280

Chapter 280: Tell Me (10)

“A mage, you say.”

Günter listened to the treated soldier's account while glancing at the person lying in bed.

Based on the soldier's testimony, the diagnosis had been “overload and loss of consciousness caused by excessive magic use,” and the patient had now been sleeping peacefully for more than half a day.

Considering how blood had come pouring out when the young man collapsed, it was an almost absurdly tranquil sight.

Well, given that the mage who had examined the patient had screamed, “How is this person even alive?! Everything inside is completely twisted up!” the body itself was probably anything but peaceful. Still.

Compared to most mages who, upon receiving the same diagnosis, shrieked in pain or lay there with their limbs trembling, this certainly looked like a peaceful afternoon nap.

“Remarkably sturdy for a mage.”

“…I would think it equally unacceptable for a traveler to be skin and bones, Young Lord.”

“No, that's not what I meant…….”

In any case, Günter gave some thought to the stranger's identity.

A broad, powerful frame did not seem particularly compatible with the image of a mage who spent all day shut away in a cramped room doing research.

“I mean that even for a traveler, he seems excessively well built.”

“This is only my personal opinion, but wouldn't that be possible if he worked as a mercenary? A wandering mage surely wouldn't be free from having to fight, so he must have had plenty of occasions to use his body as well.”

“Hmm…….”

Perhaps the soldier had learned something about the mage while being rescued, or perhaps the ordeal had simply made him feel close to the man.

Despite the difference in rank between them, the soldier defended the mage with a certain desperation.

Even considering that Günter normally treated soldiers without putting on airs and was not the sort to flaunt his status, it was unusual.

“You two seem to have grown pretty close.”

“…My apologies, Young Lord.”

“Ah, no, no. Don't bow. I wasn't trying to pressure you. I just said whatever came to mind. If I'd fought my way through a forest crawling with demons beside a comrade and someone started suspecting him, I'd defend him too.”

Besides, what the soldier was saying wasn't particularly wrong.

So Günter had no intention of scolding him.

He was simply curious about why the soldier had taken such a liking to the mage, and about the small question that still lingered in his mind: Was that really all there was to it?

“…I'd like to see his hands.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

If he could either remove the young man's shirt—there had been no need to do so during the examination, since checking the pulse at the wrist had been enough—or inspect the pattern of calluses on his hands, Günter felt he could reach some sort of conclusion.

But the former felt far too perverted, and taking the gloves off a sleeping person's hands to examine them would be rude as well.

For the sake of his dignity, Günter suppressed his curiosity as much as possible.

Twitch.

At last, the other man moved.

“He's awake. You should go rest for now.”

“…Yes.”

Now that the mage was awake, there was no need to question the soldier any further.

Günter sent him away to rest and waited for the mage to awaken fully.

“Mm.”

A low voice let out a faint groan, and wheat-colored eyelashes stirred.

When the eyelids opened slightly, the eyes visible between the whites were washed by the sunlight filtering through the window, making their color difficult to discern.

“Ah.”

Then even those eyes disappeared again.

The man covered them with one hand, made a small sound like “Ah?” and began feeling around with the other as though searching for something.

“Your glasses are on the nightstand to your right.”

“……!”

Günter's mother had worn glasses all her life, so he understood at least a little of the feeling of waking up and immediately reaching for them.

He kindly told the young man where they were.

The other man immediately turned toward the nightstand on his right.

“Thank you… I was startled because I thought I'd lost them.”

Once he found the glasses, the young man thanked him with a faint smile.

The eyes revealed as the glasses settled into place were green.

I thought they looked paler before.

Günter felt a thin sliver of incongruity, then quickly let it go.

A suspicion so faint it couldn't even be shaped into a proper sentence was insignificant compared with the nostalgia stirred by those green eyes and wheat-colored hair.

“You look enough like him to drive me mad.”

“Pardon?”

“But you're not him.”

If this truly were Atya, there was no way he'd make such a blank, foolish sound.

He would probably grin and say something ridiculous like, “Of course not. There's no way a face this handsome could exist twice in the same world, is there?”

“…Right. There's no way he'd come back now.”

And yet.

Even though it was the result he'd already expected.

Günter became a little depressed.

It was much like how he'd allowed himself to hope despite knowing that Atya's hair wasn't curly, was somewhat darker than this, that he didn't wear glasses, and that he couldn't use so much as a shred of magic.

“Hey, you.”

That was how badly Günter wanted to see Knight Amber's four children, who had been no different from his own siblings.

“Ah, yes.”

“Do you have anything that can prove your identity?”

“…No.”

“As I thought.”

But he could not let himself sink into those emotions and postpone his duties altogether.

