Chapter 1070 – Up and Down

000

In Cleon’s opinion, adventures were always filled with alternating joys and sorrows.

Of course, such ideas did not originate from fatalism, which considers it to be something like ‘God’s arrangement’ to maintain the average level of happiness.

Based on my own experience – looking back on the path I have taken so far, I can say that it is.

If there is a meeting, there is a separation, and if there is an ordeal, there is a result.

In a way, it would be better to think of these ups and downs as a kind of essential element that cannot be missed in life.

So Cleon decided to think.

It is also part of these ups and downs that he meets a good friend named Uni, who reunites with ‘Laplace’ and joins him.

And then he met a wonderful and trustworthy demon named ‘Ne Mei A’.

[Oh, I was just on the right at the intersection.]

“…”

It might be better to think of meeting this loud, irritating, old man who can’t give directions properly.

This small mechanical doll, controlled by Descartes, was riding on Cleon’s shoulder and telling him the direction of the path to take directly into his ears.

I don’t know if it was because he was getting old and had dementia, or because he was sleeping a lot, but he was sometimes silent and kept missing the right time to show me the way.

Was this already the fourth or fifth time?

I was determined not to remember every single thing, but it was inevitable that I would get annoyed every time.

He was praying, asking for patience, even though he doesn’t even have a god.

Haha! I’m sorry! Everything around here looks similar! What is that! Isn’t it the same as finding a house in a neighborhood you just moved to?]

Cleon turned around without even looking at Descartes, who said something subtly relatable.

“Okay, so be quiet. What you need is directions, not small talk.”

[Keuhumhum. Well, I might forget it, the young man is petty…]

Why can I express such dissatisfaction after apologizing?

… Perhaps it’s because my true intentions are that I’m not sorry at all.

[To tell the truth, we are busy here in many ways. I was worried that Darwin might suddenly make a sudden move. Soothing her.]

“Are you really placating me? From what I remember, you were the one who got along the least well with Darwin out of all of us.”

When Descartes spoke as if it were an excuse, Laplace questioned him.

[That can’t be possible! We also have something in common: loving our family… Aren’t we the closest in age!]

“You have no delicacy? And even though you are close in age, there is a gap of over a hundred years between you…”

[I guess I’ll have to show you my delicacy next time. The things I made while I was incarcerated by her granddaughter…]

“Ugh!! It’s noisy!!”

With the two merchants talking on both sides, Cleon finally can’t stand it anymore and raises his voice.

Even if it’s not loud, if Cleon’s anger explodes at a considerable volume, Uni, who was walking quietly next to him, will cover her ears.

However, Laplace and Descartes did not suddenly become hysterical, and the gazes of Laplace and Descartes looking at Cleon, who was legitimately angry, still contained questions such as ‘What’s going on?’

[Suddenly there was a loud noise, and the old man’s heart almost dropped.]

“Kkeuk… If you make too much noise, Darwin will find out your location.”

“It’s because of you…! Chatter and chatter as if we were old friends we haven’t seen in a long time!”

Cleon then lifted Descartes, who was riding on his shoulder, using his thumb and index finger.

Feeling the fragility of the tip of his finger as if it would break if he squeezed it with his fist, he placed it on Laplace’s fluttering back.

“If you two are going to chat, do it together like that! Don’t put me in between!”

[Isn’t it difficult to give directions like this?]

“It’s much better than hearing an annoying voice near your ear.”

As Cleon spoke like that, he confirmed that he had arrived at the crossroads that Descartes had mentioned earlier, and walked in the opposite direction to the direction they had walked.

“Rather, I think it’s better for you to be quiet too.”

[Hoo. Why?]

When Cleon spoke to Descartes, Descartes replied that he was curious about the reason.

“Well, if Darwin finds out that you’re talking to me like this, won’t he realize that you’re a traitor?”

When Cleon asked if he was asking something obvious, Descartes fell silent for a moment.

[Oh. Are you worried about this old man?]

Annoying.

Cleon felt those two words come from deep within his heart and fill his head.

Who cares about him? What he was worried about was that his cooperation would be discovered and put Darwin on guard.

Because I didn’t know what she would do if that happened.

[But don’t worry, young magic swordsman. Because she can never hear the conversation between you and me. Even if I’m in the same room as Darwin right now.]

“…”

Cleon with a suspicious expression.

However, Descartes continues his speech without even looking at Cleon’s expression.

