Chapter 184 - Jinx (4)

The rules of the third chapter, the Shadow Altar, were simple. Find the expedition member possessed by the doppelgänger and offer them to the altar. If you chose correctly, the doppelgänger inhabiting their body would be removed.

And if you chose wrong?

'They'd be incapacitated until the rupture was cleared.'

In other words, used properly, this could also neutralize anyone who might get in the way.

"Dwarf, you have a strange look on your face. Has something happened to your head?"

"Hmm. Seeing you single me out from the outset makes you look more suspicious, I'd say."

The dwarf, my first target, counterattacked without losing his composure. Just as I'd thought, he wasn't a pushover.

But the real attack was only beginning.

"Suspicious? How strange. When we first met, you clearly spoke as though you knew nothing about this place. But now you're talking as though you do?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, you're right."

When Raven backed me up, members of Hans G's team began questioning him too. Naturally. We'd only just arrived, and we hadn't even explained what the third chapter involved yet.

So how had the dwarf known enough to counter my accusation?

"That's..."

After considering his answer briefly, the dwarf spat it out, making no attempt to hide his displeasure.

"Hans Krissen told me."

"... You're lying to get yourself out of trouble."

"I-it isn't a lie. I told him."

Hans G stepped in right on cue to assist the dwarf.

"You told him? When, exactly?"

Having watched the two of them throughout our journey, I found that hard to believe.

"Y-yesterday, during our night watch."

True, he hadn't been within my sight then. But I'd stationed Mister Bear beside him precisely for that reason.

"Avman, is that true?"

"Not a chance. Those two had no such conversation."

"Avman was there, and you heard what he said. Hans Krissen. Why are you covering for the dwarf?"

I took a threatening step forward, and Hans G frantically waved his hands.

"I-I'm not covering for him! It's the truth! We used a magic device to t-talk... That's why Mr. Urigfried wouldn't have known!"

A conversation using a magic device...

He didn't seem to be lying. Fuck, when had these two gotten so friendly? Not knowing could have landed me in serious trouble.

"What did you discuss?"

I needed to find out what they'd said.

"W-well..."

I deliberately let my bloodlust seep out too, and Hans G trailed off under the pressure. Just as I thought a little more would do the trick...

"Why should we tell you?"

The dwarf stepped forward as though shielding Hans G.

"It was a private conversation. And I believe that adequately explains how I knew about this altar."

With practiced skill, he firmly closed the subject, leaving no openings.

Of course, my plan was still on track. I had countless other things to attack them over.

"Then let's talk about ourselves."

The dwarf was an explorer from Noark, and Hans G was what this world called an evil spirit. Target those areas, and they were bound to struggle with their answers.

"Dwarf, what rank explorer are you? What about your family? Do you have any siblings?"

"... I don't wish to discuss myself."

"So you refuse."

I grinned. He was free to remain silent, but the consequences were his to bear. Here, we had a valid reason for every question.

"Look, I think you should stop being so difficult and do as Mr. Jandel says. I'm not saying that because he's our team leader. There really is a doppelgänger hiding among us, isn't there?"

Raven supported me with a well-reasoned argument. Apparently finding this approach sound, the mage on Hans G's team added his support as well.

"Indeed. We can't simply offer people to the altar at random. Let's all gather and talk. We might discover who it is. Even a doppelgänger isn't impossible to identify."

That swung public opinion in an instant. Ultimately, the dwarf had no choice but to back down.

"... Fine. How shall we proceed, then?"

Hans G answered the dwarf's question.

"Surely verification magic would be best?"

Like a true Player, he offered the most standard strategy as though he'd been waiting for the opportunity.

Then the blunt-weapon warrior on Hans G's team cautiously raised a hand with a question.

"Excuse me, but I understand verification magic doesn't work on quite a few people?"

For someone so ordinary-looking, it was a sharp question. Verification magic really didn't work on everyone. I was a prime example. It hadn't worked on me at the Guild before.

According to Raven, it wasn't just my mana resistance; I apparently had an innately thick mental barrier too.

"It doesn't matter if it fails. I've heard it doesn't work on doppelgängers anyway."

"Y-yes! Exactly! At the very least, we can reduce the number of suspects, can't we?"

"True, that alone would be a considerable help."

Once Raven and Hans G, who'd served as our brains throughout the expedition, agreed, no one raised any further objections.

