Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 265

TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!

Enjoy~

ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 265 – Probably a Great History

“Next, I’ll explain why I lost my temper.”

This was the main point.

Ain swallowed hard and waited intently for her words.

“It’s because I’m a jealous nightmare. That’s why I went berserk.”

She snorted and crossed her arms.

Ain had no idea why she was being so assertive.

“…What do you mean?”

“Like I said, I was jealous!”

Ain continued to look at her with a puzzled expression.

“Since Ishtalika was born, my brother and sister grew closer. I thought it was wonderful. But, strangely, I felt lonely. I think I was confused about where I stood.”

“Did you like Cain-san?”

“No, not really.”

“…”

She denied it so casually that Ain felt sorry for Cain, who was probably far away.

“He’s so annoying. He’s always scolding me for eating too much meat and nagging me when I sleep too much. I wonder if that’s okay for a nightmare…”

Arche shook her head vigorously, which was unusual for her.

The quiet of the night and the cold of late autumn only heightened the emptiness.

“My sister is strict in a different way, but…well, as a member of the opposite sex… Never mind.”

Unconsciously looking in Baltic’s direction, she reminisced about the past.

Of course, Ain didn’t know the details of what had happened.

They must have been memories of the two of them living together for a long time.

“That’s why I love them as family. I don’t understand how my older sister, who took care of him when he was just a skeleton, could have fallen in love with him. Oh, don’t tell my sister I said that! She’ll kill me. I mean, she’ll get mad at me.”

It seemed that Sylvia had a strict upbringing.

That said, monsters and different races had their own unique values, so it was not entirely incomprehensible.

Ain smiled wryly and sighed. She continued,

“Actually, many things happened. There were times when we fought because I was lonely. There were also times when I despised myself for not being able to celebrate with them, even though I was happy for them.”

“…I see.”

“This was after I became the Demon Lord. Once the country had finally settled down, the two of them were finally able to get married. After that, Mark was picked up, and various other things happened, but it’s fine now.”

When asked if it’s okay to just say “it’s fine now,” the answer was no.

“I’m sorry, but I feel like that’s important, too.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but ask those two.”

Once again, she casually mentioned an important piece of history.

Even though he was spacing out, Ain couldn’t grasp the weight of the accumulated history.

A whirlpool of curiosity swirled inside him.

(Come to think of it, before investigating the red fox…)

It was a story from when he was young.

He had heard that the Dullahans had become extinct before he started attending the academy.

The reason for this was related to their ecosystem.

Dullahans could not reproduce, even when mating with other monsters.

Ain was taken aback by this shocking revelation, as he had completely forgotten this fact.

“Well, at that time, many different races came to the country we had built. Among them was that woman.”

“Did they do anything at that time?”

“She seemed like a smart woman. There was nothing particularly wrong with her. If I had to say something, though, it’s that she was the kind of woman who was easily liked by the people.”

Ain thought, “I see. She would have been easy to like.”

It was clear that she was using her power. He realized that it must have started back then.

“But I hated that woman. She was easy to like, so I thought my brother and sister might be taken away from me. You understand, right?”

“So Anon’s power became more effective…”

He remembered that characteristic from his previous conversation with Krone.

“That’s right.”

It wasn’t a planned crime. Anon was just lucky.

Arche’s loneliness and the negative emotions pouring out of her connected her power to the demon lord Arche.

“I was abandoned by my parents. So, my older brother and sister were the only family I had. I thought I was alone. That’s why I was so lonely. When it came to that, I started to envy the woman who could talk to anyone and was always surrounded by people.”

Additionally, there was the feeling she had mentioned earlier that Cain and Sylvia might be taken away from her.

From there, her negative feelings toward Anon began to grow.

“At first, that woman was wary of me, too. But once she realized that our powers were connected, she immediately started acting friendly toward me. But, you know, I found it strangely comforting, and I didn’t feel the urge to push her away.”

“…”

“Little by little, I started distancing myself from my brother and sister. I felt like I had to, but that feeling gradually changed. I started to think that they had betrayed me. That they had abandoned me…”

She looked down and played with the sand on the cobblestones.

She drew two dots and a curve to form a smile, then laughed self-deprecatingly.

“But, in contrast, I started to like that woman very much. I was led to believe that she was my only ally.”

With that, she stopped playing with the sand.

“That’s when it started. I started to hate everything and everyone, and I became a jealous nightmare.”

It was just like former King Ralph of Heim.

Despite being king, he felt a nearly religious devotion toward Anon, who was merely a noblewoman.

“After that, my heart was gradually covered by something dark. By the end, I didn’t even remember what I was thinking.”

Ain could relate to that.

He didn’t remember the world tree that had once stood in the old capital of Heim or what it had looked like.

“My brother and sister thought something was wrong with me, but I pushed them away. I told them to their faces that they had betrayed and abandoned me.”

“Ah—Arche-san, could it be that you were putting pressure on me in the audience chamber…?”

