Ch.149Scrapping the NPC (4)

I may have mentioned this before, but I’ve never gone around advertising that I was a Mountain Keeper.

I’m not foolish enough to go around shouting “I’m THAT Mountain Keeper of Ponia!!” while performing ancestral rites and rain ceremonies. Not everyone in this world is as kind as Uncle Devil, so who knows where I might hear words of resentment?

Honestly, I still feel uneasy about Uncle Devil getting involved in all this.

That’s why I basically introduce myself as Jack, a gold-rank adventurer, and don’t talk about being a Mountain Keeper.

Ah, I suppose I have mentioned it to people who either didn’t matter or were about to die soon. But they already knew I was a former Mountain Keeper, so they don’t count.

And recently, I’ve been regretting something. To be precise, a regret that started about two days ago.

‘…I should have told Ragni about my ability to see status windows and brought him along.’

I should have revealed that I was reincarnated too. That regret comes rushing in like a tidal wave.

Basically, I’m not smart—that’s an undeniable fact that even I acknowledge.

But the current situation is one where not just me, but anyone who isn’t a genius like Ragni would be unable to find answers.

1. There are already three people with the Player class—not just Miho, but also Chikuyo and this Elder who I expected to meet.

2. Somehow, the Elder knows that I can see status windows. This is just my guess, but I’m not stupid enough to miss that nuance.

3. A [Revelation] has come down concerning me. Is this real? I’m not the only person in the world with the [Mountain Keeper] job, so am I really the target? Am I going to die?

None of these are things my brain can solve. In this situation, I should have told Ragni about my reincarnation and the game, even if it meant being treated like a madman. I’m already called an idiot regularly, so adding “madman” to that wouldn’t change much.

Now I know. If I had told Ragni about my reincarnation, he would have just held his forehead, sighed a bit, and then understood. That’s the kind of person he is.

Ah, I really should have brought Ragni along. The Headmaster would have assigned him to study Ira anyway. Regret washes over me.

“What are you saying?! The Mountain Keeper is going to die?! Did the Chief say that?!”

“M-Miho?”

While I was lost in thought after hearing the Elder’s words, the first to cry out was Miho, who knew I was a Mountain Keeper.

Chikuyo, not understanding why Miho suddenly burst out, blinked her eyes and perked up her ears in surprise.

And the Elder, who was the target of the shout, simply returned to her normal smiling expression, sipped her tea, and slowly spoke.

“Yes, that’s right. But don’t worry too much. As long as we bring him at the right time, there shouldn’t be a big problem…”

“That can’t be! The Chief’s revelations are immuta—!!”

“Miho!!!”

“Eep?!”

“?”

It was Chikuyo who quickly cut off Miho’s outburst. Hmm, it seems the Chief’s [Revelations] are some kind of immutable prophecies?

Having heard enough to make a reasonable prediction, I shrugged my shoulders at Miho, who was now looking at me dejectedly.

“She said I’ll die ‘if I’m not brought at the right time,’ which means I won’t die if we go on time. Don’t worry about it. Do you really think I’d die from anything other than illness or old age?”

“W-well… no. I don’t think so.”

I can’t help but smile at Miho as she shakes her head with drooping tail and ears.

“And Elder, you’re not saying I’m suddenly going to fall ill and die here, are you?”

“No, certainly not. The Chief didn’t say anything like that.”

“Then, when should I go?”

After I said that, the Elder put down her teacup and moved to the window.

“Now would be just right.”

The old woman said with a grin.

Hmm, it seems the time the old woman spent reciting TMI and the time I spent thinking were quite long.

*

After leaving the Elder’s house, we headed straight out of the village. Not the way we came, but into the forest on the opposite side.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“About what?”

“…What we just heard.”

Chikuyo came close enough that her shoulder almost touched mine and spoke quietly.

The way she glanced around suggests she’s worried Miho might hear her from behind us.

But, hmm. Worried, huh?

“Not really.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

In the game [Eight], there were various future prophecies too.

Some NPCs couldn’t avoid those prophecies and died, disappearing from villages.

And sometimes those prophecies foretold the death of players, or said the protagonist’s sacrifice was necessary.

So, prophecies aren’t absolute.

If they were absolute, wouldn’t either a player character or the protagonist have died? But I played through Episode 8 with everyone alive.

In other words, the prophecy about the [Mountain Keeper] dying doesn’t just apply to me, and it’s not something I can’t avoid if I know about it and try to avoid it.

‘What’s a bit nerve-wracking is that characters like the beastfolk’s Elder or Chief never appeared in the game.’

Looking at the current situation, it’s clear the Elder knows about my status window, and this Chief person receives prophetic [Revelations], making them important figures. Yet such important figures never appeared in the game, not even by name?

That’s a bit scary. But since I don’t need to show fear at every little thing, I answered as nonchalantly as possible, and Chikuyo perked up her ears and widened her crimson eyes at my response.

