Chapter 116: A Gift

An elderly gentleman entered a space filled only with darkness.

With pure white hair that reached his waist tied back tightly, the old gentleman, wearing a fedora on top, tapped the cane in his hand.

At that, the man who was seated lifted his head.

“I knew you were here long ago, so you don’t have to make it so obvious.”

“The welcome was so poor, I thought I’d show my displeasure.”

At the old gentleman’s words, the man grinned.

The scar that ran in a straight line from his forehead to his mouth twitched gruesomely.

“Welcome. Cristiano.”

The man, Lutus, opened his arms and welcomed Cristiano.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Was the journey difficult? Have you eaten?”

“I have.”

“Is that so? A pity. The beef we butchered today is quite fresh.”

“Enough with the pleasantries. Let’s get straight to the point. What happened to her?”

Cristiano took off his fedora, placed it on the dining table and asked bluntly.

His voice was as dull as scraping metal, his hair had turned white, and his back was stooped, but surprisingly, Cristiano’s skin was taut and clear without a single wrinkle.

So, staring at his face brought a strange sense of cognitive dissonance but Lutus, as if familiar with such a sight, smiled even more deeply.

“Shed your skin again in the meantime?”

“Don’t change the subject and answer my question. What happened to her? Where is she now?”

“Heh heh. No fun at all.”

Lutus pointed to the floor with his finger.

“Down here. It hasn’t been long since she woke up.”

“The result?”

“I don’t know yet. But she hasn’t gone mad. In fact, just returning alive from that place is a great success. That place is a convergence of all kinds of malice, isn’t it?”

Deep within the facility managed by the Darkness Council, there existed a forbidden zone called the Hell Pit.

No one knew when it had been there or how it had come to be, but the Hell Pit was a place connected to another dimension or space.

Some said it was a place created from the collection of humanity’s evil hearts.

Others said it was the world’s shadow where demons, defeated in war, hid to await their next chance, while some claimed it was a place of exile for demons, created by the gods who won the war.

Whatever was said, the important thing was that it was a place filled with all the world’s evil, malevolent thoughts, curses, and madness.

An ordinary human couldn’t last a minute and even High Clerics who had achieved a certain level of mastery couldn’t endure a full day before fleeing.

Not that they could completely escape.

The curse of the Hell Pit tormented the intruder like an indelible brand on the soul, and the end was fixed.

Death.

Of the ten who challenged the Hell Pit, all ten became soaked in madness, killing their comrades, plunging a sword into their own necks to commit suicide, or hanging themselves.

It didn’t matter the rank.

Bishop, High Cleric or Cleric.

All went mad and the end was a tragedy.

So the Hell Pit was sealed.

By special order of the Archpontiff.

That was eight years ago.

Just as it was being forgotten from people’s memories, she returned to this world.

She was the girl who had been sent into the Hell Pit just before it was sealed, and no one had thought she would return alive.

Except for one person, Bishop Lutus.

“Heh heh. What did I say? Didn’t I say the prophecy was right?”

Watching the grotesquely smiling Lutus, Cristiano moaned for a moment.

At this rate, he might have to move the plan forward earlier.

“She didn’t go mad?”

“You don’t seem to believe it?”

It was only natural.

Although the Hell Pit was under the management of the Darkness Council who had discovered it first, its terrifying infamy had spread throughout the entire cult, regardless of faction.

So, showing was faster than a hundred words.

“Follow me.”

Lutus led the way, guiding Cristiano down to the basement.

They descended the chilly basement stairs and passed through several steel doors.

The security was tight and High Clerics themselves were standing guard.

“She’s a secret weapon.”

Lutus answered, though he hadn’t been asked.

Cristiano simply nodded his head silently.

The result was still pending, but if she, who had returned from the Hell Pit as Lutus claimed, had successfully awakened, she would be a fearsome secret weapon for the Darkness Council.

‘The power of a demon…’

Even Cristiano did not know in detail the extent of a demon’s power.

However, from what he had read in ancient texts, he knew it was a formidable power, enough to wipe out a city.

“By the way, did you hear? They say Papamus is dead.”

“I heard.”

“Do you know who killed him?”

“I don’t know that yet.”

“Gerard.”

Cristiano’s steps faltered for a brief moment.

“I don’t care if that moron who holes himself up in his room doing research dies or not, but if the one who killed him is Gerard, that’s a different story. It seems we need to take action quickly.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Finally, they arrived at a space.

It was, in a way, a very desolate and dreary place with a single bed placed in the middle and beneath the bed, a blood-red hexagram array was drawn.

And upon seeing the bed, Bishop Cristiano paused.

A woman was sitting on the bed.

As their eyes met, Cristiano’s body trembled as if struck by lightning.

Generally, a demon is depicted as frightening, enormous and monstrous.

But there was a saying that the reality was the opposite.

‘The appearance of demons who tempt humans and whisper sweet words is, in fact, breathtakingly beautiful.’

And that was true.

‘A flower. A beautifully bloomed flower.’

