Chapter 46
'It can't be…'
That was the thought of a man.
It was story of a fairytale, and it should be just an old ruin here.
'Then, why?'
When speaking about what he heard the story of that suspicious man, it was just a waste of time.
Recently, there was no big stuff happening, so he just continued hunting monsters only on every single day.
Hence, he was tired every day.
He wasn't the only one felt tired, his friends were also the same… that was why, he heard that story.
Well, he was really bored, so after listening to the story, he made it sounded like a joke.
'But… why…'
"Hmmm, is this the third one? …It is going smoothly, but it seems that there is a problem with the last one in this situation. If the information of the doc.u.ment is correct, it would be impossible for ordinary people. I have to use my discretion to a certain extent, but… Should I check it once? It's true that those guys are not supposed to make a move yet." (??)
Despite of such a thought, the man's line of sight was naturally directed to it.
Whether it was to arrange the thoughts, the man continued talking about something on purpose since earlier.
It was full of gaps in a first glance.
However, the man for some reason didn't think that it was full of gaps. He was just surprised when looking at it.
He didn't try to pick up a sword that rolled on the floor, and… he didn't even try to defeat the enemies of his companions.
"Well, for the time being, I should move on, right? If it looks pointless, maybe there would be something when I think about this again at that time." (??)
And then, the man left that place.
As expected, the man wasn't able to do anything…
"Aah, yes. It seems that you have left a correct answer after all. Anyhow, it is not necessary to do anything troublesome. I heard a bit about your story, but… you are trying to make joke of the matter this time, right? Actually, that is splendid. Let me ask you guys one favor. Aah, by all means, please spread the story. …with plenty of ambience… about me, and this matter. Well then, I leave it to you." (??)
Until those figures disappeared, nothing could be done other than watching their backs while trembling at the same time.
—
The next day, Soma's group decided to leave the town early.
To put it simply, there was no meaning to remain in this place.
At the beginning, they were considering to stay here as adventurers for a while, but it were obvious since it was no longer necessary.
The time now should be called early in the morning. In the outskirts of the town, there were three people of Soma's group, Sheila and Doris.
"Well then, I'm sorry about this, but please take care of Sheila." (Doris)
"Hmm, is it really alright to let us take care of her?" (Soma)
"Well… no matter what I say, we only need to get to know about you, right? Can you trust us on that?" (Aina)
"I won't be a subst.i.tute of guild officials if I can identify people to a certain extent. Besides, Sheila is the one who wants this. Well, if we are deceived by you guys, it means nothing but I don't have discerning eyes. As for thinking of Sheila reasonably… just think of me as her acting agent, alright?" (Doris)
"Isn't that a serious responsibility…?" (Lina)
"…Yes, I will work hard." (Sheila)
"Don't you feel strange when it comes to someone else affairs?" (Aina)
As for Soma's group and Sheila, they were not in relations.h.i.+p to the point of splitting up, but Sheila and Doris who never splitting up, easily doing so.
Although Soma's group immediately got into the carriage, they were more surprised.
According to their talks, it seemed that they had been together for the past several years, but… Doris didn't seem to mind too much. They probably had something that only they know.
Anyhow, the carriage was arranged by Doris.
The coachman was also arranged as well. It seemed that Doris would take care of all costs.
Apparently, this would be a farewell gift for Sheila who was about to go on a journey.
Doris thought that Sheila would come back when the searching of the ancient ruin ended, or maybe there was something else would’ve happened.
Whether it was an acceptable story for Soma's group or not, they didn't care too much… They quietly decided to enjoy the benefits after all.
In any case, Soma's group left the town called Yeasta.
—
As one would expect, it might because the carriage was arranged by the subst.i.tute of guild officials, the trip going there was comfortable.
Well, strictly speaking, Soma didn't know about other kinds of carriages.
In any case, Soma's group was walking all the way from the mansion until Yeasta.
