Chapter 191: Chapter 192: Child Who Loses Little by Little (4)

This is the story after I gave up my memories to defeat Nocturne.Whenever I’d close my eyes, a similar dream would always come to me.Floating in a black sea, and from deep below, something was bubbling up.Those bubble-like things were memories.Memories that remained vivid in the soul of “me”.For example, what I saw now was like that.

“Halfwit, a person’s conscience is triangular in shape.”

According to Salome’s words from some time ago, the shape of conscience is triangular.Every time you do something wrong that goes against your conscience, the triangular conscience spins round and round inside your heart.Then, those sharp vertices would Poke— Poke— my heart and make it ache.That’s why people often use the expression “conscience pricks” when they feel guilty.However, Salome said that the vertices of the spinning conscience were bound to wear away over time, and in the end, your conscience becomes rounded.

“Then, you can do bad things without feeling any guilt. All famous thieves have reached this state, but I’m not sure if you’ll be able to reach it yourself though.”

Salome said this while looking at me, who was clumsy at thievery.Apparently, all famous thieves were at a level where they had no conscience.Salome’s expression looked a bit bitter as she said that.Looking back now, I’m not sure if she was lying to me or if she was genuine.

“Thieves of Snix usually don’t kill people. But the robbers of Nocturne snatch and kill. Someday, you’ll have to kill someone too.”Let me tell you, Salome’s teaching method was strict.A completely Spartan teacher.

“In that sense, today we’re going to dispose of someone. It’s a weak, decrepit old man, so even a halfwit thief like you should be able to handle it quickly.”“Why are we killing him?”“That old geezer has a treasure my father wants, but he won’t give it up. So we decided to just kill him and take it. He’s trash anyway. An evil person whose death won’t make anyone shed a tear.”“……”“But that old fart has a tongue as smooth as a snake. It would be better if you don’t fall for the lies he might try to deceive you with.”

Retribution, it seems, is a real thing in this world.That’s why, they say, most thieves and robbers can’t find peace when they close their eyes.

That day, I headed towards the old man’s hut.I tried to sneak in as quietly as possible, but the old floorboards creaked so much that I was discovered. The old man was a light sleeper, after all.

“Who’s there?”

He was an old man with sparse white hair and no teeth left.His face was so full of wrinkles, as if he had chewed and swallowed all kinds of loneliness by himself, that it was impossible to guess his age.

Tap— Tap Tap—He swayed his cane left and right.It was then that I realized he couldn’t see.

“Who’s there?”“I’ve come to kill you and take your treasure.”

I told the old man.To be honest now, my conscience was round from the beginning.Perhaps that’s why I didn’t hesitate for a moment to decide to kill the old man before me.After all, this old man was the worst of the worst, who had been kidnapping young girls from these mountains for a very long time and offering them as sacrifices.I thought it would be a rather good deed to remove him from this world.

“You’re receiving the consequences of your sins, so don’t blame me.”

Shing—I vividly remembered the sharp sound of the dagger being drawn from my waist.However, the old man laughed with his toothless mouth, “Hehehe—“

“Consequences of my sins, you say. What an interesting reason. You see, after I became blind to sunlight and couldn’t see anything, I started to see strange things. The one who should face consequences is not me, but you.”“Your silver tongue lives up to its reputation. But your words won’t sway me. Still, if you give up the treasure willingly… well, who can say?”“By treasure, do you mean this ‘Crystal ball’? It’s a very fine item. It’s also the first thing I stole when I was still chasing after the light…”

The old man reached into the shadows and pulled out a Crystal ball.Taking an object out of the shadows.While thinking it was a very strange technique, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the brilliantly shining Crystal ball.

“Take it. Things are useless to a person who must die. But grant me one request. Although my conscience has worn down and become as round as this ball…”

He took out a ledger with his wrinkled hand.When it was opened, something quite peculiar was visible.“Limping Ailena: Blonde. Blue eyes. 7 years old. Large scar on left leg.”“Skinny Nanari: Brown hair. Freckles. Amber eyes. 4 years old. Burn mark on nape of neck.”“Nine-fingered Enrico: Black hair. Black eyes. Barbaroi. 9 years old. Missing left ring finger.”

……It was a peculiar list of personal information.I was quite quick-witted, so I could immediately understand that these were the names of some girls.27 names.The children this old man supposedly kidnapped and offered as sacrifices were also 27.Probably this was that list.

“Cough— My life is not long. Not much time left. Even if you hadn’t come to kill me, time would have killed me. If you’re going to kill me and take the treasure, take this too. This is my real treasure… my cough treasure…”

The old man kept coughing several times.It seemed no lie that his life was nearing its end.He proceeded to lay down on the bed as if exhausted.And after closing his eyes, he didn’t get up again.I carefully put the Crystal ball and notebook I received from him into my shadow.When I went outside, Salome looked at me.

“Is the old man dead?”“He’s dead. But I couldn’t find the treasure.”“Cunning old geezer. Did he hide it? So, halfwit, how does it feel, commiting your first murder?”

Right.Was this my first murder?Actually, I felt nothing.As I said earlier, it was because my conscience was round from the beginning.So, why am I recalling these things now?

“……”

It was because the Crystal ball located on the first floor of the hut looked exactly like the one I remembered from at time. Although it was dusty and cracked, it was an unforgettable object.

