Seventh – Part 04
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Translator: Kell
“So, what exactly is this number you’re talking about?” the priest asked.
“It is a sort of tradition in the school of the Murky Darkness,” Zero answered, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. “In our school, there were always witches assigned the numbers two, three, five, seven, eleven, and thirteen. These are prime numbers, given only to those capable of becoming a teacher, one who knows that only you can understand yourself. Each number has a meaning. For example, Thirteenth means “the end”. It is the number that concludes all arguments, and it is also an extremely powerful number in terms of Sorcery.”
“So, what about the number zero?”
“A special exception,” Thirteenth replied in a low voice. “The number ‘zero’ does not exist. It is a concept that represents nothingness. My brethren was not even ten years old back then when our mentor gave her the number zero as a sign of awe and reverence for her power.”
“In other words, I am a genius,” Zero said. “Am I not amazing?”
She did not look amazing at all, but looks could be deceiving. I knew very well how skilled she was.
“Normally, a beginner sorcerer like me wouldn’t be given a number,” Sept said, “but I heard that the Murky Darkness school is currently lacking all but the number thirteen.”
Thirteenth cleared his throat. We were talking about it like it was nothing, but the reason why the Murky Darkness had unassigned numbers was because Thirteenth killed them all.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “That means there were at least five witches in the cellar who were as powerful as you. Did you kill all of them by yourself?”
“Yes, but there wasn’t any fight like you might have imagined. None of them showed any kind of resistance, and they all died with a look in their eyes as if they had accepted the reality they knew was coming. I was never the best sorcerer in the cellar. I was simply given the number thirteen, the number that determines the end.”
He completely lost me. I thought I had gotten used to the way witches and sorcerers thought, but sometimes I’d get hit with some outrageous nonsense like this.
“That’s all I can tell you,” Thirteenth concluded. “The best course of action is to bring the Mooncaller back to her senses and deal with whoever is behind this. Unfortunately, I don’t have the means to do that. Even if I did, Mooncaller would not listen to me.”
“So you’re saying that we should slap that idiot and make her cut ties with Cestum?”
“Yes. After that, I will use all my power to eradicate Cestum. For deceiving the one whom I entrusted my life with, I will make them pay for it so dearly that they will regret being born into this world.”
Zero and Thirteenth were very similar when furious. Both were quiet, but the threatening aura that exuded from their being was extraordinary. It freaked me out.
Thirteenth slowly stood up. “I suggest you rest here tonight and depart tomorrow morning,” he said. “Zero.”
“Yes?”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Taken aback, Zero blinked a few times for a moment. Then she put a smile on her lips and looked at Thirteenth with a somewhat challenging look.
“Oh. Like we did back in the cellar a long time ago?”
“Yes. You’ve seen a world I’d never known. You must have a new perspective on things. Wouldn’t you like to settle unresolved arguments?”
“Absolutely. It has been a long time since I have had a discussion with you. Perhaps I would even reverse some of my past conclusions.”
Zero, who had been sitting on the floor, got up and stood next to Thirteenth. Just watching the two of them, beautiful beyond human standards, made me feel like my soul was being sucked out of me.
I turned my gaze away, and Sept did the same.
“They’re like deadly weapons to the eyes,” Sept said in a feminine tone. She then picked up Lily. “Come, I’ll show you to your room. Oh, by the way, since you were ogling my tits, please don’t sneak into my bed tonight.”
“I’m not gonna do that! And I wasn’t ogling anything! If I did, it wasn’t because I wanted to.”
“That’s good. Unfortunately, I’m only interested in women. I would welcome a surprise visit from Zero, though.”
“Unfortunately, I am only interested in Mercenary,” Zero said flatly.
Sept looked at me, surprised. “I get it. In that case, I won’t hit on you. I don’t want my head cut off in the middle of the night.” He gave an all-knowing smile.
I didn’t even feel like shouting at him.
For the first time in a long time, I was alone in my room, as Zero was engaged in an all-night—though it was still evening—discussion with Thirteenth.
After tending to my gear, I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. A terrible silence descended.
In the past, this silence would have brought me relief, but now it was strangely unsettling. I closed my eyes, hoping to fall asleep, but I could not. It was still too early anyway, and the sun hadn’t completely set yet. I was exhausted, but I had enough sleep. Then again, I was basically a lazy bum. I could sleep all day if time permitted.
“Feels like something is missing.”
Specifically, something like a hug pillow.
I’d been traveling with Zero for a while now, and no matter where I slept or how I slept, I always found Zero in my bed.
At first I thought she was just a nuisance. Just like how she treated me as a bed, apparently I began treating her like a pillow without realizing it.
Once I was aware it, I felt more and more restless. I got up and scratched the back of my neck.
“A hug pillow, huh?”
We’re man and woman, though. I guess that doesn’t really matter.
“Sneaking into someone’s bed… Like I can do that with this body.”
I looked down at my hands. They were twice the size of a normal human’s hands, though similar in shape, with five fingers, and I could move them freely. But I’d be too scared to touch a woman’s soft skin with these sharp claws.
“Kissing? A real one would not be possible…”
A smack on the lips would be fine, but a passionate one was unthinkable for me. Just imagining it made me think of a tragedy.
If I were a third party who came across a woman and a Beastfallen kissing, I would not hesitate to beat the crap out of the beast.
It was certainly possible. I knew that much. There were many cases of Beastfallen abducting women.
Those were all done by force, of course. I’d never heard of a human and Beastfallen going at it consensually.
I guess I have to become human first. Zero didn’t seem to mind that I was a Beastfallen, though.
“Wait, why am I even thinking about this?” I lifted my head and shook the stupid thoughts away.
What’s the point?! Am I stupid?!
“Stop, stop, stop!”
I just couldn’t sleep. I got out of bed and left the room to savor some night breeze.
“Can I come in now?” Lily was at my feet, looking at me anxiously.
Uh…
“Did you hear what I said?” I asked.
“A-A little…”
“How little?”
“Sneaking into a bed… and kissing…”
“That’s pretty much everything! First the priest, now you. Stop eavesdropping on me!”
Why are you even hesitating to enter my room? It would have been far less traumatic for me if she had just entered right from the beginning.
“I can tell…” she murmured.
“Hmm?”
“I can tell something’s bothering you.”
I see. Despite her appearance, she was sixteen years old, an adult woman. When I realized that, it made me feel miserable.
Heaving a sigh, I picked Lily up and placed her on the back of my neck.
“Come with me for a walk,” I said. “You’ve got something to tell me, right?”
“Yeah.” Nodding, Lily clung to my head tight.
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