novel
| ← Ch.237 | Ch.239 → |
"I'm here to see the lord."
Lownie greeted Chopin, who was the lord as well as the owner of the castle.
Chopin got off his bed and tied up his hair with a tie.
"Oh, Lownie. Did you have a nice trip to the desert?"
Chopin drank some water and looked back at Lownie when he didn't answer.
"You look exhausted."
In response, Lownie reported that his subordinates were killed by the large scorpion local they encountered in Pierre Desert.
Chopin's face stiffened up followed by silence.
"A local... They should be dormant right now. That's strange."
Chopin looked at Lownie's depressed face and laughed bitterly.
"As time goes by, you seem to become more and more attached to your personal relationships."
Chopin continued with a heavy look laid upon Lownie.
"I'm sure you're devasted, but don't dwell on it too much. The living must go on living. Anyway, did you bring it?"
Chopin asked Lownie.
"Yes, Sir."
Lownie gave a short answer with a dark expression on his face.
In response, Chopin's face lit up.
"Good work. I know there was an unexpected accident, but I can always count on..."
Chopin's face immediately went from a smile to a frown after noticing Lownie's expression.
"Lownie?"
In response to Chopin's calling, Lownie's eyes lit up.
It wasn't out of murderous spirit.
Lownie was simply resisting Chopin.
He wanted to convey that this wasn't right, and that was the only way he could resist the lord, Chopin.
But rulers didn't let such resistance sway them.
On top of that, rulers with greed didn't let anything get in the way of their momentum.
Chopin grimaced.
"What are you thinking, Lownie?"
Along with Chopin's shouting, a throbbing energy surrounded Lownie's entire body.
Lownie's body shook as a result of the intense wave, but he showed his determination to stand his ground.
"Then why did you bring the contract that was kept in Pierre Desert?"
Chopin asked with a raging voice.
"I'm sure you know what it'd mean to break this contract."
"Of course."
Chopin spoke with an unwavering voice while glaring at Lownie.
"Breaking this contract would be to mean I'm leaving your territory."
"So... Are you saying you're going to go against me? Why do you think so highly of mere subjects? Did you forget Lownie? This is Beatrice!"
In response to Chopin's scolding.
When he said the word, 'Beatrice', Lownie's eyes shook.
Chopin continued, "All the preparation are complete. Don't even think about spoiling the cause, " Chopin said firmly.
"To break this contract would mean to start a war against Lord Martin. And in order to fight in that war, I'm prepared to gather the subjects and come up with a hack in the magic..."
"Lownie."
Chopin's eyes grew dark.
"If you threaten to go against me one more time, I'll take it as a revolt."
"..."
Lownie took out the contract from his item window. He plopped down on his knees and held the contract over his head.
Chopin reached out his hand with dissatisfaction.
As soon as he did, the contract presented by Lownie floated over to Chopin's hands.
"You may go, " said Chopin in a cold voice.
Right as Lownie began to get up, Chopin called him once more.
"Lownie."
"Yes, My Lord, " Lownie answered with proper posture.
"I retract your authority over the military from this point onward. I want you to take some time to fix your way of thinking."
Lownie paid his respects with a dark look on his face and left.
***
Bowl turned his head and looked toward the room door.
He felt intoxicated by the energy that lingered outside the door.
Bowl ran over as if he was gravitated by a magnet. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall.
The hall was empty, but a sense was directing him on where to go.
Bowl followed the direction and ran toward it with black flames in his eyes.
It wasn't common for Bowl to have this kind of feeling. The first time he sensed it was when he first met his master.
And after that was when he received a magic stone from his owner to eat.
That was what it was.
It was the smell of a magic stone.
The closer he got, the clearer he sensed it.
Once he turned a corner in the hallway, Bowl stopped in his tracks.
Lownie, whom they had passed in Pierre Desert, was sitting on a wide bench.
And he could see Bowl.
And beside the bench he was sitting on was a magic stone... !
Gulp!
His craving for the magic stone confused him.
If that man wasn't there, he would have eaten the magic stone already, but he couldn't help but mind that human being.
That was when Lownie turned his head and met eyes with Bowl.
He showed a surprised look on his face, and Bowl bowed.
