Free Web NovelGunther hesitated before speaking.
— Do you remember that toy glass marble you once gave me?
He was afraid it might stir up bad memories of the warehouse, but luckily, the girl beamed brightly and started moving her hands.
[Yes!]
— May I ask how it came into your possession?
The girl froze for a moment, then quickly scribbled words into her notebook and showed it to him.
[It’s Mom’s keepsake!]
— .......
Gunther’s lips pressed tightly together. Unable to find the words, he studied the girl’s face again.
Perhaps the time she’d spent in the Nest over the past two months had done her good. Even when speaking of a sad past, the child still wore that bright smile.
But Gunther knew. No matter how happy the present moment was, the absence of parents was a wound for a child—one that never truly healed.
— I see. Thank you.
Gunther rose to his feet; until then he’d been crouching so their eyes would be level. Learning the origin of the glass marble was important. After all, things had unfolded so that the unidentified symbol “◇” had been followed by “◆”. But... he simply didn’t want to press her further. In silence, he patted the girl on the head.
Scratch-scratch—
And then, even though he hadn’t asked, the child started writing on her own.
[My mom was an adventurer and explored the Labyrinth!]
Gunther froze for a moment and looked at the girl. She kept smiling calmly, as if she were trying to reassure him. It was the smile of someone who understood the situation and even shared another person’s feelings.
[One day, unfamiliar uncles came and gave me a box, saying these were Mom’s things. The marble was inside.]
It must have been a sudden parting.
[I really liked the marble. For some reason it’s warm, and it feels like Mom is watching over me... So I hid it with everything I had, even when bad people took me...]
Gunther asked quietly:
— And you gave that treasure to me?
[Yes! Because you saved me and little brother. I wanted to give you the very best.]
— ...Thank you. It really helped a lot.
That wasn’t a lie. Thanks to the accumulated luck from “◇”, he’d been able to obtain “Godslayer”. And if it weren’t for that power, his death counter right now wouldn’t be 15—it would be somewhere closer to 30. Happy that her gift had been useful, the girl smiled wide and started moving her hands again.
[Big bro hero!]
— Big bro hero...?
[Please save other people too, not just me! From bad people! That’s what heroes do!]
“Hero,” huh. The unexpected title left Gunther speechless for a moment, and he just stared blankly at the notebook. Even if he fought as a member of “Night Raven”... the truth was, Gunther had never wanted to be the kind of hero this child dreamed of. He was a transmigrator. Even the grand objective of saving the world was, to him, merely a process necessary to see the “true ending” and return to Earth. And now, even after accepting this world as reality, that essence hadn’t changed.
— .......
Even if the path of fighting evil looked noble to someone, in reality it was only one part of scrambling to survive and get back home. So he shouldn’t accept this child’s expectations. Every time the moment came to make cold decisions and cruel choices, his heart would only grow heavier.
Gunther answered:
— ...Alright. I’ll do that.
.
.
.
[My name is Besti! And little brother’s name is Dorian! We’ll definitely meet again, big bro hero!]
— Besti, Dorian... — Gunther walked on, unconsciously repeating the two children’s names.
Besti, that clever and kind girl, had left a very important clue at the very end.
[Those uncles who brought the box. They were wearing clothes with a strange pattern. The box had the same pattern!]
Besti even tried to draw it herself, explaining with her fingers.
— Y-yeah, Besti has no talent for drawing.
[How rude!!]
— You have to say things like that right away. Otherwise it’s just money down the drain.
The drawing was incredibly clumsy, and it was hard to make out, but Gunther memorized it anyway, just in case. At the moment he began matching it in his mind against the emblems of various organizations...
— Hello, super-rookie?
A mask shaped like a shark’s gaping maw blocked his view. Gunther came to his senses and looked around. Without realizing it, he’d ended up in the part of the Nest in front of the workshop where smoke was pouring out. A sharp scent yanked him out of his thoughts.
— You came for supplies, right?
Sharin Vega, the Nest’s alchemist, suddenly grabbed his wrist. She shifted from foot to foot like someone who’d been kicked out right in the middle of something urgent.
— I’m busy, so let’s get this over with quickly.
Her unfocused gaze wandered through empty space before settling on Gunther.
***
— First, take this. You were supposed to get it before the first assignment, but everything dragged out.
The moment they entered the workshop, Sharin thrust a small box into Gunther’s hand without any extra words.
— This is...
The shape of the box was familiar. Chapter 1, episode 1. He’d seen one like it in Kalian’s hands. Sharin continued quickly:
— It’s the “Flower of Silence”. Open it and look. Just don’t smell it.
Gunther followed the advice. Inside the box lay a black pill with an image of purple lavender on it.
“...Flower of Silence.”
Once taken, all pain disappears, and drained stamina is restored instantly. However, the moment the effect ends, the nervous system collapses and instant death follows. In essence, it was a delayed-effect suicide poison that combined berserk and paralysis. After finishing the explanation, Sharin let out an irritated snort.
