Chapter 346 - Seclusion (1)

Her raw stats were slightly better than mine.

And her equipment...

'Overwhelmingly better.'

Besides, she'd apparently spent over a year fighting in the war and taking Noark heads, so she probably had more combat experience than me now, too.

But there was no need to be scared. Erwin had made one mistake.

I shifted slightly.

Distance.

Spirit King's contractor or not, she was an archer—a class that lived and died by keeping the right distance. At this range, I had the advantage. Being in an enclosed room with walls on every side helped, too.

On top of that, my opponent wasn't even mentally sound.

"C-come at you? How could I do th-that to you, Mister...?"

Oh, come on. Just a moment ago, she'd been calling me an evil spirit.

I had no intention of giving her much time. Once we both started going all out, ending this quietly would be difficult.

I clenched my watermelon-sized hand into a fist, then kicked off the floor and dashed forward.

But...

WHOOSH!

My attempt at a surprise punch sliced through empty air with embarrassing ease.

An Agility build, all right.

"... D-don't."

Well, I'd expected this much.

THUD.

The instant I stomped my foot down to bring myself to a halt...

「The character has cast [Eye of the Storm].」

A vortex formed around my body and began pulling in everything nearby.

Since I hadn't combined it with [Transcendence], its radius was only five meters. Still, that was enough to cover the room we were standing in.

WHOOOOOSH!

The bed, blankets, pillows, bookcase, table, carpet, and more—everything weighing less than 500 kilograms was swept up in the fierce wind and tossed about.

That included Erwin, of course.

"... This is!"

Bewilderment flickered in Erwin's eyes. She'd been there when we fought Stormgush on Parune Island.

She must have wondered where this skill had suddenly come from. I'd deliberately kept it hidden when proving my identity, since it wasn't an Essence I'd originally possessed anyway.

WHOOOSH!

But Erwin must have been through plenty herself by now, because she immediately improvised. She summoned a wind spirit and began resisting the pull.

"S-stop it...!"

Stop? Like hell.

"I told you. There's something wrong with your head."

Keeping [Eye of the Storm] active, I stepped forward.

Then...

WHOOSH!

I threw a punch.

Of course, even as I did, I didn't expect it to reach her. She would back away to dodge, and then I'd use [Gigantification] to extend my arm in an instant.

Well, that had certainly been the plan...

CLATTER, THUD.

[Eye of the Storm] expired, and all the furniture and household items whirling through the air fell to the floor at once.

And...

"..."

Erwin stood there, eyes closed, right in front of my outstretched fist.

"Why..."

At that point, I had to ask. If I hadn't barely managed to stop midway, that punch would surely have hit her.

So why on earth...

"Didn't you dodge?"

Erwin slowly opened her eyes and spoke, looking as though tears might spill down her face at any moment.

"Because... then you'd get hurt, Mister..."

Huh?

As my mind reeled at the sudden turn of events, Erwin continued plaintively.

"You're right, Mister... I know it myself, really... I know there's something wrong with me... But even so. Yes, even so... How could I ever hurt you?"

Uh...

I-I see?

A tear dripped to the floor.

Watching the tears trail down her cheeks and fall, I found myself at a loss for words.

"..."

Now I looked like the only bad guy here.

* * *

After that, Erwin and I had an honest conversation.

At times, it was far too long-winded, and we occasionally veered off on tangents that kept us talking about unrelated things for ages. But in short, this was what she told me.

She hadn't been in her right mind since I'd died. Driven solely by the need for revenge, she'd endured prolonged agony and obtained her clan's Pureblood.

War broke out as soon as she gained that power. Seeing it as a chance for revenge, she sought out dangerous battlefields without regard for her own life. That was also when she'd made her contract with the Spirit King.

And...

"I admit I went too far, but I never meant to keep you prisoner."

She'd boarded up the windows and allowed me to take walks only at night because she was so worried about me. After all, rumors that I was an evil spirit had spread throughout the city.

It was a kind of obsession. She said she simply couldn't control herself when she thought about the possibility of losing me all over again.

"Then what about Amelia?"

"... It's the same with that woman. I can't trust her. I know I'd never betray you under any circumstances, Mister... but I don't know about her, and that makes me so anxious..."

"..."

"But I-I won't do it again. I won't try to stop you from taking her as a companion, either. Honestly, I'm still just as anxious..."

"You're anxious, but...?"

"... You don't want me to act that way."

Hmm, did she mean it?

She didn't seem to be lying...

I worried she might suddenly snap again later, but for now, at least, she seemed utterly sincere.

Especially considering what she said next.

"My Essences. If you tell me to erase them, I don't mind going to the temple tomorrow and erasing every last one. Though then... I wouldn't be able to protect you anymore..."

Most of Erwin's Essences were ones she'd earned through her wartime achievements.

And yet she didn't mind erasing them all?

"... Why would you go that far?"

"Because... I don't want you to hate me."

That still wasn't a reason I could understand. Had our bond really been that deep?

Honestly, that was all I could think. Still, it didn't seem right to say so in this situation, so I kept it to myself.

"... I think you'd be better off keeping your Essences."

"... I'll do as you say."

"But if this happens again, be prepared to erase a few of them."

"Yes, if that's what you want—"

"I'm not saying this for my sake. I'm saying it for yours."

