Chapter 315: Inheritance (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 315: Inheritance (4)
"Now, now, everyone, have a drink! I'm buying, so don't even think about sitting this out! Hahaha!"
Once the labyrinth closed, Amelia and I joined the after-party. The location was the tavern run by the Rainwales sisters' adoptive father.
"Haha! Iron Mask! Do you remember what that guy said while his intestines were spilling out of him? 'H-Help me!' Uh... you don't think it's funny...?"
"It's not funny at all."
"I-I see...?"
I gave Dumbo, who was pretending to be friendly out of excitement, a stony look before getting up from my seat. Then I headed to Felic Barker.
"Hey, Iron Mask!"
"Barker."
"Haha, I told you to call me Fel."
"No, this is easier."
"A drink?"
"Sure."
When I sat beside him to drink, the guy started talking nonstop. Most of the talk was flattery directed at me since the Fashion Barbarian strategy worked just as well as I expected. No, it actually exceeded expectations. According to him, the "warriors" who received training from me and were split between each team had even higher batting averages than I did. Well, that couldn't be helped, since I was constantly covering my face with a helmet as per my nickname. People who showed their faces were bound to look less suspicious.
"This is a masterstroke! For some reason, they trusted you more than the child herders!"
"Then you won't need herders from now on?"
"Hmm, I don't know. I think it's still too early to decide. I don't know how long this strategy will last us, either." Although I casually threw that out there just in case, the clan chief showed no intention of letting the sisters go. He may not have looked it, but he had good judgment. "Besides, I don't know about the others, but I think the Rainwales sisters are very talented. After a few years, they'll become great additions to the clan."
So, you're not going to let them go so easily, huh? Ugh, and it's not like I can slit his throat here either.
I just quietly sipped my drink. To be honest, Felic Barker was the biggest obstacle to our plan. Well, to be more precise, the problem was one of the essences in his possession—the rare rank-four Sea Merchant. It was a neutral monster that you had an extremely low probability of encountering while sailing around the ocean on the sixth floor. In most cases, it never attacked first, and when encountered, if you threw a certain amount of mana stones into the ocean it swam in, it threw you back something called bluestone, a high-grade material used for equipment. Of course, since it was a monster, it was also possible to hunt it, and if you happened to overcome the extreme odds and obtain its essence, you were able to acquire a unique active skill called Unhealthy Contract.
The only one currently bound by the contract is the sister.
It was this Unhealthy Contract that was the problem. This man had created a heinous contract, and we had to release Laura from it first to save her.
Ha... how did this precious essence end up in the hands of a guy like this?
The thought pissed me off so I flat-out asked Felic. "How did you obtain the essence of a Sea Merchant? I heard that's a very rare essence."
"Oh, that? Why are you asking all of a sudden?"
"I was always curious. I just couldn't ask before because we weren't close."
"Hahaha! Then are we close now?" When I shrugged to avoid answering, the guy interpreted the gesture in whatever way he wanted and started explaining. "It was back when I was still active in a clan aboveground. I was young back then too..."
Without all the extra, unnecessary information, his story could be summed up as follows: while on a quest with his clan, a Sea Merchant dropped an essence, and this guy was so money-crazy that he stole the Magic Vial containing it.
"I was planning on listing it for auction to make a quick buck once some time passed and things quieted down. I figured I could live the rest of my life without worrying about money!"
But despite his high hopes, Felic's crime was discovered before long. And so he fled to Noark. In the process, he apparently ended up unable to sell the essence in the Magic Vial and absorbed it himself.
"Bjon." We'd just gotten to that point in the story when Amelia came up to me.
"Ah, Emily..."
"I'm thinking of leaving soon."
"Really? Then I'm going to head out now."
When I excused myself from his company and got up, Felic flashed me a wicked grin. "Keke, have a nice time!"
Taking in that smile, I thought, I can't wait for the day I get to bash this guy's head in.
***
Tap.
Arua Raven closed the book she had been reading all night. Then she stretched and got up from her spot. When she did, the items she had pushed into a corner of the lab caught her eye. They were Bjorn Yandel's belongings.
"I should... get rid of those now..."
Raven let out a long sigh. Time was truly a cruel mistress. She had searched through various books, convinced there must be some big secret, but she'd discovered nothing. As the days passed, Raven was growing less and less able to ignore reality.
Perhaps this was the kind of person she was. Emotions were temporary. No matter how angry or sad she got, as time passed, she inevitably found herself thinking logically again. Bjorn Yandel was dead, and so it was now time to sell these items and divide what remained in accordance with his will. Instead of sifting through books until late at night, that was what she should do.
But the more she thought that way, the more an inexplicable sense of shame crept up on her. That was why she had been reading until just now. Bjorn Yandel's death had changed Missha's and Erwen's worlds. Those two would never get to go back to how things were before. But her?
