The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Translator: Alpha0210

It was a pretty face, but not one that struck him as pretty.

Wondering why, he studied the face closely, and it seemed to come down to the eyes. They were eyes that gleamed strangely pitch-black...... In truth, "eyes gleaming pitch-black" was a contradiction in terms to begin with, but no more fitting expression came to mind.

In any case, it was clearly those eyes that made him reluctant to keep looking. Could the reason he went about wearing a veil have something to do with it?

Uncomfortable as it was, he refused to be the first to look away, so he kept staring straight at the Black Thorn Demon King. And as he did, he thought.

Hadn't they said this one was the first to use the passage at the center of the Island? If so, that meant the Black Thorn Demon King had come to this world even before Agolet.

...And Agolet had said he'd spent a long time in this world. He had even looked a little weary. Of course, decades or centuries could count as a long time depending on one's perspective, but considering the White Knight's origins, it was a strange thing.

Not that it can't be explained.

Agolet had spent most of his life until now alone. After destroying his home universe and crossing over into the World of Void, Agolet had secured land of his own through a deal with the Exile and had rarely left it.

A life without connections begins in boredom, but by the time the flow of time grows thin, even that sentiment fades away.

If what one experiences today is identical to yesterday, and the same will happen again tomorrow; if one holds the very same impression of such a life every single time; and if, on top of that, the being neither ages nor dies, can time truly be said to pass for that person?

It was a difficult question.

The one thing certain is that a day repeating itself identically will, at some point, steal away even sentiment itself.

But what about this place?

From Agolet's perspective, this world is dense in every respect. Every being in sight has a life of its own, and all are bound together by relationships great and small.

A space filled with such density is commonly called a world.

For Agolet, who had spent so long removed from the world, it would not have been strange for a few decades here to feel long. And because he had been suppressing his instincts, the time must have felt even longer.......

...The idle musing had run long, but the question is simple.

Time in this place can grant Agolet change.

But not the Black Thorn Demon King.

This guy had lived for an unimaginably long time. Of course he had. He was a Ruler. Over the ages, he must have experienced countless amusements both meaningful and meaningless.

Which means that whatever events he experienced in this world can hardly count as anything special to the Black Thorn Demon King.

And yet the Black Thorn Demon King sitting across from him showed many changes...... They had only just met, but for one thing, there was the fact that he had been playing a role from the start.

What had changed the Black Thorn Demon King? Was it this world that had given him meaning, or was it something from the 'Island' that Residue could not remember?

With several questions running through his mind, Residue spoke.

"There's something I should tell you in advance."

"What is it?"

"I have no memories of the 'Island'."

"......"

The Black Thorn Demon King fell silent for a moment.

Then he gave Residue an assessing look.

Was Residue lying? If he was lying, what was he scheming? He seemed to be weighing things of that sort.

"Your proof."

“Proof....... Proving the truth to you would be extremely troublesome. Even if I presented evidence, it would only give rise to more questions, and then you would demand further proof to dispel those questions. That is the kind of person you are. So this body has nothing more to say.”

"Hm."

The Black Thorn Demon King smiled once more.

"I've grasped your temperament well enough. You often put lies on your tongue without a care in the world. So for now, I'll withhold judgment."

"Suit yourself."

"Then let us take your words as truth for the time being...... If you've forgotten the Island, I suppose I should start with what happened there."

The Black Thorn Demon King spoke in a solemn voice.

"You and I shared a deeply tender relationship on the Island."

"Sorry, but I met both the Blue Knight and the White Knight before meeting you."

"I see."

Nodding without so much as a flicker of expression, the Black Thorn Demon King spoke again.

"How much have you heard, if I may ask?"

"That, I can't tell you. This way, you're less likely to lie."

"Heh heh. Astute...... Then should I begin by revealing my objective?"

“You want to kill Lukas, don't you?”

On the Island, this one had unmistakably joined hands with the White Knight and the Lightning God in an attempt to kill Lukas.

