* * *
“My daughter…… That’s not my daughter-!”
A man’s anguished wailing echoed throughout the streets.
“Commander! I heard those Ailant bastards who went inside earlier rescued one survivor.”
“…….”
“They also apparently wiped out every monster inside the chapel…….”
“Burn the entire building down now.”
“Ah, should I record the number of survivors as one?”
“……No. There were no survivors in this chapel. There is no need to go out of our way to count someone who is not an Imperial citizen.”
The adjutant froze for a moment with a dumbfounded expression before eventually beginning to write something in his notebook.
“But Commander…… are you certain we do not need to investigate them? They accomplished with only three people what even the Empire’s trained soldiers failed to do.”
“…….”
“And the man with the spear is unbearably arrogant and insolent! I have never had my knees go weak merely from meeting someone’s eyes before…….”
“……It seems they are finally growing tired.”
“Pardon?”
The adjutant tilted his head at the commander’s words.
Even after waiting for quite some time, his superior merely stared into the distance without offering an explanation.
There was only silence.
Every so often, the screams of the man searching for his daughter and cursing the world broke through it.
“Adjutant. Those Ailant people you mentioned will surely return to their filthy underground den tonight and go to sleep.”
“You mean the place they call…… the Underground City?”
“The Imperial citizens’ resentment is reaching the heavens. They are saying that the casualties increased because our initial response was inadequate.”
“But we did everything we could—”
“Where do you think that anger will be directed next? At the Empire’s Imperial Knights? Or perhaps at the priests of the Holy See for failing to foresee this disaster?”
“……Pardon?”
The adjutant’s face immediately went white with horror.
“H-how could that possibly happen……?! Who would dare blame His Holiness the Pope!”
“What would you do in their place?”
“Excuse me……?”
“Is there not an extremely convenient excuse lying right in front of us for times exactly like this?”
The commander’s gaze turned toward the man wailing in the street.
He kept repeating his daughter’s name over and over, behaving as though he had lost his mind.
Now, he had even begun cursing the Ailant people who had brought back his daughter’s corpse.
“The weak always find something weaker to tear apart…….”
The commander let out a quiet sigh before leaving the area.
* * *
[Emergency Quest, 【The Girl Trapped Beneath the Chapel】 has been completed.]
[You have acquired 1 Player Point!]
We returned to the Underground City with the surviving child.
Fortunately, the quest had been marked as completed, and I had properly received the Perk Point as well.
‘I did not intend for it to happen this way, but I ended up keeping my promise to bring back an Ailant compatriot after all…….’
The Hidden Route, , seemed to differ greatly from the original storyline.
The Hero had come to kill me right from the beginning, and instead of the Imperial girl, a girl from the colony had survived…….
Even the fact that this ‘Underground City’ was still intact was surprising.
In the original, it always fell apart early on and became a dungeon crawling with monsters.
‘Besides, in the original story, the Ailant forces were supposedly the ones behind the red vapor.’
Starting with the red vapor terrorist attack, contaminated zones appeared throughout the country, and humans, animals, and plants began turning into monsters at an accelerating rate.
That was the setting of the original game.
‘……But no matter how I look at it, I really do not think the people of the Underground City were behind it.’
Just look at those innocent faces.
Do those look like the faces of mass murderers?
“Setanta, this was all thanks to you.”
“…….”
“I mean rescuing this child. I doubt I could have done it alone.”
Aileen thanked me.
The child we had rescued from beneath the chapel was standing beside her, but perhaps she still refused to open up to anyone, because she had kept her mouth firmly shut ever since we returned.
“Well, I only did what needed to be done.”
“I even envy that attitude of yours. I think I understand why Lian considers you a savior.”
“…….”
Obtaining the holy relic was mandatory.
It was an excellent early-game item that I absolutely needed, so going there really had been something I had to do.
“By the way, where is Lian—?”
“Ah, he went to rest. It appears he overstrained his mana nerves.”
Aileen paused for a moment before speaking to me again.
“More importantly, Setanta. Do you have somewhere else to go once this incident is over?”
“Hmm, not immediately.”
“……Then how about continuing to stay here in the Underground City?”
Perhaps it was only my imagination.
But her expression seemed much softer than before.
“We are both Ailant compatriots, and more than anything, we desperately need talented people like you.”
