EP.58
When you open your eyes, it was a shabby back alley at night.
The moon was clearly up in the sky, but the shadows were so dark that it was difficult to distinguish objects. This is because disorderly and chaotic buildings and obstacles were blocking the moonlight.
When you look up, you see dirty cloths hanging on clotheslines spread between buildings. The windows of surrounding buildings were either smashed or nailed down with wooden boards. There are puddles of dirty water on the ground, and gutters roam around.
It was a harsh environment.
What happens when you live in a place like this? Even if you haven’t experienced it, as long as you have enough observation, it isn’t that difficult to figure out.
At first glance, vomit stuck to the asphalt floor in the moonlight, a liquor bottle rolling around on the ground, someone’s broken molar and black dried blood stains. These are clear signs of violence. Possibly looting.
The poor take pieces of the skinny flesh of the poor and put them in their mouths. When one dies, one lives. If you chew on a smelly piece of meat that has nothing to chew for a long time, the smell will permeate your entire mouth.
That’s how people quickly turn into beasts.
you. Bennett knew that structure well. The shapes of the buildings were different, but the damp smell of despair was the same everywhere. He wrinkled his nose and hid his gloomy mood.
“…Is this a different world?”
As we started talking like that, the two people who were looking around blankly also said a few words to each other.
“There are no side effects as much as I thought. I prepared sacred magic to prevent motion sickness.”
[It’s a spooky place.] Is
it just spooky? Beyond the window covered with wooden boards, there must be an honest nightmare growing up that is easy to imagine and encounter.
Bennett seemed to be the only one feeling dramatic sentiments, so he fiddled with the handle of his sword. I don’t think Tara and Niore have ever lived down there.
You have already received information about this world through reports.
However, the feeling of the gloomy air that I felt as I breathed in on my skin gave me a sense of reality that I could not feel in writing. It is difficult to recall in writing the feeling of phlegm being trampled on by one’s feet or the smell of stagnant, rotting things.
There was a huge gap between the world depicted in the lines of text and reality. It was a gap that you would have to fill in the future.
Bennett took the first step across the void.
He looked around and picked up a broken molar from the ground.
“Looking at the dried blood, it doesn’t seem like what just happened, but I do know that violence happens often here. We need to get out of here.”
[But where should we go?]
“You read the report, right? It said there was a base prepared by investigators. Let’s go there.”
Niore nodded his head sharply at the reasonable words. In a new world where everything is unfamiliar and they have achieved nothing. If there was a beacon to rely on, it was the content of the report.
2nd floor, East Commercial Building, 201 Carter Street.
When Saint Tara roughly guessed the direction and was about to take a bold step forward. Bennett raised his hand to stop her.
“…What?”
“There is something that needs to be resolved urgently.”
[Have you spotted someone suspicious…?]
Niore looked around to see if there was a goblin hiding there. Bennett gestured that it was not so and raised his finger to point to Saint Tara.
The saint made a dumbfounded expression.
“me?”
“Your outfit. Were you really planning on walking around like that?”
A shock like a thunderbolt. Saint Tara, who had completely forgotten about her own fashion because she was so used to it, opened her eyes wide. Come to think of it, it was like that.
To put it mildly, walking down the street dressed in risqué clothing would attract attention, mostly in a bad way. She was embarrassed and lost her temper.
“You’re so loud! Namisa, no matter what you wear or not!”
“You know that it will put all of us in danger…”
[Because you are a bit exposed…]
“Oh, I knew it!”
The first goal of the three people who fell into an unfamiliar world was to find decent clothes for Tara and put them on.
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Since you couldn’t go out to crowded places with a saintess dressed in embarrassing clothes, you had to come up with ways to get clothes nearby.
Bennett suggested that they get some clothes by subduing any tramps wandering nearby.
Saint Tara scolded her for thinking of dressing a vagabond, but she remained silent when she carefully pointed out, “No matter how poor a person’s clothes are, they probably have more fabric than the saint’s clothes.”
Niore next suggested. The idea was to take the dirty cloths lying around and make a temporary patch. Tara gave me a really, really disgusted look.
