Season 2: Chapter 169: Luna (2)
When the owl hooted three times, it was a cue to gather by the campfire. The message hinted at a secret rendezvous.
"It does sound suspicious."
There wasn't enough evidence to confirm anything yet.
— Maybe it's just Luna wanting to date? LOL
— Let them be if they like each other~
— It does seem a bit sketchy, especially with Swift.
Viewers were divided in their opinions. Why communicate through a spear? Was this an overreaction to someone else's romantic involvement? And so on.
"We have to check anyway since we don’t know what might happen. I'll have to make sure I'm at the highest level," Almond concluded.
In LIL, one’s level was everything. It seemed no different here.
— Can you just decide to level up? LOL
— ??? I don't have money, so I'll just earn a lot~
— Don't talk as if it's some grand strategy LOL
— Almond the Antoinette
The solution seemed too simple. One had to get stronger if they were weak and get richer if they were poor like a child's holiday plan. It lacked any depth at all, yet nothing could be more productive than a child's holiday schedule if one actually followed through with it.
[Time Passes.]
Achieving that wasn't just a matter of will.
"… Huh?"
Suddenly, the screen went dark.
— Plan destroyed LOL
— Utterly annihilated like Hodo LOL
— LOL
— SG
— Time: Yeah~ just make another holiday plan, time flows regardless~
***
A crackling campfire could be heard.
"… Could it be?"
Almond opened his eyes wide in shock, wondering if he had unwittingly arrived at the promised campfire.
Luna was already there looking at him.
"…"
Was it Luna who called him here? But why Almond? What was this situation? Did he get caught snooping around?
Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
"It's not what I thought."
Next to him sat Swift and other children also sat around the campfire as if at a meeting during a training camp.
He spotted signs of grilled meat and tents pitched in the clearing. In this dungeon where day and night were indistinguishable, they seemed prepared to stay overnight.
"I will find the sanctuary and make a contract," someone murmured.
"Becoming a contractor… Then, my family can escape that hellish town, move to Taran, and become nobles there."
One of the party members around the fire shared why they wanted to become a participant.
"I won't make a contract," Swift casually responded. "Becoming a contractor brings more trouble than it's worth from what I've heard."
"What? But you can receive tremendous favor from the nation, especially in Taran…"
"Well, I think reaching the sanctuary with you guys is most important. After that, we split what we find and leave cleanly."
The children looked at him as if they felt moved.
Then someone asked, "Would the bird let you participate with just that kind of motivation?"
The bird? What could that be?
Almond listened attentively.
"Hm. There's something I haven't told you guys. I did tell the bird."
"Ah… right. We can't tell everything. Luna, how about you?" a boy asked Luna.
She was staring at the campfire and the flames reflected in her eyes.
"I will definitely make a contract," Luna stated with an unexpected firmness.
The children and even Swift, who had been lying back gazing at the sky, all glanced at her.
"I will contract with the most wicked, powerful, and cruel spirit."
Whispers buzzed among the children as they wondered how such a thing could be a goal.
Swift asked on their behalf since he was the eldest, "Why do you have such a dark dream despite your innocent look?"
Laughter briefly filled the air among the children. Luna also let out a small laugh.
She brushed back her golden hair and casually revealed her reason, "There's a man I need to kill."
The atmosphere quickly cooled down.
"After I told this story to the bird, it brought me here as a participant. That's all there is to it. A kid with a story," Luna nodded with a smile. "No, I'm not a kid."
"Sure. Let's assume you're not," Swift said with an indescribable expression and turned to someone else.
"Your turn."
He pointed to Almond.
"Me?"
"Almond. You've been the only one not talking."
"Ah…"
"Why are you here? And why were you alone?"
"I…"
Almond found himself unable to answer. It wasn't a matter of intellect, but of information never given. Should he just say he didn’t remember?
'Why was I alone in such a dangerous place? What was with that rune box?'
He had several questions unknown to even himself.
"I don't remember why I was alone."
He had to pretend to remember nothing.
"You don’t remember?"
"Yes. I found myself passed out alone when I came to."
"That's interesting. Many participants heading to the sanctuary experience that," Swift remarked.
Luna chimed in, "Right. They can't withstand the power emanating from the sanctuary."
It seemed the sanctuary wasn't entirely benevolent.
"Can't you remember why you entered this place?" Swift probed further. "Usually, even with lost memories, one would remember that much."
It was as if one could only selectively forget certain things. If memories were lost, weren’t they simply lost?
Almond was incredulous, but he knew nothing here and Swift seemed to know everything. Playing along seemed to be the best course of action.
"I'll tell you about that later. We haven't known each other for long."
Swift smiled wryly and nodded, "That's true."
Only the crackling of the campfire filled the silence for a while.
Swift stretched first.
"Let's end the gloomy stories here and go to sleep. We don't know what kind of monster we'll encounter tomorrow."
Saying so, he stood up first.
Then, one by one, the children stood up and left only the child on the first night watch by the fire.
Almond watched Swift's back as he walked away and said, "By the way, why did the original owner of this body come here?"
— That’s the question indeed.
— Perhaps deciphering the tattoo will tell.
— Let's get more runes.
Suddenly, he realized he knew nothing about the original owner's purpose in joining this expedition into the abyss.
Considering the immense risk involved in this expedition, he had to have a significant reason. Just as everyone had clear goals, especially Luna…
"Why exactly does Luna need to kill someone?"
To talk so easily about needing to kill someone meant she harbored a deep grudge.
"What are you doing not going inside?" the night watch asked Almond.
It seemed like the NPC was pressuring him to go into the tent.
"I'm going in."
