Episode 300 Evidence (5)
“I’m going to die…”
We succeeded in burning Behemoth’s brain. It was such an arduous process that I felt fortunate that there was no bone between the eyeball and the brain.
[…Damn nursing mouth bastard.]
I should have expected this from the time when the vitreous body that fills most of the eyeball was as hard as frozen pork belly. Even the vitreous body, which should have been jelly-like, was so strong that I wonder how hard the real flesh must have been.
I wondered if I had gotten a new job as a miner. It wasn’t dug really dirty.
[Damn it, if the hero arrives first…!]
But in the end, I was the one who won.
I avoided the burned brain and stepped on the behemoth’s eye socket. The bloody and rotten smell lessened a little, and the open scenery gave me some breathing room.
“I used up all my magical energy, but why do I feel like I have no stamina?…”
However, I inadvertently stopped walking due to the feeling of exhaustion after using up all my magical energy. In my mind, I wanted to lie down and rest in a suitable place.
[Aren’t you walking quickly?]
“…I guess I’ll just take a break.”
I raised my eyes as I saw the devil yelling that he didn’t want to die. If it hadn’t been for Faust, I would have laid down and felt like my stomach was hurting, but it was a shame that I couldn’t do that.
“I’m fine…”
“No. let’s go.”
I slowly went down through the eye socket and outward. The behemoth’s head wasn’t a good slope to go down step by step, but thanks to the special part called the tusks, it wasn’t completely impossible.
With a groan, I stepped on the tusk and slipped down. The slightly wobbly body almost created a slightly comical scene.
“I almost fell…”
It was almost like I was facing this hard earth for the first time. I straightened my body, leaning on my tusks, touching my nose, which had escaped breaking.
I was able to stand still because I had used up all my magical energy and was not out of stamina.
“…Where are we going now?”
However, there was one problem.
There is nowhere to go.
[You can decide the destination later, so let’s go first.]
“Just shut up.”
[Please think about it as you go!]
In my heart, I want to go back to that city. Such as Mr. Richa or Lord Little with dark blue hair. I think Faust will definitely want to see it.
There is also a sword and a lucky bag necklace that need to be returned.
“…I wonder if I can come back here later.”
However, there is a hero over there, his disguise has been revealed, and crucially, I have no demon power at the moment. To be exact, it is the power that will allow you to escape no matter what you commit.
“I’m fine.”
So it probably won’t be right to go back right away. I scratched my head as I watched the boy speak with a calm expression.
“…Let’s come back in about five years.”
That was all I could say. The boy smiled faintly without answering.
“If I leave the sword here… I don’t know if it will be retrieved. “I should just take it with me.”
[Are you intentionally wasting time?]
If you’re going to come back someday, wouldn’t it be okay to give it back then? I glanced at the amber sword I had placed in my inventory and then caught a glimpse of the corpse of the monster I had caught.
…You can’t even get that, right? I glanced at the hideously tough and hard leather and then shivered as an incident from the past came to mind.
“Hey ya ya ya.”
[Please Gretchen. Let’s go—!]
“No, this time I don’t mean to mess with you. “Is there really no way to take this with you?”
[…Why is this happening?]
“I do it because I don’t want to end up looking like Biryuho, which was ruined by Moby Dick.”
[….]
The devil glared at me. The red glow of the goat bone mask felt just like that, even though there was no special emotional expression.
[…It could happen if we just leave it alone, but now the hero is coming here. Leave it alone. We will clean it up over there.]
“…You really can’t take the material?”
[Damn Gretchen, do you think this is a game? Do you think you can make a legendary item just by taking that with you? Do you think there will be a god item whose name is written in purple?]
“No, I know it’s not a game. Still, if the leather is that tough, it can be used to make things like clothes…”
[Dear damned Grethen. You wouldn’t have thought about sticking a needle into leather that a sword wouldn’t even stick in, right? Or are you going to cut and sew each family individually?]
Oh, I was angry. I unintentionally felt like a devil and was convinced by her words.
Even though I was overflowing with magical power, I stabbed the relatively delicate eyeball to death, and there is no way an ordinary craftsman could make something using that leather.
“Okay, let’s go.”
I lifted Faust, who was hanging from my forearm, on my shoulder to prevent it from falling—even though it was an illusion so it wouldn’t be a problem if it fell—and headed south.
