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The Scales that Announce Global Upheaval – Part 08

“I’m sorry, Silver Face.”

“You should apologize to her, not me.”

“Um, is she a friend of yours?”

“You don’t know her?”

When Hikaru explained that Paula was a Healer who treated people in the Empire, Granryuk bowed his head again. Apparently, Flower Face’s deeds were not widely known.

“Thank you,” Granryuk said. “Because of you, many lives were saved.”

“I-It was nothing.”

Paula’s reluctance likely stemmed from the delayed arrival of the antidote. She had thought she did her best, but behind the scenes, Man Gnomes had hindered their efforts.

“Are you not a Man Gnome supremacist?” Hikaru asked. “Do you actually care about the lives of humans?”

“I’m not that heartless.”

“Earlier, you bragged about being head, so I thought you were obsessed with hierarchy.”

Granryuk laughed awkwardly. “Don’t you think it’s strange? The Grand Elder says there is no hierarchy among Man Gnomes, but in reality, the elders hold all the power. They put a strict divide between Man Gnomes and humans. I’ve spent a long time in towns with various races, so my perspective might differ. At least, I’m not like the Grand Elder or the typical Man Gnome.”

His words provided a completely different interpretation of the earlier exchange in the central square. Granryuk had questioned the Grand Elder about trusting Hikaru not out of concern for the Man Gnomes, but because the elders decided to trust him now when they didn’t before.

How was I supposed to get that?

Hikaru’s silence seemed to make Granryuk anxious. “P-Please hold off on killing the elders. They’re among the few who know the village’s history.”

“What do you think I am? Some kind of serial killer who kills at the slightest irritation?”

“With your abilities… you could do it, right?”

“I won’t say I can’t.”

Granryuk swallowed.

“But aren’t you quite capable yourself? I can sense you’re stronger than Raiga.”

This wasn’t just flattery. Raiga was skilled, but Hikaru didn’t feel he would lose in a fight against him. He had already checked Raiga’s Soul Board. He had also checked Granryuk’s, which showed slightly higher overall stats than Raiga.

“R-Really? Thank you. I do train daily, after all.”

“Unken’s still better than you, though.”

“Ugh. I thought so. Sir Unken is that skilled, huh?”

Previously, Hikaru wouldn’t have stood a chance against Unken, but that was without using his Stealth. Now, he could hold his own in a head-on fight, though it might be evenly matched or slightly disadvantageous for him. However, with Stealth, he could definitely win.

Hikaru had raised his Soul Rank in the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. Using the points he gained, he increased basic stats like Strength and significantly boosted his mobility by investing in Power Burst. As a result, he was transitioning to a high-speed combatant.

“So, why did you come back here?” Hikaru asked. “Distant Girdle operates outside the village. It’s hard to believe that you just happened to return when I was here and the Grand Elder was about to make a speech.”

“Before we get into that, the United Nations of Forestia where I’m assigned had few dungeon appearances.”

“Wait, really?”

“Compared to the Distant Girdle members in other countries, I had more free time, so I checked the locations where the dungeons appeared. Take a look.”

Granryuk spread out a simple world map about the size of an A3 paper in the space cleared of tableware. Red X marks indicated the locations where dungeons had appeared.

The United Nations of Forestia to the north was vast, but had few X marks. The Quinbrand Empire, stretching from the north to the center, had a fair number of X marks in the south. The Kingdom of Ponsonia, bordering Quinbrand, had X marks scattered throughout its territory. The maritime nation of Vireocean, east of the kingdom and by the sea, had fewer X marks near the coast. The Theocracy of Bios had a lot of X marks. The vast Einbiest Confederacy to the west had almost no X marks, possibly because they hadn’t been discovered yet.

“Hmm. Looks like there’s fewer Xs the farther from Bios,” Hikaru remarked.

“That’s right. Then came the news about fluctuations in the world’s mana consumption. I thought I should report this to the elders as well, so I hurried back.”

“And you arrived just as they were making the announcement.”

“Exactly. So, in response to your earlier question, it was purely coincidental. Imagine my surprise when I saw unfamiliar humans wearing silver masks behind the Grand Elder. After all that talk about not trusting Silver Face, they summoned you while I was away!”

