Chapter 154 – Archduke Collector (6)

Because life was so long for Lehel.
When he looked back on that life, he felt like he was touching objects in a dark room.
Even when I look back on the old days in my dreams.
Although he knew where he was currently standing, he couldn’t remember how long ago it had been.

Therefore, she used to infer her period through the few things she had.
The degree of rust on the medal and the smell of cuts on old robes were used as indicators.
When the dragon who taught him magic breathed his last breath in Sacreure, the medal was as clean as new.
The day I wandered in the desert of Sandalphonia, I smelled the scent of an inexperienced wizard trying to seize a piece of truth.

‘Here is…’

The place I opened my eyes was a battlefield.
It was in front of a forest that had become ashes and a dried up canal.
This time, she didn’t even have to check through her belongings.
It may have been ten years, but it was the only time before or since that the largest mountain range on the continent burned and the spirit of all knights there was broken.

Great war.
The 2nd Labierre Defense Battle.

Lehel realized that this was her dream.
She now found herself seeing visions of her past.
She came here after hearing the sad news that Greenwood Forest was burning and all the soldiers who chose to fight were killed.
She did this not to comfort the souls of the victims, nor out of her desire for revenge.
If I had to be honest, I was more curious about the intentions of the giant dragon in front of me than about the people who had fallen at my feet.

— It’s your fault.

A roar filled with earth-shaking contempt.
The bane of her four worst, Karvius said, glaring at her with her bright yellow eyes.

— You have brought destruction to this world.

Lehel stood quietly with her head raised and did not respond.

— Slaying and hunting dragons. We believed that our mysteries could be contained with your knowledge.
“…”
— Even when the famous magic engineering began to decline, the emperor was still foolish. At most, I tried to drive out that darkness through four secret places.
“…”

The four secret areas of the Holy Acetaria Empire.
It was some kind of safety device.
It was humanity’s final counterattack in preparation for when the devil would one day trample this land.
Like the Ice Age, the knights of the empire feared the winter that would come to the continent as they killed all the dragons.

— Magic was originally ours. You have slain the dragon, and now you must pay the price. How is it, Lehel Darad? Child loved by the dragon, do you feel it too?

I’m feeling it.
Because we have lived for hundreds of years, we can feel the changes directly with our skin.
The continent’s magic has gradually declined, and the empire’s once brilliant magic engineering has become obsolete, and now only the legacy of iron dogs and iron soldiers is barely maintained.
The pure mana that filled the air is gradually disappearing, and karma is filling the void.
Humanity became weak, and eventually there was no way to stop the devil’s army.

— It is a delightful thing, ‘the end of magic.’

Carvius’s laughter echoed all the way to the bottom of the dried up canal.
Lehel closed her eyes as she listened to the taunts.

— You will accomplish nothing with that fancy magic.

At this time, did he anticipate what would happen next?
In the end, it was a sword, not magic, that struck the Demon King’s neck.
By a man who knows nothing about this continent, is ignorant of the magic buried in the sand, and has nothing to do with hundreds of years of sin.

And after the Demon King’s head fell off.
Terra, who returned to Thessalon, had a deep conversation with Paul III.
At that time, she was staying in the royal castle and overheard a little of their conversation behind her door.
The gloomy mutterings of Terra, who had the title of the greatest wizard on the continent, came out through the crack in the door along with the light.

— We took everything from him for our world.

The same words were later told by the three sisters of Sandalphonia.
She murmured this in a voice full of sorrow.

***

Lehel, who was thinking about the light between the cracks in the door, opened her eyes and saw the afternoon sunlight coming through the window.
Like any ritual, what I saw in my dream was quickly forgotten.
The moment I came to my senses and tried to get up from the blanket, an uncomfortable feeling came over my entire body.
When I reflexively scanned his nose, thick blood dripped out.

“Cough… ! Oh right. “You also used unique magic, right?”

Sight, and taste.
As I woke up and my senses began to return, I began to understand the situation.
The white sheets were completely covered in blood, and the epicenter was his own face.
There were traces of dried blood coming from every orifice, including the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

“Hey, I need to wash up.”

It wasn’t anything special, it was a mild side effect.
The body shrinks and the blood inside the body gushes out.
I don’t know exactly how it works, but based on my experience hundreds of times, it didn’t cause any damage to my organs, so Lehel yawned once and got up.
After washing her body properly, she stood in front of the sink and could already feel the changes caused by her unique magic.

‘Have you become a little shorter?’

The image reflected in the mirror also looks a bit young.
In terms of age, they are students who have just entered the academy.
The thought that her breasts would also have gotten smaller made me feel sad.
It was really unfortunate that the dress I had bought so long ago didn’t fit.
There’s a lot of blood on it anyway, so I’ll have to throw it away.

