The world seen through the eyes of the spirit resembled the vastness of the universe. Living beings resembled galaxies, and within them, the sparkling life force instinctively revealed the soul contained within the flesh.

‘Is it because they have pure eyes that can see the essence of living beings…?’

In the corpse of Kieran Waray seen through those eyes, there was nothing. Only pitch-black darkness existed.

Even in the minimal furniture in Kieran’s room, a faint glimmer of light could be seen, but in his corpse, only darkness was visible.

‘Why?’

At the moment of questioning, the water spirit spoke to me.

【Because the soul left the body in an improper way.】

‘What does “improper” mean?’

Whether through a mental connection or by thought alone, I could communicate with the spirit.

In a hoarse voice, the water spirit answered my question.

【When all living beings breathe their last breath, they follow the path of reincarnation along the path of light.】

‘Oh?’

It seemed to be a context similar to Buddhist reincarnation beliefs. I listened intently to the interesting story.

【Whether by suicide, murder, or reaching the end of a predetermined lifespan and experiencing a natural death… when one dies, the stars engraved on each soul shatter into debris. And using those debris as landmarks, the soul can find the path of light.】

‘…But?’

【However, if the soul is sacrificed in an improper way, that is, as a sacrificial lamb for a purpose, both the soul and the stars engraved on the soul will be completely destroyed.】

【The debris of stars vanish without a trace.】

【Nothing remains in the place where the soul was torn apart.】

【Only pitch-black darkness lingers, a hollow shell rolling around.】

【We spirits have a very negative view of using such sacrifices.】

【It would become a menace, harming and devouring the world.】

Becoming a menace that devours the world… In the last part, I recalled zombies.

‘Originally, they were living beings who would have breathed and lived normally as ordinary people.’

But due to some force, even after practically facing death, they forcibly moved as zombies.

They were essentially chunks of flesh moved by someone’s will, without souls.

‘Perhaps…’

Looking at the darkness that had dyed Kieran’s essence completely black, I asked the spirit.

‘Do zombies, the empty shells wandering through the capital, look the same as them to you?’

I already had a half-expected idea of what the answer might be.

The spirit promptly replied to me.

【Yes.】

【Only pitch-black darkness is visible from them too.】

【That’s why it’s dangerous.】

【Dangerous enough to want to hide with a contractor.】

【Benedict is a precious spirit I haven’t seen in a long time.】

‘That’s… right.’

I hoped it wasn’t true, but it turned out to be a fact.
The condition of the zombies created by the culprit and the corpse of the deceased Kieran were the same. The only difference was whether they were being controlled or not. In other words, the culprits of both incidents were the same.

‘Thank you for letting me know. You can now retract the borrowed eyes.’

【Yes. You are the chosen savior of the young god.】

‘What? I’m not a savior, just an ordinary citizen…’

When I tried to object in confusion, the water spirit interjected with a confident tone.

【You are indeed the savior.】

‘But I’m not…’

【You cannot deceive the eyes of the spirit.】

【You are the savior.】

Perhaps it was because I was bestowed the title of a saint.

‘Ugh.’

As the memories shown by the spirit disappeared and darkness returned, the water spirit left me with a final admonition.

【Our precious contractor, please take care.】

“Gasp!”

When I opened my eyes, I saw the reception room of Duke Kitton.

“Why… why can I see the ceiling?”

I was lying on the floor. Wondering, as I tried to get up, party members and collaborators gathered in the reception room, including Zero, rushed towards me.

The first person to embrace me was Lena.

“Huuaaang! Your Grace! I didn’t know how worried I was when you suddenly fell backward with a thud!”

“Did I do that?”

“You did! Everyone here was surprised by the sudden fall without notice!”

I gently comforted the crying Lena.

‘What’s all this fuss about?’

Looking around at Michael, Luce, Benedict, Ashton, they all seemed concerned, with varying degrees of expression, as it was evident from their faces.

Each spoke to me with pale faces.

“Are you okay?”

“Well… of course. I got information about what I was curious about, and thanks to the water spirit lending me its eyes.”

“Isn’t this a bit too much? The eyes of the spirit can’t be borrowed by just anyone. It’s only possible for a contractor… What if you couldn’t withstand the pure power of the spirit and your eyeballs burned out? Are you out of your mind?”

Luce lectured me like a rapper. I avoided eye contact and plugged my ears.

“Well, thanks to that, I found out!”

“What are you talking about?”

This time it was Ashton.