Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Nor's Rest (6)
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Still, it felt wrong because it sounded like Shirone had used her.
“Shirone isn’t like that! He would’ve helped her even if she wasn’t a citizen! Shirone is kind and…!”
“I know what he’s like. That’s just who he is.”
When Canis readily admitted it, Tess was at a loss for words.
“Giving up the White Elixir was a genuine act. So what I’m trying to say is this: Shirone may have acted out of goodwill, but he’s not so stupid that he wouldn’t have thought this far in that situation. Right?”
The group couldn’t argue.
There was no way Shirone wouldn’t have thought of what Canis had. If so, he must have been forming a strategy of some kind. Just then, Shirone walked over with Kanya.
Kanya bowed her head and said,
“I’m sorry you suffered a loss because of me. I won’t forget this kindness.”
Amy glanced over Kanya's shoulder, questioning Shirone with her eyes. As expected, he seemed to know, shaking his head.
Sometimes in life, acts of goodwill can be seen as calculated, and that was Shirone's situation now. He didn't want to hurt Kanya, so he wanted to observe a little longer.
Opinions were exchanged through the mental channel. Canis offered to speak, but by majority vote, it was decided to entrust the matter to Shirone.
Once the discussion was over, Amy and Kanya were engrossed in examining the fire spirit and the drone.
Watching them, Shirone realized that among the women in the party, only Arin had received nothing.
“Sorry. I used up all the elixirs.”
Canis said.
“I don’t need it. We didn’t come here just to get stuff like this.”
Tess, who was stroking the drone, flared up.
“What? Say that again.”
“I don’t need it. We didn’t come here just to get stuff like this.”
As Tess ground her teeth, Canis added,
“We didn’t risk our lives to come here just to wander around Purgatory. You should remember that the drone you’re hugging is something anyone in Heaven can carry around.”
Canis was right.
If Purgatory was a market that sold goods, Heaven was the factory that manufactured them. This was clear just from the fact that all principles of this world originated from the laws of Heaven.
Tess pouted and turned away.
Either way, the drone was hers. No matter what incredible things existed in Heaven, if she couldn't get them, they were just a pie in the sky, right?
Her mood improved, and she stroked the drone again. Then, she suddenly became curious about how to use it.
Afraid of breaking it, she handled it gently, but no matter how much she shook or tapped it, it showed no signs of activating.
“Kanya, how do I use this? They said it was brand new, but it won’t turn on.”
“Let me see. I’ll take a look.”
Kanya took the drone and turned it over and over. Then, she noticed a steel band tied around the drone’s flight mechanism and her expression turned troubled.
She knew they had bought the drone with a White Elixir. But she never imagined they would sell something like this. A piece of Mecha equipment with its band still sealed was completely useless.
“Um… you can’t use this.”
“What? Why? Is it broken or something?”
“No, it’s the opposite. This is a brand-new item, straight from the factory. See the pattern engraved on this steel band? It’s called a Hena, and you have to break this seal to use it. But the seal can only be broken at the factory. That’s why you can’t use it.”
Tess looked like she was about to cry. To think the item she’d paid a White Elixir for was no better than a lump of scrap metal.
Listening to the conversation, Shirone realized why the merchant had been so desperate to sell the item. He hadn't mentioned the seal.
Amy snatched the drone and said,
“Give it here. I’ll go get a refund. He sold a defective item without any explanation. This is fraud!”
“That’s right. I did commit fraud.”
The merchant who had sold the drone walked over, accompanied by Clove.
His ready admission left Amy deflated.
The group calmed their anger and waited for the merchant’s next words. But he said nothing. Instead, he took out three Yellow Elixirs from his pocket.
“What’s this?”
“The drone’s original price. Of course, I’ve taken my profit, but you wouldn’t be able to buy it for less at any auction. All Mecha items have a lock on them. I apologize for not telling you the truth.”
Arin relayed that he was telling the truth.
Amy guessed why the merchant had made this declaration of conscience. First, it was clear fraud, and after seeing Shirone's skill, he must have concluded that things would escalate.
In the end, his plan was to smooth things over and at least secure his original share. For a merchant, he lacked guts.
“Don’t look at me like that. I have no other intentions.”
“Then why are you giving this back?”
“It’s an apology. I felt pathetic. I escaped Heaven and came to Purgatory, living with the belief that there was hope. I don’t want to abandon my pride as a merchant.”
Shirone took the Yellow Elixirs with a look of understanding. Although Arin informed him it was half-truth, half-lie, he was sick and tired of fighting over these orbs.
The merchant tried to console them in his own way.
“It’s not like I cut the price by much anyway. You can usually get one White Elixir for ten Yellow Elixirs. That’s how valuable a drone is in Purgatory.”
Tess shot back.
“What good is that? We can’t even use it.”
The merchant had nothing to say to that. Mecha equipment wasn't one of his main items, and since he had acquired it by chance, he had no information about it.
However, Amy found a hint in the merchant's words.
“If it’s that valuable, doesn’t that mean there’s a way to unlock it?”
Tess looked back with a glimmer of hope, but the merchant just shrugged as if he didn’t know.
Canis, who had been listening to their conversation, let out a sigh.
He was annoyed that they were struggling with the problem when the key to the lock was right in front of them. Should he tell them or not?
Finally, mustering a sliver of camaraderie, he spoke up.
“Do you guys really not know?”
“Huh? Know what?”
