CH 10

‘How can he not know the word democracy…?’

Yi-Gyeol was quite shocked that a grown-up adult – and not even a child – did not know democracy, and explained the meaning of the word as calmly as he could.

−Democracy means that the people are the masters of the country, and politics is done for the people. There is no class such as royalty, nobility, or commoners, and the head of the country is elected by all the citizens by voting.

Sethian, who was listening to Yi-Gyeol gently speak as if explaining to a child, distorted the corners of his eyes. 

“Is there such a nonsensical system? According to what you’re saying, even those who used to be slaves can set up a king with their own hands.”

−Correct. And it’s not nonsense, most countries have already changed their system to this. 

“What a load of crap.”

−It’s true.

“Every country on the continent legally buys and sells slaves. If a slave-free country really existed, there is no way it would not have been a hot topic of discussion among the court ministers of the Imperial Palace.”

−What…?

He was dumbfounded to hear that not only one or two countries, but all countries buy and sell slaves.

“A large part of the nation’s power also includes the labor force of slaves. Why would a sane country get rid of such power?”

As their conversation continued, Yi-Gyeol realized that something had gone completely wrong. 

⋆♚⋆♛⋆♚⋆

“Eutcha!”

A large man in red armor powerfully threw a corpse with a severed arm. Just below the deeply dug ground, is filled with bodies of men that were not much different than that of which had been thrown into the ground just now.

“Euurgh…, Let go…!”

“Euh…, Euuh….”

Five bloody men who were dragged by the neck by the knights were also thrown into the pit of bodies. They were seriously injured, but unlike other corpses, they still have their breaths.

Lenox, the Leader of the Knights under the direct control of the 4th Prince, looked down at the pit of black corpses then turned his attention to the Vice-Leader Kirsty, who approached him. 

“Are those all the ones we have to deal with?”

“En. Those who can’t stand torture for even a while are just nuisance.”

Kirsty wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand and smiled deeply. That smile made his intimidating face immediately look innocent. 

“It’s noisy, so let’s deal with it quickly.”

He didn’t seem to like the groaning and swearing from the pit.

Lenox cast his eyes behind Kirsty. In his eyes, he saw four men who had been captured and tied by the knights. They were relatively uninjured, and although it would be difficult to run, they seemed to be able to walk well.

“Do we still need those four?”

At Lenox’s words, Kirsty’s gaze followed him to the four men.

“You never know what kind of information they could give.”

“Just leave the one who looks like a coward and the one strongest of the four.”

“Only two?”

Lenox’s cold eyes, resembling Seth, turned to the pit again.

“Since the prince is not here, you can be a little merciful.”

“Oh my, what’s going on? They’re all done for anyway.”

Kirsty grinned and turned to the four men the knights were holding. He went over to them and said something, then dragged two of the captured men like luggage. Still struggling and squirming, they were soon thrown onto a pile of corpses.

Two knights, who had gathered branches in advance and were waiting, lit a fire. A few branches that were touched by the fire quickly ignited and burst into flames.

Then, burning branches poured down on the pile of corpses mixed with living people.

“Eu, uaaak-!”

“Waaah-!”

The screams of those dying alive in the pit continued, and long gray smoke billowed into the bright sky. Soon, the smell of burning corpses spread over and horrified the two remaining captured men.

Lenox indifferently looked down at the pit filled with red flames, then turned around and walked towards the captives. He held the captives in his eyes, then ordered the two knights who were holding them.

“Take them underground and cut off their ankles so they won’t be able to escape. Come back to the cavalcade[1] after hanging them.”

“Yes, commander.”

The knights answered immediately as if it was their normal protocol. The two prisoners, who had become pale at the gruesome words, resisted desperately but were easily subdued by the knights’ strength.

Lenox’s cold eyes glanced over the two captives.

“If you want to die comfortably even a little, it would be better to confess quickly. If the prince visits you in person, you won’t be able to do it even if you want to.”

Lenox’s sincere words made the complexion of the two prisoners even paler.

⋆♚⋆♛⋆♚⋆

It was about an hour after they entered the cave that Yi-Gyeol stopped the seemingly endless conversation with Sethian. 

−Unbelievable….

Yi-Gyeol was almost completely lost in shock.

Everything he learned while talking with Seth was shocking. In fact, even now, he was still having difficulty accepting the details of their conversation directly. Among them, it’s the information that every country is an imperial state and that people who can use magic exist under a ministry called magic tower. All the while, the words “Stop joking.” kept popping out of his mouth.

