Ch.23678. The Hasty Arrangement Between You and Me

# “Astarte.”

Here, I repeat that familiar name the war god had muttered.

After a brief yet long battle,

I have returned once again to my previous domain.

To be precise, both Lutetia and I.

Both of us.

A desolate sandy plain with a distant view resembling an ancient fortress that could exist in mythology.

In other words, we had returned to our original domain.

“That’s Athena. Is she referring to you?”

-Well, that’s also part of my divinity.

Athena boasts as she rambles on.

-As you know, you’re aware of whose divinity she possesses, right? And speaking of which, the domain of beauty is also strictly under my jurisdiction.

“Is that… referring to Aphrodite?”

Venus, also famous as Mars’s misaligned half.

…I couldn’t help but think of someone with a nasty temper, which felt rather strange.

-You are special to me. You are no longer Pallas or anything else, but now you hold a different meaning to me.

However.

-I’ve had a long relationship with that one. I can’t prioritize either side. So from now on, I won’t help you or favor him.

“……”

-If I were purely Athena, I might have sided with you.

Athena.

They say she had a very, very special relationship with her half-brother Ares.

…In a terribly negative sense.

Outside, the war god had regained his true form and was displaying overwhelming majesty, but even that was just a part of it.

The situation is deteriorating moment by moment.

-More importantly, don’t you have something to resolve first? That thing over there.

“……”

I turn my gaze toward Lutetia.

Her condition… looked terrible from any angle.

Perhaps the situation had already collapsed the moment I allowed the war god to land the first blow.

Yet the most serious issue… wouldn’t be her physical wounds.

<…>

She was clearly in a state of shock.

She was originally an ancient immortal who dwelled in the World Tree.

The reincarnation of that very being.

Essentially, she could rightfully be called the progenitor of elves.

Above all, she had demonstrated her permanence, her inability to perish, in some form.

…Come to think of it, she too could be considered to possess another form of divinity.

She simply never held a divine rank or achieved godhood.

<So this is what it all comes down to.>

With a devastatingly sunken voice, she staggered to her feet.

Then, half-stumbling as she walked, she collapsed beside Delica’s small, sprawled body.

<It was more than just fleeting.>

Her current self is called Lutetia.

And when she was bound to the World Tree, she was also called Lutetia.

Fate or curse?

Constraint or bondage?

Either way, perhaps she is a being who lives and dies for despair and frustration.

The emotions and thoughts I sense from her seem to be of that nature.

“……”

<Abraxas…>

Lutetia was dying.

And yet, she had pushed herself again to revive Delica.

<But even in death, I’ll be trapped in shackles and flow somewhere else. A river cannot refuse the sea, after all.>

Just as the sky cannot reject the earth’s existence.

<What a terrible curse.>

She raised her head, looking as if she might sob at any moment, in a crumpled posture.

Her once majestic ten pairs of crimson-black wings were all damaged beyond repair, with feathers fallen, leaving only skeletal remains.

<You. I want to ask you. Are you satisfied now? My entire existence has been nothing but pain. It would have been better if I had never known. You cruelly reminded me of this fact in the end.>

“……”

<That sometimes death is salvation.>

All her will had been broken.

Without words, that intention was clearly conveyed.

But then.

Suddenly, amidst the emptiness, a hint of base pleasure, a thrill, settled in her eyes.

<Still. He will take our place according to his will. As a ferocious being, he will excellently fulfill the role he does best.>

Lutetia swallowed a bitter laugh.

<Look. In the end, it’s your fault. None other than… you. Because of you.>

She glared at me and declared.

<What did you… what did you want to do from the beginning?>

“……”

I wasn’t entirely without the urge to tell her not to ask me, but.

For now, I remained silent.

I was the type who, unintentionally, could understand others’ intentions and feelings well.

If I didn’t have this empathetic ability, perhaps I too would have lived selfishly, harshly, and cruelly without hesitation.

Being sensitive to others’ pain and emotions is exhausting in many ways.

Nevertheless, it can’t be helped; this is my essence.

“Escaping the pit wasn’t enough, was it.”

Similarly, my situation is just as devastating.

After all, I’ve realized that all the tragedies and misfortunes I’ve experienced were self-inflicted.

I should be equally shocked.

Nothing.

Just emptiness.

“……”

But.

Despite feeling empty, tired, and exhausted, wanting to close my eyes immediately, to think nothing and remain silent.

The situation wouldn’t allow it.

If I had been irresponsible, caring only about my feelings and comfort, ignoring external matters.

…I wouldn’t have had to be anxious about such things.

“There is a way.”

……?

I looked toward the source of the voice, wondering what it was.

“……”

Why is this bastard here?

There stood my younger self.

“The situation hasn’t changed at all. We’ve just returned to square one.”

