Protagonist Knows Everything - Chapter 51

Yes.

A week ago, the pendant’s whereabouts were found with the help of my ability. But, surprisingly, the person who knew about the whereabouts was the President of the Guild Association.

I thought it was quite strange for a pendant that was stolen from the Halo Estate to make its rounds and end up in the hands of the Guild Association president.

Anyway, I told Dirk, “I know that. But what do I have to be so cautious about? It’s just a cup of tea.”

“I don’t know much about the president.”

“But, he rose up the ranks of the association at a frantic pace. He’s the youngest person to ever become the president of the guild association. And that’s what makes him dangerous.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, nothing bad will happen. But be careful nonetheless”

There seemed to be something weird about the president, but I heeded Dirk’s advice nonetheless.

“Okay. I got it. Anyway, You did a really good job. You’re done, take a break for the rest of the day.”

“……”

“This job did not concern the guild so you’ll get a better reward.”

Dirk sighed and said, “I don’t know about the reward, but for sure I’ll take the break, I am grateful for the favour.”

“Okay, good.”

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

Dirk turned around and headed towards the door.

But right before the door, he stopped and said, “By the way, is the Vice Guild Master having trouble sleeping these days?”

“……”

“You’re looking a bit… dull.”

“Yeah.”

That was the end of the conversation.

***

That night.

I once again visited Jeriel.

‘No need to knock.’

I just nonchalantly opened the door and walked inside.

Jeriel- no, Goddess Parmel, as always was sitting on the bed. It had been like that for the entirety of the last week.

It looked fine from a distance but Jeriel’s skin was starting to get a bit loose.

I said, “I’m here.”

“Yes, yes. You are here.”

Parmel sounded monotonous, but her eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

I beamed a confident smile and said, “That’s it?”

“Yeah yeah, you’ve gone through numerous hardships and as a result you’re standing right in front me. Thank you for your efforts.”

Even though she was a goddess, she was starting to get on my nerves like an actual human being. Parmel handed me a quest a week ago, and since then we’ve been meeting every night like this.

Every night like this since last week. That was the reason I looked exhausted.

Her calling methods, namely, passwords, were also quite funny. They had all kinds of variations. For reference, today it was, the moon will shine brightly… I want to appreciate it together with you. Of course, she said that in broad daylight.

Looking back at it today Jeriel said that she was tired of it.

“Jui. You’re really weird these days. Are you sick?”

“……”

“OK. Let’s pray to the goddess together. She will heal you.”

That very thought made me giggle inside.

Parmel said with a slightly annoyed face, “I know what you’re thinking.”

“Did you pray to the goddess?”

Parmel picked up one of her pillows and hurled it towards me.

I caught it and said, “It’s a new twist, it is meant to be fun.”

“No, that’s just worse.”

“Anyway, things will be clear in a few more days…”

Saying that I took the pendant out. Parmel’s eyes widened the moment I put the pendant on the table.

“This is Jeriel’s pendant right?”

“I haven’t seen it myself, so I don’t know. However……”

She got up from her seat and carefully looked at the pendant.

“Well. This must be it. Although faint, I can feel a bit of Jeriel’s warmth.”

Parmel was saying things that made no sense whatsoever. Jeriel had lost the pendant a few years back.

But without further speculations I simply said, “That’s fortunate.”

“I can’t believe it. Where and how did you find this? No one keeps records of these things.”

“I won’t answer you.”

Parmel smiled softly and said, “Okay. Then I won’t ask.”

“……”

“Taylor Mason. You did well. When this is all over, I will give you my blessings.”

(Note: Here blessings are like a buff. Refer to older chapters.)

It seemed like the goddess was somewhat in a good mood.

I came here thinking about how I will bargain my price for all this.

After that she suddenly got up, took the pillow she hurled at me and made her way to her bed. Then she hid the pendant under the pillow.

She said, laying her head on the pillow, “Then sleep well.”

