Salvation Through Delusion C4

Chapter 4

A business prodigy, huh? The richest on the entire continent, no less.

I felt genuine awe but forced my face to stay neutral, tightening my expression to hide it.

“Right, treatment. I’ve been doing my best until today, haven’t I? Lantuya’s probably shocked by now.”

“You’ve only been here three days, though?”

…You’ve got to be kidding me. This bastard Rue got drunk and fell into a pond just three days after arriving at the retreat?

I hid my surprise behind a stiff smile.

“I’m not the kind of person who can sit still for even three days.”

“Well, that’s true.” Marvin nodded in agreement. I seized the opportunity and pressed further.

“Before I came here, my sister promised me a sum of money—an enormous one. So large that I wouldn’t be able to spend it all alone.”

Gulp. Marvin swallowed audibly.

“Well,” he said, feigning hesitation, “going outside would be risky since the guards might spot us, but walking inside the building… that should be possible.”

The greed in his eyes was so blatant I half-expected him to offer to carry me on his shoulders if I asked. Still, as he led me down the corridor, he couldn’t resist making it sound like he was doing me a huge favor.

“Ah, if the Director finds out, I’ll be in serious trouble. If I get caught, how would I even explain it…”

“That’s your problem to figure out.”

“Excuse me?”

Marvin blinked at me, startled. Damn it—I’d slipped and spoken too much like myself. At the same time, Mo’s warning flashed in my vision.

*[Marvin’s expression shows over 90% signs of suspicion. In this situation, Rue’s possible responses are as follows:

1. ‘Ugh, I hate thinking about things like that!’ (Pouts playfully and clings to Marvin, sliding a hand under his clothes.)

2. ‘If you mess up your excuse and get punished, I’ll be locked up with you.’ (Runs a hand along Marvin’s inner thigh.)]*

…Rue, you lunatic. Was he obsessed with people’s thighs or something?

If I could resurrect him just to beat him, I’d do it gladly.

“What I mean is—” I began carefully, briefly touching Marvin’s arm before pulling back as if it burned.

“I’m not clever enough to come up with an excuse.”

“Ah,” Marvin nodded, though he still didn’t look happy. Then, suddenly, he turned to me again, his gaze sharp.

“Mr. Rue.”

“Yeah?”

“Why does your voice sound different?”

What? I froze. That question made no sense—same body, same vocal cords. How could the voice change? Thankfully, Mo supplied an immediate explanation.

[Rue habitually spoke at a higher pitch than his natural range, preferring a lighter tone.]

…For crying out loud.

“My throat’s just a bit sore.” I gave a weak excuse and urged him onward. “Keep walking.”

“What’s that? The rope with the bell?”

We were on the third floor of the retreat when I noticed a small cord hanging from the ceiling corner, a bell attached at its end.

“That’s an emergency bell,” Marvin explained.

“Emergency?”

“Yes. It rings when monsters appear. The capital’s never been attacked, but this region used to be an area where monsters appeared frequently.”

His voice had dropped, the tone subdued. Judging by his expression, even here, monsters were still a source of deep fear.

And of course they were—any living being would fear those creatures.

But what he said next made me feel a surge of bitterness.

“When I was young, that bell used to ring almost every other day, but now, hardly ever. It’s all thanks to the Divine Beast. Whenever a monster passage opens, another opens right in front of it, and most monsters get sucked through there instead.”

“…”

“Of course, not all of them do—it’s a pity, really. That’s why monsters still haven’t completely disappeared from Tuvine.”

He smiled faintly, as though lamenting it casually, not realizing how twisted my stomach felt.

“Well, life’s still better now than during the monster swarm days. Wherever those things are getting dragged to… at least it’s not here.”

Yeah. And I know exactly where they’re getting dragged to.

“What do you do when the bell rings?” I interrupted, glancing around.

“When a monster really shows up, what happens then?”

“There’s an evacuation shelter in the basement. But there’s no way monsters would appear here.”

I stared at him for a moment, suppressing the irritation rising like bile.

