Chapter 176 - Oh Really?

I cleared my throat.

"So what exactly does that artifact do?"

Galileo blinked a few times.

"Um, well you see, it's a very magical artifact that will let you see! Many additional wonderful sights and uh..."

My eyelid twitched.

"Huh?"

Galileo's expression froze.

"S-Sorry. Um, we actually aren't too sure about what it does. It was something that our old chieftain used to wear, until he set it aside one day. Then, he disappeared altogether. All we know is that you can see a few extra things sometimes if you put the magical artifact on."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. Really now?"

From the way he put it, this thing didn't sound all that good. However, it couldn't help but make me think, what if they did not know the true use of this artifact?

Honestly, it sounded like something related to the strange layer-like structure of this place. Where you could only interact with certain beings after sinking deeper into it. My guess was that it had some sort of effect in manipulating how one perceived the layers.

The piece of paper trembled.

"...It sounds quite useful. We should get that."

I nodded.

"Guess we should."

Galileo looked at me strangely.

"...We should do what?"

I raised an eyebrow and pointed to the torn piece of paper emitting red light next to me.

"I wasn't talking to you, but that guy."

Galileo turned to look, before laughing awkwardly.

"Why are you joking about? It's only us two here."

I raised an eyebrow before turning to look at the paper.

"Huh."

The necklace trembled.

"It appears that they are unable to see us for some reason. I wonder why that is."

The piece of paper crumpled up slightly.

"Hmm... It appears that our forms like this might not allow us to interact, but still see the things in this realm. Either that, or we have automatically transitioned far down past whatever system there is and thus can't interact with things not that deep."

I scratched the back of my head and turned to the pale grey light.

"Hey, could you like, slash my arm?"

The pale grey light let out a faint questioning cry.

The necklace turned to me slowly.

"Um, why do you wish for that to happen?"

I cleared my throat.

"To see if you guys can interact with me, since I'm technically still pretty high up in the layers here."

Galileo looked at me strangely.

"Um, how about we talk-"

He stopped talking and looked at me with his mouth wide open. That was because a large slash mark appeared on my arm and began bleeding profusely.

Galileo began to panic.

"Oh no! Um, um."

I waved my hand dismissively, even as it caused blood to fly everywhere.

"Don't worry so much about it."

My first thought was to cast the healing spell, but then I decided to grow the stalk I had on me and eat a black fruit. It did not take long at all for my injuries to heal.

Galileo looked at me with a bit of shock.

"W-What? How did you do all of that?"

I let out a soft sigh.

"There are some people with me. You cannot see or touch them, but I can. I was just curious about something and wanted to test it out."

Galileo's eyes widened considerably.

"...Invisible creatures?"

He seemed to be afraid.

Noticing this, I coughed.

"They aren't harmful. You don't have to be so scared just because you can't see them."

Galileo furrowed his brows.

"Those are monsters! You've let the monsters into the village! How could you!"

I stared at him with a bit of incredulity.

"Are you serious? I mean from what you just saw, they will listen to what I say. Even if they were somehow monsters, that doesn't mean they are a threat."

Galileo's breathing was disorderly, however, he seemed to be calming down.

"...Peaceful monsters?"

He furrowed his brows.

"I-I suppose that is a possibility."

Though the distrust was still clear in his voice, there was probably nothing I could do to change that.

I sighed.

"Anyways, I am interested in this artifact. I am willing to create enough trees for your village to thrive in order to acquire it."

After hearing this, Galileo's initial fear seemed to disappear entirely.

"Ah, yes! All we need to do is meet with the council quickly and we can have that handled!"

I nodded.

"Lead the way."

With that, Galileo hurriedly stumbled on ahead, even though it was clearly hard for him to do so. He was quite enthusiastic about the prospects for this village, almost like a little boy.

Though it took a while, we eventually made it to the center of the town, where the giant glowing sphere was with a tower underneath. That tower was actually a building we could enter, and Galileo took me in.

Inside, I was met with five people, all sitting at a round table. Once we came in, they all turned to look at us.

An old, but robust man with a crown made of black twigs spoke up.

"What is it, Galileo? Why have you brought one of the townsfolk to us?"

A woman with a black robe sighed.

"I bet he's here to beg for more food on behalf of them..."

Galileo hurriedly waved his hand.

"You misunderstand sire. This is not one of the townsfolk, but a person from the outside that can help us with our dire food problem!"

The man with a black crown immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Monster? How dare you bring a monster within our village!"

The woman with a black robe clicked her tongue.

"So it's even worse than what I imagined."

A man wearing a suit of armor made of black wood sighed.

"Of all people, I thought that you would understand the dangers of these monsters. That's why I set you to guard the city doors."

He stood up before pulling out a black spear and pointing it towards me.

Galileo looked distraught.

"Wait! Just hear me out for a moment, this person can solve our food problem for good!"

A young man with his arms crossed scoffed.

"Shut up Galileo! You've already gone mad, can't you see? Once we take care of the monster, you will be exiled!"

As Galileo was freaking out, I couldn't help but laugh. Everyone looked at me strangely as I did so, but I couldn't help myself.

Galileo turned to me with confusion apparent in his eyes.

"I-Is something wrong?"

I shook my head.

"No, no. I just found that all of them are just like you. You sound so defiant against these monsters, like you would kill them the first chance you get, but..."

A sinister smile formed on my face.

"You're too scared to actually do anything about it."

Silence descended in the room. Like I said, although everyone looked composed, they were faintly trembling. Even the man who pointed his spear at me was frozen in place, unwilling to take a step forward.

I rubbed my chin with my thumb and forefinger.

"It really makes me wonder what this monster you speak of is and why you are so afraid of it."

Eventually, Galileo spoke up.

"S-So are you still willing to make that trade?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, the artifact and I will make a bunch of trees here in the village."

The man with the twig crown swallowed before speaking up.

"W-We do not have the artifact. Please let us be."

Galileo furrowed his brows.

"What? But how is that true, I saw it just yesterday!"

The young man with his arms crossed furrowed his brows.

"We already decided to give it to the association to deal with the shadow monkeys! The help you brought it was useless!"

I narrowed my eyes.

"You've decided, but haven't given it yet. In other words, that means you still have it, no?"

The man with the twig crown shot an annoyed glance at the young man before speaking.

"...Well, all five of us have agreed on it. As such, our decision is final. Please leave our village, as there is no artifact for you to have."

Galileo walked up, clearly passionate.

"Wait! But he is able to grow trees, this means we could survive entirely on our own basis, without the need for expeditions at all."

The woman in the black robe slammed her fist against the table.

"Nonsense! How is it possible to grow trees!"

The person with the twig crown shook his head.

"It appears you truly have gone mad..."

I turned to Galileo.

"You said all of those exact things, remember?"

He turned to look at me.

"Well..."

I rubbed my chin with my thumb and forefinger.

"You all are not acquainted with magic?"

Everyone fell silent. They looked at each other, as though asking if the other person knew what I was talking about.

Eventually, the man with a twig crown cleared his throat.

"We will not believe your trickery."

I chuckled.

"Oh really?"