Chapter 276: Shadow Part 2

“Since I’ll spare you a bit of time, let’s start by clearing something up.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“What on earth did you read to end up referring to people like that?”

“This one.”

What the World Tree handed me was a novel.

One look at the cover and it was obviously a romance novel. As I read the title, I immediately figured out where it had come from.

[The Holy Knight and the Priest’s Deviation]

A title that brings very specific people to mind.

The concern of the person who had just escorted me here flashed through my head.

“The Prophet offered it to me as a tribute.”

“……”

I glanced at Mephi to confirm what had really happened.

As if she understood the meaning behind my look, she shrugged and revealed the unfortunate truth.

“That Prophet girl had her face bright red, shouting, ‘Something like this should not exist! It must be disposed of! Disposed of!’ She buried it nearby, and this one thought it was an offering meant for her and brought it back.”

“There really is foreshadowing in everything.”

“What are you talking about?”

I can’t believe it connected like this.

Anyway, if that’s what happened, there’s no way I can explain the full truth to the World Tree.

No matter what, it wouldn’t be right to expose the inner turmoil of a girl who’s just entered puberty.

Better to bury this one in my heart. Besides, hardly anyone can even hear the World Tree’s bizarre way of speaking anyway.

“Now then, let’s get to the main point.”

“But what was the meaning of that conversation?”

“It was preliminary groundwork for envisioning a grand future.”

“A grand future! I understand.”

She truly looked like she didn’t understand a single thing. Of course she didn’t. There is no such thing as a “grand future”.

All I did was declare that I was giving up on the World Tree’s home education. Well… in a sense, I suppose that is grand.

Still, is it because of her appearance?

She really does look exactly like Tillis. Was it not just the outward appearance she borrowed?

“So why did that self-proclaimed Great Sage come all the way here?”

“I’m not sure. He spoke with Mephi, not me!”

“Then didn’t he come to see you?”

“How does that make sense? This is where I’ve taken root. It’s my home.”

“Uh… does that logic really work? Anyway, fine.”

I turned my head and looked at Mephistopheles again.

“What did you talk about?”

“It wasn’t even a conversation. That damned bastard just barked more nonsense like the dog he is. Do you know what that damned bastard said to me?”

“Uh… no, never mind.”

Mephistopheles still couldn’t hide her hatred for Faust. Judging by the way she gritted her teeth just at the thought of him, I couldn’t expect anything remotely objective from her.

Wouldn’t the World Tree who at least observed things from a distance be far more helpful?

“World Tree. Did you happen to hear what they talked about?”

“You’re asking me when the person involved is right here? Ah! I see. This too is for the sake of that grand future, isn’t it?!”

“Exactly.”

As expected of Little Tillis.

She never fails me.

“That self-proclaimed Great Sage said it was Mephi’s fault.”

“That’s right! That lunatic said it was my fault he went astray!”

Unable to hold herself back, Mephistopheles cut in, looking furious. If nothing else, the rage certainly suited a demon.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. But strictly speaking, isn’t he kind of right? You are a demon. Didn’t you approach him in the first place to lead him astray?”

“Are you seriously defending that damned bastard in front of me?!”

“And what exactly could you do if I were?”

“Th-There’s nothing I could do…”

Then just stay quiet.

Getting worked up like that only makes you tired.

“And then?”

“That’s all.”

“Aha.”

So this one’s the genuinely useless type.

That was a waste of time listening to her. Even if she’s biased, maybe it would’ve been better to hear it directly from Mephistopheles, the one actually involved.

“Hmm…”

I looked at Mephistopheles, who was still fuming.

Is it really a good idea to talk to her right now? Her face is red as a tomato. Wouldn’t I just be poking a hornet’s nest?

“If he comes again, try eavesdropping on the whole conversation. That way you’ll at least have more topics to talk about with me.”

“Conversation topics! Very important. In that spirit, I’ll lend you this book!”

“Ah… sure.”

I decided to take the romance novel the World Tree handed me.

Completely useless.

“If you read it aloud in front of that Prophet girl, she’d be thrilled to death.”

“Right. A demon really is a demon.”

Even if the thought crosses your mind, isn’t that the kind of idea you should never actually say out loud?

