◈ Chapter 136. Do You Want to Live? Simuard.
Simuard.
Befitting a prestigious magical house, its name was widely known even across the Arcana Continent.
Every blood relative, every single member, possessed overwhelming mana.
Geniuses with talent so great that other magical families would struggle to produce even one appeared in every other generation.
Yet there were likely none who envied the Simuard family.
A curse of limited life, as famous as their renown.
For those of Simuard blood were born with overwhelming magical talent, but in exchange, they died before reaching middle age.
There were no exceptions. Not since the Simuard family had become renowned as a prestigious house of magic.
“Whew.”
Marcelo looked around his office.
The office that had been filled with all manner of research materials.
That organization was more or less coming to an end.
“It is thanks to you.”
Chief Lee Hoyeol. If not for him.
Even now, his desk would have been littered with materials for the preliminary review of the regular conference, hypotheses regarding anomalies, and even applications to leave the tower.
“They have such a saying in this world.”
A beautiful person leaves even the place they stayed beautiful……
Somehow, it was not exactly a phrase meant to be used in such a situation, but Marcelo had no way of knowing that.
Marcelo had merely wanted to uphold it. The dignity of a chief, until the very end.
He knew the state of his body better than anyone.
The weakening beat of his heart.
The dulled flow of his mana.
His body growing gaunt.‘I felt it starting from the Broken Dimensional Gap Rift.’Every time he used magic, he felt the backlash in his flesh.
To borrow Senior Bellier’s words……
He had overexerted a body that was already in poor condition.
-“I apologize. I always seem to make you worry, Senior Bellier.”
As if that were not enough, even after returning to the Magic Tower, he had focused endlessly on work. Even to himself, it did feel as though he had hastened an already short life.
Marcelo let out a faint chuckle.
“But what difference would a day or two make?”
A member of the Simuard family.
To Marcelo, death was closer than anything else.
He had been accustomed to death since childhood.
What remained in his memories was his father’s deathbed.
Aside from himself, still young at the time, no one in the family mourned his father’s death. As if death were something only natural. Even his father himself.
-“One day, the day will come when you understand everything, Marcelo.”
Indeed, your words were right.
The Simuard curse of limited life came equally to all, making no distinction between men and women, nor whether they had married out.
As the years passed and he faced the deaths of countless people, Marcelo, too, came to understand his father’s last words.
Death is fair to everyone.
It is only a little harsher to those of Simuard blood.
But Marcelo did not feel wronged.
“Everything has its give and take……”
Just as you said, sir.
They must have exchanged lifespan for talent.
For he, in whom Simuard blood flowed, had gained tremendous magical talent.
Moreover, unlike his father and his other ancestors, he had entered the Magic Tower, where he could fully spread that talent.
-“Marcelo, you have the right.”
It meant that he did not need to be bound by descendants.
It was possible because the godmother, Yula Simuard, had granted her permission.
Marcelo shrugged.‘Of course, someone must be suffering because of me.’For better or worse, once he had entered the Magic Tower.
According to the oath, like the other mages, he could no longer involve himself in family affairs. Besides, was the Simuard family the sort of family that needed anyone’s concern?‘So what I need to worry about is not that side…….’It would be this side, the Magic Tower.
Marcelo thought as he looked at the tidied office.
Just as the scenery of the office had changed, many things in the Magic Tower had changed as well.
The demon worshippers who had deceived the Magic Tower while wearing the masks of elders had been expelled.
The number of elder mages had gone from five to one.
Yet their absence could not be felt.
Because every member of the Magic Tower was filling those empty places.
The round table conference, attended by mages of every rank, was proof of that.
“And not only that……”
In the process, the Magic Tower had recognized a common enemy: demons.
Marcelo knew better than anyone how foul-tempered mages could be.
But now that a common enemy had appeared, those proud mages were cooperating with one another.
There was no need to explain when even the senior mages who used to snarl at one another every other day had fallen quiet.
“This, too, is thanks to you.”
As expected, everything was thanks to Chief Lee Hoyeol.
So Marcelo had no worries.
If it were him, he would perfectly replace the void Marcelo left behind.
Yes, he had accepted it.
From the moment he became aware that he was of Simuard blood, born to a limited life.
It was a death he had kept in mind all along.
Even so, it must mean that I am human after all.
“……
I have no worries, but I do have regrets.”
The magic he had not reached the pinnacle of.
The theoretical magic he had not completed.
His research on anomalies.
And above all else……
“I wanted to see you awaken.”
That he would never see the Tower Master again.
That was Marcelo’s regret.
But Marcelo knew.
Resisting would change nothing. How futile were the regrets harbored by one whose end had already been decided. And so, without thinking too deeply, he moved his hand.