‘Are you crazy? You’re really doing this right now? Aren’t you supposed to be a god? How are you this stupid?’

I managed to refine the language before saying ……

“Are you kidding me?”

“Huh?”

“Remember the purpose of this quest in the first place.”

“Purpose? Finding the pendant was the purpose right?”

I patiently answered while wanting to hit the wall.

“No. Pendant was just an extra. The purpose was to make Jeriel realize that Jui is actually Parmel.”

“Ah.”

“But when I woke up in the morning and looked under the pillow, there was a pendant, so would you like to finish it?”

Parmel fluttered and crawled out of the blanket.

She fidgeted for a few moments and then said, “I- I didn’t forget it.”

I just sighed.

I said,”You must’ve had a great personality and a lot of patience, Peterine.”

Parmel understood what I wanted and groaned at me.

Before she got too angry I said, “Anyway, I have an idea. Listen.”

I put a lot of thought into this plan when I first received this request and thus I was pretty confident in my plan. As I explained my plan, Parmel listened very carefully, which was quite unlike her.

After a while she said, “Will it really work out that way?”

“We’re not losing anything if it doesn’t work that way.”

“You speak like it’s nothing.”

Parmel seemed a little dissatisfied with my plan.

“I will do as you suggest. But it must be something better than waking up and finding the pendant under the pillow.”

“Thank you for the cooperation.”

“Cooperation is what you’re doing. I would’ve done anything that’d make Jeriel even slightly happy.”

And then she smiled and said, “Thank you. Taylor Mason.”

“I’ll be grateful.”

And that way the meeting ended.

***

The next morning.

Dirk came in early and it looked like he rested quite well last night.

“Good morning.”

“I just came in yesterday and now I’ll have to head somewhere again.”

“Huh?”

Dirk’s bright face suddenly became gloomy to the point that I could see black smoke around him.

(T/N: Not actual black smoke. It’s just a symbolism.)

“Vice Guild Master. That’s the carriage that I took for that trip last week.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s not a business trip this time. It’s just some simple work.”

“……”

“Simple?”

I took the pendant out of my pocket and handed it over, and then whispered to him about my plan.

Dirk, as expected, understood all of it quickly.

“I See. It will be a perfect gift for Ms. Jeriiel.”

“Okay then.”

“……But if I’m not mistaken, did the Vice-Guild Master speak to goddess Parmel?”

“Is there even a way to do that?”

“But then how did you come up with this plan?”

I just smiled and said, “You have a lot of questions today.”

“Excuse me.”

He immediately lowered his head and left the guild.

I heard a little chattering, it seemed like Dirk had encountered Kasha and Elena on his way out.

“Uh? Mr. Dirk. Where are you going?”

“……Somewhere.”

Dirk couldn’t tell her about the plan because it was supposed to be a secret. And for sure he wasn’t prepared enough to give Kasha a proper excuse.

Kasha, who knows nothing, gave serious advice.

“No. Tay will get angry if you do that.”

“……”

“Looking at your expression, it looks like it’s something important. I’ll handle Tay, so please go quickly.”

Their conversation was quite funny, it even made me smile a bit.

After a while, Kasha and Elena entered the guild.

Kasha said to me with a very proud face, “Tay. We met Mr. Dirk, I think he’ll be a bit late today.”

“Okay?”

“Huh. It seemed like he had something important to do.”

I replied with complete seriousness, “No matter how urgent it might be, you can’t go somewhere before reporting to me.”

“Don’t be angry Tay. Mr. Dirk has suffered a lot these days.”

“……”

“Can you let this slide for once? Please?”

Knowing how much I care about time and attendance, Kasha and Elena sincerely tried to defend Dirk. I wish Dirk could see their faces while they asked me to forgive him.

At around 11 o’clock.

Jeriel entered, she was a bit late.

I looked at her face and thought, ‘The Goddess is doing well.’

Jeriel looked like she’d cry if someone even touched her.

