chapter 40
First of all, not everyone is sure who the doppelganger is, so two or three of them are sitting sparsely together and their faces are not lowering their guard.
To change the atmosphere and reduce tension, I openly opened the subspace and took out a bundle of dried firewood for the bonfire.
“oh my god… A subspace artifact, is that it?”
An exclamation that would come naturally if one knew the prices outside. I let out a low breath at the sight of a woman looking at me and even pointing at me.
And the dirty-tempered Hunter doesn’t change his expression, and the Dwarf narrows his eyes and looks at my ring.
“I thought he would be an aristocrat at first sight, but he seems to be from a small family.”
“Wow, that is incredibly expensive. In fact, I’ve only heard rumors, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in real life.”
The young man’s eyes brightened slightly.
All are good reactions.
At their reaction, I only shrugged my shoulders once, piled up firewood in the middle of the crowd, and lit it.
The archer without a bow just looked at the surroundings in spite of their reaction, and then sneaked up to him and put his hand over the bonfire to warm himself.
A half glove with only the index and middle fingers covered. I’m sure the archer is right.
It wasn’t a very cool place, but maybe it was because everyone was nervous, and when the warmth spread, their expressions relaxed a bit.
In the meantime, I took out a chair from among the items I had swept from my room in the castle and sat down in front of the campfire.
Actually, in my heart, Luna and Kane want to take out their chairs too, but according to the current atmosphere, they won’t sit down to protect me even if I give them out.
It was time to get hungry, so I took out marshmallows and bread and put them on a tree branch and started baking them.
“Not everyone has emergency food. right? Let’s take some out, eat, and talk.”
I gave Luna and Kane a piece of well-roasted marshmallow and bread and smiled.
It’s cute that Luna eats more and more marshmallows while being wary with a stern face.
“I am… I’m not there because I fell with a colleague who had food.”
When the archer spoke a little sullenly, the assassin shrugged and opened his mouth as if mocking.
“I have, but only dried fruit.”
Waving a pouch that looked like fruit, he came a little closer to the fire like an archer and held out his palm to warm himself.
“Oh, I know what will happen in the labyrinth and give all the food to one person? like me, huh? like me… uh? Why is there a hole… … .”
Dwarves are more foolish than you think.
Different reactions to each.
“I am too. I left the food with the bear I was with… I didn’t know I would be separated from them… … .”
Once I saw the reaction, it was an archer and a dwarf warrior. Druids without animals have no food.
Thanks to the fact that the outside was slightly seared, I put the bread with a savory smell as the butter melted in my mouth and opened my mouth with a mumble.
“Once the doppelganger turned into someone else, there might not be any small japtem, right? Why don’t we distinguish people without food, everyone?”
I stressed that I wasn’t categorizing forcefully and sounded like a solicitor, but can anyone here say no to me?
“Of course, everyone knows that saying that there is no food is not always a doppelganger, right?”
In the end, everyone becomes a yes man and casts a vote at my words that I threw a little more than notice.
Three people whose faces were wrinkled by him.
“No, what are you talking about? i was really here It’s just that the pockets are missing.”
“no… I didn’t know that I would be separated from my colleagues.”
The dwarves and archers grumbled with empty faces, but the druid fell to one side without saying a word, so they retreated a little with a face that said they couldn’t help it.
They huddled near the altar with silent pressure, slightly apart from each other.
“Still, it is true that there is no basic personal food in the labyrinth right now. I think a little drop is a good idea.”
At the young man’s soothing words, the assassin takes a bite of the tough dried fruit, smiles as if mocking the archers, dwarves, and druids who have backed away, and even shakes his hands.
“Sorry, this is all necessary. I will not listen to you.”
He said it as if it were a joke, then warmed up in front of the campfire and looked over at Kane.
In the midst of this, Hunter, who was watching the motionless swordsman, casually slapped him on the shoulder.
“Aren’t you there too?”