Sigh...
Not long ago, she started eating at every meal again, worried that her body would break down at this rate. She was no longer as desperate about searching through books to solve the mystery, either, and sometimes found herself thinking that it wouldn't make a difference anyway. And that wasn't all—she even drank tea and could force herself to smile when the seniors from her school struck up conversations with her. Raven knew that if time continued to pass like this, eventually, she would return to her everyday life. She was like a match—she could burn hot, but couldn't burn for long.
It's not like... I didn't care about him too...
She had also liked Bjorn. She may not have seen him as a romantic interest, but she felt the most amount of human affection possible for him. She had learned a lot from him, and being around him was fun. He was probably the first person to have had as much of an emotional impact on her since that woman. But just as she did back then, she was recovering from his loss, and that fact brought her guilt.
"Hahaha! Then are we close now?" When I shrugged to avoid answering, the guy interpreted the gesture in whatever way he wanted and started explaining. "It was back when I was still active in a clan aboveground. I was young back then too..."
Without all the extra, unnecessary information, his story could be summed up as follows: while on a quest with his clan, a Sea Merchant dropped an essence, and this guy was so money-crazy that he stole the Magic Vial containing it.
"I was planning on listing it for auction to make a quick buck once some time passed and things quieted down. I figured I could live the rest of my life without worrying about money!"
But despite his high hopes, Felic's crime was discovered before long. And so he fled to Noark. In the process, he apparently ended up unable to sell the essence in the Magic Vial and absorbed it himself.
"Bjon." We'd just gotten to that point in the story when Amelia came up to me.
"Ah, Emily..."
"I'm thinking of leaving soon."
"Really? Then I'm going to head out now."
When I excused myself from his company and got up, Felic flashed me a wicked grin. "Keke, have a nice time!"
Taking in that smile, I thought, I can't wait for the day I get to bash this guy's head in.
***
Tap.
Arua Raven closed the book she had been reading all night. Then she stretched and got up from her spot. When she did, the items she had pushed into a corner of the lab caught her eye. They were Bjorn Yandel's belongings.
"I should... get rid of those now..."
Raven let out a long sigh. Time was truly a cruel mistress. She had searched through various books, convinced there must be some big secret, but she'd discovered nothing. As the days passed, Raven was growing less and less able to ignore reality.
Perhaps this was the kind of person she was. Emotions were temporary. No matter how angry or sad she got, as time passed, she inevitably found herself thinking logically again. Bjorn Yandel was dead, and so it was now time to sell these items and divide what remained in accordance with his will. Instead of sifting through books until late at night, that was what she should do.
But the more she thought that way, the more an inexplicable sense of shame crept up on her. That was why she had been reading until just now. Bjorn Yandel's death had changed Missha's and Erwen's worlds. Those two would never get to go back to how things were before. But her?
Sigh...
Not long ago, she started eating at every meal again, worried that her body would break down at this rate. She was no longer as desperate about searching through books to solve the mystery, either, and sometimes found herself thinking that it wouldn't make a difference anyway. And that wasn't all—she even drank tea and could force herself to smile when the seniors from her school struck up conversations with her. Raven knew that if time continued to pass like this, eventually, she would return to her everyday life. She was like a match—she could burn hot, but couldn't burn for long.
It's not like... I didn't care about him too...
She had also liked Bjorn. She may not have seen him as a romantic interest, but she felt the most amount of human affection possible for him. She had learned a lot from him, and being around him was fun. He was probably the first person to have had as much of an emotional impact on her since that woman. But just as she did back then, she was recovering from his loss, and that fact brought her guilt.
"...I should just go through it for now. I can sell it another time," Raven said, almost like she was trying to convince herself. Then she started officially organizing Bjorn Yandel's belongings.
She appraised the equipment and wrote down the market prices, then she went through the items in sub-space. As she was doing this, something caught her eye.
"Huh? This has to be..."
The Golden Mask was an item that could be obtained in the first floor's rift, the Bloody Citadel, but the method for doing so had been erased from the copy of The Complete Book of Rifts in her possession.
"How did Mr. Yandel...?"
When she watched Yandel defeat the Vampire with the Tears of a Goddess back then, she had theorized he had his own copy of The Complete Book of Rifts. But when he made a warrior's oath and claimed it was a coincidence, she had let go of her suspicions.
"...Was that all a lie?"
Perhaps he had owned The Complete Book of Rifts or had read it once. Just as she was thinking this, though, she recalled her master suspecting him of being an evil spirit.
Come on, what kind of ridiculous thought...?
