Chapter 303 - Reinweils (1)

Noark didn't shun evil spirits.

Unlike on the surface, quite a few people here lived openly as evil spirits. In fact, judging by our past conversations, Amelia, who was born here, didn't regard them with much hostility either.

But...

'The moment I admit it, she'll have leverage over me for life.'

Bjorn Jandel is an evil spirit.

Calling that sentence my Achilles' heel wouldn't begin to cover it. It was a bomb that could obliterate everything I had in society and even threaten my life.

And Amelia now held the button.

Of course, we were on friendly terms now...

'But nobody knows what might happen later.'

What if something drove a wedge between us?

From that day on, I wouldn't even be able to sleep properly. And even if nothing went wrong between us, it would still be a source of anxiety.

If she decided to exploit me, she'd summon me like a servant and work me like a dog.

Which was why...

"Amelia Reinweils, are you insulting me?"

I spoke in a low voice, like a beast's growl.

After all, evil spirits didn't lose their memories?

She might have made that up just to test me.

No, even if the drug really did have that property, I had to make this a case of a defective dose—

"And what if I am?"

"... Huh?"

I'd never dealt with anyone who stood their ground this boldly before...

While I was momentarily at a loss, Amelia spoke.

"Will you attack me? It'll be harder to get what the lord is keeping without my help, you know."

"... Don't test my patience."

Amelia snorted.

"The fact you're saying that proves you aren't particularly angry. Otherwise, you'd have attacked me already. Like any other barbarian."

"..."

"Come to think of it, you were strange from the moment we met. I told you to beg for your life on your honor as a warrior, and you didn't hesitate for a moment."

"..."

"But now you're insulted? Isn't it a little funny for you to say that at this point?"

Ha. Was this karma?

Put that way, I suddenly had nothing to say.

Which left me with only one option.

"Mocking a barbarian? There must be something wrong with your head."

It was a final warning.

Any more hesitation would clearly put me at an even greater disadvantage.

With that thought, I was just tensing my muscles when she spoke.

"Why? Are you really going to attack me? Like you did to the evil spirit hunter who visited you?"

Huh?

She even knew about that?

"... You investigated me?"

"There were far too many suspicious things about you. It wasn't just me. Anyone worth their salt would have looked into you. Though, like me, they probably all dropped their suspicions once you received your noble title."

Amelia continued without giving me a chance to interrupt.

"But to think you really were an evil spirit. Impressive work. How on earth did you get a noble title? Even if secret Public Security cleared you, surely the royal family would have wanted to verify things themselves before granting you a title."

Uh, nothing like that had happened.

I didn't know what was going on, but this was good. I could use this.

"Did it not occur to you that it was because I'm not an evil spirit?"

I squared my shoulders confidently as I spoke, but Amelia paid me no heed and answered immediately.

"As I said, only evil spirits don't lose their memories to that drug."

"A defective—"

"That's impossible."

Talk about firm.

Her guard was so solid that nothing I tried to say got through.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

While I was agonizing over that, Amelia muttered something.

"... Hmm. Now that I think about it, the royal family might have known and turned a blind eye. You were practically a hero to the city back then."

Oh, what was this now?

I wanted to hear more, but barely stopped myself from asking. That would feel like admitting it.

Had my face given me away, though?

"You look like you don't understand what I mean."

"No, not at all. Why would I even be curious about that?"

Amelia smirked at my denial.

"So you intend to deny it to the bitter end?"

"Of course. I'm no evil spirit."

"Well, that does sound like you. Fine. It's not as if I don't have another way."

Amelia took a compass-sized disc out of subspace.

It was something I couldn't fail to recognize even if I tried.

'Fuck, why is that coming out here?'

No. 7234, Broken Trust.

A limited-use item that, when activated, made it impossible to tell a lie within a ten-meter radius. The very thing that had caused that whole shitshow in Doppelgänger Forest.

