Chapter 67: Once more, this isn’t your fault
Caldel had never killed his family. That much was clear after Erness had spent the past several days investigating, since none of it matched what Caldel had actually said.
The real deaths of his family had occurred with their bodies riddled with holes—nothing like what Caldel had drawn. That was confirmed by people who’d seen the bodies with their own eyes.
Of course, that alone probably wasn’t enough to prove anything conclusively. Caldel was still technically a suspect, but Erness was a hundred percent certain he hadn’t done it.
Why?
The corruption seed.
Unlike before, back when Black Genesis could still plant the corruption seed comfortably without any risk of getting caught, they were struggling now, since the higher-ups among humanity had already exposed their existence.
Their presence was now being watched and specifically hunted down. That was exactly why they’d started planting the seed in quieter, more discreet ways. But at the same time, they’d also developed another method to speed up the seed’s growth—by keeping the host trapped in constant suffering.
That was the whole point.
Walking down the empty corridor, Erness, her expression genuinely hard to read, let out a small sigh.
’They killed Caldel’s family, then brainwashed him into believing he’d been the one to commit the murder. They also seem to have used some kind of artifact, giving Caldel a mental illness that keeps forcing him to obsess over the deaths of the parents he supposedly killed, by making him draw it out over and over. Practically speaking, that’s exactly what’s letting the seed grow inside him.’
The sound of her footsteps was virtually silent in that space. Leaving almost no sound or trace behind at all, Erness turned down a corridor across the way and found a staircase leading up.
"Hic... hic..."
That’s where she found Caldel, crying. Their eyes met, making Caldel flinch, biting his lip and looking at Erness with a pleading expression.
"S-sis... I... I’m crying again... hic... s-sorry, b-but I..."
Erness walked closer, sitting down beside him, then calmly stroked the child’s hair.
"...Stop crying," She smiled sweetly. "I’m here."
Caldel had done nothing wrong at all. If anyone deserved the blame, it was this world, and the fate that had chosen him, of all people, out of millions.
Which was exactly why...
"Don’t cry, you’re a strong kid, aren’t you?"
Caldel hugged Erness, sobbing, his shoulders shaking, overwhelmed with fear and trauma.
"I... I killed my family... my brother... I- I ate him... p-please... I sis..."
That wasn’t true.
Caldel had never done any of that, since his brother’s body had been buried without a single part of it mutilated.
Erness closed her eyes, continuing to listen to Caldel cry, spilling out complaint after complaint about things that had never actually happened.
Then, Erness opened her eyes again, looking at the boy, her expression completely blank.
"...It’s not your fault. Will you remember that?"
Erness could hear it—the sound of her own heartbeat, pounding on without pause.
Second by second passed, the heavy silence broken only by Caldel’s sobbing and endless complaints.
Then, Erness’s razor-sharp claws slowly, quietly began to grow.
"Once more, this isn’t your fault."
’I won’t make the same mistake again.’
Erness drew a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Right then, her sharp claws pierced through Caldel’s throat, blood spilling out as the boy’s body shook violently, struggling to lift his head, staring at Erness with eyes hollow and trembling wildly.
"Ah."
That single sound slipped out, the only one that escaped into that silence. His gaze was filled with fear and disbelief.
Then...
"S-sis... I... uhugk... don’t want to die...."
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and with tears still streaming down endlessly, his body went limp, collapsing into Erness’s lap.
The boy was dead now.
There was no time to waste. The moment she found the host of another corruption seed, kill it right away—no need for anything unnecessary.
Ending one life to save countless more was the right call to make.
Don’t make the same mistake she’d made with Cray.
That was her conclusion.
Erness felt her emotions spiral into chaos afterward.
***
The Traveler’s Restaurant.
Just as the name suggested, it was an incredibly famous restaurant, known as a dining spot for travelers coming from far and wide.
Why wouldn’t it be, given that the restaurant served every kind of food from all across this world, considering its branches were spread out across every city and village in existence.
