Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Rophuk (3)
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Rophuk utters the word [curse]. The solemn atmosphere makes it sound far from a simple metaphor.
"A curse, you say?"
I ask him in return, hoping for more detailed information. Rophuk acts like he knows everything, and he truly seems to possess a vast array of knowledge about this planet.
"I'll explain slowly. Boy, let's move to another room first."
We head to a secluded room with a round table.
"Make yourself comfortable. I need to tell you as much as possible while the snake girl is away. You were definitely being deceived."
Rophuk pulls out a chair for me first and seats me, then circles around the table and sits in the opposite chair, casually crossing his legs.
"Alright, good..."
He adopts a cautious demeanor that contrasts with his usual relaxed posture. He always pauses for about ten seconds to think before speaking.
Rophuk thinks deeply,
and he's skilled at organizing, categorizing, and deploying his knowledge precisely where it's needed.
At least that's how it looks to me. I can't find any rough edges in him, inwardly or outwardly. He seems incredibly strong.
"Boy, why did you come to the desert? You say you came to the temple because the snake girl egged you on... but then, what made you head into the desert?"
"I was trying to escape the planet... and the being helping me told me to come to the desert..."
"That's where you're wrong. A helper?"
Rophuk shows gentlemanly manners, but when he thinks something is off, he points it out mercilessly.
"Joo-ho, listen carefully. Among the beings born on this planet, there's no helper for you. I want to praise your kind heart for still trusting others after surviving this long, but that's a fundamentally misguided attitude."
In his ambiguously polite address that blurs the line between formal and informal,
Rophuk offers advice with a look of genuine concern and pity for me.
"Do you really think the being who led you here truly cares for you? Are you sure it's a helper?"
I can't answer his question easily.
And rightly so,
because since arriving in the desert, I haven't faced the entity known as Finger even once.
For some reason, Finger has been ignoring me. I don't know if it's deliberate or if bringing me into the desert already accomplished Finger's goal.
From my perspective, the information I can access is extremely limited. I only glean tiny bits of info sporadically from conversations with women who seem fond of me.
"I'll tell you plainly, boy. You've been tricked."
But Rophuk is different. He freely shares all the information he believes to be true without hesitation.
"Everything that led you to this temple was just using you, boy. There's nothing here in this temple. It's filled only with vile curses and ancient death."
He leans forward over the table,
staring straight at me as he speaks.
"...They all had that same look at first. Every friend who's left my side so far looked just like that. They all said similar things. They had dreams, saw something invisible that guided them here... insisted my words were lies..."
In the suffocating truth that squeezes my heart,
I barely manage to swallow dryly.
"But in the end, once I show them the truth, they give up everything."
Rophuk's words carry weight.
Combined with his sturdy mechanical body and ceaselessly whirring thought circuits, they create an intimidating pressure that's hard to defy.
"Why? Because they lose the will to fight anymore. They came this far thinking something would happen, only to realize it's just another empty hope."
But I rub my dry, crusty eyes and ask Rophuk in return.
"...Scaring me like that won't change anything. I need to see it with my own eyes."
I've already been through enough hardship,
and there's no lower bottom to fall to.
"What's in the temple? What is this curse?"
Rophuk's lenses focus intently on me, dilating and contracting repeatedly. With each clicking mechanical sound, he nods more quickly and firmly.
"Good. That's good."
Rophuk seems to be smiling.
He has no mouth to form expressions,
but a faint sense of curiosity and anticipation emanates from his animated gestures.
"Once your body's healed, we'll go see it together. It won't be a pleasant sight for a patient."
Only after our long conversation do I return to my room.
There, Nephyr is sitting on the bed in my place, hands clasped tightly as she fervently prays.
"Ah, sir!"
She greets me with utmost devotion, as if she'd been waiting, and grabs my hand firmly.
"I was so worried. Sir, nothing happened, right?"
Nephyr starts examining every inch of my body, forgetting her own severe injuries.
