I munch on one of the robber corpses I absconded with. I didn't actually intend to take them with me, but one of my Parallel Minds picked them up. Just stuffed 'em into my Spatial Storage with Spatial Magic.
I guess I don't really mind, but I'm a little surprised that my Parallel Minds did something I wasn't planning on doing at all. Parallel Minds is a skill that essentially makes copies of my consciousness, sort of like an intentionally induced multiple personality disorder.
But the copies have the same thought processes as I do, so there's more of me. All of them are the real me, with no particular distinction between one or the other. Together, these split-up copies form my mind, my consciousness. At least, that's what I thought.
But after they were away fighting Mother for so long, my Parallel Minds' behavior has been surprising me. Grabbing these corpses is one example.
I fully intended to leave the corpses there, yet the Parallel Minds collected them like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And when I asked why they did that, the response was: [Why in the world wouldn't we do that?]
The other Parallel Minds agreed, so I was the only dissenter.
I'm having a difference of opinion with my Parallel Minds, which are supposed to be me.
That's never happened before. It's not like I had any reason to think it was possible before this.
I mean, it doesn't make sense to disagree with myself, right? But somehow, that's exactly what happened.
I should be happy that my Parallel Minds defeated Mother and came back, but I can't help feeling a little uneasy about the change.
Which is mostly why I haven't given them control of the body since they got back. My role used to be the "information brain": analyzing the enemy with Appraisal and such.
Body brain was in charge of moving my body, the magic brains were in charge of magic, and so on and so forth. But now, I'm moving my own body.
Since I used to do everything with only one consciousness, it's not like I forgot how. It's just much more efficient to divide up work among Parallel Minds. Now I'm sacrificing that efficiency to do everything myself, just like I used to before I had my Parallel Minds. They can still use magic on their own, but everything else can be done only by the "real" me.
My Parallel Minds haven't complained about this. I'm guessing they've pretty much figured out what I'm thinking. Maybe they can tell that they've changed, too.
But I haven't taken any serious steps to separate myself from them or anything yet. It's not really that surprising that they were able to pick up that corpse. My main guiding principles are to never leave anything behind and always eat the monsters I kill. There are some exceptions, of course, like when circumstances clearly won't allow it.
For me, this was one of those cases. I did intend to collect the thieves' bodies at first, but when I encountered a fellow reincarnation, those plans flew out the window.
My original intention was to make it look like I was a monster who just happened to be passing by, killed the robbers, and made off with their corpses. But one of the guards who I thought had been killed by the robbers was actually hanging on to life by a thread, so I ended up saving him on impulse.
My whole "passerby monster" scenario was already screwed at that point. I defeated the robbers and then healed an injured human, which probably made it obvious that I was deliberately saving them.
That alone was more than enough to cause some gossip, but then I had to go and lock eyes with that stupid baby on top of it. I drew way too much attention to myself. And the more I stand out, the more likely it is that people will start talking about me. If rumors spread, word might even reach the Demon Lord's ears.
Which was exactly why I decided to abandon the corpses and book it outta there before I did anything to make myself stand out even more.
Though by then it was too little, too late. I'd already drawn attention to myself in so many other ways. Guess another strange phenomenon like the corpses mysteriously disappearing won't make much of a difference. All things considered, it's not like the Parallel Minds did something terrible or anything.
The only reason I feel bad now is that the bodies of the robbers I'm currently eating are smelly and gross. That's all. While I reluctantly eat the corpses of Stinky, Smelly, and Nasty, I stare at a large town. You see, I figured that if I followed a road big enough for horse-drawn carriages, I would stumble upon a town sooner or later. It's a bit bigger than I expected. A little surprising it's this close to where I rescued that carriage, too. Why were you morons causing trouble so close to a town? You were basically begging to have the guards called on you. If I were you, I'd commit my crimes slightly farther away from civilization.
Oh, I guess it doesn't matter, since you've already been killed and I'm eating you right now. Anyway, the town is surrounded on all sides by some sturdy-looking walls. When you live in a world that's full of dangerous monsters, I suppose there's no way to live in peace without shelter like that. As proof, there isn't a single building outside the walls.
A lot of the time, when there's a town this big, more buildings will start cropping up outside the walls as the city expands outward. But all the buildings here are snug within the walls. Maybe they figure monsters might attack before they even finish building anything on the unguarded land. Besides, I imagine it helps keep out ruffians like the ones I'm chewing on right now, too.
There's a watchtower at the four corners, and soldiers are patrolling along the walls as well. It's super-dark right now, too. I'm impressed! I mean, I've got a maxed-out Night Vision skill, so I can see perfectly, but still. These average Joes aren't even nocturnal, so it's quite brave of them to keep watch at night with hardly any light sources. Yes, it's nighttime right now.
The dead of night, in fact. A time when all good little children should be tucked into bed. Since there aren't any streetlights or anything in this world, towns get awfully dark at night. It looks like most people go to bed pretty early, too. As soon as the sun sets, they turn out the lights and hit the hay. Well, I guess that makes sense.
