Chapter 3: “EXTRA life” Part 3
By afternoon, everything was ready.
Noir was in a hurry. Elric moved the bags onto the horses’ backs with practiced ease.
There was no carriage. Noir had decided they would travel on horseback.
If anyone noticed what they were doing, it would become troublesome.
Quiet was better.
Fast was better.
<What surprised me was that Ilyana didn’t object at all when I chose horseback travel instead of a carriage. She said nothing. Not a single word Surprisingly… so kind.>
They were ready to depart.
No grand farewell.
No escort lined up.
No appearance from the first-born heir.
Instead—
A maid arrived quietly, holding a lacquered lunch box wrapped in silk. She stopped in front of Noir and bowed.
“For Young Master Noir,” she said politely.
“Lady Ilyana prepared it herself.”
Elric stared at the box.
“…She didn’t come? We’re lucky.”
Then he glanced at Noir and laughed lightly.
“But she sent lunch anyway. You’re lucky. I wish my girlfriend would do that for me… but she’s always busy.”
The maid shook her head.
“Lady Ilyana is busy today. She asked me to pass along a message—if you don’t return within one week, someone will be sent to search for you.”
Noir accepted the box with both hands.
“…Please thank her for me. And tell her I won’t get lost. If I don’t return within two days, after one week she do as her wishes,” he said quietly.
On the upper floor, behind a half-open window, Ilyana watched everything.
She didn’t come down.
She didn’t speak.
But her gaze followed Noir until the very end, worry clearly written on her face.
No one noticed.
The maid bowed and left.
Elric leaned closer and whispered,
“Master… that’s scarier than her coming personally.”
Noir didn’t answer.
He stared at the lunch box for a moment longer than necessary.
<She didn’t come because she was busy… but she still took care of me.
How can a girl like her be a yandere? Did I misunderstand her dere type…? Whatever.>
He carefully placed the box into his bag.
“Let’s go, Elric” Noir said.
They mounted their horses.
<Good thing I know how to ride from my past life. wasn’t useless after all, When i demand to ride horse also i think i still clumsy but with elric i can ride> Noir thought.
They left the Deon territory smoothly.
Officially—
They were heading to the Senfors Market District.
Unofficially—
They changed routes.
The road curved south, then west, then suddenly cut toward a restricted border.
Elric frowned as the landscape changed.
“…Master,” he said slowly. “This isn’t the Senfors route. Where are we going?”
Noir tossed him a piece of chocolate.
“I know, Elric. We’re just taking the long way.”
Elric caught it, but didn’t relax.
<This route… leads to the Red Orc Frontier.>
<It’s not extremely dangerous at night, but still…>
He stopped his horse.
“Just one thing I need to confirm,” Elric said seriously.
“Do you know this is the Red Orc Frontier? Are we really going the right way?”
Noir looked at him calmly.
Noir sighed.
<I expected this… but thanks to Noir’s diary and novel knowledge, I can trust him.>
<He stayed with him even in his last moments in the novel. I remember that line clearly. I read that story for five years in my bed…>
“I know, that” Noir said. “Elric, can I ask you something?”
Elric nodded.
“Would you be happy… if I awakened a talent?” Noir asked.
Elric stared at him.
“What kind of question is that? Of course I’d be happy.”
<I stopped him from training. I saw him desperately reading in the library again and again. There’s no way I wouldn’t feel relieved.>
He spoke slowly.
“…Why are you asking that now?”
Noir didn’t stop riding.
“Because this is where I get something for myself,” he said.
“An artifact.”
Elric’s expression stiffened.
<But when he was a child, artifacts didn’t bind with him… Is he sure?>
Doubt rose—but loyalty crushed it.
“A knight has no right to question his master endlessly,”Elric told himself.
Noir didn’t explain further.
Artifacts were similar to talents—binding through blood and compatibility.
Noir had neither.
But what they were heading for was not an artifact.
It was a Cube.
Something that looked like an artifact, but wasn’t.
Libram of Inevitable Balance and Retribution Anima — LIBRA.
The Judgment Golem.
Before Elric could think further, he hurried forward.
“Master, are you saying there’s an artifact here?” Elric asked.
“And you’re casually walking into orc territory? If you told me earlier, I’d have brought more protection.”
“Yes. I’m sorry for that,” Noir replied without hesitation.
“And… sorry. Everything happened in a hurry.”
Elric rubbed his face.
“I should’ve stayed silent about that but if we found an artifact we need to report this” he muttered, then looked at Noir.
“But still—I’m your knight and your shadow. Don’t hide things from me i just want to say that”
“I told you that since we met. Stop overdo everything alone.”
Noir looked at him for a moment, then handed him another chocolate.
“…Sorry,” he said quietly.
<Elric really is loyal. No wonder I called him my first friend in the Noir diary.>
They continued forward, horses stepping steadily into dangerous land.
The night favored them.
The Red Orcs were nocturnal, but tonight, the frontier was unusually quiet.
No patrols. No howls. No movement.
They reached the cliff just before dawn.
