I'm Truly Sorry!!!! Master!!!!!
The day after Layla Ruby's concert. Kain had completely forgotten about it even after returning home the previous night. Only now, the moment he plugged in the charger and turned on his smartphone, Pride's call came through. He couldn't help but frown.
Even though it wasn't on speakerphone, the booming voice reverberated through the entire room with such force that he worried about noise complaints from the neighbors. Caught off guard by the auditory assault, Kain rubbed his still-ringing ears and asked back.
"What about it."
From what he'd heard from others, the guy was supposed to be taciturn and stern, the type who didn't know the meaning of a joke. So why did he always turn into this overzealous fanatic whenever he spoke to Kain? It would be nice if he'd just talk in a calm, low voice like he did with everyone else.
That said, killing him out of annoyance wasn't an option. There wasn't anyone else capable of handling the mountain of work he managed. At this point, Kain was starting to suspect that the bastard piled such absurd amounts of work on himself as a defense mechanism to avoid getting beaten to death.
"I have failed to follow Master's orders and sent Jealousy to guard the young lady without permission! I offer my most sincere apologies!"
"Ah, that thing."
He'd completely forgotten about it. Only now did he understand why Pride was losing his mind like this.
'Come to think of it, that did happen.'
When he thought about it, Jealousy had moved so stealthily that Kain hadn't even noticed him until they were already at the concert venue. And in a way, it felt like he'd taken care of a bothersome task on his own, so Kain had simply let it slide.
"Please grant me the opportunity to truly atone! Allow me to commit seppuku with all my strength!"
"Don't overdo it. I'm being serious, so absolutely do not commit seppuku or whatever that is."
He'd said it before, but if he turned him into an undead, his efficiency would drop significantly compared to now. Kain had already held back from killing him because there was no one else who could handle that mountain of work. If he killed himself, Kain really wouldn't let it go.
"To think you would forgive such a grave sin! I shall serve you with utmost loyalty for the rest of my life! Master!"
"No, haa. Fine. Think whatever you want."
He definitely hadn't been like this when they first met. How had he deteriorated into this unpleasant, expired triangle kimbap that had passed its best-by date by over a year?
"Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. If you have nothing else to say, stop wasting my time and hang up."
"Ah, wait! There's one more thing I must report!"
"Before you report anything, lower your voice first."
The smartphone volume was turned all the way down. Yet if you judged purely by volume, his voice was louder than the singer who'd performed with the sound system cranked up at yesterday's concert. No wonder his ears still hurt after holding the phone to them.
"Understood."
Only after Kain's command did Pride's voice finally return to normal. A deep, resonant bass that echoed like it was coming from inside a cave. The stark contrast from his previous tone allowed Kain to finally relax and press the phone back to his ear.
"We appear to have pinpointed the approximate location where the gate to the Underworld has opened."
What is he trying to say?
Kain had been half-listening to Pride's words while yawning when his expression changed drastically the moment the next sentence came through.
"Tell me more."
His tone had grown serious. His eyes sank low. His voice carried a sharp edge, as if it could slice a person in two. The shift in atmosphere made Pride unconsciously hold his breath.
Even though it was only his voice coming through the smartphone, it felt as though an invisible hand was gripping his throat with crushing force. Sensing the clear change in Kain's demeanor, Pride broke into a cold sweat and smiled nervously.
'This is it.'
Kain stood at the pinnacle of the underworld, having withdrawn his hand from all affairs to enjoy a peaceful rest. Yet his fundamental nature remained unchanged. He was still the same Death King who had once brought death to everything before his eyes and conquered the underworld through sheer power alone.
Pride stroked his arm, trying to calm the goosebumps that had risen with a tingling sensation. Master was waiting for his answer. Shaking off the tension that gripped him with nothing but pure loyalty, Pride slowly opened his mouth.
"After investigating the individuals who had died and come back to life, including Wrath and Greed, we created a distribution map of the results. Starting with Dekken Nasara, who caused the disturbance at the Grant Department Store, all the way to the former leader of the Freddy Dogs, Freddy, who attempted to kidnap Layla Ruby yesterday only to be brutally crushed by Jealousy."
"That criminal from yesterday was also one of the revived dead?"
"From what I heard, he had done similar things around ten years ago before encountering Jealousy and dying. Jealousy himself doesn't remember it at all, though."
Ten years ago...
That would have been right around the time Jealousy had crossed over from the Fan Empire into the underworld of the Ellemental Kingdom, running wild without restraint. The period when he would take anything he wanted and kill anything he felt like killing. It was the peak of his prime, when his already terrible personality was at its absolute worst, living like a complete savage.
'He killed so many people for ridiculous reasons that it's no wonder he doesn't remember.'
He had been so fearless that a few years later, when Kain and Pride were conquering the Ellemental Kingdom's underworld, the guy had shown up wanting to test his skills and gotten beaten like a dog on a hot summer day. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that more than half of Jealousy's current ability to exercise any semblance of judgment came from Kain.
"......"
In less than a month, he'd already encountered two such incidents. And this was Kain, who barely ever left the house and lived like a shut-in. It was to the point where an incident seemed to occur almost every time he went outside. Could this really be called a coincidence?
"Furthermore, we discovered that the majority of those who had died and come back to life are located within the Ellemental Kingdom."
Just as Kain had expected. Pride delivered the following information.
While there had been occasional incidents caused by the revived in Yggdrasil or the Fan Empire, they were extremely rare. The vast majority had occurred in the Ellemental Kingdom, and those discovered in other countries had originally crossed over from this one. Additionally, every single one of them had been villains who committed evil deeds in the past.
