Someone who was not even a doctor.
The words struck straight into my chest.
It was the same feeling I'd experienced whenever people who had doubted me before exposed my true identity.
The shame of having a mask I'd worked so hard to keep in place shattered to pieces, leaving the raw thing underneath exposed.
“…….”
I tried to come up with some excuse.
That was what I'd always done until now.
But from the aura the man gave off and the certainty in his tone, I had a feeling that no excuse I made would work.
He was already certain.
“…Do I have to tell you?”
“If there are circumstances that make it difficult, you may remain silent. It is merely the curiosity of an old man.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Thank goodness.
Seriously.
As I blankly continued cooking the thin gruel, I found myself becoming curious instead.
“How did you know, sir?”
“Because I was a doctor in my younger days. Your hygiene management, patient examinations, and order of treatment were slightly different from the Imperial standard medical procedures.”
Oh, fuck me.
If that was how he'd figured it out, there was no way I could imitate the real thing.
Because I didn't know it.
I'd been showing off my wrinkles in front of a pupa.
“You nearly fooled me as well. I thought perhaps the times had changed and this was how things were done nowadays.”
“I'm sorry for impersonating a doctor.”
“Not at all. It was entertaining. ‘Be careful of cigarettes, sleep, and stress…!’ Heeheehee!”
The old man suddenly laughed like a mischievous child and mocked me.
Was he always like this?
My face grew hot.
I was embarrassed, so I decided to shut my mouth.
“Here's your gruel.”
“The way you went quiet because you're embarrassed is adorable. Heeheehee!”
“I am not embarrassed….”
I frowned.
He strangely reminded me of a mischievous old man from the neighborhood.
For some reason, the distance that had seemed so wide between us suddenly felt much smaller.
“Stop talking and eat your gruel.”
“Thank you. Let me see…. Hmm…. If a young man cooks like this, he will never get married….”
“Sir. Someone put effort into making that. Must you criticize it so harshly…?”
“Then I shall eat it in consideration of your effort.”
“…….”
Something about this felt like I was being played with.
It was starting to irritate me a little.
Meanwhile, now that I knew he'd been a doctor, I began to understand why everyone here revered him as a wise old man.
At the same time, I had many more questions.
“But if you were a doctor, why didn't you take care of your own body?”
It was a casual question.
But the answer that came back was heavy.
“Because it was my turn to die.”
Hmm?
What?
“…Pardon?”
The old man blew on his gruel and continued.
“I mean exactly what I said. It was my turn to die.”
“Is there an order to death?”
The old man looked at me and answered.
“Yes.”
“People said there was no doctor here. Is that also why you did not treat the others?”
“Precisely.”
I froze for a moment.
I couldn't understand.
There was an order to death?
He could have saved people, yet chose not to?
But he didn't sound as though he were speaking idly.
“Why?”
The old man smiled gently.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“There are a total of 142 mine workers here. And the space is approximately 7 Ridros. That amounts to roughly 20 workers per 1 Ridro of area.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes.”
“Historically, when internal conflicts broke out in various countries, regional population density averaged around 10 to 12 people per Ridro. From that perspective, the population here is already oversaturated. This is what we call critical density.”
“…….”
“There has never been a precedent for expanding this Herb Mine. Yet an average of 4 to 5 newcomers arrive every month. By contrast, among a population of 142 receiving proper medical care, only about 2 people die per year. Even under the poor conditions here, if a doctor such as myself devised a substitute for soap and encouraged proper personal hygiene, the difference would not be substantial.”
I began to feel overwhelmed.
Statistics and data poured from his mouth.
These weren't things an ordinary old man would know.
“For example, consider this. If I treated people, the population would increase by roughly 50 people every year, while the Count, who regards this place as a kind of detention camp, would continue sending more people inside. Young man, do you know another word for ‘the authoritative allocation of values’?”
It had been part of the Guard examination curriculum.
I murmured blankly,
“Politics….”
