Chapter 38
Chapter 38
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Investigating Marcel
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Marcel.
Ermé suggested we look into Marcel. The place she dragged me to was a back alley.
"You have to wear this."
She handed me a mask.
And she gave me a black robe-like garment as well.
"......It suits you so well."
She looked at me with an expression like she was deeply moved.
I'm the one who should be grateful, so why are you the one getting emotional?
I didn't bother asking. I didn't want to know anyway.
I put on the robe and mask Ermé had given me. The mask was white with a black smiling face drawn on it.
"This time we're hiding our identities, so nothing distinctive can show."
"......No shooting arrows or revealing purple light?"
"Huh, is that even possible?"
Ermé looked surprised at my words.
Maybe it is.
Fatal Constitution has an on-off function, after all.
I closed my eyes and thought in my mind that I wanted to turn off the purple. Then I heard a click, like a switch flipping off.
'......So I can control it.'
I took off the mask and called out to Rishiel.
'Rishiel, how do my eyes look?'
-Your eyes are still violet.
'So this can't be changed.'
The violet was too eye-catching.
But with the mask on, it shouldn't stand out as much now.
Putting on the mask gave me a strange feeling. It felt oddly familiar somehow.
"......"
But I had a question.
The sun was high in the sky right now.
"Is it okay to go to a secretive place like a back alley at this hour?"
"No problem. The back alleys will get dark soon anyway."
Ermé smiled brightly as she answered my question.
The back alleys would get dark soon?
"I told you before, right? Everything exists in the Cradle."
She had.
The Cradle had labyrinths, but it was also built to prepare for unexpected crises.
A thousand years had passed since the labyrinths first appeared.
And five hundred years since the perception that the labyrinths were safe had taken hold.
After that, all sorts of facilities had been built.
Empires had fallen, kingdoms had crumbled.
But the Cradle had never fallen.
Maybe because of its foundations.
The Cradle had gathered all sorts of things.
On the surface, there were adventurer guilds, facilities to support them, and forges built from killing monsters called beasts due to their connection to the labyrinths.
"And places called the [Black Market] too."
Ermé said with a chuckle. But this place felt quite familiar now.
I'd never been here with her before, and if it was my first time in the Cradle with her...
'That means I've been here before.'
I stuck right by Ermé's side, thinking I needed to stay close. Her movements slowed down.
"Th-that, being stuck so close makes it a bit hard."
"......?"
Is it uncomfortable? Maybe she's not used to people like I am. I'm someone who respects boundaries.
I put some distance between us.
"But don't go too far away."
"......"
What does she want?
With that, Ermé and I headed into the back alleys.
They were called back alleys, but they felt pretty eerie. There were people who looked like vagrants too.
'......They might have been my future.'
If I hadn't met Ermé, if I didn't have these cheat gifts, that could have been me.
Thinking about it, there had been plenty of dangerous moments.
Hanul was more dangerous than Lucia, and Rishiel would have been too without Plunder.
The assassin from Rebellion who used body techniques after leaving Rebelllion was dangerous too.
I pulled my hood down low.
No need to get lost in sentiment.
I—we needed to figure out if Marcel was an enemy or ally.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Ermé kept going deeper into the back alleys.
The space we emerged into had a strange atmosphere.
Vagrants, thieves stealing someone's goods, women selling their bodies.
Those kinds of people disappeared, replaced by an even more sinister vibe.
The streets were cleaner, but what can I say.
It reeked of extreme danger.
So this must be close to the black market Ermé mentioned.
As we walked...
'......?'
I was seized by a bizarre sensation. It had definitely been daytime just moments ago.
"......Night?"
"This is the entrance to the black market."
I looked up at the sky.
I didn't know what kind of structure it was, but the daytime had turned into night.
"Nothing to be surprised about. It's made with the power of special relics for those who find the right path to the black market."
"Relics?"
"Like the talisman we got from Viola last time. We don't know how they work or why they exist, but anything with those effects is called a relic. They're said to be things made in ancient times that can't be produced anymore."
"I see."
I could just accept that such items existed.
"There are a lot of fun things here. It's lumped together as the black market, but it's not that bottom-tier."
"Not bottom-tier?"
