Chapter 100
Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Village of Silence (6)
Village of Silence, Anemone's house.
Count Wolfhaufen faced Anemone once more.
"..."
He knew.
She was an anomaly.
The closer he got, the stranger his mind would become.
Not like the aberrant creatures outside that directly harmed him.
This woman could turn a person into a fool and kill them with nothing but comfort and coziness.
She possessed that kind of power.
He had already encountered her once and experienced it firsthand.
He knew the danger.
Even so, he believed he had to meet her.
"Do you happen to know anything about the generator?"
The reason was simple.
She was a 'village resident' who knew this village extremely well.
The count thought.
This Anemone was identical to the real Anemone.
From her build, her scent, her face, and outward appearance, to her habits, behavior, and personality—everything matched perfectly.
If that was the case, perhaps she would respect his wishes.
He figured it was a gamble worth taking.
His intuition told him it could work.
"..."
As expected.
She merely gazed at him with a sad expression.
Even the most knowledgeable black mage in their group had said he had no clue about the generator.
That meant it was a device beyond even a mage's intellectual grasp.
They weren't mages from the Magic Tower, after all.
Studying that complex machinery wasn't the right answer.
Every anomaly had a clue.
As infuriating as they were, there was always at least one path forward prepared.
So, the way to activate the generator...
Wasn't it by using the people of the Village of Silence? That's what crossed his mind.
"Generator?"
"Yes. There's a ruined-looking place to the south, right? I'm talking about the massive machine at its center."
"Why?"
"Answer my question first."
He had no choice.
If he didn't act curt like this, he felt like he'd make another mistake.
Aya was outside.
To save Aya, he needed the magic stone.
The Anemone before him was fake.
She would vanish once they moved to the next zone anyway.
So, he shouldn't get attached from the start.
The count repeated this to himself endlessly this time too.
But.
"Have I made some mistake with you here?"
"I was so happy to see you again, but it doesn't seem like you feel the same..."
"It's been so long since we met... You don't have to be this cold..."
"Do you want me to disappear from in front of you...?"
"If I'd known it'd be like this, it might've been better if I hadn't come back to life..."
The count bit his lip.
Yes. His wife was right there before him.
Anemone had returned from death.
It was truly a joyous occasion. It should have been joyous.
But the reality wouldn't let him think that way.
It was a reality he couldn't simply rejoice in.
How utterly cursed it was.
"You're being really mean. How could you treat me like this...?"
"Every time I try to get close to you, the distance between us just grows..."
"Because you keep running away..."
"Cooking for you, talking with you, even this moment right now—I'm trying so hard..."
"Why...?"
"Why can't you see me in your eyes...?"
"Do you not love me anymore...?"
"Do you hate me now...?"
Again.
She burst into tears again.
"..."
Crying Anemone.
And Count Wolfhaufen watching her.
Suddenly, memories of the past surfaced.
Back then, they were younger and more naive than now.
Wolfhaufen Manor, in the drawing room.
In that stiff, formal space unfit for a confession, the count had confessed to Anemone.
Anemone had shed tears of joy, different from now.
And to her, the count had shyly said,
-You won't cry anymore except when you're happy. I'll make sure of it.
Looking back now, it was such a childish promise.
The kind of baseless bravado a boy spouts to a girl.
Anemone had said she loved it so much.
Even up to that final moment lying in bed, bidding farewell as she died.
She had called meeting the count her fortune.
"..."
The count loved Anemone.
Even now after her death, this feeling would probably last forever.
"Answer me..."
"If you hate me, I won't bother you anymore..."
His heart wavered.
His eyes shook violently like a bridge in an earthquake.
There was no way he hated her.
This might even be a pathological obsession.
He wanted to stay here too.
Unlike the cold outside, it was so warm here.
In this truly peaceful place.
He wanted to build a new nest with her.
A dreamlike past he couldn't return to.
That moment of his utmost happiness.
It was here.
Outside, he was wearing down.
His dwindling durability wouldn't recover.
Honestly, he was tired.
There had been more than a few times he wanted to abandon everything.
Even trying to solve the immediate problems.
Lately, nothing was going right.
"..."
Was an illusion necessarily bad?
At least until this life ended.
If it was a sweet dream he could bask in forever.
Wouldn't it be okay to be deceived?
If no matter how hard he struggled, there was no reward.
Wouldn't that be even more meaningless?
If he had neither luck nor hope.
Wouldn't there be even less he could do?
The count looked out the window.
Monsters lurked there.
Mountains of obstacles and death awaited him.
At the end, something shiny called hope existed.
But it was so minuscule, hard to see.
He had to defeat all those terrifying monsters and press on.
Only then would a chance to grasp it emerge.
The count looked at Anemone.
There was only comfort.
He could be happy easily and comfortably.
Two choices lay before him.
And.
"I'm sorry for being so harsh."
"My heart was weakening, and I couldn't help it."
"I have to leave the village."
The count chose pain.
"You know how dangerous it is outside the village."
"There are monsters out there. They're powerful. To them, you're nothing more than playthings."
"Why are you trying to leave?"
If he chose pain.
He had to convince Anemone.
She didn't want him to go outside.
