Chapter 5: Friendly Butterfly and the Bard’s Hideout.

The moment he heard those words, Ren and the two girls beside him were startled.

“That’s really sudden. I thought you would explain it to us in a more formal setting.”

“I intended to, of course. I mean, this concerns Mudi, after all.”

The name of the legendary bard, Mudi, had been coming up often lately.

She was a great figure who traveled the world during the age of the Seven Heroes.

The songs she left behind captivated listeners on their own—but that wasn’t the only reason she became famous. They said that once she began to sing, anyone who heard her would be healed and sometimes even roused to action. Some of her songs could drain a monster’s strength; some were even said to control the weather.

“I was wondering if something had happened, since there was a long silence after you said the key had been repaired.”

“…Well, something did happen.”

Ragna’s tone sounded like he was choosing his words carefully.
It was subtle—so subtle that Ren barely had time to notice the odd feeling—but it strongly suggested that there was a reason for his sudden actions.

“The repairs themselves went fine, but the artifact’s reactions were weak, so the adjustments ended up taking far longer than expected.”

“So that means… you’ve figured out where Mudi’s hideout is?”

“Of course. Our trip to Windea wasn’t for nothing.”

It had been only this spring that they discovered Mudi might have had some connection to Ren’s ancestor, Cecil Ashton.

That came from clues found in an orphanage called The Geno Institute, uncovered when Ren managed to open a sealed door in the old district near Eupheim.

“Back then, we were supposed to be looking for the Water Goddess’s Ring to repair the key, but the Cult of the Demon Lord was on the move too… What a mess that was.”

Remembering that, Ren paused.
He also recalled how he had found the special request—the Emblem with a Crest—that ultimately led to the Windea investigation.

…And how Lutreche, the Fifth Blade King and bearer of the title White Dragon Princess, had helped them locate Ragna’s Emblem.

Thinking back on how all of that had led to their journey from spring into early summer, Ren asked:

“So this really all ties into the repaired key and why you’re here now?”

“If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have come all the way out here at this time of year.”

Ragna spoke bluntly, then pulled a folded piece of parchment from his coat and handed it to Ren.

“You three can look together.”

Ren unfolded it, and Lishia and Fiona immediately leaned in from both sides with interest.

“It looks like a map.”

“The location feels… really familiar somehow.”

“Familiar because it’s close to where we are now.”

Ren pointed at a piece of the terrain sketched in the corner.

“Oh, you’re right.” 

Licia said.

Fiona’s gaze moved to the red mark at the center of the map. It must have been meant for Ren originally—the handwriting beside it said that this was Mudi’s hideout.

“I never imagined Mudi’s hideout would be this close.”

But it didn’t feel wrong.
Ren was tempted to doubt it at first, but Ragna wasn’t the kind of person to lie about such things.

“Well, Ren, there were no magitek trains back in the age of the Seven Heroes. So maybe this isn’t strange.”

“And if the place was meant to be practical to reach, it couldn’t be too remote. Traveling between the capital and Elendil alone used to take ages.”

Even now, Ren and the others had taken several hours by magitek train just to reach this region. In an age without such transport—crossing all this terrain would have taken days at best.

“Yeah… you’re right.”

Ragna nodded as he walked in front of the three.

“Exactly. By the standards of that era, this wouldn’t have been ‘near the capital’ at all. On foot, it’s a considerable journey.”

“…Wait, Ragna. Are you planning to head to Mudi’s hideout right now?”

“That’s right. Normally, I’d want to prepare much more thoroughly.”

His voice sounded strangely apologetic… almost frustrated.

“We did get the key repaired, but the map that’s linked to it had degraded badly. Its response is sluggish. There’s a chance it’ll stop activating altogether, so I had to verify things immediately.”

After finishing repairs, the artifact’s behavior changed abruptly.
He had spent the entire night preparing without rest and had almost—almost—invited Ren, but there hadn’t been enough time.

“I knew it—so that’s why you were rushing.”

Ren then asked another question:

“You could’ve copied the map onto another piece of parchment, right?”

