Chapter 147 - Spring (2)

Kadir, the Mage King.

The stories told of his life were full of tales that belonged in a fairy-tale book: defeating a dragon single-handedly, besting every mage of note, and so on.

But the most fairy-tale-like part of all was his friendship with the Hero. A heroic protagonist and a mage companion—the sort of pairing that appeared in fairy tales all the time. Even their accomplishments fit the mold: together, they had defeated the Undying King.

At a time when demons were gradually shedding their association with the Demon King, the Holy Kingdom's atrocities had brought forth the Undying King. Whatever his past, the previous Hero and Kadir had joined forces to defeat him. Though the aftermath brought the tragedy of the previous Hero's death, it was recorded as a noble sacrifice.

Kadir, the Hero's dear friend, had likewise buried the sorrowful truth for a time and quietly honored his memory. But faced with the ugly, dark truth the Holy Kingdom had been concealing, even that sorrowful truth began to feel meaningless.

'It's always the ones who claim they don't care about money who are the greediest.'

Righteousness was no different. Anyone who loudly proclaimed his own righteousness wasn't right in the head.

That described Eldorado perfectly now. Those who ought to shun greed were indulging in it. Outwardly, they pretended to be devout, to be respectable, but Kadir had realized long ago that Eldorado's image as a "Holy Kingdom" had already crumbled.

'I look forward to hearing what nonsense they come up with.'

And so, after making thorough preparations, Kadir set out for Eldorado.

He sought no permission from the Iris Kingdom, the nation to which the Mage Tower belonged. He was the Mage Tower, a mage whose power rivaled a nation's. Who would stop him? He wasn't called the Mage King for nothing. Even the king of Iris had to tread carefully around him.

Thus Kadir visited the Holy Kingdom of Eldorado alone. His sudden arrival threw Eldorado into considerable confusion, but they promptly welcomed their distinguished guest. He had already given them some notice, and the Undying King crisis had left him with connections there. Soon, he entered the papal headquarters without any obstruction.

"... What did you just say?"

"We merely follow the will of the divine. What will of his own could a servant possibly have?"

And there—more precisely, in a meeting with the pope and Cardinals—he could only stare in disbelief. As a friend of the previous Hero, he knew perfectly well how corrupt Eldorado's upper ranks were. But those in power then were not those in power now. Humans had short lives, and generations turned over quickly. He had thought things might have improved at least a little. Yet a brief conversation revealed that they were even more rotten than before.

'These bastards really are beyond saving, aren't they?'

Kadir looked at Pope Louis II with a placid expression.

He looked like a kindly old man, but a sly serpent crawled within him. One ready to devour a person at any moment.

'Every ugly aspect of Eldorado is packed into this one pope.'

Kadir inwardly clicked his tongue. Though he looked younger than the pope, they were roughly the same age. He glanced around at the other Cardinals. Already reduced to the pope's instruments, apparently, they said nothing.

"Servants of the divine... How vague. Are you saying the merciless slaughter of the Undying King's people was also divine will?"

"Do you think we enjoyed it? We were merely following orders."

"From the previous pope, or from your goddess?"

"The pope's words are the message of the divine."

That damned invocation of the divine was as versatile as ever. Simply calling something divine will served as both sword and shield. In the distant past, Aris would have personally punished such blasphemy. But as the ages passed and human civilization developed, the gods had ceased to interfere in the world.

'Perhaps they left out of disappointment.'

It was quite likely. Even he, who had no faith in the gods, felt profound disappointment. No, it went beyond disappointment. His revulsion was steadily growing. All the more so because he knew how noble the previous Hero had been.

"Your goddess gave those orders, did she...? Is that true?"

"Are you suggesting that the goddess made the wrong decision?"

"No. I'm asking whether she delivered an oracle or a prophecy. The Hero told me it was the homeland that pushed for it, not the goddess."

"..."

