I have been trying to be more active in my role as king.
I spoke with a few citizens about their jobs and even had a conversation with Lancerial about certain matters.
It seems I should speak with the engineers and ask them to begin building something, anything really, since that is quite literally within their responsibilities.
I walked down a narrow path that led toward the abandoned mines. Mirabel was at my side, quietly studying a set of old schematics.
She wanted to rebuild the mines or perhaps improve them, transform them into something better.
Her exact intention remained unspoken, but her determination was evident.
After a while, we passed through the outer gate of the capital and came upon a small hill.
Atop the hill stood a solitary building, surrounded by weathered tools.
The entrance to the mine was carved directly into the hill, just a gaping hole in the earth that sloped steeply downward.
It looked less like a mine and more like an open wound. Perhaps it led into a cavern or a natural fault in the mountain.
Oddly enough, someone was already there.
He was an older man, with streaks of silver running through his hair.
Beneath that aged silver, I could see remnants of his original color, likely a deep brown or black.
His skin was pale, his stance formal, and he wore a suit with polished dress shoes.
He looked almost like a royal butler or an official from the capital's nobility.
He walked toward us and bowed deeply.
I glanced at Mirabel, whose expression had not changed in the slightest.
"I apologize for my absence, my lord," he said. "I did not think you would actually wake up this time."
His voice was rough, weathered with time and pain, but when he looked up, his dark eyes sparked something in my memory.
"Albert," I said, the name falling naturally from my lips. "How kind of you to answer my message so quickly."
I had estimated that it would take an hour. I was wrong. It had only been around thirty minutes.
Albert let out a long breath, a sigh of relief. "If you are wondering why I took so long, even after receiving your summons, I was retrieving something from the Hell."
That was interesting. I found myself mildly curious about what he had recovered, but I also doubted its relevance to anything I currently cared about.
"It is fine." I turned to Mirabel. "Can you handle things here?"
She nodded without hesitation. "I wanted to do it alone anyway."
Albert bowed again. "May I ask for forgiveness? I failed to greet her ma—"
Mirabel raised a hand. "It is fine. Just leave it."
Albert paused for a moment, thinking, then gave a respectful nod.
There was something bothering me. I had the nagging suspicion that Mirabel was deliberately hiding something.
And I was fairly certain I had already figured out what it was. Still, I would let it go.
She would tell me when she deemed the time was right. That was the least I could do.
She continued forward, walking straight into the mouth of the mines, while Albert turned and began walking with me back toward the city.
"I should inform you," I said, "my memory is extremely hazy. So forgive me if I seem weaker or forgetful."
Albert smiled. "I only live to serve you. Such things are meaningless to me."
"Still," I said slowly, "in the eon I have been gone… you all must have had thoughts. Emotions. Do you know why I chose to disappear?"
Albert sighed, a wistful sound. "You never told us the exact reason. All you said was that dreams are the pathway to the Narrative, and that the Narrative defines us all."
Those words… I felt an odd clarity when I heard them.
The Narrative. I think it is meant to refer to an actual place. A realm beyond all others.
How vague of me.
"I see," I muttered. "Do you know the exact method I used to cast myself into such a long slumber?"
"I do," Albert replied calmly. "You erased all conceptual abilities you possessed that negated the need for sleep. Then, you simply fell asleep."
That… did not make much sense. I squinted at him, suddenly aware of a different question that had been bothering me.
Why was he old?
Or rather, why was he aging?
"Do you not possess immortality?" I asked. "You appear older."
Albert let out a soft chuckle, his voice rough with age.
"I started as a normal human. My lifespan still depends entirely on my mana. No matter how strong I've become, mana is never infinite for humans."
I stared at him, taken aback.
"Wait. So… I'm not human?"
He stopped walking and turned toward me, expression caught between confusion and patience.
"Not really, no," he said.
"You may look human, and you began that way, but you've long since moved beyond it. You became something else, something born of concept, not flesh."
I frowned. "A concept? Seriously?"
Albert nodded.
"To my knowledge, you embody three core ideas. Foundational concepts that govern others. But it is not just the ideas themselves, it is the way they connect that defines what you are."
"So what does that make me? A walking idea?"
"In essence, yes," he said. "But your body serves as an avatar, a vessel modeled after humanity. It helps you interact with this world in a way others can understand."
He gestured to himself with a faint smile.
"Me? I am still human. Everything I am depends on mana, and when it runs out, so does my time. But you crossed a boundary. You became meaning itself."
"How are you still alive?"
He smiled.
"You gifted me immortality. But it has been wearing off for a while now, as you can see."
He motioned to his graying hair and aged skin.
"I am an old man. But watching all of you laugh… it makes everything worth it."
I smiled.
"I will see what I can do about that."
He chuckled.
"I have been doing fine on my own. I even found the Fountain of Youth. Though all it did was stop me from getting sick, and dying of more natural causes."
Does that exist in this world? Seems kind of watered down compared to the stories from my original one.
"Still," I said, "I think I will try to make you immortal again. It is the least I can do."
He smiled warmly.
"Thank you, my king. You are too kind."
We made it to the gates, and they slowly opened as we walked through. Standing there to greet us was Ouroboros.
He had a small smile and leaned against the guard station, which was obviously empty.
"You are back, Albert? Wow, I thought you would have died ages ago."
He walked up and patted Albert's back.
"Your biggest weakness was always that human physiology."
Albert sighed.
"Ouroboros, you smell like gold and metal. Have you been in the treasury?"
Ouroboros paused mid-pat, then stepped back and sighed.
"That is right. I went in there to find that shield of yours," he said, glancing at me.
I had a shield? That is kind of cool.
I stepped closer, raising an intrigued eyebrow.
"Come back in a few hours. I want to ask you some questions about that. Let's go, Albert."
He nodded and started walking alongside me.
Ouroboros continued on, heading out through the gate, presumably toward the mines.
That piqued my interest, but I was more focused on getting to the reason I called Albert in the first place.
I turned to him with a smile.
"Alright, give me a list of those abilities of yours."