◈ 387. [Side Story] Proof of Existence
In the meantime, I’ve always been thinking about it.
what is right and wrong Are my choices really fair?
Worrying, hesitating, agonizing… … I was still human.
But no more.
Worrying is just a luxury. Hesitation is only poison in front of monsters.
It is a mistake that all of my enemies were born into this world. Therefore, I will sentence you to be eliminated and suppressed. So, I kill with my own hands.
After changing my mind, the world is so easy and simple.
Intuitive and simple.
“… … .”
The spring sun was falling on such a simple world.
The feel of the cool spring air, the light pink flower buds hanging from the tips of branches, the refreshing smell of new shoots, the taste of water droplets remaining in your mouth… … .
I averted my eyes from the world that emits tens of thousands of colors like a prism.
I remembered what I was going to do today.
When the monster comes, we test a new lure… … .
That’s all.
***
“… … .”
It’s already been several hours since I killed time at the outpost.
Puzzled, I took out my pocket watch and checked the time.
“… … what.”
It’s time for the monsters to appear.
The surface of the Black Lake is calm.
I frowned and looked towards the lake.
what? Did you write a dark event that changes the appearance time? However, the dark event was skipped on this stage as well… … .
Curiously, I opened the system window and looked at the enemy information. and.
“… … ?”
I found something strange.
The number of enemies displayed in the system window was much lower than when I first checked, and even now it is dropping. And at a rapid pace… … .
“What is this… … ?”
Embarrassed, I jumped up.
what?
What’s going on down the lake now?
Flash!
At that time, the teleport gate installed in the forward base lit up, and a soldier rushed out.
“Me, Your Highness! Report!”
“What is it? It’s dangerous during a defensive battle, so I would have told you to refrain from dispatch unless it’s very urgent.”
“Jailbreak!”
I looked back at the soldier, doubting my ears. The soldier continued to shout.
“Sir Lucas and others who were imprisoned in the central prison… … It appears that you escaped about an hour ago!”
“what?”
“All the prison guards were incapacitated, and it took a while to report… … !”
I was stunned and stood there blankly for a moment.
But the report that followed was even more shocking.
“It is said that Grand Duke Dusk-Bringer and others from the party directly under His Highness came and occupied the prison, and took Sir Lucas and others out.”
“… … Now, as a group, you disobey me.”
I put my hand on my aching forehead and gnashed my teeth.
“So, where did all the guys who escaped go?”
“That is… … After getting armed, everyone… … He said he disappeared through the teleport gate.”
“… … .”
All of my heroic parties went through the gate somewhere?
Where did everyone go… … .
“… … for a moment.”
I glanced back at the system window.
I saw the number of enemy monsters falling at a terrifying rate. I opened my mouth slightly.
“no way… … .”
***
I guess it was right.
a few hours after that. After the number of monsters in the stage enemy information window drops to 0.
Flash!
The heroes under my command appeared through the teleport gate installed in the outpost.
Lucas, Evangeline, Damian, Junior. Quylan and the Punishment Unit. Dusk Bringer and the Dragon Blood Knights. Belldandi and the Holy Grail Exploration Team.
Everyone was bathed in the monster’s blood, with minor injuries all over their bodies. But only his face was dignified.
“… … .”
Crossing my arms, I glared at the faces of the heroes lined up in front of me. Eventually, when the rowing was over, I was dumbfounded and asked.
“What is this?”
Lucas, who stood at the front, reported.
“I heard that the unknown of the Lake Kingdom is always defending against the army of monsters alone. The remaining monsters that he couldn’t stop leaked out of the lake and invaded the royal family.”
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“so?”
“So, by cooperating with Nameless, we killed all the monsters that flooded this time before they left the lake.”
“why?”
“If monsters don’t invade, there’s no need to use living people as bait.”
Lucas glanced behind me.
It is a place where the human decoys of yes are confined in iron bars.
“Because my lord won’t have to use that ‘new method’.”
“… … therefore. To sum it up.”
I laughed and wiped my forehead.
“You mean all of you disobeyed my orders, rebelled, escaped prison, and then voluntarily crawled under the lake to protect the prisoners over there, and suffered injuries like that?”
It’s a shame because the size of the monsters on this stage is small.
If there were a little more, these idiots would all be dead at the bottom of that lake.
“It’s not those prisoners we’re trying to protect.”
Lucas looked around at the other heroes.
“The banner of the monster front here, and… … .”
After that, he looked straight at me.
“It is the master’s humanity.”
“… … .”
“Even if our bodies are torn apart, we will continue to protect them.”
I was out of breath.
I grinded my teeth
“Why don’t you know… … ? I’m even going to do this because I can’t see you getting hurt and dying any more.”
“… … .”
“Then why are you not listening to me? why!”
“My lord, why don’t you know?”
Lucas replied calmly.
“What we really want to protect even when we get hurt and die… … Why don’t you know?”
I looked around at my heroes in dismay.
Everyone is looking at me with unwavering eyes.
I couldn’t bear to face him, so I eventually turned my eyes away.
“From protesting to jailbreak, you must have committed it with the determination to receive aggravated punishment, right?”
“… … .”
“Until a new punishment is confirmed, all of you are under probation. Let everyone wait at their lodgings.”
