The Scorpion Unmasked
“Hepais. Calm down for now.”
“Haa... sss... haa...”
Mariel looked thoroughly flustered, and I was no better.
The plant a criminal syndicate had been carefully cultivating turned out to be something Hepais’s master had created...
Of course, thinking back to the Yuria I’d seen in the game, I knew she wasn’t the sort of person some two-bit crime outfit could just snatch up.
Which meant one of two things.
Either Yuria had run into someone far stronger and something terrible had happened to her...
Or...
Yuria was part of that organization herself.
And the fact that those members had plucked a leaf and brought it straight to their boss meant they knew exactly what the plant could do.
“Okay. Now... now you can ask whatever you want.”
Hepais, looking far calmer than a moment ago, spoke with a resolute expression.
“Good work. First... so the Eliximona you know and the plant Mariel described look exactly the same?”
“Yeah. That’s right... I’m sure of it. Whenever Master went somewhere far, she always transplanted it into a portable pot. So I remember it clearly. And... she took it with her on this commission too...”
Rubia gave a small nod at Hepais’s words.
“Eliximona... Eliximona. Definitely a plant I’ve never heard of. Do you know what the leaves are for?”
“No... I just know it’s amazing. The exact effects...”
Hepais’s voice grew quieter and quieter until she trailed off and hung her head.
Rubia, too, tapped her chin with a look of deep thought.
A suffocating silence settled over us.
I was the one who broke it.
“Th-then... maybe we should go back to Urusphier... a-and... hyaah...”
The sudden weight of every gaze locking onto me made my whole body lock up...
It’s only three people!
You can’t even talk in front of three people?! You scrub!!
B-but... everyone’s faces look so grim...
What if they get mad at me for no reason... wh-what do I do...
“Uuugh...”
I hunched in on myself, stammering, when Rubia’s hand slowly wrapped around mine.
“Noah, it’s all right. Keep going.”
The warmth of her touch made my body loosen, just a little.
“Haa... haa... Wh-what if we head to Urusphier...? Mariel-ssi... running away means... she doesn’t even know the approximate location... o-or maybe she does...!”
“That’s certainly possible. Mariel-ssi. Would you be able to give us a rough idea of where you escaped from?”
Rubia turned toward Mariel, her voice a touch louder.
Mariel flinched as if startled, then finally spoke.
“Ah... yes. If we go to Urusphier I can tell you, but... um...”
“That’s fine. Just take us near the place. We can handle the rest ourselves. Right, Noah?”
Huh?
Why me all of a sudden?
I tilted my head, and Rubia leaned in to whisper.
“Couldn’t you use Qi Sensing to look inside the building?”
“Ah...! Y-yes, I can...!”
Rubia’s a genius?
She really is a genius!
“So Mariel-ssi, you only need to tell us the location, then you can go somewhere safe. I’ll speak for you—whether that’s a temple or a hospital is up to you.”
“In that case... I understand. I’ll tell you.”
Mariel clenched both fists and nodded firmly.
At the same time Hepais lifted her head, her expression a little brighter.
“But heading down the mountain right now is too much. Let’s get a good night’s sleep and set out first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah. Okay... but, but... what if—”
“Hepais. It’s all right. You said she isn’t the type for that.”
“Th-that’s true, but... hic—”
“It’s fine. The thing you’re worrying about won’t happen. So sleep well tonight, and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”
One of Rubia’s hands still held mine while the other gently patted Hepais’s shoulder. Watching her, she looked for all the world like a truly compassionate saint.
“Rubia Unni... thank you so much. Really...”
“What are you thanking me for? Enough. Go wash your face before you sleep. Your face’ll be all puffy tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah... okay.”
While Hepais trudged off toward the basin of water, Rubia turned her head to Mariel.
“Mariel-ssi... I still have more questions, but for now please rest. You’ll need the strength to move tomorrow morning. We have a lot of luggage, so... I’m sorry, but you’ll have to walk with us as far as the entrance.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
Mariel pushed herself up with effort and headed over to where Hepais was.
Then Rubia’s gaze swung toward me.
Watching her neck swivel so busily made a little snicker slip out of me.
“Noah? Is something... good happening?”
“Heheh... Ah, um... N-no... I-it’s just... you looking so busy is... funny...”
“My head hurts and my neck hurts... and Noah thinks I look funny?”
Her voice thick with sulkiness, Rubia immediately pinched my cheek hard!
“Mweeeeh! I-I’m shorry... shorry...”
“Pfft— Aigoo, look how ugly you get. Noah, go get ready for bed too. We have to get up early tomorrow.”
She let go of my cheek and patted my bottom with soft little thumps.
“Th-then I’ll go brush my teeth first...”