“Yes, my last conversation with my brother and the others was, ‘I’ll leave the other villages to you. So don’t ever come to see me again.’ Even though I said that, I couldn’t bring myself to face them.”

She was confessing.

She had killed so many people as a result of her rampage.

Separately, she deeply regretted something else.

She had told her family, over and over again, to never come to see her again.

“…And especially to you because I couldn’t face you any more than anyone else.”

Then she muttered something that Ain couldn’t hear.

When Ain returned from Euro, he received a message from Arche not to come.

He understood its meaning for the first time and realized it made sense.

“We’re under the same curse as the root. If one of the three dies, we will all die. I asked Mark to finish me off. That child is no different from someone who has killed his own parents. That’s why… I can’t apologize enough to everyone.”

The war last year.

Ed said something similar about it to Ain, and Anon told him the same thing Arche had just spoken about.

At that moment, all the pieces in his head fell into place.

First of all, he couldn’t imagine that mere humans and people of different races could defeat Cain and Sylvia.

An Elder Lich with unmatched magical powers and a man whose power reached the heavens.

How could they possibly win? It was impossible to imagine.

In fact, Mark’s ability to defeat Arche was a miracle in itself.

“You must have been thinking about so many things when it came to the magic stone.”

“Well… I was basically dead, so I wasn’t thinking clearly. Oh, that reminds me. I’ll tell you something interesting about magic stones.”

“…What is it?”

She smiled gently and looked at him calmly.

“Sylvia-oneechan said that even if you’re reborn, the owner of the magic stone doesn’t change. She found that out last year.”

“…I don’t think I can understand that.”

“I’m not telling you anything more. Onee-chan said I shouldn’t say any more.”

She smiled knowingly and looked at Ain, who didn’t seem to understand, with amusement.

After a while, she seemed to calm down, stretched her arms and legs, and then spoke.

“Hmmm… I summarized a story that took decades to tell, so it feels like a lot of information is missing.”

She said that, but she probably didn’t intend to go into detail.

Come to think of it, she still hadn’t mentioned what triggered the war with the humans.

However, she nodded meaningfully and looked at Ain with eyes as deep as the universe.

“…No, I understand what happened.”

“Hmm. I’m glad.”

She had been drawing in the sand, and finally finished by sliding her palm across what she had drawn.

Then, she stood up and looked at Ain.

“Huh? Why did I come here to tell you this story?”

“Um, didn’t you have something you wanted to tell me?”

“Hmmm… I feel like I did. There was something I wanted to tell you. Ah!”

She clapped her hands together and flashed a confident smile, realizing something.

“The quality of power depends on how you use it!”

“…Huh?”

“That’s right. Even if it was that woman’s power, it now belongs to the World Tree of Gluttony. As long as you use it correctly, nothing bad will happen.”

Ain sensed her intention.

He had been wondering why she started talking about this, but…

(Maybe she came to comfort me…)

Still, many other things caught his attention. It was a nice change of pace, though.

Perhaps because she had gone on a rampage in the past, too, she felt something for Ain.

“Well… I’m not in a position to say anything, but… Hmm, maybe I’ll eat someone’s good dreams…”

As she muttered this, Arche stood up abruptly.

“I’m wondering if I should stop you.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just take some of their happiness.”

He wondered if that was really okay, but he was sure she wouldn’t do any harm.

Ain smiled wryly.

“Chris-oneechan always has fun dreams.”

Ain was suddenly very interested.

It might be wrong to ask, but just a little… His heart was drawn to the clumsy elf’s dreams.

“F-for example, what kind of dreams?”

“Chris-oneechan is surprisingly…”

Just as Arche was about to say that, someone picked her up.

A hand was placed over her mouth, and she whispered,

“Excuse me, Arche-sama. I came to check on Ain-sama, but what were you talking about?”

Illuminated by the moonlight, Chris looked like the goddess of the moon, just as Ain had described.

Her golden hair blew in the cold wind as she picked up Arche.

Her expression was as beautiful as ever. He ignored the coldness in her eyes.

“…About midnight snacks.”

So that was it: midnight snacks.

It was just a way of saying it, but Chris immediately understood.

“Fufu, that’s nice. Shall we go to the dining hall?”

“Ah, it’s okay. I guess I’m not that hungry after all…”

Arche struggled, trying to escape Chris’s grip.

But…

“U-um, Chris-oneechan… I can walk on my own.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just making sure Arche-sama doesn’t get lost.”

(We stepped on a tiger’s tail. I didn’t think she would hear us.)

Ain watched them leave, pretending not to notice.

But Chris wouldn’t let Ain’s question about the dream go unanswered.

“Ain-sama? I-I was thinking of going to look for some new clothes. Would you like to come with me sometime?”

This was an unusual invitation from her.

In fact, it was probably the first time she had ever invited him.

Her voice had an unusual intensity, but Ain felt it was a good opportunity.

