Chapter 86: The Illiterate Lich
After Durin made the proposal, the lich in front of him surprisingly agreed. Not only did it tidy up all the unconscious people on the ground, but it also invited Durin into the innermost hall of the castle, which had always been sealed off.
"This hall was initially intended for entertaining guests when I first built this castle. However, I later realized that this desolate and deserted place would hardly have any visitors besides wandering souls and ghosts. So, it has remained unused until now."
The implications of the lich's words, tinged with loneliness, left Beldia, experiencing such proximity to his terrifying master for the first time, feeling somewhat bewildered. Meanwhile, Durin tried to maintain composure and replied, "Then, I am truly honored? To be your first guest..."
Hearing his words, the lich walking ahead responded only with a mentally imbued smile. "Hehe, whether you are a guest or just dinner for the wandering souls and ghosts outside my castle, it all depends on whether the movie you brought me can satisfy me."
Due to the lich's completely rotten body, it couldn't produce sounds like normal human organs. It communicated using special mental vibrations known to mages. Despite chatting for so long, Durin couldn't even discern the lich's gender, though it wasn't important after becoming undead.
The few of them quickly took their seats in the hall. Although this reception room seemed untouched by time, it was almost immaculate, perhaps due to the castle's inherent enchantments and the icy environment.
This realization made Durin more aware of the lich's loneliness in a sense. After all, living day after day in such an empty place would drive Durin himself crazy long ago. Yet, the lich had endured countless centuries of solitude before finally allowing itself to enter a state of torpor. Its mental strength and endurance were truly terrifying.
In this situation, after Durin entered the hall, he began to look around to find any clues about the lich's identity. He didn't want his life to be controlled by someone else. It was crucial to ascertain the identity of this "enemy."
He did find something—underneath a table in the center of the hall was a thick book used to prop up the table's leg.
"The Bible, Third Edition? The Bible actually has a Third Edition?"
Ignoring why a religious text like the Bible would have undergone revisions, the discovery of a Bible in such a desolate chaotic domain was enough to trigger countless associations in Durin's mind. After all, the sole publisher of such material was an organization that had been present since the dawn of human civilization—the Church. This meant that the lich in front of him seemed to have had some connection to the Church during its lifetime.
As Durin was about to carefully examine the publication year of the Bible when the lich turned around and said, "What? Are you also interested in such boring religious literature? Clearly, no one knows what kind of being the gods that humans have always believed in really are..."
"Uh, from what you're saying? You know?"
"I don't know. If I did, I would have slaughtered all those deceitful deities that have been fooling humanity!"
"..."
Realizing the lich's hostility towards the gods, Durin wisely refrained from mentioning that topic further. However, when setting up the crystal, he couldn't help but ask, "Since you hate the gods so much, why keep this Bible? Wouldn't it be better to just burn it? It's not like you're so bored in this place that you can't even find a storybook, so you resort to this thing to pass the time, right?"
"Are you insulting me?"
"How could I dare? I'm just asking a logical question. After all, it's natural for people to have the instinct to read."
"I can't read."
"Oh, I see... Wait, what?"
Hearing the lich's words, Durin showed a surprised expression, and the next moment, as if thinking Durin hadn't heard clearly, the lich repeated, "I can't read, so what you said is impossible."
"..."
No matter how Durin imagined it, he couldn't believe that this terrifying presence, who emitted an aura akin to that of a high-level mage at least, didn't know how to read!
It was like a top-notch mobile suit pilot claiming they never went to school...
"What? I said it plainly. Do you still think I would flip through this Bible written by those religious charlatans? Even if the illustrations inside are pretty good, I wouldn't look at it!"
Although Durin felt like the lich's words just now might have revealed something, he subconsciously ignored it.
Yes, let's set aside for now how someone who can't read became a lich, or even a high-level being beyond comprehension. At least, Durin had gained some profound understanding that the lich despised the church and had a very stubborn personality.
To be honest, while Durin himself was a seasoned atheist who had undergone basic education in Earth, upon arriving in this world, he couldn't help but admit that there might indeed exist some higher-dimensional entities called gods, otherwise many things simply wouldn't make sense.
Therefore, in this situation, Durin didn't harbor much aversion towards the so-called Bible. In fact, aside from the obviously exaggerated parts, some of the allegorical stories in the Bible were actually quite good, containing elements that inspired people to do good deeds.
Personally, Durin didn't strongly oppose the existence of religious beliefs in this world, although he didn't believe in them himself. The only thing he detested was the zealous fanatics who engaged in all sorts of unsavory activities in the name of religious interests.
"Well, although I instinctively set up this dining table, I forgot that I can't eat anything anymore. Oh, by the way, there used to be a bunch of orcish knights who came to meet their end here. They left behind..."
As the lich spoke, Durin began to worry that it might bring out some bodies to demonstrate its self-restraint as the big boss. However, to his surprise, the lich then picked up a bottle of wine that seemed to have been left for who knows how many years and said, "How about it? Would you like some?"
"No, no, no..."
Not just Durin, even Beldia didn't dare to accept the lich's "kind offer." In such a situation, as Durin adjusted the angle of the crystal image, the two pieces of crystal he brought with him slowly began to broadcast the two highly acclaimed movies from the human society.
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