Chapter 17: The Girl Buried Underground

Swish! Swish!

The sound of the wind created artificially was irritating to the ears. It may not have been deliberate, but I was miffed at the fact that the wind blew exactly when I turned a page.

"Just stop it already."

Findenai, who was swinging her axe in a corner of the room, giggled and replied.

"Huh? Isn't it time for warming up?"

I frowned at her as if asking what nonsense she was spouting.

However, she raised her axe once again while ignoring me, but after hesitating for a moment, she turned her head stiffly toward me and grumbled.

"So, when do we leave? It's already been three days."

"We need to be prepared. We're not up against some ordinary monsters."

"Huh? What arrangement can be made by reading a book?"

"This isn't the arrangement."

All arrangements were already completed this morning. Now I was just waiting for someone...

"Huh?"

Findenai tilted her head, as if asking me what the hell I was talking about...

Knock!

...but before I could clear her doubts, a knock on the door interrupted us.

Slowly closing the book, I instructed her,

"We'll be leaving soon. Go out and get ready."

"Oh! So were you waiting for your little sister...? Then, I'll see you later."

With the axe placed on her shoulder, Findenai stepped onto the window sill and leaped out. And with a thud she managed to skillfully close the window.

Creak.

I turned my head towards the door as I heard it opening. Deia entered the room even though I hadn't replied when she knocked.

"Five minutes."

Click.

The pocket watch in Deia's hand began ticking. But as usual, I just looked at her.

Deia was also staring at me with her mouth tightly shut.

It had been a week since she started allotting five minutes of her day for me, and during that time, we didn't exchange a single word and just kept staring at each other with our mouths shut.

"...Ugh!"

However, it was a little different today.

As soon as three minutes had passed, Deia opened her mouth, which had been shut for a week, as if she was bored, and scratched the back of her head.

"What were you thinking?"

"What do you mean?"

Deia frowned, biting her lips as if she felt even more annoyed once I replied immediately.

"It's been a week... Does it feel good to spend 5 minutes just like this? Have you now developed a fetish for getting aroused just by staring at someone standing still?"

"...."

I uncrossed my legs and answered slowly,

"I was waiting."

"...What?"

Her face did not hide her feeling of disgust as she questioned me.

As if carefully tapping a stone bridge before crossing it, I began to elaborate, calmly and cautiously.

"I just waited as I felt that I shouldn't be the one to initiate the conversation."

"Hah! By forcing me to stand here like this?"

"Yes, because that was our deal."

In the first place, this entire arrangement of spending time together was forced. Therefore, I left it entirely up to Deia on how to proceed further.

I wouldn't say anything if she didn't want to talk at all.

"Puberty arrived late."

Deia clicked her tongue, crossed her arms and walked towards my desk.

"Well, since you have finally opened your mouth, let me ask you this- why did you do that to the Head of the Household? Do you know how your actions have affected his reputation?"

"You are in no position to reprimand me about that."

"...Well, yeah, but..."

Recalling the time when she had cursed at the Head of the Household for his defeat against Findenai and her cohorts, Deia's face went red with embarrassment. But remembering Darius' cries of pain, she spoke,

"No, even if there was something present in the basement, did you really have to go that far?"

"Yeah, Darius has a responsibility to take."

"A responsibility?"

"As the current Head of the Household, he shouldn't have remained silent in spite of knowing the truth... I was merciful enough to order Findenai to only break his wrist."

If he weren't the Head of the Household and he still chose to remain silent, I would have instructed Findenai to beat him and break all his bones.

Gulp.

Gulping down her saliva as if she also understood that the situation was unusual from my tone and atmosphere, Deia asked,

"What on earth did you see in the basement?"

Click!

We heard the sound indicating that five minutes had passed. Deia became annoyed and aggressively stuffed the pocket watch into her coat pocket when I briefly glanced at it.

"What's down there? Despite sealing it as you instructed, the servants have been going insane because of the spooky screams that echo from there every day."

Knowing that Deia would immediately leave if she sensed any hesitation, I calmly met her gaze.

"Don't worry, I plan to deal with it today. Consider it a responsibility I have to carry out as a member of the Verdi Household."

"Responsibility?"

"Yes, I intend to shoulder it in place of the Head of the Household."

I stood up from my chair as soon as I heard the sound of someone coming in from the outside. Deia took a step back hurriedly on seeing me stand up all of a sudden.

I walked past her and put on my coat hanging on the coat rack.

Soon, the door opened.

Before me, stood Findenai with an axe slung over her shoulder, wearing a yellow coat over her maid uniform.

"Yes! This is great! For the past three days, I've been wanting to chop something up!"

Findenai urged me to hurry as she pranced about energetically.

I tidied up my attire and looked at Deia, while holding my staff.

"This is the responsibility of the Verdi Household. You too have the right to see it, but if you don't want to, then stay here. There won't be any more screaming after today."

Saying so, I left the room. Findenai followed me while humming a tune.

And a moment later, Deia opened the door and yelled from behind.

"W-wait! I'm coming too!"

* * *

We once again stood before the hidden door in the store room that led underground. Findenai whistled at the sight of the collapsed entrance that was unlikely to let anyone enter.

"Woah, this will be a real pain to clear out."

"That's why I said it was troublesome. Actually, I tried to go down by myself on the first day, but I couldn't proceed because of the debris blocking the way."

Deia glared at me with her arms crossed, as if I did something cruel.

After asking the two to step aside, I tapped the debris with the tip of my staff.

"It won't take that long."

