Chapter 538 – The Old Woman and the Resolution

000

The old man’s smile, as she had seen on the first day, was not benevolent.

It was the first time I realized that the dignity seen between the wrinkles could change so much just with the surrounding atmosphere and characters.

“Quartz… You, them He was the one who sent the anti-gwidae. She didn’t look like your average doctor…”

When Cleon says that, the old woman nods her head.

“Everyone lives with a secret. And that secret, sometimes a secret for everyone. First of all, come inside. The conversation we have to talk about from now on is a conversation that neither mice nor birds nor the moon know about.”

Saying that, Quartz turns her body around and goes inside her mansion her. Illenu sneaks up to Cleon and pulls his sleeve her and asks a question.

“… Do you know each other?”

“When I first came to the East, Amelia was seriously injured … She is a doctor referred to by Herti to treat her body to her. Thanks to her, Amelia was able to wake up safely.”

At Cleon’s words her, she nodded her head knowingly.

And, if you cross the threshold of the mansion with Pamela and Illenu and look inside, the area inside is only about the size of a room in the mansion Cleon is living in now.

All that is there is old wooden furniture, and a bed that looks quite old.

And, as if emphasizing that it is a clinic, various medicinal materials and medical instruments piled up on the wall.

The bitter smell felt at the tip of his nose he seemed to permeate the entire room, not just the medicine.

“Cleon. Please watch your step.”

Aine said so to Cleon, who was looking around her room her, probably because he was worried.

“Pamela should be more careful than me.”

When Cleon answered that, Pamela nodded as she held up the hem of her cloak with her hand.

“Gwa, it’s okay.”

“…If you’re a vampire, shouldn’t you have good night vision? Why are you afraid of the dark?”

Illenu talked to Pamela, who seemed frightened, as if she knew her well because she was a half-vampire.

“Yeah, but that… Still, if you don’t know what might come out of a dark place, you’d say it’s scary.”

“This can be happen. I’m still 15 on the inside…”

Looking at Cleon defending Pamela, Illenu uttered a ‘Huh-Huh’ voice.

At some point, Quartz approached one side of the wall of the narrow house.

There, a statue in the shape of a grotesque humanoid with three heads and six arms was erected.

In each hand, there were swords of different shapes, and the faces showed a ‘smiling face’, ‘angry face’, and ‘sad face’.

“Hey… !”

As soon as Pamela sees it for the first time, she hones her voice at the terrifying figure.

“It’s okay, it’s just a statue.”

And when Cleon spoke as if to soothe her, Illenu looked at her curiously, placing her hand on her chin her.

“What monster is this?”

“That’s not a monster, it’s a god. He is a god worshiped in this ancient land, whose name is not widely known on the continent.”

When Illenu talked while looking at the statue, Quartz said ‘hoho’ and burst into a kind grandmother’s laugh.

“Is your name?”

“No. As he lost his faith his, he lost his name his as well. Just. Only the legend of a god who fought while eating demons to protect humans remains.”

After hearing that explanation, Cleon looked at the statue for a while before opening his mouth.

“Since you had a lot of arms and a head, you must have fought really well.”

“Do you think so?”

Quartz listened to Cleon’s story and asked him while looking at the statue together with bored eyes.

“As a prosecutor, it’s an enviable arrangement.”

When Cleon replied with a wry smile, Quartz also smiled and shook his head.

“…Then let’s go in soon.”

And, having said that, he grabbed the statue’s head and turned it so that the occiputs of the three faces were in front.

With a click, the statue disappeared and a door hidden in the wall behind it opened.

Of course, it was a secret passage.

“It is an indispensable device.”

Illenu said that as if he was used to it, and he led ahead of Cleon.

And when Cleon follows, as if leading Pamela, the last three people of the anti-gwidae enter while closing the door.

Unlike the outside, the stairs were kept somewhat bright by placing torches on the walls.

And, at the bottom of the stairs – that is to say, the part corresponding to the basement of the doctor’s office in quartz was also dimly lighted.

“I’ll have to put a lift or something. It’s hard to go up and down the stairs because you’re old.”

