episode_0022

“… Wait a minute.”

“Why do you do that?”

“Evans? Evans? Are you sure you just said it was Evans’ book?”

“That’s right, but what’s so surprising? Are you a regressor?”

Is this surprising? of course! What kind of person is Evans!

A wizard who studied time on the ancient continent, and the only time traveler in all of time and space! Ki-Isa, who traveled back and forth between the past thousands of years ago and the future where civilization was extremely advanced, leaving his mark in each era!

Evans is a famous human whose true identity is unknown even to the gods. All that is known is that he freely travels across time walls and leaves behind strange books under the name of author Evans.

In fact, it is not unreasonable for King to talk like that as if it was nothing special. The extraordinary nature of Evans began to be revealed 500 years later as his movements were connected like a thread threaded through a needle. Until then, he was simply treated as an immortal person who had lived for a very long time and studied time.

Anyway, it doesn’t change that it’s a great harvest. That book written by Evans. If the title is , it will probably contain content that will be of great help to me as I travel back in time. Or not.

thud-. thud-.

Frankenstein appeared from the darkness, accompanied by heavy footsteps. In his cumbersome hands, he gently holds a fragile, out-of-place book.

When I magnify my field of vision as if wearing a magnifying glass in the dark, I see the title written on the cover of the book. A flower that eats time, author Evans. That stupid Frankenstein managed to get it right.

“Oh, quickly give it to me.”

When King held out his hand to take Evans’ book, Frankenstein hid it behind his back, which did not match his dull mouth movements.

“Meat… Barter… Well… .”

Wow, the Frankenstein of the past knew difficult words like barter.

Five hundred years after I met Frankenstein, I was just a stupid idiot. How did a guy like this end up like that?

“What? meat? I’ll give you that later. Just turn the book first.”

“Being deceived… Once or twice… Our master is clever… .”

“… Tsk, I guess you’ll have to work harder.”

King clicks his tongue and looks at me. What, why are you looking at me? You can quickly give him the meat he likes.

“If you want to receive something, you have to give something in return. Well, this old man’s body is made of vegetables, so you’ll have to do it yourself.”

“What.”

“Meat.”

With a short answer, King handed me a sharp silver knife that he had taken out of nowhere. It is a pocket knife that shines in the light even in the dark. A dagger that seems to act as a crescent instead of the moon in the sky in this place where the moon is not visible.

But why do you do that to me?

“Show your resolve.”

“… Ah.”

I understand what King means. In other words, there is no meat to remove from your vegetable body, so you must remove it from my body. Cut out my own flesh and give me enough meat to satisfy Frankenstein.

“I don’t like that.”

“Hmm?”

“There are different types of pain. very… hmm… What can I say, the aesthetics of pain? For example, are all your teeth broken? Are you saying your eyeballs are going to be pulled out? Although there is the same pleasant pain, cutting off my own flesh with my own hands is not good at all.”

“Something sounds strange… ? Well, if that’s what you think, I won’t say anything, but are you confident you won’t regret it? Evans’ book would be quite helpful to you, right?”

“Why do I regret it? In the end, all you have to do is provide meat.”

I spoke confidently. King looked at me closely with a questioning gaze. His emotionless eyes looked at me curiously.

“I see, it’s a change of idea. The accident was clever.”

“It is an essential virtue to live in this harsh world.”

After picking up the knife that King held out with two fingers, he walked towards Frankenstein. Frankenstein, who is drooling just thinking about meat, pays no attention to me.

When I gracefully held out the knife towards him, King stared at me in horror. Why, well, he asked me to bring meat.

There’s a living piece of meat here, why don’t you use it? You can’t even die from even the slightest wound? In fact, wouldn’t it be possible to view it as emergency food?

Suddenly-.

With that mindset, quite naturally Frankenstein cut off his thigh. A dirty and filthy piece of meat fell out of the main body with a screech. It doesn’t matter since I’m not going to eat it anyway.

“Now, eat.”

“Huh?”

“Does it look delicious? This is a luxury product.”

“Well… raw meat… I don’t think it tastes good… .”

“Ai, what kind of monster are you covering up with raw meat?”

That’s right, this bastard was a noble knight during his lifetime.

“It’s okay. This is yukhoe. Originally, raw meat was eaten raw.”

“Yukhoe… ?”

“Try it with confidence. Eating it doesn’t mean you’ll die, right?”

“Ugh… .”

Frankenstein reluctantly ate the thigh meat I fed him. At the same time, he handed me the Evans book he was holding.

“Well… well… .”

“Is it delicious?”

“Umm… not delicious… I was scammed… .”

“It’s okay, you get scammed in life. Grow into a strong weed amidst the harsh winds and waves, Frankenstein.”

“… It’s really absurd for a five-year-old to say something like that.”

“Giggle, the world is full of ridiculous things.”

Making a meaningless joke, I ignored Frankenstein, who was chewing and tearing at his meat in dissatisfaction, and walked away. Everything is done, now it’s time to leave.

“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot.”

“Why but?”

“Do you have a shotgun? Even a pistol or something like that would be fine.”

“Shotgun? Pistol?”

