Chapter 36 : Survey (4)

Her opinion was something I had been thinking about continuously while investigating the outskirts of Birren these past few days. 

There was definitely something strange about this place.

According to the housekeeper, the outskirts were once divided into three major areas.

The first was a city connected to the central area, the second was a village where farmers lived, and the third was a place commonly referred to as a slum.

For the past few days, we had investigated all three areas.

And we found several oddities.

The first was that, strangely, there were no people walking around the streets in the outskirts.

Like the one we were walking on right now.

It wasn’t just this street that lacked people. 

The village, which was assumed to be where the farmers once lived, was completely empty. 

There wasn’t a soul in sight, as if no one had ever lived there from the start.

Even inside buildings, unlike here, there were no people to be found.

The slums had a similar atmosphere to this place. 

It was a moment when I could truly feel what the housekeeper had said about the slums slowly overtaking the city and expanding in size.

The place being devoured was exactly here. 

On the surface, it looked no different from a regular city, but there were definitely many differences from the central area where we were staying.

Well, that wasn’t what we were puzzled about right now. 

What was truly puzzling was how this so-called slum had grown to such a massive scale.

Of course, the slum in this area is a bit different from slums in other regions. 

Still, it looked perfectly intact on the outside. 

But that still didn’t justify the sheer size it had grown to.

Normally, slums are places that are avoided. 

The negative image they carry makes it hard for them to expand beyond a certain size.

No matter how difficult things are, other residents would reject it. 

People cling to their honor, after all.

So it’s puzzling. How did this slum, which began so modestly, grow to this extent? 

Calling it a slum at this point doesn’t seem right anymore.

It felt like I had arrived in one of those ghost towns I had only heard about.

For now, we were sticking to the main roads for our investigation. 

Of course, this city wasn’t just full of main roads. 

There were also small alleyways, but…

We were still insisting on staying on the main roads. 

The reason being that the alleyways were so vast, it seemed easy to get lost. 

And they were too dark, making them dangerous to walk through.

The biggest reason, however, was to avoid getting caught up in ‘troublesome matters.’ 

Based on what I felt on our first day here, I was sure that the back alleys would surely bring us into some ‘annoying situations.’

So, we were continuing our investigation on the main roads. But…

The results of the investigation were… honestly, none. 

As I said earlier, in the past few days, we hadn’t seen a single person walking on the streets.

It’s not that there were no people. 

The countless gazes that were now fixed on us proved that. It’s just that they weren’t showing themselves. It was as if they were avoiding us.

I sighed. I couldn’t think of a single way to make any progress in this hopeless investigation.

I know you might wonder if we should just ask the people who are watching us, but the truth is, we tried to enter a building once. 

The result? A failure. We knocked on the door repeatedly, but unfortunately, no one opened it for us.

I sighed again.

I don’t know what to do. I can’t figure it out. Is that why? 

Someone who always came up with a solution in situations like this crossed my mind.

What would she have done in this situation?

Would she have approached those watching us with her usual friendly demeanor? 

Maybe. If it were her, she might have been able to melt the hearts of the people who were eyeing us with suspicion.

Just like she had done for me.

Suddenly, memories of my childhood came to mind. When I was young, I always curled up. 

I would do so from the moment I woke up to when I went to bed.

The reason was simple. I was afraid of the outside world. So, I would just hide away. In a place where no one could find me.

Like a turtle hiding inside its shell. 

I would live quietly, hiding my head inside the shell made of my arms and legs.

Yeah, just like that kid.

Wait.

I stopped walking. And stared blankly at one spot.

In the direction my gaze was fixed, a child was huddled with their head down. 

I stood there for a few seconds, staring at them.

Then, suddenly, I was startled.

There’s someone! 

There’s a person on the street! Well, more precisely, near the entrance to the alley, but still, there’s a person! This was the first person I’d seen here!

Because it was a bit far, I couldn’t determine their gender, but the child was sitting in the alleyway between two buildings. 

Their figure wasn’t entirely visible, as they were sitting in the shadow of the alley, their head buried in their arms as they cried.

But that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that I had finally found someone we could ask about this place!

I called out to Agnes in an excited voice.

“Agnes!”

“Yeah, I see them too.”

We immediately headed toward the child. Our steps felt light, like we were flying.

Huh… sniff… huh

The child was crying. Their face was hidden, as they had their head buried in their arms, but the sound of their sobs clearly indicated that they were crying.

