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Episode 76
Remnants (3)
A room with the lights off.
Outside the window, there was a view of the indoor plaza.
Streetlights were lit throughout the square, and the moon and stars twinkled above the artificial sky created by a magical device.
“… … .”
[… … .]
Riley sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out at the square.
Soon she slowly opened her mouth.
“It happened three years ago.”
[… … .]
“After escaping from the Thieves’ Guild, I arrived at a town called Bailerk and entered a small orphanage. I was with Number 1, who had escaped with me.”
She put a chocolate bar in her mouth and continued talking.
“That’s how I continued my happy life at the orphanage. Every day was peaceful. I did laundry, cooked meals, played with other children, and talked with No. 1 until late at night… .”
[… … .]
“… … That’s when I first got the name Riley.”
She recalled with a happy smile.
“People stopped calling me Number Two. They started calling me Riley, yes, Riley, a really pretty name. I was so happy at that time.”
[… … .]
“Oh, right. Number One was really happy too. He had a new name, Michael. It wasn’t as pretty as Riley’s, but it was still a pretty cool name.”
Number 1 and 2.
It was the moment when the children who had been treated as tools in the thieves’ guild were finally recognized as human beings.
By getting the names Riley and Michael.
“… … .”
[… … .]
Riley finished speaking up to that point and closed her mouth tightly with a bitter smile.
The conversation suddenly ended.
She, who had been wearing a happy expression just a moment ago, now had an extremely gloomy expression.
“But while those happy days were continuing… … .”
Riley’s voice trembled.
I quickly squeezed in without missing the gap.
[The demon worshippers broke into the orphanage and killed all the children and the director. You were lucky enough to escape.]
“……uh?”
Riley asked back with a surprised look on her face.
“How do you know that?”
[… … .]
How do you know that?
[… … Well, that’s because this is the fourth time I’ve heard this.]
Anyway, that damn assistant guy who gave Riley the whiskey bonbon was my enemy.
Who knew he could get drunk this quickly?
[I told you to eat in moderation.]
“Huh? I ate just the right amount? I’m on my fourth now.”
[… … You’ve already eaten 30 more.]
“No. Look at this pocket. There’s still a lot of chocolate left… … . Huh? Where did it all go?”
[… … .]
Riley looked at the bag containing the chocolates with a puzzled expression.
Pockets that are already empty.
While the amount of alcohol in regular drinks could be roughly estimated by the number of glasses or bottles, it was difficult to determine the alcohol content of whiskey bonbons because they were made of chocolate.
The point was that if you swallow chocolate without thinking like Riley, you could just pass out.
“Huh? Seriously, where did they all go? Just a moment ago, these pockets were full.”
[ha…….]
I sighed and looked closely at Riley as she emptied her bag of chocolates.
Beautiful platinum blonde hair. And golden eyes visible through her pure white skin.
It’s already been half a year since I started living with this child.
Yeah. Half a year.
It was a time that could be said to be long if it was long, and short if it was short.
In the meantime, we developed a strong bond. This was only natural, since we were stuck together all day long.
But that doesn’t mean Riley and I knew everything about each other. There were definitely some things we couldn’t know unless someone brought it up first.
The power of bonding was never omnipotent.
Although it may show the immediate state of mind of an individual, it is impossible to dig into the deep thoughts hidden inside.
So there was still a lot I didn’t know about Riley.
What exactly was her life like in the Thieves Guild?
Why is the assimilation rate between her and the lightning attribute so strong?
And who is the object of her hatred, who seeks revenge even by making a contract with me?
There was no way I would have known unless Riley brought it up first.
“Your Majesty.”
[… … .]
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“Do you know of any demon worshippers?”
But today.
I was able to shed some light on that question.
Riley asked in a languid voice.
This was already the fifth time I’d heard the question.
But this time again I answered her question quietly.
[huh.]
“… … .”
[I know very well.]
Demon worshipper.
They were guys you couldn’t not know.
Haven’t I been saying this for a long time?
Black magic is strictly forbidden in the Empire. Anything related to evil is subject to punishment.
Necromancer.
Warlock.
Even members of the Thieves’ Guild who provide illegal materials to these guys.
There is even a separate national organization called the Inquisitors to punish these people.
Among them, the “worshipers of evil spirits” could be said to be the most vicious force.
The devil.
The continent’s achievements.
Remnants of the evil spirit.
