Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Remaining Time
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[You look tired.]
Today, as always, Caden showed up without fail.
But... today, he somehow looked exhausted.
'Hmm.'
Exactly like that.
Just like Delphin, who'd fried his brain pulling an all-nighter at the academy.
Dark circles had sunk all the way down under his eyes, nearly to his jaw—
And the way the instrument in his hand trembled as he tuned it resembled Delphin's mechanical motions sorting through hundreds of documents.
'Hmph.'
No, right now, this elf was just striking a pose that made him look presentable, but his soul had clearly vacated his body, his vacant eyes staring off into space.
"Maybe it's because I'm getting old, but it feels like my time is running out."
[Then hurry up and die.]
"Adel, I thought we'd gotten pretty close... Was it just me?"
[You're the disaster here, close or not.]
"Oh dear, your sharp words are making tears well up."
[Wipe that smirk off your face first.]
Tears welling up? Not a chance—
A mischievous smile was blooming across his lips.
"Moments like this, when you show concern for me, chase away all my fatigue."
[Fuck off.]
"Oh... just hearing that fills me with energy."
Suppressing the urge to claw at his mouth, I subtly examined Caden again.
He looked tired.
Really tired.
But...
There wasn't a shred of fatigue in this damn elf's tone.
His body was on the verge of collapse, but his mouth was alive and jabbering everywhere.
"Hoo... I brought fewer instruments today."
Caden held up his hand.
A single violin gripped in it.
And... behind the tree stump where Caden sat, instruments were piled up like a mountain.
I could understand violins, cellos, ukuleles...
But what was that stuff in the back? Were those even instruments?
It looked like he'd just grabbed random junk rolling around his house.
And—
[If that's "fewer," what the hell was yesterday?]
"Haha, yesterday there were a lot."
[ㅗ]
"Come to think of it, Adel."
[Yes?]
"When do you plan to return to the mansion? Your companions are quite worried."
[Are they really that worried?]
Truth be told, I was in the same boat, equally stumped.
My mind was still a tangled mess, and the words that guy tossed at me during the trial lingered like stubborn residue.
"Actually, they're not that worried."
[?]
"Thanks to our dear Veronica's white lie, we can say there's virtually no concern about you."
This damn long-ear.
The impulse to rip his mouth open crept up on me.
Every word spiked my adrenaline.
[What did she say?]
"That you're carrying out an 'ultra-super-secret-mega classified mission.'"
[That's huge.]
"It is, isn't it."
Hmm.
Something told me strongly that I shouldn't return to the mansion.
'Sigh.'
I let out a long, deep sigh inwardly and picked up the wooden stick beside me.
"Yoi."
Over there by the riverbank, Leviathan shoved a beast into the river water with a "yoi" sound effect.
And beside him, I silently butchered another beast.
"Yoi."
Slice one in half, and another lunges from somewhere; slice that one, and yet another pops up from behind. A miracle.
What the hell was wrong with this forest?
Were these damn beasts respawning somewhere in the woods?
Kieeeek—!
Mid-thought, another beast charged, so I cleaved it.
I wasn't even curious anymore about where they came from.
This forest just... felt fundamentally wrong in its existence.
"Still, you should head back soon, Adel~"
"..."
"I said there's almost no worry, but they are worried, you know~"
This damn long-ear had apparently ditched even the pretense of tuning instruments.
Lying on the ground, staring at the invisible sky, picking his ear with one hand.
[Stop wasting my time.]
"I'm awfully greedy, so I'll steal a bit of your time, Adel."
This won't do.
Before my sanity shatters, I need to either leave this damn forest or physically seal that elf's mouth—one or the other.
And...
"Yoi."
Pfook.
The moment another beast crawling from god-knows-where got sliced—
'?'
"Yoi."
A sudden achievement unlocked.
I halted my movements and read through the description line by line.
Unnecessarily long and unnecessarily sentimental.
And... the moment I saw the reward, I immediately lifted my whiteboard again.
