Chapter 189: An Old Friend (5)

A blessing from the goddesses?

I let out a soft laugh. Even jokes had their limits. As if someone like me would ever receive a blessing from a goddess. The very notion of karma was absurd.

Are these so-called goddesses just another way to measure and judge humans?

When the Demon Kings were crushing humanity, they didn’t show themselves at all.

Yet now, those same goddesses might grant their blessing to a creature like me?

That was strange. Regardless, seeing the Necron quest return after so long was a welcome sight. I had gained a passive skill called Interrogation, a ridiculous power to slightly increase the chance of extracting truth through pain. Nonetheless, its usefulness was undeniable. There were plenty of people to interrogate and plenty of stories to uncover.

I took one last look around the basement, thick with the scent of twisted lust and violence, then stepped out into the hallway. I had secured the sleeping powder at the location written on the innkeeper’s note.

It's all in powder form.

The powder could be mixed into water or sprinkled on bread. I scattered it around where anyone might find it as part of crafting a believable story for the innkeeper and the three guards’ deaths. After what happened in Erast, I knew I needed these kinds of details.

Back upstairs, Rubia lay sleeping deeply, as if hibernating through winter. It was clearly nothing more than a sleeping draught, because her pulse was steady, her breathing calm.

Time slipped by quickly as I kept Detection active.

If the guards come to raid the inn, should I kill them all? Or should I carry Rubia away and escape somewhere else?

Fortunately, I didn’t have to choose.

"

Mm...

" Rubia let out a soft murmur and slowly opened her eyes. "Wh-what... happened?"

I gave a casual reply. "You must have been tired."

"Still... I fell asleep... while eating?"

Clatter.

I nodded.

"

Oh

no..." Rubia's face flushed red as she dropped her head in embarrassment. "How... long did I sleep?"

"Not that long."

"But it was morning just a moment ago..."

I checked the clock on the wall. "About five hours."

I hadn’t realized how quickly time had flown by as I sat by her side. It might have been the playing tricks on me.

"You could sleep longer if you need to," I suggested.

"No, I’m fine!" Rubia lowered her eyes shyly, then looked up at me again. "Was there... any trouble?"

"Nothing at all."

Nothing worth mentioning, anyway.

I had killed the three guards who tried to sneak in. If the captain had come, I might have handled things differently, but he had left only a chest of gold coins and a card with a five-pointed star. He was already in the gut of that giant spider.

It chewed so thoroughly...

He must have been fully digested by now, but one knew what might happen tomorrow.

The sweet scent of opium drifted through the streets. At this moment, Yublam was peaceful, at least for me and Rubia.

"Let’s go buy you some clothes," I stated.

Rubia blinked at me, wide-eyed. "Clothes?"

I nodded. Her skirt was torn from running through the mountains.

"Since you bought me the armor."

***

"It fits at the waist, but it’s so tight around the chest..."

"..."

The shopkeeper looked at Rubia in the mirror and frowned. "Maybe... this one would be better?"

"No, that one will be even tighter."

"Um..."

Rubia turned to me, her face red.

"What is it?"

"Would you... wait outside?"

I didn’t really understand why, but I stepped out of the shop. Thirty minutes passed by.

Just how many clothes is she trying on?

I waited for an hour.

Is she buying out the whole store?

I’d given her a silver bar to spend. Maybe she thought she had to use every last bit of it.

Not that it matters.

***

Another hour later...

"Wow... it suits you perfectly! This is it!"

Rubia stepped out of the shop with the excited clerk at her side, cheeks still pink. I found it odd because she didn’t seem tired at all. I instinctively checked her stats.

Her Health...

It was still low. Her stats hadn’t changed.

She spent more than two hours trying on clothes—how did she last so long?

Rubia looked at me in her new outfit.

"Um... is it okay?"

Gone was the dusty, torn skirt—now she wore comfortable black-and-white traveling clothes that hugged her figure, a deep red sash around her waist adding a perfect accent. A simple ornament held back her hair, practical and elegant. Even the subtle patterns woven into the fabric suited her well. However, something didn’t make sense. She had spent more than two hours in the shop, but her hands were empty.

"Don’t tell me... you only bought one outfit? In two hours?"

"Um... should I buy one more? Does this not suit me? I could go back and—"

Rubia’s words sent a shiver down my spine.

I quickly cut her off.

"No, this is perfect. Really."

"Really? Thank you! It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Skeleton! I found the perfect outfit!"

That was close...

***

Rubia, now in her new traveling clothes, walked with lighter steps. From the start, she’d chosen shoes that were far better suited for hiking.

"It’s so nice... to be walking through the mountains like this with you!"

To anyone watching, she might have seemed like a madwoman talking to herself. Of course, there was no one around to see. Even with Detection deactivated, I could always sense everything within thirty meters of the area.

"We’re going to Grassmere, right?" Rubia asked.

"We’ll make a quick stop first," I replied.

