4
Along the way, Suzuki Satoru — who had no choice but to hide his face with an illusion and change his clothes — opened the indicated door leading to a store, and he was mildly surprised.
This was a bar.
However, this did not look like the restaurant at night from the inn, and neither did it look like a hostess bar, but rather a place where customers could sample fine wines in peace — in other words, a high-class establishment.
It was an extremely classy place, and the atmosphere was something else entirely.
I see. Suzuki Satoru understood why they had to meet here.
He had never entered such a place during their journey. As one of the undead who could not eat or drink, Suzuki Satoru would naturally not need to go there, to say nothing of bringing along Keno, who looked like a child. Even in his previous world, he had only been to places like these twice, in order to entertain clients.
In other words, Suzuki Satoru had no idea how to behave here. However, the show had to go on. It would be bad if he embarrassed himself here. Just as Suzuki Satoru was at a loss, an attendant in a stylish outfit walked up to him.
“Welcome.”
The attendant bowed.
Before the man had approached him, Suzuki Satoru sensed that he had been sizing up his outfit. If he had not made the grade for entering the bar, he would probably have been politely asked to leave. In other words, he had made it through the door.
As a precaution, he had changed his clothes after hearing about the atmosphere inside this place. It would seem that had been the right thing to do.
Still, he should not mention that he had changed in the middle of the street under the cover of [Perfect Unknowable].
He looked inside the darkened bar — doing so was no problem for Suzuki Satoru, who was undead — and saw a man sitting on a sofa waving to him.
He was a man with a keen gaze, and his clothes clearly showed off his muscular body. He had a crystalline horn on his head. He was one of the humanoids known as the Sharp Horns.
Suzuki Satoru pretended that he had not spotted the man right away and continued looking around for a while before walking over.
He sat on the sofa opposite the man.
“Sorry for the wait.”
He had chosen to adopt a haughty attitude as a show of strength, the man did not seem to disapprove, but that was only to be expected. The employer — or rather, money — was boss; that much was the same no matter which world one was in.
“No, no, you were on time. I was simply too early.”
There were no cups on the table in front of the man, but it was clear that he had had a few drinks already, given the scent of alcohol hanging around him. The man had come early because this was such a high-end establishment and Suzuki Satoru was footing the bill. Of course, that was not all.
He was the leader of a skilled band of mercenary pathfinders. There had to be some other reason for choosing this place besides drinking.
These pathfinders were not like mercenary companies who numbered in the dozens or hundreds. For starters, there were less than ten of them, all elite, in their group. They took work without being bound by national loyalties. The missions they accepted involved wars between nations, investigating ruins said to be monster lairs, clearing out monsters, and various other tasks related to violence. If one was being nice, they could be called elite mercenaries. If not, they were a band of thugs.
Over a month ago, in a nearby city, Suzuki Satoru had hired them to carry out an investigation. He had come here today to learn the results of their work. “Tell me, then.”
“Oi oi. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but don’t you drink? I’ll feel bad if I drink alone, you know. Drinking helps simplify negotiations too.”
The man seemed to be using some kind of proverb, but Suzuki Satoru had never heard of it before. Of course, Suzuki Satoru knew that he was lacking in knowledge, so that might just have been a normal way of speaking. The man beckoned and a waiter quietly walked over.
“Give this old — ah, my apologies. Give my generous employer something to drink.”
“No need for that,” Suzuki Satoru refused coldly.
It was an act, just like before. In order to avoid having to keep refusing various offers, it was easier for him to act like this. From an adult’s perspective, if one kept refusing invitations to go out drinking, then eventually people would stop inviting you out.
“Ah, don’t mind me, just go ahead and drink.”
“Like I was saying just now…” The man’s words trailed off as he scratched his head. “Ahhh, in that case, I’ll have a Clare.”
“Very well. Which year?”
“The eighth. Give it to me straight.”
“Certainly.”
Suzuki Satoru watched the waiter leave, and the man lowered his voice to speak.
“Now then — I’ll report our findings. The city we were told to investigate was taken over by Zombies. There’s no telling if there’s anyone living there.” “Is that so?”
