At my words, a chilling silence descended on the basement.
“A murder journal? If that’s true, then what’s in that spire is the count’s own daughter, right? He tried to kill his own daughter?”
At Lee Jae-eun’s question, I nodded with a bitter smile.
“Yes. The count didn’t think of that child as his daughter.”
“Oh my.”
“Among the methods written in that journal, were there any that were effective?”
At Yoo Seon-je’s words, Lee Jae-eun gaped at him. It sounded like the Yoo Seon-je I knew.
“No. The child survived to the end even when starved, thrown into hot fire, or thrown into water. Eventually, Count Hermann leaves a message saying he’s confining the child in the spire and forbidding anyone’s approach. Perhaps he hoped she would die alone in that spire.”
But the child survived alone in the spire. Without anyone’s help, interest, or care. And hearing that fact, Count Hermann becomes even more enraged. Even the people here all define that child as a monster.
“Count Hermann kept researching ways to kill that child. In this lab here.”
“And he failed in the end, right?”
I nodded at Yoo Seon-je’s words. All the methods in the journal failed. There were terrible things I don’t even want to mention, but the child endured and survived all those torture-like experiments, no, ‘murder attempts’ to the end.
“And that’s how the castle ended up like this. Was it revenge?”
At Lee Jae-eun’s question, before I could answer, Yoo Seon-je said:
“But is that important?”
“What?”
“In the end, there wasn’t anything written about weaknesses, right?”
Hmm, if he’s asking if we’ve gotten closer to conquering, certainly the information we found this time might not be very helpful.
“Whether that woman there, that monster, lived a pitiful life or whatever, isn’t that not important?”
At Yoo Seon-je’s words, people couldn’t give any answer. Han Seo-hyeon glared at Yoo Seon-je with a terrifying face, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.
“So what if she’s pitiful? We have to defeat the monster there to get out of here anyway.”
“Ugh…”
Lee Jae-eun made a strange sound and clenched her fist.
He’s really something when it comes to ruining the atmosphere.
I opened my mouth, inwardly sighing.
“Yoo Seon-je has a point. The information we’ve found now certainly won’t directly help with the conquest. We’re still in the dark about why this castle froze in the first place.”
“You mean everything you’ve done so far was a complete waste of time.”
At Yoo Seon-je’s words, I shrugged.
“But we did find out something. First of all, didn’t we find out that the child in that spire…”
“Monster.”
“…Yes, the monster is a hybrid of Mein and human? We also found out that attacks without magic power couldn’t inflict any damage. Well, that’s obvious for monsters.”
I added:
“It’s impossible for either Yoo Seon-je or me to find a way to kill that monster right away. Still, I’m doing my best within what I can do. While Yoo Seon-je hasn’t found out ‘anything’.”
I didn’t intend to turn Yoo Seon-je into an enemy, but I couldn’t bear not saying something.
At my words, Yoo Seon-je glared at me with terrifying eyes. No joke, a white shadow flickered in his pupils. It means he even drew up mana.
If there were no watching eyes, he would have definitely shot a stinging lightning bolt at me.
“I don’t have a hobby that suits time-wasting, so I’ll be going now.”
After spitting out those words, Yoo Seon-je headed straight for the stairs.
I shouted at Yoo Seon-je’s back:
“Don’t forget to close the door tightly when you leave!”
Bang!
The sound of the door closing was loud. Why pray for the door to fall off, really.
Anyway, what a nasty temper.
The remaining companions rolled their eyes while glancing at me. Oh, this. I showed an unpleasant side. Especially now when there are so few people left, we should be cooperating more than ever.
I glanced at Team Leader Lee Hye-won. She opened her mouth as our eyes met.
“We’re thinking of leaving here now too, but what are you planning to do now, Agent Smith?”
“Hmm… For now, I’m thinking of staying here to check for more information.”
“Didn’t you say you’ve already read all the books here?”
Strictly speaking, it was Ray who read and memorized all the books here. I just diligently turned the pages.
Because of that, I could grasp the general story, but it was difficult to say I had thoroughly found out everything.
“I’m thinking of looking through it again to see if I missed anything. Unlike Count Hermann, we have magic power. Methods that failed for Count Hermann might be meaningful for us.”
Lee Hye-won looked overwhelmed as she looked around at the shelves full of books.
“Even if I wanted to help, only you can read the books here, so I can’t help.”
“It’s alright.”
“Then, John…”
Lee Hye-won shifted her gaze to Han Seo-hyeon. Han Seo-hyeon shook his head slightly. He looked like he had a lot to say, so this time I didn’t tell him to follow those people.
Sometimes it seems I should lift that vow of silence. A teenager who usually talks a lot hasn’t been able to say a word for hours now.
In the end, the two of us decided to stay here, and the rest decided to look for other things outside.
“Don’t forget to close the door tightly when you leave.”
“Yes!”
Unlike someone earlier, the door closed very quietly. As soon as they left, Han Seo-hyeon opened his mouth with an expression like he was about to die.
