Chapter 78 - Commission (2)

“Can you also tell what might happen in the near future?”

“Well, even I cannot see such things. But always beware of those burdened by deep grievances, wherever you are. Your fate also draws such people to you.”

“In simpler words.”

“Resolve their grievances, and they will bring good fortune. Fail, and they will bring calamity.”

Seriously, did this person not understand what “simpler” meant?

“I am hungry. You should leave now.”

“I will.”

With that dismissal from the Shaman, I left the tent and trudged toward the city, utterly drained. As I walked, my energy gradually returned.

‘Is this thanks to the Spirit Seal?’

The first stage of the Immortal's engravings increased natural regeneration, while the second increased Endurance and Mana resistance. Mana resistance was, as the name suggested, resistance to magic damage, while Endurance affected maximum stamina and its recovery rate. In other words, unlike Physical stats such as Strength or Agility, their effects weren't immediately obvious.

But...

‘Not bad.’

Without secondary stats like these to support them, a character wouldn't be able to do their job later on. Besides, I needed to build up the engravings gradually, starting now, to unlock the sixth stage—the key to my build.

‘And from the third stage onward, they're pretty useful in their own right.’

I'd originally planned to go straight to stage three, but that could wait until tomorrow. Which meant I had some time left today—

“Bjorn!”

As I reconsidered my plans for the day, a familiar voice reached me from somewhere. A shout that somehow sounded like a whisper. For a moment, I wondered if I'd misheard...

“Bjorn!”

When I looked toward the sound, a face popped out of the rustling bushes.

“... Aynar?”

“Quiet! I'll be in big trouble if I'm caught!”

At her urgent request, I instinctively crouched in front of the bushes and lowered my voice.

“... Why are you here?”

“The elder told me you'd come to the sanctuary, so I slipped out to see you. You have to pass this way to get back to the city, don't you?”

Oh, I see. But how had she known when I'd come?

“It's a good thing you came early, though. My legs were starting to go numb!”

So she'd just been planning to wait until I showed up. Typical Aynar.

“Anyway, someone might pass by. Hurry up and get in here.”

She was a welcome sight, and I'd been wondering how she was doing, so I climbed through the thick bushes and crouched beside her. Only then did I get a proper look at her body. Genuinely concerned, I asked,

“... Why have you gotten so thin?”

The Bone Knight's Essence had reduced her height to somewhere in the mid-170-centimeter range. Even then, she'd been so muscular that she hadn't looked small. But now? Aynar gave a bitter smile.

“Heh heh, don't stare so much. It's embarrassing. I know better than anyone how scrawny I look.”

In just a month, her bulging warrior's physique had turned into a slim body of lean muscle.

“Is the elder not feeding you properly?”

“It's not that. I've been compressing my muscles every day, and before I knew it, I ended up like this.”

“Compressing?”

“It's a thing. I don't really understand it either, so don't ask for details.”

“I see...”

Even so, what kind of training could do this to someone who'd been so healthy? Dismayed, I pressed my lips shut. Aynar forced a smile and changed the subject.

“I heard about you from the elder. You earned the epithet Little Valcan, didn't you? You're amazing as always, Bjorn!”

“It's nothing.”

“What happened in there? I want to hear your story.”

Aynar looked at me with bright, eager eyes. Spending every day doing nothing but training must have left her curious about the outside world. Feeling a little sorry for her, I settled down properly and began telling her everything.

“Oh, you're on the same team as Hikurod? That's a relief. I was worried after I left, but he's someone you can trust.”

I told her about teaming up with Hikurod, then about everything that had happened in the Labyrinth. But just as my story was drawing to a close...

“AYNAR, SECOND DAUGHTER OF PHENELINE!!!!!!”

A roaring shout erupted in the distance.

“HAVE YOU RUN OFF AGAIN!!!!”

“Th-this is bad. I think the elder realized I ran off.”

The roar rang in our ears even from that distance, and Aynar scrambled to her feet. Worried, I asked,

“Will you be all right?”

“I'll be fine. Today's training will just be doubled. All I have to do is skip sleep, so don't worry too much.”

No, that only made me more worried...

“I was about to die of boredom, but thanks to you, I got to hear some fun stories. It was good. Come see me again.”

