Chapter 306: Rainwales (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 306: Rainwales (4)
Was my recruitment offer that unexpected? Amelia studied me carefully, apparently trying to gauge my intentions. But after not being able to figure them out, she spoke up in a somewhat bitter tone. "I... am a plunderer."
"Naturally, since you are from Noark. But I know better than anyone that you're different."
The fact was, Amelia had let me and Ainar live during our first meeting. The same went for when we ran into each other in the sewer. Not just me, the barbarian, either. Hikurod, Rotmiller, Missha, and even Dwalkie—she fed all of us the Blessing of Lethe and sought an alternate way to resolve the situation.
"My description is registered in the Adventurers' Guild. The palace will know it too—"
I cut Amelia off sternly. "A new identity can always be created."
"That's not as easy as it sounds. And if I'm working with you, a nobleman, there will no doubt be people who dig into who I am—"
Wow, you have a lot to say today.
"That's why I said once I resolve all those problems, come join my clan."
"There's... no way something like that would ever happen. And if your plan is to be your usual bullheaded self when shit hits the fan, we'll both be screwed—"
"So, I need to set up safeguards, huh?"
"Safeguards...?"
"Never mind, I'll figure out whether that'll work or not so you just have to answer."
It was a yes or no question. When I outlined the situation neatly for her, Amelia hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Ha... why do you always put me on the spot...?"
"So, your answer?"
"All right. If there ever comes a time where I wouldn't cause any problems working alongside you..." Amelia trailed off and avoided eye contact, but it seemed she didn't like her own subconscious actions.
Slide.
She raised her head again, looked into my eyes, and said, "Then I will be your comrade." The quest was thus established.
[Quest Name: Save My Sister!
Objective: Sister's survival (0/1), Solve identity issue (0/1)
Reward: Amelia Rainwales (SSR) Recruitment Contract]
At least, that was the basic gist of it. As I was mapping out this new quest in my mind, Amelia gulped down the contents of the bottle on the table.
"I thought you don't drink because you can't get drunk?"
"I'm thirsty."
Oh, I see. But saying something like that while chugging down alcohol makes her seem very macho.
Tap.
Amelia grimaced as she put the bottle down. At the sight, I couldn't resist asking, "Does alcohol taste bad to you?"
"How could you ever think it tastes good?"
"No, just checking. I think it tastes bad too." I'd heard people say that going through hardships made alcohol taste sweeter, which was why I was wondering. I felt like I'd been through enough hardships myself, but it still just tasted bad to me.
"...Enough with the nonsense, let's get back on track." Amelia sat across from me. "You wanted to hear about Nivelles Enze, right? I'll tell you. Your opinion might help me think of another way."
"Okay."
"Oh, and one more thing. I'm warning you in advance, but I will only be your comrade if you keep all the promises you made earlier. Got it?"
"But I didn't ask you to be my comrade, I asked you to join my clan."
"Oh, uh..." Amelia flinched at my words. "That's... certainly the case. I... thought that meant the same thing. But if those are two different things, I'll rephrase—"
"It's fine. I think comrade sounds better than clanmate, anyway."
"...Were you messing with me just now?"
How quick on the uptake. "Of course not." Amelia shot me a suspicious look but she couldn't say anything to that because she didn't have any proof. So, it was time to change the subject. "Hurry up and tell me about everything I don't know, including Nivelles Enze."
When we got back on track, Amelia's playfulness disappeared as well, and she began combing through her memories. "Nivelles Enze was the name of the man who saved my life that day. And Iron Mask was the nickname he used in Noark."
"So it was." The thing I had been most uncertain about was now clear: I was this woman's savior. No wonder she'd been particularly nice to me ever since I arrived in Noark wearing that mask.
"Which was why I kept wondering whether to tell you this or not. I came here to change my past, but now that I'm actually here, everything seems to be flowing exactly as intended."
"I see." I had nothing to say to that since this was something I'd experienced once before. "But you said you won't give up. Anyway, tell me when you met m—no, when did you meet Nivelles Enze?"
"I don't know the exact date. But if memory serves, about three weeks from now. We met at the inner bailey..."