That was the outcome he had expected, and so Suzuki Satoru’s voice was calm. Perhaps the man was unhappy with that, because he changed his tone. However, he might have faked it. He was the sort of person who would not let his true feelings show even when drunk. Therefore, he was probably trying to emphasize how he felt.
“This is the third Zombie-infested city you’ve had us check, you know? …Don’t you think it’s about time you told us why? Why won’t you let us go into the cities and investigate in detail? What do you want?”
While there was no need to answer that question, it would be bad if they had decided to barge in of their own accord. It would be best if he could answer in a way that did not reveal his intentions and removed their interest in the matter.
“Then I will answer your question with a question. I laid down the ironclad rule that ‘You are not to enter the city.’ Did you do so?”
“No.”
“And why should I believe you?”
“We obey the instructions given to us by our employer. I guarantee it. After all, you’re paying us so much.”
He could not place any trust in that. The amount that Suzuki Satoru had agreed to pay out would look like peanuts if they had entered the city and plundered its treasures.
It was not yet time to learn the truth with mind control spells. Those were not a good choice; there would be trouble once the spell ended. He could seize him and use [Alter Memory] on him, but he was not confident in his ability to adjust memories with magic.
Getting good at these alterations would take a very long time, and his practice would involve turning a person into a vegetable. Given that he did not possess a proper base of operations, it was an unrealistic course of action.
Should he silence him or place his trust in him?
Suzuki Satoru wanted to silence him.
If they killed the Zombies and looted the city’s treasures, it might pose a threat to Keno’s country. This was especially true for private groups, whose actions were very hard to control.
It would seem the countries around Inveria had not sent out their armies to quell these cities.
However, these countries should have known about their neighbors’ citizens all becoming Zombies. Some of those countries might have had the same thing happen to their people. Whether or not those countries had chosen to take military action or were preparing to do so remained to be seen.
Unfortunately, there was no way to verify this. A traveler like Suzuki Satoru would not be able to learn such state secrets no matter how much he paid. Still, he could think of a few reasons why the surrounding countries had not taken action yet.
Since the undead were enemies of all living beings, there was no direct benefit to eliminating them.
Even if they exterminated the Zombies and liberated a city, all they would gain was land without a workforce. Such land would be useless to them.
Perhaps it might be useful if they had excess mouths and ample manpower. But if they did not have that much population, then taking and holding unnecessary territory would only become a burden, since one needed bigger garrison forces as one’s territory grew.
But if they left the undead alone, it might lead to the appearance of more powerful undead, so they would have to send their armies in eventually. However, negotiations would be needed in order not to agitate their neighbors when moving their forces, and then the nobles would push the responsibility for taking part in exterminations and so on to each other. Such matters would take a very long time.
And another thing was that as long as the cause for the situation was unknown, sending their troops in might lead to them turning into undead. Anyone with a brain could tell that.
Therefore, these masterless men who were driven by the desires were the more threatening opposition here.
Thus, he would need to disabuse them of that notion with a preventative measure, even if it meant lying to them.
“I see… that’s good,” Suzuki Satoru said as he deliberately lowered his voice. “I say, why do you think the people in the city turned undead?”
“You mean it wasn’t because a monster showed up? You know, like a Soul Eater? I heard that a lot of people died when that monster showed up in a certain country.”
Well yes, a lot of people would die if it walked around on the street with its skill active, Suzuki Satoru smiled bitterly in his heart. Granted, such undead beings were nothing special to him, but it would seem that they were very powerful in this world.
I remember there was a magic warrior riding a Soul Eater among the members of Corpus of the Abyss, but he was incredibly weak. Oh well…
“I don’t think so. We believe that there might be some kind of plague or curse at work here.” The man’s expression did not change upon hearing “we.” Suzuki Satoru ignored him and continued speaking. “It’s probably not poison. If there were a toxic cloud that could cover an entire city — of course, a cloud that turned creatures undead would be something else — but I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”
“So it can’t be a plague, then?”
“No, it’s more likely than a poison. After all, there are plagues which are unique to the undead. Perhaps this Zombie plague is something like that — highly infectious, spread by an airborne vector, and which can’t be treated by [Cure Disease]… A cursed disease.”
“Ah, ah — I see. Like Demon Fever, then. That’s why you didn’t want us to go in.”