But luckily you’ve found a better way to get clothes.
This is because we discovered a facility that collects waste by type at the border between the slum and the outside. Paper, plastic, food waste, etc. One large green container was kindly written:
‘Clothing collection box’.
[There are a lot of clothes here!]
“It’s in pretty good condition.”
“…Do I have to wear clothes that other people have thrown away?”
The saint grunted, but at least it was better than wearing a tramp’s clothes, so she calmly joined in rummaging through the clothing bin. The three people looking for clothes looked very desperate.
Bennett said as he picked up the green dress.
“You have to set a goal.”
[Weren’t you trying to find the jewel?]
“That’s the final goal. We need to decide in advance how we should spend our time here and what attitude we should have. First of all… we need to investigate the Silver Twilight Church. Given the “Because it is the most threatening force within intelligence.”
The saint answered as she picked up a hat. I liked the pretty ribbon and tried to use it, but when I saw someone’s hair tangled inside, I got disgusted and threw it away.
“Isn’t it too dangerous? I don’t want to mess around with fanatics.”
“Isn’t that an ironic thing for a saint to say?”
“What I don’t like is what I don’t like.”
[Ah, saint. How about this?]
Chubby. Niore tapped the whiteboard, drawing attention. Then he grabbed a piece of clothing with both hands and lifted it up. They were black full body tights made of a strange material.
“…Are you serious? Weren’t you just looking through the trash can because I shouldn’t dress in a sexy way?”
“I think that outfit is better than I thought. You look generous.”
“What do you mean?”
When Tara glared harshly, Bennett looked away. Especially around the chest, it looks like it can be worn quite loosely, so if I say it’s okay, I’m afraid there will be a fight. I wisely decided to keep quiet.
Click.
While I was picking out the right clothes, I suddenly got angry. Light was sprinkled. A cone-shaped beam of light illuminated the clothing bin thieves.
“…….”
“…….”
The three people froze. Tara catches her rummaging through the trash, so Niore is just shocked and wonders if Bennett is a hostile force.
Bennett looked beyond the light. Since my eyes were used to the dark, I was dazzled by the sudden light and couldn’t see well… but it looked like a person. When I thought about running away because I thought I wouldn’t hear good things from the security forces.
Niore quickly wrote it down on the whiteboard.
[180cm male, white-haired old man. He’s quite athletic, but he’s not someone who learned fighting. The magnifier has poor eyesight due to aging and looks like an office worker. You are not poor. Although he is dressed sparingly, he seems to be eating well.]
“Are you a walking scan spell…?”
Niore smiled shyly at the saint’s praise. Bennett lowered the alert level three levels based on her information.
The old man must have also hardened his mind after witnessing the trio searching through the trash can at night. After standing there in silence for a while, I opened my mouth.
“Have you been robbed?”
“…yes?”
“The little girl and the young man over there are dressed just fine. The fabric is not low-quality and the design is sophisticated. On the other hand, the older girl’s clothes… look like they were played by an evil robber. They cut it up like that.”
“…….”
The corners of Bennett’s mouth rose slightly and then fell. Tara was moved to tears when she saw that, so she kept her mouth shut because she felt like arguing about it would only make her sadder.
The old man looked at Tara’s face, which had become a ripe apple with shame, and then his expression became somewhat nostalgic. I lowered my head for a moment and coughed a few times.
“It looks like the young people had an accident. If it’s okay, would you like to stay at my house for the night? I happen to have some clothes for an older lady to wear. I have a daughter.”
“…….”
It’s a sudden favor. Bennett shook his head. A target that is not difficult to subdue. If Niore’s analysis is correct, it is not known whether they are rich, but they are not poor. Here…
[He said he was helping me!]
Niore smiled heartily and approached the old man, bending his waist to 90 degrees. Bennett wanted to immediately engrave in that tiny head the fact that one should be wary of unidentified strangers.
“Then I will be indebted to you, old man!”
The mood was soured as even the saintly woman, who wanted to wear soft clothes rather than clothes obtained from trash cans, followed suit. Bennett sighed and followed the two.
