Chapter 175: of Unknown Promise: A Promise Forgotten

“Miss Yumias? What are you doing here?”

Even Korwen couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing the girl sitting there, on a table.

“Mm? What am I doing? I just told you. I was waiting.”

“... Waiting?”

Yumias giggled as if something was amusing about our confusion.

“Yes. I was waiting.”

“... And why would you wait here for us? Didn’t you plan on exploring the fort?”

“Oh, yes, yes. I have been doing that! Ahh, I should probably tell you that one of the buildings I entered was trapped. Lost my head from the surprise. I mean, from the trap.”

Yumias cocked her head a little, slapping the base of her neck a few times. There was, of course, no indication whatsoever that she had ‘lost her head’ there.

“... I see. Thank you for telling us. But that doesn’t explain why you are here.”

“My, I guess it doesn’t. True, true.”

With those words, Yumias jumped down from the table she was sitting on and strolled towards the centre of the room.

“Mr Korwen, pray tell me, what do you think this place is?”

“... A hideout of the Worshippers, where they conducted some sort of ritual and failed.”

“Oh, these were those Worshippers you all kept talking about? I’ve been wondering who they even were!”

“...”

From the way she had asked Korwen, it felt like she would tell him if he was correct or not. But instead, she was surprised to learn these had been Worshippers? Seriously?

“Ah, but I digress, who they were is not that important anyway. They are a dime in a dozen. What is interesting is what they have done here in this place. You say that they conducted a ritual that failed, right?”

“... Yes. Was that wrong?”

“Mh, it’s not quite wrong. Well… Yumi, dear.”

“Huh?”

Her attention shifted from Korwen suddenly over to me.

“What do you think they tried to do here?”

“Eh? Err…”

What they had tried to do? How the heck should I know that?

“Err…”

“...”

Yumias only looked at me, waiting for an answer. Somehow, I had the feeling she wouldn’t take an ‘I don’t know’ for an answer here…

In that case… Well, what had they tried? It was clear they had done some kind of ritual… And it’s possible those yellow streaks in the walls that suspiciously stunk of sulphur were somehow related to it. Then, did they try to create sulphur? That… didn’t sound like something a sane person would randomly put so much effort into.

Speaking of sulphur, it reminded me of the dream I had before… Ahh… It couldn’t be that this was related… right? Then again, it was that monster so it… certainly could. But I didn’t even know what that dream was about so how the hell should I know the connection? Assuming there was one.

And in the first place, I knew nothing of ritual magic either. I had only heard about it a little from Korwen and Ria… Oh, and that one incident with the elves, though I hadn’t actually seen what happened.

Nn? Wait, that was also done by the Worshippers, right? What had they been trying to do again? The Elder said something about… trying to reach the Witch’s world?

Then it dawned upon me…

“Did they… try to reach your… home?”

“... My, I certainly am surprised. You figured it out!”

Yay! I got it right!

“Her home? What do you mean?”

However, Korwen didn’t seem to understand what this was about. Yumias, though, completely ignored his confusion and carried on.

“These people have tried to reach a place far, far from here. Mr Korwen, you have already seen the magic of Yumi’s little familiars. It’s not much different. They wished to travel to a certain place.”

She giggled as if it was amusing.

“They amassed mana and attempted to cast a spell far beyond their capabilities. The result is as you can see.”

“...”

They died because of it…

“I understand what they tried to do now but what does that have to do with you waiting here, Miss Yumias?”

“My, so impatient. I simply wished to show you. And warn you.”

“... Warn?”

“Yes. A warning. But first things first. These little incidents are far from rare. There are always foolish people, believing they can achieve their desires as long as they had enough power. Throw enough mud at a wall and hope something sticks. Or rather, until some of it breaks through, in this case. But no matter how much a person throws mud at a wall, it will never break through the solid stone.”

Were there really that many who did stuff like that? From her words and her lack of interest in the Worshippers, it probably wasn’t only them who did things like that.

“But someone still has to clean the mud off the wall and make it sparkling clean once more. That’s something I’ve been doing quite a lot, recently, you know? Frankly, it’s starting to bother me a little. But that’s not important to you all, is it? I digressed a little there. Point is, that it is pointless. And a bother. And dangerous nonetheless. So if you could get rid of them when you happen to find some, it’d be much appreciated.”