After that, I continued to converse with Amelia for a while and acquired the information I needed to know. Amelia was no longer guarded or putting me to the test, and she answered all my questions honestly. In a way, this was the first instance of perfect communication between us. Of course, that didn't mean she always answered straight away.
"Do you have any more questions?"
"No, I think I've heard everything I need to hear."
"I see. Then..."
"Sorry. To be honest, I'm not sure if I have any ideas yet. Let me think it over some more."
"I see..." When I replied that I couldn't think of anything concrete, Amelia looked disappointed but didn't argue. "True, I'm sure you won't be able to come up with something right away."
"Sounds like you didn't expect anything from me at all."
"...Weirdo. If I actually didn't, I wouldn't have told you all of this."
"Hmm, does that mean you trust me?"
"...To some extent."
"Some extent, huh?" I chuckled. Normally I would've considered that a shifty answer, but perhaps because it was coming from Amelia, I instead felt somewhat proud. You know, like how a compliment from your parents usually went in one ear and out the other, but a compliment from someone who was usually picky made you feel accomplished.
"Anyway, if you have no other questions, it's my turn."
"Huh?"
"Why are you surprised? It's... only natural that I'd have questions for you too."
"Oh, I guess so. Ask away. What do you want to know?"
"What exactly did you talk about with Auril Gavis? I couldn't ask you in detail earlier." I was sure she was going to ask about the kind of world I lived in or something like that, but that turned out not to be the case. She really wasn't one for idle curiosity at all. Well, that made things easier for me, anyway.
"But I didn't ask you to be my comrade, I asked you to join my clan."
"Oh, uh..." Amelia flinched at my words. "That's... certainly the case. I... thought that meant the same thing. But if those are two different things, I'll rephrase—"
"It's fine. I think comrade sounds better than clanmate, anyway."
"...Were you messing with me just now?"
How quick on the uptake. "Of course not." Amelia shot me a suspicious look but she couldn't say anything to that because she didn't have any proof. So, it was time to change the subject. "Hurry up and tell me about everything I don't know, including Nivelles Enze."
When we got back on track, Amelia's playfulness disappeared as well, and she began combing through her memories. "Nivelles Enze was the name of the man who saved my life that day. And Iron Mask was the nickname he used in Noark."
"So it was." The thing I had been most uncertain about was now clear: I was this woman's savior. No wonder she'd been particularly nice to me ever since I arrived in Noark wearing that mask.
"Which was why I kept wondering whether to tell you this or not. I came here to change my past, but now that I'm actually here, everything seems to be flowing exactly as intended."
"I see." I had nothing to say to that since this was something I'd experienced once before. "But you said you won't give up. Anyway, tell me when you met m—no, when did you meet Nivelles Enze?"
"I don't know the exact date. But if memory serves, about three weeks from now. We met at the inner bailey..."
After that, I continued to converse with Amelia for a while and acquired the information I needed to know. Amelia was no longer guarded or putting me to the test, and she answered all my questions honestly. In a way, this was the first instance of perfect communication between us. Of course, that didn't mean she always answered straight away.
"Do you have any more questions?"
"No, I think I've heard everything I need to hear."
"I see. Then..."
"Sorry. To be honest, I'm not sure if I have any ideas yet. Let me think it over some more."
"I see..." When I replied that I couldn't think of anything concrete, Amelia looked disappointed but didn't argue. "True, I'm sure you won't be able to come up with something right away."
"Sounds like you didn't expect anything from me at all."
"...Weirdo. If I actually didn't, I wouldn't have told you all of this."
"Hmm, does that mean you trust me?"
"...To some extent."
"Some extent, huh?" I chuckled. Normally I would've considered that a shifty answer, but perhaps because it was coming from Amelia, I instead felt somewhat proud. You know, like how a compliment from your parents usually went in one ear and out the other, but a compliment from someone who was usually picky made you feel accomplished.
"Anyway, if you have no other questions, it's my turn."
"Huh?"
"Why are you surprised? It's... only natural that I'd have questions for you too."
"Oh, I guess so. Ask away. What do you want to know?"
"What exactly did you talk about with Auril Gavis? I couldn't ask you in detail earlier." I was sure she was going to ask about the kind of world I lived in or something like that, but that turned out not to be the case. She really wasn't one for idle curiosity at all. Well, that made things easier for me, anyway.
