episode_0379

I climbed straight up the highest mountain.

I was climbing a mountain again that I had climbed before, and unlike before, the weather conditions were good and there were no major problems climbing the mountain.

As I climbed up the circular cliff to the end, I made eye contact with an elderly man who was sitting leisurely on a chair that had been taken out and looking towards me.

“You’re here.”

“Yes. Long time no see.”

Mercurius greeted me with a smile.

Even though 14 years have passed, the scenery here has still not changed.

There were just white Casablanca lilies and an old cabin.

“You must have had a hard time coming, but you must be thirsty after coming in.”

Mercurius takes the lead and walks into the cabin.

I followed behind him in silence and looked at the back of Mercurius as he got into the car at a distance.

“Would you lend me the water you received from Neptune?”

“Ah, yes.”

Neptune held out his divine power.

Mercurius took the water bottle from me and poured water into the kettle.

“Tea boiled with this water has a very deep flavor. I definitely recommend trying it.”

I closed the water bottle cap, put it in my bag, and watched the kettle boiling from afar.

Nowadays, everyone uses a hot plate, but the servant who created the world is lighting a fire and boiling tea…

The scent of tea made with dried lily leaves and flowers is still excellent.

Suddenly, an unresolved question came to mind.

“Do servants also have to eat food?”

“Of course. Servants are people after all, so can they survive without eating?”

···A servant is a person?

“This may be a rude question, but… were you a person?”

“I don’t know what it means.”

“Aren’t people incapable of manipulating nature?”

“Think about it a little bit. What is the definition of a person…@◦

Definition of person?

If this were Earth, I could say it accurately, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it here. Because they couldn’t be divided into species.

Only obvious and abstract answers linger in my head.

“···Is this an animal that can communicate?”

“Even ants communicate with each other. Oh, don’t stand, sit down.”

I pulled up a chair and sat down, and Mercurius put down a cup of tea in front of me and sat down opposite me.

“Thank you.”

Flower tea smells so good.

The tea tasted sweet, like honey, but there was no sticky feeling at all. The refreshing scent of flowers seems to caress my nose.

“How do you feel?”

“Delicious.”

“Am, I am the most confident.”

Mercurius smiled, took a sip of tea, and lazily placed the teacup on the table.

“The definition of a human being is the difference between being able to communicate verbally with a ‘human’ or not.”

It wasn’t even a laugh.

“Is there such a definition?”

“The reason we created demi-humans was to protest Maal, who only cares for humans, but Maal nailed it like that. Isn’t the Creator God truly foolish?”

Mercurius chuckles and waits for my answer with unreadable eyes.

In some ways, isn’t this the same as cursing your parents in front of your children?

Can I be honest?

“Tell me honestly. It’s just the two of us.”

Mercurius urges me to answer.

After waiting, I decided to answer honestly.

“···Yes. It seems stupid.”

“That’s right! So the thirteen servants are people. Even though it’s clearly not human. He loves people so much that he created everything from our appearance to our tastes.”

Mercurius, with a lonely smile like an old man reminiscing about the past, takes another sip of tea.

“Even personality. If Maal wanted a perfect world, he shouldn’t have given us human emotions. So hell was created.”

Mercurius looks at me intently.

“An encounter with hell was clearly necessary, but even if hell whispered something, ignore it. Hell wants nothing more than to kill us.”

“I saw the dead person, but I didn’t talk to him.”

I took a sip of tea, avoiding Mercurius’ gaze.

After remaining silent for a moment, Mercurius placed his teacup down, leaning his weight on the backrest.

“Let’s skip to the main topic. Normally, the oracle would only be granted once, but this time is a special case, so let’s skip it. But you should know that there is no next time.”

“You have two options. Going south like this. The other thing is to wait a year and head to Habstenburg.”

“No matter what you choose, the results won’t be much different.”

Is it because of the word ‘loudly’ inserted in the middle?

It is hard to believe that the results are not different.

“Are you saying that the two methods produce exactly the same results?”

“It’s not exactly the same. It’s not even accurate. We can only predict, and you are a variable that cannot be predicted.”

We, we…

This is something that really bothers me.

“Mercurius, is there something you want from me?”

“No. I have no intention of leading Pangea like my other brothers and sisters. I just live with the pleasure of hearing and seeing the world.”

What a pleasure to look at…

The personality also seems to resemble the appearance.

“My helping you is simply my entertainment. I followed in your footsteps for the entertainment.”

Are you following in my footsteps?

“Is that so? If Mercurius had not advised me, where would I have ended up?”

“He must have gone to the land of dragons and started gambling with the power of Dantalian.”

I? Do you think it was fraudulent gambling?

When I heard it, it seemed plausible, and I laughed out loud.

