Chapter 408: Inevitability (4)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 408: Inevitability (4)

Only a few people knew about my ill-fated relationship with the Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos. Aside from the members of my team at the time, there were a few high-ranking members of the Church of Reatlas and the leaders of the dragon tribe. Of course, Erwen knew nothing about the vine ring or Reatlas's blessing, only that a wizard named Dwalkie suffered great misfortune in the labyrinth.

Does she have some sort of ax to grind with him, too?

If so, that was strange. When the marquess shared that one of our missions was to help Ravien kill the Dragon Slayer, she hadn't reacted like this.

...Hmm, actually, the look on her face wasn't all that great back then, either.

No, now that I thought about it, the look on her face hadn't been good at all. Amelia had noticed the way her lips were pressed together and asked if she was in pain. She said it was nothing and left in a hurry. I hadn't dug deeper back then.

But I should check it out now.

I couldn't just stand by and watch as my teammate broke down. I excused myself from Jun, immediately walked over to calm Erwen down, and got the story.

"I-I'm sorry. F-For acting like this all of a sudden..."

"I'm not here for an apology. I'm just worried. Did something happen with that piece of shit Dragon Slayer?"

"Well..." Erwen hesitated for a long moment before finally opening her mouth. "It happened when I was ten years old."

"Ten years old..." That was about thirteen years ago now. In other words, a year after the war between the barbarians and elves ended. Immediately, something came to mind. "Does this... have something to do with the massacre?"

There had been a terror attack targeting the elves' holy land. The perpetrator was Regal Vagos, and the number of elves killed that day was over a thousand. And if my assumptions were correct...

"Yes, that was the day my parents passed away. In front of me... to protect me, Daria, and our younger sister..."

"...I see."

Erwen had lost her parents that day. Her uncle adopted all three sisters and raised them with love, but that hole in their lives could never be filled. Even still, Erwen had persevered. It was all thanks to the eldest, Daria, doing her best to fill that hole.

"That young lady was born with the most destiny after you."

This cruel world had then taken even Daria away from her. Although it hadn't been the Dragon Slayer, coincidentally, it had been Fallen Scholar, another member of Orcules.

"Goddamn it."

"I-I'm sorry. As soon as I heard that voice, I got scared. That man is clearly my enemy... a-and I know I have to fight if I don't want to lose any more people I care about... But part of me was... afraid those damn bastards were coming to take them from me again..." It was understandable that Erwen was in a state of panic. "I-It's pathetic, right...? When I'm so much stronger now... I promised myself I'd get revenge someday, but I'm still like this..."

That was what trauma was—emotion over reason. No, to be more precise, it was the memories of that event overriding your every thought and filling you with fear.

"Pathetic? Of course not. The pathetic one... is me."

"What? P-Pathetic? There's no way! Mister, do you know how great you are?"

Uh... well, everyone has their own standards, I guess.

I thought I had spent quite some time with Erwen, yet I didn't know anything about this past of hers. No, actually, I didn't even make an effort to.

"To be honest, I've noticed as well... that there's something wrong with me..."

If, when I first learned about Erwen's symptoms of anxiety, I hadn't dismissed them as simply a side effect of her stats and essences, things would have been different.

"You must've had a hard time. I know... what it feels like to lose something."

When I returned to the city after losing Dwalkie, if I had thought more deeply about the meaning behind her words of comfort, I would've figured out what the real problem was earlier on.

"Mister..."

Still, it was not like me to be so doom and gloom. If there was a problematic problem, all I had to do was eliminate said problem.

"Erwen."

When I called her name, Erwen looked up at me with watery eyes and reached out to grab my hand, like she was waiting with bated breath for whatever I'd say next.

So, you were hoping for me to say this, huh?

"Don't be so anxious. Whether it's Fallen Scholar, Corpse Collector, or that goddamn lizard bastard," I quietly vowed, "I will slaughter them all one day."

"...Eh?"

...Huh? This isn't the reaction I was expecting.

"What, you don't believe me?"

When I glared at her, Erwen's shoulders jumped. "O-Of course not! I-I believe you!"

It was a weak answer but I wasn't too pressed about it. Erwen's eyes, which had been filled with anxiety, were now blank. It seemed I managed to calm her down a bit.

***

After calming Erwen down and sending her back over to the team, I took a moment to get my thoughts in order.

