Chapter 181: Winter’s Moon (2)
The procession of mountain residents was endless. They entrusted Reccordak with all the wealth they had accumulated in the mountains, including the bags on their backs, their wagons loaded with grain, and their livestock.
—It’s not much, but please, take good care of it.
—Thank you! I won’t cause any trouble!
—Boy! Say hello. Respectfully.
—Hello…
Epherene listened to their voices rumbling past. They were people who reminded her of her old country days.
“…”
Were they good memories or memories she didn’t want to recall? Epherene, immersed in thought for a moment, looked back to Deculein.
“Guard.”
He called a guard.
“Yes, Professor.”
“From now on, grab the commoners I choose.”
“Yes? Oh, yes! All right!”
Epherene watched Deculein carefully. He first carefully scanned the influx of residents. Then he picked one, and the guard shouted in his stead.
“Hey! You, over there! Come here!”
“…Yes?”
“Come here.”
“Oh, okay…”
Residents caught on Deculein’s radar were separated to a nearby vacant lot. Everyone wore frightened expressions.
“Hey! You over there too!”
From then on, he picked people like cattle.
“You too!”
“Come!”
“Come here! Don’t hesitate!”
The number of people in the mountains exceeded ten thousand, but the number taken by Deculein was less than a hundred.
“Huh? Zuphan!”
Among them, there was a guy who had met Epherene before. His name was Zuphan, the herbalist. Even in the not-too-distant future, he was a proud child who still lived in the mountains of the North. Epherene greeted him, half-joyed and half-worried.
“Why are you here?”
“My hometown is nearby.”
“Oh~. Still, can’t you run away since you have short legs?”
Zuphan shook his head.
“I have six little brothers.”
“…Oh. I see. That’s a lot… did everyone get here safely?”
“Yes.”
“That’s fortunate, ouch!”
Then someone pushed Epherene. Deculein stood behind her.
“This is enough. Now there is no one else to choose.”
“Yes.”
The guard nodded. Epherene wondered why they were selected.
“Each of you, write down a special skill of yours that is worth recording and submit it. We will assign missions according to your specialties, and you will be rewarded accordingly.”
He pulled out those that stood out to the eyes of Man of Great Wealth, those who would earn him money were worth helping. Even non-Named people must-have specialties and talents.
“This is unusual.”
Then she heard a voice and footsteps approaching. Epherene looked around.
“…You accepted even these dirt-stinking commoners.”
It was Deculein’s colleagues, Ihelm and Julie. They watched the procession of villagers with wildly different expressions.
—Guardian! Take this and eat it. Haha. You’ll like it.
—Hey. As a thank you~, without you all, we would have died without moving.
Deculein took the list of specialties from the guards without saying a word. Epherene squinted at it over his shoulder. Herbalist, shooter, woodcutter, chemist, ginseng digger, hunter… there were many specialized occupations unique to the mountains.
“Hey, Deculein?”
Ihelm spoke again. Deculein replied, clicking his tongue as if annoyed.
“I need a labor force.”
“…Hmm? Labor force? What about the supply… oh. With the food that commoners brought? I don’t think that’s enough.”
“You don’t have to worry about that part.”
Ihelm frowned but then nodded shakily.
“Indeed. You’ve always said that commoners are a class that dies instead of aristocrats…”
Julie’s eyes trembled slightly at those words, but Deculein didn’t respond. It was a statement that she had no choice but to agree with to some extent. Deculein turned to the guard.
“Give the selected commoners a Reccordak pass. There’s a lot to do.”
“Yes! All right!”
* * *
There was a lot of talk about Deculein’s tolerance toward the mountain villagers. Although it was such an exceptional situation, the Imperial Palace knights who saw his ideas and actions didn’t accept them in a good light.
“Still, if there are many people, even if things go wrong, it will give them time to escape, so I guess he accepted them to….”
“What will change if tens of thousands of commoners are employed? Only more people to feed.”
“Hey. Still, gaining a second per person is enough. Also, didn’t the commoners bring all their wealth? Using it as supplies, giving all the dangerous missions to commoners, wouldn’t we be killing three birds with one stone?”
