Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Epilogue
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A small village on the outskirts of Greece. In a peaceful spot where there were more sheep than people and more grass than roads, a blonde girl sat with a lake as her backdrop, waiting to paint.
"......Hmm."
Swish swish.
The moving brush coated the canvas with paint. She painted the sunset in orange, the clouds in white as if they were drifting by. The green mountains were expressed with rough dabs of the brush, and the blue lake was completed with soft impressions.
And atop that blue lake, she depicted the floating corpses as black dots. With meticulous, precise touches, she smiled in satisfaction and lifted the canvas with both hands.
That was when it happened.
"You're still as good at painting as ever, Irene."
"......!"
The girl whipped her head around at the sudden voice. Her gaze was sharp at first, but it softened lazily the moment she saw who it was. The girl called Irene slumped her shoulders and hugged the canvas tightly.
"Walter."
"Long time no see, Irene. Have you been well?"
Walter.
The head of Laplace and a mage who possessed an outer god's grimoire. He approached slowly, stepping lightly on the grass in his casual attire, then smiled at the corpses floating on the lake.
"What are those?"
"My artwork."
Irene murmured without a hint of hesitation. She knelt down, her face slightly flushed, and stared at the drowned bodies on the lake.
Bluish-skinned corpses, bloated and starting to decay. Tiny fish swarmed around the swollen bellies that looked ready to burst at a touch. The nameless fish tore into the softened flesh, competing with one another.
Blood spread like paint.
"Why do humans always think they're the lords of creation? Any being that lives by eating something must live in fear of being eaten by that something in turn."
Irene laid the canvas on the ground and bit her finger lightly to draw blood. She then painted blood around the blue paint, following the spreading blood in the lake.
"In the past, humans had to risk their lives just to survive. They had to test plants for poison themselves, and on hunting days, they had to be prepared to lose a limb or two."
"Hmm."
"But now? It's too easy. We no longer stake our lives on survival. Those are artworks expressing that contradiction and the lost glory of humanity."
Irene's golden eyes sparkled in the sunset light. Walter stroked his chin as if mulling over her words, then crossed his arms with a wry smile.
"Haha, sorry. Our views on art don't quite align. To put it bluntly, it sounds like nonsense to me."
"Hmph. Artists are solitary by nature. I just create my own works......"
Irene muttered as she placed the canvas back on the easel. Then she turned to Walter.
"So, why'd you show up out of nowhere?"
"Nothing major. Just came to tell you Eddie died."
"Eddie?"
Irene tilted her head as if she had no idea who that was. Walter explained.
"You know, the mage from the Clock Tower. White hair, bearded old man."
"......Ah, that guy."
She sat on a chair with a disinterested expression. The wind gently tousled her hair.
"He deserved to die. Not as strong as his reputation, ugly face gave no inspiration...... Probably died pathetically."
"Ahaha, that's harsh. Did you hate Eddie that much?"
"No reason to like him. Honestly wanted to kill him, but he didn't even inspire me to paint, so I gave up."
Irene waited lazily for the paint to dry. Walter, not planning to stay long, brushed leaves off his pants and looked at her.
"Anyway, that's not the point. Where he died matters."
"Where'd he croak?"
"Korea."
"So what?"
Irene asked without even turning from the canvas.
"He went wild there and got himself killed, right?"
"Probably. But I'd asked him to track down an outer god's grimoire for me."
"......"
Irene turned to him at Walter's continued words. Stars sparkled in her amber eyes.
"An outer god's grimoire?"
"Yeah."
Walter smiled.
"Eddie was dumb, but not a complete idiot. He wouldn't go to Korea on a whim and die screaming for no reason."
"Yeah, probably."
"Seems like there's something related to outer gods there. Oh, not Lovecraft stuff. That one's already got an owner."
"I know. I saw one recently too."
"Right. Anyway, thinking of visiting Korea."
"You stay put. I'll go."
Irene stood abruptly. Walter smiled faintly.
"You? You've never left Greece."
"It's an outer god's grimoire. You know how much I've craved one. Not some historical relic like yours. Something completely new. A grimoire written by an unknown outer god of madness."
Her face flushed with excitement. Her flowing golden hair glowed brighter in the sunset.
"Won't give it to anyone else. I'll find it. Feel its beauty with my hands first, paint it myself."
"What if it already has an owner?"
"What're you talking about?"
Irene tilted her head.
"With me around, no grimoire would pick another owner."
