Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 85: Fragile World

Before the examination began, Mag threw two more protective spells toward the door to make sure no one would accidentally barge in.

With her back to the window forged by magic artifacts, she took a deep breath. The false sunlight cut across her body, carving out a distorted shadow.

“I’ll go first!” Myss clattered over to Mag, hopping and bouncing in front of her.

“Heavens, Mr. Myss is so brave!”

Brief clapped inside the cage, then turned to comfort the whimpering Bedsheet Archdemon. “Don’t be afraid, Bedsheet. Look, they’re ahead of us.”

“Woo-awoo…”

Bedsheet Archdemon leaned pitifully against the silver cage and stopped yelling and crashing around.

Salaar kept his tiny soft-cloth face taut.

Reflected in his lapis-lazuli button eyes, Mag lightly dipped the end of a metal needle into the Divine Blood. In an instant, dense black patterns appeared on the silver needle, finer than spider silk by several degrees.

“This is an analysis plate and resonance probe, an incredible invention from the Night Scourge period.”

She explained softly to Myss, “They can analyze the essence of magic to a certain extent. If two powers are similar in nature, it will produce a clear resonance sound.”

Myss tilted his head and looked down at the large silver plate under his feet.

The silver plate was polished as smooth as a mirror, allowing Myss to easily see his reflection. He wore only Salaar’s navy-blue coat, and his half-round button eyes were brighter than burning coals, making him look as if he was perpetually angry.

Comically, the hair ribbon Salaar had made for him had also been restored in this form. His gray-white cotton-thread hair was tied with a small lapis-lazuli ribbon, and the ruby brooch he had given Salaar was pinned to this miniaturized coat.

Myss stretched out one bare cloth foot and stepped on the swaying blue hair ribbon in the reflection.

Looking more carefully, there were also incredibly fine engraved patterns hidden along the edge of the plate, very similar to the patterns on that set of needles.

Unfortunately, he had lost his magic right now. Otherwise, he definitely would have taken a look at this magic’s structure. Myss habitually tried to snort through his nose. When he discovered he no longer had a nose, his mood worsened even more.

“An invention from the Night Scourge period? What was this thing used for?”

In the spirit of “never letting go of any knowledge point from the Night Scourge era,” Myss threw away his pride and humbly asked.

Mag was stuck for half a second by this unexpected question before continuing. “In that era, humans hadn’t yet found a systematic theory of magic. They could only rely on innate talent.”

“This kind of innate magic varied greatly, and theories couldn’t be universally applied. So the geniuses created this.”

At this point, she paused, digging deep into the recess of her mind to unearth this obscure piece of knowledge.

“Back then, the testing material was human blood. If two people’s flesh and blood could produce resonance, it meant the nature of their magic was compatible, and they could work together to research magical theory.”

No wonder I don’t know about it, Myss thought.

The army Salaar had brought in had all been mature, polished mages. They wouldn’t carry such a thing around.

In his impression, those messy tricks of the mages were indeed all personally specialized. But was the Magibase really so universal?

The Fallen Child, the Perfected Creation, the Prisoner of Dreams… Like the geniuses of the Night Scourge era, the nature of their magic also differed greatly.

Or perhaps the mutation brought by the Abnormal Fruit stimulated the geniuses’ “innate” power?

But what about the Magibase? What role did the Magibase play within all this?

Myss wrestled internally, his body freezing in place as if he had truly became a doll.

Assuming he was ready, Mag slowly drove the long needle into the doll’s abdomen, and then—

“Arrghhhhhhhh!”

The Myss doll let out a huge scream. Seeing that things were going badly, Bedsheet Archdemon in the silver cage also began to cry out, “Awoooaaah!”

Mag’s eyes widened slightly, but her hand remained perfectly steady, not trembling in the slightest.

The Salaar doll jolted in place. He looked as if he wanted to rush over immediately, yet something seemed to pin him to the spot. His soft cloth hands curled up into tiny fists.

Before Myss’s scream faded, a hazy halo rippled across the silver plate. Endless clear notes shook the air, making the listener’s heart itch.

“…It is indeed the influence of Divine Blood. Everyone’s guess was correct.”

Mag bit her lip and pulled out the long needle. “All right, Kendrick. Your turn.”

She carefully picked up Myss, who was whimpering and grumbling about the pain, and placed him onto a silk handkerchief.

Without saying a word, Salaar moved forward and received exactly the same needle as Myss.

How should one put it? It was quite painful, about the same as hitting one’s little toe against the corner of a table. Salaar let out a couple of perfunctory grunts as the silver plate and needle resonated again, producing a sound indistinguishable from when it had been Myss’s turn.

Without a doubt, there was no magic fluctuation on them, but the influence of Divine Blood existed.

Before Mag reached out, Salaar jumped off the plate himself and ran to the curled-up Myss. “Was it very painful just now?”

“Like hitting my little toe against the corner of a table.” Myss unhappily rubbed his belly.

Thinking of that tragic scream just now, Salaar helplessly stared at this, uh, Archdemon that could destroy the world.

“What are you looking at? If I hit my little toe against the corner of a table, I scream like that too.”

Myss tried to bare his nonexistent fangs. A certain unpleasant memory poked out from his mind, and he subconsciously tugged at the coat, covering a specific spot on his lower body. “If it really hurt, I wouldn’t even be able to scream. It’s not like you haven’t seen that before.”

“It doesn’t hurt at all. Look, I’m fine!” Brief patted his chest at Bedsheet Archdemon.

Bedsheet Archdemon finally quieted, making a thin whimpering sound. It lowered its tall body—relative to Brief, at least—and its dark eye sockets fixed on him.

“I’m really fine. Don’t worry, the examination is already over.”

“Woo woo.”

“I need administer one more prick. Sorry.” 

Mag frowned at the needle.

The needle had only lightly brushed past the lines of Brief’s abdomen, and his resonance sound had been quieter than both Myss’s and Salaar’s. The Dragon Fae was somewhere in between.

The stick-figure’s “body” was far too thin, and the data was too different. Mag suspected that where she had inserted the needle hadn’t been solid enough.

Her needle tip pointed at Brief again, stabbing toward his chest, where there were more lines.

“Wargh—!!!”

The clanging and banging of a collision rang out. Bedsheet Archdemon had actually knocked the cage open right where he was. The tiny silver cage flew off the desk and rolled across the stone-tile floor.

The palm-sized Bedsheet Archdemon floated into the air, puffing himself up. His simple lines twisted endlessly, the ink surging like boiling water, releasing a tiny but unquestionable pressure.

“Don’t! Stop!” Brief scrambled down from the silver plate. “I’m not hurt. Don’t panic—”

But Bedsheet Archdemon didn’t listen to him at all. He dove toward Brief and wrapped around the simple-doodle hero like a snake. Immediately afterward, he turned and flew toward the closed copy of Brave Salaar.

The book stirred as if it was suddenly caught in a gust of wind. It slowly rose upright and swung open, resembling a vast, gaping doorway. Between the pages, an inky black hole appeared. Bedsheet Archdemon bound the waving, struggling Brief and charged toward that hole like a cannonball.

“Stop them!” Mag cried out.

Instinctively, the Dragon Fae reached out, attempting to snag Brief’s red cape. Unfortunately, Bedsheet Archdemon’s strength was astonishing, and he actually dragged the little Tass doll into the air with him.

Seeing this, Salaar lunged at Tass, wanting to pull the Dragon Fae back. Myss bit down on Salaar’s wrist, while Knife and Fork tightly coiled around Myss’s left and right feet, adding their own bit to the Myss doll’s weight.

Father Kalen, meanwhile, rushed to the book in three steps and reached out to stop this little fairy-tale train.

Everything happened too quickly. The priest only had time to grab Myss at the very end. Then… then he was actually dragged flying by Bedsheet Archdemon too. The burly man, who was nearly two meter tall, stagged and tumbled down into the tiny ink-black hole alongside the dolls.

In the blink of an eye, only a dumbfounded Mag remained in the room.

She wished she could follow them in, but a researcher’s rationality stopped her. Mag gritted her teeth, took out a larger silver cage, then poured all the remaining Divine Blood from the examination into the cage’s power reservoir.

This cage was used by the United Library to house rare creatures. As long as there was enough magic, it could keep the things inside in the “state they were in when they first entered the cage.”

“Please, please.”

She stared nervously at that strange book and slammed the cage down over it. “Please, stop…”

Fortunately, her prayer was answered. That copy of Brave Salaar didn’t close, and the dark ink-hole entrance remained wide open.

Mag took two steps back and collapsed into the armchair.

Now, she had done everything she could. She had left a door of return for those hapless people. Next, she could only depend on their luck.

“Kendrick… Kendrick, don’t you dare die on my doorstep.”

Mag wiped the beads of sweat from her nose. “I really don’t want to inherit that pile of troublesome assets of yours—truly, I don’t.”

……

Crackle, bang bang!

Amidst swirling clouds of dust, depicted merely as sketched lines, Myss regained consciousness.

His mouth was still biting Salaar’s arm, soft and warm. Salaar shifted beneath his body, clearly fine.

Myss relaxed and spat out that hand, then looked around.

Judging by the environment, this seemed to be the site of the final battle between “Brave Salaar,” no, Brief, and Bedsheet Archdemon.

As far as the eye could see, everything was flat simple doodles, with refreshing and adorable colors. The dolls and two little snakes, however, were three-dimensional, making them look extremely out of place.

“Hehe, hehe, wooaaah~”

Bedsheet Archdemon floated in the air, bouncing lightly with the posture of a victor and humming a cheerful little tune.

“Bedsheet!” Brief supported himself with his simple-doodle little sword and stood up trembling.

Bedsheet Archdemon smugly drifted over, the ghost-like hem of his cloth swaying.

Brief clenched his fist and lightly knocked Bedsheet Archdemon on the head. “That lady had no ill intent toward us, and I really didn’t hurt at all. Haa, how impolite!”

“Awwr!” Bedsheet Archdemon cried back indignantly, using his soft body to bump into Brief.

The two of them argued into a mess, in a rather comical form. It did indeed suit the age range of this picture book.

“Excuse me…”

Myss discovered in shock that a rumbling voice came from overhead. “Excuse me, I would like to know, how can we return?”

Everyone raised their heads at the sound and saw a black cloud… No, it was the giant priest half-squatting.

Father Kalen had maintained his normal human size, while the picture-book world was a one-to-one restoration of the illustrations. The dolls and little snakes were all right here, but the priest’s size was rather astonishing.

The priest was afraid that if he moved recklessly, he might accidentally damage something. He could only crouch in place with his arms around his knees, trying his best to reduce the space he occupied.

Myss and Salaar, looking up: “…”

Tass: “Wow.”

“That way.” Brief hurriedly pointed at the sky. “That hole, it’s still there! Bedsheet can fly you back out.”

Between the simple-doodle sun and clouds, there was unmistakably an extra ink-drawn hole, as if the artist had accidentally dripped ink there.

There was no way to distinguish distance in this flat world, but judging by its size, it was definitely high enough above the ground.

The priest carefully straightened his body and stretched out his arm, but he still couldn’t touch that ink hole. As for the others, never mind flying, they didn’t even have magic left, so they had no way at all.

“Bedsheet, I won’t go out anymore. Can you take them out?”

Brief turned his head to soothe Bedsheet Archdemon. “Don’t be angry. It was my fault just now. I know you were worried about me.”

Bedsheet Archdemon gave a forceful huff. He splatted onto the ground, becoming nothing but a “bedsheet” with blinking eye holes, taking the stance of “I’m simply not getting up and that’s final.”

“All right, he’s unhappy. We need to think of another way,” Brief said dejectedly.

His ink shoulders drooped as he uselessly picked at the Archdemon on the ground.

“Kalen’s stamina is fine. He can grab us and jump out,” Tass actively suggested. “Come on, Father, give us a jump!”

The priest nodded solemnly and used just a little force in his feet. There came a tearing sound beneath his feet, sounding a little like paper pages about to rip.

“No—!”

Hearing that faint tearing sound, Brief swayed on the spot. He almost cried out and drew his little sword right there.

“Please, please don’t do that!”

Brief gripped the sword with both hands, his voice somewhat sharp. “Please don’t destroy our world. Bedsheet just doesn’t understand… I will think of a way!”

Bedsheet Archdemon was still splatted on the ground and had been shaken by the priest’s preparatory motion. His eye holes had turned into two spinning circles, making him look dizzy.

Father Kalen’s movements froze, afraid that he would become the “world-destroying Archdemon” of the picture-book world.

Myss huffed. “This is what fragile worlds are like. They can’t withstand even a little force. Even if you want to do something proper, a Salaar will always pop out to stop you.”

“If the picture book breaks, then it breaks. We have to leave this place as soon as—”

The Salaar doll silently stretched out a hand and covered Myss’s mouth.

Seeing Kalen stop moving, Brief hurriedly ran to the priest’s feet. “I remember now. There’s also a hole near the title page! That hole is on the ground. We haven’t had time to explore it yet, and it might be another exit…”

He spoke in an almost pleading tone, his beady eyes trembling nonstop. “Mr. Giant, can we go over there and take a look first? And if we wait a bit longer, Bedsheet might be willing to cooperate.”

In his panic, the stick-figure hero spread his arms as if to shield Bedsheet Archdemon and the picture-book world behind him. He gripped his ink-drawn little sword tightly. Given the colossal disparity in power, the sword looked like a joke.

Even Myss could tell that Brief was truly worried.

Compared to a human, Bedsheet Archdemon was more like a simple-minded little animal. He was clearly not controlled by Brief and could only be coaxed. But Myss and the others still had serious matters to handle. They had no obligation to accompany a stick-figure in coaxing a fairy-tale villain.

As long as they wanted, they could directly tear apart this world.

The Salaar doll stared fixedly at the storybook version of “himself,”. No emotion could be discerned in those lapis-lazuli eyes. Myss bit down on Salaar’s soft hand in his mouth, but Salaar didn’t move at all.

Myss bit a little harder, but Salaar still didn’t react.

…He didn’t know whether it was his imagination, but after entering Cousin Mag’s room, Salaar had become much quieter.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go with you.”

Kalen crouched down again and gently pressed a finger against the nervous Brief.

“Fairy tales always have a happy ending, don’t they?”

---

The author has something to say:

Salaar, but from the world-destroying Archdemon’s perspective. This is what humans look like in Myss’s eyes. [cat paw]

A true dimensional strike. [OK]

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 84: Brief and Bedsheet Archdemon

Stick-figure Salaar was only a thin layer. The black lines that outlined him were so light they seemed weightless, leaving Myss baffled on how he was even standing. No, wait, that wasn’t the point. The point was, what the hell was this thing?!

Myss stretched out his cotton-stuffed soft hand and poked Stick-figure Salaar. The latter cried out, “Please don’t do that, Mr. Gray. That’s impolite!”

Myss turned his head in confusion and looked at the real Salaar.

Then he discovered that Salaar himself wasn’t much calmer than him. With a face composed of nothing but two buttons and a stitched mouth, the Salaar doll managed to produce a rather subtle expression of astonishment.

And yet, it wasn’t over.

Something struggled out from between the pages and only managed to stand unsteadily after quite a while. Its lines were even simpler than Stick-figure Salaar’s. It was clearly the Chaos Archdemon from the story.

“Awoo, awah!” Stick-figure Archdemon growled menacingly.

Myss: “…”

Fine. The stick-figure version of himself couldn’t even speak human language.

Speaking of which, when he and Salaar had fought, he indeed hadn’t been able to speak human language. Myss glared at stick-figure Archdemon and sulked for a moment.

“You fiend! You’re not allowed to scare these two gentlemen!”

The stick-figure hero brandished his poorly colored little sword and charged toward the little Archdemon that looked like a bedsheet ghost.

The Salaar doll silently moved in front of Bedsheet Archdemon. The stick-figure little man’s sword poked him, only to be bounced back by the rough cloth. Stick-figure Salaar staggered and fell onto the desk, flattened against it.

“Grr grr.” The Bedsheet Archdemon proudly swayed his body.

Stick-figure Salaar struggled back up. “Mr. Black, don’t be bewitched by it. It’s actually the Chaos—”

“Hey, Mag!”

Salaar craned his neck to call out of Mag, who was busily organizing documents, in a dramatic act of self-sacrifice. “We’re seeing something very strange!”

Cousin Mag, whose attention was entirely focused on Kalen at that moment, finally snapped back to reality.

