Arun (1)

“Ugh… ah… ah.”

The smell of cooking meat, unpleasant filth, and the scent of blood filled the small, dark basement.

The man’s head, bowed and panting heavily in exhaustion, was stained red with blood.

Judging by the sparse yellow visible, the man’s hair was probably a beautiful golden color.
The man, neither tied to the chair nor specially restrained, sat weakly, enduring all the torture without attempting to escape or resist, occasionally letting out screams.

“Beg for your life!!”

A sharp voice echoed through the basement.

Come to think of it, the figure holding a red-hot iron in one hand and a bag of salt in the other was a woman.

A woman with short black hair and sharp eyes.

Her youthful face seemed out of place in this scene of torture, and it would be hard to believe she was the one executing such cruel acts if not seen directly.

“Sor…ry…”

“Ugh! I said beg for your life, not apologize!”

Her voice, sharp and grating like the sound of metal breaking, resonated loudly in the basement.

Soon, the red-hot iron in her hand danced across the bare skin of the man.

“Ugh… argh!”

“Beg! Beg for your life! I said beg!”

In the basement of a small house in the south of Exorsus, there was a pitiful man and a youthful-faced woman torturing him, with a muscular man standing at the door as if to protect her.

―Year 5 of the ‘Battlefield of the Gods,’ on a summer day.

After Lee Hyo-ju left, the person who opened the study door and entered was not Arun, but the butler, Tess.

Tess walked in with a steaming cup of tea on a tray, his steps so flawless that calling him a master would be an understatement.

“I’ve prepared the tea.”

“Oh, thanks. But it seems like you have something else to say?”

“Yes. I wanted to give you a mid-term report on the task you assigned earlier, if you have the time.”

Upon hearing Tess’s words, I remembered assigning an easy task to Miku, who had been diligently learning by Tess’s side despite his young age, as soon as Tess recovered.

Of course, the task was simple, but I had told him that its content and purpose were very important, and indeed, it was a crucial task.

“Hmm, yes. You mean the task Miku is handling?”

“Yes. It’s the work my inadequate son is doing…”

“I’m not about to criticize, so go ahead and report. I’m looking forward to it.”

Tess, bowing deeply, began his report with an expressionless face. As the story progressed, the emotion I felt was surprise.

Miku’s age in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ is thirteen. On Earth, that would be the age of a sixth grader or a first-year middle school student.

Yet, with his outstanding abilities, he achieved results that exceeded the expected figures.

One might expect Tess to be proud of his son’s achievements, but his face remained expressionless. No, he occasionally frowned, indicating there were parts he found unsatisfactory.

However, it was surely something only Tess could notice.

“That’s impressive… While there might be parts Tess finds unsatisfactory, from my perspective, it’s truly remarkable. Well done. If there are areas you think are lacking, Tess should teach him. Oh, is Miku interested in alchemy?”

For the first time, Tess’s expression changed at my question.

It wasn’t the usual calm expression Tess maintained in any situation. He looked at me with a completely surprised face.

“Did Miku perhaps snoop around Mr. Kim Han’s workshop?”

“Huh? No way. There’s a way to know.”

“Ah…”

Only then did he let out a small sigh of relief, and his expression settled.

As if his expression truly settled, his eyes and facial muscles returned to calmness, starting from his mouth. It was fascinating.

After enjoying this rare scene to the end, I opened my inventory and took out a book, placing it on the desk.

“Give this to Miku. I don’t know if it will work for Miku, but if a question appears in the air when the book is opened, asking if he wants to learn the skill, he can think or say yes to acquire the skill. If not, tell him to use this book as a reference for study.”

Tess carefully picked up the book on the desk and checked the title.

『Skill Book: Beginner Alchemy—Potion Making』

“Th-this is! Isn’t this an incredibly precious book?”

“Huh? If you say it’s precious, it could be. Oh, right! Tess, open it. See if a message appears in the air or in your mind.”

