episode_0212

“Now. The atmosphere is kind of gloomy and awkward, so should we at least introduce ourselves? They’re not all from the same region, but they’re from the North, which isn’t easy to meet in the South, right?”

“······.”

“······.”

Alicia clapping her hands and talking energetically.

But even so, the atmosphere inside the carriage was still filled with cold silence, as if to reassure Alicia.

At this, Alicia’s brightly smiling face gradually hardened.

‘I really can’t do this.’

Two people sitting side by side across from each other.

Pale-skinned blood demon, Transylvia and youkai, ghost.

It was a really awkward combination.

The former governor who had lost most of her strength and had to step down from the front line three years ago due to an injury, and the former Four Heavenly Kings who brought her down…

‘What on earth is your sister thinking…?’

Alicia was sobbing and looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment.

You put these two people who are like time bombs together.

It was a team organized with the mission of tracking down an unidentified enemy, and it didn’t seem strange at all for them to fight each other beforehand.

‘Why on earth am I in here…’

What I didn’t understand the most was Alicia’s input.

Transylvia, a murderous demon, and Ghost Tiger, whose output is somewhat lacking since he was injured, but his skills are top-notch.

These two alone would be enough, so why did they bother to include me?

No, actually, I thought I knew.

If a problem arises, it must be stitched up and reported to Yerina.

If only two are involved, one of them will kill the other, bury them in a secret place, and keep their mouths shut, no one will know.

My bones hurt. Bone pain.

How did I end up taking on such hard labor?

In the past, I would have stubbornly refused.

‘what. It was a situation I couldn’t refuse.’

A hollow smile appeared on Alicia’s lips.

I couldn’t help it.

I couldn’t help but listen to orders.

That’s right… everything was caught…

It was Alicia who I still regret when I think about that time.

‘I never thought you’d think like that…’

I knew that Yerina’s suspicions had not completely subsided even after the commotion of being kidnapped and rescued by a shaman.

Still, I thought it would be okay since it was just a symptom and there was no physical evidence.

Yerina came out with an unexpected card.

“You. Marry this man. Shouldn’t Falana also gradually become connected to the Magic Society? Since it is a family with three members of the Society, it will also be helpful to Evgenia.”

“Uh, sister?”

“Don’t worry too much. I checked, and she is not the type of person who looks down on you. It’s not a bad story since you will be guaranteed good treatment in the position of first wife, right? Isn’t it possible to get better conditions than this?”

“······.”

I was cornered by an outsider.

It was definitely a time when Alicia was starting to talk about getting married.

The undead army situation had also entered a lull, and the excuse that it was a chaotic time would not work.

Above all, the problem was that in order to pretend that she did not love Eugene, she had hinted that she would marry him when a suitable man appeared.

However, I never imagined that I would find a man who met all the strict conditions I had set out for me.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? You don’t like it? I have a good family and a good person. There’s no reason to refuse?”

“Well, it’s just… I suddenly changed my mind…”

“Aha. A change of heart. No, that’s not it. You didn’t have any intention of getting married from the beginning. That’s because you already had a man in mind. Shall I guess, my brother? Even if a man with perfect conditions appears, you won’t reject him. “A worthy man. And a man who can’t talk to me. Hmm? How come there’s only one left? That’s strange. No matter how you look at this, isn’t it Eugene?”

“······.”

There was still no physical evidence.

It was just that my weak heart changed into a very, very, very strong heart.

In fact, he confessed to himself.

From that day on, Alicia had to do something absurd to atone by doing all the dirty work Yerina asked her to do.

The reason why Yerina did not kick Alicia out and only handed out such a mild punishment was simple.

He missed Eugene and could not bear to be cruel to the person he loved.

Since Eugene is already gone, punishing Alicia harshly will only vent her anger.

On the contrary, on the other hand, I felt a little glad.

This was because while there were so few people who knew that there was a man named Eugene, there were very few people who missed him and waited for him.

When Eugene was here, he was a stray cat, but now he was like a comrade waiting for him.

The more people think of him, the stronger the force that attracts him.

Wouldn’t it be easier for Eugene, who is somewhere else, to find us?

Wouldn’t the way back become brighter?

Yerina suddenly had this thought and couldn’t bear to throw Alicia away.

Of course, that and punishment were separate things.

“The enemy is likely to be from the Underworld.”

“Surprise!”

Alicia jumped up in surprise at Gwiho’s cracked voice when he suddenly opened his mouth.

After realizing that he had made a mistake, he quickly sat down again.

Guiho just continued talking as if he didn’t care about that at all.

“An arch-demon? That kind of thing is not even a threatening demon. Looking at the torn and sealed space, it appears that his skill in manipulating demonic energy is considerable. Not only does it far surpass all the shamans that existed on this earth, but even among demons, his anger is second to none. “It’s a devil of a higher level than that.”

