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Chapter 313: Tell Them (7)

“At last, we meet.”

The moment I stepped atop the wall, I silently wondered, as I stood before the man blocking my path, whether thinking that the god of timing had it out for me was paranoia or not.

“Um, Sir Old Geezer. We should talk for a mo—”

“Stay out of this.”

Deathbringer urgently stepped forward and tried to stop Daniel. But Daniel pushed him aside at once and stared directly at me.

He did so even though I had pulled my hood so low that neither my hair nor my face could be seen. He somehow found my eyes beneath the hood and glared into them.

“Or will you run away again?”

His blazing gaze, however, was filled with boiling anger, sorrow, and something so deep and ancient that even its shape was difficult to discern. 「Ah….」 Faust, who had been clinging to my arm, bowed his head with a choked sound.

“…No.”

And because Faust reacted that way, that answer naturally left my lips. Tap, tap, tap. The presence limping toward us from the distance was not yet identifiable.

“I already had something I wished to discuss with you.”

“Y-you…!”

But a voice I was unaccustomed to and too hoarse to identify called to someone together with those limping footsteps.

Could it be me? The thought briefly occurred, but I did not turn my head. Considering the person before me and the emotions he carried, I could not carelessly look away.

“Young Lord…?”

Deathbringer beside me had no such restriction. With his neck free, he freely examined the newcomer. Young Lord. I immediately understood whom the hoarse voice had been calling.

“Young Lord, you came at just the right—”

“Let us move elsewhere.”

But in my judgment, that side was not the priority at the moment. I felt somewhat sorry toward Deathbringer, who wanted to escape this situation, and the Young Lord, who must have been curious about my identity, but circumstances were what they were.

“You will not want to be interrupted either.”

“…Very well.”

Even all their emotions combined could not equal those of the person standing before me. In the end, this was the best choice.

「I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry….」

Well… considering Faust’s feelings, perhaps it was not entirely the best. Faust seemed originally to have shared a close relationship with the Young Lord, so perhaps meeting him first would have been better.

Unfortunately, however, I had no right to change the order. The same was true of avoiding the conversation entirely for Faust’s sake.

The other party had suffered too much for me to protect the boy blindly simply because he was a child. Strictly speaking, I was merely a third party, and his suffering was too great for me to interfere carelessly.

“Wait. What are you…?”

“There is something I must tell this man. When the discourtesy I caused this city is weighed against the service I rendered it, I believe I possess at least the right to request a little time. Do you agree?”

“O-of course, that is possible, but….”

“Thank you for the clear answer.”

After expressing my gratitude to the Young Lord, I turned slightly to move elsewhere. In the process, I noticed the Young Lord’s tearful face and the ferocious expression of the guard standing behind him, but it did not concern me greatly.

Quite apart from eliminating the demon that attacked this city, considering the danger I represented and the fact that I had deceived them to enter at the beginning, the reaction was reasonable.

“Do you know somewhere we can talk?”

Well, reasonable or not, the guard’s injuries were deep enough that the person did not feel especially threatening. Ignoring the guard knight completely, I sought a place for our conversation.

“…I do not.”

“I see.”

Unfortunately, neither Daniel nor I knew a suitable place.

“…What about using that watchtower? We lack soldiers for sentry duty, so it is nearly empty. I think using it briefly would be acceptable.”

Then the fierce-eyed guard tossed out a suggestion. The Young Lord, who had been staring longingly only at me, flinched violently.

“…If you wish, I can withdraw the soldiers for approximately twenty minutes, on the condition that while you converse, you continue watching the Demon Realm.”

But contrary to that nervous appearance, he offered a fairly convincing answer as the person holding command. Rather than a superior who mindlessly followed a subordinate’s suggestion, he showed the proper example of one who reviewed and approved it according to his own judgment.

“That is something we should naturally do. Thank you for your permission.”

