Chapter 2 — 봄의 안배
Part 2 - Episode 2
Spring’s Arrangement
Oddity (奇妙).
One of the three great classes that make up demonkind, alongside
The demons commonly known to the world have egos and thus fall under
But since demons originally hail from the Unknown, all sorts of peculiar “phenomena” are also included among them.
What Elric was looking at now—a type of
Elric tilted his head, puzzled.
An Oddity like this isn’t easy to come by, sure, but would the Imperial Family really target it just to prop up Cromhel?
“Oddities that parasitize a host are actually the most common type. And the Imperial Family wants to hunt that down?”
Mord hesitated to answer, even as he accepted Elric’s doubt as natural.
“Want to just get off?”
When Elric scowled and snapped at that attitude, Mord finally blurted it out.
“No. It’s… an Oddity of ‘Orgy.’”
Only then did Elric understand why Mord had been so desperate to hide this bizarre mana.
[This was Lilith’s mana?]
『Then what did you think I was offended about?』
[With your temperament, it’d be faster to list what doesn’t offend you.]
『Y-You little—!』
Anyway… worst case.
“Orgy” is the sigil of Lilith, one of the Four Great Demon Kings.
Once, Lilith had been regarded as a type of earth-mother goddess symbolizing fecundity and plenty, but at some point her meaning soured.
And the more that happened, the more her vassals lost their reason, surrendering all thought and will to Lilith’s yoke.
In other words, to bear an Oddity like that was all but to become part of the cluster that composes the Over Mind.
And you want me to save the Hyung clan, who are implanting Lilith’s Oddity, from the Imperial Family?
Watching Elric’s expression grow darker by the moment, Mord carefully tested the waters.
“The problem is that the clan is favorable toward Orgy. Most think that, rather than be crushed under oppression until we die, we should just turn to the demons.”
Elric snorted at Mord, incredulous.
“Give me a break. Judging by that implant, your side must’ve been Lilith’s devotees too. So why the change of heart now?”
At Elric’s mockery, Mord answered with a bitter smile, as if regretting it all.
“We were. But we’ve changed our minds.”
“Because of what?”
“Our clan took in an Oddity for one reason only: survival. We never truly worshiped Lilith.”
Mord’s expression had turned resolute.
“Then we heard about you, Elric. That you’d befriended the God of Camellia, whom our ancestors believed to be the old queen of the clan. And that you saved the barbarians.”
“So you just showed up out of nowhere to ask me for help?”
Elric deduced that Mord had come to him with a gambler’s desperation.
You could almost call it pitiful…
Elric weighed the gains from saving the Hyung clan.
Distant ancestors or not, they were once demons, but their blood had thinned so much they were practically ordinary. Absorbing them into his faction would be easy.
The problem is the risk is huge.
Seeing Elric lost in thought, Mord grew frantic. He dropped to his knees.
“Please, I beg you again. Save our clan! I will gladly be your dog!”
Elric looked down impassively at Mord, who was banging his head against the floor and begging.
“Why should I?”
Mord’s eyes widened at the unexpected reply.
“I—I thought I’d given you enough reason…”
Flustered, Mord hurried to persuade him, but Elric only dug his pinky into his ear, clearly annoyed.
『Hah. From this angle I can’t tell who’s the Demon King and who’s the human. No—who’s the Great Demon King?』
【Shut it】
『Mmph, mmph!』
“Look, I get it. But why should I trust you and go that far?”
“T-That’s…!”
“Forget it. I’ve got somewhere I need to swing by anyway, so let’s take it step by step. I’ll be watching you and making my own judgment.”
Let’s first see how useful your faction actually is.
Without a clear calculation, Elric offered neither a yes nor a no—an ambiguous answer.
Mord looked disappointed, but knowing that the best way to earn trust was to keep still, he bowed his head.
* * *
After riding for days, they finally arrived at the nest of the Gem Dragon Shainak.
Once a back-of-beyond swarming with bugs and monsters, it had been transformed completely since the Neresta family moved in.
Workers streamed to and fro, foremen barked orders, and scholars debated heatedly as they examined the many unearthed relics.
“Wow, like a marketplace in full swing.”
Elric couldn’t help but exclaim at the scene, completely changed from his first visit.
“How is it? Lively, right?”
Just then, Tasha approached, catching his impressed look and smiling with pride.
“Amazing. You’d think this was a different place altogether.”
Elric was genuinely impressed by the Neresta family’s capability.
It was the direction his own house should be aiming for—and the great mountain he would soon have to surpass.
Which means I ought to learn well while I’m here.
Elric took in, one by one, the systems the Neresta family used to manage the dragon’s nest.
“We’ve been managing it like our lives depended on it. Shall we head in?”
As if every second mattered, Tasha led Elric toward the command tent.
“Ah, you’re here. Lady Tasha. Lord Elric.”
When they arrived, the scholars stopped sorting goods to bow to the two.
“Yes, thank you for your hard work. This way, please.”
Tasha acknowledged their greeting and guided Elric.
“This is where we’re storing the artifacts found in the nest. Some are from a thousand years ago, and the oldest go all the way back to antiquity—astonishing treasures.”
