𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏𝟓: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞
The sound of a flute can be heard.
From somewhere.
ㅤ
It’s a sound that soothes the soul immensely.
Anxieties about the future, discontent with the present, and regrets about the past all seem to vanish as if dissolving into the darkness of the night.
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Yes, what was I brooding over?
Isn’t peace the best?
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There’s no need to put myself in a battle.
People fight because they ask for too much. Being content with what we have now is enough. It’s fine to keep living as we are now.
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There’s no need to change anything.
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Today is a continuation of yesterday, tomorrow is a repetition of today.
Isn’t that fine?
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“Urghh~.”
“What theee?!”
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Suddenly awakened by intense pain.
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Or rather, forcefully awakened.
Looking down, there’s a knife stuck in my left forearm.
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“Are you awake now?”
“Hey, what are you doing? That’s not funny, you know?”
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Pointing alternately at the knife and the culprit Salieri, I blurted out.
I didn’t do anything so bad as to be stabbed by a teammate in the middle of the night.
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“I can’t help it~. It’s Nelnel’s fault~.”
“What on earth have I done?!”
“You wouldn’t wake up even with a wake-up spell. Your life force was leaking a bit.”
“What?”
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What’s the situation?
Not waking up with a wake-up spell isn’t normal. Adventurers, for one, are conditioned to wake up immediately even from deep sleep in response to sudden changes.
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So, I should wake up with just a light shake or a call in my ear.
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“I didn’t hurt any major blood vessels.”
“Ah. I’m fine. My hand is moving properly. Please explain the situation, Salieri.”
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At my words, Salieri nodded lightly and began to explain.
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The sound of the flute started to be heard from midnight.
Everyone seemed to have gone strange from that point on. They wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I shook them or called out to them, and a bit of life force was leaking from their bodies.
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This phenomenon wouldn’t occur with ordinary magic.
So, it means that there is some magic or technology involved that even Salieri doesn’t understand. In other words, it’s the work of the devil.
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“Judging from the amount of life force leakage, I don’t think we’re going to die right away or get sick all of a sudden tomorrow.”
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However, it would be best to discuss countermeasures as soon as possible.
It’s not a good idea to waste the approximately four periods (eight hours) until dawn.
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“Good judgment, Salieri.”
“It hurt, didn’t it? Sorry.”
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She patted my head, but the wound remained.
Because if she heal it with spirit magic, I might fall asleep again.
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In other words, I’m maintaining my awakened state due to the intense pain of having a knife stuck in my arm.
It’s a desperate measure, not something you can do to the other members.
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“By the way, why is Salieri fine?”
“I’m an elf, so mental magic doesn’t affect me.”
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Dark elves are handy, huh.
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ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
I depart from the inn with Salieri.
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As anticipated, I removed the knife from my left arm and only applied basic first aid to stop the bleeding. It’s not throbbing in pain, as it’s distracting, but it’s troublesome when moving around with the knife still stuck.
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“Amazing. It’s as silent as death.”
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Ordinarily, the night is a peaceful time because everyone is asleep.
Especially in rural areas, I suppose. The day’s work starts at dawn, leaving no time for staying up late.
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However, it’s different in cities referred to as the royal capital or county capital.
There are plenty of pubs, brothels, and gambling establishments, and many of them remain open until morning, not just late at night.
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“If there’s no one around here, you might think it’s okay to be naked on the main street.”
“You don’t have to test that, okay?”
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I need to caution Salieri, who makes such an absurd statement.
Where did she even get that idea?
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“Do you think the devil is aware of our movements?”
“I can’t say for certain.”
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Hundreds of thousands of people live here in Asley alone. Even with the power of the devil, it would be impossible to monitor all of them.
But at the same time, it would be noticeable if only the two of us were awake and moving around among hundreds of thousands.
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“So we don’t know if our data is known, but it feels like our movements are observed?”
“That seems the most likely scenario.”
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I nod to Salieri, who speaks nonchalantly.
Her tone is always playful, but her remarks are sensible, so we can use it as a basis for planning our actions.
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“Let’s investigate where the leaking life force or energy is heading.”
“Just investigate?”
“Because the two of us alone can’t do much more than that.”
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Salieri, a magical swordsman with the innate talent of a hero, is undoubtedly strong, but her abilities are limited when she acts alone.
That’s just how it is.
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Of course, I also consider myself a swordsman of sorts, but storming into the devil’s headquarters with just the two of us is out of the question.
Salieri begins walking in the direction she indicated.
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“What we can do together is like a romantic escapade.”
“That won’t contribute even a little bit to resolving the situation.”
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What would running away hand in hand achieve?
It’s a bit too innovative to claim we ran away together just because an incident occurred.
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“If you’re with me, it won’t be difficult.”
“Alright, alright. Let’s work towards a brighter future.”
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We exchange jokes as we walk for a while.
And what comes into view is the blackened castle of Grand Duke Shumok in the darkness.
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“As expected, we were heading toward the castle. No surprises or anything.”
“Well, it would be a problem if there were any surprises here.”
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At Salieri’s nonchalant remark, I shrugged my shoulders.
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