Part II, Volume 5 – Growth of the Heart

Chapter 193

The shaking grew violent, and the space deep underground began to crumble.

This place was likely some kind of alternate dimension, different from the real ocean floor.
Even so, if my master and I were to be caught up in its collapse, death would surely await us both.

The woman—the dungeon master—was already gone.
In that case… I would use it, though it was earlier than planned—my final trump card.
The last measure I had prepared to erase “those who threatened my master and us alike.”

“…I do hope she enjoyed that little ‘drop candy.’”

I rang the bell that had already lost its counterpart and changed its name to Transfer Bell.

At that moment, I felt an overwhelming acceleration surge through my body—
and when I came to—

“Wah!? What the—!?”
“Hm… Nighttime, is it?”

I found myself standing in what appeared to be a deep forest. In front of me burned a campfire—and sitting beside it, a lone woman.
Apparently, she had chosen to camp alone in the middle of this night-shrouded forest.

No… it would be more accurate to say that she had made herself alone.
A short distance away lay several corpses.
Most likely, this woman had attacked the camp and taken it for herself.

“Ah! You! You’re the one who healed me—!”
“Oh? You actually retained your memory from that situation? It’s been a while… your name was, if I recall—”
“Furerika. You healed me, didn’t you? You’re one of Hūs’s people, right!?”

I noticed beside her the tin of drops I had given her before.
Each time she took one out, she had rung the bell hidden inside.
That meant she had been updating its location with her own will every time she used it.

“I’m glad to see you liked the candy.”

“Hm? Oh yeah—these make my body feel better whenever I suck on them. So after every fight, I take one and rest. You know, since there are still pursuers around.”

“Pursuers… I see. Let me guess—the Guild? So the Guild arranged your ‘escape’ to secretly track you instead. I had thought Hūs was working with them, but I see I was mistaken.”

“Yeah, not a chance. People from that country are nothing but Her Majesty’s dogs.
Well, I guess I can’t talk—I was a knight of the old Holy Principality myself.”

“Heh heh… To rebel at your age is no small feat.”

“I mean, if I’d stayed there, I’d never have had a real fight with one of the Thirteen Knights, right? I’ll do anything if it means fighting truly strong people.…Though, I learned the hard way how arrogant that was—and just how wide the world really is.”

She spoke freely, clearly trusting me. Furerika had no idea what I really was.
A pity she was alone—I had hoped to eliminate the masterminds all at once.

“So, you were hired by Hūs, then?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t told the full plan, though. But the heart of that nation is Lindblum—the Central Guild. If we could paralyze it, we’d gain options. So I attacked it. Of course, part of the goal was to silence that man who’d been captured.”

“I see… that explains why we’d never met before.”

I added that last line as a calculated lie, to make her think we were allies.

“Hey, what’s your name, anyway? I really am grateful to you, you know. Originally, I was told that if I ever got caught, they’d rescue me during a big war’s chaos. But I didn’t know there was a monster like that in the Guild. Since I was left there untreated, I figured even if help came, they’d probably abandon me. But you—you completely healed me, and even gave me this candy. I feel great whenever I take one.”

As she said that, Furerika rattled the tin in her hand.
The bell no longer rang—because when I used its pair, it had ceased to exist.

“Huh? The bell’s not ringing.”

“Ah, that’s a charm I placed on it. The sound meant, ‘There are still plenty of drops left.’
It’s quiet now because the candy inside is nearly gone.”

“Oh, I see. Kinda sad, though. I liked hearing that sound while I ate one. On nights like this, I suck one while drinking coffee.”

“…I see.”

She picked up a mug that had been sitting nearby and swirled it with a faint smile.
She used to bite into the drops immediately, but now she savored them slowly—how interesting.

“Well then… where are you headed now, Furerika?”

“Huh? You didn’t come to pick me up?”

“No, not at all. I simply followed the trace of magic from your bell. Is this area your designated rendezvous point?”

Hmm. That line of conversation might have been a mistake.

“They told me long ago—if I escaped from Lindblum, I should cross over to this continent and wait at one of the hideouts.”

“I see… There are quite a few of those hideouts, after all. Still, I wasn’t aware there was one around here. Since we’ve met, I’ll accompany you. Would that be alright, Furerika-san?”

“Of course, I don’t mind. Oh, right—tell me your name.”

“I suppose there’s no helping it… It’s Still. A precious name given to me by someone I deeply respect.”

“Still, huh? Got it. Then I’ll be counting on you until we reach the hideout. Really, you’re a lifesaver—the Guild pursuers have been a real pain.”

“Hm…”

I examined one of the corpses nearby.
They were likely Guild pursuers. Perhaps the Guild had encouraged her escape in order to locate the enemy’s base.

Personally, I had hoped the Guild was working with the masterminds—that would’ve made destroying them far more satisfying.

But… something was off.
Aside from their Guild tags, there was nothing on the bodies proving they were Guild staff.

