chapter 44
It’s My Master (3)
“Should I call you Bell?”
The witch, who preserved the same appearance as before over thousands of years, gave a seductive smile.
“…It doesn’t matter what you call me.”
Diablo replied quietly.
“But more than that, I’ve come to seek your help.”
“It’s help. Well, you always came to me only when you needed help.”
The witch chuckled.
“Alright. Go ahead and tell me. Since you’re in a position where you’ve boarded a ship to ‘destruction’, I’ll help you.”
The witch glanced at Diablo and reminisced about the past.
After the death of the mercenary secretary, Vees, she coincidentally met Vees’ disciple, Bell.
The witch had noticed that Bell was the girl for whom Vees had sacrificed his life, and she took her in.
Even though she was an existence that didn’t feel pleased about taking the life of the man she loved, Bell was an existence that was willing to sacrifice her own life to protect him.
If the child who had been protected in exchange for his life were to die, his death would be in vain.
So, the witch helped Bell, who had nowhere else to go.
“That bastard. He must have thought that I would help him after he died.”
That guy was the kind of person who would still think about others even in that situation.
…It’s probably my fault that I fell for him.
Why did I fall for someone like him…
But even the witch couldn’t stop Bell’s hatred for the world that took the life of her mentor, and in the end, she could only watch as Bell fought against the whole world and met a glorious end.
That was the duty and rule of a Great Witch.
Even for the man she loved.
She may have lost everything, including the last legacy that the man wanted to protect, but the witch continued to live as a Great Witch.
Because it was the destiny bestowed upon her.
And so, thousands of years passed.
Countless empires and kingdoms rose and fell, and hundreds of big and small wars occurred, civilizations thrived and perished.
A noble young man who appeared to be around ten years old came to see her.
That was about ten years ago from now.
She was someone who resided in the forbidden depths of the forest, a place that even ordinary humans, let alone most beings of significance, dared not approach. So it was quite surprising to see a seemingly ordinary noble girl come to find her.
“It’s been a while, Grand Witch.”
The noble young man who was reborn as a noble youth, Diabel.
To be reborn while retaining memories.
It was a sight she had never seen before in her life.
No matter how many thousands of years she had lived without the erosion of memories, this mysterious phenomenon was still new to her.
…Wait a minute.
Reborn while retaining memories?
In that case.
Could it be!
She had her hopes up, but…
“No, that’s not it. The reason I was reborn like this is because of an agreement with my master, and the restrictions that come with it.”
Was it because of the pact as a demon?
…Is that pact really that strong?
Strong enough to be reborn just for the sake of a promise not to die?
Other demons wouldn’t have done that.
Is it because of the bloodline of the Demon King?
Although there were separate fundamental reasons for Diabel’s rebirth, since it was the first time she had seen such a sight, the witch accepted Diabel’s words as they were.
He’s been reborn, so he must come to see me.
…Right?
Somehow, I have a feeling that even if he is reborn on this continent, he won’t recognize my existence. Maybe it’s just my imagination.
“I thought I could finally meet my master after death. I never expected the pact to interfere like this.”
Diabel, who came to see her again, said that he was looking for a way to die.
Even if he tries to end his own life, the pact that remains in his soul interferes.
And if someone tries to kill him, the pact instantly awakens the demon’s blood within him, blocking the attack, making it impossible.
Diabel said he tried everything.
He asked her to tell him the way to meet his master.
To go and meet him…
If I knew that way, I would have gone first.
Instead of sitting here for thousands of years as the witch’s successor.
…But still, if it’s him.
The witch told Diabel what she had been dreaming of for a long time.
“The destruction of the world.”
If the collapse goes beyond just countries crumbling and renders this continent itself irreparable.
If it reaches a point where neither I nor Diabel are bound by the constraint of having to survive.
Then we can be liberated and find peace.
We can go to the afterlife…and meet him.
To take the lives of tens of millions of people living on this continent just to meet the man we love.
To her, such trivial matters were of no concern, as she had lived for thousands of years with a complete lack of ethics.
The problem was rather that fulfilling the condition of “destruction” in the world was extremely difficult.
Even if she were an exceptional witch, it was impossible for her to fight against the entire world and collapse a whole world.
The witch could only yearn for such a day to come and be bound by her role as a witch.
“‘Destruction’…”
Diavel murmured upon hearing the witch’s plan.
“If it’s too difficult, why not find another way? I’m just suggesting.”
No matter how much of a guy he was, destroying a whole world was not an easy task.
…Well, destroying the world is a completely different story, even if it’s him.
Compared to herself, who had longed for only one man for thousands of years, she didn’t think Diavel would be so desperate.
“But…”
“What? You’ll do it?”
“If it’s to meet the master.”
Diavel answered with a determined face.
“I can do anything, even if it means slaughtering millions of innocent lives. …Although I’ll probably get scolded by the master.”
And so, ten years ago, the grand endeavor of these two women began.
For the sake of “destruction.”
To meet one man.
Of course, unaware that the man had already been reincarnated and was now in this continent.
Returning to the present once again.
“Let’s start with the story of ‘destruction’ first.”
“Okay.”
“I hope to cancel… no, postpone the plan for ‘destruction’.”
“…Postpone? Have you lost your mind?”
The witch asked, looking bewildered at Diablo’s words.
“There’s a reason.”
“…A reason. Alright. Let me hear what it is.”
“…I found it.”
“You found it? Found what?”
It can’t be that he found another man or discovered a different goal in life.
…Certainly, unlike me, he’s not solely fixated on V.
After all, it’s not like I like him as a man or follow him like a parent.
Hoo…
The witch elegantly raised her wine glass, pretending everything was fine.
But then it becomes a bit awkward without Diablo, progressing with ‘destruction’…
“I met the master. Or, to be precise, the reincarnated master.”
Clang!
The witch’s glass fell to the ground and shattered.
“…What?”
The witch, who had always appeared relaxed to everyone except for Secretarys, looked at Diabel with trembling eyes.
“Sa-say it again. You met…someone?”
“My master. My beloved master has returned to this world.”
* * *
Office of the Richten Academy Chancellor
“I see….”
Chancellor Beatrice sat at a large desk that seemed too big for her petite frame.
In front of her, Lobina and Secretarys were explaining the attack involving Diabel.
“I never would have imagined such a thing happening within the academy.”
The trustworthy Student Council President was trying to bring about the destruction of the world?
From the power that Diabel had displayed just a moment ago.
It was a power far beyond what a human could possess.
A natural disaster. A calamity.
It was a chilling power that could destroy a country, no, a continent in an instant.
To think that someone of her age possessed such power.
But she wasn’t the only one shocking.
“So then, students Lobina and Secretarys. How did the two of you come to possess such abilities?”
“Uh…that’s a bit complicated to explain.”
Secretarys hesitated.
Should I explain to the Chancellor what is happening to me right now?
Beatrix, who appeared in [Eclipse], was someone who could help him.
However, in this world that was quite different from what he had seen in the novel, he couldn’t be completely sure that she would help him.
As a mercenary secretary, he tried to stop the Chancellor from revealing everything.
As a hero secretary, he tried to trust the Chancellor and reveal everything.
“What should I do?”
During Secretary’s contemplation,
Bang
“Your Highness!”
“Secretary!”
The connections from their past lives broke down the door to the Chancellor’s office and entered.