If I Could Leave (1)
“If the Western Sea has the Sea Dragon, then the Chiria Great Forest has Yukgui.”
After muttering that we ought to visit Bigabol territory, the Archmage exchanged a few more words with the Bigabol chieftain.
Then came the explanation he was giving now.
“It is one of the Ancient Beasts. According to the records, it looks as though a snake has bound a tortoise. Of course, it has vanished somewhere, so we cannot see it now.”
Yukgui—I had wondered if it was short for land-ghost, but it simply meant land tortoise. And if it looked like a tortoise bound by a snake, it was basically a Xuanwu.
“Even without Yukgui itself, there remains a being that inherited its blood. That is Sangun. The residents of the Great Forest revere and respect him as well.”
Around that point a strange impression settled over me. Sea Dragon—blue, so we could call it Azure Dragon if we liked—and now Xuanwu. The Ancient Beasts were clearly based on the Four Symbols.
The problem was that we were in the south.
Come on. If it’s Xuanwu, shouldn’t it be in the north? The setting is a mess. This wasn’t some later retcon—why put Xuanwu in the south to begin with?
By that logic the Azure Dragon—the Sea Dragon—had the wrong direction too.
“Sangun lays an egg every fifty years and dies; the next Sangun that hatches is known to tear into its parent’s flesh and inherit its power.”
Separately, I was sure I had heard of that breeding method somewhere. Did all the Ancient Beasts continue their lines that way?
It was a reproductive strategy perfectly designed to wipe out the bloodline.
“As a result, Sangun’s power does not grow unusually strong or weak from individual to individual… yet this generation’s Sangun has, peculiarly, developed the ability to ‘devour mana.’”
I had been throwing every possible snag into the conversation, but those final words stopped my thoughts cold.
So that was why he had suddenly changed his mind.
“Moreover, the circumstances of this Sangun’s birth… resembled the commission we are currently handling.”
In the meantime the Archmage carefully talked around the words “Demon Energy” and “demon,” circling the meaning without ever landing on it.
We had moved back inside the building to continue talking—the chieftains were busy cleaning up after the rebellion—but he was still taking care that nothing leaked, and that the people’s reverence for Sangun was respected.
“Whether that claim is true will have to be verified, but if it is correct, we cannot possibly withdraw.
A few careful circumlocutions were never going to keep me from understanding.
“Of course, given that a traitor was mixed into the envoy, I do wonder whether rebellion has already broken out in Bigabol territory as well… but for now the legitimacy rests with us. Even factoring in that we should lend a hand in suppressing the rebellion, the chance to meet Sangun under a proper justification, using one tribe’s chieftain as a bridge, is more than enough of an advantage.”
This opportunity, as the Archmage said, was not one we could afford to miss.
Contact the Magic Tower again, help put down a rebellion, meet Sangun and investigate all manner of things—returning to Hudelen was growing more distant by the hour, yet that changed nothing.
The party’s suspicions could be left to the Tower; we would do the work only we could do. That was clearly the efficient course. Of course, efficiency aside, I did feel the commission’s scale swelling yet again… but at least this side paid proper compensation.
“The cause of the rebellion.”
Even so, no matter how good the opportunity, this part had to be made clear.
The rebels had thrown the first punch at me, yes—but was that one man’s personal mistake or the whole faction’s stance? How was I supposed to know?
From my life experience, in situations like this it was better not to rage around shouting “That bastard hit me first,” but to quickly figure out whether only the person who dealt with me was insane or whether the entire group was.
That way I could avoid squandering a precious chance, or else learn in advance which places I must never set foot in later.
“Hm? Ah. I spoke only of legitimacy and never told you the cause.”
Yep. So please hurry up and tell me.
“Nothing complicated. The old factions that opposed the idea of ending isolation and opening exchange with the outside simply tried to kill the young chieftain before that ideology could spread any further.”
Ah. An ideological fight.
“In that sense, even setting aside a meeting with Sangun, it is still a matter worth lending a hand to. The Great Forest has clung to its closed-off stance for far too long. Out of respect we have accommodated their isolation… but no one knows the future, do they? I understand their desire to protect tradition, yet the least exchange of technology and knowledge would do no harm. Tradition, after all, can only be kept if one has the strength to keep it.”
Certainly, you could only prepare for what you knew about. There were countries that had maintained isolation only to get thoroughly wrecked because they never noticed how far foreign lands had advanced.
Yet it was also true that once change began, the thread of tradition could easily snap……
Still, even so—trying to persuade people with blades instead of arguments and evidence was a bit much. In a world where human rights were underdeveloped I supposed it couldn’t be helped……
Mmm. Mm.
Ah, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m young, but opening up seems better—though who knows if that will still be true in the future.
In that light, wasn’t this the kind of ideological problem that a third party—an outsider—shouldn’t stick their nose into?
But simply standing by and letting damage happen was clearly a problem too……
And I was already tangled up in it. Throughout history, conflict between ideologies has been an inevitable current.
“That’s none of my business.”
Separately, the fact that I of all people had been dragged into it, and that I had no real choice, was genuinely infuriating.
