Translator: Alpha0210
"Take me with you."
This one was no less direct than Agolet had been. Their expressions, of course, differed quite a bit. Where Agolet's had been an ambiguous look whose inner workings couldn't easily be read, Sedi had a precarious air about her, as if she might shatter at a touch.
In any case, a different reaction didn't call for a different response.
"Why?"
When Residue tossed out the conventional question, a reply came back.
"I have to go."
"Everyone who wants to head out to 'The Outside' is thinking the exact same thing. I asked why I must take you, Sedi Trowman, specifically."
After a moment's hesitation, Sedi said,
"...I'm stronger. I can beat anyone except you."
Residue nearly covered his eyes with his hand. Or so he thought; judging by how dark his vision had gone, it seemed he actually was covering them.
"It's been a good few hours since the summit ended, hasn't it? Are you serious, Sedi Trowman? Is that really the reason you prepared? If strength were the criterion for Selection, you wouldn't even merit consideration. The Four Knights are stronger than the 0th Demon of the Twelve Void Lords, and rather than bring along Sedi Trowman, the Black Thorn Demon King's former underling, I'd sooner pick the Black Thorn Demon King himself."
"......"
"Time is short and my patience is shorter, so say it again. This is your last chance."
At the words "last chance", Sedi's demeanor changed.
Her fists clenched tight, her eyes trembling with unease. Her lips moved restlessly, twitching as if searching for words, but her voice did not come easily.
Then, what thought might have struck her?
Sedi's air shifted once more. She let out a deep sigh, half resigned, and forced the words out.
"...It was a damn miserable life."
"......"
"I never found a reason to live. I just drifted along with the current, and somewhere along the way I became an Absolute. Even after that, I kept living without purpose. Without really wanting anything."
What spilled past her lips was a voice steeped in exhaustion.
It carried the wrinkles of long years, like an old man's memoir.
"Living just because you happened to be born is no different from being an insect. I knew that, and I kept living like garbage anyway. And then I met someone."
Her lips closed for a moment.
"I don't know when Father became such a large presence to me. Honestly, I might even be deceiving myself. Maybe it's just because it was my first; the first time I had something I could put before myself. Maybe that's why I cling to it more than I should."
He could see Sedi's eyes, and Residue suddenly realized this was the first time she had ever looked at him straight on.
The girl from Lukas's memories – confident, lively, just cynical enough, so laughably clumsy at expressing affection, with a cruel streak besides. Images of Sedi Trowman flickered past, one after another.
"But right now, the reason for my life is in 'The Outside'. Stopping the annihilation from the inside. I know it's important. But it's not the work I'm meant to do."
"......"
"That's everything. That's the conclusion I thought my way to."
So she would accept no counterarguments on this matter, and had no intention of hearing any.
It felt to Residue as if Sedi had tacked that on, and he couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter. Then he looked at the Half King and Luca and said,
"Well? What say you, little ones?"
"Hm?"
"Pardon?"
Watching the two kids blink back at him in bewilderment, Residue went on, grinning from ear to ear.
"Someone with firm convictions cuts a fine figure in any moment. This is what a respectable attitude toward life looks like. Sedi Trowman wandered long in a pathetic state, but it seems she has finally found her signpost."
"......"
"Because your heart aches, because you pity Lukas, because you feel you owe a debt. Had you offered reasons like those, I wouldn't have listened at all. So you've earned the right to stand as a Candidate."
"Candidate?"
Sedi shot back, her voice somewhat incredulous.
"Isn't this the part where you just pick me?"
"By the clichés, sure. But I despise stories that run on rails."
"Cut the crap. And what's this about a Candidate?"
"There's still one who hasn't made up his mind."
"That's......"
It was then.
With a crash, the door flew open as if it might break, and a massive demon revealed himself. Residue's brow furrowed. That was all well and good, but the guy was simply too big, and a ferocious aura poured off his body like smoke, making him far too conspicuous.
"I've decided, Residue. I will–"
"Before that."
Residue cut off the demon, Kasajin.
"Your appearance is far too loud. Can't you take on something a bit more compact?"
"...I can, but why should I do as you say?"