"Okay. Maybe we can light a campfire and sleep outdoors?

Oh

, wait, it’s winter, so that might be dangerous..." Rubia rambled to herself happily.

"No camping. There’s a lodge up there. We’ll sleep there."

Rubia’s eyes shone brightly. "Wow! A lodge!"

A lodge.

Of course, I wasn’t going for any cozy camping atmosphere. I needed to check Kevin Ashton’s book there. Not just because it would raise my wisdom by one point, but because I wondered if it might show me something different this time around.

Kevin Ashton. The name weighed on me more and more with each death and return. Even the group, Daliac, had flat-out refused to give me any information about him.

And the name of the journalist who had written that article about Marquis Leandro? Kevin Ashton.

It was worth following the trail.

We had been walking for a while when Rubia suddenly stopped. "Wait... was that a wolf’s howl? Or a... whimper?"

Growl...

Rubia cupped her hand to her ear, trying to hear better. Meanwhile, I had already been walking straight toward the source of the noise. It was one of the other reasons I’d chosen this path.

Rubia pointed ahead. "There! Look!"

A white-furred wolf lay on the ground, one front paw pinned by a heavy iron trap. It wheezed in pain, its breath ragged.

Has it been another day without food?

The last time I’d seen it, it had already looked weak. The hunters who had set the traps for the troll must have ignored the wolf pup, neither killing nor freeing it. It likely would have just starved to death here.

"

Grr... grr...

"

It couldn’t even muster the strength to properly growl. I approached it quickly. The wolf did not struggle, nor was it suspicious.

Click!

I snapped the powerful spring trap open with just two fingers.

The wolf blinked and looked up at me with wide, bright blue eyes. "

Grr?

"

I reached out and gently petted the soft white ruff around its neck.

"Confused, are you?"

Crunch! Crack!

I crushed the broken trap with two fingers, folding it twice and rendering it useless.

Rubia had caught up and stood beside me, hands clasped in wonder. "Wow..."

A message popped up. Apparently, saving the wolf had raised her Affection for me. I soaked some jerky in my canteen and held it out. The little wolf nibbled at it, ears flicking up and down.

"It’s so cute," Rubia murmured.

"Don’t get caught in these again."

When it was done, I gave its rump a gentle pat. The wolf flinched, then scampered off into the forest. I had no intention of keeping it. A noble white-furred wolf should live alone in the mountains. It glanced back at me once, sniffed the air as if to memorize my scent, then vanished.

"Do you... know it from somewhere?"

She must have been curious, seeing how easily I interacted with it.

"Who knows? Let’s go."

***

The snow around us was still streaked with dark green blood. Broken wires and snapped branches littered the path.

"Hunting marks," I said.

"Hunting? Did the troll die?"

I looked at her in surprise. "How do you know that?"

"I read about it in books. Green blood, caught in a trap—if there’s a monster on the snowfield that could cause that much damage, it must be a snowfield troll, right?"

I nodded. When Rubia saw the troll in person before, she’d been so terrified she’d thrown herself off a cliff. But the knowledge she’d gleaned from those books wasn’t wrong.

"Right. You know your stuff."

"Thank you! I... I’m going to do my best! I woke you up, so I have to live up to that responsibility."

Rubia clenched her fist, eyes fierce with determination.

She really does find responsibility in the oddest places.

"

Ah...

well..." I trailed off, scanning our surroundings.

We had come here a day later than the time I’d died to the troll. The troll hunt had already been completed.

So it really does all play out the same...

Everything I didn’t directly interfere with kept turning on the same wheel.

"Let’s keep moving."

"Right!"

The mountain path was silent with no hunters in sight. The hunters who had torn the troll apart would be back in their village, celebrating. The lodge would be empty for a few days.

We walked on. I cleared away anything that might trip Rubia, but she kept pace with me more easily than I’d expected. The sun had set. The wind was growing sharp with cold.

Rubia’s legs buckled, and she slumped to the ground. "I’m... s-sorry..."

Thud.

Hmmm, this won’t do.

"If you’re tired, just say so," I muttered.

"I-I can’t... I’ll get... used to it," Rubia replied.

"Get used to what?"

"This... this is how bad habits start."

I didn’t understand. However, it wasn’t as if she was refusing help.

"Isn’t that why you summoned me?"

I scooped her up without another word. It was too cold to stop and rest here.

Rubia squeezed her eyes shut. "

Mm

..."

Rubia looked like she was about to protest, then just closed her mouth again. Her long brown hair fluttered in the cold wind, brushing against me.

Pop!

I activated Sprint and raced up the slope. The movement felt easier and faster. I checked my status window mid-stride.

[Servant System]

[Stats increased by 10%.]

So it’s because of Rubia.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The slight boost in my stats meant that the weight of carrying her didn’t slow me down at all. The snow and rocks seemed to fly by even faster.

The lodge should be empty for a few days...

We reached it in no time at all.