Seeking Refuge in the Court of Death
While searching for a place to stay in the Court of Death, I stared blankly at the clothes Rin handed me. Only then did I realize I was completely naked, barely covering myself with the bedsheet and blanket.
The garments Rin offered were lavish robes adorned with ornate purple and gold embroidery—far more suited for conducting affairs in a noble’s court than for travel. There was a thin white shirt, a jet-black blazer to wear over it, and a pale violet scarf. The skirt she provided was shockingly short, but she had paired it with soft black leggings that reached all the way to the ankles, allowing me to wear low shoes without worry.
It was nothing like the white travel dress I had stolen from Mittenburg’s wardrobe and worn throughout our journey. That dress had been luxurious enough that a mere baker’s daughter could never have afforded it, yet it paled in comparison to this.
There was no point wondering what had become of my original clothes. They had probably been discarded. I had grown somewhat attached to them, but every time the insects had burrowed through my torso they would have been chewed apart as well, reduced to shapeless rags.
Even if I rewound time, I understood I could not waste such a dangerous power on something like that. I asked cautiously.
“Um… what about my robe…?”
Rin smiled lightly, as if she had expected the question.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t throw it away. It’s the precious outfit you wore at your graduation, after all. There are many important items inside it. I had Mother wash it so you could wear it again after turning back time. As for the various filth on those items, I transformed my body and carefully dissolved and cleaned it away.”
I unfolded the expensive-looking top Rin had given me, turning it over in my hands as I spoke.
“Yes… thank you. Thank you… truly.”
“Hehe. If you’re that grateful, put it on quickly so we can go meet Lady Lumina. If the unfamiliar clothing gives you trouble, I’ll help you dress. Now, this scarf goes like this…”
And so I was half-forcibly dressed by my daughter’s hands, then led from the room by Rin—out into a splendid corridor of polished black stone lined with rich red carpet.
“Hmm.”
Standing before Lumina, the lord and bishop of this land who had first received me in a rather extravagant chamber, I felt utterly daunted. Lumina hummed a tune that set me on edge, studying my appearance with an intrigued expression.
“You look exactly like a frightened little girl. Am I truly that terrifying, Hero Kaira?”
It was impossible not to feel uncomfortable. I knew she bore no malice. She was an ordinarily good ruler who had mobilized her “army” for months on end, scouring forests and swamps to protect her people.
But… she looked like that.
My gaze kept drifting to Bishop Lumina’s lower body.
“I understand. Because of this form, I am almost always met with hatred by those seeing me for the first time. It is not a matter of one or two days… no, not even one or two hundred years, so I do understand. Still, is it not a little unkind to look at your lifesaver with such eyes?”
The moment she finished speaking, Lumina wriggled her pure-white, elegant, and utterly chilling lower body. A serpent’s torso easily three meters long. That was the body Bishop Lumina possessed.
Person… perhaps that word no longer applied. Her face was pale and flawless, her violet eyes and vivid red lips possessing a strange allure so captivating it was difficult to look away—an almost magical charm. Yet every individual scale on the serpent half below evoked a bizarre, instinctive horror that made people tremble. Even though it was not particularly grotesque.
“You’re still staring only at my lower half. It embarrasses me when you look at me like that, Hero.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Well, there’s no need to apologize. It is a body that naturally inspires fear.”
The half-human, half-serpent Bishop Lumina let out a long sigh.
“My son… well, in the religious sense, but anyway—do you remember Karik? You must also recall that his body is fixed in the form of an absurdly small boy. He probably told you. During the ordination ceremony, there was a price to be paid as proof of devotion to the one who grants rest. Being locked in that tiny form was the cost he bore.”
“Y-yes…”
“It is simple. This was the price I paid. To lose my human appearance forever and gain this grotesque serpent lower body that plants terror in the hearts of all who see it. Though I find it convenient in many ways now, it was quite uncomfortable for the first fifty years or so. Well? Has the explanation sufficed? Are you ready to look at my face?”
Unwilling to be any ruder, I forced myself to meet the gaze of Bishop Lumina—the ruler of the nearby lands. From the waist up she was a beautiful white-haired woman who appeared to be in her thirties, elegantly dressed in a human-style gown.
A warm, slightly playful smile greeted me, one that gave no hint she was a being who sustained herself on human blood. I wrenched my gaze upward each time it tried to drift down, then finally gathered the hem of my skirt and offered a small curtsy.
