Chapter 100
Village of Silence, Anemone's house.
Count Wolfhaufen faces Anemone once again.
…….
I know.
She is a bizarre phenomenon.
The closer I got, the more my mind would warp.
She doesn't directly harm me like the aberrant creatures outside do, though.
This woman could make someone an idiot and kill them with nothing but warmth and comfort.
She had that power.
Because he'd already met her once and experienced it firsthand.
I know how dangerous she is.
Even so, I thought we had to meet.
「By any chance, do you know about the generator?」
The reason was...
Because she was a 'villager' who knew this village very well.
The count thought.
That Anemone was identical to the real Anemone.
From her build, scent, and face to her habits, behavior, and personality, everything matched.
Then maybe she'd respect my opinion.
He thought it was a gamble worth taking.
His intuition also told him this could work.
…….
As expected.
She only looked at me with a sad face.
Even the party's most knowledgeable black mage said they had no clue about the generator.
Then it was a device even a mage's intellect couldn't figure out.
We aren't tower mages, after all.
Studying that complicated machine probably isn't the answer.
Every bizarre phenomenon has a clue.
It's disgustingly unpleasant, but there should be at least one path forward.
Then the way to move the generator is...
Maybe it was by using the people of the Village of Silence, he thought.
「The generator?」
「Yes. South of here is that place that looks like ruins, right? I'm talking about the huge machine device in the center of it.」
「Why?」
「Answer my question first.」
It couldn't be helped.
He had a feeling that if he didn't stay this curt, he'd make another mistake.
Aiga is outside.
To save Aiga, he needs a magic stone.
The Anemone in front of him is fake.
She'll disappear once they move on to the next area anyway.
So he mustn't get attached in the first place.
The count repeated it to himself over and over.
But.
「Did I do something wrong to you here?」
「I was so happy to see you, but it seems like you weren't...」
「It's been so long since we last met... You don't have to be this cold to me...」
「Do you want me to disappear in front of you...?」
「If I had known it'd be like this, it'd have been better not to come back to life...」
The count bit his lip.
Yes. His wife was right in front of him.
Anemone had returned from death.
That was truly a happy thing. Certainly a happy thing, but...
The reality that wouldn't let him think that way.
The reality that wouldn't let him be happy outright.
Was terribly cursed.
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「This is really too much. How can you do this to me...」
「Every time I try to get closer to you, the distance between us only grows...」
「Because you keep running away...」
「The cooking, the conversation, this moment right now, I'm putting my all into everything...」
「Why...?」
「Why am I invisible to you...?」
「Don't you love me anymore...?」
「Do you hate me now...?」
Again.
He made her cry again.
…….
Anemone was crying.
And Count Wolfhaufen was looking at her.
Suddenly, he remembered something from the past.
Back then, they were younger and more naive than they were now.
Inside the reception room of the Wolfhaufen mansion.
In that stiff place, utterly unsuited for a confession, the count confessed to Anemone.
Anemone shed tears of joy, unlike the ones she shed now.
To her, the count said bashfully.
-From now on, you won't have any reason to cry except when you're happy. I'll make sure of it.
Thinking about it now, it was a truly childish line.
A baseless, boastful line fit for a boy to say to a girl.
Anemone said she loved it so much.
Even until that farewell moment, lying in bed and dying.
She used to say meeting the count had been a stroke of luck.
…….
The count loved Anemone.
Even now that she was dead, this feeling would probably last forever.
「Answer me...」
「If you hate me, then I won't bother you anymore...」
His heart wavered.
His eyes, too, trembled violently like legs in an earthquake.
She could never be someone he disliked.
This might have been pathological obsession.
He wanted to stay here, too.
Unlike the cold outside, this place was so warm.
In this truly tranquil place.
He wanted to build a new nest with her.
The dreamlike past I can never return to.
That moment when I was truly happy.
It is here.
I wear down outside.
The durability that gets worn away never comes back.
Honestly, I'm tired.
There are more than a few times I want to throw everything away.
Even when I try to solve the things right in front of me.
Lately, nothing has been going well at all.
…….
Is an illusion necessarily a bad thing?
At least until this life comes to an end.
If it's a sweet dream I can have forever...
Wouldn't it be okay to be deceived?
No matter how much I struggle, if I still won't get any reward...
Wouldn't that make it even more meaningless?
If I have neither luck nor hope...
Wouldn't there be even less I can do?
The count looked out the window.
Monsters lurked out there.
Mountains of obstacles and death were waiting for him.
At the end of it, something glittered as if it were hope, but...
It was like a speck of dust, impossible to make out.
He had to bring down all those terrifying monsters and keep moving forward.
Only then would there even be a chance of obtaining it.
The count looked at Anemone.
There was only comfort there.
He could become happy comfortably, and easily.
There were two choices laid out before him.
And.
「I'm sorry for being so harsh.」
「I couldn't help it because I felt my resolve weakening.」
「I have to leave the village.」
The count chose pain.
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「You know it's dangerous outside the village, don't you?」
「There are monsters out there. They're powerful. To them, you're nothing more than a plaything.」
「Why do you want to leave?」
If he chose pain...
He had to persuade Anemone.
She doesn't want me to go outside.
She wants to live in this village with me forever.
She doesn't want me to leave.
If someone asked whether he could persuade her, he would say...
The count's answer was very simple.
He would answer like this.
Because...
