Chapter : 189

“You are Mordega—”

“I am Mordin.”

Mordin, wearing a school uniform, spoke firmly.

No matter how one looked at it, he was undoubtedly the Master of Gold, Mordegar.

That the true master of the Golden was a blonde woman named Iris Viden was an open secret among high-ranking nobles.

And although ‘Ferdiel Levian’ did not have a noble title, he was the Sword of Doctrine and the successor to the renowned Levian.

Having been invited to the Golden’s parties quite a few times, he used to observe Mordegar from afar on each occasion.

“How did this happen, Professor Beatrice?”

Fel, who knew well that Mordegar was a rigid and inflexible person, immediately asked Beatrice.

Beatrice, who had personally brought the uniform and even graciously adjusted the size with magic, would rather have bitten her tongue at that question.

“He is Mordin, the transfer student who will accompany you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Don’t ask anymore!”

Beatrice finally exploded in anger.

“I’m busy enough adjusting artifacts as it is!!”

No matter what, she couldn’t send them to a dangerous place bare-handed.

But she couldn’t give all sorts of precious artifacts to a dangerous individual like Mordin, so she had to put conditions on their use.

First, she added a clause that they couldn’t be used against Academy students.

She also had to set a condition that they would explode if he tried to run away with them.

Furthermore, since he was a human with burnt mana circuits, she had to manipulate them so they could be used without mana!

It was chaotic enough already; if they made it even more chaotic, Beatrice truly intended to flick them on the forehead, even if the opponent was Fel.

Seeing the flames flaring up in Beatrice’s eyes, Fel remained silently obedient.

At least, Fel was excellent at distinguishing when to step up and when not to.

* * *

“It feels like something tremendous is happening somewhere without my knowledge.”

When I muttered at the intuition close to a premonition, Senior Lerwon looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask what nonsense I was spouting.

“It’s probably just a feeling.”

Because what was important right now wasn’t something like that.

I tried to ignore the monster in front of me with blurry eyes while taking a shallow breath, but eventually gave up and sighed.

The ones blocking our steps as we moved forward to escape were none other than the dark ops members belonging to the Golden Merchant Group, wearing strange expressions.

“Those things sprouting on their skin, they’re snake scales, right?”

“…Yeah.”

At the senior’s quick answer, I felt like I was getting sick of Iris.

I knew they were Iris’s fanatics who had been taken in by her and would listen to whatever she said.

But no matter what, even they probably wouldn’t have dared to expect that they would end up like this while following Iris.

Iris was a genuine crazy person.

Even if she saw people as tools, to use those who followed her as consumables to that extent.

“Senior, will you be okay?”

They were once people who stayed in the Golden like the senior. Perhaps some camaraderie remained.

“Hm? I’m fine.”

The senior said he was fine with a pale face.

“Anyway… the Golden is every man for himself. We don’t really care about each other somehow.”

To repay a favor, to pay off a debt, or just because they were sold to Iris Viden at a high price.

“Since we stained our hands with blood under the name of Golden for our own reasons, perhaps an ending like that is also reaping what we sowed.”

“Senior….”

Saying that, his hands were trembling. What a contradictory senior.

Among them, there must be those who ignored the senior being tortured by Iris. Seeing him inwardly care made me even more certain.

Lerwon must not return to Iris’s side.

That would be no different from giving the senior pain more terrible than hell.

“Are you worried?”

Perhaps the worry was evident on my face, Lerwon asked.

“Ay, I’m more worried about my own safety.”

I equivocated appropriately. It was half sincere, half lie.

If Iris swallowed the power of Ouroboros and became a half-god existence, we would be hopeless.

The senior would be tormented for being Iris’s son, and I would become Iris’s toy in my own way.

“It’s to the point where I’d rather just reset it.”

“Huh?”

“There is such a thing.”

The system was still silent.

Since I could use the Writer skill, it wasn’t completely gone… but it was strange that it was this quiet even though a storyline that could be considered the finale of Part 1 in game terms was in progress.

As if holding its breath not to be caught by something.

“For now, I don’t think we should fight.”

If it were just monsters wandering around, it would be different, but the snake scales visible here and there beyond their collars and the reptile-specific pupils were also very bothersome.

There was a high probability that they had become something like kin of Iris or Ouroboros.

I didn’t know about other things, but this one thing was certain.

Iris had bet everything she had on this very moment.

If she won, she would become a god-like existence and truly place all creatures of this world beneath her feet, but if she failed, she would lose everything she had achieved and even her life.

“Let’s avoid them as much as possible.”

“Okay.”

Just holding our breath and making no sound probably wouldn’t be enough.

If they were currently closer to snakes than humans….

