Lukas didn’t ask about the exact timing of the eting. This fact ant two things.
That eting the Beginning Wizard no longer had as much significance to him, and that life in the castle was so comfortable, he almost forgot what his goals were.
Nevertheless, Sedi answered without needing to be asked.
“There is still a while until the eting.”
He just nodded roughly.
Inwardly, he didn’t really care whether the eting would be the next day or in a few years.
Lukas stayed in the castle and did nothing. Most of his ti was spent idly.
He hadn’t forgotten his burdens. But there was a thought in his heart that it would be fine even if he didn’t do anything like this.
He spent most of his ti talking to Sedi. Whenever he talked to her, his mind felt at ease, and a calm smile spread across his lips. Sweet happiness welled up inside of him like a spring, and for a mont, he forgot the tireso headaches and goals that made his heart heavy.
[…if…]
[…are you doing? …in…]
At so point.
The voices in his head began to fade away.
The voices of the ‘Lukases’ that Lukas had absorbed. Those voices began to disappear. It was an unexpected but happy change.
‘I don’t need to et the Beginning Wizard any more.’
The solution had been so close.
Just by stabilising his mind and body, he was able to obtain an unexpected harvest. For the first ti in this world, Lukas found rest in the truest sense.
“Sedi.”
“Mm?”
“You have tis when you work.”
“I do.”
Sedi, who was laying on the bed, as usual, replied.
“What do you usually do then?”
“Not much. I just sit and listen to reports. My role isn’t to identify the problems or solve them on my own.”
She continued in a smug voice.
“A decision maker only needs to do two things. Look serious and listen to everything till the end, then nod or shake your head.”
“…”
It was clear that this was a crooked mindset, but Sedi seed to be of the belief that this was true.
“Of course, if sothing big happens, I will have to step up, but that rarely happens.”
As if to show she had a bit of conscience left, she added.
“Considering that you only have to listen to reports, you seem pretty busy.”
Sedi only spent about half the day with Lukas. Even the longest periods were never more than half a day. (TL: Lukas wants more attention.)
“Sotis I have to listen to complaints, sotis I have to go do inspections… I don’t have any specific work, but it really feels like I do a lot of chores. It’s really annoying.”
Surprisingly, the Twelve Void Lords had a lot of chores.
Sedi grumbled for a mont before her expression suddenly changed and she fell silent. Then, she got off the bed.
“…I should get going. Ah. Would you like to go on a city inspection with tomorrow?”
“Inspection?”
“It’s just an inspection in na, I want to take a walk with you. I’ve never walked around the Pit with Father.”
Lukas nodded because that was true.
Since coming to the Pit, Lukas had not left the castle.
“District Z-17. That’s the busiest shopping district, and there’s a cafe there that sells that cheap coffee thing. It reminded of Father.”
…Coffee.
Now that he thought about it, it seed that he’d drunk it quite often when he was on Earth. This was because the sweet flavour surprisingly suited his tastes.
Although it felt bad that Sedi disparaged the drink as cheap, he nodded his head since he knew she had good intentions and probably wanted to introduce him to a decent store.
“Right. I’ll go with you.”
“It wouldn’t be bad for you to wander around the city without . This territory, I didn’t really develop it, but there are many things to see. All of the mbers are demons, but it’s not that much different from where people-”
Sedi’s voice cut off. Then, she staggered a bit as if she’d lost her balance.
“Sedi?”
Lukas jumped up from his seat when he saw her perilous appearance. He tried to help, but Sedi pushed him away with one hand.
“I’m fine.”
Frowning, she grabbed her head.
“Sorry. I’m just a bit dizzy.”
Just as Sedi smiled bitterly, a bit of blood dripped from her nose.
“…!”
When he saw this, he couldn’t help but feel even more surprised than when she’d stumbled.
The blood dripping from Sedi was black. Seeing Lukas’ hard expression, Sedi waved her hand.
“Ah. Wait. There’s no need to get worked up. This happens sotis.”
She wiped her nose offhandedly.
“Why…?”
“Was it backlash from not fully digesting the power of the 0th Demon or sothing like that? Anyways, it’s not a big deal.”
Despite the fact that she spoke in an insignificant manner, Lukas had a strange feeling.
Then, they heard a knock on the door.
“Excuse .”
It was one of the Apostles who made an appearance. He didn’t rember its na, but it was a being with the head of a snake.
“Am I interrupting?”
Slurp, its split tongue shot out of its mouth and its yellow eyes flashed. It was an eerie sight but it wasn’t threatening. Instead, this attitude ca because of tension. The Apostles were very afraid of Sedi.
“No. It’s fine that you ca. What’s wrong?”
“…that, a guest has arrived.”
“A guest?”
