[T/N: WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!, Did not notice ‘Tom and Jerry’ till now.]
Quark was an extrely important substance to the Exorcists.
Among the many substances in the world, Quark was the only one that could affect the Demonic Species.
The new research division, Magitech Engineering, which was growing with the full support of The Order, had tried to create an effect similar to Quark's, but they had given up without understanding even a fraction of its principles.
In terms of ti, it was a rather outdated, primitive thod.
And despite it being a substance whose supply level was fixed, making increased production impossible, the reason the Exorcists still insisted on using Quark was because of its irreplaceable properties.
And for that reason, the aning the 'Source Stone of Quark' held for the Exorcists was special.
Because the Source Stone was the only thing capable of producing the irreplaceable substance, 'Quark'.
Replication magic didn't work on it, and creating a similar substance was also impossible.
…That was ultimately why I first thought it would be difficult to get out of this place.
The Order and the Exorcists.
Crucially, from the perspective of Louis, their leader, I knew just how significant the 'Source Stone of Quark' was, so I didn't think he would let go easily.
Unless I brought him another Source Stone.
From his perspective, he had no choice but to keep , the one who swallowed the Source Stone, tied down.
It wasn't a simple matter of preference; for Louis, it was a matter of possibility and impossibility.
The Quark shortage was an imdiate problem for Louis, and while they were managing for now, if the trend of the Demonic Species' rapid increase continued, a huge problem would inevitably arise.
He even had a perfect pretext.
As Louis had said, the phrases 'no one has ever swallowed Quark and remained unscathed' and 'for your own safety' were enough of an explanation to detain , without needing to add anything else.
Regardless of whether that was actually true or not.
However, as the one who had actually swallowed the Source Stone, I had to avoid the situation of being held captive by The Order.
The reason, of course, was this 'Demonization'.
While I might not know the principles behind it, it was an undeniable fact that I was currently exhibiting the sa traits as a 'Demon'.
I hadn't been caught yet, but if I was held here and spent ti, it wouldn't be strange if that fact was revealed at any mont.
Honestly, I thought that even now, if Louis noticed sothing strange and took out his scales, I would be exposed imdiately.
Therefore, I needed to persuade him sohow to let leave this place.
“…It’s a waste.”
And the card I chose to persuade him was none other than the latent potential of the Source Stone of Quark.
“…A waste?”
“Yeah.”
As explained before, to The Order, the significance of the Source Stone was solely its 'productivity'.
A purely one-dinsional reason: that it could produce Quark.
Of course, that single factor was powerful enough to make everything ntioned above understandable.
But there was no way that The Order's thoughts on the Source Stone's potential ended there.
…My thoughts were the sa.
The only reason they had focused solely on that aspect until now was because they simply couldn't find out anything more, no matter how they tried.
They only used it for production because it was in the realm of the impossible, but there was no way the role The Order truly expected from the Source Stone was rely Quark's productivity.
It was obvious when you thought about it.
No matter how you sliced it, Quark was a substance that affected the bloodline of the Demon King himself.
Of course, the re fact that it helped control the Demonic Species was enough to make it a grateful object from The Order's perspective.
But from the perspective of The Order, which was leading the War against Demons, they would naturally want to connect the power of Quark, which they had only used on the Demonic Species until now, to the Demon King if they could.
…They had likely already tried.
The part I focused on was exactly that.
The aning Quark held beyond its productivity.
“Do you know how I figured out this self-regeneration ability?”
“…Well.”
He answered after a mont of thought.
“…Isn't that sothing one could naturally think of? Didn't you already hear the explanation from that the Source Stone self-regenerates Quark?”
“…No.”
His explanation sounded quite plausible.
But I imdiately shook my head.
“It doesn't work just by touching it.”
“…Pardon?”
“Quark doesn't just self-regenerate if you comfortably infuse mana into it. It's hard to explain in words, but the principle is quite complex. That's why it took so ti.”
At those words, Louis's brow twitched.
It seed he had a rough idea of what was coming next.
“Then…”
“…It's too precise to be called a hunch, yet too vague to be called a phenonon.”
I chose a suitable word.
“Intuition.”
“……”
“My intuition tells . That this is how it's done.”
Louis’s eyes deepened.
It seed he didn't think it was a completely nonsensical story.
From his perspective, it was sothing he had never experienced before, but this explanation was probably more convincing than there being no change at all after swallowing sothing like the Source Stone.
“It feels like it's telling from a subconscious level. That I can use the self-regeneration ability this way.”
As he listened intently, I added a little more flesh to the story.
“To use an analogy, it's not quite a manual, but it feels like I can see a signpost.”
Shrug-
“Well, it’s up to you whether you believe it or not. But that’s how it is for .”
And after a mont of silence.
“Then… with that intuition, can you also know the Source Stone's potential?”
Siiik-
“Well. I'm not sure, but.”
