episode_0087

Time is like a river. It always flows smoothly and slowly. It doesn’t have waves like the sea or rapids like a river, but no one can resist its flow.

A lot of time has passed. About a century. And during this century, the continent must have experienced great changes.

It is now the year 614 of the imperial calendar. In terms of time, it was a time when a nation called a ‘military state’ was being established. The continent is struggling through the industrial revolution and developing rapidly. Democracy, which only existed in the Republic of Korea, is coloring the empire, and the empire is becoming semi-democratic and semi-monarchist.

Normally, in times of rapid change like this, you need to make a lot of money by investing, but there is still a long time left until the birthday of Saint Mary. Compared to the time I’ve waited for so far, it’s only the last few decades, the last few decades.

“Your master’s face hasn’t changed at all. You are always the same.”

Beatrice sheathed the great sword she had been swinging vigorously just a moment ago. Despite having gone through a fierce fight, Beatrice’s face was stained with sweat, not blood.

Before you know it, you have reached the point where you can predict the direction in which blood will gush out while cutting an opponent. At that level, I might be able to ultimately reach the level of a sword master, known as the five righteousness of the sword.

Since she can use my magic and divine power simultaneously, she would be more advantageous in actual battles. Knowing that this woman was my knight, I felt proud of my tolerance.

“Isn’t it because they are demons? Basically, demons have a long lifespan.”

“I guess so.”

“Beatrice’s face hasn’t changed at all. You’re the same as when I first met you. It looks like your breasts have gained some weight, though? Hahaha!”

“… ! I’m a man… .”

“?”

I said this because the only thing that changed was that my breasts got bigger, but why is Beatrice lowering her head and bursting into laughter? Since meeting Meta a hundred years ago, Beatrice has been taking increasingly more meaningful actions. He often says, ‘I am ready…’ .’ While walking away.

“Kkkk! Kkkk!”

Aru jumped up from somewhere and climbed on top of my head. How dare an animal such as this be so spoiled as to covet its owner’s head.

Huh!

I immediately swung my fist and tried to land a honey chestnut on Aru’s forehead, but Aru just turned his head and easily dodged it. Thanks to this, I ended up looking like I was the only one messing around.

I was clearly ahead when I absorbed the tragic warrior Claire a hundred years ago, but Aru grew significantly again a year later. With someone as big as me standing on top of my head, I feel like my neck is going to suffer from osteoporosis.

Of course, it’s a great thing that our group’s strength becomes stronger, but… I feel like my prestige as a leader is falling to the ground these days.

“Kkkk! I’m done hunting!”

“Really? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Kung! My cheek is scratched!”

“Ugh… What if a scar remains? Put your face here. I will treat you.”

As I spoke with a sigh, Aru’s round face suddenly appeared before my eyes. Long navy blue hair hung down to the ground.

Staring at his upside-down face, I ran my hand over Aru’s cheek. Drops of blood were leaking from very small scratches.

“Did you get hurt by that guy?”

“Kkkk! To the werewolf!”

“What? Aren’t werewolves your kind? Are you here to kill your own people?”

“No! Werewolves are monsters! I’m a wolf person!”

“… .”

Aru Does this guy know that if you translate werewolf, it means werewolf? Today I once again realized that sometimes ignorance is medicine.

After all, humans are prone to slaughtering their own kind, but there’s no way wolves can’t do the same.

“Okay, just stay still. If you’re hurt, you should tell me.”

Ugh-.

Purple magic energy gathering at my fingertips. A pearly, sticky liquid seeped into Aru’s wound. Then, the skin, as white as a snowflake, healed without any cracks.

I didn’t use any healing techniques. I am not a saint, and things like healing are beyond my abilities. I just put Aru’s wound back together and sutured it.

“Oscar! I just finished hunting too!”

The now adult goblin, Meta, approached me with his hands proudly spread out.

There was thick red blood and purple magical energy on both his palms.

“And! I also made the skeleton army I hunted today into my familiar!”

“… .”

“Skeleton King is quite powerful! Still, I think the ‘fourth legion’ is now complete! The corps commander is of course the Skeleton King!”

Looking at that lively appearance, I had to break into a cold sweat.

No, why is it growing so fast? They’re already using the Skeleton King as their familiar? What kind of lich are you?

The meta guy who was thought to be a simple martial artist actually had great talent for magic. It means goblin shaman.

