A powerhouse ranked among the top five in the empire when it comes to sheer strength.
Traveling with Theseus was anything but smooth.
“We have to help them!”
“No, wait…”
It was because our righteous hero simply couldn’t ignore injustice.
“You might as well go around with a sign saying, ‘Hi, I’m Theseus’.”
“Haha, sorry. But I just couldn’t leave someone in trouble.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
“……”
And then there was Immun, being a nuisance right alongside him.
“They’re oddly alike, those two.”
“I’m feeling it too.”
I nodded in agreement with Yuna, who was muttering while resting her chin in her hand beside me.
Those two should not be left together.
“Next time, I’ll at least wear a mask.”
“So you’re definitely not saying you won’t go, huh.”
“Haha.”
Stop laughing and give me a straight answer for once. Honestly, he may be an imperial member, but he sure acts like the world revolves around him.
This won’t do.
Sure, for now, these are easy issues to resolve, but what if we run into real trouble later, like bandits? If it were up to me, I’d just kill them and move on.
But Theseus? He’d probably insist on sparing them and hauling them to the nearest guards, even if it meant going out of his way.
If things keep going like that, our journey’s going to be delayed by a lot.
“Do you understand? In the next town, stay out of trouble. Or at the very least, if something happens, check with me first. Got it?”
“Understood.”
“And you, Mr. Immun?”
“I got it too.”
“Ugh…”
Seriously, what even is this situation…?
“You’re practically a babysitter now, Johan.”
“Tell me about it. Real kids would be easier to handle. Why are these grown adults so hard to manage…?”
“Are you talking about me?”
“Yes. Now sit quietly and suck on a candy or something.”
I silenced Mephistopheles, who was sitting on Yuna’s lap and lazily crunching on a lollipop.
This greedy little rascal. I gave him that big candy on a stick so he’d take his time with it, and here he was, biting through it like a maniac.
If he thinks gobbling it down like that’s going to earn him another one, he’s dead wrong.
“Don’t worry, Johan. If things get too troublesome later, I’ll handle it for you.”
“……”
You’re the biggest trouble of them all, you bastard.
***
The farther north we traveled, the colder it got.
It was already winter, and here I was heading all the way up to the North on business… If not for Ariel’s request, I wouldn’t be going through this mess.
“Haa…”
Trying to shake those thoughts off, I let myself get a bit excited about warming up at the next town. But the moment we entered it, I had no choice but to sigh.
“This place is a wreck.”
Did the barbarians sweep through here?
This town was a disaster too.
Theseus and Immun, who normally rushed to help the moment they saw someone in need, were also speechless this time…. like they didn’t even know where to start.
Same with me.
Almost half the buildings had collapsed, and the people looked utterly lifeless.
They stared at us outsiders with suspicious eyes, and there were plenty of shady types sizing us up, probably to pickpocket or worse.
This was the aftermath of war.
But…
“Something’s off. No matter what, the atmosphere is just too bad.”
“Yeah, it’s not like they’re just recovering from war…. it feels like they’re still suffering right now.”
“Right?”
As expected, Yuna had sharp instincts.
She instantly picked up on the strange feeling I had sensed.
“In that case, I’ll—”
“You two stay right where you are. Yuna, can you check things out real quick?”
“Sure! You’ve got those two guarding you, so you’ll be fine, right?”
“Well… assuming they don’t ditch me and run off.”
I shot a look at Theseus.
Immun? I wasn’t worried about him.
He already lost his gear to me. How strong could he possibly be?
He even came here unarmed, so honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.
Frankly, the monster on my right arm is more useful than Immun.
“Then I guess we should go look for… well, not an inn, obviously. At the very least, let’s try to find something we can use for firewood. Looks like we’ll be sleeping outdoors, and at this rate, we’ll freeze to death.”
“Oh, if that’s the issue, I’ve got an idea. If we can gather some scrap metal, I can whip up a simple heat source. Judging by the size of this carriage, about 5 kilograms should last us a full month.”
“Really?”
“Don’t forget, I am an alchemist. Making a metal that emits heat on its own is child’s play for me.”
“Oh.”
