Chapter 385: The Garden of Time (1)
The curtain of sand parted left and right, revealing stairs on which I began to descend slowly.
Thud, thud.
The material of the stairs was unknown, but they sturdily supported me. With each step I took, the sound of me being propelled back resonated through the air.
The place where I had conversed with Princess was on the 90th floor.
Naturally, below that was the 89th floor, which was my sanctuary.
“…….”
A Garden of Withered Flowers. I set foot in that place.
Servants of the King of Death family, assigned as gardeners, were wandering around. All were dressed sharply in uniforms designed by the exclusive tailor of the Ivansia Duchy, woven meticulously by the mermaids of the Aegim Empire. In their hands were gardening tools such as shears, shovels, and watering cans.
‘Eek.’
Upon seeing Silvia approaching with garden shears, I hastily hid behind a rock.
-King of Death, what are you doing?
Princess asked, looking at me as if she had seen something curious.
I scratched the back of my head, feeling awkward.
-It’s nothing. Just thinking how embarrassing it would be to come down so soon after getting all dressed up and even having my hair cut… Oh. I stopped mid-sentence and shut my mouth.
-Oh… Hm? The state of my voice…?
What came out of my mouth was a mere whisper, as if only my lips moved, or the kind of sound you’d imagine in your head, barely audible, as if it wasn’t there at all.
-Uh….
It wasn’t just that.
Stepping back a bit, I realized that I couldn’t hear my own footsteps.
-Huh?
Even after stamping my feet a couple of times, it was the same.
Until just a moment ago, the floor returned the sound of my weight with a thud, thud, but now there was no sound at all.
-Heh.
I then did a standing jump on the spot.
Neither the sound of the jump nor the thud when landing could be heard.
It wasn’t just sound; not a single grain of sand or a leaf moved.
-Could it be?
-Yes. That’s exactly it.
Princess grinned widely. Only then did I realize that her voice and movements also had no effect on the surroundings.
And so, I understood.
-Are Princess and I in the same state as the Sword Emperor?
-Yes! Exactly.
Princess nodded. Feeling intrigued, I twisted my body this way and that, then looked at Silvia approaching me.
-And that means….
“Sigh.”
Silvia sighed right in front of my nose.
“It’s been roughly 2 hours since the Lord went up.”
Just as expected.
Silvia was completely unaware of my presence!
“It’s driving me crazy. Really, what’s with the rush to go up as if there’s something to gain from it.”
Sitting on the ground, Silvia grumbled as she jabbed the soil with her planting spade.
Someone responded to Silvia’s words.
“Ugor, Head Maid. What if someone hears and thinks you’re talking behind their back?”
Uburka, dressed as a gardener, came walking with a large bucket on his bald head and spoke up.
Silvia shrugged her shoulders.
“Ha. There’s absolutely no one listening aside from you. After all, I’ve made sure of that much, so I can afford to talk behind their back.”
“Are you so sure about that?”
“Absolutely. I’ve been a Lady twice at Sormewin Academy, even managed to get one over on the Duchess of Ivansia. And what does that tell you? That I’m as sharp as they come.”
Silvia boasted with an air of arrogance.
‘I’m right here listening to you, though.’
It was a moment as pitiful as Silvia herself, but it also meant my stealth ability was functioning perfectly.
‘Anyway, this is interesting.’
I circled around Silvia and Uburka.
I walked around, stood on my hands and walked, hopped around, and even danced the Cossack dance.
The Guardian Spirit made a face as if it was embarrassed for the first time.
-Zombie… Why are you drooling like a yellow dog in front of a charcoal-grilled rib bone?
-I appreciate your observation. When I was learning Aura, you did the very same thing. I felt exactly the same way you’re feeling now.
-Is that so, you little… I didn’t realize. Now that I know, I’m deeply reflecting on it, but that’s beside the point. Just because I did it, doesn’t mean you should do the same. It’s always the younger generation and disciples who have the opportunity to break the cycle of evil.
