SMT 66

“It didn’t do it! It didn’t do it, so Grand Duke, stop falsely accusing the divine beast and stay quiet. Otherwise, whether you rot away as a living corpse in the Borhumi Tomb or not, I’ll escape with only the divine beast and live well on my own. Do you understand?”

Tairok’s eyebrow twitched, and he spoke in a low voice.

“…Alright.”

[Let’s throw Kun away.]

Ah, seriously. This time, I looked at the divine beast and warned.

“No, Grand Duke Kun will come with us until the end. If you don’t like it, I’ll die here with him, so go find your hometown on your own. Did you understand?”

The divine beast wasn’t any less stubborn than a human. The little dragon’s snake head suddenly turned to the side.

[Hmph.]

It’s a kid. It really is. But thanks to my warning, both of them didn’t start another childish fight. Since it finally became quiet, I took the chance to ask the divine beast something I’d been curious about.

“Now that I think about it, you said you’re trapped?”

[My main body.]

“Ah!”

Only then did I understand why the divine beast’s size was so small.

“The divine beast’s main body must be separate and trapped somewhere.”

“Are you sure? You’re saying it wasn’t originally this weak, weaker than an ant?”

“…..”

“…Alright. I’ll be careful.”

Tairok turned his gaze away like someone who didn’t want to say it. Whether he was sulking or not, I couldn’t ignore the message from the tail.

[Trapped Weak]

“Ah, your power weakened because you got trapped?”

[Yes yes.]

This was something.

“You must feel very betrayed by Zav, who imprisoned you.”

[Zav cute.]

That was completely unexpected. I lost my words for a moment, wondering if I’d misinterpreted something. Tairok immediately noticed my confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s hard to interpret.”

[Pretty blue.]

Blue? Zav’s blue hair? I remembered how Zav used to tie his long blue hair back in one bunch, and I asked, just in case.

“Don’t tell me you gave Zav your power because of that?”

[That’s right.]

…Are you out of your mind?! I barely held back the urge to scold the divine beast to get a grip. Now that I thought about it, even the poisonous spirit seemed to like Baron Owick because of her face shaped like a petal.

What the… Are non-human beings single-celled? Amoeba types? Unbelievable. They poured such blind affection for such a simple reason.

“Zav imprisoned you, and you’re not even angry?”

[Yes yes.]

They say non-human beings can’t be understood by human standards, and that was true. While I was dumbfounded, Tairok figured out the situation by looking at me, he smirked.

“You asked the wrong question.”

“What do you mean wrong?”

“A divine beast gives one-sided affection to its contractor. No matter what that human does, it keeps giving them power. Even if the human locked it away.”

“But it told me it wanted to go home.”

“Yes. It even pulled out part of its power to show up before you, while still giving power to Kun, whom it hates.”

Only then did I understand what Tairok meant earlier when he said my question was wrong.

“Then why is it trying to escape and return home?”

At my question, Tairok’s smirk grew larger.

“No matter how much affection a divine beast has for its contractor, there’s something it values more.”

What’s that? I looked at Tairok, who stopped speaking, but he was looking down quietly at my wrist, where the divine beast was supposed to be.

“A promise. If the contractor breaks the promise, it leaves without hesitation. Ask the divine beast. Ask if Zav broke the promise.”

I didn’t need to ask. The divine beast answered with its tail.

[That’s right.]

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‘Let me know when you’re ready.’

Tairok’s reply was short, but his friend had already read that message hundreds of times until the letters had worn out.

Kun’s castle was covered by a shield that no one could enter or leave. The curse that struck everyone inside was a problem, but the real issue was that the shield made it impossible to undo the curse.

But the friend believed Tairok knew how to get inside. Because Tairok only looked for a way to lift the curse, and he didn’t care about the shield covering the castle.

So maybe Tairok could let him in. And now, permission had been granted.

Thump, thump. His heart was already beating with anticipation. He only had to lift Kun’s curse. He had already found meaningful results in the ancient documents recovered by Chief Priest Cheki.