Now that I think about it, Immun might actually be more useful than Theseus.
Well, he can turn lead into gold, so I guess something like this would be easy for him.
“Mr. Johan, I can—”
“Your Highness Theseus, please just stay quietly by my side.”
“Ah… uh, yes.”
And please don’t cause any trouble. Got it?
***
Gathering the scrap metal was easy.
There was plenty of it scattered among the ruins of collapsed buildings. Of course, we didn’t just go around picking it up without a word. We paid a fair price to the homeowners sitting nearby in despair.
I hope that money helps them make a new start.
“I thought you were the cold-hearted type, Mr. Johan.”
“Duly noted, Your Highness. So that’s how you’ve been seeing me.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“I’m joking. I’m just an ordinary person. And ordinary people aren’t kind or cruel by nature. It all depends on how much room they have in their hearts.”
If you have the capacity, you can help others.
If you don’t, you end up turning your back on them.
That’s what an ordinary person does.
With that, I returned to the carriage with Theseus with scrap metal in hand.
“Immun, is this enough?”
“More than enough. We’ll even have some left over.”
“If there’s any surplus, feel free to share it with the townspeople.”
“I thought you were the cold-hearted type.”
“You’re saying the exact same thing as someone else.”
“Ahem, right.”
Says the guy mooching off a carriage I paid for.
“So, how are you going to make it?”
“With this.”
As he said that, Immun pulled something out of his pocket.
I didn’t know what it was, but one thing was clear. It wasn’t the kind of item you should just carry around in your pocket.
“Philosopher’s Stone No. 532.”
“You sure made a lot of them.”
Number 532… That means there are at least 532 Philosopher’s Stones, doesn’t it?
The name “Philosopher’s Stone” doesn’t really matter. This guy can make gold, so what does it even mean anymore?
What does matter is…
“So, what does it do?”
“When mixed into molten metal, it alters its properties into those of a heat-retaining stone.”
“Is it single-use?”
“It’s just a catalyst. You can reuse it over and over.”
“Aha.”
As expected, this guy has some terrifying abilities, whether he realizes it or not.
He says it so casually. Does he even understand what that means?
Alchemy. Turning things into gold.
As far as I know, modern Earth has also developed technology that can produce gold.
But as with everything, the issue is cost. If it costs more to make gold than the gold is worth, what’s the point of alchemy?
But a stone that can create gold just by being tossed into molten metal?
And it’s a reusable catalyst?
The existence of something like this must never be revealed to the world.
This was more dangerous than simply knowing how alchemy worked.
“Mr. Immun, from now on, don’t go showing things like that to other people. Not unless you want to get stabbed in your sleep.”
“I’m well aware of that much.”
If you know, then please stop walking around with dangerous stuff in your pocket.
I gave Immun a good scolding more than once. And for the next thirty minutes, I gave him a long-winded lecture on why the Philosopher’s Stone was so dangerous.
“Johan! I’m here!”
“Oh, Yuna. Perfect timing. Could you keep an eye on this guy and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere?”
“Why? Did he cause trouble again?”
“His whole existence is trouble.”
“Come on, we’ve known that from the start. Anyway, want to hear what I found out?”
“What is it? Did you dig something up?”
“Mhmm!”
Yuna grinned as she spoke.
“There’s a vampire in the city.”
A typical urban legend.
***
Vampires didn’t exist.
At least, not in this world.
Well, it wasn’t some gruesome tale about being wiped out by the emperor or anything like that.
The truth was much simpler. Vampires simply didn’t exist.
Their appearance was straight out of a literal urban legend.
Normally, I’d have dismissed it as just another baseless rumor, but the current state of the city was already half-confirming it.
And since I had knowledge of this world through the game “Promotion Tale”, I also knew exactly what that “vampire” really was.
“This doesn’t make sense.”
Vampires aren’t real.
They just appear that way and I know exactly who it is.
Which is why it’s all the more suspicious.
“This situation is just too perfect.”
According to Yuna, the vampire had shown up around three days ago.
Every night, it attacked people and drained all their blood.
There were already over a hundred victims, so it was no wonder the public was in a panic.
“Let’s head out for now.”
