NOVEL NEXT Chapter 987
<987 – Regained Purity (1)>
Ghosts returned with Cooking Oknodie.
The freed swordsmen couldn’t hide their shock as they explored the mansion’s corners.
“Wow. Are all these
“Look! There’s even the <Tomb of the Sword> we came out from!”
“Is this hell?”
Among them, a poor ghost swordsman was dragged into another lower realm without a care, reaching for an artifact.
“Our comrade has been taken to the lower realm!”
“Hurry! Save him!”
The ghosts swiftly swung their swords at the artifacts. The artifacts recognized this as ‘contact’ and pulled them in.
Since the ghosts regarded the swords as life, their numbers surged exponentially as they were drawn in.
“Miss, shouldn’t we stop them?”
“Huh? Why should I? If the ghosts get wiped out on their own, we automatically handle the ghost commotion for a win-win, right?”
“…For now, we’re inheriting the mansion and the artifacts from our parents, plus the training facility.”
“That’s true!”
Jonnas secretly thought that Oknodie was more focused on protecting the training facility than on Chairman Papa’s legacy. He wanted to believe it wasn’t just wishful thinking since he didn’t have good feelings about the chairman.
Regardless of Jonnas’s personal opinions, Oknodie pulled out a large paper cone from the backpack.
Then he popped out the end and shouted using it as a megaphone.
“Everyone, stop moving!”
The unfortunate and annoying ghost suicide parade momentarily ceased.
Hearing Oknodie’s voice, so similar to that of a granddaughter, involuntarily brought back memories of the ritual table, and saliva pooled at the corners of their mouths.
Butler Jonnas and Mind Exchange Specialist Sadi Chocolate looked at Oknodie.
Her way of thinking was different from others. Those aware of how perilously destructive her mouth could be found it impossible not to feel tension or anticipation.
“From now on, any moving ghost will be sent back to the Tomb of the Sword!”
“?!”
How could you go back after coming out of there!
A chill silence settled, even making Northern Grand Duchess Irene flinch.
“Not even a demon would dare say such things.”
“Is that the ‘great original’ that Cooking Oknodie was bragging about?”
“Well, if she’s the chairman’s daughter…”
The threats were effective.
Thanks to the time dilation, they had rotted for at least tens to hundreds of years inside the Tomb of the Sword.
“We managed to escape together because we were acknowledged for helping Cooking Oknodie, but if we go back down to the lower realm now… this time, we surely won’t come out ever again.”
“You saw it. That Sword Saint, that crazy monster, recognized the impossible potential and didn’t break us, it was not due to a lack of skill.”
“A master of ritual ceremonies, having set the ritual table thousands of times, could easily enchant a fellow ghost swordsman.”
The accomplishment of Cooking Oknodie felt dramatic precisely because Sword Saint Reinhardt possessed insane talent.
True to its name, if they entered the Tomb of the Sword this time, it would be a place where they would rot eternally.
“Original! I’m back!”
“Wow! You’ve leveled up with a ritual meta!”
Sing and Jiang proudly appeared next to Cooking Oknodie.
“That kid worked really hard.”
“Big Sis Sia and I also had our share of struggles. Still, I think the training paid off.”
Hearing they not only improved their skills but returned with a sense of accomplishment made Oknodie feel good too.
If there was any worth in having friends involved in the training facility, it would be moments like this.
“So, daughter of the chairman, what are you planning to do with us? You aren’t thinking of preserving us like artifacts, are you…?”
“Oh, come on! Now that we have so many capable ghost swordsmen, it’d be ridiculous to stuff them all back in. An intruder would be just fine for that Sword Saint to slice, and sending you back would just lead to a massive disappointment, making it harder to send people for training, right?”
“Of course, that’s right.”
Fortunately, Oknodie showed mercy.
“Then I’ll set you free. As a token of my sincere apology for dragging you into Papa’s festivities, I can either create bodies for you or write you recommendation letters!”
“Bodies, you say?”
“The Gift Academy has homunculus manufacturing technology. It’s about implanting souls into artificial bodies.”
“That’s amazing.”
“So what does the recommendation letter entail?”
“It’s a note saying, as a ghost who diligently helped the foundation papa, please take good care of him as he’s become one of the two rulers of the Netherworld.”
The only person Oknodie referred to as Chairman Papa was the chairman himself.
The ghosts shuddered seriously.
“I’d rather be trapped in an artificial body than see that madman chairman again.”
“Balance has been thrown out the window. It’s a total disaster.”
The ghosts almost unanimously resolved to inhabit the homunculus bodies.
Oknodie felt a light sadness at the revelation that her trustworthiness was low, but didn’t show it.
“But there’s something I’m curious about!”
“What is it?”
“Where is the Glutton Oknodie who went out first? I have something to tell him!”
Tension filled Jonnas and Irene’s faces.
“It has come, the lady’s karma.”
“Does this mean we’re in trouble?”
Oknodie had no intention of hiding the Glutton Oknodie’s fate.
Being a veteran player herself, she naturally assumed death was something to be accepted.
“What do you mean?”
“When I fought alongside Glutton Oknodie, I was nothing more than a buff shuttle, but now I’m different! I’ve suffered and rolled around in my own body without relying on others, growing into a strong person! I want to show the changed me and brag!”
Even a veteran player like Oknodie felt a sense of pride for such exemplary awakening newbie behavior.
“I’m sure he’s listening. Right here!”
