Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Madman
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Exactly one week later, someone arrived from the temple.
A fake identity had been prepared.
My age was set two years younger than the thirteen I'd arbitrarily put on my adventurer's tag—eleven years old.
The backstory was that I was the only surviving daughter of a fallen merchant house.
Unlike the crude identity tags slapped together in back alleys, the one handed to me was surprisingly intricate.
Once I had the fake identity, everything started moving swiftly.
The temple priests rented a carriage for me.
Two days before reaching my destination, I got off the carriage and proceeded on foot.
I was wary that their eyes might be watching nearby.
The carriage turned back, and even Shan, who'd been sticking by my side, didn't follow.
Temptation crept in.
I could probably escape just like this.
I wouldn't have to take on this absurdly dangerous commission.
But if I ran, where would I even go?
In the end, with a sigh, I had no choice but to accept the situation as it was.
How many hours had passed since I got off the carriage?
I looked around.
It was a barren wasteland.
Sparse trees dotted the landscape, but their leaves were barely clinging on.
The drought-cracked earth split open in gaping fissures, and not a sound from insects or birds could be heard.
The priests had hurriedly briefed me on the area before sending me off, so I'd expected this, but it was worse than I'd imagined.
"...Drought, huh?"
It was hard to wrap my head around.
Just twenty days away in the capital, thick rain had been pouring down right as I set out.
If anything, people were worrying about too much rain lately, not a drought.
How far apart did these places have to be for not a single drop to fall here?
Good thing I'd gotten the info in advance and prepared.
If I'd just wandered off without a care, I might've collapsed from dehydration before even reaching my goal.
"This definitely isn't a proper world."
I moistened my throat with a sip from the waterskin as I trudged across the parched ground.
Just one mouthful.
Only enough to wet my dry throat.
The world was so bizarre that who knew what other weirdness might crop up? Better to ration what I could.
It hadn't even been a full year since I'd drifted into this world, but I'd been through enough to grasp the general state of things.
Instead of draining my stamina with pointless training, I kept up a steady pace until I spotted a large boulder, leaned against it, and spent the day there.
The drought must've killed off all the bugs, too.
Surprisingly comfortable, I passed the night and set off again at dawn, checking my map as I went.
It reminded me of that time I'd set out alone on a journey before.
Back then, goblins had popped up out of nowhere, leading to several dicey situations.
But no water meant no life—as if to prove it.
Just eerie silence everywhere.
"Wonder what'll happen next."
The quiet amplified my footsteps and heartbeat as the only sounds.
It was boring, and that boredom pulled me into my thoughts.
"Rie figured out where I am and said she'd send a saint."
Probably planning to rack up merits by subjugating the demon worshippers.
I had no idea what she'd gain from it, but for me, it didn't seem so bad.
Forced into a commission I didn't want—if the saint showed up and called it off, that'd actually be great.
The problem was my position.
I knew the system hated me.
I knew Rie hated me.
In that setup, would I be safe from the subjugation force the saint rallied, disguised as a demon worshipper?
"No way."
If I had to guess, they'd probably use the chaos to take me out.
The dice would roll for sure.
By now, I could predict that much.
And if I ran without fighting back, it'd slap me with some ridiculous penalty again.
Imagining the future based on what I'd been through so far, nothing good came to mind.
"Maybe I should just become a real demon worshipper."
The thought crossed my mind.
Treated like one anyway—why not go full demon worshipper, stir up some massive chaos? That wicked impulse bubbled up, but I shook my head to dismiss it.
No matter what, I didn't want to become like those guys who'd sacrificed innocents for their rituals.
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't fantasized about turning into a loathsome villain who crushed everything that tried to carry me away, but that didn't mean I wanted innocents to suffer.
I wanted to be a villain, not evil itself.
"Hoo..."
I pulled out my waterskin and took a swig.
Not cool, not even lukewarm—it was slightly warm, infused with a leathery tang that was a bit gross, but still drinkable.
"Once I make a bit more money, I should buy a bottle enchanted with cooling magic."
I was almost there.
My destination was deep in the mountains, unmarked on any map.
Like the goblin village, it was a settlement hidden in the peaks.
The terrain was so rugged that from midway up, it was a treeless stone mountain—a natural fortress, they'd said.
Curious.
Demon worshippers were human, after all.
Sleeping and shitting aside, could they really self-sustain food up there?
A handful might scrape by, but I'd heard it was three digits' worth.
The closer I got, the stronger the eerie feeling grew.
This region was suffering a drought, right?
How were demon worshippers holding out atop a mountain?
The disconnect from common sense furrowed my brow as I began the ascent.
It was a place untouched by human feet, but the comings and goings of demon worshippers had snapped branches and trampled grass into a path.
Following it led to the base of the stone mountain.
"...Fuck."
The slope was so steep it was impossible not to curse.
Too sheer to climb on two feet—I had to brace my hands on the ground and crawl up on all fours.
One slip, and it'd be a fatal plunge. Suddenly, their survival without subjugation made sense.
And yet, it baffled me even more.
What was up there worth banding together like this?
I strapped my sword to my back and started climbing.
How much time passed?
Only as the sun set in a blaze of sunset did I reach level ground.
No sign of anyone.
A chill ran down my spine—had I climbed the wrong spot?—but thankfully, no such blunder occurred.
In the distance, a figure in a deep hood approached.
The aura they exuded was so repulsive I instantly pegged them as a demon worshipper.
What to do?
Draw my sword? I hesitated, then remembered my purpose and lowered my sunglasses instead.
One look at my unsettling eyes, and even if my face hadn't melted, they'd clock me as one of their own.
"Y-you there!"
The voice grated like metal on metal, utterly unpleasant, laced with bewilderment.
I'd expected wariness or authority from this sudden intruder.
His totally off-script reaction threw me, and as he passed me to peer down the cliff I'd climbed, he turned back.
"You don't mean you came up this way?"
"...Isn't this the path?"
"No, can't you tell at a glance?! This isn't a path for humans!"
Even as I climbed, I'd felt something was off.
Another route existed?
My info only went as far as "they live in mountain dwellings," so after scouting around forever and finding nothing, I'd picked the gentlest slope available.
This wasn't it?
"...Climbing up here without using the cave stairs."
"...Uh, yeah."
"Your aura suggests you're one of us, but even if we're called demon worshippers, we still have common sense. Why on earth would you do something this insane...?"
Being told I lacked common sense—by a demon worshipper, no less—left me at a loss.
No, wait—cave stairs?
My nails had nearly split climbing, and there was a proper path?
"Hmm..."
"Did you not know?"
"...Yeah."
"Then how did you even find this place?"
What should I say?
My head had been stuffed with lies for demon worshippers, but I hadn't anticipated running into one like this—my mind blanked white for a second.
But that was my problem; I couldn't delay my response.
He wasn't questioning my gloomy aura yet, but any pause, and he'd scrutinize my appearance.
One oddity noticed, and the rest would unravel fast.
I'd earn suspicion.
So, I had to strike first.
"I just wanted to climb."
Silence fell as I stared off at the distant mountains.
".........Are you a madman?"
Being called insane by a demon worshipper was...
humiliating in every way.