Chapter 341 - Snowball (5)

Bjorn Jandel is an evil spirit.

It had begun as nothing more than a rumor, but in time, even the royal family had acknowledged it.

Of course, disproving it wouldn't be particularly difficult. All I needed was an opportunity to prove myself and to use Auriel Gabis's gift. Then I could reclaim my status as Baronet Jandel and my reputation.

But...

'No matter how I look at it, something's off.'

The more I mulled it over, the more uneasy I felt.

After all, the dead had immunity. Not literally, but as a matter of common decency. There was no point in holding a dead person accountable, so no one dug too deeply, and people generally took little interest.

Yet that was exactly what had happened. A rumor had spread that someone who was already dead had actually been an evil spirit, and the royal family had confirmed it. An absurd turn of events.

'I'd better keep my head down for a while... '

This definitely wasn't natural. Nor did it look like some act of divine will born of one coincidence piled on another.

The rumor had spread because someone wanted something. It was more realistic to assume the royal family had acknowledged it for a reason of their own, too.

The problem, though...

'I have absolutely no idea what that reason is.'

I didn't have enough information.

Which meant it would be dangerous to simply go to the royal family, announce, "I've returned alive," and submit to verification. Not everyone would welcome news of my survival. Someone might be so displeased that they'd want to undo it entirely.

And if that someone was the royal family, I'd be as good as dead.

'I'll submit to verification only after I've at least figured out what's going on.'

With that, I settled on my approach for the time being. First, gather information without revealing that I was back. Clearing my name of an accusation that wasn't technically false, and reclaiming my noble title and reputation, would come afterward.

"Whew..."

Having more or less sorted out my thoughts, I exhaled deeply and checked on Erwin, who lay on the bed. It looked like I'd have no choice but to rely on her for a while. I didn't even have money for outerwear, let alone a place to hole up. Besides, with a body this conspicuous, disguising myself to gather information was out of the question.

Honestly, the way she'd acted today had been a lot to handle, but...

'Still, if that little booze knocked her out, the girl I knew isn't completely gone... '

I was thinking that as I watched her sleep like an angel when—

"How long are you going to keep staring out the window?"

Erwin opened her eyes.

"As if you're waiting for someone."

Huh...? Hadn't she been sleeping off the booze?

* * *

The night, when the soft moonlight had felt especially peaceful, passed. As soon as morning dawned, Erwin put on her outerwear and prepared to leave. Still apparently uneasy, she warned me yet again.

"You absolutely cannot go outside while I'm gone. I have a way of knowing if you take so much as one step out. Understood...?"

I was a little curious about this "way," but simply nodded my agreement and asked where she was headed.

"Are you going back to the sanctuary?"

"Yes. I do need to stop by."

Right, I'd heard she'd obtained the elves' Pureblood and even contracted a Spirit King. She must have duties and responsibilities to her race—

"We'll need money from now on."

"... Huh?"

"I'll sell off everything I can and find us a better house by the end of today. This place is... well, you know?"

"... What's wrong with it?"

"Nooo... It's not that I dislike it... But it'd be even nicer to start somewhere better..."

... I didn't really understand, but decided to take that as meaning this inn had plenty of shortcomings as a hideout.

"Then... I'll be off?"

"Oh, wait. Could I ask you a favor?"

"Huh? A favor? Want me to buy you some meat?"

"That's not it... No, I'm not telling you not to buy meat. Anyway, it's something else."

I asked Erwin to stop by the bank and check the safe-deposit box. I also stressed that if there was anything inside, she should bring it to me, no questions asked.

"All right. See you later, Mister!"

Erwin readily agreed to my request and left. Watching her go did not inspire any confidence whatsoever.

'She'll actually bring it back properly... right?'

For some reason, I felt anxious, but there wasn't much else I could do. If I went outside myself, someone was bound to recognize me.

'Still, thank goodness Amelia came back first.'

Only last night, I'd realized to my horror that we'd passed the box's twenty-two-year storage term. Fortunately, Amelia seemed to have taken the necessary steps. Otherwise, why would she have left those dying words(?)?

["The... safe..."]

She must have gone ahead of time and extended the term or something. She really was a dependable woman.

'And from what I saw yesterday, she seems to have gotten even stronger in the meantime.'

A clone created with [Autoreproduction] could be summoned within a five-meter radius, and once summoned, its operating range was a hundred meters. But no matter how I looked at it, Amelia's real body hadn't seemed to be anywhere nearby at the time.

In short, she'd acquired a new ability.

According to the database, there were three synergy skills that fit those conditions. But considering how closely Amelia had listened to my advice back in the past, she'd most likely absorbed what I'd recommended...

[Dual Rule].

It was reasonable to assume she'd absorbed a Twin Hydra Essence and given her clone independence. I'd explained the drawbacks of the other synergy skills thoroughly enough.

'Enough of that. I should get some sleep... '

Having spent almost the entire night awake, I was exhausted. I went to bed and got some shut-eye.

How much time had passed?

"Mister, wake up."

"Ah... you're back..."

I opened my eyes to find Erwin there. Outside the window, the sun was slowly setting. A glance at the clock suggested about eight hours had passed...

"Nothing happened while you were out?"

"Were you... worried about me?"

No, I'd been asleep.

