Chapter 38

“I suppose you can return to the dormitory now.”

Professor Artemia’s discharge permission came a week after the Golden’s party.

I missed all my classes during that time. Hmm, feels like my life has gone down the drain.

“Professor, when do you think Lerwon-sunbae will wake up?”

At my question, Professor Artemia remained silent without a word.

“I’m not sure.”

She had been consistently using healing magic. On the outside, he now looked completely fine, without any wounds.

“It could be a matter of the heart. His condition was so severe, it might not be easy for him to recover.”

At Professor Artemia’s mumble, I looked towards the bed hidden by a curtain.

While I had woken up on the third day and started walking around by the fifth, Lerwon had slept like the dead for the entire week.

“I will handle Lerwon’s problem.”

“It’s on my mind as well.”

After all, I was the one who brought him to the Academy. I felt I should take responsibility.

Most importantly─

+++

Main Quest

Lerwon, the heir of Golden, can still be saved.

Save Lerwon and stop him from contributing to the destruction.

-Reward: EXP 10,000, Golden Elixir

-Failure: Death

+++

The Quest hadn’t been cleared yet.

This meant that Lerwon merely escaping from Iris’s grasp couldn’t be considered a complete salvation.

What a ridiculously strict system.

As I grumbled inwardly, Professor Artemia expressed her curiosity.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Lucian said he’d come to get me later.”

According to our sweet-potato Hero,

“He said he was worried and that we should go back to the dormitory together.”

I’m not a fragile egg, so why the fuss?

I had my doubts, but since I could just dump my heavy luggage on Lucian, I decided to wait.

Professor Artemia, checking the clock as if to gauge the time, stood up.

“Then, keep watch until he comes.”

“…Huh??”

Oh, this is an unexpected situation.

“It might take a little while, but check if Lerwon wakes up. If anything seems wrong with his condition, ring the bell on the desk. Then I’ll come.”

With those words, Professor Artemia left without a backward glance.

No, wait a minute! This isn’t right!

“Heol.”

She’s asking me to do this?

I was dumbfounded, but soon decided to keep my mouth shut.

If I, a frequent visitor to the infirmary, had any conscience, I shouldn’t complain about most of Professor Artemia’s errands.

I sat quietly beside my sunbae and tapped my pants pocket.

“Albedo, wake up.”

《Has a problem arisen?》

Albedo, who seemed to have been sleeping, slowly crawled out and settled on my shoulder.

“It’s not exactly a problem. We need to talk about sunbae.”

Back then, the situation was what it was, so we couldn’t talk comfortably.

Professor Artemia is gone for a bit, isn’t this the perfect time for a chat?

《You… treat a lizard too roughly.》

“If it were an ordinary lizard, my conscience would have hurt too. But you’re not an ordinary lizard, are you?”

At my words, dissatisfaction colored Albedo’s red eyes.

I fed him the beef jerky Lucian had given me for a snack and asked.

“You know, what did you mean when you said sunbae isn’t an ordinary human?”

《It is a story related to the ancient times.》

Does that mean he can’t speak of it easily?

“You have a lot of secrets.”

《That is not for you to say, Theo Lisitoel.》

That’s true. I have as many secrets as Albedo.

“Will you just tell me what I’m allowed to know?”

Albedo opened and closed his mouth as if in thought.

When he’s contemplating like this, I guess I have to throw him some bait of my own.

“The ancient monster sunbae is trying to become, it’s Ouroboros. Right?”

I asked Albedo.

* * *

Ouroboros is divided into a total of 3 phases.

Phase 1 is Lerwon in a form mixed with human and snake, Phase 2 requires destroying the cocoon he enters to completely shed his human form, and the final Phase 3 is his complete metamorphosis into Ouroboros.

《How do you know that name.》

“It’s a secret, you know.”

I can guarantee that anyone who’s read a bit of fantasy knows Ouroboros.

That’s how famous a monster it was.

But in this world, if you asked ‘Do you know Ouroboros?’, the answer would be ‘What’s that?’.

There was no way anyone would remember a monster that was said to have existed in the veiled ancient times. With the exception of a possessor or Albedo, who has lived since ancient times.

《Then you must understand all the more. The reason why this human must be killed.》

“You mean the world will be destroyed if we can’t stop it?”

The Ouroboros in the game was almost identical to Jörmungandr [Midgard Serpent] from Norse mythology.

《How can you pity a monster that seeks to swallow the world.》

“Pity? I’m not sure about that.”

It’s easier to think of it as simply paying a price.

The price for consuming your tragedy, the story of this world, as a form of entertainment.

《What on earth are you….》

From Albedo’s perspective, it must be an incomprehensible act of kindness.

Even though I am an extremely calculating person.

“You definitely know a way to turn sunbae back into a human.”

As you can see, I deliberately brought this up to you under a thorough calculation.

《How would I know what even the gods do not─》

“No, you do know, right? Your eyes just wavered for a moment.”

At my point, Albedo wore a look of dismay.

For a lizard, he manages to make such faces every time.

