CH 77

“What is this!”

“What’s wrong?” Carlton came running, dragging Cullen behind him. Luisen, stunned, showed the mercenary the insides of the box. Carlton was shocked as well.

Inside the box–under the lid–an image of a mountain goat with three eyes was engraved into the wood. Although the design was simplified, the rendering looked exactly the same as the strange bust that Luisen and Carlton saw inside the centipede cave.

“Why is this…here?” Carlton asked. Luisen couldn’t figure out the answer either. The two naturally turned to look at Cullen.

“W-What?” He exclaimed.

“Tell me everything about the person who gave this to you.”

“What? Him? I don’t really know much about him either…” Cullen began to ramble as he immediately blurted out whatever came to mind. The person was a young man, but wore good clothes. A confident, relaxed aura surrounded him; he had a high enough status to be treated well within the castle they were staying at.

“Strange–did you find anything suspicious about him?”

“Yes, well… At first, I thought he was a con artist. When we first met, he claimed he was a wizard? So, I asked him to show me some magic; he bragged that, if he were to show off, everyone here would die.”

“And?”

“When I told him not to brag, he said he was different from ordinary wizards. Someone great had opened his eyes to magic; therefore, he claimed he would only use his powers for that person. Does that make sense? In any case, he was a good person. He would listen to me mope and curse the world while I drank.”

“Do you know his name, age, residence…anything like that?”

“…He was called Lencul, apparently, and I don’t know his age. He looked young, but he also looked older at times as well. We met in Dubless county, but I don’t think he lives there. He said he’d come there to meet his brothers.”

“Lencul? That’s just the syllables in your name arranged backwards. He gave you a totally false name–he had no intent of even hiding that. You don’t even know if he’s truly a wizard. In the end, you don’t know anything, do you?”

“I already said I don’t know much…” Cullen protested timidly, wary of the mercenary.

“Then, do you know anything about this engraving? Did he say anything about it?” Luisen showed Cullen the design in the box.

Cullen nodded. “Yes, yes. He explained a bit about it–he said it’s the symbol of the person he serves. The horns represent authority and dignity, and the mountain goat represents… What did he say? Hmmm. Ah, and the extra eye symbolizes that he’s opened his eyes to the truth. Doesn’t this sound like a wizard? Wizards often talk about the truth of the world. I’ve answered your question well this time, haven’t I?”

‘What is with this guy? That wasn’t anything particularly difficult to say?’

Luisen had a headache. “In any case…So… He’s part of Ruger’s gang, right?”

“It seems that way.” Carlton said.

“Damn it! That’s right. There can’t possibly be that many insane men out there giving monsters as gifts.” Anger burst forth from the young lord. ‘Before I regressed, did the ‘plague’ start with Cullen as it did in this timeline?’

In the previous timeline, the snake monster had spread out and turned the Midwest region of the kingdom into a field of dust. If the one-armed pilgrim had not identified the monster, the population of snake monsters would have spread throughout the kingdom, unopposed. Even as they died, the people thought they were suffering from an infectious disease.

Committing all sorts of evil deeds around the land…Who on earth were Ruger and his gang? And how does Luisen fit into their plans? Was he being targeted?

‘Ruger, what in the world are you thinking? What is my role in your schemes?’

Luisen bit his lips as he recalled Ruger. The servant, whom he thought he knew well, was becoming more and more unfamiliar as time went by. “I don’t know what those people want. I have no clue.”

Exterminating the villagers of a remote mountain settlement, kidnapping pregnant women, the shady altar, and releasing monsters with strange venom upon the populace…

It wasn’t like they were trying to conquer territories; they weren’t even trying to amass a fortune. It didn’t even seem like they were seeking power. The group appeared to move stealthily and quietly for some larger goal, but he couldn’t even imagine the rough outline of their motives.

‘And the wizard? Was the ability to control monsters related to magic? Then, who is the person leading the group?’

As the information he had increased, it felt like Ruger and his gang’s identity were even more mysterious.

“Judging from their actions, they look like villains trying to throw the world into chaos. Well, something like that. As if they want to doom everyone.”

Carlton’s theory was just so plausible; a giggle bubbled out of the young lord’s mouth.

After all, the previous timeline’s world was a total mess. As the old saying goes, when a country collapses, bad luck will follow. Natural disasters, wars, famines, plagues–everything had happened. If one were to voice a particularly heretical opinion, one could say that everything was an ominous portent for ruin, for an apocalypse.

‘Maybe it’s a heretical cult. Back during my time, the church wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about gnashing its teeth and punishing others, but…’

The church believed in a one true god, a god that symbolizes light. All other faiths were painted as heretical and punished severely. The inquisitor who rooted out these cults was famous for being incredibly vicious.