“Kaira, daughter of Pirel and Rasail, greets Bishop Lumina of Cashel Groa. I will never forget the mercy you showed in saving a life that was as good as lost.”
“My, how formal all of a sudden. There’s no need to be so stiff. Hmm…”
Lumina’s expression softened with amusement.
“As I heard from your slime companion, you have been waiting for an entire year, Hero. You planned to stay here and write a book that would speak well of Cashel Groa and Riaska to the empire, correct?”
“Yes, Bishop. Riaska is not well known to the empire, and because of differences in religious perspective, it has been portrayed in a greatly distorted manner with only vicious rumors circulating. If I were to investigate personally and compile a travelogue or illustrated guide, I believe it would greatly benefit relations between us and the empire.”
“Hmm. Yet the book would be published under the name of the wicked witch Kaira. Would that not simply deepen the empire’s aversion?”
She had pinpointed the exact problem. As expected of an immortal who had lived so long. I fumbled for the right words to continue.
“That… particular issue, I intended to borrow the names of my daughter Rin… the renowned alchemist who is also her creator, and my master… the grand mage Lady Viran…”
Before I could finish, Lumina’s pure-white tail thrust forward until it hovered directly in front of my nose. Every meticulously polished scale gleamed so brightly that my own face was reflected in them.
“Eek?!”
“No, Hero. That is a wicked lie. Deceiving readers is a terrible sin against both the people of this generation and the scholars of the future. Don’t you agree, little alchemist?”
“She’s right, Mother. It’s better to write honestly. Any scholar with pride would be furious rather than pleased to have such an achievement forced upon them. Please do not trouble Sir Naixon.”
At the resolute voice of my slime daughter clutching my hem, I stared at Rin in silence. Had I been mistaken from the very foundation?
“Simply use your own name. I will gather every piece of material you need from across all of Riaska, so you won’t have to take any dangerous steps. Once the book is published, time itself will prove you are not an evil person. Our great witch already knows, doesn’t she? That time is on your side. Of course, time is on my side as well—but the two of us are on the same side, aren’t we?”
Had Rin even revealed my ability to her?
“During your stay you may remain in my court as you please, and once the book is complete I will provide ample monetary compensation. However, ordination is out of the question. An arrogant mage could not possibly possess sincere faith toward the one who guides souls to rest.”
…Becoming a vampire was something I would have refused in any case. I thought it over carefully. The offer was not a bad one. Whether the empire and Riaska’s relationship soured was not truly my concern.
If I could publish a book under my own name—one that would be read by strangers and teach them about the land of death—then that in itself would be reward enough. And yet… yes. It felt as though this place could fill something I still lacked. That was why I had come to this little-known, dangerous region.
“I see… If you are willing to show me such consideration, I have no reason to refuse. However…”
“However? My, what a greedy young lady behind that innocent face. Very well, I’m listening. Speak.”
“There are a few requests I would like to make.”
The bishop with the enormous serpent lower body tilted her head slightly. Though her face still smiled, I could sense a faint displeasure. Beside me, Rin’s moist hand tightened on my sleeve.
“I have heard that the high-ranking priests of Riaska have lived for a very long time, and over those long years they have mastered not only scholarship but many forms of martial arts as well. Therefore, while I am writing, could Your Grace… teach me the swordsmanship you know?”
“What is this?”
Lumina answered with a dismissive expression.
“That is precisely the sort of misunderstanding imperials and mortal races tend to make. Of course, to effectively command skeletons and moving corpses one must be able to lead from the front, so we do know swordsmanship and spear arts for self-defense. But training for hundreds of years does not make one hundreds of times stronger, little witch.”
“I see…”
“Even the shape of swords commonly used a hundred years ago differs from those used today. Length, handling, counters—everything changes. The ceiling of skill arrives quickly as well. If learning the sword for hundreds or thousands of years granted invincibility, the elves alone would have slain the Demon King long ago. You know better than anyone that reality is otherwise, yes?”
I recalled Mervin’s swordsmanship—the same art that had barely allowed him to save himself after sustaining critical internal injuries—and fell silent.
“Still, very well. Our little witch does not even seem to know how to wield a blade properly. I can certainly teach you better than whatever half-hearted swordsmanship you picked up at the academy. I shall grant this request. Taking on a disciple after so long might prove entertaining.”
