Chapter 169
Chapter 169
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Kergo Autonomous Region (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After sending Shirone to the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice, Amy's group arrived at the eastern altar.
When Jis showed their pass, a native opened the stone gate.
Jis translated that the minecart had arrived.
Amy's group nodded, but Canis and Arin seemed uninterested.
This was because they had understood the native's words through telepathy, one of Arin's psychic abilities.
The tunnel wasn't very deep, as it was made to operate the minecart.
Tracks were laid along the volcanic ash-covered ground, and a native who had the minecart ready greeted them, chewing gum.
His expression was mild, but the intense gaze characteristic of the Kergo people remained. It was so incongruous it was as if another person's eyes had been transplanted into his head.
Jis felt a similar chill. But like the professional negotiator he was, he approached with a smile.
He held out his hand for a handshake, and the native accepted.
“The person in charge of the Loop has changed. I'm Jis, the new contact.”
“Jis? You don't look like the type to be doing this kind of work.”
The Kergo man sized him up at a glance. Loop smuggling was a serious crime, punishable by death in some cases. Jis, on the other hand, looked too gentle for a contact.
“Where's Falcoa? He always came to pick it up himself.”
“Oh, he's dead.”
“Dead? As in, gone?”
When the man made a slicing motion across his neck, Jis nodded.
The native looked incredulous. Falcoa was strong. He was also a man whose disposition resembled that of the Kergo. He was suspicious that someone like Jis had come to replace such a man.
“You have the pass, I assume?”
“Of course. Here, take a look.”
The native’s smile vanished as he snatched the pass.
Amy's group tensed up. They thought having the pass would be the end of it, but the man was far more guarded than they had expected.
Besides, they hadn't come to buy the Loop.
Falcoa was dead, and there would be no more Loop transactions. If the native found out, it was obvious what would happen.
The pass was authentic.
The native's suspicion couldn't hold up against the visible proof.
The native guided the group to the minecart.
It was large enough to hold six people with room to spare. A seesaw-like lever system was installed to push the cart forward.
The native grabbed the lever and set the minecart in motion.
It was a two-person job, so Rian tried to help, but the man glared at him, forcing him to turn back awkwardly.
The brute strength he used to move the cart was certainly impressive. But it was over twenty kilometers from here to Mount Toa. If he used that much strength the whole way, he would surely collapse from exhaustion.
The track began to slope downward, and the cart picked up speed. It felt like their stomachs dropped.
The incline became gentler, leading to a flat path, but the speed didn't decrease. It was designed with subtle slopes to take advantage of gravity.
Indeed, with this system, it seemed they could reach the autonomous region much faster than by carriage.
“Ugh! This thing is insanely fast.”
“Tell me about it. We’d better hold on tight.”
The minecart was shaking violently. If it overturned at this speed, their lives wouldn't be guaranteed.
Amy's group cautiously sat down. The native sneered and muttered something under his breath.
The noise was too loud to hear what he said, but it was clearly nothing pleasant.
As the minecart rounded a curve, it felt like one of the wheels lifted off the track. The curve wasn't actually that sharp, but their acceleration was too high.
Arin gripped the edge of the cart, pulling on Canis's collar with her other hand. As they entered a straight section of the track, she asked Jis a question.
“How much longer until we arrive?”
“I don't know. Probably another twenty minutes. This is my first time here, too.”
“But you must have heard something about it, right?”
“Not at all. You heard him earlier. This is a secret route that only Falcoa used. The grunts can't even get close, and even the executives don't know much about it.”
Arin estimated it would be about twenty minutes. She needed time to explain her ability to the group before they arrived at Mount Toa.
Telepathy existed on the fine line between eavesdropping and eliciting a confession.
Dominating someone with mental waves allowed one to penetrate their innermost thoughts, but it had the drawback of revealing the ability.
Due to the nature of mental magic, its effectiveness diminished once the target became aware of it and put up their guard.
So, it was more common to send faint mental waves, just enough to eavesdrop on thoughts that rose to the surface without being noticed.
She extended her Spirit Zone and infiltrated the native's shadow. Then she extended five additional tendrils, connecting them to everyone in the group except Jis.
Her preparations complete, Arin asked the native a question.
“How much longer will it take?”
The native turned to look at Arin when he heard the Kergo language. If they had been face to face, he might have noticed the mismatch between her lip movements and her pronunciation, but Arin wasn't one to make such a mistake. The noise of the minecart and the high speed also helped to distract him.
“We should be there in about ten minutes. But we have to go further from there. The slope toward the autonomous region is too steep for the minecart.”
Amy's group was startled to hear the native's words translated, but no one's expression changed. They weren't so inexperienced as to let their emotions show on their faces.
Having heard Jis's translation, they realized his skills weren't particularly outstanding. Or perhaps Arin's telepathic ability was just that exceptional.
-Arin, was that you?
Amy singled out Arin because her Red Eyes had manifested on their own a moment ago. The sensation of the Spirit Zone infiltrating her was subtle, like a gentle breeze.
If not for her Self-Image Memory, her thoughts would have been eavesdropped on without her even noticing.
-Yes. I connected a mental channel.
-Don't tell me you can read my mind?
The thought that Arin could read her deepest, most private thoughts was horrifying.
Fortunately, she shook her head.
