Chapter 227: Buried Alive (7)

Rena held out her hand and asked, "You’ll need identification, right?"

The shadow of her arm swayed slowly under the torchlight, and at the end of it were two ID tags. Her casual attitude, as if bringing something obvious, left me speechless for a moment as I stared at the IDs. They had black ivory with red lettering on them. I looked at the information written for me.

When did she prepare all this?

"Take it. Until the operation begins, live under this identity."

"It seems like there’s more than one."

"You came with that young lady, didn’t you? Of course there should be two."

There was the tea party matter as well. I had been planning to ask Rena to prepare a temporary ID for Rubia, but before I could even ask, she had already provided it.

I was impressed. She couldn't have been certain I would come, yet she had prepared this much in advance.

"Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" Rena asked.

"I’m just surprised by how prepared you are," I replied.

"These are just the basics. Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I made it just for you."

"Then what?"

"We’re an information guild. We have extras ready to go at any time... no need to be so touched."

Her phrasing felt odd. Even if she didn’t make them specifically for me, the fact that she had them ready without any requests showed her care and attention to detail. Even if her stats and identity changed, her personal essence must’ve remained the same.

I glanced at what was written on the other ID. "Countess Gratie?"

Rena nodded with a smile."Yep. It matches her actual identity perfectly, doesn’t it?"

I was surprised.

She's already finished investigating Rubia?

Since she had been running through the wilderness for so long, I sometimes forgot that Rubia Ray was a noble with a legitimate claim to a count’s title.

I flinched, but I tried to play it off while reading the other tag. "Knight Ameritatre."

"Unique name, right? I came up with it."

"What about Gratie? Did you come up with that too?"

Rena shook her head. "That’s a real noble house. They run a mine at the edge of the Eastern mountains, but they’re in our pocket, so don’t worry."

"I see."

"I made the name, so remember it well, Mr. Ameritatre."

"Thank you."

With this, Rubia could attend the tea party with no issues.

"You seem happier than I expected. Why’s that?" Rena asked.

Again, she read my emotions too easily. I wouldn’t say I was happy. I just felt relieved.

I lifted the fake ID with Countess Gratie on it. "The person who came with me really wanted to go to the tea party."

"I figured this would do the trick," Rena explained.

"..."

I could feel her gaze on me. I said thank you, but her expression was strangely unreadable.

"So that’s why you were happy..." Rena murmured.

Even her tone sounded strange.

Did I answer wrong?

"Tea parties are nice..."

Rena sounded cold.

"

Hmm

..."

A shadow settled over her voice. This was dangerous. I felt like explaining the real reason why I was happy would be a terrible idea.

Crack.

We heard a light joint-popping sound, and it wasn’t from me.

I needed to save this somehow. "Thanks. Even aside from the tea party... I’m really glad you prepared these IDs. I like the name you gave me, too."

"

Heh.

" Rena gave a coy smile. "Nice effort."

"..."

Rena stared at me quietly. Her gaze poked at me from head to toe.

Rena showed me a faint, unreadable smile. "

Oh

, I should mention this. Your cut from the job is ten percent. There are ten participants, and the take is split evenly. One vault will transport around five hundred liters, so your share is fifty liters."

Fifty liters. That’s an incredible amount.

Even at just ten percent, it was more than satisfactory.

It was practically a free meal. Sure, I had a role to play, but not one that was absolutely necessary. I hadn't been involved in the intelligence-gathering, the planning, the explosives work, or the internal coordination, or the final retrieval. Yet, I would get ten percent.

If it weren’t for Rena, I wouldn’t even be here. I wouldn’t have even known this operation existed. In the end, clearing her scenario in my previous life and leaving behind those vials of Lurium had changed everything.

Fifty liters.

Just thinking about it exhilarated me. Back in Grassmere’s underground area, the Lurium I earned from defeating golems was mere fractions of this amount. All those days spent chasing Lurium now felt worth it.

How much has the past changed? Or more specifically, how much did my leftover Lurium affect it? How did clearing that scenario affect Rena as a person?

I wanted to find out more.

A good question came to mind. "By any chance..."

"

Hmm

?"

"Do you know a Slime like this?"

I looked at her while drawing a rough image of Lime, the orphanage director, on the floor with my blade. They were the only official member Rena could have met when she was a trainee at T&T, and the one she trusted enough to leave her dear sibling with. However, if she started out as a branch head in this worldline, then guessing their current relationship would be hard.

It felt like I was throwing a bit of a blunt question, but Rena responded to me. "I do... You’re something else. You know about that as well?"

Rena referred to Lime as

that

. It seemed like her attitude toward the orphanage director had changed drastically since the first time we met. There was no sense of trust or admiration in her tone anymore.

"Its a tricky one."

It felt like she was talking about a recognized enemy with that kind of tone.

"Its dissolution abilities are strong, and it can infiltrate just about anywhere. It’s a huge pain to deal with..."

I listened silently. The changes I caused to the outcome had altered the past along with it. This was clearly a different worldline, where Rena could be the T&T branch leader. T&T itself didn’t seem to be under Purson’s influence as much as it used to be. Naneow faction’s power had clearly grown.

