Chapter 44
If Elpini’s house felt like just a hotel room, then Airix’s house was the kind of place that deserved five stars—five times over—and then five more on top of that.
“Wow.”
The moment I stepped inside, I took a step back. The dazzling opulence struck me like a blow; I felt dizzy. There was nowhere for my eyes to rest. Every inch was extravagant.
Wallpaper, carpet, furniture, ceiling, decorations—nothing was plain or ordinary.
“What is this place even?”
Airix checked the address number and stepped inside, surveying everything. Then, suddenly, he let out shouts from various spots and started throwing things out the window.
“What’s wrong?”
Airix turned on the faucet by the entrance and scrubbed his hands vigorously. As he washed, he saw me reach for the bedside table and quickly grabbed my hand, raising it.
“Don’t touch that.”
“Why? Is it valuable?”
“No, it’s dirty.”
“Me?”
“Of course not. This is dirty!”
“Was it used as a plague ward or something?”
“No, worse than that. It’s my father’s secret rendezvous mansion!”
Airix spoke quickly, as if even saying it aloud was disgusting.
Ah—so that’s why it’s this luxurious.
A duke built like him, bringing someone here… I could see why love might bloom even if it hadn’t before.
Though, the fact that even his son knows about it is another matter.
“Why on earth would he give me this!”
Zephyr, who normally couldn’t care less, suddenly answered with concern.
“No one uses it these days.”
“But someone will soon!”
“For the time being, there’s no plan to. Since it would be a waste to leave it empty, they said it’s right for you, the young master, to use it.”
Airix grabbed his head, sat on the couch, then sprang up with a thump.
“Damn it! I’m either going to clean everything or throw it all away!”
I didn’t even want to imagine what had happened on that couch.
Why is this place like this?
No humanity, no ethics—especially sexual ethics.
I couldn’t move houses immediately, so Airix had the mansion’s butler confirm repeatedly that no one had used the guestroom, and he gave it to me.
It was a room with a wonderful view of the beautifully maintained streets. On the terrace connected to the room, there was an elegant tea table. I could sit there and drink tea while looking down at the streets.
But Airix looked at the terrace table and told the waiting butler,
“Move that to the storage.”
“Why? It would be nice to sit there and enjoy the view while drinking tea.”
“Do you think only the young master thought that?”
Ah. Right.
Of course, his father, the duke, and the duke’s lover had sat in those chairs. And not just once—quite often, actually.
“Change those sheets too.”
Airix pointed to the bed.
“No one slept here.”
“Shut up. Just change them immediately.”
By the time all this was done, it was past ten o’clock.
I had completely missed dinner.
I had planned to eat a steak the size of an aircraft carrier, yet I hadn’t even touched a single potato.
When Airix asked for a late-night snack, the butler said the house had no chef.
“There’s a cook for the servants’ meals, but not enough skill to prepare meals for the masters.”
“Then just have them do it.”
“Sorry, but they only come during mealtimes.”
“Do you have ingredients in the house?”
“Yes. Though only potatoes or sausages—hardly suitable for the young master…”
“I’ll eat whatever.”
“Sorry, but there’s no servant to cook them.”
The mansion was full of people who wouldn’t do anything unless it was their job.
Still, Meimon volunteered to cook and headed to the kitchen.
About ten minutes later, Airix and I were served scrambled eggs, crookedly cut bread, and sausages burnt to charcoal, scattered like rags on the plate.
“How did they make this?”
Airix asked, staring at the ingredients turned hazardous substances.
“There was no fire, so I used my ability.”
He had applied extreme heat to the food.
It was like using an industrial torch hot enough to melt metal to cook a tiny piece of steak sushi.
Meanwhile, Zephyr had disappeared—he had gone to eat by himself.
“We need to hire a proper chef,” Airix said, chewing on the charred sausage. He should have been planning to destroy the world, yet here he was, eating this food disaster because of me.
That night, I had a dream.
I was on the train again.
