WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈
Chapter 89: Investigation - 4
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The tense atmosphere from the moment they entered was broken by Count Vaischur’s words.
“Then shall we set out?”
“Ah, yes.”
Rene answered and took a deep breath. Her fingers tightened around Vera’s.
“...Saintess.”
“I’m fine.”
Rene turned toward Vera and smiled.
“You’ll protect me, won’t you, Vera?”
She believed he would protect her. At those words, Vera bit his lip and let out a long breath.
“You must stay close to me. If anything happens, please tell me...”
“That’s enough nagging.”
“...Yes.”
If she had let him continue, he would have nagged her for quite a while longer. She was still dissatisfied that he trusted her so little, but she understood why he did. So Rene simply wrapped her free hand around the hand they held together.
“Ahem! Then let us go!”
Albrecht had finally regained his senses.
The group began to walk.
They headed deeper into the alleys, into the Gutter.
* * *
The air changed in an instant.
They had only entered one more alley. They could not have gone more than a few steps, yet it felt as though they had entered an entirely different place.
The first thing she noticed was the stench. It was not simply the smell of filth. It was thicker than that, a clinging odor that seemed to turn her stomach inside out.
That was not all. The dampness touching her exposed skin made her feel sick, and every step brought a squelch. The sound echoed as though it were striking the surrounding objects or reverberating through a cave.
It was shocking. Horrifying.
Even without sight, she could tell. Not even the most basic standards of hygiene were observed here.
The unpleasant crawling sensation whenever the air touched her skin, the stench that made her feel as though she would retch, the sticky sensation clinging to the soles of her shoes, all of it told her so.
‘How...?’
How had he lived here in that small body, without parents?
It was hard to believe that young Vera had survived in a place where she could barely imagine anyone living.
Her lowered eyes trembled beneath her black-dyed hair. At some point, she had begun biting her lip, and her hand clasped around Vera’s had tightened more than ever.
“Saint...”
“I’m fine.”
She tried to sound all right, but there was an unmistakable tremor in her voice.
It was grief.
Recognizing it, Rene steadied herself once more.
She could not make Vera worry. She had come along to help, so she could not show him such a pathetic side of herself.
As she gathered her resolve, Rene spoke to Rohan, who was walking ahead.
“Rohan, please.”
“Ah, yes.”
Rohan was not doing well either.
He held an arm before his nose to block the smell, but the stench still seeped through, leaving his face twisted miserably.
‘This won’t be easy to get used to.’
This truly was a place worthy of being called the continent’s worst underbelly.
He understood at once.
An ordinary person could hardly endure this place. Someone who had lived here from the beginning might adapt to some extent, but an outsider would surely fall ill before long.
A bleak thought suddenly rose in Rohan’s mind.
‘If the missing people really came here...’
Most of them would be dead. No, even if they were alive, they would not be able to live as they had before. Returning to their old lives would require a long period of recovery.
Rohan’s expression darkened.
‘...No.’
He forced those thoughts back. He could not let pointless speculation cloud his focus.
‘We need to finish this and get out.’
Rather than waste time worrying, they needed to find the missing people as quickly as possible.
Having made up his mind, Rohan opened his hand and gathered divinity above it.
Whoosh.
Indigo divinity formed a sphere. Letters rose over it, circling the sphere like the ring of a satellite orbiting a planet. Rohan watched the framework of the completed Spell Formula take shape, then added his Authority to it.
It was the Authority of Direction, an Authority that found those who had fallen into despair and guided them toward hope.
‘We are looking for outsiders.’
People other than themselves, those who had not stayed here long enough to become part of this place. Those whose sudden change in environment would leave them steeped in despair.
The sphere hummed. Two more rings were added to the Spell Formula.
Tracking Spell Formula [Dusk].
Rohan exhaled briefly, then held the completed Spell Formula out before Rene.
“Saintess, you only need to use your Authority on this.”
They had discussed it before coming.
Rohan would create the Spell Formula, and Rene would grant it her Authority to improve its accuracy. Doing so would drastically shorten the time needed for the search.
Guided by Vera, Rene placed her hand over the indigo sphere and layered white divinity over it.
She offered a prayer.
‘Please lead us in the right direction...’
Please let this help them find the missing people.
The rings circling the sphere turned pure white.
“It’s done.”
At Vera’s words, Rene withdrew her divinity, and Rohan stepped back.
Rohan explained it to Albrecht and the count, who had been staring blankly at the sphere.
“We just need to follow the direction this sphere moves in.”
“Ah, yes! Understood!”
“Then I’ll send it.”
Rohan lightly tossed the sphere into the air. It floated upward and began to move very slowly.
“Oh...!”
Albrecht’s eyes shone as he watched the sphere rise and fly on its own.
His reaction was understandable. It was not every day one could witness an Apostle use their Authority.
The problem was that Rohan, whose irritation had already hit the ceiling, did not find Albrecht’s wonder particularly endearing.
“What are you gawking at? We’re done here, so let’s go.”
Albrecht’s expression crumpled at Rohan’s rebuke.
* * *
Their plan had been not to search too deeply on the first day.
That plan quickly became laughable.
[Dusk] began moving directly toward the deepest part of the Gutter.
What should they do? Should they withdraw and try again another day?
No one hesitated.
Everyone present knew they could not afford to delay any longer, and their strength was nothing to dismiss.
Three Apostles. Two knights. One of those knights was the current Commander of the Imperial Knights and the owner of Pure Blood.
Unless they faced an extraordinary danger, it would be strange for a force like theirs to lose. So the group continued deeper into the abyss.
