Season 2 Bab 728
Penerjemah: Alpha0210
Agolet, tentu saja, mengetahui nama, kekuatan, dan sifat para Demigod ini, bahkan identitas asli mereka, yang mungkin tidak mereka ketahui sendiri.
Termasuk Noxtantine, setiap dari mereka dipuja sebagai Dewa Tunggal, Dewa Absolut, atau Dewa Tertinggi dari salah satu Empat Agama Besar Benua. Tidak berlebihan untuk mengatakan bahwa sejarah yang sekarang paling dikenal sebagai Teologi dimulai dari mereka.
Namun meskipun memiliki rahasia yang begitu dalam dan luar biasa, mereka memiliki pengaruh yang kecil di dalam ras Demigod itu sendiri. Kekuatan tempur keseluruhan mereka hanya sekitar tingkat menengah ke bawah.
Lagipula, hanya berpura-pura menjadi dewa tidak lebih dari pekerjaan rendahan dalam rencana besar yang telah disusun Lord, jadi dalam arti tertentu, itu hanya wajar.
Itu membuat gerakan mereka mudah diprediksi, dan memanipulasi mereka untuk bertindak sesuai keinginan juga tidak sulit....... Namun, bertentangan dengan rencana awal, Agolet telah membuat beberapa penyesuaian kecil pada penempatan mereka. Meski begitu, itu mungkin tidak akan menyebabkan gangguan besar pada rencana itu sendiri.
Para Demigod masuk dengan sesuka hati, dan mereka pergi dengan cara yang sama.
Mereka memperlakukan Residue dan Agolet seolah-olah mereka tidak ada, mengobrol di antara mereka sendiri, lalu berjalan keluar ruangan tanpa sepatah kata pun. Sikap mereka sesantai seolah-olah mereka hanya keluar untuk menggunakan kamar mandi.
"......."
Agolet diam sejenak.
Hanya setelah dia yakin para Demigod tidak akan kembali, dia mendekati Residue dan menawarinya saputangan yang diambil dari dalam pakaiannya.
"Silakan gunakan ini."
Tidak ada luka yang tersisa padanya secara khusus, tetapi Residue menerima saputangan itu tanpa menolak. Sambil mengusap wajahnya dengan kasar, dia berkata,
"Untuk melanjutkan apa yang saya katakan, alasan saya ingin berkomunikasi dengan Dunia Bersatu bukan hanya untuk mencari cara menyelamatkan Lukas."
Jadi dia tidak punya apa-apa untuk dikatakan tentang para Demigod.
Ekspresi halus melintas di wajah Agolet.
Para Demigod dan Residue.
Kedua belah pihak memperlakukan yang lain seolah-olah mereka tidak layak diperhatikan....... Dalam kasus Residue, dia bahkan telah mengalami penghinaan yang berat. Namun dia tampak sama sekali tidak terpengaruh.
Agolet mendapati dirinya penasaran.
Pemandangan seperti apa yang sedang dilihat orang ini sekarang?
Menyembunyikan pertanyaan itu, Agolet bertanya,
"...Apakah Anda punya tujuan lain?"
"Saya perlu mencari tahu bagaimana rencana para bajingan itu untuk melawan Kehancuran Ketiga dan Keempat."
Saat Agolet dengan cepat mengambil kembali saputangan itu, ekspresi aneh melintas di wajahnya.
"Itu tidak terduga. Saya pikir Yang Mulia mempercayai Half King."
"Itu masalah terpisah. Tidak peduli seberapa besar saya mempercayainya, Kehancuran tetaplah musuh yang merepotkan."
"Begitu."
"Baiklah. Itu kurang lebih tujuan saya. Percaya atau tidak, saya telah mengungkapkan sebagian besarnya. Dan Anda masih curiga?"
"Terus terang, ya. Saya tidak bisa mengerti bagaimana Yang Mulia bisa dengan mudahnya mengatakan bahwa Anda berniat membunuh Lukas."