When Tess didn’t initially understand my words, I repeatedly made the gesture of opening the book with both hands, urging him to open the beginner alchemy book with a reluctant face.

Thud.

The beginner alchemy book fell to the floor and opened.

Tess, with a dazed expression, was staring into the space where the opened book lay, looking up at it resentfully.

‘NPCs, or rather continentals, seem to be able to. Representatives couldn’t until the skill category opened.’

Tess, coming to his senses, hurriedly and carefully picked up the book from the floor.

Tess, who had been staring blankly at the book title, carefully and tenderly held the book to his chest.

“M-Messenger?”

Surprised, Tess called me “Messenger” instead of “Mr. Kim Han,” which made me chuckle involuntarily.

“Tell Miku to come by after delivering it. Since it’s beginner level, he can learn without restrictions, but he needs to be proficient to move to the next stage. I’ll allow access to the workshop.”

“Ah, no, the workshop is…”

“I’ll think about it. If it’s really necessary, building a small alchemy workshop next to it might be a good idea. If we supply all the materials and produce low-grade potions, delivering 80% to us and letting Miku take 20% as labor costs… Oh! This sounds good, doesn’t it? What do you think, Tess? Tess?”

“…”

Tess, who had been lost in thought, slowly raised his head at my call. Tears were streaming down the face of the middle-aged man, pooling at his chin.

“…Tess?”

“Thank… you.”

His head bowed deeply, and his waist bent as if he were about to bow.

Well, isn’t that what being a parent is all about?

A being that becomes infinitely small when it comes to their child’s matters. A being that doesn’t hesitate to go through fire and water for their child, isn’t that what a parent is?

‘Especially since Miku’s mother is…’

For some reason, my nose tingled. Tsk. Strangely, I become emotional with those living in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’

“Enough. After Miku learns from the book, tell him to come by. Alchemy, which needs to be learned through an apprenticeship system, requires a solid foundation. And isn’t Kyuri not busy these days? As I mentioned earlier, formally request to build a small alchemy workshop next to the main one.”

“…”

Tess couldn’t answer with words and instead bowed his head even deeper to express his gratitude.

Fearing an awkward situation might arise if he stayed here any longer, I nodded for him to leave. He carefully hugged the ‘Beginner Alchemy’ booklet to his chest and exited the study.

Only after Tess left did I remember the skill books I couldn’t give him because he was crying.

『Skill Book: Discount Lv. 5』
『Skill Book: Overcharge Lv. 5』
『Skill Book: Insight Lv. 5』

I took out the three skill books, each occupying a slot in my inventory, and placed them on the desk, warming the cold tea Tess left behind with divine power before drinking it.

“I hope it goes well.”

I muttered to myself over the teacup, waiting for Arun to arrive.

It was only 30 minutes after Tess left that Arun knocked on the study door and appeared.

Even though he surely knew the meeting was scheduled for today, Arun scratched his head as he appeared, making me sigh.

“Did you call for me?”

“Sit there.”

Grinning for some reason, he sat in the chair across the desk and distractedly looked around the study.

How did a character like this become a mage…?

“Have you thought about it?”

“Huh? Oh! Yes. Of course, I support joining the legion that Kim Han is forming.”

Calm down. If I get angry from the start, the conversation won’t progress.

“Phew… The legion was already discussed with Lee Hyo-ju before, and that’s not what I’m asking now. I mentioned it three days ago. Have you thought about what would be good to learn with the two registration cards?”

Arun scratched his head, hesitated for a moment, and then opened his mouth, gauging my reaction.

“I… uh, I’ve been thinking about it, and I believe it would be better to further develop my magic. So, I’m considering learning fire or earth attribute magic. Haha.”

Boom!!

A tremendous noise erupted as a solid wooden desk met a human hand.

The teacup that had been rolling on the desk floated into the air and then fell, clattering with a shrill cry.

“What… are you doing?”

“Uh?”