“So you confronted them.”

“W-Well, yeah. Ah, as much as I’d like to stay, I should leave soon. It’s been an honor for you to call me Granryuk so many times.”

“O-Okay.”

“I need to inform the elders about these dungeons’ locations. After that, I have to return to Forestia as soon as possible.”

“Quite busy for a Man Gnome.”

Granryuk laughed. “Though we Man Gnomes live three times longer than humans, living in human society keeps us just as busy.”

That was likely true, Hikaru thought. That’s why Elves, who lived even longer than Man Gnomes, preferred a leisurely life deep in the forest.

“By the way, are you planning to stay in the village for a while?” Granyuk asked.

“No. I have things to take care of. I’m planning to consult with Ultimate Mirk about it.”

“Oh? Research related to souls?”

“Sorcery, more precisely.”

Hikaru briefly mentioned his failed attempts at the spell for crossing worlds.

Granryuk blinked. “I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think you’ll get anything.”

“What do you mean?”

The Man Gnome sniffed audibly. “All the technology left here was made long ago, and since then, we’ve spent a lot of time studying them, but the results have been disappointing. We haven’t even managed to replicate the Tally used to open the Black Wedge Gate.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Granryuk produced a Tally from his tool pouch. It was made of old wood, with a stone embedded in the center. Its edges were rounded, and it had uneven grooves along the tree rings. Granryuk casually handed it to Hikaru.

“A-Are you sure about letting me touch it?”

“Of course. In fact, I’m sure the Tally would love it if you touched it.”

Hikaru didn’t believe that one bit. If anything, Granryuk would be the one delighted. But he gratefully accepted the opportunity to have it in his hands.

It felt light. Raiga had it strung with a cord, but Granryuk seemed to carry it around like this.

Hikaru examined it. It’s just made of wood and stone. So, this stone must be special.

“The guys at Ultimate Mirk aren’t incompetent,” Granryuk said. “In fact, they have some of the best minds in the village. But the rules they operate under are awful.”

“Rules?”

“No disassembly allowed. Any new experiments must be based on past documentation and proven safe.”

“Are you serious? So they can only replicate what’s already known?”

“Exactly. Research here takes years just to scratch the surface. It stifles progress and hampers the accumulation of knowledge.”

Hikaru recalled how the mad scientist Ranna had conducted forbidden research in the Man Gnome village and left as a result. She must have grown tired of their extremely conservative research practices.

Though Granryuk likely didn’t catch Hikaru’s thoughts, he continued, “When these researchers venture out of the village, they realize they can freely study anything out there. It makes them want to go out more. That’s why whenever we take them out for work, we need permission from the elders, which is quite a hassle.”

“I see. Oh, thanks for showing this to me.” Hikaru handed back the Tally.

“Yeah, no problem.” Feeling a bit bashful for being thanked, Granryuk took it with a grin and returned it to his pouch.

“But why is it called a Tally? Isn’t that something originally meant to prove authenticity by joining two halves together?”

“Souls are always adrift. Souls are invisible because we are incomplete. This Tally allows us to compensate for our incompleteness and pass through the gate. Or so it goes.”

“Hmm?”

“In other words, the Tally does not activate the Black Wedge, but it activates us, allowing us to pass through the gate.”

“Interesting.”

“I don’t really understand it myself. Do you get it?”

“Kind of.”

This world was filled with magical energy, usually invisible but detectable with Mana Detection. If souls were similar to mana, there might be a skill to detect them too, like Soul Detection. It seemed the Black Wedge Gate, like the Soul Board, was a device that utilized souls.

“You’re amazing, Silver Face.” Granryuk looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“Don’t start believing everything I say just because I said it.”

“Are you lying?!”

“I’m not.”

“Then you are amazing!”

“Okay, that’s enough.”

With that, Granryuk left.

“Good-looking, but a bit of a disappointment on the inside.”

“Compared to you, Lord Hikaru, everyone is a disappointment!”

“…”

Hikaru sighed, realizing he had another disappointing person right beside him.