"If you don't, I won't take you to The Outside."
At this abuse of authority on Residue's part, Kasajin let out a sigh. For some reason, it occurred to Residue that he'd been seeing the people around him sigh an awful lot lately.
And in the next moment, Kasajin's body slowly began to shrink. The wings, folded yet still enormous, and the dusky black horns vanished, leaving a somewhat large-framed human man standing in their place.
"...Will this do?"
"Much better. Now, state your business."
In a blunt voice, Kasajin said,
"I will go."
"Mm."
In truth, no matter how long he might deliberate, Kasajin had never seemed likely to give up the chance to go to The Outside, so it was hardly an unexpected choice.
Residue looked back at Sedi and said,
"There you have it, Sedi Trowman. For the record, the one I mentioned who hadn't yet decided was this man, and it seems he's reached his conclusion."
"So what happens now?"
"Hmm."
At this point, taking Kasajin as planned felt like an awfully heartless choice. The inner growth Sedi had shown was rather impressive, and considering her relationship with Lukas, taking her wouldn't be a wrong choice at all.
Then should he decide to take Sedi? That, too, was awkward. Because if Kasajin dropped out of the overall picture Residue had in mind, and Sedi were slotted in... something about the harmony of it felt broken.
He thought that far, and then it suddenly occurred to him: who cared whether the harmony broke or not?
Residue couldn't be bothered to deliberate any further, so he decided to push the choice off onto the two of them.
"Come to think of it, aren't you two the Former 0th Demon and the Current 0th Demon? Interesting. Which of you is stronger?"
"What?"
"What are you on about all of a sudden?"
"Slow on the uptake, the both of you."
Residue knocked his fists together and grinned.
"Fight. I'll take whoever wins."
*
Sedi and Kasajin glared at each other, then quietly headed outside.
Right. Surely they wouldn't have fought in this room. If the two of them had suddenly dropped into battle stances, Residue would have thrown them out, even if it meant using One Step Through Time and Space.
"Interesting."
Of course, with the Half King present, it might never have come to his turn at all.
Residue looked at the Half King, and at Luca sitting demurely beside her. Come to think of it, unlike with Sedi, he couldn't quite guess why these two kids had come.
"Why are you two here?"
"We came to say farewell. It seems we won't be seeing you for a while."
"Same for me, more or less."
The Half King said, and Luca added timidly. Somehow, Luca seemed to be growing more timid by the day. The Blue Knight's influence? More to the point, the Blue Knight had seemed to harbor a quiet obsession with Luca. Perhaps not quite to the point of keeping her at her side and binding her outright, then?
"Travel safely and return, Residue. You are not a talent destined to die in The Outside."
"That's the plan."
"Hm."
The Half King smiled with a curious satisfaction and rose from her seat. Then she left, with a manner utterly free of lingering attachment.
Residue looked at Luca, now left alone. The kid still seemed to be wavering, and since she didn't look likely to speak up anytime soon, Residue spoke first.
"I worry about you."
"......"
"Ordinarily, I don't worry much about others. Even when someone lands in danger or looks like they're hanging by a thread, I figure most of those things are problems they have to overcome themselves. And whether there happens to be someone beside them worth leaning on is purely a matter of luck."
Luca's eyes turned toward Residue.
"When I ended up in that state, luckily enough, you were there."
"...I didn't really do anything, though."
"Did I say you did anything? Only that you were there."
"......"
Looking at Luca's dumbfounded expression, Residue chuckled.
"Sometimes that's enough. And I'm a man whose temper won't settle until he's repaid what he's been given, in full. Did you know that?"
"Yes."
"Take care of yourself. To be honest, even I can't quite get a read on how the Unified World is going to turn. When a situation seems to have no answer, go find the Half King, or Agolet, Beniang, or Yang In-hyun. By my standards, they're passably trustworthy. Drop my name, and at the very least they won't toss you aside."
"Yes."
Residue laid a hand on Luca's head.
"I know you never wanted any of this. Every moment must feel like sitting on pins and needles. Choosing, in the middle of all that, to volunteer to keep watch on the Blue Knight took real courage. Well done."
"...Yes."
