Chapter: 4
Click, clack… clank.
“Ah.”
Creak.
The door swung open weakly. Nero and Noah stared at me with wide eyes. Feeling a bit awkward, I quietly closed the door again and locked it.
‘Guess my skills are still intact.’
Truth be told, I had only picked a lock once during training, and today made it twice. I casually ran my fingers under my nose and shrugged, feeling like that was what I was supposed to do. Returning to the kitchen, I reheated the cold soup while thinking.
‘Does this prove it? The laws of the gag anime world still linger here?’
I mulled this over while tossing some herbs into the bubbling soup.
‘So what genre is this, anyway?’
The world I found myself in was a dark fantasy that was nearly devoid of dreams and hopes. And now it’s been mixed with the rules of the gag anime world?
‘…I can only imagine nightmare scenarios.’
Squinting, I racked my brain until a new idea popped up.
‘Or… maybe these rules only apply to me.’
If the gag anime laws had really seeped into this dark fantasy, then things would definitely not unfold like in the original story.
‘Surely the hero would just scratch his head and become pals with the Demon King.’
That could only happen in a nasty gag anime world, making the original plot absolutely impossible.
‘To verify the situation… what do I do? I’ve lived in the gag world so long, I’m practically immune to it now…’
While I was lost in thought, the meal was ready. I brought some warm food to Odil first. Sneaking some nuts and leaving them in the corner, the crow spread its wings and flashed a thumbs-up. I gave a secret thumbs-up back at Odil before slipping out of the room.
‘I’ll check if the laws of the gag anime world—let’s just call it the “gag filter”—apply later. Way quicker than the full title.’
With that in mind, I headed downstairs and dished out the soup. The kids finished their bowls with bright smiles. Super satisfying!
*
A new slave had arrived. That basically meant the old one was about to be used up.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Some of the kids couldn’t hide their fear and kept scratching their bodies raw, blood dripping everywhere. Lilly was no exception. She scratched at her inflamed skin, deep in thought.
‘Who’s going to get taken this time? Will they come back alive?’
No matter how much affection Lian tried to show the imprisoned kids, their reality wouldn’t change. They were destined to get dragged off by the dark sorcerer for some horrific experiments or, worse, a life more miserable than death.
“Brother, what are we going to do now?”
“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, your brother will keep you safe.”
“Mmm…”
Hearing a small voice from the adjacent cell, Lily looked up to find Pia. Pia was staring blankly, hugging a ragged cloth.
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you. I’m right here.”
She kept stroking the filthy cloth like it was her little sibling. Since she lost her brother in the past, Pia occasionally lost touch with reality like this.
“Pia, sis…”
“Huh? Oh, my brother’s here! Come here, your sister will keep you safe.”
As Lily moved closer, Pia opened her arms wide. When Lily stepped into the embrace, Pia hugged her so tightly it almost hurt. It was way too tight, but Lily didn’t complain.
“My brother, my brother.”
Pia caressed Lily for a long while until she slowly started to come back to reality. Her dazed eyes regained focus, and she relaxed her grip.
“Sis, it’s cold.”
“Let’s cover up with this.”
Lily knew that Pia was projecting someone else onto her, but she didn’t care. She simply needed someone to hold on to.
The two of them hugged, waiting for death that could come at any moment.
*
“Cough, since I’ll be attending the dark sorcerer’s council, do not dare peep into my room at dawn!”
“Wha, wait… are you saying you’re attending a meeting where only the top dark sorcerers are invited?!”
“…Yeah.”
Odil’s mouth corners twitched up. He definitely looked pleased. I scanned him from head to toe, like a mother checking out her son before his first job interview.
“Then we need to prepare quickly!”
“For what?”
“To enhance your illustrious image even more!”
“Is that… even possible?”
“Of course! Just trust me! You’ll definitely be the most dignified and elegant dark sorcerer there! You might even be crowned the best dark sorcerer of the day!”
“…Seriously?”
His ears perked up at my promise. I nodded earnestly.
“Yes.”
“Hmm… Well, I’ll leave it to you then. But if you… If you embarrass me….”
Odil’s eyes sparkled menacingly, radiating a dark aura. I shrunk back and nodded.
“I’ll make sure you won’t be embarrassed!”
“Good.”
As I watched Odil turn sharply and enter his lab, I couldn’t help but hide a sly smile.
‘Phew, looks like I pulled it off.’
My attempt came from memories still lingering in my mind. When my body’s owner, Lian, was a test subject, an older man had shakily warned him: Beware on the days of the dark sorcerer’s council; dark sorcerers often insult each other, leading to explosive frustration vented on their test subjects, frequently reducing them to scraps.
‘Gotta prevent that kind of mess at all costs.’
There was no way to escape until the protagonist showed up, so I needed to stay put, but I couldn’t just leave the kids being experimented on to their fate. It was better to do what I could to protect them.
‘So first…’
I ruminated on how the dark sorcerer meetings were run in the original story.
‘It feels like a video conference.’
Since most dark sorcerers were scattered about, they usually held virtual meetings.
‘Then let’s fix the visuals.’
I pretended to roll up my sleeves and headed to Odil’s wardrobe.
Bang!
I boldly yanked the wardrobe doors open and peeked inside.
‘Tsk, tsk, just black, drab outfits.’
Those clothes did not suit Odil’s skinny, sensitive look at all. He’d look ridiculous, like a kid wearing his father’s oversized clothes! I pulled out a couple of seldom-used outfits.
Then I popped my head into Odil’s lab.
“Odil! Can I stylishly alter these clothes of yours?”
“What? Uh… those clothes? Sure, go ahead. I never wear them anyway.”
“Thanks a ton!”
Odil ignored me and concentrated on a somewhat creepy-looking book. At that moment, I fished some nuts from my pocket and scattered them on the floor while glancing at the crow.
Do you have a clothing alteration machine around here?
As I gestured passionately, the crow glanced at the nuts and turned away—indicating my offer was way too weak. I clicked my tongue and dropped even more nuts. The crow took a quick peek, then averted its eyes again. So, I tossed down a few more nuts.
The crow seemed conflicted, tilting its head. I pretended to take the nuts, signaling, ‘If you don’t help me, this deal’s off!’ The crow quietly flared its wings in agreement, nodding and giving me a thumbs-up with its wing. I returned the gesture with a thumbs-up of my own.
Thump, thud.
The crow swooped down from its perch and brought something back from a cluttered shelf filled with odds and ends.
“Oh… thanks!”
“Caw.”
I whispered my gratitude, and the crow took a few pecks at the scattered nuts on the ground. Holding the item the crow had given me, I made my way back to my room.
“Wow, this looks super interesting!”
The D-shaped device seemed to function like a sewing machine, threading the needle and sewing the fabric when placed in the slot. Its true purpose was to help draw magic circles easily, but right now, it was just a simple sewing machine.
‘Awesome, with this, I can…’
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