Ch.122Chapter 122 – Noise

Around the time Kay began moving toward the Metis County.

In the Mikea Kingdom, a room within the Emiris Order.

There, Somnus was anxiously tapping his fingers on the table.

-Tok tok tok

Since both his arms were prosthetics, the sound that echoed around was different from that of ordinary fingers.

And before him, a priest was kneeling.

“…I see.”

Until he finished listening to the report, Somnus’s expression remained the very picture of gentleness.

“Thank you for your hard work. You may leave.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the priest left, Somnus quietly closed his eyes.

Then he muttered softly.

“The plan has been ruined.”

He muttered with displeasure.

Irregulars, things that deviated from his expectations.

Things that strayed from the path he had laid out.

The noise those irregulars made.

Somnus disliked that noise.

“What’s ruined is ruined.”

Idea appeared and spoke to him.

“Lord Idea.”

“I hear the processing of the heart is complete. Another important ingredient has been gathered.”

It was the heart of the black dragon that he had managed to slay in the past.

It seemed the processing that Somnus had previously ordered was complete.

“Thank you, Somnus.”

“I merely did what needed to be done.”

Somnus bowed respectfully again, and Idea acknowledged the gesture lightly.

“What remains is…”

“The Philosopher’s Stone.”

As he spoke the name of that object, Somnus could not hide his displeasure again.

“That damned mad dog and test subject…”

The last time they caught the dragon, they had tried to kidnap Seraphina but ultimately failed.

First, it was the mad dog.

Then, the test subject whose condition suddenly became strange.

Thanks to them, the clue to the Philosopher’s Stone had slipped away again.

Without realizing it, Somnus began tapping the table again in displeasure.

Idea was watching him indifferently.

“Lord Idea?”

“How curious.”

“What do you mean?”

Somnus asked with slight unease in his voice at Idea’s tone.

And Idea continued, as if finding it interesting.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this emotional before.”

“……”

Somnus did not answer.

Indeed, for him, he was quite agitated.

“You’re right about that.”

Somnus said this while beginning to calm himself down.

He realized that getting impatient now wouldn’t accomplish anything.

“Is that all you wanted to say, about the dragon’s heart?”

“No. I had something to instruct you.”

“I’m listening.”

Somnus bowed his head respectfully, and Idea turned his back.

“The regent is plotting something.”

“That foolish man.”

At Idea’s words, Somnus once again suffered from the noise made by an irregular.

If only he would just help them well.

“He wants to take the initiative beyond his station.”

Killing intent and madness filled Somnus’s words.

Beyond being an irregular, the regent’s blatant intention to go against him made Somnus unable to hide his displeasure.

Of course, that didn’t last long, and Somnus returned to a peaceful expression as if nothing had happened.

“Then, I shall devise a means to keep him in check.”

“Do so.”

Muttering that interruptions were troublesome, Idea left the room.

Somnus closed his eyes quietly and sank into thought.

-Knock knock

Unfortunately, someone immediately interrupted his meditation.

Muttering to himself that nothing was going right today, Somnus opened his eyes.

“Come in.”

When he granted entry, this time it was not Idea but a blonde girl who entered.

The saint of the Emiris Order.

Kara.

“Lady Kara. What brings you here?”

“I came because I wanted to consult with you, Somnus.”

“I’m listening.”

With Somnus’s permission, Kara sat down before him with an anxious expression.

“Actually, until just now, I was praying to Lord Emiris.”

“How admirable. And?”

“During my prayers, I felt what you might call the will of the god, or perhaps his mood.”

“Hmm.”

Somnus calmly listened to Kara’s words.

And Kara carefully opened her mouth.

“I’m not sure, but he seemed displeased. He seemed angry. But I don’t understand why.”

“That you could sense that much… I, Somnus, am first and foremost pleased.”

Somnus spoke with a calm smile.

“The stronger one’s holy power, the stronger the connection with the god. If you can even sense the god’s will and mood…”

“I know that much, Somnus. Rather, why do you think Lord Emiris suddenly expressed such feelings?”

Somnus closed his mouth for a moment.

He muttered a few words quietly, then opened his mouth again.

“When things don’t go as the god wishes, isn’t it natural that he would be angry?”

“Is that it?”

“Yes. If a believer does something contrary to his will…”

Somnus said this while glaring slightly at Kara.

Feeling ashamed, Kara twisted her body a little.

“Or if a being that defies his providence has appeared.”

“So that’s why the god is angry.”

“Don’t worry. There are solutions for both.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“If a believer strays, we correct their behavior. If there’s a being that defies providence…”

Somnus paused for a moment.