When she saw the two stick figures on the desk, her face turned deathly pale, and she took half a step back on the spot. “How did ‘that’ appear here?!”

Myss looked at the shocked Mag, then looked at the silly-looking Stick-figure Salaar.

This lady might be overreacting a tad, he thought. That stick-figure little man’s sword couldn’t even pierce cotton, much less injure a human.

“I apologize for frightening you, Giant Lady.” Stick-figure Salaar waved his hand and gave a proper little bow. “I beg your pardon for my impetuosity.”

His manner of speaking was that of how the bards would describe Saint Salaar.

The real Salaar wasn’t this polite. Currently, the Salaar doll was curiously circling around the Bedsheet Archdemon, studying those floating ink lines.

“So the ‘that’ you people mentioned refers to this thing? Characters from books crawling out of its pages?”

He worked hard to make his tone sound annoying. “It doesn’t look like anything serious. It’s rather interesting, so why do you look like the end of the world has come?”

Mag gave a cold, sardonic laugh. “This is the United Library, my dear cousin. When the things that run out don’t belong to children’s picture books but come from A Guide to Dark Taming or Forbidden Flesh Alchemy, things stop being quite so amusing.”

Then she pinched the bridge of her nose tightly, as if she had made some decision.

“Forget it. I’ll say it plainly. Similar phenomena have broken out in the restricted book area and in the private collection rooms of several senior scholars.”

“Some extremely dangerous things have run out of books. The United Library is doing everything it can to seal them while also searching for the cause of the abnormality.”

Throughout the entire exchange, her gaze followed the two stick-figures on the desk.

“Is it really all right to tell us this?” Father Kalen asked, holding his breath.

“Among newcomers, there has never been a doll transformation before, yet you transformed. In the ordinary collection area, there has never been a similar phenomenon before, yet it appeared here. If I keep hiding things, I won’t be able to conduct my research properly.”

Mag took two steps forward and planted both hands on the edge of the desk, drawing closer to the two ink-drawn figures.

She tried hard to make herself look as if she had the overall situation under control, but anxiety still seeped continuously from her eyes and brows.

Mag had originally believed that the United Library had already found part of the pattern. Whether it was the people who turned into dolls or the books that underwent “knowledge activation,” they all had quite a few years on them.

Therefore, most people had speculated that this abnormality was related to “time,” —specifically, that the Stargazers Society was using Divine Blood to conduct time-related experiments.

As a result, her wicked cousin had charged recklessly into the city and triggered a whole chain of anomalies that moment he arrived.

Kendrick Karns, Myss, and Dragon Fae Tass Ga. The combined ages of these three didn’t even come close to the age of her superior. To say nothing of that children’s picture book that was practically brand new.

Their previous guesses had been completely overturned, and everything had to start from zero.

Her hands slowly tightened on the edge of the desk, the tips of her fingers turning white.

Tass, however, seemed thoroughly intrigued. “That picture book just now seemed to be called Brave Salaar? According to Lady Mag, you two are the characters from the book, right?”

“Yes. I am Brave Salaar. That one is my destined mortal enemy, the evil Chaos Archdemon.”

“Awoo! Grr! Rawr!”

The two stick-figure hopped around, while Mag held her breath and stared nervously at them.

“I am Tass Ga, the one who only failed once. You may call me Sir Tass.” The Tass doll patted his chest.

Toward this kind of “lifeform” that was clearly a pure magical product at a glance, Dragon Faes had a natural fondness.

“All right, Sir Tass.” Stick-figure Salaar was quite receptive to suggestions.

Seeing this, Myss immediately moved closer. “My name is Myss, not Mr. Gray. And you’re… you’re Brave Fool, and he’s Bedsheet Archdemon.”

To be honest, Myss didn’t particularly want these two guys carrying the titles “Salaar” and “Chaos Archdemon.”

“But my name is Brave Salaar.” Stick-figure Salaar was somewhat confused. “If you think that’s too long, then call me Sa—”

“Brief,” the Salaar doll said.

Stick-figure Salaar: “?”

“Because my name is Salaar too. My companions are already used to calling me that and changing it for you would be troublesome.”

The Salaar doll walked to Myss’s side and used a soft hand to grip the Myss doll’s shoulder.

Mag could not help shooting a glance at him. “???”

The Salaar doll waved at Mag. “It’s the fake name I use outside. Is that not allowed? You can call me Salaar too.”

“Go to hell.” Mag clearly didn’t approve of this “blaspheming the ancestor” behavior.

Stick-figure Salaar, no, Brief, thought for a while, then curved his mouth into a semicircle smile. “All right, then I’ll be called Brief. Brave Salaar should fulfill children’s wishes!”

Bedsheet Archdemon: “Awoo whoooo!”

He seemed quite dissatisfied, but no one present could understand his words, nor could they read his expression. After howling for ages to no result, Bedsheet Archdemon angrily crouched down and shrank into an ink-line ball.

“So, Brief. How did you come out of the book? According to the ending of that book, aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

Myss squeezed away the ink-line ball Archdemon and asked impatiently.

“Yes, but at the beginning of the story, I was alive, too.”

Brief answered in utter confusion. As a stick-figure drawn in ink, he didn’t seem to understand that death was irreversible.

“A big hole suddenly appeared in my world, so I crawled out to see what was going on. This place is even more interesting than I imagined! Everyone is so puffy… wow!”

Two silver cages descended from above. Lady Mag held one in each hand and trapped Brief and Bedsheet Archdemon inside the magic containment cage.

Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Her movements were neat and decisive, like she was capturing highly poisonous pests.

Brief froze in place, his beady eyes blinking gloomily. “Madam, I have no intention of hurting anyone.”

Bedsheet Archdemon immediately spread out his body, howling as he slammed into the cage until it thumped. Strangely, those fine ink lines were unable to pass through the gaps of the silver cage.

“I must conduct tests according to procedure. I’m sorry. Please cooperate.”

Mag’s voice was a little hoarse. “I have no intention of hurting you either. Trust me.”

Brief tilted his head and thought for a while, then revealed that silly smile again. “All right. I trust you.”

The Salaar doll looked as if he was on the verge of sighing. He smoothed the creases of his doll clothes. “It seems your samples have increased by two more.”

“Now what do you plan to do, dear cousin?”

However, this sentence sounded less like a bewildered question and more like a subtle warning.

Mag’s head ached.

Now that things had reached this point, she should hand all of these people over and let everyone know about this new case. But if she did that, these guys would definitely do everything they could to escape.

Kendrick still had a kill order from the royal capital hanging over his head. If he appeared in this state and passed from researcher to researcher, Mag wasn’t confident she could protect him.

Even worse, if something happened to them, her personal relationship with Professor Gentry would deteriorate.

“Relax. I’ll keep my promise and won’t hand you over.”

Mag let out a long breath. “In any case, let’s first do a Divine Blood test.”

After saying this, Mag stood wearily and walked to the bookcase.

She raised her hand into the air, letting the shadow cast by the light touch a copy of The End of the Night Scourge. The projection of her index finger tapped specific characters. Immediately after, amid a rumbling sound, the books on the shelf flew and swirled, forming a floating safe made of books.

With her back to them, Mag silently recited something. The safe slowly opened, revealing a small test tube inside.

A subtle magic fluctuation rippled outward. Myss frowned slightly and looked toward the long, thin test tube that resembled a glass vial.

Inside the test tube were a few drops of pitch-black liquid. They tumbled and rolled like smoke, giving off an extremely faint fragrance, like a flower bud that hadn’t bloomed yet.

The Salaar doll staggered forward. “This is… Divine Blood?”

His tone was off, as if something had caught in his throat.

“Yes. My private collection, from the Karns family’s underground treasury.”

Mag’s tone was heavy. “To request use of the United Library’s Divine Blood, one must have a fairly high clearance level, and every request leaves a strict record. As for where the Divine Blood is stored, even I don’t know.”

Myss leaned even closer. This so-called “Divine Blood” gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

“My Divine Blood is actually not as pure as the United Library’s. But at least they came from the same container, so the essential difference shouldn’t be too great.”

Mag thought Myss was curious and patiently added this explanation.

She carefully took out a drop of Divine Blood and dripped it into the exact center of a large silver plate. Then she took out a full set of long metal needles rolled in small sheepskin from a drawer.

“The next test may hurt a bit. We never dared try it on those senior scholars, and we never caught any ‘knowledge-activated’ monsters…until now. And here they are, both on my desk.”

Mag tugged at the corners of her mouth unhappily.

“As for the dolls, my thick-skinned cousin will do. As for the knowledge-activated monster, Bedsheet Archdemon is the perfect fit…”

“No!”

“Absolutely not!”

The Myss doll and Brief spoke almost at the same time.

“What if the two of us are in different situations?” Myss jumped to Salaar’s side and puffed his chest up high. “You can’t only test him!”

“What about me?” The Tass doll pointed a stubby little finger at himself.

No matter how one thought about it, as a Dragon Fae, he was the one most likely to be different.

“You figure it out for yourself,” Myss said indifferently.

Tass: “…”

“Just test me. We came from the same book, so the effect will be the same!”

Brief’s argument was the exact opposite. “Bedsheet, he… no one can understand what he says, and he’s been locked in a cage. He must be scared.”

The Salaar doll finally stirred a little. “He’s your enemy.”

“We come from a fairy tale.” Brief grinned. “There are no eternal enemies in this world, Mr. Salaar.”

“Woo, grr.” Bedsheet Archdemon struggled desperately in the containment cage, like a kitten locked in an iron cage.

The Salaar doll fell silent.

“He and I were born from the same bottle of ink and drawn by the same pen, Mr. Salaar.”

Brief spoke in a cheerful tone, his smile pure and brilliant.

“…If he disappears, my existence will have no meaning. That is what a fairy tale is, Mr. Salaar.”

……

In the corridor.

Redding quickly rounded a corner and collided head-on with another staff member hurrying past. The two immediately fell into a heap, taking quite a while to scramble back to their feet.

“Raymond? …Redding?” The young man who had crashed into Redding covered the back of his head and asked dizzily.

“Redding. Raymond is sleeping in his room. He’s exhausted.”

Redding stood, patting the dust from his knees. “Why are you in such a hurry, Truff?”

“Don’t even mention it. The people above are all busy with major matters, so my workload tripled.” The young man named Truff spoke with a miserable expression. “I really envy you and Raymond. Lady Mag has one of the best tempers…”

Before he could finish speaking, his feet had already carried him far away.

Redding shrugged and began tidying his messy clothes. Halfway through, he raised his eyebrows at his left cuff. The cuff had been badly torn open, and the button on the sleeve had flown off to who knew where.

“I’ll have to fix that as soon as possible.” He clicked his tongue and turned back toward his room.

Beneath the cuff, within the shadow, a seam lay quietly across Redding’s wrist—a nearly imperceptible joint that would only appear on a puppet.

---

The author has something to say:

Stick-figure Salaar tragically lost his name. (…

But he really doesn’t have much to do with the real Salaar, so you can think of him as a completely independent individual! He has his own Bedsheet Archdemon. [dog head]

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 83: A Fictional Story

When the people of the United Library knew “nothing,” it was likewise not on the same level as ordinary people’s ignorance.

The three dolls immediately swiveled their heads and scrutinized Father Kalen.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Father Kalen gave an “oh” as if he had suddenly understood. He patiently explained the situation and mission of the Order of Shadows, and at the end of his explanation, he said with confidence:

“It should be the protection of my God. Many strange incidents have occurred recently, so the Lord of Shadows has drawn our existence into His veil.”

“However, He only shroud the truth in His veil. He cannot make the truth disappear. You merely cannot remember it. There must be relevant records preserved in the United Library.”

After speaking, the priest took out a piece of parchment edged in copper.

Embossed on the parchment were the words “Kingdom Religious Certificate,” with delicate printed patterns beside them. Beneath that, written plainly, were phrases such as “priest of the Order of Shadows,” “Kalen,” and “from Atla.”

The black ink had soaked deeply into the parchment and shimmered with a strange blue-purple luster. Myss looked at it a few extra times.

Mag accepted the kingdom religious certificate, then took a bizarre-looking pair of glasses from the drawer and examined it repeatedly at length. “The certificate is indeed real, but… forget it.”

She put down the glasses and rubbed her temples. “As for materials related to Divine Blood, I know exactly where they are. I can give you the ones with lower confidentiality levels.”

“But as for the notes this priest mentioned, I need a more detailed description. Specifically, the title, appearance, age, and the nature of its contents.”

“No problem!” Father Kalen said cheerfully. “This begins with an Infinite Notebook from the Night Scrouge period…”

Mag’s fingers slightly twitched. “A what?”

“An Infinite Notebook from the Night Scourge period.”

The priest spoke with reverence. “It’s said that it recorded all knowledge related to Night Scrouge and was written by the warriors of that era. It was previously preserved by the Order of Shadows, and it also recorded countless explorations by the Order’s monks and nuns.”

“My older brother Hermit once told me that this notebook is now hidden in the United Library. If we encountered an incomprehensible difficulty, we could find the answer in the notebook.”

Mag’s eyebrows twitched. Her mouth opened and closed, and her expression grew somewhat sheepish.

“That is a long-circulating fairy tale, Mr. Kalen,” she said carefully. “There’s no such thing in this world as an ‘Infinite Notebook that records everything.’”

“That thing only appears in fairy tales related to Salaar. It’s entirely fictional.”

For a moment, Kalen was bewildered.

“Oh, I remember!” the Myss doll bounced up. “That picture book. Crow priest, look at that picture book in our luggage!”

Father Kalen quickly found the copy of “Brave Salaar” that Scintilla had given them.

He rapidly flipped through the adorable illustrations. When he reached a certain page, the priest’s movements suddenly froze.

[Brave Salaar had three extraordinary treasures.]

[He had a vial of elven spring water kept in a crystal bottle, which could heal all wounds and illnesses, great and small.]

[He had a magical map drawn in golden ink, which could instantly transport him to any corner of the world.]

[He had an infinite notebook that was inexhaustible, recording all of the Chaos Archdemon’s weaknesses.]

“This, this.” Myss swiftly climbed onto the page and poked hard at the notebook pattern with his hand.

The first time he had read it, Myss had directly ignored this information. What a joke. He and Salaar had fought each other for more than three hundred years. That guy only had one head that could go mad, an endless supply of dry mushrooms, and a pile of old books worn ragged from being flipped through.

Therefore, Lord Archdemon had categorized these so-called “treasures” as nonsense humans made up for their own amusement and had never paid special attention to them.

The priest was actually seriously searching for a fairy-tale prop? …Was that Hermit playing tricks on people?

At this moment, Lord Archdemon was about the same size as the simple-doodle Salaar on the page. Both the image and the situation were somewhat comical, but unfortunately, no one present could laugh.

“Hermit wouldn’t lie to me. People’s descriptions of these things may have become distorted, but that doesn’t mean they came from nowhere.”

Father Kalen closed the picture book. “Back then, Salaar may have possessed something else, and rumor distorted it into this. Hermit said that notebook is in the United Library, so it must be here.”

Myss, the person involved: “…”

No, Salaar really didn’t have it! He had seen it with his own eyes!

After thinking it over, Myss figured that the elf spring water that healed all illnesses was probably referring to Salaar’s healing magic. As for the other things, he truly couldn’t think of anything that corresponded to them.

“You really trust your brother,” Tass muttered softly.

“I trust him with my life.”

Father Kalen lowered his aquamarine eyes, not a hint of wavering in his words.

As he spoke, the priest’s right hand unconsciously pressed against his chest. For an instant, Myss almost couldn’t tell whether it was an unconscious gesture or a prayer.

Mag’s gaze was somewhat complicated, and she didn’t say more. “In a while, I’ll have Raymond come over. Mr. Kalen, with him accompanying you, you may freely search the collection area. Of course, only the areas with relatively low confidentiality levels.”

“Don’t worry. Raymond and Redding are my direct subordinates, and they are fiercely loyal to me. I’ll tell Raymond in advance and say that the priest wants to borrow books to pass the time… How does that sound?”

Father Kalen nodded solemnly.

“Then it’s settled.” Mag clapped her hands.

……

Raymond staggered back to his room and buried his face in his pillow, enjoying his hard-won rest time.

When he had first heard about an institution called the “United Library,” he had thought the work wouldn’t be this heavy.

Who could have imagined that merely running behind Lady Mag would exhaust him to the point of nearly collapsing, let alone the additional effort spent dealing with the situation.