"Hello."
Lownie looked even more surprised when he realized it could talk.
He looked around and stood up as if he thought Bowl was weird.
"A monster?"
Lownie asked, and just to prevent a fight from breaking out, Bowl explained to him how he entered the castle with his owner.
"Hm... Interesting. I didn't know such a pet existed, but why are you here alone?"
Lownie asked Bowl.
Bowl pointed at the magic stones that were attached to the sculpture.
"Because I want to eat that magic stone, but that's not allowed, right?"
When Bowl confessed his honest feelings, Lownie looked back at the stone statue and laughed.
He then fixed his face.
"I understand your feelings, but that statue belongs to the leader here. If you touch it without permission, you'll end up paying a hefty price. You don't want to put your owner in a difficult spot, do you?"
Bowl looked at the statue with a sad face and sighed.
Lownie thought he was cute. He sat back down on the bench and smoked his cigarette.
"I'm worried you might lay a hand on the leader's statue. I'd better keep an eye on it, haha."
Lownie then stared into space from the bench and smoked his cigarette, failing to hide his inner sadness.
The smoke blew into the air.
Bowl watched for a while before running over to him.
He then sat beside him.
"... ?"
Lownie stopped smoking and looked at Bowl strangely.
Bowl just sat there without a word... as if he was a doll.
Lownie also looked into space and smoked his cigarette.
Only the sound of his smoking could be heard inside the hall.
"... Is this it for me?"
Lownie mumbled to himself.
Lownie looked over at Bowl.
His dark eyes were staring at Lownie.
The king of the Undead was a lich.
He ended up having to serve a master, but he was a lich.
He had the ability to see death.
And in Bowl's eyes, he could see that Lownie was prepared to die.
He saw death in him.
Bowl could see that his life was soon to vanish.
He was curious about the reason.
"Why do you want to die?"
Bowl asked.
In response, Lownie stared at Bowl with a surprised look on his face.
He was wondering how he knew.
"I'm a lich that can control death."
"Sigh..."
Lownie smiled bitterly in understanding.
"I see. That's why you can see it."
Lownie stared into the distance and smacked his lips.
Lownie took out another cigarette. He smoked it and got up as soon as he gathered his thoughts.
He then looked down at Bowl.
"I cleared my head thanks to you. I can't explain why, but thank you, little skeleton."
Lownie pat Bowl on the head and walked out of the hallway.
As soon as he disappeared, Bowl immediately took the magic stone out of the statue and chewed on it.
He then began to walk off in the same direction that Lownie disappeared to.
***
Lownie walked without any hesitation.
He was quick, but not in a rush.
He was rational.
He didn't make his decision on a whim, and he was certain of what he wanted to do.
He knew he wasn't going to regret it, and he planned to take all responsibility for the outcome.
Chopin.
He was a decent man when they first met, and he was a player with a great personality.
But positions made a man.
He changed.
He was tainted by greed, and it caused him to do things that were unacceptable.
But their past relationship always held him back.
He hoped he would turn back to his old self.
To the time when he promised to save this world.
But he never returned, and he attempted to take the path that he could never return from.
He had to stop him.
He couldn't just stand by and watch any longer.
The contract from Pierre Desert was the key to putting an end to Chopin and Martin's peace agreement and starting a war.
And Chopin had prepared a magic square that would use the subjects' blood as a sacrifice to defeat Martin, and the preparations were now complete.
He planned to capture innocent subjects of Beatrice, and use their bodies to carry out the dark magic to attack Martin.
Lownie tried to stop him, and in order to do that, he planned on destroying the magic square.
The closer he got to the research lab, the more his heart pounded.
What he was about to do was betrayal and a revolt against Chopin.
Lownie swallowed his emotions and arrived at the research lab.
Lownie breathed heavily as he made up his mind and slammed the door open.
He took out his sword from his Item window and held it in his hand.
At that moment...
Clang, clang, clang!
Dozens of weapons entered the research lab and targeted Lownie.
Lownie scanned the inside with shocked eyes.
Chopin was sitting in a luxurious throne with a smile, and the highest-ranked players under Chopin were holding up their weapons against him.
| ← Ch. 237 | Ch. 239 → |