"To be honest, I already told you everything you might be wondering about. But since you want to know, I'll start from the beginning. When I woke up, I was in a mansion that gave me a strong sense of déjà vu. Ah, explaining why I felt déjà vu is going to be a long story..."
"It's okay, tell me. We still have a long night left ahead of us."
"Uh... If you say so, all right."
After that, I told Amelia everything that happened in the spirit world when I visited last month. As a result, I even mentioned some big names: the head of Orcules, the Fallen Scholar Belbev Ruingenes, and the unidentified man called Kagureas.
"Kagureas? This is my first time hearing that name too." Unfortunately, Amelia knew nothing about the man. That wasn't the case for the other two, though. "The head of Orcules was there, huh? There were rumors that he might be an evil spirit, but to think those rumors were true... Then did you come from the same place as him?"
"No. Not all evil spirits are from the same dimension."
"Is the same true for Fallen Scholar?"
"Probably. It was around this time that people from our home started to get dragged here."
"Is that so? Sounds like I'm hearing some surprising secrets thanks to you. I don't know about the captain, but that old man Ruingenes wasn't rumored to be an evil spirit at all."
"While we're on that note, can you tell me some more about those two?"
"I don't know much, but if you're okay with that, sure."
Once again, Amelia gave me a disclaimer before sharing the information she had. It was more useful than I thought because I didn't know much. Whether you were talking about the head of Orcules or the Fallen Scholar, there was little that was publicly known about them. There was bound to be a difference in the knowledge I had and the knowledge that Noark native and member of Orcules Amelia had.
"So, will you be called there again on the fifteenth?"
"Probably. He said he's going to fix the fairness issue or something like that, so I'm curious how that'll turn out. Oh, is there something you want to ask him? I will ask him for you when I get summoned."
"...I'll think about it."
There was nothing left to talk about so we stopped there and I lay down in bed. Having almost spent the whole night awake, the day ahead felt particularly long.
It seemed lying in bed brought a new question to mind, though. "Bjon, what was your world like?"
Amelia started asking me various questions, which was unlike her, and I answered them one by one. Democracy, science, cars and planes, missiles—each answer required a long explanation but it wasn't tedious or annoying. After all, this was my first time sharing stories like these in this body. Unlike the rest of the time, when I had to think twice about each word I spoke because I had to hide that I was an evil spirit, there was no need for that with Amelia. Time flew by.
"That was quite an interesting story. Although I knew most of that already."
"What? You knew? But how?"
"There are many evil spirits whose identities have been exposed living in Noark. You're bound to hear various stories as you move through life."
"I see... Then why did you bother asking me?"
"That's..." Amelia trailed off and did not speak for a long time.
"Did you seriously fall asleep...? Stop pretending to be asleep. I know you only sleep halfway like a dolphin."
"To be honest, I already told you everything you might be wondering about. But since you want to know, I'll start from the beginning. When I woke up, I was in a mansion that gave me a strong sense of déjà vu. Ah, explaining why I felt déjà vu is going to be a long story..."
"It's okay, tell me. We still have a long night left ahead of us."
"Uh... If you say so, all right."
After that, I told Amelia everything that happened in the spirit world when I visited last month. As a result, I even mentioned some big names: the head of Orcules, the Fallen Scholar Belbev Ruingenes, and the unidentified man called Kagureas.
"Kagureas? This is my first time hearing that name too." Unfortunately, Amelia knew nothing about the man. That wasn't the case for the other two, though. "The head of Orcules was there, huh? There were rumors that he might be an evil spirit, but to think those rumors were true... Then did you come from the same place as him?"
"No. Not all evil spirits are from the same dimension."
"Is the same true for Fallen Scholar?"
"Probably. It was around this time that people from our home started to get dragged here."
"Is that so? Sounds like I'm hearing some surprising secrets thanks to you. I don't know about the captain, but that old man Ruingenes wasn't rumored to be an evil spirit at all."
"While we're on that note, can you tell me some more about those two?"
"I don't know much, but if you're okay with that, sure."