“Hmm… well. Considering that professor’s extraordinary tricks…”
Those words flowed through the hollow Reccordak, but Deculein paid them no mind. He knew the rumors, but he didn’t try to eradicate them. He just quietly put their names on the killing list.
…His grudge was to strangle people to death, tightening around their necks like a hangman’s noose.
In any case, part of the Reccordak site was reconstructed due to the arrival of the new residents. Epherene, Drent, and Ihelm’s division and the various wizards from the Imperial Palace totaled less than forty, but they instantly built hundreds of communal houses.
“…Wow.”
In addition, the new main building of Reccordak had finally been completed. Julie and Reylie looked up at the building with the other knights.
“This building… it’s such a waste. I think I can understand why the Professor was making a fuss… imagine the loss if this breaks. How much would have been spent in vain?”
If it was too high, it became a target for flying monsters, so the floor height of the main building was kept below the wall. The wide and heavy exterior was pure white, reminiscent of the northern winter, with the black pattern of the Yukline sparsely engraved in an old-fashioned style. In addition, the trees surrounding it acted as a natural protective wall, and there were many facilities to the left and right, including a dormitory, an armory, and a training center.
“…He sure invested a lot. Gosh.”
Delric, the knight of the Imperial Palace, laughed as he felt disconcerted. Just then, Deculein appeared from the new building’s entrance.
“Everyone, come inside. From now on, I will assign offices to individual knights and wizards.”
The knights and wizards and several uninvited guests, including the Red Garnet Adventurers and Primienne, followed him.
* * *
…Office assignments were based on achievements at Reccordak. I ordered the hundreds of knights according to accurate figures and gave them each appropriate office.
“Where will our adventure team stay?”
“I haven’t been assigned yet.”
However, these guys were unexpected. Lia, Leo, and Primienne, respectively. They followed me, and when the assignment was finished, they asked for their quarters bluntly.
“Just stay at the dorms.”
“I’m still the deputy director. Shouldn’t I have an office?”
“Yes, that’s right. Us too. We’re an adventure team. The other members will come soon.”
“…”
I glanced at Epherene. The half-sleeping girl yawned as she met my gaze.
“We still have rooms 301, 303, and 306 on the 3rd-floor leftover.”
“Choose. The first to get there can take the room.”
“Oh, okay! Leo! Follow me! I have one I put my eyes on!”
“Yeah!”
Lia and Leo ran as soon as they heard, and Primienne grabbed at the children’s ankles with her magic.
Thud-!
“Ugh!”
“Ouch!”
In her early thirties, the deputy director chuckled with satisfaction as she looked at two children flat on the floor.
“…Hey! What was that all about?”
“Hmph. Compassion is a virtue, little ones. Room 303 is the widest, so you go to Room 301 or 306.”
“That’s absurd. Let go of me!”
I ignored them as they began arguing and opened the door to my office.
—I said let go of me!
—Where’s your respect?
—Ugh… Leo! Get ready!
—Yeah!
—Stay still… are you trying to fight back? Stop there.
—Run!
—Hey. I told you to stop. Hey.
Something was going on outside, but the inside scenery was satisfactory. It wasn’t much different from the 77th floor of the tower. I deliberately designed it to be something I was familiar with.
“Whoa. It’s the same as the 77th floor. I miss you there. I think it’s already been a month or two. Maybe even three months?”
“Your seat is here.”
I tapped the desk.
“Yeah, where…”
At that moment, Epherene’s expression hardened.
“…”
On the other side of the office, there was a seat that was nothing more than a secretary’s office. Where Allen originally sat.
Epherene made a nasal noise and turned around.
Sniff- Sniff-
Sniff- Sniff-
After a few more annoying sniffles, she sat still with her back turned.
“…Sorry. I’m sorry.”
Her eyes were red, but she didn’t say anything. Paying her no further mind, I started writing a letter to Sophien and the ministers.
…Scratch, scratch.
…Scratch, scratch.
Epherene slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.
Haaaam-
She yawned, stretching out her stiff shoulders.
“Oh, I almost fell asleep.”
The white noise of the Professor writing almost lulled her away.
“Ugh…”
She stretched her hands behind her neck and yawned a few more times, then mumbled.
“Oh. I didn’t sleep; no wonder I’m tired… huh?”
Epherene looked around, but she wasn’t in the office.
