We searched the empty town. Well, «search» probably wasn't the right word, since this was more like looting. The orders given by the village chief, who had taken charge of the commander's corps, were simple.
«Schedule the village and collect everything you find!»
Furniture, decoration, equipment, instruments...
We didn't differentiate between any of that, and we didn't care if it seemed useful or not. Our only objective was to collect everything that was ordered from us.
Now, why would the village chief give that order? He had an idea, and it wasn't because he didn't like the idea of everything he had built here going to waste or anything. No, there was only one reason for him to do it.
It was because Jerome Saintred would have given that same order. He would have taken everything under the pretext that it was for the good of the royal family. That's why the boss had given that order.
«The leaders of each squad must take these maps and go to their assigned areas!»
And so, the expedition group separated into their squads and set about looting the houses that the monsters would have called home and in which they would have raised their children. It was tedious work and did not involve any combat. However, there were some who accepted this boring manual work.
«Artifacts used by the first monsters capable of communicating!»
«These findings will be of great importance in future studies!»
«Although it's a shame... If we had captured one alive, we could have asked it questions...»
«Maybe there are some hidden».
The magicians were in their usual frenzy for all the research they could do. For them, at least, this tedium was very exciting. Raven was no exception, of course.
«Mr. Yandel... You said you stayed here for a while, right?»
«¿Sí?»
«Later... when we have time, could you tell me about your visit?»
«Sure, when we have time».
«It's a promise, okay? Then I'll go. My break is over, so I'll see you later».
In any case, our Temporary Brigade Four did its part and toured the section we had been assigned, although I couldn't help but feel a little strange as we did so. As Raven said, this town was a place we had lived and slept for weeks.
«...That's the house we stayed in».
«Oh! That's the field I fought with Piarochichi on!»
«It's a little disturbing. The fires are lit in the forge, but there is no one inside...»
«It's... hard to explain... but I feel conflicted. Although they were monsters, they also had decent people...»
What separated people from monsters? Was it his appearance? Certain characteristics that all humanoid races share? The ability to accumulate experience?
So now that he had returned to the body of a human, was the village chief human again? On the other hand, what would happen if I transformed into a monster in some way, or ended up in one's body? Would it be a monster?
I wasn't so sure anymore. I didn't even know if it made sense to distinguish between the two.
«Yandel... are you okay? You don't look very good».
«...I'm fine. Why wouldn't it be?»
«...If you say so.»
We continued tackling the task assigned to us, and once we finished searching our area, we met up with the other squads in the center of the village. Soon it was time to camp again.
«There are many things here...»
«It was to be expected. Hundreds of individuals lived in this village».
Our day of scavenging and looting came to an end. In the end, although we searched the entire town, we did not find a single survivor.
Once our day's to-do list was completed, each squad chose a different empty house to rest on overnight. This gave me the opportunity I needed to finally sneak in a conversation with my comrades.
«We'll be... in the other room».
«Yeah. Please don't bother us».
Once the Armin Adventurer Group and the Hektz Clan came out to make room for us, Versyl cast a sound isolation spell to ensure privacy.
Amelia was the first to speak. «So... what happened?»
«Ah, about that...»
«And don't even think that I'm going to believe that you and the commander hatched that whole discussion together. If you had, at least you would have warned us».
He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself.
...But he's not wrong.
Things could have gotten really dangerous. From what the goddess told me, my companions had been quickly ambushed and captured after I fell unconscious. The fact that they had no one to give them orders had incapacitated them.
What do we do? Do we fight them? But are they the royal army?
What would Bjorn want us to do?
In that split second where they were rushing to make a call without me, the Anabada Clan was immediately subdued and stopped before they could do anything.
...But fortunately, that turned out to be for the best.
Still, the fact that things turned out well in the end was not because they decided to let themselves be captured, but because things turned out that way by chance. They could have met in time and resisted arrest, and someone would have been killed or seriously injured in the process.
