Chapter 129

“So, how was meeting your mom? Were you so happy that you cried and hugged her?”

Squar was poking my cheek, teasing me. It was like she was teasing a 10-year-old boy. Well, Squar is a descendant of a dream demon, so she’s over 200 years old, so a 10-year-old or a 29-year-old would both seem like kids to her. But from the perspective of a grown adult, being treated like that is just annoying.

“Our mom was pretty similar to me.”

“In what way? What part? Don’t tell me it’s looks?”

“No, not looks, but personality-wise… I thought, ‘Ah, this person is definitely my mom.'”

Appearance-wise, she was a silver-haired, purple-eyed kid… but her gaze and attitude were all things my mom would have. At the same time, she looked somewhat sad and lonely.

“Well, even without me, she’s been living with a butler and a mansion. We agreed to just live as we have been, without making a big deal out of it.”

“…Aren’t you sad?”

“She’s a mom I never thought I had. What’s there to be sad about now?”

Then Squar hugged me.

“There, there, this big sister will take care of you.”

“I don’t need it, get off, it’s hot.”

“Ugh, you’ve gotten so cold compared to before…”

Before she could finish her sentence, the Heavenly Demon Old Man’s hand separated us at the speed of light. To be precise, he just changed the way he was holding me.

“Enough, you spirit. It’s disgusting to cling to someone who doesn’t want it. Think about it in terms of age. An old man hundreds of years old clinging to a kid he’s known since they were 10. What in the world could be more disgusting than that?”

“Ha! You’re older than me! And you look old too! I still look like I’m in my 20s! You’re just not using rejuvenation because your face was ugly when you were young, right? Your old face is just better!”

Squar showed off a beautiful fist stance to the Heavenly Demon Old Man. But our Old Man wasn’t an ordinary person either. He clenched both fists and made a beautiful gesture by pushing his thumb between his index and middle fingers. Hahaha, are these people really 350 years old on average? Their actions are like those of third-grade elementary school kids.

“This old man dislikes going against the natural order with his appearance, so he deliberately refuses to reach the state of rejuvenation! It’s fundamentally different from a monster like you who devours men to stay young!”

“Hey!!! I only absorb yang energy through dreams!!! I’ve never devoured a man! And I can get nutrients from regular meals too!!!”

“Hmm, I can’t hear the words of a man-devouring monster!”

“Next, you’re just an old fool who can’t rejuvenate because your face was ugly when you were young and now you’re deaf too!”

My head hurt. Is this really a conversation between people hundreds of years old? Though it also means they’re comfortable with each other. Even in the game, these two were rivals. Not as hostile as Ricardo and Melchior, but more like rivals who fought over everything.

“Sigh… Please stop fighting. We’re about to face the enemy, and if you keep fighting like this, we’ll be wiped out before we even start.”

If we get wiped out by infighting before the battle even starts, it would be a comedy like no other. That’s something the Italian army during World War II would do, not something the nine heroes should be doing.

“By the way, are you really okay…? Even with that kind of relationship with your mom…”

“It’s fine, really. She even gave me gifts.”

I kept the gauntlet, gave the red-bladed sword to Camellia, the icy sword to Glacia, the ring to Lorcha, and the earrings to Airi.

Camellia was surprised, saying the sword she was using was old and wondering where I got such a fine sword. Then she gave me a light kiss on the cheek, just like she used to when I was younger as a gesture of thanks.

Glacia blushed and said she wanted to thank me, calling me to her room. I’ll leave what happened in that room to your imagination.

Lorcha tried to hide her loosening mouth and said, “Th… thank you. But this doesn’t even make up for a millionth of what you did to me. If it were the old me, I would’ve forgiven you, but not now.” But she did send me a lunchbox she made herself as a thank-you.