"......Haha."
Walter chuckled dryly at her pure, unwavering response and pulled down his hat.
"Then you go, Irene. I'll focus on my work a bit more."
"Yeah. Leave it to me. I'll bring it back."
"Sure. And, uh...... just FYI, an outer god descended to Earth recently."
"What? When?"
"Don't look at me like that. Makes me wanna skin you and stuff you. Uh...... about a month ago, I think."
"......? That's too recent. You couldn't have missed it."
"Right? That's what struck me as odd too."
Walter tapped the grimoire in his pocket and smiled.
"Something unusual happened. Check it out while you're there. I'm looking into it too."
"Got it."
Irene nodded. Staring at the bodies swimming in the lake, her lips trembled.
"Korea......"
An irresistible thrill surged from her heart, circulating through her entire body.
The school ghost stories Lee Seo-ah had anticipated turned out to be a heart-pounding evil spirit collecting game. But what she actually faced was the aftermath of an outer god's grimoire being born, and all she gained was the 'Hanako of the Toilet.'
And even that was a net loss. She'd expended a whopping fifteen evil spirits at the school alone, but only got one in return, leaving Lee Seo-ah with nothing but a bad deal.
So what did she choose to do after everything was over?
"Come out, you cultist bastards!"
Start a rampage, of course.
"You dared scam me?! Those school ghost stories weren't the school ghost stories I thought, you damn shaman bitches!"
Crash!
The heart of Busan. Lee Seo-ah raided the small rest house of the shaman association there. The shamans, who had been peacefully performing a ritual on some evil spirit and chatting about their recently enshrined deity, leaped up at the sudden mage attack.
"Aigoo, you crazy bitch! Stop it, stop! Let's talk first!"
"Kyaaah! N-No, not that! Not the saw! Aaaah! Not those talismans either!!"
"You got a ton of 'no's! Just shut up!"
"Kyaaaaah!!"
In the early dawn as the moon dipped low, old and young shamans stomped and screamed. But Lee Seo-ah didn't stop, unleashing evil spirits to smash everything around. Her guardian spirit danced with a kitchen knife.
"You crazy bitch, stop!"
She didn't. Lee Seo-ah stood in the middle of the room, directing the evil spirits nonstop.
"Smash that pig head over there too."
"Keeeaak!"
Her rampage lasted a full two hours, stopping only as the sun began to rise. The shamans who'd been causing chaos were sprawled exhausted on the floor. The eldest among them looked up at Lee Seo-ah hazily and muttered.
"......You crazy bitch, did your grandma tell you to do this?"
"My grandma died ages ago."
"That's why she told you to......"
"I caught my grandma back then and sent her to the afterlife. She kept nagging even in death to keep being a shaman."
"You unfilial lunatic......"
"What're you on about? I sent her off properly."
Lee Seo-ah replied, looking down at the shaman.
"Anyway, I deserve compensation for this mess. Double the pay. And hand over some talismans too."
"What? You bitch! Have you ever seen such a robber?! The fee was 100 million already! Double? And talismans? Argh, you double bastard. Just kill me."
"Fine, die then. Bye."
"Let's talk it out."
The shaman shot up.
"Even 200 million straight up is hard for us to prepare right now. Give us a little time. Or what even happened there to make you like this? Huh?"
"Muggles wouldn't get it. Jealous? Become a mage then. And you think I don't know I snag a cut every time from your rituals? Think I don't know why Grandma left so much inheritance?"
Lee Seo-ah tapped the shaman's head with her finger.
"Hand it all over right here. 100 million each in cash bundles. You got ten minutes."
"......"
The shaman fell silent. Fortunately, it was an affirmative silence. She went with the other shamans to the safe inside the rest house and started counting cash. Ian watched with a wry smile.
Truth be told, it wasn't really their fault. Non-mages who poked into school ghost stories got swept up and died—that was the story. They'd be just as pissed.
But what could you do? They did pass the request to a mage without checking the cause of death. If Lee Seo-ah had gone alone, she'd probably have been torn limb from limb too.
She knew that, which was why she was so furious.
Either way, Ian suffered no loss. More money and talismans—who was he to complain?
"Should've done that from the start. Whew, Ian. Let's eat something expensive for breakfast."
Lee Seo-ah sidled up to Ian and said. Ian chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, let's go."
Moments later, the shamans came back sniffling with the money. The two packed it into bags without hesitation and left the rest house.
Not a bad haul, all things considered.