Cristiano was engulfed by a strong desire to pluck that flower and surprised by the youth and lust surging within him for the first time in a long while, he let out a dry cough.

Of course, he hadn’t earned his position as a Bishop by luck, so it was only for a moment.

He quickly regained his composure.

“Heh heh.”

Lutus patted his shoulder as if in understanding and approached her.

Her gaze turned toward the approaching Lutus.

“Daddy!”

“Yes, my daughter. It’s Daddy!”

Lutus embraced her.

The smile on his lips grew ever wider.

Conversely, Cristiano had to hide his bitterness.

As Lutus had guessed, she hadn’t gone mad.

Her mental age seemed somewhat low, but it didn’t matter since she was a weapon anyway.

A weapon that simply had to carry out orders.

Rather than having high intelligence and thinking for herself, that kind of childlike regression was better.

At least she wouldn’t disobey her daddy’s words.

Cristiano smiled innocently on the outside, but feeling the great evil squirming inside her body, he swallowed hard.

‘It was a success.’

He had felt it from the moment their eyes first met.

A charm so potent that even he, armed with a strong mind, was momentarily captivated.

Lilith’s seed had successfully blossomed.

“I’m thinking of infiltrating this child into the Academy.”

It was then.

Lutus spoke.

“…What did you say?”

“Why are you surprised? Isn’t our goal to destroy Frey’s Academy anyway? It would be convenient to use this child.”

Cristiano couldn’t deny it.

Even he thought that if that thing were dropped into the Academy, that day would be the day the Academy met its doom.

“But there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

“Yes. Abandon Shadow, Cristiano.”

Cristiano’s brow furrowed.

“That again? You said that last time, too. Honestly, I don’t understand, Lutus. Why do you hate Shadow so much? Why are you so obsessed with Shadow?”

The usefulness and utility of Shadow were undeniable.

Of course, their work overlapped with the Darkness Council’s in many ways and there had been times when the Darkness Council suffered because of it.

But if one were to assign blame, it was purely damage incurred because the Darkness Council displayed a useless sense of rivalry toward Shadow.

Had they understood and accepted each other’s strengths and weaknesses, it could have created synergy instead of damage, bringing good results for both sides.

But Lutus’s stance was firm.

Then and now.

He was proposing to discard the Shadow card.

“Is there a reason to hate something? I just don’t like it. So what will you do? Are you in or out?”

Ah.

There was one clear difference from before.

Last time it was a proposal, but today it felt like a demand.

Cristiano looked at Lilith’s seed, smiling brightly beside Lutus.

It seemed she would stab him in the neck with a smile and without hesitation if Lutus gave the order.

“It’s not a bad deal now, is it? If my daughter smashes the Academy, both you and I will successfully build up our achievements. It’s a win-win, you see? You wanted to become an Archpontiff too, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Here. Here is the rope to climb up to Archpontiff. A sturdier and more certain rope than Shadow.”

Cristiano stared at his hand for a moment.

Then he asked.

“Do you know something, Lutus?”

“What is it?”

“I never intended to go all the way with Shadow. I was planning to suck them dry and then toss them aside.”

“……!”

“Aren’t they just a bunch of ruined thieves? They might think they’re painting a future with us, but that’s a foolish delusion.”

Lutus let out a dry, incredulous laugh.

“You really are the filthiest human I know.”

Cristiano did not deny it.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

The two bishops looked at each other and soon burst into laughter.

“Giggle!”

The woman, who had been sitting quietly on the bed, saw this and laughed along.

She didn’t know why they were laughing, but it didn’t really matter.

She just laughed because Lutus was laughing.

Like a puppet that had lost its soul.

***

As soon as the lecture ended, I looked to my side.

“Senior.”

Looking over, Yuria was, as expected, looking up at me, clutching my sleeves with both hands.

I could feel the gazes of those around us.

But it seemed I was the only one who felt it.

Yuria didn’t pay them any mind and was chattering away.

The topic was about the lecture and the upcoming final exams, but this situation was quite burdensome for me, so I let out an inward sigh.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Actually, this was a lot better.

I was just letting it be now, but at first, it was utter chaos.

“Oh my! What’s with you two?”

“Look here! Yuria and Gerard-senior are datinggg!”

“Isn’t this a bit too obvious!?”

That day, I had to run around so much that my feet were sweating, denying that it wasn’t like that, that it was a misunderstanding.

Of course, the others knew we were in a mentor-mentee relationship, so they seemed to be treating it as a half-joke, but as the person involved, I could feel it.

Yuria had changed.

The turning point was, of course, the off-campus activity.

Wherever I went, Yuria stuck to me and when we had different lectures or parted ways in front of the dormitory, she would press me for a detailed schedule of what I was going to do.

It was on a different level from just being curious and showing interest.

Her gaze itself was different.

‘This is almost beyond obsession, reaching the level of madness…’

“I have to go to a special lecture by my advising professors now, but what are you doing, senior?”

“Just staying in the dorm.”

“Then do you want to go with me?”

“Why?”

“It would be good if you attended too, senior. I subtly asked Professor Chaser last time, and he said it would be fine if you came along. He even said it would be great if I brought you.”

