The swamp crab, or rather Poor Man Club, said:
"I'm quite fond of this tea. I do hope it suits your palate."
"Sorry for barging in like this."
"Oh, nonsense. You're always welcome here."
He laughed as his crab legs and pincers wriggled. Quite the sight.
"Thank you very much."
"So, what brings you here?"
"I'll get straight to the point. I've been given a commission that requires me to go to the Forbidden Zone in the Heisen Great Forest."
"...A commission?"
The crab's eyes twitched slightly.
A personal commission wasn't something he would know about.
"Is it true that entering the Forbidden Zone brings a curse upon you?"
"—It is true. My daughter is still suffering from it even now. You should know that."
"Yes. Um, your daughter entered the Forbidden Zone?"
"............It was... me who entered."
"Then why is your daughter—"
"Wof. Why is it that you must enter that place?"
"—There is something there that needs to be subjugated."
Upon hearing this, Poor Man Club grew visibly agitated, his head twitching and bobbing about.
The whole setup is way too dramatic. It's a serious scene — I wish they'd cut it out.
"You... already know about it, don't you?"
"That depends on what exactly you're asking about."
"The land called Heizen..."
"The dungeon?"
"So you did know! You were aware all along..."
So Poor Man Club knew about it too.
"Could it be that all three Great Houses' heads know about this?"
"No. The Zenzera family wouldn't know. It was originally information belonging solely to the Jinryū family."
"The Jinryū family?"
"That family is Heizen's guardian... its keeper. They exist for that purpose."
Guardian. And that keeper ended up like that. What a way to go.
"Then how does the Gōro family know the Jinryū family's information?"
"...I bought the information from Rāda."
This time, it was me who flinched.
Stay calm. He's being straightforward with me.
"Rāda is dead."
"You were the one carrying the body, weren't you? I also thought the witch was going to sell it at the auction."
"Would it even sell?"
"With looks like that? Of course it would."
That too, I suppose.
"Setting that aside, why did you go to the Forbidden Land?"
"The Jinryu family is teetering on the edge of collapse. The Zenzera family just watches and waits. The other two are in the same state. Having learned Heizen's secret from Raada's intelligence, I believed I could bring this territory under my control. But I lacked the power. No — looking back now, I could have managed things more skillfully. It should have been possible to handle it more smoothly. But at the time, I was greedy. I simply craved power. This was probably an EVENT. Something was wrong with me back then. The deepest floor of Heizen's dungeon. The Forbidden Land holds power there. By the time I realized it, I had already unsealed what was locked within the Forbidden Land, and as its price, my daughter was cursed."
So what had been sealed away was the dungeon aberration.
"So it was a lie — you weren't cursed because you entered?"
"That's right. A lie. A selfish lie, but one meant to protect Gouro."
"…Then your real target wasn't 'Kizumono' after all."
Poorman Club looked straight at me.
Those crab eyes… impossible to read what he was thinking. Creepy.
"It's my responsibility. Partly for the sake of breaking the curse, but this is a mess I have to clean up myself."
"Dealing with the dungeon aberration is my job."
"That's a named commission, is it? You know something that only I and a handful of others do. I'd very much like to know who that client is."
"It's the will of Heizen's dungeon."
There was no point in hiding it. Besides, he had a right to know.
"The will. The will of Heizen, you say. I never thought it actually existed — no, I suppose it's only natural for a dungeon."
"They said the dungeon aberration caused a surge in EVENTS."
"As I suspected. I'll take responsibility for this. I'll be joining the upcoming Forest Wave as well."
I could tell. This crab intended to die.
It was true he couldn't be called innocent. There was no denying that his ambitions had led to this outcome.
But could dying really be called taking responsibility?
It wasn't entirely this crab's fault. Every last bit of it.
The Heinzen Dungeon EVENT had played a part too.
Or maybe he'd just been jerked around by the rules and the system.
"If you want to take responsibility, then live — and help this city flourish."
Before I knew it, I was saying something like that.
Poor Man Club was startled. His pincers spread wide open.
"...But I—"
"Are you planning to dump everything on Seilan and the next family head?"
"That is not my intention."
"Then live, and devote yourself to Heinzen."
Even I could tell I was saying something outrageous.
He was a crab, sure, and his head was the brain of a swamp crab at that — but he was the head of the Gouro family, one of the two great powers that ruled Heinzen.
Poor Man Club fell silent.
I waited. I just kept waiting.
I don't know whether it was a long time or a short one.
Poor Man Club broke the silence.
"You're right. Everything you said is right. I should live, even if it means bearing that shame, and serve Heinzen for as long as I draw breath. I don't expect that to count as atonement. I don't expect to be saved either. I'll carry this sin until the day I die. Thank you. You made me see what I truly need to do."
"I'll handle the dungeon anomaly."
"I'm counting on you. Also — there's someone I'd very much like to introduce you to."
"Who?"
"The man with the mirror face."
"…Mirror Face…"
We had crossed paths once at the mobile palace.
Not just in looks — he carried an unusual presence.
Poor Man's Club rang the bell.
The one who appeared was an elf man wearing a monocle.
If I remembered right, he was from Gourow's expedition party… Araya, wasn't it?
"You called for me?"
"Go fetch Mirror Face for me."
"Understood."
Araya gave me a glance, then left the room.
"Um, I'm sorry. I said something pretty rude earlier."
"No, no — the words of a young person really do carry weight. Adults sometimes waste their lives without even realizing it. I'm grateful you helped me see that."
"…You're too kind."
Misusing your life, huh… I should remember that. It's no one else's problem.
I make that kind of mistake myself, once in a while.
After a while, Araya came back with Mirror Face.
I set down my cup after a sip of the now-cold tea.
The man with the mirror face. Tall — had to be at least six feet.
The mirror face. It wasn't like his entire face was made of mirror.
He was wearing a special helmet that had an oval-shaped mirror surface.
I'd seen something like that in a movie from my past life.
He reflected me in the mirror surface, then reflected the swamp crabs.
"You called?"
"Yeah, Mirror Face. This here is Wof."
"Nice to meet you."
"Wof... I've heard rumors about you from the Kuun Hunt."
Probably nothing good, knowing those.
"Is that so?"
"So what's this about?"
"He knows everything."
"You told him?"
"No. He's been commissioned to deal with this dungeon's anomaly."
"Commissioned?"
"...It's the will of the Heizen dungeon. The one you saved."
Saved?
"The will... chose Wof?"
"I've been commissioned."
"Mirror Face. Take off that mask."
"Is that okay?"
"I don't mind. He knows everything."
Mirror Face sighed and removed the mirror mask.
A sharp-featured young man's face was revealed. Black hair streaked with red. Small black horns. It was Fawn.
A ugly diagonal slash scar ran across the center of his face.
He carried a rough, fierce aura of a powerful being.
Who?
"He..."
"That's right. It's Garado."
Who?