Chapter: 19
-“Is this… Shijakumaur?”
-“Ah, yes. You’ve found the right place. Welcome!”
After surviving a hellish overtime rush, Sally finally took a vacation and set out to find the traces of the magic swordsman boy.
The place where he was last seen—Shijakumaur.
Sure, they say he was last spotted here, but that was a whopping 100 years ago. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.
But if it’s true, just thinking about what could happen if she notices it early and supports him made her feet move on their own, ready for the unexpected events to come.
-“So, um, is there anyone named Sword Master Ai who has visited this place?”
-“Sword Master Ai…? Well, that’s my first time hearing that.”
-“He’s the one with the robe covering his face…”
-“Ah! Are you talking about the Wandering Reaper?”
-“…The Wandering Reaper?”
Wandering Reaper. The keyword was something Sally had never heard before in her life, and she tilted her head quizzically.
The man seemed pleased with her response and began to recite the tale of the Wandering Reaper, who even had the audacity to appear before the gods.
-“He was the guardian deity of our village.”
He allegedly saved villagers from danger several times.
They say you could spot him hunting monsters at any given time on the mountain behind the village.
Setting aside the fact that it was a great act of kindness, Sally’s curiosity deepened as she contemplated how his actions were clearly different from those of an ordinary human.
-“Thank you for your kind words. I’d like to explore the village a bit more. Is there anything over there?”
-“There’s a training ground, but it’s pretty much abandoned and unused at the moment.”
-“If it’s not in use now, then it must have been actively used around 100 years ago?”
-“100 years ago…? Yes, according to the village chief, that was the time it was most actively utilized.”
Sally, with a respectful nod, dashed straight to the training ground.
That’s it! In a tiny village where you can barely find a decent facility, it’s the only place a veteran adventurer might stop by.
-“Is that it?”
A vast meadow in bloom with flowers. In the middle of it all stood a shabby gray structure that looked utterly out of place.
It resembled a container, making it quite embarrassing to call it a ‘training ground.’ Still, it at least managed to hide the basics. There was enough situation to look into its usage history.
-“Found it.”
Just as the claim that it had been neglected seemed to be proven true.
When she pulled the records up to the most recent date, she was soon staring at the date she remembered from 100 years ago.
-“User Ai. Died after using the skills One Mind, Dispel Resurrection, and Pain Sharing?”
Sally couldn’t believe her eyes. Even after rubbing them and glancing back over, the result remained unchanged.
Death. And not just any death, but death caused by a scarecrow, for no other reason.
He was part of the Miracle Generation, so he probably survived and came back to life like a phoenix. But to die from something a newbie made just to get a feel for it? That would be tough even for an ordinary person like her.
-‘For now, it would be right to assume he died intentionally using those skills…?’
As a receptionist who’d indirectly experienced adventurers, Sally knew.
The pinnacle of adventurers, S-class adventurers who could stand shoulder to shoulder with knight commanders. Their actions, often fueled by intention with a disastrous ratio among ordinary people, usually boil down to one of two motivations.
There will either be major repercussions, or they’ll be preparing for major repercussions.
-‘So, were there some big repercussions…?’
After the disappearance of S-class adventurer Ai, cases of the Miracle Generation’s vanishing rapidly surged.
But that didn’t seem like a sound reason for someone in a weak state to die. Especially if he was a man who had never died once, even with a body that could resurrect.
-‘Could it be…?’
This thought led Sally to consider a possibility. One of many speculations regarding the mysterious mass disappearance of the Miracle Generation.
So, someone might have replaced their body and could still be hiding among us. This theory, overlooked at the time and treated as a conspiracy, sparkled in her mind.
But what if that wasn’t merely a delusion?
-‘He replaced the scarecrow right after using that skill.’
There wouldn’t be a reason to switch out a dummy that could be repaired instantly after it broke.
It simply vanished. It’s clear that the scarecrow itself disappeared and a new one was placed instead.
-‘Ai… have you been reborn as a scarecrow?’
If that’s the case, it answers the question of ‘why did he hide until now and reveal himself only after 100 years?’
To provide the Miracle Generation with a special body and to avoid the eyes of the beings who once took him in—he needed time.
All the villagers claimed they witnessed him. He neither ate, nor slept, nor rested and was solely focused on hunting. If he was indeed a scarecrow, that would finally make sense.