“Hina, do you know what this thing is?”

I asked Hina, who was yawning sleepily after waking up in the morning. Hina didn’t answer and kept yawning.Poke—When I poked my finger into Hina’s mouth, she jumped up as if startled and frowned.

“Grr…!”“Do you know what this thing is?”

I asked Hina, showing her the broken Crystal ball.But Hina shook her head as if she didn’t know.

“…Don’t know.”“Is that so? Then I have something to give you.”

Swoosh—I reached into my shadow.And I took out one of my treasures that I had been hiding for a long time and placed it in Hina’s hand.It was a ball about the size of Hina’s head.Hina exclaimed “Wow—“ at its iridescent, brilliantly shining appearance. Salome was equally surprised to see it.

“That’s the ‘Sacred Jewel of Saint Alejandro’, isn’t it? The treasure that disappeared after the apostate Wellington stole it from the order…. Judas, didn’t you say you couldn’t get your hands on it? You lied to me!”“It’s the fault of the person who got deceived, right?”

I responded as I was looking at Hina.Hina was holding out the ball in her hand to the old broken ball.Because it was a rule that similar things merge together, the balls merged into one.

“Hehe…!”“The ball that the witch had has started to shine again…! Actually, this Horohoro played with it when the witch wasn’t around and it got cracked and broken…!”

Well, that’s one less mystery to solve.

Knock Knock—At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the first floor of the hut.When Hina opened the door, a woman in her 20s with long black hair was standing in front of it.Because she covered her body with a robe, only her head and face were visible.A Barbaroi?Her black eyes were very sharp like a falcon’s, and she was clearly someone who lived in the ‘back alleys’.

“I heard there was a sign of life in the hut where the Priestess of Gluttony lived, so I came to check. I thought the priestess might have returned… but you’re those little ones from back then.”“…Ung, ung.”“It’s Horohoro!”

The Barbaroi woman, Hina, and Horohoro seemed to know each other.The woman, looking slightly tired, pressed her fingers against her eyelids and sighed, “Phew—“

“Yesterday, I heard there was a little girl asking around carelessly about the ‘Shadow Council’. I wondered if it might be you guys again this time.”“…Ung, ung.”

Hina nodded. It seemed this wasn’t the first time they had such an experience.This black-haired woman must have come to the hut where the ‘Priestess of Gluttony’ lived before and met Hina.Hina then said.

“Take me to the ‘Shadow Council’…! Then I can tell you what you want to know…! Because Hina is the Priestess of Gluttony…! I even have the mark of the Shadow Council…!”“The Priestess of Gluttony has been around for a decade. You’re only six, so you can’t be her. And didn’t I warn you about taking the Shadow Council’s mark? That’s a serious offense. Now I’ll have to escort you underground again… What a hassle.”

I see.I could roughly picture how Hina came to make contact with the underground people.

Thump—At that moment, Hina stood in front of the black-haired woman while holding the Crystal ball.

“Hina can see various things with this…! The questions you wanted to ask the Priestess of Gluttony…. Ask them now…!”

The black-haired woman frowned at Hina’s confident words.Then, looking at me and Salome’s faces, she asked as if protesting, “What on earth is going on here?”I just shrugged my shoulders.

“If you have something you want to ask a fortune-teller, go ahead and ask.”“……”

The black-haired woman made an expression of incomprehension.Then, after sighing, “Phew—“, she said,

“There’s something I’m looking for. An important thing. It’s hard to explain what it is, but it’s a treasure I absolutely must find. Can you tell me where it is?”

What a terribly poor explanation.Hina soon grasped the ball in her hand and looked strained, “Nngh—“What’s going to happen now?After watching closely for a while, Hina finally shouted.

“…I don’t know! Because fortune-telling…. I haven’t learned it from Brigitte yet….”

I see.The black-haired woman said, “I should have known. I’m the fool for being deceived,” and laughed “Pfft—“. The way she laughed while scratching the bridge of her nose seemed somewhat bitter.It was then that I noticed she was missing her ring finger.

“Nine fingers….”“Yes, Nine-fingered Enrico is my name. I’ve made quite a name for myself in the thief world, though probably not as much as you guys? Picking locks and traps is my specialty.”

“Is that so?”

I reached into my shadow.For some men, an old notebook became a more precious treasure than a Crystal ball that could show anything.I took out that notebook and handed it to the woman.

“What’s this? This… this handwriting….”Nine-fingered Enrico, who received the notebook from me, looked at the letters written in it with trembling shoulders and hands.

Flip— Flip—Enrico’s hand, which had been turning the pages one by one, stopped.She must have found the entry with her name.

“The old man was said to have kidnapped children and offered them as sacrifices. But in reality, he was smuggling children out of the mountains and sending them back to the outside world. Right? Just like you, Enrico.”

For young girls, the thieves’ hideout must have been no different from hell.The old man took on the stigma of being an evil person who offered children up as sacrifices while saving them instead. Of course, he was also a real villain who had fallen into bad ways after stealing from the temple.

But I think I understand why he saved girls throughout his life.He must have been someone like me, with a round conscience from the beginning.A round conscience isn’t sharp, but because it bounces around like a ball, it often makes you freely act on your own.

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