Ch.303Unexpected Results

After that, I was too busy to catch my breath.

I had to explain to Millia, who had woken up, why I had almost killed Demian, and I also needed to get permission from Frider to hang someone on the city gate.

I didn’t mind if they whispered cautiously among themselves, but it was a different story if they talked loudly enough for me to overhear.

A young predator finally killed the pretty boy he had his eye on? Interesting notion.

Let’s see if they can still say such things after hanging from the city gate for two days.

“Please spare me, Were Eater!! I promise I’ll never run my mouth carelessly again!!”

“Who said anything about killing you? I’m not going to kill you. Just hang you up for a while.”

I wrapped the trembling soldier tightly in iron chains and hung him dangling from the edge of the city gate.

So that everyone in Faelrun Castle could clearly see what would happen if they crossed the line with their jokes.

“Please have mercy…! I don’t want to freeze to death like this!”

His body, caught in the blowing wind, swung back and forth like a pendulum.

The tightly bound soldier looked up at the empty sky and shouted desperately.

He’s exaggerating. It’s not like I stripped him naked, so he won’t actually freeze to death.

—-

After setting an example to quiet down the rumors that had crossed the line, I headed to the infirmary where Demian was resting.

I needed to apologize to the boy who had returned from the brink of death.

…Come to think of it, it seems like it was Demian’s fault for being so weak that his heart stopped over something so minor, but I suppose I should apologize anyway.

I feel like I might possibly have a feeling that I can’t completely deny that I might somewhat feel that my failure to control my strength could also be considered part of the problem, so…

[…You’re moving slower than a crawl. If you hate apologizing so much, why not just give up?]

Hersella sighed as if the sight was unsightly and scolded me.

…Easy for you to say when it’s not your problem. I doubt you’ve ever apologized once in your entire life.

‘Do you even know what an apology is?’

[It’s a virtue you lack.]

I bickered with Hersella for a while as I walked down the corridor.

A silent outcry, you might call it. No matter how loudly I shouted in my head, neither my voice nor Hersella’s could be heard by others.

—-

Finally, I arrived at the infirmary.

Demian, sitting on the bed, had a pale complexion as if his soul had half left his body.

Not just from the cardiac arrest, but also from his previous injuries, he was wrapped in bandages all over his body.

Beside Demian sat Millia, who had come to nurse him, with a face that couldn’t hide her worry.

…Such devotion. For affection with little chance of being reciprocated.

What am I supposed to do with these two…

I sighed as I entered the room.

“Ah, welcome, Haschal. Did you come to see Demian?”

“H-Haschal…!?”

Unlike Millia, who greeted me somewhat cheerfully, Demian’s expression froze when our eyes met.

His eyes trembled uncertainly, and cold sweat trickled down from beneath the bandage on his forehead. His fear was unmistakably clear.

I guess I’ve at least managed to instill one emotion in him—fear.

I’m not sure if this can be considered a positive change… but having some emotion is better than none at all.

“Why are you here… Don’t tell me you want another sparring match…!?”

…Relax, that’s not it. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.

Frider and Florence specifically warned me against it. They asked if there was any need to kill the kid.

“Don’t worry, that’s not it. I didn’t come for sparring, I came because I have something to say to you.”

To be precise, I came to say I’m sorry.

I didn’t realize your mental strength was that weak.

“Something to say…?”

“Yes. First of all, I’m… I’m…”

I’m sorry—

…

…Do I really need to do this?

“I’m…?”

“You idiot, what were you thinking letting your heart stop in two seconds? I thought I was going to have a heart attack myself.”

Come to think of it, I’m annoyed. He should be the one apologizing to me.

Saying sorry for causing trouble, sorry for being weak.

“……”

Demian and Millia looked at me with subtle expressions that were difficult to read.

[I knew this would happen.]

The voice in my head mocked me with laughter.

‘No, think about it. Isn’t the feeling more important than the words? I felt sorry, so I’m much better than Demian who only apologizes verbally.’

So let’s call it even.

After all, I didn’t receive a sincere apology either.

[Your excuses flow like a mountain stream. If only your intelligence matched even half your eloquence…]

This woman seems to have had a lot of complaints about my intelligence for a while now… but aren’t our intelligence levels the same?

After all, your brain has become mine.

—-

“So, do you notice any changes?”

I asked, sitting next to the bed and eating a piece of fruit that Millia had cut.

“Changes? Maybe the fact that I now know you can kill someone just by glaring at them, Haschal?”