「A roar rings out from 200m away.」

I write lightly.

Boom!!!

A roar that loudly strikes the eardrums rings out, but the snake-humans don’t even flinch.

They only looked around a few times as if they felt the vibration caused by the roar.

“Just as I thought.”

“I see. As their hearing has deteriorated due to being snakes, they’ve become sensitive to vibrations and smell.”

“The reason they can’t find me and you with their sense of smell is probably because you have a familiar scent since you were in the Golden for a long time.”

“And my being detained here for quite a long time must have had an influence too.”

I nodded as if in agreement.

I didn’t know that being forcibly kidnapped for quite a long time would be helpful like this.

Whether I should be happy or sad about this, geez.

“What’s the use of being sad. Since it happened, we should make use of it.”

「Snake-humans cannot feel vibrations.」

I wrote the sentence and slowly walked forward.

Fortunately, my hypothesis seemed to work to some extent, as the snake-humans still didn’t notice us and only looked around.

We just had to pass by like this without getting caught.

Although I paralyzed their senses, I was incredibly nervous.

Every step felt like walking on thin ice.

Slowly, but surely, we walked between the snake-humans and passed safely.

“…Hey, Theo.”

“You want to help them, right?”

Lerwon didn’t deny my question.

Passing by like this would weigh on the senior’s mind too.

Although they weren’t on good terms and were essentially bystanders and perpetrators, they were also victims at the same time.

“…Yeah, I wish they could be at peace.”

Perhaps those who had strayed from humanity involuntarily looked exceptionally pitiful in the senior’s eyes.

If Lerwon chose to become Ouroboros voluntarily due to despair and revenge, they would have to live in that awkward state, neither human nor snake, purely for the sin of following Iris.

“Alright, I’ll help.”

It felt a bit like wasting mana, but I just happened to think of a way for them to become comfortable.

If I could block their senses with the phrase ‘cannot feel vibrations,’ blocking pain would also be possible.

And pain was the most important sense that allowed life to continue.

“I will make them unable to feel pain. Will that be enough?”

“More than enough.”

「Snake-humans cannot feel pain.」

I pressed down firmly on the words, filled with a slow feeling of mourning.

As I completed the sentence, a spark popped up in the senior’s hand.

As he bent down and placed the popping spark on the floor, the spark instantly became a blaze and swallowed the space where they were.

Amidst the acrid air and intense heat, their bodies burned, but the snake-humans, unable to feel pain, only blinked their eyes and met complete death, leaving behind ashes over quite a long time.

“Ugh.”

The senior gritted his teeth as if his expression would crumble at any moment.

“Senior.”

Still, it was the death of those who were with him, whom he could call colleagues.

It was a natural reaction to find it difficult.

This was rather proof that the senior no longer remained as the Lerwon Viden of the past.

“Let’s… take the ashes.”

A light funeral later would be possible.

At my suggestion, the senior nodded slowly.

I took off my outer garment and stored the ashes carefully gathered with a circle of wind.

I had something to protect, but it felt much lighter than the burden on my heart.

Not even a tear formed in the senior’s eyes, but he declared with a face slightly firmer than before.

“Let’s escape straight like this.”

“Yes.”

* * *

Beatrice, having finished a few adjustments, finally let out a sigh.

“Okay, if you have any questions, ask. I’ll decide whether to answer or not.”

“What on earth is that ridiculous name, Mordin?”

It wasn’t anything else, but that was bothering him the most.

When Fel asked without hesitation, Hartain, who was standing tall next to him guarding Fel’s spot, nodded furiously as if agreeing.

“It’s my real name, so call me that from now on.”

“Mordin… was your real name.”

At Fel’s murmur, Mordin nodded saying that was correct.

“Any other questions?”

“Is there a direction for action when we encounter Iris?”

“Run away.”

“Even if we don’t join up with Theo?”

“Yes.”

Beatrice declared firmly.

“Even if we make Mordin and Hartain transfer students by using expedients because we are incompetent… and receive your help, Fel, students are students.”

At the same time, a fierce murderous intent could be felt in her face.

The direction of that murderous intent was naturally Iris Viden.

“It’s something adults should solve. Fel and Hartain, I am truly ashamed to face you two.”

If adults had stepped up first to solve the problem called Iris Viden, this unfortunate incident wouldn’t have happened.

Beatrice bit her lip slightly, then turned her head sharply toward Mordin.

“So keep this in mind, Mordin. If anyone other than Iris dies in the dungeon, the first one to lose their life must be you.”

Unlike Mordegar who merely lived without dying, even if the current ‘Mordin’ clung to life, this was a covenant he absolutely had to keep.

“I will keep it in mind.”

Mordin nodded willingly.

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