episode_0012

I hated cliché evil.

I also hated obvious villains.

I thought that even villains should have class.

Just as those who stand on the side of justice pursue pure goodness rather than money, fame, or power, I also wanted to pursue only pure evil without turning to money, fame, or power.

I hated the rising flames, the screams of the confused people, and the maddening roars of the evildoers who caused the flames. This is because old evil deeds felt old-fashioned.

So, I started smiling happily. Whether my plan went well or not, and whether I was happy or sad, I unified all my emotional expressions with laughter. This was the beginning of Joker.

But, as I ran and ran like that…

The devil, who should be ahead of the curve, is wandering down a side road.

The bitch called the Duke of the West who ran with me is struggling in the river of conscience.

The idiot hero has lost his temper and has become a hypocrite.

It is truly deplorable. Although it doesn’t mean much to me as I only have one day left.

“Joker.”

“Why.”

“Are you in a bad mood?”

“Does it look like that? On a topic you can’t even see?”

“Many emotions are revealed in the breathing sounds, facial expressions, temperature, etc. of living things.”

“You are all-powerful, saint.”

The saint, with her knees on the floor, crawled towards me.

As always, with a kind smile on your face. It’s a smile that’s completely different from mine.

“If I give you a gift, will you feel better?”

While spitting out those words, the saintess put her hands in her bosom and rummaged around.

“Give me bread again? I really don’t want to eat bread with your body odor on it.”

“Haha, that’s good too.”

Something that was not light was placed on my chest. As I lowered my head and directed my gaze to her chest, the identity of something came into view through the light emitted by the saint.

“It is a treasure that has been with me all my life.”

“What is treasure?”

Please accept “. It is my sincerity, faith, and love.”

“How can something that is dirty and dirty be a treasure? Is this how we manage our treasures these days?”

“If that’s the case, Joker will definitely clean it up later.”

What the saint gave me was a rosary. The black rosary she always held in her hand and prayed to.

If you’re giving something like this to a demon, an evil creature of a demon god, are you asking them to destroy it right away?

“You’re not lazy to do the laundry now so you’re leaving it to me, right?”

“Do I look like that type of person? I feel a little sad.”

“Yes, he seems like that kind of person.”

“Puhhuh.”

The saint covered her mouth with her hand and let out a faint laugh.

Not to be outdone, I laughed along with him. It was so funny that, a day before the execution ceremony, they were exchanging such casual jokes with the Saint Mary of the Sun, the most powerful person on the continent and a good person.

“Kihihihi-.”

“It’s a clear laugh. Good to hear.”

“This is my first time, someone said something positive about my laughter.”

“Because it contains your sincerity.”

I don’t hate trivial conversations like this.

I have no family, no friends, and the only person I visit is the devil.

The saint, who was my classmate from Tartarus, became deeply involved with me in just 7 days.

“Saint, would you like me to tell you the story of the first time I laughed?”

Please do “.”

“It’s not a very touching story. It’s a fucking comedy. I’m a little bit shy.”

Like a bard describing a tall tale of heroism, I began to chant.

At the appearance of the word yashikuri, the saint covered her red face with her palm and perked up her ears.

“It was shortly after my mother and father got married. I was passing through the northern part of the Demon World. Of course, I wasn’t even born until then.”

“It’s a story from a long time ago.”

“That’s right, but I guess my mother was a bit too beautiful? The demon world police caught the eye. Of course, demons have a habit of not being able to resist when their desires arise. The police were no exception.”

The saint does not react. I guess I sensed that the story I was telling was not at all pleasant.

“They arrested my father. He’s a spy sent by the empire. And, I threatened my mother. If I don’t spend a hot night with them, I’ll have my father summarily executed.”

“… .”

“There was nothing I could do. My mother loved my father immensely. In the end, you gave in. But, they were more vicious than I thought. Even though it was just for one night, I held on to my mother and didn’t let her go for several days.”

“… .”

Looking at the saint who had become as hard as a stone, I continued to speak slyly.

“Well, just like that, Yeongcha Yeongcha ended, and as a result, my father was released. I don’t think I had any intention of killing them in the first place. Both my father and mother kept quiet about what happened that day, as if they were kissing each other. I spent a few months like that… An incident occurred.”

“… .”

“Well, mom, isn’t your stomach starting to swell little by little? Of course, what was in it wasn’t my father’s bloodline.”

“… !”

“I guess that wasn’t quite a shock. My mother, who endured and endured, eventually committed suicide by hanging herself a week before giving birth. My father sobbed in front of him. But then, my mother’s stomach, which was hanging on the tree, began to split little by little.”

The saint’s pale expression. How will the saint, who probably grew up loved by a wealthy church, react to this terrible and gloomy story?

I’m so curious about that. You may call me vicious, but what can you do? I was born as a demon.

“I was born that way. According to my father, at that time, I was smiling while covered in my mother’s blood or something? Giggling, isn’t it a fucking comedy?”

He sticks his tongue out and asks a question.

Indeed, indeed – how will our noble and innocent saint react?

