Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 147 - Ascent

"Medrauta, what's going on!?"

"I don't know!" Medrauta replied, clutching Viviane close. The shaking continued, causing the knight to cast her gaze around the room frantically only to find nothing. For a moment, she thought the changes might be happening outside, but she didn't really sense any changes in the behavior of the witchspawn outside.

The rumbling carried on for a few more moments until everything grew still and silent once more. Medrauta held her breath, counting to five just to be safe before releasing Viviane. The moment she did, the spiral formation of tiles in the ceiling began to move and shift, lowering themselves and forming a staircase that twisted upward.

"...Oh." Medrauta blinked, surprised at the sudden development. Of all the things she expected to happen, that certainly wasn't one of them. She exchanged a glance with Viviane, motioning for the noblewoman to wait as she approached the newly formed staircase. Just like everything else in the tower, it didn't look intrinsically dangerous, but Medrauta wasn't willing to take any chances.

Approaching cautiously, Medrauta peered up at the upper floor. Expecting the staircase to grant access only to the second floor, the knight was pleasantly surprised by their continuous upward spiral past the second floor's ceiling. She couldn't quite see the end of the stairway, but it went on for long enough to assume it ended at the very top.

Well, that's a relief. Medrauta beckoned for Viviane to come closer, taking the noblewoman's hand once she did. Leading the way, Medrauta stepped onto the second floor, her body tensing in preparation for a moment as she swept her gaze across the room, scanning it for any dangers. Sensing none, she allowed Viviane to enter shortly after her.

"Hey, Medrauta..." Viviane began, her voice still somewhat bleary as she'd only just woken up, and rather abruptly at that. "How'd you manage to get the stairs to open up?"

Medrauta shrugged, inspecting their surroundings. Unlike the bookshelf-dominated first floor, the second floor was rather bare. There were a series of pots and pans hanging on the wall, a plain wooden table that stood on the left side, and a few crates lying around, clearly marking the area as a mess room.

"I have no idea," Medrauta said. "I was just reading a book and the whole tower started shaking for some reason."

"Oh. Do you... remember if you said something?" Viviane asked, recalling the information she'd discovered about code words and shield towers before she decided to take a quick nap. While their current situation wasn't something she could complain about, Viviane had wanted to solve the mystery of the tower together with Medrauta.

"If I said something...?" Medrauta frowned as she stepped toward the table, running a finger across it. Strangely, there wasn't even a speck of dust. "Now that I think about it... I guess I did?"

"R-Really!? What was it!?" Viviane asked, her sudden burst of excitement slightly flustering Medrauta.

"Uh, I was just rambling after looking at a picture," Medrauta said. "I think it was something along the lines of... 'Empress Soleil's shame'?"

"Empress Soleil's... Ah." Viviane's voice trailed off as she recalled the very phrase that had set off Medrauta's seizure. Her excitement faded away as she squeezed Medrauta's hand hesitantly. "About before... Sorry, Medrauta. I should've been more careful."

"What're you even apologizing for?" Medrauta shook her head with a grin. "C'mon now, you couldn't have known. Besides, I'm honestly glad it happened. Based on what I saw in that book, it seems like we were going to have to deal with the phrase sooner or later. I couldn't read any of the text, but the drawings told me all I needed to know."