In addition, there were countless other people with nicknames, scum who enjoyed committing all kinds of terrible crimes in the name of religion.
A dregs and cockroach-like being of this world who has endured millions of subjugations by hundreds of nations for tens of thousands of years.
The pure evil of this continent that no one has been able to completely subdue.
Even if the Empire wiped out the evil-worshipers, they continued to revive from time to time. Even if all historical data and records about them were burned, they continued to live on from time to time.
They weren’t called cockroaches for nothing.
Those who lurked in the shadows of the empire’s nobles and privileged classes were the dregs who were trying to ruin this continent.
okay.
dregs.
Those guys could almost be called the remnants of evil spirits.
And since Richie and I couldn’t bring ourselves to call those evil spirits by their true names, we used to call them ‘those bastards.’
“I want to exterminate them.”
[… … .]
and.
Riley wanted revenge on these evil worshippers.
“Our Thieves Guild often receives requests from evil spirits.”
[… … .]
“Since they were both forces operating in the shadows, they had no choice but to help each other in order to survive.”
[… … .]
“Of course, their relationship was not equal. The initiative was always held by the evil-worshipers. The Thieves’ Guild was nothing more than their subcontractor.”
The Thieves’ Guild operated in the shadows of the Empire.
And this dark, shady place was by no means an easy world to survive in.
In the end, the choice the Thieves’ Guild made to survive was to join hands with the evil worshippers who lived in the shadows like themselves.
The deal was done.
The cultists used the Thieves’ Guild to avoid the eyes of the Empire, and the Thieves’ Guild received protection from the cultists in return.
The demon worshippers had already spread throughout the empire.
Some of them even went so far as to hide among the nobles and the privileged.
It was not a difficult task for the evil-worshipers to arrange a meeting between the guards of each city and the thieves’ guild.
The Thieves’ Guild bribed the guards, and the guards turned a blind eye to the existence of the Thieves’ Guild.
The guards were happy because they had a source of income, and the guild was happy because they could do their work without worry as long as they didn’t cross the line.
Under the shadow of the empire, transactions involving dark interests intertwined with each other continued to take place.
“But three years ago… … .”
[… … .]
“Our guild was attacked by demon worshippers.”
The reason was simple.
This is because traces of demon worship have been found since a long time ago, when demon worshippers commissioned an assassination from the Thieves Guild.
“The “Three Great Powers” including the Inquisitors began to pursue the evil spirits through their traces.”
[… … .]
“The evil spirits were trying to wipe out our entire guild in order to shake off their pursuit.”
The evil-worshipers made deals with several thieves’ guilds, which were a sort of shamanic organization connected with them.
If there was even the slightest danger to their own safety, the evildoers were ready to cut off their tails without mercy.
At that time, the tail that the evil worshippers wanted to cut off was the Thieves Guild that Riley belonged to.
“I took advantage of the attack by the evil spirits to escape from the Thieves’ Guild.”
[… … .]
As I’ve said many times, escaping from the Thieves’ Guild is never easy.
It is common knowledge that the only way to leave the Thieves’ Guild is through death.
But Riley was able to escape from that terrible place.
I was wondering about that method.
The Thieves’ Guild wasn’t a place you could escape from just because you had good skills.
Moreover, it was very difficult for a young child like Riley to escape that dangerous place alone.
And of course.
Behind Riley’s escape was the intervention of evil spirits.
Taking advantage of the commotion caused by the guys attacking the Thieves’ Guild, Riley was able to escape the guild safely.
“I ran away from the pursuit of the Thieves Guild and the evil worshippers.”
[… … .]
“That’s how I was able to enter the orphanage in the town of Bailerk. With Number 1, who escaped with me. Oh, Number 1 was a boy in a similar situation to me. He was a tool like me.”
From then on, it was just like Riley had said earlier.
Numbers 1 and 2, who were treated as tools in the Thieves’ Guild, got names and continued living small but happy lives.
While such happy times continued… … .
Everyone in the orphanage was murdered by evil cultists who had followed Riley and Michael’s trail in an attempt to eradicate the Thieves’ Guild.
“Only I was able to survive the cruel hands of the evildoers.”
[… … .]
I’m not sure how she survived them.
Riley never told the details of that anecdote.
I cautiously guess that perhaps she somehow escaped the crisis with her affinity for mana and her outstanding magical talent.
