Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 74: The Ending You Desire

The underground banquet would continue forever, and the revelry aboveground hadn’t dispersed either.

When they parted, Roman told them that he had originally wanted the rabbits to hold a lively banquet after his teammates were saved, to serve as his funeral.

Now, this endless banquet would become his means of deceiving V.O.R. Roman had decided to seal off his Divine Realm as much as possible and study the new subject of “Godhood” together with his companions.

In other words, the surface would no longer receive the Prisoner of Dreams’ divine power. There would no longer be any “luck of this place and time.”

But the people aboveground didn’t leave. They were still enthusiastically spreading tales of the good luck found here. Myss saw little Labi again, the boy who had sold them the rabbit’s foot. Labi’s business was still as good as before, and his grimy little face was full of smiles.

Myss couldn’t understand it. Could it be that his perception was wrong, and Roman’s divine power had still remained?

He dug out the rabbit’s foot and pocket watch again, placing them under his nose and sniffing them in turn. The smell of the Abnormal Fruit in those things had already been faint to begin with, and now there wasn’t even a trace left.

“Stop sniffing. Your judgment is fine.”

Seeing Myss sneeze three times in a row from the rabbit fur tickling him, Salaar couldn’t help speaking. “In my view, true luck can only be created by people themselves.”

Myss was blunt. “Speak plainly.”

“Labi is quick-witted and bold. His business is bound to thrive regardless. The so-called ‘luck of this place and time’ only made him more confident.”

Salaar looked toward Labi, who was darting around like a rabbit, as well as the courtship squad persistently chatting up pretty men and women.

“Even if they encounter setbacks, they’ll believe ‘this is part of the luck.’ People will accept reality and firmly pursue their dreams… In my view, the power brought by that kind of belief is far greater than that wisp of divine power.”

Seeing that Myss still looked as if he half understood, Salaar laughed. “From the current situation, do you think Roman’s team was lucky or unlucky?”

To be honest, Myss wasn’t sure.

They had transformed Roman, trimming Roman’s magic circuit with broad, sweeping strokes. Now Roman could be counted as a “disabled” god. As for how far he could go next, only Roman himself would know.

But Myss knew with absolutely certainty that if Roman had chosen to submit to V.O.R, he would only have died underground in madness together with his teammates.

“I understand.” Myss suddenly realized.

Salaar looked relieved. “Yes, the funny thing about luck is…”

“Meeting the body-swap ritual was actually especially lucky for me!”

Myss interrupted him happily. “I learned many magic techniques and thoroughly understood your weaknesses. All of this is the prelude to my victory—”

Salaar: “…”

Salaar sighed. “As long as you’re happy.”

He bought a roasted corn from a nearby stall, broke it in half, and fed one half to the excited Myss.

Myss took one bite and burned his tongue on the corn. However, after eating a huge pile of Salaar-flavored mushrooms, corn sprinkled with herbs and coarse salt seemed exceptionally delicious. He endured the heat and stubbornly gnawed at it.

As a result, Lord Archdemon did indeed quiet down.

“I bought sandwiches with sausage and smoked chicken.”

Father Kalen appeared with a smiling face, that large band-tailed wood pigeon standing on his shoulder again. “The disturbance in Semper City is calming down, and everything is fine at Antis’s residence.”

The pigeon puffed out its high chest and cooed several times. The sandwich in the priest’s hand had been pan-fried, and the bread gave off an enticing toasted fragrance. One glance was enough to tell it was the most premium variety.

With half-eaten corn between his teeth, Myss looked toward the “Abnormal Fruit sniffer” he had adopted.

As for “being controlled,” the priest claimed to have no memory of it.

According to Father Kalen, he had directly lost consciousness in the prison cell. Then, when he closed and opened his eyes, he had seamlessly arrived at the rabbits’ lively banquet. For this, he had solemnly apologized to them.

Strictly speaking, having his mind controlled by a god couldn’t be considered Father Kalen’s personal failing. Never mind Salaar, even Myss was quite tolerant about this.