“Holding a lot of weight hasn’t changed since then. Isn’t it the same to get cut with a single knife anyway? Just like you, who caught my form and got cut ugly by me, Gwiho.”

“Don’t scratch suddenly, you killer… because it’s very uncomfortable…”

“But is it inconvenient? I’ve been waiting for four years for the one and only Bungwoo, who doesn’t even know who is dead or alive. Then, it would be natural for everyone to be mute in front of me.”

“Shut up before that white body is burned black with demonic energy.”

“Hahahaha! Good! Good! I think I’m stronger now than before when I was full of venom, my dear! Why don’t you at least compete against each other for the first time in a while?”

“Come on. Stop the carriage.”

“Hey, coachman… Please ignore the two of you and just keep running…”

Alicia felt a pounding pain in her head.

These great men.

No matter how she looked at it, these were not vessels that Alicia could sew.

.

.

.

‘I can see the road.’

Rebuilding the world inside me.

How long has it been since I got that answer from the Underworld God?

Up until then, I had no clue, but now I am starting to see a direction.

First of all, the most important key is the unknown great magic.

It is a magic that creates a soul.

The problem is that the souls created in this way are of a lower level and do not last long.

There are two things you need:

First of all, a tool that will expand the status of the world within.

This sword was forged purely through my will.

It may seem unreliable now, but in the future, if you learn just one more secret, you will be able to use it well.

And secondly, a way to permanently sustain the completed soul.

There are actually quite a few ways to do this.

There is a way to use a machine, and there is also a way to engrave a semi-permanent magic circle…

‘I have something else in mind, but I’m not sure.’

Of course, there are other ways to attract people other than that.

However, since the theory has not yet been established, it is not possible to pursue it alone.

I think it would be right to proceed while keeping various possibilities open.

For now, the first thing worth trying is acquiring a new sense of wisdom.

“We need to approach Yerina Frost.”

“If that’s the case, please leave it to me! Frost Lord, I’m so pretty!”

“Is it really okay?”

“yes?”

An unknown person shouts confidently with an innocent face.

But it’s easier said than done.

Nameless is currently being misunderstood by the Allied Forces as having been kidnapped by an unrecognized enemy.

Moreover, they even say nonsense, saying they can see invisible people.

Anyone can see that they have been hypnotized.

That guy suddenly comes back healthy and wants to meet Yerina?

It looks suspicious to anyone.

It’s like a trap.

At the very least, it seems right to aim for the right time and timing to release Nameless.

“First, let’s take a look at the atmosphere of the alliance. I left some things behind on purpose, so they might have noticed my presence by now.”

“How are we going to look into it? If I go right away, like you said, I will be considered brainwashed and get caught, and there won’t be an alarm and a fuss.”

“Didn’t you say that there is a network where all of the Federation’s information is gathered?”

“Right? It’s called the archive.”

“Who manages the archives?”

“I heard it was some kind of high-performance computer… did you say it was Linda?”

“It’s not like a high-performance computer. It’s an artificial soul. It’s no different from a human, but it’s not a human being. You just have to get information from him.”

An unknown person tilts his head.

Maybe you don’t know Linda very well yet?

The following article is, I did not announce it to the outside world after receiving ownership…

It is not surprising that it is known externally as a high-performance computer.

‘Soulless Nameless and Mijeong see me. Then what about Linda?’

It’s still a hypothesis, but among humans with souls, there was no one who could recognize me.

The two people who look at me strangely are both soulless and have a unique constitution.

So what about Linda?

Is the artificial soul created by Cairn treated as a soul or not?

I plan to go find out from now on.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about Cairn since it destroyed itself and went into repairs.’

In the case of Linda, I haven’t heard anything about her in a particularly long time.

That’s because I haven’t seen it even once since I committed suicide by breaking the parts.

But when I came back, I realized that my role was to manage the network that covered the entire federation.

I guess I’ll have to pay a hefty fee later for using my wind-up machine as I please.

“The archive’s data storage is this way… huh? How do you know the direction?”

“That’s because I own the house.”

“······?”

Clockwork city.

It’s been a long time since I stopped by this place.

Is Cairn healthy?

With that question in mind, I walked down a familiar path and visited Cairn’s old mansion.

But this…

“huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No. It’s a lot different from what I thought…”

Mansion… No.

My body stiffened as I stood in front of the archive data storage room.

Since it is the center of the network, I expected there to be a neat building standing there.

Before my eyes, buildings and machinery spread out randomly, with no trace of order.

It looks like a huge tree.

From the thick trunk, branches made of bare steel bars appear to extend in all directions.

It must have had little in common other than being huge, but oddly enough, I got the impression that it resembled the World Tree.

And one more thing.

There was another similarity.

“It reminds me of some bad memories…”

Linda’s old self.

So, the time when Linda was the dungeon boss.

The visual is reminiscent of a strangely-shaped giant clock tower.