“Then a warrant appears from the wall of the colon. You have a strange aversion to conscription. You ran away from the Dragonia that came to lead you to the Great Wall, and after much deliberation, you ended up hiding in the south to avoid them.”

It feels so realistic.

Well, if I were asked to join the military again, I would have done whatever it took to do so.

─Never.

“What happens if I go down south?”

“I will kill the king right away.”

They were all choices I would have made, and were credible.

Therefore, my choice boils down to only one.

Because there are certain things that a Korean man who served in the military will never do.

─Enlist in the military again.

Living that nightmarish dream in reality.

“Haha! Take it easy. If I somehow just go down to the south, I’ll be able to meet the people of my dreams.”

‘Somehow?’

This meaning was ambiguous.

Wherever I go, whether it’s Yuna or Habstenburg, I meet Jules?

This means that it is somehow related to the conflict taking place at the border.

The most hopeful observation is that Juul is simply an indigenous person living in the area.

Or, it is possible that it has already been captured by the Wolf Church and taken to the temple.

The worst observation is that Jules was swept up in the war again, or that he was reincarnated as a Southerner.

‘We need to find a 13- to 14-year-old demi-human blessed by Venus.’

Yunaira is 19 years old, and Drekkar does not conscript children under 16 years old.

Therefore, there was no way Jules was a soldier.

If I were to explore there and search for Jool, there is a good chance that that alone would lead to conflict.

Times have changed.

It seemed that heavy crossbows or bows were already commonly used on the battlefield.

The spear skills I learned the hard way are now relics of a bygone era.

Of course, you can handle a bow, but you can’t handle every situation with a bow.

“Thank you for your advice.”

─An anti-human weapon is needed.

The strongest weapon that only I know and that only I can use.

* * * * * *

Gunpowder cannot be used as a weapon.

But I know of modern weapons that do not use gunpowder or flammable gases.

I remember it because Dantalian engraved the memories of Jeon Shi-hyeon into my brain, but it is a weapon that I cannot make with my skills.

─Air rifle.

Air rifles are one of the weapons with many mechanical elements.

There would be no one who could understand the blueprint, let alone someone who could build this.

But luckily I know someone who would ask me to do this.

‘What will you say when you see me again?’

The inside of Magic Tower’s park was crowded thanks to people coming from all over.

Craxmara, hovering around the dome of the park, is not visible.

‘I have sided with the demi-humans, so I will never be able to return to this place again.’

I leisurely approached the reception desk.

“Hello. Why did you come to the Magic Tower?”

The receptionist was an elf from Yunaira who had been blessed by Diana.

Hearing a voice that seemed worn out was extremely pitiful.

The purity of my hair seems to have withered.

The receptionist, who was writing something down on a piece of paper, glances up at me with tired eyes.

“I want to meet Seth.”

“···Yes? Oh?!”

The moment I was reflected in those eyes, the receptionist’s eyes grew as big as a flower lantern.

That’s why he even jumps up.

“Didn’t I say you couldn’t come down?!”

“Yes?”

“Here! A research subject came down to the park!”

The receptionist shouts to one of the Dragonias standing nearby.

The dragonias looking this way were so embarrassed that they started running toward me.

“Damn it! The research subject ran away again!”

what?!

Dozens or hundreds of pairs of eyes are focused on me from all directions!

Why are you acting so embarrassed all of a sudden?!

“I just came to see Seth. Just tell Seth─”

“No! How on earth did you come down?!”

Someone touches my shoulder from behind.

What the hell are you talking about?!

Even if you read their eyes, they weren’t lying.

“What on earth are you talking about, research subject?!”

The Dragonias who were watching my movements exchanged glances with each other.

“We will check, so please cooperate.”

Soon, a dragonia came and grabbed my hand.

The gaze of suspicion and distrust just feels uncomfortable.

Dragonia sticks something that looks like white clay onto my thumb and makes a pattern.

I put ink on the clay with my fingerprints clearly imprinted on it, stamp it on paper, and contrast it with the translucent paper with my fingerprints imprinted on it.

Finally, Dragonia looks up.

Finally, the doubt and disbelief that filled my eyes disappeared.

Instead, aren’t they─ ” research subjects? ”

“···Yes?”

I felt ashamed of myself.

“Okay, let’s go back.”

People who know me and have never met me start coming from all over.

However, in order to defeat them, I was in a situation where I had visited the Magic Tower to ask Seth for a favor.

‘What on earth happened?’

The only person who called me a research subject was Edeline.

What do they have to study about me, and how do they know my identity?

“Don’t you know that the tower owner doesn’t like you walking around like this?”

There was an elevator built next to the stairs that made me lose my breath just looking at it.

As I was taken there, the Dragonias guarding the elevator looked at me and burst into laughter.

“Oh my god, how did you get down here?”