When Quartz, who had descended all the stairs first, spoke while tapping his knee, Cleon smiled bitterly.

As she guides herself to such a secret place, she must have wanted to ease the tension of the three, including Cleon.

And, to express the sight that comes into view after going down the stairs, it was a huge underground museum.

Furniture and junk that may have been old were neatly arranged by type.

Indeed, it can be said that they are relics that do not know how many hundreds of years old.

Do you feel like magic? In other words, it’s not like that, so among them, only a small part of the items have magical powers.

In addition, the types of artifacts related to battle, such as armor and weapons, which are likely to exist in a place like this, were not on display.

“Nice.”

Cleon with pure feelings in his mouth her.

“Not much, nothing worth seeing. It’s all this old man’s hobby. Things that are obsolete, things that have become obsolete. Because collecting old things is my hobby.”

Saying so, Quartz turned to the three, who were a bit overwhelmed by the sight around them.

And, the innermost – place the hearth in the middle and go to the seat where people can sit and sit down.

“Ruler. You guys too come over here and sit down Let’s hear the story. And- I must have something to say.”

“Is it okay if we sit together? Old man.”

When Aine said that, Quartz averted her gaze and saw Draine staggering.

Unlike her other sisters her, she drank a fair amount of alcohol in a short amount of time, to the point where she was considered extraordinary just by standing like this.

Aine and Zubai both blushed and bowed their heads while watching the youngest child’s rudeness, while Quartz spoke to them with a benevolent smile.

“Do something with that child. After that, you’d better rest. Originally, today was your holiday.”
“All right.”

It was a refusal that was close to saying roundabout.

Everyone present would have known.

However, Aine did not express any particular opinion about Quartz’s words her, and as she said, she carried her youngest child her, Dryne, on her back her.

Then, he opened the door in one corner of the spacious underground warehouse and slowly disappeared.

When you hear the sound of a sliding door closing, Quartz touches the fire with a kindling stick, and the fire hidden between the trees and straw rises up and touches the hearth.

In an instant, the temperature in the room rose, and it felt like it was getting warmer.

“Hey… What’s the point of asking after chasing you all the way here? Grandma is…?’

Then, when her Illenu breaks her silence and raises her hand to ask, Quartz looks back at her with her benevolent expression her.

“I’m called Quartz. It’s a doctor who doesn’t care much. That person was ‘Illenu.’ He found it.”

“…How did you…”

Illennu was speechless as she stared at her, who had all the information she had n’t told her—no, to be precise, the information she had n’t even told Cleon and others outside of her.

“I have a lot of friends. Both inside and outside the East. If there’s something I want to keep an eye on, I can get any amount of information.”

“…What a mean doctor.”

At Quartz’s words her, Illenu shook his head, wondering if there was a doctor like you.

And, as if knowing roughly what kind of person she was, she let out a sigh.

“Ho-ho-ho… I’m sorry for being grumpy. But it doesn’t really matter what kind of person this old man is. I’m just trying to think of him as an adult with a way to help young people for now.”

And, she circles around and warns her not to dig deep into herself.

Then, Cleon looked at her and opened her mouth to her silence her.

“…You are also Amelia’s benefactor, and you also gave information about the Dark Giant. I am grateful for that. So…”

“So?”

“I wish you well in the future.”

At Cleon’s words, Quartz nodded her head while slightly raising the corner of her mouth her.

“As expected, famous adventurers have discretion in the way they live.”

“I was taught to respect the elderly.”

Quartz nodded his head once more as if he liked Cleon’s words her.

Soon, her gaze she moves away from Cleon to ‘Pamela’ next to her.

“As I said before… I have a lot of friends, so I know that non-human beings come and go in and out of Asteris, the capital of the East. The same was true of you. Poor vampire lady.”

Perhaps she felt something in Quartz’s eyes her looking at her, so Pamela moved her body her a little.

“Well. It’s been decades since I’ve seen a vampire with my own eyes… I heard about it from Zwei. Do you have something you want to hand over to me?”