It would seem he had taken the bait.
“I’m glad you understand. Normally, the infectious organisms should have died after so long, but it seems things are not normally. This special disease is different from the others and might be lurking in the bodies of the Zombies. Also, they might not be ordinary Zombies, but a new, infectious strain of
Zombies.”
The man listened in silence, and Suzuki Satoru continued spinning his tale.
“While we don’t know the cause for it, it’s possible that one of you might have gotten infected too. It would be bad enough if you had turned into Zombies on the spot over there, but the worst-case scenario is if it has a fixed incubation period. That would be troublesome. The infection might spread to this city and the surrounding villages.”
“Oi oi oi oi, boss. You should have told us about this danger beforehand, right?”
“And if I told you, who would have taken the job? Also, a death would have proven whether or not the city was safe. In any case, I’m not going to lose a moment of sleep if you end up dying because you couldn’t follow instructions.” The man’s gaze grew keen.
“So we’re canaries, then…”
Suzuki Satoru smiled coldly, but did not reply.
“Then let me ask you again. Did you go in?”
“We didn’t. I’m a man of my word… and I swear that I’ll continue keeping my word in future.”
The man’s reply came instantly. After seeing his lack of hesitation of unease, Suzuki Satoru was certain that he was not lying.
“Well, what a shame — ah, I meant that you missed out on a chance to make a big sum — that is, the chance to gather an entire city’s wealth.” The man furrowed his brows, as though on purpose.
“You pay well — but you’re a terrible boss.”
“Am I? If I really were a terribly boss, wouldn’t I have urged you to enter the city? I’d have baited you with the lure of some rare item, no?” The man appeared to have accepted that reasoning.
Just then, the waiter brought the wine over.
The man took a mouthful of it and then loudly exhaled a breath of alcoholladen air.
“Well, thanks for the job. We’ll take the payment as arranged, then.”
Suzuki Satoru dumped a small pouch on the table. Then, he placed a large bag on the table, which clinked.
The man opened the smaller pouch, checked that there were four large gemstones inside, and then closed it back up.
Since gold coins were too heavy, big transactions were typically made with gemstones and the like. Some countries used gemstones to make a type of extremely high-value currency called gem coins, or they made coins of mithril or adamantite, or “gold plaques” which had value beyond their weight, but this country did not use those.
“And… this is?”
The man had already opened up the bag and checked the gold coins inside. It was a large sum.
“The two bags together are the payment for the job. Take it.”
“Then you could have just used gems for both bags. It’s hard to carry this stuff home when you’re drunk.”
“Sorry about that, but please make do. This money isn’t quite enough for a gemstone.” Suzuki Satoru then muttered to himself, “Finances are pretty tight on my end too…”
Perhaps there was no point in such a fabrication, but it was worth trying. It would be fine as long as it could delay the man just a little.
“Then we’ll go to the appraiser’s together. The gems’ value—”
“—Ah, you don’t need to do that. Don’t be mistaken, but I trust you, you know? After all, it’s the third time you’ve hired us, and you’ve never once welched on the payment or tried to haggle the price too much. If I doubted you even then, it’d be pretty shameless of me.”
“No, it doesn’t matter even if you don’t believe me. We need to make sure there are no problems between us in order to avoid trouble.”
After Suzuki Satoru said so, the man exploded into laughter.
He laughed for a while, and then the man addressed Satoru, the afterglow of his mirth still on his face.
“You’re the one who doesn’t trust us, right? Well, it can’t be helped. Haha! Then let me come clean. I didn’t want to go with you earlier because this is a classy place and I don’t get the chance to come here often, so I wanted you to buy me a few more drinks.”
I see… in other words, he wanted me to foot the bill. Well, that’s fine…
“Well, that’s it, then. I’ll be heading back first.”
Suzuki Satoru rose from his seat. The man raised his glass and watched him leave.
“Please continue taking care of us.”
But will there be a next time? With that thought in mind, Suzuki Satoru smiled in a very meaningful way.
Employing the same pathfinders might arouse suspicion, so he was no longer willing to hire this man’s team again. That was why he had paid him in gold.
Paying in gems would have been simple enough, but he had not done this because he wanted to take the gold that he had stolen from “Corpus of the Abyss” to him.
