Chapter 20 The Master's Room (End)

"""I-It opens!!!"""

While feeling slightly nervous, Lyan slowly opened the door and reveal the inside of the grimoire's space master room.

(I wonder what's inside. A control room like a dungeon game? A fancy room suitable for the master of the grimoire?) (Lyan)

But what greets him from beneath the door isn't the exciting bonus room filled with secrets of the grimoire that he expected, rather, he got greeted by a powerful nostalgic feeling instead.

"Whoa! What with this room! It's rather big! And it's filled with things I couldn't recognize!" (Lilith)

"Hou... This is quite an interesting room..." (Griselda)

"The things inside this room, as I thought, are these things from your world master?" (Arturia)

"...." (Lyan)

"...? Master?" Arturia tilts her head as Lyan didn't answer her question.

(Don't tell me, he got his mana drained by opening the door just now? Did he faint while standing?) (Arturia)

Arturia approached Lyan from behind and took a peek at Lyan's face.

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

It was an expression she had never seen before.

It's not a face filled with excitement.

Not an irritated or a disappointed face because the room isn't what he expected.

But a face filled with terror.

His eyes widen to the point that it looks like his eyes would fall from his sockets.

Arturia felt that he was like a piece of glass on a verge of breaking.

Just a single touch, and the glass would break.

"Tch!" Arturia clicked her tongue.

(I need to make everyone leave the room!) (Arturia)

"Wha-" (Lilith)

"What the hell are you doing!?" (Griselda)

Arturia pushed Lilith and Griselda out of the room, and carried Lyan out of the room in a hurry before shutting the door of the master's room.

"Why did you do that, Arturia! Ugh... I grazed my knee..." (Lilith)

"You surprised me. Damn, your strength is monstrous," (Griselda)

Lilith and Griselda rub their body that got a little damage because of Arturia's push.

"No... It's just that... Master got-" (Arturia)

"Ah! It seems that Arturia got startled by the lamp that suddenly lights itself! It's just an automatic lamp that turns on automatically when it sensed heat on its sensor, well, it's quite complicated to explain considering the level of technology of my old world and your world is leagues different," Lyan cut Arturia's words with the same carefree expression he always uses.

"Eh?" (Arturia)

(He regained his composure?) (Arturia)

"Isn't that right, Arturia?" (Lyan)

"Eh? Ah... Yeah, you're right. Forgive me, Lilith, Griselda. I pushed the both of you too hard," (Arturia)

"Well, it's just mean that you got some powerful reflex for unknown situations. You must be the type that never dies in a dungeon," (Griselda)

"I'm fine as well. The pain had already gone! Now, let's enter the room again! I'm interested in what's inside! We can enter, right, master?" Lilith held the door knob and opened the door as she asks for permission.

"Eh? Wai-" (Arturia)

"It's fine. But make sure that you didn't break anything, you hear me?" (Lyan)

"Okay~" (Lilith)

"Are you familiar with this big room, Lyan?" (Hestia)

"Hm? Well... Yes. I am," (Lyan)

"Don't tell me... This is-" (Lilith)

"Yeah. Your guess is right," Lyan answered as he closed his eyes as if he was trying to recall a moment from a certain past.

"It's my apartment room. My old home. The home that I left when I entered the demon world," (Lyan)

At that moment, the atmosphere felt like it got heavy that none of the spirits knew what to respond to.

"But well! To think that I would see my apartment room again in this world, that's sure surprising~ Feel free to enter and saw the things inside, just make sure to not make a mess and break anything, okay?" With a bright smile, Lyan removed the heavy mood as if it didn't exist in the first place.

"Okay~ Let's go have some adventure!!" (Lilith)

"Adventure~" (Azelia)

"I wonder if I could find some great boozes inside," (Griselda)

"This is interesting. There are lots of things I couldn't recognize..." (Hestia)

"I-I'm interested as well..." (Sylphia)

Following the five of them are Cynthia and Eira that entered the apartment room in silence, leaving Arturia and Lyan outside the room.

"Master-" Arturia stopped her words when she saw Lyan putting his index finger in front of her mouth.

"I'm fine. I just got caught off-guarded at that moment. You don't need to worry about me, and look at the room if you're interested. There are lots of modern technologies inside, after all. Well, I don't know if the electronics are usable or not, but since the automatic light turns on, the other things should be able to work as well," (Lyan)

Arturia couldn't see any trace of the glass on the verge of breaking that she just a minute ago.

