Chapter 57

"As a believer of the Observer, I ask you, are you Lord Tanton?"

I was startled to see the old man suddenly mentioning my name.

I had only seen his face in passing back then, but I had never actually conversed with this old man.

How does he know my name?

"...How do you know my name?"

"The Observer knows everything. Therefore, I, who devoutly believes in the Observer, also know everything with his teachings."

I asked how he knew, and he's still promoting his cult even in this situation?

No matter how I thought about it, it didn't make sense, so I looked at the Branch Manager, who sighed and said:

"He's been calling your name enthusiastically since he first arrived."

...I couldn't understand what was going on.

No matter how I thought about it, there shouldn't have been a chance for my name to leak out to ordinary citizens...

Oh, but there was.

When I accidentally blew the Party Flute wrong and Bell was summoned to the Furnace, I intervened and ended up becoming a hero of Rondan due to the distorted story.

At that time, it would have been possible for people to learn my name.

How to succeed in a cult: you need to be good at gaslighting.

I realized this is how cults thrive, by confusing vulnerable people in this way.

I almost fell for it.

The Observer, my foot.

"If the Observer is so omnipotent, didn't he tell you how to escape from the knights?"

"He said I had to come here inevitably to meet you. This is all fate, he said!"

What fate? He's just whining because he wants to meet me.

The more I listen, the more ridiculous this old man seems.

"Anyway, there's no time. You must quickly go down the 'Underground Stairs' at the entrance of Rondan and deal with the heretics!"

Underground Stairs?

Heretics?

As far as I know, there are only two staircases leading underground in Rondan: the stairs behind Simtol Blacksmith and the stairs leading to the underground prison.

Moreover, heretics?

I looked at the Branch Manager, but he just shook his head with a grim expression, apparently hearing this for the first time too.

Then the conclusion is clear.

"These are all things I'm hearing for the first time. Shouldn't we just ignore it, thinking it's just the words of a cultist?"

"I called you just in case... I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"No, life is about being careful of 'just in case' scenarios, so your judgment was wise, Branch Manager."

The Branch Manager looked at me with slightly impressed eyes even at this superficial remark.

I don't understand why people here are still so sentimental while living in such a harsh place.

Anyway, I saluted the Branch Manager and was about to leave.

"W-Wait a moment, Lord Tanton!"

Oh, how persistent.

His hands were even trembling, seeming to be suffering from severe cult addiction.

"Please listen to me! It's an urgent situation! If those heretics start running wild, uncontrollable things will...!"

The old man, who had said everything he wanted to say in a trembling voice, was now shaking his body and repeatedly saying "It can't be, it can't be!"

What kind of dream did he have today to reach such an extreme state of mind?

I tried to ignore him and leave, but he wasn't just being moderately noisy. I was certain that if we left him like this, the branch would be noisy all day.

"Please stop now. There are no stairs leading underground near the entrance of Rondan."

"B-But the Observer...!"

"Then prove it."

Even when the Branch Manager tried to calm him down, he showed no signs of settling down.

In the end, if we can't persuade him, he should prove it to us himself.

With that thought, I made a suggestion.

"Tanton? What are you..."

"If even one of the things you say happens, I'll believe your words and go alone. How about that?"

After all, this old man is claiming to have received a prophecy from the god he calls the Observer.

Usually, if you say you'll listen when what they say really happens, they would back down.

Even if they say it will really happen, if it doesn't, it's ultimately judged as a lie.

Either way, the advantage is on my side, who made the proposal first.

"Ah, I understand! I'll ask the Observer right now."

The old man said that and suddenly closed his eyes, raised his hands high, and took a praying posture.

If this were an ordinary modern era, each of his actions would have seemed so dignified and intense that it might have even felt sublime.

But since I already thought there was a high probability that his words were lies, it didn't seem like much.

If this old man had such an important role, there's no way he wouldn't have been mentioned in the community.

"...A big incident will occur near the Rondan castle wall soon. However, despite its danger, there won't be a single fatality."

"How long will it take?"

"...It will happen tomorrow."

Perhaps because I listened this far, the old man quietly went to his sleeping bag and lay down after saying those words.

For some reason, he even had a confident expression.

From his perspective, he probably thought we would naturally listen to his words.

"...There are all sorts of people in this world."

"It's probably because life isn't easy, isn't it?"

Originally, when people have nothing to rely on, they tend to cling to even extreme things.