It runs horizontally with the eastern wall on its left, so it is probably south.
“…Will I be wanted for what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks?”
At the same time, I was worried about the future. I am worried about losing the second identity I barely created.
[Do you know?]
“I don’t know….”
“I think it would be a shame if I got wanted.”
If that person is wanted, he will not be able to enter Mannhafeld again.
It’s also disappointing. There was something I wanted to say to Sir Walter. I wanted to tell you that I am truly grateful that the swordsmanship you taught me saved my life.
I ran through the rocky desert, swallowing deep sorrow. I was running at a brisk pace as my demon energy showed no signs of recovery, but I was still able to achieve quite a bit of speed.
[…Pick up the speed.]
“Oh, it’s so hot.”
Meanwhile, the devil was clinging to me without even raising his voice.
Is it because they signed an unfair contract while having the upper hand? In some ways, it seemed like a slob.
“And don’t act weak.”
But if it looks funny or sad, absolutely not.
“I know people like you well. “I know that you are a person who will look for an opportunity to betray instead of repenting until the end.”
That bastard is a murderer who annihilated an entire family and slaughtered several humans by living as a parasite on the body of the only survivor. They even forced the child into an unfair contract, maintained psychological abuse, and even threatened him with his hometown earlier.
“I’m sure he’s still trying to stab me in the back. He’s probably preparing to somehow find a loophole in the contract and stab me at the critical moment. There will also be cards that can only be revealed at the very last moment. “Because people like you think so terribly about their lives.”
In short, he is the worst criminal who cannot be rehabilitated. Even his dull appearance could be just a show to let down his guard, and he is just a piece of trash that needs no mercy or opportunity.
“So don’t try to make me friendly. “My kindness is not meant to be given to people like you.”
[….]
I pushed the devil, who had become so expressionless that his begging for me to go away, out of sight.
“…Me.”
Instead, I turned my head to the child who was whispering softly. The boy, whose expression was hard to read because he was so small, mumbled.
“If you are discovered by the hero, it may hurt a little, but you will still die safely.”
However, the distance is close. Or maybe because he was connected to my image, I could hear his voice clearly.
“So… I’m really fine. Why not just go back now? “9 years is too long.”
It was a statement I really didn’t want to hear.
“You may have noticed.”
Tap, tap. The body kicked the ground without any magic power and jumped over a stone. I could have gone back, but it was worth getting over so I just skipped over it.
“If there was anyone around you who could help you, I would never have helped you. why? Even though there was no malicious intent, what I went through because of you is beyond forgiveness.”
However, even after crossing the first rock, the road was not all smooth. Soon a second rock appeared. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a curved land. The cracked ground raised its head and formed a large staircase.
“Honestly, I feel a bit uncomfortable even looking at you right now. “Because I am a human being, I am also a human being who wants to say that I am sick.”
I looked at it closely, found a bulge, and stepped on it. The magical power that had just recovered a little helped me jump. After that, the magic bar hit bottom again.
“But more than that, I pity you. The circumstances that force you to say that are the circumstances that force the child to say that. The tragedy itself is that there is no one to ask for help. “I hate it so much and feel sorry for it.”
Tap, tap, tap. The body hit the rock in a zigzag motion and got back on track.
“That’s why. “That’s the only reason I’m helping you.”
“But me. “I… don’t deserve your sympathy.”
However, there were still more mountains to overcome.
A new terrain appeared that was too high and steep to climb by stepping on the bulge. It was a land that was long from side to side and difficult to turn around.
I stopped for a moment in front of a protruding piece of land.
“What qualifications do you have?”
“You already know. Aside from the wrong I did to you… I created dozens of victims because I couldn’t control that demon properly. “I sacrificed thousands of people to bring you back.”
A voice echoed in my ears, breathing heavily.
“I am such trash. They say I’m a fool who doesn’t deserve to be saved by anyone. So no matter how you think about it, this is true. “I’m… I’m not worth investing 9 years of your time in.”
How do I get over this? [Hey, Gretchen.] I put my hand on the collar of my shirt to relieve my frustration a little. [I have to go.] But my shirt is already unbuttoned. [I chose this instead of that monster’s corpse.] I eventually returned to sighing.
“…Let’s review it from the beginning.”
Still, if you climb up step by step, you will reach the top someday. I rolled up my sleeves—they were tattered, so it didn’t mean much—and grabbed the rough surface of the cliff.
