episode_0031

After killing Leonard and Letavis, about three days passed. On the first day, the Gasols ignored their absence, thinking it was no big deal, but from the second day, the atmosphere in the family began to change.

This is because Leonard and Letavis are scheduled to go on a training trip to the Demon Forest in a few days. Of course, Leonard and Letavis had already crossed the Three Paths side by side.

Right by me! By this young kid, who is only nine years old at most! Giggling!

Phew, it’s me too. The work was done neatly, and it was great.

On the third day, the atmosphere in the family was like that of a mourning house. There was no contact for as many as three days. It might have been any other civilian family, but it was problematic for the eldest and second sons of the Lucifer family, the most powerful family in the demon world, to go missing at the same time.

My uncle followed my orders and went today to report the disappearance. When the Demon World police begin a large-scale search, Leonard’s body is quickly discovered.

There is a lot of time. There is nothing to do because the mask dropped there will solve the problem.

I happily opened the drawer and took out an item. An old book that would be full of dust if you shake it off.

fluttering-.

The cover of the book says, “A flower that eats time.”

A book by the time traveler Evans that was handed over to King at the Grand Duchy of the South. I should read it whenever I have time.

With that mindset, I turned the first chapter of the book.

“… … Hmm?”

In a place where a normal book would have “author’s note” or “list of people who helped write this book,” there was a strange picture drawn there.

A very old-fashioned round clock occupied the first page of the book. Just one picture takes up an entire page of the book.

“Ha, this is Evans. You’re so good at wasting money. Well, I’m a time traveler, so does money matter?”

fluttering-.

I turned another page, and this time a picture appeared. A sunflower was depicted looking to the left with its buds wide open, as if trying to eat the clock drawn on the battlefield.

It was clearly a black and white painting, but strangely enough, it had a strange floral scent. The spicy scent that passed my nose made me feel uneasy for some reason.

uh? How is this baseless picture controlling me? Like. It is truly a shameful picture.

So, I like it. This thing is controlling me. Artistically it passes.

There is a saying that a good painting is one that touches the heart of the viewer. This came up while discussing art with King in a past life, and this painting now looks a bit like it. Bizarre and creepy. Sunflowers symbolize peace and undying love, but this seems to show a creepy obsession.

fluttering-.

Once again, the next chapter, the text finally came out. This was the first time I had seen the text since the large title on the cover, and I was naturally excited, perhaps because I had already felt great interest in the previous painting.

『A flower that eats time blooms for a very long time. This is because the time that should be shared by billions of lives is monopolized alone.』

『A flower that eats up time fades in an instant. This is because I have been constantly overeating alone for too long.』

『Did you notice? The flower mentioned here means God. They are not the ‘Lord’ who created the world and lead the creators of the Holy Church, but the ‘gods’ who are a race of people living in the heavenly world above. That lazy race that lives by accepting the faith of countless people lives for a very long time, but the moment their faith explodes due to a momentary incident, they die out.』

Uh, wait a minute.

Now that I look at this, I see that it is a very blasphemous book. Is it okay to keep reading?

… Rather good. What a blasphemous book. This is a book that knows very well how to target my tastes.

『There are so many gods in this world. This is because the number and types of believers are overflowing. Sometimes, I wonder if God is a human enterprise. When I look at the money that religious denominations and temples make in a year, I automatically get that thought.』

『I would like to end the nonsense that has nothing to do with the main point of the book and talk about ‘time’ in depth. As you are reading this book, do you know about the God who controls time? Kronos, the god of time. He governs, handles, and rules the time of this world. If you have any questions about the laws of time, you can go to the temple of Kronos and ask him to give you an oracle.』

『I was like that. To be more precise, I had doubts when I met a warrior who claimed that he had ‘reverted’. Until then, I thought I was a ‘regressor’, but the warrior told me that I was not a returner.』

『I was curious about the basis of that statement. We both went back to the past, so I asked why you went back and I didn’t. The warrior said that he didn’t know much, so he should go to Kronos and ask. That’s how I went to the temple of Kronos.』

『When I asked Cronus, he gave an immediate answer that did not fit the god’s racial trait of sloth. Rewinding time and going to the past with the world is regression, and going back and forth between the past and the future with the body like me is time movement. At that time, I realized that I was a time traveler.』

『I want to let you know that. Rewinding time, regression. However, no one but those involved in regression remembers it. Maybe the world is still spinning. We just don’t notice it.

『The founder of the empire went to the past to prevent a future from destruction, met his younger self there, saved the continent, and established an empire. A case like this is time movement. We must clearly distinguish between regression and time movement.』

『Where can I use this? I don’t know that either. Oh, you could be wasting time. For those who waste their lives reading useless books like mine, it will be a very economical use of time.』

『Ah, still. You never know.』

『I wonder if someone, such as a returner, for whom this distinction is very important, is reading my book right now.』

Uh, that regressor is here now.

I knew that the founding father of the empire met his future self and saved the continent because it was such a famous fact… Are you a returning hero? Did the Southern Duke King say something similar?

Could it be that the returning hero is the same person? If he was a warrior from the previous era, he would have already died, but hearing twice that he is a returnee like me makes me curious. I’m still not sure that the two are the same person.

『As an aside, there is no coincidence in any regression in the world. There is a law that states that all things in the world follow the law of cause and effect. Therefore, rewinding time costs a lot of money. As if those who want to receive treatment with divine power offer money to a priest.』

『What it is varies from person to person. Since I am not a returner, I don’t know anything, but one thing is certain: it has to be something that can move the heart of Kronos, the god of time.』

『If you are a returner, or an acquaintance of a returner, please ask me once. What did you offer to Kronos to buy time? Also, for what purpose did you buy the time? If you answer that you came to invest because you don’t have enough money, there is a 100% chance that it will be thrown away, so please end the relationship quickly. You should not associate with people who have lost money through investments in their past lives and are trying to invest again.』

cost? I didn’t have anything like that? It just happened like this after I died, right?

