Chapter 32: The Fool Who Dropped Lore
"Clap... clap... time for the next question," Aziel said smoothly, his tone sharp as a blade.
"Tell me, Frickon, how did the human came there?"
"To be honest," Frickon began, scratching the side of his head, "that’s not even a question. There’s just no way a human could’ve escaped from the Lake of Harbringer, swum through the Sea of Viscosity, and reached the Farlands, they’re literally on the opposite side of the world! The sacred lake alone covers around twenty percent of our realm. Logically speaking, that human didn’t even have enough time to escape from the lake itself."
Aziel’s expression faltered slightly as he mulled over those words.
A chill threaded down his spine. Just thinking about the sheer distance he had covered, and what still lay ahead, made something cold twist inside his gut.
Walking through one-fifth of the world wasn’t an achievement.
It was insanity.
"What are the odds," Aziel said quietly, a faint edge of curiosity in his tone, "that the human was simply fast enough, fast enough to not even be perceivable to our eyes?"
Frickon blinked at him, and then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ha! Hahaha! That’s the kind of thing they’d love to mock me for saying, mister. Don’t you try pulling that on me, alright?"
He grinned, shaking his head.
Aziel stared at him, dumbfounded, not because of the laughter, but because of what it implied.
He realized something then.
Just like a human wouldn’t think twice before crushing a worm or an ant, that’s exactly how these plasma beings viewed humans, insignificant, fragile, barely worth noticing.
’Then why the hell did that woman trick me into coming here?’
Aziel thought, his jaw tightening.
’No one in their right mind would invite insects and worms into their home... right?’
"You’re a genius, born once in centuries. I might as well become your lackey someday."
Aziel commented, half-jokingly, a faint smirk curling at the edge of his lips.
"See! I was also born with low energy levels.
" Frickon replied proudly, puffing his chest out a little.
"Which is already considered a gift, you know. Only around one in tens of thousands have this trait. Though for me, unfortunately, it turned into a disaster."
"Oh, were you now?"
Aziel mused, feigning interest as he tilted his head slightly.
"I do remember hearing years ago that a genius had been born... guess it was all about you, huh?"
He played along easily, patting Frickon’s head in mock praise.
Frickon’s face lit up like a child receiving affection for the first time.
"So," Aziel continued, his tone turning mildly serious, "I’m going to ask the last question for now. It might be something difficult, maybe even impossible to answer, or it could just be a general question that even kids would know. Alright?"
Frickon nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Why would they even believe that a human did that? Isn’t it just blaming the winds for carving a mountain?"
Aziel asked, his tone carrying an almost mocking curiosity.
"As you know,"
Frickon began, his voice lowering slightly.
"whenever a human is summoned from their world, they appear floating on the surface of the Sacred Lake. There have been only a few rare cases where some humans accidentally drowned deeper into it. However, putting that aside, the human summoned this time..." he paused, his tone darkening, "...was nowhere to be found. When our team realized that the portal had opened in a region filled with people of strong prowess, and that mass capturing was no longer possible, they searched immediately. But that human wasn’t at the surface, nor even deep within the lake. It was as if they had vanished entirely."
He leaned closer, before continuing.
"This, in fact, is an anomaly. Such an event has never occurred in all of recorded history. It’s so absurd that some even dared to question the Sacred Lake itself, and the competence of the team dispatched there. Many even protested that they should be executed... claiming they must have been lying."
A glimmer passed through his eyes.
If only they knew the so-called ’missing human’ was standing right here, talking to one of them.
Aziel blinked, momentarily thrown off by the sharpness in Frickon’s tone.
For someone supposedly seen as a fool, his words carried more clarity than most scholars Aziel had met.
It wasn’t just the phrasing, it was the quiet conviction underneath, the kind that didn’t need validation.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved on Aziel’s lips.
’For someone everyone mocked... you sure think straight,’ he mused inwardly. Maybe they never bothered to listen long enough to realize it.
He leaned back slightly, studying Frickon anew, not as a bumbling attendant, but as someone who might actually be worth keeping around.
Huh. The "idiot" might just be the smartest one on board.
"What about you though... what are your thoughts on it? Surely, someone like you must have something to say about it?"
"My opinion is conflicting, and it might offend you. Are you sure you want to lend an ear?" Frickon asked, concern flickering in his eyes.
Aziel simply nodded, his gaze steady, as if to say, go on.
"So... they believe the impossible happened just because they couldn’t find him?" he said slowly, a faint, crooked smile tugging at his lips. "They always talk about logic and laws, but the moment something doesn’t fit their understanding, they start calling it divine punishment or a cosmic interference. That’s all I have to say, for now."
Aziel blinked, momentarily thrown off by the sharpness in Frickon’s tone. For someone supposedly seen as a fool, his words carried more clarity.
The kind that didn’t need validation.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved on Aziel’s lips.
’For someone everyone mocks... he sure think straight’ he mused inwardly.
He leaned back slightly, studying Frickon anew, not as a bumbling attendant, but as someone who might actually be worth keeping around.
Frickon, noticing the steady gaze, fidgeted before averting his eyes.
A faint crimson crept up his cheeks, betraying the sudden embarrassment of being stared at so intently.
Aziel blinked once, realizing he’d been caught, and looked away with a subtle cough.
’Well, that was awkward.’
"Now it’s my turn...to ask a question."