832 – I Can’t Live Like This – 1

I had a sweet dream. A sweeter and more beautiful dream than the one I had when I reigned over all life as Death in the past and shook the continent.

“Jang-saeng! You’re fired today!”

A dream of dismissal. A hope of being freed from years of suffering.

Ironically, I, who had trampled everyone’s hopes and brought countless despair, ended up having hope. For a very brief moment, I truly felt like I had been free.

Of course, it was only for a short time. The guy who notified me of my dismissal was the eldest and most favored of the master’s children, but my master is not that little guy, but the master. If the master does not declare my dismissal, it means nothing.

But to be honest, I expected it. I expected that he, the father, would pretend not to be able to resist his son’s wishes and just give in.

‘Was it just a spring dream?’

Like a dream that disappears when you open your eyes. Like dew that disappears when the sun rises. It literally became a hope that faded away without leaving a trace.

“Death. Are you okay?”

As I lay face down on the floor, blankly staring into space, the guy who was my servant opened his mouth with concern.

It was even more bitter. How could he serve me so faithfully, even though I could no longer be called death, and had no power. How could he still be loyal, even though he knew that there were countless superiors above him?

If only there had been so many faithful believers during the religious wars. If only this continent had been ruled by death rather than the sun.

“It’s not okay.”

That’s why my answer came out more bluntly. At the same time, it was also a sincere answer. If my situation seemed okay, wouldn’t that be stranger?

“Then, Death, how about going outside for just a little while?”

“Hmm?”

What the heck is this?

I raised my head slightly at the unexpected words and turned my gaze to Lisianne, who looked at me with determined eyes.

“Death did his best to maintain this mansion. He bestowed favors upon many beings, and received their gratitude in return.”

“No, that.”

My mouth twitched for a moment at the words kindness and gratitude, but I barely held it back.

I see. So you can glamorize my miserable pet life like that.

“However, this mansion is not only inhabited by Death. There are beings who once shook the continent, and there are also beings who were born in this era but are favored. To the extent that Death can leave without much trouble.”

There were several faces that passed through my mind at those words.

Well, I guess there are quite a few things that will cause trouble if I leave.

‘No, is it okay if it’s just for a little while?’

When I went on vacation to my master’s hometown, even then, my master’s children were sorry but they didn’t stop me from going. It meant that they were okay without me.

“So, Death, just for a moment, just for a moment, please leave this mansion. Instead of waiting for freedom to come down from above, take your freedom for yourself!”

My heart pounded at Lissianne’s scream. My body, which had been lying listlessly on the floor, began to rise on its own.

Freedom that I win, not freedom that comes from above. Not freedom that I lay down on the ground in despair, but freedom that I stand on my own feet and move forward with hope.

Yes, that is right. What Lisianne said, what my faithful servant said, is right.

‘I’m the only one.’

It’s okay if I disappear for a little while.

And how I have suffered for this mansion and the little guys. How my body has been squeezed and my heart has been broken. Except for Titi, there is no one who has been captured by the little guys less than me.

Actually, lately, I feel like I’ve been suffering more than Titi. Titi, that traitor, is leaving the mansion every day. He’s blinded by love for Jenny or something.

“Lissianne.”

“Yes, Death!”

“Do I have the right to choose my own path?”

“No one can stop the march of death!”

“If I leave this place, will it be okay?”

“Death is not a being that originally exists in one place, but rather wanders across continents!”

It was a satisfactory answer, so the corners of my mouth went up involuntarily.

Yes. Even though it is a thing of the past, I was once dead. Now I am immortal. I am not a being who can live tied to one place. Whether it is death or immortality, I am a being who must wander the continent and reign over all living things.

Go! To win freedom with my own hands!

***

While playing with the children, I heard unexpected news.

“Jang-saeng ran away from home?”

“yes…”

The news that Yuris delivered with her head bowed as if she was ashamed. It was so unimaginable that I was at a loss for words for a moment.

“Dad. What’s wrong with running away?”

And the one who broke the silence was Friedrich, who was in my arms.

Thank goodness, our children don’t know the word “runaway” yet. If they had realized that Jang-saeng had left home, how sadly they would have cried. Jang-saeng’s existence is that strong and precious to our children.

“Jang-saeng got bored just staying at home, so he went out for a bit. He’ll be back soon.”

“Woah…”

Anyway, let’s talk about Jang-saeng’s running away as if it was nothing, and Friedrich nodded as if he understood.

“Then, our Friedrich. Do you want to go play with the other animal friends? They’ll get bored if you go out, right?”

“yes!”

I gently placed Friedrich on the floor and he quickly disappeared down the hallway.

Perhaps Friedrich’s playmate will be Peace. I saw her sleeping nearby earlier. Peace happens to be a tiger that boys go crazy for, so she’ll be caught and tormented for a few hours.

