Chapter 81

Chapter 81 : There Is No One to Trust (1)

The reason I stayed tense during the short trip all the way to the Sky was because Pering had said he would sell my movement information to Karon. Even if Karon could not act inside Sky’s Domain, the Middle Dock was a perfect place to hire people.

But nothing in particular happened until I returned to the forest.

‘Is he busy dating?’

That was why the tension loosened. I parted with Dimel, who lived near the Immigration Hall, early, and my head was blank the entire way back to the office.

I was walking along the narrow aerial path, swaying like a zombie, and only came back to my senses a little after running into Murel and Quiro outside.

Those two had occupied the children’s playground and were being tormented by the Quartet. Even with their size and strength, they seemed unable to do anything about it; I could hear the children laughing even from far away.

‘Mm, that is rough.’

A memory from the past abruptly surfaced, and I shook my head.

I quickened my steps toward the office and escaped those little demons as fast as possible. I refused to get caught for no reason and be bundled in as a set too.

That aside, why did seeing them get along reasonably well while I was gone make me feel proud?

I had been worried they might pick a fight somewhere and cause a scene, so their unexpected appearance made me feel even more relieved.

“Ah―! Lord Iwooon!”

Ah, that tactless bastard.

At Murel’s booming call, I opened the office door without looking back, stepped inside, and locked it firmly.

Still, I was tired from crossing Gates and traveling a long distance.

The inside was fairly warm, as if someone had maintained the office’s heat while I was gone.

With my shoulders drooping, I collapsed onto the sofa.

Fluffnix, who had been tucked in my pocket, wriggled free and flew to his home. I had my arm over my eyes when I sensed someone approaching and sighed.

Rattle, rattle.

The locked door formed the first line of defense.

My brief hope collapsed when the thundering footsteps headed toward the terrace.

“Lord Iwon!”

Murel barged in, red hair first, calling my name desperately. Quiro followed, mouth firmly shut but throwing the same meaning at me with their gaze, and the two of them ruined my rare plan to take a nap.

“What?”

“This place is hell.”

“I agree.”

“……?”

When I half-opened my eyes at that absurd statement and looked at them, the two began pouring out several days’ worth of complaints.

“I wondered where the cold-heartedness of the Surface Folk came from, and now I am certain they must undergo harsh training from childhood!”

“They are cruel and persistent…….”

“Most of all, that endless stamina is too much even for me, the Director of ‘Ruka,’ the secret agency directly under the Underworld First Command!”

“It is the same for me.”

I blinked, tried to ignore why those complaints sounded familiar, and waved a hand.

“Play along moderately and run.”

“How could I shake off those tiny hands?”

“Strength is not everything, it seems.”

“You two…….”

Are you really the ones who used to fight over Underworld hierarchy? Shaking my head, I rubbed my throbbing head and finally sat up.

My nap was ruined, and judging by how those two had fled here, those little ones would arrive soon. It was better to run in advance.

I had business anyway.

“Have either of you seen Pan?”

“Pardon?”

“Mm…….”

“I asked whether you have seen the Ruler of the Forest.”

“Would he not be at the ruler’s castle?”

“I did not see him outside today.”

Considering the detection range of those two, it was impossible to say they simply had not seen him because they had been tormented all day.

I was reluctant to go to the ruler’s castle because of Pering, so I closed my eyes and thought for a moment.

Which side would be more annoying?

No, there was no need to think. Being tormented by Pering was the better position by far.

I stood up, grabbed the two by the backs of their necks, threw them toward the little demons charging in with a roar, and calmly escaped through the back door.

Since it had come to this, I might as well resolve my curiosity.

---

I searched the ruler’s castle, but I could not find Pan.

After being tormented by Pering for no reason and almost getting caught by Ru in the Record Archive, I barely managed to get out of there.

The place I went next was unexpected.

“My lord often goes there to meditate. It is the place where the weight of his own decisions feels clearest when he repeats them to himself.”

Roughly interpreting Pering’s hint, there was only one place.

After setting foot on the forest floor for the first time in a while, I stepped on the dry weeds that rustled underfoot and dragged myself as slowly as possible toward the place I did not want to go.

Pan was sitting comfortably inside the round circle on the Execution Ground floor, staring at the platform in front of him.

It was a position where he could not see me approaching from behind.

“I told you not to come looking for me.”

So Pan’s lowered voice sounded even more eerie. Oh-ho, so that is his usual intonation.

“Why, what now because of……. What? When did you come?”

Pan turned back irritably, stared up at me, narrowed his eyes, and became indifferent.

“Are you disappointed it is someone you are not happy to see?”

“What nonsense is that? I heard you went to the Sky. Moving through the Gate is not easy at this time because the blizzards are strong.”

“You probably hoped I would be stuck there, but my condition miraculously improved.”

Thinking about how I had been out cold for an entire day to cause that miracle…… tears blurred my eyes.

“Why come all the way here? It cannot be a place you welcome.”

“Mm, it is thanks to a certain someone.”

“Do not be sarcastic. What do you need?”

“Are we only close enough for me to come find you when I need something?”

I answered roughly and sat near Pan.

The mottled stains I had seen back then were still there, and as Pan said, it was not a welcome place. But it was not somewhere I could not come either.

Though I did usually come to Pan only when something happened.

“There must be a reason you are laying groundwork so poorly. Say it.”

