## Chapter 1040 – The One With Many Questions

“Okay, so let me get this straight.”

Lying sideways on the sofa covered with a blanket, Karin propped her chin up and reached for a snack on the table. She was currently wearing only black underwear and a large white t-shirt, having just come out of the shower with her hair loosely tied up.

“So, this heretical lich who does human experimentation like it’s nothing put some kind of power into that monument and used it for some kind of scheme, right?”

An accurate summary.

“Yeah, that’s right, sis. Does it make sense now?”
“Well… let me think for a moment.”
“Is Karin thinking?”
“What did you say, you little brat? Oh, seriously. Hey, you little shit, come here.”

As Liztina retorted, Karin immediately stretched out her foot and poked Liztina’s side with her toes.

“Ack! Ack! Stop it, please!”

Their relationship seems to be getting better and better.

“No, she started it first… Anyway. Let’s try to make some deductions with the clues we have.”

ㅡCrunch.

Karin grabbed another biscuit, sat up on the sofa with her legs crossed, and continued.

“First of all, that monument… We found a monument that’s roughly presumed to be used by those heretics, right? In a forest infested with demons.”
“That’s right.”
“Have you ever thought that it might have just been abandoned there from the beginning?”

Of course, I’ve thought about it.
It’s not impossible.

I’m currently thinking that the demons brought it this time, or the heretics installed it, but there’s still a good chance that it was there all along.

“If we consider the possibilities, of course, it could be.”
“But let’s skip that for now. The fact that the demons were gathered right there is a bit unsettling. As the Witch said, there’s no energy or anything, so how would the demons know and just be hanging around there? Hilde can’t feel anything either. Right?”
“Yes! That’s right! I can’t feel anything either!”

Hilde answered loudly.

Indeed. That’s right. Risha said there was no energy, and Hilde doesn’t know anything, so I don’t think those guys could track the location of the monument.

“Hmm… well, that’s true. There’s no way demons could find it if there’s no energy coming out. There’s no reason for them to gather. So, Karin, you’re saying that the demons somehow found out the location of the monument and gathered near it?”
“If you think about it, that makes sense.”

The story clicks in my head.

“Oh.”

I exclaimed.

“What is it? Does beauty correlate with intelligence?”
“Heh, it’s not like your sister is stupid.”

Karin crossed her arms and nodded, seemingly satisfied, and continued.

“Anyway, then let’s assume that the monument wasn’t originally abandoned there, but that some demon? Heretic? Roughly, those guys who triggered this incident brought it.”

It’s not an assumption, it’s almost a correct deduction.
Karin asked Hilde for a moment.

“Hilde, you said you don’t know what those letters carved there are at all, right?”
“Yes. I can’t read them at all. I don’t think it’s a language used by demons.”

Hilde nodded, and Risha also answered.

“This one doesn’t know either. This one has seen various letters in life, but this is a letter that this one has never seen before.”
“…”

When Risha answered, Karin stared intently at Risha’s face without saying a word.

“Why, why are you looking at this one with such eyes!”

Risha, who soon blushed, protested.

“Hmm? No? I’m just looking?”
“A, again, let this one tell you… This one’s specialty is black magic, and it’s specialized in restoring this one’s power…”

Risha doesn’t know a lot… No, but we all don’t know the same things, but when Risha doesn’t know, it feels strange.

“Yes, yes. Witch. I understand.”
“Karin is bullying this one!”
“Risha, come here.”

I stroked Risha’s ear as she snuggled into my arms, and listened to Karin’s words.

“Anyway, continuing… Let’s take a look at that monument with some kind of language we don’t know engraved on it. The Witch just said that it’s the shell left after using up all the energy, right? Let’s assume that’s right for now. That’s what I thought because of that.”

I was starting to get a sense of what Karin was trying to say.

“Maybe those letters aren’t just engraved on that monument for no reason. I don’t know much, but I think it’s something like magic. Right?”

When Karin gave a hint, Winia nodded.

“Hmm… that’s probably right. It’s quite common in magic to engrave special letters like that and do something like enchanting.”
“Yeah, that’s it. The identity of the monument is roughly something like that.”
“Ooh.”

Literally a magical object.
I understand it very well.

“But no one recognizes those letters, right… Then let’s assume that the heretical lich knows the letters. He must have used them because he knows them.”

Everyone nodded at those words.

“What’s a lich? A super strong wizard who became undead, right? No one here has ever seen a lich, but we roughly know that, right?”
“I guess so…?”

A super strong wizard who liberated himself from his body to achieve a higher level is a lich.

This is what I heard from Risha or Kadia last time.

But in fact, in this world, the more mana a person has, the longer their lifespan and the longer they stay young. Nevertheless, if a wizard becomes a lich, it means that they have already transcended that and are quite old.

An existence that has lived longer than an elf in a human body.

Of course, there’s a chance that he just wanted to become a skeleton badass. Everyone admires that original skeleton swag. If there’s a chance, there are plenty of middle schoolers who want to become undead.

“Then that lich guy must be old, right? Maybe even super old. Even if you add up the ages of everyone here, the lich’s age might be older.”

Age.

I reflexively stroked Risha’s back as she was in my arms and said.

“Risha, it’s okay. It’s no big deal.”
“…What did this one say after listening to Karin’s words just now?”

For some reason, Risha said with a pale face.

“You didn’t. But just in case.”
“Don’t tease this one!!!”
“Ugh.”

My back is going to break.

“Anyway.”

Karin continued to speak.

