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Chapter 20 - Infinite Mage - Chapter 170

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[170] 1. Kergo Autonomous Zone (2)

—What in the world happened?

—The Galliant government, having made a fortune off tourism, got even greedier. So they devised a new business. Human tourism.

Silence fell across the mental channel.

From the words "human tourism," everyone guessed the rest.

Tess, in particular, didn't just guess. With her political science background, she grasped what had happened between the Galliant government and the Kergoans.

—They chose the worst thing humans can do.

—Right. The Galliant government treated Kergo ruins and culture—and even Kergoans themselves—as tourist commodities. Of course, that didn't come to light until much later. At first, they just lined up natives so people could gawk from passing carriages. Then the urge to own kicked in. It turned into human hunting. Mercenaries seized boys and girls and sold them at high prices to nobles.

—It's a relief a war didn't break out.

—It's the fate of those lagging behind "civilization." Kergo's force isn't weak—at least, not weaker than Galliant's. But politically, they couldn't compete. Children were being taken; the culprit was obviously the Galliant government, yet there was no evidence. They must have spent heavily to erase it, and even then the human hunting was so rampant it remained profitable. Kergo was helpless. If they started a fight on suspicion alone, natives who depended on tourism capital would end up on the street overnight. In the end, they had to make a pact: open the ruins, and in exchange, seal off entry to the autonomous district. They closed the doors—and that's how things stayed to this day.

Amy felt, painfully and viscerally, Kergo's sorrow—forced to open their ruins knowing their sons and daughters were being sold to nobles.

But whatever their position, the situation had turned dangerous. That alone mattered.

Kanis had spoken up for the same reason.

—But that's not the important part. There are villains among the natives, and because such people exist, Loop gets smuggled. Either way, the natives in the autonomous zone won't look kindly on us. I don't think it'll come to blows, but we can't relax.

—Then isn't Sirone in danger too?

—No, that won't happen. Kergo's first reason for opening the ruins is money, but that's not all. The Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice means something different to them. Kergo has been waiting for someone for a very long time.

—Waiting for whom?

—Who knows. An angel… maybe?

—An angel?

Amy asked again, but Kanis gave no answer.

Arin checked the time and announced over the mental channel,

—Sorry. I want to conserve mental power, so I'm closing the channel. If we reconnect later, you won't be startled anymore.

Telepathy is still magic; it consumes mind. In particular, exchanging information in real time over a channel gnaws at you continuously, like a firewall.

When the mental channel closed, Amy looked straight ahead. As her hearing "reopened," the wail of the rails filled her eardrums.

The minecart vanished into the darkness of the cave.

@

Where they arrived was an underground city.

It had no diagrammatic elegance, but the tunnelwork branching like an anthill, and the plazas widened at each junction, were a remarkable achievement of coexistence with nature.

Amy slipped back into the role of tourist and looked around. Her excitement lasted only a moment before her eyes trembled with dismay.

Kergo's daily life was divorced from the scenery. Everyone was hungry and gaunt. It was more shocking than hearing the natives were hostile to outsiders.

Elderly people, like war refugees, shuffled along the tunnels. Those who couldn't walk leaned against earthen walls, clutching grandchildren their own children had left with them, eyes closed.

It felt like she could hear a scream rising from the bleak view. This was an anthill. And they were the ants.

Old men bent under heavy loads added one more impossible step and receded down the passage. In the corners, hunched grandmothers wove baskets from tree bark.

"Is this really the Kergo autonomous zone?"

No one answered Amy's question. The expectation that a tribe owning such prime real estate as the ruins would be well-off had missed the mark.

Feeling a nameless anger, Kanis gripped Arin's shoulder. Hers was trembling too. She remembered—the life in Radum, the city called hell.

The two of them knew that starving was the most excruciating pain in the world. Which meant… these people were the most pained of all.

"Hey. This way."

The native who had driven the minecart beckoned. His face made it plain he didn't want outsiders seeing this.

After a reach that bent like a rapid, they arrived at a dead-end tunnel. Only a single torch on the wall lit the area.

Amy looked back the way they'd come. They'd detoured far; even if there was a commotion here, no one outside would notice.

The native led them before a man.

Arms folded, lips clamped tight—his looks matched the imagined face of a "true Kergoan."

The muscles of his upper body were more developed than Rian's. Black tattoos were carved across his face, and predator fangs hung from both ears.

When Gis spoke to him, he introduced himself as Mahatu.

Amy recalled that when she'd heard, earlier, about the descendants of warriors, the pronunciation "Mahatu" had come up.

Mahatu—whose very name meant "warrior"—was indeed a warrior.

"Uh, so, his name is Mahatu. He raises Loop and delivers it to the temple."

Amy guessed the black tattoos were the color of those who managed Loop. If white meant the ones who conducted rites, black might be those who prepared them.

Since Arin hadn't attempted telepathy, Amy's group had no choice but to wait for Gis to interpret.

