Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: When the Sickle Gets Serious? Pitch Black! Hahaha (4)
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“Now, can you trim the grass a bit more evenly? The cut edges look too rough right now.”
[No way!]
Lagia vibrated in protest. The rod felt warm to the touch, like it was fuming. Teasing it was strangely fun for some reason.
[Hey. What’s a sickle for? Cutting and slicing, right? And I don’t just slice magical beasts.]
“Pfft, you slice grass too.”
[Wrong! I can tear space itself! I’m the famed Lagia! Lagia!]
“Yeah, sure, tear space or whatever…”
Wait a second. What did this noisy sickle just say? Tear space?
My curiosity spiked at this skill I’d never heard of before. Sure, I’d used Lagia in the game, but it was just a simple system—spam the same button to unleash skills. I had no idea it could talk or change based on the user.
Maybe Lagia was even more incredible than I’d imagined.
“How about we talk about that a little more seriously?”
I quickly scanned the surroundings and slipped into a spot where no one could see us. Once all eyes were off us, I addressed the sickle like some lunatic who’d get locked up for it.
“What do you mean by tearing space? Like teleportation? Or is it just wordplay?”
Lagia’s blade gleamed.
[I sensed it when we resonated. You… you’re a necromancer, aren’t you? Even if not, you’re someone who can open the Door of Death.]
Spot on. I flipped the sickle so the blade faced down and scraped it along the ground.
[Agh! My beautiful blade!]
“It’s a secret from others. Kinda embarrassing.”
More like it was a matter of life and death and honor.
“If you blab, I’ll grind this blade into the dirt. You don’t want your precious edge turning into a farming tool, do you?”
[Wait, wait, wait… I wasn’t trying to blackmail you. Hahaha, touchy human. How’ve you been opening the Door of Death so far?]
“Door of Death? That’s obviously…”
I focused my mind and called for the Door of Death, Cosmo. But no response.
“Why isn’t he coming?”
I paced the clearing for a bit and spotted Cosmo’s back in the distance. Lately, he’d been stepping up his training to stay in human form.
But did he even see it as training? He was too busy playing with Dalia. Right now, the 4th Prince Daisy—who hadn’t gone home yet—Dalia, and Cosmo were all playing bug hunt. Imperial attendants and Duke household staff trailed behind them, desperately trying to intervene, but it was pointless.
“Hey, Cosmo! Cosmo!”
I shouted, but as expected. Cosmo glanced my way, waved casually, and went back to playing.
“Hey! Hey! Manhole! Hey!”
No response now.
“Ungrateful jerk…”
Lagia shuddered violently. Was it laughing or crying? It seemed to sympathize with my sorrow at being ignored by my own garden ghost.
“That human-shaped magical beast who just blew me off is my garden ghost. I’ve been opening the Door of Death through him until now. Or wait, isn’t he the Door of Death himself?”
[Ding ding ding! Wrong. The garden ghost is just a medium that opens the Door of Death. The method changes depending on the medium. The garden ghost uses magic to summon and open it, while I can interfere physically for a moment. Showing you beats explaining a hundred times. Hahaha!]
Fine. Better to try it myself and see. Instead of swinging like I was mowing grass, I took a stance like an enemy was in the air.
Then—slash! I cleaved sharply through empty space.
“…”
Nothing happened. I stood casually again and thumped the sickle’s blade against the ground.
“You lied. Nothing happened. Just scratched the air.”
Lagia bellowed at my complaint.
[Focus your mana! You’re invading the necromantic realm by opening the Door of Death!]
Lagia kept nagging on top of that. I concentrated as instructed and swung a few times, and it felt like Lagia and I were resonating.
[Yes! A bit more!]
A few more swings. Then it clicked. The mana flow I felt when summoning Cosmo—it reached the tip of the sickle’s blade.
I focused and—slash—cut through the air.
“Door of Death! Please!”
Sizzle—sparks flew where the sickle passed, and a wound tore open in the air. It yawned like a black pouch.
Was this really the Door of Death? Time to check.
“Summon.”
The black pouch spat something out and sealed shut like a healing wound. The rift in the air had summoned the Sugar Lord.
[Sugar Lord’s message: Huh?]
[Yes! That’s how you do it!]
“Haha! What? It actually worked?”
[New command to open the Door of Death registered.]
My status window flashed. I’d done it. With help from this chatty sickle.
“This is gonna be useful. Can I open the Door of Death with other weapons too?”
