~CHAPTER 11~
It seems it was something like that, but I can’t remember clearly.
I remember the demons were pretty tense when the Saint appeared…
But you get used to it after facing it so many times, and across previous loops the Saint never actually collided with me.
“Why do you ask?”
Sian asked, smoothing at his jaw with his hand as if my staring after hearing his name looked strange.
“Do you have a younger sister? Or an older sister?”
“I only have a younger brother.”
…Really?
I tilted my head in puzzlement and dug through my memory again, then gave up.
Well, maybe I’m remembering it wrong.
Isn’t it normal for fantasy novel characters to have long, complicated surnames?
“Hey, roommate.”
Just as I was about to sink back into thought, Jahar Knox’s call snapped me back to attention.
“Which room are you thinking of taking?”
“Huh? A room?”
He hauled himself up, stretching with little cracking sounds from his stiff joints.
“You said you were moving in, right?”
Technically it’s you moving in, but I decided not to sweat the small stuff.
“I’ll look around first. Is that okay?”
To choose a room you have to look around, didn’t you?
Thinking it would be better to check now than to come tomorrow with luggage and rush through the huge house, I asked and Jahar Knox answered cheerfully.
“Ah, sure sure. Make yourself at home and look around.”
Ignoring Sian’s minor jabs, the three of us — Sian, Jahar Knox, and I — began to tour the mansion together.
“Why are you following us?”
“In case I get lost.”
“…Inside the mansion?”
“Don’t underestimate the mansion; it’s huge in here!”
Leaving the bickering pair behind, I walked slowly up the stairs.
They kept squabbling under their breath but faithfully followed behind me.
We reached the first room.
The moment the door opened, a thick smoke poured out along with a pile of junk.
“Cough, cough.”
I waved my hand at the reflexive coughing and frowned, when Jahar Knox hurried forward and shoved the junk back into the room with his foot.
“Ah, haha! I forgot. I was using this as my alchemy tools storage!”
“Your alchemy tools storage?”
“Sometimes research needs alchemical assistance, you know.”
There’s a lot of smoke. If a fire breaks out—
“Nah, that’ll never happen! What do you take me for?”
He shut the door quickly and, forcing a smile, pushed Sian and me along by our backs.
“Come on, let’s see another room. There’s lots of rooms!”
Well, I supposed the Mage Tower Master wouldn’t accidentally set his own house on fire because he couldn’t manage a single tool.
I stopped giving him suspicious looks and turned to head for the next room.
But…
“Ah, this is my magic tools storage!”
“Oh! My wardrobe!”
“This is my snack storage…”
The more doors on the second floor we opened, the more Jahar Knox felt like an exaggerating hoarder.
How can he possibly use every room on the second floor?
There was even a jewelry room, and although he acted like he never read a book, there were three studies.
I thought I had heard there was a separate library as well.
“Maybe we should kick him out? I’ll find someone trustworthy to take over the Mage-power stuff.”
Sian, who had had enough, whispered to me with a hint of annoyance.
I wanted to tell him to throw Jahar Knox out right away, but Jahar Knox was the next Mage Tower Master.
There wouldn’t be many wizards capable of replacing the genius called the prodigy of the century.
Breathe. Hold it in.
I squeezed my eyes shut and counted patience three times in my head, then grabbed Jahar Knox’s shoulder.
“Jahar.”
“Hmm?”
Hold it, hold it! Don’t throw him out!
I flexed my mind hard.
“Do you want to die?”
…Maybe I should have said that with more force.
***
I clenched my teeth and the hint of coercion — ‘either clear out the room politely or show us an empty room’ — seemed to work.
After passing the second floor and going up to the third, Jahar Knox began showing us the empty rooms.
It was good to know there were empty rooms, but they all looked unusable.
The rooms that had been empty for a long time were completely unmanaged.
Jahar Knox’s magic had repaired any broken spots, but that was all.
The dust piled up while the owner was away and junk abandoned by previous occupants would take a long time to clear.
Jahar Knox took his guide role fairly seriously and seemed a little excited.
“How about this room? It gets great sunlight and I even considered using it myself.”
“Why didn’t you use it?”
He hesitated for a moment, an unlike-him expression.
Was there some serious reason?
“Oh, nothing in particular.”
Then what?
I stared as if I would press the matter, and Jahar Knox opened his mouth on his own.
“I couldn’t be bothered to climb up to the third floor.”
“……”
“Also, the sunlight is too strong. I want to sleep late but the light keeps waking me.”
So it was really nothing serious…
“There are things called curtains in the world. Don’t you know?”
“Ah, I know that!”
Sian immediately jumped in to tease, and they started bickering back and forth.
I watched them for a moment, then turned away.
If the sunlight wakes you, the lighting here must be excellent.
I’ll take this room.
It seemed the best of the rooms we’d seen so far, so I mentally claimed it.
Something caught my eye among the cushions that looked like Jahar Knox’s.
A round, bead-like object sat among the black cushions, smooth and unusually transparent.
What is that? It’s pretty big for a gem. A…?
I frowned and stepped closer to get a better look.
“Oh? Wait a second!”
Jahar Knox blocked my path with a startled voice.
“What is it?”
“Uh… that, ah, hey! There are lots of good rooms besides this. Let’s see the others!”
“No, just step out.”
“W-wait…”
I shoved Jahar Knox, who was being annoyingly evasive, aside and continued forward.
From a distance the bead looked small, but up close it was rather large.
About the size of a fist?
Compared to my fist it was bigger, and closer in size to Sian’s fist.
I carefully picked the bead up.
In that instant I realized one thing.
A faint magic flowed from its surface into my fingertips. It was an egg.
And not just any egg — an egg of a magical beast.
After living twelve loops with the title of Demon Lord, I wasn’t going to mistake this.
I couldn’t tell exactly which monster it belonged to, but it was definitely a monster egg.
Judging by the warmth I felt, hatching was not far off.
Why would something like this be here…
I tried to pour some of my magic into it to identify the creature, but—
Oh right, I have no magic.
I had to stop immediately.
“Why are you like that?”
Sian, who had been standing by the doorway and found my stillness odd, edged closer.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I reflexively hid the monster egg.
I didn’t know exactly why I did it; it just felt like the right thing to do.
Maybe because Sian is the Paladin Commander… he’d destroy a monster egg on sight.
If it’s not a dangerous monster, I’d rather bring it to the demon realm.
Most middle- to high-level monsters have intelligence.
Intelligent monsters won’t harm humans unless ordered by their master.
It would be pointless for them to attack or eat a human who has no magic.
If it were a low-level monster that could endanger people, I’d have to deal with it myself.
I gave Sian an awkward smile while he watched me curiously and stood up.
I planned to investigate the egg when Sian wasn’t looking.
Of course I had no magic, so I couldn’t examine it myself…
I guess I’ll have to pick Jahar Knox’s pockets later.
Recalling how he had blocked me earlier when I reached for the egg, I doubted he didn’t know what it was.
I glanced at Jahar Knox.
He had looked uneasy ever since the moment he had stood in front of me.
