Ch.324324. Before the Meal (2)

“Wow, are you really getting married?”

“…”

“Wow. I’ve never done that before, so I can’t really give you any advice.”

“…Just shut up for a moment.”

I grab my throbbing head as I watch Bogart Marquis, who has somehow regained his usual high energy and is spouting such things.

Just a little while ago, when the atmosphere turned hostile, I had to run for my life.

“Anyway, I’m glad to see you’re looking healthy.”

This guy seems to have been summoned by Professor Mobius and gone through various ordeals. Fortunately, he looks quite decent now.

When he was nearly dying and had his head shaved, it was painful just to look at him, but now he looks acceptable except for being slightly pale.

At my words, Bogart Marquis shrugged in agreement.

“Well, you seem to be doing better too.”

“How so?”

“You look like you’ve gained some composure compared to before.”

“…”

I just awkwardly scratch my head, not knowing how to respond to that.

“…Just.”

After keeping my mouth shut for a while, I sigh and speak.

“I do feel much better.”

It’s not untrue.

Having my past trauma completely exposed isn’t exactly a pleasant feeling, but conversely, having someone know about it and understand it makes me feel somewhat unburdened.

-Have I not told you many times that you are not alone.

The image of Elnore Erinarise la Tristan saying those words suddenly appears in my mind.

This is the second time I remember it.

“…In that regard, I can’t thank you enough.”

Well.

If nothing else, through those two experiences, I’ve come to understand one thing clearly.

Just as much as I want to protect those around me.

Others want to protect me too.

Though I didn’t express it directly in words, that lesson was clearly etched in my mind.

Upon hearing those words, Bogart Marquis smiled broadly again.

“So that’s why you decided to get married in one go!”

“…”

“That’s wonderful. I may be single, but Armin and Astrid were so lovey-dovey in their early marriage. I wish you all the blessings for your future.”

“…About that.”

As Bogart Marquis keeps casually bringing up topics that make my head feel like it’s going to explode, I try to steer the conversation back to its original direction.

“I saved my mother as you wished, you know?”

“…What?”

“Don’t you think you should be a bit grateful to me?”

“…”

I continue speaking calmly to Bogart Marquis, who is blinking his eyes as if wondering what on earth I’m talking about.

“Of course, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even known that something like that happened to my mother.”

“…That’s right?”

“But in the end, I’m the one who twisted my body to save her.”

“…”

“I’d like to be compensated for all the trouble I went through.”

Bogart Marquis, who had been staring blankly as if hearing such nonsense for the first time, spoke in a voice that seemed to have lost its soul.

“…You’re really a filial son, aren’t you.”

“…Shut up.”

I know I’m being unreasonable.

But if you think about it, what I’m saying isn’t entirely wrong, is it?

“No, listen, Darwood Campbell. I went through a lot of trouble too, you know?”

Bogart Marquis spoke in an unusually aggrieved voice for someone like him.

“I sacrificed all the political support base I had built up to start a civil war, managed it to minimize bloodshed and suppress it peacefully, deliberately made you noticeable to the Demonic Spire, and went through so much trouble to get you into this exclusive Demonic Spire-“

“So what?”

“…”

“Didn’t I suffer too?”

“…And I’m a terminally ill patient-“

“-were.”

I cut off Bogart Marquis’s words sharply, smiling smugly.

As if to say, well said.

“You’ve been completely cured by the Demonic Spire’s facilities.”

“…”

In fact, that was also part of my plan when I subjugated Mobius’s mind to me.

The technology here is truly unfair. They can even do crazy things like transferring a person’s mind into a reconstructed body, so curing a sick body isn’t that difficult.

“If I saved your life, I’m saying you should work. You can understand that much, regardless of other reasons, right?”

“…What a devilish person. Ah, excuse me. You’re actually a demon, right?”

“…”

I have nothing to say to that.

As I remain silent, Bogart Marquis, lost in thought, slightly opened his mouth after a moment and said:

“The work you want me to do is probably about the Holy Empire, right?”

I nod seriously at Bogart Marquis’s words.

That’s the fundamental reason why I’m trying to manipulate this person, even if it means forcing myself to be a filial son of fire.

Bogart Marquis is a military genius who, in the original plot that wasn’t twisted by my existence, would have thoroughly defeated our Emperor in the imperial civil war.

He’s not called the Undefeated Rising Star for nothing.

“I’d like to ask you to take command.”

“Command?”