He remembered that certain divination spells could determine the location of marked items. The higher the tier of the spell, the more accurately they could track that position. However, he could not place such a mark after entering this world, unless they were distinctly different from other mass-produced items.
For instance, if he wanted to trace an ingot, it would need to be clearly distinct from other ingots — so little things like leaving an obvious scratch or some other mark on it would be important.
However, if the spell used was not of such a high tier, then once it was placed in a sealed container or some other place — like his inventory, for instance — it would be unfindable. Even high-tier spells would not be able to detect it through the appropriate magical defenses.
That said, after considering the danger of retaining anything which carried even the faint possibility of allowing others to track his position, Suzuki Satoru had decided to distribute these coins all over. He had kept this a secret from Keno.
Naturally, while he had dominated the members of “Corpus of the Abyss,” he had asked them several times if items could be used as trackers. However, none of them had heard of anyone doing such a thing. That said, if even Suzuki Satoru could think of a trap like that, who was to say that the undead members of “Corpus of the Abyss” could not do the same?
What I can do, others can do too… who knows, there might be a being out there who can control me with [Undead Domination].
Both he and Keno were equipped with gear that improved their resistance to [Undead Domination], but that was by no means a guarantee of protection. Even Suzuki Satoru, who was a supremely specialized necromancer, could not claim that. Moreover, Suzuki Satoru’s knowledge was rooted in Yggdrasil.
It was true that most of his Yggdrasil knowledge had been proven correct over the last five years, which had also been a great help to Suzuki Satoru. But it was also true that certain things — like how [Wish Upon A Star] functioned — had been changed. In that case, it might be possible that there was a way out there to dominate a level 100 undead being.
Carelessness was the province of fools.
Suzuki Satoru would not be bothered even if “Corpus of the Abyss” captured that man for questioning.
That man did not know Suzuki Satoru’s true face and most of the things he had told him were lies. Anything they could learn from him would only end up protecting Suzuki Satoru instead.
Even learning what Suzuki Satoru had employed him for would not be a problem. If the members of “Corpus of the Abyss” tried to use that in their schemes, it would play into Suzuki Satoru’s hands instead. After all, he might end up learning more from them when he attacked them as a result of this.
…But nothing’s happened to them until now. I paid them twice already… ah well, I won’t lose anything even if my efforts were in vain. But the situation I’m in now… is it money-laundering?
As he thought absentmindedly about all this, Suzuki Satoru paid the barkeep three times the value of what the man had drunk so far.
There was no telling how much more he would drink, but since he had already given him so much, he could pay for the rest out of his own pocket if it still was not enough. With that thought in mind, Suzuki Satoru left the bar.
●
The man — Bez Ku Broven (Bez, son of Broven, of the Ku tribe) had drunk quite a lot, and he could feel the alcohol circulating inside him. Still, it was not enough to make him unsteady on his feet. It was still alright if it only slowed this thinking. Being a mercenary who had made his fair share of enemies, Bez would not show anyone any weaknesses.
While there were times when he had actually gotten drunk to bait the enemy out, he had friends with him then. And today, there were no friends with him.
While I wanted to have them follow the client… actually doing that would be stupid. His mercenary’s instinct told him that doing so would be treading on a Dragon’s tail.
Bez waved the waiter over.
“Bill please.”
He had a pouch in an inside pocket and bag that was so full that it was hard to walk around with it. Compared to what his client had given him, his expenses here were nothing much.
“No, there’s no need for that.”
As he heard what the waiter said after walking over, Bez laughed merrily.
“Oh, sorry about that.”
He had just been kidding back then, but it would seem his client was not in any financial trouble, judging from the way he could pay for Bez without even buying himself a drink.
While he would very much like to have toasted the client in thanks, the glass before him was empty and he was not in the mood to ask for more.
Then let’s go, he thought. It was only when he got to his feet that he realized the waiter had not yet moved away from in front of him.
For some reason, a dangerous look began creeping into his eyes just as the waiter began speaking.
“Dear customer. May I know who that guest just now was?”
“Hm?”
Bez’s brows knotted in displeasure. To think he was actually asking for personal information about a customer — how the hell was this place training its people?
