The senile king smiled at .
"Do I seem mad to you? If it were , I would have done the sa, so it's not that strange."
"...."
"I didn't believe in gods either. I thought only the weak entrusted their will to gods. But..."
Pour—
Blue tea was poured into his teacup.
"After witnessing the divine radiance myself, my thoughts completely changed. It seems the gods were really gods."
"...."
I had nothing to say, so I kept my mouth shut for a mont.
The old king sipped his tea and said.
"Anyway, I lost consciousness after those mysterious words. It must have been because a re human was exposed to the divine power of a god for too long. As soon as I woke up, I fled the forge as if running away."
"...."
"After that incident, I no longer visited Ophosis. No, I couldn't. I just couldn't bring myself to face him."
The old king stared blankly at the blue tea. As if his past was floating in it.
"I had to turn a blind eye to my friend's tragedy, so how could I shalessly show my face?"
I crossed my arms and tapped my forearm with my fingers, then looked at him.
"...You stood by and watched Ophosis's disciples die for just that reason?"
The old king raised his head and looked at .
"I don't have the guts to defy a divine command. What would you do?"
Let's think about it. What if those so-called gods had threatened to let Tina die?
I answered without hesitation.
"I would have to tear all those so-called gods to pieces. Such beings do not deserve to be called gods."
The old king chuckled.
"That must be the difference between you and . I was a worthless coward, so I couldn't refuse. I desperately looked for a place to hide."
"...."
"After that, Ophosis ca to see . When he visited the palace to deliver an item ordered by the royal family, he didn't send his disciple but ca to see himself, but..."
The old king covered his face with one hand.
"I... made up so excuse and refused. I just couldn't face him. And so, we naturally grew apart."
I watched the old man's deeply troubled face. His wrinkles were deep, as if he had suffered a lot.
Suddenly, he looked at .
"Did Ophosis resent ?"
I quietly recalled my mories. What ca to mind was only worry, sadness, apology, and regret. There was no resentnt.
"He didn't say anything like that."
The king smiled bitterly and looked up at the sky.
"You foolish friend... you should have at least sent so curses. Then my heart would have been much lighter."
The atmosphere beca very heavy. I didn't like the gloomy atmosphere, so I tried to comfort him in a deliberately light tone.
"What can you do about it now? The only thing to do is to get beaten up to your heart's content when you et in the afterlife."
The king smiled faintly.
"Yes, I suppose I'll have to."
The conversation broke off for a mont, and silence followed. As they were each lost in thought, the king, who was drinking tea, suddenly choked and started coughing violently.
"Cough! Cough!"
I stared at the king blankly, and then, with a premonition that the coughing wouldn't stop easily, I looked for a handkerchief. But I was not a delicate man who carried such things as handkerchiefs. I had no choice but to tear off a piece of the tablecloth that hung down to my knees and hand it to the king.
"Cough! Cough!"
The king covered his mouth with the tablecloth that had been transford into a handkerchief. A mont later, when the coughing finally subsided and he took the handkerchief away from his mouth, the white handkerchief was stained with bright red blood.
My eyes widened. Huh? It wasn't just a simple choke?
I looked at the old king with slightly sunken eyes.
"...Old man."
He chuckled.
"The day I see Ophosis is not far off."
He looked as if he was looking forward to death. To , death was sothing to run away from at all costs, but to him, it was the final journey and destination he had been waiting for.
"...."
I looked at the king who was not far from death. No matter how much he was a king who had once ruled the world, now that he was close to death, he was just a re human. In the face of death, money, honor, power, everything loses its aning. Of course, if you have a few of those, you can build a fancy tomb, and there will be quite a few people who will mourn and grieve. But what aning does that have after you're dead?
Death has various views depending on the person. So say it's a process of heading to the afterlife, and so consider it another trial. To , death is the annihilation of a world. Because if I disappear, the world that is reflected in my eyes will also disappear.
The world of the old man in front of was flickering as if it would go out at any mont, but it was his world that was going out, not mine. His world would soon sink into endless darkness, but my world would continue for a long ti after that. Soday, I too will sink into Ketel's embrace, but not now.
