The Paramere Search Operation (9)

Rosemary agreed.

"Fine. If we sleep in two shifts, each person can get at least two hours before nightfall."

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

"If we're going to sleep, we should sleep properly. We all sleep together. No watch."

I led everyone to the two-story house I had marked on the map beforehand. Rosemary looked around uneasily.

"Isn't this too dangerous? It feels like something similar to yesterday is going to happen..."

"Hey. Rosemary. Are you doubting the Great Master's words?"

"Don't suddenly talk to me so casually. We stayed in a similar house yesterday, didn't we?"

"Today and yesterday are different. This place is two stories, and that place was one story."

"But..."

"Just sit tight and watch what I do."

After bringing everyone up to the second floor, I broke part of the stairs. To keep the roaming things from climbing up, I collapsed the middle section of the staircase entirely.

"What are you doing?"

"Making it so they can't come up."

"But if we're discovered, they can still climb up, can't they? If it's the ones from yesterday, they'd climb up even if they had to step on their comrades' bodies..."

"We just have to not get discovered."

I set my Pocket backpack down on the floor. I took out the long cloth I had brought from the Pocket and wrapped it around the door. I sealed the door meticulously.

"Why that...?"

"To prevent any light from leaking out. Here. Rosemary. Spread this on the floor."

"...What is this?"

"A magic item. It absorbs noise above a certain level. Handle it carefully. Each one costs ten million won."

"Wh-where did you get the money? Did you steal it?!"

"I earned it legally."

Once I had covered even the windows, I scowled at the group standing around awkwardly.

"What are you doing? Not resting."

"...Brother. No matter how you look at it, I can't say this alone makes me feel safe."

"At least we should post a watch..."

"As long as we don't make too much noise, that magic tool will absorb all sound. It'll be fine unless someone kicks the door in plain view. There's nowhere for light to leak, so they can't see us either. The last remaining thing is smell."

I hung the incense I had brought from the ceiling.

"It's 'Runeleaf.' It repels foul things."

Pablo blinked.

"Wh-why is our church's product here..."

"Leaves steeped in moonlight are also good at drawing out smells. Here. Look. The black smoke that was faintly settling is being drawn out, right?"

I took off my mask as if to show them. I also pulled off the startled Rosemary's mask.

The Apostle of Isis, who had been watching cautiously, carefully took off his mask as well.

"I-it's true. It's fine! There's nothing wrong at all!"

"Lower your voice."

"S-sorry... But it really is fine. Brothers. Brother Zahard, how do you know all this?"

"Be prepared for anything."

I casually took out the eye mask and earplugs I had brought from the Pocket.

"If you prepare for anything, you can overcome it."

"That seems a bit much, so put those back."

"I trust Rosemary will wake me if anything happens."

"I'm not an alarm clock."

We all quietly lay down. The floor was hard, but not so hard that we couldn't sleep.

Breaking through the flowing silence, Noah spoke.

"...What if those things somehow get up to the second floor?"

"The door's locked, so that won't happen."

"But what if they break through?"

"I figure if we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠offer up Brother and run, it'll work out somehow."

"Hing. That's too mean."

"Don't talk with a lisp, man."

Pablo muttered.

"I wonder what happened to the other squad..."

"Well, they're probably managing to stay alive on their own."

I closed my eyes.

"Don't you think they're assuming we're dead?"

. . .

I opened my eyes. It was faint, but outside was growing light. As I yawned lazily, Lucas and Marcus naturally offered morning greetings.

"Good morning, Brother."

"Thanks to you, we could rest well."

"You look like you didn't sleep a wink. Are you okay?"

"This much is nothing on the battlefield."

"If anything, it's a relief we slept even a little. And we've confirmed that your words were right, so isn't this a better morning than any?"

So they had stayed up all night with their eyes open out of worry. I stretched my body with a crack. I was stiff in places.

"Rosemary."

"Mmm..."