Kasha asked her while looking into her eyes, “Jeriel… did something happen?”

Jeriel wiped her face and replied, “Jui- she hasn’t said anything since this morning.”

“Yeah?”

“She’d start talking to me the moment I woke up, telling me to make my bed and to properly wash my face. But today… today she hasn’t uttered a single word. She didn’t say anything about making the bed.”

As she said that, tears were forming in her eyes.

For Jeriel, Jui was way more than just a friend, she accompanied Jeriel for decades. So naturally Jeriel was shocked that Jui suddenly stopped talking. Parmel never did this, so it took quite a heavy toll on Jeriel.

I tried to act as worried as possible and asked, “What is going on?”

“I don’t know. It’s just….”

“Tell us. We’ll think of a solution together.”

Jeriel hesitated for a few moments and then said, “Actually, Jui visited me in my dream yesterday.”

“And?”

“She flew with me across the sky.”

‘Like Peter Pan?’

“But suddenly I saw a golden light.”

“……”

“When I came to my senses, I was in the middle of the Kelk estate Market.”

“So, after that?”

“Just that. The dream ended right there.”

If I hadn’t been aware of the circumstances then I would’ve just dismissed this as a silly dream. Kasha thought the same and wore an ambiguous smile.

But her party member, Jeriel, was serious. She put her hand in her pockets and pulled out her handkerchief. And then she vigorously blew her nose. After that she wiped her eyes with the other side of the handkerchief.

Let’s just pretend that I didn’t see any of it.

“That person from your dream, How did you know it was Jui? Did you see the face?”

“…”

“No. It’s hard to explain, but I somehow knew that it was Jui.”

“Hmm.”

“I was curious why Jui appeared in my dream, so I asked her about it as soon as I woke up, but she wasn’t answering at all…”

I pretended to worry for a moment and then said, “If so, let’s head to the marketplace.”

“Huh?”

“The last place you saw in your dream was the marketplace so it might have some clues.”

Jeriel’s face brightened up. But her face sank back as she looked at Kasha.

“Today I have a party quest with Ms. Kasha.”

To that Kasha quickly replied, “We have quite some time before the deadline for that quest. So it’s okay right Tay?”

“Sure. That’s why I offered to head there in the first place.”

Then Jeriel bowed to us.

“Thank you very much.”

“We didn’t do enough for you to bow to us.”

So, after reporting to Sain, all of us headed to the marketplace.

As the market got closer, Jeriel’s face became more and more anxious. Like a child who had got separated from his mother in an amusement park.

“Jui. Jui. Answer me.”

She always tried not to speak to Jui in front of everyone. But today she was muttering a lot.

Looking at her, Kasha whispered to me, “Tay. Where did Jui go?”

Of course I couldn’t answer her question so I just shrugged.

At that time Jeriel, who was leading us to the market suddenly stopped.

“Uh? this is strange, it must’ve been this way…”

‘Oh, right, this girl….’

“Jui. Is this the right way? The place you showed in my dreams.”

“……”

“Please. Please answer me. I’m not going to complain anymore. Please don’t leave me alone.”

Saying that, Jeriel began to cry. She wanted to talk to Jui, but she only got silence for a reply.

I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“By the way.”

Jeriel looked at me with her swollen red eyes.

“Isn’t Jui just Ms. Jeriel’s imagination?”

“……”

“It’s a bit weird if you say that she isn’t there. She is in your imagination right? Then you should be able to call her out whenever you want.”

Jeriel did not answer. Noticing the atmosphere and my sharp remark, Kasha pinched my sides.

……

She knew that just tickling my sides wouldn’t cut it, so she pinched it really hard.

But I ignored it and told Jeriel, “Or maybe…”

“……”

“You don’t actually know whether Jui is in your imagination or not..”

Jeriel’s face bore a complicated expression. She was hoping that her face would prevent me from asking such questions anymore. She was basically telling me to not ask her anymore questions till this situation was resolved.

