Chapter 121

The airflow inside the car was very stifling.
Ekidna was naturally talkative, and whenever they were together, she would bring up serious or silly things. Edwin, too, had a lot of questions.
But for now, no one has spoken first.
Kim remained silent, too. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk, and I didn’t feel like talking. He was still questioning my behavior.
“No, thanks. It’s not something to overthink.’
I wanted Ekidna to live. That’s it.
The further question of “why?” is useless here. I just thought it would feel good, and it wasn’t worth the effort.
That’s all I can say.
The only sounds in the background were the engine and the occasional groan of pain from the back seat. It didn’t take long to reach the sandstorm zone.
It was only then that Edwin spoke up.
“So there was no raid after all.”
“I guess you could call it lucky.”
“I don’t know.”
Pause for thought.
“I think I let them go on purpose.”
“On purpose?”
“The resin won’t fit.”
The words were all backwards and forwards, but it was easy to understand. Kim was impressed. Aside from his eloquence, Edwin’s insights were sharp.
In short, this means
Edwin has single-handedly defeated three sergeants. With three of his comrades down, he needs more men.
He’s not after money or anything special, so the risk is minimal and the reward is minimal. If you try to stir up Naraka, he’ll leave on his own, and you don’t have to follow him.
I can live with a few bruised egos.
You’ve already reaped a bountiful harvest.
They got their hands on a large amount of food.
“I see.”
Hassassin was satisfied.
I felt a sickening feeling that I can’t explain, and once I realized I was safe, I started to get a little greedy.
“Edwin, can you be a little crazy?”
Laktnidi.
It seemed to have no problem picking up any material that was lying around.
Of course, I couldn’t spend a lot of time on it. We didn’t have the right mining tools. We had to rely mostly on Edwin’s muscle power. It became a very inefficient process.
I had to settle for a small harvest, but it was better than nothing. I promised Tamtam I’d bring something back.
“That’s it.
Following the adage that too much greed will ruin you, I got back in the car.
Boom!
Without looking back, Kim pushed the gas pedal hard. The car entered the sandstorm zone. Her vision was blocked, and her sense of speed and distance faded.
The wind howls. A sound like the wail of a ghost pounds on the window. Indistinct silhouettes dance. It’s a hard experience to get used to after only two times.
And the gaze.
I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that someone was looking down on me.
“What the hell is this place?
It’s not even revealed in the game.
The most likely theory is that it’s some kind of catastrophe. Something akin to a harbinger of what was to come. Another theory is that the rice cakes were scattered to be used at an event someday.
I didn’t know which was the right answer until the end. I was no longer a player or bystander, I was stuck in Polaris.
“What’s the point of thinking about it?
It’s a land you’ll never visit again.
* * *
The ride back was comfortable.
As we moved away from Naraka, we began to see the occasional monster, but they were just that: monsters. Most of them could be avoided, and if not, Edwin could take care of them.
Ekidna was still a man of few words.
He would eat if you handed him a handheld food. I had the presence of mind to say “yes” when asked if I was okay, but I threw it all up as soon as I took a bite.
After a long and short journey, we passed through the checkpoint in Kabarati. The attitude of the people who greeted the three survivors in Naraka was very subtle.
“Well, what happened to you there?”
“What you see is what you get. The rest are dead.”
“Whew…! It’s the curse after all….”
Curses be damned.
The interim mayor was sweating profusely, I thought to myself, but the citizens were convinced. Their frowns turned to wariness.
It’s a superstitious environment. Even if I understood it rationally, as a human being, I couldn’t help but shake my head.
But there were some gracious ones.
“Tongue, bro! See, I told you, you’ll be fine!”
“Be quiet, Assam.”
Manoj brought in the crying twins. He looked at the three of them in turn, and then at me in disbelief. Then he forced a smile.
“I don’t know if I should say this, but… I’m glad you three are okay. I was worried about the kids, with all the cursing and nonsense going on around them.”
“I’m sorry if I did.”
“No, no, no, you need to go inside and get some rest, come to my house. We’ll try to make you feel comfortable, even if it’s a mess.”
Someone should have seen this coming. I’m not planning to stay in Kavarati for long anyway. I’m just here for a break and to catch up on some work I’ve been putting off.
I shook off the stinging glare and followed Manoj.
“How long will this place last?
A city with no guns and no soldiers.
It was a dangerous neighborhood for the twins to grow up in.
* * *
That was the next day.
“Graveyard? Mithril’s?”
“You just need to tell us where it’s buried.”
Around noon, as I was taking a well-deserved rest, Edwin broached the subject of mithril. It was a comment that gave me food for thought.
Or the treatment of Edwin.
“Umm. Am I wrong, I thought you accepted the offer.”
“…I’m going to get shot in the middle of the night for saying this, so let’s clear the air.”
He sighed, his shoulders shaking slightly.
“I’m not trying to dig up a corpse, I’m just an old acquaintance.”
“Oh, that’s it. We’re surprisingly close?”
“Not really, it wasn’t a personality match.”
Mithril… Hafael had found Edwin frustrating. Edwin, being Edwin, found Hafael’s brutal temper uncomfortable. The two were naturally incompatible.
“I get the story, but hmmm.”
“It’s okay to spy on them.”
“No, that’s not the problem.”