The problem is that his talent is not normal and it is black magic that he learned from me, so he has already achieved the level of skill of a lich even though he has only been training for about a hundred years.

“Meta, wait a minute.”

After stopping the meta, I took out a black robe from Arachne’s bag. A robe that can be covered up to the top of your head.

I tried putting the robe on the meta. Then, he gave a thumbs up and exclaimed.

“Perfect! People who don’t know you will think you’re a real lich!”

A lich is a being who leads an immortal army. The army of the dead under the lich’s command tramples the castles of the living, destroys their civilization, and destroys their lives. Some say that Lich is the most suitable being for a ‘one-man kingdom.’

The meta is a goblin, not a skeleton, but looking at the visual when wearing that robe and the current growth, it is a picture that is fully feasible. Didn’t they say that four legions have already been completed?

“Young Master, no matter how you look at a living creature, you are a lich. Aren’t you talking too harshly?”

Uriel spoke crookedly with his arms crossed. It’s a blunt tone.

This is because, to her as an angel, a lich, a being that ignores life ethics, is in itself blasphemous.

“That’s what it says. And Meta, you don’t like being called Richie?”

“Yes? no! Anything Oscar gives me is fine!”

“Look! They say our meta is good too! Why are you trying to suppress the freedom of your name!”

“Me, if that’s the meta, then I have nothing to say… Beatrice, do you have anything to say? Still, being from a Holy Knight… .”

“I think any nickname my lord gives me is good. Richie, what a cool nickname for crossing the border between life and death.”

“… .”

As expected, Beatrice is on my side. I smiled at Uriel and patted Beatrice on the back.

“Demon, I have something to ask you.”

King Nioh, who had been sitting quietly the entire time, stood up, flexing his back. He had the largest body among us and could not help but attract attention as he had a height that could be seen anywhere in the plains.

“Mr. Yohan?”

“Civilization, when can we see it? Two hundred years have already passed.”

“Well, just wait another 70 to 80 years.”

“Boring… We fight all the time.”

“You have to be patient. Didn’t you hear from Saint Irowel? About the virtue of patience.”

“Grunt… Irowell… Irowell… .”

Nioh seems to be getting a little sick. This is because the recent fights were all close to massacres, with the predators and the prey clearly distinct.

But if he is the king of humans, shouldn’t John be able to dominate humans just like Aru dominates the wolves? How were they able to confront John when they fought the warrior party a hundred years ago?

“… .”

Problems that cannot be solved are meaningless. I put aside the worries that suddenly occurred to me.

Over the past hundred years, we have fought really hard. As a result, almost all monsters in the southern part of the Demon Forest were able to be exterminated.

But it wasn’t a complete massacre. A few demonic beasts survived by hiding in their own hideouts, avoiding our eyes as they slowly carried out guerrilla operations.

But there is no need to worry about them. The important thing is for Nioh and the new hero party to kill the Dragon King, one of the five kings. In the process, all hero party members except Merlin Gregory must die. The few demonic beasts that ran away out of fear would not dare stand in the way of the warrior party.

However, there is one problem. It is said that he was unable to catch the seven demonic beasts, the Seven Dragons, around the Dragon King.

The reason is simple. This is because the Seven Dragons are strong enough to have successfully defeated a party of warriors from their previous life. If we go out of our way to catch them, if someone in our group dies, there is no harm in doing so. Just as the party of grown warriors from a previous life met a miserable end of extermination.

Of course, I would give up anything for Maria. Even if it is a party, it is not as important as Maria.

Nevertheless, the reason I did not proceed with the original history is because the ‘history of Masurim’ and the ‘history of the continent’ are completely different.

I have already changed a lot of the history of Masurim. However, the only thing I have to protect is the history of the continent, so in the end, I only have to let the two things, ‘The Death of the Dragon King’ and ‘The Return of Merlin Gregory’, proceed according to history.

If I remember correctly, the warrior party will come to Masurim today. They will try to fight against the demonic beasts of the Demon Forest just like the previous hero party did… You will go straight to the Seven Dragons without encountering any other monsters.

From then on, I don’t know much. Since I didn’t even come forward to help them, from my point of view, everyone in the hero party should die except Merlin.

The best scenario is for the hero party to capture the Seven Dragons without any casualties, then join forces with Nioh and kill Endros, the Dragon King, and die as well. Meanwhile, without their knowledge, I extracted the Dragon King’s soul and absorbed it.

“I’m going to run some errands for a moment. Everyone, please do your job.”