[Theoretically yes, but not with your current skill. You’ve got tons of mana, but it’s all over the place. How long have you been handling mana? It shows~.]
“Yeah… Well, this’ll do for now. I’m confident in practicing.”
If I could use this strategically, I wouldn’t just stand around sucking my thumb behind the crown prince during magical beast subjugations. While Pippin racks up feats, I’ll steadily take them out too.
Together, we could even take down the Sea Dragon Hailo.
[Yes! That’s the spirit!]
I kept practicing to open the Door of Death more smoothly. By evening, I could open and close it far more freely. The doors would swallow spirits or close after time passed. I could control them too, of course.
Huge strategic potential.
[What a monster, huh? Nailed it in one evening. I figured it’d take at least a year. Hahaha! Exaggerating? Who knows the truth?]
Lagia seemed pretty pleased watching me grow.
[You’ve got senses. It’s been ages since I meshed this well with a partner. Even better than Enbi. Enbi’s all about mindless destruction—kinda boring.]
With practice going well, Lagia’s nonstop chatter wasn’t annoying anymore.
“Time’s running out until the magical beast subjugation. You’re coming too, Lagia. As my sickle. Not thrilled about Pippin wielding a rusty hoe, but…”
[Magical beast subjugation! That’s my specialty. Already pumped! Even without a heart! Hahaha!]
“…No mute button for that mouth?”
[Nope!]
I let out a disbelieving chuckle.
I’d started all this to keep the male lead from tormenting Dalia, yet here I was, finding joy in these little things. Was this okay? Was it right for me to laugh like this without protecting my sister?
I was weirdly looking forward to sightseeing new magical beasts and heading to the distant strait. Bitter, but the excitement wouldn’t fade.
Would my sister in heaven understand this selfish me?
Could Dalia endure her tragic future?
I couldn’t forget my goal.
“I’ll definitely meet Enbi. And take down the Sea Dragon Hailo…”
So I can steal the king’s insignia.
Snap out of it.
***
The day of the magical beast subjugation finally arrived.
Like when I’d gone to the Sloth Mercenaries, everyone from the Duke’s Castle came out to see me off. The difference? Pippin was by my side. Amazing they were all bright-eyed this early in the morning.
“Gluttony Duke, when are we going? Hurry!”
“…Less a send-off and more like kicking me out, Your Highness.”
Oh, one more oddity. The 4th Prince Daisy was in the farewell crowd.
For some reason, Daisy and Dalia—who’d literally bitten and scratched each other—had become friends after that day. Daisy often visited to play with Dalia. Their activities? Teasing Pippin, trailing after me, or playing dolls in the garden. Nothing major.
It was wise to stay wary of visits from the crown prince’s little brother, a future foe. But seeing Daisy up close melted any caution.
“Not witch, lady. Let’s go. Play…”
Her dejected voice was pitifully forlorn. The hand tugging Dalia’s sleeve was macaron-sized.
The 4th Prince was just a side character in the original story anyway—no romantic entanglements or even contact with Dalia. Plus, she was only five. Her skills topped out at yanking Pippin’s hair.
“But Gluttony Duke, can we take Pipi?”
“Absolutely not, Your Highness Daisy.”
Trying to take my guard knight as a toy. But I had to let it slide. Considering her ‘Prophet’ class, she’d be useful later, so I left her be.
“Big brother…”
Dalia started chasing me like a pitiful kitten whenever I left, full of reluctance. My sister was tougher to raise affection with than most, yet with three hearts, she stuck to me well.
Today too, she hovered at my feet, begging me not to go.
“Does big brother have to go again? When’s big brother coming back?”
Dalia tugged gently at my sleeve. Her hand was so small, even spread wide it wouldn’t cover my palm.
“Big brother’s busy, Dalia.”
Gotta go crush your future romance rival. Can you imagine how sleazily that jerk treats you? I’ll sort him out first, so you just build sandcastles at home.
I wanted to spill it all, but held back as usual.
“While I’m gone, obey the head butler and nanny. Snacks only at snack time, brush your teeth properly. Got it? No forgetting studies after playtime.”
“Yes…”
Dalia pouted, scraping the floor with her toes. Her sparkling eyes shifted from me to Pippin. To her, Pippin was a great playmate… er, toy. Losing him to the subjugation must sting.
“Pipi… Does Pipi have to go too? Pipi, stay and play.”
Pippin frantically shook his head at her words.
“I’ll be back. It’ll take a while. Please don’t wait for me, miss.”