[I'm not going back.]
"Huh?"
[I like the forest.]
I really like the forest.
I've come to like it.
Even that pitch-black river water had grown on me after a while.
Tilt it this way, tilt it that way, adjust the angle to the light, and with some very generous interpretation, tilt it again—
Surprisingly charming river.
Just because the water's black doesn't mean it's all bad.
'Hmm.'
Of course...
It smelled a bit, dark red scum floated on the surface, and getting close made your skin feel like it was melting—
But somehow, it felt endearing.
"Hmm... right? The forest is wonderful."
Caden tilted his head ambiguously, as if sensing something off.
Whatever. I resumed slicing beasts and opened my status window.
Achievements:
'Holy shit.'
My Strength, which had been hogging half the "body cripple" share...
Had finally climbed from near-useless F to barely sub-average E rank.
"Adel~ What do you think lies at the end of the world?"
Here we go again.
But I was in a slightly better mood, so I lifted my whiteboard.
[Your face.]
"Hmm... a charming answer, in its way."
[Your face.]
What exists at the world's end.
As if something like that would exist.
It's the end; nothing more to it.
"But you know? At the end of this world... something tremendous awaits."
[I see.]
"An incredibly vast sea stretches out!"
Clap clap clap.
I set down my wooden stick and 【Leviathan】 on the ground and gave a couple claps.
Not reacting at all would be rude.
"It's true! This is a secret only I know."
[Oh, sure.]
"Even Veronica doesn't know."
[So what?]
"Hmph! Can't argue with that!"
Exactly.
Whether only he knew or even Veronica was clueless.
What did I care?
"But... do you know what's beneath that sea?"
[No clue.]
"Truth is, I don't either."
[For real—]
"But here's the thing!"
Whoosh!
As I was about to scribble curses on my whiteboard, Caden dramatically raised a single finger.
"There's a rumor of... a kingdom lying beneath that sea."
[How's there a rumor if it's your secret?]
He'd just called it a fact only he knew... so where'd the rumor come from?
Did it spawn in Caden's brain?
"I just hear the whispers of the wind."
[Impressive.]
Sincere, in some sense.
"Yoi."
Chop, whoosh, splash.
Leviathan shouted "yoi" again and flung the beast into the black river.
'Levi.'
"Yoi—?"
Leviathan cocked his head.
Pose unchanged, arms extended, palms facing the river.
I placed the wooden stick in one palm and 【Leviathan】 in the other.
'Switch.'
Chop.
Leviathan's eyes sparkled instantly.
A face saying 'Finally, my time'...? Or maybe not; hard to tell.
But the vibe was there.
And—
"Yoi."
Chop.
Slash.
Smack the beast's head with the wooden stick to stun it, then slice its body clean in half vertically with 【Leviathan】.
"Yoi."
The river greedily swallowed the two pieces with a sizzle.
I nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
"...Your Majesty."
Cleaving through pitch-black darkness stood the emperor beneath the crimson sun.
Taurus von Leonhardt.
One person knelt before him.
"Speak."
The imperial mage.
Always calm and composed... but today, he looked utterly different.
His hair disheveled and soaked in sweat, one eye wrapped tightly in bandages.
"...I have read the stars."
The mage's voice was cracked.
Like the sky he'd seen.
Like the torn and twisted stars.
"In 2 weeks... perhaps even sooner—"
This was no mere reading of stellar paths.
Fissures between stars, trajectories of fate, omens beyond the heavens.
He had forcibly peered into realms forbidden to humanity.
"The Calamity of Greed, 「The Fool」."
The mage's hand trembled visibly.
His mind had already touched the darkness beyond that night sky.
Greed devouring starlight, madness shaking the heavens.
Its meaning was singular.
"Will descend... completely."
The time until that existence fully manifests.
A mere 2 weeks.
Or perhaps even less.
The Calamity of Greed.
The 「Fool」, bearer of the score that leads humanity to ruin... will descend in complete form.