The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-78

[Your 12th Adventure is starting.]

[Adventure 12. Sleeping Medicine.]

[Adventure 12. ‘Sleeping Medicine’

You have come into contact with Chao, a Shadow Summoner whose whereabouts have been unknown after disappearing from Nobira. Through a conversation with her, you have realized that she has no intention of returning to Nobira.

Even so, that doesn’t mean that she has refused your request. She, who is busy, has requested something from you, who was headed to the Shade Canyon.

Her true identity is the last disciple of Gregory, one of the strongest Shadow Summoners. And you, who wish to sincerely learn something from her, have headed to a location written on the scroll she gave you.

You must earnestly complete what she has requested of you. Well, you should if you wish to receive any of her teachings.

Objective: Complete the objective written on the scroll.

Chao’s favorability toward you will drop upon failure.

Remaining Time [About 30 days]]

‘There’s quite a bit of time on this one too.’

It was extremely mentally taxing to clear multiple long Adventures in a row.

Not only was the difficulty of longer Adventures all over the place, but slowly progressing through them would crush anyone’s will.

Seol moved his body a bit.

Reach…

“My body still feels heavy…”

“Are you alright?”

“I think I inhaled too much water…”

Seol didn’t mention anything about Karen’s change of heart during the Expedition System.

Seol should have been able to easily escape from the mysterious creatures if Karen was fine, but the results were the exact opposite.

‘That must mean Karen is suffering quite a bit mentally…’

Seol’s worries were true. Pandea is filled with sad and painful things.

People die for no reason whatsoever, and some of them even die horrible, gruesome, indescribable deaths.

After all, Pandea was just a world like that.

That was also the reason that Seol deplored entering Pandea when he first stepped foot into it.

‘Karen just hasn’t accepted it yet.’

Though Seol didn’t know what the era she came from was like, things like that still happened in the current times. Even so, Seol understood why she would be shaken after seeing something like that directly.

‘Still, I can’t let something like that happen again.’

Since Seol luckily had a bit of spare time during this Adventure, he realized that it was critical he went over this with her.

Unravel…

Seol believed that he had spent enough time thinking about Karen and unraveled the scroll. Chao’s request was written within it.

- Once you arrive at Wet Fog Town, spend some time there and observe the situation. You’ll realize soon enough what’s going on in there.

What I want you to do is steal the sleeping medicine from the man whose face I so kindly drew for you.

However, if you ask around about it, he can just hide it. So be careful, alright?

“She really does as she pleases.”

Her orders reflected her personality perfectly.

‘Even so, there should be a way to do this.’

Seol stood up after changing out of the clothes he was given and into his original equipment.

Creak…

Sarah welcomed him as he opened the door.

“Ah, so you’re all done changing!”

“Thank you for your consideration, Sarah. Still, how did you manage to bring me all the way here?”

“The townspeople helped me! Well… It’s because I was too weak to carry you on my own, Snowman.”

Sarah looked like a simple villager.

Though she didn’t have freckles like a stereotypical female villager, she also didn’t give off the aura of someone high-class or beautiful. Even so, she gave off a clean and innocent impression.

“Sarah, wouldn’t people hate me because I’m an outsider?”

“N-Not at all! In fact, they would probably welcome you instead. I wouldn’t have brought you into the town if people didn’t want to let you in either.”

Sarah quickly waved her hands in denial, telling Seol to not worry.

‘It seems like I desperately need to gather more information…’

A town not reacting to an outsider at all was practically the same as painting a sign that said ‘We’re suspicious, please be careful of us’.

“What do people in this town do?”

“Me specifically or the town as a whole?”

“The town.”

“We had a bit of farmland, but… it’s a bit difficult tending to it now.”

“What?”

Sarah’s face grew dark.

Seol was curious as the woman’s bright face instantly stiffened up.

“...It’s because everyone’s sick.”

“Sick?”

“It seems like I need to explain. Please, follow me.”

The town wasn’t particularly big.

It was small to the point that Seol was amazed by the fact Sarah was able to make it back here.

Sarah, after leading Seol to a building resembling the town hall, paused for a second before speaking.

“Just… don’t be too surprised, alright?”

Creak…

Sarah opened the door.

Behind the door were patients.

There were over ten beds and there was someone sick in each and every one of them.

The people were all silent and had their eyes closed. It was… almost like they were sleeping.

Sarah put her index finger to her lips. It was clearly a sign to not make a sound.

Seol nodded before leaving the town hall with her.

“What is going on?”

“The townspeople… are sick. It’s all because of the Fog Disease.”

“Is it an infectious disease?”

Sarah shook her head.

“Dr. Gunt said that it wasn’t.”

“Dr. Gunt?”

“He’s the town’s doctor. He originally visited the town for a house call, but he couldn’t leave after the sick townspeople begged him to stay.”

