Chapter 277: Gaining the Past

“It seems I’m not living up to the title of ‘Master,’ huh.”

Saul had been keeping an eye on the diary, always pausing before he spoke.

But no matter what words flashed through his mind, the diary didn’t try to stop him.

That, without a doubt, gave Saul more confidence.

“Can I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course you can. But we might not have much time, Master, so please choose the questions you most want answers to. As long as I’m allowed to speak on it, I promise I won’t lie to you.”

“So, the things you can lie about… are the ones you’re not allowed to talk about?” Saul sneered inwardly, though his expression stayed neutral.

He asked, “Penny… everything you did in Grind Sail Town—was it all to catch that Nightmare Butterfly that took the form of a girl?”

“Nightmare Butterflies… curious creatures that exist between reality and illusion. They can traverse dreams and the waking world and even alter a person’s perception of reality. Controlling one of them would be quite an enticing prospect, even for a True Wizard.”

Kismet’s tone shifted slightly. “However, I wasn’t after her to tame her. What made the Nightmare Butterfly truly special wasn’t just her ability to shift between realities—but her power to see through the past.”

“See through the past?” Saul murmured.

Yes—without the power to know someone’s past, how could you possibly reshape their perception of themselves?

He thought of Ada—whose identity still remained a mystery—and of the father and son pair in the Nightmare Butterfly tale he once read. A chill slowly crept into Saul’s chest.

“There’s no need to worry, Master. As long as you have the diary with you, the Nightmare Butterfly won’t be able to break through your past.”

“Is the Nightmare Butterfly dead now?”

Kismet rested his chin on one hand. “Hmm, so that’s how she described herself? It seems my choice of words led to a bit of a misunderstanding, Master.”

“She’s not human—Nightmare Butterflies have no humanity. Don’t let her appearance or demeanor fool you.”

Fool me?

Saul’s face turned cold, “I know exactly what I’m dealing with.”

Kismet smiled warmly, like an elder pleased with the maturity of a younger generation.

Saul instinctively rubbed his arm, uncomfortable. “What did you mean by saying I gained the past?”

Kismet looked off into the distance—toward the direction of Grind Sail Town. “Originally, I intended to use the fates of many lives there to bind the Nightmare Butterfly, and then personally eliminate her to take her supernatural power—‘seeing through the past.’ But…”

He glanced at Saul, eyes burning with barely concealed fervor, “But then, you arrived in town… at precisely the right moment.”

He brought his hands together and smiled, muscles twitching uncontrollably, “Not too early, not too late. Too early, and I wouldn’t have arrived yet—the Blood Town might have harmed you. Too late, and I’d have already triggered the curse—you might never have encountered the Nightmare Butterfly. This is…”

Kismet’s entire body trembled slightly, his face slowly twisting with excitement.

“…This is destiny!”

Compared to Kismet’s fervor, Saul remained composed. He merely glanced at his diary out of the corner of his eye and thought, So that warning from the diary back then—it was because the real mastermind hadn’t arrived yet. Could it be that this Kismet fellow really would have protected me?

But Saul quickly caught himself. Stay sharp, Saul. Even a butcher keeps his piglet healthy… until it’s fat enough.

Hmm… that’s a pretty grim way to describe myself.

Perhaps Saul’s calm demeanor helped settle Kismet as well. The man’s excitement gradually subsided.

“Forgive me for my outburst, Master.” He plucked his harp strings lightly. The soft melody seemed to help him regain composure, “In any case, because you were present, a part of the Nightmare Butterfly’s power was imprinted on you when she perished. So now, you possess a fraction of the ability to see into the past.”

His words instantly made Saul recall the searing pain in his eyes when he left Grind Sail Town.

Looking back, that might’ve been the result of Penny’s residual supernatural influence.

Saul cautiously directed his mental energy to his eyes, and instantly felt a cool sensation trickling outward from his pupils.

It seemed something really had changed about his vision.

Can I use it… to observe Kismet?

The diary gave no warning of danger, and Saul’s curiosity grew.

But just as he lifted his head to look at Kismet—he realized the man had vanished.

“Master, don’t waste it on me~” Kismet’s voice echoed from behind.

“You only inherited part of the power to see into the past. There are limits to who and how often you can use it.”

Then why did you dodge it? Saul smirked faintly, but his smile quickly faded. That sudden movement—did he just appear behind me? Could that be spatial magic?

“If you must use this ability, Master,” Kismet continued, “use it on something—or someone—close to you. Something truly valuable.”

Saul had no family in this world. He was all alone. At the Wizard Tower, he’d made two friends, but even then they all kept a respectful distance—no one pried into anyone else’s secrets or past.

The diary?

Saul suddenly thought of the hardcover book that had accompanied him ever since he arrived in this world.

Was Kismet hinting that I should use the ability on the diary? Could I really see its past with this power?

His fingers slowly curled into a fist.

This Kismet… he really seemed to know a lot about the diary.

Who exactly is he?

Recalling all the previous encounters involving Kismet, Saul refocused his mental energy and turned to face him again. “Those golden pages—were both of them from you?”

Kismet paused. “Is that what you call them? Golden pages… quite the accurate description.”

His expression looked a little conflicted for a moment before his smile returned. “Yes. One of them, I unintentionally formed at the Ralph Manor. I thought it was a lucky fluke, but in hindsight, it may have been the result of our connection. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to reveal myself before you returned to the Wizard Tower. I had one more page in my possession and entrusted it to someone else to deliver to you.”

“And you weren’t afraid it’d get lost along the way?”

“Of course not. The golden pages will always find their way to their destined master.”

If the golden pages truly were part of the diary, then they had to be incredibly important!

But the method for creating them…

“Does each golden page require hundreds of lives to be consumed?”

Kismet’s lips tightened. “Regrettably, just the loss of life isn’t enough to generate a golden page. Otherwise, I’d rather stir up war across the continent than play games in a backwater town.”

“Take the one formed at Ralph Manor, for instance. Its origins trace back nearly a century to the Blood Rose Family—once one of the most prominent houses in the Kema Empire. A family of such high standing naturally reaped plenty of lives. What’s more, most of their finest descendants perished in the war at Hanging Hand Valley. And yet—even after all that, it wasn’t until decades later, in Ralph Manor, that the golden page finally formed. Simple death isn’t enough…”

Kismet chuckled softly to himself. “There are many other factors involved in the formation of a golden page. Fate is funny like that—it likes to sprinkle salt on wounds, and smack you across the face just when you start to feel joy. Just like right now…”

He suddenly looked up and gazed into the distance.

Saul followed his gaze and saw a small black speck on the horizon.

The speck rapidly grew larger—it was a massive bird!

And it was descending… toward the direction of Grind Sail Town.

The current Grand Duke of the Kema Duchy—Second-Rank True Wizard—Kira had arrived!

(End of Chapter)

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