“Well then, I should be heading back.”

“Ah! You’re leaving already…?”

The World Tree looked crestfallen.

Maybe it’s because of her appearance and the fact that her actual age isn’t that far from a child’s…but I felt a strange sense of guilt.

Still, I can’t exactly tailor my schedule around someone who doesn’t need sleep or food.

I’ll just bring her a book worth reading next time. For now, it’s better to steel myself and leave.

“Then I’ll give you a gift. You’re also my administrator, so I’m granting this to you specially. Receive it with reverence!”

“……”

Should I play along?

Wouldn’t correcting her way of speaking come first?

Ah… I really don’t want to.

“…I humbly accept.”

Fine. I’ll humor her for now.

It is a gift from the World Tree, after all.

The book she gave me earlier may have been useless, but something directly handed over by the World Tree should carry meaning.

And if not, I can always toss it on the way back. Think of it as saying a line and scratching a lottery ticket. Not a bad deal.

“It’s this!”

“This is…”

I carefully accepted what the World Tree handed me.

It was a branch.

There was no way I wouldn’t recognize its significance.

A branch from the World Tree.

A treasure so valuable its worth is nearly impossible to measure.

A branch from the World Tree does not break. More precisely, it never breaks naturally. It can only be broken by an external force or if it breaks itself.

And a branch that breaks of its own will carries a blessing.

“This is my first branch, Mistiltein. It possesses the most tender and faint power, but it holds potential.”

“Potential for what?”

“The potential to kill a god.”

“I don’t need something like that.”

What in the world is she talking about?

Why would you give me something that dangerous? It’s not even the kind of thing you can easily get rid of.

If it were something that protected my body, that’d be one thing….but a tool meant to harm someone?

The only future I can imagine is one where this becomes terrible foreshadowing.

Are you expecting me to go slay a god or something?

“It has other effects too.”

“Like what?”

“If you take it with you, I’ll be able to manifest wherever you are.”

“I see. So that’s the real purpose.”

Now that I think about it, all that grand talk earlier was just an excuse.

She’s bored and wants to wander outside.

By latching onto me.

I’m already struggling with one Mephistopheles, and now I’m supposed to raise two brats?

And this one looks like she’d be just as impossible to handle.

“I’ll decline.”

“Take it, Johan. From what I can see, you’ll need it.”

“If you want to play, then just detach yourself from me and stay here.”

“What do you take me for? I’m talking about the potential to kill a god. That’s the level of power this is. Even if you don’t need it right now, there’s no harm in accepting it.”

“If that’s the case, you should’ve given it to someone else. Ah, right. If I’m just delivering it, I’ll accept it. May I pass it on to Her Highness Lobelia?”

“Ahhh! That dreadful bloodline! Absolutely not!”

“Then what about my friend? Or perhaps the Prophet you see so often?”

“No, not them either. I am giving it to you as a gift!”

“She’s right, Johan. Take it.”

Ah, I really don’t like this. Why give me something this burdensome?

“Ugh…”

With both of them pressing me from either side, my head is starting to hurt.

***

I took it.

This damn branch.

It already feels like a sinister aura is casting a shadow over my future.

Well, since it’s a branch from the World Tree, it’s actually far from anything evil…

Anyway, I returned to the Misfits’ hideout with Mephi and the World Tree.

I tried to go to sleep, but…

“Books! There are so many books! Oh my goodness, what is this? It’s silver! It’s shiny! I know this! This is what you call a jewel, right?”

“That’s a metal cup.”

“……”

I knew this would happen.

That’s why I refused so adamantly… but once the two kids met, they started producing the worst kind of synergy.

Especially this World Tree brat. Maybe because she just came into the world, she makes a huge fuss over every little thing she sees.

I even made her kneel a few times and tried talking to her, but true to a child her age, the World Tree kept getting distracted mid-conversation.

Yeah, this one’s a real kid.

Unlike Mephistopheles, she’s an actual child of that age, which makes it hard to seriously get angry at her.

“…Fine. I might as well step out until you’re done chattering.”

In the end, I gave up on trying to quiet the World Tree.