“I… see… Was that the… warning?”

“Ah, no. that was a personal request.”

Chances were high we’d have to get rid of them either way once we found any of them… If their past behaviour had been any indication.

“My, the warning is, in a way, related to the result of their actions.”

“The result?”

“Yes.”

Yumias stroked the wall behind her, touching the yellow streak running across the wall.

“The ritual might not have brought them to the place they desired but it certainly brought about changes to this place. The sulphur is proof of its aftermath and while the rampant mana has long gone silent, you’d do well to be careful in this place. You wouldn’t want to end up poisoned by its elements.”

“So you came down to warn us of that?”

“Mhm, that is the case for the most part. It would be a shame if you all perished so soon. I’m not fond of losing my entertainment, you see?”

“I see. I could have done without the lead-up but I appreciate the warning nonetheless.”

Yes… Honestly, with the way she talked I… expected something way worse than a warning about toxic minerals…

“My, and I went out of my way to tell you about what happened down here. You wished to know, did you not?”

“Certainly, I did but… Haa… Anyway, thank you for the warning. We will be careful.”

“Mhm, that’s a good boy.”

Yumias nodded in approval.

“Now then, that’s already all I have wanted to tell you all. I pray for your search to be a success.”

“... Mh.”

Korwen replied in kind, with a nod, then turned around facing his men.

“You heard her, be careful while searching. Don’t stay near the sulphur and don’t inhale any fumes. If you feel ill, immediately see Ria.”

“”“Yes, Captain!”””

“Good. Continue the search.”

The men saluted all at once before going off to search the hall.

“Guess we should go as well, Sis.”

“Yes… But…”

“Nn?”

I turned around, to look at Karen, but instead of her, I found Yumias standing right next to me.

“My, neglecting your dear mother when she already came all this way down only to see you. So heartless.”

“... I thought you wanted to warn us?”

“Please, Yumi dear. We both know that your captain is smart enough to know that by himself. Look, I didn’t even need to tell him what to be careful of in particular and he gives precise instructions nonetheless. There never was a reason for it.”

“Wait, then what was the point of that?”

Why hadn’t she just said why she was down here in the first place?

“Was it… a pretence?” asked Karen.

“Yes, you could say that. I have an image to uphold, after all.”

“An image, huh…”

An image as an indescribable monster? Okay, that was probably not it…

“Then, what was the reason you came down?”

“My, I just told you I wanted to see you.”

In that case, she should have just come along in the first place…

“Yumi dear, what do you think when you see all that sulphur in the walls?”

“Huh? Uhh… That it stinks?”

“It stinks. Hehehe, yes, that’s true. It stinks.”

I tilted my head in confusion, perplexed at her reaction.

“You have seen it, Yumi. You have seen that place.”

“... That dream.”

“It wasn’t a dream. It was more akin to the fragment of a memory.”

“A… memory?”

“Yes. A very, very old memory.”

Her smile faded, her eyes staring to the wall at the sulphur.

“I have come to tell you a little story, among other things.”

“A story?”

“Yes. A story from a very, very long time ago…”

Was this… going to be about her home?

“Do you remember what I have told you before? About the many worlds and the source?”

“Ehh… That there are many worlds… surrounding this source like shells?”

“Yes. Then, let me ask you this: What do you think was the first world?”

“Huh?”

The first one?

“The first world was very close to the source. A world filled with mana and souls. The source nurtured it and it grew in response. People came to be and life flourished. With an abundance of mana and souls, they could create almost anything they wished for.”

“...”

“But over time the people desired more and more. They desired the stars themselves. They tried to bring them into their fold…”

“... and they failed?”

“In a way. The spell went haywire and the entire world was transmuted, leaving nothing but a dead yellow planet behind.”

They failed… and the price was the planet’s life… That’s… quite a heavy story…

“There are many who desire to reach that place. After all, I have become a little bit famous, after the Great Spirit War. Yet, what point is there in reaching a place where there is nothing?”

