A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 83
“…Let me make you a proposal.”
“……”
“I didn't originally intend to go this far, but…”
The sudden word ‘proposal’ and Louis Button’s accompanying voice carried a weight that hadn't been present in our conversation until now.
It was as if he had just ‘resolved’ himself to something in that brief moment.
A determined gaze and voice.
And as if to prove my thoughts correct, he soon slipped a hand inside his sleeve and continued speaking gravely.
Slide—
“I made this decision after seeing you, Mr. Seo U-jin, participating in the War against Demons as a Penal Soldier even while your appeal is still in progress.”
“……”
“…Please, do not make me regret my decision.”
What he then pulled from his bosom was a small paper document.
It was a glossy, white paper, slightly larger than a Memorize Paper used for magic storage, and perhaps excessively ‘white’ in appearance.
From my angle, I couldn't see what was written on the paper at all.
But the moment he took it out, I could guess what it was.
“…I will give you my Indulgence.”
“……!”
An Indulgence.
A certificate of pardon from the Order, awarded to only a handful of priests in an entire century in recognition of their contributions.
I had actually realized what it was the moment I saw its unusual whiteness, but this wasn't the time to snap my fingers and say, ‘I knew it!’
“An Indulgence…?”
I feigned ignorance and asked him again.
“There is no need to think of it as complicated. This Indulgence, just as the word implies, is a certificate from the Order that can pardon any sin except for the death penalty.”
“……”
“It is a kind of special right of pardon that a priest, who spreads the will of God, can receive when the contributions they have achieved over their lifetime reach a supreme level.”
As was evident even from his brief explanation, the power held by the ‘Indulgence’ was so potent it could be described as ‘absolute.’
An absolute certificate of authority, powerful enough to bend the Order’s guiding principle of punishing sin and nullify a punishment already decided by the Order.
As a simple example, the fact that the number of priests in the current era holding the certificate in his hand could be counted on ten fingers was proof of its gravity.
‘…….’
As the meaning it held was by no means light, the ‘exercise of authority’ of an Indulgence was bound to draw people’s attention.
In the first place, Indulgences weren't given to just anyone, and considering that priests who had accumulated such contributions would naturally be far removed from crime, the actual use of an Indulgence was bound to be even rarer.
Moreover.
For a priest who had been awarded an Indulgence to transfer it to someone else for them to use was an event so rare it wouldn't be strange for it to cause a stir within the Order.
The Order’s history was so long that one couldn't say there was no precedent, but if we narrowed the timeframe to within the last hundred years, it would certainly be an exceptional case.
From a normal person’s perspective, Louis’s choice to transfer an ‘Indulgence’ to a mere Hero candidate punished for Hero-slaying was so strange it was a risky act that could be considered foolish.
If I were to receive the Indulgence, leave this place, and cause trouble again, he could very well face not only dismissal from his post but also the instantaneous collapse of the honor and achievements he had built up over a long time as an Inquisitor.
In other words.
The fact that Louis, who knew these things better than anyone, would present this item first meant…
“…Of course.”
“……”
“I do not intend to simply give it to you.”
…that apart from his trust in me, there was something he wanted badly enough to bear all that risk.
* * *
“…As you know, Mr. Seo U-jin, rooting out the Demonic Species is not an easy task.”
“……”
“Not only is tracking them difficult due to ‘The Devil’s Singularity,’ but their innate cunning is specialized for deceiving others.”
Swoosh—
Tucking the Indulgence back into his bosom, he changed the subject and began to speak of his area of expertise, the ‘Demonic Species.’
‘…….’
Since I happened to have one of those cunning(?) Demonic Species by my side, I felt a slight pang of guilt at his words.
Nod—
I silently nodded and listened to him.
“But what is more difficult than rooting out the Demonic Species is suppressing the power of a captured Demonic Species and restraining them.”
“……”
“Due to their unique trickiness, the method of restraining mana differs for each clan, even among the Demonic Species. And even now, we at the ‘Exorcist’ division do not know the restraining methods for all of them.”
He explained at length, but to put it simply, it meant ‘they’re a pain in the ass to handle.’
I could fully sympathize.
Though it was collectively called ‘The Devil's Singularity,’ there were species like the Succubus that flickered between substance and illusion, and others that had no physical form at all, so the methods of containment all differed. If you captured one and let your guard down, you would often lose the fish you had already caught.
…In the first place, the fact that the Order had formed a specialized force centered around a high-ranking official like an Inquisitor was proof of that difficulty.
