Fortress Polwin (3)
"So you weren't just swinging your sword in the air because you couldn't see where it was...?"
"Would you have preferred it if I had?"
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant... How did you do it? Was it sword qi? Something like that?"
Judging by Yakuna's words, she didn't seem to possess much knowledge about swordsmanship.
"...You could think of it that way, if it makes it easier."
And so, I decided to brush it off. Explaining the details to Yakuna, who was a regular soldier rather than a cadet, would take far too long. Besides, there was no real need to go into detail.
"But for now..."
I whispered softly to Yakuna, who was still sitting on top of me, staring blankly at the yeti.
Meanwhile, Sierra's eyes narrowed as she watched us.
"Ah, ah... Ah..."
Only then did Yakuna realize the compromising position we were in. Her tail thrashed wildly.
"..."
With a deep blush spreading across her cheeks, Yakuna silently stood up. I followed suit and sheathed my sword.
[The yeti is rumored to be a gentle creature, yet it was filled with such rage. Are you not curious, my disciple?]
As I inspected the yeti, Sierra's voice echoed in my head.
Just as she said, yetis were not naturally aggressive monsters. They were usually very docile, rarely even running around unless provoked by some external stimulus.
A stimulus, huh.
In the game, there was no event where a scout died from a yeti attack. Was this a mere coincidence, or was it a deliberate assault?
Thud...
Soon after, the headless body of the yeti tilted and collapsed onto the snow. Yakuna approached the torso and bent down.
"It looked so angry... It usually just lazed around its shelter. Why...? I used to watch it from afar, and we'd even wave at each other sometimes..." Yakuna said, her voice laced with pity as she stroked the yeti.
It must have been a really gentle creature...
I felt a bit guilty for killing what might have been the mascot of this snowy mountain.
"We should find out what happened. Where is the yeti's shelter?"
"Follow me."
I followed Yakuna. Before long, a small cave that served as the yeti's shelter came into view.
The Lich...
The yeti's shelter was quite close to the block of ice where the Lich was frozen.
If that's the case, it's pretty obvious who provoked the yeti...
The Demon God worshipper. It was highly likely he had stopped by this area under the guise of inspecting the barrier.
But there were still two days left before he was supposed to resurrect the Lich. Had he just wanted to check on its status up close?
I entered the cave with Yakuna.
A chilling, spine-tingling cold emanated from the now-masterless shelter. Yakuna took the lead, searching the interior of the cave.
"I don't see anything out of the ordinary..." Yakuna muttered, looking around.
I spoke up.
"Is there anything that typically provokes a yeti?"
"Hmm... Oh, right! The squad leader told me before never to run around a yeti. I didn't know why back then..."
"Because it would provoke them...?"
"Probably... Let's head back. I don't think we'll find anything else here."
Just as she said, there was nothing unusual about the yeti's carcass or its shelter.
"Let's do that."
Yakuna and I stepped out of the cave.
At least it doesn't seem intentional, whoever did it.
As various thoughts swirled in my head—
"..."
An object that looked rather out of place on the snow-covered ground caught my eye.
[What is that? There is something strange there. Lend me your arm for a moment.]
Sierra noticed it too. She grabbed my wrist and guided me toward it. Since Yakuna was walking ahead, she didn't see.
Led by Sierra's hand, I picked up the book.
What I held in my hand was a small black book. I flipped it open to check the contents.
The book was filled with "unreadable" characters.
§ℵℑℜ... 4138483... ℘℟ℑ... 656588312...?
The only things that were even remotely legible were characters that resembled numbers, though there was no way they actually were.
I subtly held the book closer to Sierra, since she was the one who had urged me to pick it up in the first place.
[This is... Why is this here?]
Sierra's expression grew grave as she read the contents. If she knew what kind of book it was, her reaction made perfect sense.
Glancing at me, Sierra continued.
[...It is written in the tongue of the demons. There is no way a demon passed through this snowy mountain. Whoever dropped it, it is not a fit item for a human to possess.]
I knew exactly who this book belonged to. There was only one person here who could have dropped such a thing.
Did he lose it here?
Information that wasn't available in the game flooded my mind, and the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
The Demon God worshipper must have come to check on the Lich under the pretense of inspecting the barrier. Whether he was coming or going, he probably didn't know a yeti lived nearby.
Startled, he must have run... and the yeti, provoked by his running, turned feral.
He must have dropped this book while fleeing from the beast.
I recalled the words the worshipper had muttered during the cutscene in the game where he resurrected the Lich.
'Of all times to lose that book... A perfect resurrection will be difficult, but this should be enough...'
The book he mentioned in that scene was almost certainly this one.
The snow had been falling and piling up relentlessly, so by the time he realized he had lost it, it was already too late.
The perfect resurrection of the Lich.
Indeed, the Lich I faced in the game had been resurrected in an imperfect state. After all, it was only the second boss, so it wouldn't make sense for it to be too overpowered and ruin the game's balance.
Suddenly, the word 'Imperfect' attached to the rewards for defeating the Lich flashed through my mind.
If the Lich were to achieve a perfect resurrection using this book, and I managed to defeat it... would the 'Imperfect' prefix on the rewards be replaced with 'Perfect', or disappear entirely?
It was a highly tempting thought.
I closed the book and sniffed it. I wasn't familiar enough with his scent to distinguish it yet. Perhaps this was the limit of Level 7 Master Sensory.
