Chapter 327

Episode 327 If only I could (13)

“If you’re not going to drink, can I at least give you a cigarette?”

“Do you smoke too?”

Was Daniel surprised by Meister’s life of doing everything that was bad? I had a moment of intense conflict with his suggestion.

“...Do you have it?”

“uh.”

I’ve already quit smoking for the past few days... but how did I quit smoking?

“...It’s not my body, so it’s okay to smoke carelessly.”

After much consideration, I refused because it wasn’t my body. After all, it was okay to use someone else’s body carelessly, even though it wasn’t mine. Especially since cigarettes are a useless thing.

“I’m fine...”

What, were you awake? Well, after four days it would be time to wake up.

I calmly put aside my lingering feelings for the observant little boy. After all, you can’t smoke in front of your child.

“This is a guy who was dragged into a storm out of nowhere. What can we say about something like this?”

“I won’t say anything in particular, but I don’t think it’s a moral thing to do.”

“Anyway, I’m living a tiresome life for no reason.”

“I don’t think I’m living needlessly tired, but...”

At that time, Daniel supported me. The meister, who was drinking alone, glanced at the two of us and wrinkled his forehead.

“You bastards who will become investigators even without God....”

It was unclear whether it was an insult or a compliment. In one way, it means that he is a bastard, but in another way, it means that he is living a simple and chaste life.

So, Daniel was torn as to whether he should focus on the blasphemous statement that ‘there is no God’ or on the backstory of living with integrity. Well, since it was a place to have pleasant conversations, I eventually agreed and passed it on.

“Oh right. “Take this.”

Anyway, the meister, who looked tired of us, threw something at me. It was a package I had seen before somewhere.

“This is...”

I gradually unwrapped the leather surrounding the outside. Then all kinds of things, including handkerchiefs and headgear, came out.

They were all given to me by those who had helped me, and they were memories that I passed on to Meister when I was running away.

“You still have it.”

“You can’t carelessly throw away other people’s things, even if they are your own, right?”

“...Even though it’s full of pure junk?”

“Well...”

I also found a greenish-white thread bracelet among them.

“It was definitely all unnecessary junk for the trip. But the fact that you continued to allocate space to them even though you didn’t know that doesn’t mean they had emotional value worth wasting that much space on?”

My heart aches at the sight of things that I once thought had disappeared, but somehow returned to me.

“...Maybe so.”

I took a look at them, then fumbled with them one by one and put them in my inventory.

This is what I received from Tatara, this is what was given to me by the hostage and adventurer who were rescued when I was capturing the pirates, and this is what I received from Jakrati....

Give it to the children and organize it when you feel like you have enough space to use it. Even with all that reduction and reduction, there is so much left over.

I quickly adjusted the thread bracelet among the miscellaneous things that seemed to never go away no matter how much I put in them. It was a really strange feeling to receive so many things after saving others.

Rattling.

Then a dagger slipped out from under my knee. widely. Daniel reached out before I could grab it.

“Here it is.”

“thanks.”

I took it and held it properly. Looking at the messed up blade, it doesn’t seem to be the dagger I was using as a weapon.

Where did you get this from?

“Ah...”

The child sighed just as the initials engraved with PB caught his eye.

I felt a sense of déjà vu.

‘...You know this.’

A dagger with initials engraved on it. I was a little confused at first, but after hearing the child’s sighs, I understood. I found this in that broken down cabin.

“what’s the matter?”

“...Is there some problem?”

There must have been something strange because I swept the dagger away with a stern complexion rather than an expression reminiscing. Two people spoke to me.

‘Is it related to me?’

I briefly raised my hand at them and then urged Faust. “...No.” The hesitant child answered with difficulty.

“It’s something you don’t need to worry about.”

‘...If it’s difficult to say right now, you don’t have to say it.’

‘...I’m telling you now, but when I told him to atone, I just meant... to sort out your guilt, sort out the situation, and find the courage to speak out. ‘I’m not blaming you for everything that happened.’

「....」

‘It’s my fault for choosing words that are bound to be misunderstood. Sorry. But Faust, I tell you the truth... All the misfortunes we have suffered are not your fault. I told you this last time. ‘Anger is a bastard, it’s hardly your fault.’

Ah, since I don’t know exactly what happened between the two, it’s a bit difficult to give them definite comfort. I recalled the situation of Daniel, whom I knew.

