Chapter 103: The Centennial Beasts Festival (3)
Chapter 103: The Centennial Beasts Festival (3)
Ronan picked up Lamancha and got on his feet. The expression on Navirose’s face didn’t seem suitable for joking around. After a moment of them staring at each other, she let out a sigh.
“…I guess it’ll be fine if it’s you. The Doppelgangers have disappeared.”
“What?”
“I don’t have time to explain. If you’re willing to help, come with me.”
With those words, Navirose turned her back to them. After a brief moment of exchanging glances, Ronan and Adeshan followed her.
The three of them walked down a dimly lit corridor with minimal lighting. Long, stretching shadows played across the walls and floor, and at this time nearing midnight, there were no students wandering around. Adeshan muttered, nervously rubbing her arms.
“Is it because it’s nighttime? It’s a bit… eerie.”
“Sunbae, you need to go to the Dawn Tower. As for what I saw in the completely dark library… Well…”
“Hey, stop talking about that!”
As their footsteps echoed eerily down the hallway, it didn’t take as long as expected to reach their destination. Navirose stopped in front of a large double door.
“Here.”
“It’s surprisingly close, it’s in the Gallion Building.”
The place where the doppelganger was said to have been kept was a small Assembly Hall located in the Gallion Building. Navirose took a step back after confirming that there was no one around.
“I will continue the search. Get the details from the officials.”
“Ah, thanks.”
“And aren’t there any other good places besides the arena? Like the Four Seasons Hill or something. I don’t understand.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
With those cryptic words, Navirose turned and walked away. Adeshan’s face showed confusion.
“Well, something like that…”
“What are you talking about?”
Ronan opened the door. It revealed a spacious storage room, and around seven people were huddled together in the meeting room of the Gallion Association.
From the looks of it, all of them seemed to be representatives of the Beast Festival. There were two who appeared to be professors and four wearing armor. One of them was a male student dressed in a school uniform, and for some reason, his face seemed familiar.
“Huh?”
The male student, upon hearing the door open, turned to look at them. Ronan’s and the student’s eyes met.
“…Heeik?!”
“What?”
The pale male student shrank back in horror, and Ronan gave him a puzzled look. At that moment, in a corner of the meeting room, they noticed a werelion in pajamas.
That was the person in charge. Ronan discreetly approached him and tapped his back.
“Varen, it’s me.”
“Ro-Ronan? What’s going on…?”
“Professor Navirose sent us to help. She said the Doppelgangers have disappeared?”
“Haha… that’s right.”
“What happened?”
Varen was as baffled as he had been when he read Ronan’s club activities report. His fur, which should have been sleek and shining, was now as ruffled as a worn-out sponge. He let out a heavy sigh.
“To sum it up… the crates containing the Doppelgangers suddenly opened. If this is a nightmare, I hope someone would wake me up…”
“Crates?”
Ronan looked around. Two large boxes were wide open in the middle of the Gallion Association meeting room. Four incredibly complex locks dangled beneath them.
“Seems like you’re not that good at guarding. Just like with the Dream Bird and the Manticore.”
“Hehuhuh… I did my best. It was an unbreakable lock unless you had this key…!”
Varen fumbled around in his pocket, producing a keychain with four keys, each as intricate as the locks themselves. He explained that it was impossible to unlock the boxes without these keys.
Varen clenched the fur in his hands and sobbed. He explained that he had been doing his best to manage the Doppelgangers to ensure there were no disruptions in the Beast Festival.
Using specially crafted locks, they had sealed the crates. Nine people, including Varen, took their positions in the Assembly Hall. Instead of leaving gaps or posting guards here and there, they decided to spend the night together as part of their strategy. Varen let out another sigh as he recollected the situation.
“I shouldn’t have gone to the bathroom… How could this have happened…”
Despite his efforts, the Doppelgangers had escaped. It had all happened while he took a brief trip to the bathroom. Two crates stood wide open, and the Assembly Hall was in disarray.
The two Doppelgangers had swapped their appearances between a frost troll, an attractive blonde woman, a giant spider, and everyone’s mother. People were unable to stop these bizarre creatures. They were prepared for external threats, but nobody could have imagined that Doppelgangers would escape from within.
“Why did the lock come undone? You said it was specially crafted.”
“That’s really the question. Without this key, it’s impossible to unlock the lock. I’m the only one who has the key.”
Varen fumbled in his pouch and produced a keyring with four intricate keys hanging from it. He began to explain the virtues of his crafted lock, albeit with a rather somber tone.
“I know it might sound ironic to say this now, but it’s really a great lock. It’s coated with mithril, making it nearly impossible to break. It also has an anti-unlocking magic enchantment. But the fact that it was unlocked is truly unthinkable…”
“Varen, if you don’t plan to sell me those locks, please, be quiet.”
“I’m sorry…”
Varen, who had been stammering, lowered his head. The fact that the impressive lock had been opened was already a problem, but an even bigger problem was that no one had seen how the lock was opened. Ronan muttered under his breath.
“…Useless bunch.”
It was truly pathetic. Regardless of what had happened, all they needed to do was watch and guard properly. In his frustration, Ronan wanted to gather all the people on guard duty and give them a good scolding, but there was no time for that.
With the Beast Festival only half a day away, there was only one thing that mattered. Capturing the Doppelgangers. Ronan scratched his head roughly and spoke with an irritated tone.
“Damn it, shouldn’t we wake everyone up to go and catch them? The festival is tomorrow!”
“That, um, will be difficult. If the Doppelgangers blend in with the crowd, it will make capturing them even harder.”
“So, what are we supposed to do?”
