"As a disciple of the Observer, I ask you—are you Sir Tanton?"

I couldn’t hide my surprise as the old man suddenly mentioned my name. I had seen him in passing before, but we had never spoken. How did he know my name?

"…How do you know my name?"

"The Observer knows everything. And because I faithfully follow the Observer, there is nothing I do not know if it is under the guidance of the Observer."

How did he know? Even in this situation, he’s promoting his cult? It made no sense to me, so I looked at the branch chief, who sighed and explained.

"He’s been calling out your name fervently since he arrived."

…I couldn’t make sense of it. My name shouldn’t have leaked to the general public… although, I suppose it could have.

When I accidentally summoned Bell into the hearth with the party flute, and the incident was blown out of proportion, turning me into the hero of Londan, it was likely that my name spread around enough.

Cults thrive by mastering gaslighting. This old man was probably trying to unsettle me and pull me into his twisted belief system.

I almost fell for it. Observer? Yeah, right.

"And did your all-knowing Observer tell you how to escape from a knight?"

"He said that to meet you, I would inevitably have to come here. It’s all fate!"

Fate? More like he just wanted to meet me and made up an excuse.

"Anyway, there’s no time to waste. You must go to the ‘underground staircase’ at the entrance of Londan and eliminate the heretics!"

An underground staircase? Heretics?

As far as I knew, there were only two staircases in Londan leading underground: one behind the Simthol Blacksmith, and the other leading to the underground prison. And heretics?

I looked at the branch chief, but he seemed just as puzzled, shaking his head in disbelief.

Well, that settles it.

"This is the first I’m hearing of such things. It’s probably just cult nonsense. We should ignore it."

"I only called you just in case… Sorry for wasting your time."

"No need to apologize, Chief. ‘Just in case’ is always something to be cautious about. Your judgment was wise."

Even though I was just being polite, the branch chief looked at me with a hint of admiration. I couldn’t understand why people here, despite living in such harsh conditions, still held onto their emotions so strongly.

Regardless, I saluted the branch chief and prepared to leave.

"W-Wait, Sir Tanton!"

This old man was persistent. His hands were trembling, and he looked like he was deep into this cult nonsense.

"Please, listen to me! This is an urgent matter! If those heretics start running wild, it will be catastrophic…!"

The old man, trembling and repeatedly muttering "No, no!" seemed on the verge of collapse. What kind of nightmare did he have that pushed him to such extreme thoughts?

I was about to leave, but I realized that if I didn’t do something, this old man’s noisy ranting would keep the branch in an uproar all day.

"Enough of this. There is no underground staircase near the entrance to Londan."

"But the Observer said…!"

"Then prove it."

Even as the branch chief tried to calm him down, the old man showed no signs of relaxing. If he wouldn’t be convinced, then he should prove it to us.

That’s the only way he’d stop.

"Tanton, what are you…?"

"If even one of the things you claim comes true, I’ll believe you and go check it out myself. How about that?"

This old man was claiming that he had received a prophecy from some god called the Observer. If what he said really happened, I’d go along with it. But if it didn’t, it would be obvious he was lying.

No matter how it turned out, I’d be in a favorable position since I made the proposal first.

"Ah, very well! I will consult the Observer at once."

The old man closed his eyes and raised his hands in prayer. If this were a modern setting, his solemn and intense actions might have even seemed noble.

But since I already suspected he was lying, it just looked silly to me. If this old man played such an important role, there’s no way he wouldn’t have been mentioned in the community before.

"…Soon, a major incident will occur near the Londan walls. However, despite its severity, there will not be a single death."

"How long will it take?"

"…It will happen tomorrow."

After making his prediction, the old man quietly lay down on his cot, a confident expression on his face. He must have been convinced that I would follow his words.

"…There are all kinds of people in this world."

"Isn’t that just a reflection of how hard life is for some?"

When people have nothing to lean on, they cling to whatever extreme measures they can find. It’s more sad than offensive.

With the day getting late, I decided to postpone my trip to the library until tomorrow and get some sleep.

And then, the next day.

A massive explosion occurred near the Londan walls.

