A lot of trouble lately.

Chapter 7 of the main story, the fruit of the world tree, the ＜Parade＞ that is said to be in full swing in ＜Spellage＞, and even the followers of Prudence.

My head hurts because of all these problems.

So today I came here.

“I want to know how to reconcile friends with the saintess’ friends.”

“… … That, Mr. Oz? In principle, you need to make a reservation here.”

The building of the leading department serves as a church.

So, I came to the counseling room of the church to ask if I could tell the nun of the church what I was worried about. What was this?

Arrieta was there.

Well, in fact, it makes sense.

But I didn’t know there was such a thing as a reservation. In fact, it is possible to be alone with a saintess who would be difficult to meet in the first place. It’s worth making a reservation.

“Um… … . But still, Oz-sama asked me for help… … . Can we take a little time?”

“thank you. Arrieta.”

Still, I’m just grateful that he’s taking the time to listen to my concerns.

“So, first of all, there are people A and B. However, it is said that A had a goal he wanted to achieve. By the way… … ”

Tia wanted to hatch a Spina that never hatched from an egg.

To that end, he made a lot of effort and bowed his head to many people to seek knowledge.

But there was someone who laughed at her like that.

There were those who sneered that her goal could never be achieved, and there were those who urged her to give up.

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Kang Chul, Harbart, and Nix.

In Kang Chul’s case, he had that kind of personality in the first place, but the other two were different.

In order to achieve Tia’s goal, there was something that had to be done first, and I knew that was a cruel thing.

That’s why he deliberately provoked Tia and sneered at her, evading the answer.

Rather, it was decided that putting the situation on hold without knowing would be helpful to Tia.

Eventually, as time passed, Tia was able to realize that the words they said were meant for her.

The problem is that the already deep emotional goal cannot be easily filled.

Such a story is conveyed to Arrieta through appropriate dramatization.

“Mmm, that’s right.”

As for the dramatization, Arrieta, who could distinguish between lies, would have noticed. Still, she didn’t say anything and thought about it with a serious attitude.

“It is a difficult problem.”

“Is that so? Doesn’t it just feel like you’re dragging your emotions along?”

“Oz. Human emotions are actually not that simple. Love, anger, gratitude, jealousy. Even such expressions cannot express everything.”

Arrieta smiled bitterly.

“And even that word is. Do you know the word love and hate? It is said that it is a feeling that you feel love and hate together. Can you easily understand what that feeling is like?”

“… … That would be difficult.”

“okay. It’s difficult. So forgiving someone shouldn’t be so simple either.”

Arrieta clasped my hands with both hands as if praying.

“What can we call this emotion now?”

“… … exactly. It is a difficult problem.”

Arrieta put my hand on her cheek and smiled lightly.

I felt various emotions, such as a feeling of being tickled by the warmth that came from that hand, guilt that I was sorry, and weak desire.

She was right. How can I express this feeling?

to feel so many different things.

“So, Mr. Oz. You shouldn’t undermine the feelings of others. No matter how trivial it may seem, it may be the most important thing to that person.”

“You can see how lightly I was taking this matter after hearing such a harsh rebuke.”

“It is a lie. If you were really taking it lightly, you wouldn’t even ask me.”

Arrieta giggled and lifted me up.

Then he returned with a stern expression and began to express his thoughts on my troubles.

“So, Mr. Oz. Before persuasion, count the feelings of the other person first. Wouldn’t it be a little easier to persuade if you think about what Oz would be like in the same situation and come to a conclusion?”

“That’s an ordinary conclusion.”

It’s not a clear answer.

To my words, Arrieta rather smiled and replied.

“of course. Ordinary. The answer doesn’t have to be anything special. Even God can’t tell you that the answer is correct anyway?”

“Was it the doctrine of Papal Hedenia? I seem to hear it often.”

God doesn’t give you the answer.

just toil through the ordeal The answer must be given by yourself.

At the end of that ordeal, what can be obtained is a small ray of light. This is why the one and only god ‘Ain’ is called cruel.

But if that were all, the church wouldn’t have grown so much.

“I really liked this word.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, if you think that pain and suffering are all trials, if you think that there will definitely be an answer at the end. You can try a little harder.”

Doctrine is up to interpretation.

There are people like Arrieta who accept the current suffering as an ordeal and think that one day they will definitely find a way.

In a way, it is a kind of self-suggestion that he regards difficult situations as trials from God and that one day he will surely find an answer to them.

You can have faith because you didn’t do anything.

“So, Mr. Oz. As always, you have to come up with the answer yourself. A life determined by others fades the light.”

“Are we strangers?”

“Ah… … . that, that.”

“It’s a joke. We are still friends.”

“yes… … .”

