20. The Root of All Evil
20. The Root of All Evil
I already knew Rus Spero was loaded. Hadn't she smashed through my firm resolve with fifty times the monthly rent?
Even at a glance, it was more money than the protagonist of <Dark Kingdom> could possibly have at this point in the story. She never seemed to worry about funds.
But unlike the game, Rus was 6th Rank, and I'd been too busy keeping my own head above water to dig into how she earned her money or where it came from.
'Is rock-salt-mine futures trading some kind of central through-line for the whole game?'
The Chairwoman, Sir Julius, even the protagonist herself—all of them had done it.
Maybe I was the only one in the dark. Plenty of other people might have been trading futures too. Personal investments are a personal matter, of course. I've got no business judging anyone's choices.
Doesn't stop me from being insanely jealous, though. Honestly.
'Why did the Chairwoman have to be the only one who failed...?'
Rock salt mines are practically impossible to fail as an investment. Most of the continent's mines are in the Empire, and for the Kingdom that has to import its salt, a single rock salt mine is a treasure.
That was exactly why Count Anton had dared to set such outrageous terms. Salt was the one essential good the Kingdom craved most desperately.
Though, looked at that way, there was no reason for Viscount Dabis to abandon the mine. The royal family should have bought it outright. The reason they didn't—
'The projected yield is too low.'
Barely enough to call it a real mine. Just scraping the threshold.
Still, even that was a godsend for the Kingdom. But the volume really was small, and once you factored in reconstruction costs plus the expense of managing a single distant mine so far from the capital, the math got murky.
If it weren't so marginal, the royal family would have snapped it up long ago—or, apologies to Finance Officer Marcus, they would have sent someone far higher up the chain.
From the Crown's perspective, having a noble house handle the reconstruction was more convenient than doing it themselves.
Anyway. Even with all that, rock salt mines generally boasted high profitability and almost never failed.
The Chairwoman, Sir Julius, Rus—they must have invested for those reasons.
'If the futures trade had succeeded...'
If it had succeeded, well.
Money worries would have vanished. The projected return was well over thirty times the investment. Crunch the numbers and the Chairwoman had poured in two years' budget, which meant sixty years' worth coming back.
My job would have been a lot easier. No need for military-grade stimulants, no daily overtime and all-nighters, no handing back most of my own salary.
The Chairwoman wouldn't be so defeated, and her dream wouldn't have crumbled.
...And yet.
"Student Rus, may I ask one more thing?"
"Go ahead."
"You invested in the rock salt mine. Why were you trapped inside with Finance Officer Marcus?"
"...It was the same back then. The mine shook violently, the tunnel collapsed from the tremors, and at the same moment I was sucked in. Finance Officer Marcus grabbed my arm to save me and got pulled in too."
"What do you mean?"
"The hole we fell through was fairly large then, so we barely managed to climb out, but this time..."
Rus's expression dimmed slightly. In contrast, questions began surfacing in my mind.
So the same thing had happened before.
'That's probably why the futures trade failed.'
The Chairwoman's trade had collapsed when the rock salt mine caved in for some reason, making it impossible to collect the physical salt.
According to Rus, she had been "sucked into" this mine. Just like what happened to me earlier.
The critical point: I could understand it happening to me, but it meant even a 6th Rank like Rus couldn't resist.
"Were you a lower Rank at the time, by any chance?"
"No. I was 6th Rank."
"And even then you couldn't hold out against being pulled in?"
"...It didn't feel like a matter of Rank. It was as if my very existence was being dragged, regardless of strength."
Had it been the same for me? I was too weak to judge. But there was something here worth remembering.
Last time, Finance Officer Marcus got swept in only because he tried to save Rus as she was being pulled. This time was different.
Not just Rus—I was sucked in from the start too.
"At the time, the ones pulled in were..."
"Only Finance Officer Marcus and me. Just like now—only the two of us."
"It seems Student Rus and I share some commonality."
"What?"
"We're the only ones who experienced the mine shaking and being abruptly pulled in. In my case especially, I was a considerable distance from the tunnel hole, yet I was dragged in quite unnaturally. There must be a reason."
The problem was I had absolutely no idea what that reason could be.
Commonality between me and Rus? Different genders. Vastly different Ranks. Different ages. Fairly different personalities.
This called for—
"I think we need to have a proper conversation."
"Conversation...?"
"First, there's a stone up ahead suitable for sitting. Let's go there."