Then, unlike before, he muttered very low and ominously.

“If we remove it from this world, the god would feel better, wouldn’t he?”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

Somnus’s tone returned to gentleness as if his previous demeanor had been an act.

“He dislikes when things don’t proceed according to his will. Wouldn’t that be enough to quell his anger?”

“I see. I understand.”

After saying this, Kara opened her mouth as if she had just remembered something.

“Then is the reason for his anger that man?”

“That man?”

“Yes. The man I personally declared a heretic this time.”

If it’s that man, it refers to that test subject.

Somnus smiled at Kara’s words and said.

“That’s right. Come to think of it, I heard that the Holy Knights ultimately failed to arrest him.”

Somnus quietly stood up from his seat.

And with his back turned to Kara, he opened his mouth.

“We can think that the reason the god is angry is because of that heretic.”

“I see.”

Kara quietly nodded.

“…Somehow I don’t feel right about it, but that must be it.”

“You don’t feel right about it?”

“I just had that feeling. Perhaps my training is lacking.”

Kara said with a smile.

“You’ve never told me anything wrong before.”

“Thank you for your trust.”

Kara, lost in thought for a moment, rose from her seat.

“Lady Kara?”

“Until just now, I was thinking of telling the Holy Knights to work harder, but…”

Kara briefly clasped her hands together in prayer, as if she was anxious.

Soon, opening her eyes again, she spoke.

“I’m thinking of taking action personally.”

“The safety of the Saint is most important, but…”

“Still, if he escaped through the knights’ encirclement and even evaded Hakan, that man must be no ordinary person.”

Having made up her mind, Kara opened her mouth.

“I think it’s right for me to personally lead the arrest operation. In the name of the great god.”

“All according to His providence.”

Somnus quietly answered Kara’s words.

“Very well. I won’t stop you.”

“Thank you.”

“But please follow my instructions for the arrest operation.”

“I will.”

After saying this, Kara rose from her seat.

She respectfully bowed to Somnus and left the room.

“…Surely, she shouldn’t have any memories. Does something remain?”

Somnus looked at the door through which Kara had left with cold eyes.

Another irregular.

“As a clone, she shouldn’t have any memories. When cloning a soul, did something get shared?”

While analyzing the irregular, Somnus did not hide his displeasure.

“Perhaps that one will need to be disposed of soon as well.”

Now that an irregularity had appeared in Kara, she would need to be disposed of before long.

It would be troublesome if she malfunctioned at a crucial moment like last time.

“Does that test subject have some power to attract people?”

Kara was broken just by coming into contact with that irregular.

Already that man had ruined his plans, and there was no guarantee he wouldn’t ruin them a second time.

“I’ll have to eliminate him.”

And thus remove all this noise.

Somnus quietly organized his thoughts.

And suddenly, someone rushed into the room.

“…Lord Somnus! Lord Somnus!”

“What is it?”

Today, there are too many visitors.

Somnus almost lost his temper, which was unlike him.

“Breaking news! Just now…”

But after hearing the messenger’s urgent words.

Somnus smiled.

“It seems our efforts to weaken the dimensional boundary have paid off.”

Again, it was an emotional response unlike him.

“They have finally made their move.”

Realizing that even among the irregulars, there were some that moved according to his will.

Somnus smiled brightly.

+

The journey to the county was very smooth.

Food, which was the biggest concern, was plentiful, and above all, we had comfortable sleeping quarters while traveling, so there was nothing to be uncomfortable about.

It was a few days of moving while taking breaks and still being vigilant about our surroundings.

“Hey, should we stop soon?”

While I was resting inside, I heard Beatrice’s voice from outside.

Surprisingly, Beatrice said she could also drive the carriage, so we were taking turns driving it.

I’m still learning from Eve so I don’t drive alone yet, but I’ll be driving on my own soon, so the plan to rotate driving duties seemed to be going smoothly.

“I’m hungry, so let’s stop, eat, and then move on.”

“I’ll prepare it!”

I heard Sera’s voice from far away.

It wasn’t that Sera had good hearing, but there was a magical device on the driver’s seat that could transmit voices throughout the entire room.

After a while, the carriage stopped, and when I opened the door and went out, Beatrice was standing to one side stretching.

“My back is a bit stiff.”

Beatrice was stretching her back, extending her arms upward.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Not really. We weren’t going that fast anyway.”

Beatrice said this as she approached Moo.

Since the carriage had stopped, Moo needed to be let out to rest.

When released from the carriage, Moo mooed as if in gratitude, then soon sat down to rest.

