Preparing for the Auction (4)
Clack, rattle—
The dilapidated carriage let out a noisy racket as it rolled over the bumpy road.
"Ugh..."
Biorf let out a soft groan, shifting his weight. The old donkey-cart was incredibly uncomfortable.
The seat was nothing more than a hard wooden plank covered by a single thin piece of cloth. It was a miserable environment, completely devoid of the plush comfort one would expect from a proper carriage.
...I miss the leather seats of the academy carriages.
And the discomfort wasn't the only issue.
"Uh..."
Isaac Berylof, who had been looking around with anxious eyes, finally spoke up.
"E-Excuse me, elder coachman?"
"What?"
"Where exactly are we going right now?"
"Huh? We're heading to Dawnguard, the dark city."
"No, that's not what I meant...!"
As the old man holding the donkey's reins turned around to answer, Isaac shouted in frustration.
"...I mean, why on earth are we leaving the Silk Road?!"
Clack, rattle!
In the distance, the Silk Road was visible, with merchant caravans passing along it.
Yet, the old man's cart was veering away from that safe path, heading deeper into the uncharted territory outside the barrier.
"Please, get back on the Silk Road immediately! We're going to get attacked by monsters at this rate!"
"What?"
The old man snorted, his voice laced with irritation.
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden? The Silk Road? Don't you know that's just a path for brainless merchants to crawl along?"
"...Excuse me?"
In an instant, every merchant on the continent had been branded an idiot.
"Just trust me. This way is much faster and much safer."
"No, what do you mean by—!"
"Assistant Berylof."
Targon cut in, his voice calm and steady.
"Calm down. That elder was personally sent by Lord Gaon."
"..."
"There must be a reason why he chose this route."
A brief silence fell over the carriage.
Selena nodded silently, and Biorf let out a low grunt of agreement.
They found the donkey-cart just as uncomfortable, but as Targon said, they couldn't easily complain about a choice that carried Gaon's intentions.
"..."
Isaac Berylof shut his mouth tight.
Or rather, to be precise... he had no choice but to cast his eyes down, unable to say another word.
Being shut down by a rookie assistant far younger than him was certainly unpleasant. But with both professors remaining silent, it would be highly inappropriate for him to keep complaining alone.
Moreover...
...Thanks to Targon, my workload has been cut by more than half.
Organizing documents, administrative tasks, and even writing research reports—Targon had taken over all the headache-inducing chores Isaac used to do. Thanks to that, Isaac had been enjoying relatively peaceful days.
What could be more worthy of gratitude than this?
Right. I should endure this, if only out of gratitude for everything he's done for me...
Targon.
To Isaac Berylof, he was nothing short of an angel who had rescued him from the hell of paperwork.
Therefore, he could tolerate the rookie's slight rudeness a hundred times over.
And...
What a coward.
Watching this unfold from the opposite seat, Strawberry Latte chuckled inwardly.
Isaac Berylof.
A character famous for his cowardice even in the game.
Due to his indecisive nature, he was destined for a convoluted life as a double agent for both the Ruins Merchant Group and the Shadow Society. To make matters worse, he was also plagued by an overwhelming workload as a shared assistant at Wintersield Magic Academy.
Knowing all of this, Strawberry Latte found Isaac's current struggle simply hilarious.
Even now, it was painfully obvious how anxious he was about traveling to the dark city—the stronghold of the Ruins Merchant Group—alongside Selena Servich, the Blood Empress. That was undoubtedly why Isaac was acting so unusually emotional.
By the way...
Speaking of cowards, another coward from the game suddenly came to mind.
...Puppet Master Batu.
A lunatic on par with Camilo von Taribas.
He was the most cruel and horrific entity among the Five Nightmares, a monster with the bizarre hobby of turning living people into puppets.
What made him even more troublesome was his cowardice. He absolutely avoided direct confrontation, always relying on cowardly tactics from the shadows. That very pettiness made him an even trickier opponent to deal with.
"..."
Horrific memories of encountering him in the game flashed by.
The gruesome sight of companions being turned into his playthings one by one. The voices begging to be killed instead.
Strawberry Latte frowned, disgusted by the mere thought, but...
Well, whatever.
He shook his head, brushing the thoughts away.
We won't encounter that bastard until the late game anyway.
There was no need to worry about him right now.
"I-It's a bit uncomfortable to stand... May I sit next to you? There's something I'd like to talk about..."
Creeping forward, Puppet Master Batu spoke hesitantly.
Adelia gripped the hilt of her Meteor Sword. She was clearly on guard, wary of this suspicious figure who had recognized my identity in an instant.
However, I shook my head slightly, stopping her.
...For now, I need to talk to this guy.
Puppet Master Batu.
As I mentioned before, he was the most troublesome existence among the Five Nightmares.
The reason lay in his nature. While Doricco Shiro was naturally bright and innocent, Puppet Master Batu stood at the exact opposite extreme.
Gloomy and pathetic. Sadistic and cruel, he was pure evil itself, deriving pleasure from the suffering of others. In that sense, he might seem similar to Camilo von Taribas, but...
There is a crucial difference between the two.
