Chapter 265

  Unforgiven (VI)

  That thing...

  It just spoke, right?

  Oh my God, it just fucking spoke!

  I whipped my head to the side, where I saw everyone's faces adorned with the exact same expression: abject shock. From Lao Shun to Light, regardless of their age, they were as equally shocked as I was.

  And then I looked at Long Tao and, perhaps for the first time since coming to this world, saw him share the exact same expression as the rest of us: that of shock. He, too, hadn't expected it, which means that this is unequivocally one of the most insane things to have ever happened, as that gremlin had all but perfected the 'poker' face.

  "Did... did it just speak?" Lao Shun said. "Somebody tell me it spoke, and it's not me going mad!"

  "No, it spoke," I said. "You are mad for entirely different reasons."

  "A chimera spoke..." he mumbled absentmindedly.

  "Protect what?" Long Tao spoke up as well, stopping his attack as his curiosity seems to have been ignited. "That kid in the mist? What makes you think we'd do anything to it?"

  "--b-b-bad humans," it spoke; its voice was rather... strained, almost like someone trying to speak after belting out their soul at a concert the night before. "K-kill my, my ch-child-dren..."

  "Your children? Oh. Those things that attacked us?"

  "T-they n-n-not attack! They p-p-protect!"

  To be honest, even if the thing speaking would have freaked me out a bit, I have a feeling it shocked these guys about a million times more than it shocked me. I'd have just chalked it up to the magic of the world, where some innately sentient animals could speak--and if they could, why not an amalgamation that's at least partly human already?

  But from their reactions, this chimera speaking might be a far greater deal than I could possibly conceptualize at the moment.

  Especially Long Tao's reaction to it.

  "... if you tell me who created the forest," he said. "I'll swear not to harm the kid."

  "L-liar! Human liar!"

  I don't know how it was talking, as its, uhm, lips? Well, whatever they were, the mouth thingies, they weren't moving. By now, its legs were trembling, and it looked like the faintest gust of wind would knock it over... and yet, it still stood resolutely.

  Whatever kid was within that white haze, it really must care for it greatly.

  "What if we promise to take the kid in?" Hm? Why does that sound like something I'd say? I mean, it does, but I definitely did not say it.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  ... Long Tao, you bastard!!

  I whipped my head to the side to see the indignant reactions of the others, but there were none. Rather, it was as though all of them were saying, 'Yes, indeed, Master would do that exact thing!'

  We're broke!

  We're fucking broke, you dimwits! We have no money left! And you want to invite another monster in?! You really think some random kid being guarded by a chimera that can talk is just gonna be a nobody?!

  Hoooh.

  Calm down. Just calm down.

  They don't know any better. To them, money is just a thing they use to cultivate.

  We can always earn more.

  ... no, wait, don't I have an Alchemy bank right here? I stealthily glanced over at Lao Shun, who shuddered; I mean, I can borrow a few... million... and, uhm, I don't know, figure it out later. He for sure had millions lying around in his spatial ring; he was an Alchemist! Don't these guys usually have Spirit Stones spilling out of their pockets over how much they're packing?

  "My Master is extremely kind and benevolent," Long Tao continued. "He'd taken us all in when we had nothing, and he'd been taking care of us since."

  ... wow.

  Holy shit, wow.

  While the rest of the kids were nodding away like bobbleheads, that guy's ability to just lie through his teeth may just match mine. There wasn't a pause in his voice, there wasn't a crack, nothing. Aren't you proud? Aren't you some kind of a god, having to mingle with the mortals yet again? How come such lies just spill from your tongue so naturally?

  Or, wait, does he actually mean it?!

  ... yeah, right.

  "Besides," he continued. "You should know that you will die here regardless, and that we can then do whatever we want. I'm merely offering you this because you spoke, and that can't have been easy."

  "... y-y-you pro-promise... to... to keep h-him, him safe?"

  "Master, do we promise?" He spun toward me and asked with that shit-eating grin.

  One day.

  A day shall come when I take a baseball bat to his knees and then run away.

  ... not today, though.

  "I promise," I said, resigning. "I swear upon the Heavens I won't treat the kid any differently than I do any of my Disciples." I tossed out an Oath too, which prompted oohs and aahs from the kids as they looked at me... well, honestly, like a cult leader.

  I've made my peace with it--one day, I will have a lot of Disciples who will merely treat me as their Master. They'll learn from me, and I'll siphon Creation Points from them, and it's all going to be beautiful.

  These ones, though? Lost cause. A complete, utter lost cause. I'm fairly certain if they saw me purposefully kicking a puppy into the flames for no discernable reason, they'd jump at me to make sure I didn't hurt my feet kicking it too hard.

  So, whatever. Let them stare at me as though I've said something utterly incomprehensible and not just the most basic level of common human decency.

  --hm. Wait. What if the 'kid' turns out to be some psychotic killer that I've sworn to treat no differently than the rest of my Disciples?!

  No, wait, can't Long Tao just kill him, then?

  Huh.

  This swearing an Oath thing sure has a lot of convenient loopholes... almost like tax laws back on Earth... hmm...

  "You heard him," Long Tao said, turning to face the creature yet again. "Keep struggling for no reason, or die with at least a bit of your dignity still intact. It's your choice."

  It mulled over it for a good minute, the silence weighing like an anchor. It's not like I could put myself in its position--it's been alive for literal tens of thousands of years. It's almost been alive for as long as modern man has evolved.

  I'd sympathize with it if it'd spent, like, fifty years in this dreaded place, but past a certain point, years really cease meaning much to me. One day, should all the stars align and I'm some one-million-year-old grandpa... well, there's still going to be those who are tens of millions of years old who'd dwarf me.

  And even that, in the span of all time, is just... nothing.

  Huh.

  Kind of depressing, actually?

  In the end, the beast said nothing but instead closed its eyes and laid back down, head resting on its paws.

  That human head, which had remained eerily expressionless and unmoving, mellowed out as its features began to sag.

  Within a moment, its expression mirrored the ones of all the people we've seen in the forest--one of utter serenity, calmness, and content.

  Was it an inevitable result of its existence?

  Or was it a choice of its own?

  ... I'll choose to believe the latter, no matter the truth.