With Mephistopheles there, the two of them will probably chatter away until they tire themselves out. Just thinking about having to go through the same process later at the dorm already makes me sigh…

“I guess I’ll get used to it eventually.”

If I really can’t stand it, I can just “store” the branch at the Mifits’ hideout.

It’s not like I gave it to anyone, and there’s no rule saying I have to carry it around myself.

It does bother me a bit to leave it alone, but I can just toss Mephistopheles in there too when the time comes.

Fortunately, the two of them seem to get along, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Now then…”

I stepped out of the quarters and wandered around the area for a bit.

Partly to organize my schedule going forward, but also because I was anticipating contact with someone.

And that ulterior motive…

“I had a feeling you’d come looking for me, but you actually did.”

A perfect hit.

I muttered as I looked at the vast sea of huge chains stretching out before me.

At the center of that sea of chains would be the Great Sage Faust.

“So, you’ve come.”

As expected, with the sound of chains dragging, a being who looked neither old nor young drifted toward me like a ghost.

I knew I’d be meeting him. There’s something I’ve already started to accept.

“Are you here to declare war on me, like the others did?”

That’s just my lot in life.

Every twisted bastard who’s a candidate for final boss, before they pull something huge, drops by to see my face at least once. I agonize over it for a while, and in the end, it becomes a cliché where I’m the one who goes to take their head.

After seeing that pattern repeat four times already, how could I possibly keep pretending not to notice?

And well, in many ways, it was easy enough to predict.

“If you didn’t have business with Mephistopheles or the World Tree, then you must’ve come to see me.”

He’s not the kind of being who’d move just to needle Mephistopheles and leave. Not for something that trivial.

“So what is it you want?”

I’ve grown stronger.

Not physically stronger….mentally stronger.

Of course, it’s hard to say my mind is perfect when I still haven’t moved past Imun’s death. But people grow numb to what they’re used to…

Now, even when these so-called final boss candidates come looking for me, I don’t freeze up or feel suffocated like I used to.

At this point, I just assume this must be my fate.

“I came to warn you.”

“Ah. That’s what they all say.”

Warnings, threats, declarations of war.

All sorts of variations. If anything, they lack originality.

I wonder if he knows what happened to the ones who said that before.

“None of the ones who said that are still alive, by the way.”

Every single one of them is dead.

Prophet Kult, Judge Tillis, Great Warrior Vidar, even the Scriptwriter Deus….they’re all gone.

That’s just how causality works.

Warn me, threaten me, declare war on me… and you end up dead.

That’s the kind of dangerous person I am.

Maybe it’s Faust’s turn now.

“Not long ago, I met an old friend of mine. I sought them out to find you, but thanks to that, I learned quite a lot.”

“An old friend…”

If Mephistopheles heard that, she’d foam at the mouth. Honestly, even I think that’s pushing it.

“They’ve been stockpiling power and expanding their influence over the world.”

“In many ways, she’s become rather insignificant.”

“Johan Damus, beware of demons. They are beings who can deceive without ever telling a lie.”

“That’s your warning?”

“It is.”

This is the big warning?

At this point, it sounds more like advice.

“What do you think the contract between Mephistopheles and me was?”

“……”

I don’t know.

All I know from the circumstances is that he made a contract with Mephistopheles to cure his transcendence disease.

But if that had been the full content of the contract, Faust’s soul would have been taken by Mephistopheles long ago.

Faust clearly has a history beyond that point.

“It was an extension of my life.”

Then the contract must have been meant to conclude at the moment of Faust’s death.

And because he later dabbled in dark magic, the contract was automatically nullified.

That’s my rough guess.

“But we never set a deadline. She could have claimed my soul immediately after curing the transcendence disease.”

“……”

“If that’s the case, couldn’t one look at it this way?”

Faust raised both hands.

Clink, clatter—

Chains collided along the motion of his arms, spilling out an eerie metallic chorus.

“What if Mephistopheles’ objective was never my soul to begin with?”

“……”

“Johan Damus. Do not trust demons. They are beings who can deceive without ever telling a lie.”

Faust lowered his gaze to his own arms.

“Therefore, be wary. And remember.”

He examined his own state, forever wandering between life and death.

Then he let out a self-mocking murmur.

“That there are those who never even realize they’ve been deceived.”