Unlike modern Japan, they have to use fire as their light source, which can't be cheap. It's probably safer and more economic to turn out the lights and go to bed early. So even though there're plenty of people living in this town, it gets super-dark and quiet as soon as night falls. It really drives home the differences between here and Japan. It's always bright in Japan, even at night. If you look at satellite photos of Earth's side where it's the middle of the night, the islands of Japan are always lit up very clearly. Since that's what I'm used to, I can't help thinking, Damn, I didn't know night was this dark. Still not as dark as the inside of the labyrinth, though! After all, there was no moonlight or starlight in there. Oh, by the way, turns out this place has more than one moon.
When I first saw that, I couldn't help being a bit moved by the otherworldly feeling. What does that mean for tides and stuff here, I wonder? Anyway, any guesses as to why I'm sizing up the town this late at night?
The answer is currently skulking through the town. A group of people covered from head to toe in black clothing creeps toward the big mansion at the heart of the city. They might as well be screaming, We're up to no good! The black-clad crew slips into the mansion without a sound. It's not that the mansion's security is bad.
There are guards patrolling around the grounds keeping watch, and all the doors and windows are locked. The homes of common people in this world don't seem to have locks at all, so to have them on every door and window is pretty high security.
The guards also have the Night Vision skill, plus others like Five Senses Enhancement and Presence Perception, so they're perfect to act as a manned alert system. However, the group in black has no problems getting past them because their skills are simply superior. They're armed to the teeth with skills that hide their presence, like Stealth, Concealment, Silence, and Odorless.
On top of that, I don't know how to explain this, but they move like real pros. They slip past the guards' line of sight with effortlessly acrobatic movements, pick the locks with ease, and slip inside. It's easy to see that they've done this kind of thing many times before.
They're expert hired hands whose skills put any ordinary thief to shame. And in the garage (or carriage room, I guess) of the mansion, they're currently targeting is a carriage that's very familiar indeed.
Yep. It's the same one I saw the baby bloodsucker in this afternoon.
You know what that means, don't you?
This giant mansion must be where the baby vampire lives! Damn, this kid's family is loaded.
Actually, aren't they nobles? From what I saw earlier and all, I'm guessing the baby bloodsucker's father is in charge of this town.
His name is John Keren. Race: Human. Human.
I say it twice because it's important. Good for you, Baby Drac!
You're a vampire who was born to human parents via some freak mutation!
Ah-ha-ha-ha!
Okay, it's not actually something to laugh about.
I don't know how vampires are usually treated in this world, but if an important noble suddenly has a vampire baby, that smells like it'll be trouble in the future.
Well, they'll have to deal with that themselves.
I can't hang around and look after 'em forever. But right now, if I let something bad happen to them right before my eyes, it's gonna leave a bad taste in my mouth later.
Which is why it's time to bust out my new technique! Panoptic Vision plus Jinx Evil Eye! When I had only Clairvoyance, I could see stuff that was far away, but I couldn't Appraise it or use Evil Eyes on it or anything. But guess what! Now that Clairvoyance has evolved into Panoptic Vision, I can totally combine those things! See, I'm still in the forest near the town right now.
Even though I'm that far away from the mansion, if I combine Panoptic Vision with Evil Eye, I can attack the enemy with zero chance of retaliation! With perfect accuracy, no less! Think about it. Evil Eye affects anything in my field of vision, so it's not like it can miss. That means that as long as I can see the enemy, I can attack them without fail! It's the ultimate long-distance attack. Sounds pretty badass, doesn't it?
Hey, I'm just saying. Anyway, Jinx Evil Eye absorbs the victim's HP, MP, and SP and continuously lowers their stats to boot. And since it's insanely far, they won't be able to fight back.
Pretty brutal, if I do say so myself. Actually, with my super-high Magic Attack stats, it can kill humans pretty much instantly.
So without further ado, I use this nasty little number on the intruders. They collapse on the spot as if they've been struck down by a sudden attack.
I mean, that is pretty much what happened. I sucked out all their HP, MP, and SP in an instant. Boy, it's sure gonna seem mysterious that they all dropped dead despite having no visible wounds. I'm just gonna leave those mysterious corpses in the mansion.
That's sure to cause a big ol' panic in the house tomorrow morning. But I'm not trying to prank them by leaving the bodies there or anything.
I'm leaving that suspicious-looking bunch of dead guys there as a message, to let them know they're being targeted.
Yes, that's right. Someone is targeting this mansion. I learned about the whole thing not long after arriving in town.
As I was gazing at the first human settlement I'd ever seen in this world, the carriage with the baby bloodsucker pulled in. It had been attacked just outside of town, after all.
A sketchy-looking crew was staring at their carriage.
There was something dangerous about the look in their eyes. That's when it hit me! Maybe these guys were the ones who sent those robbers after the carriage in the first place? Sudden misfortune befalls the feudal lord's wife and daughter.
Thereafter, the lord drowns in despair and ruin.
And hidden in the shadows, some bad guys reap the rewards. It all clearly unfolded in my mind like the plot of a pulp novel.
