Chapter 116: Chapter 109 – The Ashes of Past

It felt like the more I got involved with this world, the more my predecessor overshadowed all of my actions.

That fact wasn't so bad with the fairies, and lots of people didn't really make the connection so directly. That wasn't bad, being compared to someone was legendary as my namesake. It was a bit like validating my own actions, even if it was only in a singular direction and put expectations on me that had little to do with what I was actually doing.

Probably.

Or rather, was I really acting that different from my predecessor? Aside from Claret's personal anecdotes and stories, there was an amazing lack of details. It was probably due to how far back her death had been, so only an extremely small number of people were still alive since then, and for anyone else it was so distantly in the past that it might as well been a different era.

I didn't want to admit it, but from an outsider's perspective, my actions were probably perfectly in line with their expectations.

I've only been doing what I thought was right within my own capacity, but in a world where morals standards were quite a bit lower than where I had come from, my actions were probably on the level of an actual saint. Even though most of what I was doing to me was on the level of casual donations and the occasional volunteer work.

It was, right?

This was normal once you took into consideration my high level and unusual circumstances?

"But still, while you may have lost your memories, perhaps a part of you remembers? Is that why you came back?"

Elli's murmurs brought me out of the daze I found myself in.

"I...don't know. Don't think so. It was just a coincidence. I was born nearby, so I lived here. It was nice living by myself, not having a care in the world."

The dokkalfar woman widened her eyes a little at my words. What part was it that has surprised her I wasn't sure about, but it felt nice that I didn't fit perfectly into the image she had created of me.

But the one who also had an expression change was the one on my shoulder. Her eyes drooped a little, and I hurriedly added an extension to my line.

"But it's also nice having people I care about being around. Just because I enjoyed being alone, doesn't mean I don't also enjoy being with people."

I wasn't sure, but chances were, Alicia was also feeling a bit bad about what I had said. Even though it was something I truly felt, it wasn't something I should have said out loud. Solitude was something I was going to have to live without. Perhaps for the rest of my life. I didn't regret it, but it was something I had to live with.

"I see, yes. Well, it is others which pushes one to strive for great things. It was something I only understood when I first realized that our own actions had cost some our children's' futures."

"I suppose I can understand that."

I hadn't really striven for much when I was alone, but that had changed since meeting Alicia. I couldn't say I had ever really pushed myself until then. Even in the dungeon, I had kept a certain degree of a safety margin because there wasn't any real reason to push myself so far. But now, I could see myself doing exactly that.

Or rather, I had done exactly that, and it was for someone else. Specifically regarding that bastard, even though it was for people I hadn't even met yet at the time.

But it was hard to say that I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for someone else. I just couldn't stand that bastard and there was a good chance that he wouldn't just let me leave at that point either. Either he'd get what he wanted, or he'd die in the process. My own will wasn't quite present in that situation.

It really felt like during this journey of mine, my own will wasn't really that strongly present anywhere.

No, not just during the journey, but even after. The stuff with the fairies was generally for them, though I did enjoy a lot of it as well. Me being here in the dark people's settlement was only because I had to learn about it, or else it would be a never ending source for trouble.

The only thing I had done which was of my own will was working on creating a new body for Alicia. Everything else was just things that happened around that one goal I've been pursuing these many months.

(Is that very little, or quite a lot?)

When I thought about it as all those experiences I had as being part of that one journey, my lack of proactivity didn't seem so bad. Though in the end I wasn't very proactive in general.

It would be nice if I could change that, but I had a feeling that it would be a very hard thing to do anytime soon.

"Now then, would you like to have a look at your town?"

"MY town?"

Since when had this become my town, in any sense of the term?

"This was the town which you had originally founded. Just because it had become abandoned and refounded doesn't change the fact that you are one of the original founders."

"Yea, but, regardless I don't really have anything to do with this town at this point. You guys have been doing everything on your own."

The slight frown on Elli's face was enough to clearly say that she didn't like my answer, but she refrained from speaking it out loud.

