Georg was confused, for the Elroy he knew would never act so arbitrarily against his comrades. However, he was able to convince the Pope of his actions. If the party had a chance to talk with Elroy, Georg was sure they could convince him to bring them along, the opposite of what he wanted.
“Fuck.”
Georg clicked his tongue. When it came time to deal with the Kraken, Elroy had come to share with his colleagues the best plan he’d come up with. And the result? Georg shook his head.
“Fool.”
Georg remembered what the Pope had told him. His words were as cold as Elroy leaving them behind.
“You don’t mean to say he doesn’t believe in our ability, do you?”
“That may be a reason, but I think it’s more accurate to say he didn’t trust you.”
Georg flinched at the Pope’s casual tone.
“We are colleagues. If he can’t trust his comrade, who has his back when his life is on the line, then who does he trust? I’m sure Elroy is well aware of that fact–”
“You speak as if you had complete trust in the Hero from the start.”
Georg’s face hardened.
“How much did you trust him when he first became the Hero?”
He did not trust the Hero. Georg always questioned whether he should do what he said. It was inevitable. A rascal whose name Georg had never heard of drew a sword and became the Hero.
“…Well, that’s what everyone thought, even Elroy.”
And just as Georg and the rest of the party couldn’t trust him, he couldn’t trust his companions. Elroy, the Hero, has often shown that he has resolved his doubts and distrust, but have his companions done the same?
I, for one, have been by his side and given him faith.
Georg gritted his teeth and rushed to Elroy’s room. He flung the door open and found Daphne and Marianne sitting in the room with their heads bowed. Georg looked at them and sighed. Daphne then pointed to the desk, her head still down. There was an envelope on Elroy’s desk. Georg walked over and looked at the envelope.
『Dear Georg.』
With trembling hands, Georg opened the envelope. In Elroy’s neat handwriting, the letter said only the necessary words.
『You are the only one I can trust with this letter. I’m not going to die, and the reason I went alone is not because I don’t trust you. However, the battle against the Disaster is always uncertain, and in the end, I may not be able to return. I will tell you a few things to prepare for that.』
“…Where the hell were you looking?”
Georg sighed. Elroy concluded his letter by saying he should know what to do and shouldn’t even think about entering the fog. Georg folded the letter with a sigh. He would have to wait. He would betray Elroy’s trust if he went into the fog to find him.
“Cunning bastard.”
Georg sighed in frustration. ‘I’ll have to talk to him properly when he returns.’
“I will wait for Elroy to return.”
At Georg’s words, Daphne and Marianne looked up. He tucked the letter in his arms and looked at his companions.
“…Even if you went in, I will trust him and wait for him to succeed.”
Daphne said in a voice that had gone cold.
“I just wanted to be helpful to Elroy, and that’s kept me strong all this time. But it’s not helping me in a situation like this.”
Daphne shook her head and sighed.
“I don’t know; I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do now.”
Meanwhile, Marianne was quiet. She seemed to be watching the compass in her hand spin. Georg sighed and left the room, leaving the two in Elroy’s. Marianne’s hand tightened around the compass.
‘What to do.’ Marianne thought as she stared at the compass. Even after Daphne fell asleep from exhaustion, Marianne stared at the compass in a daze. She wondered what Elroy was seeing in the fog, what enemy he was fighting. Marianne stroked the edges of the compass.
“…Hero.”
Marianne bit her lip hard. Even now, the Hero was lost in the fog.
“…Elroy.”
***
Arachne was much stronger than any spider monsters I’ve faced before. My reactions were quick, but sometimes I trusted my unreinforced body and got my ass handed to me.
Just like now, when I tried to block Arachne’s charge.
“You’re so stupid. You really thought you could take me head-on in your current state.”
I pushed myself up from the caved-in wall. Stones slid down my shoulders, and dust rose from the floor. Blood trickled down my torn forehead, and the air I breathed was harsh. Arachne rolled its eyes and smiled. I rubbed my throbbing shoulder.
“How’s that? Does it hurt? The blood coursing through you is real; your pain is real. Do you know what that means?”
Arachne placed one leg on Harvey’s body.
“It means that the pain these creatures feel is real too. Though it may be false to you, at least it isn’t to these adventurers here.”
I lifted my head and looked at the spider. I exhaled deeply. It laughed and walked around Harvey’s body. It was telling me I could do nothing to stop it.
“So much for being a Hero to protect people. You’re funny.”
