Chapter 89

A Deviation

The messages were making such a fuss, it was as if they had gone Berserk[?]. As if they had learned a transcendent skill themselves.

'No experience for clearing it, though.'

All that fuss aside, there was no completion experience. Apparently, Hidden Quests used a different reward system from other quests. Still, the rewards were certainly worthwhile.

'Let's check the title first.'

I first examined <King of the Underworld>, the title I had received as an additional reward.

==<King of the Underworld>==

[Acquisition Condition] - Conquer the underworld

[Effect 1] - Targets instinctively feel fear at the dark charisma emanating from the player. The success rate of negotiation, intimidation, and persuasion increases by [+250%].

[Effect 2] - Detects light sources surrounding the player and applies [Blessing of Darkness] when their brightness is below 0.2 lux.

==[Blessing of Darkness]==

: The player becomes one with the darkness, reducing all noise made while moving by [-99%].

Lux was a unit used to measure the brightness of light. According to the allied army's Archmage:

["The ambient brightness under a bright full moon is about 0.25 lux."]

That meant 0.2 lux was quite dark. Simply put, the effect would only apply in the dead of night. In other words, the activation conditions were demanding, but...

'Not bad.'

The effect of meeting those demanding conditions was tremendous. I couldn't ask for anything better for infiltration, surprise attacks, or assassination missions. The increased success rate of negotiation, intimidation, and persuasion could also provide a major advantage, depending on how I used it.

And this was, quite literally, only an additional reward. The Hidden Quest's real reward was something else.

'Ian's Journal...'

I was intensely curious about what it contained. There was no reason to drag things out, so I immediately opened [Ian's Journal].

◆Error: Unable to view [Ian's Journal].

But an error message appeared?

◆Error: An item conflicts with [Ian's Journal].

◆Error: Main quest [Find the Hero!] conflicts with [Ian's Journal].

◆The condition for viewing [Ian's Journal] has been changed to prior completion of the main quest [Find the Hero!].

Simply put, I couldn't read [Ian's Journal] unless I first cleared the main quest, [Find the Hero!].

'What would be the point of that?'

Once I cleared the main quest, I wouldn't need to read [Ian's Journal]. The condition for completing it was to find Ian. By then, there would be no need to bother with his journal. If I had questions, I could just ask him directly.

What was the point of making me clear it first—

'... Wait.'

A thought suddenly crossed my mind. I carefully examined the error messages that had appeared. As I pondered the word "conflict," a question occurred to me.

'Ian tried to pass everything on to me.'

I hadn't yet heard his reasons. But he had certainly tried to pass everything he had on to me. Given that, the Hidden Quest reward, [Ian's Journal]...

'Under the circumstances, it's most likely a message he intended to leave me.'

Perhaps it explained why he had tried to give me everything. Or perhaps it explained why he had regretted killing Seraphia. It might even contain both.

In other words, Ian had arranged for me to learn his reasons through [Ian's Journal] and decide what to do next.

But an unforeseen variable had emerged.

'His ability to return to the past wasn't passed on to me.'

As a result, Ian had returned to the past along with me.

A deviation.

That deviation had created a quest that should never have existed: the main quest, [Find the Hero!].

If the ability to return to the past had been fully transferred to me, [Find the Hero!] should never have appeared. More accurately, it could never have appeared. Ian wouldn't exist on the continent. Someone named Ian might exist, but stripped of all his memories and abilities, he wouldn't be Ian.

But Ian had returned to the past with me, and that deviation had caused [Find the Hero!] to appear. That was why they "conflicted": [Ian's Journal] and [Find the Hero!]. Two things that should never have existed together had both appeared.

Which meant...

'Ian definitely returned to the past with me.'

There was no longer any room for doubt. Ian had returned to the past with me. He was somewhere on the continent right now.

There were two main possibilities for why he still hadn't shown himself to me. The first was that he didn't know I had returned to the past. Until now, that had been the only possibility I had considered.

But now there was a second.

'What if he's deliberately staying out of sight?'

It was possible that Ian was deliberately avoiding me. That might sound absurd, but...

'The Emperor is looking for Ian.'

According to the information I had obtained from Iratum, the Emperor was searching for Ian. I didn't know why, or what had prompted it. But he was looking for him, and he wouldn't be doing that for no reason. So the fact that the Emperor was searching for Ian meant...

