Chapter 14: Cowards (4)

[14] 2. Cowards (4)

It was a sight as if the saturation had been turned up to the max.

The magical lamps, which had been almost colorless, now painted the stone floor with a bluish light, and the faces, frozen in shock, were ghostly pale. The black robes didn’t look black anymore; they just looked like holes in the world.

And a pool of crimson blood embraced it all.

Clara, her face white as a sheet, reached out and touched the pool of blood. The blood clung to her hand stickily.

“It seems like they died only a few hours ago.”

“…What about the murderer?”

“I don’t think they’re nearby. But…”

Clara wiped the blood off her hands with a handkerchief and narrowed her eyes.

“…They were quite skilled. There’s no sign of resistance.”

No signs of resistance. Meaning they didn’t know anything before they got a hole in their necks.

Six necromancers, killed instantly, in one spot.

“…An assassin who killed six necromancers in this narrow passage…”

Amy’s face hardened as she spoke. Placing her chin on her hand, she turned to look at me.

“…!”

But she immediately lowered her gaze, her shoulders trembling. It was a stark contrast to her calm demeanor just a moment ago.

In the end, it was Parsley who spoke.

“Rem, any idea who it could be?”

I shook my head.

“None whatsoever.”

An assassin who could take out necromancers in an instant? I’ve never even heard of such a thing. Especially not around here.

Parsley thought about my answer for a moment before turning to me and asking,

“So, what do we do? Should we press on? Or try to find a different route?”

…Why is she asking me that?

If they’re the hero party, shouldn’t she be asking the hero?

But when I looked around, Clara, Irene, and even Amy were looking at me, at least out of the corner of their eyes.

They were clearly waiting for my answer.

It was a confusing situation, but I tried to think it through.

The answer came to me quickly.

“I think it would be better to keep moving forward.”

The assassin’s existence was a threat, but the necromancers chasing us from behind were a clear and present danger.

“I agree. If we turn back now, the necromancers will find us right away.”

Irene, who seemed to have the same thought, chimed in, and Parsley nodded without hesitation.

“Right, let’s go.”

…It was an agreement devoid of even the slightest objection.

Was this also because of their guilt?

Something related to my missing limbs?

Again, unsettling thoughts filled my head.

“Ah, but before we go…”

Irene’s voice snapped me out of it. I turned to see her crouching in front of the corpses.

“Before we go, we should check their pockets, shouldn’t we? There might be something useful.”

Ah, right.

Looting.

I almost forgot the most important thing.

“Of course. I’ll help.”

“Then, can I help too?”

I couldn’t help but shudder as Clara came up next to me. Her face was full of smiles.

Looking away, I said,

“It’s okay, Clara. Please rest.”

“Being with you is my way of resting.”

Her bright tone and smile were a stark contrast to this bloody scene.

But it made me uncomfortable.

This was because Clara last night was so different from the one I remembered.

Plus, my head was still filled with unsettling thoughts.

I didn’t want to deal with Clara, or any of the other party members, in this messy state.

“…Hold on a minute, both of you. Can you come here?”

Thankfully, help arrived quickly.

Irene suddenly turned to us, her expression serious. I approached her, curious, and she showed me a blood-stained necklace.

It was a metal plate with the engraving of an eagle taking flight. Strangely, the eagle had three legs.

“Do you recognize this symbol?”

I shook my head.

“Not at all. Clara, do you…”

But when I looked at Clara, my words trailed off.

“Well, I don’t recognize it either.”

On the surface, she really seemed to know nothing. Her face was full of innocence.

But I could see a familiar gleam in her eyes.

That mischievous glint she had whenever she was playing a prank on me or teasing me.

I felt both a sense of nostalgia and uneasiness.

“But I’ll take it with me for now. A knowledgeable priest might recognize it.”

And then, smiling, Clara took the necklace.

***

Clevens, the baldy, once said to me,

[You’re a workaholic, Rem. A psychopath who can’t stand it when he’s not working. I bet you’d freak out if we don’t cause any trouble.]

Of course, that was bullshit.

This was proven by the fact that he said that after I returned alone from a drinking session with a client while we were on a bodyguard mission.

But there was a some truth to his words.

I definitely had a side to me that couldn’t stand peace. It was thanks to having my life beaten out of me many times.

In my experience, peace was always the calm before a disaster, and comfort was a close companion of pain.

If I had more than three peaceful days in a row, I’d sleep with my sword in my arms. And of course, I’d wake up at the slightest sound.

…Again, Clevens’ words were only partially true. I wasn’t a psychopath.

Anyway.

I definitely had that side to me.

And that was why I was going crazy right now.

Three days in the underground passage, and four days since we came out.

A total of seven days.

And nothing had happened.

When I say ‘nothing had happened’, I mean it literally.