Because she was a child's mother before she was the count's wife.
「Aiga is very sick.」
「It's the same illness as yours.」
「It's incurable. If I don't do something...」
「So... I have to leave this place.」
「Take care of Aiga. That's the last request you left me.」
At that moment.
Anemone's eyes shook violently.
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「Is Aiga very sick?」
「Yes.」
The atmosphere changed a little.
Even so, his mind was still getting hazy.
He thought dragging this out too long would be dangerous.
「I guess I'm unfit to be a mother.」
「No. Don't think that.」
It was because she'd met an incompetent father who couldn't even protect his own wife.
At least, that's what the count thought.
「Can you do it?」
「I'll try.」
「...You said it was a generator, right?」
「Yes.」
「Actually, I don't know much. I only know bits and pieces about this village and the monsters.」
「Really?」
「But I can introduce you to someone who would likely know.」
Anemone mentioned the village headman and drew a picture.
She was quite skilled at drawing, and her skill was still as good as ever.
The person in the finished drawing.
He was in the count's memory.
-Welcome to the Village of Silence.
He was the guide.
He was the first person he met in this village.
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「Thank you for telling me.」
「No. I'm glad to have helped, even like this.」
Anemone smiled.
And, as if she had finished preparing to send him off,
she made one last request.
「I have a wish.」
「Could you hug me?」
The count hesitated.
That was because he had once lost his mind after hugging her.
"…
….
"
As if knowing the count's feelings.
Anemone spread her arms, then waved.
Then the count took a deep breath.
He bit down on a handkerchief and clenched his teeth.
And stabbed his own thigh with a dagger.
…….
Pain clears the mind.
Because it's a survival instinct.
The count limped over to Anemone.
Blood dripped down, but he didn't care.
The count embraced Anemone.
This must be what it means to convey what you want to say through actions without opening your mouth.
I love you.
Me too.
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The count came out of the house.
Once he used a healing potion, the wound quickly healed.
…….
There were no aberrant creatures around.
The area where the noble slayer was resting was no different.
It hadn't taken long, so maybe that was only natural.
He took a deep breath in and let it out.
Then cool air filled his stuffy lungs.
His expression looked much better.
He gave Anemone's house one last look.
After steadying his mind, he turned and quickened his pace.
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Before long, he met the village chief.
The count asked bluntly.
「Do you know about the generator located to the south?」
Then.
The chief nodded.
「Yes, I know about it.」
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「I heard the generator creates a power source. It seems to be a device similar to a magical tool that makes the equipment in the facility move... Do you also know how to operate it?」
「Yes, I know how.」
「Tell me how.」
「Why?」
「I intend to leave this village.」
「Did the person waiting for you want that?」
「Yes.」
Then.
The chief nodded once more.
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The chief's explanation was as follows.
To operate the generator, you basically need fuel.
Fuel is oil.
If nothing is seriously broken, it should work as long as you fill it with fuel.
Starting it up itself isn't difficult.
Open the fuel inlet and fill the tank with enough fuel.
Turn the fuel valve to ON and move the choke lever to the closed position.
Then turn on the power switch.
After that, just wait.
「If there isn't enough fuel in it, the generator won't run, so please keep that in mind.」
Should I call them proper nouns?
They were bizarre words I'd never heard before, though.
If I look at the blueprints in the warehouse, I'll understand.
The chief said as much.
「Where can I get fuel?」
「Well. There isn't any in the village, at least. It seems you'll have to check that part yourself.」
「I see.」
He figured the generator was unlikely to be broken.
If it were broken, it'd be beyond our ability to fix.
In that case, if the elevator to the south is a real elevator, then clearing it would be impossible.
We haven't really caused any physical damage to it.
And the aberrant creatures haven't either, so it shouldn't matter.
The count stroked his chin.
I should look for fuel and also check whether there's an elevator in another place.
It would be better to split up the search party.
If the number of aberrant creatures increased any more than it already has, the strategy itself might become impossible.
The real problem was sound after all.
The chief hadn't mentioned it specifically.
Judging from magical tools, when a device like this operates,
it usually makes noise.
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Before leaving, the count had one last question.
He moved his pen briskly.
「If we leave, what happens to the village?」
「Hadn't you already decided to leave? Then it wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it? Why ask?」
「Just curiosity.」
The chief was kind.
He didn't refuse to answer this time either.
「The Village of Silence is immortal. Our great god will keep it going forever until he disappears from this world.」
「By 'your god,' do you mean the Dungeon Master?」
「For you, that could be another name for it.」
「...I see. Thank you for answering.」
「Ah, this time I have a question for you. When you asked about the scope of 'the village,' does that include 'people' as well? My answer would change a little if so.」
「If it did, then?」
「Unlike me, the guide, those waiting for guests are incomplete beings. Those who lose their wedge shatter into pieces. The same goes for them.」
「Explain it so I can understand.」
「They disappear.」
「Isn't there any way to stop it?」
「If you want to save the person waiting for you, then stay. Then she can live happily in this village forever. The same goes for you.」
「What other way is there?」
「Unfortunately, there isn't one.」
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Dungeon Conquest, Day 3.
The next day dawned.
The black mage did not return.
The count used detection magic.
There was no mana response.
'Was he dead?'
The situation was the worst.
Now only two people remained.
「Let's go.」
He had to do what had to be done.
It was the path he had chosen.