“Well then, I suppose I will stay here. I do not have anywhere else to go anyway.”
“Thank you! May Ailant’s blessing be with you.”
Just as I casually agreed—
……DING!
[Aileen’s Trust toward you has increased!]
[Hidden Route progress has increased!]
‘Huh?’
Without warning, one of the objectives on the Hidden Route Checklist was marked as completed.
[Hidden Route Progress: 2.2%]
-『Gain the Princess’s Trust』 (Complete)
-『???』
-『???』
…….
This gets completed now?
The quest to gain the princess’s trust……?
[The name of the Hero in your party differs from their real name. The name recognized by the Observer will be used as the final display name.]
[Current Display - 【Aileen(SSR)】]
The System even kindly informed me that the Hero had a different real name.
‘Do not tell me the last princess of Ailant who supposedly survived was…….’
Aileen…….
Was it her?
In that instant, every piece of the puzzle fell into place.
“Do you know? Traditionally, in the Kingdom of Ailant, those with physical disabilities were not permitted to inherit the throne.”
‘She lost an arm, so that was why she was excluded from the line of succession.’
That would also explain how she was the only remaining member of Ailant’s royal bloodline…….
Everything made sense now.
‘She was never in the line of succession to begin with, so her face was never made public?’
That was how she had somehow managed to survive while avoiding the Imperial Army.
That was probably the story behind it.
“Setanta, why are you staring at me like that?”
“Ah, I was just thinking that it seems we will be seeing quite a lot of each other from now on.”
“Hmm?”
“Ah, only until I can return home, of course.”
“……?”
Aileen looked confused for a moment.
However, she did not press me for an explanation.
“You occasionally say things I cannot understand. But I do not dislike that part of you. None of us do.”
She looked slightly troubled before eventually giving me an awkward smile.
* * *
It was my first night after officially becoming a member of the Underground City.
At the moment, I was being tormented by the girl we had rescued from the chapel.
“My finger will not go back on…….”
“…….”
The girl kept holding out her half-torn little finger in front of me.
I had already poured potions over it and wrapped it in bandages several times, but apparently there was still no improvement.
“Like I already told you…… I cannot fix that.”
“……?”
“Go ask someone else to wrap the bandage again. I have absolutely no talent when it comes to healing.”
“But…….”
I tried to gently send her away, but the girl continued following right behind me.
Did she feel attached to me because she thought I had rescued her?
‘……More importantly, a child her age should probably have passed out from the pain by now.’
And yet, without showing the slightest sign of pain, the child continued repeatedly asking me to put her finger back on.
There was something…… strange about her.
[【???】 feels a small amount of goodwill toward you.]
The System was even displaying messages as though she were a Hero.
What is with this kid?
Could this tiny thing actually be classified as a Hero too?
“Hey, little one. There should be a sickly Mage who uses magic over there. Try asking him to fix it.”
“…….”
I pointed toward the door of the room where Lian should have been sleeping soundly.
Of course, he was not exactly a healer…….
But he was still a Mage, so would he not know a better solution than I did?
“Come on, I will go with—”
“Ahem!”
A rough clearing of the throat came from behind me.
“There is no point going there! That Dark Mage cannot use recovery magic at all. You would only be wasting your time.”
“Hmm……?”
“Kid. How about we just rip off that dangling finger of yours? I can tear it off without hurting you—”
“Stop it, Perdi! You are frightening the child!”
There stood a man built like a barbarian.
And beside him was Aileen.
It seemed they had just finished inspecting the condition of the Underground City.
“Miss Aileen, she has been asking me to put her finger back on for a while now. Can you do anything?”
“……Let me take a look.”
In my words, Aileen lowered herself onto one knee and carefully lifted the girl’s right hand.
She examined it closely, and her expression quickly darkened.
“…….”
Even at a glance, the little finger appeared bluish and necrotic.
The severed edge was ragged and barely holding together.
It certainly did not look like something that could be healed simply by applying a potion and wrapping it in a bandage.
“Child, I am sorry, but I think you will have to give up the finger.”
“…….”
“If we leave it like this any longer, an infection could put your life at risk.”
“……Put it back on.”
“It is already in poor condition. We have no choice but to amputate it. If we wait any longer—”
“No! This…… this is…….”
The girl abruptly yanked her right hand away and stumbled backward.
