Book Eater

Chapter 144: Pirate Archipelago (4)

There were only two choices, but Theo had a reason for his decision. He was already very proficient with Battle Song, so using Transmission with Lee Yoonsung would be more efficient than with Satomer, whose knowledge he had just recently accepted. Of course, he was also taking into account the Hidden Meaning technique which Randolph had just shown him.

Gluttony’s voice responded to Theo’s request.

- I understand.

A notification rang out in Theo’s head.

[Hidden feature Transmission has been activated.]

[Confirming the request for a Quest, and calling the object name ‘Lee Yoonsung’. Reviewing the quest... Success, object name ‘Lee Yoonsung’ has approved your call.]

[He will temporarily be synchronized with the user’s consciousness.]

Theo’s vision turned black as the system’s voice cut off. He braced himself for the sudden loss of consciousness, but the situation was different this time. He was still conscious, and waited calmly. Unsurprisingly, particles of light started to gather before him. At first, the light just took the shape of a man but then his features grew more distinct. He had an eastern touch to his face that was different from the other people on the continent.

“It’s been a while,” Lee Yoonsung greeted Theo with a smile. He hadn’t expected to meet Theo again, so he welcomed Theo joyously.

“It’s great to see you after a long time,” Theo was also happy to see him.

When he had called on Alfred, the situation had been so urgent that he didn’t have a chance to say hello. However, Theo would’ve liked to sit down and talk to Alfred, a senior who had lived a few generations before him. It was a situation that any magician would dream of.

The two people chatted briefly before cutting to the chase. They both knew what they were here for. Lee Yoonsung pointed out his intentions first. “I know the situation. You will grant my unfulfilled wish, and I will give everything to you.”

“... That’s right.” Theo mulled over his words for a moment before replying.

Although Lee Yoonsung was already dead, Gluttony’s Transmission meant that the Lee Yoonsung before him would permanently disappear. He couldn’t even imagine what it was like to be a lingering presence with regrets weighing him down.

“If so, please ask.”

Therefore, Lee Yoonsung’s calm answer was unexpected in many ways.

“Are you serious?”

“Hey, I thought you wanted it. Didn’t you come here to ask me? In any case, the human Lee Yoonsung is already dead, so there’s no point in lingering,” Lee Yoonsung advised him with soft eyes, causing Theo to smile gently.

Lee Yoonsung’s face was tranquil even as he spoke of his own demise. But it was with great reluctance that he expressed the regret that he, Lee Yoonsung, had when he died.

“I want to go back home.”

“Do you mean...”

“The Baekun Mountains, my birthplace.”

Theo couldn’t help sighing. Going home was a simple wish, but in Lee Yoonsung’s case, the distance was the problem. The Baekun Mountains were located on the east side of the continent. It was too far by sea, so it meant an overland journey. It would take at least a year of traveling.

Although Lee Yoonsung didn’t show his emotions, he scratched his head uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, but this is something I can’t change. I want to make it as easy as possible, but Transmission doesn’t work like that.”

“Ah, of course.” Theo had guessed it, but he couldn’t help clicking his tongue at the harshness of the grimoire. If he could fiddle with the contents of the quest, Lee Yoonsung would’ve passed everything over to Theo for barely nothing.

However, Gluttony had set the quest as the real inner wish of the object, so Theo was forced to do it, regardless of the difficulty.

Hah, it would be a simple matter if it was Alfred or Satomer.

Then he would be able to carry out the quests on the way back to Meltor. The difficulty of their requests when compared to Lee Yoonsung was like the difference between the sky and the land.

Lee Yoonsung noticed Theo’s pessimism and knocked against his shoulder. “I’m sorry to have such a foolish regret. If it isn’t easy, just forget about it. The dead shouldn’t be grabbing the ankles of the living.”

However, a shudder went through Theo. Lee Yoonsung called Theo his benefactor, but the reality was the opposite. If he hadn’t had Battle Song and the increased physical abilities, Theo would’ve died in the fight against Pride. The worst part was Lee Yoonsung saying that his Transmission request was too difficult. Was Theo forgetting the kindness he had been given?

Theo reflected on his own ugly self and opened his mouth. “I will fulfill your request.”

“Hmm?”

“I can’t be sure when, but I will surely bring you home to the Baekun Mountains.”

Lee Yoonsung was surprised by the declaration but nodded silently. He could feel the weight in Theo’s voice. With one more bow, Lee Yoonsung thanked Theo and then disappeared into light.

The thick darkness descended once again before?Gluttony’s voice broke the silence.

- Shall we move onto the next one?

Theo looked up. “Next?”

- There is still one more object, Satomer. His quest remains.

“... Yes, call him.”

Theo figured he could check all the quests. Then he heard the notification about asking for permission.