“... I don’t know. Maybe because they don’t know better?”

If they knew what the place was like, then they wouldn’t try to reach it. Probably. On the other hand, maybe they were trying to reach so they could learn about it.

“Maybe. I don’t know what goes on in such people’s heads. I only know that it is a bother to me.”

“A bother? That cleaning up the mud thing?”

“Yes. If nobody cleans up that mud, then the mud would just accumulate without end. And nobody wants to know what would happen then.”

I could imagine… Or probably not, since I really didn’t know what that would even entail.

“Yet, those fools keep throwing mud without end. It’s annoying and bothersome if you ask me.“

“Haaa…”

Yumias puffed out her cheeks. Without that creepy smile on her, she actually looked like a regular child that was simply sulking. If she just behaved like this all the time, she’d be far more approachable but…

“Well, they’ll stop at some point anyway. After all, they’re so eager to kill themselves in pointless rituals it’s almost adorable.”

Yeah, she wasn’t approachable, after all…

“Miss Yu— I mean, Yumias. That first world you mentioned… Was the world you came from?”

“Mhm, that’s right, Karen. It’s the world where I was born and raised. Though by the time they self-destructed, I had already long left that place. My, imagine my shock when I came back only to suffocate first thing. Not even the air is breathable there anymore.”

So, even if those people actually managed to get there, they’d just immediately suffocate?

“But yes, that’s the kind of place those fools are seeking out. Silly, isn’t it?”

In a way… It was…

“Are there that many trying to go there?”

“Yumi dear, you have already seen one instance happening yourself.”

“... The elven forest.”

“Yes. Now you see the remains of a second.”

And the world was vast… Was that what she was implying here?

“... What about those incidents with the village?” asked Karen.

“Nn? The village?”

Where Yumelia and her companions had created those Crystal Flower drugs? Did that have any relation to this?

“No, not that village. Remember what Mr Ruben told us back at the fort?”

“... No.”

He had told us something about a village?

“He said something about a village being used as life sacrifices for a ritual.”

“Did he?”

“Yes, he did.”

Sorry, but I really didn’t remember that… That had been quite a while ago already, too.

“Either way, maybe that was a similar occurrence like this here.”

“Nn, that’s possible…”

“Mr Ruben also said that there are similar incidents happening all over Lafria…”

“Oh, that. That I remember.”

Now I remembered what she was talking about… We were told about how villages were wiped out or attacked or stuff like that. Korwen assumed that our incident with the mother roper, or rather what happened at that village was one of those strings of incidents… Probably.

“But, if those were all similar attempts…”

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Just how many times were they trying to do that?

“See, my dear child? These incidents are far from rare and they happen all over the place. That’s why it’s so bothersome.”

“I see…”

I didn’t really care about the mud-on-the-wall stuff that Yumias. However, while it’d be one thing if they just killed themselves off, it was different if they kept involving innocent bystanders…

Then again, the captain would simply say to keep out of it since it’s not our job anyway… Well, I guess it really isn’t.

And it wasn’t like I could go off on my own either. Not like I wanted to.

“Maybe we should mention this to Mr Captain?”

“Nn… Maybe…”

I turned around to look over to where Korwen stood. He was still directing the others in our search efforts. I felt a little bad for just standing here and talking with Yumias… But she probably wouldn’t let us go either.

“Whether you do or do not is your own decision. I can’t tell you if those incidents were related or not anyway.”

“Didn’t you, err, clean them up?”

“I cleaned up the aftermath, the kind that most people cannot see. The boundary of the world. That doesn’t require me to be physically present in those locations, however. So, no, I have no idea if they were the ones you were talking about. I mean, if I had, I would have seen this fort before, right?”

“Well…”

Now that she mentioned that, that was true as well…

“Anyway, there are some other things I wished to talk about. So, I hope I quelled your curiosity about the things you have seen, my dear Yumi. Unless, of course, you have any other questions.”

Questions, huh? There… was something.

“Mmm…”

I turned back around to look at Yumias and Karen. At some point during our talk, Yumias creepy smile had made a return.

“There’s one thing…”

“Go on, shoot.”

“... Who is Mina?”