She wanted to live with him in this village forever.
She didn't want him to leave.
If someone asked if he could convince her.
The count's answer was simple.
And rightly so.
She was a mother to one child before being his wife.
"Aya is very sick."
"She has the same illness as you."
"It's incurable. Unless I do something..."
"So... I have to leave this place."
"Protect Aya. That's the last request you left me."
At that moment.
Anemone's eyes shook violently.
"Aya is very sick?"
"Yes."
The atmosphere shifted slightly.
Still, his mind was growing foggy as ever.
He worried dragging this out too long might be dangerous.
"I guess I'm disqualified as a mom."
"No. Don't think that way."
It's because she met an incompetent dad who couldn't even protect his daughter.
At least, that's what the count thought.
"Can you do it?"
"I have to try."
"...The generator, right?"
"Yes."
"Honestly, I don't know much. About the village or the monsters—I only know bits and pieces."
"Really?"
"But I can introduce you to someone who might know."
Anemone mentioned the village head and began drawing a picture.
She was quite skilled at it, and her talent remained sharp.
The person in the completed drawing.
Was in the count's memory.
-Welcome to the Village of Silence.
He was the guide.
The first person he had met in this village.
"Thank you for telling me."
"No, I'm just glad I could help even like this."
Anemone smiled.
And as if preparing to see him off.
She made one final request.
"I have a wish."
"Can you hug me?"
The count hesitated.
And rightly so—last time he had embraced her, he lost his senses.
"..."
As if knowing his feelings.
Anemone spread her arms wide, then waved her hand instead.
At that, the count took a deep breath.
He bit down on a handkerchief clenched in his teeth.
And stabbed his thigh with a dagger.
"..."
Pain clears the mind.
It's a survival instinct.
The count limped toward Anemone.
Blood dripped steadily, but he ignored it.
The count embraced Anemone.
Without opening his mouth, conveying what he wanted through action—this must be it.
I love you.
Me too.
The count stepped out of the house.
Using a healing potion, the wound closed quickly.
"..."
There were no aberrant creatures nearby.
The same went for where the noble slayer was resting.
It hadn't taken much time, so perhaps it was natural.
He took a deep breath in and exhaled fully.
Cool air filled his stuffy lungs.
His expression looked much improved.
He glanced back at Anemone's house one last time.
Steeled his resolve, turned his head, and quickened his steps.
Not long after, he met the village head.
The count got straight to the point.
"Do you know about the generator to the south?"
In response.
The village head nodded.
"Yes, I do."
"I've heard the generator produces a power source. Something like a magic tool that powers the facility's devices... Do you know how to operate it?"
"Yes, I do."
"Tell me how."
"Why?"
"I'm planning to leave this village."
"Does the one waiting for you want that?"
"Yes."
In response.
The village head nodded once more.
The village head's explanation was as follows.
To operate the generator, fuel was basically required.
The fuel was oil.
If there were no major malfunctions, filling it with fuel should make it work.
Starting it wasn't difficult.
Open the fuel inlet and fill the tank sufficiently.
Turn the fuel valve to ON, move the choke lever to the closed position.
Then turn on the power switch.
And wait.
"Please note that the generator won't move if there's insufficient fuel."
Strange terms, like proper nouns.
Unheard-of words.
But he said the blueprints in the warehouse would explain.
That's what the village head said.
"Where can I get the fuel?"
"Well, there's none in the village for now. You'll have to check that yourself, sir."
"I see."
He thought the chances of the generator being broken were low.
If it was broken, it would be beyond their ability to repair.
In that case, if the elevator to the south was truly the real one, clearing would be impossible.
They hadn't inflicted any physical damage.
The aberrant creatures hadn't either, so it should be fine.
The count stroked his chin.
He needed to scout other locations for fuel and the elevator's existence.
Splitting up the scouting team would be best.
If the number of aberrant creatures increased beyond now, conquering might become impossible.
The problem was noise.
The village head hadn't mentioned it specifically.
But judging from magic tools, such devices usually produced noise when activated.
Before leaving, the count had one last question.
He busily moved his pen.
"What happens to the village if we leave?"
"Hadn't you already decided to leave? Then it shouldn't concern you, so why ask?"
"Just curiosity."
The village head was kind.
He didn't refuse to answer this time either.
"The Village of Silence is immortal. It will persist forever, until our great god vanishes from this world."
"Your god—is that the Dungeon Master?"
"To you, it might be called that."
"...I see. Thanks for answering."
"Ah, now I'll ask a question. When you said 'village,' did that include the 'people'? My answer changes slightly depending."
"If so?"
"Unlike me, the guide, those waiting for you are incomplete beings. Things without wedges shatter to pieces. The same for them."
"Explain it simply."
"They vanish."
"No way to stop it?"
"If you want to save the one waiting for you, stay. Then she can live happily in this village forever. You too."
"Any other way?"
"Unfortunately, no."
Dungeon conquest, day 3.
The next day dawned.
The black mage hadn't returned.
The count used detection magic.
No mana response.
'He's dead.'
The situation was the worst.
Only two remained.
"Let's go."
They had to do what needed doing.
It was the path he had chosen.