You were the ones who did it. Who do you think you're bullshitting? I'm the Hero's friend. And now I even have recent evidence.

At the implication behind his question, Louis II's expression stiffened slightly. The other Cardinals likewise made no attempt to hide their discomfort.

Habitually stroking his luxuriant beard, Kadir continued quietly.

"There is a saying in the Central Plains about trying to hide the sky with your palm. Do you truly believe the world will remain ignorant of the truth? You would be better off showing some remorse, even now."

"With all due respect..."

"Ah. Of course, back then you were probably receiving orders rather than giving them. What a pity. It would have been better to emphasize that point and apologize."

"..."

If you weren't the ones who gave the orders back then, that was understandable. But if you couldn't even apologize for that, you were utterly irredeemable trash. Either that, or your heads were completely empty.

"Now see here. You go too..."

Just as one Cardinal lost patience and began to flare up, Louis II raised a hand to stop him. The Cardinal had no choice but to swallow his anger. Then Louis II spoke, still wearing his affable smile.

"I understand what you are saying, Lord Kadir. But I hope you will understand that we merely follow the will of the divine."

"I wonder whether your goddess would agree with that interpretation."

Kadir snorted.

His derisive words meant that people would no longer believe anything they said. Only Kadir—the previous Hero's partner, a man whose renown and power no one could dismiss—could mock them to their faces. Anyone else would already have had their head mounted on a spike.

But even Kadir hadn't anticipated that rock bottom could have another bottom beneath it.

"Mage King. Do you know why we—and indeed, humanity—believe in the divine?"

"What do you mean?"

"Because we are dull and foolish. We invariably make the wrong choices, so the goddess guides us. Of course, she does not always make the right choices either, but they are at least far better than the choices we would make."

In short:

[Humanity is nothing but dogs and pigs.]

Strictly speaking, he meant the people of Eldorado, not humanity, but that interpretation was perfectly valid. Everyone was equal before the divine anyway. What difference did it make?

In the end, Kadir could only laugh hollowly. He couldn't tell whether they were shameless or insane.

"I understand your position quite well now. Thanks to you, I feel my eyes have been opened."

"I am glad to have been of assistance."

"That brazen front won't hold up much longer."

SNAP!

As he spoke, Kadir snapped his fingers. Louis II, too, understood what that gesture meant. He must have used magic. Flustered, the pope hastily spoke.

"What are you doing—"

"Oh, nothing much. I merely opened the people's eyes, just as you opened mine."

"Do you think you will get away with this?"

"What exactly do you think I've done to warrant that remark?"

Answer shamelessness with shamelessness. That was Kadir's solution. Regardless of Louis II's fury, he quietly rose from his seat. Realizing what was happening, a Cardinal hurried to summon the paladins, but—

"Your Holiness! Something terrible has happened!"

"What is it?"

"F-footage of this meeting is being transmitted all over Eldorado!"

"What do you mean?"

Louis II could not comprehend the messenger's news. Without broadcast magic, the record of their meeting was leaking out all over Eldorado? Unable to make sense of the situation, he glared at Kadir.

"Oh, it's nothing much. I simply imitated that forum you've branded evil."

"Imitated it?"

"Recording and replaying everything one sees without the aid of a device... Isn't that an utterly fascinating piece of magic?"

Kadir chuckled—a truly eccentric laugh. As Louis II's face twisted like a fiend's, Kadir leisurely raised a hand.

"You'll have a difficult time for a while. You brought this all upon yourselves, so don't blame me."

"Do you think the goddess does not know the truth? Have you, too, truly become a believer in that forum?"

I got a book there and even deciphered it, you bastard.

Kadir kept those words firmly bottled up inside. It wasn't time yet. That revelation had to wait until some time had passed and they were ready to take things further.

"The forum? I have no idea what you're talking about. You seem to have something on your conscience."

"You...!"

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I shall be on my way."

