Chapter 59
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Woodcutter's Mountain Cabin (3)
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“Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry, mercenary. I'm just a bit of a coward...”
As I returned to the woodcutter's cabin, Paul approached, scratching his short blond hair.
I waved my hand dismissively.
“It's fine. Running for your life when you see a monster like that is the normal thing to do.”
I had no intention of reprimanding him.
Getting angry at a mere NPC would just be a waste of time.
Paul grinned sheepishly and spoke.
“Well, I'm glad you made it back safely.”
“Yes. I've taken care of the monster that was blocking the bridge. Let's get going again.”
“Yes, sir. B-but, mercenary.”
Paul suddenly called out to me with an ambiguous expression.
His face was unusually lively for an NPC, filled with various emotions.
“Yes.”
“Would it be alright if we took another path? There's another way down to the village besides the swinging bridge.”
*Why?*
That was my first thought.
I had dealt with the monster blocking the swinging bridge.
It had fallen off the cliff, so its chances of survival were slim.
But he wanted to take a different path, avoiding the one that was now safe?
“I'd rather not.”
Even for an NPC, this was crossing a line.
“Oh, is that so, sir.”
Paul nodded with a slightly anxious look, and that was it.
I wondered if the mission would change according to the NPC's wishes, but there was no sign of that happening.
This seemed to be a kind of choice.
“Understood, sir. I'll go get my mother. Please wait a moment.”
Paul carried his sleeping mother on his back and followed me without complaint.
But this time, it was a little different.
He didn't say a single word until we reached the swinging bridge.
And, before I could even feel puzzled by Paul's changed demeanor.
“...Hm.”
I was faced with a bewildering situation.
“----.”
The thing that had fallen off the cliff earlier.
It was once again blocking our path in front of the swinging bridge.
It wasn't a different one.
The crossbow bolts, still embedded and glowing all over its body from which a black haze rose, were proof.
It was the same monster that had fallen off the cliff, battered and broken.
“---!”
Its red gaze fixed on me as a bloodcurdling cry echoed out.
I clicked my tongue. *Tsk.*
This was a disaster.
The fact that it hadn't died and had climbed back up the cliff wasn't the big problem.
The problem was.
“Don't tell me he ran again... He's already gone.”
The absence of the woodcutter who had been following me just moments before.
The giant of a man, who looked like he could take down an ogre, had once again fled without a second glance at the sight of the black monster.
The quest had reset.
“Hoo.”
I let out a low sigh and stared at the monster before me.
It still had the form of a beast shrouded in a black haze.
However, it was a little different from before.
*'The black energy seems to have faded a bit.'*
If it had looked like it was soaked in pitch-black ink before, now it felt like it had been heavily colored over with a black crayon.
Glimpses of the monster's silhouette, hidden by the demonic energy, flickered in and out of view.
I was intrigued, but that was all.
Right now, my top priority was to eliminate the obstacle to my mission.
As long as it kept appearing, clearing the dungeon would be a distant prospect.
“I'm not letting you go so easily this time.”
*Clang!*
Glowing orbs floated into the air, making a clear sound.
* * *
In the end, the black monster was subdued by my summons once again.
But just like before.
I couldn't finish it off.
The moment I approached to deliver the final blow while it was pinned down by the Lizardman legion.
“-----!”
“Shit?!”
The black monster had thrown off the Lizardmen with astonishing strength and flung itself off the cliff.
*Thud!*
The Lizardmen, sent flying like dolls, tumbled chaotically to the ground.
That alone was surprising.
But even Odolph, whom I had positioned near the swinging bridge just in case, couldn't stop it.
“Where do you think you're—hmm?!”
*Wham!*
The ogre's log club and the beast's twisted foreleg collided in mid-air.
“Kugh!”
Overpowered, Odolph was thrown aside.
And the black monster leaped over Odolph and vanished off the cliff.
It took me a moment to process the situation.
*'What just happened?'*
Even shrouded in black energy, I could tell how critical its condition was.
Both of its legs were bent at bizarre angles, and one side of its head was caved in.
It had suffered injuries that should have been more than fatal.
And yet, it had resisted so tenaciously that I was just about to pin it down completely and sever its head.
“F-forgive me, my Lord. I never thought I would be overpowered...”
Odolph, pulling himself together, bowed his head with a bewildered expression.
“No, it's not your fault.”
The situation had completely defied my expectations.
Even when it was unharmed, it hadn't been able to overpower Odolph.
But to display enough strength to toss an ogre aside when it was on the verge of death?
“Sage. Pinpoint its location.”
[The Sage informs you that it is impossible to determine the black monster's location through spying.]
I couldn't even track the monster that had disappeared off the cliff.
It was strange.
It was as if some external force had intervened in its sudden retreat.
“...”
I silently stared at the cliff where it had vanished and the swinging bridge.
* * *
“Oh my, mercenary! I'm so sorry, mercenary. I'm just a bit of a coward...”
When I returned to the cabin, Paul came out to greet me again, scratching his head.
The NPC's behavior, repeating the exact same words as before, was a little creepy.
“I've dealt with the monster that was blocking the bridge.”
So, I shortened my words a bit more than the first time.
And then.