The moment he allowed personal feelings to enter public matters, he would cease to be a good Lord someday.

Even so, there was a world of difference between trying and not trying at all.

Günter forced the melancholy aside and pushed himself into his work.

“Then you have no qualification to enter this city. Ordinarily, that would be the case.”

The young man, whose complexion remained pale as though he still felt unwell, listened attentively.

“However, you rendered assistance to a soldier of Münmund, and we have testimony that you are a mage. Considering the unusual circumstances at present, I intend to grant you temporary permission to remain in Münmund.”

The young man somehow looked strangely young despite being larger than Günter, and without realizing it, Günter softened the way he spoke.

It was entirely unconscious.

“However, this permission is temporary and does not mean you are being granted freedom of movement. You are a mage, and Münmund is currently under wartime conditions, so this is only natural procedure. I trust you will have no objection.”

Come to think of it… maybe he looks more like Pasha than Atya.

The thought rose reflexively in Günter's mind.

Even to him, it felt absurdly sudden and nonsensical.

“You will therefore be given two choices. The first is to remain in the guardhouse prison until the state of war ends. The second is to enter this city's service as a mage.”

After all, unlike Atya, who had inherited Knight Amber's brown hair almost exactly, his younger brother Pasha's hair had been a subdued gray.

Even Pasha's eyes were gray like his hair, leaving almost nothing that could be compared with those green eyes.

“Of course, being confined in the guardhouse prison does not mean you will be treated as a criminal. You will receive meals every time the soldiers do, and your bed will be the same kind they use. At the guards' discretion, you may also be allowed a small degree of freedom. What matters is simply that you move under supervision.”

Of course, the facial features were similar.

Atya and Pasha were brothers, and this young man strongly resembled Atya, so that much was only natural.

“On the other hand, if you accept employment…….”

And yet, strangely, Günter kept thinking of Pasha.

At first only Atya had come to mind, but once Pasha entered his thoughts, Pasha won by a landslide.

“If you do…….”

For example, if little Pasha—the child who had always kept his round cheeks stiff because he wanted to become like his father—had grown into an adult.

If only the hair and eye colors were changed.

Or if this young man had ash-gray hair, like some passing connection Günter had once crossed paths with in Hudelen.

Then perhaps he might have looked something like this.

“I'll personally see that you're made as comfortable as possible.”

The image simply came to him without any real reason.

Günter bit the inside of his cheek as he thought of the boy who had been no different from his own little brother.

Damn it. After Atya, now he wanted to see Pasha and Rinya too. Alya, the second child, as well. Knight Amber's wife, who had always waited for them at home. Knight Amber, who had always opened the door for him.

All of them.

“…You'll see that I'm made comfortable?”

Apparently the longing had grown so intense that Günter had misspoken.

At the young man's repetition, he realized his mistake.

“The demons are surrounding the city, so there is no downside to having more people capable of fighting. And if you are skilled enough to break through that encirclement while bringing a soldier with you, then you are no ordinary mage. Why wouldn't I offer accommodations to someone like that? In the end, it would benefit both sides.”

“That… is true.”

He had managed to dress it up somehow.

Günter waited while the young man considered his options.

Whichever one he chooses, he doesn't look like the sort who'd bring harm to Münmund.

If the old man caught him thinking that, he'd probably roar, I told you not to make rash judgments!

“Um… if I followed my heart, I'd like to choose the latter.”

“You would, but?”

Then the young man finally spoke.

His gentle face smiled with a trace of awkwardness and difficulty.

“Perhaps it's a side effect of using too much magic, but I can't control my Mana properly at all right now…….”

“Ah.”

That was understandable.

As far as Günter knew, bodily overload from excessive magic use could linger for quite some time.

He had also been told that this young man had only barely escaped death.

So Günter nodded at his words.

“That much can be taken into consideration. I wasn't expecting you to become an immediate combat asset as a mage in the first place.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Why would I entrust work to a mage who belongs to no Magic Tower and has no certification? You still need to undergo at least a basic verification process.”

“…Uh.”

“Even if I wanted to trust you and assign you work, we would first need to determine what kinds of magic you can use before deciding where to place you. So if you are willing to accept employment, I will bring in a mage from the Magic Tower. Even if you cannot currently cast magic, the depth of your knowledge can still be tested.”

Some mages specialized in offensive magic, others in defensive magic, and there were countless other variations besides.

For that reason alone, a verification process was indispensable.

When Günter pointed this out, the young man's face grew even paler.

Perhaps because he was a wandering mage, he seemed to know absolutely nothing about this side of things.

Then perhaps the cold treatment he'd received so far had also felt bewildering.

But that truly could not be helped.