I was so tired of waiting for the answer that I was getting impatient.

“Joker, didn’t you say that your mother was beheaded by dragons last time?”

I received an answer that did not meet my expectations.

Ah, this was just a passing story, but did you still remember it?

“What is real? Your mother… .”

As she spoke in confusion as if she was confused, I spoke humorously, feeling like I was escaping from steam.

“Hey, saintess.”

“Yes.”

“Why is it so serious?”

“Yes?”

“Whether this is the truth, that is the truth, or the third story is the truth, in the end, it is all in the past.”

The saint was dumbfounded, as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer. Oh, that reaction is kind of funny, right?

“Giggle, laugh and let go of other people’s past stories. Whether it’s a tragedy or a comedy, it’s someone else’s situation, so what’s the point? Anyway, the world is just a third-rate comedy.”

I burst into laughter. Like he was playing with her.

The saint didn’t say anything, but came a little closer and placed my head in her arms again.

Ha, I’m back in that good mood again. I’m just tired of telling people not to do it anymore.

“No matter how funny it is, you shouldn’t say things like that.”

“That’s what the saintess thinks.”

“I think the reason Joker makes such jokes so casually is because you haven’t received enough love.”

“This is a completely wrong idea. I said I’ve received a lot of love?”

“But, never forget. Even if the world abandons you, even if it only shows you its cruel and cold back.”

Kkook-.

“I only love you-.”

The now familiar warmth enveloped my face. As I inhaled, her body scent settled on the tip of my nose.

At that moment, I felt an indescribable humiliation.

I myself unconsciously thought of that body odor as fragrant.

As a demon, it is extremely shameful.

*****

Gradually-.

“Ouch.”

“Are you sick? Could you please tell me where it hurts?”

“It is the whole body. Because of what I said last time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. If my love had been a little more sincere, I could have healed you… .”

“That’s okay, this will end tomorrow anyway.”

The saint looked at me with bandaged eyes. Are there ugly eyes inside, or is there just an empty void?

The sea suddenly makes me curious.

“My role is to accept the pain of others… It’s useless.”

“Why are you suddenly self-deprecating?”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Just having that person by your side will help you a lot, so stop blaming yourself.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know how lonely I have been for the past 104 days, only with a black, Celtic-looking man?”

“Ah… .”

Wait a minute, is it because of my mood that I felt like I saw hope flickering and then extinguishing in the face of a saint?

“Saint.”

“Yes.”

“Can I speak comfortably?”

“You were taking it easy from the beginning.”

“That’s why I’m trying to ask permission before it’s too late.”

“I had no idea that the Joker of the world was the kind of person who would ask for permission to do such things.”

“Why are you like this? If you really get to know me, I’m a polite villain.”

The saintess asked back as if she was surprised.

“Is that so?”

“Then, he is so considerate that he puts a shotgun into the mouth of a guy he meets for the first time and kindly sings him a lullaby before killing him. I was so good at using polite language that my dragons named me ‘Sweet Demon’?”

“… .”

“Kick.”

Ah, teasing a saint is always fun. This is because it is the only moment when the smile on the saint’s lips is erased.

Sigh-.

Clap-.

“Saint, it is time for distribution.”

Celt opened the stuffy iron door and stepped into Tartarus.

“Celt, why don’t you call my name? Are you discriminating against prisoners now?”

“… .”

If you were a normal Celtic, you would jokingly answer the question just now by saying, ‘Yes, we discriminate.’ Even so, I have no right to make complaints or anything like that.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Here is your bread.”

However, Kelt obediently brought me a meal with a slightly gloomy look. Very politely, without throwing or dropping.

“There is milk here, and I asked the chef to bring soup and sandwiches as well. I bought the butter and jam with my own money.”

widely-.

Even the menu was several times larger than usual. All of the ‘breads I like’ that you may have figured out while chatting with me all the time were included. There was also rye bread.

“I should have given it to you like this usually.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s a joke. They say that ghosts that die after eating have beautiful stains, so I hope they come out like this tomorrow morning too.”

“They say there will be no breakfast tomorrow. If you’re too nervous, you might end up throwing up on the guillotine… Please understand.”

“Puhahahaha!”

At Kelt’s words, a shallow laugh erupted that was somewhat incongruous with the gloomy atmosphere.

nervous? throw up? who? Me, Joker Oscar Lucifer? Saint Mary of the Sun?

“Ahaha.”

It must have been equally funny, as the saintess also laughed brightly along with me. The only one who didn’t laugh was Celt.

“Celt, why aren’t you smiling?”

“How can you be so detached in the face of death? .”

“Two heinous death row inmates will disappear from this world tomorrow, isn’t it a happy thing that we should toast to?”

“Huh.”

“So, smile. You should smile on happy days. If we are seen smiling after we die, they will think we are hypocrites and curse us with dirty ghosts.”

However, no matter how much I cajoled, Celt never gave up. He brought the saint’s food table with a heavy look on his face and then left Tartarus, keeping that face until the end.