"It doesn't enslave humans or throw them into coliseums to kill each other for sport."
Her voice carried a subtle contempt.
Meaning this place doesn't do that, but other empires or kingdoms do?
Ermé walked forward with familiar steps.
There were many curious things here, but she ignored them and pressed on.
Eventually, we stopped in front of a flashy building.
The buildings so far had been Western-style.
But the one in front of us now was Eastern-style.
A grand hall, perhaps.
I saw a signboard with elegant Hanja characters.
Cheonghwaru.
"If you need information, you can buy it here for a little money."
"......Isn't Rebellion a secret organization?"
"It's a terrorist group, sure. Normally, that kind of info is hard to pin down in places like this... but there's a really good contact here."
"Good contact?"
"Hehe, Yuseong, do you know the saying? There are no secrets in this world."
"No."
"It's literal. Gifts from the heavens, and relics from ancient times. Those two things have abilities that completely defy common sense."
"Defy common sense?"
"Hehe...... There's an item here that can most reliably tell if Marcel is an enemy or ally."
"An item?"
"Simply put, you ask a question while holding it, and it tells you if the other person's words are true or false."
"......I see."
In a fantasy world, all sorts of items run rampant.
But yeah, something like that would definitely be useful.
"......But isn't that expensive?"
"......We'll have to stretch a bit for the rental."
Ermé's hand trembled.
She doesn't even blink at most sums, but this made her shake.
'Still, we have to do this.'
For most things, I wouldn't bother.
But we needed to know if Marcel was friend or foe.
So this was a necessary expense.
"......I'll chip in too."
"R-really? Then that'd be great...... No, it's not. I was the one who decided to take Marcel in."
She beamed at my words, then trembled as she spoke.
But I felt indebted to her.
"Marcel's issue is our issue."
"R-right?"
"I don't want you handling it alone. It's not just your problem—it's ours."
"O-our problem?"
"Yeah, ours."
I grabbed both of Ermé's hands.
Her cheeks were completely red, and her hands were shaking.
'......This somehow feels like a confession.'
It had to be my imagination.
It might be sly, but I didn't want to get off the bus Ermé was driving.
It was different from the beginning. I didn't want to be with her back then, but now I didn't want to leave her side.
'I know my own worth.'
But this world was still awkward to me. A world of violence where your head could roll at any moment.
The previous world had similarities, but you could at least keep your life.
This was a barbaric world.
So I needed to convince her.
"I told you at the start, right? That you wouldn't regret joining my party."
"Y-yes? Y-you did say that."
"That's the case now. I don't want you leaving my side."
"Ugh...... Uuugh......"
Ermé bowed her head at my words and quietly nodded.
'Good, I convinced her.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ -You are a true scoundrel. How can you do such things while wearing the skin of a human...... Rishiel said something weird, but I decided to ignore it.
'You keep saying strange things.'
It stung a bit since I was living like her sugar daddy or something.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ We entered the Cheonghwaru.
It was like a building from an old historical drama or Chinese movie I'd seen before.
Very Eastern.
There was a woman who looked like a courtesan.
I eyed her carefully.
'......She's pretty strong.'
My body tensed up instinctively.
Stronger than Rishiel. Even if Ermé and I attacked together, she might overpower us both.
"Welcome! We welcome you to Cheonghwaru!"
"I need a quiet night's diary."
"......"
The courtesan's expression changed at Ermé's words.
"I won't ask how you knew to come here. However, right now......"
"It's a request from the Adventurer's Guild."
I stared at the courtesan expressionlessly.
A request from the Adventurer's Guild? This is our request. Is involving the guild right?
'It might be dangerous.'
The Adventurer's Guild had taken a big hit this time.
If it got buried in that incident...
'No, it's not something that would get buried.'
I wondered if it was okay, but I trusted Ermé for now.
She must have something to rely on to speak so confidently.
"A request from adventurers? From your side......"
"It's the Sword King's request."
"......"
Ermé selling out Volkan.
At the mention of the old man's title, the courtesan froze for a moment. She seemed to think, then sighed.
"You know what the Sword King's name means, right?"
"I know."
"Then you must be the Black Purple Ghost. Someone like you could use the Sword King's name."
The courtesan looked at me.
I was flustered.