He left the place while fiddling with the cross in his pocket. After walking about a hundred steps, I hid behind a tree.

Okay, there will be no sound at this point. I immediately took out a black rosary and infused it with magic.

“Tel.”

Ugh-.

After the rosary was rung a couple of times, a single voice came out.

[Good morning, Joker.]

It’s monotonous, quiet, and peaceful.

A voice that is alluring, elegant, and more attractive to me than anyone else.

“Yes, good morning. I don’t know because the saint doesn’t have breakfast.”

[Joker, you may not know this, but this place is worth staying in.]

Ha, I guess that’s true. To the subject hanging on a cross.

“Now… 70 years? That much remains. Do you know?”

[That’s a calculation based on the day I was born, right?]

“Of course, right? Why is there a problem?”

[I look forward to being reunited with Joker more than getting out of here.]

“… I think the saint has a talent for speaking beautifully.”

Is it because respect and consideration for others are embedded from the inside out?

“But, our reunion will probably be around that time, right? Even if we don’t necessarily meet at Eden Academy.”

[Is that so? Why?]

“I will be the one to sprinkle holy water during the baptism of the saint’s newborn baby! Tsk tsk tsk!”

[Well, didn’t I tell you to please stop with that…? !]

“Hey, saintess. Do you think I, who didn’t listen to the devil, will listen to the saint?”

[Tsk… !]

The saintess, uncharacteristically, bites her lower lip and drools. I burst out laughing.

[ha… You are really mischievous.]

“But, this topic is the only way to make fun of the saint. No matter what I do with other things, I can’t shake my emotions.”

[I take it as a compliment.]

She is such a funny woman.

I like picking on other people. This is because the small pleasures of being humiliated and teased are enjoyable.

But the saint is almost always calm no matter what I say. But I enjoy talking to her the most.

Truly, she is an extraordinary woman. I clicked my tongue.

[By the way, do other people know about me?]

“Aruman knows. Even then, I firmly told him to keep his mouth shut.”

[King Lang has been aware of my existence for a long time.]

“That’s right, but I’m just saying this because I don’t know about other people like Nioh and Beatrice. In particular, Beatrice and Uriel are amazed every time they see my rosary. They said it was absurd that a demon like me would bear a cross.”

[it’s okay. Because the faith in Joker’s heart is more important than the opinions of others.]

“When you say it like that, it has a strange tone. That’s what I believe. It’s not about the Lord in heaven.”

[I lived my life denying all gods other than the main god, but I never thought I would become someone’s god. Isn’t this also Buddhist scripture?]

“God? Isn’t faith necessarily God? The priests of the church believe in the Messiah, but that doesn’t mean the Messiah is God, right? What do you think? The second Messiah, Saint Mary!”

[…] It’s such an undeserved title for someone of humble origins. I’m so embarrassed that I can’t even raise my face… .]

Just as she said, the voice of a saintess creeping in. I guess this is the end of teasing.

“Still, aren’t you happy?”

[What do you mean by that?]

“You were born as a member of the church who followed the doctrine, and you were called the Messiah by evil sects like me. Wouldn’t it be okay to take pride in your own achievements and life?”

[To be honest, I’m really happy… I feel so embarrassed that I don’t dare raise my head.]

“Ahahaha! You have too much humility!”

As if listening, he burst into laughter into the rosary. I can’t see the saint, but if I could, I think she would be smiling right now.

“I have a question for you.”

I stopped laughing and pursed my lips.

In fact, it is safe to say that this is the purpose of today’s communication.

[What is that?]

“Memory of the saint.”

[yes?]

“The saint’s return is incomplete. Because I was just caught up in my regression. So I’m curious. Are the saint’s memories as intact as they are now, even after birth? Or are you starting from an idiot again? Forget everything about me, about us?”

400 years have passed. It is by no means a small amount of time. Moreover, for a saint with a human lifespan, it must have been like eons.

The saint devoted that long time to making sure I didn’t go astray. By making a deal with Kronos, the god of time.

However, that time, that sincere effort and hard work.

Can this continue even after starting a new life?

[It’s half and half.]

“What?”

[During the day, I will be the younger me, and at night, I will be the current me.]

While I was dumbfounded, unable to understand what the saint said.

Maria decided on her future in a calm voice.

[In short, it is a dual personality. Me, a returnee who remembers the memories of me and Joker when I was innocent and didn’t know anything… These two will coexist in my body alternately day and night.]