“In… there…? That’s inside Oknodie’s belly.”
“That’s right. He’s right here!”
Interpreting it was simple.
The clone technique’s clone.
To reclaim the functions, experience, and memories built by the clone, the clone had to die.
So she killed it.
The functions accumulated by Glutton Oknodie now mean Oknodie’s body carries them forth.
Cooking Oknodie interpreted it slightly differently.
She had devoured Glutton Oknodie, and now it was your turn.
“You’re too much! How… how hard did I work to escape, only to end up as fodder for the original in a miserable death?!”
“Eh? But the clone was made for me! It’s meaningless if it doesn’t return, right?”
As the originator of the clone technique and original Oknodie, demanding Cooking Oknodie’s life was an entirely natural exercise of her rights as the host.
“What does that even mean? Are you trying to kill Cooking Oknodie?!”
“…I don’t think that’s right.”
Even Jiang and Sing, who had never clashed with Oknodie before, stood in front of Cooking Oknodie.
“We feel the same way.”
“Though we fear returning to the Tomb of the Sword, we know when to repay our debts.”
“Chairman’s daughter, don’t presume you can devour even the yearning of swordsmen for justice with the evil within you.”
In the first floor, the second floor, on the stairs, and on every terrace overlooking the lobby.
Everywhere in the mansion, all the ghosts rested their hands on their sheaths.
‘Is the incident from that time repeating itself?’
Jonnas felt a sense of dread.
A being resembling Oknodie, yet not Oknodie.
If such a being were allowed again, Oknodie would lose the temper that defined her clone.
‘The lady’s pettiness, her weakness, everything that could be called a flaw will disappear…’
Jonnas questioned himself.
Was the lady he wanted to serve one without weaknesses?
Or was it the lady with weaknesses he yearned for?
The former was the chairman’s wish.
The latter was Jonnas’s.
“Stand down before Cooking Oknodie. It’s only natural a clone sacrifices itself for the host. You knew that, didn’t you? That’s why you rescued Cooking Oknodie from outside the Tomb of the Sword.”
“…”
The reason Jiang and Sing stepped in to save Cooking Oknodie was certainly due to that understanding.
Inside the Tomb of the Sword, there was no death to be had.
If Oknodie’s shoddy personality remained isolated forever, the Oknodie outside would transform into a cold-blooded killing machine.
“A being born to sacrifice is too pitiable.”
Jiang attempted to persuade.
“If you don’t stand down, you’ll get hurt.”
“Try it. If you attack Cooking Oknodie, you’ll also get hurt.”
Sing revealed his intent to confront them with force.
Sudden conflict arises.
A standoff that jeopardizes friendships.
“I never expected to make my meal payoff this quickly.”
Before the inevitable doom, an unexpected variable occurred.
A competent person, Sadi Chocolate, who had a terminal embedded in her heart, could read thoughts and manipulate them.
“Even ‘this’ Oknodie has the will to protect her precious people. The training of clones is all for this. Are you really going to aim your swords at a child who has lost so many friends?”
Jiang and Sing, plagued with distress, felt at a loss.
Behind them, a small hand touched them.
“I’m fine!”
“Cooking Oknodie?”
“What do you mean by fine? You’re the one who dies.”
Cooking Oknodie smiled brightly and said cheerfully despite their trembling voices.
“If I don’t die here, it’d be unacceptable to owe the main body that shared its strength and placed its trust in the clone. I may regret not being able to speak directly with Glutton Oknodie, but… once we become one, we can meet again inside Oknodie!”
Contrary to her spirited voice, the hand gripping Jiang and Sing’s clothes trembled terribly.
Although they felt fear, they struggled not to let it show.
Their hearts ached at her pitiful appearance.
Facing the 1 to 100 time dilation between the Middle Realm and the lower realm made it impossible not to feel uneasy about Cooking Oknodie, who voluntarily chose death after spending over a year in the lower realm with her comrades.
“Oknodie. You haven’t cooked at all. Do you even need Cooking Oknodie’s cooking function?”
“You’ve stacked plenty of swordsmanship skills!”
“We have it too.”
Jiang insisted.
“We’ll become your swords. Isn’t that enough?”
“Hmm.”
“I also want to help.”
Sing even lowered his head in front of Oknodie.
What should they do?
While toying with a dormant ritual that could end a clone’s life, Oknodie fell into deep thought.
“Then will you all participate in any event I call for in the future?”
“As much as you want.”
“As we’ve done so far. We’ll continue to do that.”
Jonnas witnessed a miracle.
His calculations that claimed he needed to kill Cooking Oknodie to regain humanity were reversed; Oknodie was already showing humanity.
Even if a part of the components that made her up was assigned to a clone, a person cannot be completed alone.
Relationships.
The connections with others become a significant part of realizing who one is.
Jiang and Sing revealed it to Oknodie.
Her humanity.
Thus, Oknodie regained her humanity without needing to kill Cooking Oknodie.
‘Indeed. With this method, even the lady’s shabby Titos power…’
Could be rebuilt through appropriate relationships.
Of course, considering Oknodie’s current level, it wouldn’t be easy to rebuild such shabbiness.
It would have to be tempered by someone possessing a special kind of strength.
‘I should propose a special lecture for the lady to the principal once vacation is over.’
I’ll ask Professor Sadako, who ascended to become a god in Hell, for a special class for Oknodie.
If anyone could turn Oknodie into a soft and shabby Titos, it would be Professor Sadako.