episode_0151

“Hey.”

“……”

“Ugh, fine. I should just stop talking.”

Tap tap.

“Got it.”

I lightly patted the head of the girl who resembled the Demon King as I recalled what had happened just minutes ago. How did I even end up like this?

When she first approached me, I thought I was going to die on the spot. I knew all too well the terrifying power the Demon King possessed. After all, this was the same Demon King who effortlessly fought against Lucella—armed with the Holy Sword and wrapped in Cecilia’s divine protection—while simultaneously deflecting the barrage of magic from Chris and Elia without a single scratch.

If she wanted to, reducing me to dust would’ve been child’s play. Yet, surprisingly, the girl did nothing to me. Instead, as if to dispel my fear that she might harm me, she poked me a few times before plopping down right where she stood.

And then came another tap tap.

This time, she wasn’t pointing at me but at the ground beside her. Eventually, I gave in and sat down next to her.

Yeah, if she had wanted me dead, she could’ve killed me long ago. Maybe this was my chance—my original goal had been to gather information about her, after all.

With that thought, I leaned against the tree just like she did, but the results were far from satisfying.

No matter what I said, the girl remained silent, sitting quietly without a word. She didn’t react to anything I did. Yet, the moment I tried to leave, she’d glare at me like a ghost, leaving me stuck in a dilemma where I could neither stay nor go.

Eventually, having given up, I simply waited for time to pass, and naturally, I found myself observing the girl.

Long crimson hair, snow-white skin, and delicate features that, despite her childlike appearance, were perfectly proportioned. If not for the small horns peeking out from the top of her head, she could’ve passed for the daughter of some high-ranking noble. The Demon King I had seen before had been more like a warrior from the southern lands, her appearance marred by the intensity of battle and the release of demonic energy.

But the girl before me now undoubtedly had some connection to the Demon King.

“Hey.”

“……”

Hmm. Still being completely ignored.

“At least tell me your name. I can’t keep calling you ‘hey’ or ‘you.’ Or… can you not speak?”

The girl suddenly turned her head to look at me.

“Oh, finally a proper reaction.”

“……”

“I get that you don’t want to talk, but can’t you at least tell me your name? It’s unfair for me to just sit here waiting. I should get something out of this too.”

“……”

“Damn it.”

It had already been about 30 minutes since we’d been sitting side by side in this forest. The growls of demonic beasts were getting closer. I had to make a decision.

“……!”

“What, are you going to stop me?”

As I got up, ready to run, the girl grabbed my sleeve with a troubled expression.

“Sorry, but I’d rather not sit here and become monster chow. If you want to stop me, say something now.”

I had my reasons for being this assertive. If she really was the Demon King and had brought me here for some purpose, then I must have value to her. If she had wanted me dead, she could’ve killed me anytime—yet she went out of her way to keep me alive and bring me here. That meant she had a reason to keep me in this place.

I’d wasted enough time on unexpected reactions. I wasn’t going to waste any more.

“……”

The girl still held onto my sleeve, weakly tugging at me. Watching her, a small doubt crept into my mind.

Swish—

I raised a clenched fist in a threatening stance. Of course, given how weak I was, it wasn’t even a proper punch, and with my other arm still held by her, the pose was awkward at best.

But her reaction was astonishing.

“Ugh…”

She flinched back, shielding her head with one arm—an unmistakable display of fear.

“What?”

The response was so far from what I’d expected that I couldn’t help but shout.

Swish—

When I experimentally took a step forward, she hurriedly followed, as if determined not to let me go.

As I took a few more steps, she matched my pace with quick, short strides.

“Haah…”

A sigh of relief escaped me before I could stop it. I didn’t know what was going on, but this girl wasn’t a threat to me right now. I had no idea why she’d lured me into this forest, but it seemed meeting me had been her sole purpose.

“Sigh. Alright, first, let’s get out of this forest. Then we can talk properly—”

GROOOOAAARR—!

“Damn it!”

While I’d been caught up in this pointless mind game, the roar of a demonic beast echoed so loudly it hurt my ears. No more hesitating.

“Eek?!”

I broke into a full sprint in the direction I’d come from. Given the girl’s behavior, I expected her to follow—and sure enough, the lethargy from earlier vanished as she ran beside me, her expression as blank as when I’d first seen her.

“Haah… haah…”

Fortunately, my legs, though tired from sitting against the tree for so long, managed to keep moving. Unfortunately…

GRRROOOOAAARR!

The beast’s roar was now close enough that I could tell exactly where it was coming from. Countless visions of death flashed through my mind in an instant. And as if trampling over each of those futures, I kept running silently. If I stopped now, I’d be caught in seconds.

But no matter my resolve, my pathetic body quickly lost speed.

“Huff… huff… Ugh!”

I forced down the nausea rising in my throat, but my legs only slowed further.

“……”

The girl looked at me as if asking what was wrong. Of course, she wouldn’t be tired after this much running—she’d been toying with me from the start.

“Haha, this is just ridiculous.”

If there was ever a pathetic way to die, this was it. I’d gotten no information from the girl, and now it was over?

My chances of surviving a fight with a demonic beast were zero. Even with the indestructible artifact I carried, it could only block a single fatal blow. The difference between being killed in one bite or two was negligible.

“……”

The girl just kept staring at me.

“Go.”

“……”

“I’m going to die soon anyway. If you don’t want to die too, you should run. You’re fast, right? Come on, hurry.”

I didn’t know why I said that. I’d come here because the Demon King-like girl was suspicious, and now, even with death looming, I was telling her to escape. No one would remember my sacrifice.

Just another reckless, mediocre student who wandered into the forest and became prey—a death so stupid it was almost laughable.

Even if Lucella and the other four investigated whether my death was an assassination, they’d find nothing. They’d just see it as a tragic accident, a casualty of their mission. No one would ever think that in my last moments, I’d tried to save someone.

My mission in this world, my duty to defeat the Demon King, the sweet daily life waiting for me back in my original world—all of it was jumbled together, leaving me hollow.

Tap tap—

The girl tugged at my sleeve again. This time, as if she was the one trying to make me escape. And then I realized.

Ah… I see.

I was frustrated.

I hated the idea of dying without leaving anything behind in this world, so I’d done my best.

I’d used my knowledge of the original story under the guise of prophecy, deceived countless people, chosen the difficult path of regression, and even then, set out on a journey to save this world. My motives might’ve been pitiful in comparison, but it didn’t matter.

If I didn’t do at least that much, the boy named Eric Grave would disappear from this world without leaving a single trace.

So even if no one ever knew, I wanted to live a life he could be proud of—one that wouldn’t shame him, even if I died.

That was the least I could do, having taken over his body.

Maybe I wasn’t a proper human either. This is why you shouldn’t get too immersed.

GRRROOOOAAARR!!!

As if it had waited long enough, the source of the deafening roar finally revealed itself.

If you combined a wolf and a horse and multiplied its size several times over, this would be the result. For someone like me, who couldn’t even handle a normal wolf, this beast was hopelessly out of my league.

Desperate, I shouted at the girl still clinging to my sleeve.

“Run away!”

The beast’s judgment was swift and merciless.

The moment I yelled, it lunged straight for my throat. And then—

“—.”

Boom!

As the girl’s lips parted, the charging demonic beast exploded mid-air.