Chapter 89 - Sleeping With the Enemy (2)
He really wanted to use consecutive Blinks to head towards his destination. His reservoir of magical energy was massive, but he couldn’t use Blink with all of the knights in tow.
This was why Artpe tried hard to come up with an alternative traveling method. In the end, he had to match paces with the knights. In truth, he wasn’t in a hurry. He actually achieved the original goal he had set for his party once they entered Aedia. They could spend half the journey traveling in a leisurely manner.
“We’ve discovered scouts. 11 o’clock. There are four of them. I want you to quickly get rid of them and rejoin the group.”
“Understood, captain!”
······they had to travel with the knights, and they were messing up the fundamental reason why he was traveling in this manner! Artpe turned to look at his party members with a tragic expression on his face.
“Are you guys ok? Ah.”
It seems Artpe had been worried for no reason. Maetel and Sienna was watching nature pass by through the window. They were smiling even as they saw men screaming and dying within their view of mother nature. This fact terrified him.
“Yes, Artpe! In truth, this is the first time I’ve ridden a carriage.”
“Yes, I am well aware of that fact.”
“The rattling makes it fun!”
His party had went through a lot of stuff during the past couple years. His party members were now able to block out things they didn’t like. They were able solely focus and enjoy things they liked to see! Artpe seriously thought about where he went wrong with them, but he had no answers.
This was why he switched his attention towards something he could do right now.
“I waited for the day when I would be able to take it easy like this…. However, it was achieved much different than how I had expected.”
“That is…..?”
Regina couldn’t escape the clutches of Artpe, and she couldn’t take up on his offer of joining his party. At some point in time, Regina started maintaining her silence. However, her eyes slightly widened when Artpe took out a purple colored gemstone. Of course, he knew this object would catch her attention.
“This is the Demite’s Gemstone.”
“Demite······.”
Artpe smirked as he answered her. A peculiar light remained within Regina’s eyes. Was she deeply moved, curious or disappointed? Artpe couldn’t tell.
“Demite. Aht.”
She unconsciously reach out her hand. She finally came to her senses, and she tried to retract her hand. However, Artpe willingly pushed the gemstone towards her.
“Do you want to examine it?”
“······is it ok if I do so?”
“Yes. You are a magician. Of course, you won’t be able to hold back.”
“······yes.”
Regina carefully extended her hand. She didn’t touch Artpe’s hand as she received the gemstone. She gently brought up the gemstone in front of her eyes. When she looked into the gemstone, one could see a galaxy of purple light nestled in her golden eyes.
“So this is a Demite…...”
“Yes. It takes a long time to increase the purity of the Mana, and a minor miracle is needed to imbue the gemstone with a sense of self and a Class. All magician dream about possessing this lifelong partner.”
“Demite······.”
It seemed Artpe’s words weren’t registering with her. This was the first time Regina had met another Demite that wasn’t her. She was extremely excited. She was observing the gemstone so closely that her nose was almost in contact with it.
“Demite······ Demite.”
Artpe let out a bitter laughter as he watched her. He didn’t even need the Read All Creation ability. It was that obvious as to what her true identity was. As if she could sense his thoughts, Regina suddenly raised her head to talk to him.
“I am a golem. I am a golem made out of Demite.”
“I sort of already knew.”
“I possess a Class, and I am able to grow. It is possible, because I am a Demite.”
Regina stopped speaking. She kept opening and closing her mouth as if she still had more to say. In the end, she just lowered her head.
“······I am a golem. I am a golem.”
“Don’t you have more you want to say?”
“A golem cannot escape the restrictions placed on it. Moreover, Demites are merely tools. ······the two of us are the same.”
“So that is why it is useless to persuade you?”
“Affirmative.”
Regina fidgeted with the Demite’s Gemstone grasped within her hand. At one point, she put strength into her hand. She raised the Demite’s Gemstone as if she had firmly made up her mind. However, she weakly dropped her hand in the next moment, and she handed the gemstone back to Artpe.
