Chapter 27

“... Where am I?” Kade looked around. He was in a familiar-looking space. It took him a while to figure out where he was.

“Hello, Kade, we meet again.”

Kade jerked his head to the source of the voice. There, she stood. Smiling. It had been ten long years since he last saw her, ten long years since he last heard her. Yet, neither her looks nor her voice changed in the slightest. Kade tensed up. He knew why he was called here.

“I’m sorry!” He clasped his hands together and bowed in apology. She tilted her head.

“What’s wrong? Don’t worry, you didn’t die. I just used your dreams to appear.” Her voice sounded soft and genuine, just like back then. But that softness only made him scared even more.

“Hmm? Oh, about that, huh? Don’t worry. You did your best. It’s better than the alternative,” she said.

“... Alternative?”

“You see, I expected that the demon lord’s spear would hit the hero’s sword eventually.”

“You’ve… expected it?”

She nodded. “Yes. Your goal is to prevent the demon lord from fighting the hero’s sword, remember? Since the spear moved on its own, you prevented too strong a hit from happening. So, for that, congratulations.” She did little claps.

“Your mission isn’t done, however.”

“What else should I do?” Kade was ready to do anything if it meant protecting the life he had now.

“Simple. I’ll give you access to some of the lost children's abilities.”

Kade thought he already had that, in the form of Meline.

“Many years ago, she asked me to add the ‘lorem ipsum’ as a magic word to activate it.” She let out a chuckle.

… Lorem ipsum?

Kade remembered reading those words in the scrolls.

“She?”

“Well, it’s someone you don’t need to know. Moving on. When you stand in front of the scroll, call out the words ‘lorem ipsum’ and you shall be able to momentarily read the contents.”

“... So it's like a key of sorts?”

“Precisely, but you must remember, this magic takes a high toll on your body, so having it active for long periods of time may cause you harm. Say those words again to deactivate it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Oh, and lorem ipsum doesn’t just allow you to read those letters. It has a secret effect, but I’ll explain that when the time comes. See you later.” She waved, and his vision faded.

•••

Kade opened his eyes, his hand reaching out to the ceiling. The warm morning sun filtered through the window, and the birds chirped in the air. He pulled himself up, looking around. He was still in his room; he hadn’t been reincarnated again. Kade let out a breath of relief.

A knock came on his door.

“Come in.”

Meline opened the door. “Kade, we need to go.”

“Have you found something?”

Meline shook her head. “Not yet.”

Then why? It wasn’t common for her to come to his room. Usually, he would get out and find her already in the kitchen.

Kade looked out the window, quickly realizing that it was already midday.

“Did something happen? You don’t usually wake up this late,” Meline asked in concern.

“I’ll… talk about it during lunch.”

•••

Kalou and Tila both came over during lunch. Despite not living there, they had practically become the fourth and fifth members of the party. With them there, Kade dropped the new revelation.

“I should be able to read the scrolls now.”

Everyone except for Kalou gasped in surprise. He wasn't sure what Kalou had heard from Linda, but he probably assumed Kade had a lost child ability, so he wasn’t too shocked when he heard it.

“Your lost child abilities… You activated them?” Linda asked.

“That seemed to be the case.”

Tila wasn’t wearing her uniform, and they couldn’t go to the university until things died down, but Meline did give one of her mages a scroll to investigate. They could head to the castle to check.

“Vi- Vi- Visiting the demon lord’s castle!?” Tila stammered. “Se- Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Meline answered. “Didn't you say you wanted to write about that the other day?”

Tila had mentioned it as one of the ideas for the DCRC article in the monthly magazine. Of course, no one remembered about it. It was no longer a priority.

“You don’t mind me coming along?” Kalou asked.

“As long as you don’t make trouble.”

“I think that’s a you thing, Meline.”

“I am not a troublemaker!” Meline said, momentarily forgetting the many troubles she had made many years ago.

After lunch, they headed for the castle. Meline called for Letosis, and he brought over the scroll.

“I beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty, as I failed to decipher the secrets of this scroll.”

“That’s alright.” Meline received the scroll from Letosis and handed it to Kade. Kade could see the lorem ipsum hidden in the wall of text. He took a deep breath.

“Lorem ipsum.”

The magic activated, and it looked as if the letters themselves changed shape into something recognizable.

“... Nothing happened?” Linda asked, observing from beside him. Only he could see the change. The contents of the scroll surprised him. It looked like a kind of diary.

“It says here that… ‘Most human races oppose the act of instilling a will within an item, describing it as unnatural. On the other hand, while some demon tribes oppose it, some accept it. The wolfkin are among them’.”

The wolfkins of the past practiced the act of instilling a will into an item. Most people weren’t willing to instill their own soul into something, as the idea of living inside an item was scary. But those particularly ambitious tried it. They found themselves stuck, unable to do anything in the new vessel, and ended up causing trouble, forcing others to do a ritual that severed this connection.

For the wolfkins, this turned into a yearly ritual where the wolfkin sent souls into the afterlife, and the idea of instilling a soul into an item became opposed. Those who did it were shunned. The scroll had a detailed step-by-step process of instilling both will and soul, although more attention was placed on instilling the will. While they didn’t instill souls, instilling wills was a different case, as a will wasn’t ‘alive’. It simply followed the wills of those who instilled them.

As he read this out, Tila wrote down the notes, while the other three paid attention. Eventually, his head began feeling heavy. At first, he could still handle it, but the pain levels increased rapidly.

“Lorem ipsum,” Kade repeated the spell. He tried to continue standing upright, but the pain in his head was unbearable.

“Have you gotten it?” Linda turned her head to Tila, oblivious to Kade's struggles.

“Yep.” Tila turned the book she was using around. She had written down every word he said. Her speed was impressive.

“Could the secrets be held by the other scrolls?” Linda murmured.

“That seemed to be the case,” Meline said, glancing at Kade. Her eyes widened. “Kade!? Are you alright?”

“H- Huh?” His vision had blurred. It looked as if the entire world spun around him. He lost his balance and fell. Meline rushed to support him before he hit the ground.

“Kade! Kade! Are you alright!? You look pale, I tell you!”

“I… I think I need some rest.” Kade closed his eyes.