“Ah… Yes… That…”

Pamela must have sensed her unspoken intimidation of her despite Quartz’s laid-back attitude of her, and as she stammered her nodded her head, she showed the pocket of gold coins she had shown to Zwei from her bosom her.

“This is…”

“Yeah. As Zwei said, it’s a gold coin that was used hundreds of years ago in the Eastern countries. If it’s this, of course I think I can exchange it for money.”

“It’s all good…”

Pamela sweeps her heart, wondering what she should do if she is rejected.

“It would be nice to exchange it for money as it is, but there is no one who can guarantee your status to find a place to live right away. Let me help you. So that you can find a place to live.”

“Go, thank you…”

Pamela responded to Quartz’s words by nodding her head in succession.

“Of course, you’re going to give the money that’s left over from getting a house back to this kid, right?”

When Illenu, who had been quietly listening to the story from the side of her, intervened, Cleon had no choice but to sigh at Illenu’s suspicious behavior of her.

“Illenu…”

“No, we need to make sure of this.”

“It’s just as Illenu said. You should make sure you do this. You’re a pretty meticulous kid.”

Rather, when Quartz took Illenu’s side of her and nodded, laughter was heard from Illenu’s side of her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure of that part. It’s a matter of credit, and money doesn’t mean much to this old man.”

“…Seeing that you’ve collected so many artifacts. It looks like that.”

Illenu nodded in agreement with Quartz’s words.

Then, Cleon pats Pamela on the shoulder.

“That’s great. With this, you’ll be able to stay in Asteris.”

“Yes…!”

Pamela bows her head as if thanking Cleon for following her this far.

“However.”

At that time, Quartz raised his voice as if to interrupt the warm atmosphere of the two for a while.

“After that, what were you planning to do? Miss Pamela.”

And he looks at her with her quiet eyes.

“The family is all gone, right? And what’s left is wealth from treasure, and a lifespan close to eternal life as a vampire. Are you going to live in Asteris aimlessly?”

After thinking for a while at Quartz’s words, she shook her head.

Pamela opened her mouth cautiously.

“Family… That’s right. My mother and father should have fallen asleep with me, but when I woke up, only ‘ash’ was left in their coffin. But… It wasn’t my brother’s coffin. There was. .. The child was nowhere to be seen.”

“…Your brother. You mean Berlin.”

Pamela nodded her head at Cleon’s words her.

“I’m sure. Berlin, somewhere, is still alive. The power of my blood relatives is telling me that. I’m inexperienced in handling vampire powers, so I can’t properly chase them… But then… I have to do what I have to do.” I think of my job as finding that child who is also my family. The reason I came to Asteris was because I might have a clue to find my younger sister.”

After saying that, she looks at Cleon.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you what to say beforehand.”

As a result, it is said that there was a reason other than her hunger for her, but Cleon shook her head at her.

“It’s okay. I don’t care.”

“Well. If I was simply hungry, it would have been faster to go to the nearby port city… I was thinking the same thing.”

Pamela seemed relieved after hearing Cleon and Illenu’s words.

At Pamela’s words, Quartz remained silent for a moment.

Seeing her as if thinking deeply about something, Illenu and Cleon couldn’t open their mouths on their own, and after a while, she opened her mouth and spoke.

“Yes… A family is always necessary and unforgettable at any time. But, considering the circumstances, your younger brother must be a vampire like you, right?”

“Yes. For now… Ah, but Berlin is a child who cherishes even the life of a single insect since she was a child. And since she’s a blood relative like me, she has no reason to vampirize human blood.”

“I see. …If that’s how you feel as a vampire, that’s it.”

Soon, she says she will be right, and Quartz nods her head.

“Cleon.”

“Yes, Mr. Quartz.”

At the words of her quartz her calling herself, Cleon turns to her and meets her eyes her, and she talks.

“Can you help Pamela?”

“I was thinking of doing that, but… Is it something that Mr. Quartz himself would ask for?”

When she looked at what Cleon thought was the purpose of the quartz, she felt that what Cleon himself thought was ‘to protect the Orient’.

