That dumb blacksmith told him everything.

I cursed internally but whatever. It’s not like it could make my already messed-up life any worse. And if I remembered correctly from some random article in my past life, too much useless stress leads to early balding.

And I was not about to go bald.

If luck already had it out for me, I wasn’t going to make it easier. Because the day that bitc—ahem, beautiful woman—decided to leave me, death itself would probably show up personally to finish the job.

So... I stayed calm and acted confused.

"Ohh, so that’s what happened?" I said, tilting my head slightly. "I couldn’t remember anything from that chamber."

Ashanvar didn’t look convinced.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Tch. Fine." I clicked my tongue. "I remember everything, I just don’t want to tell you shit. Happy now?"

I gave up. Fooling this guy was a pain, and honestly, not worth the effort. Besides, he did give me a pretty useful martial art today, so I decided to go a little easy on him.

"But..." I leaned back slightly, my tone shifting. "I can tell you everything that happened in the treasury, if you answer a few of my questions. Deal?"

I didn’t mind trading some of my experiences if it meant getting answers to things that actually mattered.

But Ashanvar, being the same annoying bastard as always, just shook his head.

"Nah, I’m good. I have already confirmed everything I needed." He chuckled lightly. "And as you can see... it really wasn’t that difficult."

"Tsk."

"That’s all I needed. You can go now." He waved his hand dismissively. "Ahh, right, one more thing. I arranged for that old man, Eidolon, to head to the human empire. I personally asked your father to take care of him. Him staying here wouldn’t have been of much use to you anyway."

...That’s actually good.

I gave a small nod but I didn’t get up immediately. Instead I looked at him with my eyes narrowed slightly.

"What do you know about the first successor of Trickster?" I asked, clasping my hands together. "Have you ever met him?"

Ashanvar stroked his chin, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"First successor, huh?" He muttered. "Was there even someone like that?"

He actually looked like he was trying to remember.

"Didn’t you call that snake pitiful? That would mean you have met him before, right?"

"Yes." He said with a small nod. "I met him in one of my lives. Back then, that pitiful thing was sealed near some village. He tried to scam me, so I gave him a little lesson and left. Didn’t bother asking who sealed him."

He paused, thinking.

"So... he was sealed by the first successor of Trickster?"

But then a frown crept onto his face.

"That doesn’t make sense. If someone like that existed, I would have known. And a successor of Trickster? No way he would be insignificant."

His voice sharpened, no longer directed at me, just thinking out loud.

"So either that guy was... some fraud pretending to be something he wasn’t... or—"

He stopped.

"Or...?" I asked, pressing further but he didn’t reply.

"Never mind. You should leave. Your friends at the academy are waiting."

He snapped his fingers and before I could react, my body lifted into the air and in the next instant, I was outside his office.

"That basta—"

I cut myself off mid-sentence as the guards glanced at me strangely. I gave them a polite nod and walked away.

Tsk. That bastard.

Still... his reaction told me enough.

He didn’t know anything at first but by the end, he had definitely figured something out. Something he didn’t want to share.

Which meant one thing,

Whoever that first successor was... he wasn’t someone to ignore.

But well, it wasn’t one of my problems, at least not for now.

With that thought, I returned to my room, only to find Lillith already waiting outside with Arza beside her.

"The carriage is ready, Young Master." She said politely.

Of course it is.

There were portals. Instant teleportation. Hell, the Demon King could have just snapped his fingers again and sent us straight to the academy.

But no.

He had to choose a carriage.

"Why do we have to go by carriage?" I asked, already annoyed. "Can’t we just use a teleportation portal or something?"

Lillith frowned slightly.

"How could we let the successor of our lord depart in such a plain manner? Our lord himself has prepared the finest carriage available... as a symbol of prestige."

I knew there was no point arguing with this woman, so I just shook my head and followed her. Arza stayed close beside me, clutching the edge of my sleeve like some lost child.

Honestly... she was another mystery I couldn’t make sense of.

What was she exactly?

I had seen it myself, how she casually severed Vael’runn’s hand back in treasury and I still couldn’t understand how she did it. And if that wasn’t strange enough, she had started caring a little too much about me, especially after the events at the treasury.

At first, I thought it was because of that engagement artifact. But after examining it inside my domain, I was sure of one thing, there was no such effect embedded in it. Nothing that could influence emotions like that.

Which only made things worse.

What did she actually know?

...Ahh, screw it.

Why the hell has life gotten so complicated all of a sudden?

Lost in my chaotic thoughts, I barely noticed when we arrived outside.

A luxurious, pink carriage stood there, grand, obnoxious, and impossible to ignore. Floral patterns curled across its surface, with elegant birds carved into the frame. It had no wheels. Instead, it floated slightly above the ground, sustained by a glowing gravity elemental circle etched beneath it.

Of course it has to look like this.

At the front sat a man in a tall hat with an absurdly long moustache, calmly controlling the whole thing.

"Hah..."

A hollow laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

Fuck you, Demon King.

I mentally cursed Ashanvar in several creative ways before stepping inside the carriage with Arza following me.

A crowd of castle servants had gathered to see me off. I gave them a small wave. At the front stood Lillith, dramatically wiping nonexistent tears from her eyes.

"I will never forget all those nights you spent with me, Young Master."

The servants around her gasped, already jumping to the worst conclusions but before they could I spoke.

"Me too, Granny Lillith. Your bedtime stories were always my favorite." I replied smoothly as she froze for a moment. "I hope to see you again soon."

Yeah... like hell I do, you old hag.

The moment I finished speaking, I signaled the driver to move fast before there was no carriage left to move and as if sensing my urgency, he didn’t hesitate.

The carriage moved forward smoothly, picking up speed as I gave Lillith one last wave.

"But no matter how it was... the time here was fun. Thanks for everything, Lillith."

Honestly, if she wanted to, she could have caught up in an instant and beaten the hell out of me. Instead, she just pouted, shooting me a sharp glare.

—

And that was the last time I saw Lillith...

...or at least, that’s what I thought.

So why...

...why is she at the academy?