“Square one?”

“Will you burn the world, or will you become the kindling?”

“……”

Why bring that up now?

Unconsciously, my gaze shifted toward Lutetia.

As if some unknown force was at work, pulling my gaze like a magnet.

“Don’t… tell me?”

“I knew you’d figure it out.”

My younger self smiled faintly.

For me, it was beyond unpleasant, to the point of nausea.

Yet he spoke nonchalantly.

“It’s the only way to save everyone.”

“Which is?”

“Why not?”

<What are you looking at? What are you talking to? You really seem to see all sorts of things.>

She can’t see him?

…Of course.

“Truly back to square one.”

That damned little brat had presented a very clear solution.

And it meant…

“……”

The worst possible development that I had tried to avoid from the beginning.

“If the Empress foresaw my future as a Demon King based on even this possibility, there’s no greater absurdity.”

<Demon King…?>

At those words, she seemed to realize something, displaying a distorted smile.

<What a ridiculous idea! However, it might be possible. I am dying… and you are more than qualified to accept what is mine. Already… you possess other things, so it won’t be difficult with your capacity.>

“Ha.”

This is ridiculous.

“I wanted to avoid it, but in the end, it must have been your inadequacy. In that sense, do you know what?”

Today’s misfortune is the revenge that past time gives you.

“It’s obvious whose fault it is that you couldn’t accept that as a gift.”

“Are you saying that because of your own choices, the fact that my later self knew nothing, and even my ignorance… all of it is my fault and my sin?”

“Exactly right.”

The boy was still smiling innocently.

He said:

“All I could give was time and connections. If the current me couldn’t overcome this crisis with that, then that’s ultimately your limit.”

“……”

“I’m truly disappointed. This isn’t what I expected.”

Then, shaking his head casually, he urged me:

“It’s time to choose. You know well that doing nothing is also a choice, right?”

“……”

Being stuck here, watching and allowing that war god out there to devastate the world.

If that’s a choice, then it’s a choice.

Not choosing anything, just leaving this place, confronting or fleeing from that thing…

That too would be a choice.

And if I were to inherit the Demon King’s qualification from Lutetia and become the one who burns the world according to my original destiny.

My substitute would be dealt with somehow.

By my hand or by other means.

“Haah.”

But that wasn’t the only problem.

“The net of heaven is truly troublesome.”

<What are you hesitating for? Are you going to wait until all the lives out there are lost before making your choice?>

“If you’re going to do it, do it quickly. Or do you have a better solution?”

“How can you be so sure that my current self cannot defeat that thing?”

It was a question directed simultaneously at Lutetia and my younger self.

<He is one who conquered the demon realm single-handedly. Even when he was incomplete, he was overflowing with pure strength and wisdom. Everything about him was abundant. Now he has regained his true self. Do you think it’s the same as when you just fought and drove him away?>

“Even Father could defeat that. If it’s an entity that even Father would have to risk his life to maybe handle? Is that answer sufficient?”

“……”

Ah, I see. How abundant.

Lutetia probably wants me to become the Demon King and suffer.

Meanwhile, my past self is likely both my younger self and another manifestation and will of the World Tree.

In the end, I understood that both were blaming and resenting me for failing in some way.

But to say this situation is my own doing?

Time is running out.

There might be a way out somewhere.

But there was absolutely no time to figure it out.

“I wonder who will die in a few seconds.”

My younger self grinned, shading his eyes as if looking into the distance.

“Maybe Uncle Gazef first.”

“……”

I was cornered.

Or should I abandon their lives and focus on thinking?

But the moment I stood by and watched, I would cease to be myself.

What does that matter?

…Indeed, what does it matter?

“……”

She said anxiety is poison.

In the end, when anxious, for someone as clumsy and foolish as me… is it always like this?

I realized there was no choice.

Whether I liked it or not, whether it was good or bad…

“Yes. Truly, there’s no—”

At that moment, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

As if telling me to stop right there.

As if saying they couldn’t stand by and watch anymore.

-Ah, look at this, really!

With a light laugh that mixed mockery and derision.

A golden light passed over my right shoulder and spread before me.

-Fool. Now do you understand? You’ve just become a bit stronger than others, not enough to overturn fate or destiny yet. Not giving up is only possible when time and opportunity are given. How does it feel? In this situation, are you at your wit’s end?

“……”

“I was wondering when you’d show up.”

My younger self directed an unprecedented cold sneer at her.

With his golden eyes filled with a light of hostility close to murderous intent.

“Wisdom Demon King.”

Yet he addressed her without using any contemptuous title.

In response, the Demon King shrugged and grumbled as if showing off.

-Then you also understand that the situation has been resolved?

