The Ghost Atop the Tower

“Don’t give me that. Prince, people who aren’t interested in food don’t go through the trouble of cooking for themselves while living alone.”

In this game, you can escape the hunger status just by eating bread, and you can easily find all sorts of food just by wandering through a market. Why would I bother cooking every single day? When I said that, Azrael replied playfully.

“Now, that is a new story. Do you not usually cook at home? I was under the impression that you couldn’t bear to let me starve—a poor soul who fell into another world all alone without a single penny to his name.”

“Cough, cough!”

There was a definite edge to his words.

“I vividly remember you saying: ‘Ah, yes. You don’t have a cent to your name, but I can’t let someone who is a Prince starve. I shall sacrifice myself to prepare a meal with all my heart. I don’t usually cook for myself, so do not expect anything grand.’ I recall it quite clearly…….”

“Why are you remembering things like that?!”

I cried out, nearly screaming. Why did those forgotten words feel so vivid the moment they left Azrael’s mouth? If I hadn’t remembered them, I could have just brushed it off, wondering what he was talking about. But those were words I had actually said during the early stages of the event quest when I first met him. Back then, Azrael was just ‘Passing NPC #1’ from another game.

How embarrassing!

At my scream, Azrael’s smile deepened. He looked like someone thoroughly enjoying the situation.

“Because I thought it was strange for someone producing meals better than a royal chef to claim they never cook at home.”

“That’s not exactly wrong, but honestly, I think the chefs in your kingdom are just bad at cooking…….”

Azrael shrugged. Unable to overcome the guilt, I raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

“Sorry. To be honest, at first, I did think of you as a bit of a freeloader……. But I don’t feel that way anymore.”

Only then did he drop the teasing look and gave me a genuine smile.

“I know. I would never misunderstand your intentions.”

Even though that smile only made my guilt grow exponentially.

“Ah, that was fun.”

I stretched out wide. Pleasant conversation and a delicious meal with someone you like is truly the best. Azrael was also smiling, appearing to have enjoyed himself.

The streets were still crowded after we left the restaurant. Most of the shops that were open during the day had closed, but in their place, endless rows of street stalls had appeared. It felt like a festival was in full swing.

“Azrael, about this village…….”

Just as I was about to speak to him, I spotted Judas and Raphael ahead. The two of them also looked remarkably peaceful and harmonious. It was a bizarre sight—seeing Judas’s face relaxed around Raphael. Because of the distance, I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Since Raphael didn’t seem to be bothering Judas, I lightly looked away from them.

“This village?”

When I stopped talking and stared off somewhere, Azrael followed my gaze, but he must have missed Judas and Raphael as he tilted his head curiously. I turned back to him and continued.

“Ah, about this village—don’t you think it’s a bit too ideal?”

“Hmm?”

“It feels too peaceful to be a literal restoration of a village that once existed. It bothers me that a town this size has no slums. And I wonder if there’s really a place that just has such fresh fish dishes and every variety of fruit like this…….”

“Well, that is true. But what of it? If one is going to restore something, could they not choose to make it a bit better than it was?”

Well, I had no rebuttal for that, but……. something felt off. Maybe I was just obsessing over the setting too much, but…….

“If someone spent an enormous amount of time to restore something, wouldn’t they try to make it as close to the original as possible?”

“Why? Is it not a good thing if it is restored in a better direction?”

“But then it’s not the original. It’s a new thing that resembles the original. Why go through the trouble of creating a town like this? Is it simple self-satisfaction?”

“Mmm…….”

It could just be that the scenario writers simply set it to ‘the good old days.’ But I spoke while excluding that possibility. I really didn’t get it. If someone went as far as summoning a Demon King and spending ages to bring this back, they must be incredibly obsessed. Could they really be satisfied with a fake? Am I the only one with a strong obsession with the original?

As I remained caught in useless thoughts, Azrael spoke up slowly.

“Andrealphus, what if the creator of this place has lost most of their memories of their hometown?”

