Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 149 - South Continent Expedition — Land of Delirium (4)

Chapter 149 — South Continent Expedition — Land of Delirium (4)

 

“Let’s hurry and go save the others!”

Pendrick bounced eagerly in place. He looked ready to dash off that very instant. By nature, Pendrick was the type of warrior whose body moved before his brain.

“No!”

Fortunately, Astrimia was by the genius swordsman’s side. Having existed for countless years, the artifact sword possessed a brilliant intellect surpassing that of most intelligent beings.

“The others are completely trapped inside the delirium right now. Running around blindly won’t accomplish anything. They’ve already lost the ability to distinguish illusion from reality.”

“Wouldn’t it work somehow if we just searched really hard?”

“Not at all!”

“Then what should we do?”

“Well… even I don’t really…”

At times like this, they sorely missed having Karr around.

If they asked him for the solution, he would probably begin with nonsense and jokes, and only after they kept questioning him would he finally give the correct, straightforward answer.

After pondering for a moment, Pendrick suddenly spoke.

“The second star…”

“Ah!”

Marlin tilted her head.

“What do you mean, the second star?”

“If I illuminate Asmi’s second star, I’ll be able to visually identify the enemies’ weaknesses.”

The second star… Merak.

The star that weakened enemies and revealed their vulnerabilities.

“It’s a good idea, but the mountain’s delirium doesn’t have a physical form, does it?”

The Snow Reconstructions that still appeared here and there were monsters, so they could be defeated.

But hallucinations? They didn’t even possess real bodies to begin with.

Attacking them should have been impossible.

At least, that was the normal way of thinking.

“…I can cut them.”

Pendrick grasped Astrimia’s hilt with both hands.

“When my masters trained me, they kept saying the same thing over and over. For a warrior, the most important thing is knowing exactly ‘where’ to strike.”

Huztis, the canine beastman martial artist.

Brunelda, the barbarian of the Northern Continent.

The warriors who had trained Pendrick had emphasized this point to exhaustion.

A warrior was a class that fought enemies head-on.

Therefore, one had to develop the discernment to instantly identify the correct place to attack.

“Hallucinations have no physical form.”

“That’s true.”

Hummmm.

Astrimia’s first star, Dubhe, shone brightly as a stellar aura enveloped the blade.

“But… What about the snow?”

Whoooooosh!

The blizzard howled violently. Ever since they’d begun climbing the snowy mountain, the snowstorm and freezing winds had never ceased.

“Asmi. We can do it, right? If we’re together.”

“…Yes.”

Smiling brightly, Pendrick assumed his stance. The stance preceding Raging Gale Swordsmanship.

“Marlin.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll cut through the blizzard. You locate everyone’s positions with Heaven Ear.”

“Got it!”

The moment Marlin nodded energetically….

Shhhhhhh—!!

A second blue star appeared upon Astrimia’s turquoise blade.

The second star… Merak.

For an instant, the snow-covered mountain, where countless spaces overlapped, was bathed in blue light. Every single snowflake drifting through the air glittered with a radiant blue glow.

“…There’s quite a lot to cut.”

“Can’t you do it?”

“No. But even if I can’t… I have to.”

Pendrick grinned and swung Astrimia three rapid times. Raging Gale Swordsmanship.

Driving winds. Raging gales.

CRAAAASH!!

The storms infused with aura and inner energy flew forth one after another, sweeping away every blue point filling the Heaven.

Whooooo…

The blizzard weakened slightly. Marlin immediately expanded her Heaven Ear. Instead of the overwhelming flood of voices, she now heard several faint ones.

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Please kill me, Lady Artein.”

“Leave me alone!!”

Rosalia, endlessly apologizing.

Lucius, consumed by despair.

Bartimir, filled with rage.

“…Come quickly, Marlin.”

And… Karr, waiting while believing in his ward.

“…I found everyone!”

“Well done. You’re the greatest thief.”