That was not an easy word to hear in this place. When Sedi frowned and urged it to speak more, the Snake Apostle spoke with an expression that didn’t hide his apprehension.
“Yes.”
“Who is it?”
“…it’s the Beginning Wizard.”
Lukas and Sedi’s eyes t.
* * *
“The hospitality towards guests is pretty poor.”
When eting him personally for the first ti, Lukas recalled the description Kasajin had given him.
His entire body was covered by an auburn robe, and his face was covered by a hideous mask that was reminiscent of a sickly old man.
The only part that wasn’t covered by his robe was the hand that held a twisted staff, but even then no flesh was exposed.
‘He’s alone.’
Surprisingly, the Beginning Wizard had not co to the Pit with anyone else. He also didn’t seem to release any pressure. Even when he was in front of him, it felt like he was looking at a ghost. If he closed his eyes and didn’t focus his senses, he couldn’t sense his presence at all.
“…I’d thought so before, but the Lord is really different in person.”
The strangest part was his voice. It was impossible to guess his age or gender from his voice.
It sounded like several overlapping voices, so it felt as if several people were talking at the sa ti without a single error.
“Nice to et you. New 0th Demon, Sedi Trowman.”
“Your first impression is the worst, Wizard of the Beginning.”
“Did I do sothing wrong?”
“To call by my full na at the first greeting is very unpleasant to . It feels like you have grasped sothing about , and it’s freaking disgusting.”
The Beginning Wizard didn’t seem to take offence to her rough remarks.
Or at least, that was how it felt.
‘What is this…?’
From the mont he first saw him, Lukas had been feeling strange. He could see the blue eyes behind the mask, and every ti he saw them, his chest fluttered.
Almost instinctively, a question arose within him.
‘I… do I know this person?’
“Why did you co here? Do you want a war?”
Sedi spoke with a provocative smile, but from her perspective, it was probably not sothing she really thought about before saying.
But, instead of denying it, the Beginning Wizard nodded.
“You catch on quick. That’s right.”
“What?”
Pop!
It was as if the nod of his head was a signal.
The body of the Apostle standing beside Sedi, the Snake Apostle who had guided them to this room, exploded. Flesh and blood splattered in every direction.
“Isn’t it always refreshing to hear that popping sound?”
“…!”
There was probably no one who could have foreseen this situation. At the very least, Lukas hadn’t. He couldn’t foresee what trick the Beginning Wizard had done. The reason for his delayed response was because he was thinking about the reason. Perhaps that wasn’t the only reason…
Nevertheless, Sedi was different. She was the sa as Lukas in that she was unable to predict the situation, but she regained her composure faster than anyone else there.
Crackle
Black energy rushed out of her clenched fists. Sedi’s entire body beca dyed back.
Perhaps feeling an unusual on, the Beginning Wizard retreated with a flutter of his robes. But Sedi was able to close the distance much faster than that.
Papapak!
In the blink of an eye, she landed dozens of consecutive blows. The Beginning Wizard’s body fluttered like a scarecrow being swept by a typhoon.
Sedi’s gaze beca cold. None of her previous attacks had any effect.
“Let’s all calm down a little.”
There was a hint of amusent mixed in with the Beginning Wizard’s voice.
“Shut up.”
“Why are you so angry? It was just a greeting.”
“Killing soone without saying a word is a greeting? Then let try it too. That kind of greeting.”
Smiling ferociously, Sedi began to raise her aura, but she didn’t release it.
“Uh… huhh…?”
The sudden voice made Sedi freeze. She turned around.
Just now.
The Snake Apostle, whose shattered flesh and blood had scattered, was now standing there.
Perfectly intact.
“Like I said. Calm your agitation.”
The Beginning Wizard spoke in a soft tone.
“Agitation narrows your vision, makes it dark. In tis like that, taking a deep breath makes you feel better. It might sound simple, but it really works.”
“…you… what the hell did you do?”
“Instead of a simple greeting, I showed you a bit of magic. Did you enjoy it?”
Magic.
Lukas’ fists subconsciously clenched at that word. He was still staring at the Beginning Wizard with wide eyes while lost in his thoughts.
Just now.
He had confird the death of that Apostle. It wasn’t an illusion. The Snake Apostle had died without a doubt.
And yet, he was revived… No, was he revived?
‘I don’t know.’
He didn’t even know what thod he’d used.
All he knew was sothing beyond his cognitive ability had happened.
“Your expression still doesn’t look so good. Mm. Then, perhaps I truly was disrespectful as you said. I apologise. However, that was absolutely necessary for .”
“Hoh. I wonder what the deal behind that is.”
The Beginning Wizard looked around before speaking.
“It’s not difficult to tell you, but there are too many ears around.”