All I know about his past is that he ‘lost his parents to a demon who spoke erratically and wielded black fire.’ At the point where it was said to be going back and forth, I assumed that Wrath and Faust were fighting for dominance and that his parents got caught up and died.

Of course, Faust has no reason to intentionally kill Daniel’s parents, nor is he inclined to do so. So the culprit behind everything is probably anger.

‘So, Faust, you are just one of the victims in the end. That devil is the culprit of everything and you are just one person caught up in it. Don’t come out too low-key to apologize to us. You don’t have to do that. ‘You must have hurt as much as we hurt.’

Based on that hypothesis, I calmly comforted the child. I don’t know if this is right. I’m not a former psychologist, so how would I know? I just hope it has a positive effect.

[Huh. I see... But baby, don’t you know that? Even Ratel can contain his soul for a little while?]

But damn, you crazy angry bastard.

Crack.

Did I get so angry at the moment that I turned the fish into powder? The child who had been listening quietly opened his mouth cautiously.

“...I think you’re cheating again.”

[This is purely out of good will.]

“It’s not trustworthy.”

[...I just brought this up to make Gretchen angry. But it’s true that Ratel can hold a soul for a little while. Shall I swear by your name?]

“If you swear that there will be no side effects.”

[You will be under temporary pressure when you move to Ratel, so there really is nothing to worry about except for a little loss of life. The level of life leaking here is the same as when you go outside as a soul. ah! If you stay in Ratel for more than 3 hours, your soul will keep trying to escape due to your abnormal body. Wouldn’t you say this is a side effect? It’s not a side effect, it’s more of a precaution. So there are no other ‘side effects’. I swear on my name. Now, did you see it?]

“Uhmmm....”

[Ah, why! You even put your name on the line!]

If you look back on your daily actions, you might find the answer to the question of not being trusted. In the meantime, what did you say to make me angry? Mr. Lee... You really are a fucking bastard.

“What is it this time?”

“What is it?”

“...It’s so painful that the devil bastard has to go to hell after 9 years.”

“What did you say?”

“I taught my child bad things.”

“...Shall I sprinkle some holy water on you?”

“...If only the devil bastard could receive holy water, I wouldn’t have a wish.”

The problem is that I am also affected. shit. Daniel and I felt sad at the same time.

「...Can I do that?」

‘...This also shortens your lifespan.’

“It doesn’t leak that much. Also, since it only leaks when moving to a laterel, if it leaks a lot, it will only last for a minute... It’s true...”

No, you don’t think that leaking life itself is a problem. I touched my forehead.

“I’m going to talk really quickly and go in. Please...”

‘...I need to consult with him for a moment.’

If a month’s worth of life is lost, of course it must be prevented, but it is difficult to prevent consumption in minutes. Still, it’s hard to stop it.

After thinking for a while, I explained the situation to Daniel. Daniel also seemed very conflicted about the decrease in consumption from a month to a minute, and even brought out the Rosario.

“God, my broken heart...”

I guess I felt guilty for worrying as soon as the minutes passed. Meister looked at us with a look that said, ‘If that’s all you need, just listen.’

“It’s not even a month, it’s only a matter of minutes, so just give me permission.”

“But that’s a lifespan...”

“It would be inconvenient for him to not apologize for 9 years, so why not just listen? “If it were me, I would waste 10 minutes of my life and confess rather than spend 9 years in frustration.”

“That kind of thing....”

“You frustrated bastards, the stress built up from that will shorten your lifespan even further.”

However, what Meister said was not wrong. So, after much thought, Daniel and I came to a conclusion.

“Please allow it on the condition that you only allow it once today and never again.”

“That’s okay.”

If it’s the Faust I’ve seen, there’s a high possibility that it’s okay to overuse it because it consumes less life. If you were to collect a single particle and call it a mountain, your lifespan may be shortened significantly.

We took that into consideration and proposed a conditional compromise with certain restrictions.

“Yes...”

Faust agreed with a slightly disappointed voice. If there were no restrictions, it would have been a big problem.

“good. “Come in.”

I retrieved the ratel that I had been using as a lantern holder for four days and placed it on the floor. Faust’s soul jumped out of my hand and jumped straight into Ratel.

The surface of the rattel, which was shaped like a rice cake, trembled and soon swelled and took on a single shape.

“...Are you done?”

The boy who looked like he was carved out of marble blinked his pupilless eyes.