Chapter 568: Closed Doors (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 568: Closed Doors (2)
We searched the empty village. Well, "search" probably wasn't the right word, as this was more like looting. The orders doled out by the village chief, who had taken over the commander's body, were simple.
"Search the village and gather everything you find!"
Furniture, decor, equipment, instruments...
We didn't differentiate between any of it, and we didn't care if it looked useful or not. Our only goal was to gather everything as commanded.
Now, why would the village chief give that order? I had a guess, and it wasn't because he was the type to dislike the idea of all the things he built here going to waste or something. No, there was only one reason he'd do this.
It was because Jerome Saintred would have given that very same order. He would've taken everything here under the pretense of it being for the good of the royal family. That was why the chief had given that command.
"The leaders of each squad should take these maps and go to their assigned areas!"
And so, the expedition group separated into their squads and went about looting the houses that the monsters would've called home and raised their children in. It was tedious work and involved no combat. However, there were a few who embraced this boring manual labor.
"Artifacts used by the first monsters ever capable of communication!"
"These findings will be of great importance in the studies that will be done in the future!"
"It's a bit of a shame, though... If we captured one alive, we could've asked it questions..."
"Maybe there are some in hiding."
The wizards were in their usual frenzy about all the research they could do. For them, at least, this tedium was very exciting. Raven was no exception, of course.
"Mr. Yandel... you said you stayed here for a while, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Later... when we have time, could I hear about your visit from you?"
"Sure, when we have time."
"That's a promise, okay? Then I'll be going. My break is over, so I'll see you later."
In any case, our Temporary Squad Four did their part and went through the section we were assigned, though I couldn't help but feel a little odd as we did. As Raven said, this village was a place we had lived and slept in for weeks.
"...That's the house we stayed at."
"Oh! That's the field I sparred in with Piarochichi!"
"It's a bit eerie. The fires are on in the forge, but no one is in there..."
"It's... difficult to explain... but I feel conflicted. Even though they were monsters, they had some decent folk as well..."
What separated people from monsters? Was it their appearance? Certain characteristics that all humanoid races share? The ability to accumulate experience?
So then, now that he was back in the body of a human, was the village chief a human again? On the flip side, what would happen if I got transformed into a monster somehow, or ended up in the body of one? Then would I be a monster?
I wasn't so sure anymore. I wasn't even sure if there was even a point to making a distinction between the two in the first place.
"Yandel... are you all right? You don't look too good."
"...I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"...If you say so."
We continued tackling the task assigned to us, and once we were done searching our area, we met up with the other squads at the center of the village. Soon enough, it was time for us to set up camp again.
"There's a lot of stuff here..."
"That's to be expected. Hundreds of individuals lived in this village."
Our day of rummaging and looting came to a close. In the end, though we searched the whole village, we didn't find a single survivor.
After our to-do list for the day was complete, each squad picked a different empty house to rest in for the night. This gave me the opportunity I needed to finally sneak in a conversation with my comrades.
"We will... be in the other room."
"Yes. Please don't mind us."
Once the Armin Adventurer Group and Hektz Clan stepped out to give us space, Versyl cast a sound isolation spell to ensure privacy.
Amelia was the first to speak. "So... what happened?"
"Ah, about that..."
"And don't even think that I'll buy that you and the commander schemed up that whole argument together. If you had, you would've at least warned us."
She wasn't even giving me a chance to explain.
...But she isn't wrong.
Things could have gotten truly dangerous. From what the goddess told me, my comrades had been quickly ambushed and apprehended after I fell unconscious. The fact that they didn't have anyone to give orders had hamstrung them.
What do we do? Should we fight them? But they're the royal army?
What would Bjorn want us to do?
In that split second when they were scrambling to make a call without me, the Anabada Clan was immediately subdued and detained before they could do anything.
...But thankfully, that worked out for the best.
Still, the fact that things had turned out all right in the end wasn't because they actively decided letting themselves get captured was the wise thing to do, but because things just so happened to turn out that way. They could have just as easily rallied in time and resisted arrest, and someone either would have died or been gravely injured in the process.
That was why she didn't believe my story. She knew I wasn't the type to sit back and leave the safety of the clan to mere luck.
"You're right, there was no secret plan," I confirmed. "In fact, Jerome Saintred was trying to hand me over to the village chief."
That part, at least, was true. As for the rest...