“Of course. But did you think I wouldn’t know? This situation can’t be resolved with just a few words. Did you even realize that sending us out of here… is only possible if our intentions align?”

…I see.

That was the World Tree’s will itself, disguised as my younger self.

In that sense, this was quite a malicious trap and snare.

“But what changes if you step in? Isn’t the situation already clear?”

-Indeed. That’s why I’m going to take a loss and do something nasty.

She extended her hand and said:

-I’ll offer divinity as the price.

“…You?”

-Aphrodite. I secured that divinity in this world.

She’s saying something out of nowhere.

-Do you think they call me the Golden Aphrodite, the Golden Venus for nothing?

“That can’t be. How are you connected to that… it’s Athena’s…”

-Did you know that divinity can be loaned? I’m the owner. To be clear, in terms of the concept of gold, I may not be the highest, but I’m among the top-tier beings. Gold is me, and therefore all divinity tied to gold is under my influence.

“…While being a Demon King?”

-You’ve probably noticed by now? Whether possessing divinity or holding divine rank and position… there’s no deviation, liberation, or freedom there.

But what do you know. There’s a liberator in the lower world.

-Becoming the Great Demon King’s disciple was my original goal. For that, I had to abandon everything. Even my original divine rank.

The Earth Spirit King.

Even that was just a shell and shackle.

I was something more than that.

But who am I, what is my true self?

…For someone like me who dreams of liberation, how could I be bound by obsessions and delusions about my abandoned past self?

“Even though everyone is trying to know their true self?”

-What’s there to know? Am I important? What I’m trying to do is what matters. What’s the use of knowing about me? Are you curious? You’ll naturally learn such things along the journey.

“……”

The boy falls silent.

-And Kariel. If you leave her like that, she’ll die. Act quickly.

“……”

The Demon King pointed at Lutetia with just a finger and instructed unilaterally.

But.

How am I supposed to save her?

-Can’t you think more simply? Just take her to her mother.

“M-mother?”

But Lutetia is from the demon realm…

-Those restrictions disappeared when she became a false god. Do I have to explain everything? You should figure these things out on your own.

“……”

That means we need to escape from here safely.

But even if we escape, Lutetia would have no will to live anymore.

-Now, here’s a question.

The Demon King displayed her malice for once.

-If the cruel truth is killing her, are you prepared to give her falsehood, to save her in that way?

“…?”

“Demon King. Do you intend to mock life again this time?!”

My younger self openly expressed indignation.

But the Demon King wasn’t finished and casually threw out:

-Oh, and I’ll also give up the absolute compliance contract I made with your kind. Let’s say we have no more constraints on each other?

“T-this—”

What is… happening?

“……”

Why is she going this far?

Has she ever intervened in my life to this extent before?

-Kariel. Not answering? I told you not to make me repeat myself.

“What do you mean by falsehood?”

-What do you think the world is to that being?

The world?

Is this another vague statement?

No, it can’t be.

Indeed, she provided an answer immediately.

-It’s memory.

“Me…mory?”

-Here’s a shocking truth. What if everything you’ve experienced wasn’t actually experienced by you?

“What are you… n-no way?”

-It is and isn’t what you experienced. Think about it logically, fool. No matter how long a dream feels, how could you dream decades or more in just one night or a few days? Does that make sense? Was my skill that omnipotent?

“……”

-Memory is a person’s world. Not entirely, but it forms the foundation and framework.

Look at yourself.

Just as your unfortunate world shaped your current world.

-And I never told you about my fundamental ability, did I?

With so many powers of the Great Demon King, why did I choose none?

-Because I didn’t need them.

The direction and intention I pursued were too different, and so was my aptitude.

-There was a time when I considered the ground I stood on as one world, and another time when I envied all the skies above the ground as worlds and unique realms.

Then one day, this thought suddenly occurred to me:

-What if it’s a world because I perceive it as such? Then, if I didn’t exist, would the world exist?

…Her words are full of contradictions.

Of course it would exist. Of course.

Yet, I realized this story was quite familiar.

“If I die, does the world collapse?”

-You are the entirety of your world.

Of course, this is only half the reality.

But the term “half” itself carries meaning.

-And how do we perceive that world? Through the self? No, not that.

What allows us to willingly believe we are ourselves is nothing special.

-It’s memory. And this reality where we stand, and the physical body that can roam it. These three things are the world itself.

“…Why are you telling me this now?”

It’s coincidental.

While it’s nothing new that she’s a being who enjoys explaining things.

Why now of all times?

Isn’t time pressing right now?

-If you’re curious, see for yourself.

“…?”

Across space, the scene I saw was… somehow frozen like a painting on canvas.

-The flow of time here and there doesn’t need to be the same. Dozens of seconds here could be dozens of hours there.