For that reason, Inquisitor Daniel bowed without complaint, and I also inclined my head lightly. It was not proper etiquette, but my display of at least minimal respect finally softened the guard’s gaze.

“Let us go.”

In any case, now that we had obtained a place, I stepped forward to speak with Daniel.

“S-Sir.”

Deathbringer behind me grabbed the hem of my clothes. “Oh.” He released it at once afterward, so it seemed he had done so reflexively. I glanced back at him.

“I will return.”

I understood that Deathbringer could not help feeling anxious, since he knew the relationship between that man and me… but this was not a matter I could postpone.

I briefly rested a hand on Deathbringer’s shoulder before removing it, then followed Daniel, who had gone ahead. Perhaps he had issued the order in that short span of time, because I saw two soldiers hurry down from the watchtower we were approaching.

The watchtower was now completely empty.

Step, step.

Daniel and I climbed its stairs without speaking to each other. Faust, still on my hand, no longer released even a choking sob. The boy covered his mouth and curled into a ball as though even breathing were a sin.

Tap.

At last, our feet reached the top of the watchtower. The sun stood over our heads like a judge, illuminating us and exposing us to the world.

“Tell me.”

Whooosh. The violently blowing wind finally tore back my hood.

“Tell me about that fire you used!!”

At the same time, it disheveled the enraged man’s hair. Between the wind-tossed strands, his cheeks, streaked clearly by tears, and his eyes, sunken into a dark shade, were revealed in full.

“…Why did you do it?”

“…….”

“Why did you pretend not to know? Why were you kind to them? Why in the world did you win Shutz’s affection? Did you find it amusing to show them kindness? Did you enjoy deceiving them and making a fool of me?”

“That isn’t—”

“Then why? Why in the world did you do it?!”

“…….”

“Why? Why did you do it…?!”

“…I….”

“Shutz—Auntie still wants to see you!!”

Drop, drop. Fragments of surging emotion fell to the floor. My lips closed completely along with them. His emotions were not mine to bear, yet words still did not come easily.

“They still believe in you….”

Was it because I sympathized with his feelings?

“Why? Why did you do it? Why…?”

No. That was not it. Ordinarily, perhaps, but as I was now, I could not sympathize with him. Regardless of whether I understood, I lacked the room. My own emotions were already heavy enough.

“If you meant to deceive us, you should have deceived us to the end. If you meant to run, you should never have appeared again. You should have let us choose at least one side—to trust you in peace or resent you forever. Why? Why did you…?”

But… but….

“Tell me again that it wasn’t you. Tell me you were not the one who killed my parents, and neither was the demon you harbor.”

His emotions reminded me of my own. I recalled resentment too immense to forget, yet directed at someone I could not resent without reservation.

Feelings that could not be expelled were truly the worst.

“Tell me at once that neither I nor Shutz was deceived by you!”

They were truly… nothing but the worst.

Read only on MUGEX

“I am not your enemy.”

“……!”

But I had no means of sparing Daniel those worst of feelings. No, such a means existed, but I had no intention of choosing it.

Though I knew how cruel what I was about to say would be to Daniel, I did not still my tongue.

“What does that…?”

“I am not the true owner of this body, so I cannot be your enemy.”

“What are you…?”

“I am a recently summoned soul, Inquisitor. The owner of this body lacked the confidence to restrain the demon that had arbitrarily taken up residence within him, so I am the soul he dragged here by force.”

You are not a child, and you have a family that supports you, so you will be all right. Even if you are not, endure it yourself.

I forced conclusions I had made as I pleased upon him as I pleased. Daniel might think I was a piece of shit after learning the truth, but I did not care. I was too exhausted to look after every last grown adult. Yes, fuck it, I was suffering too.

“Your enemy? It may be this body. No, I think that is probably the case. But it is not the person I am now. The self controlling this body at present was not involved in your grievance in the slightest. I was summoned only after the entire incident was over.”

Because this hurt too much. Because I did not want to carry any more burdens.

