Treasure Hunt (8)

Raul suddenly squinted his eyes against the heavy downpour that came out of nowhere. The commotion at the Nidum Tower had definitely drawn attention, so now it was time to move on to the next mission.

'If I show a bit of weakness, I thought maybe I could stay behind and help before leaving…'

Since the knights of the Count's family, who were more accustomed to dealing with human confrontations than handling those things, were already taking care of it, Raul felt at ease and decided to leave.

"Are you coming along, kid?"

"Yeah."

Behind Raul, Vittorio followed. In this chaos, it was hard to send him back to the fortress alone.

If the reinforcements or that suspicious apostle joined, they would probably take care of him. A kid eager to help wouldn't change much.

'Looking at this kid reminds me a bit of the old days.'

Occasionally, Raul saw glimpses of his old self, the one who had once lived in the slums, and this made him a bit more lenient, suspecting Vittorio's origins. 

That said, he didn't feel pity for the boy. It seemed that, for now, the kid had found someone with many schemes to act as his protector.

'A suspicious character, but it was clear that the commander and that kid cared for him, so I guess it's fine.'

"Let's see, even in this situation, those royal guards are just following the king's orders."

Raul pressed his palm against his forehead to shield it from the rain as he surveyed the search party from a distance. After all, it was all them, wasn't it?

Thanks to the formidable backing, the plan had been neatly laid out into five divisions, making them not too difficult to deal with.

With a flick of his wrist, Raul tightened his grip on the long spear and narrowed his eyes, finishing his preparation. After all the chaos of being chased by the king's pursuers, he thought it was a good opportunity to make a move.

"Kid, stay back and watch from a safe distance."

Vittorio nodded and hid himself. He was quite skilled at slipping into narrow spaces and staying out of sight, evading detection, and Raul couldn't help but admire him. With that skill, he wouldn't easily be swept away by a blind attack.

Click — Raul pulled the spear back further, lengthening it into a polearm suited for human combat, and with a slight smile, he focused on the royal knights. It was time to get back to business.

"Hey!"

Raul shouted loudly, causing the royal guards, whose expressions were hidden by their helmets, to stop in their tracks. As they paused, Raul recalled the information he had received from the suspiciously well-informed informant before setting out.

[Those guys are a bit slow-witted. They're experienced, but they'll easily fall for a trick.]

And now, in the present moment, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a book he had borrowed from somewhere, presumably a library.

"Are you looking for this?"

He scratched off the leather cover and revealed a small bundle of paper wrapped in twine, with the word "Ledger" etched on the front in fine script. 

What they had been searching for—those who had been pretending to be human up until now—suddenly twisted their heads with a cracking sound.

"Is that it? Is that the one? Yes, the offering, the sacrifice, the ritual…"

"I found it! I found it! Finally, ah, ahhh!"

With a sickening twist, their necks contorted like ragged cloth. Raul twisted his lips into a grin as he hurled the ledger high into the air.

The royal guards, now revealed to be something else entirely, quickly snapped their heads back and leaped into the air, chasing the illusion in the sky. Raul seized the opportunity.

In mid-air, with their mobility restricted, the foolish enemies were easy targets—one, two, three.

Raul covered the long distance in an instant, driving the tip of his spear into the ground as he leaped into the air. While soaring through the air, he retracted his support and, with a face twisted like a demon, impaled three of the enemies at once. He stabbed the joint between their helmets and breastplates, skewering their heads together like a string of beads.

In the brief moment of suspended time, high in the air, he crushed the shoulders of the stacked enemies beneath him as he used them as a cushion to break his fall. It was finally time to return to the ground he longed for.

With a loud crack, he landed, the sound of rotten fruit hitting the earth as he stood tall in the aftermath. Raul then caught the fake ledger that had fallen after him.

"Really dumb…"

Still, it wasn't a bad way to warm up and get back into the swing of things. Firmly planting his feet, he deflected the incoming attacks with ease, moving fluidly through the fight. Though it was a battlefield where death could come at any moment, he found the act of risking his life exhilarating in its own way.

Not that he liked the dangerous parts—after all, he was human, and he preferred safety, comfort, and peace. But at the same time, he relished the wild, chaotic moments. The joy of knowing that, in the end, he would be the one left standing.

Back during the upheaval, his biological father, the baron, had worked tirelessly to keep his precious heir safe. In a desperate attempt to avoid conscription, he had forcibly adopted Raul, who had been doing fine in the slums, and sent him off in his place to the military.

But what had been the result of all that effort?