[Want to know why? Do you want to know? If so, I have no choice but to answer.]

“No, I didn’t ask—”

[The thing I’m talking to you about right now is a kind of spy tool that was restored using ancient technology. The reason it looks like an ordinary and cute mechanical doll on the outside is to avoid inspection by the enemy.]

I can’t hear anything from this side.

Cleon thinks so and gives up trying.

[The amazing thing about this thing is that it is controlled not with a remote control or console, but through ‘brain waves.’ Do you know ‘brain waves’? Don’t you know? If I explain it, it will be long, so I’ll correct it to ‘thoughts’.]

“Oh. Then, it’s a story about a ‘golem’ made of machines and science.”

[That’s right, Laplace.]

Two regressors who give and take as they please.

I wanted to shut the mouth of Descartes, who was talking as if it were some kind of classroom, but unfortunately, there was no part that could be called a mouth on the mechanical doll.

[That’s what I mean. What is speaking to you now is from Descartes’ mind. In real life, I sit and enjoy tea with my mouth closed. As a bonus, you can enjoy the image of Mrs. Darwin fidgeting in front of you as a treat.]

What do you think? Isn’t it amazing? Descartes opens his arms

Cleon doesn’t give any reply and doesn’t look away from the road.

[Don’t you know what this means, young man? This is one of the biggest reasons why you should trust me.]

“…?”

[It is impossible for anyone to deceive themselves. Because if I’m thinking about betraying you, it’s obvious that it will just come out of my mouth. Changing ‘thoughts’ into ‘sounds’ is exactly what it is.]

I winced. For some reason, I had the illusion that the mechanical doll was winking, even though its eyes were only light.

But, for a moment, I think his words may have some truth.

Cleon shook his head.

“Sure, it may be true right now. But ‘not being able to fool yourself’ only applies to ‘normal people’.”

I see Laplace.

“A guy who gave up his existence to the point of abandoning his human body and replacing it with an animal body.”

Look at Descartes.

“A man who harbors ideas that even his blood-related family cannot understand, and turns his back on them all.”

Cleon speaks.

“Are people like you who accept what happens the way you like and try to be on the advantageous side each time, really unable to deceive even ‘yourself’?”

Cleon doesn’t think so.

All evildoers who think they can be forgiven are masters of ‘rationalization.’

Just like the ‘warriors’ he defeated.

[Indeed, that is an interesting perspective. Perhaps, what distinguishes a bad person from a good person is not the presence or absence of the ability to deceive ‘others’… But the presence or absence of the ability to deceive ‘themselves’.]

To Cleon’s words, Descartes is not at all embarrassed and answers like that.

Then, there will be another awkward silence between the group for a while.

And—

[Oh, I just turned right there.]

001

After going through many twists and turns, Cleon was able to arrive at the coffin of the Returner following Descartes’ guidance.

It was about an hour after I first met him and started walking down the street.

In the end, as he was corrected several times after that, Cleon’s patience almost reached its limit several times.

Every time, in my heart, to save Nemeia and to reassure Yuni.

While extending the fuse, it was possible to avoid cutting down Descartes and Laplace at the same time.

And.

It could be said to be a reward for such patience.

Now, before their eyes, there stood an old-fashioned mansion with an eerie aura.

The style was not the type found in eastern countries, but closer to that found in the kingdom.

To begin with, in eastern countries where there were many one-story buildings, double-story buildings themselves were rare.

‘Oh.’

Cleon looked at the design of such a mansion and thought that he had seen a similar building somewhere before-

[This way. If you go in through the front door, you will be caught right away, so it would be better to take another route.]

When Descartes told them to move once again, this time they followed him quietly.

“If it’s not the main door… I’m thinking of using that door.”

[Ah, it’s that door.]

Two people talking about a topic Cleon doesn’t know.

Cleon had an uneasy feeling about something, so he opened his mouth that had been closed for a long time.

“That door?”

[Okay. Various materials are ‘consumed’ in our regressor’s experiments. The leftover waste after being ‘consumed’… So, there is a passage that disposes of the waste in bulk.]

“… Don’t make it difficult, just say it’s a sewer.”

When Cleon said that, Descartes kept his mouth shut for a moment and then-

[We call it ‘abolished organization’]

“—It’s a sewer.”

[That disposal facility leads to the basement of the mansion. Unless you want to peek into the private lives of our returnees, wouldn’t it be better to go underground, which can be called the main base?]