“Well, anyway…”

I can’t help it.
Lehel’s thoughts were as simple as this.
It was no big deal that she missed the meeting this morning.
Because it was all in the past anyway.

“Egh! Let’s shake it off! Let’s see… It’s a day off for the Mon King Tournament, and today’s leading event is…”

As a reflex, as was her regular routine, Lehel flipped through her crystal ball and the morning newspaper to search through her gambling-related material.
It was a habit she had been doing since she was lounging around in the director’s office with nothing to do.
The tension as she upped the stakes.
And the thrill of knowing she finally made the right choice.
Of course she was more shocked by the opposite outcome, but at least she was able to listen to the beating of her own heart.

But that was quite a long time ago now.
Since she promised Lewis when she traded the Rubik’s Cube, she never actually bet any money.
I quickly got tired of the dull behavior.

“Ha…”

Eventually, Lehel collapsed on her bed and went back to sleep.
What catches my eye are playing cards and Jenga pieces of wood scattered near the mattress.
Picking up one of her cards and flexing her wicked fingers, she cooed inside her blanket.

Then darkness comes again.
This time, instead of the distant past, the sight I saw just yesterday was reflected in my eyes.
Louis smiled proudly, saying he had finished persuading Scarlett.
She was so embarrassed that as soon as her magic ended, she ran away, returned to the floating island, and collapsed.

‘Persuasion, persuasion… Well then, maybe I… ?’

According to rumors among the residents of the floating island, Louis has a deep relationship with one of the archdukes.
However, some say that he had relationships with all the Grand Dukes who arrived on the central island, and was even given the strange nickname of “Grand Duke Collector.”

Lehel wished that the name was true.
As the little time that remained passed, her heart became filled with impatience.
If what he said was true, he would soon find himself ——

— Chairman? Are you still sleeping? There was a meeting today. He didn’t come out so I came to find him.
“… !!”

With ghostly timing, Lewis knocked on the door from outside.
Lehel was trying to get out when she realized she had left her blood-stained dress on and had nothing on.

– Uh? Is the door open?

She also didn’t seem to have properly locked the door when she came in yesterday.
Startled, Lehel hurriedly wrapped herself in a blanket and screamed.

“Now, wait a minute!!”

***

As she expected, Lehel seems very sick.
Did she get hit by too much cold wind yesterday?
Well, it’s snowing all over her, and she’s likely to catch a cold standing on the floating island in her dress.

As she was originally a woman of little material wealth, she was comparable to Scarlett, and she had nothing on the island.
At most, there is only one single-room building that is collapsing in the wind.
I was worried about her with only her head sticking out of her dirty room, so I took off her shoes and went inside her.

“Are you okay? “Have you caught a cold?”
“Yes? Yes, yes!! Snoring! That’s right!”
“Well, as I get older, I need to take better care of my body. By the way, I am using the wind bead I gave you a long time ago. “It definitely helped with my back pain.”
Haha! Good for you… !”

When I overexert myself like I did yesterday, my stomach hurts the next day.
Even the day she drank with Esther, her head hurt.
Are you sure you’re old?
There is no medical insurance in the kingdom, and I am already starting to worry about my old age.

“What is all this? “Let’s do some cleaning.”
“Well, I’m in a lot of pain… ! As my boss said, how much your body aches as you get older… Cough, Cough!”

As I approached the room, removing gambling props from the room, I saw small traces of blood splattered on the walls and floor.
I thought that Lehel’s condition might be more serious than I expected.
I asked her again, with a serious attitude that was quite different from her previous one.

“Is it because of the inherent magic?”
“Uh, about that…”
“I think I’m a little younger.”
“Yes, it’s true that I’m younger, but it doesn’t put much of a strain on my body…”

Lehel tilts her head for a moment and interrupts what she was saying.
Then she suddenly curled up, coughing repeatedly.

“Cock, cologne! Cough! That’s right! In fact, every time you use magic, you have to suffer terrible pain… !!”
“Oh my god…”

Even though it was so difficult, she used her magic even at the cost of her lifespan.
Even though I was an unscrupulous business partner who had been exploiting Lehel for the benefit of the store, I was worried about her deteriorating health.
When I looked up close, I could see that she had albinism, and her white skin turned slightly red, making her look really hot.
I held her hand gently and asked.

“Do you need anything? Something you want to eat or something. “I will help you in any way I can.”
“Yes? Umm, that’s…”

Lehel was quite taken aback by my kind side, which she had never seen before.
She swallowed her saliva a few times, then carefully reached out with her other hand to grab me.
Her white shoulders and collarbone exposed under the blanket.
I reflexively remembered the beautiful dress I saw yesterday.

“Well…”
“Please speak.”

After hesitating for a long time, Lehel finally closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

“Well, the same thing you did for me too… ! Please do the same!!!”
“Huh?”

I pulled my hand out for a moment and clenched it into a fist.

“I can do it for you…”

Really?