By making comparison to the previous life, he didn't know the common knowledge in this world.
But then, since it was certainly comfortable, he was fine with anything.
"Hmmm, in other words, you were told by chance, and you had been there, right?" (Soma)
"…Yes." (Sheila)
In order to be in a good term while they were having spare time on this comfortable journey, Soma's group learned the details from Sheila again.
It was unexpected since Sheila talked easily this time…
"How should I say this… I feel more suspicious." (Aina)
"… I will not deny that. …Or perhaps you should say that it is really suspicious." (Sheila)
"Is it alright for you to say that yourself?" (Lina)
According to Sheila, she found out about the ruin by chance.
She went to Lumberg for work, and while having dinner at a bar, a strange man began talking to her.
The man wore a black robe with a hidden face. If it was in a first sight,
Those words were conveyed along with the information of the ruin which was nearby.
Sheila mentioned that the man knew about its existence but it was impossible for him to go into the deeper part. However, since it was wasteful to leave it uncheck, he told about it to somehow who could do it.
"As for the compensation earning a partner, if you successfully capture what is there, he will tell you what is really happening there, is it? Well, he didn't even try to hide the suspiciousness." (Soma)
"…Yes. …But, it is true that there is no one around that town that can break through there." (Sheila)
"If there is a possibility, that would be if Sheila is together with someone equal to you, is it?" (Aina)
Sheila realized that fact the moment she stepped in the ruin.
There was no reason but a simple intuition. However, she believed that she had made right decision.
"Since there was no other partner suitable in Lumberg, Sheila-san returned with the information, but there is also something that I don't understand… If that's the case, I think it is better if you go to royal capital…" (Lina)
"Rather than finding an equal partner, it would be better if the partner is reliable… No, if the other person is an eccentric person, she would already been to the royal capital, but there is also possibility to gather such a person, right?" (Aina)
"I don't say that it is impossible, but… I just had a hunch, after all." (Sheila)
Well, no matter how they thought, there was only suspicion. On the contrary, there was also a possibility.
Even if there were some kind of traps, it was probably easy to understand.
"…Well, anyhow, if there is a trap, we'll just break through it every time, and it's all good. In that kind of place, there is certainly a possibility that some kind of clue is sleeping." (Soma)
"…Yes." (Sheila)
By the way, they also had no doubt about the possibility of Sheila was lying, but since she easily conveyed the information, they understood that possibility didn't exist.
After all, they couldn't feel that she was lying.
Even so, if Sheila was lying, they had no choice but to give up.
Doris wasn't there, and since they had no discerning eyes, they had no choice but to make a brute force break through.
Well, in other words, even if it was a lie, it didn't change where they were heading to.
"By the way, is it no good if you go together with Doris-san?" (Aina)
"…Doris is not having enough strength." (Sheila)
"You clearly said that, huh… well, it seems that Doris also understand it." (Lina)
When they heard the story from Sheila, Doris was certainly looked like she had given up for some reason.
Soma guessed that was the reason why Doris didn't tell the whole things herself.
Or maybe, she might have known the difference in strength.
Of course, Soma's group didn't know since when it happened that way.
"…Even if that man lied, there was nothing much that I could do. …Doris wasn't there anyway." (Sheila)
"Do you mean that there is no meaning to feel anxious? Well, you surely are right." (Soma)
"Aah, in case it is a lie, I want to ask one thing, is that alright?" (Aina)
"…It depend on content?" (Sheila)
Accordingly, Soma and Lina were looking at each other as if they were trying to guess what Aina wanted to ask.
Well, it wasn't like they wanted to stop her, but it would be a lie if they said that they didn't care at all.
While quietly looking at the progress of the situation, Aina opened her mouth as expected.