“I know the location now, but that isn’t enough. It’s highly likely we’ll need the original key to enter the hideout itself. Better to test everything while it still works.”

“…Fair enough.”

“Anyway, our destination is just ahead.”

They were almost at the marked point on the map. Once they crossed the gorge, the hideout should be only minutes away.

Tree roots stretched across the gorge in patterns reminiscent of Windea.

“What about you, Ren? Are you coming with me?”

His mind flashed back to Eve’s words—the connection between Ashton blood and the tragedy of the Seven Heroes’ legend.

If there were clues about the Ashton family’s past, Ren felt he had to go.
At this point, after their trip to Windea, he was already deeply involved.

Just as he was about to answer, a voice called out from behind.

“Lord Clausel!”

It was the female clerk they’d spoken to earlier.
The knights and clerks had apparently begun exploring the other side of the cave and were coming this way.

Licia and Fiona, who had hoped to accompany Ren, spoke reluctantly:

“Too bad… We have to keep working here.”

“…Yeah. We still need to survey the area.”

“So don’t worry about us. You should go—after all, we worked so hard to get that key repaired in Windea.”

Ren nodded. The hideout was just ahead through the gorge.

The area beyond opened into a flat clearing—wide enough for a medium-sized expedition to camp, or even to build several small houses.

Ragna stopped there and lowered his enormous bag to the ground.

“I’ll prepare.”

With a snap of his fingers, the map and the key shot out of the bag.

Then he arranged several magitek devices around them—tools meant to counter the artifacts created by Milim Altia, who was said to have worked with Mudi.

“So the hideout is here… but all I see is grass.”

“Don’t worry. It’s definitely here.”

“Then let’s start searching.”

Ren looked around cautiously.

“…I don’t see any illusion barriers.”

Illusion barriers only faked what the eyes could see—they couldn’t hide physical contact.
Anyone with sharp senses, even ordinary townsfolk, could notice them.

“And there’s no sign of spatial distortion either.”

Ragna held something like a pocket watch.
Inside were intricate patterns and a needle spinning rapidly.

“A trace of extremely high-level magical control. I’ve never seen such a strong reaction.”

“Then the hideout really is nearby…”

“We need to search. Anything that seems suspicious—tell me.”

“Looking around… the only place to hide something would be underground.”

Ren focused on the ground.

Green grass, broken branches, leaves, tiny berries too small to eat…
A butterfly drifted close to the ground, fluttering lazily.

(Did Ren Ashton and the others in the vision also come here in search of Mudi’s hideout?)

Ren pondered the scene he’d glimpsed before meeting Ragna again… but he found no clues.
He sighed and looked up at the sky.

“Nothing above either.”

If something were floating, it would cast a shadow.
All he saw were birds passing overhead. A butterfly circled him as if mocking him.

“….”

It probably wasn’t mocking him. Just a normal insect.

Ren resumed searching the ground.

Ragna, watching him bend over, stopped walking—and noticed the butterfly now perched on Ren’s shoulder.

“Seems it likes you.”

“Feels more like it’s teasing me…”

“Then it’s a clever butterfly. Make friends with it.”

“…You say weird things sometimes.”

Ren stood, and the butterfly lifted off his shoulder, fluttering around his face.

“You’re not trying to mess with me, are you?”

When he extended a finger, the butterfly landed on it.

A shimmering blue butterfly, shining like a pearl.
In the sunlight, it looked almost unreal—too beautiful to be ordinary.

Its posture… looked almost as if it were looking up at Ren.

Impossible, he thought. Yet—

“Do you know where Mudi’s hideout is?”

He asked the butterfly.

Its antennae twitched in response, glowing faintly with each movement.

“…Looks like you guessed right,” Ragna muttered.

“Huh—?”

Before Ren finished, the butterfly soared upward.
A shower of shimmering scales—sparkling like diamond dust—fell around them.

Then the ground began to change.

The glittering dust spread outward, forming pillars and shapes like a building.
What began as particles of light solidified… and gradually transformed into an ordinary structure.

Finally, a small, charming brick house stood before them.

“Oho…”

Ragna let out an impressed sound.

