We were searching through the empty village.

No, to be honest, “plundering” fits better than “searching.”

The chief who took over the commander’s body gave just one order.

“Gather everything you find in the village into one place!”

Furniture, household items, equipment, daily tools…

There was no distinction by type.

Whether useful or useless, nothing was spared.

The order was to take everything found.

So why would the chief give such an order?

Speculating, it wasn’t because he cared about the things the village had accumulated over time.

The chief isn’t the sentimental type.

Yet the reason for plundering everything was one:

Because Jerome Saintred would have done the same.

He would have taken everything for the royal family’s sake, no doubt.

So the chief gave that order.

“Team leaders, please take this map and cover your assigned areas…!”

The exploration force divided into teams and plundered the houses where monsters–who once believed themselves human–had lived and raised children.

There was no battle; just tedious labor.

But some welcomed this simple task.

“Objects reflecting the lifestyle of the first monsters capable of communication!”

“This will be invaluable research material!”

“It’s a pity… It would have been great if we had captured one or two alive to talk to…”

“Could there still be some hiding?”

The wizards, obsessed with research, valued this task greatly.

Oh, including Raven as well.

“Yandel, you said you stayed here before?”

“And?”

“Later… if we get a chance, could you tell me more about it?”

“Sure, if the opportunity arises.”

“Promise? Then I’ll go. Break time is over. See you later.”

Anyway, our temporary fourth team was given the same mission and diligently searched our assigned area again and again.

Yet somehow, I felt strange.

Like Raven said, we had memories of staying here.

“…That’s the mansion we stayed in.”

“Oh! That’s the clearing where I sparred with Piarocic!”

“It’s kind of eerie. The forge has a fire burning but no one’s inside…”

“It’s hard to explain, but there’s something very odd about it. They were monsters, but many were still decent…”

What really distinguishes humans from monsters?

Appearance? Racial traits? Experience?

Then, is the chief who regained a human body still human?

Conversely, if I became monster-like or entered their bodies through some means?

Am I then a monster?

Now I don’t know anymore.

I don’t even know if such distinctions still make sense.

“Yandel… are you okay? You don’t look well.”

“…Of course. Why would I not be okay?”

“…If you say so, I guess that’s that.”

We continued NoveIight (Original source) our assigned task and, once finished, regrouped with the other teams in the village center.

It was already time to camp.

“The amount is overwhelming…”

“Well, it has to be. It was a village where hundreds lived.”

A full day of searching and plundering ended.

We searched all the village but found no survivors in hiding.

After the day’s work, we camped in vacant houses by team.

Finally, it was time to quietly talk with the comrades.

“We’ll stay in another room far away.”

“Yes. Please talk comfortably.”

After the Armin exploration team and Hexts clan discreetly gave space, Versil cast a “voice control” spell, and Amelia quickly spoke up.

“So… what exactly happened?”

“Ah, well…”

“Don’t think I’d believe you conspired with the commander. If that were true, you’d have told me in advance because of your personality.”

Without even giving me time to speak.

‘…That’s not entirely wrong.’

It was dangerously close.

The goddess said that the moment I passed out, my comrades were ambushed and subdued.

There was no one to issue orders.

What to do? Should we fight here? But it’s the royal army. What decision would I have made?

In that moment where a split-second judgment decides the outcome,

the clan I left, Anabad, failed to decide in time and ended up all captured without resistance.

‘…Fortunately, the outcome was good.’

But the good result wasn’t because of good judgment, just luck.

If they had resisted to the end, someone would have died or been seriously injured.

That’s why they didn’t believe me.

I wouldn’t have trusted pure luck and kept silent.

“You’re right. There was no secret cooperation. In fact, Jerome Saintred tried to hand me over to the chief.”

That much was true.

“He must have been bribed with some royal treasure the chief had. But somehow, we resolved it well and even used it to catch the chief.”

“…How did you resolve it well?”

Versil asked cautiously, clearly confused, and I sighed internally and said,

“Reatlas helped a lot.”

That was also true.

Well, it was advice to resolve it by talking.

But at least it seemed to help overcome the situation.

“Reatlas… the goddess?”

“You mean, did the light burst out and you passed out then…?”

“Anyway, I can’t say the details due to a promise with the goddess. But… in the end, things went well, and after escaping the village, I met Jerome Saintred and made a secret deal. He would forget using me as a scapegoat and first catch the chief.”

“…So that’s why you said you’d give me a reward for the great achievement.”

I glanced around.

With the goddess’s name and the commander offering me rewards, most believed my words without doubt.

Except one, Amelia.

‘…She’s going to persistently question me when we’re alone later.’

Just thinking about it gave me a headache, but it couldn’t be helped.

The fewer people who know the chief’s secret, the better.

No matter how good the act, the moment the opponent is the chief, they can sense sharing secrets.

Then that person too would become a target of the chief’s potential “unexpected moves.”

‘More than anything… if things go really wrong someday, I can prove I have nothing to do with it.’

Anyway, after answering a few more questions from the comrades, that topic ended.

It was time to move to the next stage.

“Everyone, please give us some space.”

“Ah… yeah, you should rest too…”

“Misha, except you.”

“…Eh?”

When I singled her out, Misha looked embarrassed as if called on by a homeroom teacher.

