Genius Warlock

In a dark narrow space blocked on all sides, there was a boy crouching down.

The boy's name was Rosbane, an Orphan, an innkeeper, and a Magic Tower student……. No, he was a rat that thought he would become a Magic Tower student.

A lab rat.

Well, in this city, it was a common occurrence. Children who thought they had a once-in-a-lifetime chance with luck and ability then fall to the bottom.

The percentage of orphans in such circumstances was particularly high.

There were no adults to advise them that Landa was full of crises masquerading as opportunities.

Could it be a sin? Maybe.

"Is that really a crime?"

asked Rosbane softly, hugging his knees.

It seemed impossible that an answer would return in the dark, as it was a solitary room, but surprisingly, an answer came back in the dark.

A gentle voice like a mother's or sister's.

There was a good chance it was a hallucination, but Rosbane didn't care about it anymore.

What's so important about hearing or not?

The only thing Rosbane craved was an answer.

"Is it really a crime not to have an adult tell me to be careful?"

"I don’t know?"

A voice in the dark answered whispering. Rosbane was confused.

"Then why am I being punished here? I never committed a crime…?”

The gentle voice once again replied skeptically.

"Well, if you're being punished, you should be guilty. Otherwise, there's no way you would be treated like this, isn’t it?”

The boy was silent.

She was right. If you have not sinned, how can you be punished? If so, how sad was that? Being punished without committing any crime.

The boy touched his body.

The upper body was bandaged with a very thick bandage

Upon waking up after receiving an injection, he was in this condition, and the researchers said the surgery was successful.

-If you endure a little pain, you can evolve from inferior trash to a true human being.

He couldn't understand a word.

What is trash, what is a real human being?

Rosbane opened his mouth.

"I…."

"Yes, I'm listening."

"It's just, I wanted to go to school. Just… so I can study… maybe, is that a sin?"

A skeptical answer came back.

"Well? I don't think it's a crime to want to study. Rather, it deserves praise. Learning is a virtue and joy."

Rosbane closed his eyes tightly.

It was always dark anyway, but he could concentrate more on his thoughts when he closed his eyes.

"… is it because I bothered him?”

"Bother?"

"Yes… Is it because I bothered the customer because I wanted to learn?”

"Well, did the customer hate it?”

Rosbane held his head in both hands.

Did Teacher hate it?

"Uh, no… Probably not. Then, is it because I became lazy after learning how to read and write? At the inn?"

"Did you get lazy?"

Rosbane shook his head after a moment's hesitation.

He took a little time off from work to learn but instead worked harder for the rest of the time.

In order not to be robbed of the opportunity he barely got.

Really… He worked really hard.

That was why he couldn't understand even more. It was confusing.

"No… I worked really hard."

"Really?"

Rosbane covered his head at those words and slammed his forehead on the floor.

He worked really hard, but could it be that he wasn't?

Could it be that he wasn’t working hard in the first place?

When he couldn't tell what was what, the voice spoke softly.

"Actually, maybe Rosbane came here because he was lazy and bothered the customer. Isn't that why the inn hostess sold Rosbane and isn’t that why the customer who taught you never came back to see you?"

Rosbane's head was engulfed with chaos.

He couldn't tell what was what or whether he had been in the dark for too long.

He wasn't sure whether he worked hard, whether his eyes were open or closed, whether he was sitting or lying down.

‘Am I really a sinner?’

‘Is that why I’m being punished here.’

"…NO, no. That's not it."

"What?"

"I asked the hostess to let me go. I wanted to study, she didn't sell me."

"Really?"

"Yes… and Teacher. I'm sure he couldn't make it because he was busy. He has already done that a few times. It's probably like that. I'm sure that's why he couldn't come.”

Rosbane shouted– as if he was struggling

He worked hard, but got sold, and was forgotten by the only person who did him a favor.

Rosbane desperately denied it. To keep the least amount of sanity.

However, the voice in the dark broke even that least bit.

"I see, but you're here, and no one's looking for you."

Rosbane's eyes shook again, questioning his conviction again.

What the voice said seemed like the truth for Rosbane, who was alone in the darkness of a narrow space where he could barely lie down.

He has been sold here, and no one was looking for him.

At that moment, anger rose in Rosbane's head– a raw rage

‘Why did this happen to me.’

He searched more deeply in his head as if searching for something he had missed.

He looked back on his life at the orphanage, he looked back at the time when he was sold to the inn.

He wondered what and where he went wrong.

Wondered whether it was breaking the plate at the inn. Or not helping a sick friend until the end? Or the fact that he couldn't finish cleaning on time?

Eventually, he came across something that made sense.

"…is it a sin that I was born?"

The voice in the dark answered in silence.

The silence convinced Rosbane more than any positive reply.

Being born was a sin.