“Ugh… Bring the basic files related to Divine Blood to Lady Mag’s room, then be responsible for receiving that Father Kalen next… Oof…”

Raymond sighed heavily, his limbs feeling as if they were glued to the bed.

He sincerely hoped that this Kalen had a better temper. After all, what kind of priest would mix with scum like Kendrick?

“That Kendrick Karns just had to come at such a troublesome time. Miss Mag is unlucky too, ending up with this kind of dogshit relative.”

He muttered, reluctant to sit up for a long time.

“I’ll go, brother.”

Redding sat down beside his bed and patted his back. “I was the one who received them earlier anyway. We’ll just swap. Lady Mag won’t mind.”

“Really?”

“I’m confident I can convince her.” Redding said with a grin, “I know how exhausting handling abnormalities can be. Listen, you need rest.”

“Besides, you’ve never liked dealing with people anyway, right? Leave it to me.”

“You really are a saint.”

Raymond let out a long breath and flopped back onto the bed.

Redding stood and poured a glass of water, leaning against the wall as he slowly drank it. “Speaking of which, how is the abnormality in the restricted area?”

“It’s still…” Halfway through his dizzy answer, Raymond suddenly reacted. “No, I can’t tell you that, you sly guy. Your clearance level clearly isn’t high enough…”

As he spoke, Raymond turned his head sideways and looked at his brother who was still leaning against the wall.

The wall that Redding was leaning on was covered in elegant wallpaper. Peacock-feather-like patterns were printed on the dark green fabric, looking at first glance like wide-open eyes.

Redding wore clothes identical to his and leisurely drank the water in the glass. He had a smile on his face and didn’t look tired at all.

Looking at that face, so familiar it was uncanny, Raymond’s mind suddenly went blank for a second. It was like staring at a word for too long and suddenly finding the word unfamiliar.

For one instant, in the gap between two heartbeats, Raymond suddenly wondered, did he really have a brother?

But the thought came quickly and vanished even faster.

Exhaustion drowned that inexplicable thought, and Raymond lowered his head again. “…I’ll sleep for a while. Take the Divine Blood materials and go to Lady Magnolia’s room.”

Redding put down the glass and gave an affirmative response.

Ten minutes later…

“…Raymond isn’t feeling well? All right.”

Mag didn’t press the matter. She pointed at the priest, who was now carrying the breadbasket again. “Since it’s you, I won’t introduce him again.”

“Before the library reopens, you’re responsible for receiving Father Kalen. Take him around the collection area more. I’ll handle the relevant procedures for them.”

Redding swept his gaze around. “And Mr. Kendrick and Mr. Myss…?”

“I locked them in the confinement room,” Mag said calmly. “Those two fools snuck off to get intimate and I caught them red-handed. You don’t need to worry about them.”

“Understood, Lady Magnolia. Father, shall we go to the collection area now?”

Redding placed a large stack of Divine Blood materials on Mag’s desk and turned to Kalen. Hearing that Kendrick and Myss had been locked in the confinement room, he seemed to be in a good mood.

Kalen hesitated. There were still three soft, fluffy major problems in front of him, and finding the notebook wasn’t urgent to that extent.

Seeing that the priest didn’t immediately agree, Redding nodded understandingly and took a small bell from his pocket. “This is a summoning magic device. If you want to find me, just shake this bell.”

After saying this, he gave a bow and tactfully left the room.

“What a measured young man.”

Lady Mag praised him. “If Kendrick had even half his honesty, Grandfather wouldn’t have been angered to that extent.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she looked toward Salaar, only to find that Salaar hadn’t heard a single word. The soft doll had bounced out of the breadbasket and was wholeheartedly rummaging through the Divine Blood materials.

Myss joined him in shuffling the papers around. The two cotton lumps rolled around miserably, somehow turning the smooth office desk into something with the atmosphere of a chaotic battlefield.

“I hear that the ‘Order of Shadows’ possessed deep understanding of abnormal things. Then what about Divine Blood?”

Mag helped the two dolls open a scroll, but her eyes were still fixed on Kalen.

“Our understanding is no greater than yours, Madam,” Kalen said cautiously.

Myss listened for a moment but quickly lost interest.

Salaar still didn’t want to expose his identity, which meant they couldn’t tell Mag everything. The urgent priority was to undo this damned magical curse, and then…

“Hello, Mr. Gray, Mr. Black,” a voice said.

That voice was thin and delicate, completely unfamiliar. Myss subconsciously turned his head, and then he saw Salaar.

To be exact, a stick-figure Salaar.

His eyes were only two black ink dots, and his laughing mouth took up half his face, making him look utterly silly.

---

The author has something to say:

Salaar:

Myss: ? Things are starting to get interesting. (in that tone)

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 82: The Stolen Divine Blood

The basket jolted, and Myss rolled right onto Salaar. Both of their bodies were light and soft, and Myss bounced instinctively, almost launching himself out of the basket.

Salaar instinctively reached out to grab him, but unfortunately, the doll’s hands had no fingers. In his desperation, the Great Hero had a sudden idea. He opened his mouth and bit down, using his cloth mouth to clamp onto Myss’s long cotton-thread hair.

Just then, the bread cloth was lifted.

Cousin Mag had a stern expression on her round face as she silently looked at the two dolls stacked together. Exposed suddenly to the light, the two dolls froze instinctively, while Myss’s cotton-thread hair was still caught in Salaar’s mouth.

Mag’s hand loosened, and the bread cloth fell back into place.

Father Kalen: “…”

Father Kalen cleared his throat. “That is what happened, Madam. I’m willing to swear to the Lord that they absolutely didn’t touch anything recklessly. They didn’t even leave the room.”

“But you told Redding that you didn’t know where they had gone.” Mag frowned.

She had been called back temporarily by Redding, so her hair was a bit disheveled, and there were still damp traces of sweat at her temples.

Father Kalen subconsciously paused. In truth, he wasn’t very good at dealing with nobles. Before this, his older brother Hermit had always been responsible for such things.

Fortunately, when they hurried over, Salaar had sent out Knife and taught him a set of talking points in advance.

Father Kalen slowly spoke. “Yes, I concealed the truth from Mr. Redding. Likewise, we hope you can keep this secret.”

“You know Sa… Kendrick’s current situation. Right now, he has no ability to protect himself. Your brothers and sisters have many connections here. If this matter gets out, their situation will become even more difficult.”

“I can also crush him to death with one hand.”

Mag sat back in her seat, interlaced her fingers, and elegantly supported her chin.

“We all believe you’re not that kind of person,” Father Kalen said earnestly.

Strictly speaking, only Salaar and Tass had firmly insisted that Mag wasn’t the sort of person who would carry out meaningless slaughter. As for Myss… Myss was still Myss. Compared to Mag’s moral character, he was more interested in poking Salaar’s cotton belly.

Mag stared fixedly at Father Kalen for a while. There was no warmth in those lapis-lazuli eyes, neither agreement nor denial.

“You chose correctly.”

Only after a long while did Mag finally speak.

“If you had still insisted on that ‘missing whereabouts’ story, I would have immediately reported the matter to the royal family and the Karns family and dug three feet into the ground to find those two little beasts.”

“As for now… I’ll tell Redding and the others that I found Kendrick and Myss making out in a broom closet. I decided to lock them in my confinement room until the chaos is resolved.”

Father Kalen let out a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

“However.”

Mag continued mercilessly, “From now on, all of you must cooperate unconditionally with my investigation.”

“Tsk!” A little bump under the bread cloth moved. From the sound of it, it seemed to be Myss.

Mag tilted her head, signaling for the priest to place the bread basket on her desk. A stir came from under the bread cloth, and the two entangled dolls rolled out together.

The Salaar doll was tangled in the Myss doll’s cotton-thread hair and had no idea how to untangle himself, so he could only move around while dragging the hair. Myss grew irritated from being tugged around by him and punched back with his soft little fist, only for the two of them to become even more tightly tangled.

Tass leaned alone in a corner of the basket. Somehow, his button eyes actually showed a hint of disdain.

Mag sighed and deftly untangled the mess of hair. She lifted the Salaar doll, but when she raised her hand, she discovered that the Myss doll had come up with him. He had bitten onto Salaar’s pant leg, his garnet eyes watching Mag warily.

Mag: “…”

She casually tugged, only to find that Myss’s bite force was astonishing. Not only did she fail to pull Myss off, she almost pulled Salaar’s pants off with him.

“Enough. I’m not planning to do anything to Kendrick.” She shook her head wearily. “It’s just… the abnormality on your bodies is not the first time it has appeared.”

“Is it the ‘that’ Mr. Raymond mentioned earlier?” Tass asked curiously.

“Yes and no. All I can tell you is that someone in the United Library has also turned into a doll. They were all highly respected seniors who had worked here for a very long time.”

When she spoke to Tass, Mag’s tone became much lighter and softer.

“At present, they have lost their magic power are being carefully watched over and treated. So—”

“So we’re more suitable for research,” the Salaar doll said. He tried hard to hold onto his pants with his hand to prevent Myss from pulling them down.

“No, ‘you’ are more suitable for research.”

When her gaze turned to Salaar, Mag’s tone became icy again. “I told you not to expect me to help you. This is only a transaction.”

“Ah, all right,” Salaar whined pitifully. “But I’m very curious. Have you tried taking those affected seniors out of the United Library? Maybe this place is cursed.”

He was probing for the boundary of the Divine Realm. Myss immediately pricked up his nonexistent ears.

“Of course we tried. It was useless. Even taking them out of Serpentia was useless.”

Mag used a tone of “did you really need to tell me such a basic thing to try?” as she spoke. “We found no trace of a curse, nor could we find any common factor among those affected. Thanks to you, now that common factor is even harder to find.”

So leaving this place is useless, Myss thought.

To be honest, Myss disliked this state.

Stripped of all his magic, with no idea how to recover it, it felt as if his feet were treading on thin air. He suddenly realized that if Salaar died in front of him, he wouldn’t even be able to do anything.

As for his own death… To be honest, Myss had never imagined it. Consequently, now that such a situation had arrived, he was overcome by a disorienting sense of unreality.

Countless thoughts surged chaotically, nearly seizing up Myss’s brain.

He didn’t know what he should think or what he should do, like a fish thrown onto the beach for the first time.

No. It wasn’t that solid.

A fish could still feel the existence of the sand beneath it, while he had stepped into empty air and was still falling.

Myss discovered in surprise that this heart of his, which could function normally, had to be built on some sort of solid foundation. For example, his vast and boundless power, or…

Myss bit Salaar’s pants tighter, even taking the soft ankle into his cotton mouth.

Salaar wasn’t afraid, so he wouldn’t be the first to retreat.

Myss flailed his short limbs and swung upward with all his strength, finally climbing onto Salaar’s body. Amid Salaar’s cries of “Hey, hey,” Myss successfully climbed onto Salaar’s soft cloth head and wrapped all four limbs around him.

“Tell us what happened.” Lord Archdemon finally managed to say now that his mouth was free.

Mag raised a brow.

“I’m more useful than this guy. That elephant professor wouldn’t write letters of introduction for two useless people.”

“If we can help that elephant solve his troubles, we can help you too. You’re much weaker than him, aren’t you?”

Myss hissed, squeezing Salaar’s head slightly out of shape.

“That makes some sense,” Mag conceded, her fingertips lightly tapping the desk.

That priest wasn’t weak, and he also didn’t look like someone with ulterior motives. That Dragon Fae had some fame and liked acting alone. It was impossible that they would follow two completely incompetent.

As for this Myss, if he could get tangled up with her deranged cousin, he must have some ability. Not to mention that attitude of superiority ingrained in his bones was incredibly difficult to fake.

“I don’t have the authority to tell you all the details. But I can still tell you the general situation. So far, our guess is a ‘malicious experiment by the Stargazers Society.’”

Mag released her hand and placed the two dolls on a handkerchief. Tass staggered over, and the three dolls sat in a row in front of Mag.

Hearing the key phrase “Stargazers Society,” the priest’s brows immediately furrowed. He stepped forward two steps and stood directly in front of the desk, his shadow almost covering Mag.

Mag paid it no mind. “Three weeks ago, high-purity ‘Divine Blood’ was stolen from the storage room.”

“At first, we thought it was another rotten incident like the Nebula family’s, that someone was fantasizing about creating a ‘Child of Divine Blood’… However, after that, my superior turned into a doll.”

According to Mag, the United Library had thoroughly investigated everything the transformed people ate, wore, and used, but failed to find anything abnormal. After that, several more senior scholars turned into crude cloth dolls, and people had no solution.

When the people of the United Library said they had “no solution,” it wasn’t on the same level as ordinary people saying they had “no solution.”

The moment Professor Gentry heard that they wanted to research Divine Blood, he had recommended the United Library to them, and naturally, he had his reasons.

The United Library was an institution directly under the Aufon royal family, a paradise for researchers.

Almost all the books and materials in the world had copies in the United Library. As for rare things mentioned in the books, the United Library would store samples of them, and it was equipped with Aufon’s top laboratories.

Every employee of the library was an elite at the national level. They wandered through rivers of information and lingered in forests of materials, trying to find lost truths within them.

When people like this couldn’t find the reason for the abnormality, the atmosphere in the library became increasingly tense.

“…All we know is that everything began with the ‘theft of Divine Blood.’ And the Stargazers’ secret letters intercepted by the royal family also mentioned ‘Divine Blood research.’”

Mag concluded, “At present, we suspect that there is a Stargazer hiding inside the United Library. He, or she, is using local materials to conduct dangerous research.”

“Well? Has this inspired anything?”

Myss resentfully rubbed his face.

They had come excitedly to investigate Divine Blood, only to step right into the very midst of a Divine Blood crisis. Truly this was the classic case of “someone getting a pillow just when one’s about to get sleepy”. 

Salaar hesitated. “Those people who turned into dolls, were they ‘Children of Divine Blood’?”

Mag burst out laughing. “How could that be? Children of Divine Blood have a hard enough time becoming normal people, let alone entering the United Library.”

“Leaving aside everything else, this Dragon Fae has no father or mother. It’s even more impossible for him to be a ‘Child of Divine Blood.’”

Tass nodded solemnly. “I’ve never seen Divine Blood in my life.”

“Just in case.” The Salaar doll squeezed closer to Myss. “We don’t understand this. First bring out all the materials related to Divine Blood.”

Myss, meanwhile, was thinking furiously.

Previously, the ones who transformed had all been senior scholars? Judging by V.O.R’s pattern, maybe the transformation standard was “magic genius.”

Before he had time to tell Salaar this guess, he heard—

“If possible, please help me search for the notes of the Order of Shadows,” the priest said. “There are many records of strange incidents inside. Perhaps they can provide some reference.”

Mag’s smile faded as she pursed her lips. “Actually, after reading Professor Gentry’s letter, I’ve had a question this entire time.”

“…What exactly is the ‘Order of Shadow?”

---

The author has something to say:

Priest: ???

Priest: The veil of the Lord of Shadows really is impenetrable… [please]

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 81: Three Little Buns

Tass beat his wings in terror, but he couldn’t fly even after trying for ages. His exquisite wings had transformed into rough cloth pieces stuffed with a thin layer of cotton, the stitches sparse and clumsy.

Then he immediately confirmed it by raising his little burlap hands, which had no fingers. Judging by his movements, he seemed to be casting a spell. In the end, he plopped down on the ground. “I can’t use magic anymore!”

Myss bent down and picked up the dejected Dragon Fae.

The Tass doll felt soft and fluffy. His limbs and body were all round and plump. Cotton and scraps of cloth had puffed out his “body” by a whole circle, and the slender elegance unique to Dragon Fae had vanished completely.

Myss gave him a couple of amazed squeezes; the doll’s body was indeed filled with cotton. The only hard things left on Tass were his eyes, which were made of emerald buttons.

“Wow… Wow, it actually doesn’t hurt.”

Tass’s mouth, sewn from red cloth, opened and closed, making him look exactly like a hand puppet. “So this is the United Library’s ‘that’? A curse that turns people into dolls?”

Despite everything, the Dragon Fae was an assassin by trade after all, so he didn’t panic for long. He twisted his soft, floppy body, cooperatively analyzing their current predicament.

Myss blinked, confidently dilated his pupils, and searched for the core of this “transformation magic.” Immediately, another chill crawled up his back. There were no traces of magic on this doll.

If it weren’t hopping, jumping, and speaking in Tass’s voice, Myss would only have taken it for an ordinary doll.

