Chapter 9

Chapter 9 : Elf Warrior Malton

The moment I saw the man before me, I felt as though every cell in my body had been awakened.

Malton.

At first glance, it sounded like a rough name, but I remembered that his real name had been something like Malieverton.

He was the NPC companion who had always stayed by my side when I played Velheim.

No, he was not merely a companion.

Throughout the ten years I had played Velheim, he had been my partner and friend, someone who had stood back-to-back with me and endured every hardship at my side.

‘I never thought I would meet him here....’

He was what one might call a top-ranked adventurer, and he often displayed abilities that ordinary people could not even approach.

That was why he had helped me so much that he had been with me even when I achieved the rank of a top-ranked player in Velheim.

However, even this seemingly perfect man had one fatal weakness.

That was the fact that he was a terminally ill character afflicted by a curse.

Heroes die young.

Malton had been under a powerful curse even before the tutorial began, and even using precious sacred relics from all sorts of orders could not lift it.

The type of curse changed every time as well, so by the time I repeated cycles and barely found a clue, it had already been too late.

That was why, no matter how many times I reset my character and regressed, I could not save him.

When I returned triumphantly after defeating an Evil God, only to find him lying cold on the floor of an inn, dead after coughing up blood, the shock and sense of loss were so great that I stopped playing the game for a while.

To me, he was an incredibly welcome friend, and at the same time, a painfully sore spot.

And thanks to his existence, I was able to realize one more fact.

‘The timeline is different...!’

The fact that Malton was still alive and well.

The fact that talismans to prevent the spread of the curse were visible inside his robe, which meant this was after he had been cursed.

And yet, the fact that signs like black spots or a pale complexion did not stand out on the surface.

When I combined that with the fact that Tirosh was still alive and the information I had obtained from the port village, there was only one result I could draw.

This was the “past” of the Velheim I had played.

｢You have obtained a clue about the world setting!｣

‘It seems I came about two or three years before the game’s starting point....’

That was why the atmosphere of the port village had been different from what I remembered.

I had heard that Velheim had not been a world without dreams or hope from the beginning, after all.

The moment I narrowed down the period, I quickly set my mind to work.

Now that I knew this place was the past, would it be possible to grow like a storm?

Could I monopolize all kinds of Hidden Pieces and take over the most efficient hunting grounds...?

‘No. If I act carelessly, I will be in serious trouble.’

Judging from how widely information about Reincarnators had already spread, there were definitely people in this world who had reincarnated before me.

In that case, all the easy-to-find Hidden Pieces had surely already been looted by now.

Moreover, even the Reincarnators would be competing fiercely to survive here, so if I revealed myself, I might be assassinated without anyone knowing.

‘...For now, I have to reach level 30 quickly while staying out of other people’s eyes.’

Besides... if I remembered correctly, many crises would occur one after another in Velheim over the next two or three years.

While I was agonizing over it, I suddenly realized that Malton had been holding out his hand the entire time.

I forced down the complicated thoughts rising inside me and clasped the hand of my old friend.

“...It is nice to meet you.”

“Hmm...?”

“It is nothing. My name is Doran. My body is still weak, but I dream of becoming an adventurer. I look forward to working with you.”

“Oh, an aspiring adventurer? Glad to meet you! This journey will not be boring.”

Malton smiled and shook my hand.

If I had followed my heart, I would have struck the back of his head with an ordinary attack like I used to and exchanged a full round of insults with him, but I forced myself to endure it.

The current me was simply an outsider borrowing the body of a resident of this world.

Even if I brought up stories from the days when this was a game, I would be lucky if he merely treated me like a lunatic. 

There was also more than enough chance that he would blow my head apart the moment he realized I was an evil spirit.

Just as I shared a reunion both welcome and complicated with my old companion, a booming voice rang out from the trading company’s side.

“Let us see... It looks like everyone who was supposed to come is here, so let us set off!!”

Along with the neighing of horses, the procession began to move.

***

｢You are leaving the port village of Puerto del Mar!｣

｢You must walk for about four days to reach the next city, Verastin! Prepare for camping.｣

I looked leisurely around me while letting the cutlass dangle at my side.

The wide-open grassland, the sky touching the horizon, the wind drawing wave patterns in the grass.

The more I looked, the more I admired Velheim’s beautiful natural environment....

...Of course not. I was assessing the mercenaries’ fighting strength.

‘There are six merchants, and around twenty mercenaries....’

That much fighting strength was enough.

There were no particularly threatening monsters around here, and if bandits saw their numbers, they would not attack either.

If I had to point out one cause for concern, it would be that the mercenaries’ levels were not high.

Judging by their equipment, their average level was, at best, somewhere around the late twenties.

Since level 30, when one could use two Rune Slots, was the point where someone could proudly go around saying, “I am an adventurer,” they were a little too uncertain for me to entrust my life to them.

‘...Am I being too sensitive?’

After experiencing the viciousness of this world so often, preparing for the worst-case scenario had become a habit.

Still, the fact that Malton was with me was good news.

