Chapter 84

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Episode 19 - Principles of a purpose [1]

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Her words lingered in the air before the silence was finally broken.

"No."

"No."

Well, I didn’t raise my voice. I answered in a normal tone, but Charlotte...

’At least don’t shout it.’

I shook my head inwardly. After hearing our answers, Luminus barely reacted.

Although there was a slight trace of surprise in her emotions, it was nothing more than that.

"Well, alright then. Let’s head to the Federation branch."

"The Federation?"

Charlotte asked. We both immediately noticed that Luminus had changed the subject regarding the question about her purpose.

Even so, we didn’t press further. This was naturally part of the difficulty of this Memory Gate.

Luminus nodded and said:

"Yes, we’re going to create an official group. Or would you prefer a group that exists only by word of mouth?"

My thoughts sped up, and I quickly replied:

"Official."

Luminus nodded and said nothing else.

She walked ahead while Charlotte and I moved forward shoulder to shoulder.

Charlotte tilted her head slightly and muttered:

"She avoided the subject pretty easily. So, how do we proceed now? You do have some kind of plan, don’t you? Since you decided to enter this Memory Gate."

Hearing her words, I neither nodded nor shook my head.

I simply shrugged and said:

"I don’t know. If the opportunity comes up, we can return to the subject. Just be patient."

"..."

Charlotte looked at me without saying anything, but soon a frown formed on her face, and her feelings of disappointment and irritation grew stronger.

"I thought you had everything planned out."

"And I planned to come alone. I warned you."

Charlotte let out a long sigh before crossing her arms.

Then, shortly after, she asked:

"Fine then, why form a group? What’s the reason?"

In response to her question, I answered:

"Isn’t it obvious? It’s to keep ourselves tied to her. If not for that, how would we get close to her without her trying to kill us?"

The only reason I decided to create a group was simple.

To stay close to her.

We could talk for a while, but that was all.

Getting close to Luminus in any other way would be far too suspicious.

Although, of course, creating a group with her was already suspicious, the suspicion she felt toward us was not that strong.

’Since from the very beginning, I wanted to create slight suspicion, but also a strong sense of intrigue and mystery.’

That was also the reason I told her this group would be temporary while we remained here.

So, in theory, her objective would be to keep an eye on us. Besides, I clearly showed her that I could find villains with ease.

That was a very important quality.

Luminus, just like everyone else, deeply hated villains.

’And if someone who can easily find villains creates a group with her, while also proving that he is obviously not a burden, then she would accept it without thinking too much about it.’

It was a win-win situation.

I explained all of this to Charlotte, and she nodded from time to time.

"If you had already planned all of that, why did you say you didn’t have any plan?"

"Ah, that."

I shrugged and replied casually,

"I just improvised it. Although I did have a plan, this one is better."

"..."

Charlotte blinked before shaking her head.

A short while later, we arrived at a three-story building. It was the largest one in the entire small city.

During this era, the Federation was something similar to a world government.

It mainly operated by hiring adventurers. It was not very different from the guilds seen in other games.

However, since it was a Federation rather than a guild, it obviously handled matters of far greater importance.

’Although it disappeared after the Second Calamity.’

Anyway, we entered the building and approached the reception desk.

The receptionist, who for some strange reason was always a woman, raised her head and looked first at Luminus and then at the two of us.

"How can I help you?"

Luminus answered without hesitation:

"I want to create a group with these two."

The receptionist nodded. Shortly afterward, she pulled out some documents and explained a few things to Luminus.

Finally, she handed him a pen and pointed at several sections of the paper.

"Alright, then sign here, here, and here."

The receptionist took out a stamp and pressed it onto the document. Finally, she said:

"You can request and accept missions, carry out monster exterminations, assist churches, collect ingredients or materials, and so on. Here is a list."

She handed the list to Luminus. Luminus only skimmed through it before turning toward Charlotte and me.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Charlotte turned toward me, and Luminus did the same.

I already knew what to answer, so I simply said the most obvious thing:

"Villain extermination."

---

After leaving the Federation, we walked through the streets.

People passed by from time to time; some begged, others asked for charity, some wandered around, others slept on the sidewalks, and so on.

In particular, there were many knights in plate armor carrying parts of wild or demonic beasts.

Even though the streets were full of life and noise, overall, everything was a mess.