“Correct. And politics begins with the sword. If the number of people continues to rise while the available values remain limited, eventually the day will come when we must throw stones at one another until we die. Perhaps 2 years would be enough? To prevent that, the sick must die. That is the healthy way toward a healthy society.”
“…….”
“And this time, it was my turn.”
Goosebumps crawled up my cheek.
He was educated.
No.
Calling this man merely ‘educated’ wasn't enough.
He understood those principles and had applied them to this enormous community.
Come to think of it, I'd found this place surprisingly comfortable and livable.
Only now did I think I understood why.
Someone had made this place livable.
The old man sitting right in front of me.
There was one question I couldn't help asking.
“Has… another doctor ever come here before?”
“Are you wondering whether I killed him if there was?”
“…….”
The old man's expression abruptly turned chilling.
My chest clenched.
But then the old man immediately broke into a mischievous grin.
“There was one. I persuaded him properly with words, and he is still doing quite well.”
“Ah….”
“Look at you getting scared! Heeheehee!”
He seriously startled me.
What the hell was wrong with this old man?
“Anyway, young man, you have ruined everything. If a war breaks out here, it is all your fault. You have killed a whole lot of people! You made everyone beat one another with rocks! It is all because of you! Heeheehee!”
He kept teasing me.
He was so good at getting under my skin that I was genuinely irritated.
At the same time, another question arose.
“Earlier, did you say ‘the Count’? Do you mean Count Hamuan of northern Gesenna?”
“Yes. You only just learned that?”
“Yes….”
A detention camp run by the Count.
That explained it.
So that was why a facility like this could be maintained despite not belonging to the Guard.
“Then who are you, sir?”
“Asking someone who they are becomes a question as difficult as the quality and breadth of the experiences they have accumulated.”
“Uh, hmm. Then tell me chronologically.”
The old man looked amused.
Perhaps even a little fond of me.
At last, he began listing his history.
“As for me…. I was Song Chien, the son who broke his mother's back with expenses. Song Chien, the village idiot. Song Chien, the six-time exam repeater. Song Chien, a deserter from the Gesenna Standing Army of the 15th intake….”
Hmm….
It sounded strange at first.
“…Song Chien, the top-ranking entrant nationwide to Cardreo Academy. Song Chien, the youngest researcher in a Mage Tower laboratory. Song Chien, recipient of the Bonel Prize….”
Then the achievements started becoming extraordinary.
Wait.
Song Chien?
Where have I heard that name before?
“…Song Chien, professor at Vitali Academy. Song Chien, scribe of the Imperial Family. Song Chien, Chief Critical Care Surgeon at Ouroboros Hospital….”
From this point on, my mouth fell open on its own.
Vitali Academy was the finest educational institution in Gesenna.
There was no need to explain what it meant to serve as a scribe of the Imperial Family.
Ouroboros Hospital was also the largest hospital in Gesenna.
“…Song Chien, Regional Public Enemy….”
My mouth opened even wider.
Ahh!
Regional Public Enemy ‘Prankster’ Song Chien!
His bounty had been at least twice as high as that ‘Black Knight's’!
He'd disappeared decades ago, and the Guard presumed him dead….
And now that enormous criminal was sitting right in front of me?
That alone was shocking enough.
But what he said next was even more astonishing.
“…Song Chien, Founding Elder of the Spider Society. Song Chien, denture thief at an elderly nursing home….”
“WHAT!?”
I jumped as though struck by lightning.
“Hmm!?”
The old man jumped too.
He looked even more startled than I was.
“I did not use the dentures I stole! Mine are all natural teeth!”
He bared his teeth.
Eeee—
“No! No! Not that!”
“‘Not that,’ you say?! You brat! When you reach my age, having all your natural teeth is incredible…!”
“The Spider Society?! You were in the Spider Society?”
When I shouted, he quieted down.
“…Hmm? What an odd thing to be surprised by. Do you even know what the Spider Society is?”
My mouth fell wide open.
The Spider Society!
“I do!”
No wonder!
No wonder he'd never seemed like an ordinary person!
At the same time, as I ran through his entire history again, I realized why the Black Knight had been so certain someone like me could never belong to the Spider Society.
