Murky Darkness – Part 02

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Translator: Kell


“Well, that was quick and disappointing,” I said after leaving the campus. We had been walking in silence for a while. “That’s the end of Sanare, right? You actually sealed her away? She’s not leaving that place, is she?”

“She will not stay there forever,” Zero said. “In a hundred years, maybe two, when all the guards allow it, and if her mind is still intact, she can be free again.”

“The guards, huh?”

I looked over my shoulder, thinking about Theo’s knife that I left behind.

“Are you worried about Theo’s knife?” Zero asked.

I lowered my ears. “Yeah, kinda. Feels like I’m leaving Theo behind again, you know.”

“You left the knife, not Theo. The departed are very free, more so than you might imagine. Souls bound onto places and things choose to be bound themselves.”

“I’m not sure I understand.” I let my tail droop.

Wind rustled the leaves. It sounded like laughter.

“The princess is fine now, right?” Raul asked anxiously as he walked behind us. “Sanare won’t posssess her again?”

“No,” Zero reassured.

Raul’s expression finally softened.

“But there is a deep-seated problem with the princess,” she added. “We have sealed Sanare away, but the princess became a member of Cestum of her own volition, no? If necessary, I may have to take away her memories.”

“All her memories of Magic?”

Zero nodded.

The princess’s master who taught her Magic was killed by Dea Ignis. Her actions were fueled by her hatred of the Church.

Her memory of learning Magic had to be erased, or else she would be searching for her dead master forever.

Raul didn’t seem worried. He gave a soft smile. “I don’t think you have to worry about anything.”

“How could we not worry?” I said. “She went all-out in trying to kill the priest.”

“She can kill the priest even without joining Cestum.”

This guy always says the most outrageous thing without batting an eye.

When I first met him at Black Dragon Island, he gave the impression of a pleasant young man, but from how he called Sanare an unwanted item, he probably had a darker side to him.

“The princess is smart. She knows what’s best. At first she lent her body to Sanare to exact vengeance on the priest, but her goal eventually shifted to finding more about Cestum.”

“What?”

“How big Cestum was, its purpose, and its methods. The princess was very curious about the organization that Lord Argentum belonged to. Sanare told her everything she wanted to know. I know, she had a bit of a loose tongue.” Raul gave a dry laugh. “The princess has been planning to leave Cestum a while ago. But if she tried to escape, she’d get killed. I’m glad you guys came.”

After walking through the woods for a while, the huge earthen box that held the princess came into view. There was a Magic circle around it, and there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary—or so I would like to say, but I was shocked by what I saw.

“What the hell happened here?!”

There was a gaping hole in the box. For a moment, I thought the princess had escaped, but the sound of the princess’s and the priest’s voice suggested otherwise.

Lily was sitting next to the hole, stirring a pot on the fire, where skewered meat was being roasted, dripping fat. It smelled like deer. Come to think of it, I’m starving. No, wait.

“Hey, Lily!” I called. “What’s going on here?! Where’s the priest and the princess?”

Lily continued stirring the pot earnestly. “Having a big fight,” she replied, pulling out one of the tasty-looking roasted meat and munching on it.

“A fight?”

Zero and Raul were already peering into the hole. I peeked in behind them, and sure enough, it was a big fight.

“You don’t understand a thing, do you?” the princess said. “What the Church is doing is terrorism. I know that fear is effective in leading people, but imposing the Church’s teachings on others will only result in the stagnation of society.”

“It’s you who doesn’t understand anything,” the priest replied. “Stagnation of society? That’s perfectly fine by me! What’s wrong with trying to keep the world at peace? I’m not saying the Church doesn’t have its issues, but the Church should solve those issues themselves. Witches, Sorcery, and Magic have no business in this matter, which is obvious if you use your brain even a little.”

They were having a futile argument, but at least they weren’t killing each other. Given how they were devouring meat while debating, it looked more like a random dispute in a corner of a tavern.

Since they were inside the Etrach, I didn’t see any problem with it.

My head was filled with questions, however. Why is there a hole? Why’s the priest inside? How can they even eat normally like nothing’s wrong?

Lily offered us a piece of roasted deer meat. “Father caught the deer,” she said. “I thought you’d be hungry when you got back, so I cooked some food. I was careful. I think the food’s safe.”

“I see.”