Raven chuckled and continued organizing the backpack. "What... is this?" Raven discovered a magical device of unknown origin. Judging by the symbols on it, it seemed to both record conversations and allow the user to use Secret Voice.
Click.
Raven pressed the groove at the bottom. Then voices began to flow out.
"What is there to think about? They're NPCs, anyway."
"But they are comrades who have been with—"
"What a joke. You think those guys will think like that once they find out your identity?"
Neither of those voices were Bjorn Yandel's. Then who were the two people in this conversation? The answer came to her quickly.
"The person your comrades thought of as a friend was the real Hans. And as you know, the real Hans is no longer in this world."
"But... I consider them to be my real comrades."
It was a conversation between Hans Chrisen and the dwarf from Noark they met in Doppelganger Forest. This must have been the weakness the dwarf had been talking about. She never thought Bjorn would still have this. Anyway, if they wanted to sell it, it probably had to be reset.
Shaaaaaa.
Raven channeled mana into the device to figure out how its mana circuits were structured. To someone who specialized in magical devices, this was an easy task.
So you have to press it twice and then press and hold it once.
Although she had learned how to reset it like she wanted, Raven did not retract her mana and instead continued to explore the circuit structure. It was unusual, so she wanted a closer look. She went further and started reading the residual mana.
What, the maximum number of times a recording can be played back is fixed? Did they use a cheap core or something?
Raven's hand then flinched. "Huh?" This magical device could only play back a single recording up to one hundred times, and when that limit was exceeded, it was automatically reset.
There are only two plays left?
The number of times it had been listened to was a bit strange—a bit too strange to write off as a simple error. So she channeled more mana into it to take a closer look. Then she checked the playback history.
"What the...?" Except for the first two replays, the rest were from after they left Doppelganger Forest. Put simply, that meant that the person who had replayed it the remaining ninety-six times was Bjorn Yandel. "Why did Mr. Yandel listen to this conversation so many times...?"
She had no idea, but Raven instinctively sensed something was off.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door to her laboratory. Raven stopped what she was doing for the moment and opened the door. A completely unexpected person stood before her. "Miss Missha...?"
"Yeah... can I come in...?"
"Ah, yes! Of course. Come in! Wait a minute, I need to clean up the room..."
"You don't have to put in so much effort."
"Right... but what brings you here all of a sudden?" Raven was flustered by the sudden visit.
"There's something I have to tell you..."
She suddenly got an ominous feeling.
***
"Drinking again?"
"Ah, there was nothing else to do, so..."
When Amelia returned to the inn, she glanced at me as she hung her coat on the hanger. Jeez, why was she judging me? Did she know how boring sitting here alone was?
"Did you get our share of the loot without issue?"
Amelia chuckled at my question. "What, you think I can't even calculate something like that properly?"
"That's not it, but you never know. They could have played a trick behind your back..."
"Don't worry. I made sure we got our share. Well, not that it matters."
"That's true."
Our objective wasn't money. Although it was hard to say it was an entirely meaningless pursuit, only once we saved Laura and found a way to return to our original world would it become meaningful.
"So, what are you going to do next? Judging by the conversation I had with him, it seems terminating the contract and getting her out of it before the incident in a few months will be difficult."
"Nothing changes for now. We will keep trying. At least until a better method comes to mind."
"Sure..."
It had already been about two weeks since we got back to Noark. Since leaving the labyrinth, we continued to brainstorm amongst ourselves about how we could save Laura. But even after several days of talking, we still hadn't been able to reach a suitable answer.
Ugh, I feel like I might be able to come up with something, but...
The more stifling our situation grew, the more I looked forward to midnight on the 15th. I was hoping that by meeting with Auril Gavis again and obtaining information from the other members, I might be able to cook up a good idea.
"Is it today?"
"In two hours, to be exact."
Amelia nodded at my answer and went to wash up, and when she came out, we just chatted out of boredom. Before long, the time came, and there were about ten seconds left until midnight. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound of the second hand.
Tick, tick, tick...
Before long, I heard the tenth tick.
"...What the...?"
I immediately opened my eyes.
Tick, tick, tick...
The ticking of the second hand continued to punctuate the silence.
"...Are you back already?" Amelia asked, but I just stared blankly at the clock.
Tick, tick, tick...
What the—why can't I go?
"...I should just go through it for now. I can sell it another time," Raven said, almost like she was trying to convince herself. Then she started officially organizing Bjorn Yandel's belongings.
She appraised the equipment and wrote down the market prices, then she went through the items in sub-space. As she was doing this, something caught her eye.
"Huh? This has to be..."
The Golden Mask was an item that could be obtained in the first floor's rift, the Bloody Citadel, but the method for doing so had been erased from the copy of The Complete Book of Rifts in her possession.
"How did Mr. Yandel...?"
