Free Web NovelGula whispered in a sweet voice, tears streaming down his face.
“Shall I entertain you? I can do anything for the great Your Majesty. Doesn’t this amuse you? This innocent face, this voice—don’t they delight you? All I want is to please you, Your Majesty. Everything above and below this earth belongs to you. There’s no need to restrain your desires.”
The demon of greed possessed an exceptional talent for discerning the desires of others.
The problem was that he did not understand how precious those desires could be.
Some things were irreplaceable.
Some things, once broken, could never be restored.
How could anyone handle such things so carelessly?
“You’ve always been a dull child.” The elf smiled faintly.
“You never understand the first time, do you?”
Before the sentence had even finished, Gula spun around and fled.
His false body melted into black liquid, staining the ground as the thick stench of demonic energy spread through the air.
The elf stared at the place where the demon had dissolved, lost in thought.
What was this feeling?
He had lived far too long. His dulled senses no longer reacted to most things. Genuine emotion rarely moved him anymore, and because of that, he had to sift through distant memories to identify the sensation stirring within him.
Ah.
Disgust.
The realization brought with it a faint sense of vitality. As though, somewhere deep within the dried-up well of his ancient existence, a tiny pool of water still remained—one that could ripple in the wind.
That, at least, felt mildly pleasant.
His thoughts drifted to the human who had drawn this feeling from him.
It had been so long since he’d become absorbed enough in something to forget his surroundings.
Only when the corrupted camel smacked its lips loudly beside him did the elf return to reality.
“Yes, yes. Good boy.”
The hooded demon king began guiding the camel forward once more.
“Hmm... Yes. That child is still the first.”
No matter how far he wandered across the continent, he could not find another uncut gem like Ian Ferentz.
At one point, he had believed Keith Moore to be the greatest, but Keith’s mental strength was too fragile. Betrayal alone had rendered him incapable of using even half his power, forcing him to survive only through the salvation offered by others. To nearly lose oneself simply because one had been separated from their master for a short while—
How pitiful.
Heroes always seemed to possess some flaw. Perhaps it was something they could overcome through a ‘trial,’ but...
“A normal trial won’t do. It needs to be something emotionally intense... Shouldn’t they at least fall in love with each other?”
If the first gem and the second gem were to fall in love, the resulting synergy would be extraordinary.
Even the gods might rejoice.
After all, the two were already bound together through a master-servant relationship.
Human affairs were endlessly fascinating. Not long ago, he had held no interest in Ian Ferentz whatsoever, yet now Ian had become Keith Moore’s master.
If he separated the two and forced them through a ‘trial,’ perhaps they could grow even further.
“No, no. A hero always needs companions.”
The elf nodded to himself, smiling out of habit.
It was his characteristic smile—gentle, innocent, harmless.
He continued smiling and smiling until his cheeks almost cramped.
Then confusion crept over him.
Was this really how one smiled?
‘Ah... I’m tired.’
He had never not been tired.
The smile vanished from his face.
Expressionless, he stared blankly into the distance while allowing the camel’s slow movements to carry him along.
He wanted to rest.
Forever.
But before that, he had to finish his work.
“Yes, the last trial was too easy for that child.”
The knight blessed by the gods was certainly strong, but to Ian, the series of trials had been far too simple.
Even without the knight, Ian would have resolved everything with ease.
The knight, however, could never have succeeded alone.
“That child needs a harsher trial. Or... is he already approaching perfection? Is there even anything left for me to refine...? Ah... demons truly aren’t worth dealing with.”
The elf felt uneasy.
It unsettled him.
Encounters with demons always left traces behind.
Slumping forward atop the camel, he closed his eyes. Long silver hair, delicate as ornamental threads, slipped downward and brushed against the camel’s stomach.
He was exhausted.
Without rest, he could not continue.
As sleep slowly overtook him, his final thought was that even after sleeping, this terrible exhaustion would remain.
It always did.
But there was no choice.
His time with Ian and the others had been enjoyable.
Yes... it had been fun.
For a brief moment, he had even felt alive again.
But now that they were gone, he could no longer suppress the weariness weighing down on him.
The demon king fell asleep.
Ian traded his camel for a horse at the first marketplace he encountered after leaving the desert.
Then he and Keith rode without rest.
Only much later did familiar scenery finally appear before them.
A dense forest dividing the western and southern regions of the continent stretched out ahead.
The forest was so thick and shadowed that sunlight barely reached the ground once one stepped inside.
Yet to Ian, it felt almost like home—a deeply nostalgic place.
Whenever he played as Ian, wasn’t this forest always where everything began?
“We’re back.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Keith answered quietly as Ian let out a deep sigh.
Ian glanced at him briefly.
There had been no major problems during their journey back.
Of course, “no major problems” did not mean they hadn’t argued. It simply meant they had traveled as they always did—talking, bickering, and occasionally provoking one another.
And naturally, purifying.
At roadside inns.
Under trees at campsites.
Beside rocks in barren lands, illuminated by firelight.
“Isn’t nighttime supposed to be my designated hour?”
“...”
“Lord Ian, please perform today’s purification.”
