piratefiction Chapter 146
Chapter 146
Chapter 146
I wandered around outside for some time before returning after a couple of hours.
I figured that by then, this incident would be resolved, and their conversations would have slowly come to an end.
“You’re back?”
And indeed, I was correct. In exchange for receiving a look that seemed to ask whether I’d caused any more trouble, I got a summary of the situation.
Apparently, something had come up with the young lord of Ednium, and we might have to go there.
“Under normal circumstances, I would have ignored such a personal request... but the young lady of Camborough brought some rather compelling evidence.”
The Archmage didn’t look particularly pleased with this request.
It seemed partly because of the incident I’d recently caused and partly because, on the surface, this request was a personal (romantic) matter.
“In the letter, the young lord of Ednium apparently requested help using a coded message, and he even included animal fur with the letter.”
As for me, I didn’t think much of it. Romantic problems were a common trigger for Quests.
Honestly, if you’re a gamer, you’ve probably played the role of courier at least once. Delivering messages is one thing, but sometimes, you even have to go out to look for the gift itself.
“According to the young lady of Camborough, the young lord of Ednium has a severe animal allergy. Quite serious, in fact.”
But knowing the Archmage, he probably disliked such requests even more than I did. His reaction was probably something like, ‘Why should we have to deal with this nonsense?’
“So, he avoids animals entirely, and the people at his estate are careful to keep birds and cats far away. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? Someone with such a severe allergy, sending a letter alongside the fur of a ‘cat that has been coming by to visit often’ while also using a coded message to indicate danger.”
In this context, this explanation made sense.
This smelled unmistakably fishy. That’s probably why the Archmage accepted this Quest.
“Do you think the young lord of Ednium has information about the increased number of beasts around Camborough?”
“We can't be certain. However, people rarely act so out of character without reason, so it’s quite possible. Even if he doesn’t, it doesn't matter. We must investigate all directions to find the source of these Arcane Power-infused beasts, anyway.”
“Berserk doesn’t get it. So, we’ll just go there?”
“For now, yes.”
“We still haven’t caught that wretched sinner who showed up before us that time...”
As the consensus started leaning toward heading to Ednium, the Inquisitor slightly furrowed her brow. To me, this didn’t seem like something we had to be overly concerned about.
Honestly, in these scenarios, the culprit was highly likely to make themselves known as soon as we arrived in Ednium.
Going by the most typical clichés, the ruling family of Ednium might be corrupt and have allied themselves with the Demon who appeared before us.
Alternatively, the ruling family could be innocent, but some manner of underground faction connected with the temple intruder might be involved.
“For now, let’s leave this to these people. Didn’t you confirm yourself that there are no traitors within this Temple, Inquisitor?”
“...Yes. Right. We should trust them.”
One thing was clear.
We would only catch a trace of that bastard in Ednium. Not here.
“So, we’re heading to Ednium after all...”
As the discussion concluded, Deb, who’d been silent until now, finally spoke up.
“Looks like it. Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all.”
“...If anything is bothering you, speak up. It might be something I’ve missed.”
“It’s nothing like that.”
...Come to think of it, didn’t they have a similar conversation when we left Hudelen? Deb also asked back then if we were heading to Ednium.
Did he have some bad memories tied to Ednium?
“Really?”
I recalled the Thief’s story setting from the original game.
I wasn’t sure if Deb’s backstory matched, but if it did, he would naturally be reluctant to go to Ednium.
“There’s no need to force yourself because of us. If you don’t want to go, you can just...”
“I-I said, it’s not like that!”
It must be where he’d lost that one person who was like family to him.
“You...”
“...!”
Had Deb ever raised his voice at anyone in our group like that? Thanks to that, the atmosphere around us instantly turned icy.
The Inquisitor’s eyes went wide, and even the Archmage seemed rather startled.
As for Bers, well, she was an exception. She was just resting her head on her arm, yawning.
“...I said it’s nothing, so why do you keep asking?”
Even the person who got angry seemed just as confused.
It didn’t seem like Deb had intended to react so emotionally, and he’d hurriedly lowered his voice, stammering as if trying to explain himself. It wasn’t very effective.
Clatter.
In the end, Deb hurried out of the room as if fleeing this situation.
“...Th-That troublemaker!? If it’s nothing, then why did he shout...!”
This allowed the others, who’d been completely stunned by this sudden outburst, to speak up again. The Inquisitor snapped out of her shock and started asking things like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’
“Now, now, Inquisitor. But I also wonder why he raised his voice like that when insisting it was nothing.”
“Are you saying there’s a reason? Why didn’t he just say it, then...?”