That person was apparently so pious and single-minded; once they grabbed hold of you, they’d crush all the bones in your body until they received a confession. Such a bloody rumor. Since Luisen had lived life in the lap of debauchery, the nosy people that regarded him as an eyesore often threatened that the inquisitor would visit him. However, the young lord had never met them in person.

‘What happened to that world after I died…?’

Luisen tried to imagine it but soon stopped. He was saddened by the thought of the one-armed pilgrim dying alone.

The young lord and the mercenary talked further, but they couldn’t make any conclusions yet. They still had too little information.

Meanwhile, the time had passed, and the sun rose. Since it was time for the snake to return to the box, Luisen and Carlton had agreed to put off their conversation and catch the snake first.

It wasn’t hard to catch the monster. As soon as they stopped Cullen from interfering and set the box far away, the snake slowly crawled out. The snake had its guard down; Carlton very simply cleaved the snake’s head in half.

The monster died before it could fully realize its impending death. Compared to the fear it wrought upon the boat, its death was anticlimactic.

*** 

As soon as Luisen and Carlton dragged Cullen out of the hull, their world flooded with blue light. It was early, but the two headed straight for the captain’s room. It was time to reveal the whole story and request help.

The captain greeted the two with a haggard expression. It would be catastrophic for him to pretend ignorance of the existence of a localized epidemic on the ship and dock in the port; however, if he left the ship in quarantine, he felt like he would be beaten by the passengers. He stayed up all night wracking his brain, but no miracle solution manifested.

He couldn’t do this or that; whatever he chose, the captain would have to bear the brunt of the consequences. Honestly, he’d rather jump into the cold river than to deal with this. ‘Yes, let’s just jump!’ Just as he thought that, Luisen appeared.

That man not only solved the problem but also taught him how to make the antidote. To the captain, Luisen looked like an angel sent from heaven.

“How did you know that the cause was a monster? Not an infectious disease? I’ve heard that pilgrims and roaming priests often help those in trouble with their great insight–I guess it’s true. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” The captain bowed his head, deep enough to reach his knees, as he thanked the young lord for his hard work. Then, he summoned the sailors and asked them to see if there was a pharmacist or an apothecary among the passengers.

Deciding to leave this matter to the captain, Luisen and Carlton were eager to return to their rooms. Cullen had also been entrusted to the captain; although he was ignorant to his pet’s true nature as a monster, it would be difficult for the poor handyman to avoid punishment. He would be fortunate to not be beaten to death by the other passengers who may root out the detailed nature of this situation.

The incident had ended, but they didn’t feel all that refreshed.

As soon as he returned to the room, Luisen threw off his robe and sat on the edge of the bed, taking a small pouch out of his luggage. It contained the knife made of bone he had retrieved from the centipede’s cave. While running away from the monster, he accidentally brought the knife with him; Luisen felt too uncomfortable to throw it away in a random place, so he carried it around on the off chance it may prove to be some sort of clue.

He placed that next to the wooden box that had contained the snake; he looked between the two alternatingly. At first glance, they looked plain, unlike objects that were mired in ominous events and suspicious cabals.

Everywhere they went, they noticed Ruger’s gang doing strange things, but they had yet to encounter them. They always became entangled with the gang’s matters while passing through. There was a giant knot of frustration within the young lord’s brain. Carlton looked anxiously at the young lord.

Luisen said, “I’d rather coolly bump into these people. Then, at least, we can ask what they’re doing.”

“But these are people that are trying to kidnap my Duke? If they see you, they’ll try to capture you.”

“I’m even more tempted, because of that! I have no idea what they’re thinking! What are they trying to accomplish by kidnapping me?”

“The South will go crazy if that were to happen.” At some point, Carlton had taken a bottle out of the cupboard and was shaking it.

‘When did he take that out?’

Luisen felt desperate for a drink. He felt like he was going to faint, so exhausted and weary from walking around all night, but he couldn’t rest because his brain was crammed full of theories. After regressing, Luisen tried not to drink alcohol if he could help it, but perhaps today it would be okay to sip a little. The young lord received the bottle, sipped a few sips, and returned it to the mercenary.

“Well. I supposed there would be pandemonium.” It would be okay for ‘Luisen’ to disappear. However, if the ‘Duke of Anies’ disappeared, the duchy would collapse. He wouldn’t be a noble, one of the Great lords and the strongest aristocrat in the South, without the support of the plentiful golden fields.

“The new king’s position will also be unstable.” Carlton fed the young lord some candy and sat opposite the young lord. The mercenary tilted the bottle towards his own mouth. The beds were close enough that their knees bumped against each other; although this was a common occurrence, the young lord’s legs tensed up for some reason.