“Here…”
This was Luna’s old mansion. Yes, the time when the family still had a mansion left to their name. Before being stolen by Glitheon…
“…This is my room.”
Epherene looked around the room with a blank expression. Bed. Carpet. There were also luxuries such as a wardrobe…
“You’re here again.”
“!”
Epherene raised her head abruptly. At the entrance to the room, there was Deculein, no, the wood steel.
“Phew… you scared me.”
She put her hands to her chest in surprise, glancing around.
“Is this my dream again?”
“Yes. Decalane, who borrowed the power of Voice, will come to visit soon.”
“…”
Epherene sat down on the bed with a slightly confused expression, grabbing the duvet. She missed the touch and smell of this space even though she knew it was a dream.
“…You know.”
Epherene looked at the wood steel again. It was reading a book, just like Deculein.
“But how do you think and move so perfectly?”
“Because I have a clear mutual understanding with my master, your quality and abundant magical powers are provided to me, and above all, because this place is in your dreams.”
“Mutual understanding?”
“Yes.”
Epherene suddenly became curious.
“Then, do you know what the Professor feels?”
“Yes. Until I was given to you, the moments, I was with him.”
“Oh…”
Then he turned to Epherene.
“Are you curious? About what the master thinks of you.”
“…”
Suddenly, her body trembled.
“What, what, what?”
She pretended not to, but it was true that she was curious. How Deculein felt about her… no, it was a bit strange to talk like this. Rather than the feeling… his thoughts?
“Wait. Can you tell me that?”
“I can.”
“How? Won’t the Professor be upset about it?”
“It doesn’t matter. Because now I live with your mana. In other words, you are my new master.”
“Whoa~.”
Epherene smirked and raised her eyebrows.
“Then obey!”
He did not react. He only kept reading his book.
“…Why aren’t you obeying?”
“Let me correct what I said. Rather than my master, you’re a child I should take care of. So I refuse.”
“…Gosh.”
Epherene was a bit annoyed, but there was nothing she could do. He was right.
“But I’m curious what the Professor and my dad thought of each other. And what happened.”
She talked about the sensitive issues, pretending like they were nothing but her idle curiosity. The wood steel stopped suddenly. In return, Epherene’s heart rate soared.
“…”
“…Why don’t you talk? Do you even know about that? Oh~, you don’t know.”
“I know.”
“…Really? What was it? What could it be? Hmm, ~? I’m not curious, but well~, try telling me~.”
“…”
What did he know? Would he even speak? With a squint, she glanced at him, fiddling absent-mindedly with the dolls of a rabbit and a dog on the bed.
“…”
However, no matter how long she waited.
“…”
He didn’t say anything.
“…”
Epherene moved her lips and looked at him. He was staring off somewhere else.
“…What are you doing?”
In an instant, an unfamiliar voice resounded through the room.
—Deculein hated your father.
An eerie sound. Epherene shot up as a part of the room wall was dyed in darkness, and an aura of metal rose around the wood steel.
“…Who are you?”
—Kid. Can’t you tell even after hearing my voice?
The one who spoke in a phlegmy voice and appeared from the darkness.
—It’s me.
A monster that resembled Deculein. Rather, Deculein inherited his appearance from him, this older and more terrifying monster.
“…Decalane.”
Epherene said the name as if spitting. She warmed up the mana through her body, burning with the will to face him.
-Right. It’s me, kid.
Decalane smiled; his face was bizarre and corpse-like. Epherene felt momentarily nauseous.
—Kid, Deculein hated your father. He despised him. Hated him because his fiancée died.
“Shut up!”
-And. I guess you didn’t know, but…
Then the wood steel reached out and stopped him. He threw metal at Decalane, but he wasn’t real. The metal passed right through. The wood steel turned to Epherene.
“Epherene, cover your ears.”
Despite his warning, Decalane’s voice seeped into her ears.
—Your father… hated you as much as he hated Deculein. He hated you, with his same blood, so terribly.
Epherene’s head emptied for a moment. That was how much she couldn’t understand the bullshit that her brain was rejecting.
—He said you shouldn’t have been born…
Epherene shouted back at Decalane.
“E-Enough with the bullshit, you fucking asshole!”