Chapter 163

It seems I’ve been pushing my body too hard lately. Sister Camelian Peony and Lorcha gave me an earful about how I broke a few ribs. And as for Tristan… I managed to cover up the incident with my earnest plea. After all, I do bear some responsibility for it.

The Tower Lords were officially declared dead due to an unfortunate accident. I paid additional compensation to the families of the soldiers who died in the Tristan subjugation mission.

“Ha… Are you really in your right mind? I’m speechless at how pathetic and foolish you are. You could’ve died! If those broken ribs had punctured your lungs, you’d be dead! If you want to die, just say so. I’ll kill you myself.”

“…Her words are harsh, but I agree with Lorcha. Werner, you’ve been overdoing it lately. Without Media around, you could really end up dead if you’re not careful.”

A patient needs rest, but I have no idea what the doctor is doing. At this rate, the stress might worsen the wound, doctor.

At that moment, a red-haired doctor entered the room without knocking.

“I need to speak with the patient. Could you step out for a moment?”

This doctor always has such an imposing presence. Despite looking like a sly fox with squinty eyes, I can’t figure out where that aura comes from.

“Ah, sorry.”

Why are they only scolding me? After they left the room, the doctor smiled and explained my condition. Apparently, my ribs were shattered, and I almost died, but thanks to his skilled surgery, I was barely saved. I could feel an unspoken pressure, as if he’d kill me if I showed up injured like this again.

“Haha, I really almost died. Thank you, doctor.”

“Doctor? Just call me Ares. I hate formal titles. By the way, do you really hate dying that much?”

I could almost see an invisible speech bubble saying, “If you hate dying so much, don’t come here injured like this, you idiot.” Did I awaken some special eye power after getting beaten up by Tristan?

“Well, if I die, that’s the end.”

“Haha… Death is a sad thing. Being in this position, I’ve seen too many people die. I was just curious.”

“Then, Ares, what would you do if death came for you?”

“………I don’t know.”

Ares quietly smiled and placed various medicines by my bedside. Apparently, I need to take them diligently morning, noon, and night.

“Ah, and you have a visitor in the private meeting room. You should be able to move around now, so go see them.”

“A visitor?”

Who could it be? The other brothers and sisters are busy, and if the Crown Prince came looking for me, it wouldn’t be this quiet.

“There’s a silver-haired young girl with a lot of snacks and what looks like her attendants.”

Ah, it must be Mother. Wait… but is it okay for a god to come here like this? Shouldn’t there be trumpets and dragons flying around when a god descends?

I hurried down to the meeting room on the first floor.

As expected, Mother was lounging on the table, devouring various snacks and drinks. She didn’t bring them for me but for herself. She’s going to die from diabetes, that woman.

“Ah, you’re here?”

She popped a biscuit into her mouth and beckoned me with a flick of her fingers. After checking my wounds, she snorted.

“Are you trying to die like this? Why don’t you pull out your heart, dive off a cliff, or stab your stomach with a sword? If you really want to die, tell this black-haired kid here.”

The man in black, who looked like her attendant, scratched his head awkwardly.

“God… the reason we came here today…”

“Ah, I know, I know. Stop nagging, seriously.”

She threw the snack bag aside and said.

“Come back to my house. If you really don’t want to die.”

Suddenly telling me to come back home, it’s like a bolt from the blue.

“Ha, you abandoned me and now you want me back? That’s really not funny. Seriously… are you crazy?”

When I said that, one of the female attendants Mother brought glared at me with killing intent.

“Use honorifics. Otherwise, I might just kill you.”

“Use honorifics with your damn mother. I’m already being as polite as I can to the woman who abandoned me. What a load of crap…”

“You little…!”

The female attendant looked like she was about to kill me. As she reached out, her hand transformed into a giant dragon’s claw, charging to tear my throat out.

Just then,

*Clap!*

A loud clap echoed, and the female attendant vanished without a trace.