If my memory served, the Guild’s shadow operatives—like that woman, Remia—did not wear tags but instead collars.

So then… were these really Guild pursuers?

“Furerika, did the pursuers start appearing only after you entered this continent?”

“Yeah. They started targeting me a lot more often. So I flipped things around—tracked them instead, waited for them to drop their guard, and ambushed them. That’s when you suddenly showed up, Still.”

“I see… I understand now.”

I gathered the corpses into one place and made them completely vanish.

I reversed the purification spell [Holy-Evil Reversal] and cast it as a spell of annihilation.

Originally, it was a holy spell meant to erase the undead, but by inverting it, it becomes an evil spell of obliteration.
If it simply acted as a healing spell, it would be much easier to heal people… but alas.

“Let’s erase all traces completely.”

“Whoa! So you’re not just a healer after all.”

“Yes, indeed. I am the current strongest, after all.”

Eventually, I will lose to my master, and someday to the two who will manifest…
…Rué, in particular, might be troublesome—he’s far too strong in this world.

“Well, then you can sleep peacefully. You haven’t slept much recently. That candy, huh… it keeps you awake, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, you noticed? From tomorrow, you can cut back on the candy. I’ll make sure to protect you.”

“Being protected isn’t really my style, you know? But… I guess I’ll accept it.”

…To earn the trust of this somewhat twisted woman, I resolved to act a little like a ‘good person,’ at least for now.

Normally, I should try the counterpart bell I gave the little fox immediately, but if there’s a chance to confront the mastermind, I should stay here a bit longer.

…Most likely, unless I manifest the counterpart bell, the little fox’s bell won’t ring.
If it doesn’t ring, she might feel pain or sadness.

But… if I can kill the mastermind,
if I can eliminate Hūs and his gang, and the shadowy organization…
Then, just this once, may I be forgiven, my master…

So, I spent the night with Furerika, who didn’t need to sleep since she had already eaten candy.
I knew this place was on another continent, but I had no idea which one.

Asking directly would seem unnatural… so I tried to find out her current location as naturally as possible.

“Hm? I just snuck onto a cargo ship. A while ago, they were transporting a bunch of slaves into this country. But the Guild apparently solved that right before it happened. In the end, the ship I came on had no proper cargo, so they just threw on anything they could. That’s how I slipped through.”
“Oh, the matter with the overflowing refugees from Lindblum?”
“Exactly. Maybe some strange people from the Empire’s nobility got mixed in too.”

“That’s plausible. As the de facto ruling nation of this vast continent, it’s inevitable there’ll be some corruption. Being too big is also a problem.”

“I agree. Though I hear that also means there are plenty of challenging people. After this job, I might switch to exploring dungeons within the Empire myself—might get to fight some dangerous folks.”

With this, it was confirmed we were on the Empire’s Riseark Continent.
Hmm… given the timing, if she had to escape, this area would be about as far as she could go.

Even in the worst case, if the little fox didn’t ring the bell, we could return by ship.
It would take about two months, though.

“So, that hideout rendezvous—is it still far from here?”
“Hmm… yeah. It’s our third day in the forest now. We should hit the mountains soon, where a big river runs. According to the map, if we follow the river upstream, there’s an old mansion there.”
“I see… then let’s go. From here, following the river upstream should be faster. We’ll have a good vantage point, and it’ll be easier to deal with anyone who attacks us.”
“You’re quite aggressive… though I guess I can’t talk either.”
“Heh, I’m not aggressive. I’m just choosing the most efficient method since I can handle anything that happens.”
“The world is huge… I wouldn’t want to fight you.”
“That’s correct. I am stronger than Silent-dono, the man who half-killed you.”
“Eep!”
“Heh heh. Shall we go? Toward the hideout where we’re supposed to meet Fūs.”

…Honestly, I don’t expect to actually meet him.
Still, if we can gain anything from going together, it’s worth the trip.
She doesn’t seem to be directly opposing my master yet.

Trusting Furerika’s quick sense of the river’s flow, we moved and indeed came out onto a riverbank.
Judging from the scattered stepping stones and sheer rocks, it wasn’t the very headwaters, but it seemed fairly close to the source.

The footing was a little poor, but it wasn’t a place where we couldn’t fight.
…And, as expected, the riverbank had few trees. Visibility was good, so we’d be easy to spot.

Above all, this was a clear riverbank that led to the hideout.
If my guess is correct… the attackers are likely to appear from upstream.

“All right then… Furerika, you should probably summon your weapon about now.”
“Hm? How’d you know I had a weapon?”
“Well, we’re technically colleagues, right? You can pull out a spear, can’t you?”
“Right. But—asking me to draw a weapon… are we expecting an attack?”
“Most likely.”

Very well—let’s do a little warm-up and intercept the attackers who presumably know nothing.
…And I’ll have to decide what to do with this woman afterward.