Perhaps he would not have minded the question if this was some hole-in-thewall city tavern. But this place was different. There ought to have been a respect for their customer’s privacy which matched the amounts changing hands here. There must be a guild of some strength backing this place up, probably. One needed a certain degree of power to chase away the riffraff. Perhaps they might have ties to illegal organizations, in order to easily deal with rude customers.
“I’m terribly sorry. That customer was dressed in exquisite clothing, so I was wondering what manner of person he must be. I was very interested in it.”
The waiter had said all that despite Bez not saying anything. In other words they were saying, “We’ll give you information too, so please reveal something to us.”
“Ah, his clothes, ah—”
“The tailoring, the needlework, the material, it’s all excellent. He would probably be one of the best-dressed customers we’ve had here so far — the very best, in fact. In truth, I have no idea what those clothes are even made of.”
If even the employees of this establishment did not know, then it must be something amazing.
While this was the first time Bez had come here, he had heard that this place was patronized by the highest circle of citizens. Perhaps tribal chiefs — on the level of kings — might come here.
Oi oi oi, what kind of amazing outfit was that… but honestly, where did that guy come from?
So he’s more amazing than a tribal chief? He wanted to ask that, but that might be taken for agreeing to a trade of information. Bez had no intention of going any further, and so he shrugged.
“I heard he’s a trader.” That sounds incredibly fake, Bez thought, but he had said it anyway. “So I guess it’s made of fabric from a distant land. Who knows, it might just be ordinary stuff over there.”
“Surely you jest. If it really was cheap stuff, as you say, then he must have traded with very advanced nations… definitely not a country in the region.” “Doesn’t that mean he must have come from a really faraway place, then?” Though he said that, it was true that Bez was very interested in his client.
Bez felt that saying he was a trader was not too far from the truth. That was because he could not sense a hint of violence from his client — he felt like an ordinary person.
When he had hired them for the first time, one of Bez’s friends, a beast warrior, had snorted and concluded that he was an easily beatable opponent. But the second round, he had started having his doubts.
For starters, the contents of this mission were quite strange, when one sat down and thought about it. It was like he was sending them in because he knew there would be something to find. Moreover, what would their client gain from learning about this?
It was as though he had been deliberately leaking information just now.
It felt like he was taking precautions to keep Bez from looking further into the matter, but also like he was deceiving him. If it was the former, it would allay the suspicions in his heart, but the dread in his heart would not go away if it were the latter.
However—
“I’m sorry. A client like that who pays without grumbling and who even foots the bill for my drinks is the best client I can hope for. There’s nothing I can tell you.”
—There was no need to go treading on the Dragon’s tail.
The wealth of a city — no, three cities — was enough to make him drool. But if that man was backed by a country, then it would be bad if he bore a grudge.
Taking the treasure and fleeing to another country would be one thing, but the matter was not as simple as that. Sometimes, hatred could draw out unimaginable power. Bez did not want to spend the rest of his life being hunted by elite assassins hired by some country.
As long as the other guy did not betray him, Bez would not betray him either. That was Bez’s secret of happiness.
“Is that so? Then I apologize.”
The waiter brought out a bag filled with money. What is this? Bez asked with his eyes, and then the waiter replied, “The drinks are on the house, so I am returning the payment to you. Please come again, and please thank your client on our behalf.”
This was probably an apology from the bar for prying about a customer, or was this hush money?
For a moment, Bez wanted to refuse it. But he decided that it would be a bad move, and it would sow the seeds of ill-will between him and this bar.
While he did not think it would be immediately life-threatening, that would depend on how the bar thought of that client. If he wanted to maintain ties with that client, then something might happen to Bez before he could tell the client unnecessary things.
In order to prevent himself from being silenced, he ought to take it.
In that case, I’d better not ask about the matter.
Bez snatched the purse away, somewhat annoyed.
“I’ll be back.”
It did not hurt to be polite.
“We’ll be waiting.”
After hearing the waiter speak from behind him, Bez stepped outside.
●
Along the way, he opened the pouch the store attendant had given him and saw a valuable-looking gem among the gold coins. His employer had probably not given this to the store to pay for the drinks, so it would seem best to treat it as hush money.