Why were they crying? For a moment, a small question popped into my mind. 

But right now, there was something more important. So, I quickly buried that thought in my heart.

“I have a question.”

While I was thinking this, Agnes stood in front of the child, looking down at them.

I gazed at the scene with anticipation. I thought our investigation might finally make some progress.

But my hopes quickly dwindled.

There was no response from the child.

“I have a question,” Agnes said again, her voice slightly louder than before. It seemed the child hadn’t heard her question.

However, despite that, no answer came from the child.

Agnes continued to ask the child, even though she had been ignored twice. 

She didn’t seem to mind much, though, which, upon reflection, made sense. After all, this was the first person they had found out on the streets. 

This opportunity might never come again.

But after that…

“Can you not hear me?”

She said.

“I wish you would answer.”

Even after asking repeatedly,

“Answer me.”

There was no response from the child.

Huh… huhu… huuu…

Only the sound of quiet sobbing continued to echo.

“You’re not going to answer, are you?… Fine, I understand.”

Agnes stopped speaking and stared at him for a while, before eventually turning her gaze away.

“Let’s go, Dane. It seems like we won’t get an answer from this one. Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten a good answer anyway. It’s a waste of time.”

As she passed by me, she spoke, urging me to stop paying attention to the child. 

However, even after hearing her words, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.

No, to be exact, I couldn’t. His appearance reminded me so much of someone.

I couldn’t know why he was crying, but…

He curled up, buried his head, shedding tears, rejecting the entire world, yet still longing for someone to approach him.

He reminded me of my own childhood.

I couldn’t look away.

Was it because of that?

“Dane…?”

I took a step closer and reached my hand out to him.

“Won’t you come with me?”

It was an impulsive action. 

I didn’t know why I did it. Was it because I felt a sense of kinship, seeing him like that? Or was it the sympathy that had grown out of that?

Either way, one thing I knew for sure was that this was the right thing to do. 

Even if I couldn’t understand the reason behind this impulse, I knew the result would be more important than anything else.

Because I had been saved first.

His appearance resembled my past, and that’s why I acted. 

I acted the way I was saved—just like how she had helped me.

The tips of my fingers trembled faintly, and a slight unease surged within me. 

Questions bloomed in my mind.

If she were still alive, would she have acted the same way as I am now?

At that moment, a warm beam of sunlight touched the back of my hand as it streamed through the alley.

The sunlight’s edge ended precisely at my hand.

Had I come here just a little earlier, it wouldn’t have reached this far.

It was such an amazing coincidence.

I looked at my hand, where the sunlight touched.

It was warm. It felt as though someone was gently caressing my hand.

It felt as if she were guiding my hand.

I asked again.

If she were alive, would she have acted the same way as I am now?

And to that question, I answered.

Yes.

“Dane, even if I’m not here, help many people. Do it for me… I’ll always be with you…”

Her voice echoed in my ears.

It felt like she was with me.

In that moment, I gathered the courage to speak.

“Won’t you come with me?”

A phrase she had once said to me.

And then…

His trembling stopped.

The sobs ceased.

He began to raise his head.

At that moment, I was filled with a surge of joy.

Ah, this is it! Aelia! You left this to me!

At that instant, a warm light enveloped us. It was as if a divine blessing was upon us.

Finally, the child’s face was revealed. 

His face was expressionless, just like mine had been in the past.

And so, I smiled, just as she had smiled at me.

I’m happy! I’m fulfilling her wish right now. I shouted to her, wherever she might be watching from.

Just like you! Just like what you did for me! I’ll make your wish come true!

So, watch over me! Even without you, I’m doing this!

I moved my hand closer to him, so he could take it more easily.

Then, the child…

With a bright smile,

Pulled a gleaming knife from his chest.

And ran toward me with the knife raised.

Huh…?

At that moment, the world began to move in slow motion. 

I repeatedly replayed the situation in front of me in my mind, and I repeatedly felt a sense of confusion.

Why was he running at me with a knife?

Was he going to stab me?

Why?

I was certain I had saved him.

The thoughts couldn’t catch up. It felt as though I had been hit with a blunt instrument, numb. My body wouldn’t move. I could only stare.

The mental circuits stopped working. All that remained was…

Primitive instinct.

The child took a step closer.

My hand instinctively moved toward the scabbard.

The child took another step.

I grabbed the sword.

The child took yet another step.

I drew the sword…

And then it happened.

It felt as though someone was pulling me back.

“Dane!”