As I stayed near the rear of the procession and observed the trading company and mercenaries, Malton, who was walking with his mace clinking at his side, asked in a relaxed tone,

“...You do not look well. Do you have an upset stomach?”

“No, I am just... a little uneasy. This is my first time traveling together with mercenaries like this....”

“Haha, strong monsters do not appear around here, so you do not need to worry much. Even if something does happen, I will make sure to protect you, since you are the person I have been assigned to escort.”

“Thank you. ...I bought some apples in the village. Would you like one?”

“Oh, in that case, I will accept without hesitation. Thank you.”

CRUNCH!

I bit into an apple while walking side by side with Malton across the grassland.

It felt strange to be protected by a companion with whom I had once hunted bosses by joining forces, but there was nothing I could do about it when I was weak right now.

I tried to draw out information about this world without making him suspicious of my identity.

Thanks to that, I was able to hear a slightly more detailed explanation of the inner situation from Malton.

That research on mana stones was being conducted actively in the Magic Tower, that signs of a large-scale war breaking out in a neighboring country were appearing, and that one could obtain a massive bounty by capturing a Reincarnator alive or informing on one....

Perhaps Malton was also curious about me, since I was walking with nothing but a single curved sword hanging at my side and not even a bundle of belongings, so he continued to speak to me.

It was the perfect situation to raise his affinity through conversation and recruit him.

For example......

“...By any chance, are you troubled because your house price is not rising?”

“H-How did you know that...?!”

“Your shoulders often feel stiff, and for some strange reason, you have nightmares every night....”

“No, you...?!”

Malton’s eyes widened, and he grabbed my shoulders as he shouted,

“C-Could your mother perhaps be a fortune-teller?”

“Of course not.”

“.......”

“Your shoulder stiffness might simply be because the mace you are using now does not suit you, so try changing it. As for the nightmares, you should check whether an animal carcass is buried near the head of your bedchamber.”

“I-Is that so...! Then what about the house price....”

“That is not something I can do anything about....”

“Hmm... Is that so? Still, that is impressive....”

I pretended not to hear Malton muttering to himself that perhaps he should have bought a house near the plaza instead of the cemetery.

Elves were a race with long lives, so they were all wealthy and owned buildings anyway.

However, in the middle of our conversation, Malton suddenly coughed harshly.

When he quietly wiped his mouth with his forearm, blood was smeared on his sleeve.

‘...Judging by the small amount of blood, it has not been long since he was cursed.’

However, his internal injuries probably had not healed, so his status should have been greatly reduced.

I quietly probed him.

“Um... did something happen, Lord Malton? There is blood on your mouth....”

“That... is nothing....”

“Please tell me. Could you perhaps have caught an endemic disease...?”

“It is not that, but....”

Malton glanced at me, then sighed and confessed.

“...It is a curse.”

“A curse...? What kind of bastard was it?! What wicked, treacherous people dared to place a curse on you?!”

I subtly questioned him while pretending to be enraged.

If I knew what curse Malton had been afflicted with in this cycle, then at the very least, it should be possible to slow the progression of the illness or ease the symptoms.

However, a completely unexpected name came out of Malton’s mouth.

“...Mortemius.”

“Mort... Mortemius? That bone bastard!?”

“...That is right. It is the name of an extremely wicked Lich. He placed this curse on me.”

“W-Wait...! If it is Lich Mortemius, do you mean Mortemius of the Arcane? The one who leads the Mary Celeste and the Ghost Ship fleet....”

“How do you know that?”

“W-Well, because he is such a famous Lich.”

How could such a coincidence happen....

Could it be that, in this cycle, the curse afflicting Malton was related to Mary Celeste...!

If so, it made sense that Malton had been hanging around the port village at this time.

‘Wait... Then could it be that the treasure of the Cult of Andira I found in the Ghost Ship’s hold was....’

For an instant, the orb I had placed in my pocket seemed to hum and tremble.

No way... Could I lift the curse on him in this cycle...?

Because I had regressed into the past, survived the Mary Celeste tutorial, stolen the sacred relic, and escaped?

As I was shocked by the butterfly effect I had never expected, Malton straightened his back and changed the subject.

“Whew, fortunately, it seems it did not go as far as a seizure this time. More importantly, there is something that is bothering me right now....”

“No, what could be more important than the curse right now...! It is nothing.... What is bothering you?”

“...Do you see the shapes on that hill over there? I hope I am seeing things.”

Malton frowned and pointed toward the hill.

When I looked closely, I really did see dark shapes rushing toward us.

“Hmm... Something is running this way.”

“This is not good... It would be best to prepare. You should stand back.”

The moment Malton raised his mace, the mercenaries also sensed the abnormality and shouted,

“Monsters!! Everyone, prepare for battle!!”

The mercenaries moved in perfect order.

Warriors drew their weapons one by one and prepared for combat.

Ordinarily, in such a situation, I would hide inside the wagon with the merchants and obediently receive their protection, but....

“...Lord Malton, could I fight with you?”

“You as well?”

A beginner like you?

When I gripped my cutlass, Malton looked at me with puzzled eyes.