Bez did not have the keen senses of a ranger or a thief, but he had senses of his own that had been honed after many battles. He deployed those senses fully and took a roundabout route back to his own inn to check if he was being followed.
Part of the inn’s first floor was a cafeteria, and his friends were drinking in a corner.
“Yo.”
He knew from a glance at the label of the wine bottle that this was better than the usual stuff — it was the best stuff that the inn had. Of course, it was nothing compared to the bar where Bez had just been drinking.
“Welcome back — looks like things ended uneventfully. You look happy, you smell of liquor, and you’re back late.”
The man who said this was around 120 centimeters tall. He was not a child, but a proper adult. He belonged to the humanoid race known as Hill Dwarves. While they were relatives of the Dwarves, they had an affinity for the ranger profession and keen senses of direction.
“After all, you’d have come back sooner if something had happened.”
The speaker was a man whose spear was leaning against the wall. He had the head of a serpent and his entire body was covered in scales. He was a Snakeman, a demi-human race.
“Ahhh, he paid up the amount he promised. That said, he didn’t pay extra.”
“Hah, sounds like even if you did, you would have drunk it away. I don’t touch alcohol, so don’t take it out of the party funds.”
“But you ate a whole pile of fresh meat, didn’t you? You don’t mind me taking that out of the party funds, do you?”
The person saying so was a humanoid make whose race was a relative of the Orcs. His muscular body made him seem twice the size of Bez. While one could call his race relatives of the Orcs, they were more like superior specimens of the same, much like the way Hobgoblins and Goblins were related.
The weapon on his waist was over two meters long, known as an ōdachi. He could skillfully employ it as a rōnin.
In addition to those three, the two others who were not present made up Bez’s companions.
“Right right, let’s appraise it. Bez. take out the gems.”
Bez handed the pouch with the gems to the Hill Dwarf. The Hill Dwarf upended its contents onto the table and began evaluating them by lamplight. He took a minute for each one before he was done. By that time, his friends had already finished counting the gold coins and informed him of the amount.
“Right. The sum’s what we agreed on. The gems might sell for more or less depending on the buyer, but that’s not our client’s fault.”
The Snakeman twisted his head at an angle that humans could not manage and looked at Bez. Even though he was used to looking at those eyes which betrayed no emotion, it still made Bez uncomfortable.
“Now then, why would he pay so much for such a simple job? Did you learn anything after a few drinks with him?”
That was why they had chosen to meet in that incredibly high-end establishment.
Considering the job was just to check out a city — even if it was infested with the undead, but only on the level of Zombies — this was a ridiculously generous sum. That was what had bothered Bez about their client’s true intentions.
However—
“Not at all.”
Bez shrugged. That was because he had concluded that it would be safer not to pry too deeply into this.
“Oi oi… isn’t it possible that we might be visited by retrievers soon?”
“Beats me.” Retrievers here referred to assassins and the like. “We did our job well. Don’t you think he’d rather make use of us rather than kill us off?”
“Well, another job would put me somewhat at ease.”
“What a shame. I did my best to put on a show, but the client didn’t have a new job for us right away. He might be talking to his boss.”
After verifying the earnest look in his friends’ eyes, Bez began telling them about their conversation in the bar and his own postulations.
“Ah~ in that case, I think your conclusion is on the mark, Bez. Or rather, I can’t think of anything else.”
“Yup. He must be from some country. Ah~ is looting the treasure of three cities just a dream~”
The Hill Dwarf agreed with the Orc’s words. Bez’s mercenary band was a group of experts, and they were confident that they would not lose out to the troops in the region. But much like Bez, they did not want to spend their lives on the run.
“So what should we do next? We’ve taken a lot of jobs here. Resentment’s starting to build up.”
“That’s true. Maybe we should head over to Soba. I heard the Tsar of the eastern countries is recruiting talented mercenaries. Might be a good idea to head there. In any case, we should prepare to move out.”
After hearing his companions voice their approval, Bez nodded.
●
Suzuki Satoru walked a short distance after leaving the bar and then took a turn into a small alley.
After ensuring that there was nobody in there, he cast [Perfect Unknowable]. He waited there for almost a minute, but nobody entered that little alley.
