Chapter 333:
C333 - Record of the Past: Chief Steward, Leuth Damiro Yul (3)
"What... What is this nonsense!"
Silderay shouted.
The recording ability of the Fairies, including Lueth, had never shown a single lie. However, now clearly false contents were being described in the recording window.
The five Magic Towers of the Palin Kingdom had been attacked by Runcandel's forces the year before and the year before that.
[Urgh!]
Lueth suddenly vomited.
It was a vomit born of the discomfort of the sudden manipulation of history.
The act of witnessing how reality is manipulated in real-time is an event that shakes the human mind more than one can imagine.
"W-We have to tell the scholars! We have to write it down, we have to!"
Diana shouted as Sarah held Lueth, who was about to faint.
According to her, everyone present should continue recording this phenomenon "before completely forgetting" that history was being manipulated.
Upon hearing her, the nearby Guardian Knights hurried into the castle.
"Chief Steward! Wake up. We must not forget that what is written in this recording window is false. Chief Steward, Chief Steward!"
Lueth trembled but didn't respond.
Soon, she lost consciousness and collapsed, leaving only the perplexed voices of the Ten Great Knights in the furious storm.
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Half a year had passed.
The stewards and scholars of Storm Castle no longer recorded the history of the Fairies.
It was because they had already been forgotten by the people of the world.
The existence of the Fairies had disappeared completely, as if they had never existed in the first place, but they did not vanish entirely from the memory of some people.
However, the fact that the Fairy Queen, Lueth Damiro Yul, had met Temar Runcandel by chance and they had fought together against Zipple...
The fact that the entire Fairy Tribe had fought desperately, shedding blood, to prevent Zipple from manipulating history had been erased.
Even the people now remembered that the Fairy Tribe had "perished" in ancient times.
However, thousands of Fairies, forgotten by people and forgotten by themselves, still lived and breathed.
"I'm sorry, Lueth."
A man spoke as he looked at Lueth's back.
It was Temar.
[The patriarch has nothing to apologize for.]
When Temar didn't respond, Lueth continued.
[Do you really think the Fairy Tribe was erased from history because I met you, Patriarch?]
"Yes. If you hadn't met me, the Fairy Tribe wouldn't have been a victim of Zipple..."
[Patriarch, stop talking nonsense. When Zipple manipulated history, what would have been their first target to eradicate? Runcandel? No, those people would have eliminated the Fairy Tribe first, regardless of Runcandel.]
In reality, after becoming Runcandel's chief steward, Lueth had discovered the fact that Zipple was manipulating the history of the Fairy Tribe while examining the records.
She and Temar had met five years ago.
But the manipulation of the Fairy Tribe's history had begun eight years ago.
That's why she didn't consider the erasure of the Fairy Tribe's history to be Temar's responsibility.
Rather, she felt profound gratitude towards Temar.
If she hadn't met him, by now, she too would have been lost like other members of the Fairy Tribe, forgotten by people.
[Thanks to the immense Power of Existence that the Patriarch possesses, I was still able to remain, not forgotten, and fight against Zipple alongside Runcandel. So, please, don't apologize to me again.]
Temar nodded heavily.
[...And I, Patriarch, and the Ten Great Knights, have not forgotten that the Fairy Tribe fought alongside Runcandel against Zipple, have we? Lord Solderet, Sir Murakan, and Lady Misha haven't forgotten either.]
The Power of Existence that Temar possessed.
It wasn't a power limited only to Temar.
Beings deeply influenced by Temar also enjoyed the benefits of that power.
Thanks to that, the individuals mentioned by Lueth a moment ago still had a clear understanding of the history of the Fairy Tribe.
However, as time passed, even they were gradually forgetting the Fairy Tribe.
The two of them were not unaware of this fact.
Temar was the only one completely free from Zipple's manipulation of history.
Even when Runcandel attacked the Magic Towers of the Palin Kingdom half a year ago, Temar was the only one who saw through the falseness of the history being manipulated in real-time.
But human memory...
Inevitably, it would fade with time.
Moreover, memories were like people: they couldn't exist on their own.
If there were no others to listen to or confirm those memories, over time, they would have no power within oneself. They would lose their meaning.
"I'm worried about you, Patriarch."
"What is there to worry about?"
"Everyone relies too much on the Patriarch. Lately, it seems like the Patriarch is trying to bear too many people."
Since he realized that his influence could delay Zipple's manipulation of history, Temar had been trying to keep as many people around him as possible.
"There were already many people around me from the beginning."
"That's true. But you haven't met with people as frequently and without sleep as now. When was the last time you closed your eyes, Patriarch? Ten days ago?"
"More or less, I guess. But you know, sleeping, well... it's not really my thing..."
"Even you, Patriarch, are ultimately human. You're not a god or a demon. If you continue like this, your mind will be overwhelmed, Patriarch."
There were signs of movement from outside.
"Patriarch, Chief Steward."
Sarah entered the office with a serious expression.
It must be bad news, thought Temar and Lueth.
When Sarah wasn't being playful, it always meant something serious.
"Since this morning, Padler has started to forget the history of the Fairy Tribe. Even if he tries to remember, it doesn't seem to work..."
