Chapter 430: Return of the Dead (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 430: Return of the Dead (1)
After our discussion concluded, I borrowed a dagger from Amelia to cut open the Dragon Slayer's abdomen.
Slide.
The dagger sliced through his skin like a surgical scalpel. Once the laparotomy was over, I calmly took out his heart. Since it was so cold here, it was still fresh.
A dragonian's heart looks different from an ordinary person's.
It almost looked like a tropical fruit with a bumpy exterior. There were also chain marks on it for some reason.
As I curiously examined it, Ravien said, "The chain marks are probably traces of Pen's curse."
Hmm, really? Then it's always been bumpy?
"Gowland, please cast preservation and distortion magic on this."
After casting Distortion on the extracted heart, I stored it in a suitable container. Ravien seemed to want to guard the box herself, but I stopped her before she could grab it. "I'll hold on to this for the next while."
"...Why?"
"It'll be useful for negotiations."
"You're... not going to give it to them right away?"
"Exactly. After things calm down, I plan to meet with the ancient elder dragon myself and give it to him in exchange for him keeping it a secret. It'll be a headache if news that we beat this guy and took his heart spreads."
I was a bit worried about how this would go over with her, but Ravien willingly accepted my logic. "Okay. You'll get much more out of it than I would. Of course, I feel bad for Pen, but since she won't have to wait that long..."
"Thanks for understanding."
Okay, that matter is settled.
Once we had our hands on his heart, we held a funeral. There were no more priests left to preside over it, but we cremated our dead comrades like last time.
Rattle.
Once it was over, we secured the ashes and bone fragments in a box. After that, we started looting Noark's elites and the Order of the Rose, and gathering the gear of our dead comrades.
"Take all of the squadron's equipment. Since we can't use sub-space, stuff as much of it in your bags as possible."
We collected all of our comrades' equipment, which would serve as mementos to remember them by.
"Since we don't have room, make sure to only take the valuables from Noark's people."
We decided to take a decent amount of Noark's equipment. We'd killed a lot of Noark's soldiers before coming back to Glacier Eye, and their loot currently lay dormant in our sub-spaces. This meant that even if someone asked us where we got this loot, there would be no way for them to tell when we obtained it or exactly from whom. Unlike the Order of the Rose.
"Collect the Roses' items separately. Those need to be handled carefully."
Their equipment and consumables were mostly military supplies, so our options for selling and using them were limited. The moment these items were put on the market, word would reach the palace.
Not to mention, if they suddenly decide they want to divvy up the loot on our behalf and look through our belongings when we get back, our plan to keep things quiet will go sideways.
It wasn't a sure thing, but the risk of that happening existed.
We've made enough money off the military for now...
Kaislan, a former soldier, seemed rather satisfied with the jump in our budget. It was alarming to see him get teary-eyed about his dead comrades a second later, though. Was he all good, or...?
"Yandel, don't feel too guilty. We'll make their last wishes come true."
"What are you saying? My nose is just runny from the cold."
Whew, think other thoughts... other thoughts...
I moved toward the area where the bodies of the Roses and their equipment were sequestered. I didn't plan on taking a single thing, of course.
But I can at least take a look...
I searched them thoroughly, figuring one of them might have something on them that might expose one of the palace's weaknesses, or contain other important information. The more I looked, the more my stomach churned.
Wow, all these daggers are mystium. The leather is all Ogre... We have to leave all this behind? Can't we figure out how to hide it so we can melt it or cut it up to make it into new equipment?
Greed crept up on me, but...
"We have to give this up."
Even a 1 percent risk of exposure was unacceptable. I could always make up an excuse and claim that we obtained the Dragon Slayer's heart while he was chasing us, but there was no way I could come up with a believable story for these.
"...Huh?" As I was rummaging through the Roses' corpses, I found myself confused.
What are these rings?
All of the knights were wearing identical rings on their middle fingers.
Did these guys... always wear rings?
I combed through my memory, but that didn't seem to be the case. While I was fighting the woman named Six, she hadn't been wearing a ring.
What is this?
The moment the question occurred to me, I immediately removed the rings from all the corpses and took a closer look. They weren't Numbers Items. So were they magic items?
