The village bore a strong resemblance to the Migurd tribe's settlement.
The entire village was enclosed by a roughly two-meter-high fence, with crude log houses lined up inside.
Near the log houses, there were modest-looking fields.
Unlike the Migurd tribe's crops, a variety of vegetables grew abundantly here.
The soil might have been better.
Further behind the log houses, beasts were being butchered.
The animals being skinned were quadrupedal beasts with whitish fur.
Those were the true form of the invisible monsters.
It seemed that after they died, their transparency wore off after a while. The ones that had attacked us earlier had eventually regained their color too.
Their name was apparently "Transparent Wolf."
What a cliché name.
In the center of the village, there was a spring, and nearby, a group of people were preparing food in large pots.
As expected, their culture was similar to the Migurd tribe's.
However, there was one key difference.
In the Migurd tribe's village, everyone had the appearance of a middle school student and possessed blue hair...
Here, everyone wore a red gem on their forehead and had emerald-green hair.
Yes—the Spelled Tribe.
Every last one of them.
And that was where I discovered a surprising new fact.
The Spelled Tribe didn't just have emerald-green hair and a red gem on their forehead...
They were stunningly beautiful.
Every single one, without exception, was gorgeous.
Now, I knew that in this world, stronger or more pronounced features were considered the height of beauty...
But they were gorgeous.
Of course, it wasn't just the slim, handsome types—everyone had well-proportioned faces.
There was a young girl with a short haircut over there who was incredibly cute.
She was slender, not particularly tall, but had solid muscle around her shoulders, a fierce look in her eyes, and a reasonably generous bust—she was like
No, wait, it wasn't like that. I wasn't being unfaithful or anything—I was just being objective!
A village of beautiful men and women.
This was diabolical.
The people of the forest were devils.
"What a terrifying village."
"......Yessh."
At my murmur, Doga groaned in agreement.
For a while now, Doga had been cowering behind me, trying to hide.
It seemed he was afraid of the Spelled Tribe.
He was from the
I wanted to deny that...
While the Spelled Tribe weren't inherently evil as a race, whether they'd welcome us here was another question entirely.
For now, I'd hold off on offering any false reassurance.
"So, where do you think they'll take us?"
Shandor didn't seem very frightened.
He was from a conflict zone, so he might not have heard many fairy tales about the Spelled Tribe.
If anything, he seemed excited rather than afraid, facing such a large number of Spelled Tribe members.
"To
"Just because it's our destination doesn't mean they'll take us straight there."
"......Then, if we're talking patterns, the village chief's place, right?"
"If we're talking patterns, a jail cell could be an option too... but the vibe doesn't feel that hostile."
The Spelled Tribe warrior told us with a single word—"Follow"—and started walking.
We obediently trailed behind him until we arrived at the village.
Throughout the trip, there wasn't much in the way of conversation.
"That said, the villagers don't seem very energetic."
Now that Shandor mentioned it, the Spelled Tribe did indeed seem listless.
Even as they went about preparing meals, some of them were coughing.
The children, on the other hand, were full of energy.
Tailed children ran around, chasing each other playfully.
Come to think of it, Spelled Tribe children did have tails...
"The population seems rather small for the size of the village."
"Maybe they're out hunting?"
"They're butchering game right now—they can't exactly be out hunting."
"Ah, right. Good point."
They'd just been skinning a quadrupedal beast.
That meant they'd already returned from the hunt.
Maybe not the entire village went, or perhaps they went individually, or the beast had been stored from before...
"As I thought, it must be illness."
I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was a sickly atmosphere pervading the village.
Part of it was the preconception from the information we'd received about coming to buy medicine, but there did seem to be something resembling sickness.
I thought we'd be fine, but maybe wearing masks would be a good idea?
"This way. Hurry up."
Prodded along by the Spelled Tribe warrior in front of us, we were led to a particular house.
It was the oldest building in the settlement.
However, it was also the largest in the village.
So it was the village chief's place after all.
"Chief, I'm coming in. I've brought guests from Ruijerd."
The Spelled Tribe man announced this with a single sentence and opened the door.
The interior was a large hall.
Rather than the chief's home, it felt more like a lecture hall or meeting room.
In any case, there were five Spelled Tribe members inside.
All five were probably elderly.
