Edward wasn’t particularly offended, even though he could probably guess what Satin had meant to say before stopping short. That was just how he was.
“Still, it’s definitely effective. As long as you have it on you, God acknowledges your presence.”
“So without it, He doesn’t?”
Satin couldn’t help but ask, incredulous. Edward scratched the back of his neck and replied.
“To be precise, He does recognize you. He’s just not interested. There are just too many humans. How could He possibly pay attention to each and every one?”
It was almost, but not quite, understandable. Even the most diligent farmer would struggle to remember every single cabbage in a ten-thousand-pyeong field.
Edward added, “But if you’re carrying a holy relic, He might be watching, and when something happens, He might bless you.”
“…So it’s not guaranteed?”
“If He doesn’t think you’re worth the blessing, He won’t give it.”
Satin let out a dry laugh and nodded.
‘The god of this world is seriously calculating, huh.’
***
After receiving the holy relics, Satin’s group stopped by the Bureau of Order to register their names on the official list. By the time that was done, it was already lunchtime. Since the forest to the south—where the Demon King’s Castle had supposedly appeared—required passing through the southern gate, they decided to eat at a nearby restaurant.
The restaurant was bustling with others who clearly had the same goal in mind. Satin even recognized several faces from the line in front of the temple earlier. Picking at his food, he sighed internally.
‘What kind of demon king subjugation is this…’
The city was surrounded by black mist, and the elderly and infirm were collapsing from an unknown illness. So far, everything sounded pretty standard—but the people’s reaction to it all? Definitely not from this world.
‘I thought this was an isekai fantasy, but it’s more like a satire fantasy from that world…’
In any case, they finished eating and stepped out of the restaurant. Now it was finally time to set off. Or so it seemed—but once again, things didn’t go quite as expected.
“Oh, right. We should at least buy some weapons,” Rita said, as if it had just occurred to her.
Two magicians, one cleric, and one unemployed. Not a single person in the group had a weapon.
Fortunately, stalls near the city gate were selling all kinds of gear. They were offering basic equipment at cheap prices for the freshly-assembled “hero” parties. They picked up a few items that looked halfway decent. Judging by the general atmosphere, Satin figured this world didn’t have anything like a legendary sword lying around.
Once the weapon shopping was done, Rita, perhaps feeling the pressure again, picked up her pace.
“Rita, the Demon King’s Castle isn’t going anywhere,” Cain said.
“Still, we should hurry and—Whoa!”
Rita, not watching where she was going, bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction and tumbled to the ground. The other person, who had also fallen, was the first to apologize.
“Oh dear, I’m so sorry.”
The stranger’s timid-looking face didn’t exactly scream “Demon King subjugation.” Of course, judging someone’s strength by their looks was one of the dumbest things you could do.
Seeing how apologetic he was, Rita also bowed her head.
“I’m sorry too.”
“No, it’s really my fault.”
“I insist, I’m the one who should apologize.”
The two of them scrambled to their feet, engaged in what was essentially a politeness showdown. Eventually, both became awkwardly quiet.
“You two look like a comedy act,” Cain muttered dryly. Satin agreed—but still warned him.
“Shut it.”
After all, she was a princess in disguise. Calling her a clown was a bit much.
What followed was a painfully awkward farewell. Like two mimes pretending there was an invisible wall between them, they crab-walked in opposite directions.
“Well then, take care.”
“Yes, you too.”
“Sorry again.”
“Me too.”
After picking up their dropped belongings and offering one last apology, the two finally parted ways. As Rita adjusted her backpack, a thought struck her.
“Oh no! I think the relics got switched. Ours had a scratch on the side, and this one doesn’t. Should I run after him?”
Satin was startled, but Edward remained unfazed.
“Doesn’t matter. They’re all the same anyway.”
“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”
Rita let out a sigh of relief, but Satin was dumbfounded.
What relief? That just meant they’d been mass-producing identical holy relics and selling them for money all this time.
Cain, noticing Satin’s expression, let out a short laugh.
“You think it’s ridiculous too, huh?”
“…Yeah, honestly, it is.”
“God is just an illusion. Nothing more than a brand name slapped onto a business.”
Even for someone like Satin, who didn’t believe in God, that sounded a bit harsh. But in this world, it really did feel true. If a god truly existed and allowed this kind of business to go unchecked, then He was more human than the gods of Greek or Roman mythology—in the most worldly, secular sense.
It was finally time to head out for the subjugation, but at this point, Satin had stopped expecting anything at all.
When they stepped outside the city gates, the scene that unfolded didn’t faze him in the slightest. A whole line of carriages was waiting, supposedly heading straight to the Demon King’s Castle. Hawkers shouted, “These are Bureau of Order-approved carriages! Affordable and reliable transportation!”
‘Feels like the Saturday morning subway to Dobongsan… but whatever.’
***
The black mist began right past the city gates. Less than five minutes after the carriage started moving, the surroundings began to darken.
