Ch.194194. When Purpose and Conviction Disappear

“Huh?”

Looking at the stretching mud with confusion, Aria tried to explain something to me, but my eyes were following that mud.

“W-why is it doing this? When I saw it earlier…”

Confused, Aria tried to explain something, but there was no need to listen.

I had a rough idea of what was happening.

‘I’ve been deceived.’

There was no other explanation.

My soul from the first cycle?

When I first heard it, I wondered if it might be true, but thinking calmly, I quickly realized it made no sense.

“Aria, calm down and explain the situation.”

“Ah, yes!”

Aria, who was trying to gather the mud again, immediately began speaking at my words.

“So, it was vacation time, and I went back to my hometown to clean, chop firewood, hunt animals, and help my parents…”

A beginning like a child explaining they’ve finished their vacation homework.

“Then suddenly, another door appeared in front of our front door! Fortunately, my mother had gone to make stew, so she wasn’t there to see…”

As she spoke, something seemed to occur to her, and she clapped her hands together in exaggerated surprise.

“Oh, Mom! I need to tell my family that I’m here!”

Aria explained that they must be worried about her sudden disappearance. It seemed it would take a bit more time to hear the full story.

* * *

Late evening.

After hearing the complete story about the Clair General Store, I was lost in thought for a while.

Erika had left long ago, and Aria had returned to the dormitory. Since she had returned to the academy anyway, she decided to spend the rest of her vacation here.

Owen, who had finished his street performance, returned briefly with a satisfied expression but left to wash up.

Findenai hadn’t returned since I threw him out the window earlier, probably out playing somewhere.

In the end, all that remained were me, the Dark Spiritmaster, and Stella with horns protruding—that is, Vellica had emerged.

[If he’s wearing white gloves, then he’s definitely the Demon of Deception.]

Vellica answered with an expression that suggested even recalling him was irritating. They didn’t seem to get along well.

[His name is Learic. I was wondering where he’d been hiding all this time, and he was holed up in a strange place.]

I’m not sure how long “all this time” is for a great demon, but if it’s the Demon of Deception, both the Dark Spiritmaster and I had a connection to him.

After all, he was the original owner of the Spirit Stone, Lemegeton, which we had been using for quite a long time.

[…..]

The Dark Spiritmaster kept her head down with her lips tightly sealed. Beside her, Vellica continued talking without reading the room.

[He’s running a store, right? Don’t think about buying anything. Just consider the very act of buying as a loss.]

“I see.”

[It’s not simply about paying a price. At some point, you might find your life has been sold.]

Ophelia immediately came to mind.

There was no need to dwell on what happened to the woman who had wished to be with her love.

[Even the great demons don’t know his true face. He’s just so fond of deceiving others.]

“…”

[But there is a face he uses often. A young man with white hair. For some reason, he keeps using that one?]

A white-haired man.

Remembering that Aria had also mentioned this keyword, I glanced subtly at the Dark Spiritmaster.

“Do you know anything else?”

[Ah, um.]

After hesitating, the Dark Spiritmaster awkwardly replied.

[I don’t know much about great demons and such.]

She might not want to talk about it, but I hadn’t forgotten what she had said when fighting Magan before.

I immediately caught her words and pressed on.

“I heard you’re a descendant of the child who received Lemegeton.”

At those words, Vellica also turned her head slightly to look at the Dark Spiritmaster. Her expression darkened further.

When I saw Lemegeton acknowledging her as its master, I thought it must be true.

[That’s a very old story. I just share the bloodline, that’s all. I tried to find Lemegeton while I was alive, but I failed.]

“…”

[And I learned that it was a very futile endeavor.]

She specifically pointed out that Lemegeton was a trap given by the Demon of Deception.

But she still seemed to have some lingering attachment to it.

‘Someday.’

If I save the continent and peace returns, my time with the Dark Spiritmaster will also come to an end.

Since she was ultimately a spirit of the dead, she would need to find rest.

But before that.

I had to admit that for some time now, I had harbored a desire to help her resolve the lingering attachment she occasionally showed me.

[Anyway, if you’re going to fight Learic, you’ll have a hard time. Back in ancient times when demons fought each other, I killed Learic more than ten times.]

In other words, even if you think you’ve killed him, you need to constantly doubt whether he’s really dead.

[But can we chase after that general store?]

The Dark Spiritmaster naturally shifted the topic to the general store, and Vellica nodded in agreement.

[That’s what I’m saying. From what I hear, it seems quite difficult to find.]

“There’s a way for that.”

I have the thread wrapped around my hand, but even using this, tracking won’t be easy.

We’d have to physically chase after a general store that roams anywhere on the continent.

[Really?]

[You can track that guy?]

“I’ll tell you tomorrow. I’d like to be alone today, so could you both leave for a while?”

I gestured for them to leave. Both the Dark Spiritmaster and Vellica were surprised by my sudden request to vacate.

After listening to a few grumbles, I was able to send them out.

“Phew.”

Deep darkness.