It may seem like a sudden disaster, but bear with it. This is a disaster caused by your friend Jang Saeng’s escape. Normally, this kind of thing is the responsibility of the group.

“How did you get out? You couldn’t have gotten out without being noticed by the servants, right?”

After confirming that Friedrich was out of sight, he turned his gaze back to Julis.

It’s hard to understand. This mansion is large, and there are many servants. No matter how hard Jang-saeng tries, he won’t be able to escape the servants scattered throughout the mansion.

If Jang-saeng could teleport, that would be another story, but he can’t. If Jang-saeng could use magic, he would have run away hundreds of times already.

“I, that’s it, you walked out so confidently, unlike usual. I thought you had permission to go out.”

“uh?”

“Jang-saeng hasn’t been feeling well lately. That’s why I thought the owner had given him permission to go out.”

Those words left me speechless again.

‘Was it the right way?’

It’s difficult. In fact, the reason Jang Saeng was discovered every time he tried to hide or run away was because he was being watched. Anyone could tell that he was trying to move secretly, so he was caught before he could properly hide or run away.

However, Jang Saeng-i chose to move confidently without worrying about what others might think. This way, the servants’ supervision was bound to be a little lax. It was tiring to manage each and every one of the holy beasts moving around.

‘The timing was just perfect.’

As Yuris said, Jang-saeng had been showing signs of depression recently. He must have felt like his freedom was disappearing right before his eyes, having been told by Pedi that he would be fired and then had it canceled.

So it’s not strange for the servants to feel sorry for Jang-saeng and think that he’s on vacation. In fact, I’m giving Titi and Seong-su a relay vacation. It’s not strange to think that they’ve been allowed to go out of the system for a while.

“Sorry, sorry! We’ll be more careful in the future─!”

“Oh, it’s okay. Judging from the way he confidently left, he must have already lost his taste. If I had stopped him there, he would have gone berserk instead.”

He patted Yuris’ shoulder, who was crying, and offered comfort.

The process is very strange, but the result is okay. If you look at Jang Saeng-i’s choice of the final method, the orthodox method, it means that he was already mentally driven. If you had stopped Jang Saeng-i, he would have cried, rolled on the ground, or stopped eating or drinking.

In that case, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let them go like this. There’s a reason why they say carrot and stick.

‘I don’t know where it is anyway.’

In addition, the location tracking magic that was cast when Titi was given an automatic walk. It is a more useful magic than expected, so it is currently cast on all animals, including Titi. Even if Jangsaeng escapes without permission, he can be captured within 5 minutes if he is determined.

‘Run away in an annoying way.’

Still, being okay rationally and being okay emotionally are two separate things. The fact that you dared to run away from our house is incredibly unpleasant.

Our children loved Jang-saeng so much. Sometimes, when they saw him, he seemed to like him more than his father, and he was so affectionate that he could have a good match with Titi, the most dignified person in our mansion.

Jang-saeng also receives love from children─

“Ghhh! Please let me go!”

Love is,

“Please, please let me rest! Even just for a little while is fine!”

Receiving,

“I just closed my eyes. I don’t want to sleep for a day, so just give me an hour.”

I’ve been…

“I would have rather died in a pit…”

hmm.

‘If you’re having a hard time, you can go out for a bit and get some fresh air.’

When I recalled my memories with Jang-saeng, tearful cries came to mind first rather than good memories.

I knew he was struggling, but I didn’t know it was this bad. There’s a difference between vaguely knowing something and actually recognizing it.

‘Have fun and come back.’

I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll let it be okay for me to be out of the way today, so just get some rest and come back.

Somehow, when Pedi brought up the topic of dismissal, he seemed overly excited. It was so desperate that even a child’s words gave him hope.

‘Should I send the other kids soon?’

Suddenly, I thought of other saints besides Jang Saeng.

Jang Saeng-i is the most favored of the saints, but that doesn’t mean the other saints are neglected. If Jang Saeng-i is extremely tired, the others probably aren’t lightly tired either.

We have been sending them to Tileglehen one by one for a while now, but now we need to give them out on a rotating basis as well.

‘sorry.’

I’m sorry I was so inconsiderate.

***

It was right that I had to win freedom with my own hands.

‘It came out so easily.’

I’m still a bit dazed. Normally, even if I tried to hide for a little while, I would get caught right away. If I couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to run away, I would get caught right away.

It was definitely like that, but this time I walked out confidently and no one stopped me. It was as if no one dared to stop me.

‘You were right.’

I felt satisfied when I saw Lisianne walking next to me.

You deserve to call yourself my faithful subordinate. If I had divinity, I would have made you a formal apostle.

“Lissianne.”

“Yes, Death.”

“I have nothing to give you, but I will consider you an apostle in my heart.”

“A, Apostle…!”

Then tears welled up in Lisianne’s eyes.

If I had known you would like it this much, I would have called you Apostle a long time ago.