Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 148 - South Continent Expedition — Land of Delirium (3)

Chapter 148 — South Continent Expedition — Land of Delirium (3)

 

An ancient-looking place.

Butterflies of all different shapes were carved into every surface.

Flutter, flutter.

Real butterflies drifted gently through the air as well. Though not a single flower bloomed, they gathered in swarms, painting the empty sky with brilliant colors.

“Karr.”

The middle-aged priest stroked my head and pointed toward the center of the room. The vast floor… was made entirely of mirrors. Perfectly smooth mirrors, so polished they looked slippery enough that one might lose their footing.

“Do you know where this is?”

I had to answer correctly. He asked casually, almost gently… but I was certain that if I gave the wrong answer, I’d be beaten mercilessly.

“This is the place where ■■■ is ■■.”

“Correct.”

The priest nodded in satisfaction, his hand becoming even gentler as it patted my head.

I didn’t particularly enjoy it, but I forced a smile. For now, I had to remain submissive.

‘…Hm?’

A sudden sense of incongruity welled up inside me.

Why did I have to endure something I hated? There had definitely been a reason… yet part of my memories had been erased as though by an eraser, leaving only blank whiteness behind.

“Bring them.”

Soon afterward, followers wearing ceremonial robes of many different colors and designs led in a large group of children.

“I’m scared…”

“Where is this…?”

“…It hurts.”

Half-elves. Half-monsters. Mixed-blood beastfolk. Heavenly Demon hybrids.

Children belonging to races scorned as symbols of impurity and treated as unclean whimpered helplessly.

“Karr. Go over there.”

Following the priest’s order, I stood at the very center of the mirrored floor.

“We shall now begin the ritual.”

One of the followers brought two children before me.

“3849…?”

“Uuugh…”

I knew them. The boy was a Heavenly Demon hybrid. The girl was half-monster. 

No… I didn’t recognize their faces.

Yet I knew them. I didn’t know them. But somehow I did.

“Karr. Take the ritual dagger.”

There was a dagger tucked inside my robes. Carefully drawing it without cutting myself, I held it up.

The priest quietly gave his command.

“Gouge out their eyes and swallow them.”

“……”

The two children stared desperately at me, their faces filled with terror. Their eyes painfully stirred my guilt.

Whoooooosh.

A cold wind suddenly blew.

Then… my vision twisted, and an entirely different scene appeared.

A familiar low hill.

Scratch, scratch!

Before I knew it, I was digging frantically through the dirt with my bare hands.

Desperately. Frantically. 

With every ounce of my strength. It was almost the only time in my life I’d ever experienced such overwhelming emotion.

‘…Huh?’

Why had the location suddenly changed?

Why did I suddenly feel so desperate?

Neither the situation nor my emotions made any sense.

“Hah… haaah…”

Despite the questions filling my mind, my body kept moving on its own, gasping desperately as I clawed through the soil.

Then… my fingertips touched something soft.

With trembling hands, I dug faster. 

The child sleeping beneath the earth finally emerged.

Yoonji.

In a pitiful state, I couldn’t even bear to describe.

“……”

Then half my vision changed again. The trembling children reappeared before me.

One side… the chamber of the mirror ritual.

The other… the hillside.

I looked back and forth between the two worlds.

“Hm.”

One realization suddenly flashed through my mind.

“So this is delirium.”

The instant I spoke…

WHOOOOOOOSH!!

The blizzard I’d been completely unaware of until now roared violently around me.

“……”

As snow and wind raged, the trembling children all turned to stare silently at me. The middle-aged priest and his followers did the same. Every one of them silently fixed their gaze upon me.

“Go ahead and stare all you like. Looking at a mongrel doesn’t cost anything.”

It didn’t affect me in the slightest. Even those horror games where grotesque ghosts suddenly leapt out had never startled my usually solemn heart. This was nowhere near enough.

I gave everyone a thumbs-up before speaking to the children.

“You’re the same kids who appeared as illusions before.”

The children I’d encountered as illusions back in the Sanctuary of Repose.

Apparently, before my memories had been erased, we’d known each other.

