◈ Episode 535. Each Person’s Weight (1)
I’d felt it for a while.
‘There’s a part of you that’s far too righteous.’
The sins of the Claudi family.
I didn’t know the details, but I could guess. Not because I was especially perceptive, but because if you saw that field of red spider lilies and still couldn’t guess, you’d be beyond oblivious.
‘Don’t you feel wronged?’
Even in a situation where the karma of the Claudi family was pouring down upon him, our Lord Granfell did not back down in the slightest. I probed the energy drawing closer.
Why did I vaguely call it energy?
Simple.
As you can see, it didn’t exactly have a form.
If I had to describe it, it was a lump of energy made solely of resentment.
Because I couldn’t think of any expression more or less fitting than that.
That was why I called those things energy.
[Sin shouts at you.]
Whispering wasn’t enough, and now you’re yelling too?
But there was no time to complain.
I immediately manifested mana.
Without adding any interference process whatsoever.
I focused only on raising the density and purity of my mana.
Swoooooosh.
The mana being released was enough to make my hair ripple and form an Aura around me. If Senior Bangrit, the prodigy of pure mana studies, had seen this sight, he would undoubtedly have exclaimed in admiration.
‘Though it’s all thanks to my mana’s rank being completely different now.’
Since it didn’t require a complicated interference process.
The power of pure mana magic was heavily dependent on the caster’s innate talent. If I had to describe it, I’d say it was magic closest to the wild. Thanks to that, there was no magic better than pure mana magic in situations that required improvisation.
Why, it was the same right now.
[Coward. Coward. Coward. Claudi.]
Those energies couldn’t pierce through my mana Aura.
They were only whispering, weren’t they?
I spoke to those lumps of energy.
“Is this really the time to grumble meaninglessly?”
[Sin tilts its head at your words.]
“An opportunity to face the family head does not come easily.”
[Sin flinches at your words.]
“I am telling you to express whatever it is.”
[Sin charges at you.]
……
Seriously, even when saying the same thing!
I didn’t need to think hard to guess Granfell’s intention. No matter what sins the Claudi family had accumulated, if it was you, who thought so horribly much of the dignity of a family head.
You were clearly trying to take responsibility.
‘Since they mentioned the Claudi family.’
It was obvious that stubborn pride of yours wouldn’t let you gloss over it.
Of course, I was the same.
The thirty percent of Granfell I still didn’t know.
If I could find traces of the Claudi family in Hell…….
‘It’ll surely help me understand you.’
So say something, anything.
Complaints, grievances, grudges.
Anything is fine.
‘If you happen to know some of Granfell’s dark past too, then that’d be a little……!’
It was the moment I released only mana for defense and waited for the energies’ whispers. Somehow, I’d thought the energies were taking far too long, and then…….
[Sin bows its head before you.]
What, is the rebellion already over?
Since the system, which did not lie, said so, it must really have been over……. I looked at the lumps of energy spread flat against the ground.
‘……This leaves a bad taste in my mouth.’
It wasn’t because I was worried that these energies, these resentments, would stab me in the back.
The resentments were trembling visibly.
As I said, because I was a demon hunter, I could recognize it immediately.
‘They’re all terrified.’
Those resentments had fallen into Hell while resenting Claudi, and yet they clearly couldn’t shake off the fear imprinted on them by Claudi. That was probably why my mouth felt so dry.
‘Even the fear caused by demons isn’t this bad.’
Unless it was a high-ranking Demon King, perhaps.
It meant that no demon could make the dead tremble in fear.
I’m sorry to say this to you, Granfell.
‘……It only makes me suspect your family even more.’
Fortunately, Granfell’s feelings didn’t seem much different from mine. Releasing the mana emission, I spoke to the vengeful souls trembling flat on the ground.
“If you intend to keep your silence.”
[Sin listens to your words while trembling in fear.]
“I shall go beyond to an even deeper Hell.”
[Sin doubts your words.]