"Marrone, Gowland." Feeling the need to check, I asked the magic users to appraise them. It didn't take long for their assessment to come in.
"These are binding-type magic devices. The moment you put one of these on, it disappears and becomes a part of your soul."
"Binding-type magic devices?"
"You know. Like the summon imprints used to summon ships on the Great Sea on the sixth floor. That's a prime example of a binding-type item."
"Then... this ring..."
"Yes. It's a sub-space ring. And it's also several times higher quality than most similar magicology products on the market." No wonder none of them had been wearing any sub-space rings or bracelets. "Binding-type magical devices usually leave some kind of imprint like a tattoo on the person's body, but these don't seem to have anything like that. Looks like there's also a detection nullification circuit engraved on it."
"Does that mean even the palace has no way of knowing whether someone has one of these?"
"Yes. I think so."
I didn't know what was inside these binding-type sub-spaces, but I knew one thing for sure: we'd hit the jackpot. With these rings, we wouldn't have to throw out all of the Roses' equipment.
"Take everything!"
We gathered all of the Roses' equipment and put it in our backpacks. We could carry it like this for now and then put it in our new sub-spaces as soon as we arrived in the city. Those bastards would be none the wiser.
Kaislan, a former soldier, seemed rather satisfied with the jump in our budget. It was alarming to see him get teary-eyed about his dead comrades a second later, though. Was he all good, or...?
"Yandel, don't feel too guilty. We'll make their last wishes come true."
"What are you saying? My nose is just runny from the cold."
Whew, think other thoughts... other thoughts...
I moved toward the area where the bodies of the Roses and their equipment were sequestered. I didn't plan on taking a single thing, of course.
But I can at least take a look...
I searched them thoroughly, figuring one of them might have something on them that might expose one of the palace's weaknesses, or contain other important information. The more I looked, the more my stomach churned.
Wow, all these daggers are mystium. The leather is all Ogre... We have to leave all this behind? Can't we figure out how to hide it so we can melt it or cut it up to make it into new equipment?
Greed crept up on me, but...
"We have to give this up."
Even a 1 percent risk of exposure was unacceptable. I could always make up an excuse and claim that we obtained the Dragon Slayer's heart while he was chasing us, but there was no way I could come up with a believable story for these.
"...Huh?" As I was rummaging through the Roses' corpses, I found myself confused.
What are these rings?
All of the knights were wearing identical rings on their middle fingers.
Did these guys... always wear rings?
I combed through my memory, but that didn't seem to be the case. While I was fighting the woman named Six, she hadn't been wearing a ring.
What is this?
The moment the question occurred to me, I immediately removed the rings from all the corpses and took a closer look. They weren't Numbers Items. So were they magic items?
"Marrone, Gowland." Feeling the need to check, I asked the magic users to appraise them. It didn't take long for their assessment to come in.
"These are binding-type magic devices. The moment you put one of these on, it disappears and becomes a part of your soul."
"Binding-type magic devices?"
"You know. Like the summon imprints used to summon ships on the Great Sea on the sixth floor. That's a prime example of a binding-type item."
"Then... this ring..."
"Yes. It's a sub-space ring. And it's also several times higher quality than most similar magicology products on the market." No wonder none of them had been wearing any sub-space rings or bracelets. "Binding-type magical devices usually leave some kind of imprint like a tattoo on the person's body, but these don't seem to have anything like that. Looks like there's also a detection nullification circuit engraved on it."
"Does that mean even the palace has no way of knowing whether someone has one of these?"
"Yes. I think so."
I didn't know what was inside these binding-type sub-spaces, but I knew one thing for sure: we'd hit the jackpot. With these rings, we wouldn't have to throw out all of the Roses' equipment.
"Take everything!"
We gathered all of the Roses' equipment and put it in our backpacks. We could carry it like this for now and then put it in our new sub-spaces as soon as we arrived in the city. Those bastards would be none the wiser.
The problem is that there are only seven...
Currently, we had ten people. Three people wouldn't get a ring. But surprisingly, the distribution of the rings ended in a blink of an eye without any dispute.
"...This is far more than I deserve when I did nothing in this battle." James Calla, who had been unable to participate in the battle due to being temporarily blind, gracefully abstained.
