What are you doing?

....

That magic ... is that what you decided to use it for?

It's...

Did you miss it?

I'm just doing what I have to do for my country.

I'm not myself. That's why the words can't come out fast enough.

　Lucius-san who showed up was that Lisa-san used magic. And he seemed to blame her for trying to hurt them.
　But it was the girls who got to it first.....

I'm sorry, Masamune. Whether or not we can understand each other as the same species.......I think we should turn our thoughts to that and not give up. We shouldn't dismiss them immediately.

　Lucius-san speaks as if he is saying this to me as well as Lisa-san. But his gaze was always on Lisa-san.

'End of story. Lisa, get back to work.

Okay. I'm sorry, sir.

All of you.

　Lucius turned around and looked at her and the Ninagawa tribe.

'I do not blame you for entering the country. I will accept anyone for the purpose of tourism. But I am not foolish enough to accept abduction. And I have not forgiven Cassandra. I can't forgive her. Even if I understood. And I can't forgive you Ninara bureaucrats for being loyal to her and for respecting her ideology. Even if I understand. Now go back to your country.

　There was a short pause. Maricius replied with a short "Yes" as if swallowing Lucius' words. There was a faint sadness in his expression.

''Shastain will perish outright...''

　And Maricius muttered that.

'That's not true. Your ideas will destroy the country. Cassandra's death will not destroy that country.'

You know what I mean. You know who will be king.

It's only women, right? ........that's why I'm saying it. An idea is going to destroy the country ... well, now go home.

　Maricius had such a sad look on his face that he was biting back regret by the end. And then the girls leave with the problem unresolved.

'Toa, take the day off.'

What?

　As the Ninah Bureau tribe disappears and the first thing at the opening, Lucius urges Toa to rest at the castle. But it's still too early.

'You look tired,'

'But ... yeah. I understand.

　But Toa didn't say anything back, he accepted.
　I had my doubts. But I had accepted that there was probably something (...)

　Why was Lisa so angry?
　What is Lisa's relationship with the Ninagawa family?
　What is that flame that is vaguely akin to abyssal magic?
　Why did you call Lisa, the cat lady, "human"?
　There were so many things I wanted to know.

　Lucius-san is probably aware of my overflowing questions.
　But he should have noticed, but he didn't answer any of them, and when I noticed, he had disappeared.



â?



　That night, I was treated to dinner for the first time since I came here.
　I asked Toa once, "What did you eat when you were in the castle?" I once asked him that.
　Because Toa had taken a bite of Walstein's meat as if it was the first time he had ever eaten it.

　To be honest, the food of the demon race was delicious. Or rather, it tasted strong.
　However, if you think about it, I've never had food with a light flavor since I came to this world.
　Basically, it's a strong flavored food. But even compared to those, it was thicker.

　I don't know what it is made of, but it seems that people have a custom of eating gelatinous transparent gelée over meat, fish, desserts, or anything else.
　The gelatinous transparent gelée is a spice to bring out the taste of meat, and if you pour it on fish, it becomes a spice with a different taste from the one I just mentioned. And if you pour it over dessert, the salty taste you get when you pour it over meat or fish will change to a sweet taste. It was a magical food.

　I had no problem eating it, it was fresh and tasty, but Nemm didn't seem to like it and avoided the jelly.

Hey, Mom?　Won't your sister be home again today?

'You'll be back tomorrow, right?　It happens all the time, you must have a lot of work on your plate, right?

　It's always the same. Toa asks about my sister Rosalia, who I've never even seen.

'Well, what does Miss Rosalia do for a living?'

　I asked, curious about the quarry, to which Lucius replied.

'I can't tell you that,'

What?

Top secret. I can't say more than that.

　That's when the conversation stopped and silence ensued.
　I regretted it for a moment, but in that case, I wished I had at least given her a "don't ask" signal.