"I didn't see that when we unpacked our things at the trading company."

"I bought it separately when I was living in the city before. In a place like this, I thought it would come in handy. Though I never imagined you'd be the first person I used it on."

Right. So that was it.

You'd already run through every scenario, figuring out how to cook me with the cards you held.

"Judging by your expression, I don't need to explain what this is. Of course, an evil spirit would know."

CLICK.

Amelia pressed the indentation on top of Broken Trust, then set it on the nightstand between our beds.

Its second hand began to move slowly, ticking away.

Then she asked,

"Bjorn Jandel, are you an evil spirit?"

Checkmate.

* * *

A suffocating silence stretched on.

In that silence, I desperately racked my brain.

'... What do I do?'

I wasn't debating whether to reveal that I was an evil spirit. That ship had sailed the moment Broken Trust appeared.

'It's not a fake.'

Unfortunately, Broken Trust was genuine.

I'd tested it the instant it activated. No matter how I tried, a lie like "I'm a woman" simply wouldn't leave my mouth.

"Five minutes left now."

"..."

"Are you going to keep sitting there like that?"

With this item, silence itself became an answer.

The fact that I was an evil spirit had already been proven.

So there was only one thing I was considering.

'Kill her?'

Since this was my most important secret, even an extreme measure held a certain appeal.

But...

'... Let's not get any ridiculous ideas.'

I forced the thought away.

Killing her wasn't possible in the first place.

To be honest, it wasn't as if I saw no chance of beating her one-on-one...

But if Amelia chose to flee, pursuing her wouldn't be easy. Besides, falling out with her now would leave all our plans in limbo.

'And she's obviously the sort who'd be an enormous pain in the ass as an enemy.'

Then there really was only one way.

It wasn't a very barbarian solution, but she was a woman who saw things in black and white. If I didn't want to be her enemy, I had to become her friend.

"It would be a shame to waste this, so I suppose I should say something. When I said only evil spirits don't lose their memories to the drug, that wasn't made up. It's the truth."

At last, I finished my long deliberation.

"... Yes. I'm an evil spirit."

My second time coming out, after Lee Baekho.

Amelia didn't look particularly surprised.

She'd probably been certain long before this and only brought out the item to make me admit it myself.

"That's an odd expression."

"... You wouldn't understand. How relieved and yet stifled I feel right now."

"Somehow—"

Amelia abruptly stopped speaking.

At first, I wondered what was wrong, but soon understood.

Broken Trust had recognized a lie and stopped her from speaking.

"Were you about to say you felt sorry or something?"

"..."

Ha. Unbelievable.

Anger flared up inside me, but I barely managed to contain it.

Right. I couldn't afford to make an enemy of her, could I?

Now that she'd discovered I was an evil spirit, I had to become her closest friend in the entire world.

So, right. First, I needed to check this.

"But are you all right with it? With me being an evil spirit?"

"If you're asking whether I harbor ill will toward you like the people in the city, the answer is no. I once spent over a year on a team with an evil spirit."

"... Then why were you so relentless about digging it out of me?"

"Because I was curious."

This was the second hurdle.

For that reason alone, she'd dug up something I was desperately trying to hide?

Just as I was about to blow my top...

"... For some reason, I keep getting entangled with you. So I was curious. Whether you were hiding anything. Whether I could trust you."

Amelia said this while averting her gaze.

Since Broken Trust was still working, those weren't empty words she didn't mean...

Ha. Now it was hard to get angry—

"Oh, of course, I also calculated that having leverage over you would keep you from readily betraying me."

She really should have left that part unsaid.

Well, what could I do? That was just the kind of woman she was.

"There's something I want to ask."

"... Go ahead."

"If you're an evil spirit, why were you so furious about Jandel Jarku's death? Was it guilt?"

"That's..."

I don't know either.

I tried to answer that way, but the words wouldn't come out.

So I simply admitted the truth.

