Episode 84
“For the time being, people live.”
“Because not everything is eroded.”
Passing through the villages around me, I answered simply.
The county of Draculia was not completely eroded.
A terrible tragedy occurred that half of the territories were massacred… ….
Conversely,
the other half survived.
And half of them were mostly people who couldn’t leave the territory where they originally lived.
It is clear what will happen if you move away from the ground you have built.
“Without a lord, they have no choice but to protect themselves. A lot of sacrifices must have been made.”
“Are you still here?”
“Well, it’s not like there aren’t any advantages to living here.”
okay.
Paradoxically, no monsters approached the land where the other half lived.
As if he was reluctant to see the disaster that Draculion scattered.
Considering that the threat of monsters to ordinary people is very lethal, this place was a good land.
Besides, there is no lord to collect taxes.
Even in the Empire, officials are not dispatched because they are reluctant to do so.
There is no lord willing to take up office in such a dangerous land.
It was thoroughly neglected, but for some, that neglect could be an opportunity.
‘but.’
He smiled bitterly as he recalled what had happened here before returning.
‘Draculion wasn’t that incompetent.’
Rather, it was wicked and clever.
He knew very well that his actions were wrong and that he would eventually be found out.
What will happen after you get caught?
Also, how will the territory he was managing return to? ….
I knew everything.
In the first place, the picture he drew was very large, as he bet everything on the goal of immortality.
‘Yes, he was planning after he was sealed from the beginning.’
Immortality.
If you don’t die, you know that time is on your side after all.
It wasn’t that he had only eaten half of the villagers when he sacrificed them.
rather than half of it.
okay. Knowing that it would be sealed, he created a situation where half of it remained.
‘Actually, that strategy worked.’
The one who is released from the seal before returning immediately eats half of the remaining territories.
Draculion, who ate all the people in his territory, became much more powerful and ran out of control… ….
There were hundreds of thousands of victims.
“By the way.”
As I was trying to recall such old memories, the butler suddenly said,
“Has God given any word on how Draculion will break the seal?”
“To some extent.”
Draculion was imprisoned in a coffin made of sacred stones with stakes driven through his body.
According to common sense, no matter how much time passes, there is no room for escape.
However, like any seal, it cannot be perfect.
“I heard there is a collaborator.”
“That means…”
“Probably the devil. I don’t know how high the level will be.”
Even before the return, the reason why Draculion was released from the seal was never properly revealed.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t such an empty-headed guy as to openly reveal my grandiose plan.
He didn’t say anything about him until the moment he was annihilated.
but.
The demons moved as if they had waited with the guy’s runaway.
It is impossible unless it has been discussed in advance.
Looking at it that way,
it is possible to speculate that Draculion had had some kind of relationship with the devil before, and that he had planned for a long time using that.
Of course, it’s just speculation, but personally, I think it’s quite reliable.
and how far did it go
“young master.”
“say.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to let this horse, which I am carrying, do its duty?”
The butler was still walking with his horse on his back as he had lost the bet.
Of course, he was using magic, but there was no way it wouldn’t be difficult.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to rehabilitate magic?”
“Rehabilitation, how the hell are you going to pamper an old man? My back hurts every time I wake up these days.”
“Put something down. Because they are all here.”
At my words, the butler put down his horse with eyes that he was barely alive and got on the horse.
“Oh comfortable.”
“Butler, can you fall asleep at that level? If it were me, I wasn’t thinking about giving up, but I was thinking about how I could hold out for a long time.”
“young master.”
“Tell me.”
“Obviously I’m older, but why does the boy look older?”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Heh, of course not. I meant to say that it is like an old man who has grown old.”
“….”
that’s too much
I looked at the butler with a slightly shocked expression, but he didn’t budge.
what why you said it right
The butler looked at me with that kind of expression.
The butler said he felt something in my eyes.
“Don’t ever ask me to ride a horse again. That is what makes the young master even uglier.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You meant to.”
“It’s not?”
“Ugh what! I felt that way just by looking at it. Lies are not good, Bocchan!”
The butler raises his head full of confidence with an expression of victory.
To be honest, I said I hated seeing it.
“Butler, from now on, mana circulation for 6 circles will begin.”
“…yes?”
“He said he’d take the 8th circle.”
“that…Yes?”
“Then you have to work hard on rehab.”
By the way, as someone who has just recovered and started training, circulating mana for 6 circles all the time is hard work.
You get something, but it’s hard.
The butler must know that.
The butler’s face quickly turned an earthy color.
“No, what happened is that people don’t want to lose a word!”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, I’m not saying it’s wrong, but you’re just too lazy! Some people sometimes lose and live… …”
“Execution.”
The butler shuddered and started mana circulation.
Even so, the self-circulating mana circulation itself is difficult, but doing it on a horse would be like dying.
