The Heretics' Mural
Realizing that these people might be running wild with such excitement because of me, I couldn’t help but laugh at how meaningless all my earlier admiration had been. I almost told them not to go so crazy just because they trusted me, but I stopped myself. I had come to understand that this role was quietly doing a fine job of boosting my self-esteem.
‘If they didn’t believe in my ability, would they be acting like this? They’re only able to run wild because they trust that I have the skill to back it up.’
The belief that no matter what kind of injury someone came back with, I could heal them. That faith was both welcome and heavy on my heart.
‘I really need to get seriously stronger.’
If I didn’t want all these people to die, I had to stay sharp and put in real effort to grow. As I was having this fresh realization, the battle had already ended and the time for rewards had arrived.
“The eyes look like they’ll fetch a high price. And since we’ve taken out the venom sac, there should be plenty of uses for it if we research it properly.”
The process of selecting which parts of a slain monster could be turned into money was extremely important. It would be such a waste to work so hard killing them only to throw away valuable materials just because you didn’t know what to look for. Regretting it later after learning their true worth was simply foolish. That was why the expressions of the team members gathering monster byproducts were utterly serious. Especially since a toxin that could rapidly drop body temperature was rare, they seemed to be meticulously collecting the venom sacs.
‘It’s too lethal to be useful as-is, but if we can dilute its potency a bit, wouldn’t it make for a pretty decent antipyretic?’
Of course, using such a rare poison as a fever reducer would be far too wasteful, so we’d have to find another way to draw out its effects. While one side was passionately dissecting the monster, the other side was busily rummaging through every corner of the area. What they were doing was searching for map fragments.
‘We can’t get so caught up in small gains that we miss the big prize.’
If we could just find the map piece connected to the secret room, we’d be able to head straight there and locate the path quickly. That was why collecting map fragments was another indispensable task.
“Found it!”
One of the team members who had been searching the surroundings lifted a map fragment in one hand and shouted.
“Wait, why was the map in a place like this? This is ridiculous.”
I didn’t know where he had been or what he had been doing, but his body was covered in a thick layer of dust. From the way he was complaining, it clearly hadn’t been an easy find.
“Where exactly was it?”
“It was in a nest with eggs. I found it while trying to smash the eggs.”
“Huh, the fact that you found it at all is more surprising.”
“Right? There were also a bunch of silk bundles those things had spun inside the nest. Don’t you think these could sell for quite a bit?”
It seemed he had diligently gathered not only the map fragment but other byproducts as well.
“Think about it. What if we used this for fishing?”
“Oh?”
“Doesn’t it look good? It probably won’t dissolve in water.”
“You’re right. I’ll have to try it later. Could you spare me a few?”
“There’s plenty here, so take as many as you want.”
While the team member who had turned in the map fragment was chatting away, the discovered map naturally made its way in front of me.
“I think you could just handle it yourself, Leader.”
“Since the priest has done so much for us already, wouldn’t it be nice if he finished it cleanly as well?”
“Then… shall I?”
First, I stared intently at the discovered map fragment. I needed to examine closely where the path led. Since this might not be the map we were hoping for, I approached the task with great care.
“It’s a shame, but this isn’t it. Still, it is a map fragment we need.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the one we had been desperately searching for. But at least it was fortunate that the piece we found was a section that would help complete the very map fragment we were looking for.
“This shows the path leading up to that point.”
“Yes. It matches the forked path we saw earlier. And when we line it up like this, it confirms we took the right route. The other path leads to the fifth floor.”
To the others, this route probably felt like a dud. If we kept going straight, we would hit a dead end unless we found the secret map. Yet now that the end was finally in sight, no one could hide their joy.
“I just hope the place we find is exactly what we’re thinking of.”
“Let’s rest a bit and move right away.”
Finding more map fragments would be good, but since the path had been revealed this much, it seemed fine to rely on our senses from here. After cleaning up all the spider corpses and taking a moderate rest, we set off again with everyone’s agreement.
“Even after killing so many, spiders keep showing up.”
Various kinds of spiders appeared along the way. Despite how many we had slain, they still popped out from time to time. Still, they didn’t come in overwhelming numbers, so we were able to clear them without much trouble and continue forward.