Tess judged that wise. From Mahatu's temperament, he wasn't a normal strongman. If his Schema leaned sensory, there was a risk he'd detect telepathy.

While everyone was thinking that, Mahatu's words suddenly became intelligible.

When Amy looked back, Arin was smiling.

—So you went and tried anyway? He looks pretty strong. You've got more guts than you look.

—No. I didn't cast telepathy on Mahatu.

—Huh? Then how is this getting interpreted?

Arin subtly pointed at Gis.

Only then did Amy realize. She had cast telepathy on Gis, who was speaking with Mahatu.

If you only intend to eavesdrop on the surface layer of language, there's no need to touch the speaker. It was another strength of Arin's ability.

"Falcoa is dead?"

"Yeah. The Freeman organization isn't going to buy Loop. We're planning to leave the island soon."

Gis spoke frankly. Facing the top man, there was no way to hide the truth.

As expected, Mahatu's complexion darkened. He glared and asked, with a scathing look in Amy's group's direction,

"Then what are they?"

"Oh, they're not here to buy Loop. They came in because they have business."

"Business? Do you not know that, aside from Loop trade, outsiders can't enter here?"

"We know, but we had to notify you of canceling the deal. And here, the pass…! Whoa!"

Mahatu shoved Gis aside and strode forward. His clenched jaw twitched; his eyes looked ready to spit fire.

Surveying the party, he chose Amy as his counterpart. Not because he thought she was the leader, but because she alone lifted a provocative gaze.

"Sent by the Freeman organization, were you? Then you're members?"

Gis ran up to interpret. Even now, fulfilling his duty showed a sense of responsibility well above average.

Of course Amy understood him through Arin, but she couldn't reveal that, so she answered a beat late.

"No. But we know the Freemen well."

"How well? Well enough to stake your life?"

"Of course. In fact, we already have."

The lie flowed easily. Strictly speaking, they had fought for their lives, so it wasn't far off.

"In that case, you can settle the remaining balance."

"Balance? What balance?"

"Not long ago, Falcoa took eight kilograms of Loop after only paying a deposit. He never paid the remainder."

Thinking of Falcoa's face, Amy snorted. He'd swaggered plenty, yet was craven enough to buy on credit.

Still, if there was money to be collected, she had to ask.

"We're not close enough to lend money, even on pain of death—but how much is outstanding?"

"Ten thousand gold."

"What? Ten thousand?"

Amy's eyes went round. Even Gis looked confused, as if he'd misheard the unit.

But Amy knew it was ten thousand gold exactly—Arin's telepathy left no doubt.

She'd thought it was just eight kilograms of tree root. Ten thousand gold? And since a deposit had already been paid, that meant at least over ten thousand in total.

A question struck her.

Falcoa had likely bought Loop for huge sums over five years. How, then, to explain the Kergoans' living conditions?

Selling just eight kilograms of Loop could feed the people in the plaza to bursting for a year. It didn't add up.

Gis tried to persuade Mahatu.

"We'll report the balance to the organization. They'll either return the Loop or pay the remainder—leave it to them."

Unsure, he looked to his friends for agreement.

Tess nodded. If it was Marsha and the Freemen, who prized honor, they would surely pay.

Buoyed by her support, Gis spoke boldly.

"Alright? We'll pay the balance later, so for now let us stay here."

"I don't understand. Then for what purpose have you come?"

Amy said,

"We're waiting for a friend. He went into the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice. He should be here soon."

Her tone was pricklier than before. Seeing them earn great sums yet not solve their people's hunger, she thought Mahatu and Falcoa were cut from the same cloth.

"The Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice?"

Mahatu looked them over meticulously. He judged not their looks, but their temperaments, then smiled in mockery.

"Dream big. Give it up and go back. Your friend will be waiting outside."

"Hmph! And how would you know that?"

"Isn't it obvious? That altar wasn't built to summon brats like you. Legions of half-baked types come to Kergo's ruins—to buy Loop, to find gold. You send your friend to the altar and come here to pester us, thinking we'll permit it? With petty scheming like that, you'll never pass."

"And you think you're any better? Have you thought about how many people outside got addicted because of Loop smuggled from here?"

"Loop is a sacred substance. It's you who abuse it as a drug. And I don't need to know the affairs of foolish outsiders. You've always been the same—judging what's ours as you please and trying to take it. But here, that won't be easy."

"We're not leaving. Not until we know whether our friend passed the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice."

"With your level, you'll never pass. State your true purpose for coming."

The native who had driven the minecart spoke.

"Maybe they're thieves. Here to steal gold."

There was no longer a fake smile on his face. If it wasn't a Loop deal, then to him Amy's group were the outsiders he hated most—nobles, at that.

"That could be. All the more reason not to let them in."

"How about we search their bodies? If they smuggled in weapons, villagers could get hurt."

Mahatu, even facing an enemy, had no desire to lay hands on a woman's body. For a warrior, it was shameful.

Even so, the reason he held his tongue was because he knew what his comrade's words implied.

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