The smile was gone. It felt as if the atmosphere had become frozen in an instant… 

I gasped in surprise… only to realise that it was gone already. Yumias stood right in front of me, with her smile ever-present. It made me question whether I had imagined that right now.

“You want to know about Mina?”

“Ye, yes…”

“That would be my little sister.”

“... Huh?”

Her… little sister?

“What? Is it so surprising that I have siblings?”

“Well… A little.”

“My, so rude. I’ll have you know, my family is actually quite big.”

Did that include the people she called her children without their consent?

“But I am surprised. How do you know of that name?”

“Err, I saw something in that dream… that had the name on it…”

“Huh.”

Maybe it had been a little rash of me to ask her that question. No, it definitely had been. I knew they shared the same last name and after that story about their world… But this was clearly something she didn't wish to talk about...

“Well, there’s not much to add to that. So, any other questions?”

“No…”

“Mh, then let’s talk about the other thing I came here for.”

With that, Yumias turned to Karen.

“Though, I guess in your case there’s not much to add. Yumi has probably told you already about the place you have seen, right?”

“Yes, she did.”

“Then, are there any questions left for me?”

“Uhm… Why did we see those dreams?”

Yumias cocked her head again, thinking for a while before answering.

“Probably because Yumi has inherited a part of me and because you and Yumi are connected. Something like that, I guess? It baffled me just as much.”

“I see.”

“Well, it’s no use thinking about it too hard. It shouldn’t happen again.”

“It shouldn’t?”

“It shouldn’t.”

“...”

Karen glanced towards me, maybe trying to ask for help from me.

“Well then, I guess this is all, right? I will leave you all to your devices now.”

“Huh? Uhh, okay?”

Before I could even think about how to help out Karen, Yumias had apparently decided to end the discussion right then and there.

“I will see you later, my dear children.”

Leaving only those words behind… she disappeared…

In the end, what was the reason for her coming all the way down to meet us? Why did she not tell us about all of this back when she had returned? Why did she wait until now? I didn’t know… It was odd. Was it really only to talk with us?

Unfortunately, the person in question had already gone back so no matter how much I brooded over that, there wouldn’t be anyone to answer. My only choice, for now, was to return to my work with Karen. There were more than enough people already busy searching the nearby premises and since there didn’t seem to be any more side corridors, the only thing left for us to do was takin a look at the questionable ritual drawings that adorned the floor.

Though, no matter how much I look at this, I have absolutely no idea what this is supposed to be…

It was like looking at some mathematical formula with symbols you didn’t know. It simply made no sense if you didn’t even know the basics. It made me wonder what point there even was in having Karen and me look over this but well… It wasn’t like I didn’t notice anything.

“Hey, Sis.”

“Yes?”

“Is it just me or are all those skeletons lying on the circles?”

“Mm… I guess they do. Though, there are only three of them so…”

“Nn, there are only three of them. But there are over a dozen of those circles.”

Yes, this is what stroke me as odd. We only had three dead Worshippers here.

“Ria, what do you think?”

“...”

No answer. Which was probably to be expected. Karen and I had absolutely no clue about any of this but it was different for Ria. Unfortunately, she was quite focused on the centre of this giant drawing. A circle larger than all others, surrounded by a dense script written in odd symbols.

Just as I was considering returning to my fruitless work, Ria suddenly stood up, her expression one of confusion.

“Ria?”

“Mmm… It’s… weird…”

“What is?”

“I cannot… figure out… what this… ritual… was trying… to accomplish…”

“Err, it was supposed to bring them to Yumias’ home, no?”

That’s what she had told us earlier.

“Likely… but… many parts… are damaged… and… it is… impossible… to say… for sure… if that… was really… its purpose…”

“So… we don’t know?”

“Mm… We don’t…”

It wasn’t possible to analyse this thing anymore because it was too damaged, huh?

“Is it not possible to guess what had been written in some parts or so?”

“I have… tried that… but many… of the… important parts… have been… completely… destroyed…”

“That’s unfortunate…”

“Mm… A spell… to travel… would need… a destination… but the… part where… there should be… a destination… is completely… gone…”

Ria pointed at one part of the script. A section had been completely gouged out, making much of it illegible. It hadn’t simply faded, the stone it was written on was gone. There was no way to even guess what had been there anymore.