They had a calmer aura than the Spelled Tribe member who'd brought us here.
Of course, every one of them had green hair, fair skin, and was strikingly beautiful.
Their ages were hard to tell at a glance.
"Mm."
And then, one of those five.
The moment I stepped inside, he stood up immediately.
I recognized his traditional garb.
The scar on his face.
His white spear.
I recognized the headband.
His hair had grown out. He was no longer bald.
This time, there was no mistake.
"Ruijerd-san!"
A smile burst naturally from my face.
Nostalgia welled up, and I wanted to rush to him, but I held myself back, taking only a few steps forward.
But when he saw my face, his expression turned confused.
"
Could it be that he'd forgotten me?
That would be incredibly sad.
"...Have you forgotten?"
"No, you look different from the face in my memories."
"Oh! Right—I was in disguise at the time."
I removed the ring and showed my real face, and the chief and the others began to murmur among themselves.
I wanted to say, "You recognized me with that face?" but perhaps the Spelled Tribe's third eye had helped.
"I see. It's been a long time."
"Yes, it really has."
Oh, the nostalgia.
There was so much I wanted to tell him.
So much I wanted to share.
About Eris. About
So much I wanted to ask.
About this village. About what he'd been doing all this time.
No—I could see for myself what the village was about.
Ruijerd had found it.
He'd finally found what he'd been searching for all along.
"Ruijerd-san..."
My eyes threatened to spill tears.
Memories of our time together came flooding back.
The first time I met Ruijerd.
When we first met, he'd been alone. He stayed with the Migurd tribe, he traveled with us—to others, he didn't appear to be alone, but he was.
But now, Ruijerd was no longer alone.
"Congratulations. You found the Spelled Tribe."
"Yes."
Ruijerd nodded, narrowing his eyes with a gentle smile.
Surrounded by so many companions.
...The five around him looked rather intimidating, but Ruijerd, surrounded by them, looked happy.
"But Rudeus... why are you here?"
Oh, right.
This was no time for sentimentality.
What I needed to do right now wasn't reminiscing.
"It's a long story, and I have many questions of my own. Would you have a moment?"
I sat down in the meeting hall and said this with a serious expression.
"...Chief, is that all right?"
The one seated farthest back wore more elaborate clothing than the other four.
He must have been the chief.
He made a troubled face at Ruijerd's question.
"Can this human be trusted?"
"He can."
"Then let us hear him out."
With the chief's permission, the information exchange began.
--- Before I spoke about myself, Ruijerd told me how he'd ended up here.
Starting from after he'd delivered
After that, Ruijerd had set out on a journey to find surviving members of the Spelled Tribe.
He planned to travel through several countries while searching the northern part of the Central Continent.
However, he'd been caught by Badigardi shortly after leaving town.
"He told me he knew where the surviving Spelled Tribe were."
Ruijerd had been skeptical of this claim.
But with nowhere else to go, he'd decided to follow along for the time being.
After several years traveling with Badigardi, they'd arrived at the Kingdom of Biheliru.
And then, past the Forest of No Return, deep in the Dragon Valley, they'd been led to the Spelled Tribe who lived there.
Ruijerd was warmly welcomed by the Spelled Tribe.
There were various discussions and apologies about the wars of the past, but even so, they welcomed him warmly.
Ruijerd began living in the village and found peace.
"But then, a plague struck the village."
An epidemic of unknown origin.
Its early symptoms resembled a cold, but patients lost strength, suffered uncontrollable tremors, their forehead gem clouded over, and eventually they died.
Watching villager after villager collapse, Ruijerd dashed about searching for a cure.
Though Ruijerd himself was infected, he'd whipped his trembling body into action and journeyed all the way to the second city, Irel.
There, he'd been lucky enough to purchase medicine from a traveling merchant.
Currently, the village was on a slow path to recovery.
"But outside the forest, there are rumors spreading that the demons in the forest have been killing everyone who comes to investigate."
"The plague might have caused the monsters to leave the forest."
First of all— Why had the Spelled Tribe built their village here in the first place?
It was essentially the same story the old woman in the Dragon Valley village had told me.
Several hundred years ago.
The Spelled Tribe, driven out of the Demon Continent, had wandered across the world.
Everywhere they went, they faced persecution. Sometimes knights and armies hunted them down.