'Ian is deliberately drawing the Emperor's attention?'

To put it crudely, he might be drawing aggro. What if he was keeping the Emperor from taking an interest in me? What if he was turning the unforeseen variable of our shared return into an opportunity?

Even if Ian knew I had returned to the past, he might deliberately keep his distance. After all, I Alone Level Up[EX] and Player's Will[EX] had definitely been passed on to me.

Ian had once spoken of an Ultimate Lifeform: the pinnacle of all living beings, which he said only my Predation[S+] could reach. With those two abilities transferred to me, Ian had judged that I could become the Ultimate Lifeform even without his ability to return to the past.

And so, to buy me time to grow stronger, he was personally drawing aggro, hiding my existence from the Emperor, and making it easier for me to act.

... That was the second possible reason Ian hadn't shown himself.

'Hmm.'

But nothing was certain. It was only my conjecture. Even so, it wasn't a possibility I could simply ignore.

'I need to keep both possibilities in mind.'

That meant simply waiting for Ian wasn't the right approach. But going out to search for him wasn't a particularly good idea either. If he was drawing aggro, I needed to get on with what had to be done now, rather than go looking for him.

The things I had originally intended to do after joining up with him: founding the allied army, recruiting its heroes, and building a force capable of opposing the Emperor.

'I have to do it.'

I had to do it now, while Ian was drawing all the empire's attention. Nor could I neglect my own growth toward becoming the Ultimate Lifeform. Ian had entrusted this to me. He was fighting the Emperor with his faith in me.

So...

'First, I'll establish the allied army.'

I had to repay that trust.

I currently had more than 120 million gold in my Inventory. That was more than enough to fund the allied army's establishment.

'Whitewolf county would be the best base.'

Originally, I had intended to form the allied army and gather strength somewhere other than Whitewolf county. But under these circumstances, things were different.

Whitewolf county lay at the northernmost edge of the continent. It was at the very limit of where humans could survive, and thus far removed from the public eye. It was the perfect place to quietly gather strength and build up a force.

'The problem is that building up a force in the county is difficult.'

Its population was simply too small. I had enough money to establish the allied army, but nowhere near enough people to organize into troops. And a lack of people was definitely not a problem money could solve, but...

◆Territory Quest [Here Come the Recruits!] has arrived.

As it happened, Violess had thousands of recruits I could work as hard as I pleased.

* * *

Every Vister in Violess lay prostrate. Yet Adrian himself remained silent, seemingly deep in thought. Having passed judgment on Lyla, Isolde quietly awaited his next instructions.

How much time had passed?

"You there."

Adrian abruptly singled someone out with a finger.

"Y-yes!! You called, my king?!"

Sarpedon, the leader of the Black Grasp, came darting over. His forehead wasn't merely split; it had cracked open, and blood was streaming from it.

"Gather everyone in Violess here. All of them, including the slaves at the Scrap Iron Grounds."

"You mean right now...?"

Instead of answering, Adrian frowned once.

"U-understood! I'll get moving right away!!"

Sarpedon jumped in fright.

Defiance or resistance? To put it bluntly, he didn't seem to have the slightest intention of acting up. Nor was it just Sarpedon and the Black Grasp. The alliances of smaller Vister groups were obeying Adrian as well.

Absolute power over Violess. It was the birth of an absolute authority unlike anything the city had ever known.

And yet...

"I intend to wipe Violess off the map."

Adrian himself didn't seem interested in holding on to that absolute power.

When Isolde turned her head, Adrian strode over to her.

"To that end, could you help me?"

"What would you like me to do?"

At her willing response, he immediately began explaining.

"Violess is known as a city that developed naturally over many years as exiles, the poor, and criminals gathered here from various kingdoms. But as you saw for yourself, Lady Isolde—"

"That wasn't the reality."

"Exactly. The Dark Merchant Company created this city. Its people are nothing more than slaves the company dragged here from various kingdoms to exploit."

Isolde nodded again. Not a word of it was wrong.

"In other words, most of the slaves have somewhere to return to. Somewhere, even now, people are desperately searching for them and waiting for them."

"..."

"I intend to give them some money and send them back where they belong."

By that point, Isolde understood what he was getting at.