“Aren’t we supposed to deal with the vampire, Mr. Johan?”
“Yeah, you’re just going to leave it alone?”
“I’m not leaving it alone. The vampire’s already left the city, probably.”
“And what exactly makes you think that? If you’re just making things up to avoid the situation, I’ll be deeply disappointed in you!”
Frankly, whether Immun was disappointed in me or not didn’t matter.
It’s not like I ever had any expectations for the guy in the first place.
Still, there’s no reason I should just stand here and take baseless accusations.
“I know who the vampire is. The one I know is pretty cautious. They never hunt in the same city for more than three days.”
“You know who it is? And you’ve just been letting that criminal roam free?”
The criminal right in front of me has the nerve to say that.
“Just hear me out first. You saw the mess the barbarians left behind. That alone should tell you…. this city is one of the main gateways to the north.”
In other words, without passing through here, there’s no way to reach the front lines in Lobelia or the Veldani Mountains.
Sure, there were other routes, but they were rough, winding, and impractical.
So where did the vampire come from?
If it came from the north, there’s no way it would’ve made it this far alive.
The knights of Lobelia had charged in to wipe out the remnants of the barbarian horde.
There’s no way it would’ve slipped by unnoticed.
Which meant the answer was obvious.
“The vampire is heading north. Its target is probably the Veldani Mountains.”
“What…?”
“The vampire is one of the gears in Ex Machina.”
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know the identities of all the gears.
I didn’t even know Immun was one of them until now.
But there are some I do know.
Like Emily who appeared as a supporting character in the game, and Ryute who appeared as a mid-boss.
And then there were the villains. Among them, there’s one gear you encounter during the scenario where you uncover the truth behind the vampire.
“The one we’re dealing with is Worm Gear. Their ability is blood flow manipulation.”
After defeating the vampire, a broken gear is found on its body.
That’s how the scenario reveals the vampire’s true identity.
“Their usual area of activity is in the south, but strangely, they’re up north. What do you make of that, Immun?”
“Don’t tell me…”
Why would someone deliberately step into a region already on the brink of collapse?
Yeah, it’s a fair question.
“It means the Scriptwriter didn’t just give the coordinates to you.”
I don’t know exactly what’s in the Veldani Mountains.
But it’s possible the other gears are gathering there too.
And at this point, there’s one more thing to consider.
“Let’s move north. We’ll probably get a chance to make contact soon.”
The timing really was suspicious.
If I hadn’t encountered Immun up in Andvaranaut, the two of them would’ve crossed paths by now almost certainly.
Immun who can’t turn a blind eye to injustice, and Worm Gear who’s clearly a villain.
Their clash would’ve been inevitable.
So then, was that collision really just a coincidence?
“Whatever it is, you can’t know for sure until you see it for yourself.”
Maybe… just maybe, Deus was planning to get rid of Immun.
But I couldn’t bring myself to say that out loud.
***
We continued heading north.
And as we continued north, we started to hear scattered rumors of the vampire in each city we passed.
The paths were beginning to intersect.
It wouldn’t be long before we crossed paths for real.
Tense and on high alert, we kept moving…. until finally, we encountered her.
“Johan… what on earth are you doing here with my brother?”
“Ah, right. Your Highness.”
Lobelia.
“If you have a mouth, use it. Speak, Brother Theseus. What are you doing here in such a ridiculous disguise?”
“…Johan told me not to speak.”
“Johan, just how far are you planning to take your blasphemy?”
“Wait….please, just listen.”
I began explaining everything Theseus had done so far, trying to win Lobelia’s understanding.
“So basically, every time he opens his mouth, nonsense comes out and he causes trouble….so you decided not to let him speak or move without your permission?”
“Exactly! I’m so glad you understand!”
“That, Johan, is what we call blasphemy. Have you gone mad from how casually you keep committing it?”
“…Huh?”
Is that so?
“Well, whatever the case, welcome to the north. Still, it’s good to see a familiar face.”
“I’m glad to see you too, Your Highness.”
Maybe it was because this journey had been so exhausting after traveling with two men who were all ideals and no common sense…
“I mean it sincerely.”
I was genuinely happy to see Lobelia.
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