"Well, I suppose that it isn't fair for us to rely on you any further. You had given us so much, yet we couldn't do anything to prevent your death."

"No, that's..."

(What would that even be?)

I didn't know anything of substance when it came to my predecessor's death. Just that she died while away from Claret.

"Could you tell me what happened on that day?"

This was something I had refrained from asking my loyal familiar due to all the pain it evidently brought her. But knowing more about my predecessor from a different source, and especially how such a strong vampire died so long ago could help me survive. It did seem like it was an assassination as well after all.

"It wasn't a particularly notable day at first. It's been a few days since you last left the dungeon..."

"Huh? I...I mean, she spent a lot of time inside of the dungeon?"

"You, umm, she did. Lord Scarlet liked to spend a lot of time inside of the dungeon. It seemed like she enjoyed hunting for prey in the deeper levels, but at some point it seemed like there was more to it than just that."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. None of us really had the courage to ask. If Lord Scarlet wouldn't tell us, then we wouldn't ask. It wasn't really our place to do so. It wasn't like it really affected us in the first place after all."

"I see."

It was true that everyone was entitled to their secrets, but it did also feel like they were just letting my predecessor do whatever she wanted.

(Though I suppose it's not much of a surprise. They did seem to feel that they owed her a lot after all.)

"That day though, she emerged from the dungeon. Lord Scarlet was excited about something and announced she had some sort of news to tell, but she wanted to give the announcement to everyone at once."

"It was that big?"

"It seemed so."

(Seemed. So in the end she never was able to tell anyone what the announcement was about?)

Even the idea of such a big announcement felt out of character from everything I knew about her. It must have been something really big for her to act that way.

"Those of us in the town moved to round everyone up for the announcement, but there was a group of children playing in the forest."

"You had kids play in the forest?!"

"There was an adult supervising. But even if there wasn't, the worst that appeared nearby was just goblins. Even the children were levelled well enough to defeat monsters of that degree as long as they stayed together."

"Is, is that so..."

Maybe the children of this world were just that strong as long as they had a few levels, or that the child rearing habits of these people were just that far different from what I imagined.

"Since they were outside of the town, Lord Scarlet herself went to retrieve them while we gathered everyone else. Everyone assembled at the town centre, and we waited. And waited, and waited..."

"..."

"In the end, we went to look for Lord Scarlet. The great Claret as well, as she hadn't shown herself either. Several of us went out to look for the both of them. In the end, we arrived to a most terrible scene."

Elli looked down, her hands on the table turned to fists as tears dripped down on them. Claret as well, her grip on my shoulders tightened to the point that it was painful. But I didn't say anything. I had at least that much tact.

"We...we found...the bodies of the children and the person watching over them...and the great Claret...crying with an empty robe in her arms. Your ashes were still falling from them when I got there. We, umm...well, in the end, we couldn't retrieve the bodies until the next day. But it wasn't like we could blame the great Claret for her actions."

"What did Claret do?"

"She, umm...nobody else died that day if that's what you mean."

The elderly dokkalfar raised her face and gave me a strained smile. Her eyes looked like she was pleading me not to ask any further.

The very fact that she was acting that way made me both curious and nervous, but it was probably better I didn't know the details. It was also a painful time for Claret as well, so I'd refrain from asking her either.

"Well, that's something good at least."

"Yes, I suppose it was a blessing in disguise. Anyways, by the time we managed to retrieve the bodies, there wasn't any trace of your remains nor the great Claret. The wounds on the deceased were clearly made by people, not monsters. So the fear of whoever attacked you...attacked Lord Scarlet, we ended up fleeing the town after we buried our dead."

"I see..."

It was a pretty nasty tale. And I couldn't really blame them for their reaction. There was an unknown enemy nearby, and they were strong enough to kill my predecessor without anyone noticing. For all they knew, she was only killed by bad luck, and the town was the real target.

"Did you ever learn who it was that was responsible for the attack?"

"Nothing definitive."

Elli shook her head.