“We plan to search with as few people as possible. Only the strong individuals that can overpower their Doppelgangers.”
Suddenly, Varen grabbed Ronan’s hand, his trembling fingers betraying his nervousness.
“If student Ronan helps… it would be a significant help.”
“I came here to help in the first place.”
Ronan nodded readily. He left Varen, who looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment, and approached Adeshan, who was intently surveying the Assembly Hall.
‘In situations like this, there’ll be no one as useful as her.’
Adeshan’s insight would be of great help in the investigation and pursuit. Ronan was just about to call her when suddenly a voice came from behind.
“Um, excuse me for a moment?”
“Hmm? Weren’t you…”
Ronan turned his head. There was a thin, awkward-looking boy standing there. It was the same guy he had glanced at a while ago. Without a clear reason, the boy’s face seemed strangely familiar. Ronan, who suddenly remembered his name, snapped his fingers.
“Lakota?”
“Yes, yes… that’s right.”
“Right, I heard a rumor about you. They said you got lost while gathering herbs and were officially declared missing. If a kid like you gets lost already, what will you do in the future?”
“Ah… ahaha… that’s what happened.”
Lakota scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. He gave off an impression of someone who was not quite together. Ronan raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior.
“Why are you twisting your body like that? Do you need to go to the toilet or something?”
“That… no, it’s not that. Could we talk in private for a moment?”
“I don’t have a hobby of going to the toilet with men.”
“No, no, it’s not that. I promise it will be quick.”
“Tsk… I’m busy as is… okay, fine.”
Ronan reluctantly followed Lakota. The sudden change in behavior was perplexing. Lakota seemed to be in distress as he scanned the surroundings. After confirming that there was no one around, he cautiously began to speak.
“How far are we going?”
“Please… Please just follow me without asking anything. I’m begging you.”
Lakota’s voice was filled with urgency. After exhaling a sigh, Roanan resumed walking. They continued without stopping until they reached the end of the lower corridor, where the toilet was located.
“So, it was the toilet after all?”
Roanan chuckled, and a faint candlelight was burning on top of the urinal. Lakota anxiously scanned his surroundings, confirming that nothing seemed out of place. He then carefully began to speak.
“If we’re here… It should be fine.”
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Lakota reached into his pocket. Click. A sound as if he had pressed a button echoed. Simultaneously, a translucent wave of mana radiated from his pocket. Whoosh! In an instant, a hemispherical barrier unfolded, covering both of them. Roanan furrowed his brow.
“What the hell is this?”
Ronan realized that he couldn’t hear any sounds from outside the barrier. It was a Silent spell he was familiar with. Lakota breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew… It’s better now. I cast both Silent and Perception Interference spells.”
“How important is this secret that you’re willing to go to such lengths?”
Roanan let out a wry laugh. He couldn’t understand why Lakota was acting like this, suddenly calling him and spouting incomprehensible nonsense. Lakota who had been hesitating, finally began to speak.
“It seems like… you can’t see the Devil’s Orders.”
“What?”
“The first time we made eye contact, I was quite shocked. You seemed to be around the same age as me, but I never expected you to be going to Philleon…”
“What kind of bullshit are you talking about?”
“I suppose being a warlock was a lie too, wasn’t it? I suspected as much midway through.”
Suddenly, he mentioned being a warlock. It was incomprehensible, but for some reason, it sent shivers down Ronan’s spine. Ronan, sensing the suspicious atmosphere, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. After taking a few deep breaths, Lakota continued speaking.
“…I did it.”
“Huh?”
“I opened the lock and released the Doppelgangers.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. It felt like he had been struck in the head with a boulder-sized fist. His brain, unable to process the information, was making strange noises. He managed to control his emotions and gave a menacing look at Lakota.
“What kind of bullshit are you talking about all of a sudden? You released them?”
“Yes. But it was for the best. Varen’s strategy was going to lead to bloodshed, so I had to take a different path. We need to act quickly before the organization revises their plan.”
“Bloodshed? Organization?”
“Even if you’re confused, you have to listen to what I’m saying. Time is running out. If it’s you, you can stop this crisis.”
Lakota was about to continue speaking, but before he could, Ronan rushed at him, kicking his abdomen. Thud! Lakota’s body went backwards and crashed into the urinal.
“Ugh! Wait, just…!”
Lakota tried to raise his arm to protest, but it was futile. Ronan firmly gripped his hair and simultaneously pulled out his sword. Lakota, wincing in pain, froze. The black blade of the sword was against his throat.
“Hee-ik…!”
“Don’t move, or it’ll be the end of you. Don’t play any tricks.”
“Ca-calm down… please…”
Blood was flowing down Lakota’s neck, but Ronan didn’t lower his sword. Lakota’s voice had changed. The somewhat sinister high-pitched tone had transformed into a composed, low rumble.
“Who are you?”
Ronan remembered. It was definitely a voice he couldn’t forget. Lakota raised his arm, mumbling.
“I-I’ll show you now… So please… put the sword down…”
“Do it like this.”
“Yes, yes… I understand… Ugh…”
Suddenly, he grabbed the area just below his left ear as if scratching it. Sheeeik! His pale skin came off just like a mask, revealing a confused countenance underneath. Ronan’s eyes widened.
“You are…”
“It’s me. Valus. Don’t you remember?”
The sword dropped from Lakota’s throat. Ronan’s brain, failing to comprehend the information, was making strange noises.
Poacher Valus. Ronan’s former comrade in the punishment unit and a member of the poaching organization Kaliborro. He was the sole survivor among the poachers who had been in the place where Cita had hatched. Ronan, suppressing his emotions, finally spoke.
“…Why are you here?”