　And when I happened to meet eyes with Electra-san, she had a kind smile on her face. Her emotions seem apologetic.
　It's a top secret, but.......did you hear something bad about it?
　I didn't ask any more questions, and we went through the moment in silence.

　Then dinner was over, and the same darkness as always enveloped the sky.
　Toa was again urged by Electra to take me to her bedroom. I told her to go with Sufilia and Nem, so that Toa wouldn't be lonely.

　And again, I'm alone....
　I was walking through this great garden alone, looking at the "Foolishness and Deception of Death and Life" that I had obtained in Heil Kuwait.
　Even though I was the only person in the garden, the garden was illuminated by some stylish lights that did not spoil the atmosphere before I appeared.

　Whenever I have time, I read this over and over again.
　I've been convinced that this is the right one - ever since that time.

　I had doubted the words of the 《future me》.
　"It's in the academy".......but there are many other places besides Heilkwaite, such as the academy.
　The three major wizarding schools aren't everything. But at that point in time, it was easy to determine that they were indicative of Heilkwaite.
　I took my word for it, found out about the Forbidden Room, and came across this book.
　What an overdone story. It was too easy.

　If this book is correct, why did I make a mistake?
　Why couldn't I save the Toa? ...that's what I think about all the time when I pick up this book.

　But I'm living the life I've chosen.
　There is no proof that the world I was in is the same as the one I'm in now.
　Then I thought of one thing. You will be able to find out the best way to get a good deal more about the actuality of the situation.
　You'll be able to see that you're not going to be able to get the best out of it.
　Therefore, the 《I》 told me to go to school under the hopeful belief that there must have been an answer there... or so it seems.

　Then, at that time, the room next to the garden - the room where that mirror was placed. I found a light there.
　That bothered me and I left the garden once. And sure enough, I found Lucius-san's figure.

'Are you sleepwalking?'

We're going for a walk.

　Lucius-san looks at the 《World Mirror》 again as usual and speaks with his back to me.
I don't know how he never gets tired of it.

''That's how important it is. This is.........

　He's read my emotions again.
　It's troublesome because I can't get my mind off of talking to this guy.

　Then Lucius-san looked back at me, "You have something unusual, don't you? I looked at the book in my left hand.

'This ... isn't much of a thing.

Death and Life's Foolishness and Deception, no big deal, or is that a forbidden book?

　How do you know that? Is it that major a book?

This is where it came from. It was stolen a long time ago. Where did you find it?

　Oh, I see.

Heil Kuwait. I found it in the school's forbidden room.

I see, I didn't know it was there...

　As he said that, Lucius-san gave a faint, gentle smile.

''You weren't a very serious student either........''

Well, well ... yes.

　"The 'you too' part bothered me a bit, but I didn't care, I just chuckled.

I used to sneak out of class to go through the books with him.

'He? ...Who are you talking about?

Hmm?　Isn't it obvious?　I'm the author of that book.

　That being said, I opened the first page of the book.
　Then I see the author's picture and name there.

"Rogue J. (Joker) Rabbits...

He had a talent for magic, but he was a prankster. He made fun of the people around him with all the magic he created, and his books are no different. The same is true of his books. He called it the "culmination" of his work. "He said it was the culmination and the starting point.......I think I understand what he meant now. At the time, I couldn't use the Emotional Sense, and I couldn't understand any of the meanings of the words the rogue said, but...

Well, where is Mr. Rogues now?

"He's gone. He's dead. It's been a long time ago. He was a sub-human, you know. Demons and subhumans have a very different lifespan. They don't live the same amount of time.

　I detected a faint sadness in Lucius. There is also a nostalgia in it.
　And I'm sure Lucius is aware that I'm sensing it.

'When I was still much younger than I am now, it was only then that I realised the meaning of Adams' words, which I had always disregarded... and, come to think of it, it was the rogue who taught me that.

'Is that from Adams?　What the hell does that mean...

　I remembered the three warning signs Adams had left me.
　I was reminded of those three words of warning from Adams: to be tainted by the abyss, to be swallowed up, and to fall.