And so the hunt began in earnest.

"Are you a man?"

"... Why are you asking that?"

"Haha, it's merely another check that the magic is working properly. Answer however you like."

"As you can see, I'm a man."

"That's true."

The two mages went around trying verification magic on everyone. The result?

"... Nine people."

We narrowed it down to nine people on whom verification magic didn't work.

[Hans G's Team]

Hans G, the mage, the elf archer.

[Dwarf's Team]

The dwarf, the archer, the spellcaster, the priest.

[Bjorn's Team]

Me, Raven.

For the record, that was far more than I'd expected. Mages and spellcasters, with their high mana resistance and Mental stats, I could understand. But all these others too? Was it because they'd all become seasoned explorers in their own right?

'I never imagined it'd be more than half...'

It was giving me a headache too, but our task hadn't changed.

"Are you a doppelgänger?"

First, we asked everyone the verification magic had worked on that same question. They all answered no, sharply reducing the pool of suspects.

"So the doppelgänger bastard is hiding among the nine of us?"

The looks we exchanged grew incomparably sharper. An atmosphere that suited me perfectly.

"Then I'll start."

The moment those who'd answered no were excluded, I began swinging my figurative blade like a crazed executioner. I had just two targets: the dwarf and Hans G, the leaders of their respective teams.

"Where did you get the equipment in your backpack?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just answer the question."

"... I won't say."

Exercising his right to remain silent, huh? That worked too.

"Hans Krissen, you seem to know a great deal about this forest. Where did you get that information?"

"I-I read it in a book."

"What's the title?"

"That's... I won't say."

With each successive question, the stack of no-comments grew. Exactly as intended. On closer inspection, the questions had nothing to do with being a doppelgänger, but people would certainly find it suspicious to see them hiding something.

"... Verification magic may not work on you, but neither of you is giving a single proper answer."

At my pointed mutter, the dwarf gave an incredulous laugh.

"You think you'd be any different?"

Apparently, I'd drawn his aggro properly. After enduring a barrage of smear tactics, the dwarf finally stopped taking it and returned fire.

"What Essences do you have?"

"... I can't say."

"Or is it that you're a doppelgänger and can't remember properly?"

Once the dwarf opened fire, his teammates, who'd only watched their leader take a beating until now, joined in the attack.

"Come to think of it, he was the one who started accusing people without evidence."

"As though he wanted someone on that altar, no matter who."

"Besides, his behavior was far too logical for a barbarian."

I simply stood there and took the barrage. Then members of Hans G's team began asking questions too, one after another.

"I've heard doppelgängers have incomplete memories. Do you remember when we met in the Land of the Dead? What happened then?"

"Well... I don't remember clearly."

"Hmm, you've forgotten?"

"... I'm a barbarian."

"Pfft. What a convenient race."

When I failed to answer, the elf archer sneered and mocked me to her heart's content. Apparently, my earlier attack on Hans G had annoyed her...

Honestly, this was the problem with amateurs.

"Y-you're trying to pin this on me! That means you're the doppelgänger! Misha! Aynar! You agree, don't you?"

"Huh? Uh, y-yeah..."

"I-it must be true if the great warrior Bjorn says so!!"

My argument was so blatantly unreasonable that even my teammates responded uncertainly rather than properly backing me up.

As the looks directed at me grew colder, the moment I'd been waiting for finally arrived.

[00 : 00]

As the clock's hands overlapped, brilliant white light burst from the altar in the center.

「A Stone of Truth has been generated.」

The key item for clearing this chapter. Without any prompting from me, Raven explained it.

"It's a Stone of Truth. It can compel someone to speak only the truth, just once. Even a doppelgänger."

"... Can we obtain another?"

"I've heard one appears every midnight. But each time we use one, the doppelgänger grows stronger."

"So we must use it carefully."

I pressed my lips shut, like someone with something to worry about. I studied everyone's faces, and my eyes met the dwarf's.

"Let's vote. I choose that barbarian. He's suspicious any way you look at it."

The dwarf grinned as he screwed me over. There was no need for a ballot box; hands went up, and eight votes accumulated in an instant.

A majority.

"... Think again. I'm not a doppelgänger."

My advice was sincere, but they ignored it completely.

"How do you use this? Ah, like this?"

The Stone of Truth the dwarf had been fiddling with began radiating white light. With it glowing, he asked,

"Barbarian, are you a doppelgänger?"