A vague, unsettling premonition began to take shape in Myss’s mind. It was entirely possible they were already inside a Divine Realm.

If that was true, then this Divine Realm was eerily silent. Myss could neither see its core nor sense that special atmosphere. If such an absurd thing hadn’t happened, he probably still wouldn’t have noticed its existence.

A crack opened in that reassuring feeling, like being wrapped in a warm blanket, and a cold wind leaked in. Myss shrank slightly and tossed the Dragon Fae doll to Salaar.

Salaar understood and caught Tass, gently turning him over to examine him. “Father, we need to adjust the plan. Take Sir Tass and leave the United Library first to see what happens.”

Kalen: “You mean…”

“It feels a little like a Divine Realm phenomenon. We need to confirm whether there’s a boundary first,” Salaar said. “We…”

Pop.

Salaar’s figure vanished. The Tass doll let out a string of high-pitch squeals, “Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!”, as it tumbled and rolled across the ground. Another doll, a black-haired, blue-eyed doll, appeared out of thin air and landed as steadily as possible on one knee.

That pose would have looked rather handsome on a normal person, but when a doll did it, it was only comical. Unfortunately, before he could steady himself, Knife fell with a smack onto the Salaar doll and flattened him.

“Mr. Salaar?!” Father Kalen’s voice cracked a little.

Myss sucked in a cold breath. With lightning speed, he picked up the Salaar doll and pinched it between his fingers.

…It actually felt pretty nice.

The black hair was made from yarn dyed dark, ash-grey, and the eyes were gemstone buttons of the same type as Tass’s.

Tass’s emerald eyes were round and shiny, but Salaar’s lapis-lazuli buttons were flat ovals, somehow making him look a little gloomy. The doll’s clothes were also simplified versions of what they were wearing. Myss cheerfully stretched out his claws and went to strip off the Salaar doll’s clothes.

Salaar: “Wait a moment.”

“Tass has wings, so he’s hard to undress. This is rigorous research.” Myss vigorously kneaded the Salaar doll’s cheeks. He had a hard time saying whether he should be wary of the current situation or enjoy it. The Salaar doll was only about the size of a fist, and Myss could knead and rub him however he liked, which was truly a satisfying experience.

Salaar: “…”

Salaar: “Fine, I’ll undress myself.”

The Great Hero raised his fingerless soft cloth hands and slid them over the tiny buttons again and again. Under Myss’s mocking gaze, he failed to undo even half a button.

The Salaar doll sighed and resigned himself to lying flat in Myss’s palm, going still.

Myss curiously pulled open the doll’s crude coat, the shirt with only three buttons, and the pants with frayed cuffs.

The clothes weren’t sewn onto Salaar’s body. However, the body Salaar revealed was also nothing more than a pure human-shaped cloth piece. Myss poked his enemy’s roughly made cotton belly and suddenly realized that tonight, there would probably be no hero cushion to sleep on.

“Have you looked enough?” Salaar’s emotions were quite steady. “Help me put it back on, please. It’s a little cold like this.”

After saying that, he paused and looked at Myss with his large lapis-lazuli eyes. “Also, I can’t use healing magic… Be careful.”

“You two didn’t do anything special. This isn’t normal.”

Father Kalen picked up the Dragon Fae who had rolled far away and patted the dust off his cloth wings.

He looked deeply worried. “Sir Tass is a Dragon Fae, naturally prone to being affected. Mr. Salaar is human, so how did he become like this too?”

“I’m completely stumped,” Tass said dizzily.

“I’ve only been traveling with you guys for a short while, yet it’s been nothing by bizarre occurrences I’ve never heard of… It’s all a bit too thrilling…”

Myss had no interest in joining the conversation. But just now, he likewise hadn’t detected anything abnormal.

Now that “Kendrick Karns” was gone, their plan had to be adjusted again. They needed to think of a way to handle Cousin Mag…

Myss stuffed Salaar’s soft cloth arm back into the sleeve. He unhappily discovered that dressing a doll was much more troublesome than undressing one.

“Be gentler. You’re about to twist my arm all the way around,” the Salaar doll protested.

“It doesn’t hurt anyway,” Myss replied, casually tossing Knife onto him.

Knife curiously looked at the shrunken Salaar, using its tongue to curl over the doll’s face again and again.

“But it feels very strange, and it makes movement inconvenient.”

Salaar poked him with a soft hand and raised his round head. “How about this? Let’s go outside together first. Maybe the abnormality will wear off.”

“I agree!” Tass immediately cried.

For a Dragon Fae, being unable to fly was truly troublesome. Heaven knew how long it had been since he had properly walked.

“I have no objections,” Father Kalen said cautiously. “If leaving this place can free you from the abnormality, I can ask the magpies here, and we can all find another hiding place together.”

Myss shrugged, tacitly agreeing.

He took a small cloth pouch from his waist and fixed it to the belt across his chest. Then he stuffed Salaar and Knife inside. The Salaar doll twisted in the pouch for a moment, then poked his head out. “Let’s go.”

Myss puffed out his chest, held his head high, and took a confident stride forward—

Pop!

Myss: “?”

He discovered in terror that his body was falling. His body had become incredibly light. More accurately, it was as light as a cloth lump stuffed with cotton.

…What the hell? This damn place was completely unreasonable!

Myss landed on the floor in shock; the floor tiles looked dozens of times larger than he remembered. The Salaar doll, still wrapped inside the cloth pouch, failed to make a proper landing and smacked right onto his body.

Fortunately, Mr. Hero wriggled in time, and the two cotton lumps rolled aside, avoiding being hit by Fork and Knife immediately afterward.

“Wow.” Fork shook the tip of its tail, its snake eyes looking at Myss. “Want me to fetch you a tea towel?”

Myss subconsciously lowered his head. Then he tragically discovered that he was stark naked. With his magic ineffective, all that remained on his body was a bright pinkish-white.

He turned his head and saw smooth cotton thread dyed gray-white. Looking down again, there were two round, bulging rough-cloth paws, almost identical to Salaar’s.

Myss had just been about to get angry when something warm suddenly appeared over his back. He rubbed his head toward it, and the thing in front of his eyes was clearly Salaar’s coat.

Salaar’s navy coat was somewhat long, while a doll’s cotton limbs were too short. Once covered by this thing, Lord Archdemon looked much more respectable.

“Just in case, you should still wear it. Otherwise, if we suddenly recover, you’ll be running naked in front of everyone.”

Salaar waved his soft cloth hands, working hard to help Myss put the coat on.

Myss sniffed the coat. He was surprised to discover that although he had no nose, his sense of smell was still there. And that rough navy coat was indeed soaked with Salaar’s scent.

He grumbled twice and struggled to stuff his body into it.

Tass: “Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Seeing the huge human turn into a little thing about the same size as him, the Dragon Fae’s mood lifted quite considerably.

Kalen looked at the three palm-sized little dolls and fell into bewildered silence.

Apart from tragically losing his clothes, the Myss doll looked as if he had been made by the exact same pair of hands as the other two.

Only, the Myss doll’s hair used finer cotton thread with more luster, and his eyes were half-round garnet buttons, making him look somewhat furious.

…Is it my turn next? Father Kalen couldn’t help thinking.

His right hand unconsciously moved to his chest, and he prayed a couple of sentences to the Lord of Shadows.

The other three dolls clearly had similar thoughts. Three pairs of gemstone buttons stared straight at the priest. The clock pendulum swayed back and forth like a noose, but the moment of the priest’s transformation never arrived.

“There must be another reason.” The Salaar doll symbolically scratched his head. “Assuming it’s an indiscriminate change, there wouldn’t be so many people outside.”

“Also, Mag knows there’s a Dragon Fae in our team. If the environment were this terrible, she definitely would have told us in advance.”

“But do the three of us have anything in common?” the Myss doll asked suspiciously. “And it has to be something the priest doesn’t possess.”

A Chaos Archdemon, Saint Salaar, and a pure magical lifeform that only appeared after the Night Scourge. The commonalities among them could be counted on one hand.

“Let me think… Have you killed people?” the Salaar doll ventured a guess, taking the strictly factual approach.

Father Kalen was silent for a moment. “I have killed people before.”

“Could it be because the three of us all know magic?” Tass rubbed his chin. “No, that’s not right. That’s too broad. The humans outside must all be proficient in magic.”

“We all don’t have parents?” Myss pondered aloud.

Salaar, Tass, and Father Kalen: “…”

Salaar: “…Probably not. Father Kalen doesn’t either.”

Myss: “Oh.”

Father Kalen: “…………”

The three of them chattered and guessed for several minutes but truly couldn’t unearth any clues. Salaar habitually pressed his temple and almost pressed his head into a funnel shape.

To be honest, if Tass hadn’t been affected, he could have steered his guesses toward the body-swap ritual, or even that so-called “Child of Divine Blood.” Now, however, the change had come without any trace. They couldn’t even pull out a loose end for a clue.

Father Kalen uneasily waited for a long time. After discovering that he truly hadn’t changed, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He looked around the room, grabbed the small bread basket, placed the three dolls that looked like little buns inside, and gently covered them with a bread cloth.

“May His Veil shroud you,” the priest prayed, his words fitting the occasion perfectly. “Let’s go. First, we’ll leave this place.”

He looped the basket over his arm. Just as his body turned toward the door, he heard a knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

“It’s me, Redding,” the young man who had led them here called. “There are some problems with the procedure. You need to come with me… Hello? Is anyone there?”

The priest opened the door a crack. “Now is not very convenient. Could you come back in ten minutes?”

Redding’s gaze immediately became wary. He raised his right hand, revealing the bracelet-style wand on his wrist. Along with several quick breaths, a large number of bubbles gurgled out from the crack in the door. They expanded larger and larger, pushing open the door without allowing any refusal.

The priest had wanted to stop him, but considering the “little round buns” on his arm, he could only retreat two steps.

“I knew it.”

Redding walked into the room with a stern face. “Where are Kendrick Karns and Myss?”

Father Kalen was silent.

The premise of “the two of them went out on a date” was that Salaar and Myss could appear at the appropriate moment. Now the two were tucked under a bread cloth, and no one knew when they would recover.

He had to think of a more natural excuse.

“Listen. This place is not an inn or a tavern, and we’re not attendants. Even if you are guests introduced by Professor Gentry, you still have to follow the United Library’s rules.”

Redding raised his voice, enunciating each word with deliberate precision. “I clearly told you not to run around.”

“I’m sorry.” Father Kalen said with complete sincerity, “I turned around, and they were gone… I don’t know where they went either.” In a certain sense, this was the truth.

“…Since there’s a problem with the procedure, Tass and I are willing to leave this place first. Once you find those two, you can discuss it with them.”

Redding let out a short laugh, his expression a little bitter.

“I’m afraid that won’t work. You can’t leave,” he said. “The procedural problem is that we need to change your visit into a long-term visit.”

“A… minor incident has occurred. The latest notice is that before the matter is handled, no one can leave.”

Father Kalen looked at the bread basket, then at Redding, then again at the bread basket.

Whether the Lord of Shadows would use His veil to wrap and hide the three of them, he didn’t know.

But in this moment, Father Kalen understood. Next, he would have to use the bread cloth to wrap and hide his companions, who were as fragile as little buns.

“All right. We will cooperate.”

Father Kalen’s hand, still clutching the basket, drooped a little lower. “I have only one request. Please let us meet Lady Magnolia once more.”

---

The author has something to say:

Salaar: ???

Myss: ??? [baffled]

Tass: What’s so great about being tall? Once everyone turns into dolls, aren’t we all the same size? [dog head]

Kalen: (Lord of Shadows roleplaying game begins!)

————————————

Good news: This time, the Divine Realm’s aura is quite weak (?

Bad news: The aura on our side is even weaker (???

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 80: Burlap Doll

Not cause trouble? That was impossible.

Myss wiped his lips, his eyes gleaming even brighter than the freshly polished glasses just set out at a restaurant.

Salaar, meanwhile, remained perfectly composed and retreated to Father Kalen’s side. “Left hand?”

The priest’s left hand foretold ill fortune, while his right hand hid in shadows.

Even though this destination was one they had chosen, Salaar believed Father Kalen would definitely have performed a divination in advance.

The priest hadn’t warned them beforehand, which meant the result of this divination couldn’t be too terrible. Now, he needed to know exactly how “not too terrible” it was.

After all, the trip to the Rabbit Hole had also been “not too terrible,” yet they had still gone through quite an ordeal.

Father Kalen gently shook his head. “We’re lucky.”

Of course we are, Myss thought.

The Fallen Child was a mere human infant still wet behind the ears, and her divine form hadn’t even been able to take shape. The Perfected Creation had no brain and could only pursue simple obsessions.

Not long ago, they encountered the Prisoner of Dreams, who had both strength and a decent brain. However, Roman had been trapped underground, had exhausted most of his power saving people, and hadn’t been especially hostile toward them.

Strength, intelligence, hostility. So far, they hadn’t encountered an enemy who possessed all three.

Judging by the priest’s reaction, even if there was an Abnormal Fruit in this place, nothing too serious would happen. Myss confidently puffed out his chest. He and Salaar’s powers were both increasing, and he felt a reassuring sense of being wrapped in a warm blanket.

……

Mag jogged in small steps, leading the group straight toward the city library.

Myss had originally wanted to look more at the scenery of the big city, but he practically ended up being tucked under Salaar’s arm and carried forward. His attention was spent entirely on lowering his head and watching the road.

The members of the Karns family had astonishing physical stamina. When they reached their destination, Myss was already panting a little, while Mag’s breathing was only slightly disturbed.

Myss grumbled twice and raised his head to look at their destination.

Before them stood a square shaped building that resembled a monastery.

Its outer walls were built from clean white stone. Three-story buildings gathered on four sides, while round corner towers stood at all four corners, making it nearly the size of a small castle.

A large stretch of lawn had been left around the building, and beneath the walls were cypress trees with flame-like crowns. From afar, the entire building appeared to be burning amidst a sea of green fire.

Myss turned his gaze and saw a magnificent cathedral not far from the lawn. The passersby nearby were all dressed respectably, either wealthy or noble. Apparently, after running for most of the day, they had actually run all the way to the center of Serpentia.

“Serpentia Library.”

Salaar leaned slightly and explained to Myss in a low voice, “It had stood right here since the days of the Night Scourge.”

Back then, this place had been one of the tacitly acknowledged “sparks of civilization.” Pessimists had sent precious books and records here one after another, praying that after a thousand years had passed, those who came later would be able to retrieve firewood from the ruins and rekindle the flame of civilization.

Myss gave a non-committal grunt, showing little interest.

He truly didn’t like reading. Compared to picking apart those difficult words and phrases, Lord Archdemon would rather have Salaar explain things to him.

“Serpentia Saint Library.” Mag explained quickly. “Hurry up. Keep up with me.”

Salaar paused, his expression somewhat subtle. The moment the group entered the library’s front hall, Myss immediately understood the source of that subtlety.

Hanging prominently in the library’s foyer was a portrait of “Saint Salaar”.

Apart from golden hair and blue eyes, the person in the portrait bore no resemblance to the Salaar Myss knew. Salaar’s true appearance was indeed handsome, but it was a sharp, chiseled, almost statuesque beauty, like a blade glistening in the rain.

The person in the painting had soft, serene features and lowered eyes. With his eyes half-lidded and a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips, he wore an expression of such cloying benevolence that it gave Myss’s goosebumps. Looking at it made Myss’s fist itch with the urge to punch something.

“The Karns family donated many books and a great deal of funding. This place was renamed only a hundred years ago? Was it a hundred years? I forgot.”

Tass cut in with gossip at just the right time. “Anyway, they stuffed a lot of Saint Salaar elements into this place. You can even buy little wooden figurines of Saint Salaar.”

The Dragon Fae’s tone was exceptionally enthusiastic. Myss almost suspected that this kid had not become an assassin purely out of a sense of justice. His love of gossip was absolutely one of the reasons.

Salaar: “…Haa.”

The moment Myss heard Salaar sigh, he instantly perked up.

He deliberately flashed in front of Salaar and put on a soft, serene expression, trying hard to narrow his eyes and raise the corners of his lips, imitating that compassionate and punchable expression.

Salaar silently pinched his own philtrum, then sighed again.

However, when they passed through the front hall and officially entered the chapel-like main hall, Myss could no longer laugh. The four walls here were packed full of books. Dark wooden cabinets pressed close to stone pillars and walls carved with elegant reliefs, but that wasn’t the important part.

