novelraw Chapter 130 : Chapter 130
Chapter 130 : Chapter 130
Chapter 130: Four Questions for Mourning (2)
‘A bet, you say?’
Roberta's brow narrowed.
She studied Abel's demeanor with her arms crossed.
Just as she thought. It was like looking at a bust carved from plaster. Not only was it difficult to grasp his intentions, but even his vitality was only faintly felt. Professor Argento, Abel Argento, was always like that. He was stoic even when hit by a cannonball made of wooden beads, when covered in mud, and when stepping on rotten fruit juice.
“Professor.”
He had fallen for Roberta's trap as if it were a game, and at the same time, he had advised her. To create a proper weapon, not a toy-like trap.
“Isn't this not a matter to bet on.”
That was why Roberta was certain.
That even if she had set up a trap with lethal force, Abel would have fallen for it without hesitation. Even if his entire body was pierced with arrows and a part of his body was burned,
‘It's pretty good,’ he would say.
He would have appreciated it while using healing magic.
“It feels like we're playing a game. With the hearts of the residents here……”
“Playing is the most basic method of learning.”
It's creepy.
Roberta thought, listening to Abel's words.
“You learn the alphabet while dancing, and memorize words while singing. You must have gone through that process too. The process of learning the human heart is no different. You build friendships while playing, and form attachments. So Roberta, our bet is……”
Of course, it's a game.
It's a gamble to learn the situation, he said.
Abel muttered.
“I cannot be certain of the residents' reactions. They will be confused for now, and it will take time to reach a single conclusion. They will argue and antagonize each other. They might suffer from excessive self-blame, or constantly try to reassure themselves and deny history.”
But they will end up looking for me.
Whether they deny or affirm the memories stored in the sensory stone, whether they deny or affirm the judgment I have made,
“They have no choice but to eventually come here.”
Because they won't be able to bear it.
Whispering so, Abel leaned on the table.
“When the populace is confused, only emotions overflow. Isn't that what public sentiment is? There is no such thing as a public sentiment that is not excessive. It is bound to be excessive, whether in a good or a bad sense.”
Roberta nodded once.
It was not difficult to grasp the meaning of Abel's words. The sensory stone installed in the square. It was not simply a device to inform the truth. It was an object with a political intention. It was a detonator scattered to stimulate the populace, and a cold water poured on the boiling public sentiment.
“Whether they deny or affirm……”
Roberta opened her mouth.
While looking into Abel's dark blue eyes.
“The hearts of the residents will be united.”
“They will be.”
It's still creepy.
Roberta thought, lowering her gaze.
She looked over the objects on the table. An old fairy tale book, a Nampho-deung full of soot, the ‘Daily Watcher’ distributed every morning through teleportation magic, and finally, a pocket watch. That was all. Looking at them made her feel empty.
“You're not interested, are you, Professor.”
Roberta reached out her hand.
She stroked the illustration of the hero drawn on the cover of the old fairy tale book,
“Your only goal is to unite the hearts of the residents, you're not interested in letting them know the truth and making them accept it. Right?”
“Because it is something I cannot do anything about.”
Abel's words sounded right at a glance.
It was not a task that any one person could accomplish. To engrave the true past in everyone, and to make them face their mistakes and be reborn.
The same was true for the facts about the witch hunts. Although there were plenty of historical records that witch hunts were prevalent, the number of people who tried not to believe the facts, claiming they were exaggerated or fabricated, could not be ignored. That was what history was.
“It is common for people to cling to a wrong view of history. There are such ethnic groups, nations, and villages will also exist.”
“I know.”
Roberta rested her chin on her hand.
She thought silently, then opened her mouth.
“You wanted the residents who had lost their village chief to unite their wills. Because they would need a new focal point. And the historical problem is……”
“A good stimulus to focus public sentiment. I have considered the method of putting the miko at the forefront, but Eleanor Portsmouth is too young. That child does not need to bear everything.”
“Professor Argento.”
Roberta sighed.
Her hair, tied in two braids, fluttered in the sea breeze.
“You, Professor……, you're like a golem.”
I mean, you're mechanical, she said.
Roberta added in a small voice.
“That's why it's creepy. Your only purpose is to save Portsmouth, you don't have any desires, do you.”
Even in the residents facing their mistakes correctly, even in the resentment of the unjustly dead being resolved, you're not interested at all, Professor. As if you shouldn't have too much greed.
Am I right?
Roberta asked as such, and,
“I am not a golem.”
Abel answered in a monotonous tone.
“Just an adult.”
“Alright. Then I'm a child.”
I don't like being treated like a child, but I'm asking as a child, she said.
Roberta asked Abel once again.
“What will you do if I win?”
In the bet, I mean.
Roberta whispered as such.
“You're betting on denial, Professor.”
I'll bet on affirmation.
The residents will believe the memories in Lady Pnakotic's sensory stone, and even if they can't say it was right, they will think that the professor's judgment was not wrong. So let's bet.