This is strange.

The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos... there were as many as four people on my team who had a bone to pick with that guy. Me and Ravien, who was from the dragon tribe, went without saying, but as our conversation had revealed, he was also enemies with Erwen.

Amelia said she was in a similar situation.

Of course, Amelia was in a slightly different boat than the three of us. Hers was closer to a one-sided grudge on the Dragon Slayer's end. Apparently, she found the bastard beneath a portal, stole his equipment, and drugged him with a memory-loss pill.

"If he's regained his memories, he will be dying to kill me."

If there was a part of her story that had surprised me, it was the timing. That had been the same day the first vine broke off of my ring.

In a way, Amelia kind of helped me back then.

The coincidence could only be described as remarkable. I chuckled and went off to find Jun.

"Arghhh!" I heard the scream as soon as I opened the flap of the tent, which had a noise-blocking spell on it. "Y-You said you'd k-kill me! Arghhh!"

"Because I believed you confessed all your sins and that your heart was once again pure. But I was deceived."

"I-I didn't lie about anything!"

"Then why didn't you tell me about the Dragon Slayer? It sounds like that man is waiting at your base."

"Th-that's...!"

"There's still a hint of evil in your eyes—"

"I-I didn't know! I didn't know! Those people never tell me where they are or when! Aghhh! Kill me! Just kill me!"

"To be honest, I've noticed as well... that there's something wrong with me..."

If, when I first learned about Erwen's symptoms of anxiety, I hadn't dismissed them as simply a side effect of her stats and essences, things would have been different.

"You must've had a hard time. I know... what it feels like to lose something."

When I returned to the city after losing Dwalkie, if I had thought more deeply about the meaning behind her words of comfort, I would've figured out what the real problem was earlier on.

"Mister..."

Still, it was not like me to be so doom and gloom. If there was a problematic problem, all I had to do was eliminate said problem.

"Erwen."

When I called her name, Erwen looked up at me with watery eyes and reached out to grab my hand, like she was waiting with bated breath for whatever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd say next.

So, you were hoping for me to say this, huh?

"Don't be so anxious. Whether it's Fallen Scholar, Corpse Collector, or that goddamn lizard bastard," I quietly vowed, "I will slaughter them all one day."

"...Eh?"

...Huh? This isn't the reaction I was expecting.

"What, you don't believe me?"

When I glared at her, Erwen's shoulders jumped. "O-Of course not! I-I believe you!"

It was a weak answer but I wasn't too pressed about it. Erwen's eyes, which had been filled with anxiety, were now blank. It seemed I managed to calm her down a bit.

***

After calming Erwen down and sending her back over to the team, I took a moment to get my thoughts in order.

This is strange.

The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos... there were as many as four people on my team who had a bone to pick with that guy. Me and Ravien, who was from the dragon tribe, went without saying, but as our conversation had revealed, he was also enemies with Erwen.

Amelia said she was in a similar situation.

Of course, Amelia was in a slightly different boat than the three of us. Hers was closer to a one-sided grudge on the Dragon Slayer's end. Apparently, she found the bastard beneath a portal, stole his equipment, and drugged him with a memory-loss pill.

"If he's regained his memories, he will be dying to kill me."

If there was a part of her story that had surprised me, it was the timing. That had been the same day the first vine broke off of my ring.

In a way, Amelia kind of helped me back then.

The coincidence could only be described as remarkable. I chuckled and went off to find Jun.

"Arghhh!" I heard the scream as soon as I opened the flap of the tent, which had a noise-blocking spell on it. "Y-You said you'd k-kill me! Arghhh!"

"Because I believed you confessed all your sins and that your heart was once again pure. But I was deceived."

"I-I didn't lie about anything!"

"Then why didn't you tell me about the Dragon Slayer? It sounds like that man is waiting at your base."

"Th-that's...!"

"There's still a hint of evil in your eyes—"

"I-I didn't know! I didn't know! Those people never tell me where they are or when! Aghhh! Kill me! Just kill me!"

The man, whose limbs were convulsing despite being tied up, suddenly clamped his mouth shut. In response, Jun violently grabbed his jaw and pried it open. When he did, blood poured out. The man had bitten his own tongue in an attempt to kill himself.

"Well... it seems he lacks enough virtue to find the light yet," Jun said darkly, then summoned his divine power to heal the man's injuries in an instant.