I'd changed clothes, altered my eye color, and was wearing a mask.
Ermé was the same.
'Is this the power of an information guild?'
It was truly terrifying.
"......So we can't fool them after all."
"Take a request later. You seem trustworthy."
"Let's trade something else. How about information?"
"Hm, I could give you Volkan's weakness right away."
The courtesan smirked.
Ermé mouthed something while looking at her. The courtesan's face changed.
She glared at Ermé with sharp eyes.
"......How do you know that."
"Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
"Ha, ridiculous."
The courtesan said that and gave us three sheets of paper.
"50 gold each."
"......"
This scrap costs 50 million per sheet?
I felt a sense of despair. Ermé smiled at the price.
"Cheaper than I thought."
"Because I want to get friendly with you."
"Oh my, our Yuseong is picky, so that might be tough."
"You're the one who doesn't like it. Bye bye."
The courtesan smiled and waved lightly.
I ignored her and stood by Ermé.
"......Bad boy. Well, I prefer you anyway. If that info's right, this one's free."
"More generous than expected."
"......You're bolder than you look. You know how urgent we are."
"Better hurry then?"
"Ha."
Ermé and the courtesan traded barbs, then the courtesan backed off.
"We're closing now, so get out."
"Thanks, we'll use it well."
Ermé waved with a smile.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📦 ITEM 📦 Paper of Truth (Consumable) ◇ When the holder squeezes the paper, it judges truth or falsehood. ◇ Blue light for truth, red light for lies. The item's info read like that.
Ermé said it was cheap and bought three, so we spent a total of 150 gold.
'......800 million won for three sheets of this crap.'
I nearly felt depressed.
It was valuable paper obtained by selling info. We had to use it sparingly.
'Right now, Marcel is what's important.'
There's a saying like that, isn't there? Better a competent enemy than an incompetent ally.
Our situation was a bit different, but hidden enemies within are dangerous.
"Everyone's here."
We gathered at the Adventurer's Guild.
The members: Rozante, Teresa, me, Ermé, Marcel.
And Viola, who was inexplicably there too.
"......Why are you here?"
"No reason. Feels like a spot's opening up in this party soon."
"Yu, Yuseong......"
Marcel looked at me with a trembling voice.
I quietly showed him the paper.
"What's this?"
"I want to confirm one thing first. We don't want to suspect you."
"......What do you mean?"
Marcel's face stiffened.
I explained why I'd gathered the party members.
"......Before we escaped the labyrinth, you know I used the talisman I won from Viola in that bet to save Marcel."
"Yeah."
Teresa nodded expressionlessly.
"In that process, I had to swap it with one of Marcel's items. And that item......had a mark of faith in some evil cultists."
"......"
Marcel's expression vanished for a split second.
He looked at us with eyes mixed with panic.
"To explain, mages are curious. I picked it up intending to study it......but things turned out like this."
Marcel nodded as he spoke.
"Paper of Truth is rare. That should prove my innocence."
Marcel smiled and took the paper.
He looked at us as if to say, ask your questions.
"Are you a member of the secret organization, Rebellion?"
"No."
Marcel stated firmly and handed the paper back.
The paper turned blue and crumbled away.
"Blue is truth. Red is lies. Phew, now we can relax."
"Haha, no big deal."
As Ermé sighed in relief, Marcel smiled at us.
'......'
But.
'Something's off.'
I couldn't relax.
His words, and something else, bothered me. My senses were telling me...
'......Am I overthinking?'
I considered the impossible and the possible.
Unrealistic, but if that possibility was true...
"......One more."
"Yuseong, I trust you...... No, better to be sure. Ask anything."
"One question, and I'll believe you."
"Alright, what is it?"
Marcel took another sheet of paper.
"Are you the Marcel I know?"
"......"
Marcel fell silent.
Then he smiled awkwardly.
"Ha, hahahaha! Yuseong, what the hell does that mean?"
"Marcel?"
Ermé looked at him coldly.
He made an incredulous face and sighed deeply.
Then he looked at me.
Strange eyes.
And then Marcel laughed as if it was absurd.
A hollow laugh.
"Ha, I didn't expect it to come to this."
And Marcel's mouth tore wide open.
"You have good instincts, huh?"