Still, it was clear that he was the owner of the book.
I quickly slipped the book into my coat before Yakuna could notice.
Right on cue, Yakuna turned around and spoke.
"Zeto, what are you doing? Aren't you coming?"
"...I was just thinking for a moment. I'm coming."
At my response, Yakuna shrugged and continued walking, her tail swaying gently.
[Do you intend to keep that book...? You might invite a grave misunderstanding if you are caught with it...]
I nodded as I followed behind Yakuna. Hearing my silent confirmation, Sierra let out a low sigh.
[Hmph... This Noble One truly cannot fathom what goes on inside my disciple's head.]
I didn't plan on keeping it for long. I intended to hand it back to him right before he resurrected the Lich.
Of course... that means the difficulty will spike drastically.
Even so, the potential rewards were far too alluring to pass up.
***
When Yakuna and I returned to where the yeti had been, we saw Kaen and the others.
They said they had rushed over immediately after hearing the thunderous sound of collapsing trees and the yeti's roar.
In particular, the Demon God worshipper was visibly flustered, clearly wondering how on earth we had managed to kill the yeti.
I might have raised his guard with this incident, but it didn't really matter.
Even after discussing it with them, we couldn't figure out why the yeti had suddenly gone wild. The worshipper, of course, kept his mouth shut.
Well, regardless of how it happened, we decided to transport the yeti's carcass back to Polwin.
Leaving it there would only attract other monsters for a while, posing a danger to future patrols. Besides, yetis were rare monsters, so there were plenty of valuable materials to harvest.
Though Yakuna did mention that the meat was absolutely inedible. Judging by her expression when she said that, she had definitely tried it before.
Once the decision was made, Yakuna stepped forward and tied the yeti up with ropes to make it easier to move.
Kaen, Rooster, and Buckland took the torso, while Yakuna and I handled the head.
Because our numbers were small, we had to reinforce our physical strength with mana to carry the heavy beast.
Still, thanks to the ropes, we managed to drag it along the ground and make our way back to the fortress.
Perhaps because it was dawn, the streets were almost empty, save for a single man with a thick beard who was approaching us as if he had been waiting.
Rooster called out to him loudly.
"Squad Leader!"
He seemed to be the leader of Night Patrol Squad 1.
"I was waiting because I was worried since it was your first patrol, but..."
The squad leader approached and stared intently at what 'used to be' a yeti.
"...What on earth happened here?"
The squad leader asked for an explanation, and Yakuna stepped forward to report the events.
Once Yakuna finished her report, the squad leader nodded.
"So that's what happened... It was such a gentle and docile creature that we didn't bother hunting it down... It's a miracle no one was hurt."
With those words, the squad leader turned and approached me. He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Cadet Zeto, was it? I've heard about you. I was quite baffled when the Academy asked to place you in the night patrol... but to think you can wield sword qi at your age. Thanks to you, Yakuna's life was saved. You have my deepest gratitude."
So putting me in the night patrol was the instructors' doing. It was probably Edward's work.
"Even if it is only temporary, I believe I merely did my duty as a member of the patrol."
"Hahaha, humble as well. Still, a favor is a favor. I and these boys here will handle the butchering for you. What do you say?"
"Us, sir...?"
Buckland grimaced at the squad leader's suggestion.
"You punk, wipe that frown off your face... Are you that eager to run into the Black Blood? Black Blood or not, this is something you need to learn anyway. Consider it early practice."
"Yes, sir..."
At the squad leader's scolding, Buckland's spirit completely deflated.
"If there are no specific parts you need after the butchering, I will convert it all to cash for you," the squad leader said, turning back to me.
"Thank you for taking care of the troublesome work for us."
"Then head back to your temporary quarters and get some rest. You won't have trouble finding your way back, will you...? I heard you have a special ability..."
"Yes, I'll be fine. Miss Kaen is here with me as well."
I scratched my head sheepishly.
Since the patrol had ended much earlier than expected, we had some time to spare. It was still dawn, so it seemed like the perfect time to handle the business with Kaen.
The timing is good...
The only concern was that Kaen looked incredibly tired from the lack of sleep.
Well, unlike last time, this was a simple task... It shouldn't take long.
I figured if I didn't take this opportunity, it might be hard to find another time when the streets were this empty.
"...Miss Kaen, let's head to the quarters and talk. It's about the information."
Having made up my mind, I approached Kaen and whispered in her ear.
At my words, Kaen's exhausted face instantly brightened, and her eyes began to sparkle.
She then whispered back to me in a small voice.
"Hehe, I was wondering when you'd bring it up... Do you finally need my body?"
I really need to change that code phrase soon.
***
After parting ways with the squad leader and the others, Kaen and I immediately headed to our quarters to have a private conversation.
"What...? Where do we have to go...?"
Kaen, who had been listening quietly to my explanation, asked as if she had misheard.
"...A brothel."
"A brothel... as in, the kind of brothel I'm thinking of...? C-Cadet Zeto...! When you said you needed my body, did you mean my actual body?!"
Kaen stuttered, hastily taking a step back from me.
[This Noble One believes she requires a bit of an explanation as well.]
At the same time, Sierra's voice, sharp with a glare, echoed in my head.
"T-Then... the reason you didn't touch me at the inn that day... was it because you have that kind of taste...?!"
At Kaen's continued misunderstanding, I let out a sigh and scratched my cheek.
I knew this would happen...