The others left first, saying they were going to rest, and I was left alone with Misha sitting with fists on her lap.

She carefully asked first.

“W-what is it…? Why call me separately all of a sudden…?”

I didn’t want to beat around the bush or tease, so I went straight to the point.

“The Resurrection Stone.”

“…!”

Just those three words made her shoulders twitch.

I wondered how she managed to hide it until now, but thinking back, it was all my fault.

I should have asked forcefully earlier, even if it meant pushing her.

But somehow, it was hard to do that with her.

“Did Ibaekho give it to you?”

No answer about how she knew, just a straightforward reply in a barely audible voice.

“Yes…”

“What did he say when he gave it?”

“He said to stay by your side… and if you die someday, use it to… save you…”

Yeah, that was expected.

I wasn’t surprised, as I had suspected it.

But I was curious about a few things.

“Did you know that using the Resurrection Stone causes the user to lose all memories?”

“…What?”

Okay, judging by her expression, she didn’t know that feature.

I immediately moved on to the next question.

“If you didn’t know, why didn’t you tell me earlier? It doesn’t seem harmful to me.”

“Because if you knew… something worse might happen to you…”

“So you hid it from me? He told you that?”

“…”

Misha lowered her head and sealed her lips.

But watching her, a strange feeling welled up inside me.

It wasn’t anger, my mind was calm.

Though trying to stay composed, my heart kept beating faster.

That feeling was far from sadness.

What the hell was it?

“Okay. Then you can leave now.”

Since I didn’t understand, I wanted to end the conversation here.

I didn’t want to make her more uncomfortable.

But for some reason–

“…”

Misha sat silently without leaving.

So I asked,

“Why aren’t you leaving? Go rest. I’ve heard everything I need.”

Slowly, she raised her head.

And painfully opened her mouth.

“Y-you’ve… heard? That’s… all?”

It was a strange question to me.

“Why, do you want to know more?”

“…”

“I’m not blaming you. You didn’t plot with malice; you did it for me, right?”

At my gentle answer, Misha remained silent for a long while.

How long that silence lasted–

“Those things…”

“…?”

“I don’t like those…”

Misha lowered her head deeply and continued.

“Just… tell me. Anything is fine…”

A plea filled with earnestness.

I opened my mouth without realizing it.

“I just thought there was no need to talk more.”

It was a strange experience.

I never knew my true feelings could come out first through words.

“It’s hard to believe you no matter what you say.”

Once, in this strange new world, she was the most trustworthy person to me, but now that’s not the case.

Of course, it’s not all her fault.

If fault is to be assigned, Ibaekho has a much bigger share.

“To be honest.”

“…”

“After hearing today’s story, the first thought I had was whether you’re hiding something else.”

“…Hmm, I see…”

I almost felt sorry.

I thought about apologizing, but it didn’t seem like my place.

Misha looked at me for a moment, then slowly stood.

Then…

Step, step.

She walked away silently.

Thud.

She closed the door and left quietly.

The next morning.

After the usual morning meeting, I had a private talk with the chief.

“Can’t we just get rid of these pointless morning meetings?”

“No. Jerome Saintred is a man who values routine.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“By the way, have you thought about the reward we talked about yesterday?”

“Oh, that… I plan to wait for later. I don’t need anything immediately.”

“Then, let me know anytime.”

“I will. Anyway, the important thing is the plan going forward… What are your intentions now?”

“As I said before, I plan to take time and first adapt to this body.”

The chief’s answer remained unchanged.

However…

“Adaptation, huh…”

Ultimately, that meant he didn’t trust me.

He wanted to confirm what essence I held, whether I really had Essence of Eblus, if the [Heretic Altar] was actually installed in the city, and so on.

He wanted to check those first.

“What after adaptation?”

“I’ll leave immediately.”

In other words, if the Essence of Eblus is confirmed, he will give up this place right away.

That was a time I eagerly awaited.

Well, that and my curiosity were separate matters.

“But if you plan to keep living in that body, why not just leave together when we all escape? You can’t erase the Essence of Eblus anyway.”

Is it a player’s occupational hazard?

The thought of leaving early and losing a count seemed too inefficient to me.

To be precise, it felt like such a waste.

It wasn’t even a situation where I was losing out.

“Also, if you die alone and escape, the royal family won’t look kindly on you. You might even lose your position as commander.”

“Ahaha, interesting! I didn’t expect you to give me such advice.”

“We’re on the same boat now. We might have to cooperate outside too. And you’ve improved your smile a lot.”

“I’m slowly adapting. To the human heart.”

“So, what’s your answer?”

“Same as before. Once I finish adapting, I’ll leave immediately.”

Why would the chief do such an inefficient thing?

When I looked at him with that doubt, he forced a smile and said,

“You’ve been in this floor a bit over 100 days, right?”

“So?”

“You still don’t know anything about this floor.”

“…?”

“Of course, according to records, you will leave someday… but how long it will take is unknown.”

The chief continued.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time.”

This time, it wasn’t a forced emotion.

His voice held a strong emotion I had never seen before.

Though it lasted only a moment.

“Haha, everyone values different things, right? For me, if I can leave here even one day sooner, that’s worth everything.”

Then the chief put on his usual forced smile again.