| Author: Himezaki Shiu | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: Jiro | English Source: Re:Library |
“I doubt you’d let the heroes die that easily, aren’t I right, Princess Topersion?”
“That’s right. Losing the heroes would be the end of Fraus. How truly, truly annoying.”
Princess Topersion muttered with a bitter look on her face.
(Since she’s speaking to me this way, it’s clear she knows I have no intention of killing either her or the heroes. I suppose it wasn’t too difficult for her to figure out—after all, I’ve never actually killed anyone.)
I was right to assume the princess was onto me, judging by her tone. But that was fine—I’d already said what I needed to. With that, I turned my gaze back to Ichinari.
“This is why I’ll never forgive you—all twenty of you, my classmates. Nor will I help you. After all, this outcome is exactly what I wanted. I stopped seeing you as friends the moment you started bullying me; from that point on, you became my enemies. That won’t change, now or in the future. The memories of being bullied, the fear of dying, the sadness of betrayal, and the emptiness of being ignored until the end—those will never fade. I doubt I’d feel satisfied even if I killed every last one of you right now. So, the revenge I’ve chosen is to let you rot here, to be used by the Fraus Kingdom until your final breaths, without ever receiving my forgiveness. All I want is to recall your suffering now and then and find peace in it. So, as long as you don’t interfere again like you did today, I have no intention of harming you.”
“T-Tha…”
I didn’t think revenge was something cheap like killing the ones who stole something precious from you. After all, it was not often that one got back what was stolen. The easiest example of this would be to have a loved one murdered.
My case was a bit different, but the scar that it’d left on my heart was deep. It was such that I wouldn’t be able to go back to who I was before coming to this world. No matter what anyone said, the truth wouldn’t change. That which was lost would not return.
I had no other words to say to Ichinari as he looked at me with a pitiful expression.
As such, I turned around to talk to the princess.
“Now then, Princess Topersion. You heard what I had to say. I hope that you’ll use the heroes properly. And I don’t mean discarding them.”
“Then promise me that you will not lay a hand on Fraus anymore. It should be possible with your skill, no?”
“Of course it is. However, at the end of the day, I’m just a messenger. I might have to turn against Fraus in order to accomplish my goals, and I don’t want to be tied down because of it. Besides, I don’t know how long I have.”
I said that hoping that she’d go ahead and begin to misunderstand things.
At the end of the day, I really didn’t know how long I’d be able to live. It could be thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of years. Maybe I could even exist for as long as I wished. However, it was also possible that I’d eventually hit a limit. But I didn’t know that.
So I wasn’t technically lying.
“That is why I won’t use my skills. However, I won’t actively attack Fraus. Nevertheless, if I’m attacked, I will fight back. That’s my offer. You’re free to decline if you’d like. But if you do, I might just go on a rampage in the town.”
“What will you do if the heroes are broken in a war?”
“That’s fine with me. But still, if I were to have my way, I’d probably just chop off their heads.”
“So it doesn’t matter how they’re treated as long as they’re alive, is that right?”
The princess asked, looking over at Takuma1.
(It seems they really did something to him.)
If possible, I would’ve liked her to keep their minds intact, but I’d already given too many conditions. Thus, I decided to leave that matter up to Fraus.
“That’s right.”
“Then can I add one condition? If you accept, I’m willing to agree to the proposal. But it’s important so that I can grasp what your intentions are.”
“What is it?”
“I want you to walk out the front gate. If you exit without killing anyone, I’ll accept your proposal.”
(The front gate, huh? I see. I see. So I can’t go out from the window over there.)
The reason she wanted me to do this was likely so that others wouldn’t think the spirit was stolen because of the heroes. In the end of the day, if the heroes were to be held responsible, it would bring about the worst possible outcome. That wasn’t something I wanted either.
She was trying to frame me as an unforeseen complication. Naturally, the heroes’ burden would be lessened even further if I were capable of exiting from the front gate while surrounded by knights and soldiers.
(Organizations really are quite the pain.)
“Sure. I look forward to meeting you again, Princess.”
“Me too. It’d be great if we could meet again.”
Topersion said, hinting that I may not have much time left. Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t leaving anytime soon. By saving one of the spirits, I’d already been granted one wish. This meant that if I wanted to live for eternity, I could.
(I guess it’s time I go back.)
I went down the stairs and out of the library. The moment I left, I was surrounded by countless knights donned in armor. Amidst them, a haughty man spoke in a low voice.
“Who are you? No one besides Her Highness Topersion went in there!”
“Who am I, really? Don’t worry, I haven’t laid a finger on the princess.”
“Of course you haven’t. If you had, you wouldn’t have made it out alive. In fact, seeing as you’ve already snuck in here… you don’t need that head of yours anymore.”
The knight said promptly, ending his words. He was signaling that there was no need to speak anymore. That action of his became a signal, and all the knights charged at me.
(Hmm, you’d think at least one of them would remember me, but I suppose they forget the people they’ve discarded. Oh well, not that I can say it doesn’t sting a little. Still, why are there so many knights here? She must have positioned them close by, with orders to rush in if she didn’t return soon. Just in case the heroes weren’t enough, she had soldiers ready too. Letting me talk with Ichinari was probably just a way to buy time for them to gather. She really pulled out all the stops for me. I’m honored.)
◇◇◇
(Finish line!)
That said, I’d mostly just played a game of breaking knights’ weapons. I had no idea how much time had passed. Still, I’d been strategic about it. Initially, I considered just running away, but that wouldn’t have shown just how far beyond ordinary I was.
Even so, I had to be careful—I didn’t want to accidentally kill anyone weaker than me.
In the end, I went with disabling the knights by destroying their weapons. But despite my approach, many of them still tried to capture me, even at great risk to themselves. Eventually, I had no choice but to retreat.
I’d managed to break quite a few swords, so I was confident they got a sense of my strength. Though, in terms of a “weapon-breaking game,” my score was a bit low. I’d been excited at first, but as my motivation waned, so did my results2.
Anyway, I wanted to find a secluded spot quickly so I could return to my Finis form. After spending some time in that body, I realized I felt much more at ease in it.
(Alright. Time to leave the noble sector and head back to the common sector.)
