074 – Magical Talent

One by one, those who remained in the church began to make their way home.

It was late, and… everyone had families waiting for them in their own houses.

Returning home so their family wouldn’t worry, most likely.

“…”

Then perhaps the right thing to do is not leave this place?

“Really… it’s taken so long.”

There were so many things I wanted to boast about.

So many things I wanted to show.

So many stories I wanted to tell.

“…”

I still can’t forget the last day of Mom.

That day when she took a taxi home, arms laden with the gifts from Dad.

That day a drunk truck driver plowed into our taxi with a massive truck…

Mom, trying to protect me, wrapped me in the clothes she’d bought with Dad’s gifts… and passed away right there.

“..I missed you.”

Mom’s last embrace was so very warm.

Whether it was the blood flowing from her body that was warm.

Or because she wrapped me in the padded jacket and clothes, bought as gifts from Dad to absorb the impact, I don’t really know…

But to a young me, Mom’s embrace, felt for the last time, was a cruelly warm place.

That’s why I always felt so lonely.

Because I knew I would never feel that warm embrace again.

“Mom…”

But, now it seemed I didn’t need to feel lonely any longer.

Because I was always being held in Mom’s embrace, you see.

…

I’ve cried enough, now it’s time to do what needs doing.

“Where are you heading, meow?”

“I’m going to the slums.”

Truthfully, I was a bit self-conscious, sitting here in the church, playing the sympathy card so miserably.

“Hmm… Won’t you stay at the church longer?”

“Do you want me to stay at the church?”

“It’s not that, just…”

Perhaps, to one knowing the truth, I might appear pitiable.

But who would ever believe it?

That I’m actually from another world, and the local Goddess, having taken an excursion to Earth, birthed and raised me?

That this local Goddess is, in fact, my mother?

“Just… nyaaang…”

“You may ask questions, if you wish.”

From the moment we exited the church, Isabella-ssi clearly harbored a great many questions, yet she remained hesitant, gauging my reaction before speaking her curiosities.

So, I offered her permission to inquire.

“..No, never mind. Don’t concern yourself, Master.”

One of two ways to drive a person to madness is to leave them dangling mid-sentence.

And I knew her question pertained to why I had wept so profoundly in the church.

“Let’s just leave it at that.”

Pretending ignorance.

Together with Isabella-ssi, I began my trek toward the slums.

…

“Might I inquire why you venture there at this late hour?”

“I’m going to work.”

“..To work in the slums?”

“Yes.”

The coachman stared at me as if I were quite mad, for daring to say I was going to work in the slums.

Lately, there seemed to be so many people regarding me as some sort of lunatic…

A brief thought crossed my mind: Would Isabella-ssi also see me as a madman, after my outburst of tears at the church?

“..Going there at this hour is..”

“There are hardly any customers at this late hour, yes? I’ll pay double the round-trip fare.”

“A wise choice, customer. We shall depart immediately.”

It seemed the maxim held true: Even if a madman had coin, one ought to heed his words.

Moreover, doubling the round-trip fare meant, for a single passenger on a one-way journey, I was effectively paying quadruple.

How could a coachman possibly refuse the chance to earn four times the usual fare at this early hour, when clients were scarce?

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“..It’s not as if I’m lacking in funds. ..How little do you think of me, Isabella-ssi..?”

“The Master who always seeks out the cheapest item on the menu when buying food?”

In Korean currency, it was akin to spending roughly 80,000 won on a single taxi ride.

But today was a day I desired to indulge in rampant consumption.

You know how it is, don’t you? On days of good cheer, the urge to splurge fills you to the brim.

And not only was today a day of immense joy for me, but also…

‘Your son has grown up so well, Mother.’

I wanted to show her.

That immature desire to show my mother how well I had grown here kept welling up within me.

“Haha… ..I suppose I am still just a child, after all.”

“The Master is but a babe.”

As a child yearning for his mother’s praise.

He arrived at the slum, his heart brimming with anticipation.

“Shall I wait until you return?”

“I would be grateful if you did.”

The carriage driver, clearly reluctant to lose a fare, offered to wait.

With a request for roughly two hours, he began his descent into the slum’s heart.

“Nephira knows the fugitives’ location, yes?”