“······sense of self.”
“Hmm?”
It was unlike the voice that had always come out her mouth. A feeble voice flowed out from her.
“Why was I given a sense of self?”
“You are asking me a philosophical question.”
“I am not allowed to make any decisions. I have to do what my owner wants. My consciousness is there only for the use of my master. If that is true…..”
“If that is true?”
“The gods······ Did they make us for humans?”
“You are saying some interesting things.”
Artpe smirked. The gods made Demite for the humans? A being made out of Demite had said such words. It was quite ironic.
“Most humans aren’t able to live their lives as they want. I don’t know if the gods created the humans or the Demites. However, it seems you are under a disillusion. If a human hadn’t created you in this fashion, you wouldn’t be capable of having such thoughts.”
“I have no complaints about that fact. I merely had some doubts..”
Regina spoke further in a quiet voice.
“Countless things make up this world, yet if the humans desired it, they could have everything within this world. There are the rewards from the Dungeons, and the benefit they gain from Achievements. If a Demon King appears, a hero comes to humanity’s defense. The world is too…… The world is centered around humans.”
“······.”
“I’ve seen this world for the past 197 years. It is always the same. Nothing changes. Humans have given me orders, and I followed those orders. So……...”
“So?”
“So… I…”
However, she couldn’t speak. She determined that the words she wanted to speak would go against the restrictions placed on her. Regina looked like Etna. Etna hadn’t been able to speak freely thanks to the shackles placed on her by the Demon King.
Regina changed the topic before Artpe could say anything.
“That is why I’m not younger than you. I am 198 years old in human years.”
“So you are back to that again? It’s fine?”
Yes, she was at her limits. Artpe snorted as he spoke.
“Lastly, I want to tell you about the critical delusion you are under.”
“Delusion?”
“The relationship between a magician and a Demite isn’t a dependent relationship. When a Demite exists in its gemstone state, it is merely a rock possessing a small amount of will. Magicians use this fact to refine and make a contract with the Demite. Basically, it is a form of a contract ritual. That is why you…....”
“However, I am a golem. I am their subordinate.”
“Hoong.”
Artpe held the Demite’s Gemstone in one hand, and he used the other hand to raise his long sword, which was letting out a soft red energy.
“When this guys is completed, you’ll have a better idea of what I’m talking about. You can look forward to it.”
“······.”
The long sword was infused with the power of fire from Etna. It was a bit too large to hold with one hand, but he didn’t have a carving tool that was more suited for this job. He had no choice.
Artpe was careful not to poke a hole on the roof of the carriage. He firmly held onto the sword’s hilt, and he used the side of the blade to carefully scratched at the outer surface of the gemstone.
“Oh. It’s working.”
A powerful flame formed at the edge of the blade. The Demite’s Gemstone was unimaginably hard, yet the blade was able to carve out the parts he wanted by slightly melting the gemstone. Of course, these slivers from the gemstone still contained powerful Mana, so he saved the precious shavings.
“The Mana is…..”
Regina’s eyes slightly widened. The Demite was being refined by a miniscule amount, yet she could see the ambient Mana being sucked into the gemstone.
“In its Demite’s Gemstone form, it only has the ability to amplify the injected Mana. However, you aren’t like that, right? You are able to manipulate the Mana.”
“Affirmative.”
“Yes, this guy will be able to do the same thing. …..of course, it won’t have a clear sense of self like you.”
“······if its function remains the same, a sense of self is meaningless. …...it might be better that way.”
Artpe didn’t answer her. Instead, he went to work with his sword. It was a difficult and delicate work, so his working speed was slow. Still, he was able to work on it within the carriage. In just several hours, the light being emitted by the Demite’s Gemstone steadily thickened. The amount of Mana being drawn inside the gemstone also increased.
“This gemstone has performed several exploits with me. Since it hadn’t been fully awake, it wasn’t able to receive its proper share of EXP······.”