"Of course."

"... Hehe. This feels rather nice."

"Ahem. So, how did your errands go?"

"Oh, those? Luckily, I had money saved up, so I found a suitable house! Since I was short on time, there were a few things I wasn't happy with, but don't worry! I've fixed all of those properly."

"Really? That's good."

I didn't particularly care about the house, so I wrapped up that topic and asked about what I really wanted to know.

"But... the bank? How did that go?"

"Ah... the bank...?"

Her reaction was decidedly odd. Watching her made me anxious for no reason. Had she failed to open the box? I'd given her the right combination, though. No, wait... Had Amelia failed to extend the term?

As all sorts of possibilities raced through my head...

"Here."

Erwin pulled a scrap of paper crumpled into a ball from her pocket and held it out.

"Uh..."

I took it without thinking, but I didn't understand.

"What... is this...?"

"What was in the box. You asked me to bring it, remember?"

"Wasn't there a hammer in there? About this big—"

"There wasn't anything like that. That letter was all there was."

"... A letter?"

Only then realizing what the ball of paper was, I carefully unfolded it. There was no sender's name, but it wasn't difficult to tell who'd written it.

Amelia Reinweils.

"... Do you mind if I read this?"

"Suit yourself."

After asking Erwin's permission, I read through the letter as quickly as possible. It was covered in creases, but still perfectly legible. To briefly summarize, it said:

I've taken a few precautions, but I'm leaving this letter in case something goes wrong and we fail to meet.

I've extended the term on the box.

Leave your current location here, and I'll come find you.

Oh, and one last thing.

["As for Kraul's Demon Crusher..."]

Unfortunately, that was where the letter ended. The final sentence was incomplete, as though it had been torn off when the paper was crumpled.

'The most important part is missing!'

I asked Erwin whether she knew what the missing part said, but she only answered that she didn't. Something about having skimmed that part and not remembering it?

'My hammer...!'

My heart ached at the thought that something might have happened to it while I was gone, but I decided to keep the bad thoughts to a minimum. Right, wasn't that still an unobserved future? Amelia might simply have it with her. And even if she didn't, I'd soon find out what had happened if I just sent a reply.

"Hey, Erwin..."

After burning the letter for security, I called to her. I intended to ask whether she'd put a reply in the box if I wrote one.

But...

"It's all right. It's not your fault you received a love letter, Mister. You're just so wonderful. What can anyone do about that?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, I had the safe-deposit box closed out, just in case."

"Uh..."

"You're not disappointed, are you? That you can't contact that woman."

This was when I should have gotten angry and demanded to know why she'd done that without asking. And I was someone who knew how to get angry when the situation called for it. Yes, I was sure I had been...

"O-of course not!"

For some reason, the denial slipped out before I knew it. It was instinctive. If I had to come up with a reason after the fact, I could say I'd been afraid of damaging my relationship with Erwin.

"Hehe, I knew it!"

Anyway, afterward, we ate the food Erwin had brought back, and by the time we were done, night had fallen. It was the best time to draw out the darkness spirit's power.

As we'd done yesterday, we concealed ourselves with the darkness spirit and headed to the house Erwin had found.

"You found... this in a single day?"

A detached house surrounded by high walls, with a private yard inside.

"I told you. I have lots of money."

Even so, to get a mansion like this in a single day, she must have paid the asking price without even haggling...

'With this much money, couldn't she just buy a new Demon Crusher?'

Thinking that, I followed Erwin into the mansion. And then...

THUD.

The thick iron door shut, the mansion's lights came on brightly, and I realized.

"..."

There were no windows.

No, more precisely, every single window had thick boards nailed over it. It had been dark outside, so I'd assumed the curtains were simply drawn...

"Um... Erwin...?"

"Yes?"

"Why on earth are the windows..."

"Oh, these? Well, it would be a problem if someone looked in from outside, and..."

Erwin smiled and continued.

"You won't need to go outside anymore anyway, will you?"

I swallowed.

* * *

"Even so... isn't nailing boards over them a little much...? If you're worried about people seeing me, there are curtains, and the walls outside are incredibly high..."

Feeling that something was wrong, I hurriedly offered perfectly reasonable arguments, but they didn't sway Erwin in the slightest.

"No, Mister, you don't understand. Just how wonderful... I mean, dangerous this situation is!"

"..."

"I'm not just talking about you. What do you think would happen if they discovered I was hiding you?"

"... You'd be in serious trouble."

Her point was so valid that I had no choice but to agree. It could go beyond mere trouble—she might lose everything she'd worked so hard to build.

Had my reaction given her confidence?

"Exactly! So these measures are unavoidable! You're a troublemaker, Mister. I have no choice but to keep you under control, you know?"

Erwin raised her voice. Though only for a moment.

"Oh, no... Look how your shoulders are drooping..."

When I hung my head listlessly, Erwin fussed as though she'd witnessed something heartbreaking, then cautiously offered a compromise.

"I know it's hard, but cheer up... I'll let you take walks in the garden at night sometimes. Okay?"

"Really...?"

"Yes! Provided I'm with you, of course."

"..."

And so my life in seclusion began.

Time passed...

「The character's soul resonates and is drawn to a particular world.」

Midnight on the fifteenth arrived.