Chapter 6 – The Survivor

The imperial capital.

On the road heading toward Arcadia.

Rashid recalled that child wearing glasses.

‘Luna Maxion…’

There was no such named character in this world.

Because if they were a named character, there was no way he would not know.

So, looking into it a bit further, a point of contact was established with a certain named character.

Professor Kane.

A chair professor at the Magic Tower Academy and one of the major villains of this world.

‘If it’s his disciple, it might be possible. He wouldn’t have bothered to take her as a disciple if she wasn’t a talented individual.’

The exact reason why the child survived could not be known.

Since all the memories inside the dungeon were forgotten.

‘To be honest, since I achieved my goal, I don’t care whether she lives or dies, but…’

The problem was.

It was the case if that child gave testimony unfavorable to him.

‘Having no memories must be the same for both of us. There is no way that only she possesses memories that I also lack. It is just… bothering that she is that professor’s disciple. If she is talented, she might have left some kind of clue.’

If that was content unfavorable to him,

it was dangerous.

‘If worst comes to worst, I will have to borrow the power of the magic armor. Although it is a pity to have lived as a cleric until now, well, I can just find a way.’

Armor Lucifer.

‘I never expected to obtain this.’

Mana amplification of 200% due to Lucifer’s protection.

And all stats +5.

Just looking at those cheat-like stats, it was an item at the final boss level of armor.

Originally, it would have become an artifact like the very symbol of Saintess Mariel,

but not anymore.

‘It was right to cut that woman off there.’

Saintess Mariel Credo.

The one who, in the future, would turn into the Witch of Pleasure, collapse the Sanctuary, and cause demons to plague this land.

‘If I hadn’t cut her off and had even handed over Lucifer to her, she would have become a truly headache-inducing villain. Just imagining it is terrible.’

Of course, it wasn’t that there was no way to defeat her even if I had given her Lucifer,

but it was self-evident that I would have suffered quite a lot.

“Cleric.”

Rashid turned his gaze to the side.

There, a blonde inquisitor was crossing her legs and staring straight ahead.

Seeing her face, someone immediately came to mind, but the clothes she was wearing were the problem.

‘Strange. That woman should be an interpersonal inspector, not an inquisitor?’

In any case,

just looking at her authoritative and noble posture, one thing seemed certain.

That she was not of lowly origin, but a noble to her very bones.

“Do you have nothing to say?”

“Do you mean the matter of the dungeon?”

“Do you really remember nothing at all?”

Rashid’s gaze also shifted to the front, like hers.

In front of them was another inquisitor holding the steering wheel.

He gave a rather strong impression due to his cold eyes and firm jawline.

Rashid spoke in a calm tone.

“It is exactly as I said at the tribunal. I have no memories of that place.”

“Her Highness the Saintess was clearly assassinated. The culprit must have been inside there.”

The words that followed were thorny.

“I sincerely hope he is alive. Because then I can cut off his breath with my own hands.”

Rashid was not shaken at all.

“It is the same for me. If that person is alive, I will absolutely not leave them alone.”

The blonde inquisitor glanced at Rashid.

Generally, clerics were bound by discipline, so they were quiet and had a strong sense of restraint.

Although he had a bit of that feeling as well, he felt more upright and firm than them.

“I am not doubting you. Because I do not think a mere cleric could have assassinated Her Highness the Saintess alone.”

“Moreover, there was the seal. With the seal in place, even if you had such intentions, you wouldn’t have been able to carry out that goal.”

“However, the higher-ups want a culprit. Although the assassination of Her Highness the Saintess is an extremely shocking and sad event, the credit for resolving it will also be substantial.”

Inquisitors.

They were people in a position where they could fabricate a crime that did not exist and pin it on someone.

If, by any chance, she made up her mind to frame him as the Saintess’s assassin,

regardless of the evidence, the facts, or the card he hid,

he would have no choice but to become the Saintess’s assassin.

‘In any case, inquisitors… a troublesome bunch has attached itself to me.’

Still, it was too early to resign himself.

Rashid happened to remember the family crest engraved on the vehicle.

‘It seems to be that woman. Is her being an inquisitor a butterfly effect? Or it might be a past that even I do not know.’

“I heard that Swallow, as expected of a family ruling a free city-state, is a place with a somewhat rational character.”

She looked slightly surprised.

“How do you know about my family? Did someone tell you?”

Her cold gaze landed on the driver’s seat, but

the attitude of the inquisitor holding the steering wheel did not change.

“I knew by looking at the family crest engraved on the vehicle.”

“Is that so? It’s not that famous of a family, yet you recognized it well.”

“If it is a family responsible for a city-state, it cannot be called a small family.”

Anyway,

“Just as I heard about that family, I believe that you are also a somewhat rational person, Inquisitor. I trust you are not someone who would fabricate facts that do not exist into truth.”

To talk about rationality to an inquisitor,

and although the way he brought up her family was offensive,

there was a reason why she had taken on such a crucial task among various inquisitors.

It was the judgment of the highest echelon of power that she, who kept her young and pure ambition without yielding to anything, was more suitable for this task than the sly, old inquisitors who were familiar with power and external pressure and had forgotten principles a long time ago.

“If you are truly not the assassin, you do not need to worry. Only facts are important to me.”

