Toward a Better Tomorrow (6)

"My lord, why does your face look like that?"

"It's nothing serious. Don't worry."

After carving a chunk out of the sea, I collapsed right there beside the blackened water. Not throwing up had been my absolute best effort. Even so, I was limp as a wet rag.

"Then… what about that?"

"The only clue we managed to obtain."

Still, the Chamgyeok I had unleashed had done its job. It had blasted the Inquisitor's barrier away, true, but it had also sliced every last one of the attackers aiming for the ship clean in half.

And when the slash had gone further and parted the sea itself, I had caught a fleeting glimpse of what lay beneath…

"What… is this? A beast? A demon?"

"That, too, is something we shall have to learn in due time."

I still had no idea. Whether what I had seen down there was a reef, a trick of the light on the water, or something else entirely.

One thing I knew for certain, though: if anyone ever told me to board a ship again, I would rather stay awake for three days and nights straight.

"So we'll remain here a while longer?"

"At least for today, it seems we must."

I tried not to notice the Archmage glancing at my face. The moment I acknowledged it I would have to throw a tantrum for the sake of the concept, so it was better to play dumb from the start. Especially now, when I had no strength left.

I really, really hate seasickness.

How is it that even after coming ashore the nausea still won't go away?!

"Demon Knight, are you all right?"

I pressed my lips—already split from how hard I had been biting them—tightly together and looked down at Kimchi Mandu.

Maybe it was the lack of spare energy from the motion sickness. The urge to gently reassure that round, worried face that I was fine kept trading places on my tongue with the concept-appropriate order to get lost because she was annoying me.

"If I'm not all right… what difference would it make?"

"…W-well, that is true, but…"

"Get lost."

In the end, the concept won.

Just blurting out "get lost" had felt a bit much, so I had considered softening it… but on second thought, the character I was playing needed to be moderately hateful. Saying it straight out was probably fine. Not great for the real me, though.

Fighting the dizziness, I turned my steps toward the forest. What I really wanted was to crawl into a bed and groan, but if I did that the dignity I had shattered on the ship would evaporate without leaving so much as a scrap.

And once it evaporated I would be right back in danger of getting brained by a mace. Sob.

"Be back by evening!"

Whatever. The Demon Knight was going to sleep in the forest.

"We leave for Gryu Telz at once."

I had been about to sleep in the forest…

"I would rather rest if we could, but this is no ordinary matter."

I had just found a sunny spot and lit the insect-repelling incense—it had been in the gift bundle I received—when the Archmage, with Dev in tow, came looking for me.

It was far too early for them to have discovered anything.

"This could become an incident on the scale of Tatara… or even greater."

Was it lucky I hadn't fallen asleep yet, or unlucky that I hadn't gotten even a little rest?

At least the seasickness had finally faded.

"Demons?"

"Something similar, perhaps."

Thud.

Listening to the Archmage's answer, I yanked the zweihander I had planted in the ground free and slung it across my back.

"Lead the way."

The commanding, imperious tone was free of charge. My insides had been thoroughly soaked for a while now, of course.

Hah… still, I mustn't cry… I'm an adult first and a Demon Knight second…!

Muttering meaningless nonsense to myself, I left the forest. I had said staying up all night would be better than boarding a ship again, and now it looked like I was going to do both in a single day.

"All right, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let's hear it. You said it was urgent so you came for the Demon Knight first, but what's this all about?"

Apparently even Dev hadn't been told the reason for the rush. As we exited the trees he pressed the Archmage for answers.

"I suppose I neglected to explain. My apologies."

"Forget the apology and just talk already."

"Mm. The Inquisitor needs to hear this as well, so let us return first and discuss it properly."

Unfortunately the explanation was postponed even further. From the Archmage's perspective he simply disliked repeating himself, but for the rest of us it was less than ideal.

Well, of the two surest ways to make people angry, the first is to start talking and then stop halfway, and the second is…

Anyway.

"Archmage!"

Thankfully I hadn't gone deep into the forest, so the beach came into view quickly. The Inquisitor was waiting outside the village, five horses in tow.

"I prepared everything as you instructed, but…"

"Well done. We leave at once."

"Yes."

Knowing I had nothing to pack, the Archmage drove the party forward without delay.

He really was in a hurry. Even back in Tatara—though of course I hadn't understood the situation then—he hadn't moved this urgently.

"Just what is going on?"

"Something has happened to the Sea Dragon."

We each mounted up and gave the signal. The five horses tossed their heads and set off along the road at a run.

"Wasn't that already within our expectations?"

"Expectation and certainty are rather different things. And if the Sea Dragon itself has fallen, the matter grows considerably heavier, does it not?"

"What?!"

"The Sea Dragon… has fallen, you say?"

Her words clearly shocked the other two. I, on the other hand, felt only relief.

I had been bracing for some kind of attack in Gryu Telz itself. If it was only about a dragon, I could rest easy.