"Itu tidak mudah. Ingat itu."
"......."
Nalurinya telah menyuruhnya sepanjang waktu untuk tidak mempercayai Residue.
Namun emosinya, bukan akalnya, ingin mempercayai omong kosong yang dikatakan Residue padanya. Kontradiksi dalam dirinya sendiri hampir membuat Agolet menghela napas.
Harapan yang terlalu optimis. Interpretasi yang nyaman. Dia tidak bisa mengerti mengapa hal-hal yang dia tidak miliki sejak lahir baru sekarang menemukan jalannya kepadanya. Ada suatu masa ketika dia sangat merindukan perubahan seperti itu, tapi tidak lagi. Sekarang itu hanya menambah kebingungan yang tidak perlu.
Satu hal yang pasti: Agolet, seperti sekarang, tidak ingin secara terbuka menentang Residue. Mungkin itu juga tidak masuk akal jika dipikir-pikir.
Apakah kata 'Yang Mulia', yang dulu tidak dia lekatkan makna apa pun selain sebagai bentuk sapaan, baru sekarang mendapatkan arti?
Tidak ingin memikirkannya lebih dalam lagi, Agolet menekan keras sudut matanya.
"...Menyelam ke dasar Laut Besar di sebelah barat benua, lalu berkonsentrasi."
"Hanya itu?"
"Hanya itu."
Mungkin merasa penjelasannya kurang, Agolet menjelaskan lebih lanjut.
"Apakah ini masa lalu yang sebenarnya, atau panggung yang diciptakan oleh Kehancuran....... Selama ia memiliki struktur dunia, saya berasumsi pasti ada ujungnya. Sama seperti alam semesta lainnya. Begitu pikiran itu muncul, saya pertama kali mencoba meninggalkan planet ini. Saya mencoba melewati atmosfer dan pergi ke luar angkasa. Menurutmu apa yang terjadi?"
"Siapa tahu."
"Saya dihentikan."
Agolet berbalik ke arah jendela.
Lalu dia menatap melampaui langit di luar.
"Sebuah penghalang tak terlihat mengelilingi seluruh planet ini. Saya tidak bisa melewatinya."
"Maksudmu dunia ini lebih kecil dari yang diperkirakan?"
"Atau mungkin tidak ada kebutuhan untuk menyiapkan bagian panggung yang tidak akan pernah digunakan."
Agolet melanjutkan.
"Tidak ada yang saya coba bisa menembus penghalang tak terlihat itu. Saya tidak benar-benar menggunakan kekuatan penuh saya, tapi penghalang itu sangat kokoh sehingga saya tidak melihat gunanya melakukannya. Saya memeriksa bagian lainnya juga, tapi tidak menemukan titik lemah. Penghalang itu menutupi seluruh planet tanpa satu celah pun."
Pada saat itu, Agolet perlahan menggelengkan kepalanya.
"Tapi itu tidak mungkin benar, bukan? Saya yakin planet ini bukan ruang yang sepenuhnya tertutup."
"Kenapa?"
"Karena kita masuk."
Residue mengangguk.
Dia benar.
Apa pun yang lain, di dunia ini, Residue, Agolet, Pale, Raja Iblis Bertanduk Hitam, dan Dewa Petir jelas-jelas adalah kotoran.
Keberadaan yang pada awalnya tidak ada di sini.
Penyusup yang jelas-jelas memasuki dunia ini melalui semacam lorong.
"Jadi saya sedikit mengubah cara berpikir saya. Bagaimana jika pintu masuk dan keluar itu terpisah?"
Agolet menunjuk ke arah langit.
"Sepertinya saya jatuh dari langit. Saya bertemu Raja Iblis Bertanduk Hitam sekali, dan tampaknya dia juga begitu. Pale dan Yang Mulia pasti juga sama, begitu juga Dewa Petir, di mana pun dia berada."
