Chapter 156
Chapter 156
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Gravekeeper of the Necropolis (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The site of the underground necropolis where Theo had fought valiantly against Troyvan and the Holy Demon Church.
In the midst of those ruins, the Back Dragon was stacking a small stone pagoda.
"You foolish friend. If you had that many grievances, you could have at least given me a hint."
Ode lay buried beneath that stone pagoda.
By the laws of the Ragnar Family, a traitor's corpse should not even be left intact—it ought to be desecrated.
But the Back Dragon had made a special request to Theo, creating a place where Ode could rest in peace.
Ode's crimes were grave indeed, but the merits of the gravekeeper lineage, passed down through generations, were immense.
With that line now fully severed, it was only right to give her the final honors—that was the Back Dragon's thinking.
"Why were you smiling at the end, after living a life filled with such resentment? Even after watching you for so long, I still can't figure you out."
On top of that, the Back Dragon had a long history with Ode.
He had been close friends with the previous gravekeeper—Ode's grandfather.
It felt like burying his friend's granddaughter with his own hands.
He could never forget the touch of closing her eyes.
"At least it seems your resentment was resolved on your final path. Farewell."
The Back Dragon slowly rose to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back.
When he took a step, he had already vanished.
In his place, a single small tulip swayed gently in the breeze beside the stone tomb.
* * *
After the Archmage Empress's possession ended, the divine fever tormenting Cassandra faded away at a rapid pace.
But Cassandra still lay bedridden for days, unable to regain consciousness.
—It's because the brain gate was forcibly kept open for too long during the possession. Nothing to be done until her body adjusts.
It was a side effect of the possession.
On top of that, for a child's body to have constructed the Archmage Empress's mental domain—no small miracle that her brain gate hadn't shattered.
But the vice captain was certain she would recover soon.
No mage of such caliber would have left her past self's body without any safeguards.
—In fact, this incident might greatly awaken not just her innate ability, but her magical talent as well. She could become a genius beyond geniuses.
Theo, however, felt sorry watching the child suffer day after day, drenched in cold sweat.
Wondering how to ease her pain, his thoughts turned to the shop window.
'There it is.'
+
[Heavily Diluted Elixir]
A small amount of the panacea elixir is contained within. Grants immediate recovery upon consumption.
· Type: Medicine
· Effect: Immediate 30% stamina recovery
+
He had earned plenty of rewards from completing quests, so selling just a few items quickly piled up coins.
Thanks to that, Cassandra showed signs of recovery at a rapid pace.
—Ho. Is that a Selector ability too? The captain never showed anything like it.
The vice captain refused to leave Theo's side.
And it wasn't just this one ghost.
—Ah, right, so when I swung my sword like this, that Shame bastard's arm went splaaat!
—Hey now, where's the exaggeration? I was there too.
—Huh? You punched a hole through that Shame guy's chest, didn't you? No wonder you don't remember.
—Oh, right? Ahem! Come to think of it, you did too.
—Of course. If we'd had just a bit more time, I would've smashed him flat...!
Excited tales echoed from all around.
Like vendors at a market stall, the ghosts boasted about their own greatness.
By the sound of it, every single one was an unparalleled master.
The battle with the [Nameless Lord] must have been that thrilling.
But,
For Theo, having 299 ghosts trailing him nonstop for days was driving him mad.
It was starting to get annoying.
'No, more than that—it's a long way from the underground necropolis here. How are they even keeping up?'
They weren't bound spirits, apparently.
"...Aren't you all going to ascend?"
—What? Ascend?
—Look at this punk! Now that he's seen our show, he's telling us to rot away!
—Ragnar through and through—such great respect for elders!
—Aigoo, aigoo, what's the point of devoting your whole life to the family! And the descendants treat us like backroom old fogeys!
—When you're old, you die. What's the point of living...?
—Tell me about it. In my day, respect for elders was the highest virtue!
You're all already dead, though.
Theo barely swallowed the words rising to his throat.
"The elders yourselves said that once the Sword Deputy is restored, with no lingering attachments, you'd depart..."
—No, but still! Telling us to rot away!
—Sucking all the sweet nectar and tossing us aside—true Ragnar style!
Tired of hearing "Ragnar" every time.
Theo figured any more talk would just give him a headache, so he turned away and ignored them.
—Eh? Look at this! Now he won't even talk to us!
Of course, it was lost on these childish old men.
'Why are they really sticking around?'
At this point, Theo couldn't even begin to guess what the ghosts were thinking.
They clearly had some business with him.
But he couldn't figure out what, and it was frustrating.
「Heh heh, looks like these childish old fogeys are pestering my companion.」
Just then, Lodbrok approached Theo's side in her human form.
Her hazy figure had grown much clearer.
Contrary to her earlier words about poor efficiency, the [Nameless Lord]'s eye had proven quite the fine spirit medicine.
He could now faintly sense her <rank>.
—Gasp!
—...Ahem!
—Khum!
The ghosts all clamped their lips shut and averted their gazes.
If they had one natural predator, it was Lodbrok.
「They say the elderly become like children—couldn't describe them better.」
Lodbrok let out a light chuckle and winked at Theo, as if to say, right?
"Your heart seems much filled now."
「Well, not bad for a Shame eyeball. A few more like it, and I might regain a decent degree of freedom.」
Lodbrok touched the now much smaller hole in her heart and flashed a grin.