“For there is give and take in all things.”
[Sin flinches at your words.]
“It means I will settle the karma of my family.”
Whip.
I turned around just like that and advanced toward the First Gate again. According to Lorentzk, there were several such gates in Hell.
‘If I think about it using common sense from Arcana…….’
The more gates I cleared.
The more likely it was that energies with stronger resentment would appear.
If so, unlike those energies, there would surely be some who would not lie flat on the ground trembling in fear, but would charge at me, at Granfell, at the head of the Claudi family.
‘I have to face them.’
Only then would I be able to face the secret of the Claudi family, and through it, the thirty percent of Granfell I did not know, as well as our Akshan seniors, my original objective.
……
Flinch.
Just as I was about to grab the doorknob, I stopped.
I don’t know what they would think.
But I couldn’t stand how uncomfortable this made me.
With a bad taste still in my mouth, I added.
“So you may rise.”
[Sin remains silent at your words.]
I went out of my way to be considerate, and now you’re silent?
Thanks to that, I couldn’t tell whether they still weren’t moving because they were still suffering from imprinted fear, or whether they were overwhelmed by my sudden mercy.
‘Well, whatever. As long as I feel better.’
I thought nothing more of it and opened the gate.
[You have entered Hell, the First Gate.]
By the way, did everyone keep their promise? As much as I’d been delayed at the gate, Elsidore and Kinver must surely have been delayed too. Why, those two had accumulated quite a lot of karma as well.
However.
‘……Huh?’
While having such idle thoughts, I flinched.
The entry message.
And the messages that appeared after it.
[At last, the festival of Hell Village begins.]
So that village’s name is Hell Village.
Anyway, a festival……?
There are festivals too? Looks like Hell is somewhat livable in its own way.
[Soon, a game of tag will begin.]
What, they even play tag?
I checked the message, wondering if it was a quest, and it really was a quest.
But I couldn’t be happy.
……
Damn it, I should have known from the moment it said Hell’s festival or whatever.
A game of tag that only ends when the person who’s It dies.
And.
[Sin whispers that you are It.]
I, who arrived last, was It!
The three of them realized I had entered.
The moment my eyes met theirs, I spoke.
“I was not late.”
This isn’t the time to make excuses, Granfell.
“The protagonist always appears last.”
Argh, now isn’t the time to strike a pose……!!
*
Senior of Illusion Magic, Nasrow.
“According to Tower Master Marcelo, the two most likely suspects at present are Skal and Guyver. Among adventurers, they are individuals with outstanding martial strength.”
A pair of two.
The one paired with Nasrow was the senior of Enchantment Magic.
Kiko Armin.
Kiko looked at Nasrow and let her shoulders droop.
‘Why this combination……!’
To be honest, she did not feel reassured.
Of course, that did not mean she doubted Nasrow’s skill.
It was merely that Kiko did not trust herself.
Kiko spoke in a dispirited voice.
“We’re about to undertake something so important, so what if I end up holding you back, Senior Nasrow? No matter how I think about it, if a battle breaks out, I won’t be of much help…….”
“Indeed.”
“……Indeed?”
Nasrow stroked his chin with a serious expression.
“Skal is an adventurer who has become able to control a dragon, the victor of the Dragon-Demon War. Guyver cannot be overlooked either. Considering the characteristic of adventurers, who grow at speeds we cannot even imagine.”
Yet he wore a relaxed smile that contrasted with his words.
“But surely there is no reason Tower Master Marcelo, who possesses enough knowledge to compile all magic into theory, would have formed a meaningless combination, no?”
“……That’s true, but.”
“And you have magic tools, do you not, Senior Kiko? Being able to handle magic tools without any restrictions is an extraordinary talent, Senior Kiko.”
It was not something he said purely to comfort her.
“Excessive modesty, by nature, is deception.”
The relationships between the seniors were not good enough for them to comfort each other so warmly.
Kiko knew that as well.
