Chapter 18

Chapter 18 :  Mining Resonance Stones #3

After moving stealthily along the side path, we soon reached the mining site.

The sight of pitch-black ores sparkling like stars embedded in the dark cave wall was rather beautiful.

Though from my position, wanting to finish the work quickly and return to my lodging to rest, I had no time to admire it.

“Let us hurry up and go back! None of you should even think about resting until you meet your quotas!”

“W-wait... Let us go a little slower!”

“It is a bonanza, a bonanza!! There are tons of ores gathered here!”

CLANG─! CLANG─!

After the sound of noisy pickaxe strikes rang through the mine tunnel for a while, we sat around the torch and rested.

I could not properly rest, however, because Razbel’s party had apparently been quite impressed that I had handled the Radgit swarm on my own and bombarded me with all sorts of questions.

“How on earth were you hiding such skill?!”

“I was lucky.”

“Your wooden tag... Why is it still F-Rank?!”

“It is because I have only recently come up to the city from another region.”

“You have not been in Verastin for long? Then how on earth did you know about the side path? This cave was already fully explored years ago....”

“I simply picked it up from some acquaintances. Their identities are secret, though. More importantly, Verastin is unfamiliar to me, so please recommend a good restaurant nearby.”

I gave a suitable excuse and naturally changed the subject.

This was roughly two or three years before the Velheim I had played.

Since many elements had changed, it was best to gather as much information as possible.

Razbel’s party took the initiative and shared all sorts of stories.

“If you mean a good restaurant... The bakery in front of the guild is famous! It is cost-effective and tastes excellent too! Though the owner seems to have developed some concern recently....”

‘It must be related to his son’s incurable illness. That disease should improve if he drinks a decoction made from blue orchids that grow on Windward Hill.’

“Our Achaia Guild is small, but our bonds are close! They also tend to give good prices when we sell Monster materials!”

‘It used to be a harsh place... The guild receptionist was also incomparably unfriendly compared to now.’

“At the Temple of Agasa in the center of the city, there is an incredibly divine and beautiful Saintess! She is so beautiful that some adventurers deliberately get injured just to go see her!”

“Is that so... Huh? Is that true?”

According to my memory, that place had been full of elderly and eccentric nuns.

I remembered it clearly because I had been injured so often while hunting Monsters that I had gone in and out of that place as if it were my own home.

Of course, since the time period was different, the members might have changed, but....

‘Is there a possibility that this Saintess is a Reincarnator like me? The god who handled my reincarnation procedure happened to be Goddess Agasa too....’

As I was wondering whether it was a coincidence, the advice Malton had given me suddenly came to mind.

“Ah, now that I think of it, there is something I wanted to ask....”

“Yes, what is it, Mr. Doran?”

“...What do you think about black hair? Ah, of course, I am not talking about myself. I have an acquaintance with black hair....”

““Black hair?””

Razbel’s party looked at one another, then spoke honestly.

“Well, hmm... To be honest, it is not exactly welcome, is it?”

“They say... a large proportion of Evil Spirits had black hair.”

“According to rumor, most children of Evil Spirits are born with black hair too....”

“.......”

Once I understood the whole story, the blood drained from my face in real time.

To think there had been this kind of background behind Malton’s advice to hide my hair.

At this rate, had I not been openly walking around advertising myself as a Reincarnator?

‘But there was nothing like this in the original game... Why?’

The most likely hypothesis was....

‘...Did everyone reincarnate with their past appearances intact, causing this mess?’

Since I had reincarnated with my previous appearance intact, there was a high chance the others had too.

About eighty percent of Earth’s population had black hair, so the majority of the Evil Spirits who appeared here must have had black hair as well.

That must have combined with the hatred toward Reincarnators and created the current atmosphere.

‘I have to keep hiding my hair with a hood from now on too... Surely that bastard Malton has not already noticed, has he...?’

At least when I had ended up naked earlier, my hair had been thoroughly smeared with mud....

As I held my throbbing temple with a stiff expression, Razbel hesitantly opened her mouth.

“B-but... there is one thing I want to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“With your skill, Mr. Doran, you could have escaped on your own easily enough... So why did you take the risk of fighting the Monsters?”

“.......”

I paused for a moment before answering.

“Because I could not leave all of you to die and retreat alone.”

Of course, that was a lie.

I might have lived an altruistic life in my previous life, but the current me had resolved to become as cold-hearted as necessary in order to survive.

The reason I had not fled and had stayed behind was entirely because I had judged that it gave me a higher chance of survival.

With their skills, it would have been impossible for them to hold back the Radgit swarm even briefly.

If I was going to be surrounded anyway, it was better to keep even one more person alive and use them as groundwork for the [Chaos] skill.

‘But there is no need to go out of my way to reveal that.’

When I wore a good-natured smile and spoke a white lie, Razbel’s party fell silent.

Just as I was trying to gauge the situation in confusion, the Log Window updated.

DING─!

｢The adventurers are moved and look up to you!｣

｢They think you are a slightly strange and extremely perverted person, but kind-hearted! If they spread anecdotes about you, your reputation within the guild will change!｣

｢Due to the [Chaos] skill, Luck temporarily increases by 1!｣

‘No... They are moved by something this minor?’

