NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 149
The view of Lintpia from the statue looked truly beautiful.
Today, I felt a bit tired due to experiencing harder work than usual, but it felt like all the accumulated fatigue was lifting at once.
No matter how many times I see this, the feeling of addiction remains.
It may have lost some vitality and color compared to before, but that unique sentiment still lingered.
This really shows the saying that “form is temporary, but class is eternal.”
I took a deep breath, trying to clear my cluttered mind.
Once everything was over, I thought it might not be a bad idea to camp here for about a week.
“Leydan Tanton!”
Hmm, is it just because it’s been a while since I heard that voice?
It felt like I was nostalgically inhaling memories, and indeed, I was.
In this situation, there could only be one person looking for me.
“You’ve come.”
I quickly turned around, smiling as if nothing was wrong.
Still, the sadness that naturally emerged was something I couldn’t help.
My facial muscles just wouldn’t cooperate.
“…What are you doing here?”
“Exactly. What have I been doing up until now?”
I gazed at the distance with self-deprecation.
“Like forgetting such an important fact.”
“…Have you recovered it?”
I quietly nodded at the hunter’s words.
There were still too many things to think about, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that I had just remembered.
As I quietly passed by the hunter to descend from the statue, he grabbed my arm.
“Where are you trying to go?”
“I have something to check.”
“Let’s go together.”
“Are you sure? I’m going to meet an outsider on the same level as the Record Keeper.”
Was it because of the mention of being on the same level as the Record Keeper?
The hunter’s gaze, which had appeared strong until just now, wavered in an instant.
But beyond that, he tightened his expression, even furrowing his brow.
“I’ll endure it.”
“…Alright.”
What’s going on?
I thought he’d say that he’d rather rip apart an outsider.
Though I was puzzled by his unexpected choice of words, I decided to go together for now.
I could no longer sense the unique bloodlust characteristic of the hunter in his eyes.
#
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll know when you see it.”
I didn’t bother answering the hunter’s question.
I knew it was trivial, but maybe it was because my mood was gloomy.
I didn’t want to answer and have to explain everything afterward.
After walking for a while, we arrived in front of a building.
“…This is the palace?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Fortunately, the hunter didn’t ask for further explanations after that.
He didn’t even mention knocking on the palace doors.
He simply stood there, quietly watching what I was doing.
Inside, a maid opened the door for us.
Even though I hadn’t introduced myself, the moment the maid saw my face, her eyes widened in surprise as she stepped back.
“You are….”
“Take me to the domain leader.”
At my command, the maid silently turned around and walked away.
As I followed her, the hunter quietly nodded and started to follow me.
The maid arrived at a certain door and knocked, and someone came out from within.
And the moment our eyes met.
That person immediately knelt down.
“Have you finally come, Muji Absoluta?”
“…Commander.”
Just as I expected.
Currently, the leader of Lintpia was the Knight Commander, who possessed immense power at that time.
But now, the usual demeanor she showed towards me was gone, and she was maintaining a silence as if before a deity.
“Get up, I don’t deserve this kind of treatment.”
“…”
At my words, the Knight Commander finally stood up.
There were so many things she wanted to say, stories long overdue.
But this wasn’t the time for such matters.
“Please take me there, to that room.”
“Yes.”
The Knight Commander led me to a door.
The door was so old, it seemed nobody had been through it for a long time.
Still, the nostalgia surrounding it remained painfully, evoking a sense of loneliness in anyone who saw it.
And now, this room was a space where an average human wouldn’t be forgiven to enter.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, a certain woman was seated within.
A now tarnished golden tiara, which had lost its shine.
A dress faded and worn down.
Even so, the grace of her figure remained clean and noble enough to prove that she was indeed the being I remembered.
“…Damn.”
Unlike the hunter, she seemed to be struggling to maintain her posture, breathing softly with a hint of pain.
After all, she could withstand Belle’s mental interference, so it seemed that she had grown enough to handle this level of mental pressure now.
Though now, this was somewhat meaningless.
Leaving the hunter behind, I carefully approached the woman.
She slowly lifted her head to look at me.
Did she recognize me?
The deep-set eyes that seemed to have lost everything suddenly shone, and her eyelids began to lift.
I immediately knelt before her.
“…Have you been well, Your Majesty the Empress?”
Currently known as the being formerly called “Life Guardian.”
At one time, she had been the one beside the Emperor, who had now become a skeleton.
Demeter was now beside the skeleton of the Emperor.
“I have returned, though I’m quite late.”
Tears began to flow from the Empress’s eyes.
Whether they were tears of regret or tears of hope finally regaining emotions that had gone cold, only she could know.
