Madness in the Eyes (13) — Epilogue
I returned to the inn room to find Franc hunched over, mending a pitch-black robe. Her face looked so exhausted—like she hadn’t blinked once since I left—that I actually flinched in surprise.
“Franc? Did something happen while I was gone?”
“Nothing really… I just wanted to make some clothes that could hide my identity. We’ll need them if I’m going to move around with you, Nord.”
Franc unfolded the robe she was holding. I’d only been gone for half a day, yet the robe looked nearly finished. Had she really skipped meals just to work on this?
I tossed the bag I’d brought onto the floor and sat down in front of her. I never imagined she’d push herself this hard because of me.
“Franc. Nothing happened today. Look—I got the thesis back and everything wrapped up easily. You didn’t have to rush like this.”
“Nothing happened?”
Stare——.
Franc scanned me up and down with a blank expression. What the hell? Do dwarves have psychometry in their eyes or something?
She stared at me like that for a solid ten seconds before setting the robe aside with a sharp flick.
—Whoosh.
Then she pointed at the mat spread out on the floor.
“Nord.”
“Y-yes?”
Her face was utterly expressionless. And she was using formal speech. The mood had turned ice-cold. When I stiffened up, Franc quietly pointed at the mat in front of her again.
“Sit down, please.”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t a question. I obediently knelt in seiza position. Franc and I faced each other on our knees. Her expression didn’t change as she spoke.
“Nord.”
“Yes.”
“Did nothing really happen?”
“Huh? Well… I think the definition of ‘nothing happened’ can vary from person to person.”
I rolled my eyes around nervously. The guy who told me not to roll my eyes at bandit leaders wasn’t here right now. Because right now I wasn’t Arthur Wayne—I was Nord.
“Don’t lie. Tell me the truth. Did nothing really happen?”
“…………Something did.”
After a long internal struggle, I confessed everything. Like a death-row inmate repenting to a nun.
“Nord.”
Franc remained in seiza as she continued.
“From now on, imagine exactly what I describe.”
“Okay.”
“Your beloved partner had to go somewhere dangerous for unavoidable reasons, but you couldn’t follow and had to stay alone at the inn.”
“Yes.”
“You waited, worrying about when they’d return and whether they’d gotten hurt, promising yourself you’d definitely go with them next time, while trying to keep busy with small tasks. Then your partner comes back, hiding their battered body, and lies that nothing happened.”
“Yes.”
“You know the lie is for your sake, of course. But imagine your beloved partner, while hiding their own injuries, is instead worrying about you—the one who stayed behind doing nothing.”
“I’m imagining it.”
“How would that make you feel, Nord?”
I mobilized every ounce of imagination I had and ran the simulation. What if Franc had gone alone to Germania, came back with bandages wrapped around her face, and smiled brightly while saying nothing happened?
“I’d feel sad… guilty… and pathetic.”
“That’s exactly how I feel right now.”
Oh my god. My mouth snapped shut. To scold me so clearly, so gently, and still teach me a lesson like this… Franc really would make the best mother. The child born between us might just polymorph into a Confucian dragon. Like an imoogi clutching a yeouiju and ascending to heaven.
Franc quietly watched me sink into deep remorse, then reached out and stroked my head.
“Did I do well, or not?”
“I did… terribly…”
This was the greatest moment of self-reflection in the life of Nord, the world’s most immature isekai bastard. I felt worse than the time I was playing a card game with a friend as a kid, summoned a card that could directly attack, and actually smacked the poor guy with it. Back when I dreamed of becoming the Duel King, I could call it childish folly. But this? This was a grown-ass adult hurting his lover with a selfish lie.
I felt utterly pathetic.
—Squish, squish.
Franc pulled me into her large, soft chest and gently stroked my messy hair.
“Nord. I’m grateful that you worry about me. But when you’re worrying about me… don’t you think I’m also worrying about you?”
Franc whispered tenderly into my ear. Buried in my girlfriend’s enormous breasts, receiving this heavenly head-patting, I genuinely felt like I was being held by the Holy Mother herself.
“So I’m asking you. Please don’t try to carry everything alone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Good. I trust you, Nord. So I’ll work hard too, so I can help carry your burdens.”
Buried in that warm, soft embrace, I wrapped my arms around Franc. The Professor Slayer inside me immediately suppressed the perverted erection that had started to rise from the situation.
Thank you, Professor Slayer.
The warm atmosphere nearly turned into a hot one-night stand. I pulled myself out of Franc’s arms and instead drew her against my own chest.
“I love you, Franc. I’m really glad I have you.”
“I feel the same way.”
We held each other for a while before finally letting go. Franc gave me her usual bright, giggling smile.
Ugh. Our Franc is too damn cute.
“Ahem. So, Franc? You haven’t eaten dinner yet, right?”
“Nope. You said you’d be back before it got too late, so I waited to eat with you.”
“Good girl. Get up and change into something nice. We’re going out for something delicious.”
“Hehe. Did you work really hard today?”
Franc stood up, picking up her clothes with a laugh. I puffed out my chest and shook my head proudly.