"...N-Nooo!"

"Don't worry. I will help you regain your purity and find the light one day."

"...Demon! You demon! You demon!"

"...Hm." Jun's kind smile didn't disappear despite the insults, and he quietly picked up one of the awls. "Ah! You're here." When he spotted me, he quickly shoved a gag in the man's mouth.

"Mm—mmp—!"

"...Did you learn anything?"

"Unfortunately, still not enough. Only that there are more troops on standby at their main base than we expected."

"They have more troops? How many?"

"According to this man, about twice as many as we thought."

"What? Twice?" That was kind of a problem. "Why didn't the others tell us about that? Did they lie?"

"No. They didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seem like the kind of people who would sacrifice their lives for loyalty. It's just... they truly believed they had the right numbers."

Hmm, that makes sense.

"But by that logic, it's possible this guy has it wrong and the others are right."

"Yes, that's right. I can't deny that. But... this fellow only figured it out after receiving the call. Normally, routine transmissions are sent from the main base, so he realized that if the Dragon Slayer is there, there's a high probability his unit is there as well. What are you going to do? I'll continue to dig up information for now, but if the enemy has twice as many forces as we expected, the likelihood of our mission failing increases as well."

"And even if we do succeed, we'll take more damage."

"...Yes, that's right."

Hm, then what should we do? Stick with the original plan no matter how much ruin it results in?

I deliberated for a moment before making a decision. "Jun, stop the interrogation for now and gather the other leaders."

"You're going to hold a meeting?"

"Yes."

As the saying went, two heads were better than one. You never knew if someone else might have a good idea.

***

We'd held countless leadership meetings over the course of this expedition. As soon as the information Jun obtained through his interrogation was relayed, I was immediately bombarded with opinions.

"It's hard to say their forces have doubled. Even the Dragon Slayer's squadron is only a small to medium clan, right?" said Kaislan.

"If you look at it in terms of just numbers, it's about twenty additional men, but we shouldn't underestimate them," Akurava warned. "After all, there's also only thirty of us."

"Yes. Unlike the small fish we ran into in this area, it's likely each member of his squadron is an elite," said Jun.

"So, you want to abandon the mission?" Kaislan demanded.

"No one said that. I'm saying we should consider alternative strategies. I'm sure that's why Mr. Schuitz called us here," said Akurava.

When my name was invoked as commander of this expedition, Kaislan quieted down. Regardless of time and circumstance, the authority of the powerful was always respected.

The man, whose limbs were convulsing despite being tied up, suddenly clamped his mouth shut. In response, Jun violently grabbed his jaw and pried it open. When he did, blood poured out. The man had bitten his own tongue in an attempt to kill himself.

"Well... it seems he lacks enough virtue to find the light yet," Jun said darkly, then summoned his divine power to heal the man's injuries in an instant.

"...N-Nooo!"

"Don't worry. I will help you regain your purity and find the light one day."

"...Demon! You demon! You demon!"

"...Hm." Jun's kind smile didn't disappear despite the insults, and he quietly picked up one of the awls. "Ah! You're here." When he spotted me, he quickly shoved a gag in the man's mouth.

"Mm—mmp—!"

"...Did you learn anything?"

"Unfortunately, still not enough. Only that there are more troops on standby at their main base than we expected."

"They have more troops? How many?"

"According to this man, about twice as many as we thought."

"What? Twice?" That was kind of a problem. "Why didn't the others tell us about that? Did they lie?"

"No. They didn't seem like the kind of people who would sacrifice their lives for loyalty. It's just... they truly believed they had the right numbers."

Hmm, that makes sense.

"But by that logic, it's possible this guy has it wrong and the others are right."

"Yes, that's right. I can't deny that. But... this fellow only figured it out after receiving the call. Normally, routine transmissions are sent from the main base, so he realized that if the Dragon Slayer is there, there's a high probability his unit is there as well. What are you going to do? I'll continue to dig up information for now, but if the enemy has twice as many forces as we expected, the likelihood of our mission failing increases as well."

"And even if we do succeed, we'll take more damage."

"...Yes, that's right."

Hm, then what should we do? Stick with the original plan no matter how much ruin it results in?

I deliberated for a moment before making a decision. "Jun, stop the interrogation for now and gather the other leaders."

