Chapter 145
Normally, a Wielder from a previous generation of the same house would pass down knowledge about their divine gift.
But none had emerged in our generation’s bloodline, so I’d never learned the details of the House of Sloth’s powers.
Some had even pointed to Uncle Claude’s lack of direct heirs with Wielder potential as evidence that something was wrong.
“It’s not working. I still don’t have enough mana or mental energy.”
Lize muttered with her eyes half-shut in concentration, then shook her head.
I folded my arms and raised an eyebrow.
“There must be another way.”
“Do you have any belongings of the deceased?”
“No.”
Lize stared at me for a long moment, then reached toward me with a serious expression.
“Alright. With you, that method might actually be viable.”
“What meth—ow.”
Lize yanked out a fistful of my hair.
It looked plenty deliberate, but I decided not to press the issue.
“A soul is essentially a book that has transcribed a life. It becomes one of the world’s vast records. Like a library, in a way. It should take you to the record closest to whatever you’re most curious about.”
So souls were basically recordings like vinyl?
“That sounds even more taboo to me.”
“Based on your hypothesis and the abilities you possess, it should be theoretically possible. Not that I’ve ever tried it before.”
“You’re already running experiments? And treating me like a lab rat on top of—”
“I’ll happily be a test subject too. Try using your weapon enhancement ability on me.”
I placed my hand on Lize’s shoulder and focused.
“There does seem to be potential for ability growth. My stats temporarily increased.”
She closed her eyes and opened them again. Both irises had turned pitch black.
Within those ink-dark eyes, I could see the mark of the demon who ruled the underworld rising to the surface.
“Gaze upon yourself through the eyes of the near-dead.”
The moment she finished speaking, my body plunged downward as though my soul had been ripped free, an out-of-body sensation like falling straight through the earth.
At the same time, a biting chill crept up all around me.
It felt as though I’d crossed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead.
Crackle—
Static rippled before my eyes, and the sensation of radio interference buzzed through my skull.
Crackle, crackle—
[Akashic Records……]
[admin Administrator……]
Something flashed past too fast to read.
Scenes rewound in rapid succession, flickering and crossing, until they stopped at a single point.
I found myself seated in my uncle’s familiar study, staring at someone’s back.
A dapper man in a tailored suit draped with fur—my uncle, Marquis Claude Farsene.
He had the same pink hair as mine and vivid scarlet eyes. He turned to glance in my direction, but didn’t seem to register my presence.
It felt like when I’d used my abilities to enter Johann’s memories and influence events from within, except now, I’d entered my dead uncle’s.
When was this? Uncle had always looked so young that I couldn’t gauge his age.
“I have no intention of producing an heir.”
He pulled a pocket watch from his vest and flipped it open with casual indifference.
I estimated the rough timeframe from the fact that the pocket watch which he’d said was a gift from long ago still gleamed like new, and from the cut of his suit.
This must be shortly after I was born.
“But Your Grace, there is a significant chance that a direct descendant would become a Wielder. Once you return from your final campaign, might you consider marriage?”
“I don’t like children. And I have no intention of marrying.”
Click. He snapped the watch shut. The person he was speaking to was an elderly butler.
It was the old butler who passed away from old age when I was little.
“Besides, I’m hardly suited to raising a child. It’s too bothersome.”
“A nursemaid would raise it regardless, wouldn’t she?”
“The rest of the bloodline will produce and raise children on their own, and I’ll simply choose the most exceptional one as my heir. Wonderfully practical, isn’t it?”
“Your Grace, there will be a succession war.”
“Any child who can survive that is all the more worthy of the succession.”
Uncle Claude was a utilitarian to the extreme. The butler gave a pointed cough and continued.
“The child currently attracting the most attention is young Lady Grandis of the Russdale family. They say signs manifested the moment she was born. Judging by the way animals are drawn to her, she’ll likely awaken abilities in that domain.”
“I believe a daughter was also born to the Beatrice branch.”
“Young Lady Kido? She’s so frail she’s unlikely to live long.”
And yet here I was, alive and locked up in prison. What a spectacular turn of events.
I lowered my eyes and gave a small nod.
“Frail, despite being of the Demon of Sloth bloodline.”
Uncle murmured to himself and tilted his head with what looked like concern.
“I can’t be certain, but there is something I must urgently tell you regarding the Beatrice household.”
The butler leaned close and whispered something in his ear. Uncle Claude’s scarlet eyes narrowed to slits.
“Ha.”
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