If I'd known even a little about the life the old man before me had led, I wouldn't have looked at someone like myself and thought Spider Society either!
At the same time, I finally understood how such an incredible intelligence organization could exist.
An Imperial scribe.
An academy professor.
A Mage Tower researcher.
A Regional Public Enemy……
How many people must he have formed connections with while building such an absurd career?
And what about all the information that flowed from those people?
“I never imagined I'd meet someone from the Spider Society here… honestly!”
But the old man tilted his head.
“Young man, you know about the Spider Society?”
“Pardon? Yes. Not very well, but….”
“Strange. The Spider Society's first rule is to kill anyone who knows what it means. I have already left, so I do not particularly care.”
The old man said it lightly.
The meaning wasn't light at all.
Was that why even the Black Knight barely knew anything?
“Some of the others seemed to know a little.”
“Is that so? Perhaps the times have changed….”
“If you don't mind, may I ask you something?”
The old man held out his thumb, index finger, and middle finger.
“I shall give you exactly 3 chances. The first because you know of the Spider Society. The second because you are adorable. The third because you have provided me with great amusement. The fourth in consideration of the effort you put into making this gruel.”
“…That's 4 chances.”
“You saved my life, so subtract 1. Ask.”
Questions.
Only 3 chances.
Three opportunities to ask something of a person with perhaps the greatest intelligence-gathering ability not only in northern Gesenna, but on the entire continent.
“Do you…… know how to get out of here?”
“There is no precedent of a successful escape. Next.”
“Pardon? Wait!”
One of my questions was wasted just like that?
But Song Chien spoke calmly.
“Very well. I shall explain in detail. All intelligence begins with an autopsy of history.”
An autopsy of history?
“In Section 3, the opening in the ceiling of Common Area 12 is the lowest at 6.2m, and it connects to a cave outside. However, there is a high probability of being discovered during the daily headcount. And even if you make it outside, the surrounding land is the Count's private property, so the probability of being captured remains high. There have been many escape attempts through that route during the past 15 years, but they have produced only about 21 deaths and not a single successful escape. As an intelligence professional, I therefore have no choice but to speak cautiously.”
So escape was effectively impossible?
Then why was an elite like you, formerly of the Spider Society, imprisoned in such a dangerous place?
“And I have no intention of leaving, nor do I intend to help you leave.”
Song Chien could get out.
But chose not to.
Was that it….
‘I originally planned to ask how to get out, then what I should do after getting out.’
At this point, that plan was dead.
“……My second question. Do you know Arman?”
“Arman?”
“He was the person who informed me about the Spider Society. Hmm, I thought the Spider Society was the intelligence organization and decision-making body of the northern forces….”
I no longer had the clothes because they'd been taken away….
Still, I gave him a rambling explanation.
But the old man didn't seem to recognize the name.
“It has been about 40 years since I left the Spider Society. I do not know him.”
“Damn…. Did you steal dentures after that?”
“Indeed. At Sylvestellon Nursing Home, I stole the golden dentures belonging to Count Hamuan's father because the old bastard kept mocking me! Heeheehee!! That greedy old man's mouth caved in like an asshole, and he went webe-be-be…!”
Regional Public Enemy ‘Prankster’ Song Chien.
Seeing him in person, he seemed genuinely insane.
“Then you don't know anything about Arman….”
“No. He was probably someone who joined after my time. However, I should correct several things. First, what you said about the Spider Society being the intelligence organization of the northern forces is false.”
“Then what is it?”
“The Spider Society is the intelligence organization of the Republic, and at the same time, its supreme decision-making body.”
“…….”
“And you said his name was Arman? There is a high probability that he is already dead by now.”
“Why?”
My heart skipped.
Arman had died in my arms.
“The truth is, even while I am inside this place, I remain in contact with several informants…….”
What he explained afterward was quite astonishing.
It covered everything from the conflict between northern and southern Gesenna—
to the reason I had been imprisoned here.
“For quite some time now, rumors have been circulating that the leader of the Republic of Eden is dead.”