CHAPTER 59…………………………………………………….
“But isn’t there only one thing that’s changed?”
Alice blinked innocently.
“As long as it’s not discovered, it’s fine.”
Only then did it feel as if the fog had lifted. With a clear head, Alice started to fidget.
It felt as if every muscle in her body was contracting from excitement and tension bordering on madness.
“I need to stay focused.”
First, I need to figure out exactly where it all went wrong.
Why on earth did I end up like this?
Was it because I incurred the wrath of the gods by harboring other intentions during the rainmaking ritual? Or because I had some unholy scheme?
If I were to pinpoint the mistake, that was the only possibility.
But why did I even plan something like that in the first place?
Alice’s gaze grew vacant.
“Igrain.”
It was because Igrain had changed.
“This time, ahem, it’s a geologist, who’s spent his whole life researching groundwater. Ahem ahem. It’s research that hasn’t really helped the kingdom, so despite his abilities, he hasn’t been well-treated. Ahem ahem, oh dear.”
Ki-chef’s face, unable to suppress his intermittent coughs, looked as pale as a skull.
Giovanni, unable to bear it, frowned.
“You should probably lie down more.”
“No, I’ve improved quite a lot, ahem ahem.”
Though his complexion suggested otherwise, his stubborn expression showed he had no intention of giving in.
One day, Ki-chef suddenly caught an endemic illness.
The reason the imperial people couldn’t stay long in the kingdom came down to Ki-chef inevitably showing up.
He had been unconscious in his bed through the pouring rain, and when he woke, he was shocked at not being able to properly assist Giovanni, forcing himself to rise.
“According to our investigation, ahem, this geologist could be quite helpful to us. It would be ahem good to put him on our radar.”
“Alright.”
Giovanni nodded, staring into the dust-filled, cramped room.
They were carrying out one of two objectives for coming to the kingdom:
Recruit talent that could genuinely help the empire’s situation.
“It shouldn’t be hard to persuade him, ahem. His treatment in the kingdom is poor, he has no family or friends. He does have one close cleric friend, but that’s something Your Highness could handle persuading, ahem ahem.”
Though Ki-chef spoke casually, his prediction was wrong.
“The offer is an honor, but I must decline.”
The disheveled scholar, with messy hair and an unkempt beard, shook his head without hesitation.
Ki-chef was flustered.
“Why? Your research is crucial for the empire. Ahem, you know, the empire’s lifeline, the oasis, depends on groundwater. Your expertise would be invaluable, ahem ahem.”
“Yes, it would. But my research fits the desert land better than the kingdom. Still, I cannot leave here.”
“Why not?”
“This is my home. I have friends here.”
Ultimately, they had no choice but to leave the dust-filled room empty-handed.
“Ahem ahem, persuading him is tougher than expected.”
“It’s still a pity. His gaze faltered at the mention of research funding.”
Giovanni dusted off his shoulders and said casually,
“Let’s come back tomorrow.”
The next day, Scholar Randolph greeted them with a gloomy face.
“You’re back again.”
“Our conversation yesterday was a bit short, wasn’t it? Ahem ahem, perhaps your mind has changed today, ahem.”
Ki-chef muttered wearily. His condition had worsened dramatically after moving slightly yesterday, yet he still followed despite Giovanni saying there was no need.
“Are you unwell?”
Even Randolph asked, noticing Ki-chef’s haggard appearance.
Ki-chef shook his head repeatedly and coughed.
“You look sick.”
“Oh, I’m fine. This is nothing, damn kingdom.”
“What did you say?”
“Anyway, ahem, have you changed your mind? I know the empire is unfamiliar and might be daunting, but the prince here will guide you properly. Scholar, ahem, you just need to continue your research diligently, ahem ahem, and report the results. Where there’s groundwater, dig there! Oasis complete! Ahem ahem, just do that, and you won’t have to worry about making a living.”
“I’ve made up my mind. Sorry.”
Ki-chef’s forehead veins bulged as he desperately tried to explain, but it was useless.
Giovanni placed a hand on Ki-chef’s shoulder just as he seemed ready to grab Randolph by the neck and shake him.
Once Ki-chef calmed down, Randolph looked at Giovanni in surprise.
“Your expression isn’t good.”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you worried?”
Ki-chef blinked and looked at Randolph. Unlike yesterday, his expression lacked vitality.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s personal.”
“It might help if you tell me.”
“No, that’s unnecessary…”
“This is separate from recruiting for the empire.”
