CH 83

In that moment, what filled Raeyan’s field of vision was a distorted crack.

The crack that appeared in the torn space undulated threateningly as if it would devour its surroundings.

The pure darkness emanating from the fissure was pitch black and dense, as if it had gathered all the darkness in the world. It was like an abyss.

Raeyan recognised the voice that came from the rift.

“Irkala.”

The ruler of the wraiths, the god of the underworld, the lord of punishment and death – the master of the seven sins.

[How insolent, to speak the name of a god in the mouth of a mere mortal.]

“…….”

[Ishtar’s second child. I never thought I’d see you again.]

Just as Raeyan had recognised Irkala, Irkala had also recognised Raeyan’s presence.

Even in the presence of a god, Raeyan felt no reverence or fear.

The rift before him was not a god. Technically, it was just a fragment, residue belonging to Irkala.

Irkala couldn’t leave the underworld due to the bond and pact between Irkala and Ishtar, the goddess.

However, Irkala, who coveted the human realm, would occasionally exert his power through a tear like this, albeit in a small way.

Therefore, the power of the god that Irkala could exercise in front of him was not strong.

Although it was just a fragment, a god is still a god, and the undulating rift was vicious enough to engulf the surroundings.

[Hmph, strange, I don’t sense any of my stolen power in you…….]

Irkala continued to mutter to himself, regardless of whether Raeyan answered or not.

[I wouldn’t mind tearing the thieving cat that dared to steal my power apart, but I’m not ready for that yet.]

“…….”

[‘Anyway, I don’t like what Ishtar created. They’re different from my lovely children, too different.]

“…….”

[Why are you standing there so foolishly? Hurry up and kneel, Ishtar’s second child.]

Even with the command of the god to kneel, Raeyan didn’t even blink an eye. He continued to gaze at the crack and eventually opened his mouth.

“Return to your throne, Irkala.”

[Silence.] 

With a bone-chilling voice, Irala interrupted him.

Once again, Raeyan ignored Irkala’s command.

“Dream on. The day your wishes come true will never come, no matter how long time passes.”

Then…….

Hehehe!

A sharp laughter filled the entire basement, as if the ears were being torn apart.

Hehehehehe! Hehehe! Hehehehe!

Since the basement was empty, Irkala’s laughter echoed relentlessly, assaulting the ears. As if thousands of Irkalas were laughing from all directions.

When the laughter finally ceased, Irkala spoke solemnly.

[Truly foolish, reckless, and audacious. Prophecy is my prerogative as a god, not yours as a mere human. Well, shall I show you your future?]

Before the words were finished, the empty basement in front of him suddenly changed in an instant.

Swish!

Immediately, what Rayan saw was a fierce blaze engulfing everything from all directions.

The world was being consumed by the darkness around it. The land was barren, plants and animals withered and died, and starving humans stabbed each other to death. All sorts of monsters boiled up and devoured the corpses of humans and animals.

Wars raged across the entire continent. The civilization that had achieved dazzling progress was in decline.

Amidst the burning ruins, he was there.

Raeyan himself, fading away in a pool of blood.

Raeyan simply stared at his beaten and battered self.

Into his ears, Irkala spoke maliciously.

[This is your future, second child of Ishtar.]

“…”

[You’re dying a miserable death, falling apart.]

“…”

[Ishtar won’t save humanity. Don’t you understand yet?]

Raeyan knew that Irkala’s words were a deliberate attempt to shake him and bring him down.

Irkala always wanted to take everything away from his sister, Ishtar, so there must be some purpose this time as well.

Eventually, the illusion in front of him gradually disappeared, as if the power to extend into the human realm had reached its limit. The burning battlefield vanished, revealing the empty basement once again.

Irkala asked.

[What do you think of your future?]

“…I don’t care.”

[Hmm. Is that so?]

Raeyan stared at the crack with an expressionless face. The future shown by Irkala didn’t evoke any particular emotions in him.

After all, it was just an illusion meant to deceive.

Even if this illusion he had just seen was his real future, it wouldn’t matter. Even if everything was burned, destroyed, and collapsed.

“I’ll be back to square one and start all over, until I don’t have to.”

Just like Elodie said, he could go back and start over. Since he had already done it once, doing it again wouldn’t be difficult.

When Raeyan remained silent in response to the provocation, Irkala quickly lost interest.

[I couldn’t stay still lately because the surface was too noisy. Second child of Ishtar, what are you up to?]

“Do I have to tell you that?”

[I didn’t expect you to. Anyway, it seems like you’re interfering with my business. Hm………]

Irkala made a peculiar sound and fell silent for a moment. Amidst the undulating fissure in time and space, Irkala asked.

[You’re not the only one behind this, are you?]

For a moment, Raeyan almost faltered, but managed to contain his emotions.

“No. It’s all my doing.”

[No. It’s not just you. There’s definitely another entity involved……]

“Think whatever you want.”

Rayan deliberately responded nonchalantly, but Irkala didn’t stop speculating.

[Who could it be? The existence you’re so desperate to hide. An entity that escapes the eyes of the gods. How intriguing.]

“It’s my doing.”

[Hmm, it’s been a while since you’ve been so talkative, Second Child.]

“…….”

[What you want to hide is also something Ishtar wants to hide. It’s been a long time since I’ve confronted my sister; how fun will it be?]

Hehehe.

Irkala started laughing sharply again. As the piercing laughter began to fill the basement, Raeyan summoned a shadow sword.

He couldn’t let her existence be revealed yet. Elodie wasn’t ready to face Irkala head-on.

‘The more we mix words, the more unnecessary information will be leaked.’

He had no intention of engaging in a friendly conversation anyway.

Rayan sliced through the crack.