Airi kept shouting her thanks and kissed me on the cheek like Camellia did. Well, a kiss on the cheek is just a greeting… Zick wouldn’t kill me even if he found out. Though the kiss lasted a bit too long and was a bit too close to my lips… It must’ve been my imagination.

“Well, those gifts were useful, and they’ve served their purpose. I have no regrets.”

“Yeah, things like emotions are meaningless.”

The Heavenly Demon Old Man patted my head.

“My master, the Black Wing Sword Saint, once said that emotions are like deadly snake venom. Even the strongest can lose their lives in an instant if they’re bound by emotions. That’s why he said to stay away from emotions.”

What a brutal teaching. That Black Wing Sword Saint must’ve been quite a character, both in skill and personality.

But surprisingly, even Squar chimed in.

“My master, the Dark Wing Thief, said something similar. He said that it’s always family, friends, or lovers who bite the necks of the strong.”

Since both their masters had similar tendencies, did they both grow up to be such extreme adults? When I teach Airi, I should never belittle emotions. It’s probably because their masters looked down on the emotions protected by the Chocolate Pie God that their disciples turned out like this.

“By the way, how much further do we have to go? It feels like we’ve been walking for a while since we got off the carriage.”

“Huh? We’re here.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

All I could see in front of me was a vast, empty wasteland. A wasteland where not a single blade of grass grew. The land must be worth nothing.

But we didn’t come here to look at land, and this place is supposed to be one of the Black Round Table’s bases… Is this some kind of outdated April Fool’s joke?

“Hmph… It looks like that, doesn’t it?”

“Youngest, you’re still far off.”

I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. We took time out of our busy schedule to come here, and now we’re just looking at a wasteland with these land speculators.

“Even though it looks like a wasteland… this is just the surface of a false space created by spells, magic, and various artifacts.”

Even if I waved my hand, I couldn’t feel that it was a false space. But when I focused on sensing the flow of magical energy, I could feel that it was slightly unstable. Of course, it was so natural that you wouldn’t notice unless you focused deeply.

“…The flow of magical energy is indeed unstable.”

“Of course, you sensed it because you’re a sorcerer. We sensed it in a different way.”

They sensed it without using magical energy? The flow of magical energy is only slightly unstable, and there’s nothing unnatural about it.

“Then how did you and Sister sense it?”

“A thief’s intuition. I felt like there’s a lot to steal in there.”

“I sensed the overflowing killing intent and the screams of countless vengeful spirits inside that space.”

So that’s how… They used their own specialties to sense it. But even if they sensed it, nothing changes. It’s still a false space, and there’s no way to get inside.

“But is there a way to get inside? It doesn’t seem easy to forcibly enter a space reversed by a spell.”

Unless you’re a thief like Squar, it would be impossible for the Heavenly Demon Old Man or me. If we tried to force our way in, we’d be torn apart and turned into minced meat.

Then the Heavenly Demon laughed and patted my back.

“Indeed, it’s not easy to break into such a fortress-like spell. Unless you’re a first-rate thief.”

“Oh, then let’s just have Sister Squar go in alone, and we’ll eat lunch outside.”

“Haha… That’s not a bad idea… But this old man wants to do a bit of exercise before lunch.”

The Heavenly Demon Old Man cracked his shoulders and stepped forward. But if he goes like this, he’ll just enter the false surface space…

“Black Wing Breaking Palm, Third Form━━━━”

The Heavenly Demon Old Man swung his palm, filled with an enormous amount of magical energy, and the void began to crack like glass.

“Heaven’s Collapse”

The wasteland with not a single blade of grass disappeared, and only a massive temple remained.

“That’s one of their bases. Shall we go in?”

“Can’t you just blow up the whole building like you did just now?”

“Unfortunately, what’s above ground is just the tip of the iceberg. To destroy what’s buried deep underground, we’ll need to put in a bit more effort.”

That’s just part of it…?

“Moreover… I sense an unusual energy. There are quite a few monsters here that won’t die from just blowing up a building.”