***
After entering the tent, Almond pretended to sleep with his eyes closed.
Then, a message appeared.
[Would you like to take a rest?]
[Please set the duration.]
It seemed he could pass the time by sleeping. Naturally, Almond chose not to sleep.
'I really shouldn't sleep.'
Silently, he cautiously got up without anyone noticing.
— Where is he going?
— Isn't he waiting for the owl to hoot three times?
— Going for an assassination?
"I can't wait until the owl hoots three times."
He could leave after the owl hoot if that message was meant for Almond, but what if it wasn’t? Someone else would get up at the sound of the owl.
"I'll wait while hiding."
Almond quietly walked outside the tent. Fortunately, he didn’t wake anyone.
Outside, only one child was sitting in a daze by the fire. He just sat there, unresponsive.
Almond, feeling relieved, found a spot in the bushes to lie down. However…
Crackle.
Did the child hear the sound of the bushes? The child tending the fire stared in his direction.
"You're the new guy."
— Gulp
— Gosh
— Ah…
Almond stood up nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.
"Yeah. That's right."
— Yeah, right lol
— So brazen when caught, lol
— Ah, got caught. Hi?
The child gestured to the seat next to him.
"Sit here. You seem to have come out because you can't sleep."
"..."
Almond needed to wait by the fire anyway and went over to take a seat.
"I'm Ben."
"Why."
"… What?"
"Ah. So your name is Ben."
— lol
— ???
— The streamer is confused too lol
— I thought I got banned lol
— Responding with why after being told a name lol
"I actually knew."
Almond quickly changed his approach.
— ???
— Almond's social skills are on
— What does he know? lol
Ben tilted his head in confusion.
"Really? You didn't seem to know when we were setting up the tent earlier. That's why I introduced myself."
"I know now."
"… Right."
Ben awkwardly smiled and scratched his head. He seemed gentle.
— Nut-style small talk lol
— As expected from an LIL master, even his conversations are aggro
— If I were Ben, I would have thrown him into the fire.
Ben had been staring into the fire and asked, "Do you have an interest in Luna?"
"…?"
Almond was on guard as if confused by the question. After all, he could say he was interested in Luna if he wanted to.
— He is interested lol
— Even cops are interested in criminals lol
— He’s just looking suspiciously lol
Almond didn’t respond, so Ben took it as a yes.
"Luna is definitely pretty," Ben muttered to himself and looked at Almond. "But don’t trust her too much."
"… Why? Did she reject you?"
— That's harsh lol
— Asking if he got rejected lol
— Exactly
"What!? No, it's not like that! Didn't you see today? Every path Luna chose was a dead end."
Almond had only seen Luna choose once. The rest had been skipped.
"Really?"
"You don't remember? Ah… Did you say you suffered memory loss from the sanctuary… That's unfortunate."
"But how do you know the path Luna chose was a dead end?"
"Because we didn’t find anything?"
"That’s just bad luck."
"No. Luna can feel the sanctuary's energy. She joined this party as a guide in the first place. At least, she should have found two or three rune boxes."
"…"
"She either lacks the ability or intentionally didn’t guide us."
"Why would she do that?"
"She might be a human hunter wandering the abyss."
"Human… hunter?"
"Yeah. They keep participants going in circles until they're exhausted and weak. Then, they make them their prey. Those guys level up by hunting humans, not monsters."
— terrifying
— That’s really scary
— Who exactly is Luna?
— conspiracy theory lol
"Why are you so suspicious of Luna? According to you, she's just a pretty girl."
"…"
Ben hesitated to answer.
Almond prompted him for an answer, "Did she reject you?"
— That’s really nasty lol
— lol
— Trying to force an answer, crazy lol
— If you don't answer, it means you were rejected~~
— Press the answer button lol
"What? What…!"
Ben vehemently shook his head.
"That's not it! I wish it were that simple."
"Then what is it?"
"… I was deceived. My friend was."
"?"
"He was killed. By Luna."
"… What?"
Killed? By Luna? Then why were they still together?
— !!
— OMG
— What the heck?
"It's just a suspicion. I'm the only one who knows."
"What's this suspicion about?"
"Luna sent him a note asking to meet secretly that night."
"So it's like that."
Almond glanced at his spear shaft inadvertently.
"He was excited all day and went out happily. Honestly, I would have done the same. If such a girl asked to meet secretly at night, who wouldn't go?"
Ben seemed to be fantasizing and gazing into space. To Almond, it seemed like Ben was the one interested in Luna even if she supposedly killed his friend.
"But the next morning, he disappeared without a trace."
"… Is that all?"
"Yeah."
"… Did you tell Swift?"
"He didn't believe me. He asked where Luna's letter was."
"…"
"I'm sure I heard it from him. He was going to meet Luna that night. She had sent him a note. He was bragging about it to me, but no matter how much I looked for that note… Obviously, I couldn't find it."
Almond was at a loss for words. He had a feeling he knew where that note was.
"It wasn't a note. Luna was carrying it."
— Maybe the writing on the spear was from that time?
— OMG, the murderer carrying the evidence lol
— Wow
"So this message has already been used once."
The owl sounds wouldn't be heard tonight. It was just a record of a story that had already ended.
While he was thinking this…
“Whoosh~”
"!"
“Whoosh~ Whoosh~”
"The sound of an owl…."
“Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~”
"Three times."
Almond looked at his spear shaft again.
"When you hear the owl hoot three times, come to the bonfire."
***
[Beginner Tip: Have you successfully made a contract with a divine spirit? Congratulations! You can now enjoy a noble-like treatment in any country! Just remember, divine spirits cannot exist without the sanctuary's energy. Keep that in mind!]