Arrieta nodded as if regretting the word friend.

I feel guilty, but I can’t help it.

For now, if I don’t say that I’m a friend here, Lucia Domine, a faithful priest, will come to break my head.

Still, I’m a little sorry to leave it like this.

“Of course, we’re ‘still’ friends, one step further.”

“Ugh… … .”

I added a word, and she was embarrassed, then discouraged, and this time her face turned red.

As expected, Arietta is nice when she is a saint, but I also like her cute appearance when she is so emotional.

“Then, as Arrieta advised, I will try to think a little more from the other person’s point of view and come up with an answer myself.”

“Yes, yes! Please!”

Arrieta hurriedly covered her blushing face.

Maybe it’s because I was joking around with meaningless words, so I think it’s going to be hard to see you off.

* * *

After taking Arrieta’s advice to heart. The first thing that came to my mind was the relationship between Oz and Salem.

Even though Oz knew that Salem had dumped him, he couldn’t bear to turn away. I don’t know what the usual father-son relationship has been, but there must have been a family love.

And so is Salem.

He let go of my successor position even after knocking me out once.

And I made a living.

risk your own life

“exactly… … It’s a strange feeling.”

Tia and Harbart.

Oz and Salem.

They are the same in that they are things that will have to be resolved someday.

Implicitly, I think Salem acted for me, but I don’t understand that.

Only the thoughts that there must have been a better way come to my head, and anger and pity coexist in my heart.

“… … .”

No answer comes out.

One-sided hatred. I wonder if that might be enough to end the relationship between the two.

“But this is probably… … .”

Recently, things about ＜Spellage＞ are pouring out.

It was literally as if fate was leading me there, pushing me on the back.

“Do you want to meet and talk?”

maybe yes

It may be speculation, but this may be the Doctor of Oz.

[Erosion degree 80%]

Something he hadn’t finished with Salem.

You may be asking for a solution.

“I will dream tonight.”

I don’t know if it will be a nightmare that will carve a scar on my heart, or if it will just be a matter of rummaging through a library of memories.

just vaguely.

sure at the same time.

This seemed like an issue that needed to be addressed.

And I got to see how Salem and Oz met that day.

* * *

Sorcery Kingdom ＜Spellage＞

After the conversation with Antares, Salem returned to his tower.

He thought as he looked up at the strangely colored sky of wizards.

“Did they say that if you hit the heels of your shoes, you can fly a long distance?”

A fairy tale that someone gave back to him.

The girl in the fairy tale roamed the world through strange shoes.

When Salem first heard the story, he didn’t think it was funny.

Spatial magic is not so easy to use.

If there is one that can do that, it’s only Tiamat-level monsters.

So, is the girl in the fairy tale actually a monster hiding powers?

I had asked such a question.

“Kuhhhhh… … .”

Salem laughed to himself as if it was absurd even thinking about it now.

A man who could not accept a fairy tale as a fairy tale and lost his innocence.

Salem Sudra wanted to be an adult. You can do anything perfectly and produce the best results.

I wanted to become that kind of adult.

But Salem has changed.

I started to go back so that I could regain my innocence that I had put down.

The fairy tale, dismissed as funny, is now Salem’s favorite.

I realized.

A person who has lost his innocence and can do everything perfectly.

I can’t be bothered.

Salem meets a witch.

A black-haired, very bold witch who claimed to have come from outside the world.

When I first met, I was embarrassed.

Annoyed by the second meeting.

At the third meeting, interest.

At the fourth meeting, vagueness.

Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth… … .

And when you’re past one hundred and you’re no longer counting meaninglessly.

I realized that it was love.

I remembered all those moments.

Salem put down his perfection when he met a woman called a witch.

I was willing to become a normal human being.

The humiliation of defeat, the despair of failure. I decided not to erase it and carry it on my back.

“… … It’s really difficult.”

Salem, who let go of perfection, was truly a person lacking.

They were such foolish parents who didn’t even know how to love their son.

Salem has many enemies. It is only natural that Salem’s children would be targeted.

For Salem, who had let go of perfection, protecting someone was no longer a sure thing.

Even because he was once perfect, he could do everything alone.

There was no such thing as a trustworthy stranger.

he was afraid

From the moment he lost the woman he loved, he was terrified of losing someone.

He left Oz to a monastery.

I purposely moved away so that the traces left by the person I loved would not be erased.

But one day

-Are you the king of wizards? teach me magic

A bold black-haired boy, Oz, came to visit.

The first thing Salem thought while looking at Oz was ‘they look alike’.

To the boy who keeps the traces of the woman he loved intact.

-… … You seem to have talent. First of all, let’s watch for a while.

I made a fatal mistake.

I had decided not to get involved, but a moment of hesitation made things go wrong.