However, as the “elder” in the team, after returning to the surface, the priest still felt somewhat guilty.

He knew there was no point in apologizing over and over, so he simply bought them plenty of delicious food, attempting to calm the two “youngsters” nerves.

“…And this. The best viewing seats at the circus. A couple’s ticket.”

The priest said, “Tass and I will go do some divination and see where there’s ill omen. Oh, right, Professor Gentry will stay in the carriage for two days. He said you can look for him anytime if anything comes up.”

Salaar graciously accepted the two colorful parchment tickets. “Thank you. We’ll go watch. But regarding the next destination, I, no… we have something to discuss with you.”

Hearing this, Tass poked his head out and, while he was at it, broke a kernel off Myss’s roasted corn and held it in both hands to gnaw on.

The priest looked nervously at Salaar and Myss. “If you two don’t want to continue cooperating…”

“No. We want to designate the next destination,” Salaar said solemnly.

Oh, that matter.

Myss glanced at Tass, who was stealing corn kernels, then quickly gnawed all the remaining corn into his mouth.

This concerned the body-swap ritual. Even though the details had originally come from Professor Gentry, Myss had listened to every word without missing a single one. That information wasn’t as… secretive as they had imagined, but it was indeed quite valuable.

“Divine Blood. A special alchemical material passed down from the Night Scourge period.”

Professor Gentry had said this. “It was excavated from several massive dungeons. Its production method has been lost. Most Divine Blood is preserved by the royal family and research institutions, while a few poorly preserved scraps have flowed into the hands of nobles.”

“This thing has a strange infectious power. It’s said that if it is diluted with a special potion and given to a pregnant woman, she can give birth to a child akin to a god—with a strong body, powerful magic, and extraordinarily beautiful appearance.”

…But that was ultimately only “it’s said.”

According to Professor Gentry, some great nobles with many offspring would have their lovers take this “Divine Blood potion” in order to obtain extraordinary descendants. There were also noblewomen who, in order to “give their children the best,” would secretly take this medicine.

Twenty years ago, this practice had once been extremely fashionable among several great noble families in the capital.

However, the vast majority of people didn’t obtain the result they wanted.

Some gave birth to physically strong offspring, but the child’s magic was almost exhausted. Others gave birth to powerful magical geniuses, but they quickly died young after receiving their Magibase.

Of course, there were also children whose appearances were absurdly beautiful, but they were born with low intelligence, and a few had terrifying disabilities.

“The Karns family secretly possessed Divine Blood. Kendrick Karns was undoubtedly a ‘Child of Divine Blood.’ Back then, they once privately came to me for help.”

Professor Gentry’s expression was somewhat complicated. “As for Mr. Myss… the situation is more complicated.”

“The Divine Blood of the Nebula family was once stolen. The thief was a pregnant maid. In order to give birth to a ‘Child of Divine Blood,’ she drank a potion that a certain family member had prepared for his lover, then fled overnight.”

“When the Nebula family found her, she had already given birth. A beautiful boy with gray hair, red eyes, and a deformed right leg.”

At this point, Professor Gentry paused slightly.

Salaar mercilessly continued, “Let me guess. They privately executed the maid who stole the Divine Blood, then handed the boy over to their vassals at the border to see whether he had any magic talent.”

“A few years later, they discovered the child wasn’t only physically disabled, but mentally as well, so they simply sold him off.”

Professor Gentry nodded heavily.

“That slave merchant once came to the capital and tried to sell that child. The upper nobles more or less all knew about the Nebula family’s ‘little accident’ and gossiped about it for quite a while… That was when I learned of it.”

“Both of your physical bodies are Children of Divine Blood. They are not normal humans. I thought this information might be of some use to you.”

Rather it was an immense use. Myss was absolutely delighted.

Professor Gentry only thought they had chosen human bodies—which he viewed as inherently “flawed” —and wanted to use this information to sell them a small favor. This Archmage had no idea at all that they had been unwillingly body-swapped. This matter was far more serious than a mere “flaw” or “hidden danger”.

