Chapter 239

239th Chapter: At the Edge of Summer

Long ago, I thought this dark, damp cave, along with the rats scurrying around it, the venomous snakes, and the scorpions, were the most terrible things imaginable.

“Finally, we’re out of the darkness, Swel.”

But for me, who had just been floundering in the excruciating silence and darkness of Erebore’s domain, this dark cave was nothing I couldn’t endure.

Of course, if you were to ask me if this place was safe, the answer would still be no.

Groooaaarrr…

Unlike the abyss, which had been eerily silent, this cave was an ecosystem. The howls of beasts and the thudding of footsteps coming from beyond the stalactites created plenty of tension.

Ultimately, the rift into the abyss couldn’t be closed, but we’d managed to reunite Delphina’s party without anyone dying or getting seriously injured, and that was enough to climb back to the surface in satisfaction.

I hoisted Hipolyte and Elpride onto my shoulders as I said:

“Let’s find a way out quickly, Antiope. Try to carry those who have collapsed.”

“Eh, uh, y-yes, I’ll do it! I have to, definitely… yup!”

Since escaping that strange room in the depths of the abyss, Antiope had seemed oddly agitated.

It seemed like she had fallen into a panic and hadn’t been able to compose herself after encountering those people in the room. In fact, she had gone through a lot, enough to break one’s spirit.

However, there was no time for a panic attack in a place where dangers might lurk at every turn, so I had no choice but to push Antiope who seemed somewhat dazed.

“Snap out of it.”

And so, with Antiope, I began moving, each of us carrying a fallen person under an arm and on our back.

Certainly, we didn’t know where the exit was, but the upward slopes we kept seeing indicated we were heading toward the surface.

“Uh… Mr. Hassan.”

“What.”

Suddenly, Antiope was speaking to me in an oddly formal manner.

Given her previous behavior of teasing me about my old habit of calling myself a god after revealing my true identity, it was highly likely that she was trying to mess with me again.

Even in such a situation, she still wanted to tease people, huh?

“Uh, Mr, uh… What’s that…?”

“Why are you trying to say something again?”

“Please don’t take it seriously… Everything I said earlier, it was all just a joke, right…?”

Ziiiiiiing…

Antiope’s words brought up a long-buried memory.

Back in my elementary school days, I was often the target of bullying by girls of my age. They would pinch me or hit me, committing acts of school violence whenever they saw me.

And as soon as I seemed about to get angry, they would turn it around and call me the one who didn’t understand jokes, labeling me as some weird kid.

Jokes, huh?

To those tormenting me, it was always ‘just a joke.’

Of course, I didn’t let them get away with it.

One day, to get revenge on a girl who bullied me, I did something audacious—climbed up onto the teacher’s desk to which she was assigned for cleaning duty and stepped on it with my shoes on.

Back then, I was Totte Andersen, standing on the desk as a protest against the absurdities of the school system.

Oh Captain, My Captain.

W-what are you doing right now!

The sight of her turning red with embarrassment, looking at the clean desk I had dirtied, still vividly remains in my memory.

Even more memorable was the conversation that followed.

Hey, Hassan! Why did you step on my desk while I was cleaning?

I’m cleaning the stairs, and you walk on them every day.

Whaaat…?

That was the counterpunch I’d been hiding, my ultimate move.

Unable to refute my argument, the girl burst into tears as she trembled. I got beaten by the teacher and by my mom when I got home.

At the time, as a child, I didn’t understand why I, the victim of bullying, was treated as the perpetrator and labeled as a bad person.

Was this what it was like to become the perpetrator?

Was I becoming a monster to fight monsters?

It was a kind of revelation.

Like a flash of lightning striking my mind, my thoughts reached a conclusion.

Perhaps that girl liked me.

During our elementary school years, we focused on the fact that I was being bullied and didn’t realize it, but might she have harassed and tormented me because she liked me?

It’s a plausible story, considering the shy nature of elementary school-age children.

Could Antiope’s jokes and tormenting be because she liked me?

No, even considering that, it might have been a stretch. Antiope wasn’t a little kid after all.

She was just naturally someone who enjoyed tormenting others.

Most people in this uncouth world were like her. They liked to find weaknesses and exploit them, refusing to let go and shaking their prey violently.

Elpride was the same way. She would bother and pinch me too.

Whew, I almost fell into those strange thoughts and ended up asking Antiope, “Hey, do you like me?”

If that had happened, another entry would have been added to my black history notebook, one that might have caused me to kick off my blanket in the middle of the night.

I safeguarded my future.

“Uh, Mr. Hassan.”

There she was again, addressing me. Without a doubt, Antiope was teasing me and controlling my emotions for her entertainment.

She enjoyed making me angry, manipulating my feelings, and putting herself in a position of superiority over me.

My emotions belong to me alone.

“Don’t make me angry, Antiope.”

“Eek, ah, okay, yes!”

“Don’t mess with me. You’re doing it on purpose.”

“What… What do you mean?”

“You’ve been speaking to me formally ever since a while ago.”

“Ah… um, uh, uh… Aaa…!”

I couldn’t quite understand how she interpreted my words, but Antiope let out strange sounds like a beginner vocalist practicing her pitch.

“O-oh, that’s what it was about. That vibe. Got it. Yup, you’re right, it was all a test. I almost fell for it, didn’t I? No way. I’m Antiope after all. Your left arm! There’s no way I’d miss this!”

Antiope babbled on, nonsensical as always. I wasn’t sure what she was saying, but it seemed clear that her mental state had deteriorated from being too long in the abyss.