Was I a doppelgänger?

"I'm not a doppelgänger."

I answered as though I'd been waiting for the question. And...

CRACKLE.

Its power spent, the Stone of Truth shattered.

"Mage, what does this mean?"

"What do you think? It means he told the truth."

Now that I had what I wanted, it was time to drop the idiot act. I stretched, loosening my stiff neck muscles.

"Didn't I tell you to think again?"

I'd obtained the confirmed-innocent status my plan required. Put simply, no one could suspect or attack me now.

Which meant...

"Dwarf, why did you accuse me of being a doppelgänger? Are you the doppelgänger?"

It was time to start playing politics in earnest.

* * *

"That's because you were acting suspiciously...!"

The dwarf shouted defensively. A perfectly reasonable explanation. I'd attacked everyone indiscriminately first, and I'd been the one exposing all kinds of holes in my story.

But that was no reason to let him off.

"How was I acting suspiciously? I answered all your questions."

"... You didn't tell us about your Essences!"

"It's as though you come from another world. Don't you know how rude it is to ask an explorer what Essences they have?"

"Then how do you explain that other thing? What the elf asked earlier—"

"Didn't I explain that? I forgot."

I squared my shoulders without a trace of shame. Look, the mighty barbarian said he'd forgotten. What was the guy going to do about it?

"...!"

The dwarf clamped his mouth shut, apparently realizing at last that he'd played right into my hands. But perhaps someone couldn't bear to watch their leader suffer this humiliation.

"Enough, barbarian. The vote proves you looked suspicious enough."

A fair point. Fair game for a verbal beating from a mindless barbarian, that is!

"That's because you lot were all ganging up on me!!"

The wronged barbarian's roar rang out. The dwarf's archer said something, but my overwhelming volume drowned it all out.

"Did you give me time to explain properly? Who snatched the stone out of Raven's hands and used it?!"

"No, that was—"

"I suspect you lot!! Take responsibility and get on the altar!!"

"I'm telling you, he didn't snatch—"

"Take responsibility and get on the altar!!"

Only then did the muttering archer scream at the top of his lungs.

"We'll use a Stone of Truth tomorrow too!! Will that satisfy you?!"

They seemed to be catching on to the advantage a Stone of Truth could give them. Unfortunately for them, it was already too late.

"Aha, it's you!!!!"

The instant he delivered the line I'd been waiting for, I strode forward, maintaining my agitation. The atmosphere turned murderous in an instant.

"Say that again, archer!! Wasting one on me wasn't enough, and now you want to use another Stone of Truth? Are you the doppelgänger?"

I switched targets from the dwarf to the archer. This had been my plan all along. No matter how big a tantrum I threw, I couldn't get the dwarf or the priest, a key asset, onto the altar.

"Come to think of it, it was you! Every time I spoke, you sneered and egged the dwarf on!!"

"It wasn't just me, everyone—"

"Take responsibility and get on the altar!! It's not as though you'll die!! We can clear this rupture without one archer!!"

A savage roar that made rational thought difficult. Suddenly in the line of fire, the archer turned deathly pale.

Perhaps people found his reaction strange.

"That certainly might be more rational than using the stone."

"... It's not as though he'll die, after all."

Several members of Hans G's team began agreeing. Finally, unable to watch any longer, the dwarf intervened.

"Fine. We'll put him on the altar."

"What? What do you—"

"Enough. Listen to me this time. Unless you're the doppelgänger."

The leader evidently held considerable authority; the archer couldn't defy him.

"Marthan! Are you really going to put him on the altar?"

Despite his teammate's anxious look, the dwarf nodded firmly. His thinking was obvious.

'He's trying to turn opinion against me.'

He intended to copy my own tactic. If the archer went on the altar at my insistence and turned out not to be the doppelgänger, they'd have the initiative.

'... They can't attack me, so they'll probably target Raven.'

Sacrifice their archer to put our mage, a crucial asset, on the altar. From their perspective, that could even be a net gain. Mages were another class with insane performance in PK.

'Idiots.'

They probably thought they had nothing to lose. If the archer was the doppelgänger, that would be a perfectly good outcome too.

But...

'Why the hell would a doppelgänger willingly walk onto the altar?'

Struggling to hide my smile, I watched the leader drag the archer to the altar.