The things a Demon-Worshipping mage could do after entering a city were horrifyingly numerous.

Günter did not act this way because he enjoyed it.

Procedures this strict were necessary to prevent the worst-case scenario.

Read only on MUGEX

“I'll give you until this evening to think about it.”

Still, the young man looked rather young and clearly seemed inexperienced with situations like this, so perhaps it was better to ease off a little.

Pressuring him any further was unlikely to produce a positive answer anyway.

“Guard outside, come in.”

“Yes.”

“Mage, this soldier will be assigned to watch you. Furthermore, if I receive a report from your guard that you have made any suspicious or hostile move, there is a possibility you will be executed immediately. I ask that you cooperate so nothing of the sort becomes necessary.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“…I doubt you can go anywhere in your current condition, but I'm telling you just in case. Do not leave this room, and do not behave suspiciously. As long as you follow those conditions, you will be treated reasonably well.”

“Understood.”

Günter's eyes shifted as he looked at the mage, who appeared far too harmless for someone of that size.

He really does look harmless.

If the old man heard that, a shout would probably ring out: I told you not to judge people by their faces!

Well, no matter how frighteningly perceptive that man might be, he couldn't hear thoughts inside Günter's head, so in the end it didn't matter.

* * *

[As expected, the human forces are concentrating here.]

Sloth, or Duke. The lord of dreams and indolence murmured softly from atop a donkey.

The one listening beside Duke sat perfectly upright in a palanquin borne by a Chimera.

[Well, considering we're practically shouting, We're attacking. We're definitely attacking, right in their faces, I suppose it's only natural they'd concentrate their forces here.]

I'm jealous of that palanquin.

Duke felt a flicker of envy, then quickly gave up on the thought.

Obtaining a palanquin itself would be easy enough, but creating a Chimera that could carry it without eating or sleeping would be enormously bothersome and complicated.

If that much labor was required, it was less troublesome to keep riding the minion Duke already had.

A cart could always be attached to it if necessary.

[So what are you going to do now?]

With those thoughts, Duke sprawled completely limp atop the donkey.

Splash.

When the donkey stepped onto the ground, the layer coating the earth splattered in every direction.

It was blood.

An enormous quantity of blood, enough to paint a bloody sky and gather into a sea of blood.

[Even if you sacrifice all of these, I don't think it'll be quite enough.]

[If it is insufficient, then we need only make up the difference.]

[With what? Oh, please don't tell me you're planning to use me as a sacrifice. It's true that I'm weaker than you, but I won't quietly let you kill me.]

Crack.

The donkey took another step and crushed something beneath its hoof.

The bones and scraps of flesh belonged to worthless creatures that had failed, up to this moment, to carry out the order to conquer.

[Do not worry, lazy one. Your existence has greater value tormenting humans while alive than being consumed as a sacrifice.]

[…That's a relief.]

Was that pitiable?

Not particularly.

After all, low-ranking demons were expendable resources that even Duke used without hesitation.

[Then what are you going to use?]

As long as Duke wasn't the one being sacrificed, none of the rest really mattered.

Standing amid millions of corpses, Duke's already languid eyes drooped even farther.

[If you could bring out your true power, bringing that down would be nothing… but we're outside the demonic territory. You'll need to pay an even greater price, won't you?]

[If we wish to create a variable, then we must pay a commensurate price.]

[……?]

That was why Duke had asked.

What would be used to pay the price?

Duke silently forced a little effort into thinking about the cryptic answer, and then realization came.

[Wait. You?]

There was nothing here suitable for use as a sacrifice.

Not unless one of them offered themselves.

Yes.

If neither of them offered themselves, there was no other alternative.

[Do we really… need to go that far?]

But why?

[Belphegor. How long have we been fighting in this place?]

[Um… quite a long time?]

[Yes… and during all those long years, have we ever truly seized the advantage?]

[…There was never anything big enough to overturn the board all at once, but we have been steadily encroaching on them. If things continued like that, we would've won eventually, wouldn't we?]

[Before Wrath killed Envy and Miserliness, perhaps we would have.]

At those words, Sloth—Belphegor—shuddered.

The statement was not wrong.

Now that one Great Demon had betrayed them and two had vanished, the tide of victory had tipped toward the other world.

The power of the other god that restrained them had grown stronger, strong enough even to deliver revelations directly to its agent.

[I have waited a long time. Far too long.]

But even so, was there really any need to go this far?

Wouldn't it be better simply to give up?

To stop now and return to their own world…….

[Satan promised me. After this world was conquered, my homeland would be given to me as a gift.]

[…Oh.]

[I will wait no longer.]

But Satan would not abandon this world.

And therefore Pride would not abandon this world either.

Belphegor felt like crying.