I meant that one hundred percent.

Erwin wasn't in a healthy state right now. If I fed her sweet words every day and cunningly exploited her desire not to be hated, getting her to do whatever I wanted wouldn't be difficult at all.

But that wouldn't be right. That wasn't what being companions meant.

I'd learned that from a certain mage in Larukaz' Maze.

Which was why...

"For... my sake?"

I spoke firmly.

"Yes, for your sake... No, to be precise, for the sake of our relationship."

"O-our relationship..."

"... Do you understand?"

I took the somewhat dazed Erwin by the shoulders and asked again to make sure. At last, she answered.

"Y-yes. Hehe..."

... She'd understood me properly, right?

* * *

My life didn't change dramatically after that day's conversation.

I remained in seclusion, getting some fresh air in the yard at night, and I didn't remove the boards nailed over the windows.

The only thing that changed was Erwin's attitude.

"Mister, here's the equipment you used to use."

Previously, she'd given off the impression that she saw nothing wrong with my simply living in hiding in this house. Now, she began helping me much more actively.

Her first step was my equipment.

"This is..."

No. 2988 Guard Corps’ Symbol.

It offered no particular stats or on-use effect, but equipping it added a whopping 50% shock absorption to your shield—one of the core items for a shield barb.

"... You kept it?"

"Yes. How could I possibly sell it?"

Apparently, Raven had taken charge of distributing my estate. After receiving this earring in the mail, Erwin had kept it rather than selling it.

"But why are you only giving it to me now? I'm sure I asked about my equipment before."

"I'm sorry... I hid it because I didn't want you going into the Labyrinth."

Right. So it really hadn't just been my imagination.

'If I hadn't sorted things out properly last time, she might really have kept me in this house like a pet...'

The thought sent a chill through me, but surely she wouldn't really have gone that far.

I brushed aside my unease and asked about something else. I'd assumed everything had been sold off and put on the market long ago, but now I was reconsidering.

The others might have kept their shares, too, right?

"... I'll have to look into that myself. But one thing I'm sure of is that Avman Urigfried would have sold everything."

"Avman?"

"Yes. I heard he took the less sentimental things rather than the equipment you'd worn. Your subspace ring and things like that."

Hmm, I see.

Had he taken things he could sell without feeling guilty because he felt uncomfortable cashing in the gear I'd worn?

It stung a little, but it wasn't important.

'As long as this earring and that other thing are intact, I can just replace the rest.'

I could have another shield and suit of armor made. My other Numbered items weren't all that expensive, either.

"Do you happen to know who took my necklace?"

"Oh, the one that turned magic crystals into strange things?"

"Yes."

Its official name was No. 7777 Garpas' Necklace.

It could convert any magic crystals you put into it into random substances. An alchemical gacha, you might call it, turning magic crystals into bread, water, metals, and so on.

So it wasn't particularly valuable.

Not until you had enough money to trigger its hidden special event, anyway.

"Actually... I know because I wanted it myself and wrote to that mage—no, Allua Raven—about it once."

"So? Who took it?"

"Misha Karlstein."

"Ah..."

A breath escaped me the instant I heard her name.

She was the only one of my companions whose whereabouts had become a mystery. Well, I'd heard at the Round Table that she was with Lee Baekho now...

But that only made it more confusing. It all felt like one big riddle.

"..."

Still, I decided to look on the bright side as much as possible.

This was Misha, after all. We'd been rather fond of each other. There was a good chance she'd kept it instead of selling it.

'Hmm... Or maybe not?'

After two years and six months, I couldn't be sure. So I decided to leave that question for later.

'Anyway, I have a feeling Aynar took my armor and weapons... Would that mean the rest went to Raven?'

As I pondered the whereabouts of my scattered old equipment, another item soon came to mind.

'Oh, the Orb of Fire... What happened to that?'

It was the only bound item I'd owned.

If my disappearance from this time had registered as a death, it could have been sold. Otherwise, they were likely still holding on to it.

'In the latter case, Raven's probably the most likely to have it, too...'

"Whew..."

The more I thought about it, the more I sighed.

It wasn't as if I'd gained nothing in the past, but the price was far too many loose ends to sort out.

"Mister, aren't you going to eat?"

"Oh... I was just thinking about something else."

Putting my thoughts aside, I spooned some of the food Erwin had brought from a restaurant into my mouth. Then I quickly finished eating and took some time to discuss things with her.

"What are you planning to do now?"

"... First, I need to clear my name of this evil-spirit accusation."

"Should I... use my influence to try to arrange a meeting...?"

Erwin suggested proving myself in front of members of the royal family, but I decided to turn her down.

It was a little too early.

I'd have to resort to that method eventually, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something political behind my case.

"I think we need to approach this more carefully. If something goes wrong, it could bring trouble down on the entire fairy race, including you."

"... Y-you really are kind."

"Ahem. Anyway, about that. You can leave Raven and Avman aside for now. Could you focus on gathering information about this instead?"

"Yes! I will."

After we finished our discussion, Erwin left, saying she needed to stop by the sanctuary. I stretched out on the sofa in the first-floor living room to take a nap.

That was when it happened.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Someone knocked on the front door.

If it were Erwin, she would have no reason to knock.