“Think about how we got here. If you have a brain, use it.”
Tess searched her memory. They had escaped to Heaven through the Gate of Goffin. The Gate of Goffin? Wait, what did we do at the Gate of Goffin?
Tess turned to Shirone and shouted.
“Shirone! Quick, unlock this thing!”
Shirone realized it too.
The Gate of Goffin was also a type of ancient weapon. Its exterior was just a stone wall, but when the Immortal Function was activated, it transformed into a dimensional gate. Perhaps this was why he'd earned the nickname 'Unlocker'.
Taking the drone, Shirone cupped it in his hands and focused his mind. *Will this work?* He had his doubts, but he predicted it would succeed nine times out of ten.
As he activated the Immortal Function, the drone began to glow. The watching merchant’s eyes widened.
A red pattern appeared along the lock called Hena. Though the shape was different, the phenomenon was identical to what he had seen at the Gate of Goffin.
With a *ting*, the Hena fell away, and light seeped out from the cracks of the assembly.
Shirone smiled brightly and held up the drone.
“Wow, it really works!”
His smiling face froze as his body stiffened.
Countless Norrians were staring at them. Kanya and Rena, as well as Gardlock and Clove, all had stunned, dazed expressions.
He thought it was simply because he had broken the seal, but he heard whispers coming from somewhere.
When Arin attempted telepathy with a few people, their voices entered his mind.
Nephilim.
Many words were exchanged, but the one that came up consistently was Nephilim.
The louder the voices grew, the more anxious Shirone became.
He couldn’t tell if the word ‘Nephilim’ was a good thing or a bad thing.
Arin said their emotions were awe and fear.
Kanya flinched when her eyes met Shirone's. But realizing that even this was disrespectful, she knelt.
“A citizen of Ra greets the Nephilim.”
Shirone couldn't grasp what was happening.
Just then, Gardlock approached. His face was more serious than when he had been hunted for heresy.
“You weren’t ones who fell into Purgatory. You were ones who opened a gate and came through.”
“I don’t understand. What exactly is a Nephilim?”
“In this world, only angels can freely travel between Heaven and the Earthly Kingdom. They have many duties, one of which is to conceive a figure who will enlighten the land of earth. It must be a virgin who has never borne a child, which is called a virgin birth. A Nephilim is the offspring born between an angel and a virgin. In Heaven, they call Nephilim this: The one free from the law.”
Shirone remembered the priestesses the Kergo chieftain had brought to the banquet. He had said that only a virgin could bear the child of an angel's descendant.
Still, what he couldn't understand was that he wasn't a Nephilim. If he really was the descendant of an angel, why did his mother abandon him?
Besides, being called a Nephilim just because he could use the Immortal Function was a contradiction.
If all the Unlockers in the world were connected by a single bloodline, there was no way scholars wouldn’t have discovered it.
“The Nephilim are beyond the will of Ra. But the citizens follow them. Because they are the ones who have reached the highest position a human can attain.”
Shirone didn’t like it. Just because his ancestors were great, was that a reason for the citizens to follow him?
Furthermore, the Immortal Function was a state he had reached through challenge. It felt absurd to attribute his unique achievement, something he took pride in, to his bloodline.
“It’s fine. Knowing that doesn’t change anything, does it?”
“That’s true. This is a land of heretics, after all. By the way, why did you come to Purgatory? Are you here to carry out an angel’s mission?”
Shirone guessed the value of an angel. It was a means of communication that traversed dimensions to connect God and the citizens.
“Yes. We came here to enter Heaven. There’s something we need to convey.”
“Just as I thought. But why did you come to Nor’s Rest?”
“That was by chance…”
When Shirone looked back, Kanya turned her head, her face flushed red.
Her heart was pounding. Shirone wasn't a heretic or a counterfeit to be shunned. He was the great Nephilim who had defeated the One-Horned Ogre and obtained the Epines.
Shirone calmed Kanya down.
“Don’t be so nervous. To be honest, I didn’t even know I was a Nephilim. Just treat me comfortably.”
“But… how…”
Amy came over to help. Shirone was right, but she felt strangely uncomfortable.
“Yeah, just relax. Even if Shirone is a Nephilim, the rest of us are heretics. We’re casual with Shirone, so there’s no need for you to be like that, right?”
Kanya didn’t think so.
Those who accompanied a Nephilim could not be classified as heretics. They were connected to the Nephilim, and the Nephilim was connected to the angels.
In any case, she couldn’t refuse what a higher law dictated, so Kanya decided to treat Shirone comfortably as he wished. But a great resonance still echoed in her heart.
Nephilim or not, Tess didn't care. Shirone was just Shirone.
She grinned and examined the drone. Just hearing its hum made her heart pound.
Kanya approached and held out her hand.
“Here, let me see. I’ll teach you how to use it.”
The drone was a remote-controlled device that used the human brain as a control tower. It used an advanced technology called Retinal Vision to deliver information directly to the user's eyes, and though it varied depending on atmospheric conditions, it could fly up to a 10-kilometer radius from the control tower.
“To use the drone, you need to set a personal password. It uses a unique frequency, but only Mecha technicians know the principle behind it. Anyway, to use it, you press here and then like this…”
When she placed her hand on the reset button, the hemispherical drone split into several mechanisms.
As it was placed on Tess’s head, the drone made a mechanical sound and tightened, beginning to read her brainwaves.