"Apparently, he made a deal with the chief in exchange for a lost royal treasure. However, I managed to sort that out in the end, and we were able to use it to defeat the chief."
"...And how did you sort that out?" Versyl asked carefully, clearly struggling to wrap her head around this.
I sighed inwardly, then replied, "I got help from Reatlas."
That part was true too. Of course, her help mostly constituted her suggesting I do my best to talk my way out of the mess I was in, but she definitely played a part in my continued survival.
"Did you say... Reatlas?"
"Wait, so the reason for that bright flash of light and you passing out back then...?"
"I can't give you all the details because I made a promise to the goddess. But..." I trailed off, then gave them the version of the truth I could actually share with them. "In the end, things worked out fine. I managed to escape the village and made a secret deal with Jerome Saintred—I would forget that he tried to sell me out to the village chief, and he would help me kill him."
"There's a lot of stuff here..."
"That's to be expected. Hundreds of individuals lived in this village."
Our day of rummaging and looting came to a close. In the end, though we searched the whole village, we didn't find a single survivor.
After our to-do list for the day was complete, each squad picked a different empty house to rest in for the night. This gave me the opportunity I needed to finally sneak in a conversation with my comrades.
"We will... be in the other room."
"Yes. Please don't mind us."
Once the Armin Adventurer Group and Hektz Clan stepped out to give us space, Versyl cast a sound isolation spell to ensure privacy.
Amelia was the first to speak. "So... what happened?"
"Ah, about that..."
"And don't even think that I'll buy that you and the commander schemed up that whole argument together. If you had, you would've at least warned us."
She wasn't even giving me a chance to explain.
...But she isn't wrong.
Things could have gotten truly dangerous. From what the goddess told me, my comrades had been quickly ambushed and apprehended after I fell unconscious. The fact that they didn't have anyone to give orders had hamstrung them.
What do we do? Should we fight them? But they're the royal army?
What would Bjorn want us to do?
In that split second when they were scrambling to make a call without me, the Anabada Clan was immediately subdued and detained before they could do anything.
...But thankfully, that worked out for the best.
Still, the fact that things had turned out all right in the end wasn't because they actively decided letting themselves get captured was the wise thing to do, but because things just so happened to turn out that way. They could have just as easily rallied in time and resisted arrest, and someone either would have died or been gravely injured in the process.
That was why she didn't believe my story. She knew I wasn't the type to sit back and leave the safety of the clan to mere luck.
"You're right, there was no secret plan," I confirmed. "In fact, Jerome Saintred was trying to hand me over to the village chief."
That part, at least, was true. As for the rest...
"Apparently, he made a deal with the chief in exchange for a lost royal treasure. However, I managed to sort that out in the end, and we were able to use it to defeat the chief."
"...And how did you sort that out?" Versyl asked carefully, clearly struggling to wrap her head around this.
I sighed inwardly, then replied, "I got help from Reatlas."
That part was true too. Of course, her help mostly constituted her suggesting I do my best to talk my way out of the mess I was in, but she definitely played a part in my continued survival.
"Did you say... Reatlas?"
"Wait, so the reason for that bright flash of light and you passing out back then...?"
"I can't give you all the details because I made a promise to the goddess. But..." I trailed off, then gave them the version of the truth I could actually share with them. "In the end, things worked out fine. I managed to escape the village and made a secret deal with Jerome Saintred—I would forget that he tried to sell me out to the village chief, and he would help me kill him."
"...So that's why he started going on about your contributions and how he wanted to reward you."
With that, I glanced around. I'd name-dropped a goddess and tied in what looked to be an attempt by the commander to bribe me, so most of the people here seemed to believe me without question.
"Most" being all of them except one person: Amelia.
...She's going to try to grill me for all the details the minute we're alone.
I got a headache just thinking about it, but it couldn't be helped.
The fewer people who knew about the chief's secret, the better. No matter how good I was at acting, he would more than likely notice if I told someone. And if he did, the person I shared his secret with would also become a target of his unpredictable nature, which was liable to rear its ugly head at any moment.
More importantly... when things actually go wrong in the future, they'll be able to help prove that I had nothing to do with any of it.
In any case, I answered a few more questions from my comrades and then ended the conversation there. It was time to move on to the next item on the agenda.
"Could everyone step out for a moment?"
"Ah... yeah, you need to rest..."
"Except you, Missha."
"...Eh?"