Lucas bowed first and then walked to the gate. After that, all of my heroes took turns going through the gates and returning to the Crossroads.
I looked back at the soldiers waiting at the advance base and sighed.
“… … The human decoy test is postponed until the next defense.”
Since there are no monsters to kill, there is no way to test it.
I waved helplessly at the prisoners locked behind the bars.
“They take the bomb off, put them back in jail… … .”
***
I drank.
Sitting at the empty Mercenary Guild bar, I poured brandy into my glass and swallowed it.
I was now alone in this place where an old lightning wizard once sat next to me and worked with me.
I poured poisoned wine into my stomach without stopping to get drunk.
I don’t even know how much I drank or how much time passed.
When I suddenly came to my senses, Serenade was sitting next to me.
Wearing an elegant suit, with her clean, aqua-colored hair tied back, she was sitting next to me and listening to me.
“I am… … Just a regular game player.”
I was gibberish.
“Not a genius strategist, much less a well-learned military commander. i just… … He’s a little bastard who played games in the corner of the room… … .”
“… … .”
“Those who believe in me die. I can’t stand it any longer. so… … I want to somehow change the situation.”
I was trying to change
I was trying to make myself a monster. however… … .
Then Serenade slowly reached out and held my hand.
“majesty. The reason people here love you is not because you are a perfect commander.”
“… … .”
“It’s because you did your best, took responsibility for the results, and cried together. Because he was a more humane commander than anyone else.”
Serenade’s silver gaze gently stared at me.
“But now, Your Highness is trying to kill people in order to save them.”
“… … .”
“This is not like Your Highness.”
I jerked off Serenade’s hand.
“Why don’t you even know? We must change.”
“majesty.”
“They are getting stronger, and our damage is getting bigger… … !”
It’s a tutorial stage, even if it was a situation I couldn’t do anything about.
After that, as the stage went on, the damage on our side increased. I am losing colleagues one after another.
The scars that eventually remained on Serenade’s forearms were visible.
The wounds she received from the goblin’s arrows in the previous battle left her with indelible scars.
If this situation continues, someday even a serenade… … You will get seriously injured or die.
“If I don’t become a monster, then in the end… … The monster front will be torn to shreds in front of their attacks.”
“… … .”
“All of us will be shattered… … .”
Serenade, who looked at me like that, took my hand again and smiled.
“If you are torn apart, you can live torn apart.”
… … what?
“If it is shattered, you can live as shattered.”
“Well, what… … .”
“majesty. Don’t be afraid to get hurt.”
I blankly looked at the serenade. She smiled.
“One cannot win every fight. The important thing is to get over the wounds and stand up again, and keep walking without giving up.”
“… … .”
“It’s good even when you’re all wrecked. It’s good even when it’s shattered. Whatever you look like, I like you.”
Serenade reached out and touched my cheek.
“If you don’t lose heart, even if it splits into a thousand and ten thousand, you are you.”
“… … .”
“The reason everyone is stopping Your Highness right now is because Your Highness is trying to betray your own heart.”
Serenade shook her head slightly.
“Don’t do that.”
To me who stared at her silently,
Serenade, with a sad face as if laughing or crying, whispered in a low voice.
“Your heart… … Don’t let go of the flag in your chest. majesty.”
***
… … .
memory fades
When I realized my blurred consciousness, I was walking in the back alley of Crossroads.
For some reason, I felt the need to meet anonymous. I stumbled and headed for the teleport gate installed in the manor house.
People’s words echoed repeatedly in my head, which was dizzy from the influence of alcohol.
– This is not your master’s way.
– This is not your way.
– This is not like Your Highness.
– It’s because Your Highness is trying to betray her own heart.
my way?
My way?
me?
my heart?
Holy shit, what the hell is ‘me’?
‘I am… … .’
Are you a player?
Are you a tyrant?
is it a monster
‘I am… … .’
Is it after the classics?
is it ash?
or not? What is it?
‘What did I want to do?’
I am in this world, for what… … .
– brother!
… … were you fighting?
I saw the magic stone of the teleport gate in front of me. I reached over and made it work.
The magical light exploded and the magic door opened in front of me. I stumbled and threw myself into it.
immediately after,
[The current player’s proof of existence is uncertain.]
[The system cannot be used.]
In front of my eyes, a soggy darkness, different from the usual flash, spread.
[Cannot prove the existence of the player. Retrying… … .]
[Cannot prove the existence of the player. Retrying… … .]
[Cannot prove the existence of the player. Retrying… … .]
As I looked at the system window filling my eyes red with the beeping sound, I suddenly remembered.
What Grandma Coco said.
– Entering another world itself is not difficult. The problem is getting back to reality.
– You must have the light of the lighthouse that you call ‘yourself’ firmly so that you can rise again to this reality.
– So, sometimes those who are not sure who they are often get lost during the teleport magic. A crab that loses the light of the lighthouse and drifts away.
A laugh crossed his lips.
“Damn it… … .”
[Existence proof failed.]
Finally, such a phrase came to mind before my eyes,
with a splash… … !
Along with the sensation of being swept away by muddy water.
I’m in the black darkness… …
On the other side of the other side, it sank.