‘....’
Ian forcibly erased the scenes flashing through his mind.
There was no reason to dwell on them, though Keith’s low voice still lingered irritatingly in his ears.
Still, this smooth journey had brought another reward.
Ding!
[Character]
Tyrant Ian (★★★★☆)
Reputation
Tyrant, Savior, Strategist, Benevolent Ruler, Frail, Bastard, Playboy, Aestheticist ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Skills
< Purification >: LV.8
Horsemanship: LV.4
Archery: LV.8
Swordsmanship: LV.4
Martial Arts: LV.1 (+NEW)
‘This is it.’
Ian was delighted.
His horsemanship skill had naturally risen by two levels, and he had even acquired a martial arts skill.
Martial arts were typically exclusive to agile races like elves, so how Ian had managed to obtain it remained a mystery.
‘Well, considering how much I’ve been thrown around lately, I guess it makes sense.’
Ian nodded in satisfaction.
And that wasn’t all.
The unstable mind reputation was gone.
The system now officially acknowledged that Ian’s mental state was perfectly normal.
Which meant he would no longer have to deal with NPCs like Sema saying bizarre things once he returned to the dungeon.
Though why all his other questionable reputations remained untouched was another matter entirely...
Naturally, gains came with losses.
His Savior reputation had risen again.
Still, Ian’s control had been flawless. Thanks to his deliberate provocations, his primary title remained Tyrant.
At this point, there was practically no chance of losing it.
‘Unless I end up fighting the Demon King as some kind of Savior or something...’
In any case, being called a tyrant was far preferable to dying.
Back in the game, the Tyrant title had been unpopular because of penalties like plummeting NPC loyalty and occasional rebellions.
But in real life?
The debuffs were practically nonexistent.
It proved one simple truth:
Actions mattered more than titles.
Even if people called him a tyrant, treating them well—like he did with Keith—earned genuine loyalty.
There had been another development as well.
They had grown accustomed to the purification ritual.
‘....’
In this case, “accustomed” simply meant it was no longer awkward.
Since the ritual required physical contact, Keith had adapted first.
Receiving purification before his nightly prayers had become part of his daily routine.
Ever since parting ways with the elf, he had not missed a single day.
‘Well, misunderstandings would be troublesome.’
To Keith, purification was no different from treating an injury—a purely practical act that required no emotional hesitation.
It also strengthened his self-control, ensuring he would never repeat the grim mistakes he had once made with Ian.
The elf, meanwhile, was an absurd romantic with a bizarre obsession with love and marriage.
Ian suspected Keith had avoided purifying in front of the elf solely to prevent ridiculous rumors like “Holy Knight Keith abandoned his vows” from spreading across the continent.
After all, the moment the elf left, Keith began insisting on nightly purification without fail.
Even when Ian pointed out, “Judging by the speed of your curse progression, there’s no need to do this every day,” Keith would respond seriously:
“But we never know when we may face a fierce battle. If I’m forced to unleash my full power then, I won’t be able to suppress the curse’s progression. I don’t wish to sin again.”
‘Sentimental idiot.’
No wonder he constantly suffered mental damage and stumbled into disasters on his own route.
Ian clicked his tongue inwardly, though he still respected Keith’s diligence.
The knight was not wrong.
Perhaps Ian himself had grown too careless.
As a beginner, he never would have adopted such a relaxed mindset. Veterans often neglected minor precautions, but thanks to Keith, Ian was relearning that discipline.
And so...
Ian eventually discovered how to perform purification more efficiently and quickly.
‘....’
Of course, there was absolutely no way his martial arts skill had leveled because of that.
‘Yeah. Definitely.’
Ian firmly reassured himself.
This wasn’t that kind of game.
And their rituals definitely weren’t that kind of activity.
Completely convincing himself, Ian continued toward the dungeon path in a strangely bittersweet mood.
“It’s been a while. I wonder if Sema’s still alive. Has Momisia gotten taller?”
“Considering her eating habits, probably not. Though her guardian did seem to be making an effort, so perhaps she has. Children grow quickly, after all.”
“True.”
What Ian was actually curious about was whether Momisia’s skills had improved.
But wasn’t that basically the same thing?
As Momisia herself became stronger, her abilities would naturally improve as well.
Ian grinned.
“The first thing I’m doing when we get back is expanding the dungeon and taking a nap. I’m exhausted.”
Yawning, Ian approached the dungeon entrance.
Then his tired eyes blinked.
The clearing was empty.
“...?”
“Lord Ian. Wasn’t there supposed to be a cave entrance here?” Keith asked.
Ian quickly surveyed the surrounding terrain.
He unfolded the map and checked the coordinates again.
The place where the dungeon entrance should have been was now nothing but forest.
Overgrown grass and collapsed stones lay scattered among the ruins.
“...!”
The dungeon was destroyed?
Without him even knowing?
Had something like this ever happened before?
“Why...?”
His mind desperately tried to think rationally, but confusion made his entire body tremble.
His hands shook violently.
He didn’t even realize it until Keith grabbed both his arms, grounding him back in reality.