I had listened to his story, so now it was his turn to answer my questions.
"Old man."
"What is it."
"About the revelation you ntioned."
Even though he was an old man on the verge of death, I couldn't hold back these words. I had to say what I had to say.
"Wasn't it just a crazy dream?"
The king laughed.
"Devil. Do I look like a fool who can't distinguish between dreams and reality?"
I was about to answer in the affirmative, but I closed my mouth. Then I carefully chose my words and opened my mouth again.
"So, you thought I was the adjudicator of that prophecy?"
The old king nodded.
"Isn't that right? You appeared with the Dagger of Ophosis, and you cut off both of Van Dyke's arms with a broken sword."
"Hmm."
To , it felt like he was just fitting the situation together sohow... but the old king seed convinced.
"Now that I say it, it wasn't that long of a story."
The king let out a deep sigh. It looked as if he was letting out sothing that had been filling his chest all this ti.
"I don't know how the gods in the heavens are looking at you. But I want to tell you this one thing."
"Say it."
"When I heard the voice of the god... it didn't seem like this was the only trial that would befall you."
"What do you an?"
"Based on the voice of the god I heard, my short insight, and my intuition mixed in..."
The old king looked at with eyes that held deep years.
"This will only be the beginning. From now on, trials will rise like waves and continuously try to swallow you."
The old king reached out and lightly tapped the back of my hand.
"Please keep your current heart well. Don't live a cowardly life like ."
"...."
I stared at his wrinkled hand silently.
The old king smiled brightly.
"Yes, with this, I've said everything I wanted to say. I feel so much better now. You wouldn't know how long I've been waiting for this day."
I looked at the old man's eyes silently. Strangely, it felt like I was looking into the eyes of a child. They were clear, as if there were no regrets.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I can go to et my friend with a much lighter heart."
The old king, who had looked healthy for his age, rapidly deteriorated as soon as he had finished telling his story. As if he had been preserving his life force just to tell this story. The king looked as if he had shrunk considerably compared to before.
He stood up from his seat, approached the party that had followed , and asked for a handshake from each of them, asking them to take good care of his third son.
"The worthless king is leaving now. Please take good care of my third son."
Then, supported by Frost, he entered the mansion.
I watched his retreating back and then called out to him, raising my voice a little.
"Do you know?"
The old king turned around.
"There's a saying that when a person dies, the one who was closest to them among those who have gone before cos to et them."
The king smiled.
"I quite like that story."
***
Clack! Clack!
In the garden full of flowers, Fluffy and Frost were in the middle of a sparring match. Fluffy swung the reddishly glowing Vlad, and Frost countered with a wooden sword. It was amazing to watch how he could counter that eerily sharp blade with a simple wooden sword. Was there iron embedded in it? I'll have to check later.
Currently, we were sitting in the cool shade of a tree, watching the sparring match.
I asked Walpole, who was sitting next to , watching.
"Where's Sir Ashley?"
"She went to the bathroom."
"I see."
"She drank a lot of tea."
"That blue tea?"
"Yes."
"She must have liked the tea."
"You could say that."
"I should give her a gift before I go. Was it butterfly pea flower tea?"
Walpole chuckled and nodded.
"That's right. The rare blue tea. It was butterfly pea flower tea."
"...."
Why was this guy so excited? It seems sothing fun had happened while I was away.
anwhile, Linda was sleeping soundly, leaning on my shoulder and drooling. She said she had put poison in her tea. Did she accidentally mix in a sleeping pill?
'Even better.'
If a rampaging Linda is a devil, a calm Linda is an angel. Her sleeping face couldn't be prettier. It's amazing how big a difference it makes when her crazy eyes are closed, even though it's the sa face.
"Kool..."
It would be great if she didn't drool on my shoulder.
Sizzle...
Perhaps because her saliva was mixed with poison, my clothes were slowly lting. It didn't seem to be this bad before, but perhaps her poison skills had improved while she was playing with poisons in the hospital room, and now even her saliva was a threat.
So geniuses' realms improve even when they're just playing around. What an unfair bunch.
"Get away from , you brat."
"Ueh."
I pushed Linda off my shoulder, then rolled her to one side.