…He took the bait.
“The self-regeneration ability.”
“……”
“I'd say that's about ten percent of it.”
* * *
…To get straight to the point, I succeeded in persuading Louis.
『So. Are you telling to file a false report to the higher-ups? That the Source Stone has been recovered?』
『It's not a false report, it's being flexible. And I'm not telling you to lie, just to report it later. After enough ti has passed for to learn enough about this.』
『…….』
『You know better than anyone. How rigid and stuffy The Order is.』
First, I requested that Louis continuously postpone reporting to his superiors.
Of course, from his perspective, it was not sothing he could easily accept.
While he hadn't yet reported the fact that I had swallowed the Source Stone, temporarily delaying it to find a solution was on a different level from overlooking what had happened and filing a report.
As soone belonging to The Order, there was no way he could easily accept my proposal.
『One thing is certain, my intuition is telling .』
『…….』
『This isn't sothing I can figure out by being cooped up in one place and running so tests.』
Speaking of it now, this 'intuition' didn't actually exist.
It was true that when I operated my Mana Circuit to make Quark self-regenerate, I felt an alien sensation, a *woong-*, near my heart.
But everything else was a convenient device to gloss over the story.
You always needed a device like that to explain the unexplainable.
It was a rather bold and crude excuse, but the fact that no human had ever swallowed the Source Stone and that nothing had been properly revealed about it made the device of 'intuition' a pretty decent tool.
『…I cannot.』
Of course, that didn't an he imdiately agreed to my request.
At first, he refused, saying he couldn't do it, if only for 'my safety'.
It was an expected reaction, so I wasn't particularly flustered.
The part that I had been mulling over in the training hall was precisely how to persuade Louis.
The aning the Source Stone held for The Order.
The latent potential of the Source Stone.
Intuition, and so on.
I had given him all sorts of explanations, but if I were to summarize the core of the thod I chose in one phrase, it was 'to shift all responsibility onto Louis'.
It was a sowhat rough summary, but it was accurate.
Stripping away the context, looking only at the conclusion, it was an audacious request to hide the fact that I had swallowed the Source Stone and to let go.
In other words.
If I hadn't been able to think of a way to persuade him, it was a thod that would have been impossible to even attempt.
『I'm not saying The Order's opinion is wrong, but I don't think I'll be particularly safe just by reporting to the higher-ups and being cooped up here.』
『…….』
『And in my short experience, in cases like this, an innocent victim is created with high probability.』
Shrug-
『Well, I'm the one who swallowed it, so if you say no, I have nothing more to say.』
…I didn't say the na out loud, but my words were aid at the 'Saintess'.
It wasn't a perfect fit, but the Saintess was the greatest victim of The Order's vertical structure and radical thods.
She, who was once praised as the person closest to God, had suddenly beco a freak, then a madman, and was imprisoned under the pretext of being a reactionary elent.
From Louis's perspective, who had watched the entire process from beginning to end, he couldn't help but think of the Saintess at this point.
『…….』
The brief silence that followed proved it.
『Then it seems you're asking to take the fall, so to speak.』
And so, he agreed to my request with a few conditions.
『…For now, I understand. It will be difficult for long, though.』
First, send a written letter to the headquarters every ten days to report my condition.
Second, carry a signal card, just like in the dungeon.
Third, secure a sufficient quantity of Quark.
And on top of that.
『I've helped you.』
『…….』
『Give and take. You rember, right?』
He added, as if to remind .
From the extraordinary determination in his eyes, I could guess that he was foreshadowing a request related to the 'Saintess' who was currently in prison, but.
『Okay.』
…For my part, there was no particular reason to refuse.
eting the Saintess was on my bucket list anyway.
* * *
“Hasn't changed a bit, has it?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“This place. Isn't it exactly the sa as before you went in?”
“……”
At my question, ant to lighten the mood, he growled.
“…Kunlun was like this even before I was born.”
Shrug-
“Is that so.”
“You wouldn't know if anything changed in a wasteland like this anyway. Stop talking nonsense and let's just go.”
“……”
“If I sense anything strange, I'll devour you imdiately.”
“I don't taste very good.”
*eobeok, jeobeok-
As the guild house and private property ca into view in the distance, Tom, who had been walking with a swagger, looked a little intimidated and stood behind .
“…What are you doing? Hurry up and take the lead.”
Psik-
It wasn't hard to find the reason.
The scent of the Beastkin, which he was slling for the first ti in decades.
Among the complex emotions that arose with that nostalgic scent, guilt and fear surely occupied a significant portion.
It was a mont that made realize anew just what a huge decision it had been for him to leave the Darkest Dungeon.
“…Didn't you hear ? Hurry up and take the…”
Then, suddenly-
Sniff-
His nostrils flared, and his half-lidded pupils widened as if they would tear.
“…This is.”
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