Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Glutton and the Pierrot
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A village inside Barathrum.
The little centipede and the little spider were gathered by the plaza fountain, bickering.
“Lord Ogong, Lord Ogong, what is that?”
“How should I know?”
“Tch, you don’t even know that? Tsk tsk, no wonder you’re so short, you don’t know anything.”
Anetium chided, patting Ogong’s head with a foreleg.
Annoyed by Anetium's attitude, who was always itching to boast about being bigger than him, Ogong growled.
“Get your hand off my head, will you?”
“It’s not a hand. It’s a foot.”
“You keep taunting me like that and you’re really going to die.”
“Heh, what’re you gonna do? In here, I’ll just come back to life if I die. I need the Lord’s permission to die, you know?”
Unable to contain his anger, Ogong growled, and a slightly intimidated Anetium took a step back, crossing its forelegs into an X.
“Huh? Are you going to hit me? You gonna hit me? Just you try laying a hand on me. I’ll go tell Lord Bbi-bbi everything.”
“…You’re a monster, don’t you have any pride? Always thinking of snitching to that squirrel?”
“I’m not a ‘he,’ you know? I’m a female spider! And besides, sucking up to the strong is a monster’s wise way of survival.”
Ogong, who had been glaring at the hatefully teasing Anetium, said with a faint sigh.
“Ugh… Forget it. Let’s just figure out what to do about that thing. What in the world is it, and why is it next to the fountain?”
Ogong pointed to a chubby lizard sleeping and snoring by the fountain.
Unlike other slender lizards, this one, boasting a superior potbelly, was sound asleep, smacking its lips.
The creature, snoring with a rumbling sound, seemed to have an itchy stomach and tried to scratch its potbelly with its adorable little forelegs.
But its legs were too short, only reaching its solar plexus, so it snorted and rolled over.
The lizard, having relieved the itch by rubbing its belly on the ground, grinned widely and went back to sleep.
Anetium examined the lizard from all angles and said.
“This… could it be a dragon?”
“A dragon? Don’t be ridiculous… Where would you find a dragon this small and fat?”
Just as Ogong said, the lizard was too small and fat to be a dragon.
The dragon race boasted bodies the size of houses, but this lizard was only about the size of a large dog, and its potbelly took up more than half its body.
At a glance, it looked like a round balloon with short arms, legs, and a head attached.
“Hatchlings are small.”
“Hmm, if it’s a hatchling, that’s true, but it just doesn’t look like a dragon…”
The dragon race, one of the Four Great King Species that dominate the Main Dimension, and whose individual members vie for the top spot in terms of martial power among all species.
However, for one of them, the lizard before them was sorely lacking in grandeur and dignity.
Its curiosity piqued, Anetium crept closer and tickled the lizard's side with a foreleg.
The lizard, deeply asleep and diligently producing a snot bubble from its nose, squirmed and whined.
“Heehee, stop it… that tickles…”
The lizard's reaction was tamer than expected, so this time Anetium tickled its face.
As the hairs on the spider's foreleg stimulated its skin, the lizard giggled and flailed its arms.
“You're gonna be in trouble... I'm a scary dragon when I'm mad... I'll punish you when I wake up…”
Anetium's movements stopped dead.
Ogong, who was behind it, also flinched and began to slowly retreat.
It was because of the word ‘dragon’ that came from the lizard's mouth.
Anetium carefully removed its leg from the lizard's face and said.
“A-Are you really a dragon?”
“Mmm… I'm a dragon. A scary and super, super strong dragon.”
After saying that much, the dragon fell asleep again.
At this point, one couldn't help but be impressed by the unknown entity's obsession with sleep.
“Hey, hey, don't touch it.”
Worried about getting into trouble by poking something strange, Ogong tried to stop it. Anetium hesitated for a moment, then wagged a foreleg back and forth and said.
“Oh, why are you so scared? Come to think of it, whether this thing is a dragon or not, now that it's in the Lord's world, its situation isn't much different from ours. If things go wrong, Lord Bbi-bbi will take care of everything.”
Ogong was swayed by Anetium's reasonably-founded confidence.
He figured that even if it were a real dragon, it would be powerless before Lee Si-woo, the lord of this world.
But just then, Ogong saw it.
A white squirrel, clinging to a building wall in a corner of the village, trembling uncontrollably.
A sudden sense of unease washed over Ogong, and he cautiously opened his mouth.