"I will give up my claim too. I already have a binding-type sub-space."
"Me too."
Akurava and Ravien, who already had similar items, also conceded, thus settling the issue of ownership entirely.
[You have put on a Liar's Rose Ring. The Liar's Rose Ring now belongs to you.]
The rings began to glow and disappeared in flashes of light as soon as we put them on.
"How do we open the sub-space?"
"Brainwave recognition. If you think about opening the sub-space, it'll open."
Wow, is this the newest royal technology? This will be really useful in the future.
"Looks like we're all set." With that, the process of collecting mementos and loot alike was over.
[The wall of ice has melted.]
A day later, when the secret room was open, we all left the battlefield together. Though there was food in the Roses' backpacks, it wasn't enough to feed ten people.
[Versyl Gowland has cast the rank-six space-time spell High-Level Distortion.]
[Lilith Marrone has cast the rank-six space-time spell High-Level Distortion.]
We got our hands on as much monster meat as we could and headed back toward Glacier Eye.
"It's a shame. If we could somehow take everything that's down there too, we could buy ourselves mansions in the royal capital."
However, with the Glacier Wizard Cariathea waiting for us, we had no chance of getting back in. There was no telling how much equipment was buried down there. The moment the labyrinth closed, it would all vanish into thin air.
"Now, let's call it a day and rest here."
Getting meat was important, but we didn't rush it and took breaks as often as possible. Even if we went hungry for the remaining days, it wouldn't kill us, and the squadron wasn't exactly in fighting form right now.
"Kaislan, are you okay?"
"I'm okay, don't worry. I can last until we get out."
There were no priests and only four bottles of potion left. Everyone had survived, but for those who suffered serious injuries, there were obvious lingering consequences. Erwen, for one, was all out of MP and Natural Power so she couldn't use a single skill. Only a few of us could fight at our usual level.
"Still... maybe it's because we went through all that, but this really doesn't feel all that hard at all..."
"Ha, I agree."
"I thought I'd experienced pretty much everything there is to experience in life, but I didn't realize how lucky I was."
We chatted like this during the breaks, but mostly we discussed the future.
"The clan... will you form it right away?" Marrone asked quietly.
"Probably. But most people will have to join later."
"True... Sir Kaislan is from the military. I'm sure he'll have a tough time leaving."
"Not just Kaislan. It'd seem strange for us to suddenly come together. We'll have to leave some time in between. If we wait long enough, we'll all end up getting kicked out or fired from our respective positions, anyway. It won't be too late to band together a year from now."
The problem is that there are only seven...
Currently, we had ten people. Three people wouldn't get a ring. But surprisingly, the distribution of the rings ended in a blink of an eye without any dispute.
"...This is far more than I deserve when I did nothing in this battle." James Calla, who had been unable to participate in the battle due to being temporarily blind, gracefully abstained.
"I will give up my claim too. I already have a binding-type sub-space."
"Me too."
Akurava and Ravien, who already had similar items, also conceded, thus settling the issue of ownership entirely.
[You have put on a Liar's Rose Ring. The Liar's Rose Ring now belongs to you.]
The rings began to glow and disappeared in flashes of light as soon as we put them on.
"How do we open the sub-space?"
"Brainwave recognition. If you think about opening the sub-space, it'll open."
Wow, is this the newest royal technology? This will be really useful in the future.
"Looks like we're all set." With that, the process of collecting mementos and loot alike was over.
[The wall of ice has melted.]
A day later, when the secret room was open, we all left the battlefield together. Though there was food in the Roses' backpacks, it wasn't enough to feed ten people.
[Versyl Gowland has cast the rank-six space-time spell High-Level Distortion.]
[Lilith Marrone has cast the rank-six space-time spell High-Level Distortion.]
We got our hands on as much monster meat as we could and headed back toward Glacier Eye.
"It's a shame. If we could somehow take everything that's down there too, we could buy ourselves mansions in the royal capital."
However, with the Glacier Wizard Cariathea waiting for us, we had no chance of getting back in. There was no telling how much equipment was buried down there. The moment the labyrinth closed, it would all vanish into thin air.
