Chapter 27
Chapter 27: Two People in the Underground Temple
Caria and Helot Stanley’s voices started to fade away while we went further underground . It looked like we changed positions, and we got separated from them . I came closer to the sideline to have a better look at the surroundings .
「I feel that this place could have some sort of traps . 」
「…For some reason, I’m feeling nauseous . I’m not exaggerating . I wonder how adventurers handle these extensive explorations . 」
After professing those words, Filaret la Volgograd looked at me while I put some chewing tobacco on my mouth . I could only hear the chewing sound coming from my mouth . Strangely, the volume of their voices gradually faded away . Only silence remained .
We went to the underground temple and we got separated from the others . Filaret was feeling bad, but she kept her cool and continued to walk using her instincts .
It was not nausea . It was nerves and tiredness . That’s why I brought some chewing tobacco with me . I could feel the burnt smell through my nose . It felt refreshing and my mind was clear . It reminded me of my younger days . I was always nervous because of the dangers of my previous quests . I was always alone when I scouted . I regarded myself as a scared crow waiting for danger to strike me from my back .
「Wha…What should we do? Should we wait here for help? Or should we move on?」
I rounded my eyes as I thought about her words . I was about to swallow the saliva I accumulated from chewing my tobacco . But, I felt uncomfortable because the black-haired Sorceress was staring at me with anxious eyes .
Well, I had to say that I found this rather surprising .
Who knew that Filaret la Volgograd would ask for my opinion? In this timeline I was an existence to her after all . Of course, she was different now from her future self . She regarded me differently at this present timeline . Yet, I felt something overlapping here . I could not tell what it was . It was surprising to see her cheeks tightening in this unexpected situation .
I got a wooden stick and I filled it with fatness from a demon beast . I lit up a fire using the lighter from my chewing tobacco .
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「Okay, let’s move on . Don’t fall behind, miss employer . I’m used to this . So, let’s go before the fire goes out . 」
「But, it’s really dark in front of us . I wonder if adventurers can really see in this darkness . 」
Like I said, I was used to it . Still, I gave my hand behind my shoulders in order to avoid her being lost in this darkness . Ah yes, I was really used to this type of surroundings . Although, this was just my second experience in the dark, after coming to this timeline .
—
The underground temple was built of old stones and clay . It was far from being a delicate space . I could feel a harsh atmosphere from this place .
There were no valuable things down here . And it didn’t look like a place that was used for worshipping . But, still, it was the Sorceress idea . There should be a significant reason that made Filaret want to come here… That was why she hired me in the first place . She had no choice but to hire someone capable on wandering through the dark depths of the temple .
These abandoned places and ruins became the habitat of wild animals and evil spirits . This location belonged to the city-state Guild’s jurisdiction . Rather than leaving locations like this restricted, the Guild organized from time to time, expeditions for adventurers . Sometimes, it didn’t involve just explorations requested by the Guild . The state-city would, occasionally, order some excavations as well . Therefore, the Guild wasn’t the only place to commission people to do these types of works . The city-state administration would also be paid accordingly to each request completed . It meant that each of them would receive some profit as well . Money wouldn’t go in the pockets of the poor no matter where we went .
In other words, it was not acceptable to enter freely into the Guild management facilities . Whether we brought something back from the expedition or did some sort of excavation work . It would only be acknowledged if the Guild gave permission directly or if the request was made officially by a third party . Otherwise, Filaret wouldn’t be able to hire me if we didn’t follow these rules .
Ah, of course, I should’ve known why everything was messy . It was because of the former apprentice Knight . First, she behaved rashly when we were inside the Guild and, second, she ventured inside this temple without proper evaluation . What an idiotic person . It seemed that her brain was only made of rocks .
I held the torch and I moved forward . I could hear Filaret’s footsteps from behind my back . It was interesting to hear the echoing sound of stepping on cobblestone .
I stopped walking and I looked back to have a glance of all the surroundings . My eyes were strongly assessing this place . I opened my mouth to profess some words . Yes, we should be fine .
「You know, the demon beasts…I thought that something would crawl out from this darkness . This place is safer than I thought it would be . 」
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「Hey, hey, we should not let our guard down . This place is the perfect location of nesting monsters . Some people have crazy fighting instincts, but I’m not like that . I’m afraid of death . Let’s hope any of those monsters won’t attack us from inside these traps . 」
We put our hand in one wall and it opened naturally . We managed to avoid stepping in a similar trap like the one before .
Yes, the first trap was triggered when Filaret was separated from Helot Stanley .
「However, it seems that you’re enjoying the thrill of this place . The ruins of the temple from the old religion is not something we should explore with half-hearted feelings . 」
Anyways, we all came here as a party . Since Helot Stanley decided to come with us, it would’ve been obvious for him to remain by Filaret’s side by all means . For a man who had an awful sense of justice and commendable companionship, his words became meaningless in a place that resembled a child’s play .