High above, across the vaulted ceiling, was emblazoned a vivid depiction of Saint Salaar battling the Chaos Archdemon.

The painter the library had commissioned was, thankfully, a cut above than the children’s book illustrator. At the very least, he hadn’t rendered the Chaos Archdemon as a bedsheet ghost meant to amuse toddlers. He had painted the Chaos Archdemon as a monster with long black fur and deformed goat horns.

The monster’s visage bore a resemblance of both a cat and a tiger, its head brisling with black horns that looked like cancerous growths, while its feet sprouted a multitude of sharp claws and tails, swarming like insects.

The painter had made it enormous, twisted, and elegant, filling most of the image like the night sky. At the center of the painting stood the radiant Saint Salaar: clad in platinum-white armor, draped in a platinum-white cloak, wielding a platinum-white blade, and crowned with hair of an almost platinum-white hue. His entire being resembled a pale, slender, crescent moon.

Saint Salaar was depicted in profile, his feet held fast by the Archdemon’s tail. Yet, even in this dire predicament, his gaze remained resolute as he thrust his blade towards the grotesque beast, which was roaring with its mouth agape.

A beautiful and tragic masterpiece.

…It would have been even more perfect if the people visiting it weren’t the parties involved.

Myss stared at that painting in disbelief, especially that “Saint Salaar” with the resolute expression. Heaven knew how badly he wanted to replace it with an image of Salaar throwing rainbow arrows all over the sky or making a miniature garden out of his tentacles.

“This is slander.” Myss glanced again at the beast with many feet and said in a hiss.

“Indeed.” Salaar stopped walking, rarely agreeing with him. “They never once painted the people who walked with me. Not even once.”

“Haven’t you seen enough at home? Keep up!” Not far away, Mag shouted loudly.

In Myss’s imagination, she would lead them toward the upper floors, just like the Red Amber had. The scenery of this place was nice, and the interior was spacious. As long as he didn’t look at those annoying paintings, Myss rather liked it.

However, Magnolia led them all the way to a certain tower and began heading underground.

This kind of tower structure spiraling downward was exactly the same as the previous underground ruins. It was most likely a classic building style from the Night Scourge period.

But unlike that time, magic devices that simulated the sun, moon, and stars floated in the hollow center, lighting the entire space as bright as day. From time to time, magic fluctuations silently surged over, then quietly withdrew after touching Mag. Myss guessed this was some kind of security magic.

Thank heavens, the Karns family’s reach didn’t extend to this area. The portraits hanging on the walls were all of unfamiliar people, not a grand collection of Saint Salaar art portraits.

“We’re here. This is the United Library.”

After more than ten minutes, Mag spoke dryly. “I can’t bring myself to say ‘welcome,’ so this will have to do.”

Passing through the door at the bottom of the tower, Myss couldn’t help sucking in a breath. After coming to the human world, he was shocked for the first time.

The United Library was like Serpentia Saint Library’s reflection.

Stone pillars were still stone pillars, and the shelves were still stuffed full of books. But the entire spatial structure was flipped upside down. The part that should have been the ground floated with star-like spherical lamps, and above the irregular “vaulted floor” was an added layer of transparent glass flooring.

Between the glass floor and the inverted vault, mysterious blue-purple liquid flowed silently. Mixed within it were many glittering particles of light, like a melted starry sky.

The windows were also still there. Outside them, some sort of projection magic device must have been used to cast sunlight realistic enough to deceive the eye, as well as beautiful mountain scenery that didn’t exist in this place.

Not long ago, Myss had thought Roman and his group were living rather well. But compared to this “underground world,” even Roman’s Divine Realm seemed shabby.

“By the God of Cadance, you’re back!”

A young man passed through the rapidly moving staff and rushed straight toward them.

Myss discovered in shock that this guy and the young man who had come looking for Mag earlier had been made from the same mold.

The two had identical long noses, freckled faces, messy walnut-brown hair, and even exactly the same coats.

“Redding.” Mag nodded wearily. “I heard about it from Raymond. I’ll go over right away.”

“These people are guests introduced by Professor Gentry. Take them to a guest room, then submit the letters of introduction… You know the process.”

Redding hastily looked over the group. His gaze paused on Myss’s face for half a second, then moved past Salaar, only to come to an abrupt stop and circle back.

“Kendrick Karns?” Redding hissed, sucking air through clenched teeth.

“Read the letters of introduction yourself. I don’t have time to explain this to you.” Mag rubbed her temples, a headache brewing. “Raymond, let’s going.”

“You’re twins?” After Mag left, Salaar took the initiative.

“Yes,” Redding answered flatly. It was obvious he didn’t particularly want to communicate with “Kendrick Karns.”

“How fascinating. My eldest brother and sister are twins too. Unfortunately, they don’t look alike at all.” Salaar continued indifferently. “I bet it must be very hard to tell you two apart.”

Redding gave a restrained grunt of acknowledgement, then curiously looked toward Myss—who was currently amusing himself by stepping on the glass floor, even giving a couple of little hops. He found the sensation underfoot quite intriguing.

“Oh, that is my lover, Myss.”

Salaar gave full play to his ability to annoy the Archdemon and used it to torment this poor young man. “I know you’ve probably heard many things about me. I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf, and this is all the power of love… It all started with the very first time we met…”

Redding finally couldn’t endure it any longer and strode ahead as if his rear were on fire.

He led them through countless identical bookshelves and around an archway. On the other side of the archway was a long corridor, steeped in silence.

He opened a door at lightning speed. The room inside was neither large nor small. It didn’t have luxurious decorations like the Red Amber, but the bedding and furniture were all made from high-quality, comfortable materials.

“Please wait here for now. I’ll go submit the letters of introduction.” Redding said, “Be sure, and I mean be sure, not to run around.”

Salaar: “You don’t want to hear the history of Myss and my love?”

Redding ran away like lightning.

Myss: “…”

This guy’s ability to spout nonsense was stronger than all the bards in his memory tied together.

Father Kalen couldn’t help giving a reminder. “Mr. Salaar, he should be a follower of Candance. The Church of Candance doesn’t advocate same-sex relationships. This may be regarded as provocation…”

“I know. In any case, he doesn’t have a good impression of me, so I might as well go all the way.” Salaar said, “This works perfectly. Myss, do you want to go out on a ‘date’?”

Myss let out a low groan deep in his throat.

He hated how well he understood Salaar. Almost instantly, Myss understood his mortal enemy’s intention, and didn’t even have time to feel disgusted. If Salaar played the part of “a lunatic madly in love,” then no matter where the two of them appeared, it wouldn’t seem strange.

However, this kind of “recklessness” was most effective the first time. If repeated too much, it would also make people suspicious.

“This time, the two of you should come too.” Salaar said, “Sir Tass will hide in the pocket watch and follow us. Father, pretend to search for us and go out to investigate normally.”

“Right now, the news hasn’t spread yet, which is when they’ll watch us the least closely. We need to take the opportunity to figure out the current situation.”

Tass immediately accepted, waggling his eyebrows. “Oh my, are you sure I won’t disturb you two?”

“I’ll say this upfront. If you two dare kiss and squeeze my pocket watch between you, you’re dead.”

Myss looked annoyed. “That’s my pocket watch.”

Salaar had clearly said he bought it for him!

Tass: “…Tsk.”

Father Kalen was still deeply worried. “But this is really…”

The ominous aura in Serpentia wasn’t strong, and it was quite possible this entire affair had nothing to do with an Abnormal Fruit.

The United Library was, after all, royal territory, a serious and formal institution. Not long ago, Mag had specifically warned them “not to cause trouble.” Was it really appropriate to go gallivanting about like this?

“It sounds like something major happened at the United Library.” Salaar spread his hands. “Mag won’t let us get involved. Based on what I know of her, she won’t tell me a single word.”

“Perhaps we can help. If we could have done something but didn’t, that would be too regrettable.”

The priest fell silent, but in the end, he nodded.

He was willing to lend a helping hand, and he had seen Myss and Salaar’s strength with his own eyes… At the very least, Salaar was absolutely not the “Kendrick Karns” Mag remembered.

Moreover, if matters went smoothly, the library might help him find the notes of the Order of Shadows.

After all, his older brother had only said that the Order of Shadows had deposited “exploration records” at the United Library. As for what that notebook was called, or how to find it, Hermit had never mentioned.

Father Kalen rubbed the bone ring on his right hand and stood up.

“I’ll be responsible for asking people for information. The two of you can—”

Before the priest finished speaking, Myss abruptly raised his head, and a chill suddenly rolled over his back.

It wasn’t that he had clearly detected anything. It was a certain instinctive vigilance.

In that instant, he touched something “ominous” with his physical body.

Myss subconsciously turned his face, intending to tell Salaar about his new discovery. As his shoulders and neck turned, something soft fell from his shoulder.

It was Tass.

No. More precisely, it was a crudely made burlap doll that looked a little like Tass.

“What’s going on?!” The doll opened its stitched mouth and let out a tiny shriek.

---

The author has something to say:

You two have already come into contact with all kinds of fan creations.

Children’s books, dirty books (…), religious paintings, everything is available…

However, the cruel reality is like:

[fireworks] Demon [fireworks] God [fireworks] look [fireworks] over [fireworks] here [fireworks]

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 79: Winter’s Kiss

The person who came was none other than Magnolia Karns, Salaar’s nominal cousin.

There was no need for introductions. Just by looking at that face, Myss could be certain of their blood relation.

Cousin Mag had a full figure and neat shoulder-length hair, glossy and black. On that pretty round face were two large lapis-lazuli eyes with lashes as thick as Salaar’s.

She wore a common gray scholar’s shirt, paired with a simple black pearl brooch that was clearly expensive at a glance.

Cousin Mag’s gaze first caught on Myss, sweeping him over from head to toe. Then her gaze suddenly shifted to Salaar, and the coldness and anger in her expression were almost equal.

“Must you make a spectacle of yourself for the entire city to gawk at?” Her voice was low and gravelly, each word grounded out from between her teeth.

The irritating words text the sky vanished. Salaar gave Myss a look and nodded cheerfully.

“I need to get to the United Library as soon as possible.”

He spoke in an obnoxiously flamboyant tone, deliberately letting everyone hear him clearly. “That’s why I sought you out, cousin. I don’t know how to get to the United Library. Look, this is a letter of introduction. I have a guarantor.”

As he spoke, Salaar openly took out Professor Gentry’s letter of introduction and waved it in front of Magnolia.

Magnolia sneered. She didn’t believe a single word, her face clearly screaming, “This brat is acting up again.”

She indifferently snatched the letter, roughly opened it, and swept her gaze down line by line. As she read, her eyes moved more and more slowly, and her brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

After reading it, she glanced at Salaar as if she wanted to speak, then looked at the enthusiastic crowd of spectators. In the end, she didn’t question them on the spot.

“Please follow me.” She carefully put away the letter, her tone harder than a stale crust of bread.

The moment they left the crowd’s line of sight, Magnolia immediately stopped.

She turned to Salaar, her face expressionless. “Say it plainly, Kendrick. What trick are you playing this time? …What are you going to the United Library for?”

“To hide from assassination, obviously.”

Salaar innocently spread his hands. “If I wander around outside, I’ll die under an assassin’s blade in the blink of an eye. The old man put out a kill order on me. It’s not like I don’t know.”

“I came this time only because I want to resolve this nuisance. I don’t want to be killed by some assassin who appears out of nowhere while I’m traveling the world.”

“Don’t tell me you think saying a few soft words now will make Grandfather let you off.” Magnolia’s tone was soaked in mockery. “Of course, of course. For Professor Gentry’s sake, I’ll take you to the United Library. But don’t expect me to help you. You’ve already caused quite enough ridiculous trouble as it is.”

“Ah, as you like.” Salaar smiled in an exasperating manner. “As I said, I only need you to lead the way.”

Mag snorted. “You’d better mean that. Right now, I’m too lazy to do anything to you. You’d better not force me to change my mind.”

After saying this, she strode forward and led the way without looking back.

Myss’s curiosity toward Cousin Mag didn’t last long. After walking a few steps, his attention gradually shifted to the Dragon Fae.

Ever since they had approached Serpentia, Tass hadn’t returned to the pocket watch. At the moment, he was alertly hiding in Myss’s hair, watching out for any assassin who might approach.

However, that didn’t stop him from incessantly muttering into Myss’s ear.

“Lady Mag really has no interest in killing her cousin. But that doesn’t mean she has any fondness for her youngest cousin. She simply doesn’t lack that share of the inheritance.”

Tass’s tone was quite solemn.

“In other words, even if Salaar dies, she won’t care. You’d better not lower your guard. I mean it.”

Myss couldn’t tolerate the Abnormal Fruit in the pot being stolen, and he could tolerate someone else killing Salaar in his bowl even less. For once, he listened seriously. “Tell me about those four people who want to kill Salaar.”

“The oldest twins, eldest son Roskart and eldest daughter Rosbeth.”

“The former is a royal diplomat, and the latter manages the Karns family’s industries. These siblings firmly believe Kendrick Karns is a stain on the family and should preferably be erased as soon as possible.”

Oh, the Radish Twins*. Myss made a mental note.

*Clarity: Myss refers to them as the “radish twins” because both Roskart’s and Rosbeth’s name starts with [luo] (罗), which is a homophone for radish (萝). To make it flow more English-wise, it can be translated as the “Ross twins”, though the joke would lose quite of a bit of its humor, unless you know what Ross refers to (though it’d be too OOC given the setting of this world).

“Nicholas, an elite knight of the Knights of Candance.”

“He’s exceptionally talented and a man of integrity. At only twenty-four, he already has hopes of being promoted to Branch Commander. If he wants to kill Kendrick Karns, it’s probably to rid society of a menace.”

And Sir Mud*. Myss continued earnestly recording.

*Clarity: While not exactly homophones, Myss is associating the first part of Nicholas’ name [Nicola] (尼古拉) to mud [niba] (泥巴) which sounds similar (the first characters, [ni], are homophones).

“Last is Owen, the one I mentioned before, the guy who hired me.”

“That kid’s aptitude is utterly mediocre, and he has nothing to his name except two wineries. If Kendrick is toxic trash, he’s harmless waste. He’s desperate to be the first to kill Kendrick Karns and get more inheritance.”

Tass spoke without any politeness, apparently not having a high opinion of his former employer.

Of course, there was also Mr. Useless, who had hired Tass. Myss completed his watch list and reviewed it several times in his heart to make sure nothing was missing.

When he encountered these people, he had to keep Salaar firmly tucked at his side, just to prevent Salaar from accidentally getting himself killed.

Tass: “Also…”

“Also?” Myss held his breath and focused.

“That.”

The Dragon Fae pointed to a certain shop they passed, his tone becoming even more serious. “The ice cream in that shop is pretty good. The vanilla flavor is a little lacking, but its jam is excellent.”

In other words, ice cream with raspberry jam had to be good.

This, was indeed a truly serious matter. Myss immediately changed direction and rushed toward the shop with a black signboard stamped in gold.

He walked so openly that Cousin Mag immediately noticed something was wrong. “Hey! Wait—”

“What’s wrong, Myss?” Salaar interrupted her.

The astonishment on Mag’s face almost immediately turned into concern, concern for Myss.

In her impression, Kendrick was quite capricious.

In his teenage years, Kendrick’s appearance hadn’t yet become so gloomy. He had been kept clean and neat, groomed by a host of servants. Because his parents had died early, Kendrick had clung obsessively to his wet nurse.

The problem was that his “affection” had always been deeply unsettling.

As long as Kendrick’s wishes were obeyed, Kendrick could be considered well-behaved and adorable, and he would occasionally even act coquettish. But if his desires weren’t satisfied, such as when his wet nurse failed to provide the toy he wanted, he could stab through the back of her hand with a table fork without hesitation.

After discovering he would never obtain the most interesting toy under heaven, a “Magibase,” Kendrick’s distortion worsened by the day, and his behavior grew increasingly extreme.

Mag loathed this cousin. Fortunately, she spent most of her time living at the United Library and didn’t need to deal with that little monster.

Seeing Myss actually not greet Kendrick and simply act as he pleased, Mag’s heart abruptly jumped. Her mind flashed back to the image of the wet nurse’s bloody, gaping wound.

“—Where are you going?” Salaar’s question was still continuing.

“I want ice cream,” Myss said. “Tass said this shop is good.”

“Got it. We’ll go together.” Salaar said calmly, “Don’t buy too much. Be careful you don’t upset your stomach.”

