This Damn Cape

"Is this even supposed to be an item? It seems the ancient kingdom's only real weapon was that wretched fog after all."

The foul mist that had scattered once never reappeared. No more obstacles or traps revealed themselves before us. The only things left were the Demon God Worshippers, collapsed and out of their minds.

"Master. What should we do with them…"

"Handle it as you see fit, Gerard."

Leaving the matter to Iris before had been solely for her own catharsis. The Demon God Worshippers had nearly trapped us in an endless loop down here. The Heroes, who were meant to save the world, had instead been forced into the humiliation of needing rescue. This was a form of revenge, or perhaps a restoration of pride. I had permitted the slaughter as their master. I had already predicted there would be more of them. And as expected, plenty were worth dragging up after being properly bound.

From this point on, Gerard—with his military talent—would handle things far better than Iris, who was only good at swinging her fists.

"Then, aside from those who can be properly interrogated, I will dispose of the rest."

There was no repentance or redemption for the Demon God Worshippers. Once tainted by that faith, they could never escape, even in death. For them, salvation meant only one thing: dying and turning to ash in this world. Granting them that was the simplest solution.

"Show them no mercy. They are the ones who have harmed your comrades, friends, and families."

"As you command, Sword Saint."

The enemies had yet to fully regain their senses. Some honor-obsessed mad knights might argue for a fair fight, but Gerard's knights were both knights and soldiers. To them, eliminating the enemy without unnecessary losses mattered far more than honor. Thanks to that, no foolish arguments arose.

The knights cleanly slit the throats of the staggering Demon God Worshippers. They worked with neither hesitation nor pity, focused solely on the task.

"…"

I glanced around. My master showed not the slightest concern for the situation. Unlike the disciples, she had only recently emerged into this world. I had worried she might question the scene, but even though she was the kindest and most indispensable master to me, it seemed she could not deny the fierce nature of the Heavenly Demon. Watching her remain utterly indifferent to the deaths before her was oddly reassuring.

This time I turned toward Iris, who had been following from the opposite side. Normally I would have been most worried about this foolish disciple. Even if they were Demon God Worshippers, watching people kill people right in front of her was no small matter. The ancient kingdom's traps had been vicious enough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to startle even me and my master. Worrying about the youngest, who knew nothing, would have been natural.

Of course, worrying about my master now felt even more pointless than worrying about a regressor. Was there anything more useless in this world than fretting over someone who already knew the future?

—Then what about me?

—Am I really all right?

—Watching people die right in front of me like that?

Honestly, the sounds still echoing in my ears made me uneasy. During the ten-plus years I spent under my master, I had not remained buried in the mountains. I had ventured out to find the disciples who carried the fate of Heroes, and in doing so I had fought Demon God Worshippers. I had swung my sword at fellow humans, drawn blood, and taken lives with my own hands, scattering them across the ground along with their blood.

It had not been pleasant. Nausea had risen. Even while telling myself this was not the real world, the fact that it felt far too real to be a game had made every moment agonizing. Time had granted me some immunity, but it was still difficult. There was no helping that.

Still, the only thing I could manage was not showing it outwardly.

"Master."

I snapped back to attention at Iris's call.

"Over there. Right ahead."

In the vast underground cavern where not a single ray of light entered, there was one strange place where a single beam of light shone down. At the spot where the light fell stood something with an extremely archaic atmosphere.

As I drew closer, its shape became clear. It resembled a cloak, but it was a cape. Not a short cape that only covered the shoulders, but a long cape that fully enveloped the upper body.

Clothing like this tended to be extremely hit-or-miss. While weapons at least usually did their basic job, clothing and accessories were far more likely to be extreme in either direction.

My master used the ability she believed was called Insight—a privilege granted to me as a player, an eye that could truly see through things—to examine the cape.

"…Damn it all."

I had no choice but to curse with genuine feeling. I had held a sliver of hope, but that hope had turned into exactly what I feared. This was an item that was completely useless.