I asked a natural follow-up question. "Then how did you end up in the guild?"

If not through the orphanage...

"The founder found me and my little sister when we were starving as kids. She brought us into the guild and raised us."

Rena said it like someone who owed a debt of gratitude. But with her talent, T&T likely got more out of her than what she got from them. Thanks to her, their influence had clearly grown enough to kidnap me from Daliac without batting an eyelash. Her life had changed, and the world around her had changed quite a bit, too.

If this kind of regression continues, could I someday reach the ideal world I hope for? Could I reshape the world... No.

I stopped myself from thinking that far ahead for now.

I changed the subject. "How’s your sister doing?"

"

Wow

, you’re surprisingly curious today. I like it. I thought you didn’t care."

"..."

It seemed like her sister was doing well.

"Ask me stuff like that more often. Family stuff, hobbies... or what colors or weather I like," Rena muttered.

Hmm.

Rena looked at me with a smile, but what I really wanted to ask was something else.

"By any chance..."

"What is it now? Ask anything you want."

"Did you ever come into contact with a vial of Lurium when you were young?"

I wanted to know how the liquid I gave to Rena had been delivered after the regression. But Rena tilted her head slightly, showing a genuinely confused expression.

"

Hmm

? A Lurium vial? Not at all."

There was no sign of deceit. At this point, there’s no reason for Rena to lie about something like that.

"Honestly, I didn’t really discover much myself. My main work wasn’t dungeon exploration, but operations and planning."

Rena gave a bitter smile, saying everyone was bad at that part.

I nodded. In that case, the nine vials of Lurium I handed over to Rena must have disappeared in this worldline, used as payment to alter Rena’s future.

I recalled something Isaac once said in a previous life.

You’re using Lurium to unleash a power that normally can’t be used. It only vaporizes when used as a material for transformation. It doesn’t decrease just from being stored away.

That came back to me. So it had vanished as a material of transformation, changing the scenario outcome in a dramatic way.

"I’m not trying to cause trouble," she said while holding my arm tightly again.

"A few days from now, let’s do one more walkthrough together. Alright? It’d be lonely to leave it at just one."

"Sounds good."

"I’ll reach out. I’ll give you the exact time and date then too."

I had no objections. Rena had full confidence in the plan.

Of course she’s thoroughly prepared.

Rena pointed to the high ceiling. "Shall we head out now?"

At some point, a long rope had been lowered.

We’re not going through the secret passage, but up the ventilation shaft?

"Isn’t that a bit dangerous?" I asked.

"This is right on top of the hill we’re going to bring down. It’s on the outskirts, so no one’s around."

I hesitated briefly, but Rena was already wrapping the rope around my arm.

What is this...

"Come on. Let me show you the capital’s night."

I’ve already seen it, though.

Whirr.

Did she activate something?

The rope tied to my arm rose slowly. Rena grabbed another rope next to it and ascended as well. I could see a pulley at the midway point.

Clunk.

When the rope neared the ceiling, a circular hatch opened automatically. It was amazing how so much moonlight could pour through such a narrow gap. The shaft was brilliantly lit. Rena, who had gone up first, grabbed my hand and pulled me through. The moon hadn’t shattered or waned.

"It’s a full moon."

White moonlight gently settled between the gaps in my armor.

"On nights like this, I envy werewolves. They really do get drunk on the moonlight."

They didn’t just appreciate the moonlight during a full moon; their combat power actually spiked as well. Rena must know that, too. I stayed silent and looked up at the moon beside her.

"We’re going to bring down this mountain."

She raised her hand and pointed to the nearby hill. The moonlight seemed heavier than the piled-up soil, sinking through the dirt and trickling beneath it. I looked at the barren hill of soil and stone.

"They say it’s perfect for a landslide."

Rena guided me all around. The secret passage where the operation would unfold and the terrain above it gradually formed a three-dimensional picture in my mind.

As dawn slowly approached, Rena finished explaining and we finally parted ways. "I’ll contact you again!"

Rena then walked off alone toward an alley in the capital. Each step she took felt like a vanishing point.

The cold I didn’t realize was there seeped in. I paused in the empty street before finally returning to the inn.

***

Click.

From inside, Isaac opened the window and looked at me.

Without thinking, I climbed through and said to him, "If you throw the window open like that, you’ll wake Rubia..."

"Acting all worried after partying all night?"

I didn’t do anything like that. I was just working.

"What’s with this weird restriction you’ve brought back? Voluntary regulation... Did you sign some shady contract?" Isaac asked.

"You figured it out,

huh

?"

"Yeah. And you’ve got dirt on you."

Isaac jabbed the shin of my armor with his beak.

Clack.

Is he sulking because I went alone?

He was strangely aggressive.

"You even came back with a mark scratched into your armor... Did you guys dig a tunnel? No, it’s more like you’re using an existing one."

"..."

I relaxed. I couldn’t bring myself to respond and say yes or no.

"

Heh

. No need to force yourself. You’re hijacking it when it surfaces. And you seem to even know the time and place... Naneow’s grown a lot in the meantime. That girl never had much finesse, but her intelligence network is impressive."

Is it really this easy to figure out?