Chapter 142: Goodbye, Tantalus
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142: Goodbye, Tantalus
"...A perfect plan, you say. For something so perfect..."
Earth Sage, having poured a cup of wine, spoke again.
"You seem to have a look of regret."
"Pardon?"
"Why do you look so regretful after casting them aside yourself? Do you have lingering attachments?"
Did I let it show?
Tch, Earth Sage. Don't read a mind reader's expression. Reading thoughts is my specialty.
"Well, a little."
People pretend to despise those who live in wanton luxury, but deep down, they envy them. They find a vicarious thrill in projecting themselves onto those who can so casually do the things they cannot.
That luxury isn't limited to just money. The more precious something is to you, the greater the value of that extravagance.
Especially if it's something as precious as life itself... it goes beyond envy, to the point of fascination.
"But it can't be helped. Unlike them, I die quite easily. I have to be more careful."
"You say you value your life, yet I find it hard to understand. Mr. Hughes. Allow me to ask you something."
Having finished bowing twice to the Grand Master, Earth Sage sharply raised her head and looked at me. Her calm, settled eyes were churning with intent and emotion.
"I was not chosen by the Grand Master, but you, Mr. Hughes, forced her to choose. Thanks to you, I have lost not only an arm, but my cause as well. All my efforts have come to nothing."
Earth Sage's eyes flashed as she spoke.
"So why should I let you live, Mr. Hughes?"
The question came with a killing intent sharp enough to send a chill down my spine. I offered a vague smile.
If she wanted to kill me, she would have done it already.
Besides, she has no real reason to kill me.
Her original goal was the destruction of the Abyss, right?
I'm the one who soothed the Grand Master's spirit.
Many reasons came to mind, but I chose the one she would like the most.
"If you let me live, I'll expose the Sanctum for you one day."
"...Hah."
As if she'd lost her strength for a moment, a bit of blood seeped from her severed shoulder. The offer was that unexpected.
Earth Sage wrapped her single arm around her shoulder, lowered her head, and chuckled.
"...Are you serious?"
"I can't guarantee it will happen. We're not prophets; we can only see what's right in front of us. But someday, if I discover the Sanctum's dirty secrets, I'll use this mouth of destruction to make things difficult for them."
"Tempting. If it ever comes to pass, that is."
"Want to pinky swear on it? Ah, I suppose that might be difficult for someone with only one arm."
The area above the pit grew noisy. The soldiers who had been subdued were regrouping and starting to move again. Earth Sage glanced in the direction of the noise and said.
"It seems I should help you, rather than just pretend I didn't see you."
"I'll get out on my own. Just don't rat me out."
Just then, the soldiers who had regained their senses rushed to the edge of the Abyss. I ducked between the corpses to avoid their gaze.
With the searchlights gone, all they had was faint lighting. They shone their lights inside and were horrified by the sight of the corpses the Abyss had hidden.
"Aaaargh! Corpses!"
"I know this place. This is the Graveyard of the Overlord! Their bodies must have remained here...! I remember learning about it in school!"
The commander shouted.
"Lower the ladders!"
"D-down there?"
"Yes! Without the searchlights, we have to go down and check for ourselves! By the way, who was that who just talked back? Since when do you question a direct order?"
The soldiers quickly lowered a ladder. The commander yelled at the stunned soldier as he climbed down.
"Search thoroughly! Don't be afraid to step on the corpses! If you're scared of stepping on them, you'll never be able to make them...! Which is probably why you were all so useless earlier!"
'He was just as useless...' a nearby soldier thought, glancing at the commander. Fortunately, the thought remained just a thought.
Continuing their search by the light of their lanterns, they soon reached the top of the corpse mountain. Recognizing Earth Sage, the commander rushed toward her.
"Sir! Major Keioshin of the Wasteland Search Troops! It is an honor to see you, Brigadier General...! Oh my god! Good heavens! Brigadier General, your arm...!"
As the soldiers arrived, Earth Sage, who had been kneeling reverently before the Grand Master, staggered to her feet.
"Pay it no mind. It's a minor injury."
"That can't be true...! First, first aid!"
Good. Now's my chance.
While everyone's attention was fixed on them, I climbed up the ladder they had lowered.
Someone who had stayed behind shone a faint light on me and asked.
"Hey, what's going on?"
I pretended to be in a hurry and shouted.
"The Brigadier General is seriously injured! Medic! Get a medic, quick!"
"A medic? They're tending to the wounded right now."
"You idiot! The Brigadier General's right arm is gone! At this rate, Earth Sage, who helped build this nation, will bleed to death! Do you want to stain our names with that disgrace? Now hurry up and call every last medic tending to the wounded!"
Overwhelmed by my intensity, the officer grumbled and went to call the medics. He returned, nodding to himself, and then questioned me.
"Hey, who are you to talk to me like that? I'm the second-in-command here..."
But I was already gone. The adjutant tilted his head in confusion.
Empty automaton carriages were everywhere. They were vehicles with distinctively thick wheels, designed for patrolling the wasteland. Humming a tune, I walked along, puncturing the tires one by one.
The outside of the tires is tough, but the inside is relatively soft. With every one I passed, an automaton carriage slumped to one side.
I climbed into a carriage I'd had my eye on, tossed my backpack inside, and started the engine. Grrrk. I heard the sound of the wheels and steering column engaging. The chassis vibrated roughly. I whistled and stepped on the pedal.
I'd punctured all the other tires on my way, so even if they noticed something was off, they wouldn't be able to follow. Not that they seemed to be in any state to, from the looks of it.
"Alright. One thing down."
