Chapter 137
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Swamp of Oblivion (6)
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Father Comer.
He was a puppet controlled by the White Gluttony, but his actions didn't differ much from anyone else's.
At least not yet. He wasn't threatening us in any particular way, nor was he pulling any shady tricks behind our backs. If anything, he was even providing conveniences.
Thanks to Father Comer's and the villagers' permission, the pioneering team had set up temporary lodgings inside the village.
The plan was to rest in the village for a day and then resume moving the next day.
Because of the look Seo Yu-ju had given Father Comer earlier, I decided to sound her out.
It was about time to wrap up the day.
When I visited the tent where Seo Yu-ju was staying, she greeted me with a delighted expression.
"Y-Yun-seong! What brings you here... D-Does this mean..."
She looked like she was harboring some strange expectation.
'...It's not that.'
Pushing aside the complicated feelings about how Seo Yu-ju had ended up like this, I opened my mouth.
"...Sorry for coming so late, Yu-ju. It's about what happened today."
"Ah..."
'Why the disappointment?'
"I... I see. If it's about today, does that mean something to do with the village?"
"Yes. It seems like the villagers are continuously losing their memories. You're the only one who remembers Ha Yu-ri, Father Comer..."
As soon as I brought up Father Comer, Seo Yu-ju's expression changed.
"Father Comer seems like a good person. Thanks to him, the pioneering team was able to enter the village comfortably."
I deliberately kept praising Father Comer.
If Seo Yu-ju knew there was something off about him, she'd at least react.
"...Do you think Father Comer is a good person, Yun-seong?"
"Ah... Honestly, I was wary at first, but Ha Yu-ri seemed to trust him too, and from his speech and behavior, he felt like a good person."
"......"
Sure enough, Seo Yu-ju's expression wasn't good.
"...Yu-ju?"
"It's just... I don't feel like he's a particularly good person. It's like... something about him feels off, you know?"
'Well... that's clear enough.'
I didn't know if Seo Yu-ju had participated in this pioneering expedition in the first round.
I'd even thought maybe there was no such expedition in the first round, but seeing how she seemed to know Father Comer, that was wrong.
"In a situation where all the villagers are losing their memories, isn't it strange that he's the only one relatively fine?"
Seo Yu-ju was trying to emphasize to me how suspicious Father Comer was, continuing her words.
"Now that you mention it... yeah..."
"The Swamp of Oblivion is definitely different from the dungeons we've experienced before. No, it is different."
"....."
"I think it's suspicious. Suddenly someone being friendly to us? In a shady village like this? I think... we need to have appropriate suspicion and vigilance first."
She was absolutely right. The reason Seo Yu-ju and I could think this way was because of our memories from the first round.
I didn't know why Ha Yu-ri didn't suspect Father Comer, but I could make a rough one-dimensional guess.
'...During the pioneering three years ago, maybe the priest didn't directly interfere.'
Or perhaps he pretended to help.
Even if he sabotaged them under the guise of help, the pioneering team wouldn't have known.
"Anyway... I get the gist of what you're saying, Yu-ju. Then the villagers..."
"The villagers... well..."
'The villagers themselves aren't an issue, huh.'
Nothing was set in stone yet. Still, sounding out Seo Yu-ju's reaction would be plenty helpful when it came time to move Ha Yu-ri.
'I could just order Ha Yu-ri directly, or if she finds it suspicious, I can just reveal my ability outright.'
Even if she knew about my ability, Ha Yu-ri was in no position to harm me anyway.
The next day, just as the pioneering team was about to leave the village, Father Comer approached us.
"...You're planning to head deeper in."
"Ah... Father Comer."
"Fortunately, my prayers reached last night, and the god I serve has given me an answer. He commanded me to guide you brave travelers."
"Ah... Are you planning to travel with us like last time?"
"Yes. How could I leave travelers in this perilous place without guidance? It wouldn't be right for one who serves the divine."
I nearly snorted at his words.
To me, they just sounded like he was saying he'd interfere with our route.
I considered telling Ha Yu-ri to refuse, but then changed my mind.
'No. It might be better to keep him close. If I refuse and he pulls something shady from behind, it'll be more trouble.'
There's a reason they say to keep enemies close.
In the end, I didn't say anything to Ha Yu-ri, and since there was no reason to refuse Father Comer's offer, he joined the group.
As we left the village and continued on, we encountered another pack of shapes, but dispatched them without much damage.
Though "without much damage" was relative—there was damage, just not to Eternity.
"Ha Yu-ri, report. Due to the battle with the shape pack at the vanguard, two from Plum Blossom Clan have minor injuries, and one is dead."
'Heh...'
"Got it."
