Chapter 8 - I Will Survive, Hey, Hey!
To kill the demon lord, it was necessary to proceed to the second iteration; however, the best-case scenario was to off him in the first playthrough. The fewer fights, the better, after all. Back then, I had nothing to lose, so I gave it a try. Unable to let go of my hopes, I attempted to get rid of Mayer Knox, the demon lord’s core, before the last battle. Needless to say, I failed.
As I cautiously observed him, I bit my lips out of anxiety. He couldn’t have noticed; if Mayer knew I had tried to kill him, he would’ve killed on the spot instead of trying to recruit … No. He wouldn’t have even co to rescue in the first place. If I were to judge based on the goodwill visible in his gaze, I’d say it was impossible for him to know. Besides, I hadn’t been that clumsy to have left traces. Strictly speaking, what I did for him was more like digging a pit for him to fall into rather than trying to kill him with my own hands. I had discreetly leaked information to the Dark Knights about one of the dungeons I knew, one that seed too difficult for them to clear… misleadingly, naturally.
However, my efforts were fruitless: Mayer Knox cleared that dungeon effortlessly. After repeating the sa trap several tis, in the end, I had no choice but to give up on trying to get rid of him. Since no one else was capable of killing him—a man who could clear high-level dungeons—how could I, a re support mage, succeed?
But anyway, it seed that for the ti being, I wouldn’t be finding out how he truly felt on the inside nor why he was trying to have in his expedition corps. Only ti would tell, see in as I couldn’t even join Fabian’s corps at the mont. However, there was one condition—the most important one—that I had to negotiate before joining up. Surveying Mayer sharply, I said, “In exchange for joining, I have a condition.”
“A condition?”
I took a deep breath. I had no idea how it happened, but I was living in the husk of what used to be Jun—I had stolen her life. It wasn’t like it had been my choice, but I still felt sorry for her. That was why ever since I had possessed her body, I had constantly thought about what I could do for her. But no matter how much I thought about it, I could only co up with one answer. “I want you to… I want you to please carve the na of Jun Karentia in history.”
To engrave Jun’s na—soone who had been ignored for being a support mage—in the annals of honor so that she wouldn’t be forgotten as a re shadow in the background. I felt this was the only way I could atone for visiting her body.
Mayer raised an eyebrow, taken by surprise. Then, after a mont, he burst into laughter. “Ha, hahahahaha! I never expected you to place such a condition. I had no idea you were so hungry for honor.”
It was easy for him to misunderstand from his point of view. I couldn’t correct him, nor did I have any intention of doing so. I quietly waited for his bout of laughter to end and, a while later, he spoke again with a satisfied grin. “Very well, I will have your na recorded in history for eras to co. You shall forevermore be rembered as the vice-captain of the man who slew the demon lord.”
Since he had declared as such, I had no more reason to refuse. Whatever the case, this life was the only opportunity I had left so I couldn’t carelessly throw it away just because Fabian abandoned . I swore to myself that I would survive to the end and live a grand life as a hero in a peaceful world.
Yes, given a second chance, even a dog would change owners. Therefore, since I was Fabian’s dog once, why not beco the Dark Knight’s? With a determined heart, I nodded and said, “…Fine, I’ll join the Dark Knights.”
“A wise decision. You will not regret choosing over Fabian,” he assured with a smile that reached his eyes, sothing I had never thought I would be seeing. The mont my guard lowered, he grabbed my hand for a big shake, making feel as if I sealed so huge deal. His hand was so big I couldn’t grasp it completely, even when I stretched mine out as much as I could.
“I would like to thank you for your decision,” he continued. “I will not treat you badly, nor will I spare any support you may need. If you have any problems, you may co to find anyti.”
Find him anyti? It shouldn’t be that easy to et him, even if we were in the sa corps. “Haha… You’re almost treating like the vice-captain of an expedition corps,” I joked.
“Did I not say I would give you the best treatnt?” he said, standing up. “I do not lie about such things.”
His upright figure cast its shadow over . As he was still holding my hand, I had no choice but to get up as well, albeit with a crooked posture. It almost looked like he was escorting .
I was—reluctantly—led away by the hand, feeling awkward as heck inside.
Reviews
All reviews (0)