At that, the prosecutor looked at Luna with nervous eyes, hesitated a little at Hunter’s words, and took out a bag of beef jerky from his pocket.
“Then let’s each tell how we got here.”
When I speak arrogantly, like a fish out of water, as if I were openly using my arrogant trait, Luna’s expression turned strange.
It’s like, boy, why are you doing that, all of a sudden… It’s a face that says, Luna, don’t worry. I have all my thoughts.
‘In the first place, this is a game I can’t lose.’
[Duplicate (S)] [Magic (C)] [Patience (B+)] [Duplicate (A)] [Appetite (B)]…
‘Cause I can already see it all in my eyes
It’s just that guy, that guy! There was a reason not to.
first. That we don’t know for sure how powerful the doppelganger is.
second. Is it really the end of the number of people gathered here?
third. I wondered if I could really trust the words of that altar.
Anyway, from my point of view, I can know for sure who the imposter, or doppelganger, is, so there is no need to rush.
At least on our side, we act after being convinced that the damage is small even if we hit the doppelganger.
At my words, Hunter, who had been crumpling his face from a while ago, chewed the dry bread with a rustle and wrinkled his brow.
“But what are you? Why are you blacksmithing, blacksmithing.”
At his words, I smiled, wiggling my legs, which were not good for my body, but good for my mood.
“It wasn’t just my own opinion that people without food should be taken away for a while. Besides, isn’t the word “let’s talk” a way to find a doppelganger? Do you have any qualifications?”
“What… … !”
“Oh, that’s noisy, really. Mister, if you don’t want to be suspicious, do it in moderation, right? In fact, don’t you know that if you’re wrong, you can kill it first, pour the blood into a bowl, and start over?”
The Hunter snarled and grabbed his weapon, but the Assassin gave a bold face and pointed his thumb in the direction of our party.
“Is everyone doing this right now because they like it? And it would be more convenient if at least one person stepped forward and proceeded, what are you arguing about?”
“That is what I mean. Everyone is sharp, so let’s talk a little peacefully, we.”
Everyone belatedly threw a word at him, and the man holding the weapon reluctantly let out a snort, then sat down on the floor, and the archer opened his mouth a little sullenly from a distance.
“I don’t want to be suspicious, but I… are you okay… … .”
It’s just that he looks at the burning flames with a sad face as if he misses the bonfire… … .
And from my point of view watching all of that, it’s so ridiculous and funny.
“So, who should I start talking about?”
This time I took out the grapes and the codex from the subspace and placed the codex under the grape bowl like a pot stand.
Oh, I like the space. It’s fresh.
When you take out a ripe grape, the sweet smell immediately vibrates around you.
I put a bunch of grapes into Kane and Luna’s hands, and threw one into my mouth as well.
“hmm. First of all, to say that you’re not a doppelganger, shouldn’t it be clear what you did before you came here? Are you saying that the empty middle or the strange person could have been attacked and replaced?”
At the Dwarf’s words, the assassin looked around with a slight smile as if trying to lighten the mood and said.
“First of all, doppelgangers say that you can’t grasp all the common sense just by eating one or two people, so I thought it would show through if I just threw things around?”
“Eh, that makes sense too.”
At what they said, I chewed the grapes in my mouth, swallowed them, and opened my lips.
“Tell me first. That’s my route.”
I was hurt and my legs were uncomfortable, so I sat in a chair. I sold some medicine.
Our party had fewer monsters on the lower and middle floors, so we dug down the shortest path possible using a compass, and we were the only one gathered here with all party members.
“So wouldn’t it be right to exclude the three of us?”
At my words, everyone looked at Luna as if they were weaving.
“Huh. But didn’t the rabbit come last?”
“That’s right, and besides, it looks a bit weak to me?”
At the words of the Assassins and Druids, the swordsman said, ‘It must be easy to kill.’ As I muttered, the middle-aged druid opened his mouth again.