"Do you see? Do you believe now? The Observer’s words are always absolute!"

…Someone had poured hot water over a section of the wall that hadn’t been properly heated by the hearth, causing the wall to suddenly expand and partially collapse.

Thankfully, only a part of the wall had been damaged, so the entire wall didn’t come crashing down, but the explosion sent debris flying into the village, causing significant damage.

However, perhaps by some stroke of luck, the debris only fell on the roads, avoiding the buildings, so while there were injuries, no one was killed. The repairs to the wall were completed quickly, and no one died from exposure to the cold.

It had happened exactly as the old man predicted.

"How… how could this be…?"

Even the branch chief was stunned, unable to close his mouth since early morning. The events matched the old man’s words too perfectly to be a coincidence.

…To be honest, I was the most shocked of all. I had only made the proposal as a way to call his bluff. I never imagined it would actually come true.

While we were all feeling troubled, the old man clung to the iron bars of his cell, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, Sir Tanton, are you ready to listen to me now?"

"…A promise is a promise."

"You’ve made the right choice! Ah, Observer, I have fulfilled your will once again…."

…If he really did hear the voice of this so-called "Observer," then…

In dark fantasy, cults usually involve lighting fires, chanting incomprehensible spells, praying to bizarre objects they claim are vessels of their god, and so on.

If someone can actually hear the voice of a god, they would be in a high position within the cult.

Seeing him tear up with joy made me feel a bit irritated. But it would be strange to back out now.

I’ll just go and prove that there’s nothing there.

I’ll quickly go alone, get it over with, and be done with this nonsense.

…Or so I thought.

"You’re going to such a dangerous place alone, Tanton? That’s ridiculous!"

"You are my disciple, and before that, my subordinate. Why are you trying to act alone without consulting me first?"

While I was planning my solitary expedition, the branch chief, without warning, reported the whole thing to the Knight’s headquarters, resulting in Muyeon and the White Mask accompanying me.

This was supposed to be a simple task, no need to make it such a big deal.

As I frowned in displeasure, White Mask snorted.

"If you’re so dissatisfied, you should have accepted the Mystic Officer position when the vice-captain offered it. Then no one except the princess could have interfered with you."

Please stop putting me in such a dilemma. I’m already anxious enough as it is.

…Well, at least if there really was a staircase and some weird cultists down there, having White Mask and Muyeon with me might actually be better.

I wouldn’t stand a chance against them with just my physical strength, and if I used the party flute, it could cause another uproar in Londan, with people blaming the foreign dignitaries.

Ugh, whatever. Let’s just hurry up and check the area near the entrance and then go back to sleep.

With that, we arrived at the entrance to Londan. The gatekeepers approached us, thinking we were leaving, but I waved them off.

"We’re just here to investigate something."

The gatekeepers nodded at White Mask’s explanation and returned to their posts.

Sigh.

What the hell am I doing? This whole situation is beyond humiliating!

"I’ll search over here."

"I’ll check near the gate."

White Mask and Muyeon each took a section to search, leaving the remaining area for me.

But just by looking at the terrain, it was clear there wasn’t any hidden staircase here. If there were, it would be like putting up a sign saying, "Come find me."

"Why did I make that proposal… Ugh."

It seemed like the best response at the time, but now it felt like it had led to the worst outcome. Feeling disheartened, I crouched down and began inspecting the ground.

Huh.

After a short while, I noticed a large rock that seemed out of place.

If it were attached to the wall, I’d think it was just a mistake in construction, but it was sitting some distance away from the wall.

At first glance, you might not notice anything, but if you were suspicious like me, it stood out as highly unusual.

"No way. Come on, no way."

I muttered to myself as I pushed the rock with my hand.

Rumble!

…

"Did you find something…? Oh ho."

White Mask whistled in admiration at the scene before him.

"That was quite a clever move. I didn’t even consider moving this rock."

"Wow… This thing looks pretty old. If it’s been here for so long, it makes sense that no one would have thought it was odd."

"Once again, your quick thinking impresses me."

The reason they were talking like this was because…

…There really was a staircase leading underground beneath the rock.

Why is this real?