“Tell me. What will you do for me if I win?”
“I will grant you one wish.”
Abel answered without hesitation.
As if it were just a game, shrugging his shoulders.
With a faint smile.
“So you'd better be prepared too. If I win, you will have to grant my wish.”
“Do as you please.”
We don't need to keep waiting here, right?
Roberta said, rising from her chair.
“I'm going to see Lady Pnakotic.”
“Good. Be back before the sun sets. We will have to discuss what to do next with everyone.”
Abel picked up the ‘Daily Watcher’ that had been distributed today. The newspaper, damp with moisture, was soggy.
Roberta, who was walking on the breakwater, stopped. When she looked back at the middle of the sandy beach, Abel was sitting facing the table. While the darkly polluted waves were crashing, to think he would put a table on the sand and be holding a newspaper.
‘I know.’
Roberta thought, pouting her lips.
‘That you're not serious, Professor.’
The residents will ultimately deny it.
They will not be able to believe the memories in the sensory stone, and will not be able to accept the reason for executing Robert Olmstead. It wasn't that Abel truly believed that.
The residents' reactions could never be predicted. Abel had not made a bet based on belief, but had just made a prediction based on his own position.
‘If you, Professor, bet on the side of denial…….’
I have no choice but to bet on the opposite side.
Thinking so, Roberta sighed.
\* \* \*
Haa.
Monika let out a long breath.
She opened her eyes, taking her hand off the sensory stone.
‘It feels like I had a dream.’
Monika thought, looking down at her palm.
She felt drowsy, as if she had woken up from a nap. She must have looked through memories spanning hundreds of years, but the time outside the sensory stone had not passed for that long. It's just that her head was throbbing. As if she had suffered from a very vivid nightmare during a short nap.
“All three of you look like you're at a funeral.”
Lizer opened his mouth.
While guarding the sensory stone with his wand in hand.
“What did you see? Won't you tell me?”
Monika swept back her hair.
She looked around with her eyes narrowed. Ernst and Demian were also silent. They were just silent with an awkward expression. It couldn't be helped. They had learned too much in a short period of time. They needed some time to organize it to put it into words.
“A strange outsider who came to this place……”
Thus, Monika barely opened her mouth.
A distant past, an outsider who had arrived in Portsmouth.
He must have been an apostate. Everything had started to go wrong after she had visited. She had bewitched the villagers through black magic, and as a result, a strange custom had taken root.
“The village chief was the one who created the faith.”
Ernst said in a groaning voice.
To offer the residents to the monster. The apostate had left after imprinting such a custom. In a sense, she had planted a seed.
The one who had watered the seed and let it see the sun was the past village chief. A series of customs became a religion, and the residents became believers. To justify human sacrifice by taking the name of a god.
“……All of that has continued until now.”
Demian muttered, biting his lower lip.
Too much time had passed. Those who had affirmed human sacrifice had died, and those who did not know of human sacrifice had been born, and the faith in Cthanid had been firmly established over generations.
The residents here must all be descendants of the perpetrators. Even so, they could no longer be held accountable for their crimes. They must have lived without even knowing that human sacrifice existed.
“What's that?”
Lizer laughed.
“I don't really understand what you're saying?”
“Go ahead and touch it yourself.”
Ernst frowned.
“My head is killing me, so don't talk to me, Senior.”
“Alright. I wasn't particularly curious anyway.”
I just asked to tease you.
Whispering so, Lizer narrowed his eyes.
“Anyway, could you move aside?”
Lizer said, and Demian looked into the distance.
“There's a line.”
Lizer was right.
The crowd gathered in the square had become dense before long. It seemed that most of the residents of Portsmouth had gathered in one place. It must be because the story of the sensory stone had spread in an instant. A clear sense of anxiety was welling up on the residents' faces.
“I'll give an order.”
In place of Professor Argento, that is.
Lizer whispered as such.
“I have to stay here and guard. But you don't all have to be here with me.”
To spend your time freely until evening.
If the sun sets, to gather at the coast where Professor Argento is on guard duty.
After confirming the history of Portsmouth, they would have to plan their future strategy.
Lizer instructed as such.
“What are you doing? Do you want to be with me?”
When Lizer asked, tilting his head,
“Lady Eleanor, you shouldn't be here.”
“Uh, uh? Wait a minute!”
Demian grabbed Eleanor's arm.
He took a step and left the square.
He had judged that Eleanor should not be there since a crowd had gathered.
“I'm going to the post. See you in the evening.”
Then Ernst turned his back on the sensory stone.
He intended to examine the tactical controller. Since he would be able to grasp the movements of Portsmouth at a glance.
“Monika, are you going to stay here?”
Before long, Lizer urged, and,
“Ah, I……”
Monika scratched the back of her neck.
After thinking for a moment, she opened her mouth.
“No. I'll see you later.”
Where should I go?
With that question in her mind.