Myss immediately hummed in dissatisfaction. “Even if I ate you raw, I wouldn’t upset my stomach.”

“Yes, yes.” Salaar replied without much temper. “Mag, wait for us here.”

Magnolia: “?”

Magnolia: “…Fine.”

What the hell? What was with this subtle atmosphere?

Myss paid no mind to the turbulent thoughts swirling in Cousin Mag’s head. He strode into the shop named “Winter’s Kiss” and headed straight for the ice cream counter.

This shop was decorated with a great deal of bright white stone, along with many fresh flowers, melons, and fruits. The moment they entered, a gentle, cool fragrance wrapped around them, making the body and mind feel refreshed.

The weather had turned cold, so there weren’t many customers inside, and they were mostly young women. The first second Myss entered, the ice cream shop fell into a sweet silence. After the customers saw Salaar following him, the silence gained a few uneasy ripples.

The young women covered their mouths with fingers or fans and whispered in extremely soft voices.

“I want this, the extra-large berry milk waffle bowl boat.”

Myss pointed at a line on the menu. “Replace all the strawberries and blueberries inside with raspberries. Add extra honey.”

The young clerk opposite him blushed slightly and nodded briskly.

“Come, pay.” Myss moved Salaar from behind him to the front.

The moment the clerk saw those lapis-lazuli eyes clearly, the color on her face quickly faded, turning pale.

She pressed her lips together and prepared Myss’s order at an extremely fast speed, never raising her head again.

A few minutes later, Myss had to use both hands to accept the colossal ice cream creation.

This shop had made the crispy waffle into a bowl shape, and it was filled with dense milk ice cream. They had certainly been generous with the raspberries and honey, making it look interwoven with gold and red that looked utterly tantalizing.

The shop even provided a small polished wooden spoon—a thoughtful touch, to be sure.

However, Myss’s interest had already shifted. He looked straight at the pale-faced clerk. “You know him?”

The real Kendrick Karns had still been a minor when he left. Was his influence really this great?

“Everyone recognizes people from the Karns family.” The clerk stammered, “Their family doesn’t allow illegitimate children into the capital, and, and just now—”

Her gaze passed through the display window and looked toward Mag, who was waiting outside.

So that was it. It was because of “Your Dearest Cousin☆.” Myss understood.

“Hehe. Looks like around here, ‘Kendrick’s’ reputation is even worse than the ‘Chaos Archdemon’s’.” Myss gloated.

Salaar was expressionless. He lowered his head toward Myss and bit off the perfectly formed creamy peak, along with a couple of raspberries for good measure.

Myss’s heart clenched hard. “—!!!”

Damn it, this guy really is wicked. Such a rotten reputation suited him perfectly!

Myss stopped making sarcastic comments, grabbed the wooden spoon, and rapidly stuffed ice cream into his mouth. Salaar hooked a finger through the leather strap of Myss’s ranger outfit and promptly dragged him away.

The clerk and customers turned their heads together, watching the two disappear outside the door.

……

By the time they were nearly at the United Library, Myss had finally eaten the last bite of the ice cream boat.

The Dragon Fae’s intelligence was correct. The ice cream from that shop was indeed quite delicious. It was just that he had eaten too quickly, and his tongue had gone numb and tingly from the cold. His entire mouth felt a little wooden.

Myss didn’t like this feeling. He wanted to use his hand to warm his tongue, but he disliked how unclean his hand was.

“Shawaar, come here,” Myss mumbled incoherently.

Salaar held back a laugh and leaned closer, using his fingers to wipe the cream marks on Myss’s face. “What is it now?”

Myss grabbed his collar and yanked Salaar down, then kissed him.

It was broad daylight, and there were plenty of pedestrians on the street. This brazen display drew many sidelong looks. Myss, however, couldn’t care less. He shoved his frozen-numb tongue into his enemy’s warm mouth, plundering Salaar’s body heat.

Salaar froze for two seconds, then supported the back of Myss’s head and openly deepened the kiss. He angled his body slightly, and the two avoided the brilliant morning light, hiding in the shadow of the building.

Mag: “???”

When Kendrick had left, he had undoubtedly been a gloomy little devil. As a result, after four years, he had returned as a debauched dandy sunk in lust? What exactly had happened during these four years?

Even more absurdly, Professor Gentry had actually written a letter of introduction for someone like this. It was impossible for that Kingdom’s Archmage to be completely ignorant of the outrageous things Kendrick had done.

Magnolia couldn’t help doing a double take of Myss. Myss’s lips were still somewhat red and swollen, but his expression was very calm, as if what they had done just now was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Could it be that he had tamed that lunatic? With true love?

…Unfortunately, even if Mag were ten years younger, she wouldn’t believe such a childish possibility.

She had to keep a close eye on Kendrick, she sighed irritably.

Damn it, she already had enough worries recently. Hopefully this disturbance would settle soon, allowing her to focus on dealing with another problem—another even more urgent and terrifying problem.

However, things always had a tendency to develop in the worst possible direction.

Before the group even reached the United Library, a young man rushed out and directly blocked Mag’s path.

“Lady Magnolia, why, why did you suddenly run out?”

The young man was gasping for breath, his voice trembling. “‘It’ has appeared again. You have to hurry back…”

His body trembled fiercely, and he twisted his fingers in extreme terror, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to grab Mag’s sleeve.

Mag clenched her teeth with a crack, and the color quickly vanished from her face.

In the end, she closed her eyes, let out a long breath, and turned toward the curious gaze of Salaar and the others. “You want refuge, don’t you? As you wish, I will arrange everything for you.”

“Listen, I only have one requirement. Stay obediently where you are, and don’t cause me any trouble.”

---

The author has something to say:

Salaar: Then we simply must see what all the fuss is about. [okay]

Myss: Then we simply must cause some trouble. [cat paw]

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 78: Rapid Person Search

That night.

Two flatbed carts stopped at the edge of the woods. A black pinecone magic device that maintained combustion had been tossed into the campfire. Tongues of flame lightly licked over the firewood, producing crisp crackling sounds.

Inside the tent, Father Kalen tossed and turned.

The two squirrels sleeping in the crook of his arm were startled awake. They raised their fluffy tails and looked at the priest with concern.

Ever since he had “lost consciousness” in the underground ruins, Kalen had always felt a strange lightheadedness, like he had just recovered from a serious illness. For example, at this moment, his body was clearly exhausted, but his mind wouldn’t settle no matter what.

…Or perhaps his subconscious was restless because of the topic of the “Stargazers Society.”

He gently brushed the tips of the squirrels’ ears with his fingertips and took a few breaths of the crisp night air. His mind became increasingly clear. The two squirrels jumped to the edge of the flatbed cart. Under the moonlight, four round, shiny black eyes blinked.

Father Kalen grabbed his coat and finally jumped down from the cart.

It was a windless night, and the campfire flames pointed straight toward the heavens. The night sky was clear, and the stars spread across it were as distinct as diamond fragments. The moon was just a little shy of full.

Father Kalen liked weather like this. It made the boundaries of shadows tangible and clear. The shadow of a tree’s crown fell beneath his feet like a carpet before an altar.

The priest quietly walked to the center of that shadow, his back to the moon and stars, and knelt on one knee. Moonlight caused his own silhouette to merge with the tree’s shadows, deepening the darkness beneath Kalen’s kneeling form.

“May the Lord of Shadows bless us. May the journey to the capital be without wind or waves.”

“May His Veil shroud us, unseen and unharmed.”

Kalen prayed devoutly. His ears were filled with the rustling of leaves, like some response from the night.

“Shadow is the cradle of all things, and night is the supreme barrier. He equally protects all misfortune and suffering… He will surely watch over my brother…”

…But where exactly was Hermit?

The night was as deep as water, and in the wind, there was still only the rustling sound, as well as the faint, threadlike chirping of insects.

In truth, he knew that none of this felt quite right.

Those discordant details were hidden beneath everyday life, like tiny wooden splinters stabbing into flesh.

From the current situation, V.O.R would send three letters to his prey, and only the final one was the farewell letter. In the letters, he, or she, would hide the seed of the Abnormal Fruit inside a “god name.”

When the envelope was opened, the name of the god would disappear. The entire process was instantaneous. The victim would be planted with the Abnormal Fruit by the third letter, forming their own Divine Realm.

The Fallen Child, the Perfected Creation, the Prisoner of Dreams… none were exceptions.

However, Hermit hadn’t received the first two letters.

At the scene where he received the farewell letter, Hermit had left behind a pool of blood that looked like he had struggled. Kalen hadn’t discovered anything abnormal nearby, let alone some Divine Realm.

In Kalen’s memory, Hermit hadn’t even been a genius.

Hermit was two years older than Kalen. Their parents had died early. For as long as Kalen could remember, he had always toddled unsteadily after Hermit, following his older brother to cut grass, herd sheep, and do odd jobs.

Whenever night fell, Hermit would carry sleepy Kalen home on his back, then cook him a bowl of hot goat milk porridge. Occasionally, there would even be minced meat in it… Kalen had always followed his only relative around, and he had never seen Hermit use magic or possess any unusual power.

However, unlike other children who yearned for magic, Hermit was unusually resistant to Magibase and never went to participate in the summoning ceremony at all.

Everyone said that even a weak Magibase was fine. Even if one could only use basic magic such as lighting fires or condensing water, their quality of life would be much better.

But Hermit still refused to attend the summoning ceremony. Not only did he refuse himself, he also didn’t allow Kalen to summon a Magibase, even though Kalen had been born with a miraculous talent that drew animals to him.

“This is the test given to you and me by the Lord of Shadows.”

Hermit explained mysteriously to Kalen, “You possessed an exceptional talent, Kalen. Once you grow up, the Lord of Shadows will grant us extraordinary power.”

“Before that, we cannot receive those powers of unknown origin.”

Kalen believed this implicitly.

Because Hermit knew many wondrous stories—stories that not even the priests in the city knew. The legends of gods that Hermit told him were far more vivid, far more fascinating… and far more terrifying than those dry scriptures.

Amid the glow of other people’s magic, the brothers huffed and puffed as they carried old wooden buckets to the creek in the woods for water. When heavy snow flew, Hermit stretched out his purple, frozen fingers and tremblingly used a fire striker and flint to start a fire.

And in the deepest part of the night, Hermit would lead him under the starry sky to pray, requesting protection from that god hidden in the shadows.

During those years, Kalen’s time flowed slower than a stream, and his life was clearer than its waters.

All of Hermit’s peculiarities were childhood truths Kalen took for granted. He had never questioned them and had only assumed the world should naturally be that way.

Yet, that wasn’t the reality.

Amidst the cool breeze the felt like a flowing stream, Kalen rubbed the bone rings on both his fingers.

As his investigation progressed, the fog before his eyes hadn’t dispersed. Instead, it had grown thicker. He didn’t understand his closest kin, who had hidden secrets from him, and he didn’t understand his abnormally behaving teammates either.

Regarding that face identical to Kendrick Karn’s, that “Salaar” had come up with many absurd excuses.

During the trip underground, Professor Gentry’s reaction had been obvious enough. No matter how slow Father Kalen was, he could tell that “Salaar,” or at least his physical body, was Kendrick Karns.

Myss was even lazier about hiding himself. Father Kalen had never seen such abnormal power before. The priest often had a subtle illusion that he was walking toward a bottomless abyss.

…However, none of that mattered.

All along this journey, he was still carrying out the will of the Lord of Shadows. He was bound to keep walking forward.

Even if he had to travel with demons, he would bring his kin back. Somewhere in the shadows, Hermit was surely waiting for him.

Father Kalen stood up and patted the bits of grass from the hem of his coat. Only then did he raise his head and look toward the vast river of stars.

In a daze, the priest suddenly remembered some distant night.

It had been the same early winter season, the same cold night by the edge of a forest… and the same sky full of stars.

Hermit poked at the little campfire with a branch, and the fragrance of roasted potatoes drifted into Kalen’s nose. Kalen didn’t want to look too greedy, so he raised his head and looked toward the brilliant starry sky.

“The stars are so beautiful,” Kalen praised.

“Many beautiful things are dangerous.” Hermit poked the potato with a sharpened branch. “Just glance at them casually. Don’t look too closely.”

“Why?”

Kalen asked in confusion. “Last time, I heard Jack say that someone in the city specially makes… makes some kind of lens, so you can see them more clearly.”

Hermit’s movement of turning the potato paused.

He raised his face. The campfire lit up his flaxen hair, exactly the same as Kalen’s, and his water-blue eyes. Hermit was strikingly handsome, but unfortunately, two ugly scars marred the perfection of his face.

“Kalen, listen to me. Remember this.”

Hermit spoke slowly, enunciating each word. “The most foolish and hopeless act in this world is ‘stargazing.’”

A sharp pain throbbed at Kalen’s temple, and a piercing ringing came to his ears.

His vision blurred and cleared by turns. In front of him, within the dark tree shadows, a deeper, darker outline appeared, exactly like the older brother in his memories.

Kalen opened his arms and staggered two steps forward, but that shadow disappeared again.

Wind rose in the night, and the flames that had been calm just now swayed wildly, scattering countless sparks.

…It had to be a lingering aftereffect from the trip underground, Kalen thought.

They would enter the capital during the day. Once he found the notes of the Order of Shadows, all abnormalities would surely be answered.

He walked toward his own flatbed cart.

When he passed by the cart of the other two “mysterious people,” Kalen couldn’t help taking a look.

He saw Myss lying in Salaar’s arms, his limbs wrapped around Salaar like an octopus, sleeping especially sweetly.

Salaar, meanwhile, had both arms tightly around Myss, unconsciously assuming a protective posture. At the slightest movement, Salaar could instantly shield Myss beneath him.

Their breathing intertwined, and their faces carried a wondrous serenity, as if the ones they embraced in their arms were an entire world.

Kalen’s gaze softened.

He lightened his steps and lay back down on the soft straw. A few more squirrels came over and squeezed beside him for warmth.

“Good night,” he said to them.

The squirrels still raised their fluffy tails, their eyes blinking.

……

Serpentia City was magnificent and imposing.

Even from far across the horizon, everyone could see the castle spires of Aufon’s capital. Sunlight pierced through the thick clouds and turned into sword-like beams, making one unable to help holding their breath.

“What a huge lump of city,” Myss remarked.

Salaar looked at the erect spires of castles, finding himself plagued by certain, rather inappropriate, associations. He decided to forget that description.

“It’s much more spectacular than it was in my time,” he murmured softly.

Back then, people wouldn’t build castles too high. Everyone preferred to expand downward. In Salaar’s memories of Aufon’s capital, only the royal palace castle looked halfway decent.

As it turned out, today’s Serpentia hadn’t only built many new castles, but also absurdly exaggerated city walls. When Salaar brought Myss into the city, they attracted countless curious gazes.

“I already said, I can help you change your eye color.”

Tass emerged from Myss’s pocket watch and vigilantly looked around, afraid that some colleague might shoot Salaar dead.

“But Myss doesn’t have an extra hair ribbon, so it wouldn’t match well.” Salaar said this lightly and pointed at the lapis-lazuli scarf tied to the ends of Myss’s hair.

“What, color coordination is more important than your life?”

Tass immediately revealed an indescribable expression.

His expression wavered between “how did humans evolve into this for reproduction?” and “you two are utterly enslaved by your own desires.”

Myss, meanwhile, glanced at his mortal enemy in amazement.

As expected of Saint Salaar. In order to one-up him, he didn’t even let this kind of detail slip past!

“…The Karns family isn’t some third-rate small fry. This kind of trick won’t delay them for too long,” Salaar added with an air of grave seriousness, noting the varied looks on his companions’ faces.

Seeing that the group had devolved into chaotic chatter, the priest hurriedly interjected. “How are we going to find Miss Magnolia?”

“We just need to send her a message,” Salaar said.

He took a bag of sand from his pocket. While Tass and Kalen were still stunned, Myss already knew what this kid planned to do. He had seen this particular brand of reckless absurdity—if not a thousand times, no fewer than eight hundred—back when they were sealed together.

For the first time in his life, Myss felt a little sympathetic toward that lady named Magny… Magno… or whatever her name was.

Salaar gave Myss a toothy smile and raised his hand high.

Whoosh!

Brilliant golden magic wrapped around the sand and stones, flying into the sky and exploding into incomparably huge text.

[Magnolia Karns, hurry to the city gate to pick me up. Your Dearest Cousin☆]

It was early morning, and the sun hadn’t fully risen. This line of glowing words was more glaring than dawn itself. If it merely glowed, that would have been one thing, but the text also shimmered with vivid, kaleidoscopic iridescence—a sight so garish it was painful to look directly at.