"You're going to hold a meeting?"

"Yes."

As the saying went, two heads were better than one. You never knew if someone else might have a good idea.

***

We'd held countless leadership meetings over the course of this expedition. As soon as the information Jun obtained through his interrogation was relayed, I was immediately bombarded with opinions.

"It's hard to say their forces have doubled. Even the Dragon Slayer's squadron is only a small to medium clan, right?" said Kaislan.

"If you look at it in terms of just numbers, it's about twenty additional men, but we shouldn't underestimate them," Akurava warned. "After all, there's also only thirty of us."

"Yes. Unlike the small fish we ran into in this area, it's likely each member of his squadron is an elite," said Jun.

"So, you want to abandon the mission?" Kaislan demanded.

"No one said that. I'm saying we should consider alternative strategies. I'm sure that's why Mr. Schuitz called us here," said Akurava.

When my name was invoked as commander of this expedition, Kaislan quieted down. Regardless of time and circumstance, the authority of the powerful was always respected.

"Anyway, at this rate, the damage we'll suffer will be significant even if we succeed in the mission. Does anyone have a good plan?" I asked candidly, and various ideas were immediately thrown around.

"Why don't we hide out nearby and gradually whittle down their numbers?" suggested Kaislan.

"No. If we do that, we won't be able to meet up with the main unit at the scheduled time," said Akurava.

"Besides, by that point, the enemy will realize what's going on, no matter how oblivious they are. We'll lose the advantage of an ambush and it might get even harder to pull this mission off since the enemy will have time to prepare for our arrival," said Calla.

"Then Calla, do you have a better idea?" asked Kaislan.

"...Why don't we infiltrate their base? If we use that man who's under interrogation to go undercover, we might be able to pull it off."

"But the moment he screws up, everyone will be dead, and the mission will fail as well. It's too risky. It would be better to..."

From ambushing to infiltration to baiting to assassination, there were several suggestions. Not a single one was good enough to garner unanimous support, but humanity's whole thing was collective intelligence.

"Luring some of the enemies' forces away and splitting up their troops would be best," said Akurava.

"If we use the enemy's message stone, that'll be a piece of cake."

In the end, we put our heads together and came up with a plan that everyone could agree on. The group soon split on the execution, though.

"I think it would be smart to lure out the Dragon Slayer and attack him first. We can target the main base after that," said Akurava.

"No, we have to lure the troops out, but then we should attack the base first. That's our mission."

Should we deal with the Dragon Slayer first? Or should we prioritize our mission? Both had pros and cons. If we went with the former and succeeded, we could kill two birds with one stone.

"Akurava, this is not the time to get hung up on war achievements," Kaislan said. "Do you think these people will be like the ones we've run into so far? That they'll let us defeat them without calling for backup? Even if they die in the process, they will definitely make our presence known."

"Besides, there's no guarantee the ambush will be successful. If they're able to maintain their composure and fight us on equal ground, we'll take even worse damage," said Calla.

"Yes, that's what I was trying to say! Then, even if we win, everyone will be exhausted. How will we be able to attack the main base in that state?" asked Kaislan.

If things went wrong with Akurava's Dragon Slayer plan, the mission ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠itself would fail. But in the case of the other option—attacking the base while the troops were gone—at least we'd have carried out the mission.

"Now, now, everyone, calm yourselves. This is for Schuitz to decide, after all." Jun stepped in as things were getting tense, and all eyes immediately turned to me.

Ha, what to choose.

For the first time in a long time, this genuinely wasn't an easy decision. Of course, I knew in my head that choosing the latter was the right thing to do. If it weren't for the existence of the Dragon Slayer, I would've chosen it without any hesitation.

Tap, tap.

As I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠subconsciously tapped my fingers on my knee, the team leaders gulped.

"Looks like Schuitz has made his decision."

"He always does that when he's made up his mind."

Uh... I have a tell like that?

This was the first I heard of it, but I didn't have time to worry about it right now. I announced my decision. "We will focus on the mission." After all, we didn't have time to pursue both the mission and the Dragon Slayer.

Kaislan rejoiced. "Good idea! If the mission is successful, the palace will grant us a generous reward anyway!"

"A reward, huh?" I chuckled.

Did she sense something off in that laugh? "Schuitz," Akurava said cautiously, "can we hear your reasoning? I thought you would be bolder than that."

