Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Swimming Through a Nightmare (1)
After the meal was over, I prepared to leave. Lastly, I visited the Head of the Ulbushis Family’s room.
“You came.”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family welcomed me and offered me a seat. Instead of serving tea, he handed me a hefty pouch.
“This should be more than enough for your travel expenses back. I’ll speak to the Academic Department separately.”
“Thank you.”
I didn’t bother refusing it. The weight I felt in my hand made me pleased. That aside, the main point lay elsewhere.
“Let’s get to the point. The old man in the photograph. Do you know him?”
At my question, the Head of the Ulbushis Family thought for a moment before nodding.
“How do you know him?”
“He was someone who contributed greatly to creating Canis’s body.”
Then it made sense. The child he had created. Was that why he had appeared at the funeral?
“What happened after that?”
“He asked me to join his organization, but I refused. I haven’t met him since.”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family’s reaction was truthful. Then he probably didn’t know what had happened afterward either.
“Something serious will happen to the Ulbushis Family soon.”
“…….”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family frowned. Even though it was me saying it, he seemed to find it unpleasant. I gave a faint chuckle as I looked at him.
This man still didn’t seem to get it.
“Creating Chimeras is a criminal act on par with terrorism against the Empire. Homunculi are treated somewhat less severely, but they still fall under the category of Chimera creation.”
“…….”
“Of course, I have no intention of revealing that Canis is a Homunculus. But there’s another problem.”
“Another problem?”
Canis was a Homunculus? That was something that could simply be overlooked. She was made so well that she was indistinguishable from a real person, and there wasn’t even an original to begin with.
The problem lay elsewhere. It was an especially serious problem for Duhein and Ulbushis.
“The Academy has been attacked twice.”
“It has.”
“Chimeras appeared during those attacks.”
“…….”
Only then did the sharp-minded Head of the Ulbushis Family frown.
“The organization that created those Chimeras is called ‘Magus’. It’s the organization the old man who created Canis belongs to.”
“……I see.”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family sighed. As though his head hurt, he firmly pressed at his temples.
“You probably know that I’m fairly close with Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess. And Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess has a deep-rooted hatred of these Chimeras.”
“I understand. I know what you’re trying to say.”
As Magus began moving actively, the Imperial Princess was also making preparations. Now that Episode 5 had ended like this, the Imperial Princess would begin intervening in earnest starting from Episode 6.
Once that happened, things would become truly turbulent. The scale of events would spiral out of control from the Imperial Princess’s intervention alone.
“They’ll probably become connected.”
“Just in case, did you bring my daughter into the Religious Order for that reason?”
“Well, that was part of it.”
I didn’t bother objecting to the Head of the Ulbushis Family’s words. Of course, the biggest reason was that I wanted to bring that annoying girl over and work her to the bone.
“Hmm.”
“……Why are you looking at me like that?”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family’s gaze became strangely sticky. I asked while twitching my brow. What was with that greasy look?
“The Duhein skin tone is dominant. Ulbushis blue hair goes well with white skin.”
“Pardon?”
What kind of bullshit is that? I barely managed to swallow the words echoing in my mind. I was puzzled by the rather out-of-nowhere remark.
“Never mind. I appreciate the advice. What will you do about the compensation?”
“I already told Canis. I trust you’ll take good care of it.”
“Understood. You’ve done well.”
***
The night train was quiet. Perhaps because it was late, there were hardly any people. The only ones in the same carriage were me and two people who appeared to be a married couple.
I settled back into my seat and closed my eyes. Anger, who had burst into tears when I told her I was leaving, had been left with Canis.
A stuffed doll shouldn’t have been able to shed tears, yet somehow she did. She poured them out like a waterfall, to the point that I wondered whether I was watching a cartoon.
―Mwi mwi.
The Dream Bird, which the station attendant had forbidden from entering, appeared. Wanting to stay alone with me, the Dream Bird had waddled after me, only to temporarily retreat to the Palace of Dreams in the face of the station attendant’s firm attitude.