“I think the probability that the doppelganger was the first to target it would be better.”
Suddenly, an arrow was pointed towards Luna, and Luna’s face turned red as if she was surprised, then she lingered.
“I… I’m not. i really… … .”
I’m sorry, Luna. Now is the time to go away.
“That’s right. Besides, if you have to kill one person right now, even if it’s not your doppelganger, isn’t it the least costly choice?”
The young man raised his hands in bewilderment at the assassin’s cold words.
“I… But still, there is no hard evidence.”
“Yes, you could be an archer like me or a magician.”
“Uncles. What are you talking about. It’s not like she’s wearing a magician’s robe, it’s even weirder that she’s wearing a split skirt and leggings that don’t match. Did you always wear a dress like that?”
“but… … .”
It was the face of the archer and the young man getting involved in the words of the assassin.
“Besides, considering that sub-species are often used as slaves, isn’t her original origin a maid of an aristocrat? The handsome prosecutor next to him might not know it, but it’s not a big sacrifice for a girl.”
“If you’re so suspicious, why don’t you try killing it?”
As the swordsman, who had been keeping his mouth shut, also joined the Hunter, he also touched his weapon.
The young man opened his mouth as if to mediate in the increasingly heinous atmosphere.
“Don’t do it all of a sudden… Shouldn’t other people also tell their own stories?”
“ha… No, I’m not trying to do something right now. Since you’re suspicious, shouldn’t you at least get away from it?”
“If that’s enough… … .”
In the end, the young man also peeked at me.
Thanks for the help, guys.
“Think about it too. Nice inspector there. how is it? Doesn’t that girl look different than usual?”
Watching the assassin speak as if to keep him in check until the end, Kane looks at Luna expressionlessly and then stands next to me again.
I gasped at their words and opened my mouth.
“Yes, Luna, go over there for a while.”
“I’m a fool… … !”
“Are you suspicious?”
I shook my head a little without anyone knowing what Kane whispered in a low whisper.
I smiled kindly at Luna, who was crying as if it was unfair, pulled her ear once, petted her, sent her away, and then I asked a question.
“Ah, by the way. Are normal doppelgangers that strong? Adventurers who enter the labyrinth aren’t that weak.”
To my question, they all sat on the floor or leaned against the wall in a slightly relaxed posture, and someone answered.
“I know that even between doppelgangers, there is a difference in power to some extent.”
When one person opens their mouth, everyone starts to add one word at a time.
“They say you’re stronger if you’re lucky enough to swallow the corpse of a strong adventurer.”
“Or they say that as the number of individuals consumed increases, basic abilities also increase.”
I tore the slightly crispy croissant to pieces, added a nicely browned marshmallow and a piece of chocolate, waited for the chocolate to melt, and popped it in my mouth full.
“Um, do doppelgangers die if stabbed like a normal person?”
When I mumbled my pronunciation a bit from chewing, a man with a full beard scratched his rough cheek and said.
“I heard that it’s true if it’s not a prototype, but a transformation.”
“circle? You mean the doppelganger archetype?”
“yes. There must be a picture of him before he ate someone.”
“Besides, wouldn’t I have to go back once to become a different person from my current self?”
After that, I slowly ate delicious food and talked. Kane said he wouldn’t eat it any more even if I gave it to him at some point.
So, to put it roughly, the doppelganger becomes stronger depending on the power of the person who ate it, but there are limits and it cannot demonstrate its power 100%.
And in its original form, it can only be killed with magical attacks… what things like that
Actually, I didn’t waste time trying to figure this out.
I smiled at Luna, who was standing in the corner with a sullen face, and grabbed the codex under the now empty grape bowl.
“Luna.”
“yes?”
“Kane.”
“I am ready.”
It’s also good.
I tossed the bowl into subspace, stood up, opened the codex, and smiled slowly.
“Kill them all from now on.”