“Stop joking and answer me properly. What are you doing right now? Were you always this stupid? Or have you lost your motivation because you’re comfortable and well-fed? Is that it? Or do you have some other idea I haven’t thought of?”

“…I’m not sure what you mean. Haha.”

“Until recently, I thought you were a bit of a fool, but a promising mage and someone with exceptional loyalty. But what? Fire attribute? Earth attribute? Ha! Do you want to live in the legion as if you don’t exist?”

“What? No, no! How could that be? Hahaha.”

“Stop laughing!! You say you’re learning fire attributes to develop your magic? You’re originally a water attribute mage. And a representative of the River God at that. So what nonsense is this? If you wanted to enhance or develop your magical attributes, you should have mentioned ice attributes. And earth? You think you can learn earth magic just because you have a little affinity for it?”

Arun, who had always laughed and wandered around the legion house, now seemed to reveal his mask, and the awkward points in his recent behavior came to mind.

Looking back, he was so different from his initial appearance in the Monster Belt.

He wasn’t the guy who would manifest and shout at Katarina for oppressing Lee Hyo-ju. Whether this or that, he was always laughing.

“Th-that… then maybe I should learn the ice attribute… but I guess that’s not possible? Sigh…”

When Arun tried to say something nonsensical, I glared at him, causing him to trail off and scratch his cheek.

Ever since I noticed Arun’s strange behavior, I just couldn’t understand what this guy was thinking.

“Just tell me. Why have you been neglecting your training lately, and why are you trying to use the important registration card for representatives so carelessly? What on earth are you thinking?”

Even though I scolded him in a low voice, Arun couldn’t easily open his mouth to me.

He only moved his lips as if pondering something, but no words came out. All that escaped was a sigh.

As the silence began to settle in, I took a deep breath and tried to figure out why this guy was acting this way, but I still couldn’t understand.

Honestly, I wanted to just tell him to forget about these trivial worries and leave, but since Ister was already involved with the Three Gods’ Manifestation, I couldn’t do that.

“…What should I do?”

“What…?”

Arun’s question was so sudden and disjointed, cutting off both the beginning and end of his thoughts, that all I could do was frown in response.

“Sigh… Mr. Kim Han, you saw it too, right? That day, in the forest.”

“That day? In the forest? Ah…!”

“Yes, that day. The night when everything went wrong because of that trash, Katarina.”

“And then?”

“I thought what happened that day was an accident because I was under the influence. It was unavoidable, not my fault. So I tormented Katarina even more, without Mr. Kim Han knowing.”

Not that I didn’t know. To some extent, I did.

Lee Hyo-ju mistreated both Katarina and Unos, but Arun only tormented Katarina.

“But here’s the thing. As one day passes, then two, the more time I spend beside Lee Hyo-ju and Mr. Kim Han, the more my guilt grows. It’s like having a heavy lump of iron placed on my chest. And as time goes on, that iron’s weight only gets heavier. What should I do?”

I was surprised by Arun’s words, which he poured out as if vomiting.

I was astonished that a person of this type could become a representative, and I was surprised by how much Arun’s nature leaned towards goodness.

Moreover, while others relentlessly pursued Lee Hyo-ju, Arun eventually overcame it on his own.

Even if I hadn’t been there, Arun was someone who could be free from that guilt. Unlike the others, he didn’t chase after her but tried to endure it, and he succeeded.

“I’m a selfish guy, too. I wanted to ignore Lee Hyo-ju, become stronger, and survive until the end in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’ It’s true. But even when I sit in the meditation chamber trying to gather divine power, I hear voices in my ears. Voices saying, ‘You vile creature, why didn’t you escape from the start and instead get intoxicated by the drug? You had such desires!’”

“…….”

“What should I do?”

I got up from my seat, walked around the long table, and approached the chair where Arun was sitting.

I placed my hand on Arun’s head, which was bowed like a puppy caught in the rain.

Bam!! Crash!