Episode 9
Security Sergeant Mike's house was quite comfortable.
It wasn't very spacious, but the windows didn't let in any drafts, and there was plenty of space to relax.
“Oh my, look how skinny she is. Are you hungry? Eat a lot.”
Above all, the food was quite delicious.
It was a very satisfying moment, as I had not been able to eat properly since my teacher left, as I was saving money.
“What is your name?”
“This is Jude…”
“Yes, Jude. Where are your parents?”
"honey."
The security guard gave his wife, Amy, a look.
“How old were you?”
“Now, probably fifteen.”
“If we had a child, it would have been around that time. My husband is so weak.”
"…honey."
“Ah, haha….”
If there was a problem, it was the atmosphere that made it difficult to enjoy that delicious food comfortably. Watching Mike choke, I somehow managed to finish my meal.
“I ate well.”
“Wash up before you go to bed. You can use the room over there.”
"thank you."
"Please understand if it's a little messy. I never dreamed I'd have guests."
“I’m sorry….”
"Huh? No, what do you have to be sorry about? This guy should be the one feeling sorry."
“….”
When I came out of the shower, a clean set of clothes was waiting for me in place of my old ones. They were a little big, but they were comfortable enough.
Honestly, it was a better environment than the Master's dungeon. If possible, I'd spend the rest of my life here.
Of course, it was impossible.
The moment I picked up the Demon King in the Demon World, I lost all connection to this comfortable life.
“Still, it’s comfortable….”
As I lay down on the bed, all the accumulated fatigue came rushing back to me.
In my sleep, I thought I heard Mike and his wife fighting.
* * *
Early morning.
I left the house with Mike, carrying the bread that Amy had prepared for me.
We arrived at the guard barracks. As soon as I opened the door, a musty smell assaulted my nose.
Among the sleepy guards, there was one who greeted me with an unusually bright smile.
“Good morning, Captain!”
“Okay, Johnny. Good morning everyone!”
Of course, only his voice was like that. His appearance was a mess, just like the others.
“Who is the child next to you? Are you looking for a lost child?”
“Looking at you talking nonsense, it seems you’re still drunk from last night.”
Mike sighed.
"You guys haven't been cleaning up, so I brought someone to help. Say hello. This is Jude, who will be with you for a while."
“Are you the youngest?”
“No. As I said before, he’s just a guy who’ll take care of odd jobs.”
A firm voice. I was reminded of my current situation.
“So don’t treat me carelessly, Jude!”
"yes?"
"Just clean up this place. When it's lunchtime... Hmm. I'll tell the kitchen, but today, let's go to my house and eat. Amy will have prepared it."
Mike said that and packed his equipment.
“Then should we take our personal belongings with us?”
"Just leave it. There's nothing of value anyway. What are you going to do? It's time to go on shift. I need to get the night shift kids to sleep, too."
“Okay! I’m going out!”
As they were quickly changing into their uniforms and gathering around the microphone, a security guard named Johnny touched their shoulders and spoke to them.
"Hey, newbie. Don't clean too hard. It'll just get messy again anyway."
The smell of alcohol wafting along with the voice.
“Johnny, didn’t you say you weren’t a newbie?”
“Hey…. You’ll be coming in later anyway, so I’m calling you a newbie in advance.”
"That's something he should take care of. Stop talking and come out."
"yes!"
The guards got out like that.
As I stood there dumbfounded in the barracks that had suddenly become quiet, the smell began to waft in again.
As soon as I opened the window, light and fresh air gradually filled the room.
"ha…."
I swept the floor with a half-broken broom.
“I’m doing this because I don’t have money to eat and live….”
The Demon King said that you must not leave this castle until you have faced your first trial.
“When on earth will that ordeal come?”
-I can't tell you that.
"…what?"
-To be exact, I don't know. Depending on what you do, trials may come quickly or slowly.
That was a very irresponsible thing to say.
But the Demon King's added words were enough to blow away the disappointment he had felt earlier.
"Don't worry. You just need to practice your magic diligently. And it would be nice to train that rotten body, too."
The first magic I learned was soul magic. It was a forbidden black magic that absorbed the souls of the dead to strengthen the caster's soul.
The next thing I learned was deception magic, a magic that would destroy common sense and hide everything about the caster from the world at will, depending on how it was used. … But I don’t have enough magical power right now to use it properly.
The next thing to learn in order was clearly an attack magic with the power to destroy the world!
-I can tell you if you want, but your magical power won't be enough to handle it.
The Demon King was filled with anticipation.
“…Then, tell me how to quickly increase magical power.”
horsepower.
This had been a constant stumbling block since facing the Demon King. His meager magical power, nearly depleted by a single use of the lowest-level atmospheric manipulation magic, was clearly among the lowest among apprentice warlocks.