"Now, let's call it a day and rest here."
Getting meat was important, but we didn't rush it and took breaks as often as possible. Even if we went hungry for the remaining days, it wouldn't kill us, and the squadron wasn't exactly in fighting form right now.
"Kaislan, are you okay?"
"I'm okay, don't worry. I can last until we get out."
There were no priests and only four bottles of potion left. Everyone had survived, but for those who suffered serious injuries, there were obvious lingering consequences. Erwen, for one, was all out of MP and Natural Power so she couldn't use a single skill. Only a few of us could fight at our usual level.
"Still... maybe it's because we went through all that, but this really doesn't feel all that hard at all..."
"Ha, I agree."
"I thought I'd experienced pretty much everything there is to experience in life, but I didn't realize how lucky I was."
We chatted like this during the breaks, but mostly we discussed the future.
"The clan... will you form it right away?" Marrone asked quietly.
"Probably. But most people will have to join later."
"True... Sir Kaislan is from the military. I'm sure he'll have a tough time leaving."
"Not just Kaislan. It'd seem strange for us to suddenly come together. We'll have to leave some time in between. If we wait long enough, we'll all end up getting kicked out or fired from our respective positions, anyway. It won't be too late to band together a year from now."
"...I have some ideas for the clan emblem."
"Wow, you're very talented, Ms. Marrone."
Combing through the start of the expedition up to now, we crafted a cover according to the timeline of events and got our stories straight. If there were any inconsistencies or concerns, we discussed them together and ironed them out.
"Yandel, there's one thing I'm worried about."
"Hit me."
"Even if we have our stories straight, will the palace really believe what we say? We've established that we're all resistant to lie-detection spells, but that's not the only way to ascertain the truth."
I'd been mulling that over plenty too—a scenario in which the powers that be didn't believe us. If they had the slightest suspicion and wanted to verify the facts, what would we do then?
"As I said before, the palace has no reason to do that. They won't want to dig into this and leave a trail for us to follow."
"Right... that would normally be the case. If we really were oblivious, asking those questions would give us reason to be suspicious of them... But what if they still risk it?"
"If they do... it doesn't matter. The point of this plan isn't to deceive the palace." Plan A was ideal, of course, but having to switch to Plan B wouldn't necessarily mean all was lost, either.
"Sorry? What do you mean?"
"To them, the fact that we got our stories straight and chose to be silent will be a message in itself. A sign that we'll stay quiet, so there's no need to mess with us from now on. A kind of appeal from the weak to the strong."
This incident involved the duke, the marquess, an alliance of minor nobles, the Alminus Company, and even the Adventurers' Guild. Even if they suspected something happened in the labyrinth, they wouldn't try to confirm it. And even if they did, it was highly unlikely they'd do something so bold again. I was going to make a big splash before they ever got the chance. When there were more eyeballs on you, you had to be more careful. A prime example of that was the way they gave me a title without officially confirming I wasn't an evil spirit. That was the royal way of dealing with things.
"We'll need to build up our influence in that time so that turning a blind eye seems like a much better option than messing with us."
"But isn't that more dangerous? The bigger we get, the warier of us they'll be."
"I don't think so."
"Why is that?"
"No matter how big we get, we're a drop in the ocean compared to the palace."
The palace's influence was enormous. No sane person would ever consider taking up arms against Rafdonia's royal family.
"They'll just assume we're banding together because it's our best shot at survival. They won't realize we're preparing to stick a knife in their backs."
The members of this squadron had never met before our single trip into the labyrinth. Who would ever assume we planned to rally against the palace to seek revenge? Sadness and anger were fleeting emotions, after all. Normally, people were just grateful to have survived horrible situations and made smart decisions afterward.
"But on the off chance..." Akurava seemed somewhat convinced by my logic, but she still raised the worst-case scenario. "On the off chance that they decide we're a nuisance and try to get rid of us... what then?"
The answer was simple.
Well, what can you do? You just have to move to Plan C.
***
"...I have some ideas for the clan emblem."
"Wow, you're very talented, Ms. Marrone."
Combing through the start of the expedition up to now, we crafted a cover according to the timeline of events and got our stories straight. If there were any inconsistencies or concerns, we discussed them together and ironed them out.