I cursed Chaser inwardly.

There was no way I wouldn’t know his sly intentions.

“Really? Next time.”

I gently removed Yuria’s hands that were holding my sleeves.

“Ah…”

For the first time, a shadow fell over Yuria’s face, which had been shining brightly the whole time.

She looked down at the ground, crestfallen.

Damn it.

It stung, but I couldn’t help it.

I had a prior engagement.

“I’m tired, so I’m going to head off first. See you tomorrow.”

“Okayy.”

Yuria walked away, her shoulders slumped.

I pretended to head toward the dormitory, then changed direction and headed for the school gate.

“Over here!”

As I went to the gate, Karina, who was leaning against a stone pillar, waved her hand toward me.

My appointment was with Karina.

Yesterday, Karina had suddenly pressed me to make time for her.

“What? Go out to Icata? Why?”

She didn’t tell me the purpose.

It was strange, but since I didn’t have anything particular to do, I accepted her request.

Sorry to Yuria, but telling her I was going to the dorm was also a lie.

Why did I lie?

I just felt like I had to.

‘Don’t tell her you’re going out with Karina.’

My instinct warned me, and I obediently followed that warning.

“What took you so long? The lecture ended a while ago.”

As I approached, Karina grumbled.

“You know why.”

“The leech?”

The leech referred to Yuria.

That’s what Karina had been calling Yuria lately.

It wasn’t a very fitting nickname, so I just waved my hand dismissively and asked.

“So? Why do you need me to go to Icata?”

“Just shut up and follow me.”

“Ah. When are you going to tell me? Did you prepare some kind of surprise event?”

Karina didn’t answer.

As soon as we arrived in Icata, the place she headed to was a restaurant named ‘Noblesse Oblige’.

The name referred to the virtue of the nobility, tolerance, but in reality, it was just a super-luxurious restaurant that only nobles went to.

Where every single menu item easily surpassed the gold unit.

That’s why I had only been there a few times in the original work and I had never once been to the top, the 3rd floor, even in the original.

Guided by the waiters, we sat down and as if they had been waiting, chefs who were on standby cooked right next to us and served the food.

They added explanations along with the names of the dishes, but they were strange names and explanations that were not easy to follow no matter how much I rolled my tongue.

So I just nodded my head vaguely and looked at Karina.

“……What is this?”

“What do you mean, what is this? It’s dinner. Hurry up and eat. It’ll taste bad if it gets cold.”

I ate.

The taste was certainly good, but it wasn’t for me.

The taste, the atmosphere, the comfortable mood—Baron Tesda’s house and his cooking were more my style.

“By the way. Can you stop with the ‘what is this’ thing?”

Then Karina suddenly got annoyed.

“Huh?”

“‘What is this?’ ‘What is this?’ Why do you always say ‘what is this’ whenever you see me? Do you have so little to say?”

I didn’t know what kind of situation this was in the middle of a meal.

I was flustered, but I answered that I understood.

Only then did Karina smile with satisfaction and resume her meal.

‘Seriously, what is with her?’

I felt like I was going to get indigestion while eating an expensive meal.

After the super-luxurious restaurant, the place we visited was a workshop.

And not just any workshop, but the ‘Red Dragon Workshop’, managed directly by the Zain family.

Only then did I smile and ask.

“Aha. You came here to buy an artifact, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I lost my staff because of someone.”

I had already heard that Karina had broken her staff while trying to save me.

So, the reason she brought me along must be because she wanted my opinion on getting a good item.

It was an excellent judgment, uncharacteristic of Karina.

Believe it or not, I still had a clear grasp of information about items.

Heck, I’ll pick out a good one for her.

“Since I’m grateful, I’ll help you pick out a good one.”

“I’ve already ordered one, so don’t get cocky and just stay put.”

Hmm.

It was a misunderstanding.

As she said, an employee immediately guided us to the reception room and soon, he came back holding a long wooden box that shone with a deep brown light.

“Here is the item you ordered.”

“Thank you.”

And then Karina handed that wooden box back to me.

It was a very natural, fluid motion.

“……”

It seemed my role was that of a porter.

‘Right. She threw away her stuff for me, so this much is nothing.’

I had just resolved to be a porter for a day, making a big decision, when it happened.

“This, too.”

Karina held out something else to me.

And seeing it, I froze for a brief moment.

‘This is definitely…?’

The day I was being chased by Pirion, the room I entered by chance.

It’s perfectly identical to the wrapping paper I saw there.

I carefully took it and checked the contents, and sure enough, I confirmed that the fist-sized wooden box I saw then was inside.

“……”

From then on, we didn’t say a word.

A strange, indescribable current swirled between us and just like that, we arrived at the Academy, filled with awkwardness and embarrassment.

Even until then, I had my doubts.

‘It must be for someone else.’

I’m the porter, right?

“Here.”

Upon arriving, I handed her the staff and the wrapped box.

Karina left the wrapped package and only took the staff.

“That’s. A-a p-present!”

I stared blankly at Karina, who was disappearing with quick steps.

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