“If you put it that way…”
Randolph sighed deeply and began to speak.
Though intelligent, he was not good at explaining things. To summarize his rambling: his friend was missing.
“Others say not to worry, that he went on a pilgrimage as a cleric. That may be true, but the day he said he would write has already passed. His last letter said he would come see me, but there’s been no news, so I’m worried something serious happened.”
As he revealed his concern, Randolph squinted his pinecone-shaped eyes at Giovanni.
“It’s presumptuous, but could you help me find my friend?”
“Fortunately, it seems we can resolve this quickly, ahem ahem.”
After leaving Randolph’s cramped room, Ki-chef said,
“If it’s a cleric, Princess Laratu should know well. Hm, if we ask for help, she’d probably assist.”
Giovanni nodded.
As Ki-chef predicted, Princess Laratu gladly and wholeheartedly helped, allowing them to trace the last pilgrimage site visited by Randolph’s cleric friend.
It was a village near the area where Randolph stayed.
But that was as far as they could go.
“Ahem, ahem, this is infuriating. The trail suddenly ends.”
Ki-chef glanced back while coughing. The cleric who had prayed at the old man’s house had already left.
“There’s evidence he came into this village, but none that he left.”
“Could he still be in this village, ahem?”
“We’ll have to look.”
From now on, they had to investigate directly.
Luckily, the villagers, intimidated by Giovanni’s imposing build, cooperated. Still, no one claimed to have seen the cleric.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
Just as the exhausted Ki-chef was about to collapse,
“Oh, you mean the cleric with long hair? The one with the tall attendant? If it’s him, I saw him enter that forest. The attendant was supposed to follow the forest path too.”
Finally, a meaningful witness appeared.
After some time following the forest path, the two rested briefly by a lakeside.
Ki-chef opened his water bottle, drank, and sighed.
Giovanni, sitting on a large rock and surveying the wide lake despite the forest’s size, glanced at him.
“Are you struggling?”
“No, I’m better than yesterday.”
Ki-chef forced a smile and pointed down the forest path.
“If the farmer is correct, they passed through here a month ago, ahem, shouldn’t they have reached Randolph’s village by now? Strange.”
“Yes. It’s odd that, as a cleric, he would have drawn attention, yet there aren’t many witnesses.”
“Do you think there’s a problem with his safety, ahem?”
Giovanni said nothing. Ki-chef, keeping silent, furrowed his brow.
“Ahem, Your Highness, doesn’t that look like something floating over there?”
Giovanni turned. Across the lake, tangled among the reeds, something unusual was lodged.
Splash!
Ki-chef walked through the reeds, covering his nose.
“Ugh!”
The stench of a corpse rose.
Giovanni flipped over the body lying in the rotting reeds. Ki-chef grimaced.
“The smell of a body drowned in water is terrible, ahem.”
“……”
“It seems difficult to bring it back to the village, ahem ahem. We should bury it here and discuss it on the way back.”
“……”
“Your Highness?”
Giovanni said nothing, staring at the corpse. Ki-chef looked puzzled, alternating his gaze between the body and Giovanni.
The bloated corpse was full of water. Fish had left marks on it, making it grotesque to look at directly.
“Is something unusual here?”
Giovanni silently pulled the corpse from the water.
He scanned the body, once presumably quite tall, from head to toe, then straightened.
“It’s an attendant.”
“Eh? The cleric’s attendant?”
Ki-chef’s eyes nearly popped. The description matched what the villagers had said.
“Why is he dead here? Could the cleric have…”
“He was murdered.”
Giovanni nodded, and Ki-chef knelt before the body, lifting his clothes.
After a thorough inspection, he found a small wound on the chest. The injury was tiny and the flesh swollen, making it difficult to detect.
The skill with which it was inflicted was exquisite.
Ki-chef’s expression hardened rapidly.
“Your Highness, this method…”
Giovanni nodded.
“Yes. It’s the assassin of the Dark Veil.”
Waking up to find a huge water snake coiled on my bed, sleeping there—how does that feel?
“What the hell is this?”
The snake had cleverly avoided the space where I lay, taking over the bed.
I glanced at the drawer. The aquamarine I had brought from the temple was there.
At first, I had no intention of stealing it.
“But having heard that story, I can’t just leave it here.”
Judging from the circumstances, it seemed the water snake inhabited the aquamarine. A spirit… not a ghost.
“Who hates humans.”