“Hurry!”

“Wait!”

Astrimia hurriedly stopped Marlin just as she was about to sprint toward Karr’s voice.

“Simply knowing where they are isn’t enough. Everyone else has already sunk deep into the hallucinations. If we forcibly drag them out now, the backlash might become even worse and seriously damage their minds.”

An illusion-type mystery that trapped people inside hallucinations couldn’t simply be broken by outside assistance. In situations like this, what mattered most was one’s own will.

“Once they themselves realize it’s an illusion and decide they want to escape, then pulling them out won’t cause any side effects.”

“…But besides Karr, everyone else is already deeply lost inside the delirium. So what do we do?”

Even as she asked, Marlin found the answer herself.

“Then we save Karr first! After that, Karr will figure everything else out!”

Having reached her conclusion, Marlin immediately charged toward Karr’s voice.

“She’ll become an explorer every bit as amazing as the Captain someday.”

“I think so too.”

Following after her, the lovers smiled softly.

“Kaaaar!”

They quickly reached the place where the half-elf’s distinctive, clear voice had come from.

But there was no sign of the blond cultist. Only a shabby monastery… and a modest mountain.

Marlin frantically searched around before shouting,

“…Croooow!”

Rule Two for Using Karr: Remember that he worships multiple Evil Gods simultaneously, and make proper use of that fact.

Marlin’s simple solution was immediately rewarded.

Cawwwww!!

The long cry of a crow. They rushed toward it. A blind crow circled overhead, drawing their attention.

“Over there!”

Pendrick immediately slashed through the air. Another Gale.

CRAAAASH!!

Starlight aura and black inner energy sliced apart the blizzard. The monastery and mountain instantly faded, revealing part of the snowy mountain once more.

“Captain!”

At last, Pendrick found Karr. Only his hips and thighs were sticking out above the snow.

“…Even the way Captain gets buried is unique!”

“He’s seriously impossible!”

Working together, Marlin and Pendrick began pulling Karr free.

Whooooo… 

Little by little, the blizzard weakened.

 

***

 

‘Twang.’

‘Twang.’

‘Twaaang.’

The performance continued.

“…3849.”

“Goldie.”

The Heavenly Demon boy and half-monster girl, who had stared at me expressionlessly all this time, suddenly spoke.

“3849 I understand.”

“But what’s ‘Goldie’?”

“Your temporary name. Because you’re blond.”

“Not exactly a creative name.”

“I came up with it myself.”

“No wonder it’s childish.”

“……”

The half-monster girl’s glare became even fiercer. I ignored her.

Continuing to play, I occasionally tidied my deceased sister’s hair.

“Oh, you’re beautiful. My Yoonji.”

“……”

The Heavenly Demon boy who’d been silently watching me covered his face with both hands.

Then…

—Half-elf.

He suddenly spoke in a completely emotionless voice. Cold. Utterly devoid of feeling.

—Your mental world is incomprehensible.

Then the half-monster girl’s mouth also began speaking, her voice like chunks of ice being shoved into my ears.

—No matter how much we read your memories… We cannot understand. What memory could freeze your heart? Which moment of your past could bury you forever beneath the snow?

Was it my imagination? Their voices seemed to be slowly melting away.

—Your mind is completely disordered. Your spirit has rusted. The blizzard cannot contain you.

Like an icicle beneath the blazing sun. Like a snowman on a midsummer day. Their icy voices gradually sagged and dissolved.

—Leave. Disappear. The blizzard does not imprison you. Go far away and never return.

An order of exile. The snowy mountain was trying to drive me out.

I firmly shook my head.

“I refuse. You were the ones who invited me in. Isn’t it rather rude to kick me out now?”

At first, I’d been surprised. But after spending some time here, it had become quite a pleasant place.

Even though I knew I was inside a hallucination, nothing felt unnatural. The scenery remained perfectly vivid. A miraculous delirium.

