135. The Curtain Keeper (1)
135. The Curtain Keeper (1)
- 1 -
"Well?"
"I'm so happy... I've become a servant closer to you, Master!"
"Now I can see even more clearly that your heart is sincere."
"Aah...!"
Haley and her family became 'Grendels' after undergoing the contract of demonification.
However, even after becoming demons, they could continue to enjoy the aristocratic life they had led until now.
"Our appearances are the same, yet we've become this much stronger..."
"The Father. Does this mean I can attend the academy too?"
"Of course you can...! Rosie, you as well!"
"Wow...!!"
The Grendel was a type of 'Green Skin' magical beast—the kind that hid among humans who entered a dungeon and caused chaos when the moment of battle arrived.
In other words, it was one of the species capable of perfectly mimicking a human.
If a Necromancer had the Cerebrum Skull, then a Green Skin Dungeon Lord had this Grendel.
"Be wary of our adversaries, and be cautious of situations where you might lose your sanity."
"Yes...! We will do our best!"
With bodies stronger than ordinary humans and better mana efficiency, they would likely be able to enjoy life even more abundantly.
'As long as they are careful about a few things.'
The Grendel could assume a shape perfectly identical to a human, and even make its blood red.
But it was strictly a 'Green Skin'.
It only assumed a human form thanks to the chameleon-like properties of its skin and blood; originally, it was a species with green skin and dark red blood.
So if it lost its sanity and the mimicry came undone, that would become a serious problem.
'There are hidden issues too, but...'
Cannibalistic preferences and belligerence.
These two were representative traits of the Green Skins.
Both being antisocial traits, I was somewhat worried from the perspective of someone who knew them, but I also already knew that I didn't need to worry.
After seeing the knights of Solemio who had already successfully undergone demonification, their belligerence merely appeared as a rougher disposition when fused with a human personality, and there were many cases where they didn't even know they had cannibalistic tendencies.
Barring the very low possibility of a case where those two traits were exceptionally compatible, that is.
"I'm glad everyone is pleased."
Some might ask, if I was going to turn them into monsters anyway, wouldn't it be better to do so from the very beginning?
To this question, I would answer that the emotions of one who has undergone demonification are greatly influenced by the emotions they held beforehand.
"Your joy is my joy, Master."
"I will do my utmost from now on."
"I beg forgiveness for my careless words...!"
"I'm happy to serve such a beautiful master!"
It meant that someone who originally liked me would like me even more after turning into a monster.
The child before my eyes right now was proof of that emotion.
"I've gotten prettier! My very pretty master!"
The appearance of the child, looking at me and rejoicing without hiding anything, was sparkling. The cute light seemed to have become even stronger than before.
The appearance of a mimic-type entity naturally changes to better deceive its enemies.
Thanks to this, the members of the Baron Shum family were currently in a state where they had become slightly more 'handsome' than before by human aesthetic standards, a trait that would become a little stronger over time.
"Rosie!"
"It's alright. This is natural for children."
I picked up the child, Rosemary, who stretched both arms out toward me, showing her friendliness.
Since I wasn't very tall, it probably wasn't a natural-looking scene, but there was nothing difficult about it for me in terms of strength.
It was the child's parents rather than I who seemed uncomfortable.
"M-Master..."
"Huhk..."
Perhaps thinking it was disrespectful, Haley's face had gone completely pale.
Gerald beside her was the same.
I spoke gently toward their faces, soothing them.
"For a child, it's just right if they have difficulty distinguishing between loyalty and affection. Let them act spoiled."
"But..."
"Rosemary. Grow up to be splendid."
Peck.
"Yes!!"
Children are best when they act like children.
They can just learn as they grow up.
Even when I said it was fine, they didn't seem reassured, so when I lightly kissed the child's cheek, they finally brightened up.
The whole family, all of them.
"The academy is good, but if you want them to learn something, send them to me instead. I shall arrange a suitable school or a private tutor."
"If you would do that for us, it would be the honor of a lifetime...!"
"Do not call what is only natural an honor. Your futures are also mine, so I am merely taking care of what is mine."
I didn't know what might happen if I sent them to a human academy, so it would be better to keep them under my watchful eye.
'It might be a good idea to establish a few schools in the city that has become my territory for those under my rule.'
Schools were also good places to cultivate loyalty, so it would be even better if I gathered all the children in my territory and raised them together.
Of course, I had absolutely no intention of raising people like Edgar of the whiskered mustache.
It would be a school for gifted children at most. Though there was the difference that sometimes, I might create nonexistent talents and attach them.
Anyway, it was one of the things I absolutely had to take care of for the future of 'my land', and by extension, 'my country'.
And also.
'Then...'
This school might be able to fill the empty part in my heart a little more as well.
- 2 -
"I kept you waiting a long time, Miss Mure."
"You didn't. It was very impressive, Lady Libertas."
Mure's words were sincere.
Because this was a sight that any other demon would hardly be able to witness firsthand.
'A Dungeon Lord in the process of dominating a human.'
At least, she had never seen it in her lifetime.
It was 150 years ago that Dungeon Lords had rampaged 'safely' across the continent.
After that, the multitude of established Dungeon Lords were all killed off by the full-force attacks of the entire continent.
Now, only the territories ruled by the six Demon Realms remained on the surface, and beyond those, only those dominated by humans or in hiding were left.
'But...'
The one Dungeon Lord now before her eyes, the one standing before her now, might accomplish something greater than all of those countless Dungeon Lords who had died combined.
That was only natural.
"You did well, Grace."
"Ah, n-no, not at all. Lady..."
