Chapter 40
The Holy Nation was far livelier than I’d expected.
[This one thinks so too.]
The market I’d wandered into because I couldn’t sleep was alive with a bard playing a jaunty tune, while the townspeople danced merrily to the melody.
At the heartwarming sight, elderly couples passing by began sitting on benches to spend some time, and several couples followed suit, chatting about how they hoped to grow old just like them.
The Holy Nation, overflowing with music, time, and love.
When I looked up at the sky, it was still clear, and the dazzling light—
[It is still dawn, you know.]
“The sun’s starting to rise— Hup.”
[Hehe, at last you answer me.]
Damn it.
I’d been trying so hard to ignore her, but I snapped and answered before I knew it.
I can’t fix this big mouth of mine, sigh…….
[Yubel, let us go see the Hero right now. The two of you should be together and have a sweet, lovey-dovey—]
“Aaaaaaaaaah!! I can’t hear anything!”
When I suddenly screamed, the market crowd’s attention was on me in an instant.
In the end, I had no choice but to lower my head and leave.
‘This is seriously making me want to cry. And I can’t just sit back and do nothing.’
The voice that had just echoed in my head.
I was deliberately ignoring it.
There were plenty of reasons I was ignoring it.
First of all, the way this thing talked.
Anyone could hear that and tell it was how the Demon King talked.
Especially all that “this one” stuff. It sounded exactly like the Demon King’s voice from the game, so I couldn’t even deny it.
To begin with, she introduced herself by launching straight into, “I am the Demon King.”
So at first, I trembled, thinking, “At last, it’s happened.”
I mean, I thought the place was empty, but the owner had come back.
I thought the world had finally decided to screw me over.
But this Demon King.
From what she said, she didn’t seem to particularly want her body back.
If anything, she seemed reluctant to. That was just a guess, though.
Anyway, I didn’t have the guts to bring up the subject myself.
So I just kept quiet.
What if I asked whether she wanted her body back, and she went, “Oh, right,” and actually took it from me?
Would I be saying goodbye to this world, then?
Having died once already, I never wanted to go through that again.
My heart nearly burst. I thought I was going to die.
It was so painful.
But wait, was the adult game I was playing still running?
I hadn’t even deleted the Jjakkuguri folder.
Damn, I’d found another reason I couldn’t go home.
I guess I’ll just live here forever.
[Hmm, I am starting to get bored. You should hurry up and go to the Hero—]
“Whew! My head hurts! Maybe I’ll keep walking around!”
[…….]
Another reason I was ignoring her.
The thing was, this Demon King kept trying to pair me up with the Hero.
Like some rabid shipper you occasionally run into on an internet livestream.
She confidently spouted things like how I needed to realize I was a female, and how she’d never seen a lewd-minded female like me before, as if she’d peeked into my memories.
What the hell do you mean, female? This is pissing me off.
Anyway, with my ears plugged as best I could (though I could still hear her), I wandered around the Holy Nation.
If I was wandering around with nothing to do for hours, maybe someone would take pity on me and give me some money.
My clothes were shredded to pieces, too.
As I was walking through the market.
Just then, I heard someone approach from behind.
“Excuse me, may I ask your name?”
“Huh? My name? I-I’m…… called Yubel.”
“Hmm! Ahem, I see. Thanks for telling me. You may go now.”
“Yes……. You have a safe trip, too.”
What was that about?
Did people here have some disease that killed them if they didn’t hear someone’s name?
That orphanage kid earlier, too. Everyone I met kept asking my name, then hurrying off.
And on top of that, their manners suddenly went to shit.
[Hehe, there is never a dull moment when I am with you. I shall go inspect the doors to my remaining memories for a while.]
Sure, you go away too, please.
Watching her gnaw away at my mind, I was starting to think she was some kind of parasite.
From now on, I should just call her Parasite.
And so, my conversation with Parasite came to an end.
It seemed she hadn’t been lying about leaving.
I had no idea what these doors of memory were, but I could look into it later.
First things first, I had to keep the Hero and the Saint from meeting, so I had no choice.
If they met before seeing my note, it’d be a catastrophe.
So for now, I was looking around the Holy Nation to prevent any chance encounter.
“By the way, what does this thing posted on the wall say?”
There was a poster that had caught my eye for a while.
No. Rather than catching my eye, it was more like it happened to be wherever I looked.
They were plastered all over every narrow alley.
It made me lament not being able to read whenever this happened.
Even when I asked people, they wouldn’t answer. It was truly upsetting.
That made the Holy Nation’s citizens lose points in my book.
Minus 50 points! That leaves 50 points.
Whether they keep them depends on how you act—hmm?
“What the hell is that?”
I saw some dashing knights running toward me from far away.
They wore silver-white armor and looked like holy knights.
In an instant, the men had surrounded me.
What was going on?
“Yubel, criminal. We’re here to arrest you. You’d better not resist.”
“Huh? Me? A criminal? I think you’ve got the wrong pers—”
“You bastard! There’s a limit to how shameless you can be! It’s already been recorded in a video orb, and you still plan to deny it!”
The knight who shouted at me pulled his hand from his pocket, revealing a round orb.
He held out a crystal ball, the kind fortune-tellers might use.
A video was playing inside it.
It showed me putting a note into the confession booth.