’Honestly, death is so thick here that you don’t need anything specific to see it.’

The world was dying. Living beings were falling into eternal slumber; everything here was filled with corpses, both monsters and humans.

Anyway, Luminus, indifferent to all of this, said:

"It seems we have something in common."

He said it while looking at Charlotte and me.

I shrugged and replied:

"Well, isn’t it obvious? Everyone wants to see villains dead, right? That’s the purpose of every person in this era."

I said it while emphasizing the word "purpose." Luminus pressed his lips together and murmured:

"I don’t think everyone has the same purpose."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow and said,

"Well, everyone has some kind of principle within their purpose, so no one has exactly the same one."

Charlotte understood what I meant, so she played along, and it worked.

Luminus remained silent for a moment and murmured,

"Principles of a purpose, huh."

She raised her head and looked up at the sky.

I couldn’t see her eyes, but I could see her emotions.

There was melancholy, hope, and expectation.

I slightly raised my head and "looked" at the sky as well.

’I still don’t fully understand what her purpose is. If she’s hesitant, then the answer to overcoming the prologue would be making her firmly believe in that purpose. But if it’s something else, then it’ll be more difficult.’

Making someone find, follow, or believe in a purpose was not easy at all.

A clear example was myself.

What exactly was my purpose?

To reach the True Ending? To find answers? To find my true self? To discover who I am?

That was why I understood very well that everything related to purpose was extremely complicated.

’Phew, that’s why almost nobody overcomes the prologue. Purpose isn’t a simple matter for most people.’

Luminus shook her head, as if brushing away the thoughts caused by what she had just murmured.

Then she changed the subject and said,

"Since we accepted the responsibility of exterminating villains, we should start with the underworld. We’re going to a black market in this city."

Charlotte said,

"A black market? There was something like that in this city?"

Luminus nodded and replied,

"Yes. I found out in a nearby city when I interrogated a villain. He said there was a black market run by slave traders, and that it was probably being controlled by villains. I don’t know how many there are, or whether it’s true or not."

Charlotte nodded.

Meanwhile, after hearing her words, I simply gave a slight nod and asked:

"Then please lead the way."

Luminus looked at me briefly and then glanced at Charlotte.

"Are you two really not a couple?"

Charlotte and I were walking shoulder to shoulder, and seeing that, Luminus’s confusion suddenly deepened.

"No."

"No."

Luminus narrowed her eyes for a moment, and before she could say anything else, Charlotte asked with obvious irritation:

"Anyway, why do you keep asking that? That’s already the second time."

At Charlotte’s question, Luminus fell silent for a moment before answering:

"You remind me of who I was three years ago and... of a friend."

Charlotte and I listened to her words in silence.

But we said nothing.

We remained silent, and Luminus did not continue speaking.

So, a few minutes later, Luminus stopped in front of a shop.

Charlotte, standing beside me, asked:

"What exactly are we doing here?"

Luminus answered without looking at Charlotte:

"Entering the Black Market, of course."

"Aren’t places like that usually in alleyways or deserted areas?"

I briefly turned my head and answered Charlotte’s question:

"I think you should read less, you know? Not everything is that cliché."

Charlotte froze for a second before protesting:

"What? I don’t read childish stuff like novels or things like that."

I shrugged.

"Yeah, whatever you say."

Charlotte clenched her fists and jaw. However, shortly afterward, she ignored me and we entered the shop.

Luminus, still leading the way, walked straight toward the shop owner and muttered something.

"I want to go to the basement."

The shop owner paused for a moment. He looked at Luminus and then at the two of us.

After a few seconds, he smiled calmly.

"Of course, new customers are always welcome, and I assume someone recommended you, right?"

Luminus said nothing. Noticing this, the shop owner smiled awkwardly; then he turned around and pulled down a lever.

The next moment, one of the walls opened, revealing a passage leading downward.

"Go on, head in. A guide is waiting downstairs to explain the rules, and make sure to wear a mask."

Luminus walked past him and simply entered the dark corridor. Meanwhile, Charlotte and I followed behind her.

Soon, we reached the end of the corridor after descending a spiral staircase. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

A man was sitting there with his arms crossed. In front of him was a wall filled with masks.

And at the end of the hallway, an iron door.

When we appeared, the man stood up and slightly bowed his head.

"Welcome to Zenonia’s Black Market."