“I’ve laid all the groundwork. The Empire, the Tribal Union, and even the Demonic Spire. It’s a force balanced enough to wage a ‘full-scale war’ against the Pope without too much disadvantage.”

“…Actually, looking at the external forces alone, it seems like using just some of what you listed would be enough to overwhelm them.”

“That’s only if they don’t hide anything.”

At my words, Bogart Marquis shrugged and agreed.

“The Pope… has quite a notorious reputation even within the Empire.”

Bogart Marquis continued with a gloomy expression.

“The Tristan Dukedom, the Guardians, the curse passed down through the imperial family… there are even stories that all of these are related to his ‘behind-the-scenes machinations’.”

“…”

That somewhat aligns with what I know from the original story.

The Pope. The strongest priest in the world.

And the one playing the role of the darkest mastermind in the world.

I’ve encountered him once before, but even then, instead of tearing me apart head-on, he chose to hold his breath and conserve his strength.

“…Fighting someone like that isn’t something just anyone can do, so I should probably handle it myself… but I can’t. I’ll likely be extremely busy if a full-scale fight breaks out with him.”

Probably.

In the upcoming ‘final chapter,’ I’ll have to deal with other matters as well.

There’s a very high possibility that I’ll be too busy to pay attention to the overall ‘command.’

“The Luminary.”

“…Hmm.”

At that name, even Bogart Marquis couldn’t add anything and just let out a deep sigh.

So.

I understand that he has some kind of ‘goodwill’ towards me.

But whether it’s the Pope or him, they likely have similar directions in their ‘grand purpose.’

Probably leading to the outcome I most want to avoid.

“Both the Pope and that person hate demons, you know.”

“What?”

“That’s just how it is.”

I just hope things don’t flow in that direction.

“…Well, anyway, I understand why you’re asking for my help regarding that black-masked woman. It can’t be helped.”

“Yes. So, since you’ve decided to sacrifice yourself for my mother, might as well go all the way-“

I start to speak but slightly furrow my brows.

It was quite disturbing how Bogart Marquis was looking at me with a strange smile.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, more than anything else.”

Bogart Marquis said, stroking his chin with interest.

“You’re calling her ‘mom’ now?”

“…”

“Didn’t you previously call her ‘Professor Astrid’ with a lot of distance?”

That was… true.

I sigh deeply and rub my face with both hands.

In the first place, it would be strange for me to hold a grudge after seeing with my own eyes why she disappeared without contact for so long despite being alive.

And, on top of that.

“I can’t keep my distance forever. Above all.”

“Above all?”

“I need to borrow any hand that can help right now.”

“…”

“Elnore is probably just the beginning, isn’t she?”

“…”

“How many women are lined up behind her?”

“…”

“Starting from tomorrow is the problem.”

Well.

Receiving a sympathetic look from someone who was once an enemy is, in its own way, a unique experience.

●

They say marriage is the grave of life.

It’s a saying that comes from being deprived of the freedom that was so easily enjoyed before marriage.

And.

I’m now in a state where I can deeply empathize with that sentence in a slightly different sense.

[Your situation is a bit different.]

‘What?’

[You’re in a position to go to the grave even before getting married, so I don’t think you should compare it to that.]

‘…’

I look around, completely agreeing with Calivan’s words.

This is a clothing store where we’ve come to choose a wedding dress. Elnore linked arms with me and practically dragged me in.

The problem is.

“…”

I silently turn around.

Elia Krisanax is accompanying us, with light practically beaming from her eyes.

I wonder why she’s even here, but the problem is that Elnore had an attitude of “come if you want” from the beginning.

“How about this one, dear?”

Elnore, who came out wearing a new dress with complete nonchalance, asked such a question.

The problem is.

She didn’t ask me, but Elia who had followed with fire in her eyes.

As if showing off.

“Does it suit me in your opinion?”

“It suits you well-“

The reason the end of the sentence is a bit drawn out is because Elia was grinding her teeth while saying so.

The character for “well” is clearly etched on her forehead, and her appearance is incredibly fierce.

“Hmm.”

Elnore nodded and continued speaking.

There seems to be a faint smile on her lips, somewhat like a sneer.

“Today, I plan to ask for your opinion on various things.”

“…”

“Perhaps.”

Elnore’s gaze slightly scanned the surroundings.

As if looking for ‘someone else’ who is definitely around but not visible at the moment.

“It would be nice if others had the chance to do so as well.”

As Elnore says this with a provocative smile, I feel like my breath is caught in my throat.

Will I be able to stay alive?