“Still, something feels off. Are there any other paths besides the swinging bridge?”
This time, I was the one to speak first.
Paul's eyes lit up.
“Another path? Oh, of course! I was just about to suggest we try a different way.”
“Then let's take the other path this time.”
“Yes, sir! I'll guide you right away!”
...And.
In the end, on the first day, I failed to complete the escort mission.
I couldn't get the woodcutter to the village by any route.
A pungent darkness fell over the forest, and a deathly silence settled in for the night.
Inside the cabin, I sat on a crude wooden chair, lost in thought.
Paul sidled up to me and spoke.
“Mercenary, aren't you tired? I could make up a bed for you.”
“I'm fine.”
“My, you're truly a mercenary. My whole body is aching after walking around all day.”
Paul laughed good-naturedly.
But I didn't laugh. Instead, I asked.
“Do you really not know anything?”
“What are you talking about?”
“About the monster blocking the path.”
The reason the mission failed was simple.
The black monster.
No matter which path the woodcutter guided me on, the black monster always appeared to block the way.
It was the same even if I scouted ahead or left the woodcutter behind.
The creature always appeared at the perfect moment to block the path.
At that point, the escort mission had failed.
“Umm... I don't really have anything I can tell you. I'm sorry, sir.”
The NPC bowed his head.
I hadn't expected much, so I said nonchalantly.
“Alright. Get some rest. We'll be moving early tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, sir. You should get some shut-eye too, mercenary.”
Paul yawned and lay down on the wooden floor next to the bed where his old mother slept.
Soon, the sound of his snoring filled the air.
The rumbling snores were annoying, so I stepped outside the cabin.
The dungeon was still as quiet as a mouse.
Only an ominous silence enveloped the forest.
I breathed in the night air and stretched my body.
Even so, I didn't disturb the Sage perched on my shoulder.
[Analyzing the dungeon's structure and the black monster's identity...]
It was working hard to overcome the current situation.
I couldn't just stand around idly while the Sage was doing that.
“She told me to look at the trees, not the forest.”
Asha's Divine Seat had offered that piece of advice after checking the dungeon.
So, what advice did the Lord's Castle give?
It was definitely.
[There is a reason for every action. Deduce. Ponder. What is the key hidden in the mountain cabin?]
At first, I thought it was a kind of metaphorical expression.
But looking back, the Lord's Castle's hints were always straightforward.
*'A key hidden in the mountain cabin.'*
I gazed at the cabin, where a faint fire still glowed.
Then I went straight inside and looked around.
It was a humble, Western-style log cabin.
A stuffed deer head was mounted on one wall, with the old mother's bed beneath it.
Above the head of the snoring Paul, firewood crackled in a simple fireplace.
Besides that, there was only the chair I had been sitting in and a desk made of wooden planks.
No, besides those things.
There was one more thing.
“...No way.”
I walked towards it.
On the desk was a bundle of paper bound with leather and string.
A small notebook, just big enough to hold in one hand.
It was the diary Paul had shown me before, boasting about his drawings.
“It said there's a reason for every action.”
Thinking back, he had been carrying it like a treasure the entire time he was guiding me.
Why was that?
Even if it was just flavor text for a mere NPC.
Was there really a need to boast so enthusiastically about a diary?
I slowly reached for the diary.
*Tap.*
Normally, you can't touch items belonging to NPCs.
To be precise, you can touch them, but you can't move them.
But this one settled into my hand like an item.
Moreover, as I picked up the diary, a status window popped up and blinked.
[This item is related to a hidden mission. Would you like to check it?]
A hidden mission.
I felt my mind clear up instantly.
I had found the right thing.
*Fwip.*
With a sound, the diary opened by itself.
I scanned the contents of the diary with my eyes.
At first, it seemed like an ordinary diary.
It was filled with trivial stories and doodles.
Occasionally, there were meticulously drawn pictures of landscapes, flowers, and animals.
However, when I turned to the last page.
“...What is this?”
The words escaped my lips.
The very last page of the diary.
Within that small piece of paper lay the hidden key.
The key to unraveling the reasons for everything happening in this dungeon.
* * *
The second day dawned at the woodcutter's mountain cabin.
“Good morning, mercenary!”
Paul's voice, having just woken up, was still excited.
It was a fitting demeanor for the foolish Paul.
I looked at him and spoke softly.
“Did you sleep well, Paul?”
“Yes, sir! Shall we depart right away? I know a new path down to the village.”
He followed the same pattern as usual.
But now.
“I have something to ask you.”
It was time to add another option to that pattern.
I showed the piece of white paper I was holding to the woodcutter, who was staring blankly.
“Explain this drawing to me.”
The eyes of the woodcutter, who had been standing there foolishly, turned to the last page of the diary.
And after he glanced at the charcoal drawing on the hand-span-sized paper.
“...”
His endlessly light and vacant blue eyes suddenly deepened like the abyss.
There was a drawing on the paper.
A drawing of a beast colored black with charcoal, and leaning against that black beast, a smiling old mother.
[Conditions for unlocking the hidden mission have been met.]
Immediately after.
[Hidden mission, "The False Brother," has been activated.]
A new route had opened in this tedious, repetitive game.