#
“…I thought it was impossible. After all, bringing back someone who lost their life according to the natural order is something we thought was beyond us.”
“I’m just as confused, but here we are. I must think of a way to extract her from my body soon.”
The Empress gently brushed the cheek of the skeleton.
Watching her gaze, which appeared filled with love, I couldn’t tell whether it was a profound innocent feeling or madness.
But if I recalled the strong obsession of the Divine Race, it might be more fitting to view it as a part of pure love.
“So, did you experience another world, as Oko said?”
Seeing the Life Guardian asking with genuine curiosity, I offered a bittersweet smile.
“Yes, well. But it wasn’t exactly a happy world. Everything just went wrong. It felt like I was carrying the karma of my previous life.”
“Hehe, who knows. Oko might have intentionally made it slightly miserable to make sure you would return to your original world.”
Hmm.
Is that so?
No, it definitely was a possibility.
For instance, this crime of would-be outsider violation assigned to me.
Thinking of Oko’s personality, it might have been a setup to eliminate the possibility of connecting with another being from the start.
The image of her constantly wanting to abduct me sent shivers down my spine.
Seeing me like that, the Empress chuckled lightly.
“Oko didn’t fare too well, it seems. Even with all her careful planning… things didn’t go as intended.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“…Oko might sulk when you return. Find some way to make it up to her.”
I pretended not to understand her words, but the truth was, I couldn’t not understand.
First of all, the Divine beings that were now attached to me.
Apta may be fine, but the others might pose unwanted complications.
And then there was the hunter, who seemed ever ready to pounce on me.
And even the princess.
…There was indeed some rationale behind the princess’s behavior.
I had been confused about why she was acting so strangely, but if it was because she was grateful for being saved, that seemed entirely plausible.
If only she had explained it instead of acting oblivious.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes?”
“I have enough power to intercept the Second Princess. If you join me, I would feel much more confident.”
The Empress gave a sad smile as she gazed at the Emperor.
Perhaps she saw a definite possibility in my resurrection.
In the end, she answered with a bright smile.
“Understood. But once this fight is over, I hope you will help in resurrecting him.”
“…Of course.”
I knelt before the Empress.
Now, all preparations were complete.
#
“…I had no idea the hunter had such a story.”
“Hmm.”
While I was rummaging through my memories, the hunter claimed to have diligently investigated the identity of the ‘hunter’ profession.
As a result, it turned out that hunters were a job artificially created by those humans who suffered at the hands of the Divine Race to keep their hatred for the Divine Race alive.
The hunter’s father was among those.
However, since the hunter’s father was reluctant to kill Divine beings, he only hunted the dangerous ones and ended up drawing ire from those in power, which ultimately led to his downfall.
…Could there be such a hollow story?
Then what had the hunter been fighting for all this time?
Where should her hatred go?
But for some reason, the hunter’s expression while sharing that story looked very relieved.
“Hunter, are you… alright?”
“I only hunted those trying to invade Rondan, so there’s not really any burden on my heart.”
“That’s not what I mean… I’m talking about your father.”
At my inquiry, the hunter twisted her lips and chuckled.
It was a remark made out of genuine concern, but she didn’t seem to be affected.
“Frustrated.”
As expected.
“But a train without a destination will remain isolated and unable to do anything. So, it must seek a new destination, and then that train can move again.”
Oh.
The hunter suddenly said something quite profound.
Finally, I was able to smile.
“Have you decided on that destination?”
At my question, the hunter began to stare at me intently.
Her gaze was so intense that it made me uncomfortable, and I turned away, prompting another chuckle from her.
“Yeah. I’ve already set it.”
Though I tilted my head at the hunter’s puzzling words, I figured that, well, as long as it’s a good thing, it’s alright.
Just as I was thinking this while intending to return to Rondan.
“Sorry to interrupt your enjoyable time.”
Wait a minute.
Why is this voice sounding here?
The hunter also turned around at the same time in surprise.
And there stood Agartha.
Right, it definitely was Agartha.
“Agartha?”
“Yes, it’s Agartha.”
“Your arm…”
In the spot where her arm had once been, a perfectly fine arm extended, holding a book and a pen, standing in a somewhat demure posture.
The moment I realized that fact.
Black tentacle-like things began sprouting from Agartha’s abdomen, and her sharp features softened before she started transforming into something very familiar.
“Ah.”
I see.
Oko had been granting her request in this way.
As the hunter stared wide-eyed at the twisted sight, I smiled sadly but happily.
“…You’ve been by my side all along?”
“Yes.”
The figure that was once Agartha transformed into Record Keeper, Apta, smiling cheerfully.
“Leydan, because I cherish you.”