"Yandel, there's one thing I'm worried about."
"Hit me."
"Even if we have our stories straight, will the palace really believe what we say? We've established that we're all resistant to lie-detection spells, but that's not the only way to ascertain the truth."
I'd been mulling that over plenty too—a scenario in which the powers that be didn't believe us. If they had the slightest suspicion and wanted to verify the facts, what would we do then?
"As I said before, the palace has no reason to do that. They won't want to dig into this and leave a trail for us to follow."
"Right... that would normally be the case. If we really were oblivious, asking those questions would give us reason to be suspicious of them... But what if they still risk it?"
"If they do... it doesn't matter. The point of this plan isn't to deceive the palace." Plan A was ideal, of course, but having to switch to Plan B wouldn't necessarily mean all was lost, either.
"Sorry? What do you mean?"
"To them, the fact that we got our stories straight and chose to be silent will be a message in itself. A sign that we'll stay quiet, so there's no need to mess with us from now on. A kind of appeal from the weak to the strong."
This incident involved the duke, the marquess, an alliance of minor nobles, the Alminus Company, and even the Adventurers' Guild. Even if they suspected something happened in the labyrinth, they wouldn't try to confirm it. And even if they did, it was highly unlikely they'd do something so bold again. I was going to make a big splash before they ever got the chance. When there were more eyeballs on you, you had to be more careful. A prime example of that was the way they gave me a title without officially confirming I wasn't an evil spirit. That was the royal way of dealing with things.
"We'll need to build up our influence in that time so that turning a blind eye seems like a much better option than messing with us."
"But isn't that more dangerous? The bigger we get, the warier of us they'll be."
"I don't think so."
"Why is that?"
"No matter how big we get, we're a drop in the ocean compared to the palace."
The palace's influence was enormous. No sane person would ever consider taking up arms against Rafdonia's royal family.
"They'll just assume we're banding together because it's our best shot at survival. They won't realize we're preparing to stick a knife in their backs."
The members of this squadron had never met before our single trip into the labyrinth. Who would ever assume we planned to rally against the palace to seek revenge? Sadness and anger were fleeting emotions, after all. Normally, people were just grateful to have survived horrible situations and made smart decisions afterward.
"But on the off chance..." Akurava seemed somewhat convinced by my logic, but she still raised the worst-case scenario. "On the off chance that they decide we're a nuisance and try to get rid of us... what then?"
The answer was simple.
Well, what can you do? You just have to move to Plan C.
***
It was our seventy-fifth day in the labyrinth, about four hours before the long-awaited closing.
"What is it?"
Versyl Gowland suddenly sat next to me during one of our breaks and asked me something. "Hey, Mr. Yandel, Ms. Naria was probably an evil spirit, right?"
"Probably?"
"Right... probably...?" Versyl muttered. I just stayed quiet because I had nothing else to say on the subject. After a moment of silence, Versyl spoke again. "Um... then what do you think of Ms. Naria?" Her question was full of caution.
"I think of her as a comrade who met an unfortunate end. But... what are you really trying to ask me?"
"I'll reword the question. If Ms. Naria was still alive, would you still consider her a comrade?"
I could vaguely see what she was getting at, but I answered honestly anyway. "Of course."
"...Even if she's an evil spirit?"
"We're already all enemies of the palace, so what does that matter? Evil spirit or not, I don't care. All that matters to me is whether someone's trustworthy."
"...I see." Versyl nodded, a strange look on her face, and left after some more idle conversation.
Hmm, I wonder what her objective was. Was she just curious about what kind of person I am? Did she maybe figure out that that punk Goblin is an evil spirit? And she's wondering what I would do to him?
I thought that was a pretty plausible hypothesis—at least until Amelia pulled me aside two hours later.
"Yandel, I want to talk to you for a minute."
"Did something happen?"
"It has to do with the thing you asked me to do."
I blinked at her in confusion. "I asked you to do something?"
"You told me to investigate Sven Parav."
Ah, that?
I definitely did ask her to do that. Considering his habit of carelessly running his mouth at the Round Table, I couldn't shake the concern that he was going to end up spilling our squadron's secrets there. I was planning to monitor him and take him well in hand.
