prized treasure of my family for generations: the Crown of the Seal.”
“The Crown of the Seal?”
“Indeed. It would be most difficult for me to give you this treasure now, you see. For, were I to move the Crown of the Seal from its current resting place, a great calamity would visit our empire. It would rock the very foundation of Vision. The gemstone you seek currently protects Vision from that calamity.