Ch.235235. Lingering Attachment

After the long night that seemed endless, the old lion of the Kingdom of Zerman, King Ramahul, gathered everyone involved in this incident in one place.

From the First Prince to the Third Prince.

And Princess Elenoa, and finally me, the Spiritmaster.

I thought the execution of the First Prince Rahul was certain, regardless of his reasons for rebellion.

Rahul seemed to know he had no chance, as he kept his head bowed with a pale expression.

“Let’s move on.”

King Ramahul’s nonchalant attitude as he ate grapes was enough to dispel all tension.

No one else could criticize or rebuke him for being too lenient.

With the king himself, who should have been most outraged by the rebellion, acting this way, everyone found it difficult to respond.

“After reviewing the situation, I see that Rahul rebelled because of Rehul. It was to avoid death, wasn’t it?”

At those words, Second Prince Rehul’s eyes lowered.

Crunch.

Chewing on grapes, Ramahul continued.

“Second Prince Rehul fell for Princess Elenoa’s scheme, correct?”

If he hadn’t helped Elenoa with her plan, the Second Prince would have just stood by, not knowing what to do.

“And I heard that Princess Elenoa and the other princes acted that way because Third Prince Serhul made a contract with an archdemon.”

Finally, Serhul nodded with his lips tightly sealed.

Looking at it this way, it was indeed a complicated situation.

It was unclear who should be punished, and to what extent.

That’s why I thought they would just execute First Prince Rahul for treason and be done with it.

But to completely overlook everything?

‘King Ramahul doesn’t seem that merciful.’

Seeing him casually eating grapes without a care in the world, it didn’t feel like he was sparing his sons out of fatherly love or mercy.

‘Then there must be another reason.’

Though he appeared thoughtless while eating grapes, I shouldn’t be fooled.

This was the same man who tried to lay the groundwork for an invasion by recruiting our nobles and allying with the Marias tribe.

‘Sigh.’

Though the main story had already collapsed…

If I had to mention it, Zerman Kingdom would officially begin invading the Griffin Kingdom when Aria entered her second semester of third year.

That’s why I recognized the princes’ faces.

Except for the still-young Sixth Prince Sirahul, all the princes would invade Griffin to earn merit.

“Well, aside from a few dead soldiers, nothing serious happened. And since the giant monster that was the archdemon’s minion has left the desert, we can consider it vanquished.”

“F-Father!”

The First Prince immediately knelt and pressed his head to the ground. It made no sense that he could survive after committing rebellion.

But it was suppressed in just a few hours, and since it happened in the palace garden at dawn, it could be concealed if desired.

“This criminal Rahul! I will live my entire life for you, Father, and for Zerman! Thank you for giving this foolish son another chance!”

That was it.

Despite hearing his eldest son’s tearful gratitude, King Ramahul merely gestured for him to withdraw.

* * *

“Ah, finally leaving this wretched place.”

At the royal gate.

In front of the carriage we arrived in, Elenoa stretched her body, complaining of stiffness.

“I want to go back quickly. It’s just too hot here.”

Aria approached Elenoa, who was sighing. Since we hadn’t brought any luggage, we only needed to pack Elenoa’s things and depart.

“Hey, you can use magic, right?”

“Could you not forget that I’m a princess? You should call me ‘Princess.'”

“Cast some ice magic inside the carriage. Let’s travel comfortably.”

“Look at you ignoring me. Will that make me want to help you?”

“…Princess.”

“Can’t hear you. Louder.”

“Princeeeess!”

“Shouldn’t you add some modifiers?”

“Incredibly beautiful! Sexy! Kind-hearted Princeeeess! Please cast some ice magic for this lowly commoner!”

“I’m better than you with your washboard chest, right?”

“Ha.”

Aria exhaled sharply as if spitting, then nodded.

“Of couuurse! Certainly! The Princess shouldn’t be compared to me when you’ve been eating good food like a pig!”

It was flattery that sold her soul. Ice magic must have been that crucial for crossing the Sahar Desert again.

“…That’s offensive.”

Elenoa frowned at what was more mockery than flattery, but then smiled as if a good idea had occurred to her.

“Is the seat next to Deus mine?”

“This girl is crossing the line.”

Just when I thought we might travel quietly, the two girls immediately started bickering.

Watching them, Deia sighed and stepped between them.

“You could just ask him to do it, why are you two fighting?”

Deia pointed at me with her chin. Though I hadn’t used ice magic often since there was no need, I could certainly make the carriage cool enough.

