Chapter 310

I'd finished a short bath alone, after sending out everyone who'd insisted on attending me. That was when—

"Mind if I intrude."

The familiar voice came alongside Milited, who crossed the broad bathing chamber toward me.

Seeing that I was already dried off, it muttered as if mildly surprised.

"Hm? What's this—you finished already?"

"What of it."

At my disinterested reply, the thing shrugged.

"You sent all the attendants away. I assumed it meant you wanted a private word with me, so I came rushing over. After all, you're my guest, and it's only proper that I treat you with the courtesy you deserve."

Milited said this as it perched on something nearby.

"And as you can see, my body's made of liquid. Bathing's pointless for me. Still, I'm rather fond of it. There's something about… the feeling of whatever's been clinging to the outside getting washed away. I can't get enough of it."

"What are you on about."

I muttered without bothering to look at it.

"More to the point—do I have to actually tell you to get out before you'll leave? You're the one who said to rest. How about you let me rest?"

"What, do you really dislike me that much? Then how about this form?"

As it spoke, its low, thick voice thinned out. Like a woman's voice.

I'd heard this voice before. When Kath Ryle had taken female form.

"I don't really understand human aesthetic sense, but I do know that both my male… mm, my male and female forms are appealing in their own way."

Truthfully, Kath Ryle had only felt off around me because of the World Tree's power inside me—there was no denying he was remarkably beautiful. And the female form I'd glimpsed once had been an equally stunning beauty.

So the Milited splashing around in the water behind me right now was probably wearing the exact same female form I'd seen Kath Ryle in.

"…Milited."

"Hm. Enough joking around."

The moment I said its name, it straightened up hastily, as if it had only been kidding.

Ignoring the wet, splashing sounds, I changed into my clothes while Milited smacked its lips.

"I was trying to build some trust here, strengthen our goodwill, but it seems that isn't going as planned."

Milited spoke and splashed again.

"You can turn around. Same form, but I've got something on now."

At that, I glanced over my shoulder.

Just as I'd expected. It was sitting on the rim of the tub in Kath Ryle's female form, watching me.

"Hm—to clear the awkwardness, let's chat about something pointless. Did you know we Seven Calamities have genders, too?"

"Roughly."

"Margo and Sbeungali are male, Minerva and Venus female… and then there's me, capable of switching between both at will but fundamentally sexless, and Juno, also sexless. Funny, isn't it? Almost as if it were deliberate—an even split between male, female, and sexless."^※TL would've been nice information to have ealier..

At that, I asked without thinking.

"What about the other one?"

"Hm?"

"You only counted six. What about Ahriman's gender?"

"Ahriman?"

Milited looked back at me as if it had no idea what I was talking about.

"Ahriman? Who's that?"

"…What?"

The thing tilted its head at me, puzzled.

"The Seven Calamities are only those six I just mentioned."

"…."

For a moment I lost the ability to speak. Sbeungali whispered to me.

[…It's serious. The bastard is genuinely saying that.]

A chill crawled up my spine in spite of myself.

…This was it.

"What's the matter? Something wrong?"

"No. Hot bath, first one in a while. Just spaced out for a second."

I brushed it off and turned my attention inward, checking the dormant Milited essence inside my body.

And I could be certain.

Right now there were no fewer than four Seven Calamities' powers sleeping inside me.

In order: Margo, Sbeungali, Minerva, and finally Milited.

Of these, Sbeungali and Minerva maintained their own power and selves through a kind of symbiotic-parasitic arrangement with me, while Margo's was so scattered I could only barely catch a lingering echo of it.

It wasn't going to happen, but on the absurdly remote chance I lost all my power, there was a possibility—roughly the odds of a camel passing through a needle's eye—that Margo could resurrect again. Of course, with Sbeungali and Minerva present, that would never happen.

But the Milited that Han Su-yeong had handed over, that I'd absorbed—the one Ahriman had killed—was, quite literally, no different from a corpse. Yes… to compare it to a person, the equivalent of brain-dead.

That was probably why, even though I could feel Milited's energy inside me and its essence had been etched into the pendant as well, none of the usual signs had appeared—no new authority granted, no stat increases, nothing. I hadn't even seen a notification telling me my karma had risen.