“First of all, it’s absolutely not your fault that you couldn’t control the demon and created dozens of victims. It didn’t happen because you gave up control, it happened because you tried but it wasn’t enough and you failed. yes?”
“But if I were a little stronger…”
“It’s unnecessary to assume that I was a little stronger. “That’s not something you can control.”
Even if you don’t have magical power, your strong body won’t go anywhere. Since I don’t have much rock climbing experience, it’s inevitable that I won’t be able to find my way around, but at least I won’t be in trouble due to lack of grip strength or waist strength. It was like that in the beginning.
“People usually describe damage caused by external factors that they cannot interfere with or control as a disaster. And when a disaster occurs, the fault is never the victim’s. It’s definitely not your fault. okay?”
「….」
“And the thing about sacrificing people is… yes. I can’t confirm that either. Because a mistake is a mistake.”
When I reached about halfway through one, I felt a little weak. To be more honest, it was a bit difficult.
Rustle. The often collapsing footing and sore muscles made me feel more tired than running several hundred meters. The same was true even if the recovered magic power was invested in between.
Climbing without tools was not something for a beginner at climbing.
“But… you were young and couldn’t call for rescue, let alone find someone to help you. The environment you were left in was one that even adults could not easily endure. “I think that needs to be clearly pointed out.”
Still, I passed half of it. Yes, more than half way through. I stretched out my hand again, looking at the distance below, which had become difficult to return to, and the distance above, which had decreased significantly. There is only half left.
“I’m not saying everything is forgiven just because you’re young. I’m not saying that it can be justified just because the person you killed was a criminal. “I just think that considering your age and circumstances, you deserve at least one chance.”
“Even though I killed so many people?”
“Yes. “Nevertheless, that’s what I think.”
Can the blood price of killing thousands of people be forgiven? Probably not. Dead people, regardless of whether they are criminals or not, will not understand the child.
“It would be so unreasonable if someone had to die because their struggle to live was a crime.”
I don’t think there are many people who can make a different choice in an environment where they can’t sleep, are in pain every moment, and can kill someone if they let their guard down even a little.
Therefore, the opportunity had to be given. It was so cruel to not even give them a chance to get better just because they had accumulated so many sins.
“But but how could I do that? What right do I have to live on the blood of those people…” I
felt too sorry for the child, who would not have been able to enjoy life properly, to let him die like this.
“Yes, Faust. The reason I rolled around randomly, saying I didn’t care if I died for a while, was because I couldn’t see any hope of getting better from here. Guilt is weighing down my whole body, and I never know when and where the devil will pop out. “I couldn’t see any point in being alive, so I thought it would be better to die.”
“…Yes.”
“But not now. If I last 9 years, you can get a chance to live. “The time I endured gained meaning.”
I moved my arm one last time at the edge of the cliff I had reached.
“My 9 years will be your 50 years. And your 50 years might just save more people than you killed. “Maybe you will be able to do more good deeds than the sins you committed.”
Rustle. My fingertips touched the top of the cliff. My whole body was soaked with sweat and it felt like a million pounds.
“So Faust lives. The sin you carry on your shoulders may be too heavy and the guilt will torment you from time to time, but try to live. As you live, opportunities to atone will come. There are moments when I can become a better person because I was not forgiven. That’s life. “That’s life.”
Still, it was the end, so I put the last of my strength into my fingertips. My body was pulled up and my body fell down on the cliff. Fuck. Watch me climb a rock wall without any magic power again.
“And to put it bluntly, I barely made a living by killing thousands of people and replacing an adult like myself. “It’s not polite to hang up here.”
Even though I felt the presence of divine power approaching, I lay on the ground and did not intend to move. The Inquisitor wore armor and there was no way he could rock climb with that armor. That kind of medicine was a bold decision that came out after calculation.
“Faust.”
“…Yes.”
“Do you still want to die after this?”
As if that was not an entirely wrong calculation, the sign of divine power stopped at the bottom of the cliff and did not move.
“Am I really going to die?”
no. It moved.
“…I am.”
Uh uh. [Hey, Gretchen.] My intuition suddenly started ringing an alarm. [I think I need to move right now─] My eyes widened.
“I…”
Quaaaaaang!
A huge sacred force struck the cliff and it began to collapse.