The private chat between the village chief and I went on a little longer. I asked him what he didn't know about the ground and what he had to do to open the tombstone in the doorway, trying to extract as much information as possible, but the boss dodged the questions with vague answers.
«You will learn it when the time comes. And what's the point of worrying about them now? Someday you will leave this place and return to the city».
"¿Por qué no me lo dices? ¿Is that...? ⁇
«It's not because I have ulterior motives. It just occurred to me that telling you might not be helpful».
«What do you mean?»
«There is a possibility that there is something on this floor that not even I have discovered. If I point you in certain directions, the chance of finding those secrets will decrease because you will only move with my advice in mind.»
Is this what they meant by lions pushing their cubs off cliffs to make them stronger? If so, it was more difficult to understand. The boss and I did not have as strong a bond as that of a father with a son. I found it difficult to trust the idea that he was trying to «help me».
«Heh heh, don't look at me like that». The boss smiled his characteristic smile as he looked at me and said: «Since things have turned out that way, I'm on your side for now. Surely you have also thought about how it could be useful to you in the near future, right?».
«Well... it's not that I hadn't thought about it».
«I say the same. The growth of my accomplice will open more doors for me».
Don't try to be elusive with your words.
«So I'll think more about this before I tell you. Not that I'm going anywhere anytime soon». He said it as if he were calming an angry child, and in the end I just nodded. I still had a hard time accepting his words, but it didn't seem like the situation was going to change just because I insisted more.
I preferred to spend time talking about something more productive.
«So what are you going to do now?».
I had already asked this question several times today. However, this time the nuance had changed slightly. The previous questions concerned the chief personally, and this one was more about the entire expedition group.
«Are we going to stay longer on this island?» i asked.
What was the expedition group's plan for the future?
The village chief gave a direct answer to my question. «We will stay on the island at least for today. We have not yet officially discovered the dimensional tombstone. We should 'discover it' first and give the magicians time to investigate it».
«Would Jerome Saintred have done that?»
«I would have done it».
«Okay, what after?»
«That is undecided. However, I'll think about it more and tell you tomorrow».
«...Of course.»
With that, our conversation came to an end.
I returned to where my allies were and we killed time until the deputy commander announced a new order. We were going to tour the village once more, looking for possible secrets that had escaped us, and each squad could move as they pleased.
«Rather they give us more time to rest. We will go find a place to relax».
My Temporary Squad Four followed my order to find an empty house to relax. However, some people seemed unhappy with wasting time like that.
«We'll go take a look», Myul Armin said. «Staying here still is a bit...».
«Are you worried about what the commander will think?»
«More than that, there really could be something hidden here and we could miss it if we stay in the house».
Myul Armin left with his Group of Adventurers, and Wyatt Hektz of the Hektz Clan echoed the sentiment before leaving with his own group.
«...If we find something, we will be recognized for it».
If Armin gave more importance to the adventurous part of the equation, these guys looked more for potential monetary gains.
Well, it's not like I was in a position to worry. We would soon receive the news that the cave with the dimensional tombstone had been discovered if we waited, so all he had to do was go there and put on a decent show.
But somehow it ended with just us again.
With the Hektz Clan and the Armin Adventurer Group out, only the members of the Anabada Clan remained.
«¡Ack! ¡No me mires!»
While scrutinizing the members, Erwen became frightened and quickly covered her face when we met her eyes.
Ugh, so I kept doing that.
My heart sank as I watched Erwen run to hide in a corner. Versyl took advantage of the moment to approach me.
«Don't worry, I have a potion to grow her hair back. I will prepare it and deliver it to you when we return to the city».
«Nice to hear it».
«Wow... So you're pretty fixated on your preferences».
«...Eh?» Why was he talking about my preferences now?
When I looked at her confused, Versyl avoided my eyes. «I think Miss Tersia also looks great with short hair...».
I thought so too. But every time I looked at her, I went and did that. If I told her anything about it, I would just take it as if I was trying to comfort her, so I didn't even try.
But we'll have to stay here a while longer...
I was worried about the future, but since I didn't have a solution at hand, I chose to shelve that thought.