We exited the underground passage, and we’ve been traveling by carriage ever since, without a problem.

The necromancers?

I haven’t even seen their shadows, let alone smelled the stench of the undead.

The forest, entering autumn, was just filled with a humid, sweet scent.

All those necromancers had disappeared.

As if they had suddenly given up on everything.

But if they were going to give up, then why did they even bother to set up that elaborate trap? Mobilizing so many people couldn’t have been an easy task for them.

Just what are they up to… Ah, damn it.

I tapped my head and pushed aside the thoughts that were pointless.

And, taking the reins of the carriage, I tried to focus on more practical thoughts.

…Though even those practical thoughts were something I’d been going over for the past seven days.

And that thought was framed as a question.

Are the members of the hero party, my old friends, acting this way because they feel guilty about my missing limbs?

…

And despite my week-long effort, the answer to that question remained unchanged.

I was almost certain that they did.

There was no other reason for them to act like this. It was strange that it had taken me this long to realize.

No, it’s not that strange.

They had sworn right before me.

That they would never mention it.

They swore on their honor, on their gods, and on their children.

But how did they manage to keep their mouths shut, when all three of them…?!

“Sigh…”

I let out the heat that was rising inside me.

No, that’s not what’s important right now.

There was something else I needed to think about.

How do I clear up this misunderstanding?

The first thing that came to mind was a direct confrontation.

Tell them that my amnesia is a lie, and clear up the misunderstanding about the past.

The cleanest method, with no lingering issues.

But I soon realized that it was impossible.

That night when Amy cut her wrist…

They had all, in their own ways, refused to talk about my past. More accurately, their reactions were violent.

As if they were terrified of me regaining my memory.

Clara might have seemed calm, but her reaction was far from normal.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of disaster that might occur if I acted rashly.

I had to choose a more subtle method.

But damn it, how do you clear up a misunderstanding subtly?

“Lost in thought again today, aren’t we?”

“Whoa!”

I almost rolled off the driver’s seat in surprise. I barely managed to grab hold of the railing and looked at the woman who had suddenly appeared.

“M-Ms. Irene?”

“…You didn’t get surprised when I *tried* to scare you. But now you’re acting like the world is ending.”

Irene had a grumpy look on her face. I was too surprised to even react.

I barely managed to sit back down and asked,

“Just when did you get here?”

“Since you started stroking your chin with a serious look on your face.”

“…But why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice me. But then I got bored.”

…I reevaluated my impression of Irene.

She wasn’t just strange, she also had a wicked side to her.

After calming my pounding heart, I looked at Irene and asked,

“So, what do you want? You seem to have time for pranks, so I’m guessing it’s not urgent…”

“Because it’s time for me to get an answer.”

An answer?

As my face was filled with confusion, Irene frowned.

“About the prosthetic body. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about it?”

Ah.

I had forgotten about it because my head was too full of thoughts about the hero party.

Scratching my head awkwardly, I said,

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been myself lately…”

“…No, I was thinking that it might be a rude question anyway.”

Irene lowered her gaze before looking back up at me.

“So I’ll ask you again. Would it be alright if I asked how you got a prosthetic body?”

Irene’s eyes were strangely serious. As if she had been carrying that question for years, not just a week.

I scratched my head and peeked inside the carriage.

Fortunately, all three of them were asleep.

Maybe it was because they had been staying up late lately, doing whatever it was they were doing at night.

Anyway, there was no need to worry about them overhearing.

I turned back to Irene and said,

“Where should I start?”

“…What?”

I shrugged.

“As you can see, I have more than one prosthetic. In what order would you like me to explain? From top to bottom? Or bottom to top?”

Irene stared at me in confusion for a moment before shaking her head and answering,

“Bottom to top, please.”

“Alright. Just a moment…”

I nodded and started going over what I would tell her. It didn’t take long.

“I lost my leg fighting a barbarian woman. My hand was cut off when I killed a noble’s vicious hunting dog. I had my heart taken out by some crazy organ harvesting lunatic. I burned my vocal cords after accidentally drinking the wrong potion. And an inquisitor gouged out my eyes when I was caught stealing from a church.”

“…”

Irene seemed to be at a loss for words.

After a moment of stammering, she managed to say,

“…You didn’t have a heart…?”

“Isn’t it amazing? Sometimes I wonder how I’m even alive.”

Irene was speechless again.

This time, it took her a while to recover.

She placed her hand on her forehead and said,

“If you don’t mind, could you elaborate…”

“Biiiig brooo!!”

I reflexively turned my head. I could see a familiar face running towards us from the distance.

“Feya…?”

Feya, in a messy state, was running towards us.

And beyond her, I could vaguely see our destination.

Axolotl, the city of high walls.

The end of our journey was near.