Kendrick Karns and the slave were both so-called “Children of Divine Blood.” This was absolutely not a coincidence.

“If the two of you are interested in Divine Blood, you might as well go to Serpantia’s ‘United Library’ and take a look. I am willing to provide a letter of introduction for the two of you.”

Professor Gentry glanced at Myss, who was beaming. “However, the Karns family may cause trouble for Mr. Salaar. I cannot protect you openly. Please understand.”

……

“…I must return to Serpantia to resolve the issue with the Karns family.”

By the time the words passed from Salaar’s mouth, they had magically changed shape. “Otherwise, they’ll keep causing trouble for us. The next assassin may not be as reasonable as Sir Tass.”

Father Kalen had no reason to doubt him. He slowly furrowed his brow. “The Karns family has considerable influence in the capital. If you don’t have a reliable place to stay—”

“We’ll go to the United Library. Professor Gentry is willing to provide everyone with letters of introduction.”

Salaar had already prepared for this.

“Then there’s no issues.” The priest nodded calmly.

The United Library was a royal research institution directly under the Aufon Kingdom, and great nobles could not interfere with it. Even the Karns family couldn’t openly hunt guests of the United Library.

“Hermit once said that the United Library preserves the exploration notes of the Order of Shadows. I can apply to borrow them as well. Perhaps I’ll find new clues.”

Tass had no objections either. According to Sir Dragon Fae, as long as they could find that bastard V.O.R, he was fine going anywhere.

After the pleasant little team meeting, Salaar bought two more roasted corns and brought Myss toward the circus tent.

“The tickets were already bought. Don’t waste them.” The Great Hero declared righteously.

“Isn’t it just a bunch of humans performing?” Myss glanced at the hand-painted poster beside the tent, completely unable to understand.

Compared to stepping on big balls and tightrope walking, throwing flying knives and taming lions, Salaar’s antics inside the seal were far more entertaining to watch.

If he smashed down a slightly larger tentacle, Salaar would do eighteen flips on the spot and still land gracefully on both feet. When this person had nothing better to do, he had also tried balancing ten empty wooden bowls on his head at the same time to train the stability of his steps… And when his madness truly seized him, Salaar would even use ventriloquism to dub the tentacle potted plant on the windowsill.

In truth, Lord Archdemon had absolutely no interest in human performances. But if humans insisted on performing, Myss couldn’t stop them.

“It’s just to watch the atmosphere.” Salaar cleared his throat. “Although in my imagination, I should watch it together with someone I like—”

“I suddenly really want to watch human performances,” Myss interjected with a pleasant smile.

Salaar looked at Myss as if he wanted to speak but stopped himself. In the end, he shook his head and bought another jar of raspberry jam with honey added.

The circus in this place certainly knew how to run a business. The venue was cleaned very thoroughly, and they even burned specially blended herbs so people couldn’t smell the odor of the animals or the audience.

The couple seats had been arranged in the place with the best view. A rough carpet, two wooden chairs with backs, and a small peach-pink tent with soundproofing magic around it, and they dared charge them sixty silver shields. Tickets for normal seats only cost two silver shields!

Good thing we aren’t the ones paying for this, Myss thought.

Looking up, a woman dressed in exaggerated clothes was entering the ring with a lion, and a wave of muffled cheers broke out around them.

But in Myss’s view, apart from size, there was no essential difference between a lion and a cat. They were both fragile lumps of meat wrapped in a layer of fur.

Surrounded by the small tent, Myss began to feel sleepy again. He tossed the half-eaten roasted corn to Salaar and snatched the jar of jam from Salaar’s arms.

Salaar was used to it. “After we finish watching this, we should still have some time. Is there anything you want to do?”

This guy had recently become very fond of using the word “we.” Who knew what had gotten into him.

Myss scooped up a spoonful of cool raspberry jam. “Anything I want?”

Salaar: “Anything.”

“Then find a place to lie down and let me sleep for a while,” Myss said. “These past few days, we haven’t had a proper rest…”

He missed his hero cushion.