«Here you are. I've been looking for you everywhere».
A man entered the house we used to waste time.
«Kaislan? What are you doing here?»
«I saw the Armin Adventurer Group circling alone. I talked to them a little, and when I found out you were resting here, I came to visit you».
«Welcome. You should rest a little too. Don't dawdle too much with your work».
«That's what I was thinking. When this expedition is over, my life as a soldier will be over».
It seemed that his hostility towards the royal house following the Ice Rock incident had reached its peak. Not doing any work like this while still getting paid was not something Kaislan of the past would have ever done.
Well, that wasn't something he had to worry about either.
In any case, surprisingly, Kaislan wasn't the only guest we had.
«Hello... are you there...?»
Another person carefully entered the building.
«Sven Parav? Why are you here?»
«I ran into the Hektz Clan while they were walking around... Could we maybe have a little chat? Just the two of us».
«Of course.»
At Goblin's request, I left the building alone and we approached another empty house to chat.
It seemed like he was curious about a lot of things.
«So... what happened?», he asked vaguely. He didn't specify what he meant by «what», but I could guess he was wondering what was going on in general. I may have given my allies a decent explanation, but this guy hadn't heard a word.
That's why I gave it a summary.
«Right now it is not possible to give you a complete summary, but everything ended well».
«¿Eh?»
«We have avoided the scene you saw in your oracle».
«Ah... so that's quite a relief...»
I realized he was curious about the parts he had left out, but he swallowed his questions. This was proof that he was at least decent in social interactions.
Seeing him, I tapped him on the shoulder to cheer him up. «Sven Parav. Thinking about it now, I wasn't able to tell you this before. Thanks».
«Excuse me?»
«There's a reason I can't tell you the details, but either way, I don't know what would have happened if it weren't for you».
«Ah...»
«I will also be in your care in the future. If you ever need me to solve something for you, come find me. I will support you with everything I have».
He seemed surprised by my gratitude as he stood there, speechless. A moment later, he shook off his daze and humbly told me there was no problem.
«You have also suffered a lot». He seemed to be in a hurry to leave - I remember him telling me that the archbishop would make a fuss if he was gone too long - so I ended the conversation by saying: «Sure, see you later».
When I re-entered the building, Ainar was running towards me screaming.
«¡Bjorn!»
Hmm? That was the tone I used when I had something I wanted to show myself.
I looked around, and immediately noticed a change in our small rest area.
«¿Raven?»
Raven was here, and...
«¡Ignora a Varuru! ¡Allí! ¡Mira allí!»
Erwen was wearing a dark steel helmet.
"...¿What is eso?"
I asked looking at Raven, not Ainar, and the former let out an explosive sigh before explaining: «Miss Tersia was looking down, so Miss Fenelin seemed to have come up with a strategy.».
Oh, so that's why she seemed so proud.
«Hahaha! Am I not a genius? Wearing that, he can hide his embarrassing short hair. No, that's not all! If you put this on, you can also protect your head».
Ainar spoke proudly after coming up with a barbaric solution.
«Does not matter. If you've seen it, how about you stop her?». Raven whispered with some urgency.
However, I ignored his response and met Erwen's eyes.
«Hey sir... what's it like...?».
Surprisingly, Erwen was no longer avoiding my eyes now that she was wearing the helmet. I was worried it might make her even more aware of her hair during combat or maybe restrict her movements, but the helmet solved all of our problems.
«...¿No está had?»
Of course, her clothes combined fashion and effectiveness as an adventurer, so putting a metal helmet on her head unbalanced her a little. But who cared about that?
«You used your head, Ainar», I recognized.
«Ha! It was not easy. But Erwen is my friend».
The problem was solved.
Raven, however, seemed to disagree. «Are you really going to let Miss Tersia go around like this? He will become everyone's laughing stock. Hey, Miss Raines? Shouldn't I say something...?»
«Leave her alone», I cut her off. «She says it's okay.»
«Mr. Tersia! Do you really agree with this?»
«Excuse me? Yes... I definitely feel less embarrassed when I wear this...».