Set the fire and run. Kadir had added fuel to the dying flames. As Eldorado went beyond mere unrest to the brink of civil war, the world erupted in uproar. Kadir thought to himself as he returned leisurely to the Mage Tower.

'This is when we need a Hero... No. Perhaps it's better that the Hero isn't here right now.'

The Hero was currently on the run, falsely branded a turncoat. No matter how fierce the protesters became, without a rallying point they would inevitably scatter. Would the Hero return, or would the papal headquarters make its move first?

'This will be quite a long struggle.'

While Eldorado descended into chaos, Kadir quickly returned to the Mage Tower. Teleportation was easy with magic—though, of course, that was only true because he was Kadir. Upon returning to his beloved laboratory, he opened the refrigerator first.

"That blue mushroom I received earlier... Here it is."

["Kill me."]

"Later."

Kadir casually ignored the Undying King's request and shut the refrigerator.

* * *

The forum had burst into flames over the declaration that humanity was nothing but dogs and pigs. To me, it was just a fire on the far shore, so it didn't matter much. My reaction amounted to little more than, Oh, something weird has happened out in the world.

Nothing I said would be of much help, and the forum wouldn't be much help to me either. I was just amazed that the little ball I'd launched had turned into a giant meteor hurtling down.

'It's really warmed up.'

Winter must have been nearing its end, because the weather was noticeably warmer. My thick winter clothes were starting to feel hot, though I'd probably keep wearing them through tomorrow.

Time to get back to maintaining the house. First up was the ground, which had frozen solid and then thawed. It had rained, winter had arrived out of nowhere, and now the warmer weather had thawed the ground again. That left it muddy and squelchy enough to be a nuisance to manage. Still, it wasn't as though my feet were sinking into a swamp or a mudflat. It was just annoying.

'I'll have to get some gravel from the river later.'

The most important part of putting up a building was the ground. Firmly compacting it alone took more than half the total work time. Since I planned to build the furnace and oven soon, I intended to pack the ground solid. I could get gravel from the river, scatter it over the ground, and tamp it down.

"Roundfur. Come here."

"Kyuu?"

"Hehehe."

Evening had arrived, and it was growing dark. I hugged Roundfur and rolled around with him. With winter ending and Roundfur awake, I could finally get properly active again. Once I finished everything I needed to do, I could explore the different areas too.

'As long as there's no damned yellow dust.'

It might be a sandstorm rather than yellow dust. Then again, unlike spring in Korea, there might not be any at all.

I'd laid all the groundwork for preparing for spring.

'Better put up the canvas just in case.'

Once the canvas was covering the cave entrance, I was ready for bed. Afterward, I tossed wood into the fireplace to keep the place warm.

"Achoo!"

I sneezed as I was getting ready. My nose was terribly itchy. It wasn't a cold. My nose had literally just started itching all of a sudden.

'What is this? I've got a bad feeling.'

Should I sleep with the face covering on, just in case? It would be uncomfortable, but I could still sleep in it.

I asked the speed-sloth, who had begun staring into the fire, to look after things, and went to sleep. Oh, I didn't forget to practice my internal energy cultivation method before bed. You had to keep at these things consistently to improve even a little. And so I spent the night in the cave, looking forward to the coming spring.

The next day.

WHOOOOSH!

When I pulled back the canvas first thing in the morning, a bright yellow world greeted me. So the yellow dust really had come. But I barely had time to think that.

"Achoo! Achoo! Pff-ACHOO!"

I burst into sneeze after sneeze. My nose itched so badly it stung. I wondered if it was the yellow dust, but it was odd that I was sneezing rather than coughing. Even with the face covering on, it felt as though something bright yellow was getting through. With a dreadful suspicion, I barely managed to open my eyes.

'Wait a second. Don't tell me this isn't yellow dust...'

Pollen. The stuff that tormented me every spring.

"Pff-ACHOO!!!"

Pollen swirled like a dust storm, staining the world yellow.