Chapter 33: Evaporation of Rationality

"Doll..." Jeanne stood to the right of Salser, tilting her head to stare at him, "Judging from the poster you just read, this city was constructed by dream travelers. And their purpose... is to pursue a living female doll?"

Salser noticed her tone was uncomfortable as she frowned while speaking, seemingly resistant to this fairy tale-like bizarre story.

"It's just like a fairy tale," Astolfo nodded contentedly, "Perhaps they had the same dream as me—dreaming of the beautiful Ms. Doll. So they tried to approach her in their dreams, and after waking up, they sought her out. Eventually, they began to build a world in their dreams, all just to pursue this dream woman. Doesn't it sound beautiful?"

"I don't see anything worth pursuing in that." He honestly expressed his opinion.

Astolfo looked at Salser with dissatisfaction, which made him feel somewhat peculiar.

"I feel the same, there's nothing worth pursuing in such inexplicable things," Jeanne said with a disdainful laugh, then added, "Assuming this bizarre poster is true, then the doll seems quite suspicious. As for me, I first saw my own memories in a dream, then the female doll, and finally, I fell into this silent sea with Salser." She spoke to Astolfo in a calm tone, sounding as if she was already well-acquainted with the Dark wizard, "As for his situation, it's the same as mine."

Astolfo shook his head, sighing:

"...You two really lack a sense of romance."

"Life is finite."

"Precisely because life is finite, one should enjoy the limited good times to the fullest," Astolfo said.

"Enjoying good times... then how did you end up in this Warren?" Salser asked him.

"I was guiding the church's search party, because you had gone missing."

"Then there was no need to follow them into the dungeon, right?"

"Because I wanted to help. I do have some combat skills, though my swordsmanship and magic are not great, and none of my talents are related to fighting. Even the precious items I carry along are left with just this ordinary sword. But I think I can manage to distract the monsters."

"Are you very loyal to the Holy Cross Church?"

"I used to believe in many gods."

"Are you close to Jeanne, or one of her knights?"

"Not really, I find her quite fierce and difficult to get along with, and Jeanne's subordinates are also very cold."

The Inquisitor silently glared at him. Astolfo shrank his neck.

"Then why did you come to rescue these people?" Salser continued to ask.

"Not entirely because of you. I saw the search team was about to enter a dangerous dungeon due to their duties, and Jeanne and her team had been missing there for a long time, so it's a place with life-threatening risks! Thinking about it, what exactly is duty? Does it really require someone to sacrifice their life because of it? I find it quite absurd. What should my duty command me to do? Although the Inquisitor seems fearless, some of his knights are clearly filled with fear, maybe they just joined and haven't had time to prepare? I really don't understand, is there a need to force someone to do such things because of duty?"

"We should sacrifice our lives for duty, and fear is because they are cowardly," Jeanne said with a cold laugh.

"I would also avoid danger because of cowardice."

"Still, you are willing to follow them into this dangerous place?" Salser asked him while confirming there was nothing else on the poster.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I thought, these people are going to sacrifice their lives for duty, and I still have the right to choose whether to escape or not, but they don't even have that right. So I thought I should help them not to be so afraid. Since I, a weak combatant, have gone down into this unlucky dungeon, maybe they will feel better out of sympathy for me?"

"...What kind of absurd logic is that?" Jeanne, who was listening to the conversation from behind, seemed to be getting dizzy.

After confirming that there were only these few lines of bizarre verses on the poster, they continued to move forward.

The distant bell rang intermittently, and rainwater flowed into roadside puddles through crooked drainpipes, making a monotonous sound. A beam of blue light—a magical lamp used by the upper class in Rome—shone on Astolfo's eyes, which sparkled like purple glass. Sometimes, his expression was serious, but sometimes he would smile and show his fangs, his emotions always jumping around.

They continued their conversation.

"But did you know you might encounter situations like 'almost drowning alone in the sea'?"

"I knew."

"How did you know?"

"Because I've always been unlucky like that." He propped his chin with his finger, sinking into not-so-pleasant memories.

"...It seems you understand how frail you are?"

"Yes, I am indeed quite frail..." He came back to his senses, sighed, and said, "But it's to fulfill my desire to witness the world, or maybe because I'm just a fool? As long as I think I can see interesting things, I throw all dangers and consequences aside, almost naturally like the rising and setting of sun and moon! But they are different, not everyone is as foolish as me, so I think they are more pitiful than me, and that makes me feel uncomfortable, so I just impulsively followed them in."

"Did you tell the search team the same thing?" Salser asked him.

"Ah... well," Astolfo's face reddened slightly. He subconsciously twirled a few strands of hair that had fallen by his neck around his fingers, thought for a moment, and then spoke the truth, "I felt that if I said it out loud, it might insult them, and I might be directly expelled by the Inquisitor, so—I used my concern for you as an excuse to follow."

"Hmm, that's right, there's really nothing to worry about such cold-hearted jerk, it's a good excuse."

Salser's words made Jeanne's eyelids twitch.

"It's not that I wasn't worried..." Astolfo coughed softly, "But, that... my memory isn't very good. If the search team hadn't asked me to confirm the situation, I probably would have completely forgotten that you had passed by Mount Karaskai a few days ago."

"No need to mind, it's not a big deal," Salser patted his shoulder, "I've asked all I wanted to, do you have anything you want to ask?"

"This... I can't really say it clearly at the moment," Astolfo said with a troubled expression, "I seem to have forgotten what I was supposed to ask, so let's talk about it when I remember."

"Then do as you please." The Dark wizard nodded at him, "Use your sense of direction to find a place where someone might live, and we'll follow behind you."

"Mm-hmm, I'll do my best," he then added on his own, "If I don't find anything, please don't blame me."

"It's fine," Salser waved his hand, "Treat it like your hobby."

Astolfo walked away, taking a few steps and then looking back to make sure the two were following, before running ahead again to lead the way.

"Quite an interesting fellow," the Dark wizard glanced at Jeanne, who had caught up, and then said to her, "What do you think?"

"I can't accept her values," Jeanne replied, "If you are somewhat undisciplined, then she is the embodiment of recklessness."

"But she's a good person, isn't she?"

"...Indeed, she's a good person." Jeanne pursed her lips, "A good person with confused thoughts and lacking rationality."

"Sounds like you're very rational then."

"I haven't killed you with a sword, which already shows how rational I am."

⏴ Previous chapter 丨Main丨 Next chapter ⏵

🔮Discord