Unlike before, when Rus had taken the lead, this time I walked first. A short distance away, as expected, I found a flat rock perfectly suited for two people to sit on.
I sat down first. For some reason Rus followed, face stiff, and quietly settled beside me.
"Student Rus, would it be all right if we talked openly with each other?"
"What kind of talk?"
"To find the common thread between us. Past, present, and if possible, even our dreams for the future. If there's anything you'd rather not share, please feel free to say so."
"............."
Rus lowered her head and stayed that way for a long while, perfectly still.
I didn't push. This was a situation where a student was being asked to reveal her entire past to a staff member. I'd have agonized over it too.
Still, this might be the key to escaping the mine—and to understanding why Rus and I had both been sucked in. I needed a clear picture of the circumstances if I wanted to wring compensation out of the Count.
I don't know how much time passed. At last, Rus, who had been muttering something too quietly for a 1st Rank like me to hear—
"...I'll tell you."
"That must have been a difficult decision. Thank you. Since I'm the one who brought this up, I'll go first."
"......All right."
Hm, this suddenly feels a little too solemn. Was she really that curious about my past?
I was startled when Rus abruptly leaned in, but I began to speak slowly.
Naturally, I left out the part about being transported into a game.
"I'm an orphan. I was just living on my own."
"...I know."
"You do? In any case, I wandered through a lot of places until I found a cabin on a mountain. It was in good condition, and it didn't seem to have an owner, so I stayed there a long time."
I'd opened my eyes inside that cabin after being pulled into <Dark Kingdom>.
Back then my hair was still black. I was in my pajamas, just sitting there blankly, unable to grasp the situation.
Opening the door and making my way down to a small village came later.
"As I lived like that, a thought struck me. Is this how I'm going to live the rest of my life?"
"............."
"So I left the cabin. I went to a nearby city and started earning money doing manual labor."
That part wasn't a lie. After questioning bewildered villagers about my clothes and piecing together mentions of things like the "Dark Sword fairy tale," I'd realized this place was <Dark Kingdom>.
I could end up living my whole life inside a game I'd only finished a third of. So I decided to start with the one eternal, immutable truth.
Money is always right.
I sold my pajamas to a merchant who coveted them, scraped together the bare minimum living expenses, then went straight to the nearest city and did manual labor for about a year.
It wasn't easy, of course. The locals were territorial as hell, I got pickpocketed more than once, and there were plenty of bastards eyeing a day's wages.
It took a modern person about a week to adjust to a medieval fantasy world.
"After saving diligently, I'd scraped together enough to cover tuition, so I applied straight to Grandis Academy."
"...You could read?"
"I learned bit by bit while working. Looking back, I had some nerve. An orphan laborer applying to the Kingdom's most prestigious academy."
But I'd had no choice. Prestigious or not, Grandis Academy was the only place I knew.
Rather than throw myself into some incomprehensible unknown, wasn't it the smarter choice to go to the academy I'd seen in the game and roughly knew the future of?
I'll be honest, I underestimated the medieval setting and nearly failed the entrance exam. If I hadn't studied this world's common knowledge while doing manual labor, I would have flunked for sure.
My parents had divorced and I'd gotten used to studying for the civil service exam in a goshiwon, so mixing study with manual labor wasn't hard. I'd juggled part-time work and studying back in the real world too.
Somehow I squeezed into the Administration Department. And then—
"After that, there's not much to tell. I studied hard in Administration, graduated with decent marks, and got a job at the academy."
"...And became the Finance Director."
"Thanks to the Chairwoman thinking well of me."
The truth was I'd studied my ass off. That was also when I'd met Laura and that damned junior of mine, Cassandra.
My head was already about to explode, and they kept pestering me to relax and go enjoy the festival. It was exhausting.
But all that grinding paid off—after graduation I got a job offer at the academy. I genuinely believed I'd landed a cushy iron-rice-bowl gig and my life was made.
Fucking hell, I actually believed that...
"Then what about your name?"
"Pardon?"
"Adam Caines... I mean."
"Ah, you mean that?"
That, well.
"Adam is real. The surname I just tacked on."
"What? Fake nobility can get you hanged—impersonating a noble house carries the death penalty, you know...?"
"The me who filled out his first application was an idiot. Simple as that."
I know better now, but at the time I'd gone straight from manual labor to the academy and had no clue about the Kingdom's laws. So I borrowed the names of two economists I knew to wish myself luck.