The Spelled Tribe refugees avoided the plains, following the edges of forests and mountain foothills, seeking paradise.
Land where humans wouldn't tread, where the Spelled Tribe could live.
They searched for such land endlessly, endlessly.
And what they found was the "Forest of No Return," located beyond the Dragon Valley.
A forest where the presence of earth dragons kept large monsters away, leaving only the "invisible monsters" to inhabit it.
Of course, the "Transparent Wolf" was a formidable monster on par with any standard beast.
With the advantage of invisibility, as few as three could easily wipe out an ordinary adventurer's party.
However, invisible monsters could be easily spotted by the Spelled Tribe's "eyes."
And even though they were called strong, their power was nothing compared to the Spelled Tribe, who had survived on the Demon Continent.
They were treated as nothing more than livestock.
And so, the Spelled Tribe settled in the Forest of No Return.
Naturally, there were problems.
Even in a forest where people rarely ventured, a village existed nearby—it couldn't be helped.
Some time after the Spelled Tribe began living there, a human village sprang up near the forest.
The villagers frequently entered the forest, and sometimes strayed near the settlement.
At that point, the Spelled Tribe chief made an agreement: reduce the monsters in the forest to keep them from approaching the village, and in return, protect any villagers who got lost.
According to the village's oral tradition, the villagers had been there first...
But if this was two or three hundred years ago, the village's version was probably wrong.
After all, the person who'd struck the agreement was still alive.
In any case, the Spelled Tribe had maintained a respectful distance from the village and gotten along well.
But the plague had upset that balance.
"The kingdom intends to destroy this village."
Upon hearing this, I relayed the rumors circulating in the Kingdom of Biheliru and what the kingdom was planning.
"I see..."
The expressions on the chiefs' faces showed not the fighting spirit of "if they want to destroy us, we'll fight," but disappointment.
They slumped in exhaustion, voices tinged with resignation.
"So we can't live here anymore either..."
"Where are we supposed to go?"
"If only that war hadn't happened..."
The chiefs spoke with melancholy, not accusing anyone, Nor regretting anything in particular.
They were simply men resigned to their current situation.
There was nothing left to be done.
There was only to flee.
That feeling carried through in their voices, in their posture.
The war four hundred years ago.
To humans, it was ancient history.
But just as the teleportation incident had left a lasting mark on my life, Perhaps for the Spelled Tribe, the Laplace War was an ongoing nightmare that had yet to end.
"If you'd like, I could negotiate with the Kingdom of Biheliru?"
The words slipped out before I knew it.
"Huh?"
"I'm a human, and I hold a certain degree of authority.
The Spelled Tribe have been hunting the dangerous monsters in the forest and protecting human villages.
That's beneficial to the kingdom. If we sit down and explain things properly, I believe they'd permit you to live in this corner of the forest."
I knew what I needed to do now.
Defeating Geese was my job.
Bringing Ruijerd into the fold was part of the plan, but I'd been acting to avoid Geese's notice—was it wise to do something that might draw attention?
Part of me thought that way.
But then—was I supposed to let the Spelled Tribe be destroyed?
I'd been selling Ruijerd dolls and picture books all this time.
Why?
To find Ruijerd.
But why dolls and picture books?
Because I believed they could help restore the Spelled Tribe's honor.
I'd been trying to help the Spelled Tribe, to help Ruijerd, all along.
Maybe I was getting my priorities wrong.
But who else besides me could save the Spelled Tribe in this situation?
"Humans despise us. They'd never accept us."
"Among humans, the hatred toward the Spelled Tribe has already been fading.
The Kingdom of Biheliru accepts even the Oni tribe, who look distinctly different from humans, so resistance should be minimal.
Around here, the Milis faith doesn't hold much influence either.
If my associates spread favorable rumors about the Spelled Tribe within the kingdom, and the Spelled Tribe cooperates in return, I believe acceptance is possible."
I rattled off these words in rapid succession.
At the very least, the Kingdom of Biheliru had no reason to destroy the Spelled Tribe.
If the Spelled Tribe were gone, Transparent Wolves would pour out of the forest and wipe out a village.
Nobody knew the wolves' range of movement, but depending on the circumstances, damage could extend to the surroundings of the second city, Irel.
I'd even be fine with the arrangement being "turn a blind eye to the Spelled Tribe."
