"Hey."
I called out to Velkarion.
Two days had passed since leaving the bandit hideout.
But the thing didn't answer.
"Oi, skull. Not answering? So you don't need conversation, is that it?"
-Huh! W-were you calling me just now?
For the past two days, I hadn't responded to a single word he'd said.
The result: he couldn't even register when I was addressing him.
"You're dumber than I thought, huh? Should I really be associating with a guy like this?"
-D-dumb! I'm a Seventh Circle dark mage, no less!
"Go away. You reek of stupidity."
-Y-y-you really want to die?
He blew up in a rage.
At which point I folded my arms and shook my head in exaggerated disappointment.
"A foul temper, emotional outbursts, and on top of that, an idiot....... As expected, not worth acknowledging."
-Huh? What? So what you're saying is.......
"Forget it. Don't talk to me, skull."
-Wait, wait! I-I made a mistake.
But I shut my mouth tight again.
This skull-head needed to be properly broken in early on.
Mouth firmly closed, I walked along the mountain path.
-H-hey. Aizel Renhardt!
His voice grew increasingly desperate.
-You already talked to me, and now you're going to be petty like this again? How about we bare our hearts and have a candid talk?
This skull-head could never win against me.
Why?
To put it a little loftily, because of ontological fear.
Humans are beings of interaction.
They can't live alone.
I don't simply mean that humans are social animals.
This is about the proof of existence.
Humans need interaction.
Someone listens to what I say, and I listen to what someone else says.
We answer each other, and sometimes we act.
Hit someone and they take the hit; take a hit and it hurts.
Where there's action, there's reaction.
That is how humans confirm their own existence.
It means that however supremely alone one stands, one can prove one's own existence only when others confirm it.
Turn that around, and without others, humans can't prove their own existence.
That's why humans are beings of interaction.
Now plug that skull-head into this?
Me.
The one and only person in the world who can prove that skull's existence.
That's me.
The only person who knows the skull exists and can hear the skull's voice.
Which meant that to that skull-head, I was the eternal boss of bosses.
And he dared to try and talk to me as an equal?
I couldn't allow that.
-Come on, let's talk it over one more time, huh? Let's keep things nice, right? Hm? Do you know how much help I could be to you? I actually know a ton of stuff, you know?
He rattled on without a pause.
Which meant the fear he felt was immense.
As I've said, the only person who could validate his existence was me.
So if I ignored him forever?
To exist in that state for all eternity?
It would mean being a 'something' that existed without a self.
That was punishment.
The stronger one's sense of self, the more unbearable the punishment.
This was a guy who had been a dark mage of such a high Circle that he became a Lich.
Could that colossally inflated ego of his truly endure that existential solitude?
One hour.
I walked in silence for a full hour while he chattered nonstop.
Then I spoke, just like that.
"Master."
-You think I'm only good at Dark Magic? Like all dark mages, I....... Hm?
"Master."
-Did you just call me Master?
"Like hell. I'm telling you to call me Master."
-What?! What kind of bullshit is that?!
The skull bellowed.
"Ha, bullshit? You're not ready for a conversation at all. Get lost."
-Huh? Uh, um? No, wait!
"I said Master, didn't I?"
-That's a bit too absurd.......
"Negotiation over."
I cut him off and shut my mouth.
A full day passed.
At night, I set up a simple camp and slept rough. After sunrise, I walked again.
And finally, a city appeared in the distance.
"Ha, damn it!"
This goddamn mountain was enormous.
The city was visible beyond the ridge, but actually reaching it would take considerably longer.
And for the past full day, Velkarion hadn't said a word.
Well, he had to be agonizing over it.
Weighing his options for quite some time.
Before the regression, he'd been a Lich.
A Seventh Circle dark mage.
No human in history had ever surpassed the Seventh Circle.
Not just mages and dark mages.
No spirit master or martial artist has gone beyond the Seventh Circle either.
The Seventh Circle was the highest peak a human could reach.
The skull-head, Velkarion, had been that formidable.
With that kind of pride, that massive an ego, to call someone else 'Master'?
He couldn't bring himself to say it even as a joke.
And that was precisely why I was forcing the title.
Because it would prove that Velkarion truly accepted me as someone he must serve.
These past few days, my routine had been simple.
Walk when the sun was up.
Camp when it set.
And since the sun had gone down, I prepared for another night outdoors.
I gathered kindling, lit a campfire, and dug a shallow depression to lie in.
I was in the middle of all that when.
-......ter.
My hands stopped before I realized it.
Wasn't that the skull's voice?
But I'd only paused for an instant.
I resumed working, tamping down the ground.
I lit the campfire.
-......aster.
This skull bastard still had a long way to go.
I wouldn't react until he said it properly.
I ate the stale bread and jerky I'd taken from the bandit hideout, then went straight to sleep.
-Mas......ter.
It wasn't until the next morning that he finally managed all three syllables.
Only then did I deign to answer.
"Can't hear you very well?"
-Mas......ter.......
"What was that?"
-Maste......r.
"Again."
-Master!
Whew, this skull-head bastard finally says it properly.
"Good. Now swear an oath."
-An oath? On top of everything?
"Swear that you will serve Aizel Renhardt, who is also Kalian Facial, as your Master until your soul is extinguished."
-B-but what would I even swear on?
"Excuse me? 'What would I swear on?'"
His speech was getting awfully casual.
-W-what would I....... swear...... on, sir.