“I’ve explained it before, haven’t I? Everyone has at least one secret they don’t want to share with others.”
“That’s...”
What should we do about this?
An emotionally mature person would recover after some time alone, but Deb seemed like he’d benefit more from having someone go after him, console him, and pat his back.
But the dignified Archmage had triggered all this, and he was already busy enough ensuring the Inquisitor didn’t add fuel to the fire.
Then, me? Could I go after him with my messed-up character setting?
> [Never forget that your master is also a Demon filled with desire.]
Truly, it was fascinating and amusing how they managed to create such interesting things, just as one would expect from a merchant group made up of Greed’s people.
* * *
Perhaps it was fortunate. By evening, Deb returned wearing a composed expression on his face.
Having properly calmed himself, he even apologized to the Archmage. However, rather than just accepting the apology, the Archmage expressed that he was more at fault here.
Then, evening turned into night, and as the night passed by with the sun rising once more, we departed for Ednium.
Our first destination was Whitecat Ridge, where we had spent the night before.
“It seems the beasts are appearing more frequently now.”
As the Archmage mentioned, there definitely seemed to be more beasts around.
Thinking back to two nights ago, it was clear. Except for the final large wave, we’d faced visibly fewer attacks then.
“...This is strange. It makes no sense for beasts to be more active during the day than at night.”
“Were there fewer attacks at night?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s odd.”
Every event had a cause, especially if it was a natural occurrence rather than a man-made one.
Rain clouds formed because the sun’s heat evaporated water into water vapor, and winds blew because of convection currents.
“Perhaps it’s connected to the sudden attack you guys experienced.”
“Could it be that a Demon is controlling them behind the scenes?”
“That’s not impossible.”
The Archmage summoned chains with his fingers, binding several wolves. Behind him, the horses barely stayed calm without bolting.
“Or it could be something else altogether.”
“Erm, that—”
Thwack!
“─is true!”
With the Archmage’s assistance, the Inquisitor swung her mace like a bat. Instead of a baseball, she sent a beast’s body flying through the air.
“Woah! What are you doing making them fly toward me?!”
“Ah, sorry.”
“Is ‘sorry’ all you have to say?”
Deb wasn’t idle, either. He swiftly dodged the wolf carcass hurtling toward him before throwing his daggers, striking vital points like the beasts’ heads with stunning accuracy.
Crunch!
“Kahaha! Die!”
“...Miss Fighter seems to be having a great time.”
“Wahahahaha!!”
Well, we seemed to be wrapping things up. I avoided the tree Bers had felled and sliced through the last wolf.
To keep things neat and hygienic, I avoided the blood spraying from the beasts as much as possible—after killing so many, I’d learned where to cut to minimize blood splatter—which made me particularly clean compared to the chaos around me.
Even so, the horses still seemed to dislike me the most.
They were fine at first, but they began to avoid me as time went on.
It was strange that predators trying to make a meal of me were fine, but herbivores like horses were a bit reluctant around me.
Was it the smell of blood? It probably was, right?
“Phew, are we done now?”
“Yeah! That was a perfect warm-up before breakfast!”
“Do you seriously think we’re going to eat now?”
“The sun is high up in the sky. Isn’t it time for lunch?”
“Hmm? Ah, is it already noon?”
“It is. It certainly is time for a meal. But shouldn’t we move to a different spot? We can’t eat in a place soaked with dried blood like this.”
“What’s wrong with the blood? Berserk doesn’t get it.”
“...If the smell of blood attracts animals, it might get a bit troublesome. We might get attacked while eating, and our food could get ruined. The horses could be in danger, as well.”
“Aha.”
It seemed like the Archmage had started to get the hang of dealing with Bers. Well, maybe that was just my imagination.
Of course, Bers was surprisingly easy to handle.
Perhaps it was because of her straightforward way of thinking. If reasoned with using logical arguments, she would usually accept it.
The only problem arose when she became fixated on something—usually fights—at which point properly talking to her was impossible.
“Let’s find a spot by some water.”
“Please do.”
With that, it was almost confirmed that we would be taking a break.
I shook the blood off my sword and sheathed it with a click. A faint noise arose when I moved my ankle.
Swish.
As if in response, the mist that stubbornly lingered around us even until noon swirled around my ankles, pale and opaque. It wasn’t thick enough to obstruct my vision entirely, but it did block anything more than a few dozen meters away.
“Urgh, this damn fog is showing no signs of thinning.”
“I won’t clear it for you this time.”
“I’m not asking you to. Just do it when we eat, okay?”
It was the kind of mist that, if it appeared in a novel, manhwa, or game, would undoubtedly be hiding something poisonous, an enemy, or something equally malevolent.