So, when Eiros walked into the restaurant, he wasn’t surprised to find so many unfamiliar faces around.
’...This place is massive.’
The restaurant wasn’t just big—it was also packed with an enormous number of tables and chairs. They used magic lamps positioned right above each table, which served the added purpose of keeping the food warm as it was served.
Watching all of it, Eiros felt frustration spreading through his entire body. I mean, was he really just told to go find traces of Black Genesis operatives in the middle of dozens of ordinary people?
That was genuinely absurd.
He gave a small smile, noticing a waiter approaching him.
"Sir, is there anything we can help you with?"
"Ah," Eiros looked startled for a moment, then finally let out a soft sigh and ordered a drink. Luckily, the reward sent by the head of the academy had also come with a substantial amount of money, so Eiros wasn’t worried about his living expenses for the next several months.
He took a seat at a table right in the middle of the room. He also made sure he wasn’t too far from the exit, so he could keep an eye on anyone who might look suspicious.
So, that’s exactly what Eiros did. He quietly scanned each person in the room, one by one. But without a single lead to go on, finding them all seemed impossible.
So, what was he supposed to do?
’Think... if this really is Black Genesis, what’s their goal here? Why would they come to a Duke’s territory?’
Black Genesis had an agenda that remained unknown. But Eiros at least knew a couple of things—terrorizing first-year students was one, and planting the corruption seed was the other.
Right...
They wouldn’t go after first-year students here; that would happen somewhere else entirely, if it were to happen at all, with careful preparation, just like last time.
Which meant planting the corruption seed was probably the right answer here.
But how?
What was the actual procedure, what would they do first?
Eiros was lost in thought when suddenly, the restaurant door opened, revealing two people stepping inside. They looked like a couple, given it was a man and a woman arriving together.
They came in carrying a large bundle of cloth, hauling an enormous number of items on their backs, making their financial situation pretty obvious.
’...A traveling merchant, maybe?’
Sure enough, the pair started unpacking their goods, revealing a number of items that looked useful for everyday life—combs, small mirrors, and the like.
But not everything was like that.
The man picked up a necklace fitted with a shimmering golden gem. He raised it high, drawing the attention of every customer in the restaurant, and said:
"Sorry to interrupt your lunch. But, please allow me to introduce my wares—please, spare a moment! You won’t regret it."
Apparently, this wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence, as a few of the restaurant staff drew closer to listen in.
"Tch, these people are back again, they’re seriously stubborn."
"Remind the customers not to buy anything, they’re nothing but scammers."
Hearing that made Eiros feel unexpectedly intrigued. So, he listened to the man closely.
"This is a necklace I found in the demon waters, or as we commonly call it, the Sea of Demons. As you can see, this item, though it looks perfectly ordinary, actually holds a genuinely remarkable soul essence within it. Its purpose is unknown, which is exactly why I’ll be selling it cheap. I can guarantee this is a rare artifact indeed, and it’ll be worth a fortune once you discover its true function!"
The man then called his wife over.
"My wife here is a stigmata user, so allow her to demonstrate the proof."
The woman took the necklace, channeling her soul essence into it, and the necklace lit up with a faint golden glow.
"See? It reacts!"
Still, not a single person in the crowd looked the least bit impressed.
"So what? Isn’t that just some basic, borderline useless light effect?"
"Right... it’s nothing more than ordinary scrap."
The restaurant grew noisy, filled with endless chatter and complaints from the crowd.
Eiros felt the same way. Sure, the item did seem capable of receiving soul essence, but was that really all there was to it?
He wasn’t an artifact appraiser, but he could sense that the item didn’t look like what the man was claiming it to be.
Except...
Why did it feel like something was drawing him toward it?
Tickling at his curiosity, whispering to him to just go buy the thing. Until, finally...
"Hey, this actually looks pretty good! Can I buy it?"
Someone standing near the man voiced their intent to buy it.
***