It’s probably because she feels guilty that she’s the only one who survived that she can’t bring up the story.
anyway.
After escaping the crisis, Riley met a very high-ranking wizard while wandering the streets.
She entered Letemis on the recommendation of the wizard, and somehow managed to survive until we met by chance.
“Your Majesty.”
[… … .]
“I want to eradicate the demon worshippers.”
Riley said again.
“They took away the freedom I had barely earned, just because I was once a member of the Thieves’ Guild.”
[… … .]
“The cultists have defined my life, and the life I have lived, as a tool of the Thieves’ Guild. They have no interest in the human Riley.”
Half a year ago.
The square of the imperial capital.
Standing before five giant statues, Riley said:
-I know that too.
-… … .
-I also know the anger you feel when you are deceived by someone and when you are denied the path you have walked.
okay.
Being used as a tool by someone. And then being denied the life of freedom that you have worked so hard to achieve.
That was Riley’s trauma.
“Of course I know that it is impossible to eliminate the evildoers. I also know that it is extremely difficult. How can I succeed in something that no one has been able to do for thousands of years?”
[… … .]
“But I still really, really want to get rid of them.”
Although it was a drunken remark, Riley’s pronunciation was clear.
The story has been repeated for the fifth time.
But Riley repeated the story exactly as it was told, without a single word being off.
How I wish I had kept those stories in my heart.
And how I wish I could pour out my heart to others.
Can that child speak like that?
I couldn’t even dare to guess.
“It’s not just the demon worshippers.”
[… … .]
“I want to eliminate all beings similar to them.”
This is probably why Riley actively helps bring down the Irantes Tower.
Because they took advantage of my disciples’ sacrifices.
Because he used the lives of Becky’s mother and Garon Theobald’s granddaughter.
It didn’t stop there, he even took advantage of his assistants’ unfortunate lives and their lives.
The Irantes Matap, like the other god-worshipers, simply used humans as a means and tool.
“And above all… … .”
[… … .]
“I really want to get rid of the being that created these evil worshippers.”
Yeah. Riley’s voice was shaking.
Anger.
Burning hostility.
She wanted revenge.
[… … .]
And what a truly incredible coincidence… … .
I too was seeking revenge on the same target as Riley.
[Riley, you know what?]
“……yes?”
[There have been a total of five archmages in the Ritas Empire throughout history.]
Ian Shishkin.
Cherdian Sokolov.
Crombel Stingwood.
Dmitry Kissin.
Even Marta Pargerich.
These five guys all have different personalities.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was truly diverse.
Their growth methods, actions, and even achievements were all different.
[But among the achievements these five people had, there was one thing they had in common.]
“… … .”
[Do you know what that is?]
Riley studied magic at Rethemis for a year.
So, it is clear that the achievements of these five great magicians have all been studied thoroughly.
As expected.
When I asked her this question, Riley thought for a moment and then immediately gave me an answer.
“… … A great purge of evil spirits.”
[Yeah, that’s right.]
A great purge of evil spirits.
This was an achievement that all five wizards accomplished without exception.
As soon as they became archmages, they requested the emperor to punish the evil worshippers.
And then, with overwhelming force, he swept away the evildoers.
Although it was impossible to completely subdue the evil spirits because they were so stubborn, it was still true that these actions had a great impact on their expansion.
[But was that really a coincidence?]
“… … .”
Five great wizards with completely different personalities, traits, achievements, and even growth processes.
But if such people, as soon as they became archmages, requested the emperor to punish the evil worshippers, should we really accept that as just a coincidence?
In the history books of the empire and in the history classes of the academy, ‘suppression of evil god worshippers’ was defined as the cornerstone for solidifying the internal affairs of the empire.
By raising a public enemy in the form of demon worshippers, they were able to strengthen the unity within the empire, while at the same time publicizing the power of the Archmage, the most powerful weapon the empire possessed.
“… … .”
[… … .]
But really.
Could this be the only reason behind the suppression of evil spirits?
Riley pondered the question.
Soon she was able to come up with an answer.
“… … The magic book told you to do so.”
[huh.]
She asked a question.
“Why?”
I answered again with a hollow laugh.
[Why?]
The reason was very simple.
There was only one reason why I wanted to get rid of them.
[These are the bastards who made me into a magic book.]
“… … .”
To be exact, the bastard that those damned demon-worshipping bastards serve… … That is, the demon (惡新) reincarnated me into a grimoire.