Once again, Amelia gave me a disclaimer before sharing the information she had. It was more useful than I thought because I didn't know much. Whether you were talking about the head of Orcules or the Fallen Scholar, there was little that was publicly known about them. There was bound to be a difference in the knowledge I had and the knowledge that Noark native and member of Orcules Amelia had.
"So, will you be called there again on the fifteenth?"
"Probably. He said he's going to fix the fairness issue or something like that, so I'm curious how that'll turn out. Oh, is there something you want to ask him? I will ask him for you when I get summoned."
"...I'll think about it."
There was nothing left to talk about so we stopped there and I lay down in bed. Having almost spent the whole night awake, the day ahead felt particularly long.
It seemed lying in bed brought a new question to mind, though. "Bjon, what was your world like?"
Amelia started asking me various questions, which was unlike her, and I answered them one by one. Democracy, science, cars and planes, missiles—each answer required a long explanation but it wasn't tedious or annoying. After all, this was my first time sharing stories like these in this body. Unlike the rest of the time, when I had to think twice about each word I spoke because I had to hide that I was an evil spirit, there was no need for that with Amelia. Time flew by.
"That was quite an interesting story. Although I knew most of that already."
"What? You knew? But how?"
"There are many evil spirits whose identities have been exposed living in Noark. You're bound to hear various stories as you move through life."
"I see... Then why did you bother asking me?"
"That's..." Amelia trailed off and did not speak for a long time.
"Did you seriously fall asleep...? Stop pretending to be asleep. I know you only sleep halfway like a dolphin."
Was the student surpassing their master? I didn't think she would turn one of the two ways to make someone pissed back around on me.
"...Are you really sleeping?"
Would you look at that? She's even snoring now. Ha, ridiculous. Is she acting or what?
I couldn't be sure, but after that, I stopped talking and closed my eyes. The reason was simple. If she was really sleeping deeply for the first time in a long time, I didn't want to bother her.
"...Good night." I rolled over, turning my back to her, and soon fell asleep.
***
After that, the time passed quickly. Well, that might not be the best way to describe it. To be honest, it was a very boring period. Because we rigidly refrained from going out to not cause any problems, we killed all of our time at the inn. That wasn't to say that time was all a waste, though.
"Bjon, go wash up."
"But we're not even going out."
"...You smell."
We talked all day. The topics we covered were many. Sometimes we talked about my home, Amelia's memories with her older sister, or stories from the labyrinth. Having conversations about various subjects, I got to learn more about the person Amelia was. The biggest takeaway, though, was that I finally got to hear about Amelia's essences.
Has she never operated in a real party? I don't see how she couldn't get to the eighth floor with those specs.
Amelia's stats were much better than I expected. To be honest, if it weren't for his arc-made longsword and Dragon Speech, she could even be considered a higher rank than the Dragon Slayer.
But it's not just combat. She has talent as a navigator too.
With this as a foundation, she was able to fill the position of scout, on top of being a nuker whose aura could quickly cut down monsters with high physical resistance. In turn, she had the disadvantage of being a bit of a glass cannon, but that could be resolved by my tanking hits for her at the front.
"Oh, right. How did it go out there today?"
"As expected, it was rejected," Amelia answered as she dried her hair with a towel, fresh from a shower.
Huh, so that's how that played out.
"Hmm, maybe the problem was that we offered too little..." Our attempt to take in the Rainwales sisters, who were working as herders for another party, was a failure. "How were they? Do you think they would change their minds for more money?"
"I don't know. Can't be sure, but it's best not to go that route. If they know we are overly interested in them, they will not only be on guard but try to take advantage of us."
"That's true. Everyone here is cunning."
"Still, we succeeded in approaching them casually. Thankfully, they are showing interest in us first."
"Interest?"
"They asked if we were willing to join their party."
In some ways, things were going according to plan, but we both wore grim expressions at that realization. Whatever the reason, all of this had already happened in the past.
"Everything fits so well that it's almost nauseating."
In the original timeline, we joined that team and, after undergoing all sorts of things, were faced with that incident in about five months.
"What are you going to do?"
"...Join the team as planned. It may be a little unpleasant, but this is the best way for us to be nearby when something happens."
"Really? Then let's do that."