At his words of sticking to the name despite Cleon’s objections, Cleon nodded as if there was no disagreement.

“… And I feel like I want to settle the matter with Darwin right away. The first thing is to remove the medicinal effect from Nemeia’s body. How did you say you could do that? Laplace.”

“Keu… To be precise, it would be better to say, ‘I don’t know what will happen.'”

He answered vaguely, as if he wanted to see this person quite anxious.

Then, as expected, Uni, who had been quiet until now, opened her mouth.

“Never, … Never, we will be able to fix Nemeia.”

“Ah. Of course.”

If Lila had been here, she could have cut down Laplace right now and read the information left in his brain to reveal the truth.

For Cleon himself, that type of magic was impossible.

Instead – I will save Nemeia no matter what.

Cleon will swear that and try to reassure Yuni.

As for ‘poison’, in fact, there is one more way…

That’s because Cleon also needed great ‘resolution’ for that method.

[It really takes a lot of determination… You’ve never done this before, right? Carving a brand directly onto an animal type.]

Galatea, who read Cleon’s thoughts, also muttered so that only Cleon could hear.

And at that time.

Nemeia, who had been quietly following them behind her, suddenly leaned forward slightly and let out a purring voice.

[… What is this smell…!]

Her excellent sense of smell seemed to have picked up something unusual.

“Nemeia, what’s wrong?”

[Be careful, Uni. … Those guys are taking us towards a ‘dangerous being’…!]

Nemeia never lets down her guard while saying that, and Uni relays that fact so that only Cleon can hear it.

“… The beings they used in their experiments… No way-“

Cleon will reflect on what Descartes said earlier.

And, at the same time-

[We have arrived. Do you see the hole over there? That is the ‘abolition device’.]

At the end of where Descartes was pointing with his hand up, there was a huge pipe that seemed to have come out of a regressor’s coffin.

Indeed, Cleon thought that the stench was coming from there, but there was something more bothersome than that.

Something flowing from the end of the pipe – something that cannot be determined whether it is liquid or solid.

“What is that… An automaton?”

Kuwaaaaah…?

It was a humanoid automaton spraying flames with the weapon in its hand toward what was flowing out of the pipe.

“There are a lot of dangerous substances that leak out… For quite some time now, we have been processing them by incineration through those automata. Most of them.”

“… Most of them…?”

[Mechanical dolls aren’t perfect either… Sometimes, when experiments become more extreme, the amount of waste that comes out inside increases. There are many cases where we can’t handle it all. In particular, Darwin’s medicine is problematic because it can destroy the ecosystem if done incorrectly.]

Those who know that.

Cleon felt angry for a moment, but if he came here and caused more trouble than necessary, he would sneak in.

The good news is that the thing guarding this place is an ‘automata’.

“… Then, try getting rid of those guys for a moment. They’ll get in the way if you go into the waste disposal facility.”

[Oh, that’s impossible.]

──.

“Ha?”

[It’s impossible. Those machines are faithful to the orders they receive, but the method of giving those orders is a bit cumbersome. You have to ‘program’ it yourself.]

“Pro… What?”

Cleon questions the man who uses an unknown term.

[To put it simply, a golem can only move if you build a magic technique. Of course, if you do something like that, Darwin will catch you.]

“Then what do you want me to do?”

[Darwin is currently preoccupied with your group. So… It means that if you pay a little more attention to it, she won’t notice if you make a little bit of a fuss here.]

Cleon, who heard those words, frowned once.

In other words.

There is no choice but to use force to break through.

[Hehe. I was planning on using Meteorite, so there is no need to thank me.]

“I wonder who will thank me?”

Cleon ignored Descartes’ words and drew his sword.

“Yuni, Nemeia. Stay here. I will deal with those machines.”

“Are you okay, Cleon?”

“Ah… No problem, right?”

[Of course! It’s like an automata…!]

Galatea answered Cleon’s words confidently, and Cleon bowed to her.

And the next moment.

Tooung!

Cleon stepped on the floor and jumped forward, leaving behind even the sound and approaching the automata, leaving behind an afterimage of his magic power.

The automata would have recognized Cleon’s presence and tried to turn the flamethrower in his hand.

Suddenly!

A swinging magic sword.

The next moment, their necks and arms had already fallen off, and they were lying on the ground.

What remains in that place are automata that have stopped functioning and are collapsing.

The only sound was the sound of Galatea returning to her sword sheath with a clanking sound.