Still, she seemed to have understood well enough that she shouldn’t irritate or torment me anymore. Firm opinions were important, evidently.

Groooaaarrr…

It was at that exact moment.

A strange cry came from the cave ahead.

“Hassan! There’s something up there!”

With that, Antiope put down the silver roses she’d been carrying on her shoulder and drew her short sword.

“Leave it to me! I’ll take care of it!”

Antiope was brimming with renewed enthusiasm. Naturally, this was a good thing for me.

Even though the monsters in this cavern’s lower levels were known to be powerful, with Antiope, I imagined we could handle them more easily.

Groooaaarrr…

And then, the creature revealed itself in the darkness. It was a massive monster with a body of pure white bones.

“A bone wyvern!? A creature that should only appear in the Land of d*ath, what’s it doing here!?”

While Antiope looked shocked, I couldn’t help but greet the monster in front of me with great excitement.

“Holy shi-, it’s Agumon!”

“Hassan!”

“Hassan-sama, Paranoi has come!”

To my surprise, on the wyvern’s back were none other than Luna and Paranoi. The fatigue I felt until just moments ago seemed to drain away, replaced by relief. Yet a nagging question prodded at me like a needle in my pocket.

“Why are you guys here? What’s going on?”

“We came looking for Hassan!”

“You’re looking for me? Why?”

“Well, Hassan’s been missing in the abyss for over ten days! Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe!”

Ten days.

According to Luna, it had been ten days since we ventured into the abyss. Both Antiope and I were astonished.

Considering the time we endured since entering the cave entrance, we had estimated it to be about a day or two at most. Yet, it had somehow been ten days outside.

Is this possible?

“I’ve heard that time flows differently within Erebore’s abyss, but is it really true? Ten days have passed already? I haven’t even been able to contact the knight order. They’ll think I deserted.”

Antiope anxiously fidgeted her feet.

She must have some semblance of a social life of her own. It was natural, considering she’d been missing for ten days, to react in this way.

“The city’s already in an uproar over your disappearances! We should go back soon!”

Both Antiope and I agreed with Luna.

I could understand, but Antiope and Hippolyte were well-known adventurers in the city. If news spread that someone important like them had gone missing, it could indeed spark significant issues.

“Hey, Paranoi, get down. These people need to be lifted on.”

“I-I have to get down…?”

“Luna should get down too, I think. You, both of you, get down. Let’s load up and go back.”

We lifted the fallen people onto the backs of the bone wyvern and Agumon.

Still, Antiope seemed to mutter offhandedly, possibly out of caution, about the undead growling nearby.

“Still, you’ve tamed the bone wyvern well. They’re known to be fierce among undead wyverns.”

“Don’t know! It just followed us! We were riding it and then we met you guys!”

“What? You treat a bone wyvern like a stray cat?”

“Ho ho, this is all thanks to my diligent religious practice…!”

Groooaaarrr…

Agumon’s blue eyes stared at me, but something felt different compared to the last time we met.

As if a link connecting this thing to me had been severed.

In gaming terms, it was as if the friend window that had connected us had been reset.

It was probably because that man in the white robe had forbidden me from using necromancy.

I’d need to test it outside to be sure, but I doubted I could summon using necromancy anymore.

Still, the necromancy that brought Agumon back to life seems to have remained active. Perhaps, since it was once summoned and set free in the wild, it had attained some independence?

Thankfully, Agumon did not seem hostile toward me, nor exhibited any aggression towards my acquaintances, Luna or Paranoi.

Together, we managed to follow the wyvern out of the depths and emerge onto the surface.

“Hah, whatever, we’re alive.”

“Aaaah!”

Just as we climbed up the slope to burst out into the outside world, Paranoi let out a shriek of pain. It appeared she had twisted her ankle on the uneven path.

“My ankle, my ankle hurts so much!”

“Really? Why are you so unstable just walking?”

In the end, I had no choice but to carry Paranoi on my back. In response, she started flailing her limbs as if she were ecstatic.

“The ride is good!”

“Hey, it’s tiring, so try to stay still.”

I seriously considered dumping Paranoi on the bone wyvern like a piece of luggage. I was contemplating whether to do so when…

“Everyone thought Hassan-sama was missing, but I always believed Hassan-sama would return after pacifying the abyss! I am Hassan-sama’s right arm!”

Only, the person who received this wasn’t me, but Antiope.

“Indeed, a right arm, huh. I almost fell for the test and failed, but you’ve known all along, haven’t you? I thought you were just a foolish nymph, but surely, all of it was just acting?”

“What a foolish shrine knight! Only now do you begin to recognize this body’s worth? You still have much to go until you can be called Hassan-sama’s left arm or even the top disciple!”

“d*mn it! So this was another test? Maybe you’re actually an incredibly powerful nymph?”

“That you’ve realized this shows some potential, doesn’t it? From now on, you’ll respect me as your senior disciple!”

Antiope and Paranoi seemed to be getting along well. For some reason, I transferred Paranoi, who I’d been carrying on my back, to Antiope.

Noticing the two chatting away, Luna asked me,

“What are they saying? Too affected by the abyss?”

“I don’t know.”

“Rather, Hassan, do you still have the doll I gave you?”

[Afterword]

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I’m extremely grateful for the sponsorship coupons…!!! And also to those who sent me royalty coupons…!!!

Thanks to you all, I was able to recover a bit after using up my reserves in a 4 day intensive writing spree… ㅠㅠ…

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