An archmage of the mental school could easily dominate someone at a graduating student's level, but even then, the Self-Image Memory would detect it.
Part of the reason Arin was wary of Amy was that she was a wielder of the Red Eyes.
-You don't have to worry. Think of it as a kind of tunnel. In the mental school, the human mind is classified into twelve levels of depth. This corresponds to the eleventh level, the surface psyche. Only thoughts that pass through the final filter are transmitted, so I can't know your inner thoughts.
-Then what's the twelfth level?
-That's the realm of reason, which lies above the surface. Things like forced smiles or pretense. In any case, if you resist strongly, the channel will break. Of course, if you say you don't want it, I'll disconnect it myself.
-No, it's fine. If it only reads surface thoughts, it's an incredibly convenient ability. Let's keep it this way.
-Thank you. I've excluded Jis. I've currently blocked everyone else's transmission channels. I'm opening them now. But don't show any reaction.
When Arin opened the transmission channels, Rian's and Tess's thoughts flowed in.
-...I want to talk too! Why can't I talk...?! Huh? It's working now.
-Me too. Tess, can you hear my voice?
-Yeah. Loud and clear. Wow, this is so cool.
Amy realized just how convenient Arin's ability was. They were all looking in different directions, yet countless conversations were taking place on the mental channel.
It was also intriguing because it was magic she had never encountered at the academy.
Dark magic was a non-mainstream school. Despite its excellent applicability, it had a fatal weakness.
The attribute of darkness is weak to light.
Furthermore, mental magic was tricky to use against opponents with stronger mental fortitude.
But that was a different story for someone at Arcane's level. And Canis and Arin were the direct disciples of Arcane, who had become an archmage through dark magic.
‘Amazing. This will be a huge help. Oops!’
Amy glanced at Arin. Her emotions had flared, causing her inner thoughts to rise to the surface.
Arin responded with a smile. She was simply happy, even with Amy's calculating thoughts.
The human mind is far more focused on desire and selfishness than what is shown on the surface.
To Arin, who had spent her life reading such emotions, an inner thought filled with goodwill was nothing.
In any case, telepathy would be exceptionally effective in emergencies, or even in the middle of a battle. This was another reason why having Canis and Arin join them was so reassuring.
-Hahaha! This is so much fun! Amy, isn't that native annoying? I swear he was sneaking a peek at my cleavage earlier.
-Was he? I just thought he was looking down on us.
-I'm getting hungry. I wonder if there'll be anything to eat when we get there.
The mental channel filled with chatter, gossip, and complaints.
Rian and Tess, unfamiliar with this kind of magic, tried to use the channel however they could, even forcing unnecessary thoughts.
Strictly speaking, these couldn't be called thoughts. It was a moment that proved how one's environment could dominate the mind.
-It's noisy as hell. Arin, turn down the volume. Or just turn it off.
As Canis spoke, the volume of the voices on the mental channel decreased. It felt as if they were whispering right next to their ears.
It was hard to hear without concentrating, so the chatter gradually died down.
Tess, who had been enjoying the chat, protested.
-What the heck, why'd you lower the volume? I can barely hear. Turn it back up.
-Don't use the mental channel unless it's for strategy. You think this is a gossip session? And it's Arin's ability. Who are you to tell her to turn the volume up or down?
Tess clicked her tongue with a "Tch." Still, her expression didn't change, a sign that she hadn't let her guard down.
Once the chatter subsided, Arin revealed why she had demonstrated her ability.
-As you know, this is telepathy. I didn't include Jis. He's an outsider, so I didn't want him to know about my ability. And even if he could be trusted, if he reacted to it, we'd risk exposing ourselves to the enemy.
In any case, Jis could understand the native's language, so as long as no one gave it away, they could get by without issue.
-Still, this is a really convenient ability.
-Hmph. Consider it one of the rewards of our alliance. I don't know if Shirone passed the trial, but if we do form a party, using Arin's ability will be essential.
Canis's pride in his partner was irritating, but it was true that her ability was undeniably incredible.
-And one more thing. The reason Arin specifically cast telepathy is because there's something we haven't told you.
-Something you haven't told us? What are you talking about all of a sudden?
Amy's eyes narrowed. Although their alliance was conditional on Shirone passing, she didn't appreciate a new variable being introduced this late in their temporary partnership.
-It's nothing major. We didn't hide it on purpose; we just didn't think it was necessary to tell you. Anyway, to get to the point, there's another reason Arin and I wanted to pass the trial. Contrary to what you might expect, the natives of Kergo are not friendly to outsiders. In fact, they're hostile.
It certainly wasn't a huge deal. They hadn't expected to be welcomed with applause from the start.
However, they hadn't thought there was any reason for hostility, either.
The autonomous government and the Kergo tribe had chosen a symbiotic relationship, and there were quite a few natives at the ruins who had been influenced by civilization.
-The reason they're hostile to outsiders is because the Gallian government made a mistake. When they came to the island a hundred years ago, they promised substantial compensation. The natives, judging they couldn't stop the tide of the times, negotiated. The business that started from that was tourism. Did you know that in the beginning, the native autonomous region was also open to the public? But now, all exchange has been cut off.
-Hmm, I can understand that, in a way. My father faced a lot of opposition when he first entered the colonies. I think it's unavoidable.
-There's that aspect, yes. But the Gallian government was on another level. They went too far. Way too far.