I'll tell you about the abyss. "One thing I would like to talk to you about is the abyss, why we call abyssal mages 'fools'.

　Then Mr. Lucius speaks up, as if he has been reformed.

'It's simple. It's because you lose your life span. One who is dyed by the abyss loses his life span he becomes immortal and continues to live as an Existence even after death. The bloated, vast existence will never give him death. Can you understand what that means, Masamune-kun?

''Well ... what can I say, but immortality is usually what everyone wants, isn't it?''

'It's a dream come true for humans, isn't it?　They are the shortest lived in this world, and the quickest to die of any life that is willing and speaks back. But Adams calls that foolish, and that's what he's saying.

So ... you're an abyssal fool?

'Of course it's not just that. But ... that's what I mean. And Rogue was thinking about it from a different angle.

　Mr. Lucius occasionally chokes on his words. Is he choosing his words?

'When he ended his life, I looked down on him as an old man, looking much younger than I do now. Before he died, he poured all of his time, with his old looks and his eyes, into creating magic, until his death. I had a hand in that, of course. Just like those days when he would leave class and go to the library to rummage through the books...it's just a fond memory now. But I wonder what he thought of it?

　I didn't know what that vague question meant.

"I think I know what it means now. I fished through books with my wrinkled hands, picked up a brush, and every day........... "This is the last time," I muttered. Next to him is a demon who remains youthful and unabated... I wonder what the rogue thought of me?

　I thought I understood what Lucius was trying to say, if only for some reason.

'Rogue was never a man of good character, you know. It doesn't seem to make sense to me now that he even chose "Death" as the beginning of the title. It's Rogue's final prank. I'm sure that Rogue must have thought of me as a marginalized person.......

　A little silence passed. I handed the book to him when I noticed it, and Lucius turned the pages of the book nostalgically.

'What the hell are you going to do with all those rogue pranks(,)?

　A core question that sounded so sudden. I'm at a loss for words.
　

'Let me tell you, this isn't the convenient magic you think it is, okay?　What did I tell you?　So you're saying he wasn't a man of good character?

....

　But it's our only hope. And it's a hope that it can be.

"I can answer anything about the book. Of course, I won't be able to tell you any more than the rogue.

　I took the book from Mr. Lucius. It was a memento of his late friend, but Mr. Lucius didn't hesitate to give it back to me.

'I'll tell you if you want to know. Like the rogue, I won't live forever. What you want to know is to ask.

　I changed the subject there.

'So, can you tell me about why Lisa can use abyssal magic, then?'

　When I asked him that, Lucius-san's expression remained impassive, an emotion that resembled that of someone who had raised a question.
　I wondered if I hadn't gotten the point of the question, but as soon as I said, "That's a misunderstanding," I understood the meaning.

'Lisa is not an abyssal fool. What you saw was the magic of the Rickman clan. That was not abyssal magic.

'But Lisa's magic was as if she had a will--'

''--is there anything similar to abyssal magic?''

'What? .... yes. I have something similar.

If that's the case, then maybe that's a magic designed to mimic abyssal magic.

　I sensed a shift in the subject of the conversation there and asked, "How can Lisa-san be able to do that kind of magic? I asked the first question again.

''I see ... come to think of it, Masamune, you were a resident of the Otherworld, weren't you?''

....

What is the Rickman family?　To clear up that question for you, we need to talk about it first.

　Then, out of nowhere, a chair and table appeared and Lucius-san sat down.
　At his urging, I took a seat too.

'So, what is the Rickman clan?'

　I ask again, as if wanting the answer to that question unintentionally.

'A Rickman is a clan of humans who possess powerful magical powers and advanced knowledge of magic.

Are you human?

He is human, but his magical power is comparable to that of the demon race. Rickman, who was the last chief, even had the same magical power as the king of the demon race at the time.

　A human being who rivals the Demon King in existence the Rickman clan?

But they are destroyed. The last of them is Lysana.