It's a good vehicle that can run without roads, but its military design is a drawback. If I take this onto a main road, I'll attract all sorts of suspicion. It's a shame I'll have to ditch it after a while.
Just then, the risen Tantalus came into view. I enjoyed the speed, driving around it so that it blocked the view.
"Now then. What to do next..."
Actually, I already knew what I had to do.
In this heartless world, you can't even get an identity without money. Whether you go to another country or launder your identity to hide, the process is designed to take your money.
Money is the oxygen of this world.
First, I need to go to the back alleys of the Military State's capital, Amitengrad, and collect my hidden assets. I need to liquidate them, too.
And then, I'll get revenge on the ones who threw me in here. I can't just take it lying down, can I?
Alright. It's decided. Now that I have a destination, I might as well enjoy the scenery.
A structure so massive it could be compared to a geographical feature filled my vision to the left. A concrete foundation about one story high, and atop it, the miserably shattered prison building looked desolate.
I looked up at the nearby building, lost in thought.
So much happened in that building. Eating, sleeping, playing with Azzy, fighting sometimes, then sleeping in again.
Hmm, now that I think about it, not much happened at all.
But isn't that collection of "not much" what it means to live? Is there really a need to assign some grand meaning to life? Isn't being happy with just that the true meaning of life?
The broken prison now seemed to hold my heart instead of my body. I would never go back inside, but it would forever imprison a piece of my memory.
Goodbye, Tantalus. The place that holds my special memories...
CRASH.
Then I hit something. The automaton carriage jolted violently and the engine died. After smacking my head on the steering wheel, I threw open the driver's side door and yelled.
"Ah, shit! Watch where you're going!"
It was a reflex, but there was no reply. In fact, there wasn't anything else around to hit.
What the hell did I hit? Did I run over something weird?
I walked to the back of the vehicle and found something strange.
"What's this, a signpost?"
A signpost sticking out of the ground was bent weakly in the middle.
Where have I seen this before? I had a sense of déjà vu, but I couldn't quite place it. After struggling for a moment, the memory came back to me and I snapped my fingers.
Ah, right. The officers who were escorting me. They stopped when they saw this sign, didn't they? The sign that marked the end of the road.
This is where the signaller's voice came through, and the guards threw me down below on her command.
"Hmm. Come to think of it, it was Inspector Evian of Edelphite. I'd forgotten about him."
How dare he swing a steel baton at me? The memory makes my bones ache. The resentment I'd suppressed began to creep out.
Alright. I have a new stop to make before heading back to Amitengrad. First, I'll drop by Edelphite and take care of the inspector.
Just as I was about to get back in the carriage, I noticed something. Near the signpost, the ground was cracked in a grid-like pattern. It looked too strangely artificial to be a simple fissure from when Tantalus overturned.
Could it be?
I walked over, grabbed the grid-patterned ground, and pulled. The earth lifted up easily, like a layer of skin.
Just as I thought, it was fake ground. Did the impact from Tantalus's collapse expose it?
Underneath the layer I'd peeled back was an ugly, crumpled, rectangular metal structure.
It was designed more like a box than a building. It looked as if a box hidden underground had been forced out by the impact of the tilting Tantalus crashing into the ground.
"What's this? Is there treasure hidden here?"
Judging by its size, it looks like a large room, but no one could live in a place like this. Who lives in a metal box buried underground? There must be something hidden inside.
My hunter-gatherer instincts kicked in for the first time in a while. I pulled out my skewer and climbed on top of the box. Thunk. It made the sound of hollow metal.
"Opening presents is always fun."
I wonder what's inside. I whistled as I stuck my skewer into a crumpled gap and got to work.
But no matter how much I poked and prodded, I couldn't open the box. The lock didn't respond to my fiddling, and when I stuck the skewer through the crumpled gap, it didn't catch on anything. I clicked my tongue and threw the skewer down.
"Tch. What's the point of reading people's minds if I can't read the mind of a lock?"
Come to think of it, I've never picked a lock from scratch before. I've always stolen the key or figured out the password.
Tsk. It feels like a waste to just leave... What should I do?
Steel, crumpled by a massive impact. I could see inside through a twisted seam.
Hmm. If I had a little more strength, or if I were heavier, I feel like I could open this.
"Should I give it a try?"
I placed both hands on the steel box.
This was the Earth Art of the Order of Gaia, which could originally only be used when one's Spiritual World reached Mother Earth. That was why only followers of Mother Earth could use it.
But now that the Grand Master's secret was out, I could probably use it too. Just like Standard Magic or basic Qi Arts.
I focused my mind and thought of Earth Sage and the Grand Master.
To them, the earth flows. It is an entity that moves in limitless transformations, driven by the great flow of nature, starting with the life within it. Earth Art is the technique of inducing changes in the earth that would normally take decades, or even millennia.
Even steel originates from the earth. I grasped the faint sensation I felt and cast the Earth Art on the steel door.
"Hnngh!"
CRUNCH.
The door gave way. My body, following the law of gravity, fell to the ground. Caught off guard, I rolled across the hard floor.
"Owowow."
Groaning, I got up, and my eyes fell upon a space brimming with signs of life.
No, should I say it has signs of life, or a lack thereof?
"It really was a room."
Someone had clearly been living inside this box. All the furniture crammed into the small space was worn with use.
But what kind of person could live trapped in such a cramped space? In that sense, the overwhelming signs of life felt more like a scene from an absurdist play.
"Set, Lux."
In any case, there might be something worth scavenging here. I cast the Standard Magic to illuminate the dark interior and moved forward.
"Oh?"
As I continued to search, something caught my eye.