CHAPTER 32..
“Did you lay down the carpet?”
Cecil hesitated before lowering her head deeply.
“I couldn’t get the stain off the floor no matter how much I scrubbed.”
“The floor?”
“There was a huge stain… You didn’t know?”
“…So?”
“I brought a carpet from the main house to cover it. I couldn’t ask you first, so I chose it on my own… If you don’t like it, I’ll change it right away.”
So that’s why the carpet looked new.
[Stage 3: (Gazing at Cecil suspiciously) Is that all? You’re not hiding anything from me, right?]
‘…What is this?’
I followed the prompt for now.
“Is that all? You’re not hiding anything from me, right?”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
I couldn’t answer. I didn’t even know what it meant myself.
“You may go.”
“Yes, Master.”
Cecil’s footsteps quickly faded into the distance.
I waited until all signs of her presence disappeared before calling out to the spirits.
“Come on out, everyone.”
— Sniff, guys, don’t you smell something foul?
— There’s definitely a trace of demonic energy here. Feels like a dark spirit is hiding somewhere.
— Those damn weaklings always possess objects. Just to make it hard to find them. Right, Gnome?
— (Nods)
Even without me saying a word, the spirits had already sensed the demonic energy and were spreading out their killing intent.
Spirits of nature despise demons the most.
Naturally, they’re hostile toward dark spirits, who are essentially minions of the demons.
“Guys, let’s find it quickly.”
— Whoever finds it first gets to be called ‘big sister’ for a whole day! Even Rian included!
— Hmph, get ready to call me ‘sis,’ everyone.
— Are you nuts? I don’t want to be called ‘sis,’ okay? You feel the same, right, Gnome?
— (Nods)
— If you win, we’ll call you ‘big bro,’ you dumb fire lizard!
— Ah… Fine! Gnome, let’s search like hell! Got it?
— (Vigorous nodding!)
Gnome nodded twice. He seemed extremely excited.
I never even agreed to play this game… Scratching my cheek, I walked over to the bookshelf.
Dark spirits liked old things, so there was a high chance one was hiding in an ancient book.
We tore the lab apart.
Checked every object, even the cracks in the walls.
But we couldn’t find even a trace of the dark spirit.
I set down the last book and asked:
“You’re sure we searched every nook and cranny?”
The spirits nodded, looking bored.
“Then why can we still feel demonic energy? It doesn’t just appear for no reason… How strange.”
It was maddening. I waited to see if the Terrible Author would give me another prompt, but it stayed silent.
‘Well, yeah. It’s not like this is some major plot event or anything.’
Maybe I should just leave it alone…
As long as no one touches the object, the dark spirit won’t be able to harm anyone.
“I’m too tired to keep going. Let’s just leave it and clean up.”
The spirits grumbled as they began tidying the mess.
While putting books back on the shelf, I tilted my head. A strange prompt had suddenly come back to mind.
“Did you lay down the carpet?”
“Is that all? You’re not hiding anything from me, right?”
I stared down at the cleaned floor of the lab.
What was the author trying to point out with that line?
“Silph, can you roll up the carpet?”
As soon as I spoke, the carpet rolled itself up and flopped into a corner.
Four pairs of eyes turned to one spot—at the intricate diagram drawn on the floor.
There was a reason Cecil couldn’t erase it no matter how hard she tried. It was something humans couldn’t erase.
“So that’s where the demonic energy was coming from…”
— Guys, this is that thing, right? That cursed thing?!
— The one that brings bad luck for three days if you even say its name.
— Crap!
— …
It was a demon summoning circle.
Let’s think this through calmly.
99 demons + the Demon King that flipped the world upside down + the sealed lab where they were defeated + the demon summoning circle in said lab.
What does that all mean?
‘No way… Was Adrian one of the Hundred Dark Sorcerers?!’
Around six years ago—
There was an incident where 99 high-ranking demons appeared on Earth alongside the Demon King, as if it were planned.