That's why he didn't believe my story. I knew that I was not one of those who crossed my arms and left the safety of the clan in the hands of luck.
«You're right, there was no secret plan», I confirmed. «In fact, Jerome Saintred was trying to hand me over to the village chief».
That part, at least, was true. As for the rest...
«Apparently he made a deal with the boss in exchange for a lost royal treasure. However, I managed to figure it out in the end, and we were able to use it to defeat the boss.»
«...And how did you solve it?» versyl asked cautiously, clearly struggling to get the idea.
I sighed to myself and responded: «Reatlas helped me».
That part was true too. Of course, his help consisted mostly of suggesting that I do my best to talk my way out of the mess I was in, but he certainly played a role in my survival.
«¿Dijiste... Reatlas?»
«Wait, so the reason for that bright flash of light and you fainting then...?».
«I can't give you all the details because I made a promise to the goddess. But...» I entertained myself, and then gave them the version of the truth I could share with them. «In the end, everything turned out well. I managed to escape from the village and made a secret deal with Jerome Saintred: I would forget that he had tried to sell me to the village chief and he would help me kill him.»
«...So that's why he started talking about your contributions and how he wanted to reward you».
With that, I looked around. I had named a goddess and connected the dots in what seemed like an attempted bribe by the commander, so most of those present seemed to believe me without question.
«Most» were all but one person: Amelia.
...He will try to question me about all the details as soon as we are alone.
My head hurts just thinking about it, but it can't be helped.
The fewer people knew the boss's secret, the better. No matter how well he acted, he would most likely notice if he told anyone. And if he did, the person he shared his secret with would also become the target of his unpredictable nature, which was capable of sticking out its ugly head at any moment.
And more importantly... When things went wrong in the future, they could help prove that I had nothing to do with it.
In any case, I answered a few more questions from my comrades and ended the conversation. It was time to move on to the next item on the agenda.
«Could everyone go out for a moment?».
«Ah... yes, they need to rest...»
«Excepto tú, Missha.»
«…¿Eh?»
When I pointed at her, she got nervous like a student she calls her teacher.
At my request, the rest of the team went to rest and left us alone. Missha waved in her chair, her hands clenched into a fist on her knees. And then, carefully, he asked: «What...? Why did you ask me to stay?».
I had no intention of beating around the bush, so I got straight to the point.
«The Renaissance Stone».
Those words alone were enough to make Missha's shoulders shudder.
I wondered how someone like her had been able to hide something like that all this time, but thinking about it, it was my fault. I should have been more persistent and made sure I asked her the right questions from the beginning, even if it meant putting pressure on her.
However, for some reason, I found it difficult to be too hard on her.
«Did Baekho give it to you?» I asked bluntly.
Missha didn't bother to ask me how I knew or try to deflect the question. With a voice as calm as a mouse, all he said was: «Yes...».
«What did he say to you when he gave it to you?».
«That I need to stay by your side... and that if you die, I must use it to s-save you...»
Just what I thought.
As I expected, it didn't surprise me that much. However, I was curious about a few things.
«Did you know that when you use the Renaissance Stone, the target loses all their memories?».
"...¿Which?"
Okay, from the look on his face, it seemed like he didn't know that part.
I quickly moved on to my next question. «If you didn't know, why didn't you tell me right away that you had it? I don't see what harm there would have been in letting me know».
«Because he said... that if you knew... even worse things would happen to you...».
«So you hid it from me? Why did that bastard say that?»
Missha lowered her head and bit her lip.
Despite feeling like I should probably be angry, as I stared at her, I felt a strange agitation in my chest. My racing thoughts calmed down, and although my expression was neutral, my heart began to beat faster and faster.
This emotion was far from pity. What was it about?
«That's it. You can go now».
Unable to locate the feeling, I tried to end our conversation there. It was an act of kindness, an attempt to avoid causing him further inconvenience. However...
Missha remained glued to her chair, in absolute silence.
So I spoke again. «Why don't you go? Go rest. I've already heard everything I needed».