If there'd actually been a noble house with the surname Caines, I'd have been in serious trouble. My stomach still drops when I think about it.
Still, it sometimes made people mistake me for fallen nobility, which had its uses. Better than being seen as a commoner.
"But to admit that so casually..."
"It's because you're Student Rus."
"......Ah."
"Are you planning to spread it around?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
"Then it's fine, isn't it? I trust Student Rus more than anyone."
".........."
Rus was, after all, the person who'd given me the most money out of everyone around me. And there was the business during the financial audit, too.
Whatever else might be true, when it comes to "trust," who else would I rely on but the protagonist of this world?
I thought that, and a small laugh escaped me.
"...Why?"
"Student Rus?"
"Why, always why...? Why do you trust me? I'm just a weak girl, not strong at all, someone who falls into despair over and over. Why?"
"Ru—Student Rus?"
What the—why is she suddenly like this?
The sound of water—no, tears were streaming from Rus's eyes. She stared at me, droplets falling, asking her question.
Also, "weak and not strong at all"—was she really saying that in front of a 1st Rank? One smack with that "weak" arm of hers and I'd be dead on the spot.
"Well, I mean."
"You mean...?"
"Damn. You need something fancier than just 'I trust you'? Something better than cheap comfort?"
"............Huh?"
"It's going to be genuinely embarrassing. Mortifying, really. Humiliating. So listen, and don't you laugh."
For a reason I couldn't fathom, Rus wore a dumbfounded expression. I turned toward her and, for the first time, spoke with complete honesty.
She's 6th Rank—she'll know I mean it.
"The way I see it, Student Rus, you're the protagonist."
"...Protagonist."
"The protagonist of this world, I mean. Seriously, don't laugh. It's just... how I see things?"
Thud.
The moment I finished my mortifying little speech, Rus lunged at me through the darkness. What, she's doing this because I called her the protagonist?
With the Rank gap I couldn't even think of resisting. I toppled backward—and contrary to expectation, Rus was clinging to me in a fierce hug. The chest area was soft, sure, but it hurt like hell. She looked like an ordinary girl student, but her strength—ow.
"Ngh, nghhh..."
"Student Rus."
Clutching me like that, Rus wept into my arms. My clothes were getting soaked.
I wanted to say something, ask why, but I couldn't move my arms at all.
I gave up and lay still. After crying for a long while, Rus finally lifted her head with a dazed expression. My arms—were they broken? Why couldn't I feel them?
"Adam."
"Student Rus? Why suddenly use my name?"
"Adam... Caines."
Should I reprimand her for addressing a staff member so casually, or should I keep my mouth shut because I really didn't want my arms broken if she forcibly hugged me again?
In the wisdom befitting a Finance Director, I chose the latter. While I kept silent, Rus let out a hollow-sounding laugh.
What was with her tonight?
"You said it yourself. Don't call me by my title—call me by my name. You said there was only one person in the world who could call you by your title."
"What? There have to be hundreds just within the academy."
"...Adam, haven't you felt something strange?"
While I was still trying to remember when I'd ever said something like that, Rus pressed on with a meaningful tone.
Strange? Plenty of strange things had just happened.
"Earlier. When we walked over to this rock."
"Was there something odd about it?"
"You took the lead."
"I did."
"How did you know?"
"Pardon?"
"In this pitch darkness—how did Adam, a 1st Rank, know there was a suitable rock here? Even the exact direction and distance?"
"......Huh?"
Now that she mentioned it—she was right.
Now that I was stuck right next to her, I could faintly make out her outline, but earlier, the distance from the Tunnel 2 entrance to this rock had been considerable. Rus might have been able to sense it, but there was no way I could have.
And yet I had found this rock in the dark, as naturally as if I'd been here before.
As if I'd already walked this path once.
"Wait. Don't tell me."
"Adam, were you here...?"
──No. That won't do.
──It's not time yet, you see?
"Ah."
What is this.
Suddenly, I'm so sleepy...
Too... sleepy.........
*
Thump.
Behind Adam, who had abruptly closed his eyes and collapsed, Rus glared into the pitch-black darkness.
There—
"Long time no see, Vice President!"
—stood a figure wearing an eyepatch and a beaming smile.
6th Rank, like Rus. The Student Council President. And at the same time, someone who had no business being here.
The so-called Great Prophet who had once exposed the secret of regression.