"Don't worry too much. Once we defeat the Guardian, you'll be released unharmed."

"... I'll be waiting."

At last, the archer stood before the altar. Everyone watched in silence.

WHOOOOSH!

As he touched it with a resolute expression, black light began pouring from the altar. And...

「Expedition member Arca Petrei's soul is being sealed.」

His soul was pulled from his body and floated into the air, tethered to the altar. His expression and movements made his immense agony obvious at a glance.

"Mage. No, Hans Krissen. What does this mean?"

"... It m-means he isn't a d-doppelgänger."

The dwarf let out a long breath, closing his eyes and opening them again. His own decision or not, the sight apparently left him conflicted.

But perhaps he decided this was no time for that.

"Barbarian, are you ready to answer for your words?"

The dwarf practically growled. I answered immediately.

"No. Why should I take responsibility?"

"Because... you... did that to my teammate! By your own logic, it's time to check someone on your side!"

I clicked my tongue and spoke as though he were pathetic.

"Why are you talking like a child?"

"... What?"

"Is finding the doppelgänger a game to you? Set your emotions aside and think rationally."

"..."

The dwarf had no answer to my brazen words. Well, he probably hadn't expected that from the barbarian who'd been screaming his head off and throwing a fit moments earlier.

"Grow up, dwarf."

Not that he'd get any taller.

"You fucking...!!"

Watching the dwarf curse, I calmly held out a hand to stop him.

"Wait. You're not going to attack me, are you? Unless you're the doppelgänger, you have absolutely no reason to."

The dwarf began trembling. I decided to stop being an asshole there.

"I'm sorry about your teammate. I never imagined he'd go like that. He seemed like a good fellow..."

"Stop."

"...?"

"Enough. Get to the point."

"I got carried away and made a mistake too. But why don't we forget the past and focus on clearing the rupture? If we lose any more fighting strength here, we might not make it back alive."

Incidentally, that was why I could act up so freely. No matter how angry the dwarf bastard got, he knew it too.

If we fought each other now, we'd all be doomed.

"... So how do you intend to find it?"

"Personally, I find your priest a little suspi—"

"Enough, both of you!"

The mage on Hans G's team shouted.

His name was... Parteian. A man with a certain middle-aged charm.

"Let's end this pointless waste of effort. I have a way to find the doppelgänger."

No one present had expected those words.

* * *

"You have a way?"

With that determined expression, he couldn't be joking.

"Tell us."

At my urging, the mage took an object from his subspace. It was a small disc the size of a compass. I recognized it on sight.

No. 7234, Broken Trust.

An item with limited uses that, when activated, made it impossible to lie within a ten-meter radius.

"Y-you h-had something like that too...?"

Hans G, a Player, trembled as though he'd encountered his natural predator. An emotion only I could understand completely.

"It's hardly something one needs very often. Still, over the years, I've found a few occasions to use it. So this is its last use. I'm sorry I didn't bring it out sooner."

'... I haven't dealt with that priest bastard yet.'

I cleanly put my regret aside. Unable to bear watching our infighting, the mage had brought out an item he'd been saving. It would look strange to insist we not use it now. Besides, finding the doppelgänger early had its own advantages. I had nothing to lose.

"Fine."

"... I agree."

The dwarf set aside his hostility toward me for the moment and took a step toward peace. Apparently, we'd arrived at similar conclusions...

"A wise decision. Now, would everyone gather here?"

Once everyone who remained under suspicion had gathered in the center, the mage activated Broken Trust.

Its effect lasted only ten minutes.

"Who would like to go first?"

"I will."

The dwarf went first. Perhaps he really wasn't the doppelgänger; his expression showed not a trace of anxiety.

But that lasted only a moment.

"Then first, a question to check that it's working properly."

The mage asked as casually as though it were nothing, much like the test questions such as "Are you a woman?" he'd used with verification magic earlier.

"Which city do you come from?"

He'd stepped on a land mine.

'Fuck.'

There was no way the dwarf could answer that question.

"..."

An icy silence settled over us. The corners of the dwarf's twisted mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Perhaps the mage only noticed it then.

"Why aren't you answering? Is something wrong...?"

The mage broke off and shut his mouth. He'd realized why the dwarf couldn't answer.

"You can't possibly be...!"

The moment the mage's jaw dropped, I shouted with all my might.

"PREPARE FOR COMBAT!!!"

We were fucked.