But it’s okay.
‘I won’t die.’
what you don’t have to die.
I have no doubt that the butler will overcome this ordeal and become stronger than anyone else.
[…] …He’s a hero.]
Set sighed and said, “It doesn’t matter.”
Isn’t that how people should have a bit of a bitter taste?
* * *
Gradually, the boundary was visible.
The barrier separating Draculion’s contaminated area from the outside was huge and strong enough to be seen from afar.
“It’s filthy big.”
“That’s proof that the Churches and Empires at the time treated Draculion’s problem seriously.”
Of course, that’s not all right now.
There was a time when several knights took turns guarding this place.
It seems that only now that time has passed and that it is no longer a threat, so it has been abandoned.
Whatever.
“It’s ironic that the barriers are built so high, but there are no guards.”
“Well, that’s what high-ranking people do.”
The butler took my words as if it was nothing special.
“Of course, even if it’s not that, all kinds of incidents are popping up all over the place, so it’s hard to keep guarding this place.”
“Of course, it’s not like I didn’t understand.”
that it doesn’t die.
How much should I protect and how long should I be patient?
Not being sure of that is painful in many ways.
Besides, ‘dangerous things’ don’t just explode on Draculion’s side.
It was impossible to permanently staff each one of them individually.
furthermore.
‘At the time, I was confident that I could survive for a hundred years.’
It was not a completely unfounded story.
The one who actually executed the seal was the best paladin in the kingdom, and the necessary support for the seal was also generously provided.
So I was confident.
If only the barriers were erected, there would be no way the seal would be broken.
At the time, I was pretty sure.
at the time.
‘Until it is revealed that the demon’s descent is imminent.’
Before the return, everything was too late.
really everything.
I prepared belatedly, but I couldn’t believe that the things I gathered in a hurry would have a proper effect.
‘Well, it’s no use thinking about it now.’
The Demon God was preparing just for that moment, and we were defenseless in peace.
That’s just the story.
But then Set asked me cautiously.
[…] …Mikhail Do you know something?]
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
[Uhm….]
Set frowned as if he couldn’t explain something.
She said cautiously.
[…] …It smells disgusting.]
It smells disgusting.
At that, I laughed unconsciously.
“I guess so.”
The smell of Draculion.
The ugly traces of the old monster who ate those he was supposed to protect and coveted immortality… ….
[Not only that. this area. Not just those polluted areas, but everything… …Something’s wrong.]
Set continued, trembling.
[…] …It’s like a cattle pen.]
“It’s a cattle pen.”
Laughter came out of nowhere.
Because I didn’t think there was a more accurate word than that.
Then Ryan asked me.
“So are you going right in?”
“No, not right now. first of all.”
As I said that, I turned my gaze to the town in front of me.
It’s the largest of the villages I’ve been through so far, and it looks quite plausible.
okay.
“Let’s start by tidying up over there.”
really.
It looks plausible.
* * *
People live here and there, but basically this land is neglected by the Empire.
Without a lord, of course there were no security forces or officials to maintain the minimum order.
It is exposed to so much danger and it is not strange if it collapses at any time.
but.
“…Isn’t that surprisingly bad?”
Ryan said as if he was surprised.
As the guy said, the village he arrived in was not bad.
The land was fairly straight, whether it was managed periodically, and there were inns and shops, and there were also security guards.
“I thought it would have been okay if I had just an assortment of things, but it’s really better than I thought.”
The butler was also looking around with his eyes wide open as if he was quite surprised.
“It looks fine.”
I muttered something like that and went through the door.
But then.
“welcome!”
Wasn’t an old man at the front door approaching with a loud voice as soon as we crossed the door?
“Hehe, it’s been a while since I’ve been new to you. Nice to meet you!”
“you are?”
It was an old man who seemed nothing special from the outside.
Shabby clothes, moderately trimmed but unkempt beard.
He stood hunched over with both hands supporting his waist.
“I’m Dablos, the chief of ‘Piaculum’ here.”
When the old man Dablos said that, he laughed and continued.
“There are several villages around here, but none are as prosperous and decent as our ‘Piaculum’. An excellent choice.”
As soon as he arrives in the village, Dablos begins to explain as if he had prepared a bustle.
A thought passed through my mind, but I didn’t express it.
I laughed instead.
Like an adventurer who has just arrived.
Currently, I wasn’t dressed enough to be identified as a ‘hero’.
“Haha, this is true. okay. I still needed a place to stay for a bit, but that’s good!”
“That’s good!”
The village chief took my words busily and turned around.
“I can’t make a guest who hasn’t been in a while feel uncomfortable. I’ll guide you.”
Then check it out again.
“Welcome to Piaculum, travelers.”
Said so.
Great mage who transcends by regression
