episode_0074

“… That’s why I said. When the Demon King struck me with his slash, I really thought I was going to die.”

“The guy who narrowly missed the mark destroyed the mountain and turned the forest into a flatland.”

“Raul. So I’m asking, how did you actually stop that attack?”

One of the roles that Your Majesty and I played in the battle was to check the Demon King’s attacks.

I added a defensive resonance to my staff of absolute hardness to defend against the Demon King’s attacks.

I was confident in taking it and rejecting it. The criticism directed at me was no different. I just had to take it and reject it.

“… Would you please pick up a stone and throw it at His Majesty?”

Her Highness the Empress, who was quite drunk, picked up a stone from the garden and threw it at His Majesty with all her might.

It was clear that if he had been hit with that, his skull would have shattered, as he had been slightly depressed.

“Like this.”

I extended my hand, grumbling, and deflected the stones that were flying at His Majesty.

Of course, there was an incident where a ricocheting rock hit Camilla on the forehead, but that was something to laugh off.

How could I be angry, even if I were Camilla? How could I be angry on this beautiful and joyful day?

It’ll probably end with you just strangling me like this.

“By the way, Leila is late.”

“That’s right. I guess we’ve already started… Hehe. How many shots of punishment do I have to drink to keep up with the pace?”

“Empress… Please…”

“Ahahaha…”

I laughed because I was so happy.

“I really feel so awkward every time I see you. Your smiling face. Please, don’t smile.”

“You feel bad, like fruit on pizza? Like Lyle’s smile. Please stop.”

“Don’t laugh. It makes us feel weird when we watch it.”

Is my smile really that horrible?

It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed out loud like this, so it might be a little awkward.

Because I never smiled once on the battlefield where so many deaths and funerals took place.

“If it’s really awkward, try to hold back as much as possible…”

At that moment, we all stood up and prepared for battle because of the stinging smell of blood.

With the murderous intent and the aura of strength that made my skin tingle, we all took out the strengthening agent that we always carried with us and swallowed it.

Because I felt the enemy’s aura, which my drunken body could not handle.

“Hoo…”

Finally, I heard a familiar voice. No, it was a voice that was so familiar that it was a problem. I think I’ve heard this voice a few times recently.

“That damn lizard bitch used really toxic poison. Thanks to that, it was really hard to cover it up. Anyway, it really is annoying…”

The one who revealed himself was none other than Leila.

Golden jewels and hair embedded in that beautiful appearance.

A tall person, as tall as me, and a beautiful body that looked like it was created by God.

And an overwhelming aura that makes the viewers lose their will to fight.

“Leila, why do you suddenly live like that…”

“Shut up, you pathetic idiot. You’re being fooled by these fakes.”

It seemed like Leila was very angry.

If she was angry, it was probably my fault. My other half didn’t get angry easily. It was definitely my fault for being stupid.

That’s why I gave up protesting and put down my weapon. I knew that my other half was definitely right.

“Hey Leila! You suddenly came up to me with a murderous look on your face and suddenly said, what the hell are you doing…!”

Camilla, who had a strong personality, could not control her temper and approached Leila without hesitation.

Crunch.

Camilla’s neck was cut off with a slash.

“Huh…?”

Camilla’s severed head was rolling on the ground with a face that seemed unaware of the situation.

“These pathetic fake bastards…”

“What are you doing Leila!!!”

“What the hell are you doing, Leila!!!”

Leila glared at His Majesty and His Highness the Empress with a look of genuine disgust.

“After all, they are just fakes who imitate the appearance.”

What Leila took out was her favorite sword.

In an instant, the sword drew a complex snake-like trajectory and pierced the chests of His Majesty and His Highness the Empress at the same time.

“What the heck are we going to do now….!”

“Shut up. Stop talking while wearing my friend’s skin over your head. It makes me feel so dirty.”

When Leila snapped her fingers, the saber sword became a ring again, and His Majesty and His Highness the Empress, who had been pierced by the saber sword, died instantly with a hole left in their chests.

It was a happy and joyful night. I was so happy that I could laugh out loud. Why on earth?

I wouldn’t have done anything that wrong. I wouldn’t have done anything so foolish as to destroy this happiness. I wouldn’t have even dreamed of something so painfully bad.

“Leila…?”

I couldn’t understand.

It was unacceptable.

I couldn’t accept it.

I couldn’t accept all of this that was unfolding before me. No, I didn’t want to accept it. If I accepted it, if I accepted the pain as usual, the pain would become my daily life.

