Chapter 368

The dead hate the living.

The dead want the living to become like themselves.

Thus, the ghosts whisper.

To make them into themselves.

—

An email arrived for the warriors who had sensed something strange.

『 Building Trap Rescue Needed 』

『 Partition has come down, almost no battery 』

『 Communication status is terrible, barely succeeded but battery is dying 』

『 Building owner is absent, still an opportunity, rescue as soon as possible 』

It was an email from one of the three who had decided to go to Park Jinseong’s building.

Perhaps due to the urgent situation, it was written entirely in katakana instead of kanji, cramming as much information as possible into a short time.

The email that arrived consisted of four messages.

Just four messages.

—

“Oh dear, these foolish….”

The warriors who checked the email couldn’t help but chuckle incredulously, double-check the emails with serious expressions, and sigh as if they had expected this all along while maintaining their weapons.

“I’m not surprised they were so arrogant.”

“Even though it’s a shaman’s house, there’s no way there wouldn’t be any security measures.”

“They probably got caught doing something stupid….”

They mocked the three who had been caught by the bloody shaman of the magic desert, grumbling about the unexpected situation they had created.

“Those guys have never experienced such a surprise, right?”

“Exactly. How many people here have gone through something like that? They’ve only been protecting the lord, young master, and young lady.”

“Tsk. Regardless, how could they even fall into a trap…? Are they wild boars or something? Getting caught in a snare?”

They complained endlessly as they maintained their equipment to rescue them.

While it was an admonishment for the trio who had suddenly created this mess, it was also a struggle to relieve the burden of needing to head to a confirmed trap.

But what could they do?

They were already caught, and they had to rescue them no matter what.

It wasn’t just because they were companions.

If those three had been mere mercenaries bought with money, they would have just been discarded.

But unfortunately, those three were irreplaceable.

They were capable people that each aristocratic clan had invested in for this operation, people they cherished dearly.

They were so tightly cherished that they weren’t sent to dangerous places and were instead taken along for appearances or solely for protection duty…. To report that they had idiotically lost such precious individuals during the operation would surely lead to chaos.

The aristocratic clans they belonged to would foam at the mouth and rage, demanding accountability from those involved in the operation, insisting on an immediate rescue operation, and vowing to spare no means to retrieve them.

In the worst-case scenario, there might even be demands for revenge against those cowards who returned without making an effort to rescue their companions.

No, they would certainly do it.

Those who lived only for their pride and honor wouldn’t let this slide.

Hundreds of years old notions that revenge ought to be done by the lord for a subordinate’s betrayal would lead them to lavish money on revenge.

Of course, they would have to consider the other clans, so it wouldn’t be on a terrible level, but….

That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t make life a pain.

Groups could come to lynch, harm families, or cause them to lose vast amounts of wealth and live in poverty….

Certainly, the aristocratic clan that the captured capable person belonged to would be furious as well.

But since they would hold the justification, as long as they kept within certain limits, they would let things go.

No matter how precious they are, they are still subordinates.

Not as important as the aristocracy.

—

It would be far better for a capable person to feel a bit of pain than for a dispute among aristocratic clans to arise, wouldn’t it?

Especially if it wasn’t a massive retaliation.

‘Better to just rescue them now than to end up in that situation.’

What a pathetic state that would be to be unable to complain after enduring such treatment.

It would be a hundred times better to rescue them right now.

It wasn’t like they were infiltrating heavily guarded enemy territory; they only had to rescue three people caught in a trap. If the shaman had been present, it would have been burdensome, but fortunately, the email stated that the building owner, Park Jinseong, was absent.

No shaman, just be careful of the trap.

Avoid the potential traps, rescue the trapped individuals, and return.

That was all that needed to be done.

The problem was, it wasn’t happening.

They repaired their equipment, formulated a plan, and then stood up.

To go to Park Jinseong’s building and rescue the three.

However, there was one person.

One person who didn’t stand up.

“Watanabe-san. What’s the matter?”

Watanabe.

He was a warrior who had previously warned about the need to be cautious of the three.

He was still lingering, even as others were gearing up, and despite having donned his equipment, he refused to rise from his spot. He appeared as if his backside was glued to the floor, maintaining that position even with his pupils darting about from what seemed to be conflict.

“Are you seriously saying you won’t go?”

Watanabe’s attitude was clear.

He wouldn’t be going.

He wouldn’t lend power to rescue the trio.

“I….”

Watanabe avoided the gazes of the others who were looking at him like a coward. Then, as if it were genuinely difficult to say, he slowly opened his heavy lips and began to speak. It came out very slowly, as if he were genuinely embarrassed.

“I… won’t go.”

Sure enough, what came from his mouth was the refusal to go.

“Ha. Why not?”

“…Isn’t it necessary to have someone here to protect this place?”

Watanabe tried to dress up his reason for not going.

Someone definitely needed to stay behind.

Just in case they received a message or something happened.

At first glance, it sounded plausible.

At first glance, that is.

“Listen, Watanabe. If that’s the case, it should be a non-combatant, why are you here?”

“Look around. Even a hacker from the computer science department is trying to follow us to rescue his teammate. Not a combatant, yet he’s geared up and planning to enter that building with us to support us. Yet you’re staying here?”

Aren’t you even embarrassed?

Watanabe felt like he heard implicit insults echoing in his ears.

“Ahem. But still, being a wizard means I can’t completely be seen as a non-combatant, can I…?”

“Ha, that’s what you’re going to say….”

In the end, what came from Watanabe was a weak excuse.

Even if he was a hacker, since he was a wizard, couldn’t he use his mana to fight?

But everyone, including him, the warriors, and the wizards all knew that didn’t make any sense.

Use mana?

That meant nothing.

He wasn’t fighting like the old wizards who summoned their mana directly to wield spells; modern wizards don’t even learn combat spells. They might learn a few for self-defense, but that’s it. Unless they have a genuine interest in combat magic or undergo advanced studies related to battle spells, it wouldn’t be of much help.

Artifacts?

Of course, that’s true in terms of aiding in combat.

But how much combat-worthy artifacts would a mere researcher, who isn’t related to the military or mercenaries, even possess, and how well could they use them?

It would essentially be nothing more than mere self-defense tools.

It would be more helpful to have an ordinary person armed with a gun just because they had a shooting hobby.

But what?

You can’t say he’s not a complete non-combatant?

To say such words to someone who barely counts as dead weight is…. It’s just a pitiful excuse; nothing more.

Watanabe felt embarrassed by what he had said, his ears turning red.

Moreover, his face flushed as well, perhaps from shame, as he bit his lips tightly.

But that was all.

He looked as if he had no intention of standing up.

Even if his companions looked at him like a coward, he absolutely wouldn’t budge.

“Ha, people….”

“I never thought of you like that… I’m disappointed, Watanabe.”

They were in a horizontal relationship.

Only united by the operation; a horizontal relationship.

No superior, no commander.

They couldn’t force Watanabe to participate in the operation.

And look at his attitude.

It was obvious that dragging someone so uncooperative would just hinder the operation.

Thus, they decided to leave Watanabe behind.

[ … What a coward. ]

They donned their gear and left the lodging.

One among them thought that Watanabe was stuck to the floor out of fear and threw an insulting remark at him via their communication device.

However, despite hearing those words, Watanabe remained unmoved.

He simply recalled.

『 You must never go to the shaman’s dwelling…. 』

The warning his grandfather had once given him.

And the ominous feeling he sensed when he read the email.