"I meant for you to do that outside, though...?" I didn't even use the term "investigate" myself. All it had been was a gentle request asking her to keep a close eye on him.
Amelia shrugged with a chuckle. "Then you should be grateful I misunderstood." Her attitude suggested she had something useful for me.
I instantly sat up. "I guess you found something?"
"If you're curious, see for yourself." With that, Amelia unfastened her belt seemingly out of the blue. I blinked, alarmed, but all she did was fiddle with a hidden pouch and take out a small crystal ball.
"This is..."
"It's a recording crystal."
You think I don't know that? I'm just surprised you managed to hide something like this in a belt you're always wearing... She'd probably beat me up if I joked that she's a voyeur, right?
I resisted the urge and activated the crystal ball Amelia gave me, figuring the first thing I needed to do was check it out.
...Chew, chew, chew.
The start of the video showed Sven Parav secretly gnawing on beef jerky he had hidden away in his jacket, away from the group. I was immediately filled with betrayal.
It was our seventy-fifth day in the labyrinth, about four hours before the long-awaited closing.
"What is it?"
Versyl Gowland suddenly sat next to me during one of our breaks and asked me something. "Hey, Mr. Yandel, Ms. Naria was probably an evil spirit, right?"
"Probably?"
"Right... probably...?" Versyl muttered. I just stayed quiet because I had nothing else to say on the subject. After a moment of silence, Versyl spoke again. "Um... then what do you think of Ms. Naria?" Her question was full of caution.
"I think of her as a comrade who met an unfortunate end. But... what are you really trying to ask me?"
"I'll reword the question. If Ms. Naria was still alive, would you still consider her a comrade?"
I could vaguely see what she was getting at, but I answered honestly anyway. "Of course."
"...Even if she's an evil spirit?"
"We're already all enemies of the palace, so what does that matter? Evil spirit or not, I don't care. All that matters to me is whether someone's trustworthy."
"...I see." Versyl nodded, a strange look on her face, and left after some more idle conversation.
Hmm, I wonder what her objective was. Was she just curious about what kind of person I am? Did she maybe figure out that that punk Goblin is an evil spirit? And she's wondering what I would do to him?
I thought that was a pretty plausible hypothesis—at least until Amelia pulled me aside two hours later.
"Yandel, I want to talk to you for a minute."
"Did something happen?"
"It has to do with the thing you asked me to do."
I blinked at her in confusion. "I asked you to do something?"
"You told me to investigate Sven Parav."
Ah, that?
I definitely did ask her to do that. Considering his habit of carelessly running his mouth at the Round Table, I couldn't shake the concern that he was going to end up spilling our squadron's secrets there. I was planning to monitor him and take him well in hand.
"I meant for you to do that outside, though...?" I didn't even use the term "investigate" myself. All it had been was a gentle request asking her to keep a close eye on him.
Amelia shrugged with a chuckle. "Then you should be grateful I misunderstood." Her attitude suggested she had something useful for me.
I instantly sat up. "I guess you found something?"
"If you're curious, see for yourself." With that, Amelia unfastened her belt seemingly out of the blue. I blinked, alarmed, but all she did was fiddle with a hidden pouch and take out a small crystal ball.
"This is..."
"It's a recording crystal."
You think I don't know that? I'm just surprised you managed to hide something like this in a belt you're always wearing... She'd probably beat me up if I joked that she's a voyeur, right?
I resisted the urge and activated the crystal ball Amelia gave me, figuring the first thing I needed to do was check it out.
...Chew, chew, chew.
The start of the video showed Sven Parav secretly gnawing on beef jerky he had hidden away in his jacket, away from the group. I was immediately filled with betrayal.
"That son of a bitch, he told me to my face that he didn't steal any beef jerky—"
"Shut up and just watch. It's coming."
No sooner did Amelia scold me than something changed in the video.
"Mr. Sven Parav." A woman approached Sven, who was turned around.
"Eek!" He was clearly surprised to be caught red-handed with the jerky.