-I wanted to break the chain of evil too… But I wasn’t strong enough. A monster living deep within me, a snake coiled around my heart, kept whispering to me… [Do the same. Are you just going to take it? Do it now. This is your chance to pay it back…] I kept succumbing to the devil inside me. In other words, that’s my incompetence and inability, so to speak….
-You win.
-Victory achieved.
Even as we exchanged such banter, Uburka and Silvia showed no signs of noticing us.
At this point, even I started to feel a bit awkward.
-Princess, Sword Emperor. So, what should we do now? Where is the key?
-Hmm, why not take a look around the places that come to mind?
Princess suggested with a grin.
Hmm.
‘Hearing that with such a face makes me a bit uneasy….’
I suppressed my unease.
Leaving Uburka and Silvia, who were still chatting away, I started walking.
-Where are you going, Wailing Heaven?
-Oh, well… You said to check out the places that come to mind, right? That’s what I’m doing.
-You’re so active! Yep, yep. That’s good. Very good.
Although that was also a disconcerting comment, I continued walking, holding back my feelings.
First, I thought of visiting the director.
When I arrived, the director was just giving instructions to Kim Yul.
“Mr. Kim Yul, Please gather the gardeners.”
“Alright.”
Following the director’s orders, Kim Yul summoned the gardeners. Ester was the first to rush over, and the Goddess of Protection flew down with a flap of her wings. Silvia and Uburka, who had been lazing around in a corner, had no choice but to come and stand before the director.
The director spoke.
“Hello. I’ve taken charge of managing this garden.”
The director began speaking in his characteristic calm voice.
“I am quite inexperienced.”
“…….”
“Just calling you all here like this, no, even thinking of holding a regular meeting… Some of you may find it displeasing. In those moments, just think, ah, he’s an old man… No, not even old compared to you all. Just think of me as someone lacking and pity me, I would appreciate it.”
The gathered people showed little reaction to his words. More accurately, it wasn’t the kind of reaction that was outwardly visible.
Just like me.
-Director….
I murmured with a lump in my throat.
Of course, the director didn’t notice me. He just continued talking to the people in front of him.
“As you may know, Gong-Ja has ascended to the next floor today.”
“…….”
“I’m barely a rookie, not even worthy of being called a hunter. If you put me on the 2nd floor, I probably wouldn’t make it back alive. So, I don’t know what the 90th floor is like. Does anyone here know?”
At that question, someone raised their hand.
It was Ester.
“I know a very little about the 99th floor. I can’t speak in detail due to the contract with the tower….”
“Is it dangerous?”
“…Yes, extremely.”
Ester replied.
The director took off his glasses and pressed his nose bridge with his thumb and forefinger before speaking.
“Can you return?”
“If the Lord decides to come back, he could do so immediately.”
Ester replied and then slightly bowed her head.
“However, in that case, as a general rule, you can’t attempt it again. That’s why most of the distinguished Constellations are stuck without ascending to the 100th floor.”
“I see….”
The director sighed lightly.
“It’s somewhat relieving to know that he can come back if he chooses.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
“But, that boy will definitely not return.”
The director’s sigh grew heavier.
Ester, the Goddess of Protection, and even Uburka sighed in a similar manner… What’s with this united front of the King of Death family?
“He was quite a stubborn child since he was young.”
The director said.
Silvia perked up her ears.
“What was he like?”
“Chamberlain, I sense something ominous from your curiosity.”
“No, no, advisor. Aren’t you seeing me in too negative a light? I’m hurt. I’m just curious about what kind of person our family’s head is. And you, advisor, don’t you also look very curious?”
“I, as a advisor, wish to know more about the Lord.”
These vassals….
“I’m also curious. Ugor. What was daddy like as a child? Or did he even have a childhood?”
This son….
“Everyone seems curious about Gong-Ja. Naturally, they would be.”