Rattle—When he opened the drawer, he saw the green tea bag Hoyeol had given him.
Just as Marcelo looked at the tea bag and smiled bitterly.
Knock, knock—There came the sound of knocking.
“You may come in.”
Was it Senior Bellier?
He did not want to make her worry.
Marcelo forced himself to change his complexion.
But the person who appeared through the open door was someone completely unexpected.
“……!”
He did not hold meetings that had not been arranged in advance.
Because of that motto, Marcelo had never imagined it.
It was Chief Lee Hoyeol.
“Chief Lee? What brings you to my office?”
“Chief Marcelo.”
“I am listening.”
“No, Marcelo Simuard.”
“……!”
He had never properly told Chief Lee his name.
As an adventurer, Hoyeol had no way of knowing the history of the Simuard family, but…… there was always a what-if. He already had enough people worrying about him as it was.
Still, if he had learned of it now……
Bow—Marcelo respectfully lowered his head.
“I apologize. I did not mean to hide it.”
But the answer that came back was unfamiliar.
“Marcelo Simuard. I will ask you.”
Strictly speaking, it was not an answer, but a question.
Though he had been born a member of the Simuard family.
Closer to death than anyone.
“Do you want to live?”
“……!”
It was a question he had never once been asked before....
It was all because of that damned tiresome pride.
I looked at the flickering quest window.[Quest: Marcelo’s Research]
The Magic Tower’s chief mage, Marcelo.
In order to reach magic that has advanced to another dimension.
He wishes to work together with you.─Accept Marcelo’s proposal. (Success)─Prove your ability. (Success)─The Weight of the Chief (Repeat) ▼─Approach to Anomalies (In Progress) ▼To be precise, at the very end of the [Marcelo’s Research] quest.
At the newly appeared quest objective.─Carry on Marcelo’s will. (In Progress)
Senior Healing Mage, Bellier Yusia.
When I picked up her application to leave the tower, the quest objective was updated.
Thanks to that, I grasped the situation quickly.
Even if I did not know what kind of family the Simuards were.
At the very least, I knew the words “limited life” were no joke.
Then a question that had remained in my head was resolved.
Even if I had not shouldered everything, it was undeniable that I had shared the weight of the chief that Marcelo had been carrying.
And yet, despite my efforts, Marcelo grew more gaunt every time I saw him.
To the point where it could not simply be blamed on his constitution.‘But noticing it from that alone would be even stranger.’Now that I knew that fact……
Somehow, I feel like I’ve become a really awful bastard……![Broken Dimensional Gap]
As if that weren’t enough, even the [Demon King’s Castle] Rift. Wasn’t I the one who had dragged Marcelo, a man sentenced to a limited life, all over the place? And on top of that, even the words I had just spat out.
“Do you want to live?”
Is that really something to say out of nowhere?
But there was nothing I could do.
Because the heavy pride in my chest was saying so.
The curse of limited life upon the Simuard family.
The moment I saw Bellier’s purpose for leaving the tower.
Another quest had flickered.[Quest: The Simuard Family’s Request]
The magical family, Simuard.
They wish to uncover the source of the curse of limited life
that has been placed upon them.─Visit the Simuard estate. (Success)─Face the Countess of Simuard. (In Progress)
The Simuard family’s request.
The “Success” displayed on the quest objective.
That was not a quest I had carried out.
As I said, I don’t even know what the Simuard family is.
However, I did know.
Akshan’s request structure.‘The demon hunter carrying out the request must have fallen in battle.’In the past, when Akshan existed.
If a demon hunter carrying out a request died, another demon hunter would take over that request.
But as everyone knows, Akshan was exterminated, and the only surviving demon hunter is me.‘Thanks to that, the request that had naturally been forgotten…….’Must have surfaced when I learned the secret entwined with the Simuard family. Yes, from Lee Hoyeol’s perspective, this was not something to agonize over.─Carry on Marcelo’s will. (In Progress)
What, carry on Marcelo’s will?
Who?
Me?!
What utter nonsense.
I have neither the ability nor the desire to do that!
What I want is not the position of a true chief, but only the authority of a chief that I enjoy as a joint researcher.
Even handling just half of the chief’s duties is killing me. At this rate, after Marcelo, I’m going to be the one to die from overwork……!
The problem did not end there.
The Magic Tower had come to regard demons as its main enemy. In such a critical situation, a vacancy left by Marcelo? At that point, the future was obvious before anything even began.
So no matter how I looked at it.─Face the Countess of Simuard. (In Progress)[The Simuard Family’s Request].
Carrying out the Akshan quest that had been dumped onto me was the right choice from every angle.
