235

Chapter 235: Full of Agony (8)

Blue Coral watched the being called the Demon Knight whirl around.

Splash.

At the same time, something visible only to Blue Coral rippled.

The surface of a storm-tossed sea overlapped with the perfectly clear night sky.

“Looks like you’ve decided you want to talk.”

Blue Coral sat down on the outer robe their escort had spread out for them and rolled up the blanket they had brought to use as a backrest.

It did not provide much support in truth, but it was still better than nothing.

“Up we go.”

Even that small movement was quite taxing on the body.

Blue Coral paused to catch their breath.

Clang.

Meanwhile, the other person had moved almost right up against the bars.

For an instant, the image of a wilting wildflower appeared over the young man whose hair was half gray.

It carried an intense sense of alienness, as though declaring that it did not belong to this world.

“What did you… just say…?”

“What did I say?”

Blue Coral quietly observed it while taking an item from inside their clothes.

It was an artifact that, once an area was designated, absorbed all sound within that area and caused it to reverberate only inside the boundary.

In other words, no matter how hard the soldiers and knight outside the area tried, they would never hear the conversation taking place within it.

It was a precaution Blue Coral had prepared beforehand.

“I called you a precious soul from another world. And an innocent person who never should have been treated this way.”

Then there was nothing left to worry about.

Blue Coral dropped the artifact onto the ground and carefully continued breathing.

An ocean formed from a single person’s shed tears swallowed the sound of Blue Coral’s labored breathing instead.

A sea that existed and could be seen only within Blue Coral’s vision.

“Was what I saw wrong?”

“…….”

What a peculiar feeling, to be submerged in the sea while still standing upon land.

And yet it was not unpleasant.

Blue Coral opened and closed their mouth as they raised a hand toward the bewildered person.

The sorrow flowing between their fingers tasted painfully salty and bitter.

“Were you originally a soul of this world?”

And yet, at the same time, it was warm.

Comforting.

Like the sea inside a womb, which every life must pass through in order to be born, was warm.

Like the embrace that wrapped itself around someone in grief was gentle.

Everything surrounding Blue Coral’s skin was simply benevolent.

“…No.”

And so there was no reason to worry.

No room even to imagine otherwise.

“No.”

Someone who had formed an ocean from tears shed for others could never now be swept away by something as petty as rage.

“I’m not… from this world….”

The person called the Demon Knight suddenly burst into tears.

The sea grew deeper.

“…So I was right.”

Watching him, Blue Coral sighed as well.

Blue Coral had strongly suspected it.

Yet precisely because of that, there had still been a small part of them hoping for denial.

Because if this man truly came from another world, then there was not a single reason he should have suffered such hardships on this land.

“So I really was right.”

But in the end, the truth had been revealed.

It scraped painfully against Blue Coral’s heart.

And because Blue Coral had come here to ask for yet another sacrifice, the discomfort only deepened.

Blue Coral’s mouth tightened into a hollow curve.

“I… I’m not from this world….”

The one consolation was that some forms of mourning consisted simply of maintaining silence while sharing warmth.

And so Blue Coral remained there quietly, listening to the young man weep bitterly.

Wildflowers—common roadside blooms that a little botanical knowledge would identify as starflowers—spilled endlessly between wilted petals.

They were the tears of someone ordinary.

Someone who should have remained ordinary.

“Ahh….”

“Tch.”

The grief of a truly ordinary person who, by all rights, should never have suffered something like this.

“Are you done crying? If you are, I’d like to tell you why I came.”

“…….”

And yet Blue Coral would have to make another cruel request of this person.

“…Please say that you will live. That you absolutely intend to survive.”

For the sake of saving more people.

For this world.

…And perhaps for your sake as well.

Blue Coral’s mouth felt as though it were lined with thorns.

“…Why?”

“That is….”

“Why?”

“…….”

It would hurt less if my internal injuries simply flared up and left me bedridden.

Blue Coral bit their lip as they looked at the face wet and shining with sorrow.

If Blue Coral could, they would have taken the words back and blamed their tongue for moving on its own.

“If you… if you die now, there is a very high chance the demon will come out in your place.”

But that was impossible.

The sea of sorrow did not contain only that humble soul.

“And for the record, I’m not making this proposal based on something the demon said. I’m… speaking only from the truth I witnessed with my own eyes.”

Blue Coral lowered their gaze and studied the things concealed beneath the sea.

When the earth of reality was stripped away, the depths revealed a net spreading like a spiderweb from a single thread—and behind that net, barely visible, a tangled mass of pitch-black chains.

Another soul residing within this body.

“You are the weight holding the demon down. For now, absolutely so, and likely for a long time to come.”

And at the center of the chains forged from a soul burned a flame that refused to go out even while submerged beneath the ocean.