It would seem he could be sure that he was not being followed. According to his experiences, Suzuki Satoru knew well that there were precious few entities in this world who were powerful enough to see through spells of this tier.
Suzuki Satoru cast [Fly] and [Greater Teleportation] in that order.
His destination was a point one kilometer above the city.
The clamor of the night could not reach that high. It was a place lit only by the gentle light of the moon.
Suzuki Satoru deftly folded his legs in mid-air and produced a map from his inventory, which he placed on his legs.
Now then… this place was converted to the undead as well. Which means…
He took out a pen and marked the cities which the mercenaries had visited.
Keno’s eyes would have gone wide if she had seen this. The map was exquisitely drawn and depicted the countries near Keno’s homeland. It had been made by spending a great deal of the gold coins stolen from “Corpus of the Abyss.” If the intelligence personnel of the neighboring countries had seen this, they would have gladly spent money like water to obtain it.
During the five years since they had set off on their journey, Suzuki Satoru had spent a great deal of time conducting investigations, and he discovered that the Zombification had affected a very large area. While he was not sure exactly when each Zombification had taken place, analysis of the information he had collected suggested the time gap between each instance had not been very great.
The question of who had done this and their aims remained unclear, but it looked like it was not targeted at Keno, and it was very unlikely that “Corpus of the Abyss” had done this. If “Corpus of the Abyss” had a magic caster who could trigger a phenomenon like this over such a wide area, then they would not have been picked off one by one so easily.
The likelihood that this had not been accomplished through the personal power of the members of “Corpus of the Abyss,” but by some item obtained from somewhere was similarly very low. Therefore, it would probably best not to tell Keno that hunting “Corpus of the Abyss” had been done to procure funds and to steal the research that those undead beings had spent so much time compiling.
He had kept all these things from Keno because she was simply too softhearted.
Nobody else mattered to Suzuki Satoru besides himself and Keno. He simply acted with his interests as a priority. However, she would not have thought about things so simply. Therefore, doing so was also to avoid burdening her with excess guilt.
In that case — which place is the most suspicious? After analyzing the information I’ve collected, the Zombification seems to be limited to this region.
Suzuki Satoru’s finger pointed to the safe cities, which had not been marked.
Which means—
Suzuki Satoru’s line of sight shifted, and then stopped at a corner of the map.
The Zombification phenomenon radiated from a certain point in the mountain range there.
There was a legend surrounding those mountains.
There was a fountain of wisdom somewhere in the mountains, and soaking in it would grant one wisdom. But many trials stood in the way of getting there, and it was said that nobody could come back from it alive.
However, that mountain range was also a lair for Wyverns and other powerful monsters, so it was very likely that those monsters would make any venture in there a one-way trip even before one could throw one’s life away in those trials.
It might be fun to verify this legend if he had the time, but there was something he had to do before that.
Suzuki Satoru quietly said the name of the highest peak in that mountain range.
“Kaidinias, huh.”
He had no proof that it was the source of the phenomenon. He had simply remembered the Brightness Dragon Lord, who resided on the highest peak of the continent.
After all, there was a very large margin of error when considering the scale of the map, even if he was looking for the center of a radiating spread.
If it really was there, the source of the phenomenon was a magic item, and it had triggered the Zombification during transportation, then there would truly be no hope. The difficulty of finding it would be like trying to find a pearl in the desert.
And even if it had been caused by someone, they probably would have run far away and hidden by then.
In that case, there was no way the sages of the nearby nations could not have thought of something that even Suzuki Satoru would have noticed.
But it was still possible.
Yes, it really was possible.
It was possible that nobody had sent out investigation parties.
Suzuki Satoru had used [Greater Teleportation] to travel between the surrounding countries, spent a great deal of resources, and even hired people to conduct investigation despite the lack of immediate returns.
If anyone else had done what Suzuki Satoru had, they would have been able to reach the same conclusion. However, there was probably nobody who had done so to date. Even if there were people who wanted to take action in order to verify their information, it would have taken them longer than Suzuki Satoru to obtain information of the same standard that he possessed.
That would mean Suzuki Satoru was probably the closest to unravelling this mystery.
In that case, he might be able to find something left behind there that might work as a clue.