The world flipped upside down.

My body crashed to the ground. The shock radiated through my body like ripples on the surface of water.

The world began to move quickly again.

“Ah… Agnes?”

I called her name as I struggled to rise from the ground. My voice was full of confusion.

She stood, her back turned to me.

“Get up!”

She shouted.

Thanks to her, I snapped out of it and immediately stood. I looked at her and asked with curiosity.

“What is going on?”

The child was in her grasp. The sword he had been holding lay near her feet.

Agnes raised the hand that held the child. His feet flailed in the air, unable to find solid ground.

She looked at me and said,

“We almost killed him. If I hadn’t pulled you back in time, you would have definitely struck him.”

“What…?”

I asked in disbelief.

I couldn’t believe I would have struck the child.

However, when I checked the ground to find the sword, I couldn’t continue speaking.

The sword was lying there on the ground.

Not the scabbard, but the sword itself.

As soon as I saw that, the situation replayed in my mind. The child had charged at me with a sword, and I had instinctively drawn mine…

And tried to strike him.

A hero meant to protect humanity.

And yet, I had…

I had tried to strike down a human.

At that moment, her voice echoed in my mind.

“You liar.”

It was harsher this time. It felt as though she was mocking me.

“No!”

I denied it forcefully. And I thought.

Why? I had surely acted just like she would have!

“You broke my command again.”

“I never meant to…”

Questions bloomed in my mind.

Why? Why had this happened? I had surely saved him the way she had saved me. Why? Why?

“Lie, lie, lie.”

Her voice kept ringing in my ears.

“No… No… NO NO NO!”

Was I really just mimicking her poorly? Am I nothing without her?

Not even capable of saving a single child?

“Don’t joke with me!”

I denied it once more.

I… I’m a hero! A hero who protects humanity!

But her voice came back, cynical.

“But how did the child you saved react?”

She mocked me.

“That’s…”

At that moment, the memory played out again. 

The child, rejecting my touch, running at me with a dagger, his face twisted in a murderous expression.

“Admit it. You can’t save anyone! You couldn’t do it before, and you’ll never do it in the future!”

Her voice pressed down harder.

No matter how much I struggled, her voice didn’t fade. 

It only grew stronger. Like a spider wrapping a struggling insect in its web.

It tangled me up.

And in the end…

“I see…”

I gave in.

Ah… I see! I really am nothing without her…

“You liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar…”

I’m just a useless piece of trash…

“Snap out of it! Dane!”

A loud voice struck my ears, and the voice that had been tormenting me vanished.

I exhaled sharply, looking at Agnes. She stood with her back to me, drawing her sword.

“Stay calm and look around!”

I followed her instructions and looked around. What I saw was…

A group of dozens of people surrounding us. 

To be precise, dozens of people holding something in their hands.

They were slowly closing in on us.

“Do you see them? This one was the bait! And look closely! All of these people have gone mad! They won’t listen to reason! These people aren’t sane!”

Just as she said, their eyes were wild, unfocused. I quickly grabbed the sword that had fallen to the ground.

“Get ready, Dane! The investigation ends here! These people are all our enemies! We need to escape this place! Get a grip, we need your help!”

I was needed.

Incredibly, hearing those words, I found my scattered thoughts coming back together.

I looked around. The alley’s entrance was blocked. 

The inner part of the alley was the same. People were continuing to appear from the shadows.

My senses came back. I could feel my body bristling with alertness.

“I’ll count to three. On three, we break through that way! Do you understand? Three!”

She pointed toward the alley’s entrance and shouted. I nodded.

Agnes confirmed my response and immediately shouted.

“One!”

I raised my sword.

“Two!”

I gathered my divine power, heating up my body, preparing for battle.

With that, everything was set.

We exchanged glances. And finally, at her last words, we ran.

“Three!”

We sprang into motion.

And then…

In this quiet, peaceful city…

BOOM!

A loud sound reverberated.

“Ha… they’re not chasing us anymore.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at Agnes as she swept her hair back.

We had successfully escaped the ambush. The pursuit stopped as soon as we left the outskirts. As soon as we entered the market, they vanished from sight.

“What was that…?”

I asked, trying to catch my breath as I thought about the people who had ambushed us.

What were they after?

“I don’t know either, but there’s one thing I’m sure of.”

Agnes replied, turning her gaze toward the outskirts.

“Something strange is definitely happening in the outskirts.”

I answered, looking in the same direction as her.

“I agree.”