Beatrice approached Moo and began to stroke his head.

“This guy is gentle, smart, and cute. He’s got it all, really.”

Beatrice stroked Moo, saying she would want to keep him if his owner wasn’t Eve.

She looked so happy that I unconsciously blurted out a comment.

“Do you like animals?”

“Well, I don’t dislike them.”

Thinking she might have petted him too much, Beatrice stood up and began to mutter something.

Soon, the wind from her became slightly stronger, and the fur that had been on her began to flutter into the air.

Thanks to that, the fur started flying toward me.

“Why are you making the fur fly in my direction?”

“Because your helmet was there.”

Should I hit her?

As I slightly clenched my fist, I saw Beatrice smiling brightly with a cigarette in her mouth.

And then a delicious smell began to waft through the air.

“Is the meal preparation already done?”

“You can prepare some things inside in advance. She probably prepared it beforehand.”

Beatrice said this as she moved toward the carriage.

Indeed, it seemed she had prepared in advance, as Sera was tasting the stew and shouting.

“Everyone come and eat!”

At her words, Eve and Christina, who had been spending time in their own ways, also came outside, and soon a meal setting was created.

As we each ate the stew Sera distributed, we began to chat.

“How much further do we have to go?”

Since I still didn’t know the local geography well, I looked at Eve and asked.

Eve smiled and answered.

“Just a few more days of travel.”

We had already crossed the county border and passed through several villages.

We were almost at Eve’s family home.

“The route isn’t that difficult, so next time you could drive the carriage alone, Helmet.”

“Really?”

I was a bit nervous, but I had become somewhat accustomed to driving the carriage.

I didn’t want to burden Eve continuously, so if the road was easy, it might be fine for me to try driving alone.

“Then next time…”

“You’re still far from ready, so no.”

Eve firmly stated while beginning to eat her stew.

“Kay still has a lot to learn.”

“Is that so?”

Unexpectedly, Eve strongly opposed it.

Sera glared slightly at Eve.

“That’s unfair…”

Leaving just that one comment, Sera resumed eating.

And Christina looked at Eve and Sera with a bitter smile.

“If we continue like this, we’ll reach a fairly sizable village, so let’s rest there for a day.”

“Rest?”

Beatrice questioned Eve’s words.

Until now, we had passed through all the villages we encountered without staying even a day, partly because everyone was hurrying because of me, and honestly, our carriage interior was more comfortable than most village inns.

I thought we would pass through this one as well.

“Will that be okay? Considering those Emiris guys, I think it would be better to continue until we meet the count.”

“It’s fine. The pursuit team hasn’t properly discovered our traces yet.”

Eve spoke as if it was already decided.

I wondered if she had seen the future.

“Since you took a warp gate to get this far, they still don’t know where you are at this stage. They probably can’t imagine you’re comfortably traveling by carriage.”

“So it might get dangerous if we’re discovered?”

Eve smiled at my words.

“I’ve already planned a route that they won’t easily figure out, so I think you can assume there won’t be any interference from the Order for the time being.”

“That’s a relief.”

I said while finishing the rest of my stew.

“Surely, no one besides the Order would interfere with us?”

Since the Order is the only group with direct bad blood with me, if we avoid them, there shouldn’t be any major problems going forward.

After a while, we started the carriage again.

This time, Eve and I sat on the driver’s seat.

“By the way, I’m thinking of purchasing some local specialties in that village during our journey.”

“Local specialties?”

“I did say I would do business, didn’t I?”

Come to think of it, she did.

Like a merchant, Eve’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. I can do market research, investigate local specialties, earn money to contribute to travel expenses. It’s all beneficial, isn’t it?”

When I heard it, it made sense.

I couldn’t argue with that.

“And if there’s something good, I can pass it on as a company contract and make even more money.”

“I see.”

Like a true merchant, she seemed to be devising ways to make more money from this opportunity.

“You’re reliable.”

With Eve around, expenses shouldn’t be a major issue.

Beatrice would be the person to watch out for, so I just needed to keep her in check.

Perhaps because money talk had come up, Eve seemed a bit more cheerful and started various conversations, and I went along with her as we traveled.

After continuing our journey like that, we were able to reach the village she had mentioned.

And.

As soon as we arrived, Eve and I began to survey our surroundings.

“Eve.”

“Yes.”

“…This is a place where people live, right?”

“Yes.”

Eve’s face clearly showed tension.

“Something has happened.”

Eve quietly checked the sword at her waist.

Even she seemed visibly tense, suggesting this was a situation she hadn’t anticipated.

The village was completely empty.

Not even a shadow of a person could be seen.