So the envy mixed into Nasrow’s expression actually put her at ease.
‘My talent.’
Most magic tools had restrictions on their use.
Furthermore, the more outstanding the effect of a magic tool was, the higher those restrictions became. For example, just as an ice mage could not fully handle a magic tool specialized for flame magic.
But Kiko was free from such restrictions.
‘……Thanks to that, I’m holding onto both my senior position and Garnet Hall.’
Clench.
Kiko clenched her fist and made up her mind.
The timing was truly appropriate.
Because soon, their target appeared.
“At last, our first target has appeared.”
Gulp.
The adventurer and chosen paladin, Guyver. Nasrow recited the information he had gathered through illusion magic. But the depth of that information was no joke, enough to make her flinch.
“After suffering a severe injury in the form of bodily loss, Guyver took a step back from the Erosion Front on the Arcana Continent. But that did not mean his ambition was broken. It seems he was diligently working behind the scenes.”
Kiko flinched inwardly.
‘He was moving behind the scenes, but how did he know that?’
Nasrow was talkative by nature.
He did not forget to add an explanation.
Though he also did not forget to give a slight shrug and preen.
“Before Guyver entered that building, I manifested a light illusion spell on an adventurer who appeared to be one of his close aides. I asked a few questions within the illusion.”
Had he manifested the higher illusion spell, 『One Within a Dream』.
“In truth, even questions might not have been necessary.”
For now, it had not yet been confirmed that Guyver, that man, was the anonymous adventurer who had poured out disrespectful remarks toward Chief Lee. But soon, the corners of Nasrow’s mouth drew a chilling arc.
“Since nothing has been confirmed yet, we could not cause trouble. But judging by the current situation……. Perhaps there was no need to take such an unnecessarily roundabout route.”
At those words, Kiko nodded slightly.
Why could they sharpen their suspicions toward Guyver even without gathering more information? Because the building Guyver had come out of was one that was more familiar than any other to the two of them, a building that had fallen from the Arcana Continent into the adventurers’ world.
White ramparts.
A fortress that emitted radiance on its own.
The Holy Land, Muon.
Kiko let out a sincere groan.
“To think the Goddess Church might be involved…….”
If one tried to understand it, it was not impossible to understand. Guyver was a chosen paladin. If one thought about the treatment Miss Jesse Heinness, likewise a chosen archmage, received at the Magic Tower…….
Nasrow added.
“His visiting Muon may not be such a big deal. Even if their orders differ, is the Goddess Church not a religion of acceptance? Sharing tea and conversation, discussing how to convey the will of the gods to this turbulent world. That, in itself, would not be strange.”
But his voice was colder than anything.
“If only he had not mentioned Chief Lee with that mouth of his.”
Nasrow watched Guyver leave Muon while fiddling with his fingers. If it had been in the past, and if this place had been the Arcana Continent, he would not have endured this much.
“Let us return for now, Senior Kiko.”
“Yes? Shouldn’t we investigate further……?”
“No. From the moment Muon became involved, this ceased to be an incident that just the two of us could pursue. It has grown into a scale that the entire Magic Tower must respond to.”
“I see…….”
The entire Magic Tower must respond.
What those words meant could be explained simply.
Kiko, who had been utterly intimidated, murmured quietly.
“I hope you make a wise choice, Goddess Church.”
Because it meant that perhaps their very existence could disappear….
“……Hm?”
The two who had returned to the Magic Tower had no choice but to stop short.
For what reason?
The Goddess Church, which they had been watching with heavy suspicion until just now.
A central figure of that church was waiting in the Magic Tower.
Waiting for Tower Master Marcelo.
What scheme was this now?
Concealing his emotions, Nasrow asked.
“What brings you to the Magic Tower, Talim Eber?”
“…….”
“Our captain of the Goddess Church’s paladins?”
At his question, Talim opened his heavy mouth.
“I, Talim Eber, would like to formally request the Magic Tower’s help.”