Wheeing.
The wind is blowing.
The wind, carrying the snow of the snowy mountain, eventually rises to the sky after sweeping through the ground of the world, the people of the world, and all things of the world.
The spire of the demon castle.
Right there, gathering all the winds of the north, sits Lucart.
Lucart looked down below.
He looks down at the territory made in the name of Daimon. Observing the territory bearing the name of Daimon. Observing the territory using the name of Daimon as its cornerstone…
This place is not mine.
What is mine is not here.
What is mine has already disappeared and is disappearing.
In the midst of that, Lucart had nothing he could do.
Even as his strength was taken away, even as the demon world was taken away from him, he had nothing he could do.
Lucart slowly raised his gaze. He looked up at the hazy sky, far from clarity. The unreachable sky gave Lucart an even greater thirst.
“Are you here? I’ve been looking you for a while.”
It was a sudden voice, but Lucart wasn’t surprised.
Instead of answering, he looked at the 1st Elder, Nord Daimon, who took a seat next to him.
“Why are you putting this old man through so much hardship? With a body that could give out at any moment, you should treat me with as much care as possible.”
“You’re talking nonsense.”
Lucart chuckled and shook his head.
“Nonsense, you say? I’ve been in pain for days because my knee hurts when the weather is bad.”
Nord sighed.
Then, he discreetly observed Lucart’s reaction. Having been by Lucart’s side for a long time, he could gauge his mental state just by looking at his eyes.
He seem quite confused now. Nord let out a bitter smile.
“Did you happen to see?”
“See what?”
“The children playing in the territory.”
When he mentioned children, he was referring to the homunculus. Lucart’s brow furrowed upon realizing this.
“They’ve grown well.”
Initially, Nord opposed the creation of the homunculus.
He argued that if demons could suppress their pride and learn from human society, they could coexist with humans.
However, other elders disagreed. Lucart was no exception. Demons were inherently selfish beings. They could never coexist with humans.
It was clear that they would eventually reveal themselves like daggers poking out of a pocket, exposing themselves as demons. It was better to abandon such a risk burden from the start.
So the homunculus was created, and Nord tried to care for them as if they were his own children. Lucart turned a blind eye to that. The problem arose when defective homunculus began to appear.
Nord argued that the homunculus were also life, so they shouldn’t be killed. The elders who opposed him argued that if that was the case, then demons and humans were also life, so what made him so righteous?
Eventually, Nord gave up and left the castle. He said it would be better for everyone if he didn’t get involved anymore.
Nord expressed his opinion because of the appearance of Shekina, a defective homunculus.
Declaration of support for Shekina.
This is not just about Shekina alone.
Nord has once again stepped forward to protect the homunculus.
Lucart let out a long sigh and brushed his head.
“Nord.”
He raised his head.
“They are not mine.”
“So, are you considering to abandoning them?”
“I am overwhelmed just trying to protect what is mine. I can’t take on more here.”
He had already lost so much. He lost countless demons and the demon world. In a situation where there was only more loss to come, he couldn’t take on more to protect.
That’s right. Lucart is turning away.
Afraid he can’t protect, afraid it will be burdensome.
“My lord.”
Nord looked at Lucart and chuckled.
“Were there things not inherited from the predecessors, but directly chosen by you, my lord?”
“……”
“Now is the time to truly create what belongs to you, my lord.”
Lucart slowly lowered his gaze.
Create what is mine.
In a situation where everything I thought was mine has been taken away, what more can I do here?
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Lucart chose to leave rather than engage in further argument.
As Lucart turned to leave, Nord spoke towards his back.
“Are you going back to the snowy mountain?”
Most likely, he would.
He would go there to kill monsters.
He knows the scent of fresh blood.
He knows there are more monsters in the demon world.
But he had to do this. It was his duty to himself for failing to protect the demon world.
“There will be a child to help you, my lord.”
Nord said to the hesitant Lucart.
“You don’t have to face it alone.”
The wind blows.
Higher, higher, to the sky.
Feeling the rising wind, Lucart departed.
***
“Hey, cat.”
Shekina, returning to the room, immediately found the cat.
“You’re a revenant, right? Revenants live longer than other creatures, so you’ll hear a lot and know a lot, right? You’re a great being. Aren’t you?”
The cat bristled at Shekina, whose eyes were sparkling.
– Why are you suddenly like this?
Wasn’t Shekina the one who had been entrusted to Calvin and only occasionally played with her? But now, running up with eyes sparkling like this, it was startling.
Shekina chuckled at the cat.
“Are you know this?”
And she took something out of her pocket.
“This is catnip.”
A catnip that drives cats crazy.
She had searched the market thoroughly to find it.
“Do you want to touch it? Do you want to nibble on it?”
The cat’s tail shot up stiffly.
– Give it to me!
“If you answer my question, I’ll give it to you.”
– Hey, C’mon! Give it to me!
Shekina looked down at the struggling cat and chuckled confidently.
“Do you know about the famous assassination guild in the southern continent?”
When she heard about it from Han.
She thought it would be something in the game content that she didn’t remember.
She also didn’t bother digging further because she thought it would be in the rulebook anyway.
But no matter how much she searched the rulebook, she couldn’t find such information.
Was the rulebook incomplete? No, there was a page explaining the southern continent. Normally, it should have been written there, but there was nothing.
In other words, it meant that the information mentioned was not in the game.
So there was no way Shekina could find out.
Except one thing,
Except for petting the head of this cat, who calls itself a ‘great being’ and claims to ‘know everything.’
“Hurry up and tell me, okay? If you tell me, I’ll give it to you.”
– Wait! I’m thinking right now!
“If you don’t speak within 5 seconds, I’ll set this on fire. One, two…”
– Ha, Hayrem!
The cat quickly exclaimed.
– Hayrem! Definitely! It used to exist, even if it doesn’t now!
“Hayrem…”
– I said it, so give it to me! Now!
Shekina, who threw the catnip, narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
Even hearing the guild name doesn’t ring a bell.
So she asked the cat again.
“Do you know what they did?”
– Ahh, it’s so good. The smell is good. It feels good.
“If you don’t answer, I’ll take it away.”
– Leave me alone!
The cat hugged the catnip tightly, growling.
– What they did…
After hesitating as if searching for memories for a moment, the cat finally spoke.
– They attempted to assassinate the emperor.
Shekina thought she misheard for a moment. She flicked her ear once.
“…What? The emperor?”
– Yeah. In the process, they ended up killing the innocent crown prince. After that, they scattered in all directions to avoid being tracked.
“They killed the crown prince? Really?”
– Why would I lie about that?
“Oh…”
It feels like I’ve asked something huge. Shekina barely managed to control her rising excitement and asked again.
“So, do you know who ordered it?”
– Everyone who knew that is dead.
“I see.”
The reason Han’s escape.
And the humans chasing Han to the north.
They all seemed to give the same answer.
“Seems like there’s one guy among them who didn’t die.”