I have never met Kronos, the god of time. Why would such a high-ranking man meet me? I am not a god-slayer like Theseus.

… When I was put on the guillotine, the saint spoke as if she knew that I would return. Could it be that the saint is related to Kronos?

Price, price.

fluttering-.

From the perspective of a regressor, the contents of the book are bound to raise questions, but they cannot simply be dismissed as nonsense. Because this is a book about a time traveler and no one else.

Although we cannot ignore the possibility that Evans wrote down the false information as a joke.

At that time, someone pounded on the door outside. Adela’s heavy voice seeped through the crack in the door.

“Oscar, are you in your room?”

I lost track of time as I was reading a book with quite interesting content. I quickly answered by putting into the drawer.

“Sister, what’s going on?”

“Umm… There is some very sad news.”

“Sad news? What is that?”

“Before that, can I come into your room? It’s not a story worth telling lightly… .”

“What is the plan? wait a minute. I have to put things away.”

I need to get rid of my expression.

The only thing that was so grim that Adella lowered her voice was the discovery of Leonard’s body, which had fallen from the cliffs of Endros. But now I can’t control my laughter. This is because smiling has become a habit.

He raised his hand in front of his face and gently lowered it. This is a good method to use when changing your facial expression. In the end, facial expressions are masks made of muscle and flesh, so even if you only have a simple dressing room, changing clothes becomes easier.

“It’s done. Please come in.”

Clap-squeak-.

“But, what’s going on?”

I ask a question in an uncharacteristically serious voice. In order not to offend Adela.

“… Leonard was found.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“A few hours ago, my uncle reported Leonard missing… They say the demon world police found Leonard on a cliff in Endros.”

“Yes? really? But why did you go to that dangerous cliff?”

Although he is serious, he asks innocently, as if he doesn’t know anything.

Adela, not suspecting my acting at all, bit her lower lip until it hurt and lightly pursed her lips.

“… … … As a corpse.”

“… Yes?”

“It’s literally like that. Leonard was found dead. The body was broken into pieces, as if it had fallen from the cliff.”

“… !”

“It does not appear that the accident was caused by a simple mistake. There were traces of something fighting on the cliff. Perhaps, someone intentionally murdered Leonard… … Damn it!”

Crackling-.

Adela paused while speaking. She bit her lip so hard that a stream of bright red blood flowed from it.

Her trembling fists give us an idea of the volcano-like anger she harbors. Adela is probably the only demon who is so upset about the death of her family.

Well, maybe that’s why in my past life, he chose death to save me. That’s Adela’s charm. A belief and will that does not break even in the face of death.

The desire to completely corrupt and break that belief and will arises, but let’s put it aside. No matter how bad I am, I am not that bad to my own sister who sacrificed her life for me.

The conscience that remains as small as a grain of rice in a corner of my heart suppresses my desire to spread out.

“Oscar, listen carefully to what I say from now on.”

Suppressing the cold heat, Adela lowered her eyes and grabbed both of my shoulders. I didn’t hold it hard enough that it hurt, but there was a feeling of restraint that was difficult to escape.

What is this idiot trying to say something by setting the mood like that?

“I think this was Letavis’s doing.”

“… … ??”

“Leonard and Letavis disappeared together, and Leonard fell to the bottom of a cliff and died. Traces of a fierce battle were found above.”

“Big Brother Letavis, is the criminal who murdered Little Brother Leonard?”

“Yes. It seems to me that there was some friction between the two, and after an argument, Letavis pushed Leonard off the cliff. After that, he remembered that killing a corpse is absolutely prohibited in the demon world, and eventually chose to run away.”

Oh, that’s a very sharp guess. I didn’t act like an idiot and used the situation and clues to reason, but I was quite smart.

“But little brother has the ability to liquefy. How do you explain that? There is no way that a person with the unique ability of liquefaction would have died from the physical blow of falling from a cliff.”

However, it is still not enough.

“Is that so? If not… Could it be that they planned to kill him from the beginning and carried it out deliberately? ?”

“Ah, that doesn’t make any more sense. Why would you do something like that, big brother? Is there any reason to be chased by demon police?”

“Ah… I see No matter how much Letavis hates Leonard, there is no reason for him to become a fugitive… .”

“The person who came closest to being the head of the family was my eldest brother, but there is no way he would have kicked the bread that rolled in even if he was just sitting still.”

It’s good that Adela uses her brain. It’s a natural law that the more you use your brain, the smarter you become. Adela, who won’t stand up to me at all costs, is said to have extraordinary brains, so there’s no reason to interfere.

But not now. I already burned Letavis’ body on a cross. This means that even if you want to create a criminal, you cannot. Unlike Leonard.

Empty-!

Just then, someone knocked harshly on the door. With that urgent pounding, Adela let go of the hand that was holding my shoulder and said.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, lady! Well, you’re caught! They say the culprit was caught!”

“… what? What do you mean, the culprit was caught? Leah, Leah!”

A maid called Leah gasps and delivers the news.

The news that I planned, prepared, and prepared.

“It was found! Around Master Leonard’s body, there is a mask belonging to the Southern Grand Duke King!”

“… !”

Adela hurriedly opened the door and followed the maid out.

“Giggle kick.”

Left alone, I giggled and laughed.

This is not the time. We should hurry and go to the scene of the incident, which is likely to be in full swing right now. I don’t want to regret it later after missing out on something fun to see.