A flame that looked ready at any moment to burst free of the sea and burn the entire world above.

There was no need to guess what that flame, burning on the firewood of every resentment, hatred, loathing, and suspicion in the world, truly was.

That was the demon.

Even though one being had wagered their own soul and bound it with the chains of a contract, it still could not be controlled.

That was why another person had been brought here.

There was no doubt this was the Great Demon of Wrath.

“So I… don’t want you to die. If the demon you are suppressing rises to the surface, we will once again witness something horrific.”

What would happen if that thing cast off every restraint and entered the world?

Would it go beyond merely showing them something terrible?

Would it bring about destruction itself?

Blue Coral could not stop thinking about it.

That was where this shameless request had begun.

The future of ruin was too obvious to simply accept the risk.

“…So that’s why you’re asking me not to die? Me, of all people?”

Yet the other person merely gave a sorrowful smile.

“Even when everyone wants me dead?”

…It was not difficult to understand.

Blue Coral had never personally witnessed the Demon Knight fighting, but judging from the testimonies of those around him and the state of affairs afterward, there was no possibility it had been an easy battle.

And what came after he overcame that ordeal was a problem in itself.

After fighting such a brutal battle, he had received no praise.

Instead, he had been treated like a criminal while those around him discussed executing him.

Anyone would feel wronged.

“…I understand the choices people have made. So I won’t resent them. Humans are simply creatures like that. I never expected anything from them in the first place, so I won’t ask anything of them either.”

But revealing disappointment in humanity even while swallowing down every grievance….

“That doesn’t mean I want to live while enduring their stares. I… I have endured enough. I, I really….”

Blue Coral wondered whether it was truly possible, as a human being, to love others this much without expecting anything from them.

And whether it was right to make such a request of someone who had become so exhausted that even that kind of love could no longer sustain him.

But Blue Coral did not know the answer.

What they could see was the essence of the world.

The future belonged to the realm of conjecture.

“If what torments you is that every human around you is demanding your death, then that much I can solve.”

And so Blue Coral swallowed against a dry throat and continued.

Was this right?

Who knew.

But setting aside the greater good, surely it could not be right to allow such a radiant soul to fade away alone.

“I kept silent until now only because this was too important to declare without your permission. I do possess something capable of persuading them.”

Fortunately, one soul had become the first restraint through a contract, then another had been brought in as a weight.

There was now almost no room left for the demon to break free.

In other words, the argument that the Demon Knight had to be executed because people feared the demon rampaging again could be completely refuted.

“Of course, I cannot erase their hostility entirely. At most, I could probably soften it. In the worst case… only your survival might be guaranteed, while their contempt remains unchanged.”

There was one small problem.

Yes.

If Blue Coral revealed all of this, there was a good chance the Temple would take issue with the contract.

Since the soul acting as the weight was not a party to the contract, Blue Coral doubted they could persecute him under the excuse that he was a Demon Contractor….

But one never knew.

The Temple’s inflexibility was hardly anything new.

“That’s also why I waited until you woke up instead of speaking carelessly.”

But it was too valuable an opportunity to abandon out of fear.

All the more because Blue Coral did not intend to simply demand that this man endure everything for everyone else’s sake.

“In exchange… even if I can promise nothing else, I can promise you this one thing. If you choose to live and endure, then while you do, I will devote everything I have to returning you to where you truly belong.”

“……!”

If this man could only endure, Blue Coral would devote every effort to returning this soul home.

“…Return me? Me? Home…?”

“I won’t guarantee it. I am a mage.”

There was something usable for that purpose.

Had Blue Coral not recently developed magic that filtered and purified corruption—Demonic Energy—and extracted it as Mana?

“But I can promise you that I will do everything I can.”

Of course, that alone would not solve everything.

Even if that magic were applied to this body, the most it could accomplish would likely be neutralizing the demon—and whether the neutralization itself would even succeed was uncertain.

And even if the demon were neutralized, that created another problem.

Neutralizing the demon would merely make it possible to kill this body without worrying about the aftermath.

It did not mean this soul would return home.

“I’m saying that I will stake my name and every shred of my honor on helping you break through the contract between the two beings who dragged you into this world and return home safely.”

And there was some danger involved as well.

If the demon were neutralized, what would happen to the contract the demon already possessed?

If it remained intact, nothing would change.

But if it broke, that would be a gamble.

No one knew whether the soul bound to that contract would return to its original world when the contract was severed, or instead remain trapped in this world.

The same was true if the demon went beyond neutralization and died.

Blue Coral had no intention of gambling with the soul that had already worked harder than anyone.

“I’m sorry I cannot promise that it will definitely work. But when I say I will try, I absolutely do not mean it lightly—”

But if given time.

If given enough time to search for a safer method.

Blue Coral would find a way somehow.