“This finger…….”
“……?”
“This is the finger I made a promise with Mom on…….”
Silence fell for a moment.
“Mom and I hooked our little fingers and promised that we would both survive and meet again…….”
“Ah…….”
“So you cannot cut it off…….”
“…….”
Leaving Aileen behind as she frowned and searched for the right words—
“Ah…… I just remembered I have something urgent to do! Good luck!”
THUD, THUD!
Perdi fled somewhere with his enormous body, leaving the three of us behind in the uncomfortable silence.
‘……This is troublesome. She has probably already acquired as a Trait.’
When we rescued the girl earlier, she had appeared as a guest rather than an official party member, so I had not been able to check her exact Traits.
【Body Part Loss(-)】
-Missing body parts cannot be restored with healing magic.
She had probably gained a negative Trait like that on her character window.
There was no reversing it now.
‘Should I just run away after that barbarian……?’
Comforting children was not exactly my responsibility, and if she started crying, I had a feeling I would feel terrible about it…….
I was watching the girl with a somewhat heavy heart when—
……CLICK!
‘Hmm?’
I suddenly heard the metallic sound of armor being released and turned my head.
Aileen had just detached the prosthetic arm from her right shoulder.
“Little one, there is no need to be so frightened. Look. I live with a replacement arm like this too, do I not?”
“……Your arm……?”
“Once your finger heals…… let us find you a splendid replacement. It may take some time to get used to it, though.”
Aileen continued speaking slowly, as though gently coaxing the child.
“A person can live without an arm. A person can live without one finger.”
“But…….”
“Even when something precious disappears, eventually there comes a day when you learn how to live without it.”
“…….”
“See? Even though our country was destroyed, we are still living quite well like this…… are we not?”
……Oh.
Was that the kind of dark joke only royalty from a fallen colony could make?
Aileen seemed surprised by her own words.
She glanced around as though she had committed some terrible offense, then let out a sigh.
“So…… even if someone loses an arm, even if their country disappears, and even if that leaves an empty space somewhere inside their heart…….”
“…….”
“Even then…… they can still find a way to go on living. That is what I mean…….”
Unlike her usual self, she stumbled over her words.
Almost as though she were speaking to herself.
“Um…… Setanta?”
Apparently having run out of things to say, Aileen’s eye twitched as she looked toward me.
It seemed she wanted me to help her out.
Unfortunately, I was not particularly good with words either, so I decided to remain silent.
‘Still, this woman had such a vicious image in the original, slaughtering people like a lunatic.’
Whenever that woman’s crazed golden sword aura swept across the map, low-ranking soldiers would be bisected at the waist and roasted golden-brown as they died.
Seriously, no matter how much I look at her, I cannot tell whether she is actually the same person.
Did her personality somehow change just because she is on my side now?
‘Well, I suppose it does not matter now that she is completely on my side…….’
Since Aileen was struggling so badly, I decided to ask the child her name instead.
We could not keep calling her “child” or “little one” forever.
“Hey, little one. What is your name?”
“…….”
“I am Setanta, and this is Aileen.”
The girl hesitated for a moment.
Then, perhaps having finally begun to open up to us, her gaze softened slightly as she spoke.
“……My name is…….”
[Warning! - Hostile faction forces are approaching!]
But at that very moment—
“……Ru…….”
…….
…….
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shook heaven and earth.
A mass of stones from the ceiling came crashing down and piled up before my eyes.
“……?”
It had happened so quickly that I had not even had time to react.
What just happened?
[Warning! - Multiple hostile Heroes are nearby!]
“From this moment onward, the Imperial 7th Knight Order will commence the suppression of the rebels!”
A booming shout thundered through my ears.
BOOM!
More explosions followed one after another.
Screams erupted from every direction.
The dull roar of the Underground City collapsing all around us reverberated through the air…….
“What the……?”
I turned my head and looked down at the place where the girl had been standing moments earlier.
From between the heaps of fallen stone, a red liquid slowly began to seep out.
“For the crime of spreading the red vapor that caused mutations throughout the Empire! And for the crime of murdering countless Imperial citizens as a result!”
“…….”
“For all these crimes, every last filthy reactionary inside this place shall be executed immediately!”
[Warning! - You are under enemy attack! Evacuate immediately!]