"What?"
-Even if I swear, I have nothing to stake...... sir.
"You skull bastard, life's still pretty comfortable for you, is it?"
-No, no!
"'No' is awfully casual."
-No, sir!
"Then do it. Swear."
-I have nothing to swear...... on, sir?
Nothing to swear on? That couldn't be right.
I smirked and answered.
"You've got one thing. Swear on that."
-Something I have? A thing?
"Your soul. Swear on your soul."
-Wow, you're really a Master whose conscience went out for a walk...... bastaaard, I mean, sir?
"So you won't?"
-No, I'll do it. I mean, I will, sir!
He screamed.
The formal speech was coming naturally now.
As they say, the first step is always the hardest.
-I, Velkarion Asengrave, swear on my soul to serve my Master, Aizel Renhardt, who is also Kalian Facial, for all eternity.
"Good. I accept."
-Damn it, my damned Master.
"What was that?"
-Ah, I said I'm grateful.
Good enough.
***
"What? Ten thousand Dilrun?"
-What? Ten thousand Dilrun?
One of those was my cry, the other was Velkarion's.
What kind of third-class fare costs ten thousand Dilrun?
That was when the skull spoke up as if something had just clicked.
-Oh, right. The steam engine hasn't been invented yet. I mean, hasn't been invented yet, sir.
"Huh?"
Come to think of it, he was right.
Before regression, steam locomotives had been fully established as long-distance transport.
I'd always ridden the steam train for long trips.
That had been the norm for thirty years.
-Right now, only Mana Trains are running.
Right. That was true.
'You stupid skull-head, why didn't you tell me this beforehand?'
-W-well, no. You....... I mean, Mas......ter, you didn't know either.......
Something I learned after taming that skull-head is that I don't have to speak aloud to get my meaning across to him.
That said, Velkarion couldn't read my thoughts.
I had to deliberately direct my intention toward him for the message to transmit.
'I'm allowed not to know. But you can't afford not to know, you skull-head.'
-Wow, what kind of bastard of a Master.......
'What was that, punk?'
-N-nothing. Anyway, do you have ten thousand Dilrun? I mean, do you have it, sir?
'Should be enough.......'
This place was Luber City, a direct territory of the Ganel Imperial House in the central Empire.
A hub of rail transport, positioned at the heart of the Empire.
"If you're not buying, stop wasting my time and scram."
The clerk behind the window waved me off with a sour expression.
"Hey, hold on!"
The instant I raised my voice at the clerk.
The space around me suddenly felt cramped.
"Wh-what?"
Three hulking men in uniform had closed in around me.
Rail Guard Knight Order, under the Imperial Rail Administration.
"The hell? Back off, you oafs."
I shoved the approaching men aside and turned my pockets inside out.
Hm? I was a bit short of ten thousand Dilrun.
Of all the rotten luck.......
-Khehehehe, what a dimwit bastard of a Master.......
'What was that, punk?'
-N-nothing.
I glared in Velkarion's direction, then turned to the clerk.
"I'll come back with the money."
"Whatever."
The clerk flapped his hand dismissively, still wearing that sour face.
Just you wait.
The train departed tomorrow at noon.
There was still time.
Selling the Mana Stone fragments and gems from the bandit hideout would easily cover the shortfall.
'Hey, skull.'
-Yes, you bastard of a Master.
'Getting uppity again?'
-Ahem! Yes, Master.
'You know this city well?'
-Head north and there's a commercial district. Inside it, there's a jewelers' row.
Following Velkarion's directions, I walked north through Luber City.
As I neared the commercial district, the crowds thickened noticeably.
The streets were packed with people, shoulders bumping constantly.
Luber City was the Empire's rail transport hub, so commerce had developed enormously here.
I was just stepping into the jewelers' row when.
-Master?
'What?'
-You've got a tail on you?
'A tail? What tail?'
-There's been a big guy behind you for a while now, so I've been watching him, and he's definitely tailing you, Master?
'Who is it?'
-I'm not sure....... Oh, that's the guy.
'Which guy?'
-The Rail Guard Knight Order. But.......
Velkarion trailed off for a moment, then continued.
-He's not in uniform. He's in plainclothes.
'Plainclothes? Could it be?'
-I think it's exactly what you're thinking? He's leaving marks on the walls.
'Well, well. Our fine Rail Guard knights are running a little side hustle? Did I really look that easy?'
-You did look a bit dim, didn't you?
'What was that, punk?'
-Ahem, ah-hem!
'I'll be in the jeweler's exchanging money. You watch what that guy does.'
-Yes.
I entered the first gem shop that caught my eye.
Velkarion couldn't move more than ten meters from me.
But within that radius, no physical barrier could impede him.
Meaning even while I was inside the shop, he could monitor what was happening outside.
"How can I hel......."
The shop owner, who'd been loudly greeting a customer, trailed off upon seeing my appearance.
I hardly looked like a paying customer.
But once I pulled out all the gems except the Mana Stone fragments, his expression changed.
"Ha ha, sir, you're looking to sell all of these?"
I haggled with the shop owner for quite a while.
At the tail end of that, Velkarion piped up excitedly.
-Master, Master.
'What?'
-Three of them. Those three from the station earlier have all gathered.
'Good. Do you know any way out of the city from here? A hole in the wall or something?'
-Of course.
'Lead the way.'
They'd followed me thinking of me as a side job, but they'd become my side job instead.