I woke at the crack of dawn.
It wasn't something that I was unfamiliar with.
You see, having an overly intoxicated father who liked to come home at odd hours of the night meant that you needed to start being able to wake up at any time or risk getting pulverized.
While Lucrezia remained asleep, I took the liberty of preparing our breakfast and increasing my mana capacity while I was at it. Raising one's mana capacity was relatively simple as it pretty much worked like all those cultivation novels out there.
Gather the mana flowing through your body and condense it in your core. Over and over again, compress it until it becomes a glowing sphere of light that consumes all it touches...
It was so cliché and easy that I could do it while minding the fire.
A part of me regretted having picked such a cookie-cutter world to transmigrate into, but that feeling was snuffed out almost instantly as I reminded myself of my ultimate goal.
Nothing mattered except for giving that piece of shit God a piece of my mind.
I mulled over my memories of the past for a little longer as I waited for the food to cook. I spared a few glances toward Lucrezia, but it seemed like she was going to be sleeping for just a bit longer.
Eh, well, it's not like we're in a rush.
Left with nothing else but my dark thoughts, I instead chose to shift my activities to something more productive. Namely, finally finding out just what the hell Corruption was.
A quick look through the rulebook told me what I needed to know. Honestly, after reading through this, I feel like I should've done this much sooner.
Oh well. The past is the past.
Lucrezia stirred as the scent of cooked food began wafting into the shelter we'd set up. Her eyelids fluttered as she awoke, rising up like a blooming flower.
"Mornin', Lucrezia."
"G'mnronign..."
Someone hold me back, she's so cute! Inwardly, I squealed at her bleary greeting. Outwardly, I handed her a waterskin so she could wash her face before partaking in our morning meal.
After packing up, we ended up reaching a town a little after the sun had risen to its highest point and had just begun to dip.
"Don't you think it's a little bit... empty?"
Now that she mentioned it, the streets were strangely deserted. I hadn't really paid any attention to it because of the sounds that I could hear coming from various buildings, but the outside was pretty much devoid of people.
On my suggestion of checking in with the townspeople, we entered a tavern called the Pink Dragon. The interior beheld a sharp contrast to the exterior. People were drinking merrily and there were even performers on a small stage in the center of the establishment.
All of this immediately stopped as we opened the doors.
The abruptness of the silence made it seem like we'd entered a morgue.
All eyes were on us.
"...Got room for two?" My voice felt deafeningly loud in the silence.
Lucrezia shifted her feet nervously as I waited for a reply.
After a good five seconds, the tavern immediately returned to its previous state. The transition was absolutely jarring.
What the fuck was that?
A barmaid waltzed her way through the bustling crowd and led us to one of the quieter tables. It was sequestered in a corner of the establishment—which I appreciated—and only had one occupant as of now.
We got ourselves settled and I took a moment to inspect the young man who was sitting with us.
He wore a green outfit with a purple cloak draped over his shoulders and his dark brown hair framed a passably handsome face.
However, he had a particular glint in his eye that caught my attention. It wasn't as if he was dangerous or anything, but he gave off the impression that he was the type of person who poked his nose where it wasn't supposed to be.
And right now, that was exactly the type of person that I needed.
"Mikado Ryuuko. You can call me Ryuuko." I extended a hand toward him.
He shook it.
"Cyrus."
"This is my companion, Lucrezia. We just arrived in town today after coming through the mountain pass. It's hella quiet out there, isn't it?"
He shrugged. "There's been a bit of trouble lately. S'long as we stay inside, they can't come in."
What is this? Vampires? Or maybe...
"Ah. This town's protected by the regional lord, huh? I didn't expect them to extend the enchantment this far out in the sticks."
"Sure took 'em long enough to do it. The townspeople've been waiting since last winter, and it's not like Krynera's blessing is hard to give." It was spring now.
Krynera was one of the major deities that was worshiped in the Kingdom of Ardene. She was known as the Goddess of Protection and her clergy was responsible for erecting protective barriers over the kingdom's structures.
