The King of Lampades
After Shin Yuhee was whisked away by Ernette, I found myself with some time to kill. I immediately sought out the person I needed most.
"This manager, Akundal. Once a warrior of the desert and a master of dagger arts..."
"I need a mage."
"Not only are my dagger skills exceptional, but my ability to detect poison is also—"
"I need a mage."
"...Are you not interested in the hotel manager's expertise?"
"I need a mage."
I demanded information on the person I required most from Manager Akundal. He looked crestfallen.
"That... is a pity."
I understood his sentiment. Just as Ernette had immediately claimed Shin Yuhee as her disciple, he likely wanted to pass on his own teachings to me. Women for Shin Yuhee, men for me. It was a pity, but I wasn't desperate enough to learn combat techniques from the desert warriors here.
'If I lacked such skills, I wouldn't have survived Chekhov's Arena, let alone defeated the Demon King.'
If there was one thing I took pride in, it was my combat prowess. If I were a "battle junkie" like some of the other heroes or the Demon King's lieutenants, I might have provoked him into a spar. But this wasn't an arena, and there was no reason to fight unnecessarily.
"Why are you looking for a mage?"
"Because I need to become stronger."
"...Since you are unfamiliar with Lampades, I suppose that is to be expected, but there are almost no mages who handle mana here."
Realizing I had no intention of learning anything from him, Akundal sighed, yet he began to provide information willingly.
"It is not that we consider magic heresy. In fact, in our current situation... we would use anything, even if we had once considered it heresy."
"You aren't trying to hide it, are you?"
"Well, it has no meaning anymore. It is more beneficial to leave the traces of Lampades behind by telling a guest like you than to hide it, so I will gladly speak."
Manager Akundal held up one finger and pointed directly at the royal palace.
"There is only one mage in Lampades. The great leader of Lampades, the King."
The master of the palace being the only mage. It wasn't particularly strange. At the very least, he wouldn't have been the only one in the past.
"Have you heard of the origins of Lampades?"
"No, not at all."
"Its origin began when the King of Lampades gathered the people. He is a master of 'Earth-Stone Magic,' and he built this city in just seven months using his power."
Earth-Stone Magic. It was another term for Earth-attribute magic, often called golem-craft or puppetry. Handling earth magic in the desert was the equivalent of a fire mage near a volcano or an ice mage on a snowy plain.
"The King of Lampades used golems to pave roads and raise buildings. Those who followed him settled here in gratitude for his grace. Likewise... his disciples did as well."
"You speak as if they are no longer here."
"Because they have all left."
As Akundal looked beyond the city, his face held a mixture of bitterness and betrayal.
"The King said this: that it was a choice they made to protect what was most precious to them. That we should never resent or curse them. That the target of our arrows should be the Demon King who cursed this land, and that we must never confuse our enemies."
A city from which a massive number of people had already departed.
"There are less than 2,000 people left in this city. It was originally a city of over 30,000, but everyone has left."
"I have one question, Manager Akundal."
"What is it?"
"With so many people leaving, why did you decide to stay?"
"...I would like to ask you the same."
I don't particularly like answering a question with a question, but since he had initiated it, I decided to accept it gracefully.
"If I were in a situation where I had no choice but to die here, if I were in a situation where I had to fight the end of the world?"
"Yes. That is correct. If it were a situation you could not avoid, why would you choose to stay?"
"Well."
Whatever answer I gave, it wouldn't resonate with Akundal. Any clumsy analogy would just sound like nonsense to them.
"If I were to stay in this city, it would be because I believe it is the most certain path to survival."
"...The most certain path to survival?"
"Yes. Someone I knew once said this: as long as the probability of winning isn't 0%, it's worth a shot."
He was a hero who loved mobile gacha games. He was the type of person who would say, "Worth a shot, right?" even if the winning probability was 0.3%.
"Whether it's less than 1%, 0.3%, or even lower, as long as the possibility isn't zero, you have to try. Even if it's just to break through that low probability and create a miracle."
"......."
"Then, I will be going now. To the mage."
"I cannot let you go to the palace alone."
Manager Akundal stepped in front of me. "I shall escort you. Please, this way."