If it had been the adventurers of Velheim in my memory, it would not have been strange for them to sneer, “Ha, this bastard certainly has a silver tongue for someone with a mouth on him.”

Well, on the surface, I had saved their lives, so I could understand that they were seeing me through rose-colored glasses....

“Ahem... It truly was nothing much. Anyone else in the same situation would have made the same choice.”

｢Luck increases by 1.｣

“It truly, truly was nothing much. So there is no need to thank me.”

｢Strength increases by 1.｣

“Um... I hope this matter can pass quietly, if at all possible. To be honest, I do not want my name spreading among people.”

｢Intelligence increases by 2!｣

｢They believe they have a duty to tell the guild members this heartwarming story!｣

｢As a side effect, rumors of your bizarre behavior may spread.｣

‘No matter what I say, it only has the opposite effect.’

Now that things had turned out this way, it would be better to use the Affinity I had built up and dig for slightly deeper information.

With a smile, I opened my mouth naturally.

“Come to think of it... Has anything strange happened around here recently?”

“Something strange?”

“Yes, rumors are going around among adventurers... Or something concerning a ‘Dungeon.’”

When I casually threw out the topic, the adventurers exchanged glances and tilted their heads.

“I am not sure... I have heard that unusually strong monsters have been sighted often these days....”

“That is true. In a way, maybe the fact that Radgits appeared in this cave could be considered part of the same context...?”

“Hmm... I do not know whether it is related to a Dungeon, but I heard a rumor that an S-Rank Adventurer was recently spotted in the forest around here.”

“An S-Rank?”

If true, this was certainly a major issue.

S-Ranks were superhumans of whom only a few existed in the world.

The adventurer rank I had reached in the past had also been S-Rank.

They were major figures managed directly by kingdoms and treated as strategic weapons, capable of destroying a city gate with a single sword and cutting off the head of a high-ranking demon.

For an S-Rank, who would never wander around aimlessly, to appear usually meant that a major incident or Great Disaster had occurred.

And as for something that would soon happen around here....

‘...It seems they came because of the Dungeon.’

However, the fact that an S-Rank was already moving was a little strange.

If an S-Rank was carelessly dispatched and became injured, it would be a major loss on a national level, so they were usually held in reserve like a last resort.

In fact, even at the time when I had played the game, I knew that S-Rank Adventurers had only been deployed to clear Dungeons much later.

Yet if one had already been spotted here....

‘...Are they trying to attack and close the Dungeon early?’

Since many Reincarnators had crossed over into this world, information must have been delivered along with them.

In other words, there was a high chance that the world’s upper ranks knew that Great Disasters would arrive one after another in the near future.

They were such enormous disasters that they could not be stopped merely by knowing about them, so I did not know whether that was a good thing or the opposite.

It was certain that a major incident would happen soon, but since the future leading up to that point had become uncertain, my head began to throb.

It was related to my life, so I could not simply overlook it either....

While I was pressing my forehead in distress, Razbel asked cautiously,

“Excuse me... If something is troubling you, why not have your fortune told?”

“...My fortune?”

“Yes! This spearman friend here comes from a family of remarkably gifted diviners! We would like to repay our debt to you in even a small way like this!”

“Then... Since we still have some time left to rest, may I ask you to do it?”

Should I take it like a daily fortune?

As befitting a fantasy world where magic existed, Velheim’s divinations were surprisingly accurate.

If I could see the near future, it would be a great help in designing my plans going forward.

‘Huh...?’

However, the moment I saw the crystal ball the spearman took out, a powerful sense of déjà vu struck my mind.

For some reason, it looked very similar to the Artifacts I had mass-produced countless times back when this was a game.

“Excuse me, that crystal ball looks somewhat familiar... Where did you get it?”

“This? This is an heirloom passed down in my family for generations... Since all crystal balls tend to look similar, perhaps you are mistaken?”

“Is that so...? No, I am sure that is the case.”

As I suppressed my uneasy feeling, the spearman closed his eyes and recited an incantation as though dreaming.

Then the crystal ball blinked faintly, and an image began to form.

“The divination result is out. Hmm... I can see a collapsed cave, and countless people isolated beyond it... Where on earth is this?”

“I am not sure. I do not know.”

‘...Is it the Dungeon?!’

The part about countless people being isolated bothered me, but I had no time to dwell on its meaning.

The words that followed made my heart sink.

“And... a skeleton knight is fighting on a battlefield, and I can feel Mr. Doran’s aura from this Undead. And his opponent has horns and wings... A-a demon?”

‘How does he know that I can transform into an Undead...?!’

While shocked by the astonishing spiritual power, I frowned.

A demon? Did that mean that, although my Level was only 16 right now, I would soon clash with a demon?

“And... wow!”

The spearman exclaimed in admiration, then looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“Mr. Doran becomes a hero and saves countless lives! Truly, so many people that they cannot be counted!!”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

It was a nonsense dream.

Only then did I let out a faint laugh and stand up.

There was no way that would happen.

Had I not already resolved myself?

In this life, I would live only for myself.