Intermission (2)

[Accessing information on the specified entity.]

[Entity Name] Red-Crested Lizard (Adult)

[Distribution] Primarily native to the upper reaches of rivers, it is an opportunistic apex predator that does not discriminate in its choice of prey.

[Ecology] It treats aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial animals as potential food sources. It moves along fast currents and typically hides in rock crevices, hunting prey with its saw-like teeth hidden in its beak. During this time, a neurotoxin is secreted from the venom glands located beneath its salivary glands to subdue captured prey. Due to the effects of the neurotoxin, the prey becomes paralyzed and experiences a dark bluish discolouration, which leads some to mistakenly believe that the Red-Crested Lizard possesses petrification powers… (Read more)

[Uses] While most of the flesh is inedible, the tail section can be consumed by humans. Once severed, the regrown tail has soft bones and tender flesh, making it suitable for consumption. The neurotoxin stored in the venom glands can be harvested and applied to weapons. This toxin is known to cause cardiovascular diseases… (Read more)

[Weakness (1) / Temperature Variation] The venom glands located beneath the salivary glands are very sensitive to temperature changes. If it fails to regulate its body temperature, the venom glands may deteriorate or be destroyed, causing the toxin to spread throughout its body, leading to self-intoxication.

[Weakness (2) / Comb] Blood accumulates in the comb, which resembles that of a chicken, and this blood is circulated throughout the body to regulate body temperature. If the comb is severed, it results in significant bleeding, with the potential for excessive blood loss and acute poisoning, ultimately leading to death.

What is this overwhelming deluge of text?

In an instant, I was bombarded by an excessive amount of information, to the point where I couldn't see even a step ahead. Just to check, I pressed 'Read more,' and it led to an unnecessarily detailed explanation.

Even the character descriptions weren't this detailed. If my character description had been this comprehensive when I first started the scenario, adapting would have been much easier.

Moreover, the information display has a strangely old-fashioned format. It's a collection of text with no brevity at all, just a lengthy narrative. This feels somewhat different from the scripts or scenarios I've encountered so far.

'Is one of the writers a monster enthusiast or something?'

Regardless, the system I'm experiencing in this world seems to be influenced by the writers.

With that reasonable suspicion in mind, I decided to head back to where my companions were. Since there have been reports of monsters appearing in the nearby area, I was worried about what might happen and didn't want to become a nuisance character.

"Leo."

When I returned to the wagon, Leonardo approached, taking hold of my hair and gently lifting it. The calluses beginning to form on his fingertips felt rough, yet his touch was delicate.

"You didn't dry it properly again."

It seemed he was getting used to it; he wasn't scolding me this time.

"Uh-huh. That's not important right now. I went to wash by the riverside and found a monster—"

"A monster?"

Leonardo's expression turned serious.

"Yeah. I found a monster corpse, but it looked a bit strange."

Since I hadn't hidden anything while talking, Baron Roald approached and asked, "What do you mean strange?"

"The corpse was just skin. It looked like all the remains beneath the hide had been scraped away."

"Hmm… I need to see it. Please guide me to where I can find it."

So we all went to the riverside to look at the thin skin still hanging there. The hide remained in place, swaying in the current like a stain. The baron examined the corpse with a cautious expression.

"From the traces, it seems to have been washed down from upstream."

At that moment, a knight patrolling near the riverside called out to Baron Roald.

"…Lord Roald. You need to see this."

As we climbed directly onto the rock the knight pointed to, the riverbank came into view. There, just like what I had found, was the corpse of another monster, its outer skin swaying gently in the current. Not just one, but dozens. Once pulsing and swollen, their skins now submerged and rotting, exuding a foul odour.

The baron muttered, "This river's upstream leads to Rilke."

He briefly raised his gaze as if to trace the river upstream.

"I heard Rilke has been suffering due to the rainy season for a while. I wonder if the effect has reached the monsters… Diseases spread easily during the rainy season."

At that moment, Leonardo hopped down from the rock and picked up a branch to examine the hide closely. The behaviour was anything but what one would expect from a young nobleman, causing the baron's knights to widen their eyes in surprise.

"Isn't the manner of death rather grotesque?" 

While I pondered whether to give Leonardo another playful tap on the head, Baron Roald rested his chin on his hand, nodding with a serious expression.