“Ah, it hasn’t been invented yet in this era. Well, guns were invented later in the military. Well, I can’t ask for something I don’t have, so that’s okay. I’ll keep the kitchen knife I already used. I’m glad you eat me well. Is it okay?”

I lifted the knife and twirled it around my finger. Swish, swish – A not-so-small kitchen knife was playing around on the fleshy pillar like an idiot.

“… There’s no reason why you can’t give it away when you’ve already given away all the valuables, but isn’t that taking too much? If this continues, that child will also be taken away.”

King said, pointing at Frankenstein with his pointer. Wow, how did you see through my inner thoughts? Was King’s intuition that good? I guess I should just shut my mouth for now.

“Ah, no. Demons should have a conscience.”

“Is that so? I understand. So have you seen everything now?”

“Okay, I’ll just leave. See you later.”

After giving a bright greeting, King led Frankenstein and disappeared into the darkness. The way out for me is… Maybe I can just go back the same way I walked.

I looked around for a moment. A while ago, I found an item I liked.

When I was sure that King and Frankenstein had left, I approached the object I had been quietly looking at. A floor with all kinds of junk rolling around, one of those piles of junk.

‘Smiling Mask’.

It is a slightly creepy-looking mask, with the corners of the mouth rising so high that they touch the earlobes. I liked it even more because the blank space except for the eyes, nose, and mouth was painted white.

I picked it up with my gloved hand and carefully placed it in my arms and covered it with my coat. A smiling face was buried between my breasts. The knife was smaller than the mask, so I put it in my pocket.

Perhaps King was not a generous tree? I can’t believe you gave away so many things that I really like. Of course, the mask was stolen, but stealing is one of the seven virtues of demons.

Since I was in a good mood, my steps naturally became lively. I walked out of the King’s residence happily, taking light steps.

*****

“Phew… … .”

A demon made of vegetables and fruits sighs as it looks at the antique-decorated ceiling.

A puff of white smoke rose and filled the air. It was cigar smoke, something that couldn’t be accomplished with just one sigh.

The red-hot cigarette light sparkled and cut through the darkness. The Southern Grand Duke, who had awakened from his rest after a long time to become active, had a very gaunt look on his face. The color of the fruit fades and the vegetables become dry, causing the viewer to lose their appetite.

Of course, such a ‘person’ was not here.

‘Go back… .’

The Southern Grand Duke’s mind was in a complicated state for the first time in a long time.

Having lived for nearly millions of years, we have seen countless living things. I have witnessed the birth and end of civilizations dozens of times, and the prosperity and extinction of species hundreds of times. The sight of the hegemony of the Demon World becoming chaotic, the sight of the continent’s loser changing hands, and the sight of the world being shattered by the war of the gods, the Grand Duke of the South captured it all in his aged eyes.

There were many. Reincarnated people who are born with unusual memories, possessed people who come from another world with only their minds, and aliens who come from an unheard of dimension with unprecedented powers.

However, in the murderous battlefield where all of them were intertwined, there were some who survived to the end and became the final winners.

‘Those who came back in time.’

Returners, like the child who just went back.

No matter what power you have or what intelligence you have, knowing the future is an indescribable advantage. Everyone moves in the palm of the returner’s hand, and the returner moves one step faster than anyone else.

This is why the Southern Grand Duke gave up his active life. When you live fiercely, you inevitably have to make an enemy, and no one knows whether that enemy will become a returner. Unlike all other races, the returner race does not have the absolute law of ‘kill and it’s over’.

The Southern Grand Duke firmly believed that this was the secret to his longevity.

‘Now this world… Are you in the hands of that child? ?’

Whoa-.

Sitting down on the soft sofa, the Southern Grand Duke smoked a cigar. Each sip seeped into the air, containing his complicated feelings.

‘or not… .’

The Southern Grand Duke slowly turned his head. The eye sockets filled with two tomatoes flashed sharply.

“I’m not sure if Soin responded correctly. I did convey some of the things you told me exactly.”

“… .”

“Demon King.”

‘Is this the world of the young demon lord, who seems to have even the returnee in the palm of his hand?’

As far as the Southern Grand Duke could see, there was only darkness. However, for a moment, the light from the Southern Grand Duke’s cigar flashed, and the curtain of darkness lifted, revealing the child hidden within.

A young demon was standing there like a closet. He must have been about five or six years old, and on top of his head rose a red horn that was quite large compared to his appearance. The black sunglasses worn over the red eyes gave off a stylish glow.

“Well… meat… Young meat… I want to eat… .”

“Uh-huh, Frankenstein. He is not someone who can be treated carelessly.”

“Franc… hungry… I’m hungry because I was scammed… .”

“This guy, no matter how ignorant he is, he has to distinguish between high and low.”

The Southern Grand Duke scolded his loyal but foolish subordinate and glanced at the Demon King. The demon king’s frighteningly stiff expressionless expression, along with the red sunglasses that obscured his eyes, completely concealed the demon king’s intentions.

The Demon King was so blunt that he didn’t even respond to the Southern Grand Duke’s words. Despite having the appearance of a child at most, the Southern Grand Duke felt an unknown and eerie feeling.