After the words left his mouth, Myss realized that he had been thinking about Salaar’s new verbal habit so much that he had also been led astray.

Forget it. In any case, Salaar couldn’t possibly—

“All right,” Salaar said.

Myss stopped eating jam and looked at Salaar suspiciously. Salaar had agreed so readily that he suspected there was a scheme.

“If you don’t want to watch the circus, you can sleep now. Just close it.” Salaar pointed at the peach-pink tent.

In the tent next to theirs, there was a man and a woman. The tent had already been drawn shut. Under the crude soundproofing magic, fragmented moans could be heard.

Myss clicked his tongue. “Didn’t you want to watch the circus…”

“I said the circus is just about the atmosphere. With a layer of cloth between us and it, the atmosphere won’t disappear,” Salaar said.

Then what else was there to say?

Myss took a deep breath, swallowed the jam in two or three bites, and pounced straight at Salaar.

Salaar cooperatively lay down on the carpet, and Myss skillfully sprawled over him. Amid that warm and familiar scent, Myss fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

At this distance, Salaar could see the faint bluish color beneath Myss’s eyes.

This trip had indeed been quite exhausting. Salaar subconsciously wanted to erase Myss’s fatigue, but a few seconds later, he slowly withdrew his hand.

Salaar stared at the sleeping Myss for a while, then moved his gaze to the top of the small tent.

The tent curtain hung down, and the performance onstage disappeared from view. The audience’s cheers became even more indistinct, as if they had sunk to the bottom of a sea of people.

The lighting was dim in just the right way, and all around them were lively human voices. Myss slept deeply and quietly, as if everything had already ended and the human world was destined to endure forever.

Unfortunately, Salaar knew they couldn’t possibly have such a peaceful ending.

“Have you ever thought about the ending after you win?” Salaar murmured softly.

Myss gave a tiny “mm” and moved against him. “You… would die…”

“Yes. I die, and the world no longer exists either.” Salaar smiled.

Myss’s breathing quickened for two seconds. His brows furrowed, and he rubbed his face hard against Salaar’s chest.

“I’ll leave you half a life… to be my cushion… That works too…”

“No. I’ll live and die with the human world,” Salaar said, his voice soft, yet cruelly unyielding.

Myss opened his eyes slightly, full of reproach. “Damn it, when you bring someone to watch the circus, do you have to say such buzzkill nonsense?”

“Question after question, endlessly. All useless nonsense. If you win, won’t I still die?”

“It’s different.” Salaar stroked Myss’s long hair. “After executing you, I…”

At this point, he abruptly stopped, then smiled again. “Never mind. Go to sleep.”

Myss licked the jam from the corner of his mouth and closed his eyes while cursing inwardly.

He had a strange dream.

He dreamed that the entire human world had vanished, and he tied Salaar with a rope as the two of them floated in boundless darkness. Myss smugly tugged on the rope, but Salaar ignored him and didn’t even look at him.

A thin layer of sweat broke out on Myss’s body. Although he was lying on a familiar cushion of flesh, his chest felt scorched and restless, and his sleep wasn’t comfortable at all.

A living Salaar was a nuisance, so much so he couldn’t help but fantasize about his demise; yet a dead Salaar offered no warmth, his breath tainted by the stench of decay.

Truly a dilemma.

……

Backstage at the circus, inside a tent.

Professor Gentry silently entered the tent and stood behind a certain employee whose face was covered in greasepaint. That short employee stopped moving and slowly turned his head.

“Long time no see, Uncle Gentry. I knew you’d be alright!”

Kai stood up and gave Professor Gentry a big hug.

Professor Gentry affectionately patted his back.

“But this place isn’t very suitable for a talk. Let’s save it for another day. A lot has happened recently, so I must properly invite you for a drink!”

Kai’s gaze swept toward the outside of the tent, then—subtly, imperceptibly—withdrew it.

Outside the tent, in the grass, the little snake Knife tilted its head.

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The author has something to say:

A new arc begins! To the capital— [OK]

An unsolved mystery: does the Order of Shadows actually exist? [dog head]

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