“If only you were a little more useful.”
―Mwi!?
I stroked the Dream Bird’s feathers as it rested its head on my thigh. At the same time, I voiced my disappointment.
The Dream Bird’s beak dropped open as though it had been shocked. How nice would it have been if it could enter the Palace of Dreams and then warp somewhere else?
If I entered and exited the Dream Bird’s Palace of Dreams, I could only come back out at the place where I had entered.
“Well, this is useful enough.”
I spoke quietly so as not to disturb the couple who had quickly fallen asleep. I soothed the Dream Bird again.
Just one word of praise was enough to make the Dream Bird grin happily. I gave a faint chuckle at the adorable sight.
“Bear with it for just two hours.”
Once the train traveled for another two hours and reached the station, I could call Winter. In the meantime, I took out what I had received as the quest reward.
This thing, which looked like a yellow handkerchief, was called the ‘Cradle of Fortune’. It was difficult to use, but it was an item with just as much potential.
―Mwi?
“What should I use it on?”
The effect of the Cradle of Fortune was simple. It gave you something you needed. It could be something I had been aiming for, or it could be something I lacked.
That was what made it difficult to use. Its completely undetermined randomness. Its potential value was enormous, and that made it all the more vicious.
―Mwi mwi.
“No.”
When it pointed at itself with its beak as though asking me to give it to it, I immediately shook my head. The Dream Bird drooped in disappointment.
Giving it to the Dream Bird would be a dud. If this guy used it, it would probably just end up producing a doll that looked like me. But using it on myself was also a little ambiguous.
I could get a stamina-related item or a passive skill like swordsmanship, but it felt like a waste to use this for something like that.
‘Relics could come out too.’
There were even people on the game community who said they had obtained Relics through this. Something with that much potential was too valuable to waste just to get a single Artifact or skill.
Worden was out. He already had a Relic. Even if I used it on Winter, only something related to Anaye would come out. The same went for Aro. Aro was no different from the Dream Bird.
“I should just use it.”
There was no point in saving it. Still, if something was going to come out, I hoped it would be a stamina-related Artifact.
I tore the yellow handkerchief apart right then. Startled by my sudden action, the Dream Bird made a huge fuss.
▶[Religion Quest: Simulacrum(2)]
Anaye was proud that her first son had saved the Simulacrum. But along with that, she felt deep compassion. For her child, she would gladly yield her embrace.
Condition: Be embraced by Anaye.
Reward: Legacy of Anaye.
The quest appeared the moment I used the Cradle of Fortune. And its contents were ridiculous. The quest condition was to be embraced by Anaye?
I held back the curse that was about to burst out. How was I supposed to be embraced by a god? Getting a Legacy was nice and all, but there was no way to do it.
“Is it a dud?”
I let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t as though I had never seen Anaye before. Just once. The only time had been when I met her avatar at the ash tree.
Should I go there again and try to meet her? It seemed possible, but I didn’t know whether that would count. More importantly, being embraced by her while she was in a state without reason itself would be difficult.
Break through the barrage of a god who used lightning lasers as basic attacks and get embraced by her? There was a limit to how far a joke could go.
“Hey. Don’t eat that.”
―Mwi…….
I pulled the handkerchief out of its beak after it had put it in its mouth out of disappointment. The Dream Bird quickly became dejected. I roughly ruffled the guy’s feathers every which way.
It laughed delightedly and enjoyed it. I should ask Winter or Aro about this sort of thing. Maybe they would think of a way.
Even I, who had knowledge of the game, didn’t know how to get embraced by a god. In the first place, aside from the ash tree and the Paladin class advancement, even the gods themselves never appeared in the game.
“Wake me up in 1 hour and 40 minutes.”
I asked the Dream Bird and closed my eyes. There was no point wasting time thinking about something that wouldn’t work anyway.