Having spoken that far, Louis took out another item and placed it before my eyes.
Thud—
“……”
It was a square golden cube, about 4cm in diameter.
A simple cube that reminded me of a die at first glance, but what was unique was that all six faces of the cube were covered in geometric, golden Magic Circles.
“See for yourself.”
“……”
“You can turn the gear on the edge.”
Following his gesture, I picked up the golden cube and turned the gear on its side.
With a ‘whirring’ sound, the Magic Circles on the cube’s six faces lit up with a noise.
Clink—
Clatter—
Hummm—
For a moment, the Magic Circles on the six faces spun, their geometric patterns interlocking.
At the end, with a *click—*, the center sank inwards.
“……”
Then, it opened its maw in all directions and spat out a single ‘gem.’
“…This is likely something you have never seen before, Mr. Seo U-jin.”
The gem’s appearance could be described in one word: ‘grotesque.’
A murky, reddish color, and chaotic edges that possessed no sense of order.
All its vertices were misaligned, and it was a bizarre object completely lacking the balanced patterns one would normally associate with a ‘gem.’
…The golden cube that had encased it only served to further contrast its chaotic form.
“This is a special mineral that the Order’s exploration team discovered inside the dungeon when the ‘Darkest Dungeon’ was first found.”
“……”
“The official name defined by the Order is ‘Undefined Self-Luminous Irregular Polyhedron,’ but… we call it a ‘Quark’ for short, after the explorer who first discovered it.”
Quark.
As he said, it was the first time I was seeing it in this second playthrough.
But for me, who had a history of hunting Demonic Species of all kinds in my first playthrough, it was an object so familiar it was almost tiresome to look at.
…The unique, nauseating feeling that slowly rose to stimulate the senses was also familiar.
‘…….’
It was not a welcome object.
As it was used to capture Demonic Species, I had no fond memories associated with the Quark.
It only brought back faint recollections of my old comrades' desperate last moments.
‘…….’
Forcing down the frown that was automatically forming, I prompted Louis to continue.
“…So?”
“…The reason we have been able to capture and restrain the Demonic Species until now is all thanks to that Quark. The unique power it possesses can restrain the power of all Demonic Species, regardless of type.”
‘The property of absorbing Demonic Nature.’
It was a trait unique to the Quark, and for the Exorcists who captured Demonic Species, it was a precious ability no different from a heaven-sent treasure.
Of course, being a special item with power that defied common sense, it had its share of side effects.
But the Order had succeeded in optimizing its special property so that the members of the Exorcist division could use it.
That method of optimization was that golden cube.
“…However, recently, the supply of Quarks held by the Exorcists has been almost depleted.”
…The depletion of the Quark supply.
The thread of the long, roundabout conversation was finally caught.
“Actually, the ‘supply shortage’ of Quarks is not a new problem, but a chronic one we have been suffering from for a very long time.”
“……”
“The amount of Quarks we Exorcists can produce is fixed, whereas the frequency of Demonic Species and Mutant appearances has been increasing exponentially over time.”
I had played dumb and taken the long way around, but at this point, it was so obvious that even a toddler could tell that what he wanted from me in exchange for the Indulgence was the ‘mining of Quarks.’
Of course, there was a part that was slightly different from what I had originally expected.
Given the value of the Indulgence, I had thought he might tack on a few additional conditions to the ‘mining of Quarks,’ but it was surprising that he only spoke of the ‘Quark.’
However.
‘…That’s his problem, not mine.’
What was important to me was that my plan proceeded smoothly.
Becoming a Hero-Slayer to enter the ‘Darkest Dungeon.’
And safely getting out after taking care of business there.
As long as those two conditions were met, I didn't care about anything else, so I pulled the conclusion of the conversation he was about to deliver to the forefront.
“…So, to sum it up. You’re short on this ‘Quark,’ so you want me to go get some for you, right?”
“……”
“Since you guys can’t just go cut off someone’s arm and enter the ‘Darkest Dungeon’ yourselves like me.”
There were minor differences in scale, but I figured the proposal was within my range of expectations anyway.
Shake shake—
“No.”
“……?”
…However.
In response to my question seeking confirmation, what came back from him was not a nod.
“…The context is similar, but it’s slightly different.”
“……”
“What I want to ask of you, Mr. Seo U-jin, is to mine the ‘Quark’s Source Stone’.”
“……!”
For a moment.
My thoughts came to a halt.