There had to be more benefit than destruction.
"If the Kingdom of Biheliru doesn't work out, I could arrange for you to relocate to a friendly nation's territory."
The Asura Kingdom... would be tough.
The Milis faith was strong there, no matter what.
But beyond the northern border of the Asura Kingdom lay a vast forest.
It wasn't under any nation's territory.
If they didn't live within a kingdom and caused no tangible harm, even the domestic Milis clergy couldn't complain too loudly.
Furthermore, in that northern forest, there was a band of thieves connected to Ariel.
Having them share the territory wouldn't be a bad idea.
Knowing Ariel, she'd probably try to put the Spelled Tribe to good use...
"Can this be done?"
"But can we even trust this man?"
"If he's a friend of Ruijerd's..."
"But what he's saying is hard to believe."
Those around the chief began arguing among themselves.
They were so lively you'd never think they were the same race as Ruijerd.
They appeared young, so it almost looked like a youth council meeting.
If we filmed this scene and distributed it to human society, people would at least realize they weren't demons...
"This isn't something that can be decided immediately."
After a discussion, the chief said this.
Naturally—a man had suddenly appeared and started saying things like this. They'd be confused, unable to make a decision.
"I understand.
Humans will likely attack within sixteen or seventeen days.
Since there's time for negotiation, I'd appreciate it if you could reach a decision as soon as possible."
Even if negotiations fell apart here, I could protect the Spelled Tribe village myself.
"...Very well. We'll have our conclusion within a few days."
The chiefs said this and stood up, troubled expressions on their faces.
"Huh? I haven't even explained why I came here yet."
"We're still processing what we've just heard. Moreover, the sun is about to set. Let's adjourn for now and sort things out."
Was this their quitting time?
What a model company.
"Prepare lodging and food for our guest."
"I'll handle it."
Well, explaining why I'd come could wait until tomorrow.
No matter what, until the village's problem was resolved, there'd be no fighting Geese or the
Priorities.
When tomorrow came and the question of why I'd made such a proposal came up, I could explain properly then.
With that thought, I ended my meeting with the chiefs.
--- That evening, we were given an empty house in the village.
Doga retreated into the house, while Shandor looked around the village at dusk with great curiosity.
As for me, I went to visit Ruijerd's home.
He apparently served as a kind of advisor to the village and lived in a house situated deeper within the settlement.
Home. Ruijerd's home.
Just looking at it made my heart warm.
He no longer had to continue his aimless travels, living under persecution.
Ruijerd had a place here.
Even if he had to leave for a while, he could return to find a warm bed and a family smiling back at him.
Home really was something...
Ah, no—I was about to cry.
"Sit down."
"Okay!"
The interior was simple.
The structure did indeed resemble the Migurd tribe's houses.
Furs were spread around a central hearth-like fixture, and clothing hung on the walls.
The house was divided into three sections, and Ruijerd entered what appeared to be a storage area.
From the sound of splashing water I could hear, water jugs and food supplies were probably stored there.
What was the other room—the bedroom?
But it was pretty bare.
The floor was covered with furs, but the walls showed exposed wood grain.
They could at least hang a Transparent Wolf trophy on the wall...
Ah—hanging on that wall was the
Nostalgic. He'd kept it all this time.
But... it was spacious.
"Um, Ruijerd-san?"
"What is it?"
"Do you live in this big house alone?"
"Yeah."
Living alone in such a big house.
I suddenly thought about my own situation, living alone at home.
The bedroom was the same.
The basement, I filled with unnecessary items, just as before.
I'd use the kitchen, dining room, and bath... but the living room? Probably not.
The other rooms wouldn't get much use either.
Now, with the layout arranged to my taste, every room in my own house would transform into a cold, empty space.
The old me would've been fine with that, but the current me couldn't stand it.
"...Don't you want to get married or something?"
"You think anyone would have me?"
Ah.
Right.
I'd forgotten—Ruijerd had lost his wife and children with his own hands...
Of course he wouldn't.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. I simply have no one. It's not because I'm hung up on the past."
Ruijerd smiled and sat down across from me.
"What about you?"
Ruijerd seemed relaxed.
This kind of closeness.
If it were going to be like this, I should've brought Eris along...
No—this could wait until after everything was done.
As long as we were alive, we could meet anytime.
