novelraw Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Ch.141 Edward Hopes for Humanity’s Survival
The evening Scarlet arrived here.
I’d already instructed the kitchen to prepare a feast in honor of her efforts.
Phew… At least nothing major happened.
I’d worried Mia and Scarlet would clash on day one, but after their talk, the atmosphere seemed calm.
“Time to head over.”
Leaving my office, I made my way to the dining hall.
I’d prepared several things for Scarlet tonight—
not just this banquet, but also ways to ease the fatigue from her recent trials:
an Eastern masseuse discreetly hired from the capital, premium bath salts,
and fine wine for after her soak—everything arranged as a full-course relaxation experience.
“I hope this helps lift her mood after this afternoon’s tension.”
Scarlet had immediately suspected something between Mia and me the moment she arrived.
‘What does she think of me, exactly? Does she really believe I’d get involved with some human-skin collector?’
Let me be clear—I have zero desire to become someone’s leather craft project.
But neither do I want to deal with emotionally volatile Scarlet,
Leah’s foul temper that flares at the slightest provocation,
Cecilia stabbing me with a knife over talking to an unknown woman,
or Selena, the fanatical zealot.
Honestly, the idea that I’d be entangled with any of them is absurd.
“Sigh… What even is this hardship?”
Destiny was a game I adored—truly loved.
When I first arrived here, my heart raced with excitement and wonder.
I was so thrilled that even backbreaking manual labor felt joyful in those early days.
As a seasoned veteran, I’d been proud of my knowledge and grateful to the gods for placing me in this world.
After all, I’d made real wealth here and lived comfortably and peacefully.
But everything went sideways after the Demon King’s death.
“If only I hadn’t recklessly killed the Demon King… Look at the mess now.”
Of course, Selena’s involvement and her being chosen as the vessel for the King of the Dead were also major problems.
“Why the hell does Selena have such a broken trait?”
That kind of overpowered ability should’ve been given to me—the one meant to stop the King of the Dead!
Instead, I got a body that struggles to cast magic or master swordsmanship, while Selena got traits that overwhelm everything.
Who does she think she is—the game’s protagonist?
I used to wonder if Selena might be the main character…
But no. Destiny has no fixed protagonist.
Players simply choose from countless NPCs and play as them—
whoever the player picks becomes their ‘main.’
“Then… what is Selena’s true identity?”
Lost in this unsolvable riddle, I arrived at the dining hall without noticing.
“Brother!”
Aria greeted me brightly from the table.
“How have you been?”
“Good! How about you?”
“I’ve been working.”
Glancing subtly at the table, I saw Icira, Mia, and Scarlet deep in conversation.
“You’re here.”
Scarlet noticed my arrival. I nodded to her.
“Sorry—I’ve been tied up with estate matters and couldn’t pay you proper attention.”
Truthfully, I’d finished my backlog of work and was relaxing,
but I’d holed up in my office to avoid Scarlet’s earlier hostile mood.
What pressing duties could a minor barony possibly have, anyway?
“It’s fine. As lord of the estate, of course you’re busy.”
She gave me a pure, understanding smile despite my lie.
“Thank you for understanding.”
I took my seat just as the appetizers arrived.
By the time we finished the main course…
Aria wore a satisfied expression.
“I’m full…”
Her face practically glowed with happiness—
but then I added,
“Dessert is ice cream. Aren’t you eating?”
“I’ll eat it! Ice cream!”
Even polymorphed, her stomach capacity seems dragon-tier.
“Aria. Even though you’ve taken human form, eating so much lacks grace.”
Icira scolded her gently, wiping sauce from the corners of Aria’s mouth.
“Hehe! But it was so delicious!”
“Delicious enough to beg for seconds?”
Normally, a full-course meal is served slowly in many small portions,
but Aria ate twice as much as everyone else.
She wasn’t even in a growth phase—just magically transformed.
“How about you, Scarlet? Did the food suit your taste?”
She nodded, surprised.
“Yes—it’s even better than what we had in the imperial palace.”
“Hehe, of course it is.”
“But what’s this black sauce?”
“Oh? That’s made from soy sauce—use it to dip the grilled fish.”
Some of tonight’s dishes incorporated cooking techniques from my original world.
In particular, creating soy sauce here—fermenting beans into meju paste—had been an ecstatic breakthrough, since soy sauce didn’t exist in this world.
Soon, the ice cream arrived.
“Hehe!”
Aria scooped a bright, happy bite.
“Delicious!”
She shoveled it in gleefully.
“More!”
Just as I was about to serve another spoonful,
Aria scraped the entire bowl clean and looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
“More!”