I gently pulled the hair that had gotten into her mouth.

"Wake up. We need to eat breakfast."

"...Already...morning...? I'm tired...dying..."

She sat up drowsily and blinked blankly. Her usual venom was completely gone.

I had watched her for two weeks, and how should I put it... she was really weak in the mornings. I took a cup out of the Pocket. I lightly wrapped Sacred Flame around the thermos to adjust the temperature.

I poured a cup of quickly warmed water. A word of thanks that could only be heard in the morning slipped from Rosemary's lips.

"...Thank youu."

When she's like this, she really is cute. I turned my head toward Lucas and Marcus. I shook the thermos slightly.

"A cup?"

"If you offer, we'll gratefully accept."

"That whole backpack is a Pocket, I see."

"What's inside?"

"This and that. For example, cloth like that."

"I see."

"With Rosemary..."

Lucas and Marcus exchanged glances. They smiled without either going first.

"Are you lovers?"

"Bweeeh."

"Rosemary. Don't waste your drink. Put what you spat out back in your mouth while I'm asking nicely."

"Waaah... I heard something that upset my stomach... I need to wash my ears..."

"I said don't waste the water."

Hup. I can't just use the rest of the supplies once and throw them away.

I collected everything that had been spread out in the room. With the backpack on my back, I met eyes with Pablo, who had drowsily sat up.

He flinched.

He subtly averted his gaze. I crouched down in front of him.

"Brother Pablo."

"...Y-yes."

I poured warm water in a trickle. I held it out to him.

"Drink. It'll warm your stomach."

"...Ah."

He carefully accepted the cup. He took a sip.

Tears burst out.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I... because I was stupid... like an idiot..."

Pablo sobbed. I smiled warmly.

"It's fine. Everyone makes mistakes."

There!

This is the right moment for magnanimity!

"I believe that from now on, Brother Pablo will follow along well."

Carrot and stick. At the continuing training method, Pablo wiped his tears.

In place of his bleary eyes, a resolute gaze settled in, as if determined to repay the favor somehow.

"...I will definitely repay the favor of saving my life."

Rosemary, still not fully awake, yawned lazily.

"I want to brush my teeth."

"Impossible."

"Uwaaaaah..."

Noah, who had woken up late, rubbed his eyes.

"Brother. Give me a cup too, please..."

"Here. Everyone brought their own breakfast, right?"

I had no intention of opening up the food in my Pocket yet. Those would be needed later.

"Let's eat lightly and move. We'll probably need to move a bit busily today."

. . .

Paramer was quiet during the day. The city was completely subdued, just as when we first entered. But everyone in the group was tense.

Knowing what was hiding in this silence, they couldn't help but be quiet. I glanced at a sign reading Amelda.

An old, worn wooden board. On the verge of falling.

I dropped my axe with a thud.

"Zahard?"

"Since there's probably something here, let's set up a proper formation."

"A formation?"

I pointed at Rosemary.

"Rosemary and I will take the vanguard. Okay?"

"Well... I have no complaints... but what about the rest?"

"Brother Lucas and Brother Marcus, please protect the other two."

"No problem, but..."

"Can the vanguard hold out with just the two of you?"

"You should worry about the rear more than the vanguard. They're surprisingly smart, so they'll definitely target the rear first. And Brother Noah and Brother Pablo, please support us with Holy Arts from there. Can you do that?"

"Of course!"

"I-I'll try!"

They're following along well. Good.

I gripped my axe over my shoulder. I glanced back at Rosemary.

"Nervous?"

"Ha? Me? How could I be?"

"Right? I was worried you might get scared like a little kid."

"What?!"

I tapped Rosemary on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. Just do what you've learned. From what I can see, it won't be long before Rosemary masters Shape Transformation."

"...R-really?"

"Yes. You're almost there, so relax your shoulders. Being too tense isn't good either. Let's go enjoy ourselves. Enjoy ourselves."