"Jika langit adalah pintu masuk, maka mungkin bawah tanah adalah pintu keluar? Itu pemikiran yang agak sederhana untukmu."
"Pendekatan yang sederhana. Itu penting."
Semakin sederhana sesuatu, semakin mungkin itu benar, dan bahkan jika terbukti salah, banyak kemungkinan yang terkait dengannya kemudian dapat dihilangkan dari hipotesis berikutnya.
Agolet tidak repot-repot menambahkan penjelasan yang tidak perlu itu dan melanjutkan.
"Saya pikir mungkin ada petunjuk di pusat planet ini....... Di tempat itu, yang biasanya sulit untuk diamati. Tapi saya tidak bisa begitu saja mengebor lubang dari permukaan sampai ke inti planet, jadi sebagai pilihan terbaik berikutnya saya menargetkan dasar laut. Dan itu membuahkan hasil."
Itu adalah kesimpulan yang cukup sederhana sehingga terasa antiklimaks, tetapi setelah mendengarnya, Residue bangkit dari tempat duduknya.
"Begitu. Mengerti."
"Apakah Anda bermaksud berangkat segera?"
"Saya harus. Kenapa? Ada lagi yang ingin kamu katakan?"
Agolet berpikir sejenak sebelum menjawab.
"Tidak juga."
"Kamu tidak menyenangkan."
"...Apakah Anda berniat meninggalkan Lukas begitu saja?"
"Lagipula masih ada enam bulan lagi. Jika membunuhnya pada hari tertentu itu benar-benar diperlukan agar berhasil, maka tidak ada yang bisa saya lakukan sampai saat itu. Bahkan jika beberapa lalat yang mengganggu datang berdengung, kamu akan menanganinya sendiri. Lagipula tidak ada yang bisa menyakitinya dengan Blue Knight yang menempel di sisinya sekarang."
"......."
"Kalau kamu?"
"Saya?"
Residue mengangguk dan berkata,
"Tidakkah menurutmu sudah waktunya kamu membuang identitas itu?"
"...Saya tidak yakin."
Agolet bergumam.
"Untuk saat ini, saya akan menonton lebih lama."
***
Jalanan Sarman menjadi sangat sepi sekarang setelah festival usai.
Kerumunan yang meluap telah menghilang seolah-olah menguap, dan keriuhan yang memenuhi jalanan di malam hari telah hilang tanpa jejak.
Bagi penduduk kota, dalam arti tertentu, baru sekarang mereka akhirnya kembali ke kehidupan sehari-hari mereka yang sebenarnya.
"Hmm......."
Pemilik Penginapan Air Cahaya menguap dan melontarkan tatapan tidak ramah ke arah sebuah meja tertentu. Dua pria duduk di sana, menikmati makanan sederhana.
Seminggu penuh telah berlalu sejak festival berakhir, namun mereka masih belum pergi. Pada awalnya, pemilik penginapan menemukan itu membingungkan, tapi sekarang mereka hanya gangguan. Tentu saja, dia tahu bahwa sebagai pemilik penginapan dia tidak boleh menganggap tamunya sebagai gangguan, tapi kasus ini berbeda.
Setelah festival berakhir, Sarman dengan cepat menjadi sepi, dan penduduk kota diberikan masa istirahat yang tidak diucapkan. Dari mana saja seminggu hingga sebulan, mereka bermalas-malasan dan memulihkan diri dari kelelahan yang terakumulasi selama mempersiapkan festival. Tentu saja, pemilik penginapan juga telah merencanakan liburan sederhana tapi memuaskan untuk dirinya sendiri.......
Jadi bisa dimengerti mengapa suasana hatinya menjadi masam ketika tamu-tamu yang mengganggu di depannya merusak semua rencananya.
Mungkin memperhatikan tatapan tidak senang itu, Kasajin menghabiskan gelas birnya dan berkata,
"Pemilik penginapan itu menatap kita dengan curiga."