“…Wait. Two beings? A contract?”

One way or another.

“…So you really didn’t know about the contract?”

Blue Coral drew in a short breath and looked at the ring fastened to the humble wildflower.

The thread connected to that ring joined the net covering the pile of chains.

In other words, it restrained this soul and kept it from leaving the sea.

Even though it did nothing to stop the soul from wandering helplessly through the water.

“I don’t even know where I should begin explaining.”

What a cruel contract it was.

Even if the purpose had been to imprison a demon, they had used someone without telling him anything.

“Your body doesn’t contain only the demon. There is the demon, the soul suppressing the demon through a contract with it, and you, making a total of—”

But that thought did not last long.

Halfway through the explanation, Blue Coral’s eyes widened and their mouth snapped shut.

「You can’t tell him…!」

Snap.

Part of the net concealing the sealed flame tore apart.

The chains imprisoning the demon’s flame began thrashing as though they might come undone at any moment.

Clink, clink.

Tongues of fire licked between the chains.

“Ah.”

Something had gone wrong.

Blue Coral realized it.

But it was already too late.

Crack.

The ordinary yet extraordinary man, selfless yet still capable of selfishness, had already learned part of the truth.

Crack.

More of the net tore away.

The chains—the chains of the contract—began to show more clearly.

“I see.”

At the same time, Demonic Energy began boiling out of the Demon Knight’s body.

Enough that even the knight stationed far away sensed something was wrong.

“What is happening?!”

“So you were here.”

“…Hey.”

“You were… right here all along….”

Fortunately, the net had not completely torn apart.

But was it really a good sign that the contract hidden until now had begun showing itself to the outside?

Blue Coral stared at the soul that had been used without knowing anything.

Perhaps that….

Perhaps that ignorance….

“Great Sage!”

“Stop!”

Blue Coral set the knight’s shout aside for the moment and reached through the bars.

Thankfully, the other person was close.

Blue Coral managed to place a hand on his shoulder.

The blood surging up from the sudden movement was hardly important.

After coughing harshly, Blue Coral whispered through clenched teeth.

“I misspoke. This—what I just said….”

“If what you said is true.”

But the sentence was cut off.

The one whose clothes now carried flames darker than the night raised his head and met Blue Coral’s eyes.

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“Will I truly be able to go home?”

Drip.

Red liquid ran down cheeks that had already dried.

“That—”

“You called me a weight, didn’t you? You said that if I disappeared, the demon would rampage. In a situation like that, do you honestly think the others will let me go home? The same people who are saying right now that I may be pitiable, but because the demon is dangerous, executing me is the right choice?”

“…….”

“And after overcoming every one of those obstacles, how long would I have to endure before your uncertain research succeeded?”

Blue Coral could not answer.

“Great Sage, step away!”

“…I don’t want to.”

Behind them, the knight who had recognized the danger called out.

But Blue Coral could not answer that shout either.

“I don’t want to.”

“Jack, ring the—!”

Slash!

The bars of the prison were cut apart, and at the same instant the torch stand gloomily illuminating the area was severed and scattered across the ground.

The makeshift bell was cut as well.

Thin metal struck the floor.

“What in the…?!“

The soldiers and knight stared in confusion.

“I’m sick and tired of being thrown around by other people’s circumstances.”

Meanwhile, Blue Coral coughed from the ground after being knocked over when the other person suddenly stood.

The Demon Knight flinched and reached out.

The hand helping Blue Coral sit upright so the blood would not obstruct their throat was surprisingly gentle.

“Thank you for your goodwill. But please understand.”

The low, whispered voice was much the same.

Blue Coral coughed up blood and instinctively grabbed the person supporting them.

The certainty that this man would never harm Blue Coral was so clear that the action came without thought.

“I’ve done enough, and now I want to go.”

And for that very reason.

Because this was someone who would never harm Blue Coral.

Blue Coral released the hand again.

“…Yes. I suppose so.”

In truth, Blue Coral the Great Sage believed the Demon Knight should not be allowed to leave now.

Most factions were already pointing their blades toward him.

If he broke away on his own on top of everything else, there was a high chance he would be definitively declared an enemy.

And that was not all.

The demon inside him.

The value he possessed.

The situation that might arise if the young man disappeared and only the demon remained.

There were too many reasons to stop him.

As a Great Sage, Blue Coral had to restrain him somehow—whether by persuading him to accept the proposal, or by appealing to the softness of the young man’s heart.

“I have no right to stop you.”

But what about Blue Coral the human being?

A person dragged here without knowing why, subjected to every imaginable hardship, was saying he no longer wanted to be caught up in other people’s circumstances.

That he wanted to search for a way home for his own sake now.

Could Blue Coral really stop him?

He wanted to leave in search of something more certain than Blue Coral’s uncertain method, fully expecting everyone else to stand in his way.