“Nah. Big bro brought home a lot of money today. On a day like this, we gotta eat something tasty and expensive.”
“For real, brother?”
“Let’s not do that one.”
Exchanging jokes, I took Franc to a restaurant—one I’d scouted out during my spare time.
“Huuuh?”
Our adorable girlfriend’s smile gradually stiffened as the street grew more and more luxurious. By the time we arrived in front of the massive restaurant, she had frozen solid like a village girl hit by a basilisk’s petrification beam.
“W-wait, Nord? We’re… we’re eating here? This place looks insanely expensive?”
Franc was having a full-on rejection reaction to the dazzling storefront. I could only smile bitterly. My guess was that, given her upbringing, she’d rarely—if ever—visited such high-class restaurants in her life. After all, she’d been a runaway living day-to-day. If she’d been born on 21st-century Earth, she probably would’ve become a kalguksu maniac, always hunting for the best value.
I know because I was the same age when I couldn’t get a part-time job.
Back in middle school, I’d walk thirty minutes just to save five hundred won and buy snacks or meat at a cheaper mart. I even used to tape sale flyers to my wall. The more money I earned as I got older, the more freely I spent it—clearly a backlash from living like that as a kid.
That’s why I wanted to give Franc experiences like this often.
Sometimes, it’s important to spend money like this.
On a day like today, when a fat stack of cash had come in, it was only proper to stimulate the market economy a bit and treat ourselves to something expensive and delicious.
“It’s not that expensive. I checked it out beforehand, and I’m paying today, so don’t worry.”
“C-checked? When did you—?”
“Whenever I had time?”
I gave a vague answer and placed my hand on Franc’s shoulder. Together with the hesitant Franc, I stepped into the restaurant.
Despite what I said, it wasn’t an absurdly expensive place.
For a truly high-class restaurant, I’d have to dress our Franc up in fancy clothes first.
The higher the level of an inn, the higher the level of its guests. If you walked into a place like that wearing shabby clothes, you wouldn’t even know if the food was going down your throat or up your nose. It would only leave embarrassing, unpleasant memories. So I chose a place with a reasonable dress code, decent customer base, delicious food, and moderately high prices.
I’d take her to a proper high-end restaurant with an entrance policy once I could dress her in a proper dress.
I gently took the menu away from Franc, who was trying to check the prices, and ordered for us.
“Nord. Is it really okay for me to eat at such an expensive place?”
“It’s not ‘eating off you.’ My money is your money.”
“I’m happy you say that, but…”
Despite the incredible lineup of steak, cheese, and pudding, Franc hesitated until the very end. But once I started eating casually, she followed suit and began putting food in her mouth.
“——Ah. It’s delicious.”
Franc’s eyes went wide. After about ten minutes, she was trembling while savoring the pudding.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah! I’ve never eaten anything this sweet in my entire life!”
Watching her beam with joy made the trip worth it. Of course. Even people who aren’t used to luxury gradually adapt to it.
We ate our fill of the full-course meal. What surprised me a little was that Franc’s appetite was much bigger than I expected. Since she was quite slim except for her chest and hips, I hadn’t noticed before, but it turned out she was quite the big eater. I’d have to feed her delicious food more often from now on. There was no way an adventurer who used her body every day would get fat.
That night, after confirming Franc had fallen asleep, I slipped out of the inn with my face uncovered. I wandered through dark alleys before sitting down on a bench in the central plaza. A long line of stray cats trailed after me.
They were the ones I’d lured with food.
“Nyaung? (Who is this human?)”
“Nyaang. (He gives food.)”
“Nya? Meow! (Food? Nice!)”
It seemed there was some kind of grass in this world that cats went crazy for, but I didn’t know if they sold it in this city, so I used dried fish instead. Personally, I loved cats—becoming a vet was partly because of dogs and cats—so even when they swarmed like this, I only found it pleasant.
Though it’s probably a nuisance to the other residents.
On 21st-century Earth, people who fed stray cats like this were called “cat moms” and often looked down on. I’d been annoyed by them myself and generally disliked that type of person. But today was an exception.
No—starting today, it was an exception.
From this moment on, I was Cat Daddy Nord.
“Nya meong. (Eat this.)”
I tore the dried fish apart with my gloved hands and tossed the pieces. The cats began devouring them. A few even charged at the fish I was still holding.
“Hnyaang…. (That one….)”
“Nyet. (No.)”
I pushed away the cat trying to climb up my leg with its dirty paws. The little shit immediately retaliated with a cat punch to my shin.
—Thwack!
Whatever it was so mad about, it threw the first punch, then hopped down to snatch up the fallen piece of fish. People who dislike cats call them arrogant idiots or cute little shits. I was starting to relate.
“Nyaang hmyang? (You guys want more?)”
“Nyanya—. (Yes—.)”
The cats all acted cute at the same time. These little guys are adorable.
I chuckled and said,
“Eunya meu meow. (Then I have a favor to ask.)”
“Meow—? (A favor—?)”
