Advancing to the accommodation room that the man had told me previously, I somehow started to feel cold.
No, I could see it properly. There were traces of nail scratches, as well as blood, stuck together on the white wall.
More and more traces like that the further I went north. Judging from this many scratches and bloods, it’s quite obvious that there were lots of victims.
Apparently, the people from the slum were massacred as they tried to escape. And then, their remains were collected and turned into food for those goblins…..
『Fate, are you alright？』[Why so suddenly? I need to find Mimir for now.]
『If only that’s just the case……but you don’t act like the usual you.』
[What do you mean?]
『Let me advise you, listen well. From here onward, repress your malicious intent. If you can’t stay put in this kind of situation, then let’s just stop here.』
[But, they are…..]
『Your impatience is understandable, but still. It’s also for you to learn. There is no good and evil when it comes to power. And right now those siblings have more power than you do.』
[Greed…..I]『Remember once more. Back when we fought the Tenryu. Are you planning to repeat that? Next time, do you think Roxy will be there to save you？』
Do I want to repeat what happened that day…..?
I went to Gallia wanting to become Roxy’s power, but a fierce fight broke out, and my identity became known at worst possible timing. Even so, it was her who lended me a hand when my power (Gluttony skill) was on the verge of breaking out.
I had no idea how Roxy did it, for all I felt was just a warm feeling. I got to keep my level and stats, and was saved from being engulfed by my own skill. But then, I realized.
I went to Gallia not because I wanted to save Roxy. Rather, it’s because I wanted to be saved by her……
Because I felt that that won’t do, I started over once again and worked hard so that I won’t end up hurting Roxy’s feeling again. However, I once again only concerned about the thing laid before my eyes, and lost sight of what I truly have to do…… it’s miserable if you ask me.
Just like Greed, Myne and Aaron too, still concerned about me even after I’ve become a holy knight. Still, there are too many things to do, so priority had to be made. I guess they always acted unreasonable or aggressive because above all, they want to take the shortest route to the destination.
[I’m sorry….Greed. My eyes are open now, it’s alright.]
『Very well then. I won’t say anything more starting from here.』
[Yeah, please watch over me.]
Roxy….that girl will pay good deeds with another good deeds, but would not necessarily repay evil deeds with an evil deeds of her own. Meanwhile I can only react to evil with my own evil. But as Greed said, I won’t be able to advance if I stay that way. I can’t do like Roxy does, so I simply has to find my own path.
If I managed to handle this squabble with the Burixes properly, I feel like I’ll be able to face Roxy with pride one day.
Grasping the black sword in my hand tightly, I hurried on ahead as a plate with “storage room” written on it entered my view. The automatic door there was bigger than the one I already saw, perhaps to allow large group of people to pass through it at once.
[Greed, can you do it?]
『Leave it to me』
I held Greed over the identification plate, which opened up the automatic door with a beep, leading me to an empty room.
There was only one passage here, with several transparent doors on both sides facing each other.
I closed in, and found out that none of the transparent doored rooms were occupied.
Inside, it’s a pure white room with only some holes for drainage. Definitely not a place where a human could live.
I looked into the rooms one by one. I wonder, where and what have become of the previous occupant of these rooms, since the inside of the rooms were extraordinarily clean.
[There is no one here]
『Don’t be discouraged yet. Try looking on the innermost room. Those seems different from the other.』
The automatic door that Greed directed me to was different from the others. It wasn’t transparent, so I couldn’t see what’s inside like all other rooms.
I didn’t find Mimir on any other room. This one is the remaining room left――if Mimir is really in this facility then this is the last possible place she could be at.
I held Greed over the identification plate just like how I entered the passageway.
[Is it open….!?]
『Of course. Is that Mimir you’ve spoken about？』
[Yeah, there is no mistaking of that purple hair….that’s Mimir.]
I had a little doubt myself, but it’s indeed Mimir Burix.
There is only a bed in that room. Mimir was dressed in white, and she was sleeping on that bed when I entered.
She seemed to be very exhausted, that she didn’t even wake up when I entered the room. Moreover, she stayed asleep even when I poked her face. This is really strange.
[What’s going on here?]
『She seemed to be sedated……Fate, look at her left arm』
[This is…]
There were numerous small scars on Mimir’s arm. It’s as if she’s been pricked by small needle over and over again on that area. To the point that the skin around the area was pale and congested.
I listened carefully when Greed’s voice rang out in my head.
『Some kind of drug seemed to have been injected into her body with syringe. And on such a large amount at that. That’s probably why she won’t wake up.』
[But why would they do that to her?]
『……maybe some kind of experiment. Fate, try to use appraisal on this girl』
According to Greed, if she were subjected to an experiment, then there should be a noticeable change in her stats.
So I used 《Appraisal》 as suggested.
Mimir Burix – Lv30
Durability: 5165600
Strength: 6197600
Magic: 6138400
Spirit: 5150900
Agility: 5167800
Skill: Holy Sword Mastery, Strength Strengthening (L), Magic Strengthening (L)
Eh…..her stats are abnormally high. For her current level, her stats should be floating around 200000ish. But hers are currently higher than 5 million.
Is her abnormal status rise, the result of the experiment that Greed mentioned?
However, Mimir was sedated to sleep due to that.
[I still don’t understand what actually happened in this facility as it is.]
『Well then, what are you going to do, Fate？』
[Let’s take Mimir out of here. Eventually she’ll wake up from the repeated sedation administered to her. When she do, we should be able to talk about this.]
Reaching out to lift Mimir, I thought that I’ve obtained a powerful source of information in the form of Mimir.
But then, the interior of the white room turned red, and an alarm began to sound loudly.
[Wha!?]
『What a blunder, Fate. So that’s the extent of your cautiousness.』
[What the, why are you talking like you’ve nothing to do with this!]
『Because this me is just a weapon.』
[Good grief…..as always.]
The automatic door also closed itself without permission. While carrying Mimir with one hand, I put Greed over the identification plate.
[It won’t open]
『It’s only natural. Probably a mandatory locking, they have an intruder after all.』
[In that case, what should we do next?]
『Do you really have to ask? There is no need to be sneaky anymore. Let’s go out from here, as extravagant as possible!』
With that said, I brandished the black sword, and cut open the locked transparent door.
=====