And right now, we were all moving together so that everyone could survive.
"It's going to be a long story—is that okay?"
I thought it could wait until tomorrow, but with Ruijerd, I wanted to tell him first.
I was dying to talk.
"Tell me."
"Right."
I told Ruijerd about everything that had happened since we parted.
About my sisters. About Paul's death. About my marriage to Roxy.
About reuniting with Eris, and getting back together with her.
Up to that point, Ruijerd listened warmly.
His expression darkened briefly at Paul's death, but since I didn't seem particularly distressed by it, he didn't press the matter.
If anything, it was Eris he asked about.
"So Eris had warrior's disease after all?"
"...Ah, I guess so. I still feel like she's not entirely over it."
"Still, taking three women as wives—that sounds like you. Do you have children already?"
"Yes. Four of them."
"I see."
He didn't say he wanted to see them.
But next time, I'd bring them along properly.
Especially Ars.
I wanted Ruijerd to meet my and Eris's children.
Of course, all of that would have to wait until after Geese was defeated.
"Ruijerd-san."
I straightened my posture.
The order of things might be reversed, but this was the real reason I was here.
"I'm now serving under Dragon God
I explained the current situation.
How Dragon God Orsted had been opposing the Man-God since ancient times.
How I'd initially been on the Man-God's side, but the Man-God had intended to deceive me from the start.
How the Man-God, seeing my future descendants as a threat, had tried to kill my family.
But I'd come from the future and prevented it just in time.
How the enraged Man-God had proposed that I fight Orsted, and I'd accepted.
How I'd been defeated by Orsted, but he turned out to be a decent person, and I'd managed to escape the Man-God's grasp.
How since then, I'd continued fighting as Orsted's subordinate against the Man-God.
How we were currently gathering forces to defeat the Demon God Laplace, who would be resurrected eighty years from now.
How the fight had been going well, but Geese had sided with the Man-God.
Geese's letter. The possibility that Geese was in the Kingdom of Biheliru.
How I'd sent trustworthy allies throughout the Kingdom of Biheliru to stop Geese.
I relayed all of this without hiding anything, and finished by saying: "Ruijerd-san.
Ever since it was decided that we'd fight Laplace, I've been searching for you.
Please lend me your strength—no, please fight alongside me."
I bowed my head and made my request.
Ruijerd was someone who held grudges against Laplace as well.
"......"
And so, naturally, I'd imagined a favorable response.
"............"
But Ruijerd didn't answer.
He simply made a bitter expression and averted his eyes.
"What?"
I hadn't even considered the possibility of being refused.
I'd thought that if I mentioned Laplace, Ruijerd would nod with his usual deadpan expression—something like "it's time"—and say "Understood."
But it was different.
He'd averted his eyes.
That was a rejection.
His body language was saying no.
Part of me thought he was joking.
But another part understood perfectly.
Because of course.
He'd found his Spelled Tribe kin.
His grudge against Laplace would still be there.
His anger would still burn.
But his fight was over.
He'd fought in the final battle of the Laplace War and struck his blow of vengeance.
That was when it ended.
And to make matters worse, the Spelled Tribe village was in crisis right now.
He couldn't possibly make promises before resolving that.
"Is it about the Spelled Tribe village? If so, leave it to me. It's been a few years since Ruijerd and I parted ways—I've made connections and gotten strong enough to handle things."
"It's not that."
It apparently wasn't.
But I couldn't give up.
Wanting an immediate answer, I searched for arguments to persuade him.
What had Ruijerd's life been about after Laplace was gone?
What had Ruijerd been striving toward?
Protecting the surviving Spelled Tribe?
Protecting the kin he'd finally found?
That too.
But there was something bigger.
"Then—is it about restoring the Spelled Tribe's honor? The battle against Laplace will include the King of Asura and the Saint of Milis. If you stood alongside them, that fact alone could help restore the Spelled Tribe's honor—"
"No."
I thought I'd hit the mark, but those words were easily dismissed.
Ruijerd stood up.
Confusion and hesitation were visible in his expression—one that even bordered on murderous intent.
Could it be there was another reason I didn't know about?
"Rudeus. Follow me."
Ruijerd grabbed the spear propped against the wall and walked toward the entrance.
I hurried to my feet and followed.
