257. To kill (1)
Look at the strange plant as if asking what it is. Deon looked down at the guy for a moment and then lightly shrugged his shoulders.
“…What can I do? If I separate it, it’ll cause a fuss.”
“Suck.”
“You shameless bastard.”
“Sweet tsk tsk tsk tsk.”
The green stems tightly tighten around my waist. It wasn’t painful or suffocating, but Deon smiled and held the bud between his thumb and forefinger and shook it.
“Why are you grumpy when you achieved your goal?”
“Sweet!”
“Yes, yes, I will take you to the battlefield without fail.”
Was it when we were almost here? The monster was so calm that it must have fallen asleep, so I left it to someone else. When I arrived, I didn’t have time to pay attention as I jumped right into battle.
Who knew it would be such a problem?
What awaited Deon, who returned after such a wild rampage, was a roaring sound that was by no means of a demon or a human, and a green stalk spreading out randomly.
[Sigh! Wow!!]
[What is it? Why are you like this?]
A demon soldier is seen holding a flower pot and struggling. Dan’s voice mixed with irritation and embarrassment is a bonus.
Deon, who had stopped for a moment to observe the situation, perhaps having revealed his true nature like a monster, interpreted the strange noise and made a strange expression.
‘He is now…’
Is he shouting that he will follow him even if it’s belated?
[Sweet!! Tsk tsk tsk tsk! Damn!!]
[You’re going to abandon me, I can’t go even ten miles and you’ll get sick and you’ll abandon me…?]
Where on earth did you learn such words ?
As if hearing a soft murmur, the flower bud turns in this direction. ‘Keuiaeuiaeeu!!’ After a moment of twitching his fingertips at the stem that immediately stretched out with terrifying force, Deon slowly raised his arm and obediently surrendered himself.
Immediately, the monster hanging around his waist let out a piercing cry.
[I want you to never leave me and fight again…?]
[Scream!]
[…Why?]
[Sweet!!]
[Okay… I understand, so calm down for now.]
[Scream.]
[…. ]
This bastard waited for me to say yes…? As soon as you get affirmation, you become quiet.
I laughed at the absurdity.
However, if there was something he misunderstood, the question I asked ‘why’ at that time was not about ‘why do I have to take you with me’ but rather ‘why do you want to follow me to the battlefield?’
‘There is something good about being on the battlefield.’
Of course, I didn’t think he would answer and I had no intention of asking twice, so I just passed on without correcting the question. I don’t know when I’ll get an answer.
Coming back to reality, I slowly swept the flower pot and pulled it off with both hands. I faced the dissatisfied monster’s gaze directly and opened my mouth. It may have looked a little funny, but no one in this room cared.
“But don’t forget what you promised before you came because it won’t change.”
You can take them, but you cannot take them.
“Ugh…”
As if he felt a determination that made it impossible to back down from what he said, he reluctantly expressed his affirmation.
Meanwhile, Dan, who had made up the bedding, took the flower pot from Deon’s hand, put it down on the table, and looked back at him.
“Whether it’s making siege weapons or digging the ground to open a waterway, it’s obvious that it will take a lot of time, so let’s get some sleep first.”
“…You’re getting hit on the back of your hand right now.”
“Don’t change your mind.”
Dan removed the green stem that was lapping at the back of his hand as if it were annoying. As if it got angry, the stem seemed to fly a little more fiercely, but stopped in midair without achieving its purpose.
In the area where the flower bud was looking, Deon was gesturing to the monster plant to be quiet, as if he was annoyed.
“Soak…”
The plant drooped helplessly.
Of course, no one cared. Dan’s voice pierced through the cries of the monster and shot towards Deon.
“I’ve never seen you sleep at all. At first, I thought you might have had a little sleep, but when I got here, I realized that wasn’t the case. When was the last time you slept?”
“Uhm…”
When was it?
Ever since the flower that I put in my room, which I presumed to have been sent by my older brother, withered, I had been awake almost all the time without falling into a deep sleep… I wasn’t
afraid of nightmares, but I hated seeing myself panting when I woke up, so I started avoiding sleep even more.
“…No, it’s okay. You don’t have to answer.”
“…?”
“Looking at it now, I can roughly guess how big it is.”
Even though he hadn’t answered yet, Dan sighed as if that was enough.
He takes a long stride, puts his foot behind Deon’s heel, and nudges his shoulder. Deon, who had no hostility or murderous intent and did not seem to be dangerous, was obediently pushed away and lay down on the neatly prepared cot.
The red gaze turned to Dan with a question as to what he was doing.
“It’s only because he’s a warrior that he’s fine. If he didn’t sleep that much, he would have gone crazy or couldn’t stand it and would have collapsed right away.”
“….”
“How important is sleep? If you don’t sleep, even a sane person will have bad thoughts. Even if you don’t, the Master…” Dan
paused there for a moment.
Why are you trying to tell me I’m crazy? Deon, who was quietly looking up at him, smiled faintly.
“…Anyway, let’s get some sleep. We have plenty of time.”
“…I don’t want to…”
“If you keep refusing, I will call the Lofty Knights.”
“okay.”
Loud fuss and lullabies that are not appropriate for one’s age are not recommended. Deon, who had pulled the blanket up to his chin, turned around.
Dan laughed quietly at his actions that clearly revealed his discomfort.
“Then good night.”
“go away.”
“yes yes.”
Deon nervously closed his eyes as he felt the presence moving away. That guy left a light on and went out.
In some ways, it may seem like consideration, but it means that they will monitor what I do from the outside through the shadows. If I wake up right now, they will know me like a ghost. I’ll just kill some time like this and wake up when the time is right.
I thought…
“Fuck.”