"That face of mine that you saw, please keep it a secret between us, okay?" (Lyan)

Arturia didn't sense any hint of threat or hostility from Lyan when he asked it. From his apologetic face, she could feel that he was sincerely asking for her to keep the sight she saw to herself.

"...Yes, I'll keep it to myself," (Arturia)

"Thanks. As expected, you're a kind knight," (Lyan)

Lyan took a glance at the inside of his former apartment room. It's a rather big apartment with three-bedroom, a decent-sized living room together with the kitchen, a big toilet and bath, and a study room.

Since he need to accommodate his little sister and some of his cousins, he struggled to search for an appropriate apartment at a low price and found it with luck.

Lots of things happened inside it, lots of memories are made, and lots of feelings remained.

"Bro!? You're home!?" A small nostalgic voice appeared from inside the room, making Lyan widens his eyes.

Following the sound of the loud footsteps of someone running, a familiar figure appeared from the living room towards the door.

A figure that Lyan hadn't met for hundreds of years.

"Ah! It's you-"

*Shut!*

Lyan shut the door with a grim face.

"M-Master...?" (Arturia)

"Did you see a woman running towards this direction just now?" (Lyan)

"Eh? N-No... I didn't..." (Arturia)

"I see..." Lyan slowly reached his hand towards the door.

(As expected, it was just a hallucination, huh... What am I even expecting...?) (Lyan)

"If you want to enter, just enter it. There are lots of interesting things inside," (Lyan)

"What about you, master?" (Arturia)

Lyan sentimentally gazes toward the door once again before answering.

"To enter this room, I need to prepare more courage. Shamefully, I'm still not brave enough right now. I need more time," (Lyan)

"I see..." (Arturia)

"I'll go back outside the grimoire's space and have another rest. The waitress of the inn will get suspicious if I didn't answer the door when she comes to clean up the dishes. I need to pay for the food as well, after all," (Lyan)

"Master," (Arturia)

Lyan was about to went downstairs, but Arturia's sudden call stopped him.

"Yes?" (Lyan)

With her hands clasped in front of her chest, Arturia closed her eyes.

"I pray that one day you may find the courage you need to enter this room, and to move forward," (Arturia)

Hearing Arturia's words, Lyan felt a slight warmth enveloping his heart. With a smile, he turns his back.

"I hope that one day you'll achieve the same thing, O knight of the past,"

*******************************

After leaving the grimoire's space, Lyan let the waitress inside his room to pick up the dishes and paid 150 Elnes for them. But since he still has the 50 Elnes from the payment he made the night before, he only had to pay 100 Elnes for the breakfast, leaving 23,000 Elnes in his pockets.

After paying, Lyan took his time to take another sleep and read the books inside his room. Looking at the sight of his former apartment made him lose his motivation. Since the spirits inside the grimoire's space are busy playing with the modern technology inside Lyan's room, and since Lyan decided to live freely in this life of his, it's his freedom whether he wanted to go to work or not as well.

At the seventh bell, Lyan ordered another nine portions of food and paid 200 Elnes for it before continuing to read the books inside his room.

And finally, together with the eight bell ringing, Lyan closed his book.

"Crap. I got too immersed in reading and forgot the time. To think that bad habit of mine still remains..." (Lyan)

Lyan stands from his bed and stretches his body.

(I guess it's time to go out and check the guild. I want to try camping outside and making my own meal with a campfire. By the way, it's rare for the spirits to didn't make a single sound, especially Lilith and lady Griselda) (Lyan)

(Well, I guess that's not surprising considering how many things are inside it. There's an old Playzstation, an old Bitendo, my computer, and countless books from comics, light novels, and even history books. Wait, they didn't understand how to turn them on, didn't they? They won't accidentally break them, right? I want to at least play harvest sun once again in this life...) (Lyan)

Lyan stares at the black grimoire in his hand.

"But if that happens, I guess the good thing is that I would be forced to move forward, didn't I? Well, for now, it's time to be a mercenary and make more funds!" (Lyan)

____________________________________________________________________________

<-100 Elnes>

<-200 Elnes>

Name: Lyan

Occupation: Mercenary

Money: 22,800 Elnes

Weapon: Hobgoblin's Sword

Equipment: Black leather cloak

Grimoire's Companions: 8 High Spirits, Shadow Hobgoblin