. That"s the duty I"ve been a.s.signed with, after all.—
"Oh, you properly came, na. Maa, sit down.”
Ramis, Hyurumi, and I, who were invited to the Fools of Whimsy Brigade"s tent, sit down on the ground in front of Leader.
Guess we haven"t been inside since the previous time when Shui wanted to show off. Within the large tent are a number of wooden boxes reinforced with iron frames lying around; some of the brigade members have opened those boxes and are rummaging in them. It looks to be the brigade members" personal affects within them.
"About what we talked about previously, we"ve decided on the next Level Ruler to defeat. We"re looking to defeat the Lamentations of the Dead Level"s Ghost King. And so we want Hakkon and you guys to partic.i.p.ate."
It"s a level with a dangerous-sounding name. No matter how I think about it, it"s a place that should have a wealth of undead-types. And as a bonus prize, there"s a Ghost King. The image I have is a magic-using skeleton with an expensive-looking robe wrapped around its body, but I wonder what it"s actually like.
"Lamentations of the Dead, huh. If I remember right, it be a place with heaps o" nasty things like undead-demons and bonepeople-demons. -tte, right… Ramis."
Like she just thought of something, Hyurumi peered into the face of Ramis, who was staring at the ground without saying a word. Following her lead, I also looked at Ramis but … isn"t she trembling constantly?
"We"re really, going to, go there?"
Wonder why she"s talking with weird pauses.
"Yeah, that"s what we"re hoping for. Is that inconvenient for you, Ramis?"
"E, uun, it"s not like that, but, I mean, it"s not like that, but are you wanting to spend nights there?"1
It"s rare that she"s so timid. Her voice is so soft; can it be that Ramis isn"t good with horror stuff? She"s clearly terrified.
"You was always bad with scary stories since way back, na. You"re scared, I bet."
"I,I"m not! Mou, I"m not a kid, so I"m fine!"
No matter how you look at her, she"s just acting tough. I see, so she hates it, huh? It depends on how horror-like that level is, but for a people like this who can"t deal with it all, it"s truly impossible, na.
In the past I had a friend who loved horror stuff, and I had many bitter experiences, like being shown countless films of that type and being made to go all over the place for haunted houses, so I"ve built up some tolerance. I"ll probably be okay.
", is it impossible if you"re scared? The mobs there are moving dead bodies and skeletons, and then ghosts and the like. It"ll be fine, it"ll be fine. They"re way weaker than gluttonous-pig-demons."
"Leader. It"s normal to be scared of those. Not everyone"s nerves have died off like Leader"s."
When Vice-Leader Felmina scolded him, Leader Keryoil shrugged his shoulders.
"I only know "bout it from what I"ve heard, but what kinda place is the Lamentations of the Dead Level?" (Hyurumi?)
"Let"s see. Regardless of night or day, the sky is covered with heavy clouds, lightning flashes, it"s chilly, and there are decaying tombstones scattered about within; it"s like that, I suppose."
Hearing Felminsan"s explanation, Ramis, who has completely shrunk into herself, clung to me with a hug. Her s.h.i.+vering is clearly conveyed through the parts that are touching me. Looks like she"s seriously frightened.
With the circ.u.mstances like this, it looks like Ramis might not be able to partic.i.p.ate in the Lamentations of the Dead Level.
"Ramis, are you seriously freaked?" (Hyurumi)
"N,n,no I"m, not. Being scared of ghosts, I"m not a kid."
"Don"t push yourself. When you was a brat, just hearing about scary things made ya unable to go to the bathroom at night, ain"t that right?"
"Hyurumi! That"s so long ago, you don"t have to talk about it, right!?"
She"s panicking in an obvious way. If she"s like this, it looks like it will be difficult for her to accompany us, let alone be counted among our fighting strength.
"This is a problem, na. If it"s impossible for Ramis, it"ll turn into a question of who"s going to carry Hakkon. Our lineup doesn"t have that kind of superstrength." (Keryoil)
"That"s true. There isn"t anyone capable of carrying Hakkon-san easily. That said, if Hakkon-san does not become our partner, it will be impossible to go on a long expedition due to the trouble with provisions." (Felmina)
"Because the Ghost King doesn"t stay in a fixed area, it"ll be a tough time looking for him. Being able to search with Hakkon fixed on someone"s back is indispensable."
Leader and Vice-Leader folded their arms and groaned. Even if this is a world with monsters and demons wandering about, ghosts and horror-type species are a different sort of scariness. I fully understand the feelings of disliking it, but if I lose my means of getting around, then I"ll become just luggage.
"H,hang on. It looks like everyone"s decided I"m not going, but it will totally be fine. In fact, being scared is my specialty."
You can totally see she"s forcing herself. Since her tone of voice is different from usual.
It"s true that there was never an instance where she said she didn"t want to go, but … it looks impossible-ish for Ramis.
""Kay then, let"s try goin" to the Lamentations of the Dead Level once. Leader, there"s a community there, right?" (Hyurumi)
"Ou, there is. It ain"t to the degree of the one here, but it"s splendid enough. It"s a level that"s quite popular with a group of guys with particular hobbies. Normal people also go quite often. Naa, Vice-Leader."(Keryoil)
"Well, the majority go to see the scary things, though. It seems that there"s a demand for that type of thing in this world. It"s a level where ghosts and bizarre phenomenon is your everyday, after all."(Felmina)
So they"re treating it like a famous haunted site. If it"s like that, the people who like that stuff won"t be able to hold themselves back, na. I can imagine rich people seeking pleasures and carefree young masters going.