It was clear that it would come to me every day and torment me under the name of daily life. I would become a wooden doll that had to accept any pain calmly.

I wanted to live, as my whole self.

“Are you lying…? You wouldn’t kill them…? You wouldn’t make me suffer…? Right…?”

“Hey, you pathetic little girl.”

Ouch.

A sharp, hot pain shot across my cheek along with a sound.

I didn’t understand it, but it was clear that Leila had slapped me in the face.

“Camilla wouldn’t die from just that kind of attack… Still don’t get it?”

“That’s….”

Camilla would have easily blocked that level of attack. That realization was firmly engraved in my mind.

“Do you think Penelope and Asher would ask questions in front of the human who killed their friend? Instead of just making their heads explode with questions and answers?”

“…”

If His Majesty and His Highness the Empress were great people, they would have done so. If they were the two of them who cared for me, they would have certainly done so.

I knew full well that this wasn’t reality.

No, I couldn’t not have known. I couldn’t have been so foolish as not to notice this little discomfort.

“What you’re doing right now is betrayal, you idiot.”

“Betrayal? Me? What right do you have to do that to me…”

I hated Leila. I hated Leila for running away and abandoning me in that damned nightmare.

“You were trying to give the heart you give to your friends to these fakes. In your eyes, were we just dolls that looked exactly the same? If the female protagonist in a novel did that, would you immediately lose the romance? ”

Leila grabbed me by the collar and started shaking me.

“Please give that heart only to us. It means don’t be swayed by these fakes.”

“… Yeah.”

I was embarrassed.

Me, who was swayed by these fakes for even a moment. Me, who tried to settle for this fake reality. Me, who tried to close my eyes by making up excuses.

I was so embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I tried to run away.”

“… It’s only natural to want to run away when you live a life like yours. Don’t blame yourself too much. ”

“To wake up from this dream… I guess it’ll be a lot of pain. Even if you stab me or cut me, you won’t feel any real pain.”

So it was obvious what I had to do.

“I have to repeat that pain again.”

“… I’m sorry. I made you do this again.”

“How can I blame you, a demigod, when my own misery is the cause? That pain is also a lesson to me as punishment…so…”

My throat is choked up.

My voice wasn’t coming out properly.

But the tears did not flow either. It was as if something invisible was holding them back.

I was a pathetic man who couldn’t even show tears to my friends.

“It’s all my fault.”

A warm sensation spread through my fingertips. The vibrating tip of the pot tore through my flesh and blood, destroying half of my heart.

Of course, there was no physical pain. Of course, because I was the one who stabbed him.

It was just a heartbreaking pain. No matter how much I tried to kill my emotions, I couldn’t kill that pain. How could I kill something that was given to me by a friend? How could I kill this pain that was like a child born between me and my friend?

How could I avoid this lovely pain conceived by her? How could I hate this pain, which is too loving and miserable, and which has always been by my side like a little son?

“Leila.”

“Don’t say anything more. If you really think about it, I’m just a scarecrow. Don’t give your precious heart to someone who’s just a scarecrow.”

I see.

Can’t you tell me this time too?

Will my love not reach you this time too?

“And I already noticed it all from the beginning.”

“What…?”

Leila, who was dying, grabbed my face, then put our foreheads together and smiled.

“I knew the names, depths, and temperatures of your emotions. Even before you. Of course, I’m a genius, but…”

Lips so hot they burned me touched my forehead.

“You’re really quick-witted.”

“…. Damn it.”

I woke up, rubbing my forehead.

“Did something happen?”

The first person to greet me when I returned to the cold reality was my crow.

“I had a nightmare.”

“Nightmare…?”

“They say that fish get burned when they come into contact with human body temperature.”

I touched my forehead where her lips had touched.

“It was a terrible nightmare that left me with a burn on my forehead.”

“… Anyway, he’s a bother.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Some fool was napping outside on a rainy day, so I came to wake him up. Why? I was worried because he wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I pegged him.”

Now that I look at it, this crow seems to have something in common with her.

“Raul… Are you awake? That’s good… We were worried because we didn’t have an answer on our own.”

It seemed that Camilla and Kyle, who woke up first, were also in considerable pain.

“Anyway, it’s a blessing in disguise. I was terrified because I thought one of the most powerful forces had disappeared. I wonder if that bird didn’t know that either, because it had been trying to wake Raul up since a while ago. Just now, I saw it on its forehead…”

“Kaaa …

Then my crow started croaking unusually loudly.

No, it sounded more like a woman’s scream than a bird’s cry.