Kim scratched his cheek in amusement.
“No, nothing like that.”
“Yes?”
“Nothing. It’s a cemetery.”
The Ramaz, including Mithril, were purely enemies. There was no reason to honor them with such respect. When the Nuova Era had just taken the city, the crematorium was still smoldering.
“Anyway, that’s what happened.”
“…and if so, when was it?”
“How’s that going?”
“Was that before I came to town?”
Kim didn’t answer. It wasn’t because she had forgotten. She remembered well enough that Edwin’s arrival had been the day after Mithril’s body had been Chaptered.
In a nutshell.
“You were lying when you said you’d hand over the body.”
“Does that make it…?”
“Wow, you have a lot of character.”
“But it worked.”
Edwin’s face stiffened as if he’d chewed shit. “What an asshole,” he thought to himself. This was the moment I realized that my brain was developing in a bad way.
“Ha, never mind, I’m not that obsessed.”
“Good, then.”
“……And, as an afterthought.”
“What else?”
This time, I expected a rebuke, but Edwin’s tone was more serious. After a few moments of waiting, the unexpected came out of his mouth.
“Have you ever seen a woman named Lasley?”
Lasley.
I know who it is. One of the Godmother’s ‘children’. Unlike Mithril and Edwin, he is a fanatical follower of the Godmother. In the game, he appeared as a mid-boss in one main episode.
“He was more of a nuisance than a force, but why?
Where does that name come from?
“How can I tell if it’s just a name? What are its characteristics?”
“Height near 165 cm, white skin, purple hair, navy blue eyes. Do you need more?”
“That’s it, I’ve never seen it before.”
“I see.”
I don’t want the conversation to end like this. Let’s think of a reaction.
“Who’s that?”
“He’s a friend of mine and Hafael’s, you know, there was a time when Hafael was in Atlanta, and Lazzari came to Atlanta at Hafael’s request at the time, and then we lost touch.”
“You mean you dragged him in and killed him? Why?”
“If it wasn’t for Hafael, it would be.”
A gasp escaped my lips.
I don’t understand. I understand that Lazuli was killed without mice or birds noticing. Of course, I also understand that you don’t get a message unless you see it with your own eyes. That’s how it was with Mantra.
The key is why Mithril killed Razli.
It’s far from a simple feud.
“No, you don’t.
A plausible hypothesis soon emerged.
At about the same time, Edwin seemed to have an idea. But he seemed hesitant to talk, so I decided to lay the groundwork.
“I have something I saw on Bastitera.”
I was almost invincible as an excuse. It was so easy.
“I heard the Legion is working on extracting the ‘factor’ of spellcasters, and it looks like they’ve had some success. Did the woman named Lasley possess a spell?”
“……Yes.”
The voice that replied shortly was gruesome.
It was not unreasonable. It’s inhumane, and I’d be very angry if someone I knew lost their life in such a way.
On the one hand, Kim’s accident uncovered a possibility.
“No soldier spoke Lasley’s spell.
This means that the argument may remain unused.
* * *
The government building that served as Ramaz’s home had been blown up, but there was hope.
I had to consider Mithril’s situation at the time: his favorite mantra was dead. His existing army would have been greatly diminished on the journey to Kavarati.
Mithril’s personality is straight out of the game, but in real life. He’s the type of person who controls his subordinates with an iron fist.
What they mean.
“I don’t have a lot of people I trust, and I don’t trust people in the first place.
They may be subordinates, but the placenta doesn’t know what they’re doing. It is unlikely that Mithril would keep anything important close to them. It’s more likely she kept it for herself.
The guess was right.
Mithril’s private residence. It had been investigated once before, but there was a hidden room that hadn’t been discovered. The tiles on the floor were removed to reveal a small cellar.
In the basement. Kim grabbed an object from among the cobwebbed shelves.
“This is real.”
It was a glass ampoule of purple liquid. There was no mistaking it. The label on the bottle. The name Lasley was written in plain sight.
Tiny grains were floating in the solution. Knowing what it was, I couldn’t ignore it. A human life had been transformed into less than 200 milliliters of drug.
Edwin clenched his fists tightly.
“Hafael…….”
He and Lazzie were on good terms. He was her faithful hound, and she was a believer in him more than anyone else.
We often disagreed, but we were friends.
Razli was, of course, an unapologetic wickedness. She would mourn, but not rage, if she were killed by her enemies, for she had never hesitated to kill at her godmother’s command.
But not this one. Her nails dug into her palm, drawing blood.
Kim shook her head inwardly as she watched Edwin’s sideways glance. It was unintentional, but it had driven a wedge.
“I’m pretty sure I’m over it by now.
It was safe to say that Edwin was no longer a double agent for the Legion.
It’s a plot twist that hasn’t happened in the game, but you have to pound a stone bridge to get across. Even more so now that the scenario has changed.
But it was only a secondary income.
“Thank you, Mithril.
It’s the crown jewel of inhumane research, but it’s a shame to throw it away; it’s much better to give it to an agent who can put it to good use.
“You really don’t have to do this for me.
Not only has Edwin become an early ally, but he’s also gotten his hands on Razli’s spell. What a great way to get some experience and a nifty weapon.
I nodded once again.
“You’re the best, Mithril!
Now there’s really nothing to go back to.