"Can we talk for a moment?" To my surprise, the woman who approached him was Versyl. Sven glanced around uncomfortably and didn't respond. "Ah, I'm not going to tell the others about the beef jerky. Don't worry. I just want to have a quick conversation."
"...Can't we talk later?"
"Does that mean you don't want to speak to me?"
"N-No, it's not that... I j-just feel like something's off..."
"You're not making any sense."
Versyl tilted her head like she had no clue what he was talking about, but I was impressed.
Did he instinctively pick up on the fact that Amelia was watching him?
I wasn't sure, but the video continued to play.
"Anyway, I'll cut this short and get to the point."
"Sorry? Ah, right... go ahead. I'll listen."
What followed was a single sentence. "I know you're an evil spirit."
"...Uh."
"...Huh?"
In response, both Sven and I adopted the same blank look on our faces.
...Cough! Cough!
"Be quiet. They'll hear you."
"B-But w-what are you talking about?! Me, an e-e-e-evil spirit—!"
The bombshells didn't stop there.
"Don't bother planning your getaway. I'm an evil spirit too."
Holy shit, a coming out?
"...Eh? Wha... Ms. Gowland... an evil spirit...?" Sven was completely out of it.
Versyl, on the other hand, was utterly calm. "The reason I'm bringing this up is simple. With your personality, I figured you might slip up in the community."
"U-Uh—"
"So don't even think about saying a word about this squadron. I'll be watching. Whether in the community bulletin board, or the Round Table."
Dun-dun-dun!
There was no sound effect but both Sven and I seemed to hear it in our heads all the same.
"The R-Round Table? How do you...?"
"Because I'm one of its members. How else would I know you're an evil spirit?"
"W-Wait... if you're a woman... Q-Queen? No, that's not your vibe..." Sven rambled in an obvious attempt to calm his mind. Then he raised a shaking finger to point at her. "N-No way... you're... Fox?"
With that, I paused the video.
Versyl Gowland is Fox, huh?
This quest had borne some more fruit.
***
[The labyrinth is now closed. You are being transported to Rafdonia.]
***
The marquess was at his desk working when he paused to set his pen down and pick up a hot cup of tea. He took a sip and checked the time.
It's almost time for the portal to open.
There were five minutes left until noon. The labyrinth would soon close and the empty Dimension Squares would be filled with adventurers who had completed their arduous quests. Though this was an event that took place every month, even he found today special.
"I hope the mission was successful."
The Eye of the Sky was the device at the core of Noark's strategy, and their biggest weapon against Rafdonia. A squadron of thirty people had been hastily assembled to destroy it.
"Well, it doesn't matter if they fail."
The marquess had prepared documents and official statements for two scenarios. The first was if the mission was successful but the expedition team did not survive. The other was if the mission was not successful and the team didn't survive, either. There was no file prepared with their survival in mind. The marquess may have been a meticulous man, but he didn't make a habit of doing pointless work.
"It seems that thorn in our side is finally gone."
The marquess chuckled and set his teacup down on the desk. Then he picked up his pen again and started going through the piles of work in front of him. A little over ten minutes passed.
Whooom!
The message stone in the office vibrated. The call was coming from a checkpoint near the marquess's home.
A frown appeared on the marquess's face. "What is it?"
"...Sorry to disturb you. Some adventurers claiming to be a special forces team working for the royal family have arrived at the gate."
"...Special forces?"
"Ah, yes... do you not know of them, then? I'm sorry. They're each rather extraordinary people, so I hesitate to accuse them of lying..."
"I see..."
"Yes. And the man who appears to be their spokesperson won't stop demanding we contact you... What should we do?"
"Is that so? All right. I'll send someone out there soon. Keep them there. Ah... how many people were there?"
"Ten people... exactly ten people."
"I see. All right," the marquess said, his tone calm and collected. With that settled, he ended the call.
Riiiiiip.
The second it was over, he tore both documents that were on his desk and burned them.
"Ten people, huh? Things are getting interesting."
He didn't know what kind of trickery they used, but it seemed the dead had somehow come back to life.
"That son of a bitch, he told me to my face that he didn't steal any beef jerky—"
"Shut up and just watch. It's coming."
No sooner did Amelia scold me than something changed in the video.
"Mr. Sven Parav." A woman approached Sven, who was turned around.