I didn't necessarily disagree. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed impossible for us to change the past this way, but it wasn't like I could think of any other way. For now, I decided to follow Amelia's plan—at least until a better one came along.
I checked the time once more at five minutes to midnight. Amelia noticed and said, "Ah, come to think of it, today is that day."
"Yes." After a drink of water, I lay on the bed.
"Have a nice trip."
Seeing me off? This is very weird.
"There's still about five minutes until I go. It'll only be a short moment here, anyway."
"Ah, that's true."
After that, I spent the time exchanging meaningless chatter with Amelia. Was it because this was Auril Gavis we were talking about? I was a little nervous.
Tick.
Just then, the second hand of the clock ticked into place and my vision grew blurry.
That Sprite from last time was really delicious. I wonder if he'll give me some more?
Was the student surpassing their master? I didn't think she would turn one of the two ways to make someone pissed back around on me.
"...Are you really sleeping?"
Would you look at that? She's even snoring now. Ha, ridiculous. Is she acting or what?
I couldn't be sure, but after that, I stopped talking and closed my eyes. The reason was simple. If she was really sleeping deeply for the first time in a long time, I didn't want to bother her.
"...Good night." I rolled over, turning my back to her, and soon fell asleep.
***
After that, the time passed quickly. Well, that might not be the best way to describe it. To be honest, it was a very boring period. Because we rigidly refrained from going out to not cause any problems, we killed all of our time at the inn. That wasn't to say that time was all a waste, though.
"Bjon, go wash up."
"But we're not even going out."
"...You smell."
We talked all day. The topics we covered were many. Sometimes we talked about my home, Amelia's memories with her older sister, or stories from the labyrinth. Having conversations about various subjects, I got to learn more about the person Amelia was. The biggest takeaway, though, was that I finally got to hear about Amelia's essences.
Has she never operated in a real party? I don't see how she couldn't get to the eighth floor with those specs.
Amelia's stats were much better than I expected. To be honest, if it weren't for his arc-made longsword and Dragon Speech, she could even be considered a higher rank than the Dragon Slayer.
But it's not just combat. She has talent as a navigator too.
With this as a foundation, she was able to fill the position of scout, on top of being a nuker whose aura could quickly cut down monsters with high physical resistance. In turn, she had the disadvantage of being a bit of a glass cannon, but that could be resolved by my tanking hits for her at the front.
"Oh, right. How did it go out there today?"
"As expected, it was rejected," Amelia answered as she dried her hair with a towel, fresh from a shower.
Huh, so that's how that played out.
"Hmm, maybe the problem was that we offered too little..." Our attempt to take in the Rainwales sisters, who were working as herders for another party, was a failure. "How were they? Do you think they would change their minds for more money?"
"I don't know. Can't be sure, but it's best not to go that route. If they know we are overly interested in them, they will not only be on guard but try to take advantage of us."
"That's true. Everyone here is cunning."
"Still, we succeeded in approaching them casually. Thankfully, they are showing interest in us first."
"Interest?"
"They asked if we were willing to join their party."
In some ways, things were going according to plan, but we both wore grim expressions at that realization. Whatever the reason, all of this had already happened in the past.
"Everything fits so well that it's almost nauseating."
In the original timeline, we joined that team and, after undergoing all sorts of things, were faced with that incident in about five months.
"What are you going to do?"
"...Join the team as planned. It may be a little unpleasant, but this is the best way for us to be nearby when something happens."
"Really? Then let's do that."
I didn't necessarily disagree. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed impossible for us to change the past this way, but it wasn't like I could think of any other way. For now, I decided to follow Amelia's plan—at least until a better one came along.
I checked the time once more at five minutes to midnight. Amelia noticed and said, "Ah, come to think of it, today is that day."
"Yes." After a drink of water, I lay on the bed.
"Have a nice trip."
Seeing me off? This is very weird.
"There's still about five minutes until I go. It'll only be a short moment here, anyway."
"Ah, that's true."
After that, I spent the time exchanging meaningless chatter with Amelia. Was it because this was Auril Gavis we were talking about? I was a little nervous.
Tick.
Just then, the second hand of the clock ticked into place and my vision grew blurry.
That Sprite from last time was really delicious. I wonder if he'll give me some more?