The cats stopped acting cute and focused. In cat language, I asked them to wander around the area and tell me about anything they discovered. Especially if they found any people who gave off a ‘scary feeling.’ I also promised to buy incredibly delicious food for anyone who brought particularly useful information.
“Nyanya—! (Yes—!)”
“Nyanya—! (Yes—!)”
“Guroro nyan!! (Delicious food—!)”
The cats got excited at my words, greedily ate the fish, and then scattered on their own. I was going to tell them not to cause trouble for the residents, but the little shits devoured the fish and dodged before I could finish speaking.
“As expected of a pack of strays who learned home training through fish theft.”
Once the cats dispersed, only I remained in the central plaza. I stretched, then fanned my flushed face.
Fuck. A grown man meowing like that… I’m dying of embarrassment…
That was why I’d deliberately done this at night. The nekomimi muscle macho Nord’s cat-language lecture was best witnessed by no one. Otherwise I might bite my tongue and die.
—Flap flap!!
While I was cooling my face in the chilly night air, an owl suddenly descended from the sky and landed in front of me. It twisted its head 180 degrees and stared at me, probably smelling the food in my bag.
“Hoot—? (Meat—?)”
I felt a slight fear at its grotesque movement and huge eyes, but I summoned the spirit of a veterinary student and pulled out some chicken.
“Hoo hoo? (Want some?)”
“Hoot hoot. (Yes.)”
Since we could communicate, it was actually kind of cute. I burst into laughter and tossed the meat. The owl gave its thanks and began chomping away.
That was how I wandered the city, feeding animals. It was all part of building an information network.
What I realized again during this exploration was that being able to talk to animals was incredibly useful. People didn’t find it suspicious, and I could make them work for cheap rewards.
I had known about this but hadn’t used it until today. Because, fuck, obviously. What would I even do with city information? Jump out in front of some hidden black organization like a detective and yell “There is only one truth!” only to realize there is also only one life?
Besides, until today I hadn’t known about the Animal Conversation magic. If I got caught playing around with animals, I might be treated as a heretic and stoned to death.
The anti-heretic movement that started in Romania was a stereotypical witch hunt that thoroughly followed this world’s version of human rights—trash isn’t human, so it’s fine to kill them. It was exactly like the old days on Earth when you’d get beaten to death for being called a commie.
The people of the New Continent didn’t even know what I believed in, so they were roughly letting it slide with “he’s not a heretic, right?” Kitai people were basically gray—bordering on black—to inquisitors.
How fucking poetic. Damn it.
Anyway, if an outsider like me acted recklessly without thinking, I could easily get fucked. From my position, I had no choice but to be cautious.
But it turned out there was a perfectly legitimate magic called Animal Conversation.
Animal Conversation seemed to be like the Familiar spell—once cast, it lasted semi-permanently. Tirsi hadn’t found it strange even when I continued talking without using mana. She probably thought the mountain animals I spoke with were ones I had tamed long ago.
This magic apparently required building familiarity in advance, but I could just claim I had already done that. Who would argue if I said I’d prepped them with magic beforehand?
At least playing around with animals probably wouldn’t get me branded a heretic.
So that’s why I decided to try it starting today.
After going around the city and handing out rice cakes (figuratively) to the animals, I returned to the central bench and sat down.
“……Haa, fuck.”
There was a reason I was doing this so late at night.
After returning from dinner with Franc earlier, I had deciphered one of the paper documents that had belonged to Tabula. It was something I’d rummaged out of the robe buried in the ice coffin.
It was written in code, but my translation ability decoded it effortlessly. At this point, even codes that weren’t ‘languages’ could be interpreted, which gave me a vague sense of how my ability worked—but that wasn’t the important part.
Even if I translated the code alone, I had no way to prove it was real, so it wouldn’t help. Just like how deciphering an ancient document without any supporting evidence made it worthless as a thesis.
What was truly important was the document Tabula had been carrying.
I unfolded the black paper document—no, the ‘directive.’
This was a directive issued by Tabula’s organization. Only names were written, but it was clearly an order to find and kill every single person on the list.
As long as this existed, the black organization Tabula belonged to wasn’t just our paranoid delusion—it was real.
Fuck. It was a good thing I destroyed the bandit den and cleaned up afterward.
—Fwoosh.
I set the paper on fire using Burning Hand. The paper was tough enough to survive being buried in an ice coffin, but it couldn’t withstand the flames and turned to ash.
—Whoooosh.
The wind carried the ashes far away. I brushed back my messy bangs and leaned against the bench.
……Just where the hell is that bitch and what is she doing?
I pressed on my throbbing head and removed my glove. Getting revenge for my stolen thesis was one of the goals of my life. I didn’t know how much longer it would take with my own power, but I could never hand it over to someone else. Whether it took a hundred days or two hundred, I would finish it with my own two hands.
I straightened my collar and headed back to the inn where Franc was sleeping. The blackened directive had written to me in blood-red letters.
The current top priority target for pursuit and elimination——
——‘Archaeologist Yerna Gracy.’