Could it be….

[Heh….]

[……]

Sbeungali and Minerva both seemed taken aback.

I was no less stunned than they were.

I'd known Ahriman's ability worked even on fellow Seven Calamities, but I'd never imagined it was powerful enough to leave one this helpless.

'…Then why on earth did it reveal all this to Su-yeong?'

That wasn't all.

Every piece of information it had shared with Han Su-yeong—seen from its side—was the sort of thing it had no reason to be telling anyone. Nothing she gained from it could possibly benefit it.

…Which meant it had needed her cooperation badly enough to go that far, or at the very least, her trust.

But why?

'Han Su-yeong. The protagonist of this world. And a book that only she has the qualification to open….'

There had to be a deep connection between these three things—I was certain of it. As I kept thinking it through—

"…Hey. Hey!"

"Hm? What?"

When I turned my head, Milited let out a small sigh.

"Minerva and Venus are out for your blood. I've now asked you six times how you intend to handle that."

The thing stared at me, plainly fed up. I answered as if it were nothing worth worrying about.

"For Venus—I just stay away from the ocean and large lakes, right? And if it sets foot on land, Minerva and Juno aren't going to sit still."

"Easy for you to say. Then what about Minerva?"

"That one I'll have to settle face-to-face. Actually, since we're on the topic—"

I turned to Milited, which was watching me skeptically, and twisted my face into an offended scowl instead.

"What the hell did you tell Minerva back then, exactly?"

"Uh…."

"If I don't know what you said when you sold me out, I can't figure out how to handle her, can I."

At that, Milited's gaze slid away.

"I told her I knew someone who could relieve her boredom."

It went on, slowly, at a pace too steady to be hurried.

"My luck was rotten that day. I ran straight into her on the way back. More precisely, I only realized she was close after she'd already ambushed me. She had me completely pinned, and she looked down at me and said, 'Sparring wits with you isn't fun anymore. So just die.'"

Milited splashed playfully with its foot, dragging a toe across the surface of the water. The bathwater in the enormous tub stirred and pulled itself into a small Minerva shape.

"Of course, I wouldn't actually die from that. But it would have taken centuries to get back to normal. …Naturally I didn't want that, so I shouted out, more or less in desperation. I told her I knew someone who could entertain her. A human who could match her in combat—me included, no question—and I swore there'd never be another like him."

It moved its foot again.

The dragon-shaped water burst apart, droplets scattering everywhere.

Minerva clicked her tongue once, displeased.

"And then… well, that's how it went."

Milited spoke as if the whole thing had simply happened to it. I cut in.

"So basically, you took the shit you dropped and dumped it on me."

"Listen, even if it's true, there are nicer ways of saying that…."

"Hey. Listen carefully."

Fully dressed now, I turned and faced it head-on.

"Thanks to you, I've got Minerva and Venus as enemies. And now I have to go to Minerva myself and clear up the misunderstanding. I'm doing all of this to keep my end of the deal with you. But if things go south, I just cut your neck off and run back to my own time. We clear?"

It nodded slowly.

"I'll say it again. You're not in a position to be testing me or weighing your odds, Milited. Unlike me, you can't run. Right?"

"…Right."

"Then you'd better do everything you can to make sure I keep wanting to honor that deal, hadn't you?"

"Of course. So what would you have me do?"

It shifted its posture, just slightly.

Minerva spoke up, not bothering to hide her irritation.

[…Don't tell me—is that thing actually pulling some sleazy stunt on you?]

[Looks like it.]

I told Sbeungali, who was nodding right along, to be quiet, and kept my eyes locked on it.

"I want everything you can get on Venus and Juno. Where they are, what they're doing, who they have as subordinates—all of it."

"Not Minerva? And—Venus I understand, but why Juno?"

"After a mess like that, you think it's going to sit there quietly? More than that—since two of them are stirring, of course Juno's going to react too."

"Hmm."

Milited nodded as if it understood.

Then it looked at me and asked,

"Anything else?"

"And—!"

For an instant, Milited and I both flinched at the same time.

Something had broken into the place.

And the direction their essence was heading—

"H-Hey! Wait!"