Until he saw the two faint moons floating high in the sky in broad daylight. 

‘How is this possible? It doesn’t make sense!’

The world that the golden butterfly took him, was not the world where Yi-Gyeol lives.

If he had a body, he probably would have been tearing his hair with both of his hands. A lot of what he heard through Sethian was too difficult to comprehend.

‘Isn’t this really a dream…?’

This situation made Yi-Gyeol wonder once again if he was actually dreaming. However, he knows that he can’t be in his OOBE state and dream simultaneously since each sense is entirely different.

Yi-Gyeol looked at Sethian’s face reflected in the small lamp. His face reflected in the flickering light was not much different than it was before the conversation. 

−Sethi… Seth, why are you not surprised?

He already learned of the young man’s full name, but it was too long so he shortened it without realizing. Fortunately, Sethian didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m surprised enough too.”

Sethian recalled an anecdote left by the first owner of the Magic Tower recorded in its history book. It was all about following a golden butterfly to cross dimensions and bringing a flower containing mana, but the brief information that there was another world was enough to burn the wizard’s academic enthusiasm. The flower from another world, which is no less proof of that anecdote, was cherished by the wizards and was still in full bloom in the basement of the tower even up to this day. 

Of course, he didn’t mean to believe everything Yi-Gyeol said, since there’s also a possibility that he was lying to him.

However, he had no choice but to believe that he was a human from another world. Because the content of the history book, ‘Following the Golden Butterfly,’ is something that only members of the royal family and wizards of the tower only know. Even if it wasn’t, the information from the other world that Yi-Gyeol gave him was so specific that it could hardly be considered that he made up his own words. 

Seth’s interest in Yi-Gyeol grew out of control. It’s as if it’s not enough to entice him that he’s a soul with a living body, but now he’s even a human from another world. 

It was more stimulating than when his life was on the verge of assassination when he was young.

Sethian quenched his interest in Yi-Gyeol and opened his mouth.

“Earlier, you said you’d do anything for me.”

−What? …Oh!

Yi-Gyeol, who belatedly understood Sethian’s words, asked carefully.

−What do you want me to do? Though I don’t think there’s much I can do for you, even if I want to….

It was only natural to say that since he was in a state of soul without a body, and there was really no need for Yi-Gyeol to grant such a request in the first place. He was in a fluid state, and he was the one who actually helped, so even if he pretends not to know and disappeared, Sethian would have nothing to say.

However, with only two meetings and an hour-long conversation, Sethian had already understood Yi-Gyeol’s nature. He was straightforward, extremely sensitive to death, eager to help someone, and was just the right person to be taken advantage of. 

If he only had a body, there were plenty of ways to forcefully capture him, but the adversary was that Yi-Gyeol is only an invisible soul. In fact, since he was not really in this world, it was not possible to meet him even if he wanted to. So Sethian decided to take full advantage of his personality. 

“I want to know more about the world you are in. So come to me every day.”

As a result of their conversation, they found out that time in this world moves much faster than Yi-Gyeol’s world, so even if Yi-Gyeol came every day, the two would only see each other once every few days. Sethian decided to think of that time as a warm-up period to satisfy his interest. 

They were words that did not contain much sentiment, but as expected, Yi-Gyeol accepted it without any hesitation. 

−Fine. Then…!

Yi-Gyeol’s bright voice suddenly cut off. Sethian, who had been waiting for Yi-Gyeol to finish his words, did not hear his voice even after a few seconds, so he called him.

“Joo Yi-Gyeol?”

Sethian’s eyes slightly frowned when there was no response.

It felt like the air suddenly changed from before. When he was talking with Yi-Gyeol, there was a pleasant coolness that lightens up his mood, but now, the surrounding is just filled with the unique humidity of a cave. There wasn’t much of a difference, but it was enough to get on Sethian’s nerves.

Come to think of it, he had also suddenly disappeared from his bedchamber the other day. Such suddenness was not something Sethian liked very much. It’s already annoying that he can’t touch him with his fingertips, but he even suddenly disappears without a warning.

After calling Yi-Gyeol’s name one more time to confirm, Sethian left the cave only after verifying that there was still no response. 

The sun had already set quite a bit, but it was still bright outside. After passing through the cave and climbing up the forest road, Sethian saw a long smoke rising in the distance and realized that his knights had already arranged everything.

As he walked towards them, Sethian slowly brooded over the conversation he had with Yi-Gyeol.