Could Blue Coral truly stop that?

“Great Sage Blue Cor—!”

Snap.

“Ghk!”

“……?!”

No.

Blue Coral could not.

“People will—”

“Cough!”

Setting everything else aside, Blue Coral could never do such a thing to the benefactor who had saved their grandchild.

“…You.”

“…It’s backlash from using sleep magic. Cough. There’s no need to worry… it isn’t enough to kill me. They aren’t dead either… just asleep.”

Blue Coral felt as though death might be approaching, but it probably was not.

After confirming that the knight and soldiers had fallen deeply asleep—damn it, the escort had been caught in the range too—Blue Coral let out a long breath.

Blood interfered slightly with the breathing, producing a wet, rattling sound.

“Why… would you use magic while coughing up blood like that…?”

At least it was fortunate the Demon Knight’s prison had been established on the outskirts in case the people became agitated.

And the lack of manpower had prevented them from setting up a proper perimeter.

Now that the guards had been dealt with, this should be more than enough for him to escape.

“Because I cannot hold back a soul as noble as yours.”

“You didn’t need to go this far to help me…!”

Even now, this young man was worrying about Blue Coral?

Was there really any need for a person to be this kind?

“It isn’t enough.”

Then again, perhaps this was exactly the sort of person who had been brought here as the card meant to suppress a demon.

“When I consider what this world has received from you, a favor this small cannot even be called repayment.”

Come to think of it, had the demon said something like that?

That his devotion and sacrifice would be ignored?

“Even so… after tonight, many will point fingers at you. Knowing nothing, they will trample your sincerity and render all your efforts worthless.”

Yes.

That could no longer be denied.

Those who knew nothing and made no effort to know would now freely condemn and antagonize him.

“But… in the name of Wave-Cresting Blue Coral, I declare this: you are a hero comparable to the Hero herself, and perhaps an even greater savior.”

But Blue Coral, at least, would look directly at the true truth.

“At the very least, I will never forget that for as long as I live.”

Who had sacrificed themselves on this land.

Who had worked this hard.

Who had shown this much goodwill toward people who had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Blue Coral would remember forever.

“For your devotion… my thanks.”

“…Ah.”

“…I wish you could have become friends with my grandson.”

Come to think of it, that brat had been unusually concerned about the Demon Knight, hadn’t he?

Yes.

Someone like this was certainly worth even that foul-tempered grandson taking an interest in.

“…There wouldn’t be much benefit in being friends with someone like me.”

“Wrong. If anyone is unworthy, it would be my grandson. He is my blood, but apart from his talent, there is very little worth looking at.”

If someone failed to be captivated by a soul this beautiful, then the problem would lie with that person.

“…Enough. Go now. Nothing good will come of wasting more time. The sleep spell… hah. It won’t last long.”

“…Thank you.”

“You’re thanking me…? When the one who should truly be grateful… is me….”

“But if it weren’t for you, I might never have learned the truth.”

Yes.

If someone could look upon such a noble, soaring bird and still feel nothing.

“So I have no choice but to thank you.”

If someone could behold a person kind enough to make the heart ache and still feel no stirring in their own.

“…I’ll make it home. No matter what.”

If someone could see a person who had never been praised for all his suffering, who had received understanding from only one person, and yet could still smile so brightly….

If that did not leave them dizzy with emotion.

Then the problem truly would lie with that person.

“Yes. Make sure you do.”

“…I will.”

Blue Coral gave a helpless smile as they watched the man help settle them comfortably.

Even after being told the wound was not fatal and that there was no time, he still insisted on being kind until the end.

“I told you to get going already.”

“I was just about to.”

“Liar…. Ah, one more thing. Would it be all right if I defended you?”

“Defended me…?”

“I mean, may I tell others some of what I just told you? Not everyone. Only those with the authority to decide what happens to you.”

“…….”

A starflower in full bloom broke through the seawater and launched stars upward, toward the sky.

Flowers—stars—rose into the heavens above the sea.

“No… please don’t.”

“Why?”

“…Who knows. More importantly, I really am leaving now.”

Where the starflowers departed, more bloomed like a flowing river—calmly, densely, simply.

“Ah.”

As wildflowers did, they bloomed with impossible tenacity.

Thousands, tens of thousands of starflowers that had opened their petals through wind and rain faintly illuminated the night.

“…I see a festival of light in a person that I could never witness even in reality.”

If the sea of tears created by that soul had a name, it would be love.

And if each of the starflowers the sea sent into the sky had a name, it would be affection.

“He is not someone we should be sending away like this….”

Within the embrace of love, beneath tenderness itself, Blue Coral quietly shed tears.

“May the blessing of the Guiding Star be with you.”

The star that protected those searching for their path shone brightly.