―Mwi!
Once I fell asleep, time passed quickly. I woke immediately when the Dream Bird shook me. I stretched widely and looked around.
“You go tell Winter to get ready.”
―Mwi!
The Dream Bird disappeared after leaving a brief reply. I gathered my things and got off the train. The cool night air filled my lungs.
I wandered around inside the station. I had eaten a hearty dinner, so I wasn’t hungry. Still, I felt like having something to snack on.
I spotted a fast-food restaurant inside the station and immediately headed over.
“A hot dog, huh.”
It wasn’t the Korean-style hot dog where bread was wrapped around a sausage, but the kind where a long bun was split open and a sausage was placed inside.
“I’ll take your order.”
They were still open despite how late it was. The employee spotted me and gave me a friendly smile.
“Can I add garlic too?”
“Yes. Yes? Huh? Garlic?”
I asked without thinking. The employee looked awkwardly at me after I suddenly asked about garlic.
“It’s fine if you don’t have any.”
“Ah. No, we do have garlic.”
“Ah. Really?”
I smiled brightly at the employee’s words. The employee’s cheeks reddened as they looked at me.
“Sorry, but could you mince ten cloves of garlic with a knife and add them as a topping?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“Then I’ll have the chili hot dog with extra sausage, extra jalapeños, and the garlic.”
“Yes! Please wait just a moment.”
What was that? They had gotten a little more enthusiastic somewhere along the way. I then ordered a carbonated drink of indeterminate identity.
I sat alone at a table in the empty restaurant and blankly stared into space. When would Winter get here? At this hour, she probably wouldn’t be asleep yet.
If it was the Dream Bird, it would find her immediately, so I figured she would arrive soon.
“Your chili hot dog is ready~”
I went and picked up the hot dog. Inside the long, sliced hot dog bun were two scored sausages. The spicy aroma of chili sauce mingled with the scent of garlic.
There were various vegetables and jalapeños. On top of that was a generous amount of melted cheese dripping over everything. I glanced at the employee.
The employee was looking at me with a beaming smile. For something that was merely a hot dog, the ingredients and care that went into it were on another level.
So this place was good.
“Mm.”
I took a huge bite. It wasn’t like, These ingredients are insanely high quality! but everything worked harmoniously together. And along with that came this feeling that my health might be in danger.
I liked it. Was this what made a good restaurant different? I slowly savored the hot dog. The carbonated drink wasn’t bad either.
There were plenty of fast-food restaurants inside the Academy, but none had quality like this. As I ate the hot dog and waited, I sensed a familiar presence.
“Hey!”
“Ah! Senior!”
Winter came straight toward me, her snow-white bobbed hair fluttering behind her. I held out the carbonated drink to her as she panted for breath.
“Phew! Hah. I was worried about you. Senior.”
“Sit down first. Want something to eat too?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“They had cookies too.”
“Yes. I’ll have some.”
Winter’s tastes were unwavering. I went back to the employee and ordered cookies and a carbonated drink. The employee stared fixedly at Winter.
The cookies seemed to have already been made, so I received them on the spot and brought them back.
“So why did you suddenly go to the Ulbushis Territory? No, how did you even get there?”
“I was kidnapped. By Canis.”
I gave an extremely personal answer to Winter’s question. If you thought about it, wasn’t it kidnapping?
It was the act of forcibly taking someone away against their will. Winter’s expression turned vicious at my answer.
“I’ll rip her apart!”
“Exactly. Rip—huh? What did you just say?”
I couldn’t close my mouth after hearing such a vicious expression come out of Winter’s mouth. It wasn’t exactly a curse, but Winter rarely used such harsh words.
“Do you know how much I suffered for three days!”
Winter’s face was full of pent-up resentment. I patted her on the back. Well, it made sense if the Cult Leader suddenly disappeared.
I soothed Winter as I patted her back while she bawled her eyes out. It was all Canis’s fault.