“P-Professor, how could we ask you to do such a menial task?”

“Deus is too precious.”

“…That’s rich coming from a princess.”

Deia scratched the back of her head and glanced at me. I was about to speak, thinking this was a good opportunity.

But Third Prince Serhul approached.

Still unable to escape his guilt, he cautiously approached while watching us.

“I apologize.”

Though he was a prince of a nation, his bow was too casual, which wasn’t appropriate.

But it showed how much he wanted to apologize to us.

“I caused you much trouble.”

When no one answered his apology, Aria nudged Elenoa’s side.

Only then did Elenoa hide her expression of reluctance and smiled.

“Ahem, no. It’s fine. I made a big mistake too. Since King Ramahul has graciously overlooked this, let’s put this incident behind us.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

After a few more words, Serhul bowed and left.

Unlike the other princes, he was the only one who came to see us off, suggesting his feelings for Elenoa hadn’t faded.

“Shouldn’t the magic have been broken when the demon disappeared?”

When Learic died, the princes who had been infatuated with her lost their feelings.

They only felt embarrassed or displeased. Elenoa was happy that their attention had disappeared.

But it seems Third Prince Serhul’s feelings were quite genuine.

As I watched Serhul’s retreating figure heading back to the palace, Deia quietly approached me.

“What’s wrong?”

“On the surface he seems taciturn, but once you get to know him, he’s an innocent young man.”

Deia tilted her head and agreed.

“Well, that’s true… but you know that’s not what I was asking about.”

“…”

Deia, with her exceptional intelligence that seemed wasted as the sister of a margrave guarding the northern mountains.

I’d like to give her an opportunity to work in the royal court if possible, but Darius would be wailing in Norsweden within a month.

“King Ramahul’s response. What do you think it was about? He subtly implied we share some responsibility, and treated our handling of the rebellion as expected rather than helpful.”

I had no intention of picking a quarrel with the royal family over such matters.

“He didn’t want to lose his princes.”

“Is that really the only reason? He doesn’t seem like a father overflowing with paternal love.”

“Not from a father’s perspective, but from a king’s.”

“…”

“When moving troops across borders, it’s better to have trusted blood relatives in command rather than entrusting it to close generals.”

Conveniently, all six princes are skilled in martial arts. Even if they have limitations in command ability, they could perform adequately through training.

Hearing my words, Deia’s eyebrows twitched.

“Is this one of the foundations for Zerman to wage war against us?”

“It could be, or it might not be, but…”

Honestly, considering King Ramahul’s ambition.

“It’s probably correct.”

“…”

Deia’s expression turned serious. As she bit her nail, lost in thought, I placed my hand on her head to interrupt her thoughts.

“They can’t start it that quickly. We’ve successfully concluded negotiations with the Republic of Clark. It will take at least a year, even at the fastest.”

“A year is actually quite fast.”

“No need to worry.”

When I said that, Deia made a sulky face but didn’t remove my hand from her head.

This kind of reaction showed how our relationship had grown closer.

“You all depart now. I have something else to do.”

“What?”

Elenoa and Aria were already excitedly boarding the carriage. I wondered why Findenai had been so quiet, only to find him asleep on the driver’s seat.

Since Findenai had worked the hardest this time, I wanted to switch the driver role.

“You’re going separately? You’ll take another carriage?”

“No, I have something to check.”

“…Check?”

“It’s about the curiosity shop I acquired. Listen to Aria about it on your way.”

“No, what are you—!”

Thud!

A purple door suddenly appeared behind me. Deia just stared at me with a stunned expression, too shocked to move.

“Ah! Professor! L-let me come with you!”

“What? What is that?”

Aria desperately tried to exit the carriage but was blocked by Elenoa beside her.

Leaving their voices behind, I opened the door to the curiosity shop and entered.

Creak.

Thud!

The door closed again.

The interior of the curiosity shop was still as quiet and dark as ever.

[Uwah, is it okay to come alone like this?]

[How mischievous.]

The Dark Spiritmaster and Stella naturally appeared and each gave me a comment.

Though I wanted to test something with the curiosity shop I now owned, honestly, I had escaped so abruptly for these two as well.

“Let’s open it.”

When I opened the closed door of the shop, an alley in a street appeared.

Judging by the Oriental style rather than medieval feel, it seemed to be in an empire.

[Wow, this is really amazing?]

[Can’t we choose the location?]

“I still don’t know how.”

But Learic had moved the door even over a very short distance, like from a wall to a ceiling.

And he had taken me to places he wanted, like the Demon Realm.