“Um, and what’s wrong with that?”
“Wha— Wh-what is this……! You don’t even realize what you’ve done!”
No, how was warning the Saint to be careful a crime?
Since I had nothing to feel guilty about, I stood my ground.
“Don’t you have Miranda rights here—!”
-Smack!
I got punched right in the face.
‘No, he really did hit me.’
***
Today marks exactly one month.
The time since Yubel lost consciousness and was entrusted to the church’s care.
The time since I was told a demon was eating away at Yubel.
The time I’d suffered amid horrific lust and guilt.
Time, time, time.
Come to think of it, it would soon be time to see Yubel, who was asleep.
It was part of my daily routine since arriving here.
“I wonder if Yubel might wake up soon…… No, of course she has to. Right, don’t give up. I promised the Saint, too.”
A lot had happened during the month I’d spent in the Holy Nation.
Word had spread that the Hero had visited the Holy Nation, so I’d met the Pope and exchanged brief greetings. Riella and I had also taken on quests at the Adventurers’ Guild here and earned quite a lot of money.
The most important thing was that I’d finally gotten in touch with the Saint and arranged a visit to Yubel.
Tomorrow morning, I’d be able to see those crimson eyes again.
Tomorrow morning, I’d be able to hear that clear, serene voice again.
Tomorrow morning, I’d be able to see that bright smile…… Well, no, probably not.
Yubel never smiled at me…….
“Haha……. Still, I’m happy just knowing I can see Yubel again!”
That’s right.
If I could talk to Yubel again, there were so many things I wanted to tell her.
So that would be more than enough—
It isn’t satisfying. It isn’t enough. She’s my wife. How can it make sense that I can’t do whatever I want with what’s mine? Unacceptable. Every part of her belongs to me. She’s mine. Her emotions and body must be under my control. Every joy and sorrow, all for me—
-Smack!
“Hah, haa…… Guh, haa……. I need to see a priest soon…….”
Again.
That feeling of my mind going hazy and my breath growing ragged.
It was a symptom that always appeared whenever I thought of Yubel.
At first, I thought I was going insane.
So I tried to spend less time with Yubel, focus only on training my body, and somehow get her out of my mind.
But of course, I failed.
As if I could stop thinking about Yubel.
Then, one day, as my mind gradually wore down.
In a fit of desperation, I asked a priest at the temple to bless me with divine power.
Back then, I thought it was a mental illness, so I didn’t expect a blessing that merely bestowed divine power to cure me.
But then, what do you know?
It felt as if those vile desires tormenting me had been washed away in an instant!
That’s when I realized.
This was connected to that damned demon eating away at Yubel.
“Ngh…… I won’t let you get away with this…….”
The demon that had hurt Yubel and made her lose consciousness.
The demon that was probably connected to that Black Knight who appeared before.
I vented my fury at that demon, who deserved to be ground to dust, as I walked down a deserted alley.
But then.
“Excuuuse me! Heeero! Please wait a moment!”
“Hm?”
I heard someone calling me from behind.
It was Yubel’s attending nun, running toward me and waving her arms.
Had something happened?
“Huff, haa……. Hero! Lady Yubel, Lady Yubel……!”
“Um…… Are you all righ—”
“Lady Yubel has regained consciousness!”
“What?”
My mind went blank for an instant.
Regained consciousness? Yubel?
“P-Please wait a moment! Did you just say Yubel woke up……?”
“Yes! She woke up after a month! And she’s healthy enough to talk to me!”
The nun smiled brightly and confirmed it.
She was confirming that Yubel had woken up.
To me, those words were salvation and a blessing in themselves.
My chest grew hot in an instant.
I could hear my heart pounding loudly in my ears.
And before my eyes—
-Drip, drip
“H-Haha……. Really? Is that really true……?”
“Y-Yes! Ah, um, are you all right?”
“Thank you……. Ngh, thank you…….”
The nun’s bewildered expression…… No, I couldn’t really tell.
My vision was blurring, and I couldn’t see.
Who cared about that?
Yubel had woken up.
I didn’t want to waste any more time.
I immediately wiped away my tears and answered.
“Huu…… I have to go, right now, right now!”
To see Yubel.
To see the woman who was my benefactor, my salvation, and my hope!
The world was so beautiful today!
I felt like I could forgive everyone, no matter what, just for today!
“Yubel, just wait a little longer……!”
And so I turned and headed toward the church.
“……Huh?”
-Bam! Thud! Crack!
“Kyaa! S-Stop……! Ugh, keh!”
In front of the plaza where the people of the Holy Nation gathered.
I saw a girl being beaten, surrounded by holy knights.
“…….”
There were horns on the girl’s head.
She had a strange tail.
Her eyes were filled with grievance.
The girl was becoming a complete wreck.
Her clothes were torn, exposing her skin, with red blood seeping out.
The girl was asking for help.
But no one stopped them.
No one helped her.
Instead, there were only people laughing at her as if they were enjoying the spectacle.
‘Why?’
The world had given that girl despair.
And I, too…… felt the same thing.
That feeling I could no longer endure.
Ah.
“Hahaha……. Right. Now I finally understand why I have this kind of power.”
Without a word, I gripped the hilt of my sword.
I tried to hold back.
You were the ones who ruined it.
So.
I’ll slaughter you all.