"Are you asking for the Holy Kingdom's help in ensuring they return safely?"

"Yes. I'll provide the funds."

Isolde was the princess of the Holy Kingdom. She had the power and authority to arrange state support for their care and safe return. More importantly, the Holy Kingdom's knights were due to arrive soon—wait.

"Hold on. Back at the black market, when you asked whether I could contact the Eye of the Pilgrim... Was this your plan all along?"

"Will you help me?"

Adrian's answer was neither confirmation nor denial. But Isolde could be certain of one thing. How could anyone look at the man before her and call him a wastrel?

"I will."

She nodded immediately. The request didn't require a moment's consideration. In truth, she should have been the one to ask Adrian for help with this.

"Then there are those with nowhere to return to. The Visters in particular know nothing but brawling. If we turn them loose, they'll just go around committing more crimes."

"Then it would be better to kill them all here—"

"I'll take them in."

"... Pardon?"

Isolde's brow furrowed. What Adrian had just said was a little difficult to take in. Did he mean...?

"Are you saying you'll accept the Visters as residents of Whitewolf county?"

"Not quite. I'll work them like dogs... No, I mean, I want to give them a chance to change."

A chance to change...?

"They say generosity comes from a full granary, and there's no one who wouldn't steal after three days of starvation."

"..."

"People change according to their circumstances."

"..."

"Put people in a cesspit like Violess, and even so-called sages become fouler than the cesspit itself."

"..."

"So I believe we ought to see how the Visters change in a different environment."

"You think the Visters will change?"

To be blunt, they were scum who did nothing but commit crimes. There was a reason people said you couldn't fix a person. Those people were evil by nature. They would never change. People didn't change in the first place.

But Adrian seemed to think a little differently.

"I believe God cannot change, but people can."

"..."

"Even if doing so is difficult."

God was the reflection of everyone's faith and ideals. Supreme and immortal, God could never change. But people were different. Their very imperfection made change possible.

"Just look at me. Wasn't I a wastrel myself?"

Even if it was difficult.

Isolde could say nothing, as though she had been struck speechless. Adrian's declaration that he would take in the Visters of Violess left her mind momentarily blank.

To embrace sin rather than punish it. It was something she could never have imagined.

The Holy Kingdom had a doctrine: "Hate the sin, not the sinner." But Isolde disagreed with it. People were the ones who committed sins. How could she not hate them? Her opinion on that remained unchanged.

But now that she thought about it, had she ever, even once, overlooked someone's wrongdoing? Had she ever forgiven someone, pretended not to see, or sometimes simply let something pass as though she didn't know?

Believing herself to be under God's protection, believing that her convictions and actions were God's will, had she been doing whatever she pleased without the slightest guilt? Had she merely been "passing judgment" on wrongdoing while thinking herself righteous and just?

As Isolde pondered each of Adrian's words and reflected on her own past, something strange happened.

For a moment, she found herself seeing the man called Adrian in a different light.

* * *

A free city was a city ungoverned by an absolute authority such as a monarch or a lord. Free cities were, at their core, privileged communities, and that foundation allowed them to develop by specializing in various fields.

The commercial city of Frecce was one that had developed through a focus on commerce. There was another free city that, like Frecce, had grown into a center of economic activity: the trading city of Caravana.

Caravana placed more emphasis on trade than on commerce, establishing itself as a hub for exchange with outside regions, the movement of goods, and trade networks. Whereas Frecce's economy revolved around domestic consumption and production, Caravana had developed its logistics, brokerage, and re-export businesses.

Its geography favored trade as well, with a road network and several rivers facilitating the exchange of diverse goods and cultures. Its citizens were a mix of many races, giving it a strongly multicultural character and an atmosphere that best embodied the "free" in free city.

Perhaps that was why Caravana's citizens were seldom surprised. With so many cultures intermingling, they often encountered the extraordinary. News and rumors from every kingdom arrived at all hours, leaving them indifferent to all but the most unusual events.

Today, however, something was different about the city's atmosphere.

"Have you heard that rumor?"

"Rumor? What rumor?"

A thoroughly incomprehensible rumor had begun to circulate.

"Apparently, Violess has disappeared."

All across Caravana, people were repeating the absurd rumor that the lawless city of Violess had vanished.