episode_0073

The address of the house where Iris lived as a child was in a residential area where commoners lived far from the center of the city.

I heard from Iris that Dominic made a living by hunting, so I thought it might be a rural village far from the city.

Just like the village where I first experienced battle when I came to this world and was on the brink of death.

Most of the buildings clustered in residential areas are old, but they have been continuously touched by people, so even though they are old, they do not feel shabby.

But these days, perhaps because nobles spend most of their time in their mansions or luxury hotels, the ordinary houses where commoners live look shabby.

If I hadn’t spent the night at the campsite, it might have felt a lot more shabby.

However, seeing the smiles on the faces of the people living here made me feel ashamed of myself for disparaging this place as shabby.

“I don’t think it’s much different from when I was young. Huh? That tea shop still exists. The castella sold there was really delicious.”

“Then shall we stop by when we get back?”

“Yes, I think that would be good. ah! The tree in that park is the tree he planted with his friends. It has grown tremendously while I haven’t seen it.”

Iris was lost in memories while actively looking around.

We listened closely to what Iris had to say about various things and shared her precious memories.

I was worried that Laura might be in a bad mood because it reminded her of her hometown, but fortunately it was all unfounded.

Laura actually responded better to Iris’s words than I did, and I looked at it with satisfaction.

Iris, who had been talking non-stop with excitement, looked a little lonely when she saw a group of children running around and giggling.

“I don’t know if my friends will remember me.”

“It hasn’t been 10 years yet, so I guess you still remember it to some extent?”

“I hope so. Because they were all good friends.”

Iris put her hands together and expressed a small amount of hope.

I also hope that Iris’s old friends remember her.

I would feel really sad if no one remembered me.

After stopping for a moment, we walked down the lively road again and arrived in front of the house where Iris lived.

Unfortunately, Iris’s old house was shabby because it had not been maintained at all, and all kinds of weeds were overgrown in the garden.

In addition, the front door of the house was half broken and shaking, all the windows were broken long ago, and there were holes in the roof and walls that had collapsed.

In this situation, the people living next door may also be suffering due to the unsanitary and crime-ridden condition of the house.

“It’s a mess as expected.”

“Iris…”

Laura and I hugged Iris, who was very disappointed.

Iris cried a little, but held it back without shedding any tears.

I actually felt sorry for Iris, who was trying hard not to cry.

“Let’s go inside first. You might discover something important.”

“Yes, Rebecca.”

After checking the surroundings through the map window, I took Laura and Iris and entered the house that looked like it was about to collapse.

There was a musty, moldy smell and a disgusting rotten smell, and the floor was infested with rats and bugs.

The stairs going up to the second floor were all rickety, so it seemed like if you took a wrong step, they would break right away and cause injury.

“Looking at the lack of furniture left and alcohol bottles and cigarette butts rolling around, it looks like gangsters used it as a hideout. The trash here was recently thrown away.”

“That’s right. I guess no one has taken care of Iris’s family since they moved to Maxian’s mansion.”

“If I’m going to leave it like this, I’d rather sell it. I don’t know why I kept holding on to it. It’s not a place where you can really benefit.”

“They might be hiding something bad.”

“I have to ask Iris if there is a basement or something.”

Laura went to Iris, who was looking elsewhere by herself.

In the meantime, I searched around what was supposed to be the living room, but found nothing special.

It was just full of trash, dirt, and pests.

I didn’t come here to see cockroaches moving in perfect order.

“Rebecca! Come this way!”

I quickly ran to Iris, who called me in a loud voice.

I thought something dangerous had happened, but all it took was Laura and Iris to leave the door to the basement open.

“There really was a basement?”

“Yes, it used to be a warehouse. There was a lot of luggage piled up on top, so Laura and I cleaned it out together. But the atmosphere is different from the basement I used to know.”

“In what ways are they different?”

“Originally the stairs were made of wood, but now they are made of bricks. And the walls used to be just dirt, but now they have plaster on them.”

Iris looked a little embarrassed by the fact that it looked different from the basement she remembered.

The house I lived in as a child has become an abandoned house, but only the basement shows signs of new human touch, so it makes sense.

“Someone must have tampered with the basement. There don’t seem to be any enemies, but there might be a trap. Laura, can you check?”

“Yes, Rebecca. Please leave it to me.”

Laura checked for traps like she did at the mobile headquarters, but fortunately there were no such dangerous ones.

We went down the safe stairs and entered the basement.

There was no moisture in the basement, and there was no mold or bugs to be seen. Even the rats and bugs that were swarming on the first floor did not dare to enter the basement.

It is clear that a special substance or some kind of magic was used to keep pests away.

The basement was empty, so it seemed like there would be no harvest here either, but behind the stairs there was an unusual door made of granite.

“This door never existed before.”

“Is it like a secret base of a mercenary group?”

“No one would build such an important facility in the basement of an abandoned house that just anyone can come and go.”

“Then what is it?”

“Hmm… You’ll figure it out once you get into it, right?”

Laura tried to open the door with those words, but of course it wouldn’t budge.

No matter how strong she was, it was impossible for her to open the thick door made of granite on her own.

So I tried to open the door with the power of my magic armor, but this time, the door didn’t move at all.

“What on earth is this? Why doesn’t it open?”

“The output of the magic armor may be insufficient, or it may need to be opened using a magical method. If it is the latter, it can never be opened unless certain conditions are met.”

“It’s magic… Doesn’t anyone among us know much about magic?”

Laura just nodded silently in response to my question.

Although magic tools are widely used, there are only a few people who know much about magic, so it is inevitable.

