The Filth of Eliss (3)
Thanks to being granted permission to stay for sightseeing purposes, the Iron Shield could freely wander around Eliss. However, finding a specific person in a city this vast was an incredibly difficult task. Especially when all they had was a vague description of his appearance, with no name to go on.
It took the guild members a full three hours before they finally realized it was impossible.
"This way of searching is never going to end."
"Isn't there some other method?"
"……I have one place in mind."
"You have a place in mind? Really?"
At Hans's question, Isaac nodded heavily. Had he managed to obtain solid information in such a short time? Hans could only click his tongue in awe at Isaac's resourcefulness.
‘If the novel is accurate, he should be somewhere around there.’
Of course, it wasn't that Isaac's skills were exceptional. He had simply referenced the original story. And even then, it wasn't one hundred percent certain information.
After all, among the original founding members of the Iron Shield, only Hans and Sophia had even appeared in the setting book. And even that was without any revealed details. There was no way any setting related to Dig would have been in there.
What Isaac had recalled were pieces of information that other readers had compiled from fragments scattered throughout the original work.
‘There were a few plausible theories posted on the community sites.’
It was common for readers on those communities to play around with unresolved settings or MacGuffins. And among them were people who had deduced the identity of the Prince of Eliss.
Naturally, as a devoted reader of the novel, Isaac couldn't have missed such a post. And because he considered that theory the most plausible, he had decided to act on it.
Fortunately, he remembered the entire layout of the City of Light, Eliss. Isaac reached their destination without much difficulty.
What greeted the guild members who followed him was a slum so wretched it was hard to believe it belonged to the City of Light.
Kain clicked his tongue and said, "Not a single proper house in sight."
"Do people actually live in a place like this?"
"Surprisingly, they do."
Unlike the familiar Kain, Yuliana—who had lived a comfortable life in Salen—was genuinely shocked. The place looked closer to a pigsty than somewhere humans would live.
"Master, is Dig in this slum?"
"This isn't a slum. It's where Eliss's miners live."
"The miners' district?"
"Yeah. Considering the meaning of 'Dig,' I figured he might be here."
In truth, he had simply followed a theory he read on the community. But to the guild members who didn't know that, it looked like Isaac had made a sharp deduction.
"But didn't you say 'Dig' was an insult? Then wouldn't he more likely be among the upper class…"
"No. That won't be the case."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I saw it sometimes. That guy's guilt."
Of course that wasn't true. But he couldn't exactly say, 'I saw it on a community post!' So Isaac just vaguely brushed it off.
There was once a fool.
A fool who genuinely believed that if everyone tried their hardest, they could all live together in harmony.
Despite being a fool, he apparently had some ability, because many people followed him. Or perhaps they only followed because he was a Diamond, one of Eliss's ruling class.
No, since he was the one who first invented the golem, he must have been competent after all.
Back then and even now, Eliss had many problems. The Diamonds had simply turned a blind eye to them all this time.
But he had faced those problems head-on and tried to solve them.
There was once a prodigy.
A mediocre human who was too outstanding to be called ordinary, yet not quite enough to be called a true genius.
Unfortunately, that prodigy had believed himself to be a genius at the time.
If that were the case, they could reasonably cut costs. And with the increased budget, they could accomplish so much more.
The prodigy had been full of confidence, spouting what everyone already knew.
As expected, the prodigy couldn't understand his brother's words. If they didn't have to work, wouldn't everyone be able to rest comfortably? Well, that was exactly why he was only a prodigy.
But the fool could no longer carry out his will.
One week after it became widely known that the golems the fool had created would be deployed in the field, a rebellion broke out in Eliss.
The ruling Diamonds, the middle-class Golds, and even the laborer-class Bronzes. Ironically, the ones who rose up most fiercely were the very Bronzes the fool had cherished.
In the end, the fool was captured by the other ruling Diamonds and executed. And so Eliss fell into someone else's hands.
That was the end of the man who had dreamed of an ideal.
There was no sympathy. What he lacked wasn't knowledge or power. He had simply been foolish enough to try changing the world.
His opponents were Gideon, the Holy Knights, and the entrenched powers that had ruled Eliss from the beginning of time. No matter how strong one was, they were not opponents one could dare face.
The prodigy fled from that place.
Let's stop making excuses. He had simply been afraid of ending up like his brother.
For the next twenty years, as he wandered the world, the prodigy learned many things.
At twenty-seven, the age of a proper young man. At first, he had his own convictions. But as time passed, they were buried under deep guilt and fear.
No matter how much he struggled, nothing would change. Only then did the prodigy realize it.
He had no talent to change the world.
Was it resignation? From then on, the prodigy lived a dissipated life. Being half-hearted at work and getting kicked out became routine.
And so, drifting along, he ended up joining a strange guild.
In a place where everyone chased only gold and personal achievements, that man alone was chasing something strange.
Was it the bravado of new recruits who knew nothing? Usually, there were only two outcomes. They would break, or they would realize reality and compromise.
He had no expectations. Every guild he had seen until now had been the same.
But like a lie, the man did not abandon his beliefs and stubbornly moved forward.
He couldn't understand it. If he just acted like everyone else, things would be so much easier. No, he could even rise to a higher position.
Why go out of his way to suffer?
But he didn't pay it any mind. He knew it wouldn't last long anyway.
However, as time passed, he had no choice but to admit his thinking had been wrong.
As if he knew the future, he continued to resolve situations with wisdom. At the same time, he had the power to do so.
If he had just closed his eyes, he could have lived comfortably. Those were truly enjoyable times.
But the moment he saw the request that arrived at the guild, he realized it.
He could no longer turn his back on his past….
He betrayed the people who had accepted him, stole their money, and fled to his homeland.
He wanted to use that money to at least save the people his brother had left behind.
He hired mercenaries with the money, purchased equipment, and armed the people.
No matter what the result tomorrow might be, tomorrow's battle would likely be his last.
"Brother, it's been a while. How have you been?"
Right before his final battle, he visited his brother's grave.
A shabby tomb with nothing but a crude headstone, since not even the body had been properly recovered. Thinking that this was the grave of a man who had once dreamed of true harmony in Eliss, a bitter laugh escaped him.
But this anguish too would be released tomorrow.
"……I thought you'd come looking for me."
On a hill behind the slums where the setting sun painted the sky in deep crimson, the man slowly turned his head.
There stood familiar faces. Quite a few of them.
"It's been a while, Master."
"Dig. Or should I call you something else?"
"……."
The man clicked his tongue as if he couldn't believe it. Seeing that they had tracked him all the way here, it seemed their Master had figured everything out in less than a day.
"Pilles, the abandoned prince of Eliss."
Or perhaps…
From the moment the guild had accepted him in.
He had already known everything.