Thinking that my words were enough, I changed the topic.

“Let’s think about that later, the marketplace comes first.”

“Yeah?”

“There are a lot of unique stores there. If you look at them then you might be able to recall your dreams.”

Jeriel just nodded in silence. And we strided towards the marketplace without uttering a single word.

A few minutes after reaching the market place, Jeriel finally started to recall her dream.

“Ah, that building. That fountain.”

“……”

“Yes. Here. It was definitely here.”

After reaching that place, the same place from her dreams, her face lit up, she was genuinely happy. And that bright face sank back into depression in a mere instant.

“It- It was right here. But, what now?”

Whatever. I started looking around. It was the right timing, the right timing for it to come out.

“Excuse me lady. But…. do you have a minute?”

Oh, here it is.

It was an old merchant, an old man with a lot of goods laid out on the floor near the fountain.

“Uh? Yes..? Yes.”

Suddenly forced into a conversation with a stranger. For Jeriel it was nerve racking. The merchant gently grabbed her hand and shook it.

“Sorry. But don’t be alarmed. I am not a weird person.”

“……”

‘You didn’t have to say that.’

“By any chance, have you heard of the name, Jui?”

Jeriel’s was amazed.

“Ju- Jui, did you say Jui just now?”

“Yes.”

“No… how do you know that name? That’s my imaginary friend!”

(T/N: Yes editor it literally said IMAGINARY FRIEND, not other meaning.)

The merchant then crossed his arms and then started his explanation.

“I am a merchant who sells goods while moving from town to town from province to province.”

“……”

“Originally, today I wasn’t going to come to Kelk Estate. I was thinking of going elsewhere…”

Then he paused for a minute. I knew exactly why he had paused. This old man had forgotten his next lines. Fortunately, he recalled his lines before the pause made things look awkward.

“I heard a strange voice in my dream last night.”

“A strange voice? Was it the goddess?”

Jeriel, upon hearing the merchant’s words, shook her head in shock.

“No. It can’t be. Goddess isn’t someone who’d speak directly to us.”

(T/N: The oracles or the signals received by the nuns and priests after their ceremonies aren’t actually words, they’re just vague signals like a beam or light or a strong wind.)

The merchant nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know whose voice it was. Anyway, the voice told me, ‘Go to the Kelk Estate today.’”

“……”

“The voice said I would see people confusingly looking for something in the marketplace. It told me to show them the things I was selling.”

He explained it in a way that it almost sounded like a lie.

“I asked. What if that person thinks that I am taking advantage of them?”

“……”

“Then an answer came back.”

This was the important part. If he can’t make it sound convincing then all of it will be for nothing. The merchant knew about it so he made it sound as convincing as possible.

“At that time, the voice told me to ask whether they’ve heard about the name Jui or not.”

At that moment, Jeriel’s expression was enough to want me to get a camera in this world. Despite the runny nose and tears, Jeriel’s face became blue.

She mumbled, while wiping her tears with her sleeve.

“How did Jui come into someone else’s dream? She’s……”

She was already completely convinced by the merchant’s words.

Then Kasha who was standing beside me whispered, “Tay. That person. Isn’t he a bit suspicious?”

“Oh. I am glad you’re still functioning alright.”

“What are you talking about?”

I ignored her and intervened into the conversation between the merchant and Jeriel.

“I was listening from the side, but… Oh, I’m with this young lady.”

“Yes?”

“So you apparently heard Jui’s voice right? So you might know something about our current situation.”

The merchant recognized my words and said, “That’s right. I wonder if you’re looking for one of my products.”

“……”

“Would you like to come this way?”

‘It looks like selling goods like this is quite natural for this guy. I guess you’ve learned a few things.’

Jeriel simply followed him.

The merchant unwrapped the bag next to him and laid it out on the floor.

Jeriel looked at each item carefully. Soon after her eyes widened

“This, this is… No way!”