I had steeled myself for that part long ago.

Ah, of course I wasn't anticipating and enduring it because the original game had the exact same event. There had been similar incidents, sure, but honestly the backgrounds for raids were all more or less the same…

There's a giant something? And it's neither ally nor enemy? Then you stick "fallen" or whatever on it and it becomes a raid target. That's just how it works.

What actually worried me was the seasickness… but could I stop the game from opening a raid just because of that? All I could do was accept it.

"Look at this."

In the meantime the Archmage freed one hand from the reins and produced something. It was a sharp-edged object with the texture of bone, as though it had been broken off.

"This is…?"

Since we were on horseback, the other two took it and examined it directly. I didn't bother accepting it; looking wouldn't change the conclusion I had already reached.

"A dragon's tooth."

"A dragon's…"

"And also the things the Demon Knight slew earlier."

I nearly slipped. Those water lizards I had killed were that tooth.

"You're saying this is what we saw back there?"

"Indeed. They are commonly called Dragon Tooth Soldiers."

A tooth turning into a water lizard, or a water lizard turning back into a tooth—I could accept either. I had run across plenty of settings like that.

What I was really focusing on was the strong suspicion that these would show up as trash mobs in the Sea Dragon fight.

Whether as a mid-boss adds pattern or as a gate before the boss itself, it didn't matter.

Killing them and getting dragon teeth as materials sounded pretty tempting, but that kind of appearance was still a pain.

"How did you know?"

"The moment I poured mana into it, it returned to its original form. That is a characteristic of Dragon Tooth Soldiers. I contacted the Magic Tower and verified it against the records as well, so there is no doubt."

Having said that much, the Archmage changed the subject, as if the Dragon Tooth Soldiers themselves were not the important point.

"However, Inquisitor. You said that while it was not Demon Energy, you still sensed corruption from them, did you not?"

"Yes. Even now I… Ah!"

"As you have realized… it is possible the Sea Dragon itself has been consumed by corruption."

"Wait—so you're saying the cause of all this really is the Sea Dragon, mage?"

"You are correct. Moreover, the entire Western Sea could be ruined going forward. That is what it means for the Sea Dragon to fall. The question is why the Sea Dragon was tainted by corruption in the first place…"

That would be either because demon worshipers did something, or because the natural order had gone awry and it simply happened by chance. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I didn't think it was an especially important detail.

How profound could the backstory attached to a raid really be? More importantly, almost no one actually cares about that kind of lore. I only dug into it occasionally when I needed it for roleplaying.

"Cause or result, killing them both will solve it."

"…Your extremism sometimes makes me question myself, but this time you may be right."

The mage shook his head with a grave expression.

"Purifying the Sea Dragon and restoring its senses would be ideal, but depending on the degree of corruption we may have no choice but to kill it."

As if on cue, a system window filled my vision.

That let me reach a firm conclusion. Good. Whatever the cause, a fight with a dragon was in the bag.

"Then we should pick up the pace."

But never mind the fight—how was I supposed to endure the seasickness? Sigh. Future me, good luck.

The village chief had said it took his son six days to reach the city. On horseback it took only half a day.

Though we still couldn't stop the moon from rising.

"Given the urgency, it would be best if we split up at once. I have already sent word, but we will need to explain the details face to face."

Listening to the Archmage, a thought suddenly struck me.

Come to think of it, Legend of Heroes had Magic Towers as well as temples. So why hadn't I seen one in the last city?

"Therefore I intend to go to the Magic Tower and request manpower…"

"I will head to the temple. Could you spare me a fragment of the tooth?"

"Of course. I leave it to you, Inquisitor."

I didn't know. I wasn't in a position to ask, either.

I sorted my doubts and uncrossed my arms. The reason was simply that Dev and I had nothing to do.

If I followed the Inquisitor to the temple, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demon-related incident was guaranteed to break out, and Dev would never follow the Inquisitor alone.

Tagging along to the Magic Tower didn't seem particularly meaningful either.

I mean, really. What was the point of me going along just to request manpower? I would only be sightseeing. Not that I had no desire to look around…

Ah, right. I also had to consider the Archmage's prior talk of sealing methods. If a mage was preparing a method, would he use a temple? Of course he would use the Magic Tower's research facilities.

That alone was reason enough not to approach. If I had obediently followed, I might even have been misunderstood. Whew. Close call.

"As for you…"

Just because I had nothing to do didn't mean I wanted to be given orders! I desperately spun my brain. It would have been convenient if the quest had given me some direction, but it showed no sign of moving.

In that case, what I could do—no, what would be good for me to do…!

"If you were about to say the Adventurer's Guild, shut your mouth. I'm not so ignorant that I wouldn't know that much."

I was the only pure adventurer here. Where else would I go but the Adventurer's Guild?

"Indeed. I leave that place to you."