Books piled up in front of me, and a tall man in white clothes was reading. He looked at me over his glasses.
[How’s school?]
“Not good.”
[Don’t like school?]
“No one likes school.”
[Some people do.]
“They don’t like school—they like learning. That’s a big difference.”
His figure became clearer: white vest and pants that fit him well. With glasses, he looked like a young professor.
I leaned back in my seat and asked,
“How long do I have to stop Airix?”
[Until the story of destruction is completely finished.]
“How long is that?”
[Ten years.]
“So, ten years to destroy, ten years to erase the story.”
The man’s eyes narrowed.
[Yes, that’s about right.]
“Do I have to live here for at least ten years?”
[You should hope it takes less. But first…]
He pushed a stack of books in front of me.
[We need to deal with the failing grade first, don’t we?]
I flinched—
“Elpini failed. Why do I have to fix it? And since Elpini chose to fail, I want to respect that.”
[No.]
The man said firmly, smiling.
[You are a student, and learning is your duty. Knowledge nourishes the soul like food nourishes the body. To grow strong and healthy, you must eat nutritious food—similarly, knowledge will strengthen your soul.]
“First, it’s Elpini who failed, not me. Second, I don’t want to.”
[Do you plan to stay failed forever?]
“Elpini did it. I can accept that consequence while using this body.”
Also… look at these book titles: history? philosophy? theology? My vision blurred.
[Don’t you want to know about this world?]
“Not at all.”
I thought of Elpini’s transcript, where grades suddenly disappeared. Enough to show he had no intention of continuing his studies.
Why is this coming to mind?
It must be because of those guys I met today. They must have made him suffer terribly, to the point he wanted to give up learning even while being sponsored.
I thought of my own school days.
I was the kind of child who could be bullied, but luckily I was safe. I had luck. Another child did not.
A group relentlessly harassed that child.
I wanted to help—not out of justice, but simply because it bothered me. But soon, I became the target myself. The child ignored me, trying to use me as a decoy to escape.
The group, noticing this, started treating the child kindly.
I predicted what would happen. Soon, I would be dragged into the harassment as well.
I wasn’t angry. Good intentions aren’t always rewarded. I just braced myself.
One day, I opened a locker and found it full of rotting food. I pulled out the books and notebooks soaked in stinking water and threw them into the trash. The first day was rough—what about the rest?
The next day… that child committed suicide.
Hanged in the classroom.
The school was thrown into chaos. Parents came, emergency meetings were held. The child’s diary was submitted as evidence against the perpetrators. Some children were suspended or expelled. But the true ringleaders survived, thanks to their parents. Even now, they live comfortably.
Why do I think of this?
“Do you know what kind of person Elpini was?”
[I do.]
His voice was calm.
[Perhaps not completely, though.]
“Just tell me what you know.”
[He was brave. And grateful.]
“And?”
[That’s all I can say for certain.]
So, you don’t know either.
I wanted to know where he was born, how he grew up, what it meant that he was a monastery orphan, what subjects he liked, what his future hopes were.
[Sometimes…]
The man said,
[Sometimes there are impossibly evil people, and the opposite too—impossibly good people.]
“Which was Elpini?”
[Good.]
“And Airix Berckart?”
[The complete opposite.]
Impossibly evil.
The most evil Airix, the kindest Elpini.
Elpini is gone from this world, and Airix is still a child who hasn’t done anything.
In the end, neither exists in this world.
Neither the evil Airix nor the kind Elpini.
“And you?”
The man looked at me. My hair, dyed coral by the sunset, swayed with the train’s vibration.
“What kind of person are you?”
[I have no chance. No chance to be good, no chance to be evil. So I don’t know what kind of person I am.]
“You would have been good.”
[Really?]
He smiled, pleased.
“You’re trying to stop the world from ending while no one even knows. If you had the chance, you would have been good.”
I closed my eyes.
The train runs along with the beat of my heart.
My story merges with this one, forming yet another story. I pray it will not be a story of destruction.
Please fix the pronouns 😭