Episode 47
"Are you really okay?"
Behind my back, a voice that I was now quite familiar with grabbed my feet.
"It's a bit like saying this with my mouth, but if you are on the list, you will be helped in many ways."
Melissa said.
I knew enough. No matter how weak a country is, it is an organization to which the prince of a country belongs. I don't know how many outstanding people belong to all parts of the continent.
One of the reasons why the kingdom is still holding on after the denomination declared war in the first place is the power of the dawn.
But I refused to belong to them.
"Being able to get a lot of help means that you have to help the organization a lot, right?"
"That's right."
Conflict with the denomination is inevitable in the future. Because one of my goals was to kill the goddess.
But that's just one of many goals. To fulfill the contract with the Demon King, you need to do more than just kill the goddess.
While searching for the treasure hidden by the Demon King and the materials for the Holy Sword, and resurrecting him, he doesn't know how he will clash with the Dawn Band.
There may be a way to use it as much as you can and pretend not to know later...
It is true that he saved his life thanks to Melissa, so he didn't want to go that far. So this was the best.
"If I have to fight with the church, I'll lend a hand. But I don't want to be part of an organization."
“… Huh. If I had held on to this point, I would have done enough."
The moment when he left Melissa sighing and was about to leave the castle.
"Wait! Are you going to go like that?"
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"There's a lot to talk about."
He raises his head and shakes his hand as if asking him to follow him.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided to follow her. I knew how precious potions were.
I don't know, but the potion she spent on me alone would easily exceed a few dozen gold coins.
"Your master, Sevian was brought into the Green Demon Tower about 40 years ago by a mage who was returning from an external mission."
“….”
Melissa walked ahead and said. I wondered what kind of expression he was making when he said that, but I couldn't see it.
"I was just one of those sorcerers, nothing special, but after I brought in your master, I was promoted in an instant. That's how talented your teacher was."
A sorcerer who has gained a teacher. The memory of stealing the master's soul and stealing it was still vividly remembered. It was safe to say that he was a teacher's teacher.
"I have been in the Mage Pagoda for less than five years, and I was considered one of the five people who would succeed the Mage Pagoda Lord within the next 30 years. Considering that the other four people's heads were all peeling off... It was ridiculous."
Therefore, the teacher was envied and jealous. Many people turned their backs on their teachers, and the same was true for the sorcerers who guided them on the path of magic.
"Why did Sevian suddenly become a warlock... I don't know. However."
Still, the master didn't care. Because I had unparalleled pleasure in studying magic.
I felt like it was a waste of time.
It was a story that everyone knew. So far.
"I'm sure his last mission was to support joint research with the denomination."
"With the denomination...?"
Why does the denomination conduct joint research with the Mage Tower?
"The red magic tower that researches destructive magic, and the blue magic tower that studies defense and healing. On the other hand, our green magic tower doesn't have any magic that can be called the main force."
“….”
If so, I didn't understand it even more.
The green pagoda seemed to be treated poorly even among the mage towers. If the denomination is looking for cooperation, wouldn't it be better to choose another good magic tower?
"If I had to say it, I would say magic itself. Research this and that, as soon as it comes, and when you get useful results, sell them to other horse towers or countries. Literally, I touch all kinds of things."
"All sorts of things...?"
"Yes. All kinds of things."
Melissa's steps stopped. Only then did I realize that we had arrived in front of the entrance of the castle.
"What kind of research I did with the church is confidential, so I don't know either."
Something I couldn't even find in my memory of seeing it. Perhaps it was the reason why the master became hostile to the cult, and the reason why he gave up his brilliant future and became a warlock.
And it must be the reason why he fell and lost his soul to the branches of the World Tree.
"If you join our dawn, what kind of research was it... I'll make the most of Dan's information to investigate."
“….”
With their help, I will be able to obtain information related to the Master that I did not know.
I closed my eyes, let out a big sigh, and replied.
"That's why it's done."
"Oh, really!"
Melissa, who was trying her best to set the mood, became nervous. It doesn't seem to be the expected answer.
Still, my answer didn't change.
The work with the master has already been completed. I'm lying if I'm not curious, but I decided not to dwell on the past.
If he really wanted to know what happened in the first place, he would have tried to absorb half of his master's remaining soul, even if it meant breaking the magic core.
‘… Wait.'
According to the Demon King, after the second trial, the branches of the World Tree were absorbed into my body.
And the branch of the World Tree had absorbed half of the Master's soul that I had not absorbed. If so, isn't it actually absorbing all of the Master's soul?
"What's going on all of a sudden?"
“… No, it is not. I have something to think about."
"To be on the dawn list?"
"No."
The demon king, who would have laughed as much as he could or said something useless as usual, is quiet.
On the contrary, I was convinced that the Master's soul had been absorbed into me in its entirety.
-Tsk.
I can't feel its impact now, but if I can fully handle the branches of the World Tree, I think I can see the memories of the rest of the souls.
Then...
"Where are we going now?"