“All right.”

“I'll be going, then!”

Aynar turned and started running toward the voice. I was about to resume my own journey when...

“Oh, right! Bjorn!”

Suddenly, she turned back and called to me. Then she said something I hadn't expected.

“I didn't get to say this earlier, but I'm glad you look happier!”

“I look happier?”

“Before, you were more... full of grim determination, I suppose? Not that I minded that...! But you look a little more relaxed now! It must be because your new companions are trustworthy!”

Hmm, did I? I couldn't really tell...

“AYNAR!!! GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!!”

“Ugh, anyway, see you later!! I'll keep training hard and come back an even more dependable warrior!”

Soon, Aynar disappeared from view. But I stood looking after her, thinking for a moment.

‘I've lost some of that grim determination...’

Was this a change for the better, or for the worse? I couldn't tell yet.

* * *

Since the Spirit Seal had finished early and I had plenty of time left, I visited the Magic Tower to fulfill this week's research quota.

“Huh? What are you doing here today, Mr. Jandel? Weren't you supposed to come tomorrow?”

“Something came up for tomorrow, so I came today.”

“Shouldn't you avoid making other plans when you already have a prior commitment?”

... That was certainly a valid point. But I was a fine barbarian, unbound by society's etiquette and conventions.

“What does ‘prior commitment’ mean?”

“Ugh, you only ever act like this when it suits you... Never mind. Sit down and wait a little. We'll start once I finish what I'm doing.”

“All right.”

After a short wait, preparations for today's experiments were complete. Apparently, the plan was to examine how the Vampire's Mana resistance affected mental magic, and to measure the exact value of my reduced Solar Resistance...

“Enough explaining. Just get on with it.”

“Well then, shall we begin?”

BZZZZZT!!

I zoned out as I surrendered my body to the sinister experimental equipment, and the experiments ended sooner than I'd expected. But just as I was about to leave without looking back...

“Excuse me, Mr. Jandel!”

Raven hastily called me back. I wondered if she had something to say about the research...

“So when are you going to tell me about that?”

“About what?”

“That sacred relic you used to defeat the Vampire! How did you know the [Goddess' Tears] were there?”

Oh, this again? We had this conversation every time I visited.

“I keep telling you, I don't even know what that is.”

“So you're going to play it that way again?”

Raven folded her arms and glared at me. But did she realize that, at her tiny height, doing that only made her look uppity? I asked her outright,

“Allua Raven, what is so special about the [Goddess' Tears] that you're this obsessed with them?”

At first, I'd wondered whether she suspected me of being an evil spirit. But her behavior since then suggested otherwise. Take the time I'd asked her about the pill and letter, for instance. If she'd suspected me, surely some sign of it would have slipped out during our conversation.

“... It's not because of the relic.”

At last, she gave me an answer. If she wasn't doing this because she suspected I was an evil spirit, then why? The answer lay somewhere I hadn't even considered.

“It's because of the book containing information about it.”

“Book?”

“Complete Analysis of Ruptures II. Don't tell me you've never heard of it?”

No, she could stare at me all she wanted, but I really hadn't...

“I understand wanting to keep the book's existence a secret. I felt the same way. Knowledge becomes more valuable the fewer people know it, doesn't it?”

“... So what's your point?”

“If you have the book, or know where it is, I'd like to buy it. My copy wasn't properly preserved, so large portions are unreadable.”

Judging by the scholarly fervor in her eyes, she didn't seem to be making this up to probe me... Had this really all been about a book?

“If that was what you wanted, couldn't you have just asked from the start instead of beating around the bush?”

“But in negotiations, the side that seems desperate loses, doesn't it?”

Well, that was true. As I found myself nodding, she frankly confessed her scheme.

“Once you admitted finding the relic, I was going to try negotiating as though it wasn't a big deal. That didn't work, though. I suppose you knew its value too, Mr. Jandel...”

“So you decided to take the direct approach.”

“Yes. So could you please be honest with me now, too?”

I considered it for a moment. She was utterly convinced the item I'd used back then was a sacred relic, so stubbornly denying it as before didn't seem like a particularly good approach. Better to admit what I could.

