Book 2: Chapter 429
Michael’s reaction to this information was also unexpected.
[I see.]
For some reason, he just nodded as if he accepted it. This made him feel a bit embarrassed since it was something he spouted without thinking too deeply about it.
Why did Michael accept it? Lukas wanted to continue the conversation until he understood why, but that would be difficult. The basic rule of their conversation was one question, one answer.
Then would he have to bring it up again? That wouldn’t work either. Not only would it be awkward to bring up a topic that had already passed, it would also increase the probability that he would get caught in his lie. Of course, even if his lie was discovered, he wouldn’t be put in a particularly difficult situation.
The current Lukas had the power to erase this Underground City, Michael included. Although, of course, the presence of Pale, who was probably whistling somewhere in the city, was a bit unpleasant, …
…For some reason or another, Lukas decided to move on to another topic.
Slowly, he opened his clenched fists.
The direction he had chosen in this life was to go towards Magic Planet. He didn’t completely trust Jacob, but he felt like he needed to learn more about the being known as the beginning Wizard.
“Where is the Magic Planet?”
[…]
For the first time, Michael fell silent. This was the first time Lukas was seeing such a reaction from him. This was because he’d never hesitated to answer a question before.
[I can’t answer that.]
The words he said afterwards were also surprising.
…He couldn’t answer?
Not that he didn’t know. So he knew the location, but he refused to tell Lukas. It could also be seen as him avoiding the question.
“You talked as if you knew everything in the world.”
Naturally, Lukas’ attitude became cynical.
Michael shook his head.
[I don’t not know. I can’t answer that.]
Of course, Lukas knew that. Nevertheless, the reason he decided to take such a crooked attitude was to gain an advantage at the negotiation table.
“Why can’t you answer it?”
[Is that a ‘question’?]
He wanted to count that as a question. It was a funny trick. For a moment, anger swelled in Lukas. He almost brought his index finger towards his carotid artery without realising it.
Perhaps feeling Lukas’ bad mood, Michael continued.
[I’ll just tell you that it carries significant risk. It would expose not only me but also this entire city to grave danger. Of course, whether you will be satisfied by my answer or not is a different matter.]
Although he spoke in an uncaring manner, he still dug a hole for himself to escape out of like a snake.
Clearly, Michael was no pushover.
With a sigh, Lukas nodded. He acknowledged that it was a question.
Then Michael continued.
[The Planet of Magicology is one of the most mysterious places in the vast World of Void. Have you ever been to the Southern Region?]
“No.”
[The Southern Region is a frozen wasteland. It is a land filled with soaring icebergs and icy valleys, and the Magic Planet can be seen from any part of it. It always hangs on the edge of the exceptionally beautiful sky.]
Lukas paused for a moment before asking.
“…is the Magic Planet really a planet?”
[That’s right. But outsiders don’t know where the planet is or how to enter it.]
“You just said it yourself. It hangs in the sky of the Southern Region.”
[That’s right.]
“And yet no one knows its exact location? Are you saying that the planet hanging in the sky is an illusion?”
[I don’t know.]
Michael’s affirmation irritated him once again. Of course, he was smart enough to speak quickly before Lukas could vent his feelings.
[However, even if you were to fly in the direction of the planet, you would not feel like you were getting closer. Even if you fly for decades.]
That answer gave Lukas a headache.
[I said a lot more than I was expecting. Is it my turn now?]
“Right.”
[What is your goal?]
This was another unexpected question.
Lukas looked at Michael. And he had a feeling that was close to a certainty.
It was only his second question, but it was probably Michael’s last. This Michael didn’t seem to have any questions about Lukas’ name, last name, or background.
Was it because he was a King Candidate? Ignoring the possibility that came to mind, he responded.
“Firstly, I plan to become one of the Twelve Void Lords.”
[You must know how difficult that is…]
Of course he did. After all, it was Michael who’d told him the method to do so, but there was no reason to tell him that.
Cautiously, Lukas asked the question that would probably be his last.
“How can I enter Magic Planet?”
[I don’t know.]
“You don’t know? That-”
Lukas frowned. If Michael hadn’t continued speaking, he might have started to spit out swear words.
[However, I know someone who does know.]
“Who? The Beginning Wizard? Or one of Magic Planet’s Truth Seekers?”
Despite Lukas’ cynical attitude, Michael continued.
[Not someone so far away. They belong to my territory.]
“…a resident of the underground city? How could such a person know the location of the Magic Planet?”
[Because in the past she was offered the position of a Truth Seeker and even stayed in the Magic Planet for a while.]
“…where is she? Is she in the city now?”
[No. Not right now. She is out on an important mission, although I think she might be having some trouble. Seeing as the time we agreed upon has already passed.]
By that point, Lukas knew who Michael was talking about.
Nevertheless, he still asked.
“What is her name?”
And the name he heard was unexpected.
[Lesha. Lesha Trowman.]
* * *
As he expected, that had been Michael’s last question. He didn’t ask Lukas anything more, making this the shortest question and answer exchange yet.
Nevertheless, Lukas didn’t leave the cathedral right away.
[Do you need anything else?]
He didn’t.
It was just that the conversation had ended too quickly.
In the future, Lukas intended to act like he’d obtained information about the World of Void here, but the time he’d spent in the cathedral was too short for that.
After all, he couldn’t act like he’d learned everything about the World of Void in just 10 minutes. Of course, that didn’t mean he could relax either.
Lesha.
Lesha Trowman.
He needed to find the woman who had collapsed in the desert before the pursuers from Flower Mountain. Of course, there was still some time left before that. He wouldn’t be too late even if he only left just before Schweiser arrived.
