Chapter 185 – Suspicion and a Test
“Kweeek!!!”
The terrible cry assaulted the sleeping guide’s eardrums and forcibly dragged him back to reality.
What was that? What was happening?
As the guide looked around to assess the situation, all he could see were the faint outlines of rocks within the darkness.
“Kweeek!!!”
The cries rattling his skull left him without even the slightest opportunity to think.
Unable even to breathe, the guide wrapped both arms around his head and threw himself facedown.
Assaulted by terror without being given a chance to think clearly, he could do nothing but flatten himself against the ground and shed tears like a newborn baby.
Amid the guide’s confusion, he remembered the last mocking words he had heard before losing consciousness.
—I might simply throw you to the orcs as food.
His body stiffened as his terror reached its peak.
That’s right. He definitely said he would throw me to the orcs as food.
They really did throw me to them.
Although those had not actually been the exact words he heard, the guide had long since lost the capacity to recognize the leap in logic he had made.
Even if he had retained that much intelligence, his reaction probably would not have been much different.
Curled up like a grub, all the guide could do was tremble in fear.
At least, until a quiet whisper fell from above his head.
“Get up without making any noise.”
The instincts that had developed to ensure human survival did not obey the commands of reason.
Being told not to think did not allow one to stop thinking.
Likewise, being told not to panic did not make it possible to control one’s surprise.
“Get up without making any noise.”
Before the guide could even comprehend the quiet whisper settling beside his ear, he leaped up and screamed.
“Aaaaaaaaagh—mmph...!!!”
A powerful hand clamped over his mouth, forcing his scream back down his throat.
“I told you not to make any noise. Do you want to be devoured like the others?”
At the word “devoured”, the guide’s body became rigid.
Apparently deciding that he would no longer scream, the hand covering his mouth loosened.
The guide watched the hand slowly withdraw and looked toward its owner.
Although it was too dark to see her face clearly, he could tell that she was a woman whose hair hung down around her face.
The guide remembered the timid, brown-haired woman among the victors from Lucha Village.
Was her name Lia?
No, her name did not matter.
What mattered was that someone had appeared who could protect him in this terrifying situation.
The guide desperately seized her hand.
“Were the others devoured by the orcs? Then you....”
Before he could finish speaking, however, she shook off his hand as though brushing away something filthy.
Bewildered by the unexpected treatment, the guide stared blankly upward.
“The others were probably eaten by the orcs. I escaped alone.”
Her composed voice, as though nothing had happened, deprived the guide of the opportunity to protest what she had just done.
Moreover, although he did not realize it, his subconscious had already calculated that he must not defy his sole remaining lifeline.
“H-How did you survive? You looked like the weakest one among them….”
“I was the only one who survived because of this.”
The guide looked down at the heavy object that dropped onto his lap and jumped in surprise.
“Th-This is...!”
“Yes, it’s the holy relic from the temple. The orcs won’t attack anyone carrying it.”
When the guide hesitated, unable to bring himself to touch it, the blunt voice continued.
“Someone more important than me should be carrying it. Take it and get up. We must leave the cave before they discover us.”
“That arrogant black-haired bastard tried to kill me. Yet you intend to save me? Did you betray them?”
This time, no immediate answer came.
Only after the puzzled guide raised his head did the quiet, whispering voice respond.
“....I never intended to join forces with those heretics. That’s why I took the holy relic and escaped.”
There was nothing incorrect about her answer, yet the guide felt strangely uneasy.
He was the one who deserved proper treatment, and the other person was behaving accordingly.
“Are you going to remain seated? If you want to stay behind, I’ll respect your choice.”
When she turned as though preparing to leave, the guide abruptly came to his senses and stood.
“What kind of insane nonsense is that...? Of course I’m leaving!”
“Then hold the sword firmly. It will prevent the orcs from attacking you.”
“....Why are you entrusting it to me? Won’t you be in danger without it?”
Unable to let go of his suspicions, the guide questioned her.
“Because I cannot commit a sin. If I allow someone who serves a priest of the temple to die, I’ll be punished. So when we return to the temple….please speak favorably of me.”
Only after receiving that obedient answer could the guide breathe comfortably.
That was right. The world revolved around God.
The closer one stood to the center, the more important one became.
It was only natural that someone as important as him should receive better treatment than some ignorant brute who merely possessed physical strength.
Ultimately, she too was merely a human clinging to the temple’s words and its promise of salvation.
Feeling considerably more at ease, the guide began walking.
* * *
Sensing the guide slowly following behind her, Lia felt grateful for the surrounding darkness.
Had he seen her distorted expression, she could not have deceived him so easily.
He was an absurdly shameless and foolish man.
He had casually led the villagers to their deaths, yet he still believed that she, someone from that very village, would help him.
It meant he understood that people had no choice but to bow before him.
It had never even occurred to him that this belief could be shattered.
However, what was truly ridiculous was that Lia herself regarded the guide’s shamelessness as natural.
She found the guide following her repulsive, yet she also despised the anxiety she felt over deceiving him.
An anxious mind produced excessive thoughts, and excessive thoughts caused one to doubt oneself.
Doubt ultimately restricted one’s actions.
It was this self-doubt that made Lia anxious.
It was also why she had been unable to immediately tell Ran that she wanted to accompany them.
Even the simple act of luring a single temple guide into a trap made her heart pound violently.
What would happen if she were driven into an even more desperate situation?
What would happen when the day came that she had to attack someone she considered even nobler?
Would she be able to overcome the brainwashing and stand with everyone else?
Lia remembered her helplessness as she stood blankly before the temple priest immediately after Jing had been devoured by the holy relic.