"Eek!" He was clearly surprised to be caught red-handed with the jerky.
"Can we talk for a moment?" To my surprise, the woman who approached him was Versyl. Sven glanced around uncomfortably and didn't respond. "Ah, I'm not going to tell the others about the beef jerky. Don't worry. I just want to have a quick conversation."
"...Can't we talk later?"
"Does that mean you don't want to speak to me?"
"N-No, it's not that... I j-just feel like something's off..."
"You're not making any sense."
Versyl tilted her head like she had no clue what he was talking about, but I was impressed.
Did he instinctively pick up on the fact that Amelia was watching him?
I wasn't sure, but the video continued to play.
"Anyway, I'll cut this short and get to the point."
"Sorry? Ah, right... go ahead. I'll listen."
What followed was a single sentence. "I know you're an evil spirit."
"...Uh."
"...Huh?"
In response, both Sven and I adopted the same blank look on our faces.
...Cough! Cough!
"Be quiet. They'll hear you."
"B-But w-what are you talking about?! Me, an e-e-e-evil spirit—!"
The bombshells didn't stop there.
"Don't bother planning your getaway. I'm an evil spirit too."
Holy shit, a coming out?
"...Eh? Wha... Ms. Gowland... an evil spirit...?" Sven was completely out of it.
Versyl, on the other hand, was utterly calm. "The reason I'm bringing this up is simple. With your personality, I figured you might slip up in the community."
"U-Uh—"
"So don't even think about saying a word about this squadron. I'll be watching. Whether in the community bulletin board, or the Round Table."
Dun-dun-dun!
There was no sound effect but both Sven and I seemed to hear it in our heads all the same.
"The R-Round Table? How do you...?"
"Because I'm one of its members. How else would I know you're an evil spirit?"
"W-Wait... if you're a woman... Q-Queen? No, that's not your vibe..." Sven rambled in an obvious attempt to calm his mind. Then he raised a shaking finger to point at her. "N-No way... you're... Fox?"
With that, I paused the video.
Versyl Gowland is Fox, huh?
This quest had borne some more fruit.
***
[The labyrinth is now closed. You are being transported to Rafdonia.]
***
The marquess was at his desk working when he paused to set his pen down and pick up a hot cup of tea. He took a sip and checked the time.
It's almost time for the portal to open.
There were five minutes left until noon. The labyrinth would soon close and the empty Dimension Squares would be filled with adventurers who had completed their arduous quests. Though this was an event that took place every month, even he found today special.
"I hope the mission was successful."
The Eye of the Sky was the device at the core of Noark's strategy, and their biggest weapon against Rafdonia. A squadron of thirty people had been hastily assembled to destroy it.
"Well, it doesn't matter if they fail."
The marquess had prepared documents and official statements for two scenarios. The first was if the mission was successful but the expedition team did not survive. The other was if the mission was not successful and the team didn't survive, either. There was no file prepared with their survival in mind. The marquess may have been a meticulous man, but he didn't make a habit of doing pointless work.
"It seems that thorn in our side is finally gone."
The marquess chuckled and set his teacup down on the desk. Then he picked up his pen again and started going through the piles of work in front of him. A little over ten minutes passed.
Whooom!
The message stone in the office vibrated. The call was coming from a checkpoint near the marquess's home.
A frown appeared on the marquess's face. "What is it?"
"...Sorry to disturb you. Some adventurers claiming to be a special forces team working for the royal family have arrived at the gate."
"...Special forces?"
"Ah, yes... do you not know of them, then? I'm sorry. They're each rather extraordinary people, so I hesitate to accuse them of lying..."
"I see..."
"Yes. And the man who appears to be their spokesperson won't stop demanding we contact you... What should we do?"
"Is that so? All right. I'll send someone out there soon. Keep them there. Ah... how many people were there?"
"Ten people... exactly ten people."
"I see. All right," the marquess said, his tone calm and collected. With that settled, he ended the call.
Riiiiiip.
The second it was over, he tore both documents that were on his desk and burned them.
"Ten people, huh? Things are getting interesting."
He didn't know what kind of trickery they used, but it seemed the dead had somehow come back to life.