Kkyyyaaaaah-!

A grotesque scream filled the air, and the crack began to widen.

Irkala warned.

[Don’t think this peace will last forever, Ishtar’s second child].

Raeyan ignored it, but the voice continued.

[Sooner or later, I will completely devour the surface of your human realm.]

“Nonsense.”

[Why don’t you watch and see?]

With those words, Irkala’s voice completely disappeared.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

From the distorted crack, the monsters from the underground began pouring out incessantly.

Raeyan gripped his shadow blade and slashed at them relentlessly.

***

The temperature control magic tool was a huge success, but the short-range communication magic tool was an unparalleled hit.

It was around this time that the wizard Elby came to fame in the original story. I couldn’t have felt better about monopolizing investment in a tool that was bound to be a success.

To my delight, the communication tool was already fully booked for the next five years, with pre-orders from aristocrats and the imperial family.

Moreover, the word had already spread, and there was a surge of import requests from foreign countries.

The problem seemed to be the smooth supply of materials and the strain on production capacity.

But it didn’t matter since a large advance payment had been received.

“Hoho…….”

As I sinisterly laughed while looking at the enormous amount of money recorded in the ledger, Greed burped inside me.

[Groooan.]

“Feeling satisfied?”

[Ha! Are you trying to kill me with gluttony?]

Greed lunged at me, startled by my overzealousness. But I shrugged it off.

“Dying of a burst stomach is better than starving to death, right?”

[Hmm?]

Greed, who had been deep in thought, nodded as if acknowledging that it hadn’t considered that.

[Well, then].

“Now! Say ‘thank you, Elodie’ – do it.”

[Thank you, Elodie… Wait, why would I do that?!]

Greed realized something strange and looked at me suspiciously.

Ah, what a waste. I might have been able to deceive it if I had done well.

Instead of teasing Greed any further, I placed a box full of communication magical tools on the bedroom table.

They were the communications tools I had received from Isis. I’d received so many that even after I’d given them to my three temporary escorts, I still had plenty left over.

‘No Perdia, right……?’

I checked the order list several times, but Perdia’s name wasn’t on it. Not even when they were ready to deliver.

I could only speculate that Isis and the Duke of Perdia were not on good terms and therefore hadn’t even placed an order.

‘Maybe they were confident that if they wanted it, they could get it.’

Nothing was impossible for Perdia. Anyway, my intention was to give these magical tools as gifts to my family.

‘Because it’s good to get along until I become independent!’

It was a kind of bribe.

I packed a total of five tools, including one for Martha. Carlot was out on a mission, so I put the one for him in a drawer.

While I was packing, Greed, whose tail was wagging on my desk, asked.

[What if someone asks where you got them? You’ll be suspected.]

“They know I’ve been going to the Magic Tower a lot lately, so if I say I bought it out of natural interest, I won’t be suspected.”

[Oh. Genius?]

“And you’ll just go into the sealing stone.”

[kkeuaaang!]

Greed, who was flattering me in a friendly way for some reason, forcibly entered the sealing stone and stood up.

“Let’s go bribe then!”

***

When I arrived at the duchess’s greenhouse, Duke Perdia was there as well.

I don’t know if it’s fortunate or unfortunate.

‘This is a win-win situation.’

I tried to think positively and smiled at the two of them.

“Welcome, Elodie.”

The duchess greeted me gracefully, holding a teacup.

“I came to see the duchess, and it seems Father is here too.”

“I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Ah, no!”

I quickly grabbed Duke Perdia’s arm, who was about to leave without any hesitation.

“I have something to tell both of you.”

For some reason, the duchess’s expression stiffened at my words.

“What is that?”

Wondering if I had done something displeasing, I neatly placed two boxes on the table that I had carefully brought along.

“What’s inside?”

Duke Perdia lifted one of the boxes and asked me.

“I bought them to give to both of you.”

With a pounding heart, I waited for the two of them to open the boxes. However, they only stared at the boxes without opening them.

Unable to wait any longer, I finally asked, “Aren’t you going to open them?”

Almost simultaneously, the two of them opened the boxes. Inside were the magical devices provided by Isis, neatly arranged.

“These are magical devices.”

The duchess recognized them at a glance. I quickly added an explanation.

“These are communication magical devices released by a rookie magician recently. They allow communication without the need for letters.”

“Hmm.”

The Duke of Perdia wordlessly picked up the tool and began to examine it carefully.

The duchess looked at me and spoke calmly.

“I heard you often go to the Magic Tower these days – was it to buy this? Thank you, Elodie.”

“I bought them with the allowance my father gave me. It’s nice for the family to be able to contact each other anytime.”

Of course, I didn’t consider myself part of that family. I had long since abandoned the idea of becoming a member of Perdia’s family.

It was quite some time before Duke Perdia opened his mouth.

“Alright. I will use it well.”

That was the end of his words, but it was enough.

‘Why didn’t he say that he didn’t need it?’

I never expected the duke to be moved or anything of the sort.

***

After Elodie had left the greenhouse, Themis looked at her husband reproachfully.

“You’re not being very honest either.”

“…….”

“You’ve already secretly placed an order. You secured 50 percent of the sales volume.”

Having obtained information even before the catalogs circulated among each family, Perdia had already secured the quantity of communication magical devices.

But Elodie didn’t know about that fact.

Sylvester put the magical device back in the box as if it was too precious to touch and replied.

“Don’t tell her.”

“Why?”

“It would be embarrassing for the child.”

It was for Elodie’s sake, but was it really in the best interest of the child?

Thinking back to the moment when Elodie carefully handed over the magical tools, Themis held it in her hand.

“Be more honest, Your Grace.”

“…….”

“You’re going to regret it.”