Chapter 169

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"Um, Mr. Samuel."

"Just wrap the bandage around it."

I spoke to Samuel, but he just walked ahead, his ears red with embarrassment.

Timidly, I opened my mouth.

"Applying medicine won't be enough to heal this."

"......?"

"My hand is shattered."

"......."

Samuel glanced at my hand and fell silent.

I decided to follow him quietly for now.

Well, Miriam was a priest, so she would have a way to treat it.

Even if there wasn't, it couldn't be helped.

It was an injury I sustained because I couldn't control my anger, so Samuel had no obligation to heal me.

Oh, dear.

Swish-.

With my relatively intact hand, I took the bandage and medicine that Samuel had given me.

As I followed him into the room, I saw Miriam peeking out from between the walls, her face the only part visible.

"Why are you acting like that, Miss Miriam?"

"......I don't know either."

Twitch, twitch-.

Miriam's ears twitched, as if she was trying hard to listen to our conversation.

She was probably curious if Samuel and I had made up.

"Well, just sit down."

"Alright."

Samuel sat down at the table, and I took a seat as well.

A slightly awkward silence followed, but as if to break the mood, Samuel continued speaking.

"What should I start with? Ah, I'll tell you what the God of Gluttony said to me in the chapel."

I was intrigued.

It was something I was curious about.

The God of Gluttony had called Samuel aside and spoken to him.

I wondered what he said.

I hadn't heard it myself, but Samuel gave me a brief explanation.

The God of Gluttony had called Samuel a Fragment of Wisdom, right?

"A Fragment of Wisdom, the God of Gluttony said that was my origin."

"I heard that much. Then, what is a Fragment of Wisdom?"

That was what I was most curious about.

This was another setting I hadn't written.

So, I couldn't help but be curious.

It was a grand-sounding name.

"......The Fragment of Wisdom is the 'legacy' left behind by the King of Wisdom, who existed in legends."

"Don't tell me, you're a descendant of the King of Wisdom?"

"Well, I don't know the details, but you could say that I have the 'right' to ascend to the Throne of Wisdom."

"Hmm."

In short, Samuel and the King of Wisdom were somehow related, and it seemed like something was needed to awaken that power.

As I was organizing my thoughts for a moment, Samuel continued his explanation.

"It seems you've already figured out what I'm trying to say. I've gained the qualification to become the King of Wisdom. But it's impossible right now."

"You wouldn't be able to gain such power immediately."

"That's right. There's something I have to do to become the King of Wisdom... And even that is just the bare minimum proof that I've inherited the King of Wisdom's will."

"Then, I guess that will be your plan going forward, Samuel."

"Exactly. I'm going to reclaim the power that the King of Wisdom possessed."

It seemed Samuel had made plans for what he would do during this break.

His expression showed a lack of hesitation.

He was striving to become even stronger.

"You're already strong, but when that time comes, you'll be able to subdue me with one hand."

"Hmph, even now, a single thorn is enough to subdue you."

"Despite that, the scratch on your cheek seems rather large."

I had left a small scratch on Samuel's cheek during our fight earlier.

The standard for determining the winner in a fight between men was who bled first.

So, it wouldn't be wrong to say that I won this fight.

Twitch-.

A vein on Samuel's forehead throbbed.

"......It seems the hole I pierced in your body wasn't enough."

"Hole? What hole in my body? I don't see any, no matter how hard I look."

"What...?!"

Buzz-.

I subtly activated my Pitch Black characteristic and closed the small holes in my body.

Since the school uniform I was wearing was black, it was truly seamless.

Thud-.

Samuel pushed his chair back and stood up.

"This is what those lunatics need!"

"Oh my, how scary."

Clench-.

Swish, swish-.

Samuel grabbed me by the collar and shook me violently.

My head started spinning.

*Ugh*.

Is he not letting go?

"You... You...!"

I didn't back down and grabbed his cheek.

"Let... Let go of me..."

"I don't want to."

Even though I couldn't use one hand.

Samuel's cheeks puffed out.

Miriam stepped out and shouted at us as we fought.

"This is just childish! Both of you, let go!"

"......He started it."

"Samuel!"

"Fine, fine."

Samuel grumbled in dissatisfaction, but he had to let go of my collar at Miriam's scolding.

Miriam then turned her gaze to me and shouted.

"You let go too!"

"I already did."

I said, spreading my hands wide.

I had already released Samuel's cheek when Miriam started walking towards us.

......Could it be that she really couldn't see?

How did she know that Samuel and I were grabbing each other by the collar and cheek if she couldn't see?

Huh, what a mysterious woman.

"Oh my, my head."

Thud-.

Miriam, who had intervened in my fight with Samuel, grabbed the desk as if she felt dizzy and opened her mouth.

"Weren't you two getting along fine until today?"

"Hmph, as if I could ever get along with this guy. Like someone said, he's a 'stranger'."

"......That was my fault."

I apologized sincerely.