When she watched Yandel defeat the Vampire with the Tears of a Goddess back then, she had theorized he had his own copy of The Complete Book of Rifts. But when he made a warrior's oath and claimed it was a coincidence, she had let go of her suspicions.
"...Was that all a lie?"
Perhaps he had owned The Complete Book of Rifts or had read it once. Just as she was thinking this, though, she recalled her master suspecting him of being an evil spirit.
Come on, what kind of ridiculous thought...?
Raven chuckled and continued organizing the backpack. "What... is this?" Raven discovered a magical device of unknown origin. Judging by the symbols on it, it seemed to both record conversations and allow the user to use Secret Voice.
Click.
Raven pressed the groove at the bottom. Then voices began to flow out.
"What is there to think about? They're NPCs, anyway."
"But they are comrades who have been with—"
"What a joke. You think those guys will think like that once they find out your identity?"
Neither of those voices were Bjorn Yandel's. Then who were the two people in this conversation? The answer came to her quickly.
"The person your comrades thought of as a friend was the real Hans. And as you know, the real Hans is no longer in this world."
"But... I consider them to be my real comrades."
It was a conversation between Hans Chrisen and the dwarf from Noark they met in Doppelganger Forest. This must have been the weakness the dwarf had been talking about. She never thought Bjorn would still have this. Anyway, if they wanted to sell it, it probably had to be reset.
Shaaaaaa.
Raven channeled mana into the device to figure out how its mana circuits were structured. To someone who specialized in magical devices, this was an easy task.
So you have to press it twice and then press and hold it once.
Although she had learned how to reset it like she wanted, Raven did not retract her mana and instead continued to explore the circuit structure. It was unusual, so she wanted a closer look. She went further and started reading the residual mana.
What, the maximum number of times a recording can be played back is fixed? Did they use a cheap core or something?
Raven's hand then flinched. "Huh?" This magical device could only play back a single recording up to one hundred times, and when that limit was exceeded, it was automatically reset.
There are only two plays left?
The number of times it had been listened to was a bit strange—a bit too strange to write off as a simple error. So she channeled more mana into it to take a closer look. Then she checked the playback history.
"What the...?" Except for the first two replays, the rest were from after they left Doppelganger Forest. Put simply, that meant that the person who had replayed it the remaining ninety-six times was Bjorn Yandel. "Why did Mr. Yandel listen to this conversation so many times...?"
She had no idea, but Raven instinctively sensed something was off.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door to her laboratory. Raven stopped what she was doing for the moment and opened the door. A completely unexpected person stood before her. "Miss Missha...?"
"Yeah... can I come in...?"
"Ah, yes! Of course. Come in! Wait a minute, I need to clean up the room..."
"You don't have to put in so much effort."
"Right... but what brings you here all of a sudden?" Raven was flustered by the sudden visit.
"There's something I have to tell you..."
She suddenly got an ominous feeling.
***
"Drinking again?"
"Ah, there was nothing else to do, so..."
When Amelia returned to the inn, she glanced at me as she hung her coat on the hanger. Jeez, why was she judging me? Did she know how boring sitting here alone was?
"Did you get our share of the loot without issue?"
Amelia chuckled at my question. "What, you think I can't even calculate something like that properly?"
"That's not it, but you never know. They could have played a trick behind your back..."
"Don't worry. I made sure we got our share. Well, not that it matters."
"That's true."
Our objective wasn't money. Although it was hard to say it was an entirely meaningless pursuit, only once we saved Laura and found a way to return to our original world would it become meaningful.
"So, what are you going to do next? Judging by the conversation I had with him, it seems terminating the contract and getting her out of it before the incident in a few months will be difficult."
"Nothing changes for now. We will keep trying. At least until a better method comes to mind."
"Sure..."
It had already been about two weeks since we got back to Noark. Since leaving the labyrinth, we continued to brainstorm amongst ourselves about how we could save Laura. But even after several days of talking, we still hadn't been able to reach a suitable answer.
Ugh, I feel like I might be able to come up with something, but...
The more stifling our situation grew, the more I looked forward to midnight on the 15th. I was hoping that by meeting with Auril Gavis again and obtaining information from the other members, I might be able to cook up a good idea.
"Is it today?"
"In two hours, to be exact."
Amelia nodded at my answer and went to wash up, and when she came out, we just chatted out of boredom. Before long, the time came, and there were about ten seconds left until midnight. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound of the second hand.
Tick, tick, tick...
Before long, I heard the tenth tick.
"...What the...?"
I immediately opened my eyes.
Tick, tick, tick...
The ticking of the second hand continued to punctuate the silence.
"...Are you back already?" Amelia asked, but I just stared blankly at the clock.
Tick, tick, tick...
What the—why can't I go?