This time, he could make Tairok happy. The friend was so full of excitement that he couldn’t sit still.

Calm down, calm down. He couldn’t fail if he wanted to see Tairok’s smile.

He tried to steady himself, but impatience still grew. Because the future had changed. No, that wasn’t surprising. The future had already gone off track since the day he came to Tubain.

But that was why he’d been trying not to change it any further. That way, the future he knew would still be useful. Because of that, instead of preventing big events, he focused more on how to deal with them afterward.

Thanks to that, the major parts of the future still came as planned, like walking a tightrope.

But then, something huge happened that no one expected. On the day of the temple’s charity auction, the secret of the pond was revealed. No one had known that it was the entrance to the Forest of the Crimson Waves. This was completely different from the future he knew.

It felt like one string had suddenly snapped.

Why did it change? What kind of major variable had appeared?

He didn’t feel good about it. If someone else had succeeded in the transplantation like him… No, that couldn’t be.

The friend shook his head. He had already searched and confirmed every possible name that could undergo transplantation. The only other possibility was that another scroll had arrived after he came here.

If someone had received that scroll and transplanted it into new coordinates. But that was almost impossible. No, it was impossible.

The friend recalled the last world he had seen and felt depressed for a moment, then he drew in a breath.

The factor that changed Tubain’s future wasn’t a new information source. He reassured himself that way, but anxiety clung under his feet like a shadow and didn’t let go. There was only one way to overcome it.

He had to work hard. He had to earn Tairok’s trust with his ability and help him strengthen the Eye of Hell. If he permanently connected it to the gap of monsters, this anxiety would end.

The friend made up his mind and unfolded the ancient document that contained information about the curse. He had already checked it before, but he went over it again carefully to make sure he had interpreted it correctly. Then he engraved the method written in the document into his mind and wrote a letter to Tairok.

‘I’m all ready. I can go to you right now.’

But a few hours later, while he was waiting with a pounding heart for the reply, the news that reached him made his barely-suppressed anxiety flare up like firewood bursting into flames.

‘The mansion of Baron Owick has collapsed. And there are traces showing that Adeye Lu was kidnapped, so House Adeye has sent a cooperation notice across Tubain to find him…’

The rest of the message didn’t even register properly in his eyes.

Collapsed? There was no such thing in the future he knew.

What in the world… why? What kind of variable appeared… Adeye Lu?!

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Zav broke a promise. And with the divine beast, no less? He must have been an even dumber and more pathetic human than he looked.

“What happens if Zav broke the promise?”

“The contract will end.”

Tairok answered. He probably couldn’t even see the divine beast, yet his eyes focused exactly on the right spot.

“What kind of contract?”

I looked at both the divine beast and Tairok, but this time, the divine beast’s tail didn’t move. Instead, Tairok answered again. He was smiling, but his voice was cold.

“There’s only one contract between the divine beast and the divine beast’s kin. Lending the divine beast’s power.”

I turned to the divine beast in shock. The divine beast just stared at Tairok with deep, dark blue eyes whose depth I couldn’t read. Did Tairok really see it? The two of them stared at each other long enough for me to wonder that, and then the divine beast’s tail moved.

[That’s right.]

It was another short answer. But at the same time, Tairok spoke a short line too.

“Alright.”

“What do you mean?”

No way, did he understand what the divine beast said? Did he interpret the tail marks? Thankfully, I didn’t have to say my shock out loud, because Tairok suddenly grabbed his sword.

“If that’s what you intend, then I’ll gladly use this power.”

“What do you mean use it?”

He didn’t answer. He gripped his sword tightly and focused as if he was gathering power. But something didn’t seem to work, because soon he dropped his arm and exhaled roughly.

“But it’ll take time.”

“What are you trying to do?”

“I have to get out of here.”

Sure, he had to get out, but…

“According to Dorgo, no one can come or go without Zav’s help. Do you have a way?”

But I didn’t get an answer right away. Maybe unwilling to give up, he gripped his sword again. But no matter how much strength he put into his hand, it still didn’t work.

“Ha, damn it, not a chance.”