Chapter 12 - The Informant

[Translator - Peptobismol][Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 12 - The Informant

There is something inside my body.

— Chomp, chomp.

It devoured the Gu worm greedily.

Damn it. What the hell is this?

It was nothing short of unsettling.

The voice I had dismissed as a mere hallucination was actually coming from another entity, not me. A cold sweat trickled down my back.

"Urgh."

Meanwhile, my stomach churned from the Gu worm’s rampage.

The pain that had been coursing through my body only subsided once the worm had been completely devoured.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The leader of the Blood Cult officers, who had been watching me, asked.

His face showed concern.

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My lips curled involuntarily.

But I wasn’t in a position to express my true feelings here.

"Yes. I’m fine. I can manage."

My polite response made him nod in satisfaction.

"Good. Swallowing a worm isn’t easy. But it seems to have taken root well, judging by the mark on your arm."

"…Yes, it seems so."

"Consider it an honor. The Duchess seems to have taken a special liking to you."

More than anything, I needed to hide the fact that the Gu worm had disappeared from my body. So I did my best to play along. It was something I was good at.

"I’ll be loyal."

The leader nodded, pleased, then returned to the platform.

Around me, the other children were writhing in discomfort.

They were clearly in shock from having swallowed the worms.

Some were even beating themselves, trying to rid their bodies of the Gu, but...

"Khahahaha!"

It was futile.

They were only getting beaten and restrained by the Blood Cult officers.

I sighed inwardly.

'They’re slow learners.'

Even after being beaten, they still hadn’t come to their senses.

I, too, felt the urge to gag, but I could bear it.

I was used to dealing with disgusting things.

For now, the strange presence I had felt within my body had disappeared. It seemed satisfied, as if it had eaten something after a long time, and then vanished.

What the hell was it?

I needed to focus on the immediate situation.

The Blood Cult was definitely not an organization to be taken lightly.

Footsteps echoed as the leader of the group climbed onto the platform.

"I am Bakel, the 53rd in rank within the Blood Cult, and vice-captain of the Black Death Squad."

He glanced around, looking down at us.

53rd. I wasn’t exactly sure how large the Blood Cult was, but given their influence even in the outer regions of the continent, it was certainly not a small organization.

To be the 53rd-ranked figure in such a group meant he was not someone to be underestimated.

"The place you’re standing in is the Black Death Squad, overseen by the Grey Duchess herself. She is ranked 5th in the Blood Cult. Consider it a great honor to have been accepted into this group."

Great honor, my ass.

It was as I thought.

The Grey Duchess was an extraordinary figure.

To be ranked 5th in the most malevolent cult.

'I knew she was different from the start.'

In other words, this mansion, the Grey Duke’s estate, was one of the Blood Cult’s most crucial branches. If I could escape from here, I’d have a powerful weapon to bring down the Blood Cult...

No. Get a grip.

After what happened in my last life, why am I thinking such foolish thoughts again? I shook my head as Vice-Captain Bakel continued speaking.

"The role of the Gu you swallowed is clear. If you ever betray the cult, rebel against the higher ranks, or fail to follow our teachings, we can kill you at any time."

— Gasp!

Terrified gasps came from all around. It was unfortunate, but it had nothing to do with me. The Gu that was supposed to have taken root in my body was gone, consumed by something else.

…Though whether that was a good thing was still uncertain.

"All of you must be loyal to the Blood Cult. Unlike the society you’ve known, the Blood Cult, especially our Black Death Squad, will always reward your efforts. You’ll have the chance to showcase your abilities."

What a load of nonsense.

I could easily come up with several rebuttals.

This whole situation was flawed from the start. They had bought us at an auction, after all. The clause that said they had to release us after 10 years? Sure, they might let us go. But they wouldn’t care if we died from the Gu worm afterward.

In the end, even if the children here survived, they would definitely die in 10 years.

Most of them would likely disappear as experiments or something before then, though.

"You’ll be assigned quarters and tasks to perform. You’ll also undergo training. All of this is to strengthen the Blood Cult, so carry out your duties without complaint."

That was the end of his speech.

◆

"You’ll be staying here. Don’t cause any unnecessary trouble."

One of the Blood Cult officers led the children to their quarters.

The living conditions weren’t particularly good or bad.

To Lloyd, who had experienced a brief period of noble life after his transmigration, the bedding and such seemed low in quality. But considering most of the group were commoners, they probably found it decent enough.

— Clunk.

The door closed.

There were about twenty beds lined up in a row.

Even in this situation, the children eyed each other warily.