I guess I was tired. Seeing as he fell asleep as soon as he laid his head on it.
He burst into laughter in front of the nightmare facing the dark space.
***
The nightmare was nothing special.
Because the ghosts were grabbing my ankles and pulling me down. Of course, perhaps because it had been a long time, quite a few people showed their faces, and whenever I saw a familiar face, I unconsciously stiffened, but that was all.
They shed bloody tears and ask why they killed me. You ask why are you alive? Some people asked me if I really had to die.
If you see unfamiliar faces, they are probably people who were caught up in the war and died. Deon laughed bitterly at the bitter question from those who had been wronged.
“no.”
– Then why!!
A black hand strangled me.
Since it was a dream anyway, I had no chance of dying, so I gave up my head obediently. If this was all it took, I would have tried to sway him obediently until he woke up, but…
‘Why are you here…?’
Deon stiffened.
One of the owners of the hand that was strangling her, with tears of blood dripping down her neck, was especially stuck in her eyes. So, Sir Lien died, protecting chivalry until the very end.
‘…It’s funny. ‘She can’t be like this.’
After giggling, he raised his hand and grabbed the other person’s wrist. The panicked guy quickly tried to pull his arm away, but the more he tried, the more he tightened his grip so he wouldn’t let go.
“It’s all good.”
– what…!
“Let’s not tarnish the noble knight’s sacrifice, okay?”
I don’t even think that she won’t blame me. Honestly, that’s too shameless.
However, I am also confident that it is not so shabby and ugly that it comes to haunt me like a ghost.
I giggled as I remembered the former Emperor Edoardo, who had once appeared in my nightmare.
[Do not embody the burden in your delusions just for that reason. Jim clearly said he had no regrets in the end. It means that there are no regrets whatsoever. Nevertheless, since you embodied Jim like this, in your eyes, he seemed like a small man who double-talked.]
Seeing him say ‘Jim’, it seems like another delusion I created, but it was really bitter to think that someone was not the emperor.
Did he say that he was not so ugly that he would come to visit him as a ghost? Rather, he said that if he were alive, he would be worthy of receiving ghosts as guests. I also have no intention of being shameless on such a topic.
He quietly looked up at the ghost, who still looked embarrassed, and then laughed.
“…It’s rather a funny situation for me to say anything.”
In the end, the person in front of you is probably something I created.
At that time, if I could have a conversation with such a normal appearance and attitude, I briefly wondered why the emperor and not Cruel appeared. The answer given by the emperor, who read it quickly, was a bit shocking.
[You should know better about that.]
[…?]
[Didn’t you place your brother in a sacred and inviolable territory? So that no one can dare to imitate it unless it is ‘real’.]
So that not even the ghost of unconsciousness can embody it.
[It must have been shortly after collecting my brother’s body.]
It was only after hearing those words that I realized. That’s what I was like. I did it without knowing, but I did it anyway.
So, all you have to do is elevate Sir Lien to a level that cannot be imitated. This is my first time consciously controlling it, but I hope it succeeds. Because I can’t do this right now, even if it’s for her honor.
“I never thought I would have more to feel sorry for Lord Lien.”
I laughed and regained my concentration.
At that time, the person who was embarrassed suddenly changed his facial expression and glared at me. A moment of pause at the creepy expression.
– then…!
Something popped out from behind her.
Uh… I mean… this is…
“…tentacle?”
Oh shit.
A barely suppressed curse came out of my mouth.
Now that I see it, it seems that it was not a ghost but something mixed with a monster. I quickly let go of my hand and tried to back away, but a tentacle that I didn’t know when reached out wrapped itself around my wrist. In a different way, an eerie feeling ran down my spine.
“Turn it off…turn it off….”
***
“Turn it off!!”
“Yuck…!”
Deon, who still clearly felt the sensation of his wrist being wrapped around him, only changed the scene and decided that it was just a dream, suddenly cursed. A soft cry rang out as if telling him to calm down.
He detected the scent of a wisp of grass in the bloody smell and slowly brought his blurred eyes into focus.
“H…Huh… What was that, you?”
“Suck.”
“Why are you holding my wrist?”
“Tsk…”
“No, before that, let’s talk about this.”
You can tell just by looking at it. This guy must have grabbed me by the stem and suddenly sent me into a dream like that.
I shook my wrist, which still felt fresh to the touch, and made a promise.
‘Okay, if there’s no justifiable reason, we’ll fight.’
… Despite what I thought, the monster’s actions were reasonable.
Deon sat on the bed, crossed his legs, and touched the corner of his mouth. Mixed voices quietly spread throughout the barracks.
“So… you pulled it off because I was strangling it with my hands? Even if I pulled it off, you kept holding on to it because it kept trying to strangle you?”
“Suck.”
“…First of all, thank you.”
I have nothing to say. Deon wiped his face with a tired expression.
Then, a green stalk patted my back, which made me startle and dodge to the side.
The gaze of the green plant, which was clearly hurt, caught my eye with a stinging gaze.
“…however.”
I rolled my eyes, pretending it wasn’t happening, but decided to change the topic.
“If you can move around freely like this, you don’t need flower pots at all, right?”
Even now, the guy who was originally at the table is now on the bed.
At one point, I saw it walking around holding a flower pot and holding its stem on the ground. It had a rather… bizarre appearance.
Like a simple guy, he seemed to have been fooled by the change of topic, and a small negation came back with a ‘pop’.
“Are you lacking nutrients?”
“Suck.”
“Wasn’t it okay not to eat? What do you eat?”
“Cuckoo, lick, lick.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t eat it, but you eat all the normal food, like meat, monsters, demons, and humans… Demons and humans aren’t common foods…?”
“Suck.”
Okay…what does it matter?Let’s just move on.