--- We'd been talking for so long that it was completely dark outside.
The moon peeked through gaps between the trees, but I couldn't even see my own feet.
Ruijerd walked out of the village.
I pulled a lamp spirit from my scroll and illuminated our surroundings.
Ruijerd, as if to say he needed no light, walked for several minutes and stopped at a clearing in the forest.
"Rudeus."
"Yes."
I had a feeling he was about to tell me something I didn't want to hear.
A corner of my mind tingled with unease.
"In the meeting just now, there was one lie."
"......"
"Both the chief and the warrior chief believed the lie to be the truth."
A lie.
"The plague hasn't been cured at all. The medicine didn't work. There's been no recovery."
I pictured the coughing woman in the village.
The aura of illness I'd sensed from the entire settlement.
The unusually small population Shandor had remarked on.
"All we've done is slow its progression."
"...How?"
At my question, Ruijerd reached for the headband covering his forehead.
"This."
What emerged from beneath the headband.
It was a red gem... no.
The gem that should have been red had turned blue.
Furthermore, it was surrounded by black markings.
They looked like the kind of pattern a fourteen-year-old might doodle on their left hand.
"That... is?"
The reason I couldn't make light of it was that I'd noticed the unsettling aura emanating from Ruijerd's expression and those markings.
Maybe I'd grown stronger since the old days—I felt more sensitive to others' strength and danger now...
"Right now, my body is possessed by 'Demon King' Vitta."
Demon King Vitta.
One of the Man-God's candidate apostles, said to reside in the Heavenly Continent's labyrinth called "Hell."
"Demon King Vitta has given a portion of his fragment to the infected villagers. Thanks to Vitta's fragment, the plague's progression has been suppressed."
"H-Hold on—possessed? Is that okay?"
"There are no abnormalities. The only effect has been suppressing the progression and symptoms of the disease."
"Has it said anything to you?"
"No."
The only thing I'd heard from Orsted was the name.
I didn't know what it looked like, what it believed in.
So it was the type that could possess others.
A fragment—if it could split off, it must be a life form capable of division.
Or maybe it was bacterial?
"But 'Demon King' Vitta is supposed to live in the Heavenly Continent's labyrinth 'Hell'... Why?"
"When the village was in crisis, a man appeared before me carrying a bottle containing Vitta."
"A man... Don't tell me—"
"Geese."
Sure enough.
"Geese said there would be a great battle in this kingdom soon, and that he needed help at that time."
"......"
"I agreed.
I was skeptical about relying on something as mysterious as Demon King Vitta, but there was nothing else to be done. And the medicine did stop the disease's progression—everyone was saved."
Then Ruijerd smiled self-deprecatingly.
"I never imagined that Geese's opponent in that battle would be you..."
My heart was pounding.
I'd considered, if only slightly, the possibility of Ruijerd becoming an enemy.
But when it actually happened, my pulse wouldn't stop.
"The plague hasn't been fully cured.
I've heard that if Demon King Vitta dies, his fragments die too.
If that happens, the village will be consumed by disease once again."
"......"
"I have to fight you."
Ruijerd said this with his usual, inscrutably serious expression.
"Naturally, I don't want to fight you either. If not for you, I never would have made it this far. I'd still be wandering the Demon Continent with nothing but foolish thoughts."
"...I feel indebted to you too, Ruijerd-san. I don't want to fight."
"But we must fight. These things have always happened."
"...I suppose so."
People who owed each other their lives becoming enemies.
They fought with a sense of helplessness, one of them died, and the survivor carried a deep wound in their heart.
That must have happened in every war.
But this case should have been different.
It shouldn't have been inevitable.
An exception—yes, it should have been an exception.
There had to be a way to avoid fighting.
To avoid fighting, you simply had to remove the cause.
The cause...
Orsted and the Man-God?
That was certainly part of it, but I'd come too far to betray Orsted now.
This was between Ruijerd and me.
The reason Ruijerd had to fight me.
It was his companions—his Spelled Tribe kin.
If the Spelled Tribe were gone... no, that wasn't right.
The plague.
The plague that was consuming the Spelled Tribe.
If I could find a way to cure it, the entire Spelled Tribe could become allies.
"If I could find a way to fully cure the plague, would you defect and join my side?"
Defect.