[Confirming the request for a Quest, and calling the object name ‘Satomer’. Reviewing the quest... Success, object name ‘Satomer’ has approved your call.]

Satomer emerged from the darkness in the same way Lee Yoonsung did, as motes of light. They gathered until they formed the shape of a person with disheveled long hair and messed up robes. He looked exactly the same as in Synchro, and it seemed like his cold voice would ring out any minute. The man who looked like a wraith was the greatest modern summoning magician, Satomer.

As always, he spoke in a cynical tone, “Calling me so quickly... I only just handed over my knowledge, and you want to know the rest already?”

“Senior.”

“I know the story, so let’s get started.”

Satomer sat down and stared at Theo with red, bloodshot eyes. A person with a weak heart wouldn’t be able to face him. However, Theo noticed that his gaze was different from before. The frustration that had filled him like sharp broken glass had disappeared.

Satomer observed Theo for a moment. Then he smiled. “Che, it’s hard to focus right now. This is all because of you, cheeky young junior.”

“Yes?”

“It’s okay if you don’t know. How is Hugin? Are you using him?”

Hugin.

The moment that Theo thought the name of the crow...

Kyaack?

All of a sudden, Hugin popped out of thin air. This was Theo’s consciousness, so any contracted beings could access it. However, Hugin wasn’t the only one called to this mental world. Mitra, the girl who had fallen asleep on Hugin’s back, looked up in confusion from the sudden summoning.

[Heeeng?! Bwack sail, where? Bwack sail!]

It would’ve been okay if she had just raised her voice, but the confused Mitra also tightened her legs around Hugin’s neck.

Kuwaaack!

Hugin struggled wildly, causing Mitra to tighten her grasp on his neck even more. It was a vicious cycle of repetition. In the end, Mitra, whose eyes had turned into whirlpools, got too dizzy to hold on and fell over. Hugin collapsed right next to her. It was a comedy between an elemental and summoned being.

“... Well, he seems well.”

“... Yes, really well.”

The two men exchanged a look before looking in separate directions. In an attempt to revive the broken atmosphere, Satomer coughed a few times before getting back to the main point.

“Hmm, my regret... you’ve guessed it right?”

Theo’s face sobered. The foolish and tenacious dream of the summoning magician, Satomer… He had spent his whole life trying to do one thing. Now that dream was in Theo’s hands.

Theo nodded heavily and revealed the wish which was difficult for Satomer to say aloud.

“The summoning of a senior summons, correct?”

“Yes, exactly.” Satomer clapped wryly.

The starting point of his obsession was an illustration in a book he’d read in his childhood. It was an image of a summoning magician who called an ice giant to deal with a lightning magician. That summoning magician was an existence who had lived in a previous age. However, it had set off a fire in Satomer’s heart, a fire intense enough to burn until his life had turned to ash.

“Just once is fine. If you can call a senior summons just once, I’m fine with dying. After all, I didn’t succeed until the end, but you can do it.”

“Can I succeed?”

“Of course. You inherited everything I know and have a part of me in you. No, I am part of you.”

There was nothing he could do, so Satomer couldn’t help feeling bittersweet. In the end, this was how it ended. He was asking another person to accomplish what he couldn’t do. Satomer felt ridiculous and unsightly. However, Theo didn’t laugh at all and nodded firmly.

“Yes, I will succeed.”

“... Y-Yes. Thank you?” Satomer felt a little awkward when he saw Theo’s determination, so he hurriedly changed the topic. “By the way, you seem to be in a strange place.”

“Huh?”

“You are in someone’s domain. If you’re in the middle of the sea like this, the viable candidates are a kraken, megalodon, or sea serpent.”

Domain was an unfamiliar word, but Theo immediately went through all of Satomer’s knowledge. The high ranking existences that could crush this world and transcendent beings who couldn’t be compared to ordinary monsters from ancient times were said to have a domain. The dragon, famous for being the strongest species, also had a domain.

Theo frowned at the weird last candidate and asked, “Sea serpent?”

“Ah, it is a mistranslation. It is a title for those without wings. In other words-”

... A blue dragon, or a sea dragon.

... Ah!

At that moment, the puzzle pieces scattered in Theo’s mind merged to form a complete picture. The weird structure of the Pirate Archipelago that couldn’t be maintained under normal circumstances; the rumors of the Pirate Archipelago’s sea god; and the existence of the dragons which have ruled since long ago. Everything clicked all at once.

There was an old legend Theo had once read in the library. It spoke of an evil dragon who had taken on the guise of a mermaid to seduce sailors into dashing their ships onto rocks and could summon tsunamis when enraged.

“Sea dragon… Aquilo?” Theo spoke in a trembling voice.