Ch.12A Very Small Trust (3)

Creeeeak.

The door opened.

An eerie energy flowed out like a cold chill.

“Ugh.”

The Valkyrie took a step back.

“What’s wrong?”

“I sense a malevolent energy behind this door.”

The Valkyrie’s expression darkened.

“The mana concentration is abnormally high. There must be an incredibly powerful monster living behind here. I can’t guarantee we’ll win if we fight it.”

I understood why she was hesitating.

The mana concentration was unnaturally high.

“Can’t we take another route?”

“What, go around?”

I retraced our path in my mind.

“That won’t work.”

We had already explored several areas, but they all led to dead ends. We needed to pass through this door to find a new path. There was no other option.

When I showed the Valkyrie the map we had created along the way, her face grew even darker.

And then.

[“The only passage to the exit is right here.”]

A woman’s voice came from beyond the door.

[“If you don’t believe me, feel free to go back and check. You’ll end up here again anyway.”]

The voice had an incredibly seductive tone.

[“Hmm, but I’m not particularly patient.”]

It seemed to bewitch people.

[“You there, black-haired woman with golden eyes. You’re truly beautiful. I’m already delighted that living people have visited this island after so long, but to have exactly the beauty I’ve been wanting delivered to me. Ah, how many more days could be this joyous?”]

The Valkyrie’s shoulders trembled. Looking at her from the side, I could see she was visibly shaking. Understandable. While those words sounded like refined language to me, they probably came across as mysterious whispers to the Valkyrie.

[“Now, you handsome friend over there. Come this way, both of you.”]

“……”

[“Don’t test my patience.”]

As those words fell, water splashed up from various spots on the cave floor.

Splash!

Monsters began to reveal themselves one by one.

Walkers, Crawlers, Spitters, and so on. There were some familiar monsters, but I also spotted a few new creatures.

[“Ah, m-miss. F-for the miss, we m-m-must offer l-living humans.”]

Several monsters began speaking in Incantation.

[“Oh, our beautiful Lady Leslie. Poor daughter of the Margrave of Filence. You shouldn’t be in a place like this. How did you become bound by such a curse?”]

[“We must liberate the poor miss.”]

[“Ooooh.”]

[“Push these humans inside, offer them to the miss…”]

The Valkyrie and I immediately assumed combat positions.

“Tsk.”

There are quite a few of them. Even the familiar ones look slightly different in color or appearance.

Take the Walkers, for instance. The ones I usually caught resembled sea bream, but these ones look more like croakers.

[‘Life tip: Croakers taste better grilled than eaten as sashimi.’]

Wow, thanks for the tip, David.

But that’s just because you have no taste. If caught in good waters, they have a texture that rivals blue marlin when eaten raw.

“Any combat tips instead of life tips?”

[‘The numerical difference is overwhelming. I recommend focusing on defense while taking down enemies one by one. I suggest using the Umbrella Stone.’]

I pulled a Magic Stone from my left pocket and called to the Valkyrie.

“Get ready to fight.”

She nodded when I gave her the hand signal.

I protected the Valkyrie with the Umbrella Stone while supporting her attacks. She instantly turned jellyfish-like monsters into cold dishes.

The narrow, winding path made it difficult to properly deploy magic. We retreated to the open space beyond the door while protecting each other.

And then.

[“Enough.”]

Thud.

The door closed.

At the same time, the monsters advancing from all directions stopped moving.

[“Welcome. To my home and that of my family.”]

Our heads turned toward the singing-like voice.

A woman emerged from the darkness. She had a snow-white naked body fitting for the pale cave. Exceptionally, only her face had an unnaturally healthy complexion. It looked like her face belonged to someone else.

But such details weren’t the important part.

The woman was human from head to waist. Below that, however, she was no different from a fish. Where legs should have been, there were only scales and a fin.

“…A mermaid?”

A mermaid.

I thought they only existed in imagination. To think it was actually a branch of monsters that was believed to have gone extinct long ago.

[“Children, gather around. We must welcome our guests.”]

Step, step, step.

The monsters that appeared behind us moved in perfect unison. They lined up in two rows and split to either side.

“Is she controlling the monsters?”

“Looks like she’s the boss around here.”

I carefully observed the monsters’ condition. This mermaid was controlling them through Incantation.

The mermaid woman smiled gently and spoke.

[“Now then. Before we proceed, let me prepare…”]

[“Who are you?”]

[“…Huh?”]

When I interrupted, the mermaid asked back in considerable surprise.

[“You, man. Can you understand what I’m saying?”]

[“Yes, I understand.”]

[“You can speak Mantra? Are you a magician?”]

[“If you’re referring to Incantation, then yes. I’m a Mage from the Magic Kingdom of Hazkhail.”]

The mermaid tilted her head.

[“Mage? Hazkhail? Hmm, I suppose it’s something like a magician. Well, terminology would change after all these years.”]

She giggled.

[“Hey, what’s your name?”]

[“When asking someone’s name, you should introduce yourself first.”]

[“How rude. I’m different from you in status.”]

[“Status?”]

[“I am the noble daughter of the Margrave of Filence. Even in this state, that remains true. Surely my family’s, my country’s flag still stands?”]

[“Were you originally human?”]

[“Just answer my question.”]

I gestured to the Valkyrie, who was floating awkwardly unable to understand our exchange, to wait a moment before continuing.

[“The Philopon family? Never heard of it.”]

[“Not Philopon, Filence! You don’t know Filence? The Filence County of the Sillice Kingdom! A massive noble family equivalent to a marquis! Or perhaps a commoner like you wouldn’t know?”]

The Sillice Kingdom.