It was not as if I schemed for this to happen on this specific moment . If I had to choose, I would rather not speak to this particular woman .
However, in the future, Filaret only viewed Helot Stanley has the only existence in the world besides her . That’s why their link had to be broken no matter what . Just by imagining their interactions, my heart would drop as if it were a hard stone . The struggle I had during my days with the rescue party and the hate I always had for Helot Stanley . I felt a sense of fear wondering if this world would follow the same path as the world before . I might end up with same results once again .
All sort of emotions were driving me crazy . I could feel excruciating pain from my insides .
Therefore, I must become the one beside her, not him . That’s why I had to seek something in order to separate them for good .
「…You’re noisy . We have a situation here . There’s no time to talk about feelings . 」
「How can you speak like that to a Sorceress . 」
Well, that’s it . I should become Filaret’s acquaintance . First, I had to break the awkwardness between us .
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Of course . To be honest though, it looked like she had visited this place before . I wondered if something went wrong during the previous time she came here . Maybe she found this place from taking a detour on a particular journey .
However, I wasn’t sure if I would call her a woman during this timeline . She took off her hood to observe the surroundings of this place . Based on her looks, I could say that she was still a girl .
Perhaps, she failed to issue a request in the past . She couldn’t have come here without the formalities of the Guild . She was probably forced to give up . That’s why she became obsessed to explore this area . If that was the case, then I thank her for bringing me here with her . That way, I could get more familiar with her . Of course, she didn’t know about that .
「Listen, you should be fine . Why are you afraid of death? You are a Sorceress . You can perform all sorts of magic . 」
The times I spent with the rescue party came to my mind . I remember that the future Filaret la Volgograd was a fearless and confident Sorceress . She wasn’t afraid of anything because she believed that she could do everything with her magic skills . In regards to sorcery, I didn’t think that anyone would be able to beat her .
「Don‘t speak like you know me . 」
Suddenly, I heard strangely distorted words . I opened my eyes widely and looked behind my back . She continued to speak .
「Listen, you don’t know anything about me . At all . Do you get it? Thanks for reminding me of my unworthiness! You are the one that isn’t thinking properly . You are the person without knowledge here…Well, forget it . It doesn’t matter . 」
Her words were firm, yet brutal . On that moment, I could see faint tears on the corner of her black eyes . She was always a calm and well-disposed person . And yet, she portrayed a seemingly impatient attitude with me . It was strange to see her behaving like this . After some thought…
「It’s true that I don’t have much knowledge . I get that . But, I know about you because it’s normal for me to investigate about my client to some extent in advance . Besides, I know that you’re a student from Bolvato, a location east from here . I did just a small research, but it was enough to give me an understanding your character . After all, you are a known student of ancient and modern magic at that school . 」
After I answered back at Filaret’s words, I started walking ahead while chewing some tobacco .
Of course, I didn’t investigate her . However, according to what I heard during the rescue party, people said that she was a devoted researcher of magic in Garoua Maria . I heard that she amassed accomplishments very early on . She was named a genius of her expertise . So, it was obvious she wasn’t an ordinary person .
「…Ah, I knew it . You probably received the request after hearing about me . I’m probably a foolish person, you know . I’m a girl from the outside, but I’m much crazier from the inside . 」
I was amazed at everything she said to me . What were those words? Were those masochistic words? Or were they, perhaps, a joke? This was not a laughing matter .
「Hey, give me a break . You are a very talented person . You don’t look like a fool to me . 」
「Talented? Hmm…Don’t say unreasonable things . But, if I don’t seem like a fool to you, okay then . Does that mean that you think that I’ll succeed as a Sorceress?」
「Of course . And, you’re no fool . Yeah, that’s why I accepted your request in the first place . 」
I didn’t understand this at all . I heard that she was a woman full of talent from a very young age . Naturally, if someone had to bet on her future as a Sorceress, anyone would say that her future would be full of glory . But, it was confusing . This person, who always acted as if I were a mouse to her, was actually listening to what I had to say .
For a brief moment, our voices became silent . It was obvious, because we’ve arrived to a particular location in the darkness of the underground temple .
I was glad that we managed to reach our destination safely .
「Well, we’re here, miss employer . This is your destination, right?」
I could hear Filaret’s heavy breath . She seemed astonished and happy at the same time . It looked like she wasn’t able to sort out her own emotions . But, she certainly had a very good expression on her face .
The place we arrived after coming from a darkish narrow passage was a large Basilica . I see, so this was the main hall of the underground temple . This was the true destination of Filaret . The ancient place that kept the knowledge of the heraldic order .