The problem was that I had no idea what I was supposed to do there. Just get a feel for the situation? Or tip off the clerk about the incident so they could summon adventurers right away?

"Then I'll stick with you, my lord. It's not as if the alley rats will be getting involved."

"Get lost."

"Are you confident you can explain everything by yourself, Sir Knight?"

Fact-check pain. If he was offering to explain in my place, the real me would have said thank you very much.

"Then let us each be about our tasks. Ah—once we have finished our business, we will gather at the Adventurer's Guild."

"Yes! Until later!"

While the Archmage was speaking I glared at Dev with the moonlight at my back. Naturally Dev only whistled and casually averted his gaze.

In the end there was no beating a rogue's shamelessness.

"…"

Flap.

Still, I couldn't give up the cool exit.

I was the first to leave, before anyone else had even started moving.

"I said we're going together."

But after taking a single step I realized something.

This was my first time in this city, so I had no idea where the Adventurer's Guild was.

"By the way, my lord, have you ever been to this city before?"

…I should have found some way to dump Dev on the Archmage! I forced my endlessly wavering eyes to hold still and quickly ran through the scenarios that came next.

First: try once more asking why he was following me and whether he hadn't heard me tell him to get lost. The timing wasn't too late yet. But would he actually leave if I did?

Second: admit I didn't know. That would be character collapse, so no need to even consider it.

Third: just drag him along and get lost together. Was that really the only path left to me…? Still, better to try the first option and face the final ending afterward, right?

"Oh? You there—?"

But before I could turn around and open my mouth, someone called out. It was late at night and no one else was on the street, so I couldn't even delude myself into thinking we weren't the ones being addressed.

"Is that the Demon Knight I see? Never thought I'd run into you here!"

"Someone you know?"

No, I don't.

I furrowed my brow and examined the man approaching me. He looked vaguely familiar, and yet not. The balance still tipped heavily toward "don't know him," so who was he?

"What do you want?"

There was no way the concept would be pleased by a situation where someone knew me but I didn't know them. I asked with a distinctly unfriendly attitude.

Rather than being startled, the other party only laughed—uhahaha. The mouth between his long sideburns opened, revealing yellowed teeth and a coated tongue.

Sometimes… no, often… the detailed parts make me suffer, and this was one of those times. Brush your teeth, man. I buy expensive salt and willow leaves and take care of mine every day.

Dev never used to, but once I started doing it he quietly followed suit.

"Don't remember me? Well, from your perspective I suppose that's fair. Still a bit disappointing, though."

So we really did know each other. I didn't.

My eyes narrowed.

"Why, back in Tatara—when I tried to stop you from going into the sewers and got poisoned for my trouble. I saw you in front of the burning house. And you were there when I was explaining things to the Archmage, weren't you?"

Oh. Ah. Aaaah!

Now I remembered. Not completely, but enough that a rough sense of it came back.

In other words, this was the guy who got the antidote right before he was about to kick it?

"You certain about that?"

Dev asked me in an undertone. Being a rogue class made him sensitive to this sort of thing. The world had such things as disguises and impersonations, and rogues knew that best.

"So. Your business."

Instead of saying I remembered, I treated the man with the attitude of someone who had eaten manners for breakfast. That alone would be enough for Dev ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to roughly understand.

"No real business. Just happy to see you, so I called out. I owe you my life, after all. Ah, right—did you receive the gift? The people who were in your debt gathered this and that to give you. I only left the items and moved on, so I never heard whether it arrived."

More importantly, this guy talked a lot.

"I saw him receive it just fine, so don't you worry."

"Oh, is that so? That's a relief. And you are…?"

"Someone who's been traveling with Sir Knight for a while now."

"I see. So you're no longer traveling with the Archmage or the Inquisitor."

Whether he noticed my twitching lips and the corners of my eyes—acting, of course—Dev stepped forward to handle the conversation.

Naturally there was no need to spill every little detail, so Dev didn't bother answering about the rest of the party either.

"Ah, sorry. I've gone on too long. If you've just arrived you'll be needing an inn in a hurry. Or are you looking for a tavern?"

Wait. Didn't this guy know where the Adventurer's Guild was? But if I asked, would it break the concept?

"If it's something like that, I can recommend a place."

"Ah, we're fine. We're headed to the Adventurer's Guild."

Deeeev! Couldn't you at least ask for directions while you were at it!!

"At this hour? Is something going on?"

"Well, if there is, there is."

"I see…"

Of course he wasn't going to ask. Swallowing tears, I turned away.

"Ah, wait. The guild moved buildings, so if you go to the old location you won't find it. Want me to show you the way?"

But a coincidence like this was going to drop right now?

Just as I was about to wander around lost because I didn't know the way, someone who owed me from before appears and teaches me the route naturally, without wrecking the concept at all?

"…Lead the way."

Snowballing for the win!