"Yes."

"Hmm. You're actually a very tenderhearted person."

Amelia regarded me with interest.

"Is your goal to return, like the other evil spirits?"

"... I don't know."

"Because of those companions of yours?"

"..."

"I suppose you've always been quick to grow attached."

Seriously, why was she so interested in me?

I needed to change the subject soon...

CLICK.

Just then, with a click, the hand on Broken Trust stopped moving.

Its duration had ended.

'Now I can breathe.'

I swiftly changed the subject.

Like it or not, I'd revealed that I was an evil spirit. I ought to start by asking about the things I normally couldn't while hiding my identity.

"Amelia, why were you looking for Auriel Gabis back then?"

"Oh. Come to think of it, if you're an evil spirit, you would have known about him too."

"More than known. I even met him in person recently."

"You met him?"

"We'll get to that later. Answer my question first."

"... Because he was there the day my older sister died."

"What?"

"I thought he must have been involved somehow. So I wanted to meet him and hear the truth. That's all."

Hmm. That was less than I'd expected.

I'd thought there would be some bigger secret.

'No, just knowing that old geezer was there that day is useful. Maybe I'll be able to figure out what he's after during this trip.'

"Now, tell me. Where did you meet him?"

"Do you know about Ghost Busters?"

"If you mean the evil spirits' gathering, to some extent."

Okay. That saved me some explaining.

"Since we're twenty years in the past, I naturally assumed I wouldn't be called in. But I was summoned when I fell asleep. There, I met someone claiming to be Auriel Gabis."

After briefly explaining how he'd discovered I was from the future during our conversation, I continued.

"Listen carefully. This is the important part. That old geezer said that no matter what we do here, we can't change the past."

"... He said that?"

"Yes. I couldn't believe it either, so I tested it. And the results were what I told you before."

Dwalki and Raven.

I'd tried to change their futures, but events had unfolded as though even those actions were part of the chain of cause and effect.

"So I'll ask you again, Amelia."

"..."

"Are you still going to try?"

Amelia didn't answer.

Last time, she hadn't so much as flinched at what I'd said. Apparently, the added explanation that these were Auriel Gabis's words gave them an entirely different weight.

"I'll try."

After a long while silently composing herself, Amelia spoke.

"Because it's too late to give up now."

Too late, huh...

She sounded like someone who'd bought a stock at the very top before it plunged.

"I see. Then I'll help too."

Instead of suggesting she cut her losses, I declared my intention to join her.

She was more sentimental than she let on, wasn't she?

If I kept building goodwill and making her indebted to me, she wouldn't think of playing games with my weakness—

"... I'm tired. I'll get some rest first."

Amelia ended the conversation and lay down on her bed.

I was a little thrown.

'Huh? She's going to sleep? Isn't this when she's supposed to thank me?'

That she could rely on me, or that she was glad at least I was here.

I hadn't expected lines like those, but I never imagined she'd lie down without saying anything at all.

Whew. This threw off my plan...

How was I supposed to score points?

"Amelia, are you asleep?"

"...?"

"I-I just thought, if you're tired, I could give you a m-massage."

"..."

"Oh, right... That's a bit much, isn't it? Sorry for disturbing your rest."

Keeping a wary eye on Amelia, I lay down on the bed opposite hers.

I closed my eyes, but there was no chance I'd fall asleep.

An endless stretch of silence passed.

"What's your original name?"

The question came out of nowhere, and I simply answered honestly.

I didn't know why she'd suddenly become curious about my real name...

"Lee Hansoo. Oh, and Lee is my family name."

Now that she knew I was an evil spirit, my real name hardly mattered. Besides, I figured refusing to answer might cost me some goodwill.

Yeah. Right.

That was definitely what I'd been thinking...

"Hans? So your name is Hans? A surprisingly common name—"

A curse slipped out before I knew it.

"What the fuck?"

Even so, that crossed the line.