As many adults said, orphans were sinful to be born and would eventually go to hell.

Rosbane had an expression on his face that could not be thought of as the expression of a child.

"Are you angry?”

Rosbane raised his head slowly and saw a faint silhouette in the dark.

A woman riding on a strange beast asked softly.

"Do you want revenge?”

"…Yes."

"Well, let me help you."

A sudden suggestion but Rosbane did not doubt the words.

He couldn't explain why, but he didn't doubt it.

He was rather worried.

Revenge would be possible if he took her help, but felt a disaster would fall upon him– a disaster far beyond Rosbane's imagination.

He wanted revenge, but his conscience yelled at him not to do that, and Rosbane closed his mouth, clueless.

"……."

"Don't you want revenge? …You're a good boy. You don't want to hurt others even if you've been treated like this. That's truly amazing. I mean it. But you know what?"

“……”

"You don't get recognized by anyone in the world even if you're so nice? Because there will always be good kids like you in the past, present, and future.”

With the words, she, composed of darkness, reached out and tapped into Rosbane's temple.

Then numerous fragments of memory passed faintly through Rosbane's head.

A kid who works in a mine, a kid who sells newspapers on the street, a kid who was abandoned by his parents, a kid who sells himself.

There were countless good kids in the past, present, and future and they suffered, are suffering, and will keep suffering.

A terrible sense of emptiness filled Rosbane, an emptiness that felt like something precious that he wanted to protect until the end was meaningless.

All that was left in that emptiness was anger– Anger at everything in the world– Anger at the world for neglecting him and ignoring him.

Rosbane asked, his mouth trembling.

"…revenge… I want it. What should I do?"

At that moment, the woman in the dark seemed to smile faintly.

She spoke softly.

"It's simple. Give up everything."

"What? Everything?”

"Yes, everything. Your dream, hope, effort, life, conscience, humanity, soul. Then, I will avenge you more than the anger you are feeling right now. Never, ever, will anyone forget you."

Rosbane's heart throbbed.

Since coming here after being deceived by sweet words, no…. the heart, which had not been pounding most of his life, started beating.

How many times has this happened? Maybe, there was a little when his Teacher taught him how to read and write.

But now, he can take revenge, revenge on the world that dropped him here, the world that pretends that he never existed.

He was nothing and could leave a scar on the world.

Rosbane wanted to say he'd be happy to do it right away.

He wanted to get even with the World that kept beating him all his life.

He wanted to leave a scar on this world, a trace of his existence!

As he was about to open his mouth, scenes flashed in Rosbane's mind.

The hostess who let him rest and gave him more food when he was sick. And his Teacher Dave who accepted his request.

Impulse and Reason started fighting inside Rosbane.

"…Ugh!!"

When Rosbane couldn't answer, the person in the dark patted him on the head.

It may be due to an illusion, but the touch felt extremely soft.

"If it's hard to choose, you don't have to. I don't hate that either."

"……"

"I'll tell you one thing commending your great efforts."

"……?"

"If you don't take revenge, you'll be saved.”

"…Saved… me?"

"Yes, of course. If you live a good life, God will save you even if you are an orphan. He's a person who sees everyone as equal."

Rosbane felt like he met a ray of light at that moment.

Until the woman in the dark opened her mouth once again.

"Of course, I don't know what will happen to those who have been caught along with you."

"……other kids?”

"Yes, I don't know if they can be saved or not. It's not easy to live faithfully without sin like you."

Rosbane was in agony again.

He did not know what was what again.

‘Was there any way to save everyone?’

Anger rose again.

‘What did we do wrong?’

The indescribable rage no longer identified the target. Just hoped everyone would die.

Every single one of them!

The fatigue and anger made even thinking agonizing for Rosbane, who finally opened his mouth.

"I…"

——Bang!

"…?"

A distant roar from the entrance caught the attention of not only Rosbane but also of the woman in the dark who never looked away.

She spoke with delight and regret.

"……Oh, my, I think he came first. It's a shame."

"What?"

Rosbane asked again, not understanding what she said, but no reply came.

The woman in the dark, whom he could barely see, disappeared.

Every conversation he had so far felt like a dream.

——Bang!

———————Bang!

There was a continuous roar, and then a crash was heard.

Rosbane thought this was also an auditory hallucination, but he was proved wrong by the shaking floor and wall.

He had never felt anything like this before.

Soon, he heard footsteps– footsteps which stopped in front of the room where Rosbane was.

Rosbane instinctively backed away.

He heard the sound of someone holding the iron door, which was soon slammed open.

BANG

A small light illuminated the room, which then revealed a man's face– a face he saw for the first time, but Rosbane seemed to know who he was.

At that moment, the man said.

"I’m sorry. I was a little late, Rosbane."

(To be Continued)

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