Moreover, he did feel a sense of guilt.

“…Since you’ve always been so kind to me, I’ll go with you.”

It was improper to ask a woman about the contents of her dreams.

He knew that, but he regretted giving in to temptation.

So, he agreed to Chris’s request.

Arche was carried away, dangling her lower body like a cat being carried by its paws.

Would they really be going to the dining hall? That was the new curiosity that had arisen in Ain.

(…The first king and demon lord was abducted by an elf with a hidden lineage.)

It seemed like the start of an interesting story.

Feeling a clarity he hadn’t felt in a while, Ain left the scene.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

At the same time,

The two of them were in the basement of a labyrinth.

“Sylvia, Are you okay?”

“…Yes, I’m fine now.”

Cain checked on Sylvia in a certain place underground.

They were surrounded by pale blue stones polished like marble.

The stones formed a heavy square, stacked on top of each other to create a deep corridor that seemed to go on forever.

“Let’s get out of here. I think we need to prepare a little more,”

Cain said with a bitter expression.

Looking at his wife, who was sitting on the ground panting, he spoke hesitantly.

“Ara, Cain… Are you giving up?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not talking about the monsters that come out. I’m talking about this dungeon that seems to go on forever.”

How many floors had they descended?

He had counted up to thirty, but then he lost count.

“…I understand. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have joked around.”

Then Sylvia stood up and brushed the dust off her body.

“To be honest, I never thought this dungeon would be so deep. I’ll say it again; We need to be prepared.”

He added this mainly in reference to food and other supplies.

With a sigh, he turned back the way he came.

The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the area.

“The Corridor of Distortion and Fracture. Not even Sylvia could have imagined it was this deep. Could you?”

Yes, the two of them were in a labyrinth known as the Dungeon of the Hidden Gods.

With their abilities, fighting monsters was no trouble.

The real challenge was navigating this seemingly endless labyrinth.

“…Yeah. To be honest, maybe I underestimated it.”

Cain pointed this out, and Sylvia smiled bitterly.

“Still, it can’t be helped. They say it’s connected to the place where the gods reside. It won’t be easy to find.”

“B-but… it was Cain who suggested going in the first place. That girl… You said you were going to search for information about the red dragon and Chris’s sister’s whereabouts.”

When she said that, Cain’s body stiffened.

After a moment, he turned around, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Don’t tell them. It’s fine if you tell them once we find out.”

“…Is that parental love or something?”

Maybe he’s doing this because Ain didn’t ask him to.

Sending Arche was a sign of his true feelings.

“Just don’t say anything. I’m only doing this because I feel like it.”

Sylvia smiled affectionately at Cain’s unyielding manner.

She hurried to catch up with him after he moved slightly away.

Standing right next to him, she glanced at his face, which was turned away.

“But it’s been years since the two of them left. I don’t think there are any traces left…”

“Probably not. If they’re dead, they’re probably buried somewhere. If they’re alive, they’re probably somewhere else.”

At least, they hadn’t found any bodies on their way here.

In other words, it was safe to assume that the two of them had gone further inside.

“Even we find this place troublesome. Even if there are people, or elves, it would be extremely difficult to explore this place.”

“…But it seems that the elf wasn’t just an ordinary elf.”

Cain laughed and said,

“Last year, before I returned to the old capital, I asked Chris about his sister.”

“Really? When did you ask her that? Why wasn’t she just an ordinary elf?”

“It’s a skill she was born with. No wonder she’s considered the greatest genius of all time… I understood immediately.”

It was rare for him to praise someone. Sylvia gazed dreamily at his profile.

Then, he smiled with interest and gave his answer:

“Celestina Wernstein. She had the skill of a hero, apparently.”

“Huh… So she inherited Mark-kun’s power.”

Sylvia was surprised by his unexpected words.

“Yeah, the same power as Mark’s. Maybe she’s struggling, but making progress.”

“It’s not impossible, right?” Sylvia nodded at Cain’s words.

“But even if she did, where did she disappear to?”

It was a reasonable question, but even Cain didn’t know the answer.

“It’s what they call ‘only God knows.’ Let’s prepare ourselves and come back later.”

The two continued walking down the long, wide corridor, their footsteps echoing.

“Well, the way back will be a long journey.”

They chatted casually, feeling a little discouraged, as they walked.

“But I heard that it didn’t evolve into a job; it remained just a skill.”

In other words, it was immature.

“Then, at that time, she was about as strong as Ed when he was halfway transformed into a demon lord?”

He said it casually, but even at that level of power, it was ridiculously strong.

Back then, when there were no figures like Ain, the former demon lord’s group, or the twin sea dragons, there was definitely no one who could match Ed.

“Probably. Even so, it was more than enough power.”

Chris’ sister was said to be extraordinary in many ways, but these two were extraordinary as well.

Without showing any surprise, they calmly imagined how strong she must have been.

After that, the two spent two and a half days leaving the deep dungeon.

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!