The moment I read that information, I was so dumbfounded that words failed me. This was a place capable of deceiving not only me but even my master, the Heavenly Demon. We had nearly lost not one, not two, but three Heroes to the brutal difficulty of this ancient kingdom, and the reward it offered was this piece of garbage.

Enter the Severed Space? It sounded impressive. A place where no being in reality could interfere, accessible for a full thirty-three seconds. The problem was that anyone who entered also could not interfere with reality. Forget hoping for something like the invisibility cloak from movies. On top of that, no bodily changes were possible inside the Severed Space. That meant training, or even emergency treatment in a crisis, was completely impossible.

And as if those trash options were not enough, it could only be used once a month. The developers of this damn game really deserved to be cursed out. Hiding an item this absurd in a place with such grotesque difficulty. I wanted to shove their paychecks into the same spot.

"Master? Master??"

"…Iris."

"Yes, Master."

"I really want to just rip that thing apart. Am I the strange one here?"

No wonder the items those goblin Secret Merchants brought were all garbage. If even the items found in a place like this were this pathetic, nothing good could come from an ancient kingdom buried deep in the mountains. It was impressive that I had managed to find anything decent for the disciples at all, considering every step was a minefield.

"Hmm… Well, it does look like it would be nice to wear when it's a bit chilly."

"Disciple. Are you saying that seriously right now?"

"Yes. I mean it from the bottom of my heart."

Iris looked up at me with sparkling eyes as she spoke. Realizing what she was implying, I could only tilt my head in confusion. What on earth did she want with a completely useless cape like that? Even my master had glanced at it, declared it not to her taste, and stepped away. Yet the regressor had insisted on seeing this place through to the end and had subtly emphasized that she needed this cape. There had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be a proper reason.

"…Fine. Then Iris, you take it for now."

"Thank you, Master! I'll put it to good use!"

Honestly, I still could not understand why she liked it. Maybe she was simply happy because it was a gift from me. I could not think of any other reason.

Exiting was far easier than entering. The moment we claimed the cape, the light vanished and the cavern began to tremble. At the same time, an exit formed where the light had been shining. We quickly made our way out. Once the last person emerged, the massive cavern disappeared entirely.

And then, in a truly bizarre twist, we found ourselves emerging right beside the entrance we had used to go in.

"At any rate, I'm glad everyone made it out safely without injury. We achieved our goal as well."

Gerard seemed satisfied that we had located and rescued Iris. Iris kept glancing at me, clearly itching for a sparring match.

"…It's hot. The underground was cooler. It's hot, disciple. Far too hot."

My master, who disliked heat, immediately began groaning under the blazing sunlight. Iris was too busy examining the cape draped over her body to notice.

First, I needed to check on Iris and the people she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been with. After spending a month rolling around underground, there could be problems with their bodies. We returned to Gerard's camp, but the group had nearly doubled in size. We could not accommodate everyone in this barren land, especially with a desert just a tumble away.

"Hey, young lord?"

There was only one solution. We had to transport them somewhere with a better environment.

"Yes?"

"Let me ask you something. You've got wagons in your territory, right?"

"Of course. We cannot expect the citizens to carry everything by hand, after all."

"Perfect. Then hurry back to the territory, fetch the wagons, and come back."

"…Pardon? Me?"

"Who else would I send? The lord of the territory should go fetch them personally."

"No, it's just… it will take quite some time… and they are not my personal assets…"

If he had said that in front of my master, he would have received a slap across the face immediately. When told to do something, one simply does it. What was with all the complaints? Fortunately for this noble, I was someone who could be reasoned with. I was a person who had lived in the great capitalist world, after all.

"One platinum coin per wagon you bring back. I'll even give you three in advance."

For reference, a platinum coin was worth more than ten gold coins. A wagon could be obtained with silver coins, let alone gold. In other words, just shut up and do as you are told.

"Aigoo! I will do my utmost, honored guest!"

Fortunately, capitalism worked even in this desolate western land. As expected, there was no task that money could not solve. If something could not be done, it simply meant the amount offered was insufficient.