Ch.180What Happened at the Family Meeting (3)

Ireh’s ‘Stealth Bullet’ effect naturally deactivated. Her stealth skill is useless against opponents who have already detected her presence.

“…Kashu von Adelbein. I heard you committed suicide.”

“I did.”

“What happened?”

“…”

So he’s not going to talk.

Well, I expected he wouldn’t be dead. Someone as high and mighty from the Adelbein family would certainly know how to fake their identity.

“This is a secret treasury that only members of the Adelbein family can enter. What business do you have here?”

“The head of the family gave me permission to enter.”

“Don’t lie.”

But it’s true.

I already got permission from Zernya. So it’s not theft. Probably.

“I came to get something.”

“Hey, are you crazy? How can you just say that outright!”

Ireh scolded me, too flustered to maintain her concept. Kashu’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“Something? You say something?”

“Yes, something very important.”

“Everything here is Adelbein family property. Rheinland, I can’t give you even a single diamond.”

“So you do remember my surname.”

I thought he might have forgotten after all this time.

“Of course I do!”

Kashu bellowed.

He pointed at me accusingly, spittle flying.

“Eidel von Rheinland, you humiliated me that day. And from then on, my life started going downhill. My affiliated companies were dismantled, and my family tried to cut me off by offering me as a sacrifice.”

Wait, humiliation?

What did I do to this person?

“Since then, I’ve been faking my death and waiting for the day of revenge. And now you’re trying to interfere with even that. In that case, I can’t let you live!”

Before I could think, something sharp began flying through the air.

“Dodge!”

Ireh grabbed me by the collar and rolled across the floor.

I nearly died from a blind dagger.

“What was that just now?”

“Feathers. Probably Swan’s power.”

Swan. A named entity among the Darwin system’s outer gods.

Living in the Cygnus constellation, it’s skilled in magic related to birds and feathers, and can mimic the voices of constellations. I remember it tried to possess Zernya but failed.

I quickly checked Kashu’s status window.

[Kashu von Adelbein: 500/1000]

[— He is carrying out a quest received from an outer god. He shows mild madness, but conversation is still possible. He is extremely agitated, so engagement is not recommended.]

I see. Now I’m starting to understand.

But predictions are just predictions. To get accurate information, I need to capture, treat, and interrogate the person.

“Born and raised so vulgarly! Don’t block my path!”

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

The feathers flew at me again. Thanks to activating ‘Future Sight,’ I was barely able to dodge. Even after rolling just a few times, I could feel my breath reaching my throat.

Damn, my stamina is in such poor shape from doing only research lately. I need to exercise if I want to see my child’s face.

[— Summoning ‘Wisdom’s Calipers (A)’]

[— Using ‘Ballistic Prediction’]

I deflected the feathers flying like bullets using ‘Ballistic Prediction’ and ‘Future Sight.’

[— Paying 500 Pron to use ‘Mental Homeostasis’]

The mental stability skill I used additionally honed my mind to be as sharp as a veteran special forces operative. Thanks to this, I was able to maintain the courage to face the feathers rushing fiercely toward me.

However, the limitations were clear.

Every time I deflected a rapidly approaching blade, it felt like my hand would tear.

In any case, I wasn’t accustomed to combat. There were bound to be subtle gaps in my movements. I wasn’t capable of exerting superhuman strength like during the Celestine incident. It’s been over two years since I last held a sword.

Swoosh!

A feather grazed my shoulder as it passed.

It hurts like hell. I took cover behind a stone table to catch my breath.

Stopping the bleeding… doesn’t seem necessary.

I calmly observed the situation, waiting for Ireh to arrive.

“Eidel!”

After throwing a smoke grenade, Ireh leaped over with ghost-like footwork and whispered.

“Are you okay? You need to be okay.”

“This is just a minor injury. More importantly, we have another objective.”

Kashu Adelbein was a person the prosecution had been searching for with burning determination. Handing him over to the prosecution would greatly help Zernya’s business. I gave Ireh a meaningful look.

“Let’s capture him alive.”

“Capture? Not kill him?”

“It’s more beneficial not to kill him.”

“If you say so, well.”

Ireh took out her gun and fired at my shoulder.

[— The wound is healing due to the ‘Healing Bullet’ effect.]

“You shouldn’t waste coins on things like this.”

“Don’t you know that wounds from the Darwin system need to be treated immediately, no matter the reason? Do you want to die from infection?”

I silently laughed while flexing my now more comfortable arm. In aspects like this, she’s quite like my sister.

“You little rats! Where are you hiding?!”

Kashu was shouting at the top of his lungs through the smoke. His presence was getting quite close. Ireh and I exchanged hand signals before splitting up.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is watching your judgment.]