When I singled her out, she grew flustered like a student getting called on by her teacher.
At my request, the rest of our team headed out to rest and left us alone. Missha fidgeted in her chair, her hands curled into fists on her knees. And then, carefully, she asked, "Wh-what is it...? Why did you ask me to stay behind...?"
I had no intention of beating around the bush, so I got straight to the point.
"The Stone of Revival."
Those words alone were enough to make Missha's shoulders flinch.
I wondered how someone like her had been able to hide something like that all this time, but upon reflection, that was on me. I should have been more persistent about making sure I asked her the right questions from the start, even if it meant pushing her.
Still, for some reason, I found it hard to be too hard on her.
"Did Baekho give it to you?" I asked bluntly.
Missha didn't bother asking how I knew or trying to deflect. With a voice as quiet as a mouse, all she said was, "Yeah..."
"What did he say when he gave it to you?"
"That I need to stay by your side... and that if you die, I should use it to s-save you..."
Just as I thought.
Since I had expected as much, I wasn't all that surprised. I was, however, curious about a few things.
"Did you know that when you use the Stone of Revival, the target loses all their memories?"
"...What?"
All right, from the look on her face, it seemed she didn't know about that part.
I quickly moved on to my next question. "If you didn't know that, why didn't you tell me you had it right away? I can't see what harm there would have been in letting me know."
"Because he said... if you knew... even worse things would happen to you..."
"So you hid it from me? Because that bastard said that?"
"...So that's why he started going on about your contributions and how he wanted to reward you."
With that, I glanced around. I'd name-dropped a goddess and tied in what looked to be an attempt by the commander to bribe me, so most of the people here seemed to believe me without question.
"Most" being all of them except one person: Amelia.
...She's going to try to grill me for all the details the minute we're alone.
I got a headache just thinking about it, but it couldn't be helped.
The fewer people who knew about the chief's secret, the better. No matter how good I was at acting, he would more than likely notice if I told someone. And if he did, the person I shared his secret with would also become a target of his unpredictable nature, which was liable to rear its ugly head at any moment.
More importantly... when things actually go wrong in the future, they'll be able to help prove that I had nothing to do with any of it.
In any case, I answered a few more questions from my comrades and then ended the conversation there. It was time to move on to the next item on the agenda.
"Could everyone step out for a moment?"
"Ah... yeah, you need to rest..."
"Except you, Missha."
"...Eh?"
When I singled her out, she grew flustered like a student getting called on by her teacher.
At my request, the rest of our team headed out to rest and left us alone. Missha fidgeted in her chair, her hands curled into fists on her knees. And then, carefully, she asked, "Wh-what is it...? Why did you ask me to stay behind...?"
I had no intention of beating around the bush, so I got straight to the point.
"The Stone of Revival."
Those words alone were enough to make Missha's shoulders flinch.
I wondered how someone like her had been able to hide something like that all this time, but upon reflection, that was on me. I should have been more persistent about making sure I asked her the right questions from the start, even if it meant pushing her.
Still, for some reason, I found it hard to be too hard on her.
"Did Baekho give it to you?" I asked bluntly.
Missha didn't bother asking how I knew or trying to deflect. With a voice as quiet as a mouse, all she said was, "Yeah..."
"What did he say when he gave it to you?"
"That I need to stay by your side... and that if you die, I should use it to s-save you..."
Just as I thought.
Since I had expected as much, I wasn't all that surprised. I was, however, curious about a few things.
"Did you know that when you use the Stone of Revival, the target loses all their memories?"
"...What?"
All right, from the look on her face, it seemed she didn't know about that part.
I quickly moved on to my next question. "If you didn't know that, why didn't you tell me you had it right away? I can't see what harm there would have been in letting me know."
"Because he said... if you knew... even worse things would happen to you..."
"So you hid it from me? Because that bastard said that?"
Missha lowered her head and bit her lip.
Despite feeling like I should probably be angry, as I stared at her, I felt a strange stirring in my chest. My racing thoughts quieted, and while my expression was neutral, my heart began to beat faster and faster.
This emotion was far from pity. What was it?
"I got it. You can go now."
Unable to place the feeling, I tried to end our conversation there. It was an act of kindness, an attempt to avoid causing her any more discomfort. However...
Missha stayed glued to her chair, utterly silent.
So I spoke up again. "Why aren't you leaving? Go and rest. I've heard everything I needed to."