"Go in and rest. Let's see each other a little later."
"Yes..."
She was already someone who had succeeded in getting a human, precisely a half-elf cleric, into the palm of her hand.
"How did you come to meet her?"
"Her? Are you talking about Haley, or Grace?"
Come to think of it, this Dungeon Lord had been calling them by name from the start, unlike ordinary Dungeon Lords or demons who simply called humans 'human' or 'human male' and so on.
As if respecting them.
'It piques my curiosity.'
It was a difference she had heard from the beginning but only now perceived.
This Dungeon Lord had many excellent talents by her side.
The young mage with a strangely high level of mana, who seemed to be almost always beside her, was also like that.
"Grace... it is."
"Well. Between us, trust hasn't been built up enough yet for me to speak of that."
"Ah..."
'I, too...'
Mure, who had momentarily thought that upon hearing the refusal, was surprised at herself.
'Good heavens.'
She had unconsciously felt it.
That standing beside this Dungeon Lord would be something that satisfied both her ego and her interest.
'No.'
But that could become a suicidal act.
She was already a body belonging to Belphegor, the Archduke of Sloth, and Libertas's position was precarious beyond measure.
'Because there are already many archdukes on the continent.'
The Demon Realm Archdukes were candidates for the Demon King's successor.
Naturally, they wouldn't desire the talent of a junior following behind them, and if they learned of that talent, they would try somehow to break the stairs that could climb up to their positions.
Or they would tear that very talent to shreds.
Either way, it was something that would bring no benefit to Mure herself.
Yet even so.
"That is quite unfortunate."
"Yes. It is regrettable."
Mure simply could not dismiss this feeling that had suddenly surfaced.
In her heart, as she made an effort to shake her head, the image of herself bowing to this small woman was already being drawn.
- 3 -
There were four worlds related to magic and fate.
Among them, excluding the material worlds of the human realm and the demon realm, one of the three remaining worlds was the spirit world.
As a result of making contact with that place several times through Mure's help, I was able to gain one understanding about it.
The spirit world was a 4-dimensional world formed of four coordinates: time, 'existence', 'transcendence', and what could be called 'spirituality'.
"You've understood it properly."
"So it seems."
"Yes. There's a slight difference from established theory, but what matters more is the mage's own understanding, so let's move on."
The time of the spirit world used an axis similar to the time applied to the material world, but it did not necessarily correspond one-to-one.
In other words, to avoid a situation where time flew by unnoticed, one had to clearly perceive the coordinates of one's own world.
"You've been helping me with that up until now. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
The reason I hadn't deviated from the flow of my original world while traversing my perception between the spirit world and the present world was entirely thanks to Mure's help.
The help of a senior, or a teacher, was this important.
"A world that cannot be separated from the material world."
"The wondrous point of the spirit world is that it's subordinate to the material world, yet independent to the point where it cannot be contacted by ordinary means."
"Hm."
The remaining three coordinates were inseparable from each other, like the three axes forming three dimensions.
Among them, the coordinate of 'existence' signified that all beings of the spirit world were connected to the beings of the material world.
All spirits, or wraiths, of the spirit world—in other words, souls—could not be separated from the beings of the material world, whether they were sapient entities or sometimes some object or component of nature.
"Our souls reside in the spirit world of the demon realm. That's why, when linking a being of the continent to the demon realm, a ritual to move that being is necessary."
"Understood."
That was why one of the coordinates was called 'existence'.
It was essentially the coordinate that determined where that soul was attached.
"All living beings also belong to the spirit world... huh."
"It's an interesting fact, isn't it? Our existence isn't limited to just this place."
"I see."
The other coordinates, 'transcendence' and 'spirituality', were coordinates that existed in conjunction with this 'existence'.
'Spirituality' was simple.
It was a coordinate distinction depending on which aspect of the spirit world the observer viewed—in other words, whether they saw spirits or wraiths.
But 'transcendence' was a bit more complicated.
Because it was the coordinate regarding how much of an 'intersection of existence' the soul maintained with the source existing in the material world.
"Of course, a spirit mage will ultimately lose their power if they cannot maintain their existence in both the elemental plane and the spirit world."
"That's right. So some mages also study methods to attack the very connection itself."
"But they too must be aware that this can be their weakness."
Most spirits were linked to the natural world, and some contracted spirits were linked to their spirit mage.
That was the difference between a spirit of the natural world and a spirit mage's spirit.
Also, the souls of the dead sometimes found other bodies to influence the material world, and living souls, too, occasionally detached from their bodies to travel.
The former was possession, and the latter was a living soul.
"Fascinating."
"Congratulations. You're quite fast."
"It's thanks to you."
Thus, when I had perfectly mastered that sense with an understanding of the spirit world—
『Veilkeeper - Acquired trait. As a result of ceaseless attempts to communicate with evil spirits or spirits, you have become capable of communion with beings without physical bodies. You can share this sense with others.』
—at the same time I obtained a new trait, I was able to gain a hint for completely obtaining the cleric.
The demon realm and the continent were separated, but their respective spirit worlds were not.
As a result of observing both spirit worlds, I could quickly sense that both were parts of the same spirit world.
It just meant that the distance along the coordinate of 'spirituality' was incredibly far, but the coordinate of 'existence' was the same.
"If the demon realm and the material world have spirit worlds, then naturally, a part of the spirit world linked to the heavens must also exist."
"That's why the souls of clerics are tricky to handle. They're not even easy to obtain."
"Right..."
However, the three material worlds within the spirit world were, after all, merely spaces linked within the spirit world.
They were just very far apart, like the continents of the material world.
That was where the hint lay.