While Jin was enduring an awkward silence with Pascoe in Kaina Village, events were unfolding back in the Town of Rakham.
Earl Walter was currently staying there. Although his primary base of operations was Presos, Rakham was closer to Kaina Village, and it had served as his base of activities for some time.
"My Lord, it is morning. Please, it is time to wake."
The maid assigned to the morning shift knocked on the door to wake the Count. There was no response.
Earl Walter was known for being a quick riser, though he had an infamous reputation for playing crude pranks on the maids who came to wake him. When the Count failed to emerge after a significant amount of time had passed, the maid grew suspicious.
She recalled him mentioning two days ago that he felt slightly sluggish. Worried that something might be wrong, she hurried to fetch the Head Butler.
The Head Butler arrived immediately. When he used a spare key to open the door, he found a shocking sight.
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(...How much further does he intend to go?) Deneb 30 mused privately.
She was currently tailing the "Mysterious Man." The man, who had been feeding schemes to Earl Walter, had left the Count’s villa in Rakham early that morning and was heading east. At this rate, he would soon cross the border of Earl Walter’s territory.
Despite their investigations, the Quinta had been unable to uncover the man’s identity. Given their capabilities, this was a startling failure. Even more remarkable, however, was the man’s travel speed. He was moving at a pace no normal human could sustain.
He had covered over sixty kilometers in two hours, maintaining a speed of over thirty kilometers per hour—more than 1.5 times the pace of a marathon runner. Furthermore, he wasn't sticking to urban areas. He was cutting through the most desolate region between the Town of Rakham and the neighboring towns of Nowasa and Leein.
There were no proper roads. Maintaining thirty kilometers per hour through rocky terrain, dense forests, and barren wastelands was a feat beyond human limits. Deneb 30 had reported to Laojun before the pursuit that the Mysterious Man might not be human, given that neither she nor Deneb 29 could identify him. That theory was rapidly proving true.
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"My Lord!"
Finding his master gasping in agony on the bed, the Head Butler cried out in a panic. He barked orders to the maid standing by.
"He's burning up! A healer! Fetch a healer at once!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The maid dashed out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her.
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The Mysterious Man and his pursuer, Deneb 30, had reached the edge of the Great Shama Marshland.
The journey had taken about three hours—a staggering pace. At the point where the ground began to turn to muck, the man finally came to a halt. He turned around slowly.
For the first time, his face was clearly visible. He had handsome, refined features and appeared to be in his mid-twenties. However, there was something unsettlingly inhuman about him—an aura like that of a cold-blooded predator.
He was tall, roughly 190 centimeters, with a lean but powerful build. He had the physique of a martial artist. The fact that these details were only now becoming clear meant that until this moment, the Mysterious Man had been using some form of camouflage to deceive even the Quinta.
"You've certainly put in a lot of effort to follow me all this way."
His gaze was fixed squarely on Deneb 30, who was still supposedly concealed by Stealth.
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"……"
The summoned healer finished his examination of Earl Walter with a grim expression. He turned to the Head Butler and spoke a single, heavy sentence.
"It is too late."
"What!?"
"His breathing has already stopped. No magic or medicine, no matter how potent, can bring him back now."
"That can't be!"
"……My Lord……"
Earl Walter, aged 41. It was an abrupt, anti-climactic curtain call.
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"Who are you?"
Deneb 30 deactivated her Stealth and revealed herself to the Mysterious Man.
"Who are you? With physical abilities like that, you can't be human."
"I could say the exact same to you."
"Hmph. No intention of talking, I see."
The man and the machine stood in a tense standoff.
The stalemate seemed like it might continue indefinitely, but the Mysterious Man grew impatient and struck first. His speed increased even further, and a dagger—drawn from some hidden place—gleamed in his hand.
"!"
Deneb 30 attempted to evade, but the soft, muddy ground betrayed her. Her footing slipped, causing a split-second delay in her initial reaction. For the man, that was all the opening he needed.
A sharp, metallic clink rang out as the dagger bit into Deneb 30's right arm. A Quinta's skeleton was constructed from light silver, yet the dagger had carved halfway through the metal of her forearm.
"You... you're a Golem? No, an automata!"
Light silver was ductile and resilient. Because Deneb 30 instantly jerked her arm back, the dagger remained lodged in her limb, effectively being snatched from the man's grip.
"To think someone capable of creating an automata like you exists in this era... Tell me, what is the name of your creator?"
"Did you think I would answer that?"
Deneb 30 pulled the dagger from her right arm and brandished it with her left hand, glaring at him. Her right arm was useless now that more than half of its magical muscles had been severed.
"Hmph. Your kind is always the same, swearing eternal loyalty to your makers... However!"
The man reached into his coat and produced a gemstone that shimmered with a light-blue radiance in the sun.
"Divieniunschiavo."
He invoked a spell she had never heard before. A ripple of energy seemed to pierce through Deneb 30.
"...Hmph. You made me work for that. Now, automata, tell me your name and the name of the one who made you."
The Mysterious Man commanded her with a triumphant smirk. In the next moment, however, his eyes went wide with shock.
"I refuse."
Deneb 30 faced him, her demeanor entirely unchanged.
"Y-You... What on earth are you? How can you not submit to my enslavement!?"
"I am under no obligation to answer you."
"...I see. In that case, I'll just have to dismantle you piece by piece, drag out your control core, and ask it directly!"
The man thrust the gemstone forward again.
"Distruzione!"
He unleashed a blast of destruction magic. The mud struck by the magical ripple exploded. Even Deneb 30 would have been severely damaged by a direct hit, but having gauged the terrain this time, she dodged it by a hair's breadth.
"Elradrite. How troublesome," she noted.
"You! You even know about that!?"
The two paused again, facing off in the sudden silence.
"...Your master is clearly quite the individual. I'll give you that much," the man muttered resentfully. "How about this: a trade. You stop tailing me, and in exchange, I will answer exactly one of your questions. Well?"
Deneb 30 remained silent. In reality, she was consulting with Laojun via her internal manacam.
(Is there any of the man's mana residue on that dagger?)
(Yes.)
(Then that is sufficient. We can pinpoint his location using the magi-radar. Accept his terms.)
After the brief silent exchange, Deneb 30 replied.
"Very well. I accept those terms. However, since you damaged my arm, I will be keeping this dagger."
The man grimaced in frustration. "Kh... Fine. Ask your one question."
The question had already been dictated by Laojun.
"What was your purpose in staying with Earl Walter?"
The man’s eyes widened yet again.
"...Ho. You ask that? I was certain you would ask who I am."
"Spare me the commentary and answer the question."
"...Fine. My reason for being with him was... simple amusement. That is the truth."
"...You spread a plague for your own amusement!?"
The man looked genuinely impressed.
"...Truly, just who are you and your master? I said only one question, but I'll answer that out of respect for your insight. 'Precisely.'"
The man tucked the Elradrite back into his coat and performed a massive leap, soaring into the marshland.
"Hahaha! That was quite entertaining. Still, humans are as weak as ever. But for your sake, I'll give you my name. I am Laldus. 'Laldus the Jest.'"
Laldus leaped again, his feet never sinking into the soft peat. With another bound, he vanished into the vast expanse of the Great Shama Marshland.