* * *
The palace of Lampades was, how should I put it, similar to a typical medieval castle built on a desert city. Except for the fact that the spires were shaped like round domes, somewhat reminiscent of an Islamic mosque, it wasn't much different from the many castles I had seen countless times before my regression. The red carpet running through the center of the floor. The wide hall that could be called the 'Throne Room.' A magnificent chandelier hanging overhead, and a throne that looked like it was forged from gold sitting atop the stairs in front.
"Ah."
The fact that a familiar old man was sitting on that throne didn't feel particularly surprising.
"How strange, you don't seem surprised to see me."
We were acquaintances. Of course we were. When we first arrived here, he was the old man who had dampened our spirits by saying there was nothing to see here. The only difference was that while he had been wearing plain clothes back then, he was now dressed in robes as flamboyant as any archmage.
"Actually, I thought about approaching you while pretending not to be who I am... but I didn't think that would work very well on you."
The old man scanned me up and down with a sullen face. It was the same as before, but the gaze was even more blatant than last time.
"So, you wanted to meet a mage?"
"Yes."
"You've met one. Now, what will you do?"
The old man, the King of Lampades, spread his arms while sitting on the throne.
"Surely you didn't come here saying, 'Our village needs help,' after figuring out most of the truth, did you? If that's the case, it's a pity. We're about to burn to death because we can't even put out the fire right under our own feet."
"Can't you just help us for a while before the disaster approaches?"
"What did you say?"
"I'm joking. You can rest assured, I didn't come here to ask for that kind of help."
"...Do you have multiple lives or something?"
No. I have no coins left.
"You seem to have misunderstood something just because we treated you kindly, but the person in front of you is the King of Lampades. I am the one who founded this city-state and an archmage in my own right."
"That's fortunate. If you were just a mediocre mage, I might not have needed to come looking for you."
"...Truly, you are an insolent young man. According to reports from Akundal and Ernette, you are a young man who cherishes and loves his wife dearly."
"That is true. That is why I have come here."
I reached out toward the King of Lampades.
"If you have a grimoire, could you lend it to me? I'd like to read and learn from it during my stay."
"...What?"
"I wouldn't ask to borrow powerful weapons or mana stones, but a grimoire should be possible, right? I will use it gratefully if you lend it to me."
"...Are you trying to walk the path of a [Mage]?"
"No."
Just as the Agramad Siege was a place to choose a job, one could choose countless jobs here in Lampades. ...Calling it a job is a bit much, so let's say I could establish a tech tree to specialize my talents.
"I have no intention of becoming a mage. Even if I do become someone who handles mana."
"Then why a grimoire? Do you want to become someone who handles both sword and magic, like a Magic Swordsman?"
"Naturally, because it is a technique that the King possesses."
"......What did you say?"
"Your grimoire must be a compilation of everything the strongest person in Lampades has. Even if it doesn't contain the techniques you currently possess, the origin that raised you to the position of King must be in there."
"......."
"I want that technique."
"You want to take my know-how without even walking the path of magic?"
"Yes."
Just as I had done with Akundal before, and just as Shin Yuhee had done with Ernette, I smiled deeply and nodded.
"I will remember you, King of Lampades."
"...Ha! Do you think that by saying such things, I would just hand over my grimoire as if I'd give you my heart and liver?"
The King of Lampades shook his head with a sullen face. To a mage, a grimoire is like a university professor's thesis. It is not just from their master's or doctoral days, but a collection of all the knowledge they have organized to discuss academically with other professors after becoming a professor themselves. Asking for that just like that is clearly problematic. So.
"It won't be free. It won't be free."
As the King of Lampades says, if it's a trade, it might be possible.
"What can you give us?"
"There are many things. But what I want to discuss right now is... 'the removal of a source of anxiety.'"
"The removal of a source of anxiety. What on earth is the source of anxiety?"
"An outsider who arrived at such a time."
He flinched. Just before the King of Lampades' eyes narrowed, I rasped my voice and laughed fiercely.
"By any chance, hasn't a black-haired Easterner similar to me come here?"
Along with farming the grimoire, I'm also taking care of Park Changsoo.