"Shall we take Hyurumi up on that suggestion? First let"s spend some time at the community to get used to the atmosphere. If it"s impossible no matter what, we"ll think of some other way then." (Keryoil)
There weren"t any objections from anyone, so we"re going to move to the Lamentations of the Dead Level to give it a try. I"m concerned that the blood has drained from Ramis" face, but if we don"t confirm exactly how bad she is with this stuff beforehand, our lives could be endangered.
—
Moving to the Lamentations of the Dead Level through the transfer circle, it was a place beyond expectations.
Gloomier than the Starting Level, in the far distance you can see frequent flashes of lightning as the thunder roared. The buildings erected in the community are suitably old, and for some reason they were mostly western-style buildings.2
There"s no inconvenience to walking, since streetlights are installed all over. The inhabitants prefer black and navy, so both clothes and the cityscape are unified in understated colors.
All the inhabitants are clearly doing this on purpose, these guys. I can"t see it as anything other than purposeful direction to instill a sense of fear.
There"s also quite a number of Hunters; these guys are dressed in the usual Hunter equipment of armor and robes.
"Well, this is the type of atmosphere here. How is it, Ramis?" (Felmina)
"Hiu-. I,I"m fine. It"s totally normal."
She"s disturbed, naa. The way she"s looking here and there and everywhere is completely like suspicious behavior. I get that you"re scared, so calm down. The inhabitants here are looking at the s.h.i.+vering Ramis carrying a vending machine with suspicious eyes.
"For now, shall we go to the inn…"
Keryoil is wearing a bitter smile on his face. He seems to have given up because this seems impossible. To be honest, I also think it"s no good.
Our goal is to have her get used to this level, so today only Leader, Ramis, and Hyurumi came. We"re only spending several days in the community, but I"m suspicious of what tomorrow will bring.
Since Ramis jumped at every noise, my field of vision shook violently. I wonder if the carbonated beverages within are going to be alright.
We arrived at the end we"d be relying on for the next few days, but here too is an inn with some character.
Regarding the building, the exterior is old and it"s quite splendid, but why is there ivy crawling on the wall? The light leaking out of the lantern installed in front of the main door is also a moderate amount of light, adding to the atmosphere.
It"s a two-story building, but what exactly is the meaning of having only the window on the end of the second floor boarded up? A, I feel like there was a woman who was peering between the gaps of the boards, but … surely I"m seeing things. Un.
It"s an inn where a ghost appearing wouldn"t feel out of place. The appearance is on that would get full marks for a horror game.
"Co-,co-,co-,could this be where we"re staying-?"
She"s shaking so much she almost sounds like she"s clucking.3 When she"s this scared, I want to send her home already, but the person herself still looks like she wants to tough it out, na.
"Yeah, That"s it; if you can"t deal with it anymore, tell us no matter what hour it is. We"ll return to the Seiyru Lake level." (Keryoil)
"Wh,wh,what"cha sayin- "bout? I"ll awright -."
Aa, geez, it"s unintelligible. Her dialect is also all messed up.
"Haaa. Leader, Imma stick with her so it be fine. If it gets seriously bad, I"ll take her and go back immediately." (Hyurumi)
"O,ou. Please do. We"ll think about other ways to carry Hakkon then."
I think that"s wise. It"s just that humans are creatures who can get used to things, so there"s still a miniscule possibility remaining that Ramis will be able to build some resistance in the short time we"re here.
I can"t have any expectations, but I"ll watch over her warmly.
When Leader Keryoil, leading the group, pushed on the main door with his hand, creeeeee, the door creaked open. So this part too is also horror-like.
Beyond the door was a hall, but just what is with the indoors being gloomier than the outdoors? In addition to that, I can feel the shopkeeper"s obsession with keeping the interior decor all in black.
There are also portraits, things I think are unnecessary for an inn, are lined up at a high location. The fact that I see their slight smiles as creepy is probably the fault of the atmosphere of this place.
It produces an eerie atmosphere, na. Ramis… I know you"re terrified, but if you hug me so tightly–.
《1 damage. Your Durability has been reduced by 1.》
Your fingers are sinking in, they"re sinking in!
A really bad creaking sound is being made, though-!
"Welcome… the Fools of Whimsy Brigade, is it? Thank you …. for waiting."
The one who appeared suddenly without a sound was a woman with long black hair. She"s wearing a black dress that looks one French doll would wear, suitable for mourning.
Her hair is long enough to reach the floor, and her bangs extend all the way to her mouth so you can"t discern her face, and her lips were red as if smeared with fresh blood. The corners of those lips are raised in a meaningful smile.
"Fuiiii…"
A, Ramis, who had pa.s.sed her limits, fell backwards while standing.
Tweaked a little bit because it was getting awkward. Ramis is asking if they intend on "stopping there" for a while, aka spending a decently long amount of time that would require spending the night there. Basically, she"s more worried about the long duration than she is about the night, but either way… I think the intent of the sentence remained the same.Think older western residential houses, not modern buildings. The kind of houses that are often haunted houses. I decided not to try to be specific, since it"s not like they"re clearly mentioning Victorian mansions, but basically, think Victorian mansions.This was tough. I did my best.
(Th-,th-,th-,this is where we"re staying-?)
She was shaking so much she sounded like a chicken.>
kokoko is the sound a chicken makes.