“All right. Go on.”
Leaving Rubia waving behind me, I walked slowly toward the luggage.
Along the way I thought I heard her muttering something to herself.
It wasn’t like she was seeing ghosts...
And this world doesn’t have cell phones... so I must have imagined it, right?
Just as Rubia had said, we rose early the next morning, packed our things at once, and set out for Urusphier.
Mariel was an ordinary person, so her stamina was weak and our pace was a little slow, but we still managed to reach the entrance before the sun went down.
My first climb of Karahan... ended far more anticlimactically than I’d braced myself for.
“It’s still as noisy as ever around here.”
Hepais surveyed the surroundings with a sharp edge to her voice.
“Mm... yeah...”
I looked around as well.
Unlike Hepais, I didn’t feel any resentment... I was just hungry...
We’d hurried down without eating a single meal, and my stomach was growling so hard...
But the atmosphere was too heavy to suggest food...
So I just clutched my empty belly and trudged along in silence.
Then—
“So, what should we do now? Head straight there? Or rest and go in the morning?”
Rubia asked about the next plan.
“Logically speaking, I think we should rest properly and go when we’re in good condition. But...”
“...I... I think so too.”
Hepais ground her teeth and lowered her head.
Of course she’d want to go look right away...
“I’m fine with either.”
Mariel was saying she’d go along with whatever we decided...
Rubia and Hepais both turned their faces toward me.
“Uh, um... ah...”
“Speak freely, Noah. Honestly, even though I’ve been doing all the talking, your opinion matters most.”
“Y-yes...?”
“If something unexpected happens, the first one to make contact with the enemies will be... you, Noah. Of course, if I can clean things up before that, I will...”
Mmm... she had a point.
I quietly expanded my Qi Sensing and studied Hepais’s expression in detail.
A face twisted tight.
Lips pressed together as if holding something back with all her might.
If...
If I were in her place.
If Rubia had been kidnapped.
“We go right now...”
There was nothing more to think about.
“Huh? U-Unni, are you sure...?”
“B-but...”
Hepais’s face brightened for a second, then darkened again just as fast.
This next part was embarrassing to say...
While I gripped the hilt of my sword tight and worked my lips, a loud gurgle rolled through the street.
Hepais’s head tilted.
Rubia wore an expression caught between disbelief and amusement...
And Mariel... Mariel’s face looked... uneasy?
“F-food first... I... I’m so, so hungry...”
“Ah, right. We haven’t eaten at all...”
Only then did Hepais realize we’d been starving ourselves.
“Yes. We should eat first...”
Rubia still looked like she was holding back a laugh.
And Mariel... smiled?
Just the tiniest bit.
It didn’t show on her face, but the minute shift of her muscles... seemed to sketch a smile.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but... may I use the restroom for a moment...?”
Mariel wiped away every trace of the previous expression and put on an embarrassed look as she spoke.
Something... felt off...
“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”
“Then I’ll—”
“Hepais. Why don’t we look around for a restaurant?”
Rubia cut Hepais off mid-sentence as she started after Mariel toward the restroom, catching her by the shoulder and stopping her.
“Huh...? Unni...? N-no, I need the rest—”
“Noah, will you come with us?”
“Mm...? Uh, uhh...”
There was something... pressuring about her expression.
A look that said you will say yes made my head nod on its own.
“Good. Mariel-ssi. We’ll be looking around nearby.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll be right back.”
Rubia kept a pleasant smile until Mariel disappeared from sight.
The moment she was gone, that smile vanished into a grim expression.
“Everyone. Listen carefully.”
“Hepais’s master is definitely not at the Red Scorpion hideout. And the Eliximona probably isn’t there either.”
“Huh? Wh-what do you mean...”
“No time. Questions later. Listen to me first. And this.”
Rubia pulled a small stone from her pocket.
“Huh...?”
It was the tracking artifact she’d taken out of Mariel’s stomach.
But hadn’t she said she was going to destroy it?
“It wasn’t the kind that activates remotely. The owner has to turn it on themselves.”
“Huh...?”
“Uhh...?”
Rubia took a short breath and continued.
“I could have let that slide. But the moment she saw me... she started rubbing her own stomach. Like she was searching for something.”
She closed her eyes, quietly grinding her teeth, then spoke in a voice that almost growled.
“That... fucking bitch... I’m pretty sure she’s Red Scorpion. No—I’m certain.”
“U-Unni...?”
Through Hepais’s startled voice, Rubia’s cryptic muttering reached my ears.
“Those bastards who deserve to be torn to shreds... daring to lay a hand on what’s mine?”
The face that murmured those words—
her yaksha-like face—was turned straight toward me.
“Hic—”