“Well, it is not your affair, after all.”
“What will you do if Sangun turns out to be a demon.”
In the end I turned my gaze away from the discomfort of getting involved in an ideological struggle and fixed it on another point.
This, too, was important.
Not only did it devour mana, it had undergone a birth process nearly identical to the demon hatched at the Magic Tower? That meant this generation’s Sangun could be a demon.
Even if it was only a regional faith, once it was corrupted my concept would never tolerate it. Deliberately undoing all the Archmage’s careful circumlocutions, I fixed him with a low, cold stare.
“…The response would change according to the situation, would it not?”
Not a reaction that satisfied the concept. “We kill it” and “we decide after looking at the situation” were clearly different things.
“Are you joking?”
“No. I am entirely serious.”
“You’re saying you’ll tolerate a demon—!”
“It was merely born that way. To decide it must die for that alone seems far too pitiful, does it not?”
Oh, a moral argument.
“…Ha. Suddenly want to play the saint? Feeling compassion for a demon?”
But this was a statement that clashed with the world-view.
If he was going to say something like that, he should have said it long ago. Until now the mindset had been that demons deserved to die—so why now……
“I distinctly—”
“If everything born carrying Demon Energy must be killed, then must I kill you as well?”
“……!”
My mouth closed on reflex. It was a perfect strike against the Demon Knight’s setting—how could I carelessly open my mouth after that?
“Demons must be killed. Yes, that is only proper. But if everything that carries Demon Energy is a demon, then not only Sangun but you yourself become a demon.”
Worse, the Archmage even glanced at my right arm as he spoke. I reflexively drew my right shoulder back.
“Yet neither we nor anyone we have met so far has regarded you as a demon. Because you are not ruled by Demon Energy, and you walk the proper path.”
Certainly… that was true. So the talk of looking at the situation was……
“That is precisely what I wished to say. If Sangun has lost its reason and is harming those around it, then like the Sea Dragon it becomes a problem that must be resolved. But from what I have heard, this Sangun has not harmed its surroundings at all; rather, like previous generations, it rules the land with reason.”
I see. Confirm the possibility of coexistence, then decide.
“So merely checking whether coexistence is possible should be fine, should it not?”
This was a point that neither the concept nor the actual me had considered. Every being that had appeared carrying Demon Energy so far had been an enemy, so I had unconsciously formed a prejudice.
Of course I had assumed this Sangun would be a boss monster as well.
But… hmm. If things stood this way, there was a real chance it was not. No—rather, the probability it was an ally was higher?
Either way, it was an opinion I had no choice but to acknowledge.
“Who knows? Perhaps there is a way to remove… that which Sangun carries? And if there is, it might even help you.”
Only, the concept was the problem.
If I said “We still have to kill it,” then I would have to die first. If I said “I accept it,” the character would collapse.
“…I know it must be hard to accept. Yet it was you who first showed us the possibility of coexistence… please keep that in mind. Do not treat Sangun as too much of an enemy.”
Ah, I’m really in trouble. What do I do?
“You… you dare…….”
Unable to easily choose the reaction I needed to take, I panted as though soaked in rage. It was a complete dilemma.
Knock knock.
【Um, the chieftain has invited you to dinner…….】
Fortunately the god of timing came to my aid. Help had arrived so that I could simply muddle through without answering.
Whatever that was supposed to mean.
【I shall go out.】
The Archmage answered the voice lightly, then looked back at me.
“Time has already flowed this far. It seems the hour for supper has come.”
His sky-blue eyes reflected me grinding my teeth.
“…The chieftains have invited us to the table, but if you prefer, you may eat here. I can go in your place.”
Ah. Well. I didn’t much like being alone.
I huffed and puffed over the words that clearly meant “I’ll give you time to think.” Agreeing would break character, so there was no real decision to make.
“Then… I’ll do that.”
To hell with it. I’ll just eat quickly and sleep.
The Archmage left the building alone.
White Wind let out a long sigh over the message that had come from the Archmage.
They could not return to the city to hand over the mana-eating snake, so we should come fetch it ourselves—she had no complaint about that.
Additional factors had been discovered and they could not return because they were investigating them; how could she resent that? The request for extra payment was something that ought to be paid as well.
But discovering a being whose birth process matched a hatched demon, beyond merely devouring mana……
“Bring me every piece of information on the Great Forest. Especially anything on Sangun.”
And of all things, it had to be Sangun. Of all things, Sangun.
“Sangun?”
“Yes.”
If it went in the positive direction the Archmage had spoken of—if, like the Demon Knight, it could judge right from wrong through reason and act correctly—then nothing could be better. Sangun could speak with humans, and an entity one could converse with made investigation far easier.
But if not? What then?
“Looks like every trading partner we finally opened up is about to go up in smoke.”
There were so many materials that could only be obtained in the Great Forest; misfortune really did come all at once.
Materials aside, with the possibility of a clash with the temple already in the air, starting a feud with the people of the Great Forest would do no one any good either.
