episode_0020

Early moning.

It wasn’t a very pleasant feeling to be dragged out in chains before I could even straighten out my tangled hair.

Even though I was willing to walk on my own feet without much fuss, I don’t know what’s so urgent.

“A bowl of warm soup would be enough for breakfast.”

“What kind of meal is this for someone who is about to be executed?”

“Isn’t it strange that he was summarily executed without a proper trial?”

“Do you know that we do that?! We just do what we are told from above!”

“… Yes. I guess that’s what being a soldier is like. Even if it is not desirable.”

After saying that, I did not express any dissatisfaction to them.

Because I knew that any conversation would be meaningless unless I knew what they were putting forward.

“You’re finally here.”

As I walked along with them, a place that looked like a training ground appeared.

And the person in charge of this training ground and the soldiers who dragged me greeted me with an annoyed face.

“Welcome, you wicked traitor!”

It had been quite a while since I heard the sound of traitors.

It was something I only heard when the imperial palace was dyed with blood to kill the former emperor and the second prince.

“I have never had any plans to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.”

“If you dare to use violence against an officer of the empire, isn’t it natural that you should be punished for treason!”

“That’s an interesting perspective. By the way, what is your name?”

“Neil Fehen… why are you talking like you’re asking me questions!!!”

If it was indeed the Pihen family, I could understand it to some extent.

“If he is indeed a collateral branch of the duke’s family, even an idiot who can only calculate his age can become an officer.”

“This guy must be really crazy! I know how blasphemous and absurd the things you just said are…!”

As one question was resolved, numerous questions related to it also surfaced.

“Anyway, you would have to have experience or accomplishments to be in charge of a fortress. How old are you this year?”

“I’m 21 years old! If you have heard the answer, then you should now respond to what I said!”

“You’re young. Even if he were to take charge, a person who would still only be a first-time officer would take the baton. Even if the military minister is close to a dog, there is no way he would favor someone like you.”

“Oh fuck… Hey, guys, get me some cold water… I’m going crazy right now.”

“Even so, it doesn’t seem like you have any special talent. Hmm… Even if the military lacks talent, there’s no way they would hire a young officer like you.”

“Phew…”

He began gulping down the cold water the soldiers had brought him. I drank it so quickly that it seemed like half of it would come out of my mouth.

“Yeah, I’m a fucking idiot for grabbing a crazy guy and starting a conversation.”

“No matter how good his self-objectification is, he doesn’t seem to have the ability to take charge of the fortress… That’s really strange.”

Then he kicked me in the face as if to tell me to shut up.

It didn’t really hurt, but my dry lip was slightly torn and a small amount of blood leaked out.

“Hey, holding onto this guy and talking to him is crazy. Let’s do something quickly and hit the head first.”

Then, someone who looked like his adjutant adjusted his glasses and then took out some kind of document and started reading it.

“Sinner Raoul Muska! Even though you were a criminal who was kicked out, instead of doing your best to atone, you dared to commit the grave sin of dishonoring the Imperial officer, Prince Nil Pihen!”

“I just used force to protect myself. I may be somewhat responsible for that person urinating his pants.”

“Also, even though you are supposed to set an example as the representative of the village, you recklessly harassed the village women!”

” Those are unpleasant words to hear. I don’t know anything else, but I can confidently say that I am clean when it comes to relationships with women.”

“These charges are deception against the imperial family! Accordingly, this is considered treason against the imperial family and you are sentenced to death!”

I wasn’t very knowledgeable about the law either, but I knew that this ruling was a mess.

That deputy probably also studied law.

okay. This is just a list of sentences that seem plausible based on your standards.

“… The content is a bit confusing.”

“What?”

“It means that my crime is not such a trivial thing.”

The crime I committed wasn’t anything like inflicting violence on a group of bastards like that.

If that were all my sins were, I wouldn’t be the way I am now.

“The crimes for which I must be punished are as follows.”

“Hey, what is that guy saying now…?”

“The crime of slaughtering the giants who betrayed the Allied Forces and caused great damage to the empire. The crime of setting an example by assassinating their king and burning their country. The sin of not regretting it at all.”

Even though it was by order, it was also a sin I committed.