The souls that were absorbed by me began to escape through my staff. Then, the spirits that seeped into the debris, transformed into simple blade-like wind cutters.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

There was a clear path ahead as the debris was crushed into fine dust.

And the interior was seen; the interior, which was originally a passage, was now empty like a cave.

"Kya, this is exhilarating."

As I shrugged my shoulders, Findenai looked at me expectantly and was the first to step into the passage as the vanguard.

Deia, who was staring at me blankly, asked hesitantly after following behind.

"What, what did you just do? It was not a simple wind cutter, there were numerous magical movements...It was like..."

As I glanced at her, Deia blurted out awkwardly,

"It seemed like the magic was alive."

"..."

She came quite close to the actual answer, but I didn't plan on telling her the truth. It was forbidden to practice Black Magic in the Kingdom, let alone using it carelessly.

Deia would hate me even more if I used it carelessly. The additional title of a criminal 'Dark Mage' didn't feel enticing either.

We headed straight down to the basement. It took quite some time to step over the collapsed rubble and make our way down to the basement, but we were able to arrive at the room where the Human-Bone Centipede was.

"Findenai, try to hinder that centipede for as long as possible. It would be best to kill, but I doubt it's feasible."

"Hmm? I've already assessed its skill level. I can take care of it."

Findenai replied confidently, but I didn't tell her otherwise. After all, experience was the best teacher.

"Deia, you..."

I thought that Deia might have a problem, but she pulled back the hem of her coat to reveal the long-barreled pistol fastened on the belt of her waistband.

"It's a magic gun. I should be able to protect myself."

"What? Even people in the Kingdom have guns?"

Findenai found it fascinating as she believed that guns were exclusive to the Clark Republic, but Deia replied while inspecting her gun,

"The technology arrives here the quickest as our Norseweden is the closest to the Republic."

"Yes, but it won't be of much help."

"What?"

Deia glared at me in anger, but ignoring her, I placed my hand on the doorknob to unlock the door. After opening the door, I gave Findenai one more order.

"Keeping Deia safe is your top priority."

"I got it, let's hurry and enter!"

As it was a long-awaited battle, Findenai pushed the door open and entered inside, bubbling with excitement.

The Human-Bone Centipede, which lay still in the darkness, started crawling towards us as soon as it felt our presence, with blue orbs burning brightly in its eye sockets.

Tadap, tadap, tadap

Bone-chilling footsteps hit the ground as it quickly closed the distance.

Deia's mouth opened wide in surprise; she was the most surprised as she didn't know anything about the Human-Bone Centipede.

"That, that, that! What is that?! There was something like that present in the basement of the mansion?!"

Standing in front of Deia, I tapped my staff on the ground to conjure mana.

"Let's go!"

With the axe slung over her shoulder, Findenai kicked the ground and shot forward.

Findenai's speed was much faster than that of the centipede. She had already leaped forward and swung her axe right in front of its skull before the centipede could even open its mouth properly.

Squishhhh!

The skull slammed into the ground as it was cleanly split in half. Thanks to this, the scattered bone fragments that were nearby were swept away and the dust that had been accumulating for hundreds of years rose up, stirring the wind.

But as Deia and I were expecting this outcome, we cast wind protection magic on ourselves.

"Cough! Cough! How was that! Master! This is how I protect my comrades!"

Findenai laughed as she was proud of herself and held up her axe from the top of the centipede.

Without saying a word, I pointed at the Human-Bone Centipede with my chin.

Tadap, tadap, tadap.

The shattered centipede, which had lost its light, began to reform again. Not only that, it also absorbed the scattered bone fragments around it and stood up once again with an even bigger body.

"...I hate this kind of thing the most."

Findenai, who had already run towards us, grumbled as if complaining. She must have realized that physical strength alone was not sufficient to defeat such an opponent.

I released my magic and stood next to Findenai. My gaze was directed at the end of the centipede's tail, at the girl who had already become a shriveled-up corpse.

"Block the Human-Bone Centipede's movements while I approach her."

"...I understand, but are you planning to kill her?"

Findenai asked softly. Deia, who was behind me, also stared at me blankly as if she also was waiting for my answer.

Receiving their questioning gazes, I took a step forward.

"One, who is already dead, cannot be killed."

It was a truth that I felt and experienced myself- both in my past and present life.

Those who are dead, can no longer die.

My directives were merely keeping them in place; it was impossible to incinerate or destroy them.

"Just like always, there is only one thing that can be done."

At that moment, I strangely felt as if I made eye contact with the girl who had the Human-Bone Centipede stuck in her heart.

I met the girl's eyes who was captured and experimented on- the pitiful child who was being dragged around by a giant parasite several times larger than her own body.

"All spirits secretly whisper about their regrets and grudges. These whispers can become a language, actions, or traces."

As if sensing something, the Human-Bone Centipede rushed towards me, and Findenai quickly moved to stop it.

Even in this urgent situation, I walked in a straight line towards the girl, still looking into her misshapen eyes- as if speaking to her.

"Scream out."

Over a hundred years have passed...Your tongue, which couldn't even find a drop of water, must have dried up and twisted in agony.

"Weep, as you beg. Howl out the miseries your life has witnessed."

So much dust must have accumulated and blocked your throat. Insects must have eaten away at your flesh, and spiders must have built their webs over you to bait insects. But...

"Awake and pour out the grudge left in you onto me."

Even though your soul has already been destroyed to the point of no return. Even though you haven't found peace after death...

I still felt her gaze touch upon me. As if she was asking what difference it would make if she spoke to me.

Thus, I responded.

"Then, I shall save you."