“From here on, there’s no map.”
“We’re still going straight down the same path, right?”
“Yes. That’s what we’ll do.”
In truth, I thought this was about the point where we should start seeing traces of them. If this really was the secret room created by the heretics, there would be signs that ordinary people couldn’t see. I didn’t mention it out loud, but during the battles I carefully observed our surroundings. I hadn’t said anything to Melody either, but she seemed to share my thoughts and was scrutinizing the area with keen attention.
“I think we should check over there for a moment.”
“Ah!”
When Melody spoke, I thought she might have found something and moved with her toward the spot she indicated.
“Here it is! You found it perfectly.”
As expected of a heretic inquisitor, her ability to detect traces of heretics was almost supernatural.
“Let’s investigate this area more thoroughly. There should be an entrance somewhere.”
If we simply followed the normal path, we would never find the way to the secret room. The trace of heretics that Melody had found was a painting drawn on the wall. It depicted what they had done here. Looking at the altar illustrated with the Evil God and the heretics kneeling in prayer beneath it filled me with disgust.
“They really went and drew something like this.”
“What is it, Priest?”
The team members began to show interest in where I was standing. Since I had brought a torch to a wall that had been too dark to see, it was only natural they would be curious.
“If you look at this wall, you’ll see traces left behind by the heretics.”
“Heretics?!”
Perhaps because the place we were looking for was connected to them, the news that traces of heretics had appeared brought bright expressions to their faces. Then, as if realizing something, they glanced at us and asked.
“Isn’t this a good thing? The place we’re looking for is where those bastards were, right?”
“Yes. It is a good thing. I believe this painting is a hint.”
“A hint?”
“If we simply follow the path, we won’t find the place we’re looking for. If you look closely at this painting, you can see it’s pointing in a certain direction.”
We would need to examine it further, but the moment I saw the painting, I knew it was the only clue to finding the path.
“May I relay this to the leader?”
“Of course. I was going to do it myself, so I’d appreciate it if you could.”
“Got it. I’ll bring the leader.”
The team member disappeared to fetch the leader, and before long a crowd of people came rushing over. It was the leader, Princess Rasiel, and the two mages.
“I heard you discovered a mural.”
“Yes. It’s over here.”
They looked at the mural with great interest.
“Since the heretics made it, the mural is horrifying too. Isn’t this a severed head?”
“Yes, it appears so.”
There was a mural showing five human heads placed on a magic circle while a heretic prayed at the altar. Another depicted heretics arrogantly leaning on staves atop piles of gold and treasure. It seemed to be propaganda claiming that if the heretics submitted to the Evil God, they would gain immense power and wealth. The spider monsters that frequently appeared here could also be seen in the murals. It illustrated how they had subdued the spider monsters and used the power of the Evil God to command them like limbs.
“Everyone, look closely at their eyes.”
“Huh? They’re all looking in the same direction. This one is even twisting its back to stare that way.”
Rather than the content of the mural itself, what I considered most important was the gaze of the heretics. If all their eyes were fixed on one spot, that could not possibly be meaningless.
“Yes. I believe we should investigate centered on where the heretics are looking.”
“We’ll check it immediately.”
The leader promptly called the scouts and ordered them to investigate the direction the mural was indicating. Meanwhile, Melody was focusing on the mural with surprising intensity. She was deciphering the archaic script the heretics had written as part of the image.
“How is it? Can you make out the translation?”
“Some of the words are no longer in use, so it took a while, but I was able to understand what they’re trying to say. And Priest, you were quite sharp.”
“Was what the priest guessed correct?”
“Yes.”
“Ooh—”
“As expected, our priest really is on another level.”
At Melody’s words, exclamations of admiration rose from those around us.
“Was there anything else written?”
“You don’t need to know the rest. It’s just them proudly listing the things they’ve done.”
The moment I heard that they had proudly listed their deeds, I understood why her expression looked so unpleasant.
“Let’s go.”
As if she had lost all interest in the mural, Melody began walking. The place we all walked toward together was where the people in the painting had their gazes fixed. The scouts who had been sent ahead had already arrived at the location before us.
“Have you found anything?”