“You knew my identity all along, did you not?”

Pan raised one eyebrow and tilted his head.

“Did I not say so? I suspected you from the beginning.”

“Not you. The other rulers.”

“Ah…….”

Seeing Pan quietly avoid my eyes, I became certain that he had known the whole thing had been a staged board.

That meeting where they debated whether to kill me or spare me had not been because of the Underfolk issue, but because I was Sek.

“Did Etel say that? Mm, you two are getting along?”

“Why did you not mention Sek back then?”

I caught Pan’s attempt to change the subject and threw the direct question at him.

Even an idiot could tell that the rulers who had goodwill toward Sek would not have suggested killing me for no reason. Pan had provoked me and guided me to the Execution Ground, but it had also been something the other rulers tacitly agreed to.

If I had known information about Sek from then, perhaps I would have judged things differently.

“First, there is something you are misunderstanding. The Execution Ground is used as a place of execution, but its original meaning lies in ‘execution.’”

“Yes. Death sentence execution.”

“That is not what I mean……. I feel like I told you this then too. I said the truth would be determined. The Execution Ground judges only those who speak lies.”

“I said everything wrong back then, whether it was about being Sek or being Underfolk.”

“Right or wrong does not matter. What matters is whether you yourself believe the words are truth or lies.”

“So if I believe it is true, it recognizes it as true?”

“Exactly. Back then, you seemed to have lost every memory. You had even forgotten the language and the fact that you yourself were Underfolk. If we had released the information of ‘Sek’ to you in that state?”

I frowned.

“You might have spoken the truth and still been judged as lying.”

“Yes. Confusion tends to bring strange results.”

I roughly understood why they had driven me into an execution.

That method had been the best way to let me, someone uncertainly suspected of being Sek, stay safely protected in the forest.

I folded my arms and brought out the original reason I had come to find Pan.

The reason why the forest, the Sky, the Mist, and the desert all knew, but only the Spring did not.

“Why did the Ruler of the Spring not recognize me?”

“Inflated sense of self?”

“I am not in the mood for jokes.”

“Ariti…… is better off not remembering.”

“What does that mean?”

Pan’s mouth twitched awkwardly, and he tried to dodge the question. It was not as if I had asked something unspeakable.

“Ariti had an accident back then…… and forgot every memory about you.”

“An accident?”

“It was an accident if you call it one, or nothing major if you do not. But at some point, she had forgotten every memory of Sek. Looking at it now, it is similar to your situation.”

Just as I had forgotten every memory about Sek.

It was a strangely irritating part. Similar to me?

Was he saying the system had interfered? Not with me, but with someone else?

I frowned and chewed over Pan’s words.

As expected, because Ariti was the heroine, there was a possibility someone had manipulated her memories of Sek. It was too plausible to simply bury and move on.

But Karon, the male lead, was recklessly searching for me, so it did not seem like the effect occurred simply because she was a protagonist.

I stroked my chin and continued thinking, then belatedly noticed Pan staring at me and tilted my head.

“What?”

“Since you got your answer, I thought I should at least hear why you asked?”

“……The rulers joined forces and hit me in the back of the head. I should know who did and who did not.”

“Ahem. Everything was decided for your sake―.”

“―and then you worked me like Slave No. 1?”

“You are seriously, wow―. Your grudges explode.”

I waved a hand, and since my curiosity had been resolved, I stood up.

Pan frowned sulkily.

“See? You only come when you need something.”

“Why? Are you dissatisfied?”

“Listen to my worries too.”

I had started to stand, then sat back down and was forced to hear Pan’s lengthy romantic troubles.

I had wondered why he was sitting here gloomily, digging into the ground, and as expected, it was because of his worries as the second male lead over Ariti.

“The promised time has passed. She should have returned long ago, but there is not even a sign.”

“When was she supposed to come?”

“Ten days ago.”

“That…… is a bit of a problem.”

“Right? On top of that, I have sent messengers several times, but those are not working either.”

“The messengers?”

“From what I found out, it seems there is a problem in the White Sea.”

Had Pering not sent a messenger to the White Sea perfectly fine?

At the deeply suspicious content, I checked my remaining points.

I could use Designated Loading and even Random a few times, but…….

I told you Pering was a traitor. I raked through my hair, stared quietly at Pan in depression mode, then stood.

“You are just leaving?”

“Sitting here looking like death will not change anything. Why not go and question the messenger handler?”

I heard the Elder who betrayed you and had his soul shaken clean was close to that side.

Pan, who had been digging into the ground, seemed to see a clue in my words and stood as well.

Is this stupid second-male-lead mode at times like this?

I pushed Pan away, searched for somewhere to shut myself in alone, then quietly settled back down at the Execution Ground.

The office must have already been occupied by Murel and Quiro, and Fluffnix made me uncomfortable for the time being, so being alone with what the two left behind would be a bit much.

[Fame Value: 2010]

[Points Held: 25P]

I stared quietly at the window where my Fame Value had risen a little more and added 1 more point, then sighed.

I had been saving this to use Designated Loading on Sek, but another place to spend it had appeared again.

It would take a long time to reach Supporting Role A anyway, so what else could I do but view this?

“Starting from the part where the reason Ariti’s first Underworld visit was delayed appears.”

Ding!

[Loading designated scene from 〈Your Regret After Killing Me〉.]

[20 points deducted.]