“The crime of mass murder of the dragon tribes who were rebellious enemies of the Allied Forces. The crime of destroying their sacred places. The crime of still thinking that they were justifiable measures.”

Even though I suffered an indelible humiliation, it was also a crime I committed.

“The crime of murdering the foolish first emperor who started a war because he could not overcome his lust and the second prince who resembled his father.”

What the 2nd prince said about my sister was the spark for the crime, but it was also a clear crime.

“The crime of being born as my mother’s son. The sin of being my sister’s older brother. The crime of becoming my fiancee’s fiancé.”

“Hey, that crazy bastard, what was he saying earlier…! That bastard…”

“The crime of killing with my own hands the savior of my life and the friend who could hold my soul.”

And those were the biggest sins I ever committed.

Compared to those sins, the sin of killing the giants and dragons and slaughtering the Emperor was nothing more than a trivial matter.

“Those are the sins I committed.”

“Hey, how crazy is this guy…?”

They were slowly taking a step back and looking at me as if they were looking at a monster.

The trembling body, unstable pupils, and irregular heart sounds characteristic of those who have seen something hideous. This too was one of those ‘familiarities’ that did not give me much inspiration.

Being treated as a thorn in my eye, a traitor, trash, a scoundrel, or a monster no longer gives me any stimulation or novelty.

The ‘familiarity’ that took root deep in my heart blocked everything.

But the branches grew so big that they even covered the sky I could look up at.

“Hey, kill that bastard quickly… no, execute him quickly!”

“How nice it would be if I were like you.”

“What…?”

“If I were weak enough not to be able to kill anything, if I was foolish enough not to betray my sister, if I could be selfish enough to pass those things on.”

If I could become that kind of person.

“If that were the case… I.”

I hate the word if.

This is because I know better than anyone else that the delusions associated with that word are futile.

But that sweet delusion was like a drug, something I could never quit.

“Even I, such a poor person, could have loved you.”

Selfishly, I was only looking at that one outcome without thinking about the other outcomes that might arise.

“If you can kill me, kill me quickly. Now, no matter what sin I die from, I don’t think it will mean much.”

“Hey, hurry up and kill me! That guy is so crazy!!!”

However, the soldiers who followed him seemed so frightened that they only trembled and none of them came forward.

“These incompetent bastards…! Get out of the way, I’ll do it myself!”

He took the sword from his subordinate and began to approach very slowly.

Even though he was stepping on the hard dirt floor, he was taking unstable and cautious steps as if he was crossing a stone bridge.

“You idiot…”

The moment he raised his sword, a bright blue light filled the sky and the earth.

Everyone couldn’t stand the bright light and closed their eyes for a moment, but I quietly stared at the blue light.

And soon, the sound of thunder shook the fortress.

“Found it, you bastard.”

There was a woman who came down to earth with lightning, which was the epicenter of the light and sound.

“What? Do I like girls? You’re the bastard who built a fortress instead of a fence. Should I make you a real woman?”

The woman standing on the charred ground had a beautiful face even at first glance.

Shining blue eyes beyond the sky blue hair that flutters carelessly.

The appearance of a beautiful face that reminds me of a beautiful bird in mythology.

A body like a statue modeled after the bird’s owner, the goddess.

She, the owner of all those blessings and one of the five heroes, was also my close friend.

“Camilla.”

She was a warrior and hunter who was better than anyone else, killing a monster that even I could not kill.

So I thought it would be easy to track where I was.

“You changed your cosmetics. Also perfume.”

“ugh…”

“Personally, I think the last perfume was better.”

“… They don’t notice anything else, but they know this like a ghost.”

“You may not know about other women, but if it’s about you, you can easily find out.”

“Cowardly bastard…”

She turned her head for a moment and began to look at the distant mountain.

After finishing looking at the distant mountain, she turned her head towards me again and vented her dissatisfaction like an active volcano.

“So, what I’m saying is try to use that insight a little more broadly. If it had been that way in the first place, we would have gone through all this trouble…”

She suddenly stopped talking and started staring at my lips.

Perhaps the cause was the blood that had flowed out from a slight tear on the inside of my lip just moments ago.

“Who did that?”

Camilla’s voice began to turn cold, like it did on the battlefield.