Chapter 267

Waking up early in the morning, they had breakfast and immediately began sharing the information from the documents.

Tatsuro started the discussion, followed by Ai, and together they relayed to everyone, including Cardina and the others, what they had talked about the previous night.

By the way, their current security consisted of a bird-shaped doll infused with Dispel Magic and Spirit Magic for vigilance. It could fly for some reason, which was convenient, but its combat ability and adaptability were far inferior to Cardina’s.

Still, since this mountain only had relatively weak monsters—and after they’d slaughtered so many the previous night, only small fry and Pixies remained—they deemed it sufficient.

Once Tatsuro and Ai finished their report, it was Leah’s turn. Her expression and swollen, red eyes suggested the content was quite heavy, but she composed herself and spoke with resolve.

“Um, well, for now, it seems I can walk around town without any issues. Most of the people looking for me weren’t told about the [All-Seeing Eye]. They were just told that a girl under protection was abducted by someone. As for those who knew or might have known about the [All-Seeing Eye]… well, they’ve all been… killed. So, aside from Moritz, who’s currently a wanted fugitive, and Aarenfrit, who helped me, the only others would be… my former… family, I guess.”

At those final words, Tatsuro and Ai felt a complex mix of emotions, knowing that not a single family member or relative remained—a fact that, as expected, wasn’t written in the documents. They had agreed to bring it up last, so for now, they listened quietly to Leah, wanting to understand exactly how much she knew.

Here’s a summary of the information Leah had gathered:

According to the documents, Moritz clung to his position as head of the Lyusiten merchants’ guild for a year after Leah’s disappearance.

However, he relied solely on Leah’s abilities, never honing his own merchant skills, which were mediocre at best. His desperate attempts to profit led to an increase in illegal goods trading, which, in turn, worsened public safety.

Such actions were hard to conceal, and the merchants’ guild eventually deemed it unacceptable, forcibly expelling him not just from his position but from the guild entirely. Still convinced he could manage as long as he had Leah, Moritz used his amassed wealth to search for her.

Over the next two years, his search grew excessive. It’s suspected—based on the state of discovered bodies—that he had people abducted, tortured, and killed through multiple intermediaries to leave no evidence.

However, in one case, he personally killed four people, leading to a death sentence. On the day of his execution, though, he mysteriously vanished. While the sentence was for those four murders, he was suspected of involvement in nearly ninety others, causing temporary chaos in the town when he escaped.

Thirty-three years later, he still hasn’t been found, and his wanted status has faded from public memory. There are rumors of sightings near a neighboring country’s border, but their authenticity is unclear.

All his assets, down to his personal funds, were confiscated by the state, leaving him unable to hire others to search for Leah. Now a fugitive himself, he likely has no resources to spare.

“But he could still tell someone like him about my ability and have them search for me. Though, if he did, it’s obvious they’d cut him out. Plus, he was obsessed with monopolizing the [All-Seeing Eye], so I don’t think he’d carelessly spread word about it.”

Thus, it seems no one is currently looking for Leah—not a single person.

The caretaker who found Leah’s body feared being blamed for her death and fled with the body in a sack, abandoning it in a forest to delay discovery. Two days later, Moritz’s men captured her.

When told Leah was dead, they searched the specified location but found only a sack cut open from the outside. Unconvinced without seeing the body and believing she might still be alive, they expanded the search extensively. That caretaker was tortured and killed.

The search extended to others who had cared for Leah, from mere lookouts to researchers, all of whom were captured, tortured, and killed. But because Moritz used intermediaries and acted cunningly, he wasn’t officially recorded as the mastermind of these crimes. As a result, almost no one left knows the details of Leah’s [All-Seeing Eye].

“Right now, Moritz has no power, no money—just a fugitive. From what I remember, his combat ability was average at best, maybe even below, and he didn’t have any notable skills. It’s a mystery how he managed to cover up those crimes so well and escape from prison, but I don’t think we need to be overly cautious of him.”

“True. Plus, as long as one of us is with Leah, we can handle most threats. Let’s stay vigilant but not go overboard,” Tatsuro said.

Leah nodded slightly in agreement.

With Leah’s report concluded, Tatsuro glanced at Ai, signaling it was time to bring up the other matter. Ai nodded back, and Tatsuro took a deep breath before speaking.