"Mm."
"Mungkin dia antek Demigod."
Lucid menggelengkan kepalanya.
"Saya rasa tidak."
"Kenapa?"
"Tidak ada alasan."
"Kamu tidak menyenangkan."
Kasajin tidak serius sejak awal, jadi dia mengangkat gelasnya lagi dan meneguk lebih banyak bir.
Benar. Dia harus mengakui bahwa dia menjadi terlalu gelisah.
Mungkin karena dia sudah menghabiskan cukup banyak gelas, kehangatan yang nyaman telah menyelimutinya.
Kasajin tiba-tiba terkikik.
"Ini konyol. Membayangkan penginapan reyot ini akan menjadi akhir dari perjalanan kita."
Lucid tidak bisa berkata-kata untuk memberitahunya bahwa itu belum berakhir. Mungkin Kasajin berharap untuk jawaban itu, tetapi mengingat situasi mereka saat ini, Lucid tidak bisa menyuarakan harapan tanpa dasar apa pun.
"Hei, Lucid. Ngomong-ngomong, kurasa kita tidak punya banyak kesempatan untuk berbicara berdua. Rasanya kita tidak pernah benar-benar punya banyak hubungan satu sama lain......."
Bukannya hubungan mereka canggung.
Mereka benar-benar hanya memiliki sedikit alasan untuk berinteraksi. Lucid sangat pendiam, sementara Kasajin memiliki kecenderungan untuk lebih suka bertindak sendiri, jadi dia jarang menghabiskan banyak
Season 2 Chapter 728
Translator: Alpha0210
Agolet, of course, knew the names, powers, and dispositions of these Demigods, even their true identities, which perhaps not even they themselves knew.
Including Noxtantine, every one of them was worshiped as the One God, Absolute God, or Supreme God of one of the Four Great Continental Religions. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the history of what was now most widely known as Theology began with them.
Yet despite possessing such profound and extraordinary secrets, they held little influence within the Demigod race itself. Their overall combat strength was only around the lower-middle tier.
In the first place, merely posing as gods was nothing more than menial work within the grand plan Lord had laid out, so in a sense, that was only natural.
That made their movements easy to predict, and maneuvering them into acting as intended was not difficult either....... However, contrary to the original plan, Agolet had made a few minor adjustments to their deployment. Even so, it probably would not cause any major disruption to the plan itself.
The Demigods had barged in as they pleased, and they left in much the same manner.
They treated Residue and Agolet as though they did not exist, chatted among themselves, then walked out of the room without so much as a word. Their manner was as casual as if they were merely stepping out to use the restroom.
"......."
Agolet remained still for a moment.
Only after he was certain the Demigods would not return did he approach Residue and offer him a handkerchief taken from inside his clothes.
"Please use this."
There were no wounds left on him in particular, but Residue accepted the handkerchief without refusing. Wiping his face roughly, he said,
"To continue what I was saying, the reason I want to communicate with the Unified World isn't only to search for a way to save Lukas."
So he had nothing to say about the Demigods.
A subtle expression crossed Agolet's face.
The Demigods and Residue.
Both sides treated the other as though they were beneath notice....... In Residue's case, he had even suffered a grave humiliation. And yet he seemed completely unaffected.
Agolet found himself curious.
What sort of landscape was this man looking at right now?
Hiding the question, Agolet asked,
"...Do you have another objective?"
"I need to find out how those bastards plan to fight the Third and Fourth Destructions."
As Agolet swiftly took back the handkerchief, a strange expression crossed his face.
"That is unexpected. I thought Your Majesty trusted the Half King."
"That's a separate matter. No matter how much I trust her, Destruction is still a troublesome enemy."
"I see."
"All right. That's more or less my objective. Whether you believe me or not, I've revealed most of it. And you're still suspicious?"