"We think it might have been the light people's hero. When we got back to the dark lands, there were rumours of a second demon lord being slain. Not only the demon lord we were running form was killed, but another so soon after? It wasn't possible for a second demon lord to exist so quickly."

"Why not?"

Was demon lords some sort of designation made by the system, or some sort of self-professed title? Either way, I didn't exactly see how it was impossible for there to be two demon lords. Or one right after the other at the very least.

"If there was someone who was strong enough to be a demon lord, they would either have been recruited as the current demon lord's right hand, or been eliminated as a source of trouble. It looks like you don't know much about how the dark lands work, but over there, anyone who claims to be a leader is going to be challenged all the time by others who think they're stronger. It's especially true for dragonkin and vampires, who tend to be the strongest most often."

"So couldn't this second demon lord simply been the strongest after the first was defeated?"

But Elli shook her head.

"To be titled the demon lord, you must first prove your strength to all the major clans. That's something that takes years, if not decades, and everyone would know about it. But when we asked around, let alone it not having been enough time, nobody had heard about such a person accomplishing that yet."

"So it was a fake? But who'd spread rumours like that?"

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"That's right. Everyone thought that it was a fake demon lord. But nobody would be stupid enough to claim to be one without a lot of support. Some of us dug around and it turned out that the first ones to spread the rumour were scouts who were watching over a camp of light people. They claimed that they heard those people were talking about defeating a second demon lord."

"That's..."

"Suspicious, right? The timing and everything. The scouts believed that they were the hero party and followed them all the way back to the boarders before returning. For some reason, the heroes invaded our lands again after they defeated the previous demon lord, then killed a supposed second demon lord. Nobody had claimed to be a second demon lord by that point it seemed. In which case, they came to kill someone who was strong enough to be considered a demon lord. The only person we could think of that was that strong, but hadn't already been killed during the previous war was Lord Scarlet."

"That's why you think the hero was the one who killed her?"

Elli nodded.

"It was definitely the church's dog! The scent of light was so strong there! Only the rot weed smelling hero could've beaten you, Master!"

"I see. If the great Claret says so as well, then there really is no doubt."

While Claret's claims on their own were pretty circumstantial, combined with Elli's group's investigation, it was pretty hard to doubt it.

It really did make me wonder though...

"Do you have any idea why it happened though?"

The location was strange. It seemed like this settlement was quite the distance from the dark lands, and especially hard to reach. Unless if you had some specific reason to come, nobody would bother. While the dungeon was more than enough reason for me, and I could understand anyone else who thought so as well, you still had to have the means to traverse through the forest to reach it first.

"We never figured that one out. Lord Scarlet travelled quite often, and sometimes spent months away from the town. She also told stories about all sorts of places she had visited before meeting us as well. But even still...nobody ever called her a demon lord. She never really cared for power, as unusual that was for a vampire."

"That's unusual?"

Frankly speaking, while I knew that a lot of people liked having power and status, I couldn't really understand it very well. What was it that people liked about having power over others? All the stuff that went with it was just so much work. Having just enough to enjoy your life was ideal.

"It is. Maybe it's because you vampires can gain strength faster than most others? I've never heard of a weak vampire before. The dragonkin are born strong as well, which make it easier for them to reach higher levels, but vampires outstrip even their ability to quickly gain strength. They even need to work together to push one of their own above the rest, yet vampires can do it without help."

"Being strong makes one want to gain strength over others? I don't really understand that."

"Lord Scarlet said the same thing long ago."

Elli laughed at that, but on the other hand it made me want to frown.

"Well, that aside, I have heard that the taste of power is quite addictive. For me though, it is a little too much for these old bones of mine."

The elderly woman chuckled at her own words again.

"So, what do you plan on doing? Will you return to the dungeon and continue where you left off before you died?"

"I don't know about what the previous Scarlet left, but I do have things I need to do in the dungeon."

"I see. I hope you will visit from time to time though. We will always welcome you with open arms. I will inform all the hunting parties that enter the dungeon about you."

"Thanks. That'll be appreciated...umm..."