It was a natural outcome for the vanguard Plum Blossom Clan to take losses.
And it was the result I'd intended.
'That's what you get for flapping your mouth... You pay the price.'
No guilt whatsoever.
If someone in the vanguard was fated to die anyway, better to weaken a hostile faction.
But the person involved apparently couldn't stand it.
Seo Mi-kyung, who had been at the vanguard, approached Ha Yu-ri with an angry face.
"Switch us out! We've got a death because we're stuck at the front!"
'Whoa, no can do.'
"...Sorry, but that's not possible."
"Why not! At least rotate the vanguard! We're taking huge losses!"
Logically, she had a point. Since the vanguard was a burdensome position, they should rotate it.
Just when I thought I couldn't use Plum Blossom Clan as meat shields much longer, human selfishness unintentionally helped me.
"Ahem... Once the positions are set, we should stick to them..."
"It was decided fairly by vote, wasn't it?"
'Pfft...'
The other clan masters started subtly opposing Seo Mi-kyung.
Of course they would—from their perspective, rotating the vanguard meant their own clans would take losses.
'What a riot.'
No one here was on Plum Blossom Clan's side.
"W-What? You're kidding, right?! We have a death! You can say that because your clans haven't lost anyone!"
"Ahem... No, in expeditions or large-scale pioneering like this, casualties are inevitable."
"W-What?"
Seo Mi-kyung looked dumbfounded, reacting to the others' brazenness and selfishness.
"Plum Blossom Clan Master, you need to steel yourself at times like this."
'Wow... Impressive. I couldn't be that shameless myself.'
Seo Mi-kyung bit her lip in frustration, ignored the other clan masters, and said something shocking to Ha Yu-ri.
"We... No, Plum Blossom Clan is withdrawing from this pioneering team!"
"...What? Seo Mi-kyung, are you serious?"
"W-What else am I supposed to do? At this rate, only our clan suffers!"
Of course, the other clan masters weren't about to let the meat shield clan withdraw.
"No... Plum Blossom Clan Master. Isn't that too hasty? Even so..."
"Withdrawing from the pioneering team suddenly? What..."
"Forget it. Ha Yu-ri, anyway, Plum Blossom Clan is out."
'Stupid bitch.'
Once you'd joined a large-scale pioneering like this, you couldn't just quit because you wanted to.
I didn't know if she was ignorant of that or doing it anyway, but it just looked like a child throwing a tantrum.
"...Seo Mi-kyung, the pioneering team has already entered the Swamp of Oblivion, and it's not a situation where Plum Blossom Clan can just withdraw because they want to."
"Since when!"
'Right here, you idiot.'
"...Anyway, withdrawing now is impossible. And how exactly do you plan to leave? We've already entered the Swamp of Oblivion, and I hear some in your clan have lost memories too."
"That's..."
"Abandoning the pioneering now is impossible, and even if you did, those who've lost memories would live without them forever."
"But..."
"And if you wanted to rotate the vanguard, you should have said so and voted on it before the meeting."
Ha Yu-ri was right. Yeah, honestly, from that woman's perspective, feeling wronged? Totally understandable.
But before the vote, she hadn't thought her clan would get picked, so she didn't suggest rotating.
Not just her—everyone here.
If they wanted to rotate the vanguard, they should have said it before the vote.
"So please return to your position, Seo Mi-kyung."
"Damn it!"
All Seo Mi-kyung could do was express her dissatisfaction.
After treating the wounded from Plum Blossom Clan and recovering the body of the dead, we resumed marching.
'...A fork?'
After some distance, a fork in the road appeared.
"Ha Yu-ri, what do you plan to do?"
"Ah..."
She seemed a bit flustered since I asked, but quickly composed herself and answered.
"...Last time, we went right here."
'Ah, so they've been here before?'
"Is that so? If going right yielded no results last time, then this time we should go left..."
Father Comer cut me off with an expressionless face.
"At the fork, you must go right."
"Father Comer? Three years ago, we went right but didn't achieve much..."
"You must go right."
'...What the hell's with this guy?'
"Um... Father Comer? Last time we went right as you said, but got no results. So this time, left..."
"The divine has spoken. You must not go left. For your journey, you must go right."
'Bullshit.'
From what I could tell, last expedition they followed this guy's advice and went right, getting nothing.
Ha Yu-ri felt the same suspicion at his vague talk of divine revelation and insistence on right.
Naturally, confusion arose over which path to take due to Father Comer's claim.
'...Is he deliberately leading us right?'
My instinct strongly screamed not to go right.
As I moved to approach Ha Yu-ri, Seo Yu-ju had already spoken to her.
"Ha Yu-ri, if going right yielded no results last time, I think we should try left."