"To be frank, yes. I cannot understand how Your Majesty could so readily say that you intend to kill Lukas."
"It wasn't exactly easy. Keep that in mind."
"......."
His instincts had been telling him all along not to believe Residue.
Yet his emotions, rather than his reason, wanted to believe the nonsense Residue had told him. The contradiction within himself almost made Agolet sigh.
Overly hopeful expectations. Convenient interpretations. He could not understand why things he had lacked since birth had only now found their way to him. There had been a time when he had desperately longed for such a change, but not anymore. Now it only added needless confusion.
One thing was certain: Agolet, as he was now, did not want to openly oppose Residue. Perhaps that, too, was absurd when he thought about it.
Had the word ‘Your Majesty’, to which he had once attached no meaning beyond that of a form of address, somehow gained meaning only now?
Not wanting to think about it any more deeply, Agolet pressed hard at the corners of his eyes.
"...Dive to the very bottom of the Great Sea west of the continent, then concentrate."
"That's it?"
"That is all."
Perhaps feeling his explanation had been insufficient, Agolet elaborated.
"Whether this is the true past, or a stage created by Destruction....... As long as it has the structure of a world, I assumed there had to be an end to it. Just like any other universe. As soon as that thought occurred to me, I first tried to make my way off this planet. I attempted to pass beyond the atmosphere and head out into space. What do you think happened?"
"Who knows."
"I was stopped."
Agolet turned toward the window.
Then he stared beyond the sky outside.
"An invisible barrier surrounds this entire planet. I could not get past it."
"Are you saying this world is smaller than expected?"
"Or perhaps there was simply no need to prepare parts of the stage that would never be used."
Agolet continued.
"Nothing I tried could break that invisible barrier. I did not actually use my full strength, but it was so solid that I saw no point in doing so. I examined the rest of it as well, but found no weak points. The barrier enclosed the entire planet without a single gap."
At that, Agolet slowly shook his head.
"But that could not be right, could it? I was certain this planet was not a completely sealed space."
"Why?"
"Because we got in."
Residue nodded.
He was right.
Whatever else might be true, in this world, Residue, Agolet, Pale, the Black Thorn Demon King, and the Lightning God were unmistakably impurities.
Existences that had not originally been here.
Intruders who had clearly entered this world through some kind of passage.
"So I shifted my line of thinking slightly. What if the entrance and exit are separate?"
Agolet pointed toward the sky.
"It seems I fell from the sky. I met the Black Thorn Demon King once, and it appeared to have been the same for him. Pale and Your Majesty must surely be the same, as must the Lightning God, wherever he may be."
"If the sky is the entrance, then underground might be the exit? That's rather simplistic thinking for you."
"A simple approach. It is important."
The simpler something was, the more likely it was to be true, and even if it proved wrong, many possibilities related to it could then be eliminated from the next hypothesis.
Agolet did not bother adding that unnecessary explanation and continued.
"I thought there might be a clue at the center of this planet....... In that place, which would ordinarily be difficult to observe. But I could not exactly bore a hole from the surface all the way to the planet's inner core, so as the next best option I targeted the seafloor. And that yielded results."
It was a conclusion simple enough to feel anticlimactic, but upon hearing it, Residue rose from his seat.
"I see. Understood."
"Do you intend to leave immediately?"
"I should. Why? Do you have something else to say?"
Agolet thought for a moment before answering.
"Not particularly."
"You're no fun."
"...Do you intend to leave Lukas alone like this?"
"There are still six months left anyway. If killing him on that specific day is absolutely necessary for it to work, then there's nothing else for me to do until then. Even if a few annoying flies come buzzing around, you'll handle them yourself. Not that anyone could harm him in the first place with the Blue Knight clinging to his side right now."
"......."
"What about you?"
"Me?"
Residue nodded and said,
"Don't you think it's about time you discarded that identity?"
"...I'm not sure."
Agolet murmured.
"For now, I will watch a little longer."