— Pretty, right? And the effect is reliable. That’s why they only issue one.
— .......
— What is it? Seems insane to hand something like that to a rookie?
Gunther answered simply:
— I think it’s a necessary item.
And that wasn’t an exaggeration—for ordinary members of the organization, it was mandatory supply. Better to swallow this pill and end it yourself than to get caught during a mission and wind up in a torture chamber. In fact, “Flower of Silence” had prevented “Night Raven” secrets from leaking countless times.
“And I’ll need it too.”
The weak point of “Return After Death” was that it only activated upon death. But what if he didn’t die—what if he was immobilized and locked in a dungeon? The regression would end there. From that standpoint, having a means to put a period on things ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ at any moment was vital.
Thump—
Gunther took the pill without hesitation. The moment Sharin saw that, she spun around sharply.
— Alright, the next item... wait a second.
And she immediately scurried toward the reagent cabinet at the back of the room. With every wobbling step, her lab coat—spattered with brown stains—fluttered.
[Alphonse of Red Street wonders why all alchemists are out of their minds.] ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
[The Drug-Addicted Saint tilts her head in confusion, asking why he’s looking at her.]
[Alphonse of Red Street whispers that compared to the Saint, this woman is nothing.]
[He runs away, dodging a flying beaker!]
...The situation was somewhat troublesome. Gunther had planned to gradually raise Sharin’s affinity level, but she seemed to have no interest in him at all. Even though all of “Night Raven” was buzzing about the rookie, it apparently meant nothing to her. Looking at Sharin’s back, Gunther suddenly recalled a paragraph from the character guide.
[Character Information: Sharin Vega]
A promising researcher who graduated with honors from the Academy of the Kingdoms’ Union. For Sharin, research wasn’t just work—it was life itself. She considered her investigations a value she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world, and she obsessively believed the result had to be brilliant. Why she ended up in the secret organization of the Border City— even her longtime colleagues didn’t know.
— M-m-m, where did I put it! This will take time!
— Yes, don’t rush...
— Faster, faster!
Clink-crash!
From deeper inside came the sound of glass bottles breaking and liquid spilling. It seemed best to abandon the plan of getting close to Sharin for today.
“Come to think of it, her personality is obviously far from loving order.”
A cleanliness-preferring Gunther started making his way through the equipment and ingredients strewn everywhere, when...
“...What is this?”
He stopped in front of one of the workbenches. There, left completely unattended, sat three samples that looked extremely dangerous.
“She was busy with this?”
It seemed she’d been running some kind of experiment.
One was a red-hot liquid. The second was a crystal glowing blue like ice. The third was a cloudy essence whose color was hard to even identify.
...And the horrific result of mixing the three was boiling violently.
“Ugh.”
Gunther took a step back without thinking. Perhaps because he partially shared the Drug-Addicted Saint’s knowledge, he understood instinctively: if the balance of that unidentified liquid was disrupted for even a moment, it would lead either to an explosion or a poisonous mutation.
It was then.
[The Drug-Addicted Saint tilts her head in confusion.]
“What is it?”
[She mutters that this mixture resembles one she researched before.]
[She says she wants to take a closer look.]
At that moment, Sharin returned, arms full of potions. Quick prompts floated up:
[Sharin’s Unstable Recovery Potion x5]
[Sharin’s Unstable Mana Potion x5]
[Sharin’s Sweet Putrid Oil...]
The standard potions and elixirs provided by the Nest. Despite the names, they had excellent specs and should create good synergy with “Overdose”. Sharin hurriedly shoved them into Gunther’s hands.
— That’s the end of the free supplies!
Finishing the sentence quickly, Sharin walked past Gunther and flung the workshop door wide open.
— Well, see you sometime~.
Now she wasn’t even trying to hide her hurry. Everything about Sharin signaled: “Please leave already.”
She didn’t even bother checking whether Gunther had gone out, and immediately rushed back to the workbench.
...But Gunther didn’t leave. Rather, he couldn’t.
[...The Drug-Addicted Saint looks at Sharin’s workbench with a serious gaze.]
Right after that, she quickly wrote a message.
“...Is that true?”
[The Drug-Addicted Saint says she’s certain.]
To Gunther, it was a flood of terms he didn’t understand half of... but it was enough to convince him: he couldn’t leave right now. Gunther drew a deep breath.
— Listen...
Sharin, who had been heading for the workbench, turned around. Fortunately, there were still remnants of politeness on her face.
— You haven’t left yet... I mean, phew... what is it?
— U-um, I had a question.
Here goes. Gunther walked decisively right up to the workbench. And, cutting away the extra words, blurted out the point:
— This is dangerous.
— What...? What are you talking about?
— The reagent you’re preparing right now.
Sharin’s eyes narrowed slowly. The spark in her gaze behind the mask instantly shifted from simple irritation to fury.
— What did you just say?