“Leah, there’s some information in our documents that wasn’t in yours. I’d like to share it, but… is that okay?”

“…From your expression, it doesn’t sound like it’s anything pleasant.”

“To be blunt, you’ll need to brace yourself. It’s not something you’ll feel good about.”

“Understood. But can I have a glass of water first? Talking so much has made me thirsty.”

“Of course.”

Leah picked up her cup from the table and slowly sipped the cold water, calming herself. Once the cool sensation spread through her stomach, she steeled herself and nodded to Tatsuro.

“Go ahead, please.”

“Well…”

Tatsuro then told her about her parents, her younger brother and sister born after she left, and all her other relatives—all of whom had been killed. He added that their murders were the four cases Moritz personally committed, leaving undeniable evidence.

Throughout, Leah’s face remained expressionless, like a mask, giving no hint of her emotions.

“…I see,” she said quietly, staring into space, lost in thought.

Tatsuro and the others stayed silent, waiting for her to react. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes, but the heavy atmosphere made it feel like hours.

“Why me?” Leah finally murmured. “Honestly, I didn’t even want this special ability…”

She explained that, upon hearing her parents, unseen siblings, and relatives were killed, she was surprised to find herself sadder about the deaths of the women who cared for her and other unrelated people. If asked if she was sad, she’d say yes. If asked if she held a grudge, she’d honestly say no. But in a normal life, she would’ve grieved more for her family than for strangers. That realization made her feel like she wasn’t normal.

And the [All-Seeing Eye]—if it didn’t exist, she wouldn’t have caused so many people, even those she barely spoke to or passed by, to lose their lives. It felt like a curse, one that brought misfortune to everyone around her, a curse she could never escape or have lifted.

“But, you know, at least we’re happy we met you, Leah,” Tatsuro said.

“That’s because you guys are special too. And you have the power to fend off anything…”

“Then just stay with us forever!” Ai chimed in.

“What, you’re going to protect me forever? Until I die?”

Leah believed she could fight and fend for herself to some extent now, but not on the scale Tatsuro and Ai could. If a nation targeted her, she doubted she could escape. That’s why she found the [All-Seeing Eye] so burdensome—she’d need their protection indefinitely. She knew Tatsuro and Ai weren’t the type to abandon her, but that didn’t ease her anxiety.

“Then just become our kid!” Tatsuro declared.

“Huh? …What does that mean?”

Leah looked puzzled, thrown off by the seemingly out-of-place suggestion. But Tatsuro’s idea only solidified as he spoke.

“If you hate that skill, just live with us in our world.”

“Oh, right! In our world, you can turn the system on or off. That could work!” Ai added.

“Yeah. Unlike this world, there are no statuses, so you won’t run into tricky people like here. The safety’s better too. If you want to work as a Blacksmith, you can just travel back and forth.”

“B-But, in your world, humans are the only race, right? Won’t I stand out…?”

Leah was starting to warm to the idea, but from what she’d heard about Earth, dwarves were mere fairy-tale creatures. Even in a new world, she’d likely face prejudice as an outsider. Tatsuro, however, had already considered this.

“Then, while you’re here, make an item that mimics my Curse Vision. Earthlings have zero magic resistance, so no one there could see through it. As for living expenses, you could sell the gold and silver we got from this dungeon using Curse Magic. That should cover you.”

A high schooler walking into a pawn shop with gold and silver would raise suspicions and likely not be taken seriously. But with Curse Magic to smooth things over, Tatsuro figured it’d be fine. Most of their dungeon loot was stored in his Infinite Item Field, but a seventh of it belonged to Leah, so she could act independently within that share.

“And maybe you could go to elementary school with Nana! You’d make tons of friends and grow up as a regular kid, no skills or anything.”

“School? That sounds fun… But is it okay for me to do that?”

So many lives were lost because of her freedom. Was it right to escape to another world and seek happiness? Leah couldn’t help but wonder. But Tatsuro brushed it off with a blunt, “Who cares?”

“Sure, you could say your actions led to those outcomes. But you didn’t want that, nor did you make it happen. Feeling guilty is natural, but living your whole life weighed down by it is weird, if you ask me. Frankly, the dead aren’t going to care whether you’re happy or sad.”

“Haha… You really don’t sugarcoat things, do you?” Leah said with a wry smile.

