Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Owner of the Vacant Seat (3)
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Humanity's savior.
Simon had waited a long time for that existence.
The brutal reality of humankind.
Ordinary people didn't know this fact. There was no reason to know it, nor any way to find out.
To them, the continent was a vast world, and they delusionally believed they enjoyed much precisely because it was so expansive.
Above all, much was censored.
Simon couldn't claim to know everything, but humans were deprived of territory, livelihood, and freedom!
Many things.
Under the pretext of prohibition, portions of their territory; in the name of faith, portions of their livelihood; because they were deemed the weak, portions of their freedom.
All of it turned humanity into beasts trapped in cages by the mighty races.
Now it was taken for granted, so no one noticed. Only Simon himself and a handful of other humans had realized it.
Even they couldn't take any action, wary of the eyes of those powerful races.
"Damn this world! Why must humans, why must humanity live oppressed? Survival of the fittest is the law of nature. But humanity wasn't culled by it! Humanity was strong. That's being revealed bit by bit! So then, why has humanity become so weak?"
Simon shouted, bloodshot veins bulging around his eyes.
"It's because they fear humans. They fear human potential! They fear the limits of humanity!"
Humans are weak.
Then why are they weak?
Is it the limitation of a short-lived race?
No.
The powerful races stripped strength from humans. He didn't know how, but humans accomplished so much in their brief lifespans.
Dragons were said to live ten thousand years, high elves half that.
Yet humans learned magic at an overwhelmingly faster rate than either race.
Those two races were powerful simply because of their longevity.
If humans could live that long, they would be the strongest race.
And ten years ago, secret proof of that had emerged.
"Tremendous... yes, a tremendous coincidence."
Ten years prior, the 'Daybreak' project had been enacted.
Aimed at fully exploring Capri Cave—one of the six great forbidden zones—it was a secret operation conducted by the Kingdom of Koze.
An expedition team was formed: one Sword Master, one grand mage, and twenty elite rangers to support them.
They made thorough preparations and ventured into Capri Cave.
To cut to the conclusion, like all other forbidden zone explorations, the result was disastrous.
The grand mage and eighteen rangers perished. Only the Sword Master and one ranger survived by sheer luck.
Even that ranger died shortly after escaping, and the Sword Master suffered severe damage to his vital energies, rendering him unable to wield a sword ever again.
But it wasn't without any gains.
"That day, Sir Herril the Sword Master brought back an item, and we called it this."
Simon spoke, his eyes intense.
"Ark Factory. The repository of the Ark, humanity's mighty battleship from an era before our current civilization."
Jamie's pupils trembled.
'Ark...?'
He never imagined hearing that name here.
'It still exists?'
It was unbelievable.
Because the 'Ark' was the aerial battleship that Diablo Volpir and his comrades had used in the war against the Twelve Gods, before he became a black sorcerer.
And the Ark had been destroyed during the Fourth Great War—the one that drove Diablo Volpir down the path of darkness.
Simon continued.
"Regrettably, the Ark Factory contained no power. However, we discovered many records. Overwhelming technologies beyond our current civilization's wildest dreams, abilities that could only exist if humans themselves were strong! That is proof that humans were once stronger than dragons, high elves, or even the lan. And... Jamie Welton."
Simon looked straight at Jamie as he spoke.
"You are the reincarnation of humanity from that era. We can overlook your overwhelming talent, but that inexplicable black mana of yours... it exists in a realm completely different from that of modern black sorcerers."
"......"
"It must be the power from that time. I don't know why you possess it, but..."
"Simon Count."
Jamie cut him off.
Simon looked at him silently, as if to say, speak.
"First of all, your guess is partially correct."
Jamie's tone shifted slightly.
Earlier, when speaking with Siegfried, there had been a childish air to it, but now it carried a hint of arrogance.
"Humanity, yes. They once dominated this continent."
"As I thought!!"
"But they were not its masters."
"I predicted that. There must have been some great war! The Ark was the battleship used in it."
"Correct. It was a God-Slaying weapon, created by pooling the power of me and my comrades, designed to intercept the gods."
"......God-Slaying weapon?"
"I don't know from where you were eavesdropping on our conversation, but first, let me reintroduce myself."
Jamie adjusted his pained posture as he spoke.
"I am Diablo Volpir. Former leader of the Humanity Liberation Army, and the man who ultimately stood alone and invented black magic to kill the Twelve Gods."
"......Stood alone? And before that, the Humanity Liberation Army... liberation from what?"
Simon doubted his own ears.
God-Slaying weapon.
To slay gods. In other words, the Ark was a weapon designed to kill gods.
He knew the Twelve Gods were involved in humanity's current plight, but to think there had been a faction directly aiming to kill them.
No, even more shocking than that—
"You, Jamie, were the leader of the Liberation Army? And what's this Diablo Volpir name?"
"I don't want to repeat the same story."
As Jamie said this, he pulled out the thread of memories and inserted it into Simon's mind.