“…You’re strong.”

“Pardon?”

“…Nothing. I don’t want to see Miho sad either, so don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you too.”

If an enemy strong enough to kill me appears, wouldn’t it be better for you to run away? While Miho and Chikuyo might be considered strong by this world’s standards, they’re too weak compared to me.

I might end up dying while protecting them instead.

‘…But I’m not a bird with no eyes.’

“That’s reassuring. I’ll be counting on you then.”

“Kyung?!”

“What?”

“N-nothing!”

I smiled gratefully at her kindness, but Chikuyo shouted and blushed, rushing ahead by herself.

…I’d like to think otherwise, I really would, but Chikuyo, you’re not that easy, are you?! Please tell me you’re not!!

‘Sigh. I just planned to come to Siltra, deliver the truth to the beastfolk, create conflict with the elves, and then strike at their leadership when an opening appeared. How did everything get so complicated?’

Chikuyo, who had moved up to walk beside the Elder, began chatting with her while swishing her luscious-looking tail.

As I watched her with a bitter expression, Miho, still looking downcast, approached and spoke to me.

“Jack, I’ll definitely protect you. For Miss Ira’s sake too.”

“If you’re going to do that, you should cheer up first. I’m the one who heard I’m going to die, so why are you the one looking down?”

“W-well, that’s…”

She rubbed her arms and raised her eyes, swishing her tail back and forth as if she were about to clean the floor.

-Swish.

“…What’s this?”

“Ugh… Since Jack is fast, I thought I should hold onto you if I’m going to protect you.”

“……”

Miho wrapped her tail around my arm. I’ve held hands with Ragni or Ray before, but being “caught” by a woman’s tail is a novel experience.

Honestly, I thought about shaking it off immediately, but…

-Glance, glance. Perk, perk.

Seeing Miho anxiously looking around and at me, that thought disappeared.

Plus, the warm, soft feeling of her tail is actually quite nice.

So, receiving Miho’s “protection,” we followed the Elder and arrived at a cave.

“Oh my, it gets harder every year to come to where the Chief is.”

Indeed, the cave where the Chief resides is quite far from the village. It must be a rough journey for an elderly person.

The old woman patted her waist and was about to enter the cave entrance, with Chikuyo following first…

“Ah. Chikuyo, Miho. You two stay here.”

“What?”

“What?! W-why?!”

“This is also the Chief’s instruction. She said to bring only the Mountain Keeper young man to the entrance.”

“…I met her last year too. Are you saying I can’t go in?”

“Yes, it was allowed last year. But not now.”

Chikuyo narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the Elder, but eventually grabbed Miho’s arm and stepped back.

“Huh, sister?!”

“Miho, let’s guard the entrance. Jack.”

“Yes?”

“If there’s any problem, shout immediately. I’ll come right away.”

“Haha. Yes. I’ll shout right away if there’s a problem.”

I had brought Miho to talk about the elves’ kidnapping and trafficking of beastfolk, but somehow the situation has flowed in a completely different direction. With that reality in mind, I followed the Elder into the cave.

After walking for some time into the cave, the Elder stopped at a large cavern, and I stopped behind her.

Inside the cave was a massive pond (?) that seemed too perfect to have formed naturally. For some reason, the water was glowing, making the surroundings visible even without fire.

And because it was so bright, I could clearly tell that there was no one else in here besides me and the Elder.

Even my veteran Mountain Keeper senses weren’t picking up anything.

“Elder, where is the Chief?”

“Hmm. Right in front of you, but you don’t see?”

“What?”

In front? Unless I’m blind, all that’s in front of us is a huge pond. Could the beastfolk Chief be some kind of fish beastfolk?

I looked at the Elder in confusion, and she gestured with her chin for me to approach the water.

…Hmm, surely she won’t push me from behind?

As I slowly approached the pond following her gesture, I still couldn’t sense or see anything.

I remained tense in case a beastfolk—or rather, a water-folk?—might jump out from the water.

-Bubble bubble…

…But in this case, if something jumps out of the water, wouldn’t it be a fish-person rather than a beastfolk?

The moment bubbles formed in the water, it was already foreseeable that something would emerge, and I was absently thinking about something else…

-SPLASH!!

“W-what?!!”

Suddenly the pond began to move… no, rotate at an incredible speed! The pond that had been calm with nothing in it began to spin like a whirlpool at the bottom of a cliff where rapids collide. Since my senses weren’t picking up anything despite what was happening before my eyes, I unconsciously stepped back.

-SPLASH!!!

Water sprayed everywhere as if a whale had jumped out of the previously quiet cave pond.

[Ah, the smell of that fire chicken woman is truly dreadful. It feels like the chicken coop smell is making even my clear water fishy.]

A translucent woman(?)… no, this is…

“A high-level water elemental?”

I couldn’t help but blurt out upon seeing the “water elemental” that resembled the high-level elementals I’d seen in the game.