“Hmm.”

This place is too noisy.

I closed the door again and after a moment, opened it to reveal a scenic waterfall.

It was a stream in some forest.

I stepped outside the door.

Pebbles under my feet.

Fresh air that cleared my mind.

No human sounds, only the sounds of nature echoing in my ears.

[This is healing!]

[Personally, I don’t particularly like forests, but this place is peaceful.]

The Dark Spiritmaster looked around happily while Stella seemed a bit uncomfortable, perhaps having had her limbs severed in a forest before.

I felt sorry for Stella, but this seemed like the right place.

I took out the sphere containing souls from my chest. It was time to give peace to the 20,000 souls Learic had collected.

There was no need to have conversations with them as I had done in Greyfond.

They were already souls who wanted to escape their suffering.

In front of the waterfall.

As I slowly raised my hand holding the sphere, the souls inside began to pour out.

[Ah, aaah! Finally! Finally!]

[Freedom from pain!]

[Thank you. Thank you for protecting our death!]

The souls continued to pour out.

It took some time due to their large number, but they entered their rest while expressing their joy.

Finally.

[…]

Only Ophelia’s child, whose entire body was painted black, stared at me blankly, then bowed deeply before entering rest.

A child who was used by a demon to kill many men and eventually even his own mother.

Though filled with many grudges, he still expressed gratitude before closing his eyes.

[At least they all went quietly.]

[You’ve worked hard.]

Everyone closed their eyes and entered rest. All that remained in my hand was a gray sphere that had lost its light.

Looking down at it, I said:

“The continent is already at capacity.”

Did they think we were about to return?

The two who were heading toward the door turned to look at me.

Whether they thought it was abrupt or sensed a different atmosphere than usual.

Their gazes were filled with questions.

“If things continue like this, in a few years, even when people die, there will be no place for them to rest, so they will remain awake. Eventually, the boundary between life and death will collapse.”

[Y-yes?]

[Yes, we know.]

The two also knew the truth that would soon come to the continent, as they had been with me.

According to the original story, it would be two more years.

But now the story was diverging from the original game, so anything could happen at any time.

“Dante’s leader, Luanes Luden Griffin, plans to annihilate all souls currently sleeping on the continent to save it. That would sustain it for thousands of years.”

The two listened silently to my words.

As if signaling the gravity of the atmosphere, a strong wind blew, and leaves fluttered, filling the silence.

“But I… intend to create a place for the dead.”

And this is the method I’ve chosen to prevent the collapse of boundaries, one of the continent’s dooms.

“The afterlife, the netherworld, the afterworld. Call it what you will.”

I had no intention of naming it.

It’s not like hell where one suffers eternal torment.

Nor does it involve concepts like reincarnation through the cycle of rebirth.

Just creating a place where the dead can rest.

When put into words, it might sound little different from a hotel.

[So you had such a plan?]

[That’s just like you.]

Though they affirmed my words, they still couldn’t hide their uneasiness.

However, I continued my explanation to them.

“This sphere where Learic imprisoned souls is probably similar to the origin of Lemegeton.”

The gray sphere I held in my hand.

“I’ve also observed how to create a place without substance through the Demon Realm.”

The space Learic created at that time, the Demon Realm.

“And Griffin’s evil spirit.”

The being who stole the bodies of many royals in the Griffin royal family and stored their souls.

“I plan to learn how to gather souls through the records he left behind.”

In the secret room of the Griffin royal family where the evil spirit had hidden, many of his research records still remain.

[What… are you trying to say?]

[Deus.]

“The opportunity came earlier than expected, and I’ve learned the method.”

The Dark Spiritmaster and Stella took a step toward me. Though they showed no reaction, I felt like I was drawing a line with my words.

“I’ve received a lot of help.”

[Wait a minute. What are you saying!]

[…]

The two sent me gazes asking for an answer, but I continued speaking stoically.

“Being as intelligent as you are, you know I now have sufficient pieces to succeed.”

Originally.

Just before doom arrived, I would have started creating the afterworld along with a showdown with Luanes.

But if the situation is moving quickly, and I already have the means to solve the problem, there was no need to delay.

In creating a place for the dead.

“I cannot leave you out.”

These two people have also reached death beyond life.

They’ve suffered enough and helped me greatly. After death, they should have closed their eyes and entered rest, but they provided much assistance.

“It’s fine now. I’ll try on my own.”

So.

“Dark Spiritmaster and Stella.”

The question I’ve asked many souls, I now ask these two.

“What are your lingering attachments?”