Chapter 9
Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Village of Liars
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"We'll be seeing the Village of Liars, Whispermist, soon."
"...This fog is incredible. If we fight in a place like this, we won't even be able to tell friend from foe."
In the fog so thick you couldn't see an inch ahead, I was holding hands with Victoria.
It was because we had agreed to stay close and move together so the Phantom Dragon couldn't appear and pretend to be one of us.
"Are the others going to be alright? If they meet the Phantom Dragon and get deceived..."
Victoria showed signs of anxiety, her hand trembling slightly. The fog was so dense you couldn't even see her standing right beside me.
"They'll be fine. Have you forgotten they're the heroes of the Hero's party?"
I squeezed Victoria's hand tighter, interlocking our fingers. I felt that if I loosened my grip even a little, she might disappear.
Because the fog blanketing this village now didn't seem like ordinary fog; it appeared to be a special substance created by the Phantom Dragon.
It was best to be prepared.
"Hearing that from you gives me no confidence whatsoever..."
- Aren't you worried about me? You're walking hand-in-hand with your girlfriend right now... Ah, you interlocked fingers...!
Contrary to her slightly embarrassed inner thoughts, Victoria's spoken reply was tinged with irritation.
As if she didn't like me interlocking fingers, she even gave a slight twist of her wrist.
"Do you think there's a temperature difference in how you treat me versus other people?"
"What temperature difference are you talking about?"
I asked her a question. I was starting to think she was being a bit too harsh on me.
If she really liked me, wouldn't she show at least a friendly attitude or make it obvious? This situation where I only hear her inner thoughts was constantly confusing me.
"You swear at me a lot and show a completely venomous side to me, don't you? It's unbecoming of someone called a Saint."
I let out a deep sigh, recalling Victoria's past behavior. She was always nitpicking and pointing out my faults.
"What's wrong with that? I'm merely calling blasphemy blasphemy and not overlooking what is wrong."
- It's because I'm worried about you. I'm anxious, wondering if you'll collapse from drowning in alcohol and cigarettes.
Victoria chuckled as if it were nothing, but her inner thoughts were in turmoil.
I decided to give this ripple a little more impact.
"By any chance, are you picking on me because you like me?"
"...Have you lost your mind?! Seeing you talk such nonsense, you must clearly be the Phantom Dragon disguised as Lord Astal!"
Victoria immediately raised her voice. Her inner thoughts were a noisy mess, as if she were panicking and trying to find a way out.
- What do I do? Did he figure it out?
- It's because I always pick on him like a child! It's not like some boy teasing the girl he likes!
- I'll brazen it out for now. If I play dumb, Lord Astal won't be able to interrogate me further.
Couldn't she just admit she likes me? I was barely holding onto Victoria, who was trying to break free from my grasp and run away right then.
"This contract relationship has made you completely blind! A woman who likes you will absolutely never exist in this world!"
"Why are you getting so angry..."
I held back a slight tear in my heart. Even if her inner thoughts said she liked me, when she acted like that, it was confusing enough to make me doubt if it was sincere.
If she couldn't be honest about her feelings and acted like that, wouldn't it be better for her to just give up on them?
This kind of parallel line only hurt each other.
"How could I not get angry?! We're in a place where we need to be tense because the Phantom Dragon is out, and you're pointlessly confusing me with this nonsense!"
"Fine. It was my fault for asking. Sorry."
Seeing Victoria huffing and puffing as if I'd touched a nerve, I felt fed up and apologized for the moment.
"That's always your problem! You fool, you idiot who doesn't even understand this woman's heart..."
At that moment,
"...Wait, Victoria. Don't you hear something?"
A creepy sensation made me prick up my ears.
"Huh? What sound...?"
The pebbles on the ground moved up and down vertically, and then a tremendous rumbling—*Drrdrdrdrd*—and vibrations could be felt at our feet.
Soon after,
A black mass, like a giant wave, could be seen rushing towards us from the opposite side.
"It's a group of Chameleon Dragons! Victoria, hold on tight! I'll cast a defense spell right now...!"
The fog was so thick we didn't notice until they were right in front of our noses. To protect Victoria beside me, I immediately deployed a defensive spell.
A single spell wouldn't be enough against that scale. I immediately spread another magic circle with my other hand, combining different ones.
Overlapping different magic circles to create a new, higher-level spell. That was the secret weapon only I could wield.
"Synthesis magic of Water Ball, Freeze, and Barrier."
Three different magic circles overlapping on top of one.