“…No, not that. Like feeling a mysterious vitality flowing through your body with every breath, or feeling like you’ve gained an extra joint in your fingers. Or maybe feeling the blood flow in your veins more clearly… something like that.”

That’s generally how it feels to sense and utilize the flow of Karma. The feeling of Murder Karma was a bit different.

Perhaps because it was a slightly different type of power, the sensation of Murder Karma was closer to pouring strong liquor into your muscles and blood vessels.

“Well…? I’m not sure. I just feel short of breath and dizzy. …My body does feel a bit itchy, but not to the extent you described.”

Demian shook his head.

“Itchiness… that’s a bit vague.”

I had pretty much guessed from the moment he collapsed from cardiac arrest in two seconds, but it seemed the first attempt had ended in failure.

Still, the fact that he felt some itchiness suggested it wasn’t completely meaningless.

I’ll have to try again later. With reduced power.

“Nothing ever comes easy. Even with all this effort to help you, the results are so…”

I sighed toward Demian, placing my hand on my neck and cracking it.

“Um… should I apologize?”

Do it or don’t. It’s not like you’d be sincere anyway.

How did this guy level up in the original story?

There was definitely a way for him to get stronger quickly…

I tapped my temple, trying to recall my fading memories.

Perhaps because I’d been through so much, memories from just half a year ago were already becoming dim.

So that method was definitely…

Ah, it’s no use.

I remembered, but it wasn’t a method I could use.

The fastest way to rapidly develop Demian was to sacrifice Millia to gain a growth bonus.

That’s impossible now, both practically and morally.

So I’ll have to abandon that method… then…

My thoughts were interrupted when someone poked my shoulder.

“Um… Haschal?”

A voice calling me cautiously, filled with confusion and questions.

It was Millia, who had been listening silently beside me.

“What is it, Millia? Do you have a question?”

I turned my gaze toward her.

Millia was staring blankly at her left hand with wide-open eyes.

“Is this what you were talking about…?”

Her left hand, which had folded a metal knife in half.

“Uh…? You, did you just…?”

Wait, what is this?

How did you do that…?

We all stared at Millia’s left hand, at a loss for words.

Although Millia had grown considerably stronger, she wasn’t strong enough to fold metal like paper.

For that to be possible…

“A Master… Millia?”

Demian muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.

Yes. Strength impossible without the aid of Karma. There was only one answer.

Master.

My goodness. Is this even possible?

Demian, who had been trying so hard to become a Master, only felt the signs and failed, but Millia actually ascended to Master?

How is that possible?

Of course, because her accumulated Karma was small, the aura she emitted was a bit weak for a Master.

It was weaker than Nigel when I first met him, or Leonore when she had just become a Master.

Normally, it would be almost impossible to become a Master with such a small amount of Karma… but it seems the emotional turmoil that triggered it was quite significant.

There was only one trigger I could think of that would make her ascend to Master.

No wonder her aura seemed ominous when she was half-crazed with jealousy. Had she already ascended to Master then?

…It was an unexpected outcome.

But unexpected as it was, it was still cause for celebration.

Demian and I congratulated Millia, who still looked dumbfounded, and urged her to go tell Frider about it.

A Master-level archer would be quite a useful force. Frider would congratulate her too.

And knowing Frider’s personality, he would probably provide her with equipment befitting a Master to help protect the castle.

After Millia left the room, persuaded by Demian and me, I looked at Demian, smirked, and shrugged.

“How does it feel to be the weakest one now, Lord Demian?”

“Um… I need to work harder?”

Right. As long as you understand.

There’s a limit to being a late bloomer—becoming the weakest? Aren’t you embarrassed?

—-

After telling Demian to rest well for the next training session, I left the infirmary and headed to the bathroom.

It was about time the number of people using the bathroom would have decreased. The maids and servants would be busy preparing the evening banquet, and the knights would be busy patrolling or training. Perfect timing.

As expected, the bathroom was empty.

I poured hot spring water over my body, which I had only roughly wiped down before, and washed thoroughly.

Beyond the wall, the sun, having completed its daily journey, was slowly sinking below the horizon, dyeing the sky red.

—-

That was the last moment of leisure I would enjoy.

What awaited me after finishing my bath was not a mouth-watering dinner, but grave information that made me swallow dry.

Werebeasts were marching from beyond the ruins of the northern wall.

At a speed almost equivalent to galloping on horseback.