Hurry up and bring more such spirit medicines—that was the message.
"Just wait a little longer. I should be able to take you to a good place soon."
「Oh? Found a nice spot already?」
Theo nodded.
The secret imperial storehouse revealed by the Archmage Empress.
There would surely be plenty of elixirs helpful to Lodbrok.
「No need to wait three years, then. Excellent. Thanks to you, we have plenty of time to chat.」
Lodbrok sidled right up to Theo and peered at what he was scribbling on the ground with a stick.
「A magic formula. You've substituted the ether structure—analyzed via cardinal heat— from absolute to relative, proving the unique properties of spacetime arising from gravity. Fascinating theory.」
Theo's eyes lit up for a moment.
"You know what this is?"
「Roughly. There's a big gap between our dragon clan's magic and human magic in terms of systemic theory, so full understanding is tricky... but I'm no ordinary dragon.」
The ancient dragons' magic system was exceedingly simple.
A realm where will directly manifested as phenomena.
Human magic, imitating it, had no choice but to rely on research and theory.
Fortunately, as the Ragnar guardian dragon with long exposure to the human world, Lodbrok had a high grasp of human magical systems.
「Following the logic... I see. A theory on the special relativity of spacetime?」
"Yes. Exactly."
By touching the chronograph, Theo had vaguely 'acquired' the Archmage Empress's magical system.
Most of the knowledge had flown away, but he'd managed to retain the essence, allowing him to review it like this.
The problem was that it was all mere knowledge.
True ownership required understanding—and no matter how much he studied it, Theo couldn't comprehend.
All his prior foundational studies seemed like trivial components by comparison.
'I need to fully grasp this to complete the [Secret of Regression] quest.'
But,
He didn't need to look far—there was an exceptional teacher right beside him.
「Shall I help?」
Lodbrok read his gaze and grinned.
Theo nodded vigorously.
"Yes. I want to learn."
「Spacetime has ever been the unity of time and space. Of those, time is a definition perceived and cognized solely by humans. Not easy to grasp, is it?」
"That's fine. If you think about it, I'm someone who regressed—traveled back through time. So I want to understand the concept of time even better.」
The Archmage Empress had traversed time to possess her younger self.
And with her own hands, she'd changed a future doomed to apocalypse.
Handling time was profoundly contradictory, yet essential for advancing to greater realms.
Theo saw this as the most critical stepping stone to comprehending the time wheel in its <Origin> form and ascending to higher heights.
「The more I see, the more amazing you are.」
"What do you mean...?"
「The Ragnar bloodline, from Sigurd's era on, were all muscleheads with brains stuffed full of brawn. They absolutely loathed using their heads. How did a guy like you turn up?」
No matter what he said here, it'd just be insulting his ancestors—he had no choice but to scratch his cheek.
「Still, no reason for me to hinder my companion's burning desire to grow. But there's a condition.」
"Yes. Name it."
Theo tensed up.
Lodbrok's demeanor was more serious than ever.
The wish of the world's last ancient dragon—the Dragon King—no telling how impossible it might be.
But,
「One mint chocolate ice cream.」
"...?"
「Back when Sigurd still drew breath, we ate ice cream together in the human world. Some city or other—Sigurd recommended it, so I tried this thing called ice cream... Never before had I tasted food that brought such ecstasy and感動.」
“...”
「It seemed simply sweet, yet it tingled the tip of my tongue with its unique texture, and that scent that toyed with my nose. Truly magnificent.」
At this point, Theo was at a complete loss for words.
「I devoured a dozen right there on the spot, and Sigurd was quite shocked. He seemed moved. After that, I couldn't forget the taste—kept reliving it over and over. A food laden with memories for me.」
Lost in recollection, Lodbrok's eyes gazed at something distant.
'The ancestor was shocked not because he was moved, but...'
More like flustered after failing to tease Lodbrok?
Theo forcibly swallowed the words.
—Khuhum! Mint chocolate, huh.
—Eh? You don't mean that devil's food... mumble mumble!
—The taste is, well, very, very unique... Once you try it, you never forget. Ahem!
While the ghosts averted their eyes just like Theo.
Lodbrok, returning from her reminiscence, gazed at Theo with serene eyes.
「Why? Too hard? Or is there no place selling mint chocolate at this hour?」
"No, it's not that."
「Then?」
“...It's nothing. Fortunately, there's a big city nearby—I should be able to get some.”
「Hoo! Excellent. Contract sealed, then.」
Theo gave an awkward smile and clasped the hand Lodbrok offered.
His mind buzzed with thoughts of how to handle his companion, who'd gone head over heels down the wrong path(?).
It was then.
"Theo, got a moment?"
Lodbrok's spirit form vanished in an instant, and the Back Dragon approached slowly, hands clasped behind his back.
"Yes. Of course."
"There's something I'd like to discuss. Care to take a stroll?"
* * *
The garden path was filled with the fragrance of tulips.
But Theo had no chance to savor it, caught off guard by the Back Dragon's sudden proposal.
"Yes? You mean me?"
A completely unexpected face.
The ghosts, who had sneakily trailed along, were just as stunned.
—Huh?
—This sudden?
But the Back Dragon was more serious than ever.
"Indeed. Won't you take on the role of next guildmaster of the Tulip Floristry Guild... in other words, the gravekeeper of the necropolis?"
회귀검가의 서자가 사는 법