"A trivial little life. I wanted to teach you how to dawdle, how to be lazy, how to live in idleness. A shame it didn't work out."
"...Yes."
"That's about all I have to say. And you?"
"......"
At that, Luca, who had only been nodding along with her answers, suddenly burst into tears. Residue, rather at a loss for how to handle it, patted her shoulder a few times.
"Come on, don't cry. ...No. Go ahead and cry. Cry your fill. Just don't get snot on me."
Thinking that no one would be around to comfort Luca for a while, Residue spent some time smoothing down her yellow hair.
*
A process that hadn't particularly suited him was nearly at its end. Exchanging farewells with this many people was an unfamiliar experience for Residue. Or rather, wasn't it a first for him altogether?
Residue flopped down onto the bed in the now-empty room. There was still a fair amount of time left, so he meant to catch some sleep, but even with his eyes squeezed shut, no drowsiness came. Getting up again felt like too much trouble, so he lay there blankly staring at the ceiling.
And then, all at once, he realized his own heart was more unsettled than he'd thought. Come to think of it, between talking with the others and tending to their state of mind, he'd never actually faced himself.
He'd acted full of confidence, but of course this journey carried no small risk for Residue as well.
What kind of place 'The Outside' might be, what he would do upon meeting 'Lukas', the risks if he 'failed' – frankly, none of that was his concern.
What mattered was how long Residue himself could hold out.
Just then, without warning, the door creaked open. Had Sedi and Kasajin's fight ended? Apparently not. Distracted as he was, he still hadn't sensed any presence. Which meant the visitor was, at minimum, someone of a level comparable to Residue's own.
Before he knew it, Residue was on his feet, off the bed.
Click. Watching the visitor go so far as to pull the door shut behind them, he asked,
"Were you dissatisfied with my Selection as well?"
At that, the Red Knight, El, slowly shook her head. Her ash-gray hair wavered like a heat haze.
"No."
"Then what?"
"More importantly, how much time remains?"
"About ten hours now, I'd say."
"I see. That's plenty."
With a faint smile, El undid the tightly fastened knot of her cloak.
––A soft rustle. The whisper of cloth against metal sounded, for some reason, laden with meaning. Beyond that, Residue felt an unease he couldn't place. Without even realizing it himself, he had taken a step back.
"Hold on. Stop right there. Don't move; let's talk this through first. What is this? You. What business brings you here?"
"My business has been one and the same from the start. Haven't I told you, time and again?"
El said, her eyes clear and steady.
"There's no time, so let's hurry up and create a child, Residue."
"Look, what I'm saying is......"
Residue was about to stop El once more when he felt an irritation surge up out of nowhere. In truth, irritation never surged without reason, so the cause was obvious.
Pointlessly dodging or fending El off wasn't like him, and the strange sense of losing the initiative every time this happened was unpleasant. All of these factors meshed together and took the shape of irritation.
He'd never in his life turned away a woman who came to him, and he had no aversion to such relations either.
So what if this was Lukas's body.
What of it.
If it was that precious, Lukas should never have entrusted it to him in the first place.
Residue tore off his robe with an irritable jerk and, now all but naked, said,
"Fine. Just what I wanted. Come, then. I'll show you heaven for the next ten hours."
"......"
At that, El tilted her head.
"What are you doing?"
"You said let's make a child."
"I did. But what need is there to remove all of your clothing?"
"...What do you mean?"
El touched a hand lightly to her chest and said,
"My Flame, inherited from the Giant and since fused with the power of the 'Four Knights'. And yours, likewise a fusion of the Giant's Prominence and the Lightning God's thunder. Join those two Flames together, and a new life is born."
"...Then why did you take off your cloak?"
"I will be releasing the Flame outward from my heart, and I am not yet accustomed to this power. It would be a problem if it burned, would it not?"
Even inside the room, Residue suddenly felt cold. Seeing as he was, in fact, all but naked, that probably wasn't wrong either.
So he gathered up the robe he'd flung to the floor, pulled it back on, and said with a nod,
"I see. So that's how it is." [TL: Residue abruptly drops his usual haughty speech for polite, deferential Korean here, as if chastened.]
*****
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