"It seems that rather than the entire Underworld, only the passage connected to Hell has been opened."
"Bullshit."
Of all places, the most critically managed area had been breached. Did that Hades bastard not do his job properly? How the hell had he been managing the Underworld that the gates of Hell had been left open for years without any proper cleanup?
"For the above reasons, that passage has almost certainly opened somewhere within the Ellemental Kingdom. We have not yet identified the exact location, but this alone is a tremendous achievement. It means we've reduced the search area to one-fourth of its original size."
'Should I call this good luck? Or bad?'
Right when he'd settled down in this place to live peacefully, he'd found a clue to his old enemy. Thinking that the world truly refused to let him live in peace, Kain let out a small chuckle.
"Therefore, Master. I suggest we immediately dispatch the full forces of the underworld to the Ellemental Kingdom..."
"Permission granted."
Kain spoke before Pride could even finish. "Do as you wish. Put the other Seven Deadly Sins to work too if they're free. Just bring me proper results."
"Understood."
"Ah, and to avoid any misunderstandings, you will personally meet with the King and the Majoan to negotiate."
He would not attack unless provoked first. That was the Death King's principle, and he had no desire to break this rule if possible.
"Resolve this as peacefully as possible. I don't want any annoying complications. Use my name if necessary. However, if they continue to reject our demands until the end, inform them that we will resort to force."
If they had any sense, they wouldn't refuse the negotiation. He hadn't wanted to get involved with the Majoan at all, but he never imagined things would unfold this way.
"I shall carry out your will, Master."
Everything would proceed according to the Death King's wishes. Without a single word of objection, Pride immediately bowed his head in submission and ended the call before relaying Kain's orders to his subordinates.
The underworld was on the move.
After the war with the nature-rich nation of Yggdrasil, they had remained hidden in the shadows of the continent. At the very moment they decided to rise once more at the Death King's command...
"Thank you so much! Marily!"
Benedict Academy continued its peaceful days as usual.
The Class A students, who had come out to the training grounds instead of the classroom for once, had changed into gym clothes. While they chatted excitedly with their close friends, Arina grabbed both of Marily's hands tightly and shook them up and down with great enthusiasm.
"It must have been amazing yesterday."
"Yes!"
As if she'd been waiting for those words, Marily's mouth, which had been itching to brag, opened like a machine gun and wouldn't stop.
"I shook hands with Layla! We took pictures! I got her autograph! We even talked!"
"You're way too excited. Calm down and speak slowly. I'll listen to everything."
It was rare to see the usually calm girl this worked up. Seeing her this happy made Kain feel quite satisfied as the one who'd given her the gift. It made him want to do something nice for her again.
"And then..."
Despite Marily's attempts to calm her, Arina kept chattering away without stopping. Her grateful boasting only came to an end after she pulled out her smartphone to show off the affectionate photo she'd taken with Layla.
"Still, I'm glad she seemed fine despite what happened yesterday. To be honest, I was worried until I actually met her after the concert."
"What happened? Did something occur yesterday?"
"Ah."
Perhaps because she'd been so excited that her guard had dropped completely. The slip of the tongue finally escaped Arina's lips.
'What do I do now?'
She'd been told to keep it a secret. They'd emphasized that it could cause problems if word got out, so she'd been asked to stay absolutely silent. Yet here she was, making such a mistake the very next day. Had her mouth always been this loose?
For a moment, Arina panicked, and her eyes darted noticeably in another direction.
"Um, so? Why did you come to school so late today, Marily?"
"......"
The cold sweat on her forehead, the blatantly suspicious stuttering, the trembling eyes, and the way she kept glancing at Marily to read her reaction. It was a truly disastrous combination.
If she was going to change the subject, she should have done it naturally. The fact that she was trying so obviously to hide it went beyond ridiculous and somehow came across as cute instead.
"Well, it wasn't anything special."
Taking pity on the effort, Marily decided to let it slide just this once and played along with the topic Arina had awkwardly changed.
Unaware of Marily's consideration, Arina seemed to think she'd successfully dodged the issue and let out a huge sigh of relief.
"My brother had to go on a business trip to another region for a while. I went to see him off."
There hadn't really been any need to see him off, but if she didn't say goodbye properly, her brother would sulk the entire way and make things awkward for everyone traveling with him.
Anyway, she already knew all the material for today's classes, so missing them wouldn't cause any problems.
"To be honest, he's being overly dramatic. It's not like he's going to another country. If he takes an airship, he'll be back in just a few days at most."
"......"
"He could have dragged his feet a bit more before leaving. Thanks to him, I ended up arriving at school earlier than expected and got dragged out to the training grounds like this."
If it was Marily's brother, then it had to be the prince, right? For the prince himself to go on a business trip instead of sending someone else, it must have been quite an important matter. Yet to Marily, her complaints about missing class seemed far more important than whatever her brother had gone to do.
"......"
At that moment, the students' chatter gradually died down.
Noticing the change in atmosphere, Arina and Marily turned their heads toward where the children's gazes were directed.
"Is everyone here?"
Even the loose training clothes couldn't hide her voluptuous figure. Her slightly tanned skin and hair tied back with a string perfectly showcased a woman's healthy beauty. The woman slowly scanned the students with her deep blue eyes that bordered on navy, then opened the attendance sheet she'd brought.
"I'll be calling attendance. If you don't answer, I'll mark you absent immediately, so respond properly."
Professor of Enhancement Magic, Natilda Scape. Her voice calling roll echoed across the training grounds, silencing the students' chatter as the proper class finally began.