Hearing that, he slowly raised his head.
«Have you... heard everything?» The words seemed muffled, as if he had to force them out of his throat. «That's all?»
The question seemed strange to me. «Why, do you need anything else?»
She didn't answer.
«I have no intention of scolding you or punishing you», I explained, trying to be clear. «You didn't hide it from me with bad intentions. In fact, wasn't this all because you wanted to help me?».
Missha remained silent for a long while longer.
«Yo no... »
Finally, the words limped out of his mouth.
«I don't accept it...», he said with his head still bowed. «Just... Just tell me what you think. Whatever it is, it's okay...».
He could feel his desperation in that plea. The request tore more words from me before I could stop them.
«I just thought there was nothing else I needed to tell you».
Was interesting. I hadn't realized that I could speak from the heart when even I didn't know what I felt.
«More than anything because it's hard for me to believe anything you say».
At one point, she had been the person he could trust more than anyone else in the world. But we couldn't have that level of trust between us anymore. It wasn't all his fault, of course. Overall, Baekho would bear most of the blame.
«To be honest...» I admitted: «When you just finished your story, the first question that came to mind was if you were hiding something else from me.».
Missha was slow to respond. «Okay, I see...»
I'm sorry.
I felt like telling him, but I didn't think it was something I had to apologize for either, so I bit my tongue.
Missha looked at me for another long time. Then, he got up without saying a word and closed the door as he left.
***
The next day, after our morning meeting, I had the opportunity to speak privately with the village chief.
«Can't we get rid of the morning meeting, since it's a waste of time?». I grumbled.
«We can not. Jerome Saintred is someone who places a lot of importance on maintaining a rigid schedule».
«Well, that's true».
«Anyway, have you thought about the reward I mentioned to you yesterday?».
«Oh, I'm thinking about collecting it later. Right now I don't need anything».
«In that case, you can tell me when something occurs to you».
«I will. But enough of that... We have to think about what we are going to do from now on... What is your plan from now on?».
The village chief's response remained the same. «As I said before, I'm going to take my time getting used to this body».
«Get used to it...» I echoed. In other words, he still didn't trust me. He was probably going to spend his time trying to figure out what essences he possessed, if one of them was really Iblus's, if there really was an active Heretic Altar in the city, etc. «And after you get used to it?».
«I will leave this place immediately».
Simply put, the moment I could confirm that I had the essence of Iblus, I would get out of the way. I was looking forward to that day.
Still, personal preferences aside, I couldn't help but question his way of acting.
«But if you plan to live in his body, wouldn't it be better to stay with us and leave when we do? You cannot erase Iblus' essence later, once his charges have disappeared».
He may have been the player in me, but spending one of the Heretic Altar charges just to leave a little earlier seemed like throwing money overboard. No, to be honest, it was a huge waste.
I wasn't even the one who would lose, but I couldn't help but argue on principle. «Besides, the royal family won't welcome you dying alone and ending up back in town. You may not be able to maintain your position of power in the royal guard».
«Aha, interesting! I didn't expect you to offer suggestions».
«For now we are on the same side, and we could find opportunities to work together outside the city as well. And by the way, you laugh better and better».
«I'm getting used to it little by little. To this human heart».
«So what is your answer?»
«Has not changed. I will leave immediately after becoming familiar with this body».
Why did he insist on doing something so ineffective?
The village chief, noticing the question in my eyes, forced a smile. «It's been about a hundred days since you first came down to this apartment, right?».
«Probably?»
«You still don't know anything about this place». Since the knot on my forehead did not disappear, he clarified: «Of course, as it appears on the stone, one day you will escape its clutches... but it is not known how long it will take. And this moment... I've been waiting for this moment for a long time».
This time, the emotion in his voice didn't seem forced at all. It was an intense longing, which I had never heard of before.
However, the outburst of feeling was fleeting. «Haha, we all have our priorities, right? If I can leave this place even a day early, then any price is worth it to me».
With that, the artificial smile returned to the village chief's face.