Decent guess, though, isn't it?
I decided to keep an eye on these shady characters for a bit. Luckily, the Demon Lord is currently in the Bottom Stratum of the Great Elroe Labyrinth, for whatever reason.
This town is pretty far away from the labyrinth, and it'd take a while just to get back to the surface from the Bottom Stratum. It'll be at least a few days before the Demon Lord can possibly catch up with me.
There shouldn't be any issues if I kick around here for a bit. I don't think it'd be my fault if something happens to them while I'm not around to keep an eye out, but I'm not gonna just ignore a ticking time bomb if I see it right there. I mean, if they get killed after I went to all the trouble of rescuing them from those robbers, that'd be a wasted effort, right?
That's why I decided to keep an eye on those extremely suspicious characters. First, they started having some kind of strategy meeting in what looked like a secret hideout. Once in a while it almost seemed like one of them was glancing at me, but I must've imagined that. Right? And as I continued to watch them, the strangest thing happened.
They tried to break into the mansion in the middle of the night! Honestly, I was surprised they were aggressive enough to gun for it the very same day. They've got guts; I'll give 'em that. But they're dead now, so a fat lot of good that did them.
Anyway, I wiped out those would-be intruders, but I still haven't dealt with the source of the problem. There are still several people in the hideout.
And one of them seems to have Clairvoyance, too.
The moment the intruders dropped dead, he went and reported it to a boss-looking fellow. I don't understand the language here, so of course, I don't know what he said, but I'm sure he was reporting that the crew of intruders kicked the bucket. Then the boss guy in the important-looking robe used Telepathy to get in touch with someone or another.
I kind of intercepted the message with Professor Wisdom or something, but it's not like I understood it anyway. The person he was talking to was a really stuck-up-sounding guy.
Maybe he was the robe guy's boss?
That would mean that the organization that's targeting the lord has more branches outside this town. If I take out all the schemers here, they might just send reinforcements from another branch. So it makes no sense for me to kill the ones in this town.
It's not my job to go up against some fancy anti-lord organization, okay? That's why I left the corpses there to let the lord know that someone's after his family.
If he knows he's being targeted, he can probably figure out the culprit by ID'ing the intruders or whatever. After that, it's up to him to defend his family somehow.
That's about the best I can do for ya, kid. Even if we do technically know each other from our previous lives, I'd say it's pretty darn nice of me to save your life twice. So that's all well and good.
If a person's about to be killed by a monster or thieves or whatever right before my eyes, sure, I'll save them. I certainly have the power to do so, so to look the other way would just make me feel guilty.
It's sorta like when you see trash lying on the ground, and the trash can is right there, so you just throw it out. You get a little bit of self-satisfaction for doing your good deed of the day.
But I'm not gonna go so far as to stick my nose into places I can't see.
If someone dies when I'm not looking, well, that's not my fault. I mean, what do you do if you see trash on the ground, but there's no trash can anywhere nearby? You most likely leave it as is 'cause it's too much of a pain.
So even if the baby bloodsucker's family is being targeted, I'm not about to go crush the whole enemy organization.
That's way too much work.
So I'll help as long as it's somewhere I can see, but I think I'll let them handle the rest down the line.
I'm not so softhearted that I'm willing to devote a bunch of my time and energy to someone else for free.
Going all out just to help some rando isn't worth the effort. I'm willing to work my hardest only when it directly benefits me.
At least, that was the plan.
But as soon as the guy in the robe takes off his hood, everything changes.
[An elf…]
[An elf…]
[An elf…]
[An elf…]
[An elf…]
[An elf…]
The man's ears are long and pointed.
Aw yeah, now that's a classic fantasy race! But I'm the only one who gets excited.
The other Parallel Minds all just mutter [An elf] in perfect unison.
This isn't just disinterest;
it's…anger?
Hostility?
Hatred?
What in the world?
I don't understand why my Parallel Minds are so tense.
Why would their feelings suddenly shift like that?
Do they hate elves that much?
I have no idea why that would be the case.
But the Parallel Minds aren't questioning those feelings.
Their attitude toward the elf is practically murderous.
[If the elves are involved, we can't just ignore it.]
[Agreed!]
[No complaints here.]
[Let's do it!]
And now it seems like they're ignoring my confusion and making a decision without even consulting me. I just don't get it.
But it sorta seems like they're all gonna turn on me if I object.
The Demon Lord is far away in the Bottom Stratum, meaning we do have a little while before she chases us down. Besides, now that I've expanded my horizons and found more places I can escape to, I can just teleport away as soon as the Demon Lord starts to get close.
As long as I don't let my guard down, I'm pretty sure the Demon Lord's not gonna catch me.
So it's not really a problem if I stay here for a bit. But still, it's scary that I don't know what my own Parallel Minds are thinking. It's almost like a part of me is turning into someone else entirely…
I'm pretty freaked out by the whole thing, honestly. Still, I don't think I'm going to oppose them. Because I have a bad feeling about what might happen if I do. And so, for whatever reason, I decide to stay near this town for a while.