I vaguely remember hearing about it in middle school world history. It was attached to the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Kingdom and collapsed hundreds of years ago.

[“That country no longer exists.”]

[“No longer… exists?”]

The mermaid’s pupils contracted.

[“And about being a count or marquis, the status system disappeared from most countries long ago.”]

[“What are you talking about? It’s only been a few decades, hasn’t it?”]

The mermaid clutched her head.

[“Th-that’s impossible. My family is gone? The place I needed to take revenge on has vanished without a trace?”]

Her expression changed moment by moment.

But soon she straightened her crumpled expression while chuckling. I felt a chilling coldness.

[“No… it’s fine that they disappeared somehow. I couldn’t stand them anyway. They all pointed fingers at me, saying I had no talent in anything. They said if I was ugly, I should at least sing well. Without contributing anything themselves.”]

The mermaid continued muttering.

[“I wanted to do well too. I wanted to be good at something and receive his affection. But he, my fiancé, didn’t even glance at me while fooling around with some lowly commoner woman…!”]

She lamented with a voice mixed with resentment.

[“Just because I made a contract with a demon, they exiled me to this wretched island. Don’t you think that’s unfair?”]

[“You made a contract with a demon?”]

[“Yes. Did I do something wrong?”]

Crazy woman.

At this point, I had made my judgment. This monster’s identity was one of two possibilities: either it was originally a monster who mistakenly believed it was human, or it became an aberration after making a contract with a demon.

[“That old woman told me. If I offered the bone powder of a hundred young men and women to the altar, I would be reborn as the most beautiful being in this world. And I could leave this cursed island!”]

The mermaid, no, the monster shouted.

[“I’ve offered ninety-eight people and waited for so many years. With just you two, I can finally leave this wretched place. I can finally break free from this bondage!”]

The next moment, the monster approached as quickly as a cobra.

“There’s no other way. So, if we defeat that leader-looking creature, we can get out of this cave, right?”

“Yes, if we take her down, everything will be resolved.”

The Valkyrie and I immediately prepared to respond. The Valkyrie raised her spear and took her stance, while I tried to circulate the magic power imbued in the Piercing Blue Stone.

However, it was a misjudgment to think she would attack physically.

[“La, lala, lalila.”]

The monster hummed a song. Sound waves carrying pressure flew in and strongly shook my mind.

“What’s happening?”

When I closed my eyes and opened them again, the scenery had changed.

I was on a warship.

“Senior!”

A voice came from behind me.

“Congratulations on your promotion to Lieutenant.”

“Ensign?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The person approaching from behind was Ensign David Kanich. A fellow graduate from the Magic Stone Studies department at Larron Academy, and one of my most cherished friends in the 8th Fleet.

“You… you should be dead?”

“What are you saying, senior? Did you have a nightmare?”

David said.

“Battalion Commander Kalon is looking for you. He says he needs your expertise for normalizing the White Phosphorus Stone.”

Battalion Commander Kalon is alive? That’s impossible. He should have died at the hands of the ‘Black Cat’…

There was no need to ask or be confused.

My hands were already thoroughly searching the pockets of my uniform.

Nothing.

Not even a small pebble, let alone a Magic Stone.

“Huh.”

I understood what was happening.

“How sloppy. They couldn’t even implement this part properly.”

“Senior?”

“Using magic directly without a Magic Stone isn’t my specialty…”

“Senior, I mean, Lieutenant? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m sorry, David.”

“Pardon?”

“It seems I’ll have to kill you twice.”

Snap. I flicked my finger.

[“Time, flow on. Let the chaff go and only the kernel remain.”]

As I named the Incantation, time began to flow rapidly.

Battalion Commander Kalon died, and I was promoted to Major, taking his place. David and I boarded the warship to support the battle. The fleet set sail. The fog was thick. It rained heavily, just like that day.

Soon, the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s elite Dragon Rider unit, the White Lotus Battalion, appeared. Among them was the ‘Black Cat,’ Rachel Brokenheart, wearing goggles and wielding a holy spear.

-Senior! Erich, senior! Help me! Aaaaargh!

Separated from me, David fought his best against the Dragon Riders, but eventually fell after being hit by a bullet fired by Rachel.

My teeth clenched.

There was nothing I could do here. This was an illusion. Normally, I could see, hear, and touch, but at crucial moments like this, I was “programmed” to just watch helplessly.

What followed was the same. My body moved on its own. I threw two of Rachel’s companions to the sea like fish food, then knocked her into the water as well before escaping on a lifeboat.

The nightmare ended there.

“Tsk.”

I could feel my head throbbing. Malignant mana was trying to eat away at my cerebral cortex. I began the process of regulating my internal mana to normalize the flow.

That’s why I could still maintain my sanity.

[“Fog, disperse.”]

At my words, the whitish fog scattered in all directions. Now that the illusion had shown all it could, the magic should disappear. I started thinking about how to beat up the mermaid once I returned to reality.

However.

“…?”

The illusion wouldn’t end.

When I blinked again, I found myself in a small village located in a coastal basin. It looked like an ordinary fishing village, but I had never been to such a place before.

But the situation looked ominous.

Bright red flames rose from every house. People’s screams could be heard everywhere.

The mana concentration in the air was alarmingly high. I easily recognized that these flames were not naturally occurring but artificial fire created by flame magic.

“Help! Is anyone there? My mom and dad are inside the house!”

I turned around. The two-story house right behind me was burning fiercely. In front of it stood a young girl with black hair and golden eyes, her face covered in soot.

The girl, who had been screaming wildly, burst into tears, then collapsed to the ground as if she had run out of strength.

“Someone, please, help, me, sob…”