Even in the early morning, the streets were far from empty.

Seeing such a huge spectacle from the Karns family, nosy passersby rushed forward one after another to see who had done such a deed.

Tass and Father Kalen rapidly averted their gazes, one looking left and the other looking right.

Myss: “…”

Damn it. He knew it would be something like this! He knew it!

When Salaar had commanded armies inside the seal, he had often used such a trick!

At first, Salaar had only used vivid warning colors like “blood red.” The orders he conveyed had also been unusually brief, mostly prearranged symbols.

But after Salaar lost all his teammates, he began using this thing to draw pictures in the dark. That blinding rainbow effect was something this guy had researched later, and the memory of it was etched into Myss’s mind with agonizing clarity.

Heaven knew how speechless the Archdemon had been the first time he saw that pile of huge arrows flashing with rainbow light.

After discovering that all those arrows were pointing toward Salaar himself, Myss realized in shock that he could become even more speechless. Countless giant-colored arrows had floated up and down, while the black dot at the end hopped around happily. Myss didn’t want to witness such an absurd scene a second time.

If one was tormented by this guy, even the Chaos Archdemon would find it hard not to develop emotions. Let alone humans.

In less than five minutes, an enraged figure broke through the crowd and rushed in front of the group.

---

The author has something to say:

Myss: This is the biggest “prankster” in the human world. Can you maintain eye contact with him for ten seconds?

Myss: Therefore, it is very reasonable that I developed emotions!

Myss: [fireworks] [fireworks] [fireworks] [chin-propping emoji] [fireworks] [fireworks] [fireworks]

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 77: A “Nightmare”

When he heard the phrase “Stargazers Society,” Father Kalen looked as if he had swallowed a live fly whole.

“No matter the country, the ‘Stargazers’ of the Stargazers Society are top-priority wanted criminals.”

The priest’s tone was heavy, and his emotions were unusually intense.

“Those people are like a plague. They appeared out of nowhere twenty years ago, and they haven’t vanished since.”

“No one knows who their leader is. On every country’s wanted notices, there is only a masked person. They can’t even confirm whether that person is male or female, old or young. They hide like that behind the curtain of the Lord of Shadows… those fanatics who defile the shadows…”

“What exactly did they do?”

Salaar raised his eyebrows. “Forget other countries. In the Aufon Kingdom, isn’t the Church of Candance known for its ‘tolerance’?”

“Tolerance isn’t indulgence, sir. They aren’t spreading another faith, nor are they living in ‘mutual noninterference.’ They publicly attack all gods.”

Father Kalen said solemnly.

“The Stargazers fundamentally deny the existence of gods. They firmly believe that the magical enlightenment three hundred years ago was an outright conspiracy, and that the various churches, for the sake of their own interests, are encouraging this conspiracy.”

“The Stargazers Society goes around claiming that magic is bait, and that the Magibase is a cage. If humanity continues to indulge in this power of unknown origin, humans will only step into the abyss of the apocalypse.”

Salaar couldn’t help glancing at Myss. Myss puffed out his chest, as if the word “apocalypse” was a shining golden medal.

Lord Archdemon prepared himself to receive Salaar’s displeased gaze. In the end, this guy only looked at him calmly once, then swiftly withdrew his gaze, with a force weaker than being licked by a small animal.

What’s going on? Had Salaar not eaten?

Myss unhappily deflated his chest and continued listening out of boredom.

To be honest, he had no favorable impression of the Stargazers Society, but he didn’t particularly dislike them either. In a certain sense, that group was right. The human world was indeed about to welcome the apocalypse.

“Could the Abnormal Fruit be related to them?” Myss went straight to the point.

The Stargazers Society was constantly shouting about subjects like magic and gods, and the Abnormal Fruit happened to be connected to both.

“I don’t know.” Father Kalen lowered his eyes.

The priest’s loathing for the Stargazers Society was written all over him, but his words were quite objective. “We have never had deep contact with the Stargazers. But as far as I know, records related to Abnormal Fruit existed before the Stargazers Society appeared.”

Then never mind.

Myss instantly lost all interest in the Stargazers Society.

Kalen, however, cautiously continued, “My brother and I both once suspected that V.O.R might be related to the Stargazers Society.”

“However, during a certain cleanup of an Abnormal Fruit, we fought Stargazers. Judging from their attitude, V.O.R shouldn’t be a Stargazer. The Stargazers Society wholeheartedly wanted to seize the Abnormal Fruit and use it as magical reagents… or evidence that magic is harmful? I’m not certain.”

Now it mattered again.

So the Stargazers Society was his competitor for Abnormal Fruit. Myss decided to start hating them.

“…Oh, that group of paranoid lunatics who research ‘magic foundations’. I remember them.”

Tass rubbed his chin. “There was a Stargazer in a certain minor noble’s household. The family head found me and wanted me to quietly get rid of this ‘heretical madman.’”

“Funny thing is, the reason they gave was pretty similar to the Karns family’s. They said that Stargazer studied human sacrifices and used virgin blood as consumable material.”

Hearing the key phrase “human sacrifices,” Myss pricked up his ears. “And then?”

“After investigating, I found that the guy was living alone in the mountains, drawing his own blood for research. He was a forty-something-year-old virgin.”

Tass exaggeratedly spread his hands. “Someone like that isn’t on my target list, so I refused in the end.”

Myss felt a sudden wave of anticlimax; he had thought, for a moment, he found a kindred spirit of Kendrick Karns.

“Believe it or not, that guy made a magic device as big as a house. It was stuffed full of all sorts of gears, alchemical flesh, and gemstone lenses. He believed that all magic was fundamentally the same, and he was trying to disprove the various churches’ theory of ‘divinely bestowed magic.’”

“Actually, the contraption he made was rather convincing. But not long after I refused, he was still killed. Clearly, not every assassin has firm principles like I do… Ah.”

Tass seemed to think of something. He suddenly shook his wings and flew right in front of Salaar’s nose.

“Speaking of which, since the Karns family wants your life, I’m definitely not the only assassin they hired.”

Myss grabbed Tass’s trembling wings in one hand. “Tell us something we don’t know.”

“The one who hired me is called Owen Karns. The eldest son of Thurston, second son of Ratliff. Among the eight heirs, he’s a good-for-nothing second only to Kendrick.”

Myss: “…”

Why were there so many difficult-to-remember new names? They flowed through his mind like lukewarm water, leaving no trace.

Tass sighed.

“Let me put it this way. The head of the Karns family is Salaar’s—or rather, let’s just pretend he’s Kendrick Karns—grandfather.”

“Kendrick’s parents died early, leaving him with only one full-blooded older brother. The other six heirs of his generation are all children of Kendrick’s two paternal uncles.”

The Dragon Fae recited the details as if counting family treasures.

“The Karns family head ordered that whoever kills Kendrick Karns can inherit the share of property that originally belonged to Kendrick. As far as I know, including Owen, four heirs are very interested in this proposal.”

That was a lot of people.

After listening for ages, Lord Archdemon only grasped one key point. Salaar, no, Kendrick, had no father or mother, and only had four cousins who wanted to slaughter him.

…Damn the Karns family. Could they not give people simpler names?

The more Myss listened, the faster his drowsiness rose. Salaar had already taken precautions and stood behind him, in case Lord Archdemon collapsed on the spot.

“That information is enough, thank you. I’ll keep as low a profile as possible.”

Salaar gave a dry cough, interrupting Tass’s extremely detailed—so detailed it was somewhat unnecessary—intelligence sharing.

“As for the United Library, its security is still solid.” Father Kalen comforted him. “No assassin, no matter how bold, would cause trouble on royal territory.”

Tass nodded along. “Indeed. After all, Miss Magnolia has no interest in murdering her cousin.”

“Mag… Mag what?” Myss was bewildered.

“A Karns family heir, one of Kendrick’s cousins. She is a great scholar at the United Library and has quite a good reputation.”

Tass looked at Salaar in surprise. “Your boyfriend didn’t tell you?”

Myss: “…”

Myss ignored the word “boyfriend” and forcefully swallowed the urge to retort. “No. They probably aren’t close.”

Salaar nodded with extreme sincerity.

If Tass hadn’t specifically mentioned that name, he wouldn’t even have remembered this matter. In Kendrick Karns’s chaotic memories, his cousin Magnolia was no different from air.

……

The next morning.

“What is this?”

Myss held his breath and focused, staring at the… crude thing in front of him.

Salaar: “A flatbed cart filled with straw.”

“Of course I know it’s a cart.” Myss paced back and forth in dissatisfaction. “What I’m asking is, why is a ‘flatbed cart filled with straw’ appearing here? What happened to the promised luxury carriage?”

Two flatbed carts covered in thick straw were stopped in front of them, and the drivers’ eyes were gleaming.

“The people gathered nearby are all commoners. There are no luxury carriages to rent. Ordinary carriages have at least six seats and won’t depart until they’re full. And the floorboards are covered in mud and spit marks. You wouldn’t like that.”

Salaar said calmly, “I thought about it. Rather than spending a heavy sum to reserve an ordinary carriage, we might as well reserve this. The next week will be sunny, so there won’t be any problem.”

Myss made a soft hum and approached the cart to sniff it.

The straw was dry, soft, and sparkled with a pale golden glow under the sunlight. The flatbed cart had just finished delivering flowers to the new market here, and there was a faint floral scent among the straw.

To avoid damaging the flowers, the wheels were wrapped with specially made cork. The cart bed was about the size of a double bed, with more than enough space. In other words, he could lie on his hero cushion the whole way!

Myss’s spirits instantly lifted.

“As long as you let me lie on you, I’ll agree,” he offered on the spot.

“All right,” Salaar agreed immediately.

Myss: “…”

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was slightly off about Salaar, though he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

Fortunately, after the cart began moving, Salaar changed back into the usual Salaar.

The priest was tall, so he took Tass and the pocket watch and occupied one flatbed cart on his own. Myss, meanwhile, comfortably lay down on his hero cushion, enjoying the faint floral scent from the straw.

Salaar lay on his back, facing the blue sky, one hand raised toward it.

As he moved, Myss heard a faint rustling sound of friction. He turned his head and saw the bottle of “Resolve to Elope.”

Beneath the clear azure sky, the tiny scarlet hearts squeezed into a pile. The color could be called pleasing to the eye. This thing seemed to be sweet-and-sour raspberry flavored. Myss smacked his lips and suddenly wanted fresh raspberries again.

“Why take that thing out?”

Myss tugged at Salaar’s nose. “Are you eating it now, or after we get to the capital?”

Seeing that Salaar’s expression didn’t change much, Myss suddenly had a flash of insight. “…Or is it because that magic artifact merchant claims to be an atheist, and you suspect he’s a Stargazer?”

Salaar nodded lightly.

Myss immediately turned his face and harshly interrogated the bottle of medicine with his gaze. But after staring at it for ages with his dilated pupils, he didn’t see anything suspicious. The magic inside was designed very delicately, but that was all.

So he buried his nose back against Salaar’s chest and fell silent.

Salaar silently looked at the medicine bottle for a while, then put it back into the bag and casually stroked Myss’s long silver-white hair.

Myss couldn’t help narrowing his eyes.

Previously, when he had used Salaar as a cushion, there had been at least some helplessness in Salaar’s eyes. By now, that helplessness had strangely disappeared.

And Salaar had started touching him all the time. His movements were careful, and his strength was just right, stuck precisely at the boundary where Myss felt comfortable and wanted to resist, yet was too lazy to resist.

Myss’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Sunlight filtered through them, producing a warm golden glow across his vision. Fork lay limply around his wrist, sleeping soundly as it basked in the sun.

Behind him was a relaxing stroking sensation. In front of him was Salaar’s scent, the smell of sun-dried straw, and the fragrance of flowers. The road leading to the capital was smooth, and the wheels were soft. Myss had the illusion that he was lying on a floating bed.

Not good. This must be a… new… method… of… attack…

Myss’s head sank, and he fell asleep.

Salaar lowered his head, a smile on his lips. He lightly pressed his lips against the top of Myss’s hair and his arms quietly tightened.

The azure light of the sky reflected in his eyes, making those lapis-lazuli eyes seem less dim. However, that brightness failed to dilute the sharpness in his gaze.

[Magic is bait, and the Magibase is a cage. If humanity continues to indulge in this power of unknown origin, humans will only step into the abyss of the apocalypse.]

…The Stargazers Society’s viewpoint was truly fascinating.

“Simulating magic fluctuations is extremely difficult, Salaar.”

In his memory, that familiar voice said, “Magic circuits are like fingerprints. Everyone’s is different.”

“I know, Madam.”

“We can’t borrow other people’s experiences, and human lifespans are far too short… Everyone is groping around in the dark, trying to find the path that belongs to them.”

The woman said gently, “Right now, everyone is using ‘half-baked magic.’ Once someone succeeds, magical theory will surely undergo a qualitative leap.”

“I know, Madam.”

The young Salaar lifted his head, his voice still quite childish.

“However, the differences between people are quite large. Even if there is a successful precedent, the same circuit may not necessarily work on someone else.”

“Hehe, child, a ‘leap’ doesn’t mean giving everyone the same copy.”

That voice was full of laughter. “Once we know the theory, we will have endless research topics, newer and more diverse magic systems.”

“If only the distributor truly knows the reasoning within, while everyone else can only blindly follow… placing everyone’s safety in the hands of one person, that is the true apocalypse.”

“…”

“Then what about me, Madam?”

“Why do all of you place your hopes in me?”

How had that lady answered him back then? Salaar tried hard to look, tried hard to listen, but everything was blurring.

His nose hurt a little.

“…Sa…”

“…Bastard…”

“…Hateful guy…”

Myss’s voice grew closer and closer, clearer and clearer. Salaar opened his eyes and found that Myss was tugging his nose.

Salaar: “…?”

Only then did he realize in a daze that at some point, he had fallen asleep beneath the warm sunlight.

“Where did you put the raspberry candy?”

Myss was groping around on his body. “You still have some on you, right? Hand it over. I want to eat it.”

“Say ‘please.’” Salaar rubbed his eyes.

“Please what? It’s all your fault for waving that bottle of medicine around.” Myss bared his teeth. “Less nonsense. Hand it over.”

Salaar sighed and took out a piece of candy from his inner pocket. He carefully peeled away the wrapper and held it in front of Myss with both hands.

Myss leaned in to bite it. Unfortunately, Salaar’s fingertips were pinching it very tightly, so this bite failed to take it away. Instead, he firmly held Salaar’s fingers in his mouth.

Myss glanced at him unhappily, lazily propped himself up, and went to pry open Salaar’s fingers. Only after eating the candy ball did he lie back down in satisfaction, exhaling a long breath with the scent of candy.

From beginning to end, he was careful not to meet Salaar’s eyes.

Actually, Myss hadn’t wanted candy until just now.

Salaar had fallen into deep sleep. His body had twitched slightly in the dream, and his heartbeat was a little faster than usual. Myss had been jostled awake by him, and when he raised his eyes, he saw Salaar’s tightly furrowed brow and slightly pursed lips.

Without a doubt, Salaar was dreaming, and it wasn’t a good dream.

Myss thought back for a while and discovered that inside the seal, Salaar had rarely shown such a state. Even when companions had died one after another in front of him, Salaar’s emotions had remained as steady as rock.

Now, the indestructible Saint Salaar was actually having a nightmare. This uncomfortable appearance was even more wretched than when he had been pierced through by Myss’s tentacles.

Served him right!

Myss buried his head again with complete peace of mind, determined to continue sleeping. However, the afternoon sunlight was too bright, and Salaar’s heartbeat was far too noisy.

Myss raised his head again to look at that familiar yet unfamiliar face.

He suddenly felt a surge of anger. Salaar had never, not even once, shown such a pained expression because of him. What made that nightmare worthy? It actually dared to usurp his own exclusive privilege to torment Salaar!

Salaar’s love had to belong to him, and Salaar’s pain also had to be possessed by him.

“Salaar!” Myss reached out and pinched Salaar’s nose. “Bastard, wake up!”

A thin layer of sweat emerged on Salaar’s forehead, but his eyes were still closed.

“Hateful guy, if you don’t wake up, I’m going to punch you there,” Myss threatened.

That was terrifying pain he had personally experienced. It would definitely be extremely effective. If not for the fact that he wanted Salaar to fall in love with him, Myss would have already punched.