Camilo at least possessed enough social grace to maintain formalities and etiquette. Batu, on the other hand, lacked even that.
He acted solely on his desires and impulses. In short, he was an uncontrollable madman.
...But why did he come all the way here?
In the original scenario, the Five Nightmares did interfere in the Sky Dragon Bird auction. However, the one who appeared in the dark city back then wasn't Puppet Master Batu.
The auction took place much later in the original timeline, and at that point, Batu was preoccupied with other matters.
Furthermore, Batu was someone who extremely loathed leaving his hideout. He wasn't the type to obediently follow orders just because his companions told him to.
There must be a significant reason for Puppet Master Batu to move personally.
I stared at Puppet Master Batu in silence.
I need to figure out his intentions through this conversation. And by extension, the thoughts of the entire Five Nightmares.
Of course, I was already half-certain of the reason... but still, it was always better to be absolutely sure.
Up until now, I had moved with complete foresight. But this time was different. This was a situation where countless variables could arise. As such, I had to gather as much information as possible.
It wasn't impossible. I had successfully extracted information from formidable entities like Camilo von Taribas and Doricco Shiro, and had even exploited them. Puppet Master Batu would be no different.
In fact, if I played his cowardly and twisted nature against him, he might be even easier to handle.
Having reached that conclusion, I nodded.
"Sure. Sit down."
"Oh...! T-Thank you...!"
Batu hurriedly sat down next to me. I could hear a sigh of relief escaping from beneath his hood.
Just then, the tavern owner began placing dishes on the table one by one. He glanced at Puppet Master Batu and shrugged.
"Ah, you had another companion. Well, even so, this is still a lot of food for three people..."
"This axe! I cut the windpipe of the Earth Dragon with this very axe! Bwahaha!"
The owner's words were cut short by a loud shout from across the room.
Clicking his tongue, the owner shook his head.
"Please excuse the noise. Lately, the Ruins Merchant Group announced extra rewards for those who slay Earth Dragons, so impostors and braggarts like him have been popping up everywhere."
"..."
"I've already called the Ruins Merchant Group's guards, so it will quiet down soon."
With that, the owner left the table.
Although the dark city of Dawnguard was a lawless zone, the influence of the Ruins Merchant Group was not to be underestimated.
Businesses, including restaurants and lodgings, paid a regular protection fee to operate under the guild's shield. Thanks to this, a bare minimum of order was maintained, allowing merchants to conduct business with some peace of mind. It was also why the owner could confidently call upon the guild's guards.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Once the owner departed, silence descended upon the table.
Meaningful glances exchanged as we tried to gauge each other's intentions, accompanied by a suffocating stillness.
Of course, there was no reason to prolong this useless battle of nerves, so I spoke first.
"Help yourself, Batu."
"...!"
When I offered him food, Batu flinched in surprise and stammered back.
"W-What...? You know who I am...? H-How?"
He trembled violently, clearly unsettled by the fact that his identity had been exposed.
According to the character settings, Batu was a coward. I could feel that he was genuinely terrified of me at this very moment.
However, his thin, trembling voice and strangely crooked tone were the problem. Even though he was clearly intimidated, to the listener, it bizarrely sounded as if he were mocking me.
"T-Doricco Shiro, that liar..."
Puppet Master Batu began to mutter.
"She said it would be fun to become friends! But he's a terrifying bastard who saw right through my identity the moment we met. F-Fuck... this is exactly why I said I didn't want to come..."
Muttering to himself, he looked like the very definition of a terrified lunatic.
Hearing Batu's muttering, Adelia's face instantly turned pale.
"...!"
The name Batu, and the connection to Doricco Shiro. Through these fragmentary clues, she realized that the man before her was one of the Five Nightmares.
I glanced at Adelia's stiffened expression before shifting my gaze back to Batu.
If left alone, he would likely mutter to himself all day, so I cut him off at the right moment.
"Didn't you say you had something to tell me?"
"...Ah!"
Batu snapped out of it and looked at me.
Fidgeting with his fingers, he nodded slightly as if he had made up his mind.
"Y-Yeah. Since you already know who I am, I'll get straight to the point."
Leaning slightly toward me, he spoke.
"G-Gaon. I heard you have ownership of the Sky Dragon Bird's corpse?"
"..."
"I don't need anything else, so can you just hand over the lightning core?"
As expected, his goal was the lightning core.
It was clearly meant to be used to construct the body of the Second Apostle. My hypothesis had turned into a certainty. This meant the descent of 'that guy' had been accelerated far more than before.
Naturally, I had absolutely no reason to comply with his request.
"And if I refuse?"
"H-Hmm... I didn't expect you to reject me so flatly..."
Batu scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Then I guess I have no choice. I'll just have to blow up the auction house, slaughter all those rich bastards who gathered to show off their money, and take the lightning core myself."
"..."
"O-Oh? W-Wait a minute. Actually, wouldn't that be much more fun...?"
Batu looked at me, a twisted smile spreading across his face.
"I-I shouldn't have said anything! You don't have to hand it over!"
I knew it.
Every single member of the Five Nightmares had a screw loose.