I breathed out, craning my neck this way and that. My eyes unconsciously drifted to Rhea on the floor. Anything too far removed from a person’s memory would be uncomfortable for them. So, the fog draws out of a person’s mind what they fear most or have recently been afraid of. Until one day, the person breaks down.
“Aren’t you funny?”
I lunged again, ignoring Arachne’s words, and the spider greeted me with an eerie grin. ‘Did it think I was losing my mind?’ I kicked the cave wall and leaped, dodging the spider’s blows.
“Why are you fighting me so hard when your Holy Sword doesn’t awaken?”
I lowered my sword. Arachne snorted and spun around. I have an opening. I kicked the ground and swung my sword toward its body. It whipped its legs out, trying to restrict my movement with its webs.
“Your meager power is limited to strengthening a single body part.”
I dodged, parried, and deflected all of Arachne’s attacks. Its counterattacks were thwarted before they were even attempted, and I backed away when it tried to press me down with force. Slowly the wounds accumulated on the When my blade finally severed one of its legs, Arachne laughed and stepped back.
“Not bad. For a human, at least.”
Not much longer. It hadn’t touched me since I went into the wall, and Arachne was the only one bleeding. I knew this wasn’t the end, but I had to handle it a step at a time. Arachne’s legs clicked again, and she moved to the three people on the ground.
“So, how about this?”
The spider nudged Rhea with its leg and picked her up in its hand. She went limp. Arachne scuttled closer to me, and I looked up at it.
“You get ugly when you’re at a disadvantage. At least the Giant had some taste. All talk, no dignity.”
I said with a smirk, and the spider grimaced slightly.
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“Slash this woman in my hand, and I’ll let you go without a word.”
I gripped my Holy Sword with both hands. I hadn’t held it like this for a long time. I wouldn’t fall apart. I wouldn’t move the way it wanted me to. I let out a blood-curdling laugh as I raised my sword. Before Arachne could realize something was amiss, I had sliced through its limbs and torso, and as it crashed to the ground, I scooped up Rhea with both hands.
“…Hero.”
Rhea raised her bloodied hands to me, and I took them in mine. Arachne, whose entire body had been slashed by me, sprawled on the ground, letting out a grotesque laugh. I narrowed my eyes at the spider. The Mist would want me to follow through with its words and slash Rhea.
“You are so strong, yet you are so weak.”
‘What do you know about me?’
“What about the others….”
In my arms, Rhea opened her mouth to ask but closed it. I looked down at her, who was silently sobbing. Most of the people embodied in the fog are not real. They’re more like molds of people from my memories.
They’re not real. Not those dead adventurers, not this scarred Rhea.
I set her down. She walked toward her dead companions, fell to her knees, and cried. I stood by her side and waited until she was done crying. I began to walk out of the cave with her. Suddenly, Rhea, who had been walking beside me, was no longer there. I stared at the empty space next to me momentarily, then muttered.
“I’m tired of spiders.”
Light engulfed the far end of the cave. I could see nothing of what lay outside.
“Bring me another one.”
What would come next? The hearing? My first expedition? I sucked in a breath. The wind rushed in through the hook, the narrow entrance to the anthill. The wind carried the smell of salt and water. I didn’t have to open my eyes to know what the fog was showing me now.
“…Fuck.”
Don’t get too cocky and offer me another.
I walked down out of the cave and saw people scurrying around. It was as if they were preparing for a major naval battle. Soldiers scurried about, each carrying a weapon or supply, and explosives and shells were carried on carts.
“Hey, don’t load that in there!”
“Get more rope! We need to tie down everything in the boat!”
I don’t recognize this conversation. It is a fragment of a memory, perhaps in the mind of Elroy, the owner of this body. The sky was overcast, and the weather was warm for the middle of spring. I sucked in a breath, taking in the view of the port city, which was nothing like I remembered.
Bactins, not ruins.
A place filled with the fishy smell of the sea, where rough-faced sailors bustled about. I looked around, dazed. There was only one reason I was here.
“Come on, don’t just stand there.”
I heard a voice say. I turned, and there were other faces I recognized.
Iris, the cold-faced Saintess. Arjen, the expressionless mercenary; Nella, the wizard with one corner of her mouth raised; and Georg, with his great shield strapped to his back. I glanced at Elroy’s old companions, and Iris spoke, her voice stiff.
“We are in a hurry, for the Kraken is approaching.”
Translator’s Corner
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry for the inconsistent upload time. I’m starting to get lazy. Anyways, do you guys prefer Nella or Nela for the wizard?
-Ruminas