“And if they do?”

“Then we run for our lives.”

Marvin laughed awkwardly, scratching his head, but when he noticed my grim look, he hesitated.

“Well, if a monster did appear, the knights would be dispatched. Maybe even a Swordmaster, if we’re lucky. Don’t worry.”

What the hell was a Swordmaster? Mo immediately provided the data.

[Swordmaster: In Tuvine, the only beings capable of defeating monsters aside from those blessed by the Divine Beasts. Magic is ineffective against monsters, but swordsmanship at a certain level can manifest Aura—known as “Sword Qi”—which can harm them.]

“You mean there’s actually an attack that works on monsters?” My jaw dropped.

In my world, no weapon, no matter how powerful, had ever worked.

“Mr. Rue, is something wrong?”

I quickly hid my shock behind an offhand comment.

“There aren’t that many Swordmasters, right?”

“That’s right. Only four of them.”

“What? Four?!”

Only four?!

My voice came out too loud, and Marvin stared at me, startled.

Still, I couldn’t pretend this time. Thankfully, he misunderstood my reaction entirely.

“Ah, right. One of them—Sir Krol from the Krol Region—passed away recently. So now there are only three left. Well, two, really, since one has been hidden from the public eye for ages.”

Three. He said that like it was a casual thing.

You don’t count them—you train them! You should be mass-producing them by the thousands!

While I was still reeling from the absurdity of it, Marvin suddenly asked,

“Come to think of it, you didn’t recognize the emergency bell earlier?”

“I just haven’t seen them often in the capital.”

I bluffed, but Marvin didn’t seem convinced.

“But you were also surprised by the carriages outside.”

That one was harder to excuse. The carriages outside the window looked familiar enough in shape—except for one glaring difference.

There were no horses.

Instead, the “coachmen” were holding long reins connected directly to the carriage, and somehow, when they moved the reins, the carriages rolled forward—like cars.

How could I not be surprised?

“I’d just never seen such an old-fashioned carriage before,” I said stiffly, hoping Rue had been spoiled enough for that to make sense.

Thankfully, Marvin nodded.

“True. I remember when you first saw the retreat, you asked how anyone could possibly live out here.”

So Rue was an entitled idiot. At least that part worked in my favor.

“Still,” Marvin continued proudly, “carriages powered by mana stones are expensive. Our retreat has two of them! Most people still use horse-drawn ones to conserve mana stones.”

Mana stones, huh. Like fuel, maybe.

“They are pricey, yeah.”

“That, and hiring a coachman who knows operating magic is expensive too. You know how the Mage Association is—so picky about everything. Kids with even a little mana can get licensed in a week, yet they act all high and mighty about it, only sending their members where they want.”

Marvin shook his head. I nodded vaguely. There’s always an Association ruining things, no matter the world.

“Yeah. They take all the fees but never take responsibility when something goes wrong.”

“Exactly! I didn’t think you’d agree, Mr. Rue.”

“I’ve got ears, don’t I?”

“But you’re a member of the Mage Association yourself, aren’t you?”

…Come again? I froze.

Quick as ever, Mo pulled up Rue’s profile.

[Adeye Rue – Graduate of the Royal Integrated Academy, Department of Magic.]

Wait. So I can see spirits and use magic?

[After a childhood fever, Rue’s supernatural ability disappeared. However, due to his parents’ ambition, he was admitted into the Academy’s Magic Department. With no talent or mana, he remained enrolled for ten years through donations, eventually graduating after barely managing to activate a basic carriage-driving spell for his final exam.]

…Well, at least he graduated.

“I’m not exactly on good terms with the Mage Association.”

I brushed it off casually and changed the subject fast.

“So where’s the stable? If there are carriages with horses, that means there must be actual horses too, right?”

If there were only two mana-powered carriages, then worst case, I could always steal a horse.

…Wait. I do know how to ride one, right?

[No. Adeye Rue is completely uncoordinated.]

Of course. The only thing this guy ever did with his body was touch people’s thighs.