Sizzle...
Her acidic saliva began to lt the grass. Frost, who had transford into a gardener, might get angry, but it was better than lting my shoulder, so I left her as she was. It's a relief that she only does this to . If she drooled on just anyone, she might have committed murder without even knowing it. She's a human poison.
I pushed Linda to one side and then comfortably watched the sparring match between the two fad sword owners.
"...."
As I was watching their sparring match... I felt my focus naturally blur. My focus blurred, and then moved inward.
I heard the old king's voice.
"The red-eyed adjudicator will co."
I had heard an unexpected story.
"The red-eyed adjudicator will descend from a high place. In one hand, he will hold a broken longsword that will burn everything, and in the other, a dagger that will be used as a key."
If I were to force myself into this, as the old king had guessed... "descended from a high place" would an falling from the Mist Cliff. The "broken longsword," considering how often my sword broke, fits roughly. When it broke, I would raise my sword ki as the Heavenly Demon had taught and use it as a complete sword.
The "dagger that will be used as a key." This is easy. The Dagger of Ophosis was essentially a key.
Then what about the "trial for the adjudicator"? What does this an? Does it an that all the life-threatening crises I have overco so far were all trials foretold by a god? For what?
"The mont the adjudicator overcos all trials, the master of a new throne will co."
The master of a new throne? What does that throne an, and what does it have to do with the adjudicator?
And even the mysterious words he had muttered at the end.
"The one who stood alone. The one who awakened alone..."
If I insert myself as the adjudicator, who is the master of the new throne? Who is the one who stood alone, the one who awakened alone?
The answer was surprisingly close. If I am the adjudicator, as the old king claid, it would be natural to see the Heavenly Demon as the master of the throne. Because the Heavenly Demon and I are inseparably close.
Then. Is the fact that I fell from the Mist Cliff and the Heavenly Demon was imprinted in my head related to the gods? Co to think of it, the only existence that could do such a thing was the vague and abstract existence of a god.
Adjudicator. Trial. New throne. Its master. The one who stood alone. Red eyes. A broken sword that will burn everything.
...My head beca complicated.
[My disciple.]
The Heavenly Demon's quiet tone scattered the tangled thread in my head.
"Yes, Master."
[Is that sothing you can figure out by worrying about it now?]
I thought for a mont, then shook my head. It's all just grasping at clouds. Even if I were to figure out the aning of those things, nothing would change right now. I will return to my hotown, and I will beat up the guys I don't like. There is no doubt about that.
"No."
[Then forget it.]
"Yes."
I forgot all about it. Adjudicator? Trial? Fuck it. I'll go my own way. If sothing blocks my way, I'll just tear it apart and move on.
A few words from the Heavenly Demon cleared my head.
When I ca back from my thoughts, the sparring match between Frost and Fluffy was slowly coming to an end. Fluffy was swinging his sword with all his might, sweating profusely, and Frost was still in his gardener's clothes, countering with only very basic movents. There was no sign of fatigue at all.
"Heok... heok..."
In the end, Fluffy was stabbed in the thigh by Frost's wooden sword and knelt, and Frost quietly brought his sword to Fluffy's neck. His breathing was not disturbed at all. What does that an? It ant that the gap between the two was that overwhelming. Even though one was holding the world's demon sword, Vlad, and the other was holding a wooden sword.
I heard Ashley's voice.
"How many tis is that?"
Walpole answered.
"I don't know. I stopped counting after ten."
Sir Ashley, who had returned from the bathroom, was sitting next to .
Frost helped the junior fad sword owner up and gave him so advice. I could have eavesdropped if I had wanted to, but I didn't want to steal soone else's advice, so I left them alone.
A little later, Fluffy, who had received a good lesson from Frost, limped over to this side. Seeing his brighter face, it seed he had gained so insight.
At that mont, Frost, who was still standing in the middle of the colorful flowers blooming in the garden, raised his sword and pointed it at . His intention was clear.
'You. Co out.'
I stood up, brushing myself off.
"That cold bastard. I'll go beat him up."
I received Walpole's enthusiastic cheers from behind and walked through the flowers.
(End of Chapter)
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