“There are… other parts… that are… odd…”

She looked around, at the corpses surrounding us.

“As you… have said… There are…  too few… corpses… each circle… is a source… of mana… an offering… to the…. Ritual… No matter… how weak… a ritual… three magicians… would never… be enough… Unless… they had… a powerful… replacement…”

“A rpelacmenet? Like a mana crystal?”

“Yes… but then… there would be… no need… for such an… extensive… ritual drawing…”

“There are no other corpses, though. And I haven’t heard anything of someone founding any elsewhere.”

I was sure we’d notice if someone called Korwen because they found more skeletons. And since that hadn’t happened yet…

“So, in the end, we have no idea what happened to the others… assuming there were others.”

“That is… correct…”

“Well… It feels like we figured out nothing at all…”

The drawing was too damaged and there were no other things that could be of any help.

“Miss Ria, what about that other drawing?”

“... The one in that… torture room?”

“... Yes, that one.”

I honestly didn’t want to think about that one…

“Mm…”

Ria seemed to mull over Karen’s question for some time before answering her.

“That one… was weird…”

“Weird?”

“It seemed… different from… this one… It was… probably related… to the… equipment… in that… room… but… similarly to… here… there was… too much…. damage… to say… for sure…”

“I see…”

I hadn’t even noticed that she had taken a look at that one… Hadn’t Korwen immediately shut everyone out?

“Too much damage here, too much damage there. You’d think it was on purpose…”

“It might… have been…”

“Huh?”

“The Worshippers… are an… organisation… maybe they… had sent… people to… this place… to check… up on them… Then they… found that… they were… all dead… So they… recovered everything… they deemed… important… and then… destroyed… all the… important parts… of these…”

“Now that you mention it… Maybe those people were also the ones who blocked the other exit?”

Ria nodded in response, agreeing with me.

“It is… quite likely… that that… is the case… Though it is… mere suspicion… in the end…”

“Better than having nothing, though…”

I glared at the drawing to our feet. The whole thing gave me the creeps but at the very least, you could also say that it was harmless with all the vital information gone from it.

“Well, nothing we can do about… Should we inform the captain then?”

“Mm… That… would be… appropriate…”

“Then, let’s go.”

The three of us made our way to Korwen, who was in the back of the hall, overseeing the mercenaries.

“Captain.”

“Ahh, Ria and you two. So, found anything?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“The drawing… is too damaged… It’s not… possible to… say what… it has been… used for…”

“That so. That’s indeed unfortunate…”

Korwen sighed as he looked at the three of us.

“We haven’t really found anything of interest over here either. We found an old book but…”

Korwen picked up something from a nearby table. It was a thick book cover made of leather. However, the inner part that should be filled with pages was empty. Or more like… only rotten paper scraps remained in it.

“More surprised the leather actually survived, to be honest. But the book itself is beyond hope. No chance to glean anything from it.”

“So, no clues at all as to what they did here?”

“Nothing at all. We might have more luck above ground, though I wouldn’t keep my hopes up.”

Korwen shrugged and he returned the damaged book—if you could still call it that—back on the table.

“Not much point in digging further. We just about finished searching here, too. Once that’s done, we’ll finish for the day.”

“Oh, we’re done?”

“We’re done.”

Yay, work was over!

“Mr Captain, what will we do about this underground area?”

“Mm… I wonder… It’s quite an interesting place but, to be honest, we won’t need most of it. I’m considering filling up all the areas here and only using the places close to where we entered. And Yumias is right that this isn’t a spot where we want to be for long, either. It’s more trouble than worth making this area livable again.”

Well, you couldn’t really keep all that sulphur in the walls, at least.

“Now then, enough of those dreary topics. Let’s finish up and call it a day.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Yes, Mr Captain.”

There is no need to worry.

They will never disturb you. I won’t let them.

I will keep my promise, Mina.

None shall disturb your sleep. None.

No matter what come.

I promised.

A lone figure stood at the top of a spire, watching the stars of the night sky.

What their eyes are seeing, none shall ever know.

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