“Oh my! This child!”
Icira cleared Aria’s empty dish.
“You’ve eaten your portion. You should sit quietly—how can you shamelessly ask for more?”
“Hiiing… But it was so tasty!”
“Do you want a scolding?”
Icira put on a stern face.
“Eeeng…”
Aria shrank back fearfully.
“There’s more ice cream, so don’t worry. Bella—she’s in the kitchen, right?”
At my call, Bella emerged.
“Baron, what is it?”
“Can you get Aria more ice cream?”
“Ah… um…”
Bella looked troubled.
“We’ve run out of ice cream for today.”
That was odd.
I’d specifically ordered the kitchen to prepare thoroughly for Scarlet’s arrival.
“Didn’t I tell you to prepare extra?”
“We did… but with all the chaos lately, milk has become scarce.
We tried our best to source it, but it was still insufficient.”
I frowned.
Could the King of the Dead’s resurrection be disrupting local dairy farming?
Is that why milk supplies dwindled, limiting ice cream production?
Well… nothing to be done.
I offered my own serving to Aria.
“Here, eat mine.”
“Really?!”
Her face lit up instantly.
But Icira frowned and chided me.
“Hans, indulging her like this will spoil her.”
“So what? She’s cute.”
“Just because she’s cute doesn’t mean you should give in to everything—she’ll take advantage of it.”
“Huh? But she’s so kind and pure!”
Whenever I look at Aria, I feel my own inner child reawakening—
she’s that genuinely innocent and untainted.
…Wait a second.
Why did the memory of Aria using magic to cheat at poker suddenly pop into my head?
Nah… surely not.
The girl hesitated over whether to accept my ice cream.
Then Aria opened her tiny mouth:
“Uung… But Brother should eat too! I’ll just have one bite!”
“Alright.”
She took a small spoonful and beamed.
“Mmm~ Tasty!”
“Um… Hans?”
“Hm? What is it?”
Scarlet, after tasting her own ice cream, asked,
“Did you always like children?”
“Well…”
Back in my original world, I wasn’t fond of kids—
too many seemed cunning.
Maybe it’s because they easily absorb society’s worst behaviors through smartphones and videos?
I’d met plenty of rude, ill-mannered children.
But here, children felt genuinely pure—untouched by cynicism.
Perhaps that’s the difference.
“I didn’t used to… but coming here changed me, I guess.”
I took a bite of ice cream as I spoke.
***
Edward and Icira were deep in calculations to miniaturize the magical artifact.
Edward, who’d been scribbling complex formulas nonstop, paused and turned to Icira.
“But… do you really think the Baron can extract the King of the Dead using this?”
Their device only allowed entry into a human’s inner mindscape—
it had nothing to do with altering the possessed person’s will.
Naturally, Edward doubted Hans could actually convince Selena.
“I don’t know.”
Even Icira had no clear answer.
But she knew Hans and the woman now possessed by the King of the Dead had known each other before.
‘Is there some method he knows?’
She wasn’t sure of the details.
‘There was definitely… something between them.’
She fell into thought.
Hans bore the fate of the Adversary—but his only power was foreknowledge of the future.
Without that, he had no discernible reason to be chosen as the Adversary.
‘Did the gods select him through that ‘game’?’
Why Hans, of all people?
What did the gods see in him?
Icira couldn’t fathom what the gods expected from Hans.
While she pondered, Edward spoke carefully.
“This… won’t really bring about the end of the world, will it?”
The end of all life—
a future Icira could never accept.
She herself wasn’t ready to die,
and her beloved daughter Aria hadn’t even begun to bloom.
“That’s unacceptable.”
She would never allow little Aria to perish.
“Then is there a proper solution? From what I hear, the current vessel is clearly aligned with the Church.”
It was certain Selena followed the Church of Death—
otherwise, she’d never have accepted Roy’s soul.
And Church of Death followers were known for their unshakable faith…
“We’ll find a way. No… Hans will find a way.”
She didn’t know what that method was—but she believed in him.
“So stop talking nonsense and get back to work.”
Edward nodded.
“Yes… you’re right.”
He was satisfied—they were making rapid progress thanks to Icira, a dragon, joining the effort.
Alone, this would’ve been impossible,
but with her ancient knowledge, they’d restructured his theories and accelerated the research needed to build the artifact.
Still, the path ahead wasn’t short—
though it wouldn’t take centuries anymore, several months of work remained.
‘I hope it all works out.’
Edward truly hoped humanity would survive.
After all, he’d become a lich solely to protect the humans he loved.
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