At that word, Ruijerd's expression hardened slightly, and he fixed me with an intense gaze.
But I didn't flinch under his stare.
Geese had gotten to Ruijerd first.
But Ruijerd had told me about it.
If he'd truly chosen Geese's side, he could have simply killed me without a word.
Ruijerd was wavering—that was why he'd brought me here and talked to me.
"......"
Ruijerd's mouth twisted, brow furrowed in thought.
I considered him an ally.
He should have thought the same of me.
But he also felt obligation toward Geese, who had saved the Spelled Tribe, and toward the Man-God who had presumably given those orders.
Knowing how loyal Ruijerd was...
"As I mentioned before, the Man-God betrayed me. There's no guarantee the same won't happen to the Spelled Tribe. Geese once told me he'd been betrayed too, his entire clan slaughtered, and yet he followed them. Once the battle ends, Demon King Vitta might simply leave on its own, and the Spelled Tribe would perish regardless."
But no matter how much gratitude one felt, the Man-God would likely betray you in the end.
That was the Man-God's nature.
Of course, it was just malicious speculation.
But I had to point out the precedent.
"......"
Ruijerd was silent.
Silent, looking at me.
I looked back at him.
Then, slowly, he spoke.
"If such a method truly exists... fine. I do want to fight alongside you."
"Ruijerd-san...!"
A sigh of relief escaped me.
Thank goodness.
It wouldn't come to us killing each other—thank goodness.
"But does such a method actually exist?"
"Orsted knows a great deal about this world. If I ask him, perhaps..."
But would Orsted tell me?
He hadn't told me before.
He hadn't even told me the Spelled Tribe were here.
No—I'd ask properly, taking everything into consideration.
Whether or not I'd fight Ruijerd could be decided after.
"At any rate, there should be a countermeasure.
Until then, don't say we're enemies—just wait."
I was kicking the can down the road.
But even if we discovered there was no countermeasure, it wouldn't be too late.
"Orsted came here once, before Geese arrived."
"What?"
The sudden statement made me tilt my head.
Orsted had come here?
"When?"
"About two years ago, around the time the first patient appeared."
"......"
"But he did nothing. Of course, we didn't know he had any connection to you, so we drove him away... but if what you say is true, Orsted should have already been on your side at that point."
What did that mean?
What did that mean?
"Can Orsted truly be trusted?"
Orsted hadn't mentioned the Spelled Tribe.
There was a slim possibility he hadn't known, but if what Ruijerd had just told me was true, that possibility was gone.
Trust.
A cure.
I can't. I don't know.
"I can."
But that's what I said.
Orsted had always treated me well.
Perhaps there was a reason for this situation.
Maybe the Spelled Tribe would become an obstacle to Orsted in the future, or something like that.
But that could be resolved through discussion.
At the very least, Orsted had come to the village and hadn't slaughtered the Spelled Tribe.
Perhaps he'd intended to, but chose not to.
There had to be something behind that.
"I trust Orsted."
I'd been with Orsted all this time, and there was no doubt about that.
Sure, he was occasionally cryptic and didn't always keep me in the loop, but as long as he was working toward the goal of defeating the Man-God, he was trustworthy.
"I don't like putting it this way, but trust me instead of Orsted. I will never do anything to harm the Spelled Tribe."
"......"
Ruijerd turned away.
He crossed his arms as if thinking, and after a few seconds— As if noticing something, he looked up.
The sky showed a large, full moon.
"...Guh!"
The next moment, he suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed to his knees.
"Ruijerd-san!?"
What on earth— As I rushed toward him, Ruijerd suddenly looked up and grabbed my shoulder.
"...!"
Something was wrong.
Ruijerd's face had changed grotesquely.
His eyes had turned a deep, vivid blue.
Both the whites and the pupils had shifted to a saturated shade of blue.
His mouth hung half-open, and his expression was anything but rational.
The gem on his forehead had returned to red, but the markings around it glowed with an eerie light.
Seeing this, I understood.
"He's being controlled!?"
Idiot.
No matter that I'd heard he'd done nothing so far, I shouldn't have told him all that.
I'd known he was possessed—I should have kept that in mind.
But by the time I realized, it was too late. Ruijerd pulled my face close.
He kissed me.
At the same time, something liquid slipped into my mouth, moved like a living thing, and slithered down my throat.