However, going there would also be very troublesome. That was because he could not teleport to a place he had never been to before. He could only teleport to a city he could reach and then go on foot from there. Naturally, that would waste a lot of time, and so he would have to explain various things to Keno. He had barely managed to bluff his way through until now, and Suzuki Satoru’s head ached when he thought about it.
Keno had not mentioned her homeland since two years ago.
Before that, she had been searching for a way to cure the Zombification and help her people. But ever since that say — no, several days before that, she had not brought it up again. After that, she seemed content to carry on in their adventures together.
Had she really let go of it, or had she simply buried it deep in her psyche? Suzuki Satoru could not tell which was the case. Or perhaps Keno had hidden it very well, or perhaps Suzuki Satoru was very bad at reading the hearts of others. Digging too deep into the hearts of others was not good either, which was how they had made it this far.
…I guess asking would have been fine. Even so, I didn’t do anything. Was it because I didn’t want to feel the helplessness of not being able to ease the suffering of a fellow travelling companion?
For Suzuki Satoru, the only people who had accompanied him on adventures for so long were the members of Ainz Ooal Gown, and by sheer length of time, Keno had surpassed even them. Therefore he had chosen not to poke at the matter in order to let his feelings remain in a comfortable place.
I’m really useless… but what will I do from now on?
Collecting this information had simply been a matter of interest on his part. At the same time, it was also to find a way to ease Keno’s pain, even if just a little. However, after gathering so much information and pinpointing a suspicious location, he had started waffling instead.
He did not know if there were any merits to doing this. Quite a few demerits came to mind, however.
If there was someone there who had triggered this phenomenon — a wideranging event which had indiscriminately brought tragedy to people — then there was no way they could be normal. If he actually encountered that person, then surely battle would be unavoidable.
Was there any gain at all in opposing someone who could affect an area which even Yggdrasil magic could not hope to reach?
It was not as though the Zombification would recur, and even if it happened again, it was very unlikely that it would affect Suzuki Satoru and Keno.
And if that change could even convert Overlords and Vampires into Zombies, then it would be safest to avoid dangerous people like that.
If it was merely due to the unusual functioning of an item, then recovering it might be a good idea… I definitely want to lay my hands on an unknown World Class Item. However, if someone had deliberately done so, what would be the aim of triggering such a phenomenon?
Perhaps he would be able to formulate a response if he knew the opposition’s aim, but right now he simply did not know enough.
Suzuki Satoru touched the World Class Item in his belly.
Which is more dangerous, leaving it alone or investigating it?
If someone really was scheming in the shadows, then it would be a bad idea to give them time.
If they were on the level of the Brightness Dragon Lord and he sat back to watch them grow stronger, then all he could do was run and hide.
It seems the Dragon Lords are hostile to Yggdrasil Players… if someone like that keeps getting stronger, I won’t be able to handle them by myself, right? I came out even with the Brightness Dragon Lord — no, it was only a draw because I ran away… well, if that’s his limit, I’ll be able to beat him next time.
He was not being a sore loser or being stubborn.
Both hiding his trump cards and enduring a one-sided offensive from his opponent was all in preparation for the next battle.
Suzuki Satoru had always done this when PVPing in Yggdrasil. Due to the rule of victory going to the one who won two matches out of three, losing the first battle was not a problem. That did not change, even in his first life-or-death struggle in this world.
The advantage of this fighting style remained, even when fighting under extreme circumstances like not knowing if he could resurrect after death.
The strategy for certain victory that his former friend had taught him had not changed, even now.
—No.
It was precisely because he was battling under such a dire situation that he should place even more faith in his old friends.
That said, Suzuki Satoru did not want to fight an enemy of that level again. It was best to avoid danger.
The smart way of doing things was to only fight battles he was confident of winning and choosing to flee if he would lose.
Suzuki Satoru looked at the world.
Brilliant points of light remained, even as the world at night was cloaked in silence.
Perhaps his old friends might have said, “I want to protect this beautiful world!” or something like that. However, no such feeling overflowed in Suzuki Satoru’s heart.
However.
“This really pisses me off,” he muttered to himself.
Indeed.
Right now, Suzuki Satoru was well and truly pissed off.
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