It was caused by the Hundred Dark Sorcerers, driven mad by their lust for world domination.
As chaos spread, the royal families responded quickly.
They formed demon-hunting expeditions and labeled the dark sorcerers enemies of humanity.
Bounties were placed on their heads, and orders were given to kill them on sight.
Thus began the Great Dark Sorcerer Hunt.
‘And now you’re telling me Adrian was one of them?’
I covered my eyes with my hand. Everything went black.
Why did Adrian summon demons? What did he lack?
Was being a duke of the empire not enough? Did he want to conquer the world too?
This wasn’t just a serious issue—it was a death sentence.
Even five years later, dark sorcerers were still executed on sight.
‘A beheading ending? That wasn’t even on my radar…’
I had considered the possibility that Leonhardt might kill me.
Staring blankly, I squinted suddenly.
‘Wait, no one knows Adrian was a dark sorcerer. So why would I die?’
The lab had been sealed for five years, and no one had entered it.
Except for one person.
Cecil.
Of course, she saw the summoning circle—but she didn’t realize what it was.
Demon summoning circles could only be seen clearly by those who could sense demonic energy.
To Cecil, it had just looked like a strange stain.
If she’d recognized it, she would’ve reported it to the temple or the imperial court by now.
Which meant the strange prompt was pointing to one thing:
That the summoning circle had been perfectly hidden—until now.
‘And now it’s my job to keep it hidden.’
Seriously, why does the side character have more crises than the main character? Readers don’t care about side stories!
‘Bet everyone’s dropping this series right now. If there even are readers.’
I scoffed at the Terrible Author inwardly, then tilted my head again.
‘…Wait a second, can’t I just erase the summoning circle?’
A normal human couldn’t—but I had spirits.
The spirits, who loathed demons to their core, would wipe it out without me even asking.
They were already huddled together, whispering.
I approached them with a smile.
“My beloved spirit friends. What are you discussing?”
— Rian, we’ll play later. We’re a little busy right now.
“Busy with what?”
— If there’s a summoning circle here, that means a dark sorcerer is nearby. We need to catch them. I thought they were extinct.
“W-wait… You’re saying you want to catch the dark sorcerer?”
— What, just let them go? Of course we’re gonna catch and punish them! Right, Gnome?
— (Nods!)
Undine’s hair writhed like living snakes.
Silph’s sharp wind spun like threads, ready to lash out.
Salamander, once a tiny fire lizard, had grown to crocodile size.
Gnome still looked like a baby tree, but…
When they looked like this, it meant they were boiling with rage.
Guys, really—there’s no need. I am the dark sorcerer.
‘…Except if I tell them that, I’m dead.’
The energy was ominous.
If I confessed now, they’d attack me first and ask questions later—even if I was their contractor.
I could just erase the circle. No need to tell them anything.
“…Isn’t it unnecessary to go hunting? I mean… Ah! You guys hate hassle, don’t you?”
— What is she even saying? You think a little hassle matters right now?
— Not at all, Lady Rian. We’ve been waiting for the day we’d rip those bastards to pieces and scatter them everywhere.
“…W-who are these ‘bastards’ exactly?”
— Don’t play dumb. The dark sorcerers, obviously! You died because of those bastards!
“Huh? No, I chose to die myself, remember…?”
— NO!!!
Gnome suddenly screamed.
The entire building began to shake under the weight of his magic-filled roar.
I froze.
This wasn’t just emotional—it was like a seizure.
“G-Gnome… what’s wrong?”
Undine looked at Gnome with concern.
— Gnome sometimes becomes unstable when haunted by scary memories.
“Even spirits have those? What memories?”
— The memory of your death.
“…What?”
— When a contractor dies, spirits suffer a pain close to annihilation. So we mentally prepare for it. Humans die too soon, after all.
— But Gnome had no idea. You were his first contractor… That’s why everything went to hell.