At that, she slowly raised her head.
"You've... heard everything?" The words seemed choked like she'd had to force them out of her throat. "Is that...is that it?"
I found the question odd. "Why, do you need something else?"
She didn't answer.
"I have no intention of scolding or punishing you," I explained, trying to make myself clear. "You didn't hide it from me with malicious intent. In fact, wasn't all of this because you wanted to help me?"
Missha remained silent for a long while more.
"I don't..."
Finally, the words limped out of her mouth.
"I don't accept that..." she said with her head still bowed. "Just... Just tell me what you think. Whatever it is, it's okay..."
I could sense her desperation in that plea. The request drew more words from me before I could stop them.
"I just didn't think there was anything else I needed to say to you."
It was interesting. I didn't realize I could speak my heart when even I didn't know what I was feeling.
"Mostly because I find it hard to believe anything you say."
At one point, she'd been the person I could trust more than anyone else in the world. But we couldn't have that level of trust between us anymore. It wasn't all her fault, of course. Big picture, Baekho would shoulder the largest share of the blame.
"To be honest..." I admitted, "When you finished your story just now, the first question that popped into my mind was whether you were hiding anything else from me."
Missha was slow to respond. "Okay, I see..."
I'm sorry.
The urge to say that to her struck me, but I also didn't think this was something I should be sorry about, so I held my tongue.
Missha stared at me for another long moment. Then, she got up without a word and closed the door as she left.
***
The next day, after our morning meeting came to an end, I got the chance to have a private conversation with the village chief.
"Can't we just get rid of the morning meeting since it's a waste of time?" I grumbled.
"We cannot. Jerome Saintred is someone who places a high importance on keeping a rigid schedule."
"Well, that's true."
"Anyway, have you thought about the reward I mentioned yesterday?"
"Oh, I'm thinking about cashing that in later. I don't really need anything right now."
"In that case, you can tell me whenever you come up with something."
"Will do. But enough about that—we need to figure out what we're going to do going forward... What's your plan from now on?"
The village chief's answer remained the same. "As I said before, I'm going to take my time getting used to this body."
"Getting used to it..." I echoed. In other words, he still didn't trust me. He was probably going to spend his time trying to figure out which essences he possessed, if one of them was really Iblus's, if there really was a Heretic Altar active in the city, and so on. "What about after you get used to it?"
"I will leave this place immediately."
Put simply, the moment he was able to confirm he had the essence of Iblus, he would get out of my way. I looked forward to the day.
Still, personal preferences aside, I couldn't help but question his course of action.
"But if you're planning on living in his body, wouldn't it be better to just stay with us and then leave when we do? You can't erase the essence of Iblus later on once its charges are gone."
This might have been the player in me talking, but using up one of Heretic Altar's charges just to leave a little earlier seemed like money down the drain to me. No, to be honest, it was a huge waste.
I wasn't even the one who'd be losing out here, but I couldn't help but argue on principle. "Plus, the royal family won't take kindly to you dying by yourself and ending up back in the city. You might not be able to keep your position of power in the royal guard."
"Ahaha, interesting! I didn't expect you to offer up suggestions."
"We're on the same side for now, and we might be able to find opportunities to work together out in the city as well. And by the way, you're getting better at laughing."
"I'm slowly getting used to it. To this human heart."
"So, what's your answer?"
"It hasn't changed. I will be leaving immediately after familiarizing myself with this body."
Why did he insist on doing something so inefficient?
The village chief, noticing the question in my eyes, forced a smile. "It's been about one hundred days since you first came down to this floor, correct?"
"Probably?"
"You still don't know anything about this place." When the knot in my brow didn't disappear, he clarified, "Of course, as recorded on the stone, you will one day escape its clutches... but there is no telling how long that will take. And this moment... I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time."
This time, the emotion in his voice didn't seem to be forced at all. It was an intense longing, one I had never heard from him before.
The burst of sentiment was fleeting, though. "Haha, we all have our priorities, right? If I can leave this place even a day earlier, then any price is worth it to me."
With that, the artificial smile returned to the village chief's face.
Missha lowered her head and bit her lip.
Despite feeling like I should probably be angry, as I stared at her, I felt a strange stirring in my chest. My racing thoughts quieted, and while my expression was neutral, my heart began to beat faster and faster.
This emotion was far from pity. What was it?