We shouldn't view this with disgust, but rather with pity.

As it was getting a bit dark, I decided to postpone going to the library until the next day and go to sleep.

And the next day.

A huge explosion occurred on the Rondan castle wall.

***

"Did you see? Can you believe it now? The Observer's words are always absolute!"

...Someone had poured hot water on the wall that was cooling down in the snow due to the Furnace's heat not reaching it well, causing the wall to suddenly expand and partially shatter.

Of course, it was only 'partial', so the entire wall didn't collapse, but it caused a disaster that engulfed the whole village in an explosion.

But was it luck?

All the debris from the wall fell on the streets, avoiding buildings, so while there were injuries, there were no fatalities.

The wall repair work was also completed quickly, so no one died from the cold.

Everything happened exactly as this old man had said.

"How could this happen..."

Even the Branch Manager couldn't seem to imagine this, as he couldn't close his mouth that had been open since morning.

The circumstances matched too perfectly to be a coincidence.

...Honestly, I, who made the proposal, was the most surprised.

Who would have dreamed that a proposal made with the intention of making him eat his words would actually come true?

Unlike us who were troubled, the old man clung to the iron bars with an excited expression.

"How about it, Lord Tanton? Are you in the mood to listen to me now?"

"...A promise is a promise."

"You've made a truly wise decision! Ah, Observer. This old man has faithfully carried out your will again today..."

...If he's really speaking after hearing the voice of this 'Observer'...

If it's a cult in a dark fantasy, they would typically light a fire and chant incomprehensible spells, or pray in front of some strange object they call a vessel of god.

If someone could directly hear the voice of god in such a setting, they would naturally be in a high position.

I felt a bit annoyed seeing him even shed tears over something he found so great.

But it would be strange to back out now.

I just need to prove that there was nothing there, right?

I should quickly go alone and finish this.

***

...Or so I thought.

"You're going to such a dangerous place alone, Mr. Tanton? That's absurd!"

"You clearly said you were my disciple, and before that, my subordinate. I'm your superior, so why are you trying to act alone without asking me first?"

While I was making plans alone, the Branch Manager thoughtlessly reported this story to the Knight Order headquarters, resulting in Muyeon and White Mask coming along.

There was no need to blow this up like this.

Seeing my extremely dissatisfied expression, White Mask snorted.

"If you're that dissatisfied, you should have accepted when the Vice Captain offered you the position of Observer. Then no position except the Imperial Princess could have interfered with you."

Stop trying to guilt-trip me like that.

I'm already feeling unsettled enough as it is.

...Well, fine.

It's unlikely to happen, but if those stairs really exist and there are strange heretics down there, it might be much better to have White Mask and Muyeon with me.

I might not be able to win with my pure strength alone, and if I use the Party Flute, Rondan might be turned upside down again, thinking it's the work of an Outer God.

Oh, whatever.

I'm annoyed, so I'll just quickly check near the entrance and then go back to sleep some more.

We arrived at the entrance of Rondan, and when the gatekeepers approached thinking we were leaving, we waved our hands to indicate otherwise.

"We came to investigate something around here."

At White Mask's words, the gatekeepers nodded in understanding and returned to their positions.

Sigh.

What are we really doing?

This whole situation was just utterly embarrassing!

"I'll look over here."

"I'll check near the gate."

White Mask and Muyeon started looking around, each taking charge of an area, and the last remaining vicinity became my responsibility.

But even at a glance, the terrain is so flat that digging stairs here would be like saying "Please find me."

"Why did I make such a proposal... Sigh."

It should have been the best answer in that situation, but who knew it would lead to the worst outcome.

With a sad heart, I lowered my posture and started examining the ground to look around the area.

Oh?

But not far away, wasn't there something like a huge rock placed unnaturally?

If it were attached to the castle wall, I might think it was installed incorrectly, but it was placed at an awkward distance.

At a glance, you might not notice, but if you look suspiciously like me, it looks too strange.

"No way, come on."

I chuckled to myself and pushed the rock with my hand.

Rumble!

....

"Subordinate, did you find some... Oh my."

White Mask exclaimed at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

"This was quite an intelligent judgment. Indeed, we didn't think of moving this."

"Wow... it looks quite old? If it's this old, the rock would have been here from the beginning, so there would have been no reason to find it strange, right?"

"As I've felt before, you're really quick to change your perspective."

The reason they're talking like this is...

...There really were stairs leading underground beneath it.

Why is this real?