“Hm…”

A disease which wasn't infectious…

And the townspeople who were sick from it…

Seol asked more questions.

“What are the disease’s symptoms?”

“You sleep.”

“Can just sleeping really be considered a sickness then?”

“It’s because they don’t wake up. Even though their body is rotting… or the fact that they’re defecating… they continue to sleep.”

“And then?”

“...They sleep eternally.”

Sarah was implying that the patients don’t do anything other than sleep before they die.

Seol then thought of the Adventure’s title and the medicine bottle drawn on the scroll Chao gave him.

A medicine that made them sleep.

Though it wasn’t specifically written what the medicine did, Seol surmised that it would have a similar effect.

‘Maybe… the Fog Disease is an illness caused by the medicine?’

Or the medicine itself was just a means to cause this illness in others.

‘It’s clear that Chao had a reason for sending me here.’

Seol realized that he would learn everything about it once he found the owner of the medicine.

The important thing to keep in mind was that the person who owned the medicine could hide themselves after being scared.

‘I need to stay in the town while being cautious of that. I need to find a way…’

Sarah spoke once more, trying her best to appear happy.

“Currently, half of the town is sick from that disease. And that’s why we’re all depressed…”

“Is there no cure?”

“Not yet… Dr. Gunt is trying his best to find a cure for us, but nothing has come from it yet…”

Karen placed her hand on Sarah’s shoulders.

“H-Huh?”

“Is there anything we can help with, Sarah?”

“You’re… going to help us? The town?”

“Yeah! That person over… he and I are both kind people!”

- Snowman: Who? Me?

- Was the definition of ‘kind’ back then something else?

- All of the kind people are going crazy right now!

- Karen’s nosiness activates!

- This kind of nosiness is alright, though…

Seol didn’t say anything about Karen’s actions.

Even though they didn’t agree to do this beforehand, Karen’s actions were extremely natural. In fact, Seol wanted this situation.

He wanted them to naturally blend in with the town.

“R-Really? Even A-Audenin told us there was no way to help us when we asked them for help.”

“Just believe in me, alright? My name’s Karen by the way, but you can also just call me ‘Big Sis’.”

“Yeah… Karen… I-I mean, Big Sis. But how old are… ah! Elves live a lot longer than humans, so you really must be older than me!”

“Of course, of course!”

- People like Karen are the type that shows off their age because they think being old means they should be respected 😬

- Sarah’s super cute though LOL

- I wish I could make friends as easily as Karen…

- She’s talking with Seol’s summons because Seol doesn’t know how to make friends LMFAO

- Sarah could try all she wants, she would never be older than Karen LMFAO

Sarah’s expression looked brighter already.

As expected from someone who received salvation from an unknown place, she spoke happily.

“Thank you so much… it really was hard.”

“...Yeah.”

“Everyone told me they didn’t know, that they couldn’t do anything… no one ever even offered to help.”

“It’s alright now. You can worry a bit less now that we’re here.”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

Through an unexpected method, Seol’s party was able to insert themselves into the town.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

It seemed like the sentence ‘You’ll realize soon enough what’s going on in there.’ on the scroll was referring to this.

After a few days, Seol helped out with various large and small jobs throughout the town to continue his secret investigation.

“Is this enough water?”

“You filled it up already?”

“Of course, Big Sis is strong, you know?”

- She really is.

- She’s super fucking strong.

Karen gave a big smile while flexing her biceps. Sarah smiled too, seeing Karen.

“To be honest, carrying water is something the townspeople hate doing, so we always push the job onto each other.”

“Really? Then just leave it to me from now on! I’ll bring a whole river if you want me to.”

“Thank you!”

“What else? What else can I help with?”

“Well… We do need firewood for the night, but…”

“Just give me a second!”

Seol had a nervous feeling watching Karen turn around and run away.

It was because he also told her about what the man in the scroll looked like. If she wanted to quickly end this Adventure, she also had to find the culprit behind the person who spread the Fog Disease.

But for some reason, Karen was more enthusiastic about helping Sarah than completing the objective.

‘Did she need rest? Hm… I should properly think about what to do with her later.’

Seol had an idea as to why Karen was acting like this, but it was always better to hear it directly from the person.

Seol approached Sarah and asked a question.

“By the way, why isn’t Dr. Gunt here?”

“Ah, he received a request for a house call in a neighboring town and went over there for a bit. There’s always a lack of doctors, and… gathering enough money to pay for a house call is expensive for most towns, so we all request Dr. Gunt.”

“Why Dr. Gunt?”

“Because he barely requests any money for a house call. Also, Dr. Gunt is the only doctor who even knows a little about the disease.”

“Hm…”

“Apparently, the nearby town is also… in a similar situation.”

“I see.”

In truth, Seol gathered no new information in the past few days.