"There's no way enjoying ourselves is possible in a place like this."

"Why can't we enjoy ourselves? Life is like a game anyway. The winner takes everything."

A chilling sound echoed from Amelda. In the grinding noise, something was rising to its feet.

Four legs. A body reeking of rot. Two arms hung only on its right side. There was nothing on its left.

It was big. Absurdly big. Its body, the size of a house, glistened with rotten skin and flesh. Around the especially dark creature, corrupted gravestones were slowly melting.

There was something in its right hand. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked like a massive gravestone torn from a park. As if the gripped part was rotting, smoke rose along with a terrible stench.

"Wh-what in the world is that..."

"Even worse than those rotten ones..."

"...So it's the leader."

"It looks stronger than the ones we faced last night."

There was more than one pupil in its eye. Five large and small pupils each rolled around before fixing directly on me.

Black smoke slowly leaked from the creature's mouth. I stepped forward one pace. I glanced back at Rosemary.

"That thing won't die either. So focus on dismantling it."

"Its arms look tough. Targeting the legs seems best."

"Oh. Now you learn two things from knowing one... Hrk. Impressive. My child."

"Stop joking and look ahead."

Rosemary stood beside me. She raised her weapon and grumbled.

"But why me, of all people? Do you enjoy tormenting me that much? You know I haven't been handling that axe for long. The ones who'd actually be useful are those two behind us..."

"What are you talking about? Who else would I trust besides Rosemary?"

"...What did you say?"

"You said it yourself. That you'd kill me. Since the proud Rosemary said that, you wouldn't let me die at the hands of those other things, would you? And besides..."

I shrugged.

"I don't have the confidence to coordinate with anyone but Rosemary."

"Hah?"

Rosemary frowned as if dumbfounded. She growled and bared her fangs, then spat out a single word.

"...Tempo?"

"Half a beat faster than usual."

Fire ignited on the axe.

"Let's go."

. . .

Daniel raised his head. His face, having not slept properly for days, was haggard.

The promised week. That day had come. The mercenaries and elves who had moved to the Clock Tower said nothing.

They had argued a few days ago. And because of that, they no longer exchanged any words. They simply kept each other around because they needed one another.

His legs were heavy as he walked. In truth, it wasn't just his legs that were heavy.

None of the elves, including the mercenaries, had ever gotten proper sleep. It had been a continuous string of days of closing their eyes for a moment and opening them again, to the point where it was a wonder they were still alive.

Moving his fatigue-stained eyes, Daniel looked up at the dark sky. The Clock Tower was visible.

There was no one below. It seemed they were the first to arrive.

The church forces were surely dead... and what had become of the Imperial knights and wizards?

Over the course of seven days, Daniel had obtained no information. Paramer was vast, and the time had been too short to figure out anything special. Because they had to combine rest and investigation during the day, the truth was they had been able to do almost nothing.

Daniel wasn't a wizard to begin with. Even when he saw something strange, he couldn't tell whether it was strange or not. He had seen the elves whispering with slips of paper, but they shared no information with the mercenaries.

Because they didn't work well together, there were many clashes in battle, and each time, mercenaries got hurt. They did heal them afterward, but no one helped except the hooded one.

...If he had his way, he'd kill them. He'd like to plant a knife in their backs.

His stamina was reaching its limit. Daniel wanted to throw everything away and leave the city. The numbers of the mercenary company and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the rangers hadn't decreased, but that seemed likely to change soon.

"......"

He couldn't leave. He had gone back to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠place where they had persuaded the elves and entered, but he couldn't push through the fog. The teleport scroll worth several million Talent that he had brought just in case didn't work either.

Daniel could no longer crack jokes. He couldn't even shake off the black fog filling the depths of his heart.

At this rate... everything ends at this rate.

Thud. Thud.

He heard a sound. Someone was walking through the dark day. Not one, but several.

Daniel raised his head. He narrowed his eyes and looked.