“If we assume that such a super old and super strong lich knows the letters… I think it’s something like ancient magic or something. Witch. Right? Doesn’t it seem like that?”
“Hmm… certainly. It’s quite possible. It’s not strange for a lich who has lived for a long time to use ancient letters and magic that are now forgotten.”

After hearing that far, I said to Karin.

“Then, sis. That heretical lich somehow charged the monument with some kind of power using something similar to ancient magic.”
“Yeah.”
“And he used it somehow this time.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

It is certain that the monument is connected to the heretics. And it is also clear that those heretics are subordinates of the lich.

Anyway, the lich did something using this monument.

“Using the monument near here means there must be a reason to do so. Seeing that demons were gathered around the monument, it must be related to demons in some way…”
“Yeah. Keep going. What is that usage? What would they use it for in this situation?”

Karin urged me to answer after hearing my words.

“Ah! I think I know!!!”

At that time, Hilde jumped up and shouted, raising her hand.

“Me! Me! I think I know! Please let me answer!!!”
“Okay. Our Hilde, answer.”

At that moment, Ari, who was quietly looking at us while lying on Claudia’s lap, said.

“Could it be that it was used to open a demon gate?”
“Aaaah! I was going to say that!!!”

Hilde immediately screamed and collapsed.

“Oh my, Ari. You shouldn’t do that. Hilde wanted to answer.”
“Aaaah!”
“It suddenly came to mind. To open a demon gate, or to thin the boundaries of dimensions to allow a gate to open. After hearing the story, I think there are such possibilities.”
“I didn’t even think that far!”

Hilde, who had collapsed, got up again and sat down.
She really is full of energy.

“Okay, damn it, I roughly understand. Yeah… something seems to fit together roughly.”

Anyway, after hearing Ari’s words, it seemed to be roughly organized.

“First of all, that heretic… No. Let’s just call them the Lich Cult. Those bastards back in winter. That. I told you about it, right?”

When I said that while looking at Winia, she nodded.

“That’s right, that time. What was it, some Sasquatch bastard holding hands with a demon and opening a gate to escape.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”

It happened last winter.

While investigating the Sasquatch and the heretics, we destroyed one of their research facilities. In the process, I witnessed a heretical woman escaping with a demon.

This is a story I’ve already told all my women.

“It’s clear that the heretical woman acted with a demon… There’s definitely some kind of connection with demons. So, even if they opened a demon gate with a monument, I honestly wouldn’t think it’s strange.”

As we continued to speculate, a plausible conclusion came out. Karin nodded at my words.

“Well, that’s roughly what I thought. There’s not much information, so I just made a plausible guess, so don’t jump to conclusions. Just keep in mind that it might be possible.”
“Okay.”

It was a persuasive enough guess, so I thought it would be okay to think and act like this for now.

“Lich… But what is the lich’s purpose? If he did such a thing as Karin guessed, he must have done this because he had some purpose, right?”

Liztina expressed her doubts.
That’s…

“Who knows what a madman is thinking.”

Karin, who answered that way, lay down again.

“Performing evil undead manufacturing experiments…! Conspiring with demons! It’s clear that they have an extremely evil purpose, but I can’t know exactly…!”
“Hilde, come here too.”
“Yes!”

When I called, Hilde immediately came and stuck to my side.

“I can’t know the purpose when I don’t even know the identity of the heretics properly. Risha. Winia. What do wizards usually want even to become a lich? What do they want to achieve even by abandoning their bodies?”
“Hmm… This one is a demon by birth, so I think a slightly different answer will come out from a human perspective because of the long lifespan. Winia, speak first.”

Winia shook her head.

“What do you want even to abandon your body… Honestly, I don’t know. Why do you have to do something even by becoming a crazy skeleton?”
“I guess that’s a normal thought, right?”
“If you become a skeleton, you won’t have boobs to let you touch a black guy.”
“Hearing that, I know very well how foolish it is to become a lich. Anyway, Risha?”

Everyone focused on Risha.

“Some kind of vow… destiny. Isn’t that it? After all, I think they transcend the limits of the body because they value such things more than themselves. Those who think of themselves would never abandon their bodies.”
“Is that so too.”

Whatever it is, it’s quite fanatical. A lich is inevitably a madman and a psychopath. And they can only be beings who enjoy professional serial killing and antisocial destructive acts.

“Hmph… Still, if you look at their obsession with the undead, isn’t their ultimate goal in that direction?”
“Ultimate goal?”

Claudia said.

“Katt told me that there’s a legend. A legend that the most powerful necromancer opened the gate to the underworld and became a god. Maybe that’s the goal. If they’re trying to break down the boundaries with other dimensions like Pandemonium, could this be possible?”

The legend of the necromancer who opened the underworld.

“Break down the boundaries of dimensions… and open the underworld?”

This is what I told them what I heard from Kadia a long time ago.

This is also possible.

The Lich Cult’s heretical bastards also made things like Evil Giants, Abominations, and Death Knights in the basement of Isvant Slum.

“Hmm… That seems possible too.”
“Certainly, if you’ve become a lich, it wouldn’t be strange to show such legendary moves.”

Liztina and Karin said, and everyone nodded.

“A lich is trying to open the underworld…! I don’t know what will happen!”
“Okay, Hilde, calm down.”

I got up from my seat.

“Then let’s stop here and go out to eat. Let’s think about the remaining work tomorrow.”

In the end, the reason why the Lich bastard tried to open the demon gate is still a mystery. It seems like they have something to do using demons… I’ll know that little by little.