Despite this fact, the Demite’s Gemstone had gained 100 levels from its original level. It was proof as to what kind of carnage Artpe’s party had to experience in the past.
“How is it? Can you see the change?”
“Slowly…. It is awakening.”
Regina watched Artpe’s work. She observed the shape of the Demite’s Gemstone change depending on the movement of his hands. She didn’t like the fact that he was handling the Demite, yet she felt interested at the prospect of the Demite’s awakening. Artpe thought she was a complicated being. Artpe continued his work as he had such thoughts.
The refinement of a Demite didn’t happen in a day or two. Moreover, the situation he found himself delayed his work further. The carriage continued to run, but they had to take brief breaks. Moreover, they also had to stop for sleep.
Furthermore, other businesses continued to divert his attention away from his work of refining the Demite.
For example, magicians were starting to search the region. They were here to find Aedia’s ace card.. He had to kill these magicians in secret. Then there were the idiotic knights. They bared their teeths every time he tried to switch his mind off for a little bit. He had to personally teach several of them a lesson. Then there was Maetel and Sienna. It wasn’t enough for him to interact with them several dozen times a day. They clung to him, and he had to set aside time to play with them.
Lastly, there was Regina. She knew running away was impossible, but she tried to escape every several hours as if she was trying to fulfill an obligation. Now he just shut down her attempts in advance. She complained, so he had to humor her too.
“······you already have a woman, yet you wander around searching for a new younger girl. A human’s greed is endless.”
“Ah. It isn’t like that.”
“Golems don’t have a sexual function. Unfortunately, I cannot give you what you want.”
“That is why I told you I don’t need it!”
“······platonic relationship?”
“······.”
It seemed Regina had learned the only way she could make fun of Artpe. He resented Sienna, who had taught this useless knowledge to Regina. However, Sienna continued to have an innocent smile on her face, and she said phrases like, ‘I’m glad oppa gets along with Regina!’ He should have foreseen this when he saw the two of them converse extensively with each other!
“Shit. This is hard to do.”
“It’s pretty.”
“It is getting prettier.”
[Nyaaaaaa.]
“It is close to waking up.”
After a week, an outline was becoming visible on the Demite. The Demite continued to absorb and emit the surrounding ambient Mana. This process caused a brilliant light to be emitted. Those that weren’t interested in his work started to pay attention.
The problem he was encountering was the fact that the Demite became harder as he carved deeper. This was why the speed of his work continued to slow down as time passed.
If possible, he wanted to finish it before they reached the headquarters of the Diatin army. As always, they arrived at their destination when he had only a little more to go to complete the
Demite.
“We are here, so you should get off…. Why are you looking at me with such eyes?”
The blameless captain had opened the door to the carriage. Still, he received rebuke from Artpe and the members of his party. It couldn’t be helped.
“Your timing is impeccable.”
“Soon. It will happen soon.”
If it was up to him, he would have stayed in place to finish the Demite. However, it couldn't’ be helped. Artpe let out a sigh as he put away the Demite. Regina looked on with longing as she tried to catch sight of the gemstone again. Sienna gently pushed Regina to the side, and she gave a reply to the captain.
“Yes, let’s go.”
“I already sent a knight ahead, so he should soon…...”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
Before the captain’s words could end, a horrifying scream emanated from the enormous barrack within the headquarters. Artpe smirked as he asked the captain a question.
“Haven’t I heard that voice before?”
“······it’s the voice of my subordinate.”
The corners of the captain’s eyes became distorted. When he turned to look, he saw several hundred knights pour out of the barracks. They were filled with the intention to fight.
“Kill the traitors!”
“The leader of our enemies have infiltrated our headquarters! Kill every one of them!”
“Magician······ What is going on?”
It was a wonder. Things were going exactly as he had expected. He faced the angry face of the captain. Artpe shrugged his shoulders as he answered the captain.
“So can you tell me who I’m supposed to make a deal with?”