Eyes sparkling with excitement that hadn’t dimmed despite seeing them many times, Tasha began explaining the artifacts to Elric one by one.
But, as you’d expect, none of it really entered Elric’s ears.
We’ve got stuff like this scattered all over the family’s safehouses…
If it weren’t Tasha, he would’ve cut the explanations short and insisted they go find a way to hatch the dragon eggs.
Mid-spiel, Tasha noticed that Elric’s gaze was fixed out the window and gave a rueful smile.
“So you’re not much into this sort of thing after all.”
Whoops. Bit rude of me, huh?
It occurred to Elric that, even if they were close, she was still his friend’s sister—it might’ve been bad manners.
“It’s just that I’ve got something specific to look for…”
“Then let’s skip the lecture and go.”
Whether she truly didn’t mind or had already realized what he was after, Tasha’s eyes gleamed as if this was exactly what she wanted to hear.
No wonder Sean calls her a dragon perv.
Following Tasha’s quickening pace, Elric headed deep into the nest.
Haste aside, though, they were fully kitted in safety gear.
Unlikely as it was, some undiscovered magical device could still hurt them.
Passing through the corridors, Elric drifted into thought and let out a faint chuckle.
How did I even get through here back then?
He remembered his first steps into the Gem Dragon’s nest.
Back then he’d thought he was going to die for sure…
Standing here again, changed as he was, felt strange.
What’s more, unlike before, the various scents of mana on the air revealed magical systems he simply hadn’t seen at the time.
I really have grown a lot.
They reached the chamber.
Looking over the space where the Dragontooth Soldiers had burst forth, old memories rose again.
[Mephi, remember this place?]
『Mmph!!』
[Ah, you were still gagged?]
When Elric released the binding on Mephisto’s voice and the demon finally let out a shout, he snorted.
『Damn it, you think the true king wouldn’t remember? Just being here is pure offense to me!』
[Yeah, yeah, sure.]
Mephisto’s scowl deepened; he really did look offended.
But… how am I supposed to find anything “Spring”-related here?
Elric’s face turned serious.
He’d come for the dragon eggs, and nothing else.
According to the guardian dragons of the mountain tribes, if he found the Dragon King, he could unlock the Arrangement.
Maybe too much time’s passed and I remembered wrong?
He knew dragons would never do that.
Yet even with his mind’s eye open and combing every inch, he couldn’t find any further trace of the Gem Dragon Shainak within the nest.
Just as that doubt took shape—
Vmm—
Tasha’s words had become little more than background noise with how lightly she chattered, when the Ring of Interrecia on Elric’s finger thrummed.
Could it be…?
Elric’s eyes flashed.
On a hunch, he opened his magic storeroom and took out the three dragon eggs. Sure enough, they floated up into the air.
“Kyaa!”
At the sight, Tasha flushed and began hopping in place, at a complete loss.
Elric paid it no mind, fixing his gaze on the buoyant eggs.
Vmmmm—
The eggs were slowly suffused with light.
At the same time, the magestone set beside Elric’s heart roared, and mana surged.
What—why all of a sudden!
『Hm? The dragon mana is reacting.』
Mephisto spoke up, but Elric couldn’t answer.
The soaring dragon mana wouldn’t be controlled.
Elric had always exhibited mana control on a different plane altogether.
But before this rampant dragon mana, he was being overrun.
Tch!
Reeling from the pain, Elric sensed something off.
It’s coming at me with a purpose… Ah—!
The Arrangement the guardian dragon spoke of.
If even Elric—whose mana control was second to none—couldn’t handle it, then it had to be a counterpart of the Mervinger family’s Arrangement.
Elric stopped straining to control the flow and let go of the dragon mana he’d been forcibly holding down.
The dragon mana ran up his spine and hammered at the brain gate.
The brain gate, the area called the upper dantian in the Eastern regions.
At the same time, his mind began to recede into the distance. But this wasn’t a blackout—it was an expansion into a new domain.
The space where mind and soul reside swung wide open.
And the world of the unconscious unfolded of its own accord.
「Wha… is this…?」
「The Arrangement… is… being triggered…」
「Already… meeting Spring…」
「Arseus…!」
Ugh, noisy.
All six of Winter prattled at once, but he couldn’t make out a word.
Then, the emerald segment of the arcane torque hanging from his neck began to radiate brilliantly.
Fwoooosh—
His vision flared, and a white world appeared.
* * *
A Gem Dragon he’d once seen in the depths of his unconscious.
That dragon, who would ascend to the Dragon King’s seat, was rubbing its head against someone and begging for affection.
It must have been when it was still a hatchling, before it earned the title of the last Dragon King.
Screee— skreee—
Howling, giddy with delight, it fawned over a figure with white hair, green eyes, and a gentle, saintly glow.
That person…
Elric knew, instinctively, that this was “Spring.”
Clad in white vestments, with a face that somehow looked a touch haggard, “Spring” turned to Elric and smiled warmly.
“You’re the descendant our Founder spoke of—the one from a far future, aren’t you?”
The Talent-Devouring Mage