When Residue pointed this out, the Black Thorn Demon King closed his eyes languidly.

"...Well. That could be one of my objectives, yes."

With those ambiguous words the Black Thorn Demon King smiled, then rang the bell once again. On closer inspection, it differed from the earlier one in both shape and sound.

Ring-a-ling.

In that moment Residue realized there was a small, square opening behind the Black Thorn Demon King. It was covered by a square panel of wood, but it was built to slide open slightly at the sound of the bell.

"Yes, Master."

"Drive the carriage as slowly as you can. I'm enjoying my conversation with our guest."

"As you wish, sir."

"Take us a full circle around the village."

"Yes, sir."

The opening closed again, and he felt the carriage begin to move.

A carriage was not a vehicle known for a comfortable ride, but perhaps because the seat was plush, there was no particular discomfort.

Inside the quietly moving carriage, the Black Thorn Demon King opened his mouth again.

"An interesting world, this place."

"Hm."

"What is it?"

"I never imagined you would hold such an impression. You must have seen worlds of this caliber any number of times."

"True. More than I could count. And yet, if I still find this world interesting... might it be because my state of mind has changed?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Creating an arbitrary persona, then immersing oneself in that role and roaming a universe... it's a decent enough way to pass the time."

He doesn't particularly deny it.

In fact, Residue had indulged in similar diversions a few times himself. He had gone to the trouble of assuming the guise of a mortal, a form he had then regarded as beneath him, and immersed himself in the role he had assigned himself. At one point he had even spent centuries as nothing but an insect. The Black Thorn Demon King had probably had similar experiences.

"But true immersion was never possible. Because in the end, we could not conceal what we were. The capacity of an ordinary universe could not bear a being called a Ruler, and even in a Greater Universe that could bear one, we could never fully erase our own existence. The only methods left were to craft puppets or to send forth avatars. But can those be called oneself in any true sense? Even if one accepts the sights they witnessed exactly as they were."

"True enough. There's no feeling it firsthand."

"Indeed."

Placing a hand on his own chest, the Black Thorn Demon King spoke again.

"But now it is different. Though I may be concealing my form, what sits before you now is the Black Thorn Demon King himself. That alone changes a great many things."

Did it?

Unlike everything said up to now, Residue could not readily agree with these words. It was something he himself had never experienced. He had once existed as a Remnant, and had only established his existence after inheriting his friend's body; his case would be different.

Above all, since the other party was the Black Thorn Demon King, these words too could be a lie.

Residue, having nothing in particular to say, merely nodded slowly and spoke.

"Congratulations, then. Though I'm not sure it's cause for congratulations."

"Heh heh. And from here on, we come to my objective...... You won't believe it, of course, but at present I have no clear objective to speak of."

"......"

It truly was hard to believe.

Residue narrowed his eyes at him, but the Black Thorn Demon King merely wore a pleasant smile.

"Didn't you just say killing Lukas could be one of your objectives?"

"I forgot to elaborate. What I want now is an ending."

"An ending?"

"To erase the Fifth Destruction, Lukas Trowman must die."

"......"

"Judging by your face, you already know. It wouldn't have been the Blue Knight...... I see. So you've already met the White Knight as well, have you."

It was a shame to be found out so easily, but it wasn't something that absolutely had to stay hidden, so Residue shrugged.

"But you won't stand by and watch Lukas die. Even if you've lost your memories of the Island, that premise won't have changed."

"Lukas is in this village right now."

"I know."

"Will you kill him?"

The Black Thorn Demon King wore a faint smile.

"I don't particularly care how things turn out. I respect your will, and the Blue Knight's will, and the White Knight's will, and the Lightning God's will as well."

"You'll do nothing?"

"For now, yes. Though when, at what moment, I might end up intervening... even I couldn't say. I've tracked down the whereabouts of most of the others, and I've built up a fair bit of power of my own, in case a time comes when I don't move in person."