The director smiled wryly and put on his glasses.
Most of the family members, probably, or rather, definitely, were eager to delve into my dark history, their eyes gleaming brightly as they looked at the director. However, the director proved that he wasn’t a specialist in child care for nothing over the decades.
“Let’s continue this story at the next assembly.”
“Ah.”
Just when their curiosity was piqued, the vassals made a sound of disappointment as the story was cut off.
“Take your time. Please wait patiently.”
The director said with a smile.
“We’ll be seeing each other’s faces here for a long time.”
With that, the assembly ended. Watching the gardeners disperse with regretful faces, I raised my hand to wipe my forehead.
-I need to get out of here quickly… preferably today.
-Hmm. Even so, you don’t want your dark history to be exposed right in front of you, huh?
-Yes, yes. So… uh, the key?
I looked around, but nothing caught my eye.
I even checked the director’s pocket just in case, but it was the same.
-…There’s nothing here?
-Seems like it’s not here.
Princess said with a bright smile, which also triggered a sense of unease.
Then, the Sword Emperor’s voice rang out.
-Zombie.
-Yes?
I turned towards the Sword Emperor.
And I saw him looking at me with a pitiful expression.
-Cheer up.
Uh….
-Sword Emperor, what does that expression mean?
-What do you think?
-It’s shitty….
-Yeah….
-Hey, wait a minute. Get angrier or something… What’s with that expression? Are you upset because I played a prank earlier? If that’s the case… no, really, why that face! You should at least mock me, what’s with this…
The Sword Emperor remained silent.
He just looked at me with a face that seemed to pity something.
‘This unease is creeping up on me like the smell of manure from a dungheap….’
Ugh.
I clapped my hands together with a smack and, after calming my breathing, began to walk.
-Anyway, it’s not around the director, that much is clear. Hmm. Then it must be there.
My sanctuary is a world of its own, but since some parts were newly created, it wasn’t too vast. I thought that if I searched the areas that came to mind one by one, I would find the key or whatever it was….
To put it bluntly, I was mistaken.
My sanctuary, the Garden of Withered Flowers.
Sitting crouched on the seashore where the red waves rolled in, I spoke with a weary face.
-I was wrong.
I wasn’t sure if my face really looked weary. After all, my reflection didn’t appear on the surface of the sea.
And it wasn’t just because the sea in my sanctuary was red. I had also set up a greenhouse for flowers that needed warmth, but my figure didn’t reflect in the glass of that greenhouse either.
-Keuh. You’re quick to notice, zombie.
The Sword Emperor sat down next to me, flicking his fingernails.
-To realize that in just about [a week].
That’s right.
Since I entered this place, the 89th floor, or rather, what should be called the 91st floor, a whole week had already passed!
-Why isn’t there a single clue anywhere!?
I exclaimed with the fury of spitting fire… Did I exclaim? Damn it. In this place where I couldn’t even use my real voice, even that felt ambiguous.
It was like my very existence was becoming ambiguous, akin to the expression that a seal or a Shiba Inu usually has!
-I thought there would be something next to the director. Or maybe near the Heavenly Demon’s flower, the first Silver Bell flower I planted, the surroundings would start sparkling or something. But this is… Do you know how I feel right now?
-[It’s like being dropped in a test map where event processing hasn’t been done.]
Princess said as she jumped next to me.
-That’s how some climbers put it.
-Who is that climber?
-Mahos.
The very Warhorse of the Eternal Plains.
-That person talks like that….
-Mm. Since Wailing Heaven doesn’t like treating the inside of the tower like a game, you might get angry at that analogy….
-Yes, no, no. I get the feeling. Sword Emperor, you know too, right?
-Of course, I know, zombie. How could I not?
The Sword Emperor lay back, supporting his head with his interlocked fingers.
Above, the sky tinged red by the broken sunset had square clouds drifting by.
-I’ve been going through that hell for 140 years.