“I’ve temporarily trapped her in a dream.”

“Good job.”

“This is why I said not to bring that hot-headed girl.”

“But aren’t you angry? You’re an apostle, and yet you’re calm even when your god is insulted?”

The man in black replied in a calm voice.

“Frankly, she’s not wrong. Honestly, I’d have cursed too. Besides, you didn’t explain the reason, so I think you deserve a few punches.”

“Wow, even this damn kid is my apostle…”

Are they doing a comedy routine in front of me?

“Well, I should explain the reason.”

“Let’s hear this great reason, damn it.”

“We’re going to destroy this planet soon.”

For a moment, I doubted my ears. She was saying this while picking crumbs off her nails.

“…What did you just say?”

“Are your ears hurt too? We’re going to wipe out this entire planet. Everyone living here will go poof! And those unstable elements with special constitutions you killed will also…”

*Bang!*

I transformed my arms and legs into steel, kicked the table up, and punched it towards her. Grabbing her by the collar, I said.

“Hey… learn the difference between a joke and something you shouldn’t joke about.”

She wasn’t even scratched by my attack. Instead, she calmly replied.

“Let go.”

“Let go my ass. Explain again. And honestly, I don’t even think of you as my mother. So if you came here to show off…”

She sighed and looked at her attendant.

“Daesu, subdue him.”

“But…”

“Do it.”

“Sigh… I apologize in advance. The pain will only last a moment.”

*Clap!*

Another clap echoed, and my body was slammed into the wall of the meeting room. I didn’t even know what happened. The only thing telling me I’d been attacked was the blood in my mouth.

“Sigh… The pain will be gone soon.”

*Clap!*

Another clap, and the pain vanished. It was both fascinating and unpleasant. Every time that clap echoed, it felt like waking from a dream, as if reality wasn’t real.

“See? You’re acting out because you’re my son. You can’t even beat my subordinate.”

Mother started munching on snacks again. But what was strange was that despite her indifferent attitude, she kept staring at me.

“Stop talking crap. You crazy bitch… Didn’t you lose to that Lancelot guy or whatever?”

“Sigh… Honestly, this unreliable guy next to me can obliterate that guy with just a clap. And we’re planning to do just that because of him.”

Destroying the world because of Lancelot? That’s some next-level bullshit. What kind of collective responsibility is this?

“Please choose your words carefully. What are you trying to achieve by provoking your son?”

“That brat started it first.”

I couldn’t understand this woman doing a comedy routine in front of people. The fact that she’s my mother is already more than enough to make me sick.

“Then just kill that bastard. Why the sudden apocalypse announcement, damn it?”

But the man in black answered instead.

“Young master. I can definitely eliminate that Lancelot. However… to destroy such a massive existence, some collateral damage is inevitable.”

“See? You don’t want to die either, so come live at my house.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You’re doing this for your own convenience? Are you a complete psycho? What about the innocent people?”

“Unfortunately… it’s a necessary sacrifice.”

From Olrag to Count Holstead, who suffered because of Gawain, to the Heavenly Demon Old Man killed by Lancelot, and Tristan’s disciple… all of them suffered because of how this god ruled the world. All because of those damn special constitutions or whatever.

“You’re just a calamity spreading disaster to people.”

“…I won’t deny that.”

“That Lancelot guy and the Black Round Table bastards, I’ll kill them. So you just keep doing what you’ve always done—stand by and watch.”

After I made that threat, Mother stood up.

“I’ll give you a week.”

“What?”

“I need to see if you can actually do it. I’ll give you a week’s grace.”

With that, she left, and the man in black was still scratching his head awkwardly.

“Young master, I apologize for the earlier rudeness. And I… have to follow my superior’s orders.”

“…It’s fine.”

“…….Don’t hate your mother too much. Despite how she seems, she cares for you deeply.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Honestly, both mother and son are impossible to talk to. Damn it.”