“It really was the right choice bringing you. You’re diligent—excellent.”

“Being diligent has nothing to do with this.”

“Oh? I thought you must have known the old spell involved.”

“So that’s what this was?”

“A Jewel Familiar. I didn’t expect that butterfly to be one.”

Jewel Familiars were created from magically infused gemstones—obedient familiars that followed simple commands indefinitely as long as their linked artifact supplied power.

It seemed the repaired key was linked to the familiar… but its weakened state had forced it to use the last of its energy.

“Just like you predicted, Ragna.”

“At this rate, if we had delayed preparations, the key might’ve stopped working entirely.”

――――The way he said it was so smooth.

It sounded almost like an answer he had prepared from the very beginning.

“Well then, let’s go in right away. If it disappears before we enter, that would ruin everything.”

Ren turned his gaze toward the hideout’s door.

“I almost ended up trying to recruit you again.”

“…Recruit me as your assistant?”

“Of course. You’d be welcome anytime.”

“…I’ll give you the same answer as before, then.”

There was no keyhole on the doorknob, but the Jewel Familiar must have acted as the key. When Ren lightly grasped the knob and turned it, the old wooden door slowly swung open.

“Excuse me… We’re coming in.”

Ren stepped cautiously into the legendary figure’s hideout—only to find an ordinary home.

Inside the small brick house was a tiny kitchen along the wall, and beyond it, a round window. In the center of the room sat a round table made from a tree stump, surrounded by several small log stools.

The structure itself was circular, with a domed ceiling overhead from which a large lamp hung. Paintings decorated the walls, catching Ren’s interest.

“What are these paintings, I wonder?”

“That one depicts a ritual from a country on the Western Continent. The beastkin give it away. And the one next to it… that massive glacier must be the Sea of No Man—those waters where no people live.”

That sea lay far north of the Elfen Continent—an area literally uninhabited, where powerful monsters constantly fought for dominance. It wasn’t as extreme as the Serakia region on the Demon Continent, but it remained bitterly cold year-round.

The next painting he found depicted two men.

One of them appeared to be Cecil Ashton—the same man from the painting found at the Geno Institute—shown from behind as he looked up at a building.

Someone stood beside him, also shown from behind.

“This is… the Geno Institute, right?”

“Yes. It looks like the institute shortly after it was established.”

“Then… the person next to Cecil Ashton is…”

Judging from the clothing, it might be the headmaster.

A tall, silver-haired man.
Ren hadn’t been searching specifically for the headmaster, but he wasn’t irrelevant either.

After all, the only reason the existence of Mudi’s hideout came to light was because the map and key leading to it were found at the Geno Institute. That led to the idea that they might find information related to Cecil Ashton—and that was why Ren had helped Ragna in the first place.

…There really was some connection.

The legendary bard Mudi.
The headmaster of the Geno Institute.
And, above all, the adventurer Cecil Ashton and the Corrosion Princess who had traveled with him.

Investigating these matters might also reveal the meaning of “Child of God”—the term used by the Sword Demon, one of the Demon King Army’s generals, who had been sealed away by Roseth Kaitas. Ren hadn’t forgotten how that general had spoken the name Ashton.

Ren searched the rest of the house, but aside from the unusual paintings, nothing seemed useful.
The hideout contained very little furniture—not even a single bookshelf.

However, in the back room, Ragna’s expression sharpened slightly.

“So this is where it was hidden.”

Beside a plain bed stood a table with a single brass-colored lamp. Ragna spotted a small engraved marking on it. After checking a few things, he traced the mark with a pen taken from his coat.

Light flowed across the wall, forming the outline of a door. The wall turned transparent, revealing a staircase descending underground.

“How did you figure that out?”

“It’s one of the technologies of Milim Altia—the type we’ve managed to analyze. The Mystics Bureau spent countless years deciphering only a handful of them.”

Before them stretched an extremely long staircase disappearing into haze. When Ren stepped onto the first step, the lights embedded in the walls illuminated the path.

It took nearly ten minutes to descend.

At the bottom, they found a vast rectangular corridor.