◈ 387. [Side Story] Proof of Existence
I have always been thinking about.
what is right and wrong Are my choices really fair?
To worry, hesitate, and agonize… … 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. That’s why 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 touch of the cool spring air, the refreshing smell of light pink buds hanging from the ends of branches, 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 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.
“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 other party members under His Majesty’s direct control 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… Armed up, everyone… … He said he rode the teleport gate and disappeared.”
“… .”
All of my heroic parties went through the gate and went 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… .”
***
No way 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 Damien Jr. 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, and their bodies were full of minor injuries. But only the face was dignified.
“… .”
Crossing my arms, I glared at the faces of the heroes lined up in front of me. Eventually, when the firing line 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 people.”
“so?”
“So, in cooperation with Nameless, we killed all the monsters that flooded this time before they left the lake.”
“why?”
“If the 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.
“Are you saying that all of you disobeyed my orders, rebelled, escaped prison, and then voluntarily crawled under the lake to protect the prisoners 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… .”
Then 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!”
“Why does my lord not 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.
“You must have committed it with the determination to receive aggravated punishment for protesting and escaping from prison, 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 and put them back in the prison… .”
***
drank alcohol.
Sitting at the empty Mercenary Guild’s bar, he poured brandy into his 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.
Dressed in an elegant suit, her clean, azure hair tied back, she was sitting next to me and listening to me.
“I am… Just a regular game player.”
I was gibberish.
“He is not a genius strategist, much less a well-learned military commander. i just… … He’s an idiot 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 change the situation somehow.”
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 people here love you not because you are a perfect commander.”
“… .”
“It’s because you did your best and took responsibility for the results and cried together. This is 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 continued, 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 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.”
“… .”
“We will all fall apart… .”
Serenade, who looked at me like that, took my hand again and smiled.
“If you are torn to pieces, you can live with being torn to pieces.”
… what?
“If it is shattered, you can live as shattered.”
“What is that… .”
“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 your wounds, get back up, and keep walking without giving up.”
“… .”
“It’s good even when you’re all wrecked. It’s good even when it’s shattered. I like you no matter what you look like.”
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.”
“… .”
“Everyone is stopping Your Highness right now because Your Highness is trying to betray your own heart.”
Serenade shook her head slightly.
“Don’t do that.”
As I stared at her at a loss for words,
the serenade whispered softly with a sad face as if laughing or crying.
“Your own heart… Don’t let go of the flag in your chest. majesty.”
***
… .
memory flickers
When I realized my blurred consciousness, I was walking in the back alleys 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 under 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?
What the hell is ‘I’?
‘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?’
What am I doing in this world… … .
– 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.
Right after
[The current player’s proof of existence is uncertain.]
[The system cannot be used.] A
thick darkness, different from the usual flash of light, unfolded in front of my eyes.
[Cannot prove the existence of the player. Retrying… … .]
[Cannot prove the existence of the player. Retrying… … .]
[Cannot prove the existence of the player. Retrying… … .]
It suddenly came to mind as I watched the system window fill up in red with the beeping sound.
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’ 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. They lose the light of the lighthouse and drift away.
A laugh crossed his lips.
“Damn it… .”
[Existence proof failed.]
Finally, such a phrase came to mind
and splashed… … !
Along with the sensation of being swept away by muddy water.
I’m in the black darkness… …
It sank to the other side of the pian.