Simon shuddered violently, then collapsed as his legs gave out.
He wiped the drool flowing from his mouth and looked up at Jamie.
A being with black hair and glowing purple eyes was gazing down at him.
"Urk!"
Simon clamped his mouth shut and coughed.
The tearing pain in his throat made him grimace involuntarily.
Were the memories he just saw real?
That insane spectacle and despairing world... had they truly happened in the past?
If so, then the boy sitting on that bed...
'Reincarnation.'
Simon clenched his trembling fist and rose to his feet.
His vision widened, the illusion of Diablo Volpir faded, and Jamie Welton reappeared.
Yes.
This was reality.
Humans were slaves and livestock to the Twelve Gods.
That damned truth had been confirmed 66,673 years ago.
And now, in that hopeless world, the great black sorcerer of old had returned.
Simon was speechless.
He stared fixedly at Jamie before performing a surprising act.
"Elder!"
Siegfried shot to his feet.
Simon knelt on one knee before Jamie.
Jamie regarded him with half-lidded eyes.
"What are you doing?"
Simon raised his head to meet Jamie's gaze.
And he said,
"I pay respects to the king of humanity."
"......Count."
"You were not merely humanity's savior. More than anyone, even when left alone, only you thought of humans. You fought fiercely and died miserably, thinking of humans until the very end. Thus, you are the king of humanity. I, Richter Simon, pledge my loyalty to you from this moment. I will walk the thorny path you tread. For humanity."
Jamie let out a low sigh.
He had roughly anticipated Simon's reaction upon learning the truth, but he hadn't expected it to be this extreme.
If Jamie was like this, Siegfried, who had been watching from the side, was utterly dumbfounded.
"Count."
"Call me by name, comfortably."
"I don't want that kind of relationship."
"......However."
"I'm no king."
Jamie slid off the bed and walked toward Simon.
His entire body felt like it was being crushed, but he didn't show it. He bowed his head to meet Simon's eyes.
"Lend me your strength."
"But..."
"Count. I've experienced many such relationships already. They never ended well. This time, I want to try something different. So, call me comfortably."
"......Jamie."
"That's enough. You too, Siegfried Elder. Lend me your strength."
"Sigh."
Siegfried sighed.
Honestly, he hadn't understood even half of the conversation so far. He was a grand mage, but an outsider.
It wasn't true that he had no idea at all.
He too had wandered the world and seen and heard many things.
But the secrets of the world and Jamie's true identity were enough to shock him.
Gazing at the ceiling, Siegfried spoke.
"Come to think of it, the third elder seat is vacant."
"Elder?"
"Once you're fully recovered, the young master will ascend to the elder position. Honestly, it feels like the young master is claiming too many 'firsts'."
Siegfried smiled at Jamie.
"Please take care of me from now on, as fellow colleagues."
Jamie smiled and nodded as well.
"Please take care of me."
"Simon Elder, let's get along from now on. Like it or not, we've ended up in that kind of relationship, right?"
"Heh heh. I never imagined riding the same boat as you, who always faced outward."
"That's how I wanted to live my whole life."
The two elders looked at each other and chuckled.
Jamie watched them and rose from his seat.
"Ugh."
"Tsk. You overdid it."
Siegfried scooped Jamie up and carefully laid him back on the bed.
As he was being laid down, Jamie asked Simon,
"By the way, didn't you say earlier there was someone you wanted to introduce us to?"
"Yes. My comrades."
"Kids?"
"Your disciples."
Anne and Lennon.
Come to think of it, this situation had arisen before he could even hold a proper first lesson.
"Call them here."
He didn't want to meet his disciples in this state, but avoiding them until he fully healed wasn't ideal either.
Anne and Lennon burst through the door of the sickroom.
"“Master!”"
The children approached Jamie with tear-streaked faces.
Simon and Siegfried decided to leave the three alone and exited the room.
Jamie nodded in thanks to the two and weakly raised his hand to stroke their heads one by one.
"I'm fine."
"You're really okay, right?"
"We thought you were dying... sniff..."
Anne expressed worry maturely, but Lennon was shedding tears and snot in a way that didn't suit him.
Surprised by the unexpected sight, Jamie blinked and burst into laughter.
"Puhaha... kuhuk!"
In his barely movable state, even laughing felt like his torso was ripping apart.
The two children startled and wailed, calling out to Jamie.
Fortunately, Jamie calmed down and broke out in cold sweat.
"Almost died from laughing."
"......That's why no one told you to laugh at others crying?"
"Thanks for coming, both of you."
"We're your disciples; of course we had to."
"No need to thank us. Sniff-"
Lennon rubbed his reddened nose, as his tears wouldn't stop.
Jamie smirked.
They were still master and disciples who didn't know each other well, but seeing them worried like this, he had a rough sense of their personalities.
"Let's get along well from now on."
"Please take care of us once more!"
"......Please take care of us."
And three months passed.