However, going back to this state is too wasteful and I get no results, so I feel sorry for Iris.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have put too much hope in Iris.

“This is…”

“Iris, do you think you know something?”

“Mom’s name is engraved below this.”

“Natalia? Is this your mother’s name?”

“Yes, the meaning of the name Natalia is… Huh? Why does the door suddenly open?”

The door, which had not budged no matter what she did, opened very softly as soon as Iris said her mother’s name.

Seeing as there was no reaction when I said the name, it seems to be a structure that opens with some kind of voice recognition system.

In other words, there is a spell that opens when you say Natalia’s name in Iris’s voice.

I don’t know the exact principle, but anyway, the door has opened thanks to Iris, so I have to go inside and find out what the hidden space beyond the door is.

In the secret room, there was an altar made of marble, and a sarcophagus was placed on it.

And around the sarcophagus, withered flowers and completely melted candles were placed at regular intervals.

It appears to have been maintained until now, but has been abandoned for some time.

“This was a tomb.”

“That’s right. It’s probably my mother’s grave.”

Iris spoke calmly and approached the sarcophagus.

It was obvious who built this tomb and who maintained it until now.

It must be Iris’ father, Dominic.

So, it has not been managed since he died.

However, I don’t know why the document was in the safe of Darius’ mercenaries.

It’s possible that Dominic simply entrusted the document to a mercenary group, but at this point when the document is in Iris’s hands, it’s not particularly important to find out what happened, so I’ll just skip it.

And for now, the priority is to express condolences to her mother, who willingly sacrificed her life for Iris, so let’s think about other things later.

While I was being polite in front of the sarcophagus, Iris approached the sarcophagus and opened the lid to check inside.

I wanted to stop him, but I couldn’t because I felt the strong force in Iris’ eyes.

When Iris whined, those of us who were less able to help helped, and the lid of the heavy sarcophagus was pushed diagonally, revealing half of the inside.

Inside the thick sarcophagus were the remains of a person who had already turned into a mummy.

There seemed to be no way to know who it was in this state, but Iris was able to identify him by looking at the grave goods included with the remains.

Through the eye patch in her hand, I was able to immediately see whose remains were in the sarcophagus.

It was Iris’s mother, Natalia.

“Mom… I’m here. This is mother and daughter Iris. Because of me, mom… I’m so sorry!”

Iris eventually began to shed the tears she had been holding back.

I couldn’t even imagine how much it would hurt Iris to see the remains of her mother, who willingly gave up her life for her, and who had no remnants of her life left.

I don’t know what to say to comfort you.

What did Iris do wrong to have to continue to experience this kind of tragedy?

“Mom, why was I the only one who survived? My mom and dad have both left, so why am I the only one… I miss my mom so much. I wish you could hug me at least once.”

Iris stroked Natalia’s remains with her hands and cried as if pleading.

I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer, and neither could Laura.

We cried for Iris and held her tightly until she came out of her deep sorrow.

I wanted to comfort Iris and give her strength, even in this way.

So we cried for a long time.

“Mom, this is Rebecca. This is someone I truly love and someone I want to marry in the future. I am living happily thanks to Rebecca. So, don’t worry, mom, and rest well in heaven. Got it?”

After finally calming down, Iris linked arms with me and introduced me to her mother.

I wasn’t used to talking to the dead, but I decided to set the tone for Iris.

“That… mother-in-law. I will take responsibility for taking care of Iris, so please trust me. Although I am a lacking person with many unreliable aspects, I will do my best.”

“Rebecca, thank you so much. Thanks to you, I was able to meet my mom again.”

“No. It’s thanks to our efforts together.”

I kissed Iris lightly and hugged her tightly.

I hope there will no longer be days when Iris sheds tears of sadness.

“Mom, I’ll go now. I’ll come again next time, so don’t feel too bad. Hello, Mom.”

After saying goodbye, Iris tried to close the lid of the sarcophagus again, and this time we helped her.

Although it was a short reunion, Iris said everything she wanted to say and even smiled at me as if she felt relieved from crying so much.

“I was really worried about what would happen if I couldn’t find my mom, but I’m glad my dad collected my mom’s body. My dad was definitely a bad person, but I feel at ease because his love for my mom is sincere.”

“I was also very worried that Maxian might have it. I’m glad your father ended things well as you said. Oh, how about we rebuild this house?”

“Rather, I think it would be better to move my mother to another place and then sell the house papers. I have no desire to live here again. And I think it would be better for Mom to be buried in a proper grave, not in a remote basement like this.”

“I will follow whatever you want.”

“Thank you, Rebecca. There’s no need to rush, so I’ll ask you once this matter is finished.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

I patted Iris’s head sincerely as she tried to move forward without dwelling on the past.

It may be difficult to decide to part ways with a home that holds happy memories from your childhood, but I think it’s amazing that you’re putting it into action.

Actually, I was planning on rebuilding this house and gifting it to Iris, but now I just have to worry about moving Natalia.

“Let’s get out of the basement now. I wanted to see the sunlight.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

I held Iris’s hand and went out and left the abandoned house.

Iris looked at the house for a moment and then turned around without hesitation.

I saw Iris’ expression change several times in that short period of time.

There is still a lot of time left until the appointment time set by Maxian, so it might be a good idea to go to the cafe Iris mentioned.

With that in mind, we tried to move, but a group of people blocked our path.

Feeling anxious, I put my hand on my holster and Laura did the same.

But Iris froze in place without any movement.

Who on earth are these people and why does Iris look so scared?