After crossing mud that resembled a swamp and walking for a long time through the stench and damp air pressing down on their skin, [Dusk] finally stopped.
“...It’s a scrap shop.”
It was a scrap shop, a black-market venue in the deepest part of the Gutter.
A small workshop on the verge of collapse, with every light extinguished.
As Vera looked at it, he suddenly remembered what Doran had said when they met not long ago.
-I heard they show up around the scrap shop sometimes.
That had been Doran’s answer when Vera asked about the cartel that had filled the void left by the Scavengers.
‘...Was that the answer after all?’
The disappearances and that cartel seemed to be connected after all.
“Shall we enter?”
He addressed Albrecht. Albrecht startled, then nodded firmly.
“Yes, let’s go!”
Shing.
Albrecht drew Pure Blood. A determined expression appeared on his face.
Vera frowned sharply at the sight.
“Put your sword away. No enemy has even appeared yet. What are you doing?”
“Ah...”
Albrecht’s face fell. Pure Blood returned to its sheath.
Since joining the Apostles, Albrecht had been scolded nonstop. He could feel himself growing depressed.
“...That was a mistake. My apologies.”
“Forget it. Count.”
“Ah, right.”
Count Vaischur wore an expression full of pity for Albrecht, who had already lost his spirit. At Vera’s call, he reached into his robes.
He took out a small box, a tracking artifact.
It was meant to alert those outside to their location in case of an emergency.
The count activated the artifact and buried it in the ground. If they did not return before sunrise, Mari would come here.
Once all preparations were complete and the count dusted off his hands as he stood, Vera spoke to Rene.
“...Saintess, you must stay close.”
“Yes.”
The group formed up around Rene, guarding every direction.
Albrecht, standing at the front, still looked somewhat dejected as he trudged toward the scrap shop’s door and opened it.
Creeeak.
An unpleasant noise rang out. The interior was completely dark. Frowning, Albrecht gathered aura in his eyes and began examining the inside of the scrap shop.
‘...It’s large.’
It was several times larger than it appeared from the outside.
‘The building itself is an artifact...’
The building had been enchanted with spatial expansion magic. It was certainly suspicious.
Albrecht raised a hand to stop the others from entering and began walking inside alone.
At that moment.
Whoosh!
A dagger shot out from the darkness.
Albrecht sensed it early and drew Pure Blood, knocking the flying dagger aside.
Clang!
“Your Highness!”
“It’s fine. I’ll handle this alone.”
Waving aside the count’s shout, Albrecht turned to the group with a bright smile.
“Is it not the duty of royalty to step forward and protect the people?”
Albrecht’s white teeth gleamed in the darkness.
As he recognized the ambush, Albrecht thought this was his chance.
His chance to change the impression that he was someone who only received scoldings.
His chance to prove that he was not someone to be scolded, but a brilliantly shining star.
Shadows rose from the darkness and rushed at Albrecht.
Albrecht turned his head and unleashed his aura.
“Just watch.”
The entire space was immediately crushed beneath his aura.
* * *
It was one-sided.
Calling it a battle would have been generous. It was more accurate to call it a massacre. The outcome had been obvious from the moment Albrecht drew Pure Blood.
The sword that ruled the flow, the treasure of a sovereign.
A masterpiece capable of dominating an entire space simply by being infused with aura was in Albrecht’s hands. Such an ambush had no chance of succeeding.
Vera’s gaze pierced the darkness.
Only Albrecht remained standing where the cold sound of metal had rung out.
Realizing the situation had ended, Vera sheathed the Holy Sword he had been holding.
“...It’s over.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
Vera narrowed his eyes.
‘An ambush.’
That meant they had known they were coming.
‘There should have been no way for information to leak.’
It was laughable to suspect anyone here. Rene and Rohan aside, Albrecht and the count had asked them for help. There was no reason for the two of them to prepare an ambush, only to deal with it themselves.
‘There’s something else.’
This might not be the work of a mere cartel.
As Vera’s expression hardened at the thought, Albrecht emerged from the darkness with a bright smile.
“Hmm, that was not even enough to warm me up.”
Rene answered his energetic voice with an awkward smile.
“You worked hard.”
“What hardship was there? I merely did what was natural.”
Albrecht placed his right hand over his left breast and spoke with a beaming face. Vera clicked his tongue, ignored him, and turned to Rohan.
“How is Dusk?”
“...It’s pointing inward.”
Rohan controlled Dusk as it struggled in his grip, then continued with a frown.
“...Let’s go in.”
Rohan pushed into the darkness, and the others followed.
There were bodies underfoot, but they remained hidden in the darkness, making it impossible to distinguish their features.
“I’ll make some light.”
Rohan raised indigo divinity and lit the surroundings.
“...!”
The entire group froze.
Silence swallowed the space.
Every face bore the same horrified expression.
It was because of what they saw.
Because of the bodies lying on the ground.
“This is...”
The stupid sound came from the count.
After checking the faces of the bodies on the floor, the count felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
Their builds, ages, and genders were all different.
The positions in which they lay and the weapons they held were all different as well.
Yet every one of their faces wore the exact same appearance.
“...Anna?”
The word slipped from Rohan’s mouth.
Rohan stared at the bodies, his eyes widening as though they might split apart.
He knew that face.
He already knew the face attached above each of these bodies’ necks.
The woman he had met eight years ago when he came to see the Empire’s festival. It was her.
What was going on?
What was this?
Rohan’s inner landscape shook, and he lost control of his divinity. Dusk moved.
Dusk flew. The group’s eyes followed it.
The place where Dusk slowly floated before stopping and descending was...
...the chest of one of the bodies.
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