Hiding his plan, Lukas said.
“I want to know what you do here.”
In fact, this was a question that he’d had since the beginning. Lukas glanced around the chapel and sat down on one of the chairs lined within it. Michael didn’t stop him from doing so. Instead, with a brisk pace, he walked to the altar and opened the book there.
[That’s a question. Do you intend to do question and answer again?]
“…”
[Huhu. It was a joke.]
He said this after seeing Lukas’ frown. This attitude was surprising. The ‘Lukases’ who still thought Michael was ‘Lord’ were even more agitated.
[What the hell? Who is this guy?]
[If he was Lord… there’s no way he would react like this.]
[This is giving me chills. I’m gonna be sick.]
Lukas couldn’t help but agree with the last voice.
“Do you believe in God?” (TL: A reminder, ‘God’ is the character. While ‘god’ will refer to any godly beings)
Lukas asked.
Flip, Michael turned a page in the book as he responded.
[I believe.]
“He’s dead.”
[Is that really so?]
His vague response left him speechless. At the same time, he was annoyed. Lukas felt that he was being impatient, but he didn’t bother hiding it.
“Quit the wordplay. How could you, who claims to be an intellectual, not have noticed God’s death.”
Tremor, the atmosphere seemed to shake in response to Lukas’ anger. The chairs in the chapel began to creak. But Michael calmly flipped a page without paying it any heed.
[If you are talking about the death of the God of the Three Thousand Worlds. Then yes, I confirmed the death of that being.]
Lukas’ eyebrow twitched.
“Then? Are you saying you believe in something other than God? As a god?”
[That view is wrong.]
“…that’s funny. God is a unique being. Or did you find something in this world to serve as a god? Like the Void King.”
[Although Void King is a great position, they simply cannot be seen as god. I simply have a different belief, other Trowman.]
“…”
He didn’t remember telling his name. And yet, Michael was able to accurately refer to him as a Trowman. Was it because he’d consumed many Lukases in the dump site? Was that why he was able to grasp the essence of his existence more accurately?
[This is a place where everything was abandoned. That was what the God of the Three Thousand Worlds decided and the Rulers accepted it. The beings in the outer multiverse treat this place like a garbage dump. The abandoned possibilities… Don’t you think it’s funny? The ‘me’ in the ‘real multiverse’ might not be a more complete being than I am now.]
Lukas knew.
Michael’s doubts were perfectly valid, and they were actually true.
The Michael in the real multiverse, that was to say, Lord, was much more unstable and twisted than the one in front of him.
In that case, what was the difference between Lord and Michael?
Why was Michael one of the possibilities that had been abandoned while Lord, who could be considered a failure, was allowed to exist in the ‘real multiverse’? What criteria determined that difference?
The reason Lukas was able to sympathise so deeply with his doubts was because he had absorbed countless ‘Lukases’ who had wandered around the World of Void.
[We were abandoned. There is no reason for us to exist. The intelligent beings who had these thoughts faced different changes.]
“Different changes?”
[Their egos broke. Either by their own choice or for some external reason. Those who made the choice left themselves with only a very simple ability to think. Like the miglings here. Their intelligence went down, but because of that, they were able to find happiness.]
“…!”
It was only then that Lukas realised the true identity of the miglings.
[It seems that you have never been to any other territory apart from this one.]
“…I’ve been to Flower Mountain and the Dump Site.”
[Hmm. The territories of the Twelve Void Lords are special. All the beings there have strong mental power. There’s no reason for them to become like the miglings.]
Now that he thought about it, Lukas had never visited any normal territory apart from the Underground City.
“So those who do not choose for themselves, and whose egos are broken by external factors become monsters?”
[That’s right.]
‘The monsters I saw outside.’
Their true identity was actually intelligent beings whose egos had been broken. It was a twist that usually only appeared in cheap novels. (TL: Pfft)
Lukas was not surprised.
[I also experienced many disturbing events that shook my will. There were times when I wanted to give up. But I was able to overcome it. Just by having faith.]
“…faith?”
[I created a possibility. Or rather, I created a fictional being. A being who is omnipotent, is fully aware of the birth and destruction of the multiverse, is able to calculate fate, and knows all of the laws. I thought of a god. Not a god with limitations, but a truly omnipotent god.]
It was only then that Lukas realised what ‘faith’ Michael was talking about.
“That’s just a delusion. There can be no such thing.”
[It is natural to think so, but that is what I chose to believe nonetheless. And my heart was saved… I didn’t need a reason to exist. This world was not a garbage dump, and I was not an abandoned possibility.]
Lukas felt that Michael was smiling.
[You wouldn’t understand. As someone from the outside.]
“…you knew I was from the outside.”
[You said it yourself. You are a King Candidate.]
Did that mean that all the King Candidates came from outside?
This was new information for Lukas.
He looked at Michael with a strange expression. Lord, a being who wanted to become a god himself, and Michael, a being who wanted to believe in a god so much that he made one himself. It really wasn’t easy to believe they were, essentially, the same being.
“Huu.”
He got up with a sigh.
[Are you leaving now?]
“Right.”
[I wish you luck. In any case, the Blue Knight was the first to find a King Candidate…]
Lukas glanced at Michael before turning his head and leaving the cathedral.
His destination had already been decided.
Lesha Trowman. He had to meet her first.
…A woman who shared the same last name as him.
After absorbing so many ‘Lukases’, he knew who she was. She wasn’t another Lukas, or another possibility.
‘Blood tie.’
Lesha was Lukas’ younger sister.