“Fine. Let’s go to my office. I won’t allow the others to enter. You and I will have a long talk alone.”
“I like your hot temper.”
Before leaving, Sedi winked at Lukas. This ant for him to leave it to her. After hesitating for a mont, Lukas nodded.
Suddenly, the Beginning Wizard turned his gaze towards him.
“You are comfortable, young man.”
When his attention turned to him, it felt like he could hear his voice more closely.
Lukas once again had an indescribably strange feeling.
“Life is a series of struggles. As long as you live, you will have no choice but to keep fighting. All that changes is the subject of the fight.”
“…what are you talking about?”
“I thought you needed so advice, was I wrong?”
“Hey. Don’t talk nonsense.”
As Sedi growled threateningly, the Beginning Wizard burst into laughter and walked past. After a while, his figure, which was getting further away, eventually disappeared.
But even after he left, Lukas was unable to move from that spot for a while.
* * *
Lukas returned to his room. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the Beginning Wizard.
The biggest question he had was the face behind the mask. He kept feeling like he might know it.
It was strange. The more he thought about it, the more clouded his mind felt.
Suddenly, the door swung open.
When he was alone in his room, there were only two beings who would open his door as they pleased. And one of them was probably still talking to the Beginning Wizard at that mont.
Lukas looked at the man who appeared through the open door.
“Kasajin.”
Kasajin nodded slightly and said.
“An important guest arrived.”
“…”
“The Beginning Wizard. I saw it from a distance, but I could tell. He hasn’t changed.”
He wasn’t saying that he hadn’t changed.
Kasajin was saying that the being he’d seen in the past and the current Beginning Wizard was the sa person.
Kasajin looked into Lukas’ eyes as if he was trying to see what was inside, then, he suddenly asked.
“Are you satisfied with the current situation?”
…This wasn’t the first ti.
Lukas had been asked this question several tis by Kasajin.
Even when he didn’t have anything to talk about, he would suddenly appear and ask those few words that he could never figure out the reason for.
“If you have sothing to say, say it.”
“…”
“You… by chance, are you looking down on ?”
Lukas looked at Kasajin.
“Because the ‘Lukas Trowman’ you knew wasn’t like this? Because I passed my responsibilities to soone else and leisurely took a break in my room?”
His voice gradually rose. Lukas himself probably realised this before Kasajin.
“Are you dissatisfied with because the Lukas you knew wasn’t like this?”
Kasajin didn’t say anything. He just kept looking at him with his dark eyes. At that mont, Lukas couldn’t help but feel pathetic.
What was the difference between him and a child who was getting excited because of his own guilty conscience?
“It’s not like that, Lukas. I have nothing to say to you because I don’t deserve to. I just… I want you to realise.”
“You want to realise? Realise what?”
“It’s not my place to tell you. However, you already have a clue. You just don’t want to think about it too deeply.”
“…”
“Stop ignoring it. That’s all I want to say.”
After saying that, Kasajin opened the door and left.
Lukas, who was left alone, thought about chasing after him but suddenly had a deep feeling of incongruity.
—Since the day he first arrived at the castle, Kasajin had visited Lukas without fail. Most of the ti, there didn’t seem to be any reason for it.
Of course, one didn’t need to have a reason to et a friend, but this was Kasajin. Even if he had been completely emptied and refilled with sothing else, it didn’t change the fact that he was, in essence, Kasajin.
He was never a guy who would commit a aningless act.
Then?
Why was such a serious guy coming to him so often?
‘…to let know.’
To inform him of sothing.
He felt the warmth on his fingertips gradually fade. Of course, it was just an illusion, but Lukas’ heart was already ice cold.
…It felt like he was missing sothing, sothing crucial.
And when he had such doubts, he knew how to find a clue.
Lukas calmly went back to the drawing board.
He had co to the Pit to find a thod to get to the Magic Planet, and he had a semi-forced eting with the Lord of this place, Sedi. At that ti, Lukas had been reluctant to et her.
And at the sa ti, Kasajin had tried to stop him from eting her.
“…!”
At that mont, there was a flash of thunder in his mind. It felt like he’d finally rembered sothing he’d forgotten.
Sedi hadn’t forgotten about Lukas. Instead, she’d achieved victory in her first fight with Kasajin, who was the [0th Demon] at that ti, and therefore succeeded in perfectly maintaining the ‘Sedi Trowman’ that Lukas knew.
‘…’
He finally realised what was missing, what he’d ignored.
Sedi hadn’t forgotten Lukas.
Naturally, this ant that reuniting with her would have no negative impacts. And that was actually the case.
But if that was the case, then why?
Why did Kasajin try to stop him from eting Sedi?
(TL:…Sedi might not be our best girl after all…)
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