A sudden thought struck me.

"Yes?"

"I'm not the only one using the dungeon."

"Oh? Are you living with some friends?"

"Kinda, but more than just friends, there's also the people with them."

"There's that many people living inside the dungeon that we never noticed?"

"No, not quite."

This really was something difficult to explain. I didn't even understand properly what was going on.

"I think, maybe there's more than one entrance to the dungeon."

"Is that true?!"

Elli stood up in shock.

(Oh wow. She can move quite fast for a granny.)

"Yea, I think so. Umm..."

I thought back, but had difficulty remembering the necessary details, so I turned back and opened the door. The kids beyond tumbled inside.

"..."

"You kids! I told you to stand watch! Not eavesdrop on the elder's conversation!"

Frey knocked each of the kids in the head, leaving them all holding a growing bump in pain.

Once she ushered them outside and joined them to make sure that they wouldn't try that again, I glanced at my feet. To be exact, I was looking at the way the sun's light shone almost directly through the portal.

I traced the path we took from the dungeon entrance to this building, and concluded one thing.

"We're on the western side of Mount Hourai, right?"

"That's correct."

I closed the door to continue our conversation.

"There's another settlement on the south side of the mountain. It's one I've been helping out with, and they've already been harvesting materials from the dungeon."

"That's incredible. We never imagined that there was more than one entrance. Or that there could be. I've never heard of such a thing for any other dungeon."

"Same."

Though in my case, I lacked knowledge about other dungeons to consider if it was particularly unusual or not, seeing Elli's reaction confirmed that it was, in fact, quite strange.

"As long as you properly share usage with the ones to the south, I don't mind you guys using the dungeon as much as you'd like."

"We are thankful of your generosity. Without the bounty of the dungeon, it would be impossible for us to maintain this town."

I thought the same thing about the fairies, though it was possible that they had some means to get all the resources they needed even if there wasn't any dungeon to farm materials from.

That aside, it was good that Elli did properly recognize the dungeon as mine. It wasn't like I'd restrict their usage in the first place as long as they weren't assholes about it, but the acknowledgement made things quite a bit easier on both of us.

"If possible, it would be nice if we could set up trade with this settlement as well."

"Oh, that's a good idea!"

Trade was always good. It improved relations between disparate groups and would help both flourish. While the dungeon provided a virtually infinite source of raw materials and a small trickle of various items, it was the produced items which both sides would need in the long term.

"These robes were actually made by someone on the other side!"

"Truly? It is quite exquisite! These people must have quite the accomplished artisans then! I'd like to have some things made myself as well!"

The elderly dokkalfar looked on my clothes with glee as I held my arms out and slowly turned to show off the sparkling robes I was wearing.

"Any chance there's a good leather worker here then? Unfortunately I couldn't find anyone who could make a good pair of shoes on that side."

"There are. Shall I introduce you to one?"

"Please!"

The ones I was wearing were decent, but it would be nice to get a pair which were easier to move in. The ones I got from Knossos's dungeon restricted my ankles a bit, so something light and easy to move in would be nice.

"Ah, but what about payment? I've collected some coins during my travels."

"What we need most are materials and food. If you can bring extra material for others to use, it would be enough."

"I see. That won't be hard."

It was better for me after all. Gathering materials in the dungeon was easy for me, and it felt like I was helping the people here more than just by spending money.

"How about I show you now? I can also show you around at the same time."

"That sounds good."

I made my way around the table and extended a hand to Elli.

"I'm not so old and frail to need our saviour's help just to walk."

"I'm not..."

"Yes, you don't want us to hold things you don't even remember to you, but for us, we can't forget it. Please let us indulge a little?"

"...Alright."

I couldn't help but think that she was the one who deserved reverence more than me, but who was I to say about such things when others were so insistent. If I didn't deserve the respect they gave me, I could always just earn it afterwards.

As long as they kept the worshipping to a minimum. I didn't want another Claret after all.

With those thoughts, we left the elder dokkalfar's hut together.

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