Honestly, Ireh isn’t as combat-proficient as Rustila.

However, there are two aspects where she excels far beyond Rustila.

[— ‘Weakening Bullet’ X 10]

[— ‘Paralyzing Bullet’ X 10]

[— ‘Guided Spirit Bullet’ X 3]

First, her sense for ranged combat.

Pik, pik, pik!

I could hear the sound of formless bullets piercing through Kashu Adelbein’s limbs. While I couldn’t see an inch in front of me due to the smoke, Ireh was accurately pinpointing the opponent’s position and pulling the trigger.

“You insolent fools! Ugh!”

I can roughly imagine how it feels to be hit from somewhere you can’t see.

Despite being hit by Ireh’s bullets, Kashu continued to move, dragging his feet. His endurance is extraordinary.

“I’ll kill you, Eidel von Rheinland!”

Well, those Darwin system folks are tough regardless of the reason. Plus, since I told her not to kill him, Ireh was probably fighting while adjusting the power of her spirit bullets.

This is where Ireh Hazlen’s second advantage comes into play.

[— Your body becomes agile due to the ‘Agility Bullet’ effect. (+100%)]

[— Your strength surges due to the ‘Strength Bullet’ effect. (+100%)]

[— Your senses become as acute as a beast’s due to the ‘Beast Bullet’ effect. (+150%)]

Second, support.

In gaming terms, Ireh is a buffer and ranged dealer. She deals decent damage while providing buffs to teammates. Something neither Rustila nor Zernya can do. She’s an essential ability user in this kind of combat.

As the smoke cleared somewhat, I could confirm Kashu’s position. I carefully approached him from behind. Sweat began to bead on my hand holding the calipers.

Good, he hasn’t noticed.

Thwack!

After lightly striking the back of his head, Kashu collapsed limply. The situation ended with a clear and crisp sound.

[— The possession effect has been removed due to the additional effect of ‘Wisdom’s Calipers (A)’]

[— You acquire 3000 Pron as a subjugation reward.]

This was probably the first time I’d hit a person with an A-grade calipers.

From now on, it seems I’ll get Pron not just for defeating monsters but also for subduing people possessed by outer gods. Of course, it naturally had the function of removing possession phenomena.

“Phew, it’s over.”

“What did you hit him with?”

“I used this.”

“Calipers? Don’t tell me an outer god gave it to you?”

“Yes. It’s an artifact. Ordinary people would go crazy just by touching it.”

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity takes pride in his invention.]

“Go crazy just by touching it? And you hit someone’s head with that?”

“It’s a tool that only damages the mind, not physically. Don’t treat me like a madman for hitting hard.”

Ireh stared at me sharply as she spoke.

“If it only affects the mind… Could it be from the Descartes system?”

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity stiffens his expression.]

Oh no. I forgot that she’s more perceptive about outer gods than anyone else in the world.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is displeased.]

Cartesia doesn’t like having his identity revealed to others. Probably because he doesn’t want to be called a pathetic outer god who’s controlled by someone like me.

From a human perspective, I don’t quite understand, but it seems there’s bullying among outer gods over such things.

I looked around while hoisting the collapsed Kashu over my shoulder.

“Now we need to find the ‘Star Egg.'”

“I found it while moving around earlier. This.”

Ireh held out a conical jewel with a reddish glow.

“Of all things, it had to be a red one.”

“Wasn’t there anything else?”

“Unfortunately not.”

I received the Star Egg.

There are seven ‘Star Eggs’ in total. Their locations and types are random each playthrough. However, one is definitely present in both the Adelbein family treasury and the Spirit Church headquarters. And we got the red egg.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Why is the red egg not good?”

“You know too. If you use the red egg…”

I raised my hand to stop Ireh’s words.

“What’s that?”

There was something else that looked like an egg besides the ‘Star Egg.’ It was a semi-solid white object that collapsed into a gelatinous form as soon as I touched it. After some time, it returned to its original shape.

“This is… a ‘Foam Charm’ used by Darwin system outer gods.”

Foam Charm.

It’s an artifact that acts as a kind of signal. Darwin system entities use it to communicate with each other.

“Did he bring this?”

“Probably. We should take this too.”

Research material, more research material, and even more research material. Today’s harvest is more fruitful than expected.

Around four in the morning, Ireh and I tied up Kashu Adelbein tightly and loaded him onto the spaceship we came in. We didn’t forget to hand over the ‘Star Egg’ again.

“You go ahead. I’ll return on the shuttle.”

“Will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine, so hurry.”

After telling Ireh to head to the Southern Spirit Office, I went to the annex and lay down on the bed. When I woke up after sleeping, three hours had passed. I grabbed the doorknob, thinking of excuses for Ireh’s disappearance.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

Jerome was standing there.