I still didn’t remember their names. But I could guess what kind of bond we’d shared.

“Friends. Fellow reserve sacrifices who’d been sold to an Evil God’s cult, just like me.”

What kind of person had I been back then?

Perhaps I’d already possessed my memories as a veteran player, or perhaps I’d simply been an abandoned half-elf child.

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember any of you.”

Meeting the children’s gaze, I gently embraced Yoonji’s cold body.

Right now, I am trapped inside the snowy mountain’s delirium. And not just trapped… its effects were doubled. A side effect of the Fragment of the Colossus, which doubled the potency of any mental status condition.

“Truthy?”

Eyes That Perceive the Truth didn’t respond.

I waited quietly. Yet neither the Evil Gods nor either incarnation of Artein sent their will to me.

— Everyone.

Even the telepathy from [Yay Yay, Friends Forever!] failed to reach me. I was completely sealed inside the mountain’s illusion.

‘At least thirty minutes have probably passed.’

In reality, my body was likely almost completely buried beneath the snow. The mountain was slowly swallowing me whole. An utterly hopeless situation.

“…Heh.”

And that was precisely why… I couldn’t stop smiling. Pleasure and happiness welled up from the depths of my heart, making it pound wildly.

“If this were a game… I would’ve enjoyed myself to the fullest before simply creating another character.”

Right? I carefully wiped the blood from my younger sibling’s face. Remaining buried forever beneath this mountain, lost within this delirium… wouldn’t be such a terrible ending.

But the South Continent Expedition was, at absolute worst, only a lower-tier B-rank labyrinth. It was far too mediocre to serve as my grave.

“Don’t be surprised. I’m not alone anymore. I’ve met people I’ve truly grown close to.”

Every explorer needs companions with whom to overcome hardship and adversity.

Alone, one’s limits are painfully clear.

Slowly… I drew a thick, taut strand of spider silk from my right index finger and plucked it lightly.

‘Twang.’

It sounded vaguely like an acoustic guitar. I drew out four more strands, pierced them through my left thigh, anchored the other ends into my prosthetic arm, and began to play.

Twang.

Twang.

Naturally, the performance was terrible. Perhaps unable to bear listening, Yoonji’s head lolled sideways in my arms.

“Come on. Turning your head away like that is a little harsh, don’t you think?”

I’ve been working hard every single day to fulfill your dream in your place.

Straightening my posture, I continued moving my hands with utmost sincerity.

“Come quickly, Marlin.”

I believe in you. As the leader of this expedition, I trust your remarkable talent.

“I’ll be waiting. You can do it.”

Because you’re a child who deserves to shine.

 

***

 

Whoooooosh—!

The blizzard howled.

“…Where is everyone?!”

Marlin wandered aimlessly through the snow. The moment Karr had suddenly disappeared into the storm, the entire party had been swallowed by delirium and scattered in every direction.

It was only natural.

The eccentric but utterly dependable cultist who served as their expedition leader had vanished.

‘It’s cold…’

Her body was freezing. She could feel her heart gradually freezing as well.

“You’ve failed again.”

“Worthless.”

“Just die already!”

“Mmph! Mmmph!!”

“Yes. I buried her.”

The scenery around them reflected the deepest emotional scars of every party member,

forming an incoherent, chaotic patchwork.

Endless screams. Constant sobbing. Countless people endlessly repeating horrific words and actions.

WHOOOOOOOSH!!

The blizzard never ceased.

“Marlin. It’s time you faced reality.”

As she stubbornly kept walking, another Snow Reconstruction imitating Guild Master Maken appeared and whispered into her ear.

“That half-elf will betray you someday. Why do you trust a mere cultist so blindly?”

“…Shut up.”

“Because he treated you and Abel kindly? Is that really enough for you to call him family?”

The Guild Master leaned close and whispered into Marlin’s ear.

“Think carefully. At first, I treated you two siblings better than anyone else.”

“……”

Exhausted, Marlin rested her hands upon her knees.

“At first… You also believed I was your family. You were so happy to finally find an adult you could trust.”

She’d only meant to rest for a moment. Instead, she collapsed face-first into the snow.