Noir stopped at the edge and looked at Elric.
“We’re going down.”
Elric stiffened.
“…Master. It’s night. This isn’t the time to do something reckless. You may fall.”
“It’s more dangerous if we wait for morning,” Noir replied. His tone left no room for debate.
Before Elric could argue further, Noir secured his bag and slid down the cliff face.
“…Tch.”
Elric followed without hesitation.
They landed near the base of the cliff. Hidden behind jagged stone was a narrow cave entrance.
Noir lit the mana lamp and stepped inside.
Elric frowned.
“Master… how did you know there was a cave here?”
“I read about it—and did a little research,” Noir answered.
<Not a lie. Just… not from this world’s book. After possessing this body, I learned many things. I can’t just sit and die again. So I’ll lie more in the future.>
They moved deeper. The path sloped downward, twisting unnaturally, as if guiding intruders into the earth itself.
Then—
They stopped.
Five giant golems stood ahead, frozen in place.
Three meters tall.
Rusted.
Cracked.
Ancient.
Noir narrowed his eyes.
<The Cube’s security system. One wrong step—and they become enemies.>
Elric swallowed.
“…What in the world are those?”
“Golems,” Noir said quietly. “Don’t touch them.”
Elric glanced at the center of the hall.
“Why?”
“If we step there, the trap activates.”
Noir moved to the side wall.
“Follow my steps. Exactly.”
He studied the pattern carved into the floor.
“One… three… two… four.”
They moved in rhythm, tile by tile.
The golems remained still.
After several tense minutes, they reached the end.
A metal door stood before them—no keyhole, no handle.
Elric frowned.
“How do we open this?”
Noir raised the mana lamp.
“Look at the wall.”
A puzzle—stones shaped like tools.
He adjusted them carefully.
Click.
The door creaked open halfway, rust grinding loudly.
“Elric,” Noir said without turning back. “You stay here.”
Elric’s eyes widened.
“…Is that an order? Because I don’t think going alone is a smart choice.”
“Yes.”
Elric clenched his fist, then nodded.
“…Understood. But if you don’t come out, I will step in.”
Noir stepped inside.
Darkness swallowed him—the only mana lamp remained with Elric outside.
He took one step—
Thunk.
Something activated.
Lights ignited one by one.
The room transformed.
A laboratory.
At the center stood a massive glass tube. Inside it—A faceless white doll.
In its hands rested a gray cube.
Noir approached slowly.
“How do I open this… tube?”
Without overthinking, he pressed a nearby button randomly.
<I feel like a mad scientist.>
The tube drained. Smoke poured out.
Noir coughed violently.
The doll collapsed to the floor.
He reached for the cube—
[Are you the one who thinks yourself worthy?]
The voice echoed inside his head.
The cube shattered into fragments, floating around him. Pain exploded in his skull.
Noir staggered back.
“Ghh—!”
Blood spilled from his lips as he collapsed.
The last thing he saw was the doll moving toward him.
—
He opened his eyes.
The lab was no longer ruined. Everything was pristine. Active. Clean.
It felt like a dream.
A hammering sound echoed.
A dwarf stood ahead, holding the cube.
[You are complete now, Libra,] the dwarf said.
[The child of blessing has arrived. Take care of what you need to serve him.]
The scene shattered.
Another voice laughed.
[After three hundred years of waiting… a child? Come.]
White consumed everything.
Noir groaned.
“…If you want to talk, show your face.”
[Tsk. Rude,] the voice replied.
[Do you know who you’re speaking to?]
“How would I know?” Noir snapped.
“You’re just a voice. Or maybe you’re too ugly to show your face.”
[Ha…Hah. Fine. I accept that you’re rude. Let me ask one question.]
[Why do you want the Cube? Child of blessing.]
“Child of blessing? What the hell is that?” Noir muttered.
“I just want to live peacefully. That’s why I need it and the cube needs me i don't need a cube, it's just a waste to wait for right person”
Pressure crushed him to his knees.
[You dare speak lightly of the God Dice? Is something toy maybe You are bold—or stupid?]
Noir coughed blood.
“My answer doesn’t change i”
Silence.
[…Interesting. But seriously—did you not fear?]
The pressure vanished.
[You are ignorant—but worthy,]
the voice said.
[You are the first to awaken the Cube after three hundred years and familiar energy inside you i let you cube ]
[But Find the other Cubes.]
[And when we meet again… we’ll talk properly. I think the time has come to meet the other holders.]
[Take care of the Cubes now, child from another world.]
“…Wait,” Noir said sharply. “What do you mean—”
—He snapped back to reality.
The faceless doll lay still The cube rested in his hand.
It shattered again—then reformed.
The doll’s face shifted.
Short brown hair.
Blue eyes.
The cube moved on its own, reshaping her body A maid dress formed.
She stood, mechanical yet elegant, and bowed.
“Synchronization complete. New Cube holder assigned,”she said slowly“Master.”
The cube returned to his hand.
Noir stared.
“…No one,” he muttered, gripping his head,“told me about this.”