"I have heard that the Elves can't lie, is that true? Ah, this may look trivial, but you can say nothing if you don't want to say it, right? If that's the truth, we will not know if you don't say it." (Aina)
"…Yes, I have no problem. …The answer is although that is not a mistake, it is not correct either." (Sheila)
"What do you mean by that?" (Lina)
"…The Elves certainly can't lie. …But that is decided by the law. … It is not because we can't say." (Sheila)
"Law… is it not a contract?" (Aina)
"…Yes." (Sheila)
Soma also tried to arrange his thoughts while nodding.
Other than listening to the talk, it was also used for killing time.
"Hmmm… so that means thanks to the contract with the higher Spirits, the Elves have high apt.i.tude in magic, but that's not the real reason?" (Soma)
"…That also is not a mistake?" (Sheila)
"Eh, what do you mean?" (Lina)
"…Because the Elves was originally a kind of Spirit? A lot of things happened, and they became the Elves… and I heard such a story." (Sheila)
"What is that… this is the first time I hear it, but…!?" (Aina)
"Aah… Is it because I am a person who can't talk about it?" (Sheila)
"You were talking about it, but will that be alright!?" (Lina)
With this and that, rather than being bored during the travel, they were able to spend time happy.
The carriage was occasionally attacked by monsters, but there was no problem because Soma's group was there.
Originally, it seemed necessary to have escorts, but since the monsters didn't really stop them, they were able to smoothly proceed, and a week pa.s.sed in a blink of an eye.
—
"Hmmm… is this the ancient ruin?" (Soma)
Soma's group had arrived at the ancient ruin.
The exterior part was exactly looked like an archaeological site, and there was a gate from previous era stood before them.
The size was quite large. It could easily surpa.s.s five meters.
Although the place was certainly outside of the town, it shouldn't go unnoticed if such a thing existed.
Even so, based on the range that Sheila could verify, she couldn't know anything much, and… that was due to the a barrier that inhibited recognition.
If one didn't know the existence of this ruin, it wasn't possible to notice its existence even by using magic.
It was this kind of thing.
"Say… We are able to confirm that the ruin is here, but is it alright not to take a break for short time?" (Aina)
Aina raised such a question because we came here directly after we reached Lumberg.
Well, there was some truth in that, but…
"Sure, if you are tired, but… are you tired after getting to this place?" (Soma)
"Not really. If you ask me, I'm not tired at all, but…" (Aina)
"Me too." (Lina)
"…Same." (Sheila)
"Same goes to me. So, do we have any problems?" (Soma)
"Although we are not tired, we haven't done enough preparation, right? (Aina)
"… But, I'm not sure what kind of necessary preparation in the first place." (Sheila)
"That's because you don't know the specific details about the ruin, right?" (Lina)
That was the real fact.
Of course, they had done minimum preparation, but they didn't know what other things needed to be prepared.
Speaking of ancient ruins, the contents inside were varied, and necessary preparations also changed accordingly.
There was a possibility n.o.body had entered the ruin. Moreover, maximum vigilance also necessary since there was also a possibility of traps, but without minimum amount of information, there was nothing much they could do.
"Well, there is no point worrying. We'll just use the approach of wait and see. That's because information gathering is important.
"…Right. Well, it's all good if we all agreed to that." (Aina)
Although Aina said so, she probably expected that from the start.
Still, she asked for it because she wanted to confirm.
In a place where they didn't know what was there, it was important to have common understanding among party members.
This wasn't specifically about Sheila. It was just that Soma's group members were not completely able to understand each other yet.
Although this might sounded trivial and unneeded, it wasn't pointless to do so.
For Aina who took the initiative to do such a thing, she was a very welcoming presence…
"Thanks, Aina." (Soma)
"…I'm not sure what's inside, you know? It's just that I am concerned when I heard about this ruin." (Aina)
While saying that, she looked away with loosened mouth.
However, from here onward, they couldn't afford to be distracted.
"Well then, shall we proceed?" (Soma)
After confirming the other three nodded with focused mind, Soma leaded everyone to the ruin.
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TLN: