Chapter 46: It’s here! It’s right here!

[ I killed them all. Let me say it again — that was not my will. ]

…Just as I expected.

‘This is dizzying.’

People died, huh…

It was clearly done on purpose.

A brilliant mage and a murderer.

…It’s blatantly making me think of someone.

It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Obviously, I’m not a murderer and I don’t know how to use teleportation magic.

But the more I think about it…is it just my imagination that it feels like someone’s trying to frame me?

Especially since the time the Earth Dragon was teleported was three years ago, the same time I was destroyed — that made it feel even more that way.

However.

‘…Hmph. If that’s the case, then that scheme is now useless.’

I’m no longer Verdiol now. Except for Mr. Luca, I’ve become a girl no one recognizes.

A few guilds have taken some notice of me, but compared to back then, this is nothing.

I’m intrigued.

I want to know who the mage is who used this teleportation magic and annihilated the dragon race.

I want to ask. How could they enter the dungeon before the Gate even opened?

And.

Why did they teleport humans? Why did they kill them?

…Could it be that all of this was done to frame Verdiol as a murderer?

‘Is that going too far?’

It feels like paranoia, but there are too many coincidences for me not to think that way.

Murderer, mage.

Mage, murderer.

These two have only one thing in common.

—You killed them!

…That’s me. Of course, I didn’t commit murder, but the world branded me that way.

[ Time’s about up… ]

“Huh? Wait a second!”

I was so lost in thought that I forgot about the Earth Dragon — my only clue!

I reached out belatedly, but the dragon’s eyes had already lost their light long ago.

The Demon Beast’s corpse begins to slowly turn to ash.

“Wait, wait, wait — leave the materials behind!”

I haven’t even pulled out the eyes yet, and they’re turning to ash and disappearing too!

“No, no! Wait! Please don’t leave me, I’m begging you!”

I quickly tried to pull out my Mana Sword to gouge out the eyeballs, but it was already too late.

The Earth Dragon’s severed head vanished from the world without a trace.

“You’re kidding me, right…?”

I stared at the empty space where nothing remained, feeling utterly hollow.

‘I-it’s fine. It’s still fine.’

The Magic Stone from the Earth Dragon and the materials left on its body.

What I asked Deneb and Marcel to collect should still be there!

Besides, Magic Stones remain even after a Demon Beast turns to ash. It should definitely still be—

“V-Verdi!”

I hear a voice calling urgently from behind. No way.

“The Earth Dragon’s corpse has completely disappeared!”

God-fucking-dammit! God! Why are you doing this to me?

* * *

To cut to the chase, there was nothing left.

The Earth Dragon had vanished without a trace, as if the battle with it had never happened at all.

Even if it wasn’t a hard fight, it’s only natural that we should get proper compensation for subjugating a Demon Beast.

Nothing remains.

So no thoughts come, and no words come out.

I had a feeling, but I never imagined…that literally nothing would be left.

‘Ughhh…’

Even if we go to the Boss Room now, it’s already too late.

Thinking about the faces of the other teams looking at us with pity made me feel nothing but frustration and resentment.

If even a tiny bit of the Earth Dragon’s materials had remained — enough to prove it — I wouldn’t have cared about missing the boss.

Because it’s worth far more than the boss’s Magic Stone. I was planning to rub it in those bastards’ faces, saying we caught an Earth Dragon even if we didn’t get the boss.

But it disappeared.

The Earth Dragon turned to ash without leaving a single trace of itself.

We can no longer prove that we subjugated the Earth Dragon.

And so, all my plans fell apart in an instant.

How is this fair?

How is this fair, I ask you!

Aaaarrrgh!!

‘I want to scream my lungs out right now, but!!’

I have to hold it in.

I couldn’t bring myself to do that in front of those two watching me.

I didn’t want to show them I was shaken.

So all I could do was scream internally.

“Ms. Verdi…”

I know. I can feel Deneb staring at me with worried eyes from behind.

Yeah, I have to keep going. It’s fine. This is only the first time, after all.

If I keep doing well like I did today, eventually I’ll definitely…

‘Well begun is half done, hehehe…’

But before my legs can even move, negative thoughts keep rising up.

I’ve been putting on an act as a sweet girl for a while, but my real personality is hot-tempered, impulsive, and impatient.

Why else would an S-Rank Hunter have the epithet “The Brute”? I know damn well my personality is shitty.

Back in the past, if I’d had a better personality, that incident never would’ve happened, and I never would’ve broken up with that bastard.

But my one strength is that I bounce back fast. If I’m not completely crushed, I’ll probably be back to normal in about thirty minutes.

The problem is, thinking about facing those two people in front of me, plus running into other teams within those thirty minutes, makes my head spin.

By now, there won’t be any Demon Beasts left in this dungeon except the boss. That boss will probably be taken down by another team soon.

If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve ignored the Earth Dragon and gone for the boss first.

If I’d done that, Marcel wouldn’t have been humiliated—

‘…Huh?’

The moment I thought of Marcel, a question bloomed in my mind.

When did I start…looking out for Marcel, for someone else, before myself?

Even thinking about it felt strange. I’ve always put myself first.

That included Mr. Luca and that bastard… Jihyeok was no exception.

And now I’m thinking of someone else first?

How did I go from being so selfish to being selfless…

Even when I first met Marcel, I only saw those two as chess pieces to use for my plans.

‘Hoo…’

Right, let’s calm down.

This is just a setback, after all.

Even if I didn’t earn any wealth, there’s still a gain.

Marcel came to his senses.

Like I thought earlier, this is just the beginning. Compared to what we’ll earn in the future, this is nothing but a speck of dust. Yeah, that’s right. That’s how it is.

But why do I keep feeling like I’m about to cry…?

“Ms. Verdi! There is something! There is!”

No, Marcel. You don’t have to lie.

I know nothing’s left. You don’t need to comfort me.

“What is that?”

“An egg… I think.”

…What, there really is something?

“Ms. Verdi, look at this!”

“Huh…”

Deneb suddenly grabbed my shoulder and tried to pull me up, so I was about to resist.

‘What the hell, since when is she this strong?’

Deneb’s strength was way more than I expected, and I was practically forced to my feet.

And what came into my view as I stood up was…

“…An egg?”

An egg. Not an ordinary one, either — it was so big it reached my waist in height alone.

“Where did this come from?”

I asked calmly, but with a hint of anticipation in my eyes.

Could this egg be…

“If my guess is correct, it must be the egg that dragon left behind.”

Uh, well…so that lizard was brooding an egg, and when we killed it, the egg popped out…?

“This is my first time seeing a dragon, but I’ve never even heard of a dragon’s egg before.”

Marcel says in a trembling voice.

Marcel is right. Seeing a dragon is rare enough, but a Dragon Egg? There’s never been a case like this.

Which means.

“Jack…pot…!”

I muttered in a voice full of joy without even realizing it.

Thankfully, God hasn’t abandoned us.

An Earth Dragon’s egg! If I sell this, it’s guaranteed money!

“M-Ms. Verdi, you’re acting a little weird…”

What are you talking about, this is the real me!

I was just playing the good kid in front of you all!

Can’t I enjoy this moment at least?

“But this egg…it seems to be alive.”

Marcel, who had his ear pressed against the egg, spoke with a slightly tense attitude.

Marcel, who was called a deserter and treated like a coward, checking an egg that could hatch something dangerous first.

This is a positive change. For real!

If there was no material profit from this Gate, Marcel’s change would be the biggest gain.

I’m the leader of this party, but that’s only between us — on the surface, Marcel will look like the leader. That’s what I want, too.

If I’m a porter in a party led by Marcel, I won’t draw anyone’s attention, and I’ll be able to enter High-Rank Gates, so I can be free from rank issues for a while. Of course, since my ultimate goal is to become an S-Rank Hunter, I do plan to rise eventually.

“Should we pack it up for now?”

At Marcel’s question, I nodded vigorously.

The egg was truly huge, as befitting a dragon’s egg — big enough to fill Deneb’s backpack all by itself.

There was nothing left to carry anyway. The Earth Dragon had already wiped out all the Demon Beasts in this dungeon, and the other team must have gone to take down the boss.

After a short rest, we set off again.

Maybe because there was no need to rush to the boss room, our steps were lighter than before.

Silence fell. The only sound was our footsteps on the cave floor.

“…Good work on the Earth Dragon subjugation.”

I said to the two of them as we walked.

A little late, but still.

Honestly, I basically did it all myself, and I could have handled it alone, but…!

Boosting party morale is important.

Members of any group sometimes desperately want proof of their own necessity.

And I figured now was that time.

“Ms. Verdi, that was amazing!”

“Indeed. I’ve never seen magic like that in my life.”

Marcel followed Deneb’s words, not holding back her praise.

It made me feel a little good.