XXII: Million
I was completely engulfed by my own fire spell, but the robe Gamarath had given me to wear was a high-quality piece of equipment with powerful resistance to magic, so I was practically unscathed. First, on the other hand, had sustained large burns over his entire body.
But he still got back up.
“I’m not down for the count yet,” he declared. “You think just that is enough for me to admit defeat? As if.” By thrusting his curved sword into the ground and using it to support himself, he somehow managed to stay standing. He wasn’t the leader of Laslei’s Hundred for nothing.
“You know, if you keep this up, you’ll die,” I said. He probably wouldn’t admit defeat from just a half-hearted attack.
“Do you think I could be first in the Hundred if I was afraid of death?”
That way of thinking was very much characteristic of the Hundred. Do I have no choice but to hit him as hard as I can without killing him?
I raised my staff.
“Halt.”
Just then, a man intervened in the fight. His clothes were shabby, but it was obvious from his faintly ruddy pale skin, deep blue eyes, and pale blond hair that he was an easterner. And also, I’d seen him somewhere before.
“Oh, Million? I don’t see your face around here often,” First said, surprised. He was standing unsteadily.
“I was watching the entire time, Carlos. You did well. But, you should admit when you’ve lost. You’ll never grow if you risk your life on every single defeat. Being part of the Hundred means overcoming your setbacks and setting your sights ever higher.”
First’s name was apparently Carlos.
“Tch, always with the sermons. All right, I give. From now on, you’re First in Laslei’s Hundred, wizard,” Carlos said to me. As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed. With the tension gone, he must have been unable to stay standing. Belinda, who was standing nearby, hurriedly rushed over to him and began reciting a restoration spell. She was being quite kind to a man who had been her enemy. Probably because he was good-looking.
“Now…ahem, Sir Wizard, would you mind coming with me for a short talk?” The man Carlos had called Million addressed me politely.
Yeah, he knows who I am. I’m still wearing my hood, but it isn’t too hard to tell from straight on.
“Sure,” I replied. “Kylan, take care of the rest for me. Good luck with gathering that information.”
The looks on my teammates’ faces begged me not to abandon them, but I pretended not to notice and left the area. Everyone was giving me and Million strange looks, but Carlos had recognized me as First, so I didn’t sense any of them following after us.
We went to a spot in the forest, and I turned and asked Million, “Now, what do you want to talk about?”
“Before that, an apology is due, Zero. Please, forgive us our ineptitude.”
As I’d thought, he seemed to know who I was.
“Ineptitude? What are you talking about?”
“I go by the name Million, yet I have been completely unable to fulfill my purpose.”
Purpose? Does he mean that crazy scheme to add one million members to the Hundred? I never expected anything like that from him in the first place. If anything, I wanted him to call the whole thing off right away, for the sake of world peace.
“It’s no big deal,” I said.
“As I suspected.”
“Huh?”
“Because you, Zero, have begun to carry out that project yourself.”
What does that mean? I have absolutely no clue what he’s talking about.
“The Eyland Purification Project was wonderfully executed. We never even considered spreading the monster meat diet to the general population. Our preconceived notion that it was for warriors only has been utterly shattered.”
“Actually, that wasn’t me, it was—”
“Please, don’t be humble. No one else could come up with such a devilish idea. The rest of the Hundred are brutes; even the insides of their heads are made of nothing but muscle. Clever planning is far beyond them. But just as I’d expect, you show remarkable grace in giving your subordinates the credit.”
It was clear he trusted me deeply. Plus, he had spent enough time with the other members of the Hundred in Farune to know they were a bunch of meatheads. It didn’t seem at all likely he’d believe it was Ogma who had been the first to make the villagers eat monster meat.
“Well, whatever,” I said, giving up. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Sir,” he began. “We Million have spent many months and years secretly spreading monster meat consumption and creating branches of the Hundred in every country. This was done in preparation for the time in the far future when the Hundred will take over the world. However, you, Zero, have expanded your territory at a rate that has surpassed our expectations. Our operations were too slow and deliberate. At this rate, we Million will end up useless, despite having devoted our lives to the Hundred. I’ll do anything it takes to avoid that!” Tears began to fall from his bloodshot eyes.
He was so serious it made my skin crawl. I wished he’d spent his life more for his own happiness, but it was probably too late for that. I couldn’t think of anything else to say to console him.
“Therefore,” he went on, “we are planning on bringing the western nations, at least, under the control of Farune—no, of the Hundred—with our own hands. Each country in the west already has one undercover Million, and we plan to rise up at the same time. I am responsible for Laslei. The leader of the Hundred here, Carlos, is not only strong, but charismatic as well, and he has a gift for leadership. Though needless to say, he doesn’t hold a candle to you, Zero.”
So, they’re terrorists, basically? The situation was more serious than I’d thought. What should I do? I’m an adventurer right now, so should I report this to the Guild? But I’d also feel bad if I interfered with this guy’s life’s work.
After thinking for a bit, I decided to try some light persuasion.
“Don’t you think your plan is a bit farfetched?” I suggested. “If I’m being honest, the members I fought today hardly seem like they could take on an entire country.”
I wasn’t lying. There had been a few who had put up a good fight, but I was wearing a ten-times-gravity armlet, so I had quite the handicap. They were a bit lacking in strength if they wanted to take on a knightly order that trained on a routine basis.
“Correct, sir. Quite perceptive,” Million readily confessed. “That is why you came all the way here yourself, is it not?”
“Excuse me?”
“It is clear to me that you sensed our lack of strength and came here to lead us. I have heard what happened in Vulcan—when you lent your strength to Hart.”
“How do you know about Hart?”
“I was the one to guide him to the Hundred.”
So you’re the one who started Vulcan on the path to its downfall, huh?
Now that I knew that, things were getting a bit tricky. It would be hard to justify not helping out Million when I had already helped out Hart.
I didn’t want people to dislike me, if I could help it. This was a sort of trauma response, from back when no one had liked me and I hadn’t had even a single person on my side. Now, if someone seemed to like me and was on my side, I didn’t want to do anything to change that.
“I see what you’re trying to say,” I said. “For now, why don’t we go back to the clearing?” I avoided clearly stating that I would help, hoping that if I rejoined my party and emphasized that I was going to Torino with them, he would interpret things conveniently.
“Marcus! You took a while!” Kylan said when I returned. He and Carlos had cheerily placed their arms around each other’s shoulders, and they were both laughing. Darion and Belinda were having a friendly conversation with other members of the Hundred.
What’s going on here?
“Y’know, once you get to know him, Carlos is a really great guy,” Kylan said. “This is the first time I’ve ever met someone who understands me so well!” His face was flushed bright red, like a young maiden in love.
“Not at all, dude,” Carlos said. “It’s just that the people around you couldn’t see how great you are. Today, you found a place where you belong—where you really belong. That’s the kind of group we are.” He winked in a vaguely seductive manner. It would have been enough to charm anyone, man or woman. His hostile air from earlier had totally transformed into good-hearted charm. And my party looked to be completely under his spell.
“Belong? What do you mean?” I asked Kylan. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be good.
“We joined the Hundred. After all, you’re the leader here now, right, Marcus? And our souls are connected, so how could we not join too?”
Huh?