“Is it even safe to breathe this stuff?”
Rita, who had been watching through the window, recoiled in alarm. Cain, leaning his elbow on the opposite window frame, replied with indifference.
“Seems like it. The driver’s out there inhaling it directly.”
“Just because it doesn’t kill you right away doesn’t mean it’s safe!”
Even as Rita snapped back, Cain didn’t miss a beat.
“If it’s dangerous, at least the coachman will die first. Won’t be a lonely trip to the afterlife.”
It was such a cold-blooded remark that even Rita—and Satin—were left speechless. If the coachman had heard it, he probably would’ve dropped his jaw too.
But truthfully, it was a bit late to start worrying now. If they were going to fret about the black mist, they should’ve done it before leaving Cloverland. They should’ve looked into how to safely pass through it before setting out.
Rita scratched her head and sighed.
“It’ll be fine. It has to be.”
The officers who first confirmed the existence of the Demon King’s Castle had passed through this mist as well. No one had said they died.
On the other hand, people who hadn’t even come into direct contact with the mist were falling ill in droves. Avoiding the mist didn’t guarantee safety either.
Even so, the vague unease kept Satin from leaning against the window—he only watched the scenery pass by.
The mist wasn’t so thick that they couldn’t see anything ahead. From a distance, it looked like black smoke, but once inside, it was more like ordinary fog.
Still, it was as if everything was seen through a filter—the colors of the forest were distorted. Tree trunks and branches that should’ve been brown looked black, and leaves that should’ve been green appeared in a dark gray hue. It was like watching a black-and-white film in 3D—no sense of reality, everything felt fake and off.
‘Now this feels more like fantasy.’
While he was having such idle thoughts, Edward suddenly spoke.
“Come to think of it, we’re near the place now.”
“What place?”
Surprisingly, it was Cain who responded. Edward hesitated a second before continuing.
“The Black Magician’s base of operations. Four years ago, the Bureau of Order led a raid and executed him. He was running a fake school around here.”
“So the temple didn’t do jack, huh?”
It was a remark that might’ve offended a cleric, but Edward just gave a bitter smile.
“Cloverland’s power is concentrated in the Bureau of Order. The local government is practically under their control too, so the temple is heavily restricted in what it can do.”
“Must be nice. All they have to do is sell prayers.”
“Cain, you don’t believe in God, do you?”
“Never saw a reason to.”
Edward didn’t try to convince him otherwise. He simply nodded. He wasn’t the evangelizing type.
The conversation petered out awkwardly, until Rita picked it up again.
“I wonder if there’s a specific reason the Demon King’s Castle appeared near the Black Magician’s old base?”
Satin had the same question. During the Dark Age, he was the one who had summoned the Demon King. As the Black Magician’s disciple, it made symbolic sense to summon the Demon King near the school.
But this time was different. The one who summoned (or rather, almost summoned) the Demon King was Cain. And Cain had no reason to choose the site of the Black Magician’s death as anything special.
‘Cain said it was because of me, but…’
Satin glanced over at him.
‘He’s yawning?’
He looked like someone listening to a completely unrelated story. When he felt Satin’s stare, he tilted his head in confusion, eyes blank as if he truly didn’t know anything.
“What?”
“No, I was just wondering what you thought.”
“About what?”
“This place. Aren’t you curious why it had to be here?”
Cain, upon hearing Satin’s cautious question, rubbed his brow slightly, then shrugged.
“Because it’s spacious?”
That’s it?
Satin stared at him, dumbfounded, about to ask again when Rita suddenly let out a little gasp.
“Oh, that actually makes sense. The other areas are full of farmland and stuff.”
Satin was even more speechless. Surely the Demon King didn’t appear while avoiding farmland out of courtesy.
Fortunately, Rita hadn’t been serious.
“Whatever the reason, I’m just glad it didn’t land on the fields. That would’ve been a disaster. If the crops had been ruined, it could’ve driven food prices way up—just like you said.”
She grinned as if she hadn’t been the one asking questions moments ago, suddenly acting like it didn’t matter anymore.
On the other hand, Cain didn’t seem all that glad. He spoke indifferently.
“Maybe Cloverland could use a disaster for once.”
No matter how they took it, it was hard to spin that into anything positive. Everyone turned to look at Cain. Satin gave him a light nudge on the arm, scolding him.
“What kind of thing is that to say? Things are already bad enough…”
“Not that bad. Not if the Bureau of Order can still do whatever it wants. I mean, the knights from the official corps haven’t moved an inch. Pretty clear the Bureau’s keeping them from getting involved.”
At that, something suddenly clicked for Satin. Cloverland had a knight order. In the Dark Age, Cain had been a member of that very corps.
And yet now, even in a crisis like this, no one had mentioned them. If this was beyond the Bureau’s ability to handle, the knights should have stepped in. But they hadn’t.