Perhaps, the idea itself was not wrong.

For his sake his, he even gave himself a hint so he could get rid of Poltuk, and moved the vip squad.

Then, is there a reason why he personally nominates himself to help Pamela?

If he wanted to help Pamela, it would have been possible even if Cleon didn’t step forward.

Because she felt she had the power to do so.

“Because I think she would prefer helping her younger brother her, who is closer in age to her, than me or her old grandmother her.”

“…Hot.”

When Ilenu unknowingly laughs at Quartz’s words, Pamela nods at her too.

“Are you really going to help me? Thank you! Uncle Cleon!”

Feeling like something was messed up, Cleon sighed, but for now, he had no choice but to nod his head.

“Now. Then, it seems that the story has been sorted out with this. Miss Pamela. I’m going to stay in the basement today. If I go out in the morning, it might be dangerous. I’ll use the bedroom over there.”

With that said, Quartz slowly rose from her seat and led her Pamela to the room where she was to sleep.

“…Okay then, let’s go back too.”

When Cleon said that and tried to stand up, Illenu grabbed Cleon’s wrist and talked.

“Wait. I have more questions for Mr. Quartz.”

“…”

“And. It’s not just me, right? Cleon.”

Do you too Seeing her attitude and gaze her looking at him with that expression, Cleon let out a sigh as if he could n’t help it.

001

After a while, Quartz, who returned after putting Pamela in the room, sat in the same seat as before and looked at the two who hadn’t returned yet.

“Okay, what do you want to ask?”

“…Start with Cleon.”

At Illennu’s concession, Cleon nodded her head and asked her a question.

“What you glossed over earlier… Is not enough as a reason for me to help her. There must be something bigger, right?”

“Yeah. It’s a matter of course.”

Saying so, Quartz poured tea into a teacup and handed it to Cleon and Illenu.

Judging by the smell and color rising, it seemed absurdly bitter.

“His little brother- his name is Berlin.”

“It is said that the saints are the same. Oracle Ruth.”

When Cleon answered like that, he said, and Quartz sighed.

“… I think that Berlin, the Black Giant, and her younger brother are the same person.”

“…The basis?”

“It’s impossible for there to be a being with the same last name and the same name… There were quite a few parts that couldn’t be explained unless it was a vampire.”

In the end, though, she was defeated by ‘Hero Lecia’.

At her words, Cleon nodded her head.

“… To reassure her, she deliberately told her that it would be someone else … But she also followed her instincts her and said that her her bay her Lynn, who we talk about, was like her her own little brother.” He seemed to think he was human.”

“Unlike us, they’re direct brothers. He must have heard the story and felt it.”

At Quartz’s words her, Cleon nodded her head knowingly.

“Because she is with Pamela, it will be easier to chase the other black giants. And, after all, it is connected to that child’s wish. Just in case there are several black giants and they attack at once. It’s probably safest if you don’t.”

“Okay. In that case, please set her home as close to the Dark Dragon Chamber building as possible.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Quartz laughs at Cleon’s half-joking, half-serious story of her.

And her gaze was now on Illenu.

Then, as if Illenu had waited, she leaned forward and spoke.

“There’s very little you don’t know about this country, right? Then, do you know the story of Emma’s cure?”

“That’s it too.”

Quartz nodded at Illenu’s question.

And she shut her mouth for a moment, then opened her mouth again, looking at Illenu.

“Know.”

“If so, please let me know! If it’s the information fee, I’ll pay…”

“I don’t intend to put a price on information to save people, child. But… The reason I don’t want to talk about this is because I don’t know your ‘resolve’.”

“…Resolution?”

When Ilenu tilted her head at some heavy words, Quartz slowly moved her upper body to bring her to eye level with Ilenu while talking.

“If. Either you or Emma could die as a result of the treatment, what would you do?”

And what came out of her mouth was a remark that seemed to shake a crueler choice than she thought.

“…Dhampir’s, vampire hunter lady.”

A voice that seemed to test Illenu’s resolve.

To that, she shut her mouth for a moment, then—

“I-“