When defying a priest and escaping had been the limit of what she could accomplish, could she truly accompany the others and fight beside them?
What if someone more powerful than a priest gave her an order...?
“Are you listening to me?”
The guide’s irritated voice forcibly dragged Lia’s consciousness out of the hole it had been digging deep underground.
“What?”
When Lia turned around, the guide snorted.
“I asked whether you actually know the way!”
He shouted in a voice kept as low as possible before anxiously surveying the surroundings.
“A-And why is it so quiet? Those things were screaming like lunatics just moments ago....”
“They lost track of me. They must be busy eating the people they captured. There weren’t many humans compared to the number of orcs.”
The horrifying account, delivered in a calm voice, made the guide swallow nervously.
Lia looked away from his pathetic expression and turned forward.
“And of course I know the way. We only have to continue ahead and turn right twice. Then we’ll be able to escape this cave.”
“What happens after we leave the cave? What are we supposed to do then?”
“We’ll have to leave the island.”
“Do you think I asked because I didn’t know that? If we can’t get off the island, the orcs will only capture us again!”
How could he be so entirely predictable?
Ignoring the anxiety in the guide’s voice as he complained in frustration, Lia recalled the contrasting voice of another person.
—You only need to take that man to the entrance. When I give the signal, stop briefly at the final turn, Lia. Once he sees you being captured by an orc, he’ll panic and flee. Hopefully he won’t be stupid enough to drop the holy relic amid the commotion, but if he is….we’ll have no choice but to strike him from behind.
The owner of the voice, who had explained how to lure the guide with an astonishing lack of emotion, had a talent for making serious matters sound insignificant.
“M-Me? I think the two of you would be much better at acting than I am.”
—Jing and I already openly threatened to feed the guide to the orcs.
—To be precise, Lord Ran threatened him. I merely knocked him unconscious.
—People generally call that being an accomplice.
—Our actions were of entirely different severity. Once that man awakens, whom do you think he’ll fear more—Lord Ran or me?
—Obviously Jing. If he had to fight one of us, whom would he choose between Jing and me? Obviously me, right?
Perhaps similar people naturally gathered together, because the two accompanying him were much the same.
They also shared the irritating habit of saying nothing technically incorrect, leaving her unable to think of a counterargument.
—It feels as though you’ve all been pretending I don’t exist.
—That’s because you aren’t even worth considering.
—Right. Who do you think threatened that bastard first? Rather than accompany you, that man would choose to be eaten by the orcs. We can’t encourage him to display such courage.
—People are creatures of forgetfulness. He was so terrified by Jing’s savage attack that he’s probably already forgotten about my soft fist.
….Looking back, there had been one person among them who said something incorrect.
No, “shameless” would have been more accurate than “incorrect”.
Ratel’s shameless insistence only made it clearer who should lure the guide.
“....It seems I should be the one to go after all.”
—Shall we do that, then? He’s a coward, so deceiving him shouldn’t be difficult. You won’t require any particularly impressive acting ability.
When Lia stopped their childish argument from continuing, Ran raised the corners of his mouth as though he had been waiting for her to say that.
Remembering his satisfied smile gave her the strange impression that she had been drawn into their conversation exactly as he intended.
Thinking about it again, Ratel probably could have lured the man as well.
Ratel would not even have needed to pretend to show the man any kindness.
He could have dragged the guide along by force and deliberately released him.
The more deeply Lia considered it, the larger an unwelcome possibility grew within her mind.
Then was this a test?
Were they trying to determine whether she could truly deceive that man?
Tension made her hands stiffen.
The possibility that she was being evaluated filled her with anxiety. After all, deceiving the guide genuinely did make her uncomfortable.
She knew far too well that she had not freed herself from the brainwashing.
Lia tried to keep her gait from appearing unnatural.
Fortunately, the man did not notice her anxiety.
“Surely you aren’t walking around without any plan for getting off this island?”
Just as Ran had said, the frightened man was incapable of thinking about anything other than his own safety.
“Once you get outside, don’t hesitate. Jump into the river.”
“What? Are you telling me to drown instead of being eaten by the orcs?”
The guide questioned her in disbelief.
“Don’t worry. The holy relic will carry its holder safely to the mainland.”
Well, that was not exactly a lie.
The holy relic had already guided Lia safely to the island once before.
“I-Is that really true?”
“Yes. My boat was destroyed too, but I safely reached the island that way. So you must never let the holy relic leave your body.”
After hearing an explanation that omitted several intermediate steps, the man tightened his grip on the sword.
After confirming that small movement, Lia’s steps slowed.
The turning point Ran had described was just ahead.
If she stopped there briefly, an orc would capture her. Once the guide safely fled the cave, her assigned role would be complete.
Yes, at least for now, this was not the time to become distracted by her personal feelings.
She could deal with a question she could not immediately answer after sending the guide away according to plan.
Lia forcefully drove away her distracting thoughts.
“Kweeek!!!”
Fortunately, before that brief reprieve ended, an orc’s cry rang out.
It was the signal Ran had given her in advance.
The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps belonging to an enormous creature followed.
“What is this?! What am I supposed to do?!”
As the ground trembled beneath the massive presence, the man panicked and pressed Lia for an answer.
Lia pushed him toward the bend in the passage.
“Run! Turn right once more and keep running straight...!”
Lia could not finish her sentence.
A gigantic hand reached from behind and seized her arm.
The guide’s scream rose sharply.
“R-Run...!”
Lia hurriedly tried to deliver the rest of her line and complete her role, but there was no need to rush.
“....away.”
By the time Lia finished the sentence, the guide had already fled into the distance with the holy relic, leaving not even a single strand of his hair visible.
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