Residue tapped the wall of the carriage.

"This merchant company thing, or whatever it is?"

"Yes. It's a bit much to say it with my own mouth, but I am currently the richest man on the continent. I've amassed enough wealth that even a nation's king couldn't treat me lightly."

"......"

Hearing a comparison like that, it truly sank in that the Black Thorn Demon King had changed. The sight of him speaking of 'a nation's king' as if it were some grand existence felt unfamiliar. In the past, such a being would have been no different to him than an insect by the roadside.

"On top of that, this universe has quite an interesting structure."

"Meaning what?"

"There was a neighboring universe. Smaller in scale than this one, but a separate world, for a start."

Residue thought he knew which 'neighboring universe' the Black Thorn Demon King meant.

"The Demon World."

"A bit lower in grade, and barbaric, but it suits my disposition better than the continent. I have now succeeded in bringing about half of it under my control."

"......"

He could tell that 'about half' was false modesty. If the Black Thorn Demon King went so far as to put it that way, it was safe to assume the Demon World had, for all practical purposes, fallen into his hands.

As if to prove himself Agolet's spitting image, even his behavior was strikingly similar.

The Black Thorn Demon King continued with a smile.

"Believe it or not, as you like, but at present I have no intention of doing Lukas any harm."

"Even though the Fifth Destruction won't disappear unless he dies?"

"Whatever comes of that, however it ends, I do not mind. I have no thought of getting involved; I am simply waiting for the end."

Residue knew what kind of background produced this sort of detached-sounding talk.

An old man facing death. Severing his ties to the world one by one with his own hands, readying his own farewell. The behavior of one with the end of life in sight.

It was an attitude Residue did not understand, and could not.

If the end were in sight, there would be all the more to do. Thrashing about to push back the end, to shine a little more brilliantly, was what suited his nature.

Once he understood that, Residue abruptly lost interest in the Black Thorn Demon King as well. For some reason, he felt that right now, this man posed even less of a threat than the Blue Knight, much less the White Knight.

"It seems that's all you have to say."

“It is, though how about we talk a little longer?”

“About what?”

"Idle chatter? I'll admit it only now, but I find meeting you rather enjoyable, Residue. The mere fact that you were once a Ruler makes you a conversation partner without equal in this world."

Then, smiling bewitchingly, he shook something.

"If it's money you want, I can give you as much as you like."

"Then I'll come back when I run low."

Residue answered dismissively and rose from his seat. The Black Thorn Demon King did not press him any further and merely shrugged.

“My. Was the timing poor? If you have urgent business, then it cannot be helped.”

"Right. I'll be going."

Residue got to his feet.

And just as he opened the carriage door and was about to step out, a voice came from behind him.

"Ah, yes. Since you say you've lost your memories of the Island, there is one thing I'd like to tell you."

"What?"

"Haven't you forgotten something?"

"......"

When Residue shot him a look like he was some kind of weirdo, the Black Thorn Demon King let out a low laugh.

"Perhaps too much was happening for you to notice. The things you were carrying."

"Carrying? What, this robe?"

"...Who knows. Not the shell, but what's inside. Heh heh."

Smiling meaningfully, the Black Thorn Demon King waved a dismissive hand.

A gesture telling him to be off. Residue regarded him with an uneasy look, then climbed down from the carriage.

The carriage bearing the Black Thorn Demon King departed, and Residue stood rooted to the spot for a while, tossing the pouch of gold coins into the air and catching it, over and over.

And at the moment the carriage vanished completely from sight – he abruptly stopped tossing the coins.

"...What's inside?"

Residue groped through the inside of his robe.

Of course, there was nothing tucked within it.

But there should have been.

– Before setting out for The Outside, Residue had received two objects.

From the Black Thorn Demon King, the 'Thorn'.

From the Seven-Toothed Dragon, the 'Fang'.

Objects imbued with a Ruler's External Power, keys to stepping up into the next stage.

They were gone.

*****

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