-Increasing your magical power isn't difficult. Even without using any special methods, you can more than double your magical power in about a month.
I knew it.
The magical power I possess now was gathered in less than a month since I began working under my master.
After his master warned him that rapid magical power increases could have negative side effects, he stopped training. With his master gone, he was stuck in a state of confusion.
-Kuhh… I see. Your master must have been quite the man.
“What is that, how dare you insult your teacher?”
-No. It's nothing. Let's continue what we were talking about.
The moment he was about to touch the Demon King's soul, the Demon King quickly changed his words as if he was ignoring his teacher.
-Increasing your magic power right now may not be a very good choice.
The intention was obvious, but I decided to just let it slide this time.
“Why?”
-There's no way the priests in this castle wouldn't feel it.
It was true.
Even now, whenever I venture outside, I get a headache from maintaining my magical shield to avoid detection. If my magical power increases, I feel like I'll have trouble getting around properly.
“So you’re telling me to waste my time like this?”
Killing the goddess and resurrecting the demon lord was simply a hasty pact made to save lives. There was no great passion behind it.
But wasting time like this, maintaining a situation where I could be caught at any moment, only increased my anxiety.
-Why do you think it's a waste of time?
“Well, because I can’t do anything.”
-You're already doing well enough.
The Demon King explained as if he was puzzled.
-You can't increase your magical power right away, but there's one thing that's just as important: the speed at which you recover it.
No matter how powerful the magic is, it's meaningless if the price you pay is being unable to move for months.
If your magic recovery speed is high, you can prevent such a situation.
However, this is purely a matter of innate talent. It is known that there is no way to artificially improve it.
Mana is something that exists everywhere in nature. The magic core is the organ that gathers it and refines it into its own.
"however?"
-Have you heard of magic exhaustion?
Magic exhaustion. Or mana exhaustion. As a magician, these were words I couldn't help but know.
Most wizards who experience it become crippled. That's why, when I heard about magic blocking from the Demon King, I hesitated to put it into practice.
-Didn't I tell you before? That's because you used magic beyond your limits. What I'm talking about now is using exactly the amount of magic you have.
"that…."
I've never heard of anyone using it specifically, except to warn about the dangers of magic exhaustion.
-By repeating emptying and filling, the magic core's gravitational pull gradually grows stronger, and as a result, the magic recovery speed increases.
“…!”
In an unexpected way.
It was a word comparable to an incredibly valuable secret art, exclusive to a small school of thought.
-And even more effective is preventing magical power from recovering. The greater the magical power, the more dangerous it becomes, making it a difficult method to use. Didn't you sense it?
Looking back, it was a little strange. Considering the speed at which I was initially adjusting, I expected I could maintain it for half a day without any problems, but for some reason, no matter what I did, it just didn't seem to improve.
Increasing your magical power is something you can do after you've seen the full effects. If you miss this opportunity, it'll be impossible to do.
Was it really inevitable that the power to restore magic would become stronger?
"You're as insensitive as a stone. You didn't even realize that your magic recovery rate had definitely changed."
"...There's nothing I can do. I'll be in terrible condition by the end. Who's going to have time to worry about that? Anyway, this is all I can do for now, right?"
"How could that be? I told you earlier. I told you to practice magic. What was the first magic you learned from me?"
That's soul magic.
It is true that it is a great magic with incalculable value, but there is no way to save the soul right now.
Even though dozens of souls are created at each execution, they cannot escape the priest's eyes.
“Ha… Ah, that thing is so dirty it won’t erase.”
As I was cleaning in a situation that was not going well, I felt frustrated and my hands became tense.
But no matter how much I rubbed, the black stain wouldn't go away. I frowned and tried to rub even harder.
"uh?"
I felt a subtle, rippling sensation.
It wasn't my imagination.
A black blob, still moving minutely, like a tiny insect writhing. It evokes instinctive disgust and fear… .
-It's the soul.
“A soul?”
-Sometimes, a soul harboring a strong grudge is left behind when it perishes. It's the dregs of the soul, so to speak. Normally, even with the Spiritual Eye, it wouldn't be noticeable, but now that I've mastered soul magic, I can see it.
“Strong resentment….”
Not only the security guard who had provided them with a place to stay and a job, but also the men in the unit did not seem like the type to hold a grudge against anyone.
But the Demon King said it was nothing.
-It's nothing to worry about right now. Aren't soldiers inherently prone to resentment?
Did anyone foresee this whole situation?
-Even if it's possible to reach this level in the present world, it's only creating stains like this. Even that will fade with time...
Picture frames hanging on the wall, bedding, a water bottle, the guards' personal belongings and supplies… .
Fragments of the soul that remain in all the items within this barracks.
-If you put those together, you'll get half a human.
It was the perfect place to practice soul magic.
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