The university hospital owned by the Magic Tower located in the imperial capital.

Immediately after arriving there, the blonde inquisitor made an unexpected proposal.

“Would you like to meet her first before we sit in?”

Rashid, who was about to get out of the vehicle, expressed doubt.

“Me alone?”

What was this? Was it a trap?

“If you want, I will let you meet her first. Will you meet her?”

Should he accept this or not?

If the surviving child was going to give unfavorable testimony, it was better to go and hear it first.

However, this was an open trap.

The content of the conversation would certainly be delivered to them, and it would work very usefully in whatever judgment they made.

The worry was not very long.

Rashid wore a displeased expression.

“Even if I speak first, nothing special will probably come of it.”

“Cleric. You seem to be misunderstanding something. We are just showing consideration since that child woke up not long ago. Because she might find our presence uncomfortable.”

There was no need to listen to such nonsensical bullshit.

“Let’s do that. I also happened to have something to ask that child personally.”

Rashid left the two inquisitors behind and headed inside the university hospital.

* * *

“Luna! I’m so glad you’re safe. We were worried.”

“That’s why I told you not to do things like dungeon exploration. No matter if it was the professor’s request, how could you follow them there!”

“Did really nothing happen? Is your body okay?”

The friends who had visited,

and the students under her had also visited, causing a fuss.

“Teaching Assistant Luna! I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“I, *hic*! I thought something terrible had happened to you, TA, *hic*! I was really worried.”

“Wahhhh~”

The second survivor of the dungeon.

She had been in a state of suspended animation for a day and then revived like a miracle.

Since she stood up like a ghost from among the corpses, it was absolute chaos back then.

She did not know why it turned out that way either.

However, according to what the hospital doctor said, a certain drug that puts a person in suspended animation was detected in her body.

Could it be because of that that she lived?

In any case,

surviving itself was difficult,

but the aftermath of waking up was an even bigger problem.

The Saintess’s assassin.

People from all sorts of places had come to visit and pester her, trying to find that culprit.

The Holy Order was especially in an uproar, and the reason she wasn’t dragged off to the Holy Order was thanks to the protection of the Magic Tower.

‘Why do I remember nothing at all?’

At that moment,

the sound of the hospital room door opening was heard.

Startled, she pulled the blanket all the way over her head and tightly closed her eyes.

She was completely sick of annoying things by now.

“I! I don’t know anything! Even if you keep asking, I don’t know! So don’t ask me!”

The presence of someone was felt outside the blanket.

Who was it?

It wasn’t family or friends.

If it had been them, they would have said who they were first.

Then, the investigator who had been bothering her continuously like earlier?

Or a reporter?

She didn’t know.

“Luna Maxion. Was that your name?”

“Yes? Wh-who… are you?”

Lowering the blanket, she quietly stared at the man sitting next to her.

A black-haired, black-eyed monk.

He was one known to the public as a cleric.

“Did you forget? We entered the dungeon together.”

“Ah… Brother. I remember. Then, did you also survive?”

“Yes, only the two of us survived.”

A light conversation began.

During the conversation, Rashid asked.

“You say there is nothing you remember at all?”

“Yes, I don’t remember anything.”

Rashid wore a look of relief imperceptibly.

It was truly a relief.

That the dungeon’s demonic grasp had not left this child.

“I see. It is the same for me. I don’t remember anything.”

“But you know.”

This was something she had not told anyone else yet.

“I think… there was a player.”

“What? A player?”

“Yes. That is… there is a magic message that only I can see. I discovered it there…”

Rashid’s expression hardened slightly.

“What is the content?”

“It seems Her Highness the Saintess had mentioned a player before. I think I wrote it down, but my memories inside are also not complete, so…”

“Is it possible to know who that player is?”

“No. Since I only wrote down a simple mention of it, I do not know who it is. Wouldn’t the deceased Saintess have known?”

Rashid stood up and stood by the window.

Then, looking down at the vehicle waiting for him, he said indifferently.

‘I can turn their attention outward. Since nothing is impossible for a player.’

“Then, was the player the culprit? If that is true, it is hard to conclude that the assassin is among us. Since a player could have broken the dungeon’s rules and intervened from the outside.”

He smiled faintly.

To an extent that could not be noticed unless seen from up close.

“That is good information. It will be useful in finding him.”

Having finished the conversation, Rashid happened to run into a man outside the hospital room.

A tall figure standing over two meters.

Impressive with his fluttering mustache and monocle, he looked down with a high-handed gaze even at Rashid, who was by no means short.

“A cleric, I see.”

In his eyes was a mixture of contempt and disgust.

“Where do you think you are visiting? Get lost immediately, you mongrel of the Holy Order.”

His tone of voice, his abrasive personality,

and even his authoritative attitude.

He was indeed ‘that guy’ whom Rashid knew.

‘Professor Kane. It’s been a while.’

The villain group that, along with Saintess Mariel, would lead this world to ruin.

An original member of ‘Lazarus’.

And the one who wanted to perform equivalent exchange of the entire world with what he desired.

‘It feels like just yesterday that I made you half-crippled, yet you are practically singing for me to do it again.’

It was not the time yet.

When the time came, he would no longer be able to look down on him.

Since his limbs would be broken, he would have to look up in that state.

‘I will create the exact same end for you, Kane.’