房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

Chapter 475 155 - Perserios territory - part 4 - Countering the plan that was thirty years in the making (part 7)

　　"Yes. I want to talk about them too."

　　"Interestingly enough, their condition is also getting worse bit by bit. Although I don't think it's appropriate to draw parallels here, it is a bit similar to your case. Actually, because I was checking on them and comparing the private visits, I ended up comparing your results."

　　She pointed out getting herself more comfortable in the seat and motioning at the black-haired boy.

　　"...so they are declining... Say. They wouldn't be getting worse every hour or so, would they?"

　　Zoemi sighed and nodded with a bitter expression, before looking back at the blond-haired girl and asking with a faint smile.

　　"...!"

　　The shock on her face was enough for an answer...

　　"Y-yes... it's almost uncanny how their condition worsens in perfect intervals..."

　　She still ended up nodding and confirming it verbally, but now she also started biting her lips again.

　　"How do you know...? By any chance were you using the healing attribute magic or...?"

　　Burushi asked in hesitation, although she didn't seem to be thinking that she is right with that particular guess.

　　"Not at all. It's more problematic than that. I also try to not stir up my mana more than necessary – although if just having it is slowly gnawing at my condition, that may not be my biggest concern... But regardless."

　　Zoemi raised his left hand since he had no intention of taking his right one away from worried Miriette clinging to it, and waved it dismissively.

　　"I have his passive ability that I see the unique shadows of magicians, or anything containing mana, including spells and objects like artifacts and so on."

　　"Okay."

　　The black-haired boy said, making Burushi nod impatiently.

　　"Everyone should have a unique shadow. Completely unique. Even those little ones here have their very own shadows."

　　"Yay~!"

　　"We are uniqe~!"

　　He continued the explanation, pointing at the corpse puppet sentinels beside his bedside, which caused them both to cheer out excitedly, just happy to be included in the conversation.

　　"I don't know if that is the case with every single one of the people who were brought back by my spell, but at least the ones I saw after waking up and going to Devios's office, all had the exact same shadow. A face of a clock."

　　Zoemi revealed, looking straight into Burushi's blue eyes.

　　"...I already don't like where this is going..."

　　The blond girl's shoulders slumped down as she breathed out with a bitter expression.

　　"Those shadows are quite peculiar, after each hour passes, a part that equals one minute is disappearing. And not from the face of the clock – the whole part of the shadow is evaporating. This looks like a literal countdown to disappearing. And can you guess what doesn't have a shadow?"

　　Zoemi nodded at Burushi's sigh and said with a similar expression that she was making.

　　"...I will have a wild guess and say... dead bodies."

　　The blond-haired girl closed her eyes and tensed up waiting for the answer.

　　"You are correct."

　　"Fuck."

　　Zoemi nodded, which in turn made Burushi curse out loud and straighten lean back into the chair opening her eyes while not even biting – but straight-up chewing on her lip.

　　"If each normal hour equals a minute on the shadow clock, that means they all have sixty hours of borrowed time left the moment they were brought back. I guess it's best if we assume that with how much time already passed, we have only slightly a bit over two full days to work with them before they go back to their original state – being dead... With that in mind, having young lord Perserios spend time with his father sounds good for a family member, but absolutely sucks in our situation. Now I get it why you were so against it."

　　The blond girl groaned, slowly breathing out to compose herself.

　　"Did you try using healing spells on them?"

　　Although Zoemi already expected the answer that would come, he still felt the need to ask about it.

　　"Nothing works – one of them cut their finger while preparing food and my mega heal didn't do a thing."

　　"That's not true – it worked, but with a delay, didn't it...? Right before the little ones came to pick us up."

　　Burushi shook her head, bursting whatever little hope bubble Zoemi managed to hold onto – although Miriette seemed to be confused by the answer of the blond girl, and asked shifting her position and looking at the healer girl from over the black-haired boy's shoulder.

　　"How was it then..?"

　　Zoemi raised his brow and looked between the helmet-wearing girl and the healer girl.

　　"That's the thing, Miri. My spell didn't work at all, the cut disappeared on its own, I might be wrong, of course, but I believe that me casting the spell shortly before the wound closed up was pure coincidence and nothing else."