These barriers would prevent damage to buildings and make them inaccessible for criminals and other unsavory individuals.
Now, how exactly did it determine who was worthy to enter?
Well, that was what Corruption was for. Certain magical effects could repel individuals with high Corruption or even hurt them. However, it wasn't as if there were no upsides to Corruption.
There were things that could only be used by those with high Corruption and barriers that only Corrupted individuals could pass. Not only that, but some spells would outright fail against them.
I was very lucky that my hefty Corruption score of 90 was just below the threshold for entering this particular barrier that was set up over the town.
"Since last winter, huh? What's been happening around town?"
Before I even finished my question, Cyrus already brought his hand up, wagging his index finger at me.
"Hold your horses, buckaroo. I gave you the first three free of charge. Even my goodwill's got a limit, y'know?" He said, rubbing his fingers together in the universal gesture of money.
Even in another world, some things never changed.
"Three? I only asked you two questions."
He grinned.
"The first was my name."
I begrudgingly coughed up the sum of 1 gold piece. Honestly, it wasn't that expensive and I'd taken this money off the corpses of the cultists, so I shouldn't be feeling any sense of loss.
Despite this, the act of paying any amount still made me feel unbearably uncomfortable. I chalked it up to my extreme poverty in my previous life.
What he told me was definitely worth the price, though.
The cultists that I killed weren't the last. I already knew this due to my encounter with the bandits, but what I didn't know was that they had far more underground bases like the one where I'd found Lucrezia in.
Not only that, but they were kidnapping people from the town and abroad. Ardene's military had long been mobilized to deal with them, but their expertise in subterfuge and mastery over Forbidden magic made it difficult to track them down and wipe them out all at once.
Now, this was all interesting information and all, but I didn't really care. I had no investment in the kingdom's politics or its people. Right now, all I cared about was getting Lucrezia back to her home and getting stronger.
The fact that her home shared my ultimate destination was just a coincidental convenience. Nothing more.
...Alright. Maybe there was a little more to it, but everything was for my ultimate goal of unifying the barbaric tribes before the rise of the demon lord!
The longer Cyrus spoke, the more I realized what this was.
Nah. Naaaaah. There's no way I'm doing this. This is one of those, isn't it!? A plot hook! This is totally a plot hook! I've read this sorta crap a thousand times! Nah, fam, I ain't playin' the role of an altruistic son of a bitch! You guys can all go solve your own problems!
I hastened to thank Cyrus and got up to leave after placing a few coins on the table.
And then, the worst situation happened.
I felt a gentle tug on my sleeve.
"...W-We're going to help out, right, Ryuuko?"
GAAAAH! Why!?!?!?!? Why must you do this to me, Lucrezia!
I mustered all my strength to refuse her. A whole 20 points of wisdom. That was twice as much mental fortitude as the average denizen of this world.
But when she turned those large, doe-like eyes of hers up toward me, I doubt I could've resisted even with 99 WIS.
"I, uh, I'll think about it."
"You'll want to talk to the town chief before you do anything crazy. You're adventurers, right?" Cyrus chimed in.
We weren't, but I nodded in assent.
"He's been organizing a militia to take out the nearest cultist hideout. He's figured out where they're based. Just needs a force to do it, but no one wants to stick their neck out, 'specially when we've got Krynera's blessing set up."
After the two of us exited the tavern, I turned to Lucrezia with a frown.
"I thought you didn't care about humans."
"I don't, but... I wasn't traveling alone. They captured my companions too, and I just thought... There could be a chance..."
Her gaze fell to the ground. It was clear that she was recalling painful memories.
...
I placed a hand on Lucrezia's shoulder.
"We'll find them... because I'm the one who's looking."
AAAAAAAUGH! Mikado Ryuuko, what the HELL are you doing!? Don't make promises you can't keep just to sound cool! What happened to unifying the tribes!?