“Ugh, I really thought I was going crazy from frustration.”
“You worked hard.”
“Ugh.”
Han Seo-hyeon, who had been shivering for a moment, looked at me and hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Ah, right! Do you know those people were planning to take down the boss?”
“What?”
“I’m telling you, they’re just waiting for an opportunity from behind.”
“Huh.”
Considering Yoo Seon-je’s hostility I saw just now, it wasn’t such a strange thing.
“Are they really going to attack us?”
“No, they don’t have the confidence to take down the boss of this place, I mean, the boss of that Gate without us.”
“As long as they’re not planning to pounce on us right away, that’s fine.”
“What, is that it?”
At my nonchalant reaction, Han Seo-hyeon sighed as if deflated. He seems quite displeased about having to ally with the Sirius conquest team that doesn’t trust us at all.
“Ah, and there’s something that bothers me. Why did they decorate the room of the daughter they hate so much so nicely?”
“Right, you said the room in the spire was very beautiful?”
It certainly didn’t match the hatred felt from the journal. It said they didn’t even feed her properly or take care of her.
“Maybe it’s made of ice? Like that Elsa from Disney. She has the power to handle ice.”
Han Seo-hyeon, who had been chattering like that, said as if he realized something:
“If we say this without filtering, won’t Disney come to save us?”
“What are you talking about?”
“To sue us for copyright infringement…”
He’s gone weird from being confined for too long.
“You should go upstairs instead of staying here in the basement.”
“Ugh, can’t I stay here? I’ll be quiet and well-behaved. Do you know how frustrating it is to be there unable to speak? I’m really about to suffocate.”
—It certainly isn’t a good situation for a teenager going through puberty.
Having to hide himself wearing a fake face in a place full of enemies. It was certainly too much pressure for a seventeen-year-old kid to experience. I nodded to Han Seo-hyeon. He needed rest too.
It’s because Han Seo-hyeon is nice that he endured this much. If Kim Jae-ho were here, he would have turned things upside down long ago.
—Isn’t it because of that guy’s mask that you left him behind?
‘Hmm.’
—I thought it was strange somehow.
‘He’s not well-suited for missions like this.’
Kim Jae-ho was clumsy at dealing with people. Unlike me and Han Seo-hyeon who could blend in smoothly with our surroundings, he would inevitably show signs in his behavior. If we had brought Jae-ho, our identities probably would have been exposed on the first day.
Now that the situation has turned out like this, I really miss Kim Jae-ho.
I wonder if he’s doing well. Is he eating properly? I instructed him thoroughly before coming, but I was worried like leaving a child by the water.
Hmm…
I shook my head to shake off my worries about Kim Jae-ho. He’s not the kind of guy who would go somewhere and get beaten up by someone, so he should be doing well.
—Yeah, if anything he’d be the one beating others up.
For now, finding a way to conquer this Gate is the priority.
I frowned, glaring at the books packed tightly in the bookshelves.
‘I don’t know if we can find a solution in here, but.’
* * *
“It’s a waste of time. Reading those books won’t change anything.”
Yoo Seon-je asserted. He said what Smith was clinging to was nothing but a waste of time. Lee Hye-won rolled her eyes at those words. Although she was in the position of team leader who should lead the team, this incident had long since left her hands.
In fact, Lee Hye-won tended to respect Agent Smith’s judgment. At least, she didn’t want to disparage someone who was trying to find a way to conquer somehow, even finding a hidden secret space and reading old worn-out books there.
But if she said that, that narrow-minded hero would get upset.
Lee Hye-won moderately took Yoo Seon-je’s side.
“We can’t just leave it to them, so it would be good for us to investigate this place on our own. Lee Jae-eun?”
“Yeeees!”
Lee Jae-eun hurriedly jumped out at Lee Hye-won’s words.
“Please explore this area and let us know if there’s any suspicious place. There might be another hidden space like before.”
“Yes! I understand!”
“It could be dangerous, so don’t go too close and be sure to tell us if you discover anything. And Shin Ma-ru and Oh Hyo-jun…”
Shin Ma-ru and Oh Hyo-jun had talents that were only relevant during combat, so it was ambiguous to count them as combat power here.
Even their physical abilities were similar to ordinary people.
Seeing Lee Hye-won’s expression, the two quickly opened their mouths.
“Should we go make a meal for now?”
“Y-yeah?”
Lee Hye-won smiled faintly as if grateful at the words of the two people who found something to do on their own.
“Alright. Then Seon-je…”
“I’ll train.”
“Ah, training?”
“There’s a technique I couldn’t complete before coming here.”
“Well, if that’s the case. But don’t go too far…”
Yoo Seon-je left this place with his long legs before Lee Hye-won’s words were finished.
Lee Hye-won touched her forehead.
“Somehow it feels like no one is listening to me.”
Lee Jae-eun, who heard that whisper from the side, raised her hand and said:
“That’s not true! I’m here. Let’s start searching the village!”
Lee Hye-won smiled seeing Lee Jae-eun cheering her up from the side.
“Alright.”