　　Burushi sat up straight and declared with confidence, trying to make eye contact with Miriette even with the helmet of the latter kind of getting in the way.

　　"Tsk... I was not aware of that... in that case, we do have a problem. We need to inform the Perserios family that they most likely will be dead soon enough, and if they want to be helpful for the last time, they should better be ready to go to fight immediately."

　　Miriette clicked her tongue and got up, gently putting down Zoemi's hand beside his torso as she left the bed.

　　"That would be for the best, now then..."

　　"Whoa, there!"

　　"Zoemi...!"

　　The black-haired boy nodded in agreement and was about to get up too, but was stopped by both girls who gasped in disbelief and shock in reaction to his sudden movement.

　　"What...? We don't have time to waste."

　　Zoemi looked at Burushi and Miriette holding him down by the shoulders and said, tilting his head in confusion.

　　"We don't, but you should rest as much as you can! Did you already forget about your own health?!"

　　"Exactly!"

　　Burushi complained and Miriette nodded her head vigorously, echoing her.

　　"Of course, I didn't, but we do not exactly have the privilege of doing things at our own leisure, do we...?"

　　The black-haired boy raised his brow and gave them a meaningful look.

　　"Ah...You know, Miri, before I didn't quite understand why you said that selflessness can be so annoying, but now I get it."

　　"Hmph. Told you."

　　Burushi rolled her eyes and looked over at Miriette who scoffed while nodding benevolently.

　　"The two of us plus the three of your sentinels will be enough to get the Perserios family to listen, especially since they were dead once and all. Rest."

　　The helmet-wearing girl assured the black-haired boy, and although she didn't say it out loud the – or else – was easy to understand from the tone of her voice...

　　"...fine... that said. Only two of those are my sentinels. Burushi. You are the one who should learn about the identity of that corpse puppet."

　　Zoemi groaned and slumped back on the bed before motioning at the brown-haired young man sitting in the corner.

　　"Me specifically...? What about him...?"

　　The blond girl raised her brow and glanced at the corpse puppet too.

　　"The body is irrelevant, but the unique shadow controlling it is. This is Xeonith."

　　"...!"

　　Zoemi revealed, and Burushi's face turned ghastly pale within a single heartbeat.

　　"Just so we are clear – I didn't put him in a body on purpose – when my mana was drained he was pushed out of my mind and got bound to the corpse he is currently occupying. Also, he claims that everything he has done to you, he has done because of being hexed by Arisu."

　　The black-haired boy added, wanting to be over the less than pleasant interaction as soon as possible.

　　"...I see... I don't want him anywhere near me. Miri, little ones, let's go."

　　Burushi straightened her back stiffly and nodded, chewing on a curse that was pushing its way out of her mouth, but in the end, the blond girl managed to control herself and nodded at the helmet-wearing girl and the two corpses puppet sentinels while splendidly ignoring Xeontih existence.

　　"..."

　　The brown-haired young man didn't say anything and just stayed quiet.

　　Burushi's reaction was honestly the best one he could reasonably count on.

　　----

　　"Don't get in her way and it should be fine."

　　"...I will do my best..."

　　As the other four left, Zoemi looked over at Xeonith and advised the brown-haired young man, who nodded with a troubled expression.

　　"What do you think the Barbariacca nation's next move will be?"

　　As they waited for the return of Miriette, Burushi, and the two corpse puppet sentinels, Xeonith walked over to the barred window and looked through it, asking Zoemi without turning back to him.

　　"Do you mean the next move of the forces within this territory within the duration of the curse, or in general after this plan will fail or succeed, whatever is their goal here?"

　　The black-haired boy fluffed up his pillow while asking for more details from the brown-haired corpse puppet.

　　"Huh... now that I think about it – both. But what I had in mind was their next move within Perserios territory.

　　Xeonith tilted his head with consideration before admitting and nodding his head.

　　"I am not sure. They might try to move some expendables forces in and then kill them off just like they did in the first outpost."

　　"Why would they do that?"

　　Zoemi shrugged his shoulders, stretching carefully, properly minding his stomach, and the brown-haired corpse puppet turned to him with a confused and concerned expression.