The return seemed greater than the risk. With the help of local people, you will be able to find out details that cannot be understood from reports. The old man seemed to have no fighting ability.
If you make a mistake, you can use a knife. Bennett thought so.
The road to the old man’s home.
We had quite a conversation with each other, with Niore writing various questions on the whiteboard and Tara reading them and interrupting.
I learned that the old man’s name was Abraham, that he lived in a mansion on a hill, that he was an astronomer, and that he had a daughter with whom he had an estranged relationship.
Also, Abraham is a professor at Miskatonic University.
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“…It’s cleaner inside than I thought?”
Just as Tara said, Abraham’s mansion was large, spacious, and clean. It must not be easy for an old man to keep a large mansion clean. Then Abraham smiled lightly and said,
“I clean every visible place every day in preparation for when guests come.”
[Awesome!]
“Isn’t cleanliness basic?”
“…….”
The interior of the mansion was simply decorated. Firewood was burning in the fireplace, and a poker and rocking chair were placed by the fireside. There is a stuffed reindeer head on the wall.
No further luxury was noticed. The mansion had two floors, and the stairs were very short, making it easy for elderly people to climb them.
Abraham smiled kindly beneath his bushy beard.
“The old man’s quiet house, alone, becomes lively when a guest comes to the house. Don’t feel pressured and stay comfortably. The guest’s room isn’t cleaned, so… you can use that one.”
The name of Isaac was written on the door to the place the old man pointed out.
“Is this your daughter’s room?”
“That’s right. This year too, it looks like it’s wrong to look at it, so it’s okay to use it with peace of mind. Isn’t a room only meaningful if people stay there?”
Tara nodded quietly, opened Isaac’s door, and entered. After that, Niore followed suit, and finally Bennett…
“Wait a minute, why did you come in?”
“…Do I really need to talk about the possibility of an attack and the importance of concentration?”
“But this isn’t it. Even if it’s okay with Niore because she’s a woman, who would know that you harbor dark intentions?”
“…….”
I have dark intentions, but those are not dark thoughts. Bennett persevered, pressing his frowning brow with his thumb. And I organized my thoughts.
Yes, no matter what happens, you will be returned in an emergency, so there will be no problem with your life. It’s a shame that the human detector Niore is missing, but it’s not a shame that the saint is missing. Even if something happens, it’s none of my business──.
“If anything happens, at least scream.”
“Yeah, you scream too when you’re in a hurry.”
Bennett came out, slamming the door behind him.
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“Ugh huh huh.”
As Saint Tara hummed and ransacked the closet, Niore carefully observed her surroundings. The room where Abraham’s daughter Isaac lived. There were traces of someone left everywhere.
By observing the degree to which the bed’s size spring was pressed, it was possible to estimate the approximate body shape and weight. Squeeze. Check and estimate the tension of the spring by pressing the bed with your hand. Weight is around 50 kg. The body type is rather thin.
smell. Nothing feels special.
Cleanliness. It seemed like Abraham was in control every day. On the dust-free floor, I could feel the sincere heart of the old man waiting for his daughter.
bookshelf. The bookshelf is a very important clue. Because you can look into a person by looking at the type of book they open.
About 70% were books about astronomy, and about 30% were books about the occult, such as magic and the devil. Judging by the location and height of the book, I guess the person named Isaac would be around 170cm tall.
There was a book that was particularly dirty, so Niore opened it for a moment.
I thought it was a book because it was bound, but it turned out to be a diary. Because it is rude to look into someone else’s diary, Niore immediately closed the diary.
“…….”
But the picture I had just passed by strangely remained in my mind. A father and daughter looking through a telescope together. And somewhere in the pitch black, I drew a few round soap bubbles. A picture whose meaning is unknown…
What made it even more unforgettable was its strange sensation. Even though it was Niore himself who was clearly looking at the painting—it was a ridiculous story, but it seemed like the painting was looking at him.
A word from the author (author review)
The train to Call of Cthulhu is leaving!
See you tomorrow, my friends! I’ll be waiting for you in the future with a copy of the series…!
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