“Aye! Shall I summon her now?”

“Please do.”

Two hours was ample time to apprehend escapees hiding within the slum.

Truthfully, with the authority of the Sovereign, a mere command to Nephira—said to be nearby—would bring their corpses within twenty minutes.

But I, a callow boy still eager to show my mother her son grown strong.

“I’ll be back!”

Watching Isabella’s retreating figure as she went to fetch Nephira, he began his trek deeper into the slum.

‘Even in the game, I never set foot in the slums.’

Where else would criminals escaping the Royal Palace flee?

Surely not to their old homes, abandoned decades ago, the trail long cold.

The slum, a place where one could most easily vanish as a fugitive, was the most likely option.

‘Could they have guessed? That a scrawny thing like me would be the one sent to capture them?’

They could never imagine that such a gaunt figure as himself would be there to arrest them.

“Let’s see, faces…”

Thus, clutching the wanted posters handed to him personally by His Majesty, he delved further into the slum’s depths.

‘This is definitely the underbelly.’

The Magic Kingdom had its share of notorious shadows.

Brothels, where the line between legal and illegal blurred as they bought and sold flesh.

Cults, raising idols and worshipping them despite the clear existence of God.

And the slum, a haven for the most formidable criminal syndicates.

The Magic Kingdom had other shadowed corners, yes, but now was a time to focus on escaping various criminal groups and making a name for oneself.

“Excuse me.”

He lifted the body of a dead man, comparing his face to the one on the wanted poster.

“No, no… not this one either. Alright, you’re innocent. Rejoice.”

Of course.

“Now then, let’s proceed with the rest.”

As befitting the Magic Kingdom’s foremost slum, there was quite a number of corpses.

…

While diligently examining bodies, he saw Isabella approaching from afar, Nephira in tow.

Myaaong~

“Greetings, Sovereign.”

“…You’ve decided not to restore your arm, then?”

It was a touch peculiar that Nepira was missing an arm, just as I’d last seen him…

“If only my Lord grants permission, I will sustain myself by drawing blood from the captured humans.”

These vampires… their loyalty knows no bounds, it seems.

He hadn’t even dared to feed to recover, because his Lord hadn’t allowed it?

“We shall certainly see to your recovery today.”

And so, I resolved to restore Nepira’s arm today.

“I will escort you to the escaped convicts’ location forthwith, my Lord.”

To Nepira, who would guide me directly to the escapees, I said:

“Nepira.”

“Please, feel free to speak to me casually, my Lord… I am but a humble servant, bound to your command.”

“Hmm… ahem… very well.”

“Thank you, my Lord.”

“Me too! Be casual with me too! Meeee!”

“Nepira, create a vampire from one of the intact corpses here.”

I gave the command to turn one of the bodies into a vampire, but…

“…! Forgive me, my Lord… I… I cannot imbue the deceased with undeath.”

Sadly, it seems Nepira lacks the ability to raise the dead.

“Are you ignoring me?!”

“Seol, just stay nestled here.”

“Okay! I love it!”

Even in this situation, I held the adorable Isabella close.

Amidst my disappointment that the corpse was not to be used for necromantic play…

“Is there no clever way to put this to good use?”

Out of mere curiosity, I let a trickle of Aether flow into the fallen corpse…

A twitch…

“?”

I clearly saw the finger of the corpse, whose name did not appear, twitch.

“…Huh?”

What was that?

Was it a Doppelganger, playing dead?

“Hey, get up.”

The status window showed no information, so I’d assumed it was a corpse.

I was about to ascertain whether a Doppelganger was feigning death when…

Crack… crick… creak…

“…My Lord?”

“…Master?”

“?????”

The fallen corpse made grotesque sounds as bones ground against each other, trying with all its might to rise…

Only to collapse back to the floor in a heap.

“…What did you do?”

Even Isabella, witnessing the scene, was affected.

“…Lord…are you capable of…raising the dead?”

Nepira, too, seemed to question my abilities…

“?????????????”

But I was the one most perplexed by this situation.

“…Rise again.”

Crack… Thump…

“Don’t rise.”

Thud…

“Start to rise, then stop.”

Creak…

Wow…

I unintentionally stumbled upon a magical talent…