I had no excuse for my earlier outburst of anger.

Anyway,

Thanks to that, the awkward atmosphere between Samuel and me was broken.

It wasn't like we had fought that seriously this time.

I was just teasing him in a friendly way, like I always had.

I never meant to provoke him.

"More importantly, Ms. Miriam, I have something to ask you."

I quickly changed the subject.

Part of it was because I was afraid of Samuel, who was cooling down, but it was also because I had a lot to ask Miriam.

First, there were three things I had to ask her.

'Asking Miriam about Chaos won't get me any answers.'

This was something I had to figure out on my own.

I had asked Samuel for advice, but I didn't get an answer, so it was highly likely that Miriam would be the same.

Chaos didn't seem to be directly related to the gods.

So, the things I needed to ask about were:

The 'fragment' whose identity was unknown.

The 'younger sister' who had perished with Ashen's ancestor.

And the truth of the world.

Swish-.

I took out the fragment from my pocket first.

"What is this?"

"I can't see well, so I don't know."

"......."

I was at a loss for words.

Looking at her, I couldn't tell if she could actually see or not.

*Sigh*.

Letting out a sigh, I placed the fragment in Miriam's hand.

Miriam slowly began to touch the fragment.

Then, as if she realized something, she flinched and opened her mouth.

"This seems to be a fragment of solidified divine power. Um, do you know about the Elixir?"

"The Elixir? Of course, I know about it, but why do you ask?"

Elixir?

I had already tasted it.

So I couldn't understand why she was suddenly bringing up the Elixir.

"You can use this like the Elixir. If you crush this fragment, you will be able to use the power of Gluttony once."

Wait, Gluttony and the Elixir?

I had seen plenty of Gluttony's power.

Then that meant...

"Are you saying that with this, I can devour others and make their mana my own?"

"You catch on quick."

Miriam nodded readily.

*Crazy*.

I exclaimed inwardly.

The God of Gluttony had truly given me a precious gift.

I hadn't taken the Elixir the Headmaster gave me yet, but it wasn't like having more Elixirs was a bad thing.

Swish-.

I carefully put the fragment back in my pocket and spoke to Miriam.

"My second question is..."

*Hmm*.

I hesitated to continue with my second question.

The 'younger sister' that the God of Gluttony mentioned was related to Arsene.

Therefore, there was a high chance that Samuel would realize that I was a descendant of Arsene.

"Samuel, could you excuse us for a moment?"

"Why should I?"

"That's..."

I tried to send Samuel outside, but I couldn't because of his stubborn attitude.

Actually, since Miriam was on Samuel's side anyway, I was thinking of just not asking.

"Why, it seems like it's a question you find difficult to ask in front of me."

"......That's right."

"Hmm."

Samuel suddenly rested his chin on his hand and seemed to be thinking about something.

After a while, he opened his mouth.

And what came out of his mouth was truly shocking.

"It must be a question related to your identity, isn't it? You've always been hiding your true self."

"......!"

I couldn't help but be startled by Samuel's words.

But I couldn't let it show, so I tried to act as calmly as possible and said,

"That's ridiculous. Why would I ask Miriam a question about my identity?"

"Well, I thought it might be possible if you had a conversation with the Demon God of Gluttony."

"..."

What in the world did he know?

Swish-.

There was a playful glint in his eyes.

What if...

It was an ominous thought, but it could very well be a reality.

As if savoring my bewilderment, Samuel got up from his chair and leisurely strolled around.

He circled around me and began to speak.

"Do you know why the seven gods who recommend the Demonic Realm are called the 'Seven Deadly Sins'?"

"...Yes."

I nodded at Samuel's question.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

They represented the seven deadly desires that should never be committed.

And each of the Demon Gods' aliases contained one of the seven deadly sins.

It was like a symbol of the Demon Gods.

When I answered that I knew about the origin of the Seven Deadly Sins, Samuel began to explain again.

"Then that makes it easier. The seven sins were divided according to the powers they possessed. Our family, the Demon God of Gluttony, is 'Gluttony' because that's his main power. It's probably similar for other families."

Swish-.

At Samuel's words, I touched my eye.

My one eye was inhabited by the 'Eye of Arrogance,' which looked down upon and scorned everything.

"Then, do you think the Seven Demon Gods are the end?"

"...What do you mean?"

"It's exactly as I said. There are quite a few beings in this world that can be called gods. Even the Headmaster, for example, is a being close to godhood. She's loved by countless beings other than the Demon Gods. However, among them, the Demon Gods are simply the most powerful gods, to the extent that they advocate for the Demon Realm."

What was he trying to say?

Just as incomprehensible words began to pour out of Samuel's mouth...

Samuel's lips curled into a smirk.

"And one of those gods betrayed the God of Gluttony."

"..."

Samuel narrowed his eyes even further and opened his mouth.

"It was your family, 'Arsene,' who sided with that traitor."

Isn't that right,

"Arsene Adel?"

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