I drew a line separating myself from that incident. Faust might suffer more because of it, but there was no other way. I was already struggling too much to shield him from this as well.

‘Do you resent me for not taking your side?’

「……」

At my question, the boy trembled and shook his head from side to side. I pitied him slightly, then returned to feeling almost nothing.

Why were you so young?

『Why did you do it?』

The emotions I had barely suppressed surged upward. At this moment, when I could not even try to look away by changing the subject.

“What…?”

While I sank that way, Daniel made a briefly dumbfounded sound.

“What kind of bullshit is that?!”

It did not last long. Naturally. From the perspective of someone whose parents had been murdered, hearing the presumed murderer say something like that could only enrage him.

“You have no excuse, so now you spew this garbage at me? And you still call yourself human?!”

Striding forward, he seized me by the collar. Should I have suggested that we leave our weapons behind? I blankly entertained the thought and slowly lowered my eyelids.

“And you still call yourself human?!”

Ah. I thought I had been fine until a moment ago, but suddenly, fatigue seemed to flood over me. I was tired.

“Do you want to kill me?”

“You have to ask…?!”

“I will not stop you. I have no right to prevent your revenge.”

[W-wait. Listen, Gretchen—]

“But, Inquisitor.”

Suddenly, I remembered the bomb that had failed to detonate. If it had exploded, if White Wind had not deceived me, I would have awakened at home by now, wouldn’t I?

“…The owner of this body probably did not kill your parents because he wanted to.”

It was not that I disliked receiving another chance. I could finally mend my relationships with the Inquisitor, Deathbringer, and the others, so I did not consider this moment wholly bad either.

“What right do you have to speak of my parents?!”

“But he was in a position where the demon stole his body whenever he slept. If pain made him lose consciousness, the demon awoke in his place. If he lowered his guard for even a moment, everything around him burned. Even trying to die merely presented the demon with another opportunity.”

“What right do you have—?!”

“And so, I believe that he was simply unable to stop it despite desperately wanting to.”

But. But it was simply this. If that bomb had exploded. If I had awakened in my reality because of it. If I had been able to cry in your arms.

“I believe it was a tragedy that occurred because the being was far too much for a child to endure alone.”

“You…!”

The thought of how wonderful that would have been simply refused to leave one corner of my mind.

“Inquisitor, you probably cannot see him. But I can.”

With a thud, Daniel shoved me to the ground. Rather than resisting, I yielded and spread my body flat across the floor. Shing. Daniel gripped his sword.

“I can see a child who believes he has no right even to say he is sorry because he feels too guilty toward you, and who can do nothing but choke on his sobs.”

“Shut up!”

“I can see a boy who would cut open his own belly if you asked it of him.”

“I said shut up!!”

Clang! The sword’s viciously honed edge stabbed into the floor beside my head. Several strands of hair were severed, and a thin line of blood appeared across my ear. Had it landed only a little farther to the side, it might have cut my throat.

“…So you want me to forgive him?”

But the sword never cut my neck. Nor was it raised and brought down again.

“It was only a tragedy caused by an unfortunate child harboring a demon he could not control, so you want me to forgive him?!”

Instead of the halted blade, a falling droplet cut across my cheek.

“I lost my parents. Half my life disappeared that day…! And still you tell me to forgive that child?!”

It was an attack too cold and too tragic to bear.

“Do not forgive him.”

But for me, those were emotions and deliberations I had already passed through once. It was a story I had already tied off and brought to a conclusion.

“We do not need to forgive.”

I murmured quietly. Beyond the sobbing young man, I looked at the clear sky and merely spoke.

“But, Inquisitor. Even if you do not forgive, acknowledge at least that the child is atoning. Grant him no more and no less than that single measure of generosity.”

Ah, seriously.

“Unlike that child, who was robbed even of the chance to become an adult, were we not at least given that chance?”

I want to sprawl across the sofa at home and sleep.