“You’re certain he’s not a bad person? How can you possibly know? He might simply be deceiving you. Just like I did.”

The ground was cold.

But maybe… that was alright. Once she completely fell asleep, it would surely become warm.

Amid the raging blizzard, Marlin slowly closed her eyes.

”I’m not playing family with you and your brother.”

She was about to surrender herself to the strangely comforting drowsiness… when Karr’s words suddenly resurfaced.

”I truly want to become your family.”

That’s right. Guild Master Maken had once said something similar. Long ago, on a day so sweet she’d believed herself completely happy.

What was the difference between Karr and Maken?

Why did she trust and depend upon Karr… a cultist, a class even more wicked than a thief?

“You simply ‘want’ to believe him. You’re exhausted. You’re tired of doubting everyone. The future terrifies you so much that you’ve chosen to trust that half-elf without question. Even if he betrays you later… At least your heart can rest for now.”

The Guild Master’s words fell over her together with the snow.

Marlin remained lying there. She couldn’t think of a single rebuttal.

“Do you understand now? You’ve run away from reality. So–”

Slash.

Suddenly, a dagger sliced through the air.

Marlin’s clone, having appeared behind the Guild Master, slashed twice more.

The Guild Master’s body collapsed.

“…You’re right.”

Marlin slowly stood.

“I was exhausted. So I decided to rely on Karr. He seemed strange… But he cared about Abel and me. So I simply decided to trust him.”

There had never been any rational basis. It had been a purely emotional, completely impulsive decision.

“But… So what? Karr always throws away the rational option and follows only the path his heart desires.”

Karr was an irrational half-elf. A cultist who deliberately ignored perfectly reasonable choices.

Therefore… if she truly wished to become his family… she, too, would choose something undeniably irrational.

“I’ll trust Karr. Simply because I want to.”

Marlin smiled as she stood firmly once again. While climbing the mountain,

Karr had repeatedly emphasized:

‘I’m here beside all of you. I’ll become the anchor that secures your sense of reality and hope within this sea of delirium.”

An anchor was merely a tool. By itself, it couldn’t fulfill its purpose.

Which meant… she herself had to use Karr.

‘…He said our roles were important.’

Rule One for Using Karr: When he gives instructions, follow them faithfully, without doubt.

Remembering Karr’s advice that Heaven Ear should always remain active in the South Continent,

Marlin focused every bit of her hearing. She even closed her eyes, trying to shut out the disturbing sights surrounding her.

“Rosalia. What are you waiting for? Stab them.”

“He’s infected! Burn him!”

“Lick it clean, Demon-227. That’s your dinner tonight.”

“I saw him taking that girl behind the mountain. If you don’t cut off his head immediately, your younger sibling will be next.”

“Kill yourself, Lucius. You disgrace Lady Arthein.”

“You’ll grow old alone, chasing disasters forever!”

“You’re the future of our cult.”

Voices flooded in from every direction. 

Her head throbbed painfully. Blood trickled from her ears.

Even so, Marlin faithfully applied the listening technique Saint Seraphina had taught her, focusing every ounce of her mind upon her hearing.

Then…

“…Where is everyone?!”

She found it. The voice of the genius swordsman… the only party member whose heart held no darkness whatsoever.

Keeping her eyes shut, Marlin charged straight toward the sound.

Thud!

Moments later, she collided with someone.

“…Ugh.”

“Marlin?”

“Marlin!”

Even amidst the raging blizzard, his presence remained as radiant as a shining star.

She was so relieved to see the lover that tears nearly welled up in her eyes.

“Sir Pendrick! Astrimia!”

“Marlin. Are your body and mind alright?”

“Yes!”

“Thank goodness…”

“It’s still too early to relax!”

“That’s right!”

Together with the lover, Marlin surveyed their surroundings.

Whoooooosh.

The blizzard still raged. Fragments of countless different places remained chaotically overlaid upon reality.

“Let’s save them. The others.”

They could do it. Because Karr believed in them.

“Please wait just a little longer!”

Marlin was no longer afraid of the illusions of her past.