It didn't take long to realize that Pala had disappeared.
When her sister didn't return even after dinner ti, Pola went straight to Aman.
"Dean Aman. Pala unni has disappeared."
Pola, with anxious eyes, was on the verge of tears.
"Pola. Don't worry too much. I'll look for her."
Aman answered with a faint smile.
'Neither the barrier nor the curse has been activated. Their paths must have just kept crossing.'
Thinking so, Aman cast a tracking spell to find Pala.
"...?"
The mark he had placed on Pala had disappeared. And too cleanly at that.
'I didn't even notice?'
It was absurd. The curse and the mark had all disappeared, and he hadn't even noticed?
"What's wrong?"
As Aman rolled his eyes with a serious expression, Pola asked in a trembling voice.
"It's nothing. Pola, it's late, so will you go back to the dormitory for today? I'll let you know as soon as I et your sister."
"...You promise?"
"Of course. Of course."
At that, Pola's shoulders drooped, and she turned around.
"You have to find her."
Pola said to Aman before leaving the room.
"Of course. Of course."
Aman nodded his head and smiled at that.
***
"What does that an again."
Lucas, who t Aman, felt a surge of irritation.
Pala had disappeared. At that, Lucas barely suppressed the urge to shout, 'That's why I told you to keep a tight rein on her.'
"It's just as I said. I think the Demon King himself may have co."
"...I suppose so. Otherwise, who could erase your magic without a trace?"
But getting angry at Aman over soone who had already disappeared would change nothing.
"So where did she go?"
"I don't know."
It was a concise answer.
"She could have used a scroll to go sowhere, or the Demon King could have taken her himself. Since all the marks have disappeared, there is no way to find her."
A sigh escaped him. In fact, it was none of his business whether so human woman disappeared or died.
'I didn't like her anyway.'
But Pola was the problem. It hadn't even been a few days since she had been jumping around with joy at having found her sister.
If she thought she had lost her sister again, the wound in Pola's heart would be great.
'She's still a child.'
Although Pola was a full-fledged adult, in Lucas's eyes, she still seed like a kid of about ten. Besides, she had acted even more like a child after eting her sister...
"So what are you going to tell Pola?"
"I was thinking of asking the Lord."
Aman let out a small, dry cough and avoided Lucas's eyes.
"Hah..."
Lucas let out a deep sigh.
Lucas, too, had no idea whether it would be better to hide this fact from Pola for now or to tell her.
"You just stay put. I'll deliver the news."
"Yes."
Lucas also needed ti to think.
**
After long thought, Lucas decided that it was best to tell Pola all of this.
Pola, who hadn't believed it at first, took a deep breath as soon as she entered the librarian's room where her sister had stayed, and then calmly listened to the rest of the story.
"..."
Pola, who had heard all the news, looked at Lucas with a blank expression for a mont.
"Right. My sister has left."
"I'm sorry."
Pola, as if she had co to her senses at Lucas's apology, smiled faintly.
"Why are you sorry? Are you an idiot?"
"For letting your sister disappear."
"It's fine. I don't need a sister anymore. No, it would be more accurate to say that I no longer need a sister who leaves twice."
At Pola's words, Lucas felt even more hurt.
It would have been better if she had just said she wasn't okay and had a tearful breakdown.
"I'm really fine. Because all the things I was curious about have been resolved. I actually always thought that I just hoped my sister was alive."
"..."
"But I've confird that she's alive. Maybe my sister felt the sa way as ."
Pola blinked her eyes as if trying not to cry.
"So it's okay. My sister will live well. I will too. I'll show her that I'm living well."
With those words, Pola turned around bravely.
"Thank you. So don't you worry about either."
"...Pola."
It was pitiful. The sight of the deeply wounded Pola trying to be calm was so pitiful.
"I'm going!"
Pola, who had turned around, ran off just like that.
***
Even as ti passed with various events, the demons were busily on the move.
"What's the scale this ti?"
"It seems we can handle about 30 people at once without any problem."
The demons with ashen skin smiled with satisfaction as they looked at the dark gate spread out before them.
"30 people...!"
"Yes. Since the number of gates we can open simultaneously is about a hundred, we can transport up to three thousand people a day."
"Khahaha! The King will be pleased! You have all worked hard! You have truly worked hard!"
"Not at all."
The man who appeared to be a high-ranking official patted the shoulders of those who appeared to be researchers in turn.
"It's not long now. The day we go back to the surface..."
The man looked at the black sky with distant eyes.
It had already been a thousand years since they had been driven out of the surface and had co to the demon world.
They had been granted a new world at the Demon King's plea, but this place was completely different from where they had originally lived.
Instead of the sun, two moons hung in the sky, and where there was no sunlight, there was no light.
For several years, they had lived relying on the faint moonlight.
The impoverished demons had engaged in slaughter and committed cris.
The demon world had fallen into chaos, and the Demon King, who had watched it, had created sothing similar to the sun with magic and had brought down a new light.
At first, everyone rejoiced and worshipped the king. But as ti passed, the fake made them yearn for the real even more.