‘Hm… I still haven’t seen anyone who looks like they have any involvement with the contents of the scroll.’

The man in the scroll had bleary eyes but no one in the town looked like him at all.

Seol thought it would be easy finding him as it was a small town, but he found no clues about him.

‘This is everyone in the town though… he must be here, somewhere…’

As Seol worried to himself, Karen reappeared.

“I’m done, Sarah!”

“What?”

“The firewood! I put it all in the warehouse!”

“Y-You’re lying…”

“I’m not?”

Karen wasn’t the type of person who lied. Sarah checked the warehouse to confirm whether she was telling the truth or not but fell to the ground after seeing that Karen didn’t lie.

“Are you that shocked?”

“Big Sis, you really are incredible! Even the men need a week to do something like this!”

“Well, comparing your Big Sis to ordinary people is a bit rude, hahaha!”

Like that, Seol and Karen’s daily lives with the townspeople started.

However, Seol kept in mind that living like this was far more damaging to him than going on a difficult Adventure as it dulled his senses.

And now, it has already been over a week since Seol and Karen assisted Sarah, and nothing has changed.

“You’re working hard today as well, Miss Elf!”

“You should work a bit harder though, old man!”

“Hah, that…”

“Why? She’s not wrong, pfft… hahaha…”

“You!”

Seol clicked his tongue, seeing how Karen was joking around with the townspeople like it was nothing now.

“I thought you were adventurers? When are you going on an adventure then?”

“We’re helping you guys out because we have some free time, alright? Stop trying to end a good thing early, old man.”

“Urgh… Just let us know when you’re about to leave.”

“Why? Are you going to miss me?”

“Haha! I bet you’re going to stay up all night the night before I leave, crying while you pack me food!”

“Argh, stop your bullshit!”

The town was filled with laughs ever since Karen came to town.

It was a difficult time for them and Seol’s party definitely was a huge help to them.

Creak…

“Are you done?”

“Yeah. What about you, Master?”

“I feel like it’s more awkward hearing you call me that now.”

“Y-Yeah, I was shocked after saying that myself.”

In just a week, peace has found a place in their hearts.

Seol and Karen spoke to each other while lying in separate beds.

“By the way, Master…”

“What?”

“Wouldn’t it be fine to just stay like this?”

“...Would what be fine?”

“Maybe… we can just live like this?”

Seol focused on what Karen was saying to him.

“What do you mean by ‘like this’?”

“Like right now. Without any worries… Without needing to kill anyone or have a battle of wills. Like this, a quiet life surrounded by good people.”

She had been completely swallowed up by the peace.

“Is this because of the town we visited before here?”

“I won’t deny that it isn't a part of it. But do you think those people knew that they were doing evil things? And is killing those evil yet weak people really something that we have the right to do?”

“There would have been more victims if we didn’t stop them.”

“...Do you really think so?”

“I just did what I had to do. We also didn’t have the time to second-guess things. The time I spent thinking could be used to do so much more. I didn’t have the time to ask myself if what we were doing was right or not.”

Seol’s goal was Ascension. And he had to face off against the gods, who were behind all of this.

As such, he pressed on. Even if he failed and tripped on his way there, he had to reach the end no matter what.

Because in the end, only that will prove whether he was right or not.

“But, I’m not sure…”

“Karen.”

“How nice would it be to live a simple, peaceful life like this where we don’t have to do anything…”

“There are people who also know that the world is cruel, but they can’t do anything about it… unlike you. I bet they’d be jealous if they heard you talk.”

“Argh, stop lecturing me!”

“I’m just saying, that’s all…”

Karen smiled.

It seemed like she had recovered just a bit.

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“It would have been so much easier if I was in the right mindset back then. That guy from back then… we should’ve killed him, no?”

“You’re talking about the person who chased me.”

A memory from that day flashed in Seol's head.

Even so, he couldn’t remember anything about his face.

His face was covered because of his robe’s hood. Seol couldn’t remember anything other than the ominous energy he radiated.

“I’ll get him next time. You can trust me on that.”

“Alright.”

“I’m being serious, that won’t happen ever again. You’re safe now!”

“I got it.”

- Hehe… 😅

- You guys made up, didn’t you?

- You two shouldn’t fight! Hug!!!

Seol saw that Karen had properly resolved herself. It was a relief for him, as he was the one who had to trust her.

And now, there was only one thing he had to gain from the town.

“You still haven’t found it yet, right?”

“Yeah, not yet. I couldn’t find anything even similar to it either.”

“Based on how we were unable to find something that’s so easy to discern... It was likely hidden elsewhere…”

“There’s a good chance it’s the latter, yeah. Then we should think about how we’ll find him…”

And then…

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Someone was pounding on the door.

“O-Oi! It’s an emergency!” shouted an older man from behind the door.

His screams had signed an end to Seol’s temporary peaceful daily life.