But that’s not what I’m asking. Then again, I was hungry, so I gratefully accepted the food. I also carried the pot that Lily was going to bring inside the Etrach.

A delicious aroma of deer meat stewed with salt and vegetables wafted out of the pot and filled the space, stopping the priest and princess from arguing for a moment. They turned their attention to the pot.

“Food,” Lily said.

We’re gonna eat in the dark? Everyone except Zero and the princess could see at night, and two witches would be fine without any light.

“It’s getting cold,” Lily said. “Hurry up.”

The priest moved to the back of the Etrach to get away from the light, and sat down in silence.

Raul slipped past me, approached the princess, and gently settled down. The princess sat down as well, leaning against Raul and relaxing a little.

As Zero and I took our seats, Lily poured the contents of the pot into bowls and distributed them to me, Zero, and the priest. She then scuttled toward Raul and held out her small hands.

Raul looked puzzled, not understanding what she meant.

“Bowl,” she said.

When Raul left the campus, he took a set of his things with him. He quickly took out one bowl from his pack.

Lily puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel. “One more!” She sounded angry.

“I, uhh…”

“I don’t like you,” Lily said. “But I don’t like leaving others out more.”

She wanted him to eat with us. I was wondering why there were more vegetables in the stew than usual, then I figured it was because Raul was a herbivore.

Realizing this, Raul quietly offered his own bowl as well. After serving everyone, Lily got her own food then sat down near the priest, though still quite a bit farther away.

As usual, Zero was already getting seconds.

Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’m eating something Lily cooked by herself. I took a bite. It tasted just like I imagined it would from the smell.

The meat was tender, the vegetables sweet. The seasoning was on the lighter side, but it was delectable nonetheless, filled with the rich aroma of herbs. It tasted similar to what her mother cooked.

“So, Priest,” Zero said, chewing on a piece of meat. “Would you mind explaining the current situation? And no, do not say ‘we are eating.'”

It was a vague question, but no other appropriate question came to her mind.

“It’s just as you see.” The priest gave a vague answer as well. “We were having a discussion through the wall for a while, but it was difficult to hear each other. Since we weren’t getting anywhere, I opened a hole.”

“Opened a hole, my ass,” I cut in. “What if Sanare found out about our plan? Ever thought of that, huh? Idiot.”

“If she tried to escape, I would’ve just killed her.”

“Indeed,” the princess said, undaunted by the priest’s terrifying words. She even agreed with him. “I can’t  cast any Magic from the Grimoire of Zero, only a Necromancy spell I recently learned. I also didn’t have Raul to protect me. Fighting Dea Ignis would have been foolish. My only choice was to have a discussion, a battle of words if you will, and the best way to argue is face to face. The priest can remove his eye patch in this darkness, so the best option is to just invite him, wouldn’t you agree?”

Best option? It sounds like the most awful idea ever. Wouldn’t I agree? I don’t know what you want me to say.

“So, Princess,” Zero said. “Have you forgiven the priest?”

“I never asked for—”

Zero silenced the priest with a raise of her hand.

The princess pondered over Zero’s question for a bit. “No,” she replied. “However, my personal grudge is a trivial matter. If I had the opportunity to kill him, I would do so, but now is not the time. A huge shame I couldn’t kill him earlier, though. Right, Raul?” She smiled.

Raul gave a vague smile in return. Perhaps he had mixed feelings about the matter. His spear was clearly aiming for the priest’s heart, indicating that he actually meant to kill him, but it wasn’t really what he wanted to do.

Lily also had a grim look on her face since Raul almost killed her.

“What do you mean by ‘now is not the time’? Horse told me you were looking into Cestum.”

“While my mentor Argentum was a member of Cestum, he was not happy with how it was run. He was only using them for his own purposes. He didn’t tell me anything in detail, but I know that much. I offered my body to Sanare because I wanted to use her too. Besides, if Cestum plans to destroy the Church, it is in the best interest of witches and the world to help them. However,” the princess continued, not giving the priest a chance to interrupt, “Cestum’s purpose is not the destruction of the Church. Their leader, the Boss, wants to destroy the world itself.”

I whistled. “Sounds terrifying. I’m literally shaking.”

The priest laughed. “Destroy the world? Talk about ambitious. If they had that kind of power, they could easily destroy the Church tomorrow.”

“I know it sounds like a joke,” the princess said.

“No,” Zero said darkly.


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