The ones who had struggled to live comfortably, who had fought so hard for a peaceful life, had all ended up dead. Yet here he was, still alive. To survive, one had to fight. This truth, this law of life, had become an undeniable fact for Raul, something that now ran through his entire life like a single, unbroken sentence.

Those who stop fighting die. That was why he had followed Leovald as a leader.

Look at him—he never stopped fighting until the very end, even defying death and coming back from it. He was truly a relentless man.

Crack! 

Raul stabbed the creature charging at him, piercing its armour. He gasped for breath, his energy beginning to wane, and the state of delirium he'd been in slowly faded.

"Whooo…"

As Raul withdrew his spear after taking down the last enemy, he heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind him. Startled, he quickly turned around. The creature, still alive, was crawling toward him with terrifying speed, its movements like a beast on all fours. He thought his head was about to fall off, yet somehow it managed to keep going!

In the past, Paulo would have made sure to confirm the kill. He had let his guard down. As Raul cursed under his breath, he hastily tried to dodge, but—

Thud.

A small, sharp silver blade pierced the soft flesh. Vittorio, having quickly darted in from somewhere, used his sword to sever the tendons in the creature's wrists and ankles in rapid succession. Like a marionette with its strings cut, the creature collapsed, and Raul finished it off.

He swept his disheveled hair back and glanced at the boy.

"You've learned a thing or two from the commander, huh?"

Vittorio, seeming tense and withdrawn, nodded. His movements were not the chaotic, deadly swings of Leovald's sword, but instead sharp, precise, and reminiscent of spear techniques. Raul felt like he was facing a promising apprentice.

'The commander must have had the kid mimic some of my moves when he was teaching him.'

Raul chuckled for a moment, but then an ominous feeling crept over him. It was a sensation he'd occasionally felt on particularly unlucky days while charging the frontlines.

"…!"

Between the white-edged barriers formed by the raindrops, a group of royal guards had suddenly appeared, surrounding them, weapons raised in unison.

It felt like they were preparing for an execution.

'We're screwed.'

Raul cursed under his breath.

***

[Sub-writer 1: As supporting characters, they're valuable assets. It would be a shame to lose them. Don't you think?]

"Ugh, hah…"

I yanked my jaw upwards, forcing it to lift, but slipped free from the grip. This time, my vision truly began to spin, and bile surged in my throat. As I twisted my mouth to hold it back and collapsed, I could feel the cold, sticky ground beneath me. My tears mixed with the muddy water, a natural reflex.

Someone patted my back. The touch was gentle, almost like petting a dog or cat, filled with an odd tenderness.

[Sub-writer 1: How pitiful.]

Don't pretend to be righteous. Aggressive words naturally rose from within me. What kind of behaviour was it to pity me after putting me in this state?

Although the words didn't come out since my mouth was covered, as I glared into the air, a heavy wind blew past me, and the hand that had been on my back was pulled away.

It was someone with genuine warmth.

「Isaac.」

Leonardo, with his pupils wide open, embraced me tightly.

[Sub-writer 1: By now, everyone must have made their decision.]

[Main Author: Foreign intruders…]

If the rollback is rejected here and the plot is forced forward, Celestina, Count Ertinez, Vittorio, or Raul—perhaps even all four of them—could be lost.

[Sub-writer 1: If you're hesitating, I'll go first.]

[The voting meeting resumes.]

['Sub-writer 1 (30% stake)' votes in favour.]

The world is grey.

Leonardo's cheek turned a pale white, and the falling raindrops seemed to freeze in midair, tangled in an invisible, thin thread, like tiny jewels suspended in the sky.

Just as thunder and lightning were about to strike, the scene paused, and even the light spreading across the high clouds became sharply visible.

As the light moved very slowly, I realized that the world hadn't stopped entirely—it just appeared to have frozen because it was advancing so gradually, so imperceptibly. It may seem like things are dragging on, or even regressing, but in reality, they are moving forward, bit by bit.

Isn't that the meaning of effort?

['Main Author (31% stake)'…]

Just as the main author seemed to hesitate for a long moment, on the verge of declaring defeat, a fierce flame suddenly ignited within me. Everyone had worked hard to get this far, each giving their best effort.

But is it reasonable to just erase all this history because it doesn't meet their satisfaction?

In the end, the ledger is in my hands, and aren't they carrying out a plan to eradicate the Ertinez family?

Such a thing cannot be allowed.

Because I made a promise. Though I don't remember it, I surely made a promise.

It was as if I had struck some sort of deal with the writers. There was a contract between me and the original Leonardo. Now, I recall that promise.

To Leonardo Ertinez…

[Keyword detected: The persona descends to fulfill the promise!]

And then, my vision splits.

This time, not by the will of others, but by my own will.