She seems concerned that I might have been harmed while talking with Rophuk.
"We just talked. I told you I'm fine."
I finally pry Nephyr off and perch on the edge of the bed.
Today, my head feels especially cluttered. Thoughts of Nephyr, Finger, the temple, and such are making my brain feel like it's about to burst.
Because of that, my injuries throb even more. My condition isn't great.
"You're really oka—"
"...Hey, Nephyr? Can we talk?"
Even so, I can't shake off the suspicion that's taken root. The small seed of doubt Rophuk planted is stirring up my mind.
"It's time now. If you know anything, tell me everything. What is this place?"
Nephyr glances around cautiously once more at my question, as if worried someone might overhear.
But even that just fuels my growing frustration. What could be so important that she's hiding it?
"...Sir, I've told you everything. This is a temple for men chosen by the Sun, and if you endure a kind of trial, you can get even closer to Him—"
"Haa, damn it."
Conversations with Nephyr never go smoothly. She's devoted to me, no doubt, but when it comes to the Sun and such, she shows an inexplicably stubborn side.
"You don't know much either, do you."
"I-I've told you everything I know. Is it not enough? Should I go gather more information myself...?"
It's not Nephyr's fault.
No matter how old she looks, how many years could she really have? She's just a young shrine maiden who's barely survived into her early twenties.
Well, calling her young might not fit given certain generous proportions,
but in any case, Nephyr is merely a woman educated in the knowledge passed down by her ancestral shrine maidens.
She doesn't know much.
Except for one thing,
just one thing she might know more surely than Rophuk.
"I'm not blaming you. Nephyr, then tell me this one thing. What's your connection to Finger? Where is that guy now?"
I'd asked about Finger when I first met Nephyr too.
Back then, she definitely reacted like she knew him,
and even mentioned some connection to her.
"I don't know what I should do anymore. If you can communicate with Finger, tell that guy to come meet me in person, quick. I really don't know what to believe anymore."
Now that I've reached the temple,
it's time for Finger to step in properly and give me a clear goal.
Why tell me to come to the desert,
why have Nephyr bring me to the temple,
the principal should appear in person and deliver the revelation.
"...Actually, that's why I'm suspicious too."
Nephyr whispers to me with a serious face instead.
"Sir, He should definitely be here. But only that mysterious steel man is guarding the temple."
"Finger is here?"
I squeeze my eyes shut again and clutch my head, lost in thought.
Cross-verifying Nephyr's and Rophuk's words, Rophuk's information feels more reliable somehow.
That's the problem.
I haven't known Rophuk long,
yet he inspires more solid trust than Nephyr.
"It's not Finger, sir."
But now Nephyr is sharing everything she knows.
"We shrine maidens call Him the [Guide]. You're the Savior, He is the Guide, and I am the Pathfinder..."
She's anxious I might be more disappointed, so she pours out as much as she can.
She carefully climbs onto me as I lie staring at the ceiling,
and with teary eyes, she pleads while gazing at my face.
"Th-the Guide sometimes approaches those who serve the Sun first and delivers revelations.
I've rarely spoken with Him directly, but He pointed me in your direction...
So I set off right away along that path to meet you!
From what I heard from the elder shrine maidens, the Guide resides here in the temple in the flesh, helping men chosen as offerings who come to the temple.
There's also a story that He's an old friend of the Sun.
My mother called Him the administrator of the afterlife who wanders the desert gathering innocent souls, and the great teacher who instructed us shrine maidens said that to properly meet the Guide requires long years of training.
And, ah... th-that... pl-please give me just a little more time.
There were definitely more legends about Him preserved in Aptukemen..."
"...H-Hey! Nephyr? Okay! I get it, so calm down and speak slowly. You're doing great..."
Maybe I pushed Nephyr too hard, like interrogating her.
Now,
she throws herself into serving only me, regardless of danger.
But the more she does, the more elusive the truth becomes.