“…You punk. Stop it and come here.”
Whatever Ogong said, Anetium was preoccupied with tickling the lizard.
“Heeheehee, not theere… Heehee, you're gonna get it? You're really, really gonna get it?”
Since the lizard only talked big without taking action, Anetium grew excited, thinking it was all bark and no bite, just as it had thought.
“Kekeke, who does this lizard think it's threatening? Whether you're a dragon or not, in this world, I'm your senior! So start acting like a junior, quick-like!”
“Too much trouble…”
The lizard's tail, arguably its longest and most flexible body part, swayed gently and then wrapped around Anetium's body like a snake.
“Huh? Wh-what? You... you bastard, let go! Heek! Wh-what is this strength…”
The tail, having bound Anetium tightly, began to spin in a slow circle.
Sensing its end in the movement, which resembled a shot-putter preparing to throw, Anetium cried out.
“W-Wait! I-I was wrong! I-I mean... I didn't recognize you! Please don't... Gyaaaaaaah!”
With a piercing scream, Anetium shot high into the sky.
As Anetium soared with enough force to become a star, turning into a dot in the sky before disappearing from view, Ogong, who had been watching from the side, swallowed hard and slowly backed away.
He seemed terrified that he would suffer the same fate.
“This will not do, Mr. Glutton.”
The faceless, masked boy Butler suddenly appeared, standing beside the lizard with a sigh.
Bbi-bbi was already perched on the Butler's shoulder, with its arms on its hips in the posture of a scolding teacher.
It was a complete change in attitude, as if it had never been trembling in fear of the lizard in a corner of the village.
The lizard stealthily opened one eye, saw the Butler, and then guiltily feigned ignorance.
“I didn't do anything. I was sleeping.”
“The Lord allowed you to stay in the village out of pure goodwill and consideration, Mr. Glutton. Yet you dare to harm one of our residents? How very rude of you.”
Riding the wave of the Butler's scolding, Bbi-bbi jumped up and down, pointing accusingly.
Pii! Ppi-ppi-ppi!
The Glutton, now awake, rolled its eyes, warily watching the Butler.
“It touched me first... So don't tell the Lord. The Lord scares me a little.”
“I will not trouble the busy Lord with such a trivial matter, so I will not tell him… However, you will have no food today.”
Bbi-bbi danced on the Butler's shoulder as if in triumph.
Pii! Ppi-ppi-ppi!
The Glutton was startled by the news of no food and looked like it was about to cry.
“N-No food? How could you! I came here under a contract that you'd give me tasty food!”
“Whining will do you no good. You will get none.”
The Butler's reply was firm, but the Glutton, as if it couldn't give up, rolled around on the ground, throwing a tantrum.
“Give me food! Give me fooood! You promised to give me fooood!”
“Throwing a fit is useless. More importantly, come this way. It is time for the tea party, so we must go to the castle.”
“I'll go if you give me food. Otherwise, I won't.”
At the Glutton's childish tantrum, the Butler shook his head, clapped his hands lightly, and the two of them vanished as if they had never been there.
As Ogong looked around to see if they had really left, a halo of light appeared next to him, and Anetium materialized.
It seemed to have experienced death and been revived, as it was still dazed with a look of shock.
“One star, two stars, three stars…”
Ogong clicked his tongue as he watched the dazed Anetium collapse.
To think he had to live here for all eternity with this exasperating creature?
It was beyond dizzying; it was downright depressing.
“Sigh, what a fate…”
The food here was strangely delicious, he would fall asleep and wake up on time even if he didn't want to, and his condition was always maintained at its peak.
Of course, at first, mining in the quarry was quite difficult, but these days, even that was no longer done as it was inefficient.
So Ogong sometimes had the illusion that this place might be heaven.
But, paradoxically, the moment he realized this was not heaven was when he understood that he couldn't even choose his own death.
A life given by another's will. And eternal life.
Whether this was a blessing or a curse, Ogong was still confused.
* * *
The Castle Audience Chamber.
A seven-colored carpet upon which the light from Shangri-la settled. And instead of walls, tightly packed bookshelves filled the space.
At the central wooden table in that still-splendid place, there were an unusual number of guests today.
“Butler. May I have a cup of green tea?”
Green skin and rough fangs. And a black wild horse tattoo running across his cheek.
A sturdy, muscular body that remained so without any special training, thanks to his innate nature.