“Thank you.”
Lumina’s serpent-like violet eyes narrowed.
“And the other matter?”
“…There is none.”
Lumina flicked her tongue once. A chilling hissss rose from the tip of her lower body.
“Your face says otherwise. Speak. I will not become angry.”
“……”
I hesitated for a long time, glancing back and forth between Lumina’s face and Rin’s anxious red eyes, before finally speaking.
“…Could I learn magic that summons the souls of the dead once more?”
Lumina’s violet eyes widened, and then laughter loud enough to tear the court apart erupted from her. Rin clung to me with a terrified expression. The way her body was beginning to melt showed she was genuinely frightened beyond measure.
The peals of laughter finally subsided only when my legs were trembling so violently I could barely remain standing.
“Ahahaha… Oh dear, yes, of course. Indeed. If a mage passed over other safe havens to come to our neighborhood of all places, perhaps that was what she sought.”
Lumina’s torso approached me without sound, without presence. The moment I blinked, it was as though inexorable fate had already drawn near—inevitable death whose moment of devouring me could not be predicted.
“But I’m afraid it cannot be done, for two reasons. First, the ability to walk the dangerous tightrope between life and death is not magic, but a divine authority granted by the one who rules the rest of all the departed. A mere bishop like myself cannot bestow such power upon an unbeliever. Even if I could teach the method, it would constitute blasphemy toward Him.”
Her words were as cold and resolute as frost, yet the smile never entirely left her face.
“And the second reason… may be even more fundamental than faith. A soul that has been dead for a long time, one that has already left this world and accepted the yoke of its next life, cannot be retrieved—even if the Father of Rest himself were to intervene. It might be possible for a soul that has only just died, but the soul you wish to summon is not one that has only just died, is it, witch?”
“No…”
I answered and sank to my knees before her with a heavy thud.
“Father… I only… I only wanted to see my father one more time…”
As I hung my head, something small and damp wrapped itself tightly around my arm.
“Rin…”
And then something cold yet warm, soft yet contradictory, gently stroked my hair.
“Yes. How very human you are, our hero. I can feel your sincerity. What a good child. I am convinced now. You are not some wicked witch at all—merely a pitiful girl framed by another’s scheme.”
I lifted my tear-filled eyes to Lumina. The face of the ruler who governed death appeared more benevolent than that of any living being.
“No one can easily accept loss. Anyone who claims to do so is either strange or wicked. Even I, after more than four hundred years of life, have experienced countless losses, yet I have never once thought of letting them go lightly. Sending the souls of those I knew to the other side of the world, then raising only their empty shells to command them—has always been painful.”
Lumina extended a pure-white hand whose skin bore faint scale-like ridges on the back. I took it in a daze.
“Even I could never learn the secret arts you described. If I had known them, I would have used them myself. I would have summoned those dear souls countless times. But as I said before, that is a miracle even the gods cannot perform. Please understand. Still, I will teach you swordsmanship. In return, I hope you will write a meticulous masterpiece that introduces our land well.”
As she spoke, Lumina’s violet eyes glowed softly. Those eyes… were so, so unbearably beautiful that I felt I would be drawn in forever. I simply… gazed into her eyes…
“Now, look into my pupils. Accept the fascination. Forget your sorrow and think only of the life ahead. You may live beneath the same roof as your beloved daughter—consider that a joyous thing.”
“Yes…”
A faint smile spread across her face.
“Then I shall ask for a small payment as well. Consider it the fee for swordsmanship lessons. The scent that rises from your body reminds me of the coarse bread baked over peat fires from hundreds of years ago, when I too still had a mother and father—a time I can scarcely remember. I long for it so much. Would you allow me to taste a little of your blood?”
I was delighted. Lady Lumina wished to put her mouth on me. I answered happily.
“Yes… Please… by all means… taste Kaira’s flavor…”
“…To be this entranced already is rather disconcerting. You truly fall under fascination so easily.”
“Yes…”
Lady Lumina gave a somewhat hollow laugh and slowly drew near my neck. Rin’s body, still holding my wrist, trembled with unease, but it did not matter. I was happy.
That was how I obtained a place to stay. It was a spring day, three years after I had defeated the Demon King and shut myself away in my room.