“And if we’re talking results, the real bad guy is Moritz, right? All you wanted was to live your life freely, like anyone would. So, it’s up to you to decide what you want.”

“What I want…”

If she could choose, the answer was clear. She wanted to live peacefully, free from being used, targeted, or hurting others. But in this world, filled with skills, someone might see through her [All-Seeing Eye].

In a world without skills, that dream might come true. And most importantly, it would prevent others from being driven by greed or harmed because of her. That last part might just be a convenient excuse, but before she knew it, words spilled from her mouth.

“…I… I want to go! To a world where I don’t have to hide!!”

“Got it,” Tatsuro nodded casually, then paused thoughtfully before continuing. “In that case, having a simple backstory would help with the neighbors.”

“Huh? Like what?”

“From today, call me big brother.”

“And call me big sister!” Ai added.

“What?” Leah shot them a genuinely confused look, but the couple was already building their scenario.

“I’ve always wanted a little brother or sister. For now, we’ll say you’re the eldest daughter of the Hasami family. We can use magic to make a basement room for you.”

“And when I marry into the family, you’ll be my sister too. Perfect!”

“We’ll have to come clean to my parents… but they’ll be fine with it.”

“Leah’s so cute, after all!”

Tatsuro and Ai hesitated to use Curse Magic on their parents, so they planned to be upfront. They were confident their parents would understand, so they considered it settled.

“Wait a second. Sister? We don’t need that kind of backstory—”

“No, no, no. Cardina and the others will live with us too, so it’s easier to teach you all about our world together. Plus, it’s less suspicious to the neighbors if you’re my sister rather than some random kid coming and going.”

Cardina and the others inherited some of Tatsuro’s memories, so they knew basic words and names but struggled with general rules—like knowing to stop at a red light but not why. To teach them properly, it made sense to have Leah as part of Tatsuro’s household rather than Ai’s.

“Come on, say it! ‘Big brother!’”

“‘Big sister!’”

Tatsuro and Ai, with beaming smiles, spread their arms, waiting for Leah’s “big brother” and “big sister” calls, blowing away the serious atmosphere. Leah couldn’t help but laugh, feeling foolish for overthinking.

(They’re a bit weird… but being family with them sounds kind of fun.)

Deciding to give it a try, Leah opened her mouth, but having never said “big brother” or “big sister” before, she felt oddly embarrassed. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. Seeing this, Nana, muttering “What a hopeless case,” used Life Magic to put Leah in a slightly tipsy, floaty state.

The tension melted away, and with a bit of courage—

“B-Big brother…”

“Guh!”

“B-Big sister…”

“Pfft!”

The adorable, blushing little girl calling them “big brother” and “big sister” hit harder than any magic. Tatsuro and Ai collapsed onto the table, overwhelmed.

“So cute, Tatsuro! We’re definitely keeping Leah as our kid!!”

“No way, no way! Leah’s the eldest daughter of the Hasami family! My sister!!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“…Um, it’s just a backstory, not like I’m really your sister… They’re not listening, are they?”

In Leah’s eyes, the two had started playfully wrestling, rolling on the floor, completely ignoring her. But watching them warmed her heart, and she noticed her stiff expression had softened into a natural smile.

“Sister, huh…”

Muttering to herself about this unfamiliar role, Nana, ever sharp-eared, caught it.

“Sister… Hey, Leah.”

“What, Nana?”

“When a child refers to their parents’ sister, what do they call her?”

“Huh? That’d be—big sister!” Leah quickly corrected herself, realizing what Nana was trying to make her say.

Being called an aunt in her teens was too much. “Hehe, lying’s not good, Aunt Leah♪” Nana teased.

“Aunt—Nana!”

“Auntie’s mad!”

“Hey, don’t run away!”

Leah chased after Nana, who darted off with a giggle. But catching up to Nana—a dragon now among the upper echelons of high-ranking dragons—was impossible in such a confined space. Leah was easily outmaneuvered.

“Ugh!”

From a distance, Nana kept teasing, while Tatsuro and Ai continued their playful tussle over whose sister Leah was. Cardina, Jeanne, and Athena watched with warm smiles.

(This must be what family’s like.)

With a deep smile, Leah hid her face from Nana and started chasing her again.

“Nanaaa!”

“Over here!”