It seemed they had to choose their beds on their own.

‘It’s first come, first served, I guess.’

Lloyd moved to the bed closest to the window.

He wanted to focus on the voice inside him more than anything else.

Not in some metaphorical sense of clearing his mind, but literally—the voice that had been speaking to him from within.

Just as he was about to settle down...

"Hey."

A shadow loomed over him.

Lloyd looked up to see a familiar face.

It was Hector, the boy who had picked a fight with him in the carriage.

He had a group of four or five kids with him, as if he had already formed a gang.

"What is it?"

"I should be asking you that. Who do you think you are, picking your bed first?"

"…Hah."

Lloyd sighed deeply.

Then he got up and moved to another bed.

He didn’t really care about where he slept.

While Lloyd had been born a noble in this life, he had spent most of his previous life in the middle of a war. Even when he traveled with his comrades in the Hero Party, he would let them sleep in the better spots and take the rough or uneven places for himself.

A bed, any bed, was better than the dirt.

At least, until another shadow fell over him.

Hector was standing over him again.

"…What do you want?"

Lloyd’s voice turned irritable.

This was blatant provocation.

Had this idiot really not learned his lesson?

As he looked at Hector, he could guess the reason.

The boy’s furrowed brow. The dilated pupils from excitement. His trembling fists.

He was looking for someone to take his anger out on.

And it seemed Lloyd had been chosen as his target.

‘This is absurd.’

How could someone be this clueless?

Seeing Hector, who had been beaten down once already, come back to pick another fight filled Lloyd with disgust.

"Get up, punk."

Hector tried to act tough, as if he were someone important.

Lloyd got up without hesitation.

He stared Hector down. The boy hesitated, then shouted even louder, as if embarrassed by his moment of weakness.

"I told you, didn’t I? This bastard is a snitch for the Blood Cult!"

"A snitch? What are you talking about?"

"From the start, something was off. As soon as we got off the carriage, the officers were looking out for you!"

"That’s nonsense. You threw mud at me and got yourself beaten down."

"And while the rest of us were getting whipped, you were the only one taken into the mansion!"

"That was because the Grey Duchess called for me."

"And just now on the field…! You were the only one who swallowed that worm without flinching. It’s clear. You’re their snitch!"

Hector pointed at Lloyd, shouting so that everyone could hear.

What a ridiculous accusation.

Lloyd was stunned by the sheer stupidity of it.

At the same time, he clenched his fists.

Ever since his execution, he had had enough of this kind of petty scheming.

He felt an overwhelming urge to beat this idiot so badly that he wouldn’t even dream of pulling something like this again.

But just as Lloyd was about to take a step forward...

— ‘Yes, human blood would be the best.’

The voice suddenly spoke again.

It was stronger now, more distinct than before he had consumed the Gu.

The clarity of the voice snapped him out of his rage.

Lloyd unclenched his fists.

Right then.

— Clunk!

The door to the quarters swung open.

Footsteps approached, and an officer stopped in front of Lloyd.

"Lloyd?"

"Yes."

"You’ve been assigned separate quarters. Come with me."

The room buzzed with murmurs.

When Lloyd turned, he saw Hector pointing at him, as if to say, 'See, I told you so.'

◆

The officer who led Lloyd spoke to him in a hushed tone.

"You’ll be working as a gardener."

"…A gardener?"

Lloyd frowned at the officer’s words.

As far as he could tell, there was no garden in the Grey Duke’s estate.

"There’s a small garden in the Duchess’s study."

…So that’s how it was.

It seemed the Duchess’s interest in him was genuine. That wasn’t a bad thing. The more influence he had over her, the greater his chances of escaping this place.

"This is your room. You’ll be staying here from now on."

The officer turned and left.

With the Gu worm in place, they didn’t feel the need to keep an eye on him.

This was actually a good thing for Lloyd.

Creak.

Lloyd opened the door and hesitated.

The room was quite spacious and lacked nothing.

"Looks like she really does put expensive things in display cases."

Even if you’re a collectible, it’s better to be in a display case than tossed in a corner.

Of course, this would only deepen the suspicion Hector and the others had about him.

Logically, it had nothing to do with Lloyd. But...

The suspicious looks on the children’s faces as they watched Lloyd leave the quarters.

It was no different from the eyes of the spectators at his execution.

— Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The sound of applause rang in his ears, as expected.

And then...

— "At last, we can finally talk, kid."

A voice that had now fully formed as a separate entity.

It spoke to Lloyd from deep within the darkness.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]