“… One word of advice, it won't be easy to get comfortable anywhere on the continent. There is no place where humans live together that is not touched by the denomination."
"It's okay."
I passed Melissa and escaped from the castle.
Through the crowd of people busy passing through the streets, a group of people wearing robes slowly approached at the mouth of the alley.
Melissa's face was distorted as much as she could when she turned around. I felt like I was in a bad mood, and in a way, I felt embarrassed.
When I looked forward again, a group of people who had reached me slowly bowed their heads.
"Let's go."
The influence of the denomination, which extends everywhere where human beings gather and live, has not been very meaningful at present.
Because the place I was heading to was not a city of humans.
"Please guide me. To the rainforest."
* * *
After defeating the warlock with only scars. Jude wasn't the only one who returned to Andril alive.
A small number of deserters who were returning to the territory and packing their belongings were arrested after being reported by the residents of the territory.
Deserters imprisoned in dungeons, waiting for punishment. With a creaking sound, the prison door opened, and someone approached the bars where the deserters were being held.
“… Come out."
A voice full of fatigue. In front of the cage stood a man whose face was quite good-looking, but whose beard had not even been properly shaved.
It was not a new thing.
With the annihilation of a large number of troops, including the lord, it was now more difficult to find someone who could rest properly in Andril. The reason why he came to the place where he could send soldiers was also because of a murderous shortage of manpower.
"Is it an interrogation again...?"
"No. The interrogation is over. It is the lord's deputy order to release him."
The faces of the deserters were filled with relief and confusion at the same time.
Regardless of country or territory, deserters are punishable by death. Deserters gave up on surviving the moment they were caught.
But the release.
"Is that true?"
"Is there any reason for me to lie?"
The man opened the bars with the key he was holding.
The man who was escaping from prison with the deserters asked hesitantly.
"So, what the hell happened there?"
"We've already told you everything."
"Believe that?"
The man, the recruiter, frowned.
It was natural. The deserters' statements were full of stories that anyone could not believe.
"So... While the warlock who slaughtered the punitive force turned into a giant tree, and the elves summoned the tree giant to confront him, your leader killed the warlock?"
“… Yes, it's true."
The recruiter, who was looking at the wavering deserter's eyes, shook his head.
"Why do you want to do these things... Oh, what did your leader say?"
“….”
"I'm not trying to harm you, so answer."
A deserter who noticed the continued urging replied.
"Joe, this is Johnny."
"Johnny? You are from the guards of the Veliv estate?"
The recruiter groped his memory. It wasn't too difficult to remember the owner of the name. Among the many soldiers, the soldier named Johnny stood out in particular.
He had quite good judgment for his age, and when I heard about it later, I heard that he had outstanding spearmanship skills among soldiers. There were not one or two knights who wanted to take him as a servant.
Most of them were now dead, and even their bodies could not be recovered.
"If you are true after a hundred concessions, Johnny's spear skills must have reached the level of a god. Because even the Sword Master of the kingdom defeated a monster that could not be defeated."
“… Uh, that's right?"
The deserters exchanged glances and replied tremblingly.
They were frantically fleeing to the territory, and it was from a considerable distance that they witnessed the battle. They saw their leader defeat the enemy, but they could not recognize what weapon was in his hand.
The story has become unnecessarily long. Go, deserters. I want to mobilize for the reorganization of the territory, but... I can't trust those who ran away once. Leave the estate right now."
After saying that, the recruiting officer returned to the castle.
The deserters, who were abandoned on the street out of nowhere, took a moment to check whether their situation was a dream and then talked.
"Everyone, what are you going to do now?"
"I'm leaving for the Empire. It's a war against the denomination. The kingdom of Balaich has no future."
"I, I've lived in Andril my whole life. I'm going to stay here. If you hide for a few months, you don't even know there was something like me."
"You have to look for a job first. Go to another territory."
Immediately after, sighs erupted from the mouths of the deserters who were chattering at the same time.
They know it. The trivial stories that each of us uttered have become difficult to achieve now.
Suddenly, their eyes turned to one person.
Even among them, Billy, who was particularly lively and talkative, was particularly quiet.
Billy said with a confident smile at the gaze focused on him.
"I'm going to do a play."
"Theater?"
"I did. Billy, that guy said he belonged to a troupe."
"Won't you join us? I just came up with an amazing script."
An awkward smile appeared on the faces of the deserters.
I knew Billy was quite witty, but I had no idea that he would be able to write a script well.
"It's an amazing script..."
"I'm sorry, but we've never done a play."
"Listen to it. It's not too late to listen and decide."
"Hmm!"
A low voice came out of Billy's mouth, coughing and clearing his locked throat.
"His journey began in the small estate of Beliv..."
“…?”
"A master of spear techniques that save the continent from danger. Shin Chang Johnny. It's a play that deals with stories that are more like heroes than heroes!"
The voice of a novice actor and playwright full of excitement echoed through the streets.
That time.
At the Belive Estate, Johnny, who was yawning while on duty today, sneezed loudly.
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