—was where Han Su-yeong was.

"Oh, Ji-hyeok."

…By the time I got there, everything was already over.

People who looked like Milited's underlings were bustling around the area, and she stood propped against the wall just outside the bathing chamber, a robe thrown over the thin clothing underneath. Her hair wasn't even properly dried.

I went up to her and pulled the outer layer off my own shoulders to drape over her. Her body was shaking faintly. I couldn't tell whether it was the cold or her nerves.

"What happened? More to the point, are you okay?"

"Huh? Y-Yeah… yeah. Just startled, that's all."

She said it as she tugged the coat I'd given her closer. Then she glanced toward the bathing chamber and added,

"Murlocs showed up."

"Murlocs?"

"Yeah. Going on about how the Master of the Sea had told them to bring me in, or something. Honestly couldn't follow half of what they were saying."

The Master of the Sea.

Venus was the only one who came to mind.

And it was Han Su-yeong they'd targeted, not me….

"Milited."

I said it quietly.

"Explain."

"I—I don't know anything about this. I swear."

Milited spoke as if wronged.

"I say I want to cooperate with you, then behind your back I join hands with Venus and attack her? To use her as a hostage, no less? Why on earth would I pull a stunt that crude?"

It had a point.

Saying Milited and Venus had joined hands was too transparent a maneuver, and from Milited's standpoint, there was far more to lose than to gain.

But that wasn't what mattered.

What mattered was that Han Su-yeong had been targeted.

The fact that she had been attacked—that was what mattered.

"This is the second time."

I said, looking at it slowly.

"Twice now, thanks to you, this side has been put in danger. Don't tell me you're going to ask me to swallow a third."

The thing met my gaze and couldn't say a word.

After holding it for a long while, it finally managed a nod.

"…I'll keep it in mind. I mean it."

Milited took a step back as it spoke.

A faint flicker of surprise crossed its face, as if it hadn't expected itself to step back.

"A-and I don't know how you'll take this, but I'm just as furious about what's happened as you are."

It went on, like it was catching its breath.

"You're my guests. As the master of this estate, it's my duty to protect you. Under my roof, you're supposed to be looked after. The fact that someone attacked you means whoever did it considers me less than a stray mutt off the street—!"

The last words came out like Milited had chewed them up and spat them out. It rounded on the underlings, who'd been watching the situation, and snapped,

"Who was on guard duty here today?"

"Yes, well, that would be—"

"Forget it, the name's not important. I'll have their flesh for dinner. Kill every last one of them and hang the bodies from the rafters."

Milited rolled its eyes wildly as it spoke.

"I'll need people watching Venus and Juno. Bring me Belluna and Skellinke. Spirits—those two are the right fit."

"And every one of Venus's minions that crawled onto land—I want them stamped out. Sort out the ones with speed and sharp instincts."

"Last—bring Landschi up from the dungeon."

Having rattled the orders off in one fluid stream, it looked at the two of us and said,

"I can't very well assign some half-rate fool to wait on my guests."

A ruin reduced to ash, everything burned away to nothing.

In one corner of those ruins, a dragon that had been sleeping as if dead opened its mouth.

[…Hah. So the likes of you have come to seek me out first.]

Minerva, who had been quietly tending to the wounds she'd taken in her fight with Venus, muttered, clearly displeased. Her crimson eyes were fixed on a being that, set beside her, was infinitesimally small.

[Ahriman. What brings you before me?]

— It's been a while, Minerva.

A voice exactly like her own. Minerva exhaled in irritation.

[Loathsome thing. Do not speak with my voice.]

— I know it's rude. I'd appreciate it if you'd bear with me for a moment.

Ahriman.

The Seven Calamity draped in black tatters raised its head to look at her.

— There's something I want to tell you.

And at that same moment.

In other places, the 'Ahrimans' draped in black tatters each looked at the being before them and spoke.

— Venus.

— Juno.

— There's something I want to say.

— Something I think will catch your interest.

— It's about the human who drove an arrow into your eye.

— A human who set Minerva and Venus both into motion. Would you believe such a thing existed, if I told you?

At those whispers, the colossal whale writhed as if in fury, and the crystalline body buried in lava began, quietly, to move.