151 . Skill Related Suspicion

We started moving back towards the city immediately after eliminating the thieves that’d attacked us .

Solas had asked to let him take up the lead, to which we raised no objections .

It felt like a much better idea to keep him as far away from our captive as possible, just in case he felt like murdering him again . Apparently, the men had still been holding onto the items they stole from Solas’ party, so we retrieved them and stuffed them inside of Solas’ Item Box .

We’d been unable to discern his skills because he had Appraisal Blocking, but it turned out that he was a scout-like kinda guy . He’d occasionally find traps and move to avoid them .

That said though, it didn’t seem like he was skilled enough to notice and avoid all of them .

「Woof!」

『Huh?』

「Urushi?」

「Woof . 」

An arrow shot out of the ceiling and made its way towards Urushi, but the large wolf had managed to grab the projectile with his mouth before it hit him . Dat reaction speed though .

「Okay?」

「Growl!」

「S-Sorry, my bad . 」

Solas immediately apologized for missing the trap . I couldn’t blame him though . He was in a bit of a rush, so he seemed less on guard than he otherwise would have been . Plus, it’s not like we pick up on every single trap either .

Hmmmmm… Though, for some odd reason, I felt a sudden sense of discomfort, as if something was out of place… It was almost like a jolt of electricity had run through my brain — not that I actually had one in the first place .

『Hmmm… . 』

（Master? Something wrong?）

『I’m not quite sure how to put it, but… I feel like something’s not right . 』

（Nn?）

『Like, do you feel like anything’s just a bit off?』

（Hm?）

『What about you, Urushi?』

（Woof?）

Was I just imagining things?

「I’m really sorry, I just set off another trap . 」

Oh! There it is again…

『How about just now?』

（Nn?）

（Woof?）

Neither Fran nor Urushi were able to feel what I was feeling, despite the fact that it was pretty much the same as the feeling I got when I sensed magic beasts and traps and whatnot . Hm… Weird, I don’t get it .

『Oh well, whatever, let’s just keep going . 』

「Nn . 」

「Um, are you okay?」

「Unharmed . 」

「Whew, good…」

Solas came to a sudden stop after we advanced a bit further .

Did something happen?

「There’s something over there . 」

「Nn? Where?」

「Over there . 」

I couldn’t see anything in the direction Solas was pointing . I mean, he wasn’t wrong though . My senses were telling me that there was some sort of trap there, but I couldn’t figure out what it was . That odd sensation of something being off was back too .

「It’s literally right there . You know what, come on, let’s go check it out . 」

Huh… It just happened again . Yeah, alright . I’m definitely not imagining it .

That said though, I wasn’t given any time to figure out why I’d been feeling it to begin with, as Solas had immediately dashed forwards without waiting for Fran to first respond to him . Four small holes opened up around us and immediately began to emit a sort of mist . There was one above, one under, and one on either side .

The mist was something that our skills rendered completely invalid: poisonous gas .

「Ah! My bad!」

It looked like Solas had accidentally stepped on the trap’s activation switch . Seriously, holy crap, why is he messing up this much? Like, even given the current circumstances, he really shouldn’t be .

「A-Are you okay?」

We couldn’t actually see him because of all the poison that got emitted, but we could still hear his voice .

And along with said voice once again came that odd sense of incongruity .

It seemed like it was something I’d feel whenever he spoke . Wait, could it be that this is what Dias described as the odd sensation you’d get when someone used a skill on you? Wait, that’d have to mean that Solas was using some kind of skill…

On us .

Doubts began flooding my mind the moment I came to that realization, as if they’d broken through and burst out of a dam .

At first, he said that he was attacked by 3 people, but he later went on to say that there were 4 thieves . At the time, I’d ignored it because I thought to be an honest mistake, but it looked like I messed up . I trusted someone I just met despite not being able to appraise them . Why the hell?

He’d also said that the men that attacked him were masked, but he managed to recognize them immediately . Like, how? That just flat out didn’t make sense .

I also don’t understand how I didn’t catch the fact that him asking us questions nonstop was actually just him probing our skills and whatnot .

He kept activating traps, and even tried to kill the man we captured to top it all off . Like holy crap, he’s suspicious as all hell .

The only reason I trusted him was because the Principle of Falsehood hadn’t told me that he was lying, because he technically wasn’t .

An incredibly powerful sense of discomfort assaulted me, one much greater than all the others I’d felt before it . Why had we treated someone that we’d met less than an hour ago like a companion? And as if it was natural too .

The answer to that question was one that I simply could not explain . My guess was that Solas had done something to us, but I couldn’t figure out what, and also still couldn’t help but have the sneaking suspicion that I was wrong about this whole thing .

Solas was definitely suspicious, but we had no solid evidence that he was the one behind all this…

『Fran, don’t respond to him . 』

（?）

『Just do as I’m about to tell you . 』

Fran followed my instructions and took a knee . Likewise, we had Urushi “collapse” on the ground . Naturally, the two were both just acting .

If Solas really was what I thought he was , then he’d probably try something — not that he’d actually be able to harm us . I could activate Telekinesis literally instantly, and I’d already cast Chronos Clock, a Dimensional Magic spell, on both Fran and Urushi . The spell allowed the two to interpret Solas’ actions in slow motion, and thus retaliate should he try something .

Chronos Clock’s biggest disadvantage was the fact that his words would get slowed down as well, so they wouldn’t be able to figure out what he was saying, hence why I didn’t cast the spell on myself as well .

「Did you just you use some sort of magic…?」

「…」

「Fran? Are you okay?」

It seemed he sensed that we’d cast a spell . I guess casting Chronos Clock wasn’t exactly the best idea, but better safe than sorry .

「Ugh…」

「Hmm, so you used some sort of magic, but weren’t able to prevent yourself from being poisoned?」

「Uu . 」

Fran was showing off her acting skills by pretending to be in pain .

「It looks like you really have been poisoned . Don’t worry, I’ll help you make it so it doesn’t hurt anymore . 」

He still wasn’t lying, but his actions served to contradict his words . That is, he’d drawn the blade at his waist and swung it in Fran’s direction .

Actually, thinking about it, what he said was cliché, but it wasn’t wrong . Killing someone was indeed a way to prevent them from feeling any further pain .

「Nn . 」

「What!? How!? That shouldn’t be possible!」

「Fmmph!」

「Guahhh!」

Fran easily dodged his blade, drew me, and performed a pair of slashes . The first removed his right hand from the wrist down, and seperated him from his sword . The second caused him to part with his right leg .

「W-What…」

Solas, who’d collapsed, looked up at us with an expression filled but with shock .

There wasn’t any way for Fran to converse with him while she was still under the effects of Chronos Clock, so I undid the spell and let her talk .

「First . Deactivate Appraisal Blocking . 」