Even when the other Ten Great Knights who still remembered tried to tell Padler about the Fairy Tribe, he couldn't understand the content at all.
Even after hearing the story, he would forget it again within a few minutes.
The world was becoming a massive theater, steeped in Zipple's flavor.
Within that theater, members of Runcandel were gradually being consumed by fear.
No matter how strong each one's mental fortitude was, it was impossible to continuously endure the crumbling of known reality.
"We need a way to leave records that those bastards can never touch."
Sarah spoke, biting her lower lip.
"Patriarch, no! Oraboni. It doesn't seem possible. I will go meet that witch residing in the Black Sea. Lokia said that if it's the witch, she might know a way to stop Zipple's manipulation of history..."
Lokia was one of the Ten Great Knights. She was a Mage with better magical abilities than swordsmanship in Runcandel.
"Sarah, you can't do that."
"Why?"
"That woman is a disaster. We don't know what might happen if we approach her clumsily."
"Oraboni."
Sarah took a deep breath and continued.
"If things continue like this, Runcandel will be destroyed. Not only the Fairy Tribe, but also the history concerning Runcandel has begun to be manipulated."
"If Heluram is awakened, it won't be Runcandel but the world that could face destruction."
"A world without Runcandel makes no sense to me."
"Sarah!"
"Everyone relies only on you, oraboni. We want to do something too, even if it's little. Instead of being defenseless like this, I'd rather sell my soul to the devil."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Sarah. And tell Lokia not to bring up anything about Heluram in the future."
When Sarah didn't respond, Temar gently embraced her.
"I understand it's difficult. But I have a plan. Soon, along with Solderet, I'll meet with the other Gods."
"Will the gods help us?"
"It's not certain. But according to Solderet, it seems they will manifest themselves."
Sarah reluctantly nodded. Although she possessed the greatest power among the Ten Great Knights, she found it difficult to bear the fact that she couldn't do anything.
"And I say this with concern, but please, under no circumstances disobey my orders and contact Heluram. It's an order as Patriarch."
"I understand."
The siblings were lying to each other.
Solderet had already failed to persuade the Gods, and Sarah had no intention of obeying Temar's order.
She didn't trust most of the Gods who had already submitted to Zipple.
As Sarah left, Temar let out a deep sigh.
"It seems she's going to cause trouble. I should ask Diana to keep an eye on Sarah."
In truth, Temar and Lueth...
They had already considered the worst-case scenario.
They had witnessed how Solderet had attempted to leave messages for the "Thousand Year Contractor."
Lueth, in particular, had assisted Solderet in this process.
Of course, it didn't mean they had given up on fighting against Zipple.
They simply had the grim intuition that this terrible and prolonged battle might continue even after their era had passed.
That's why preparations were needed for the next generation, and the generation after that, and the generation after that.
It was only natural since they lacked certainty of victory in their own time.
"But Sarah's words were not without merit, Lueth."
[Yes, my lord.]
"Directly contacting Heluram is dangerous, but if it's about his lover, the situation might be different. Find out the whereabouts of the Demon Beast King Orgal for me."
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Wow...
The recording device's records reached their limit.
Jin couldn't say anything for a while, lost in thought.
[You've seen it all. What do you think?]
Luet asked.
"...It's shocking. I didn't know Zipple's manipulation of history went to such extremes."
For decades...
No, the fact that they could manipulate the history of the Fairy Tribe, which had existed for tens of thousands of years, at their whim.
It could be stated with certainty. Not even the Gods could achieve such a feat.
'That's why the records probably mention how the Gods submitted to Zipfel.'
For the first time, doubt arose as to whether it was possible to defeat Zipple.
However, Jin quickly shook off that thought.
'If those bastards were still as formidable as a thousand years ago, Runcandel wouldn't have existed. Surely, when they defeated Runcandel back then, they paid an extremely high price for it.'
Although the exact nature of that price couldn't be discerned from the current records, Jin had obtained the most important information from this recording device out of all of Solderet's recording devices he had examined so far.
Especially Zipple's transcendental abilities were more palpable than ever.
'My master is the key to confronting Zipple.'
Jin's thoughts naturally drifted to that point.
[Sir Jin, it's been two days outside.]
Lueth spoke.
"Two days?"
Jin was surprised and looked into Lueth's eyes.
If two days had passed, there might have been an attack on the caves of the small beastmen by someone from among their "enemies."
-I'll be back as soon as possible. To make sure no one gets hurt.
Jin remembered the promise he had made to Neru.
[Judging by your expression, it seems there's an urgent matter outside.]
"There are people I promised to rescue. Because of my presence here, the small beastmen are in mortal danger."
[Then you should leave quickly.]
Lueth's resolute response weighed heavy on Jin's heart.
"If I leave this place, Miss Lueth will be alone again. I'll forget about Miss Lueth..."
Lueth nodded silently.
[You'll only remember my image that you saw on the recording device. But Sir Jin, in reality, I'm practically a forgotten person. Rescuing the living outside is more valuable than soothing my loneliness.]
"I'll come back. Definitely."
There were too many small beastmen who could die without Jin knowing, and it was too uncertain to hesitate out of compassion.
Lueth offered a faint smile.
Recalling Temar's appearance, who once said the same thing as Jin.
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