Besides, as long as it was an “Akshan” quest.‘There’s a high chance the curse of the Simuard family is related to demons.’Yes, there was nothing to agonize over.
But as I said, the damned pride was the problem.
Pride wanted to hear the answer from Marcelo’s own mouth.
Just as one’s own pride mattered, so did another’s.
If the end that Marcelo’s pride desired was to accept the curse of limited life, then I would have no choice but to quietly carry on Marcelo’s will.‘The opinion of the person involved? It’s important. I can understand that.’But even so, why “Do you want to live?”!
What if Marcelo was offended?
I looked at him as he remained silent……
And somehow, the corners of Marcelo’s mouth had instead risen.
“Do you know, sir?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is the first time in my life I have been asked such a question.”
Marcelo’s lips twisted.
He continued, his words half voice, half laughter.
“Simuard. My family’s curse is widely known across the continent. Even knowing that, there were those who envied my talent, and there were those who looked at me with pity……”
Well, there was no need to look far.
There were even senior mages mixed among them.
In the end, Marcelo let out the laughter he had been holding back.
“Haha, I apologize. That question was truly new to me.”……
So it was a question so absurd it made him laugh.
Somehow, I felt this conversation was not going to go smoothly.
This was why it was all because of this damned mouth of mine……!
“So for a brief moment, I thought about it.”……
Wait.
At Marcelo’s words, I suppressed the urge to smack my own mouth.
Marcelo’s gaze swept over his neatly organized office.
“I have no regrets. I know my own vessel well. If not for the history of my family…… I would never have reached the position I now occupy. Because I exchanged lifespan for talent, I believe I was able to witness a sight like this from a place like this.”
Marcelo smiled bitterly.
“……
And so it would be right for me to have no lingering regrets either.”
Clench—“The moment I heard your question, I found myself thinking it before I knew it.”
Marcelo clenched his fist.
“……
That I want to live.”
Of course, I do not know.
What lingering attachment Marcelo had.
As one who had inherited the blood of Simuard.
What attitude he had taken as he lived out a life with an expiration date.
But that was enough.
“I understand, Marcelo.”
“……?”
“You should follow Senior Bellier’s advice and get some rest.”
That was right.
What I wanted to hear was not some tragic tale.
It was the words, I want to live—that single sentence.
At the same time, the quest window flickered.─Carry on Marcelo’s will. (On hold)The quest status had changed from “In progress” to “On hold.”
If it was going to change anyway, why not change to failed?
Because I have absolutely no intention of proceeding with this damn quest.
I looked at Marcelo, who wore a bewildered expression.
More precisely, at his fist.
Was it because it was practically always on my lips?‘Now I can tell what it is at a glance.’What Marcelo was clutching in his fist was a green tea bag.
Dry tea leaves had spilled onto the floor after it burst.
I said calmly.
“If you should need anything, come find me in my office.”
“……!”
“For when one enjoys tea, even time itself tends to flow slowly.”...[Quest: The Request of House Simuard]
The magical house, Simuard.
They desire to uncover the source of the curse placed upon them.
A curse of limited lifespan.─Visit the Simuard estate. (Success)─Face the Countess of Simuard. (In progress)
Naturally, House Simuard was on the Arcana Continent.
This was not a major incident like the Demon King’s Castle or the Tetpern Labyrinth.
There was no chance it would appear as a regular update.
A question naturally had to follow.
Then how was I supposed to find House Simuard?
At present, there was no way to travel from reality to the Arcana Continent.
However, I remembered the scene I had witnessed in the [Broken Dimensional Rift], that strange space.[???]
A colossal demon whose name could not be known.
It had clearly collapsed the rift and revealed itself. Then, from the [『Anomaly』]
I manifested, it had fled in a panic, back to the Arcana Continent.
Seeing that scene, I realized.
A rift was a strange space where reality and the Arcana Continent were mixed in halves.
Just as reality was connected to the rift.
Surely, the Arcana Continent was also connected to the rift.
That did not mean I knew how to get from the rift to the Arcana Continent.
But there was one option worth trying.
The Demon King’s trophy.[Map Connected to All Things][Rank: Epic][Restriction: None][Effect: You can learn the location of something secretly hidden by someone, something lost by someone, or something concealed somewhere. In addition, you can teleport to the location of something once.
However, upon activating the teleportation effect, all effects are immediately lost.][Description: A magic tool with infinite possibilities depending on how it is used.]
That was right.
This was the reason I had been able to speak so confidently.
Someone might ask.
Was the Arcana Continent not already a den of demons?
Even if I set foot on the Arcana Continent, could I preserve my life? No, did I even know how to return to reality in the first place?
“I can.”
Along with my confident answer, as always.
I will display the status window.[Title: The Last Adventurer]