"I got it. You can go now."
Unable to place the feeling, I tried to end our conversation there. It was an act of kindness, an attempt to avoid causing her any more discomfort. However...
Missha stayed glued to her chair, utterly silent.
So I spoke up again. "Why aren't you leaving? Go and rest. I've heard everything I needed to."
At that, she slowly raised her head.
"You've... heard everything?" The words seemed choked like she'd had to force them out of her throat. "Is that...is that it?"
I found the question odd. "Why, do you need something else?"
She didn't answer.
"I have no intention of scolding or punishing you," I explained, trying to make myself clear. "You didn't hide it from me with malicious intent. In fact, wasn't all of this because you wanted to help me?"
Missha remained silent for a long while more.
"I don't..."
Finally, the words limped out of her mouth.
"I don't accept that..." she said with her head still bowed. "Just... Just tell me what you think. Whatever it is, it's okay..."
I could sense her desperation in that plea. The request drew more words from me before I could stop them.
"I just didn't think there was anything else I needed to say to you."
It was interesting. I didn't realize I could speak my heart when even I didn't know what I was feeling.
"Mostly because I find it hard to believe anything you say."
At one point, she'd been the person I could trust more than anyone else in the world. But we couldn't have that level of trust between us anymore. It wasn't all her fault, of course. Big picture, Baekho would shoulder the largest share of the blame.
"To be honest..." I admitted, "When you finished your story just now, the first question that popped into my mind was whether you were hiding anything else from me."
Missha was slow to respond. "Okay, I see..."
I'm sorry.
The urge to say that to her struck me, but I also didn't think this was something I should be sorry about, so I held my tongue.
Missha stared at me for another long moment. Then, she got up without a word and closed the door as she left.
***
The next day, after our morning meeting came to an end, I got the chance to have a private conversation with the village chief.
"Can't we just get rid of the morning meeting since it's a waste of time?" I grumbled.
"We cannot. Jerome Saintred is someone who places a high importance on keeping a rigid schedule."
"Well, that's true."
"Anyway, have you thought about the reward I mentioned yesterday?"
"Oh, I'm thinking about cashing that in later. I don't really need anything right now."
"In that case, you can tell me whenever you come up with something."
"Will do. But enough about that—we need to figure out what we're going to do going forward... What's your plan from now on?"
The village chief's answer remained the same. "As I said before, I'm going to take my time getting used to this body."
"Getting used to it..." I echoed. In other words, he still didn't trust me. He was probably going to spend his time trying to figure out which essences he possessed, if one of them was really Iblus's, if there really was a Heretic Altar active in the city, and so on. "What about after you get used to it?"
"I will leave this place immediately."
Put simply, the moment he was able to confirm he had the essence of Iblus, he would get out of my way. I looked forward to the day.
Still, personal preferences aside, I couldn't help but question his course of action.
"But if you're planning on living in his body, wouldn't it be better to just stay with us and then leave when we do? You can't erase the essence of Iblus later on once its charges are gone."
This might have been the player in me talking, but using up one of Heretic Altar's charges just to leave a little earlier seemed like money down the drain to me. No, to be honest, it was a huge waste.
I wasn't even the one who'd be losing out here, but I couldn't help but argue on principle. "Plus, the royal family won't take kindly to you dying by yourself and ending up back in the city. You might not be able to keep your position of power in the royal guard."
"Ahaha, interesting! I didn't expect you to offer up suggestions."
"We're on the same side for now, and we might be able to find opportunities to work together out in the city as well. And by the way, you're getting better at laughing."
"I'm slowly getting used to it. To this human heart."
"So, what's your answer?"
"It hasn't changed. I will be leaving immediately after familiarizing myself with this body."
Why did he insist on doing something so inefficient?
The village chief, noticing the question in my eyes, forced a smile. "It's been about one hundred days since you first came down to this floor, correct?"
"Probably?"
"You still don't know anything about this place." When the knot in my brow didn't disappear, he clarified, "Of course, as recorded on the stone, you will one day escape its clutches... but there is no telling how long that will take. And this moment... I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time."
This time, the emotion in his voice didn't seem to be forced at all. It was an intense longing, one I had never heard from him before.
The burst of sentiment was fleeting, though. "Haha, we all have our priorities, right? If I can leave this place even a day earlier, then any price is worth it to me."
With that, the artificial smile returned to the village chief's face.