“And the excuses I’ve been feeding the Hero are reaching their limit too.”
Stalling for time by claiming she was helping analyze Holy Power and develop techniques only worked for a day or two.
The Hero’s party was already beginning to feel a sense of dissonance from the two faces she kept hidden. At the latest, by tomorrow morning they would come demanding to know where the others had gone.
“So what now?”
She switched back on the communication link she had briefly turned off and spoke.
—…What do you mean, what should we do? We have to tell them.
—With the temple already trying to meddle in every little thing, you want us to hand them an excuse first? I oppose it!
—There are no eternal secrets. Even right now there are people using this phenomenon—do you think there won’t be others elsewhere? This isn’t a problem that can be solved by hiding it.
—I agree with the Destroying Hoe. Better to speak now and prove our innocence.
So that was how it was. Fierce White Wind narrowed her eyes to slits.
They had more or less cleaned up the mess around the Magic Tower, and they had dealt with the nest and the demon that hatched from it. The mistakes of the Hudelen Magic Tower branch—could one even call the results of long years a “mistake”?—could still be buried.
If they brought up the Great Forest’s Sangun as well, the temple would never realize what the Hudelen branch had covered up. They could simply claim they had sent the Archmage and the Demon Knight to gather rare materials.
So hiding it itself was no longer the problem……
—Um… I don’t mind telling the temple, but… as for Magic Tower internal records… I don’t think we should leave any……?
—Why? We have to make it public so we can prepare, don’t we?
—Ah. I accept that. Do you trust our people?
—Ah.
“Everyone’s worrying about the same thing.”
That was the problem.
The moment this fact became known, someone inside the Magic Tower would start experimenting. Not for the sake of preparation, but to satisfy their own curiosity—or desire.
—We only called a portion of us in the first place because we were considering that.
—That was why?
—…Atoning Fairy, you need to think a little more deeply about human behavior. Even after living that long, is infantile causal inference all you can manage?
—You wanna die? Come outside, you bastard.
—You come here.
—You #@$#@#—
“If the two of you are going to fight, take it to a private channel.”
And was that all? There was a chance a demon agent sat inside the Magic Tower. No—there was a 100% chance.
She did not know whether the demons already knew this fact, but if they did not, the moment it was made public it would reach them. The thought of demons using this was already terrifying.
—Damn it. If mana concentrates long enough, a demon is born? How is that any different from Demonic Transformation? The ocean floor is hard enough to explore as it is.
—Demonic Transformation, huh. That’s a decent idea. Maybe it generates demons by the same principle as Demonic Transformation?
—If that’s true, we might be able to uncover the principle of Demonic Transformation itself.
—Oh?
Moreover, there was one fact she had not yet told them.
“Something I should tell you in advance. I held off because it wasn’t certain, but the things born from concentrated mana seem to have the ability to devour mana.”
—What the hell?
She could not be certain—she still did not know how the mana-eating snake had been born, or what the place of Sangun’s birth had looked like.
But in all likelihood… things born from mana would be able to devour mana.
“And the ability to convert Demon Energy into mana and hide it.”
—Fucking hell, hey. There was never a choice from the start!
Haha. We’re screwed.
White Wind cackled as she listened to the Great Sages’ screams. Having already gone through the same stage herself after hearing the news from the Archmage, she could only find it funny now.
“Um, Great Sage. The Inquisitor has requested a conversation. She is asking whether you know the whereabouts of the Archmage and the Demon Knight… what should we do?”
Even she could not laugh at this latest visitor.
“…Here it comes.”
—What, you bastard? Already paying the price for mocking us?
“I’ll step out for a bit. Work out a plan for me.”
—You little thug—
Click.
Fierce White Wind cut the link and rose to her feet.
Whether they informed the temple or not, the time had come to confess the truth to the Hero at least.
She had already told the Archmage and asked them to bring the others; there was no more hiding it anyway.
Right after topping off my satiety to 100%, I set the empty or nearly empty bowls by the entrance. They had indicated that once I finished eating with my hands I could leave them there, so this should be fine. Probably.
After that, well.
Thinking I might sleep, I sat leaning against the wall. Eating and immediately sleeping was bad for you, but I didn’t care. Sitting up to sleep was unhealthy too, by that logic.
▲ Sleep 1 hour 00 minutes ▼
But right now sleep was desperate. Of course I wasn’t so exhausted that the sleep demon would come flooding in and knock me out the moment I closed my eyes, the way it had last time.
Still, life has moments when you want to sleep regardless of how tired you actually are. In that sense, the fact that the system which instantly knocked me out was still working was pure luck, I told myself, gently patting my own back.
And the moment I decided how long I wanted to sleep and pressed the button—
Pitch-black darkness flowed down like ink and covered my vision.
Why are you looking away?
The entire world sank into darkness.
You already know that the period when the system went dead and the period when you wore the sealing tool completely coincide.
Sank into darkness.
Into a darkness that smothered every stray thought that rose.
You’re reaching the limit soon.
Ah, but even so, the longing for the bed that had shared my thirties couldn’t be covered up. Right?