“I got those [Goddess' Tears], or whatever they're called, by smashing the statue in front of the fountain.”

“I knew it! I knew that was it!”

“But that's all.”

“... What?”

Seeing her confusion, I quickly continued.

“While the rest of you were searching the area, I smashed it because I was bored, and that came out.”

“Then... you don't know about the book?”

She muttered blankly, then quickly recovered her wits and challenged me.

“Wait a minute. That doesn't add up. If that's true, how could you think to use something you knew nothing about in that situation?”

A fairly sharp question. But I'd already anticipated it, so my answer came without hesitation.

“The box had the goddess's emblem on it, so I figured it was something associated with her. And it worked well enough.”

“... Really?”

“On my honor as a warrior, everything I just said is true.”

Once I added a modern man's oath—practically a cheat code—Raven's expression turned gloomy.

“Then what... have I even been doing?”

Realizing she'd been shadowboxing all by herself seemed to fill her with self-reproach. I felt a little guilty, but another thought occurred to me.

The Player community, Ghost Busters. I'd thought its greatest advantage was the exchange of information...

‘But perhaps that wasn't the case for someone else.’

To some, I was a Player. To others, an evil spirit. And so...

“I'm hungry. I'll be going now!”

Like a proper barbarian, I flung open the door and left the room.

Misha, who followed me as her savior. That dwarf, who treated me as a friend. Aynar, who looked up to me and always encouraged me, saying I'd become a great warrior. It was the same with all of them.

Bjorn, son of Jandel. In this body, I couldn't be truthful with anyone. Though I doubted things would be much different in Lee Hansoo's body.

* * *

After leaving the Magic Tower, I went straight to the commercial district and picked up my finished magic underwear. By then, it was five in the afternoon—a little too early to call it a day. So I dragged my weary body to the library. It would at least be a little more productive than going back to rest.

“Farcitiev.”

After the librarian cast her spell on me, I headed straight for the shelves. It wasn't as though she'd return my greeting anyway, and today I didn't have the energy for it. But...

“... You've become quite famous.”

For some reason, the librarian, who normally found even exchanging a few words a bother, spoke to me.

“It just happened.”

I gave a perfunctory reply and walked away. In the past, I'd thought befriending her might be useful since she was a mage...

‘But honestly, it's silly to worry about that at this point.’

I'd become a Grade 6 explorer. I'd also earned the epithet Little Valcan. Those credentials were more than enough to get me onto a team with a mage, and my current team already had one. He wasn't from the Magic Tower, but...

‘She's probably no different, considering she's working as a librarian.’

I chuckled to myself at the thought. Because I knew that, however many reasons I came up with, they were only rationalizations.

STEP.

Reasons that existed solely to justify my actions. My real motive lay elsewhere. I simply didn't want to. I didn't want to calculate every little thing I did, working to earn other people's goodwill. At least today, I was a little too tired for that.

And so—

STEP.

I stopped on my way to the shelves. Instead of avoiding the problem I'd been turning a blind eye to, I faced it.

‘No wonder Aynar said I'd lost some of my grim determination.’

I'd developed a problem. A psychological one. Perhaps my physical circumstances had become comfortable enough that the emotions I'd thought dried up were quietly resurfacing. Not good news for someone whose top priority was survival.

Then what was the solution?

‘I don't know. Let's just do what needs doing.’

I turned around and approached the librarian.

“Stop staring blankly at me. If you have something to say, say it.”

“... How did you know I had something to say?”

“You just had that look.”

I had a few reasons, but explaining them was a bother. When I looked at her with that sentiment plain in my eyes, the quick-witted librarian got straight to the point.

“I have a friend who works at the administrative agency. They were looking for an explorer to take on a commission, so I recommended you.”

“You recommended me?”

“Strictly speaking, it wasn't a recommendation. You happened to come up in conversation, and after hearing about you, my friend simply asked me to arrange a meeting. Of course, if you're busy or not interested, you can decline—”

“Fine. I'll meet them and hear them out.”

The librarian looked at me in surprise at my answer, then gave a small nod.

“Then I'll let my friend know.”

A commission... It was about time an event like that came along.

‘Does this mean I now have a way to earn money in the city, too?’

I'd been right to hear her out.