“I jumped out of the window.”

“How can a person jump from the 14th floor? ···Didn’t we say that if you keep coming down like that, we’ll get scolded by Seth?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

The Dragonias looked at me like they were crazy.

I don’t know what it is, but it’s clear that Seth is doing something.

The primitive elevator started and we arrived at the 14th floor in an instant.

‘How has an elevator been built already?’

If you think about it, the same was true for airships, refrigerators, freezers, and hot plates.

The world is modernizing at an alarming rate.

“Okay, let’s go.”

A disgruntled voice shatters my thoughts.

‘I’ll meet Seth somehow, so it’s not that big of a deal…’

He was grabbed by Dragonia on both sides, dragged out of the elevator as if he were a criminal, and walked down a straight hallway.

The likelihood of something happening is small.

Because I have the power to erase their authority in the first place.

Eventually, as I stand in front of the large double doors, Dragonia, who was standing on my right, knocks on the door.

“Sess, I’m sorry. It is said that the research subject jumped out of the window and came down the magic tower.”

─What? What are you talking about? Ahhh! no no. You had a hard time.

“···Yes?”

─You can go down.

The two Dragonias turn around with confused expressions and return to the elevator.

Eventually, the left side of the large double doors opened, and Seth, whom I had not seen in a long time, appeared.

Just the head.

“It’s been a while.”

“Uh, yes. It’s been a while…?”

Seth just looked up at me and didn’t say anything.

‘wow. They’re very reluctant to me.’

Have I committed any sin?

If they tried to force their way in, they would almost scream.

Because of this, it was extremely awkward to pretend to be friendly.

Because 14 years have passed.

“Uh… Um… Can I come in?”

“Can’t we just wait like this for a little while?”

“···Yes? Ah yes. Of course.”

“I was doing something inside. If you come in now, wow! I thought it would be unpleasant.”

Seth smiles cutely like a woman trying to escape a crisis.

ah. Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing you can do…

“By the way, what are you doing inside that makes the smell this bad?”

“It’s no big deal! I’m doing some kind of alchemy!”

It was a very familiar smell, almost like alchemy.

It smells like blood and the acrid smell of meat dissolving in the oxidizing poison of seawater.

“Oh, come to think of it, people outside say I am a research subject. What does that mean?”

I looked clearly into Seth’s eyes and asked a question.

Seth, who met my gaze, was reluctant to answer, but eventually began speaking.

“······As I promised, I took your head, brought it to the Magic Tower, and brought you back to life. That is why they are called research subjects.”

Only then was I able to understand the situation.

However, I was lucky enough to say the words I had been thinking about.

“But I’m here.”

“···That’s right. When I brought him back to life, there was nothing in his head. When he turned into a whining child… I knew something was wrong. I only found out the reason after asking the dragon… I’m really sorry.”

As Seth’s voice went further and further away, he gradually lowered his eyes.

Even his ears droop, and he looks up at me with pitiful eyes.

‘I did say that before I died.’

He said he would save me and raise me in the magic tower.

He said he would take me for a walk sometimes.

I forgot about it because it was a meaningless sound to begin with.

As if scolding the darkness, he humorously scolded Seth with his eyes.

Seth, embarrassed, gets angry at me.

“Yes, you are bad! You said you knew everything?! If you had told me, I would have come up with a different solution!”

“What would you do if I told you? If the dragon regained its power, things would have been rough for both sides.”

Seth froze at my answer.

“I wanted to part ways with a smile. At that time, I was satisfied enough with Seth’s help.”

“···That’s right. You were that kind of person.”

Seth laughed self-deprecatingly and cleared up the misunderstanding with a sigh.

Although I was destined to save Shir on my own, it was the same with Seth’s help.

‘okay. ‘Let’s go and see these guys while we’re here.’

Then, I will meet someone who looks exactly like me.

I thought it would be a very different experience.

“So, inside is the resurrected me?”

Seth’s pupils began to shake as if there had been an earthquake.

“Uh, huh…? That, that…”

As the eyes looked at me, a feeling of arrogance passed by like a panorama, and then resignation came to mind.

No, I didn’t commit a crime, so why on earth…

“Now… it’s melted?”

“Yes?”

Seth smiled brightly and looked at me fiercely.

“I thought he would feel bad…so…I melted him.”

······You melted me? What about that?

Although it was quite a shocking statement to accept rationally, my mind remained calm.

Like a farmland street.

“Why?”

“Sat, it has been statistically proven that people dislike people who look similar to themselves! So, I melted it! I didn’t think it was strange!”

“···I don’t plan on melting it either, right?”

“Mi, are you crazy?!”

“Then it doesn’t matter. Is it okay if I come in?”

Seth nods hesitantly.

“Yes. Come in.”