Well, it looked cute to me, so that’s all that matters.

《I'd rather die than suffer.》

“So, you really can’t tell me?”

Albedo only opened and closed his mouth a few times.

《Pay the rightful price for the information.》

“A rightful price? What do I have to do?”

《The memories of the ancient times are obsolete knowledge. A taboo that modern humans should never possess. However, an exception has already been made.》

That exception was me and Lerwon.

Perhaps there are other exceptions we don’t know about.

《The price is information of equal value. You cannot decide what it is, and you will not be able to recall it in the future. Even if there are records, you will not be able to see them in your eyes, and even if others read them to you, you will not be able to hear them. A part of your life will disappear completely.》

Albedo, reciting the price, looked a bit like a demon for once.

It also seemed like he was trying to be cool, which was a bit annoying.

《For the sake of a human who committed a taboo by his own choice, can you give up a part of your life.》

Should I tell him I'll die anyway if I can’t do this? Ah, he’s not trying to be cool, he’s genuinely worried about me.

Hmph! Still, for a lizard, he was being too haughty.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

I don’t know how giving up my memories now will come back to me later.

But, there’s no reason for me not to do something when I can, right?

I just need to make the best choice I can in every moment.

《How did something like this become my contractor.》

“I’m the contractor you chose, so suck it up and endure it.”

《Stop with the strange nonsense.》

A magic circle floated up from Albedo’s body.

《Place your hand on the magic circle.》

As I placed my hand as Albedo instructed, a strange feeling washed over me.

It felt like something was sucking on me, but it was unpleasant nonetheless.

《It is done.》

“The feeling was so weird, I can’t do that twice.”

《Anyone who does this twice would be a lunatic.》

“Let’s stop raising flags.”

If this conversation continues any longer, it will just be one big flag-raising session.

Dusting off my hands, I tried to recall the method to turn Lerwon back into a human.

“Oh, it’s coming to me automatically.”

《Yes, because that has become your knowledge.》

“I’m glad I made a contract with you.”

If it weren’t for that, I would never have known how to save Lerwon.

Past me, you did really well, at least this time.

《Why, did you regret it a little before?》

I decided to remain silent.

Ignoring Albedo’s strong protests, I forcibly shoved him into my pocket and waited for Lerwon to open his eyes.

* * *

Lerwon barely opened his tightly shut eyes.

What he saw upon opening them was the faint sunlight and Theo, who was dozing off while sitting with his back to the light.

「Sunbae…!」

The desperate voice calling him, the trembling hand he felt beyond his dull senses, was none of it a dream?

Suddenly, his cheeks were wet.

They were tears.

“Ah.”

It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a dream.

How should he define this emotion? He didn’t know.

“Ugh─”

When he was a child, he wished for anyone from beyond to come.

Sometimes, he wished for his parents, whom he had killed with his own hands, or mostly for a very high-ranking person to come and kill him, even if it was as a punishment.

Anyone but Iris was fine.

However, the one who always came was Iris.

With a single exception, Theo Lisitoel.

How in the world should he describe this complicated emotion?

Lerwon found it incredibly difficult to control the emotions churning in his throat.

It was painful, simply agonizing.

“Um, sunbae?”

His eyes met Theo’s, who had woken up at the faint sound he made.

“What happened.”

His voice had long been submerged in tears.

Theo muttered, blinking his eyes as if trying to shake off the encroaching fatigue.

“I found you in the prison, sunbae, and that woman said that if I wanted her to let you go, I had to become her adopted son.”

“So?”

“I told her to go X herself and came out.”

“How on earth?”

“The risk was pretty big, but I can use teleportation magic. I just ran straight to the Academy.”

However, that couldn’t be the end of it.

That persistent woman would surely try to get him back somehow.

Theo, noticing Lerwon’s question, continued his explanation.

“After that, she took Zephyros and Lucian hostage and caused a huge commotion, so in exchange for dropping the whole thing, your custody was transferred to the Academy.”

“What?”

Lerwon blinked his eyes as if in disbelief.

Was all of that true? He couldn’t believe it.

“There’s no way mother would let me go….”

“I’m sure you’re not unhappy about it, but are you afraid?”

Theo had already seen Lerwon’s bottom.

It wasn't an ordinary bottom, but a hell that should never be revealed to anyone.

So, there was no need to try and hide it.

“Yes, I’m scared. Mother is someone who will do anything to get what she wants.”

“Anyway, I’ve also been included in that ‘what she wants’ situation, so I’m in deep trouble myself, you know?”

Theo shrugged lightly. His nonchalant attitude was even surprising.

His junior sometimes acted like a person with a couple of extra lives like this.

If Lerwon were in his situation now, he would be so anxious and scared that it would be difficult to maintain his sanity.

“So, I’ll ask you straight out. Sunbae, you’ve committed a taboo, right?”

Theo’s question was a ripple.

The faint source of a storm that could potentially overturn the entire lake called Lerwon, which had been quietly stagnating and rotting.

Whether the end would be destruction or a new beginning, the current Lerwon did not know.