It was such a comfortable place that I wouldn’t mind relaxing here until someone rescued me.

—Leave. The blizzard rejects you.

WHOOOOOOOSH!!

The blizzard became fiercer than ever before.

“Come now. Please reconsider.”

—The blizzard fears creatures without fear. Begone.

“Aww… I want to stay a little longer.”

— …………

The way they looked at me grew unbelievably hostile. They were trying hard, but there was still much room for improvement.

“Because of the nightmares where my younger sister appears, ordinary mental attacks don’t affect me very much.”

Furthermore, Rigid Crackle also granted mental resistance. Methods like these couldn’t shake me in the slightest.

“You need to look at me with the genuine intention of killing me. Or carefully uncover my weaknesses and strike directly at them.”

—The blizzard hates half-elves…

“Do you understand? Repeat after me. The key to mental attacks is overwhelming intimidation and careful weakness analysis!”

—…Please leave.

“I said, repeat after me. Soon, explorers who come thoroughly equipped with mental defenses will keep arriving. If you continue like this, you won’t be able to stop anyone!”

—The blizzard drives away half-elves!

It was around the time the boy and girl slowly drifted farther away from me…

“Kaaaar!”

CRAAACK!!

A familiar, energetic voice suddenly shattered Sky itself.

They had come. The future’s extraordinary thief.

“I suppose it’s time for me to go, Yoonji.”

I gently laid my deceased sister back upon the ground, carefully tidying her hair and face one last time.

“See you next time.”

Hopefully… next time we’ll be able to actually talk.

“No.”

Suddenly… Yoonji’s tightly closed lips opened.

“Stop lingering in the past. Look around you.”

“……”

CRAAACK—!!

The surrounding space was completely shattered and collapsed.

Whooooo…

Then… I found myself lying upon the snow-covered mountain, snowflakes drifting through the air.

“Karr!”

Marlin’s smiling face filled my vision.

Pendrick looked relieved.

Astrimia sparkled brilliantly with starlight.

‘Look around you…’

Was that the snowy mountain’s unexpectedly kind advice?

Or had I merely hallucinated those words?

Who cared? Rational deduction was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

“Thank you.”

Forcibly pushing aside all the tangled thoughts crossing my mind, I remained lying there and gave a thumbs-up.

“I’ve been waiting for you two to use me. So I anchored myself here in the snow.”

“…Stop joking!”

Marlin lightly punched my chest.

“Captain. The others are still trapped in the delirium.”

Pendrick helped me to my feet before turning toward Marlin.

“Now we can count on you to solve everything magnificently. That’s Rule Three of ‘How to Use the Captain’, right?”

“Nope. Rule Three is: ‘Ignore the first thing he says because it’s usually a joke or nonsense, and wait.’ But since this is an emergency, let’s skip straight to Rule Four!”

Her tail swished as Marlin poked my side.

“Alright. Go ahead.”

“I’ve already located everyone!”

“Very well.”

Following the guidance of the promising young thief possessing Heaven Ear, I began walking.

“Now then. It’s time for the adorable yet incredibly cool Captain Karr to shine.”

“How are you going to pull everyone out of the hallucinations? They still haven’t realized they’re trapped inside the delirium themselves…”

“Astrimia. Am I not the all-knowing, omnipotent half-elf?”

The snowy mountain’s hallucinations were exceptionally troublesome. The decisive reason why the South Continent Expedition had remained an unconquered dungeon until now.

Fortunately, I already possessed the most reliable method of breaking it.

“Spaces created through illusion-type Mystery… Can be broken by another illusion-type Mystery.”

For example… One that was bestowed by Okail, the Chief Evil God.

‘Clink.’

Chains rattled against my right thigh. The Confused One was expressing anticipation.

“I understand.”

Gently touching the area where the tattoo rested, I answered respectfully.

“I’ll resolve this quickly. Using the Absolute Falsehood that Lord Okail prefers.”