The fact that a man who was once an S-class adventurer struggled against a mere sparrow turned demon and concealed his identity with a deep-hooded robe?
“Please gather these adventurers in one location for a mission that requires camping along the way. Just say that I applied and joined in.”
“…Yes, yes! I’ll handle it that way!”
After finally getting a second chance at life through all this hassle, Sally gazed longingly at the scarecrow who was once again trying to devote himself to others.
‘The fact that you asked me and not the Master… means you trust and rely on me, right…?’
“Hmm. That girl has honey dripping from her eyes.”
“Oppa… when did you really charm me…?”
“Well, I’d say I’m unaware of it…”
‘Ai, I’ll be your hidden helper…!’
For the first time in her life, Sally felt a rush of pride in what she was doing.
*
Through her roundabout tour, Sally found three betrayers in total. One was a B-class and two were C-class. Funnily enough, they were all thieves.
As expected, it was fortunate that not a single one was above A-class, which was quite a relief.
‘There’s really no reason for someone above A-class to team up with thieves.’
Just look at our Maria—living in such abundance at her age without envying anyone else.
The mansion was inherited from her parents, but even without that legacy, she probably would’ve made something of herself and did well.
There was a quest in the game to switch over to a bandit group. Those who attempted it for fun often found themselves quickly marked and beaten up, resulting in everyone quitting shortly after.
“Brother. If something happens, should I shout for Maria? Maria will come right away.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll just trust Maria.”
I can’t do that, so I’m off heading to scold my coworkers who’ve wandered down the wrong path.
The guild master was a bit strict, so when I asked the more lenient receptionist for help, she gathered them without uttering a word.
‘Why is she so good to me? Well… I’m fine with it, though.’
Maria and Astrea decided to hang around, just keeping an eye on the surroundings to lower the betrayers’ guard until the time came.
Maybe because it was their first time dividing up tasks like this—Maria looked worried about me, like a kid sending another off to a water park. How ironic, since she was the one being anxious!
“I don’t get why it’s such a roundabout hassle. If need be, I could handle this alone!”
“Not yet. I need solid evidence to make sure we pin this on him.”
Though I detailed all the skills and methods to distinguish between comrades and foes, I remained the only one who personally saw the results clearly, and therefore could ascertain that they were indeed traitors.
If we act recklessly without clear evidence regarding the lord’s possible involvement, it could lead to sticky situations, making it even harder on us—not just for me, but for Maria, my witness too.
“Well then, shall we go?”
“Yes. Maria is all set.”
“Oh, I feel all twitchy!”
We made our way to our respective positions.
*
On the night of our mission.
The traitors either wondered why they had been singled out or displayed no particular signs of movement.
Is it so bizarre that three thieves are thrown together in such a frantic mess? Well, considering their stupidity, I guess they deserve each other.
To top it off, while watching my group automatically gather experience points during their idle time, I felt relaxed to the point of yawning.
“Shall we start preparing for camping around here?”
Around this time, the B-class thieves started to share ideas.
As the evening approached and darkness descended upon the land, the atmosphere naturally shifted towards designating a night watch without resistance.
“I have a skill that summons a small building. How about we sleep there?”
“Oh! Is that true?”
“Yeah. Well, calling it a building might be a stretch—it’s more like a structure with just a roof and walls.”
No matter how rickety, can it honestly be worse than a tent?
I shared the good news that it’s possible to sleep indoors. The trio of thieves instantly switched their tones, now all riled up with excitement.
‘Looks like they’re happy.’
They wished for it, and I made it right away.
The trio of betraying thieves had no idea that it was a 30-minute bus tour straight to hell. Rushing in as if even the slightest breeze would make it vanish, they quickly scrambled inside.
‘Well, sleeping’s definitely an option. Definitely.’
As soon as all of them stepped in, they blacked out.
It was hilariously amusing to see them come in all excited and then collapse like a bunch of ragdolls. They all wore typical ninja attire and masks, which just added to the comical effect.
I completed the setup quickly as planned.
Though it’s not an approach I particularly fancy for tutorials, let’s hang in there as it feels oddly fulfilling to finally address the unresolved background stories.
Until we discover the evidence we’re hunting for, sweet dreams to everyone!
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