She wasn't wrong. If I were alone, I would have chosen to go after the Dragon Slayer. "Because your lives depend on my decision. One less battle means that the number of people who survive will be greater." That's why I had abandoned my greed. That was all there was to my decision. "Now, is that enough of an answer?"

"...Yes, quite enough." Akurava nodded compliantly and I ditched the last of my regrets.

The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos.

It didn't have to be today. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but...

"We will meet again, dragonian man."

The vow I made that day would definitely come true.

"Anyway, at this rate, the damage we'll suffer will be significant even if we succeed in the mission. Does anyone have a good plan?" I asked candidly, and various ideas were immediately thrown around.

"Why don't we hide out nearby and gradually whittle down their numbers?" suggested Kaislan.

"No. If we do that, we won't be able to meet up with the main unit at the scheduled time," said Akurava.

"Besides, by that point, the enemy will realize what's going on, no matter how oblivious they are. We'll lose the advantage of an ambush and it might get even harder to pull this mission off since the enemy will have time to prepare for our arrival," said Calla.

"Then Calla, do you have a better idea?" asked Kaislan.

"...Why don't we infiltrate their base? If we use that man who's under interrogation to go undercover, we might be able to pull it off."

"But the moment he screws up, everyone will be dead, and the mission will fail as well. It's too risky. It would be better to..."

From ambushing to infiltration to baiting to assassination, there were several suggestions. Not a single one was good enough to garner unanimous support, but humanity's whole thing was collective intelligence.

"Luring some of the enemies' forces away and splitting up their troops would be best," said Akurava.

"If we use the enemy's message stone, that'll be a piece of cake."

In the end, we put our heads together and came up with a plan that everyone could agree on. The group soon split on the execution, though.

"I think it would be smart to lure out the Dragon Slayer and attack him first. We can target the main base after that," said Akurava.

"No, we have to lure the troops out, but then we should attack the base first. That's our mission."

Should we deal with the Dragon Slayer first? Or should we prioritize our mission? Both had pros and cons. If we went with the former and succeeded, we could kill two birds with one stone.

"Akurava, this is not the time to get hung up on war achievements," Kaislan said. "Do you think these people will be like the ones we've run into so far? That they'll let us defeat them without calling for backup? Even if they die in the process, they will definitely make our presence known."

"Besides, there's no guarantee the ambush will be successful. If they're able to maintain their composure and fight us on equal ground, we'll take even worse damage," said Calla.

"Yes, that's what I was trying to say! Then, even if we win, everyone will be exhausted. How will we be able to attack the main base in that state?" asked Kaislan.

If things went wrong with Akurava's Dragon Slayer plan, the mission itself would fail. But in the case of the other option—attacking the base while the troops were gone—at least we'd have carried out the mission.

"Now, now, everyone, calm yourselves. This is for Schuitz to decide, after all." Jun stepped in as things were getting tense, and all eyes immediately turned to me.

Ha, what to choose.

For the first time in a long time, this genuinely wasn't an easy decision. Of course, I knew in my head that choosing the latter was the right thing to do. If it weren't for the existence of the Dragon Slayer, I would've chosen it without any hesitation.

Tap, tap.

As I subconsciously tapped my fingers on my knee, the team leaders gulped.

"Looks like Schuitz has made his decision."

"He always does that when he's made up his mind."

Uh... I have a tell like that?

This was the first I heard of it, but I didn't have time to worry about it right now. I announced my decision. "We will focus on the mission." After all, we didn't have time to pursue both the mission and the Dragon Slayer.

Kaislan rejoiced. "Good idea! If the mission is successful, the palace will grant us a generous reward anyway!"

"A reward, huh?" I chuckled.

Did she sense something off in that laugh? "Schuitz," Akurava said cautiously, "can we hear your reasoning? I thought you would be bolder than that."

She wasn't wrong. If I were alone, I would have chosen to go after the Dragon Slayer. "Because your lives depend on my decision. One less battle means that the number of people who survive will be greater." That's why I had abandoned my greed. That was all there was to my decision. "Now, is that enough of an answer?"

"...Yes, quite enough." Akurava nodded compliantly and I ditched the last of my regrets.

The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos.

It didn't have to be today. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but...

"We will meet again, dragonian man."

The vow I made that day would definitely come true.