“Eh?”

“They say that when memories fade, they are often repainted as something beautiful. Perhaps this place is a result of that?”

“Oh…….”

That sounded plausible. My eyes widened. I didn’t know if that was the actual truth, but I felt like his guess was right.

“I feel like you might be right, Prince.”

“Is that so? I am glad your doubt has been cleared.”

“Yeah, mm-hmm. What you said makes sense…….”

Azrael was smiling so virtuously. But that smile actually made me think of something strange. In this situation, what kind of person could instantly guess that the creator’s memories had faded? I started to wonder if Azrael had some information about that person that he hadn’t shared with us yet.

But I couldn’t exactly open my mouth and ask. It was too vague and ambiguous to suddenly grab him by the collar and demand, ‘Hey, you’re hiding something, aren’t you?’ Since the Azrael I met here felt a step removed from the one I knew before, I wondered if my unease was just a simple misunderstanding.

“Andrealphus, wait.”

I snapped out of it and looked where Azrael was pointing. He was pointing toward a specific direction with his fingertip. It was the top of the clock tower. There was a person there. I couldn’t tell their height or whether they were male or female, but the silhouette was clearly human.

“Wh-what is that?”

A voice like a scream escaped me involuntarily. Startled by my own voice, I reflexively covered my mouth. Azrael naturally pulled me into the crowd.

“Azrael, that person…….”

“Yes. They are likely not a resident of this village.”

Anxiety surged within me instantly. I bit my lip nervously.

“Do you think they noticed my magic?”

“They do not seem to be searching for anything……. Perhaps they have not noticed.”

“They don’t seem to be searching?”

Then what are they doing up there? I looked up at the top of the clock tower once more. Was that so? The person’s posture did look quite relaxed. Unlike someone staring intently at something, they were lounging as if watching the sunset.

“You’re right. If they felt something, they would have been observing more actively…….”

“Exactly. That is what I think as well.”

“I can’t tell their age or gender at all. Can you see anything, Prince?”

“No, nothing at all. Only that they are sitting comfortably.”

Just in case, I tried to target the person, but it didn’t work because of the distance. I felt like I could get some useful information if I could just open their info window……. It was a shame, but if that person really was the summoner of the Demon King, the risk was too high. I didn’t want to trigger a Demon King raid suddenly, so I gave up on trying to see their info.

“Are they just looking at the scenery……?”

“Perhaps. Did they simply come to see the night view?”

One would expect the people around us to look up at the tower too, seeing how we kept glancing up, but the locals were surprisingly uninterested in the clock tower. Was there a special suggestion magic cast on them?

Meanwhile, something occurred to me, and I slapped my forehead.

“Ah, Prince. What should I do?”

“What is the matter?”

“About my ‘decoding’ magic—it’ll be finished in an hour or two. I have to go inside that clock tower then, whether I like it or not.”

“…….”

“What if that person is still on top of the tower then?”

This is a headache. It was currently nine o’clock, and the magic was scheduled to finish around ten-thirty. When I held my head, Azrael patted my shoulder.

“Hmm……. Must you go there the moment the decoding magic is complete?”

“I don’t strictly have to, but if too much time passes, the effect of the decoding magic disappears.”

And I’d lose the experience points. Those are massive points. I became anxious about the experience I might lose. But I couldn’t exactly rush in and risk a party wipe just for some experience. I didn’t know how strong that person was, and if the Demon King was behind them, I wasn’t even sure if I could handle it alone.

Against enemies whose health needs to be whittled down by percentages, raids usually involve me protecting the NPCs while they land effective hits. No matter how great I am, if Azrael or the other party members are wiped out, it’s a quest failure. So, I wanted to follow the main-looking route step by step to kill the Demon King. That would be more enjoyable story-wise and had a higher chance of not leading to an unwinnable battle route.

“Let’s just wait for now. Who knows, maybe they’ll move somewhere else.”