"To uncover the truth of this matter, we need to head to Rilke. It will take us about another day, but let's push ourselves to move as quickly as possible before sunset. That's alright, isn't it, Lord Ertinez?"

Instead of answering right away, Leonardo glanced at me. He asked, as if checking my condition, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Leonardo scrutinized me closely, as if assessing whether I was lying. Then, he nodded and turned his gaze back to the baron.

"Then let's increase our pace."

Seeing the peculiar expressions on the faces of the baron and his knights, I suddenly realized something. That guy is borrowing the infamous reputation of a second son from a noble family… but right now, he seems a bit too lacking in personality, doesn't he?

'Is this okay? Am I going to be misunderstood as the shadowy figure who lured a runaway noble into becoming my subordinate?'

When I looked back at Leonardo, he was simply blinking innocently.

***

I'll gradually figure out how I'm being perceived within this group.

While the baron's entourage was riding in front and behind, the wagon was situated in the middle of the procession, rolling along at a moderate pace.

As I sat quietly in the wagon after eating stew, I started to feel sleepy, so I laid Vittorio down in the cargo area. I covered him with a blanket and gently patted him, and he quickly fell asleep.

This gave me and Leonardo a chance to sit side by side on the driver's seat and catch up on the conversations we had been putting off.

"So, how have the last two days been? The baron hasn't been nagging you, has he?"

"He asked what I did while I was gone. I heard some stories about my brothers and father that I didn't know. It wasn't anything deep, just that the household was noisy while the second son was away."

At that, I momentarily recalled the family backstory of the body, Leonardo Ertinez. He had an older brother and a younger sister, I think. It seemed like his relationship with his father wasn't very good. Yeah, it's a typical family dynamic for a rogue possession story.

"Did you manage to cover that up well?"

"For now, I told them that after wandering around drunk and running out of money, you found me collapsed on the street, and since then, I've been living as a servant and got my act together."

"That's good. Let's stick with that setup for a while. You've been through a lot while you were gone, and you decided to turn your life around."

Leonardo let his hand holding the reins drop for a moment and glanced around. He leaned a bit closer to me and whispered softly.

"So, did you know from the beginning?"

"…Huh?"

"My true identity. Did you know I wasn't Leonardo from the moment we met?"

I hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond, then nodded.

"Yeah."

I watched Leonardo's reaction, and he didn't seem particularly disappointed. No, rather…

'…He looks happy?'

"So, you approached me because I was Leovald. You never thought of me as Leonardo, did you?"

"Uh-huh."

It wasn't wrong to say that I attached myself to him because he was the main character.

I cautiously asked him, "Doesn't it feel a bit unsettling that I approached you with intention?"

"Is there a reason to be unsettled?"

"I essentially deceived you."

He seemed to think for a moment, then turned to look at me. His deep grey eyes locked onto mine.

"To deceive means to betray me or to stab me in the back; it doesn't mean coming closer, showing goodwill, and dedicating yourself to me."

Leonardo reached out and rubbed my eyes. He muttered that he was relieved they weren't red anymore, then added,

"Actually, while you were asleep, I kept thinking of things I wanted to ask you, and it was bothering me…"

[Scenario weight: 24.00%]

"Still, I can't let you get hurt because of me any longer."

I paused for a moment to reflect on Leonardo's words. So, he has a lot of things he wants to ask and press me about, but he's holding back because I might get hurt again?

'What the hell is he so curious about that my injury is a risk to his curiosity? Is he just saying this casually…?'

With a skeptical heart, I glanced at Leonardo. Before I knew it, the sun had set beyond the ridge, and the forest had grown dark.

Baron Roald said they could reach Rilke soon, but even if he was anxious, he wouldn't do anything foolish like wandering in the dark woods, so he ordered the group to stop.

The baron's knights seemed to have some sort of routine for camping over the past two days, quickly preparing sleeping areas and starting a campfire. I decided to seize this moment.

"Sir Knight."

In front of the campfire, I casually approached someone who was standing with a bored expression, holding a cabbage under his arm and staring at the pot.

"The knights are working hard, and it feels wrong just to watch. Can I help you with anything?"

"Can you cook?"

"Of course. You're looking at the innkeeper who used to run a popular tavern in Sinistra."

I'll break the ice with food for now. I got close to Leonardo and Vittorio by first bonding over meals.

"We only have cabbage and cured meat… although there are some old vegetables as well."

"That's more than enough."

Of course, it's more than sufficient.