Salaar finally woke up, and a dazed look flashed through his eyes.

Oh, he was awake. How should he explain? Myss belatedly thought.

The reason “I was worried about you” was too mushy, and he couldn’t accept it at this stage. “You annoyed me” was too crude and wouldn’t help his great seduction scheme.

Thinking of the bottle of “Resolve to Elope” from just now, Myss had a flash of inspiration and asked for raspberry-flavored candy.

Now the candy ball had entered his mouth, and the sweet-sour taste seeped into the tip of his tongue. Myss burrowed back into his warm cushion. He heard Salaar’s heartbeat return to normal again.

Very good. Now Salaar belonged only to him again.

……

For the next few days, life was so leisurely it could make a person sprout moss.

During the day, Myss lay on the cart, enjoying his soft cushion. At night, the driver would cover the flatbed cart with a tent-like rainproof cover, then light a campfire beside the cart and cook bacon onion soup.

“We’ll reach that…capital city…tomorrow morning. Will there be any problem entering the city directly?”

Myss held a bowl of onion soup and blew on it hard with his mouth. The wood burned red, wrapped in gray-white ash. The tongues of fire spat out countless sparks, yet none were as bright as Myss’s eyes.

Myss could sense a gaze like fine rain falling on his face.

“The Karns family will find out sooner or later. It’s better to go to the United Library as quickly as possible.”

Salaar sat beside Myss. His eyes looked at Myss, while one hand tore bread into pieces and threw them into the soup bowl.

An owl rested on Father Kalen’s knee, and the priest was gently stroking the bird’s feathers. “Approximately where is the United Library located? I can ask my little animal friends to check first.”

Silence.

Father Kalen looked toward Myss, who sat opposite him. Myss looked toward Salaar. Salaar looked toward Tass, who simply wore a look of utter disdain.

“Why are you looking at me? I don’t know either! …Kalen said before that no assassin, no matter how bold, would cause trouble on royal territory!”

“Besides, the United Library isn’t open to outsiders at all. Why don’t you ask me how to get to the king’s bedroom while you’re at it?”

Myss: “Oh. How do you get to the king’s bedroom?”

Tass: “…”

Tass plunged headfirst into the pocket watch’s gemstone and refused to come out.

Seeing Myss eagerly preparing to dig at the gemstone, Salaar patted his shoulder. “Don’t torment Tass. There’s actually a simpler method.”

He looked around at the companions sitting by the campfire, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

“I think, out of politeness, I should greet ‘my’ dear cousin Mag.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 76: Among the Grass

Myss succeeded.

For the first time in three hundred years, Salaar felt such utter despair.

He was only a gear obstructing the operation of Night Scourge. The many pains he felt must surely be useful to the human world.

Wounds deep enough to reveal bone would heal. The world would continue after his death… Nothing had been settled yet and hope for the future still remained.

But this was different.

Salaar finally realized that he truly couldn’t control that love. He could heal every injury, but only this festering wound on his heart couldn’t be erased.

Everything was for the sake of ending the Night Scourge. Then what was he supposed to do with his corroded heart?

Salaar wouldn’t submit to this pain. Giving up had never been his choice.

As for the other choices… Myss knew next to nothing about human love. As long as Salaar deliberately guided him, he could at least satisfy his own desires. Salaar could hear it. In some dark corner of his heart, a voice wailed amid the searing agony of his love: Seduce him. Indulge. Myss must pay the price.

“No,” Salaar answered soundlessly.

Knife climbed onto his wrist and silently watched Salaar. Under the moonlight, those blue eyes were like two stars.

“‘Love’ should be something beautiful,” he said to it. “Even if I’m in such a sorry state, this is still my first love. I don’t want to sully it.”

“You two won’t have a good ending.” Knife flicked out its tongue.

“What a coincidence. Most people’s first loves don’t have good endings.”

Salaar looked toward the vast starry sky. “I have pursued a certain result my entire life. If I insist on judging even this kind of matter solely by the result, that would be too pitiful.”

“So, what do you plan to do? …Keep pretending you aren’t moved, and smother your feelings into the grave?”

Knife moved closer, its thin voice like an interrogation. “Since you’ve decided to move forward, there should at least be a direction.”

The night wind roamed freely through the wilderness, and the tentacle lilies rustled and swayed.

Salaar stretched out his foot, the tip of his boot touching the tender tentacle closest to him. The tentacle reflexively opened, then tapped him twice more.

The motion didn’t have much force. Salaar only felt a little ticklish at the tip of his foot. On his back, Myss’s breathing sped up slightly, and he mumbled twice in his dream.

A nearly sorrowful happiness climbed up Salaar’s spine, and he let out a long breath.

“When dealing with an enemy, one should use the cruelest method.” Salaar withdrew his gaze from the tentacle.

“I intend to ‘truly love’ him.”

He wanted Myss to be like him, to have a wound in his heart that couldn’t heal, and to feel this torment of despair.

Even if, in the very end, humanity couldn’t contend with Myss. As long as that wound could make Myss hesitate for one second when he destroyed the world, hesitate for one minute…

That would be the last bit of time the so-called “Saint Salaar” won for the mortal world.

…And it would also be the epitaph for his tragic love.

Salaar slowly put Myss down. His movements were very gentle, and Myss remained asleep.

Moonlight wound through that long hair. The night was dim, but Salaar could still clearly see the lapis-lazuli hair ribbon at the ends of Myss’s hair, as well as his rosy cheeks and lips.

Salaar gently brushed away the strands that had drifted onto Myss’s cheek, lowered his head, and kissed him.

The tip of his tongue decisively pried open the gap between Myss’s teeth. This time, Salaar kissed with great composure, as though drawing a sword and thrusting it at his own fate.

Myss’s hands groped around and skillfully hooked around Salaar’s neck. Only then did he open his eyes slightly. As the dream ended and his power scattered, all those pitch-black tentacle lilies vanished.

Myss didn’t resist the kiss.

He lazily stretched his body among the wild grass. The tip of his tongue curled lightly, and it was hard to tell who was tasting whom. Their breaths mingled together and kept heating up.

Myss’s magical garments rustled against the grass. Perhaps his emotions were somewhat unstable, but the fabric at his shoulders and neck scattered like the tentacle lilies, revealing his bare shoulders.

Salaar’s fingertips brushed over the skin exposed to the cold wind. His enemy had become his instrument strings, trembling lightly beneath his touch.

It was an incomparably long kiss. Even a warrior like Salaar, who excelled at controlling his body, kissed until his breathing fell into disorder.

During the brief gap to breathe, Myss gave a few quiet hums, sounding quite satisfied. Who knew whether he was satisfied with the kiss or satisfied with Salaar’s infatuation.

Just as Myss turned over and prepared to climb onto his hero cushion, Salaar decisively stood up.

Myss: “?”

The night wind immediately scattered Salaar’s remaining warmth, chilling Myss into a shiver.

“We should head back.”

Salaar extended a hand toward him, his gaze gently and persistently wrapping around Myss.

Myss licked the wet corner of his mouth and didn’t move.

He discovered, not particularly surprised, that a certain part of him and Salaar had changed again. Myss subconsciously raised his fist. Thinking of the unforgettable pain from last time, he resentfully lowered his claws again.

How did humans handle this again…? At least in the slave’s memories, humans didn’t like handling it in front of other people. His memories about this matter lacked detail, so for the moment, he didn’t know where to begin.

Was he supposed to just go back like this?

Myss didn’t care about human notions of shame, but if he punched himself, his body would feel terrible. Leaving it alone also felt terrible…

“Hey, Salaar, tell me how to handle this.” Myss demanded as he sat unceremoniously sprawled out on the grass.

His body temperature was still on the high side, and his breaths turned into clouds of white mist.

“Say ‘please,’” Salaar said, crossing his arms.

“How polite.” Myss feigning ignorance. “Very good. I permit you to assist me.”

Salaar chuckled softly and crossed his arms even tighter.

Myss’s eyes turned. “How about this? You deal with yours here and let me see how you do it.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Salaar tugged at his pants. “It’ll take quite a while to walk back. It can go down on its own.”

Myss let out a disgruntled huff and stuck firmly to the ground, staring at Salaar unhappily.

Lord Archdemon didn’t mind hardship, but he truly didn’t want to suffer for no reason. There would be plenty of days ahead. Was he supposed to pay this kind of price every time he tempted Salaar in the future?

As he thought about it, Myss flopped back onto the ground with a thump, clearly taking the stance of, if you don’t teach me, I won’t get up.

Salaar sighed with exasperation. “You said that for those centuries in the seal, you were always watching humans. I thought you knew the details. My companions never deliberately restrained themselves.”

Myss retorted indignantly, “I didn’t watch them. I only watched you. You never did this kind of thing, so I thought you didn’t have that function.”

“If I’d known this earlier, I should’ve looked at more of that taxidermist’s memories. When we reach the next city, I’ll go observe other humans—”

Salaar drew in a soft breath.

After a long while, he slowly sat down in the grass and patted his thigh. “…Forget it. Come here. I’ll teach you.”

Myss moved over in victory and sat on Salaar’s lap.

Salaar’s body heat wrapped around him from behind, blocking the cold night wind. Salaar’s legs were harder than his chest, but they felt much better than the dry grass.

Salaar’s left arm circled his waist, and his right hand reached over lightly. Myss cooperatively released part of his magic. The tips of the grass brushed lightly in the wind, grazing the skin of his thighs.

Salaar’s chin rested against Myss’s shoulder, his body abnormally tense. His palm was far rougher than it looked. Myss’s breathing abruptly grew rapid, and he instinctively gave a few convulsive jerks, a layer of hot sweat seeping from his back.

Salaar shifted his arm. His left hand cupped Myss’s restless head and held him fully embedded in his embrace.

Myss couldn’t move, so he could only stare fixedly at that hand motion that was rising and falling.

His body temperature rose again, and his urgent panting turned into flickering white vapor. Myss felt that trembling was a little embarrassing, but he couldn’t stop his body from spasming. As a show of force, he opened his mouth and bit Salaar’s left hand, which was holding his chin.

The web between Salaar’s thumb and index finger was bitten, and a tiny bead of blood seeped out.

Salaar’s body remained as unyielding as iron. The only change was the strength of his grip of his hands by a few degrees. Finally, unable to endure any longer, Myss instinctively reach out and licked Salaar’s bleeding wound.

The tongue against the wound was searing, and for a fleeting instant, Salaar’s movement froze.

What followed bore little resemblance to “teaching”; it felt more like a swift decisive combat operation. By the time the “anomaly” was resolved, Myss was nearly choking on his ragged breath.

Salaar, meanwhile, sprang to his feet with such suddenness that he nearly sent Myss flying.

“All right. Let’s go.” The Great Hero swiftly turned around, and the light of a cleansing spell brushed over his right hand.

Myss’s mind was somewhat blank, his thoughts as if soaked in fog. He had wanted to run in front of Salaar and see this guy’s condition, but his legs were weak, and he simply couldn’t catch up with Salaar’s steps.

When they found the priest and the Dragon Fae again, Salaar looked completely normal, whether in expression or body, as if nothing had happened just now.

On the contrary, Myss’s face still had a lingering flush, and his steps were unsteady, earning him a meaningful look from the Dragon Fae.

As night had fallen, the priest rented two decent tents, and the group decided to camp out right where they were. As the only “couple” in the team, Myss and Salaar shared one tent.

As for why Myss had woken up in the wilderness, Salaar’s explanation was that “your magic was a little out of control, and I was afraid of attracting Professor Gentry’s attention.” Myss accepted it for the time being.

But no matter how it was explained, Myss still felt annoyed, as if he had been left at a disadvantage.

In just that short time when he had failed to keep an eye on Salaar, Salaar had secretly changed. Compared with his loss of composure in Hope Dungeon, Salaar’s emotions had stabilized quite a bit, and he had turned back into that tenacious and annoying bastard.

What they had done just now was undoubtedly something human lovers would do. Yet Salaar had quickly calmed his emotions, leaving only Myss alone in utter disarray.

How exactly was he supposed to defeat this guy?

While Salaar turned around to arrange the sleeping bag, Myss resentfully stretched out a finger and gave a hard poke at Salaar’s waist.

Salaar: “—!”

With just that one poke, Salaar jolted from head to toe as if electrocuted, and his ears were quickly stained red.

He turned his head to glance at Myss and heaved a fierce sigh at his mortal enemy’s face.

Myss: “?”

Myss felt a sense of balance being restored.

The next second, Salaar stuffed him from head to toe into the sleeping bag and ruthlessly tied two knots in it with a belt, turning him into a freshly made Myss cocoon.

“Sleep.” Salaar tossed the Myss cocoon toward the inside of the tent.

“What about you?” Myss struggled to poke his head out.

Salaar: “I’ll curse you in my heart for a while. I’ll sleep once I’ve cursed enough.”

“…Oh.”

……

The next day was clear and sunny, and Professor Gentry prepared to leave one step ahead.

The Archmage stated that this exploration had “yielded no results, and only Roman’s lost landmark nails were found.” He and his students planned to return and hold a funeral for the “missing” Roman.

He left behind letters of introduction addressed to the United Library. For the group of four, everyone had one.

The only flaw in an otherwise perfect situation was that this exploration had been too short, not even lasting a full week. According to the contract, Myss and Salaar could only receive a total of one thousand gold rings.

Upon hearing that they didn’t have storage accounts, Professor Gentry gave them a pure-gold signet ring.

“This is a savings ring from the Dawn Guild. There are one thousand gold rings inside,” he explained. “Once you reach Serpentia City, go to the Dawn Guild and verify it. Then you can use it freely.”

A little troublesome, but Myss could understand for the time being.

One thousand gold rings in cash would be quite heavy. Professor Gentry couldn’t possibly carry such a massive sum with him, and Myss didn’t want to shoulder large bags of it either.

According to the agreement before the exploration, Salaar’s share of the payment nominally belonged entirely to Myss. The moment Salaar received the gold ring, he handed it to Myss.

“Thank you for taking care of us these past few days. We learned quite a bit.”

After watching Myss happily fiddle with the ring for a while, Salaar nodded to Professor Gentry.

“I should be the one thanking you.” Professor Gentry sighed softly. “If not for you, we would have been destined to gain nothing. We might even have died down there.”

He lowered his head and looked at the soil overgrown with weeds. Only they knew that beneath the thick earth and stone, there was a Divine Realm hidden away like a fairy tale.

The Magibase elephant let out a long cry. Myss raised his head just in time to see Professor Gentry crouch down, his palm gently stroking the grass, much as one might affectionately ruffle the hair of their favorite student.

After a long while, the Kingdom Archmage withdrew his hand, and a few bits of grass slipped from between his fingers.

“Thank you,” he repeated solemnly.

Beverly and Asp were in low spirits. They had forgotten the dreamlike underground Divine Realm and only remembered that “the depths completely collapsed.” With red-rimmed eyes, the two bid farewell to the group through the carriage window, only treating the entire expedition as a disappointing failure.

The team watched Professor Gentry board the carriage, and the wheels raised clouds of dust.

From beginning to end, Salaar didn’t mention that magic artifact merchant.

So far, the magic artifact merchant named Kai hadn’t harm them. Professor Gentry meeting someone else wasn’t something he was obligated to report to strangers like them.

But if someone said all of this was coincidence, Salaar absolutely wouldn’t believe it.

Kai was definitely not a simple magic artifact merchant. Wherever he went, traces of Abnormal Fruit always appeared.

Although Kai called Gentry “Uncle Gentry,” neither his appearance nor his aura bore any resemblance to Professor Gentry. If one had to find a common point, Salaar could only think of one.

They both didn’t believe in gods.

Around them, the lively gathering continued. People spread tales of good luck that no longer existed and regarded it as a miracle.

“At this rate, a village will develop nearby.” Tass related with great interest. “In another decade or so, maybe it’ll become a town.”

The priest nodded pleasantly.

Assuming you’re still alive in a decade or so, Myss wrinkled his nose. Salaar shot him a sidelong glance, then stepped forward to block Myss’s hostile gaze.

He raised his head again and looked toward Professor Gentry’s carriage. The carriage had already turned into a faint black dot on the horizon, like a grain of sand sinking into the center of a lake.

Yet the ripples it raised didn’t disappear.

“Speaking of which, I have a question I’m extremely curious about.”

Salaar turned toward Kalen and Tass.

“How much do you two know about that ‘godless’ Stargazers Society?”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>