At this, my younger self, as if having a fit, condemned her with reddened eyes.

“Isn’t that your doing?! How can you intervene in space-time in that state? How does this make—!”

-That’s why I said I pushed myself a bit. The nasty deed, remember? Do you need me to say everything twice for you to understand?

“Y-you damned Demon King!”

-Yes, I am a Demon King, so if you have nothing to say, go back and stay put over there.

The Demon King waved her hand dismissively.

-Time is indeed running short, so let’s end the riddles here. In that sense, I’ll lend you my ability for a moment, so use it to give that child false salvation. That’s the solution I’m proposing. What do you think?

“……”

This too is a sweet proposal.

Deception that covers someone’s tragic life with flower scents and honey milk.

But for the current Lutetia, there seemed to be no other answer.

At the very least, she lacked the resolve and strength to face her past.

Moreover.

I had promised.

To his father.

Another world.

The one wish held by my miserable and unfortunate self there.

I promised to grant it as much as I could.

“Kariel. Do you know what the Demon King is doing right now? She has crossed countless lines that should not be crossed! If you do such a thing too? Do you think either she or you will be safe?!”

-Where is there an adventure without risk? Typical risk-averse statement from someone who’s been boasting while holed up inside all his life.

“Don’t insult my will! How can you sacrifice the greater good for petty emotional games!”

-That’s why I told you not to speak! I never intended to listen in the first place. Just admire and praise me.

“How petty! No matter how much you try to hide it, nothing fundamental has been resolved! Will he be the one who burns, or will he become kindling! If this fate is not overcome! Even if he escapes from here safely, what awaits him is just another hell!”

-Yeah, that’s why I’m trying to put it on hold.

“What…?”

My younger self is momentarily speechless.

Even I can only blink, wondering what she means.

-Like the current situation, putting it on hold for a while.

She gestures toward the seemingly frozen outside world.

I couldn’t help but ask:

“How?”

-Would you understand if I told you?

This again.

But…

“Lutetia.”

I had to ask her too.

“If I were to commit a discourtesy to you now, could you accept it?”

<What? After muttering to yourself, what now? What strange trick are you trying to pull?>

“It’s a proposal from the previous Demon King.”

<Previous… Demon King?>

“Yes.”

I decided to be honest.

“I will rewrite your memories.”

And then.

“I will take back your Demon King’s destiny so that you won’t be unhappy.”

<What? How is this different from your initial decision to become the Demon King?>

“It’s because of the request your father passed to me. To save you and help ensure you’re not unhappy. I couldn’t refuse that wish.”

<…>

From her blood-red and gold-stained eyes, I sense an indescribable regret.

<I killed my father. Should I, someone like me, escape from unhappiness?>

“Even that is forgiven. Rather, ‘I’m sorry for being late, sorry for not saving you sooner’ – that was the sentiment he held.”

<…>

“He asked a god to imbue his soul into a mere metal to watch over you. You must know that, right?”

<God? A god?!>

“……”

While the Demon King unilaterally verbally assaulted my younger self, beating him down with words.

I finished my exchange of opinions with Lutetia in that manner.

<If you put it that way, how can I refuse.>

“I admit… it’s cowardly.”

It wouldn’t have worked on me, but.

Bringing up parents and siblings… while it’s cowardly in many ways, it’s an effective persuasion method.

“Even if I become the Demon King, I won’t be bound by the Demon King’s destiny in the end?”

-That’s why you need my demon technique.

And until then.

-We’ll have to pass it on to that one’s father.

Somehow, the black armor that had been sprawled there, appearing out of nowhere, was trembling in a precarious form, approaching Lutetia.

Lutetia received it, half-leaning.

Embracing the armor tightly with both arms, Lutetia murmured softly while holding it.

The content… it would be better not to hear.

It was mixed with sobs.

-It was here from the beginning, including that.

“Is that… it?”

-That must be the arrangement foreseen by the me on the other side. For this moment.

“……”

Indeed.

In his final moments, Kariel, who was Lutetia’s father, demanded from the Golden Demon King, the Wisdom Demon King, who had once followed him, almost barking:

My life got messed up because you were stupid.

So take responsibility.

I don’t ask for anything else.

That child you’ve been chasing.

Lutetia.

…Freedom and peace for that child.

…

After making that one-sided request, he breathed his last.

Whether she listened or ignored it, I honestly had no way of knowing.

Now I know.

That’s her from another world.

Was it the golden arrangement?

-Then get ready.

The Demon King approached Lutetia and spoke.

Suddenly, Lutetia raised her head in her direction.

<You…>

-Sharp kid.

The Golden Demon King.

Thus, the previous generation’s Demon King looked down at the unfortunate Demon King of the current era.

With rarely complicated eyes, she clicked her tongue.