Raven's jaw dropped in disbelief, and the topic stayed there.
Erwen would now go around wearing that helmet.
«By the gods...! How did we get here?»
What was he talking about?
«Let's leave it there», I suggested. «And Raven, why are you here?»
«Oh me? I was wondering what you were up to».
«¿Eh?»
«It was a free search warrant, right? I thought you would have found something...»
Oh, so to put it simply, she was here to freeload me. If she was by my side when I found something, I might be the first to investigate it.
«That's unfortunate. As you can see, we decided to rest».
«...Yes. I didn't expect this.»
After talking to Raven, Amelia approached me.
«By the way, Yandel. Has your conversation ended?»
«Yes, and Sven Parav is gone too».
«I see... so could you also dedicate some of your time to me?».
For some reason, a lot of people wanted to talk to me today.
«Sorry, Raven, this may take a while», I said. «You can stay here before coming back».
«Do I really seem so free to you? I was about to leave right now».
«Really? Then see you».
After saying goodbye to Raven, I dated Amelia. To be honest, I was a little curious. Why did you call me to talk?
I soon knew the answer.
«I was going to ignore her, but I can't stay silent after seeing her stay like that in the corner».
Ah... Indeed, that was it.
«Pasó algo entre pour y Misha Karlstein ayer?» preguntó Amelia.
There was no reason not to tell him the truth: Baekho Lee, the Renaissance Stone, the reunion after two years, the mistrust that blossomed from that, and more. But, for some reason, I couldn't say those things.
That's why I responded with this.
«Nothing happened».
A lie that not even a three-year-old would believe.
However, Amelia simply nodded silently in response.
«I see. Tell me when you're ready. I'll be waiting».
He spoke as if addressing a child.
I smiled satisfied. «Clear».
Still, for some reason, I felt a little better.
***
The time we spent on Boss Island took longer than expected. The reason was simple. We planned to leave for our next destination the day after discovering the dimensional tombstone, but...
«The mana flow of the dimensional tombstone is showing a similar pattern to the flow of the bidirectional transmission device we have seen in a recent article!»
«With this... we might be able to activate the tombstone by force!»
The wizards investigating the dimensional tombstone seemed to have found something new and asked that we stay longer on the island while spouting some unintelligible jargon.
«I give you ten days. Solve it before».
The village chief accepted his request.
It couldn't be any other way, not with the role he had to play. Jerome Saintred would have made absolutely the same decision in his position.
He was probably holding on to a little hope too. If those wizards managed to activate the tombstone, he could return to the city immediately.
That, and the boss has no interest in exploration in the first place.
The village chief was just waiting «getting used to» his body and planned to leave immediately afterwards, so he didn't care whether he was in the village or going on an adventure.
One day, two days, three days...
Time passed.
The magicians spent the entire day next to the tombstone, performing test after test. The others rested in the village or toured the island defeating monsters to pass the time.
A few more days passed.
[Your soul has resonated and is drawn to a specific world].
Once again, it was the day the community forums opened. A space where I could communicate with the outside world, and the only place where I could meet that bastard Baekho.
I can finally question him.
Since I had been looking forward to this, the moment I woke up in my room, I turned on my computer and moved the mouse.
Click, click.
But for some reason, as soon as I opened the community, half the screen was filled with a pop-up window.
[An ad for all players who use Ghostbusters].
«...An advertisement?»
I didn't remember there was something like that. Had something happened outside?
After reading everything quickly, I was paralyzed, turned to stone.
[Hola, soy el GM.]
The announcement started with that, and then went on to detail when the community started, why it was created, how much administrators worked to maintain it, and so on. It was full of content that a player who enjoyed the games even a little would be afraid to watch.
Because whenever something like this was published, the reason was the same.
Damn sea.
I wished it weren't like that. But there was nothing else to see.
[I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who has used Ghostbusters so far, and I must apologize for giving you this announcement in this way].
[Due to the personal circumstances of the administrators, today will be the last day of Ghost Hunting, after which the service will end].
[Any GP purchased with real money can be refunded through the newly created refund tab...]
The server was dead.