A technique requiring more delicate magical power control than anything else, something an ordinary mage would never even attempt.
"Frost Barrier!"
Because I had eyes more special than anyone else's.
A shield made of an ice wall blocked our front, showing the spectacle of repelling the advance of the Chameleon Dragon horde.
*Kwaaaaaaaah—!*
*Swaaaaaaaah—!*
The juvenile Chameleon Dragons charged as if gnawing at the icy defense wall.
The sound of their breath clashing with the ice shards, turning into steam, echoed, and the intense heat gradually pushed my feet back.
"On top of that, Chain Lightning...!!"
Not missing that moment, I used a chain lightning spell to roast the enemies, linked as one, all at once.
The sound of lightning, chained together, roasting their entire bodies echoed.
*—Thu-kwaaang!*
Like a giant wave shattering and disappearing, the Chameleon horde blocking our way scattered and fled.
"Damn it, was I not the target from the start..."
At that moment, the flow passing by our waist caused me to lose my grip on Victoria's hand.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Victoria...!! Where did you go! Answer me...!!"
I ran through the fog like that, searching for Victoria. I called her name until my voice grew hoarse, running countless steps.
Neither location-tracking magic nor sound-amplifying magic were having any effect.
How long had I run, thinking only of Victoria?
"Over here! Lord Astal!"
"Here!"
"Come this way!"
"Please come save me quickly!"
A few voices, presumably Victoria's, mixed together and reached my ears.
Suddenly sensing a presence, I turned around to see four figures standing side by side, identical in appearance like twins.
"...? Who are you people?"
"That's my line. Clearly, the Phantom Dragon has mimicked us."
"Lord Astal, don't be flustered and listen. I am the real Victoria."
"I want to get out of here right now. I didn't know something pretending to be me could be this disgusting."
They pointed at each other, calling each other fakes. Their flustered faces, expressions, even the positions of their beauty marks were identical, as if looking in a mirror.
"......"
I could tell this was the work of the Phantom Dragon's offspring, mimicking to deceive me.
A creature that reads memories from exactly one week ago, fabricates lies pretending to be the real one, and deceives its prey to eat them.
To defeat the Phantom Dragon, the Chameleon Dragon, I had to use my head to the max and trap them.
"You all know I'm dating her right now, right?"
I looked at the Victorias as nonchalantly as possible and spoke. They wouldn't know about our contract relationship, so I had to use this point to the fullest.
Like a game of liar's dice, I had to find the liars without revealing a single fact.
"...I know. Of course, it must have only been a few days."
"Me? A man like you is the worst. There's absolutely no way. You must be telling lies to find the Phantom Dragon. I understand."
"Do you really need to have that conversation here?"
"No matter if we're lovers, I think testing someone in this situation is too much..."
Each Victoria, except for one, showed they didn't deny the relationship. For now, the one standing second from the left was a fake.
"You're not it for now... Hydro Blade."
To prevent any excuses, I immediately targeted that individual and slashed with a water-formed blade.
*Kieeeek—!*
It was a juvenile Phantom Dragon, a Chameleon Dragon, finally revealing its true form.
To deal with a being that would never release its mimicry before death, even if wounded, such a forceful method was necessary.
"Have you lost your mind?! Even if it's an enemy, wasn't it a being that looked like me?!"
"On the contrary, it's a good thing. If your heart wavers over something like this, you won't be able to defeat the Demon King."
"......"
As I weeded out and slashed one fake, each Victoria showed different reactions. With just this much evidence, I couldn't distinguish the real one any further.
- Ah, what do I do? If I mention the contract relationship, the other fakes might catch on and lie...! I didn't know he could be this cruel!
At that moment, a familiar inner voice reached me, and I realized the real Victoria was among them.
Information only I knew, and the things I could do with it were endless.
"Victoria calls me by a pet name when we're alone, you know."
I decided to ask questions one by one, to minimize the probability as much as possible.
"Wh-what are you talking about! Aren't we not that kind of relationship yet?! I hope you won't lie before the Heavenly God!"
"...Darling, why aren't you dealing with the other fakes? Is our love only this much?"
"Astal, do you have no serious side? How can you joke in a situation like this...!"
- I, I also want to call you darling...! But...!
Then, I saw two Victorias blushing and looking embarrassed, and one fake trying to cling to me while calling me "darling."
"Okay, two left now."
I smiled triumphantly as I immediately eliminated that one.
I decided to use this chance to ask Victoria more embarrassing questions to probe her heart.