Since I hadn’t turned on any lights, anyone looking from outside wouldn’t think there was someone inside.

As I leaned back in the soft chair and closed my eyes for a moment.

Twitch.

The thread tied to my right hand began to react.

It tickled the back of my hand as it swayed gently, despite there being no wind.

When I slowly opened my eyes, an antique purple door was sitting right in front of me.

A sign that read “Clair General Store.”

Since I knew it would come, I got up without much reaction, grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and went inside.

The interior was exactly as Aria had described.

It was dark, and there was nothing on the counter. Traces of Aria’s fierce battle remained here and there.

“Welcome to Clair General Store.”

A young man with white hair standing behind the counter in the distance. The white gloves on his hands revealed his identity to me.

“Learic.”

The Demon of Deception, Learic.

Despite being called by his name, his expression didn’t change at all as he asked.

“Is there something you’re looking for?”

As I heard him say he would guide me if I was looking for something, I headed toward the counter and spoke.

“You’re the one who has something in mind.”

“…”

“That’s why you came when I was alone.”

The conversation between Learic and Aria that she had relayed to me. Through that brief exchange, we were able to infer a lot about Learic, but…

Conversely, Learic too.

He would have thought about Aria and me in various ways, and he had anticipated that I would come looking for him directly to confirm it.

The information that Aria had unwittingly revealed was something that a Demon of Deception couldn’t resist.

“Stop with the merchant tricks and tell me what you want.”

When I spoke calmly, he smiled curiously and overlapped his hands.

From there, a deck of cards popped out.

“Do you know the card guessing trick?”

He spread the cards so that only I could see the front.

“It’s a magic trick where I guess the card you’re thinking of without looking.”

It was one of the common magic tricks.

But I knew he wasn’t saying this because he wanted to show me a magic trick, so I didn’t interrupt.

“I can do it not as a trick, but like real magic.”

Before I could even think about the difference between the two, he handed me one of the cards he had spread out on the counter.

“This is the card you were thinking of, right?”

Thud.

Eight of Clubs.

I had just picked the first card that was there, and if that was the answer, then it was correct.

“Ah? It was the Eight of Clubs?”

“…”

“I don’t know which card you chose. But I got it right.”

“So that’s your ability, is it?”

“Exactly right. I don’t know what the customer who came is looking for.”

“…”

“But I can provide it.”

There was no need to add “in a twisted way.”

“But you know, a very strange customer came today.”

Learic pulled out one card from the deck he had spread out. He placed it at the bottom of the deck.

“This time, it has actually already passed once, hasn’t it?”

Shuffle.

“The continent has been reset once and is starting again.”

What was clearly one card became a deck and spread out.

As a result, there were now two decks of cards on the counter.

“It’s absurd, isn’t it? But at the same time, I was excited. Ah, it had been so long since I felt that excited.”

“…”

“If that’s true, then this world is full of deception, isn’t it?”

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

We investigated the great demon Learic and inferred various things from our conversation with him.

Likewise, Learic had been inferring things about us in a short time.

“The Spiritmaster Deus Verdi who killed four great demons… no, Shinwoo Kim.”

“…”

“I was truly amazed. I never thought the day would come when I would sell a product called ‘a soul from the first cycle.'”

“Even though it was fake.”

When I muttered warningly, he grinned and shook his head.

“Until you realize it’s fake, it’s real, isn’t it?”

A sophistry.

But he was a being who enjoyed such sophistry.

There was no point in logically refuting him, as he would just counter with more sophistry.

“There’s only one reason I came. Shinwoo Kim, share your memories with me.”

“…”

“I’m curious! How did this world come to start a second cycle! Were the so-called gods still sitting on their hands until then!”

“I refuse.”

“Don’t be like that.”

The counter between us disappeared. Not only that, but the entire general store melted away, engulfed in darkness.

But it wasn’t simply a threat or pressure adjustment.

What shot through my entire body was a gentle feeling that couldn’t be called killing intent.

“I can show you what you want most, something even you don’t know.”

Learic smiled, almost whispering.

“I can also find out what you cherish.”

It might sound like a threat, but it was a seduction. A rather sweet one at that.

“Since I took this general store from the dwarf, I’ve seen various human characters. It’s truly interesting.”

The white-haired man approached me in the darkness.

“Do you know? Most humans don’t know what they truly want. It’s the opposite of demons.”

“…”

“Especially people like you who live buried in their convictions.”

Learic pressed his finger firmly against my chest and smiled mockingly.

“If you show me all the information you know, I will grant your wish.”

“The salvation of the continent.”

When I answered indifferently, Learic giggled.

“A grand cause? Quite a few people give such answers. But that’s not the essence. It’s simply that your sense of responsibility is too strong.”

As if he had expected this, Learic extended his hand. In it was a white sphere emitting a soft light.

“Leave it entirely to your instincts. Let’s find out what you desire when you set aside your grand cause and convictions.”

“…”

“Shinwoo Kim, what is your true wish?”

Then, the white sphere that Learic was holding gradually began to transform into the shape of what I truly desired.