He had to savagely slash Oz on the spot. It was only natural that the eyes would be focused on Oz at the point of uttering such words.

It is a talent recognized by the [King of Darkness].

Even if you forcibly throw it away after watching it for a while, other humans can’t help but approach it.

to think like that.

-A senior level wizard at that age… … . Not bad. From now on, you may call yourself my successor.

He gave up everything in the end.

It was fine at first. I thought it would be fine.

That’s because Oz had a talent that couldn’t be compared to Salem.

A study of divinity?

If you want to do it, you can do it. Even if it caused friction with the Holy See, he was willing to endure it.

However, Salem could realize it in the not-too-distant future.

It was a mistake to take Oz and teach him magic.

I should have stayed away.

– Hello, father.

One day, the existence that appeared before my eyes was surprisingly similar to Oz.

Salem was also the owner of the key, so he knew who it was.

-you… … .

It was the incarnation of the key.

An incarnation is born based on the host’s body, memories, and aspirations.

But the incarnation of the key that appeared in front of my eyes, another son bearing her traces.

-Today, I’m here to tell you an interesting fact. If you know this, you will hate the child who is trembling under you right now.

Based on clear hostility, Salem showed off magic that he hadn’t yet taught Oz.

I knew for what purpose he was displaying the magic.

It’s openly trying to stir up a feud between Salem and Oz.

But Salem could only stare blankly at the scene.

-It is impossible.

– But it happened.

-There’s no way he can use magic he hasn’t taught you, magic he’s never shown you.

-You know why?

Although it is possible to create similar magic, it is impossible to create identical magic.

I was thinking of teaching someday, but probably not now.

Yes, how to know ‘now’ what will happen in ‘future’… … .

-Did you steal my magic from the future?

Oz stole Salem’s ‘perfection’.

came to that conclusion.

-I would never have taught you that magic.

He knows how fleeting ‘perfect’ is.

How can you not know how dry that makes people?

-Even if you taught it, it’s a magic that can never be perfected at your age.

The magic of Salem Sudra, who was born as a mere slave and could become the world’s best wizard, whose standards cannot be measured even with the word transcendental level.

-You stole [Return].

Salem Sudra was a being that had been brought back to life hundreds of times.

By ‘perfect’ he meant a chance to get everything back.

You can go back in time and do it again if you want.

If you do that, everything will lead to success and you will be perfect.

“It is valuable because it is a one-time opportunity. Success is valuable because you take the risk of enduring the humiliation of failure.”

Waking up from her thoughts, Salem suddenly muttered that.

Oz stole the magic of regression.

He has probably returned his life dozens of times already.

“Are you thinking of quitting the regression?”

Salem turned his head and said.

I wondered if it was because I was getting older that I became particularly emotional today, but I think it was because there were guests coming.

In the direction he was looking at, there was Janus, who appeared after breaking the space for some reason.

“You know what? father. That I am not the subject of the regression.”

“If you don’t push Oz, he won’t have a reason to either.”

“That’s something you don’t know.”

At Janus’ words, Salem looked up at the night view of ＜Spellage＞ again.

There was sadness in those eyes.

Salem knows.

How terrible is the purpose Janus wants. Originally, he had an idea that there would be nothing strange about taking care of it here.

Even so, that can’t be.

“What are you doing this time?”

Even though he was born with the power of the key, he was his own child.

Salem is the trace of the woman he loved, the life he was able to love because of her.

I couldn’t bear to kill him.

It is also impossible to catch.

With the power of the key Janus possessed, he would easily escape even if he was locked up in one place.

“Well… … . I came to see what my father is like now.”

“Confirm… … .”

Janus does not know. Even in the midst of numerous regressions, there has never been a single encounter with Salem. The risk was too great to deal with him.

But now we have to check.

Oz threw the dice.

So you have to check how strong the barrier that protects Oz called Salem is.

“It’s a long-awaited son’s foolishness. What do you think? father.”

Janus asked a question while displaying numerous construction formulas around him.

From beginner to superlative to transcendental, those magics were all that Janus could use.

They were prepared over several hours, and without a chance to react, they squeezed through the space using the key.

If all preparations were completed like this, even a dragon would be able to deal with it.

It is literally power.

“That won’t matter either.”

However, in spite of Janus’ bold question, Salem said it was not funny.

Salem doesn’t turn back time anymore. He made such an oath at the side of his dying wife.

That’s why the perfect man dies, leaving only a fool who repeats numerous failures.

“It would be nice to teach you clearly so that you can’t do nonsense.”

But the time he returned does not disappear.

The time he has accumulated is still there.

“It would be better not to think about coming out of the frame I have set yet.”

It was overpowering all the time the two came back.