To the polite question from the man who boasted the rugged features typical of an orc, the Butler replied gently.
“Lord Pames. Tea is always ready, but would you not consider wearing a mask?”
Pames laughed heartily, baring his fangs.
“I prefer this over feeling stifled.”
“Whether you wear a mask or not is your freedom, but please do not forget that you must take responsibility for any disadvantages that arise from that choice. The invited guests who come here are the Lord's guests, not yours, Lord Pames.”
The Butler warned of potential trouble, but Pames paid him no mind.
“It's fine. I am an orc. If fate has chosen an enemy for me, I must fight them head-on. I have no intention of hiding behind a mask.”
Was it Pames's overconfident words that were grating?
A plunderer wearing a robber's mask, the kind that might emerge from a dark alley, tilted his coffee cup and spoke.
“He speaks as if some of us wear masks because we're as cowardly as rats.”
Even at the plunderer's cynical remark, Pames replied without any sign of displeasure.
“Whether it's because you're a coward or because you have many secrets is something only you would know. That is neither my business nor my concern, Plunderer.”
“Well, at least I know you're needlessly foolish. Then again, I suppose that's why you were dethroned and now live as a wanderer.”
Although the Main Dimension was vast, a network was in place, so it wasn't difficult to recognize someone if they were famous.
That was why the Butler had recommended he cover his face with a mask.
It wasn't strange for a dethroned prince of an empire to be recognized by one or two people.
When the plunderer recognized him at a glance and sneered, Pames let out a hearty laugh and spoke to the Butler.
“Butler, as you can see, it is easy to recognize one's enemies without a mask. Just as expected, it seems there is one disadvantage I must bear here.”
The plunderer set down his coffee cup.
His movements were elegant and relaxed, conveying a sense of simplicity.
“A disadvantage you wouldn't have had to bear if you'd just worn a mask. And I wouldn't have had to look at a filthy orc's face, either.”
“It seems you don't like that I'm an orc. Did you have a bad run-in with us once? Or perhaps you have an inferiority complex.”
“Who would feel inferior to a race that betrayed its friends, all while spouting nonsense about living and dying by faith?”
At the part about betraying friends, Pames snorted with interest and muttered softly.
“Friends… so you're human. And one with enough knowledge to know of the secret history of the past. A shame your knowledge lacks depth. If you truly knew the secret history, you would also know why we had no choice but to break our promise with the humans when we founded our empire.”
“A promise you had no choice but to break? Amusing. Is that what orcs call faith, loyalty, and friendship?”
“Let me set this straight. It was the humans who broke the promise first. We gave them a chance, but they were the ones who didn't trust us.”
“You have to create an environment of trust to be trusted. Didn't you already abandon us once?”
“Abandon? What fool would risk his life to return and save something he had abandoned? We most certainly returned that day, human.”
As their voices grew louder, the annoyed noble lady, Isabelle, spoke up.
“As I understand it, a tea party is a place to enjoy tea, not a place to argue… Hey, you two. That's enough, don't you think? It's quite a pain to listen to you babble on about things I can't even understand.”
The argument must have been noisy, because even the Glutton, who had been incessantly devouring the food given by the Butler in a corner without any interest in the tea on the table, lifted its head slightly and spoke.
“Don't fight... you're making me lose my appetite.”
The plunderer, who had scoffed at Isabelle's words, couldn't ignore the Glutton's comment and silently picked up his coffee cup.
Was that all?
The orc Pames, too, had been casting a sharp gaze as if trying to discern the face behind the plunderer's mask, but at the Glutton's intervention, he sighed and accepted the green tea offered by the Butler.
This was a phenomenon that occurred because the more one understood the world, the more one knew how dangerous the dragon race was.
They all knew how meaningless it was to act tough in front of a dragon.
As the atmosphere seemed to have settled a bit, the Butler stepped forward.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to introduce today's new face. Mr. Pierrot, please introduce yourself.”
At the Butler's words, everyone's gaze focused in one direction.
A man wearing a Pierrot mask, who had been sitting quietly in a corner without a word, carefully stood up.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Pierrot, and I will be attending the tea party from today.”
Behind her noble lady mask, Isabelle's eyes sparkled.
Because she was the only one here, besides the Butler, who knew Pierrot's true identity.
Pierrot—Lee Si-woo—spoke in a voice tinged with a faint smile.
“I look forward to our time together.”