"Now it's ti to go out to where the real light is."
"Now it is ti for them, not us, to experience the darkness."
"We must bring down their sun."
"That is correct."
Now they were trying to have the real sun again.
"If we bring down the dragons, the sun of the surface, light will find us again. We will reclaim our light."
They were trying to reclaim the sun and the land by bringing down those who had taken their land.
***
"Is Pola okay?"
Skir asked with concern.
"She's probably just pretending to be okay."
Pola tried to act as she had before. But they could tell.
'She has hurt eyes...'
The light in Pola's always sparkling eyes had faded. She smiled and chattered with a brighter expression than before her sister had disappeared, but her efforts were just pitiful.
She had hidden herself by wrapping herself tightly in a bright appearance so as not to reveal her dark side.
She knew that even if she revealed the pain of losing her parents as a child and being abandoned at an orphanage, and the pain of losing her sister and eventually being left alone, all she would get in return was the feigned sympathy of others.
The people who looked at her with pitiful eyes and clicked their tongues.
The people who forced a smile and said everything would be alright.
Pola hated them so much. She hated how they acted as if they knew so well when they didn't know a single speck of her pain.
Therefore, she hid it. She showed a bright appearance and acted as if such pain was no problem for her at all.
At that, people looked at her as an orphan who was uncharacteristically arrogant, but that was better.
'Poor thing...'
Lucas knew that Pola. He also knew what it ant for her to treat people with an even brighter appearance.
"Lucas. Is there nothing that can make Pola feel better?"
Skir asked.
"Hmm..."
Sothing that could make her feel better. Various thoughts ca and went in Lucas's mind.
"Right. Actually, unni is acting like she's fine... but I'm a little worried."
Although Pola was now a full-fledged adult, all humans were the sa. No, not just humans, but all living creatures were the sa.
When sothing bad happened, sothing to change one's mood was definitely needed.
"Shall we ask her to go eat sothing delicious?"
"She doesn't seem to have much of an appetite..."
"So wouldn't eating sothing delicious make her feel better?"
"Is that so?"
Skir and Nella exchanged various opinions.
Just then, sothing crossed Lucas's mind.
"Do you want to go see the sea by any chance?"
"The sea?"
"To be precise, under the sea."
As Lucas grinned, Nella and Skir exchanged glances.
"Right. It's the weekend tomorrow, so let's go see it."
***
The children were out at the promised ti.
"Rookie! Nella said we're going to see under the sea? Is that true?"
As Lucas ca down the stairs, Pola waved her hand excitedly and asked.
"Yes."
Last night, before taking the children, Lucas had first visited Giestio and had asked for his permission. He had asked if it would be okay for a few humans to co and play here.
At that, Giestio had jumped up and down, asking what he ant.
'I thought he was jumping up and down saying no...'
He had jumped up and down, asking why he was even asking such a thing. He had said of course it was okay, and before Lucas could even speak, he had asked for the number of children and had even packed necklaces to match the number.
And he had been so happy that it was embarrassing for Lucas.
"Here, take this."
Lucas took out the necklaces one by one from his subspace pocket and handed them to the children.
"Gasp! Is that by any chance a subspace pocket?"
"A subspace?"
"Oppa had sothing like that?"
The children shouted as they saw the enormous necklaces coming out of the small pocket.
"Yeah. I got it sohow."
"Where did you get such an item! Isn't this a really expensive item?"
"Wow... if even you are surprised, Kir, then how expensive is it?"
A subspace pocket boasted a high price even if it was only large enough to hold a few potion vials.
It was natural, as it was an artifact that reduced both the weight and size of an item.
But a pocket from which four such huge and enormous necklaces ca out?
It was impossible not to be surprised.
"Amazing. Truly amazing."
"Now, now. Let's talk about the pocket later, and everyone put one of these on your neck."
"Ugh! Isn't this incredibly heavy. I don't know if my neck is going to fall off."
"Don't be a baby. It's heavy, but it's definitely not heavy enough to make your neck fall off."
Pola chided Skir.
"Nella, you put it on your neck too."
"This is really big..."
"It can't be helped. The sea is a dangerous place. The deep-sea monsters are dangerous, but we're going to a very deep place."
At that, the children's eyes widened.
"Is that really okay?"
"Hey! Of course it's okay. Rookie is the one who suggested we go."
Pola, who had quickly hidden her surprised expression, chided Skir once more.
"You all have it on your necks, right? It's a big problem if you don't have it, so you have to keep it on your neck until the end."
At that, the children, with determined expressions, held the necklaces tightly and nodded their heads.
"Grab my arm."
All the children's hands were placed on Lucas's arm.
-Flash!
At that, an incredible world unfolded before the children's eyes.
"Woooow-!"
Pola imdiately opened her mouth and let out a cry of admiration.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Skir covered his nose and mouth and struggled.
"..."
Nella was listening to the words of the Naiad next to her and nodding her head.
'What a variety.'
Lucas smirked as he watched them.
[End of Chapter]
Reviews
All reviews (0)