***
The streets of Sarman had grown remarkably quiet now that the festival was over.
The overflowing crowds had vanished as though they had evaporated, and the boisterous noise that had filled the streets at night had disappeared without a trace.
For the city's residents, in a sense, only now had they finally returned to their true everyday lives.
"Hmm......."
The owner of the Water Light Inn yawned and cast a surly look toward a certain table. Two men sat there, having a simple meal.
A full week had passed since the festival ended, yet they still had not left. At first, the innkeeper had found it puzzling, but by now they were simply a nuisance. Of course, he knew that as an innkeeper he should not regard his guests as bothersome, but this case was different.
Once the festival ended, Sarman rapidly grew quiet, and the city's residents were granted an unspoken period of rest. For anywhere from a week to a month, they lazed around and recovered from the fatigue accumulated while preparing for the festival. Naturally, the innkeeper had also planned a modest but satisfying vacation for himself.......
So it was understandable that his mood had soured when those irritating guests before him ruined all his plans.
Perhaps noticing the displeased gaze, Kasajin drained his mug of beer and said,
"The innkeeper's giving us a pretty nasty look for some reason."
"Mm."
"Maybe he's a Demigod's lackey."
Lucid shook his head.
"I do not think so."
"Why?"
"No reason."
"You're no fun."
Kasajin had not been serious to begin with, so he raised his mug again and gulped down more beer.
Right. He had to admit that he had become far too jumpy.
Perhaps because he had already emptied quite a few mugs, a warm buzz had settled over him.
Kasajin suddenly snickered.
"This is ridiculous. To think this shabby inn would be the end of the road for us."
Lucid could not bring himself to tell him that it was not over yet. Perhaps Kasajin had been hoping for precisely that answer, but given their current situation, Lucid simply could not voice hope with no basis behind it.
"Hey, Lucid. Come to think of it, I don't think we've had many chances to talk one-on-one. Feels like we somehow never really had much to do with each other......."
It was not that their relationship was awkward.
They truly had simply had few reasons to interact. Lucid was exceedingly taciturn, while Kasajin had a tendency to prefer acting alone, so he rarely spent much time mingling with the group.
But this situation had created far more occasions when the two of them were alone, and accordingly, they had spent much more time talking.
Kasajin felt as though he were rediscovering Lucid. Had things not been such a mess, he might have enjoyed this moment more.
"Lukas has been seeing a woman lately."
"I saw her as well. The woman with blue hair."
"Never figured him for the romantic type....... Well. Guess that just means I didn't know Lukas at all either."
Lucid merely nodded.
He was still as taciturn as ever, yet Kasajin found that the man was not half bad as a conversational partner. Especially when Kasajin was venting complaints over drinks like this, someone capable of quietly listening without interrupting the flow was surprisingly rare.
On impulse, Kasajin held out his mug.
"Want a drink?"
Even as he offered it, he expected Lucid to refuse, but to his surprise, Lucid took it without hesitation and drained it in one gulp.
"Wait. That's pretty strong......."
Kasajin withdrew the hand he had reached out as if to stop him and smacked his lips.
Clack.
Lucid set the mug down and spoke, his face now slightly flushed with drink.
"Perhaps we pushed Lukas too hard. We always left the important decisions to him."
"What important decisions?"
"The direction of our lives......?"
Kasajin closed his mouth.
"Where I should go, what my purpose is. Even deciding how to live one's own life comes with a great deal of thought and responsibility. Without realizing it, we always avoided thinking too deeply about those things."
"......."
"If Lukas wants to rest, I would like to respect that. Seeing a woman may be a good thing as well. It could be a comfort to him."
"Then what about the Demigods?"
"Who knows....... There is no rule saying we must be the ones to fight them, is there? Perhaps others will appear someday. People who are a little closer to being heroes than we are."
Kasajin stared into Lucid's eyes for a moment, then grinned, baring his teeth.
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!