Chapter 48
The end.
Relieved, Iris watched Baldo collapse.
And beneath my mask, I was relieved, too.
It was finally over, I thought.
I asked Iris, "Are you all right?"
"Y-yes..."
She seemed to be fine, too.
Having managed to save the future main heroine, I was relieved.
"I see. In that case..."
The knights should be arriving any moment now.
All that remained was to hand Baldo, the 【Severing Shadow】, over to the knights and ensure Iris's safety.
Then I'd meet up with Enrique and return to town—
At long last, this ridiculously long night was about to end.
Then, just then.
"You bastard..." A voice came from below me.
"......【Severing Shadow】?"
Baldo, who had taken my blow, didn't seem able to get back up, but his eyes were still blazing as he stared at me.
"I'll tell you something interesting," Baldo murmured.
"What?"
"Heh heh heh. I admit it. Wearing a mask and saving people without anyone knowing... It's a beautiful, noble deed. But..."
The man said, his face twisting.
"—Does your deed really mean anything?"
"What do you mean...?"
"That young lady seems to have an idea what I'm talking about."
When I turned around, Iris was silent, her face pale.
"Exactly! You know about the corruption among the nobility, don't you?! I'm just a hired hand, so I don't know all that much about this plan, but I've still heard plenty. For instance, there's some noble brat who's drowned in luxury!"
And so Baldo began to tell his tale.
What Baldo told me was this:
"There's a stupid noble brat who said he needed a maid to feed him 'aah.'"
That's me, I thought.
"A stupid brat who thinks he's special just because he got a little special treatment."
Could he mean me? I thought.
"And of all people, that bastard's the son of a duke! Can you believe it?"
That's definitely me, I thought.
Having said that much, the man sneered. "In other words—"
"No matter how much you try to save the world from the shadows, it's pointless, Genesis!"
"......That's true," a voice said from behind me, too.
It was Iris.
"Everything that man said is true... Much as I hate to admit it."
Iris's face twisted with frustration.
"……………………"
Something was off, I thought.
No, I understood. If Baldo kept needling me, that was one thing.
But why was I getting needled from behind, too, when I'd saved her?
And it was scary that neither of them seemed aware they were insulting me.
Only I knew the equation: Ultos = stupid noble brat = me = masked man.
"Heh heh heh. This world isn't worth saving!"
"Maybe that's true..."
The two of them kept saying whatever they pleased.
And the one being singled out was my public persona.
"—And?"
Reflexively, magic leaked out of me.
The slander had gone way too far, and I opened my mouth on instinct.
"So what?"
"Huh?"
"Wha—! That's why... what you're doing is—"
"I'll ask you again."
The magic I'd been keeping tightly under control leaked out before I knew it.
But I had plenty to say, too.
I was drowning in death flags over here.
Don't just say whatever you want.
I lifted my head.
"—So what?"
In other words, I was just snapping back in indignation.
"What matters is what you do."
I answered calmly.
"No matter what anyone says, I will never abandon my convictions."
That's right.
"—That is my Oblige."
Exactly.
No matter what they called me, I would survive.
I was going to change the fate of this scumbag.
"Tch, then..."
Baldo, his face twisted with frustration at my words, opened his mouth.
"...Then kill me! It's only right to kill the defeated!"
"...........Yeah."
Why did this guy always take things there?
I was seriously put off.
For someone like me, who was striving to be a mob character, murder was a huge no-no.
Well, if my opponent were strong enough, I might accidentally end up killing them or something, but it wasn't like I was planning to kill anyone.
And so, right before my eyes—
I stared at the melodramatic guy yelling, "Kill me!" with a rather ambivalent expression.
"……………………"
I kept staring silently into Baldo's eyes.
As if to say, I'm not going to kill you. Please, just get caught by the knights.
Now it had become a battle of wills.
Ah, crap.
I'd moved around too much, and my mask had slipped.
◆
I looked up at Genesis.
I'd shouted, "Kill me!" but Genesis was only staring at me in silence.
—But,
(Wait a second...)
Baldo realized something.
(Could it be that this guy...)
There was something strange about Genesis: there was no scent of blood about him—not the slightest.
(Could it be that, on his way here, he hadn't laid a hand on a single person...?)
Impossible.
Baldo thought.
Saving people without anyone knowing, without anyone praising him.
And...
Was this masked man even trying to save his enemies?
"...Why...?"
Baldo couldn't help asking.
"Why can you stay true to your convictions to that extent?! Why do you give so much without expecting anything in return?! Why... how can you be so righteous?!"
Lying on the ground, Baldo hurled his questions at him.
Wearing a mask and fighting on, unknown to everyone. Never wavering in his convictions, no matter how corrupt things were.
What kind of conviction could make someone do that?
That strength was no ordinary thing. Just how much training had it taken to reach such heights?
Even he, despite having acquired Shadow Extra-Domain Magic, had become a lackey of the Dark Guild and was now lying defeated on the ground.
Baldo's question-filled gaze.
Genesis quietly looked down at him.
Before he knew it, the man's mask had slipped a little.
Thanks to that, Baldo, looking up from below, could see his eyes clearly.
Genesis's clear, fiery eyes.
Those eyes pierced straight through Baldo.
And then.
—That clear gaze silently said, "You should know the answer to that, too."
"......No... way..."
The words slipped out before he knew it.
Genesis was fighting to uphold his own convictions.
Then what about me?
What was I fighting for?
Why had I endured the pain and learned shadow magic all by myself?
I... I—
◆
About five minutes passed as Baldo and I silently stared each other down. Just as I began to think he might finally give up...
—In that instant, I felt an immense pressure from outside.
The immense magical presence—and their flawless discipline.
"Tch."
This was the worst, I thought.
Apparently, while I was wasting time on this nonsense, the real deal had arrived.
"The knights...!"
Iris murmured.
"............This is bad," I sighed beneath my mask.
The last people I wanted to see right now.
Judging by that magical presence, the hero Rain, one of the main characters, was definitely with them.
If Baldo hadn't been busy acting like a melodramatic nutcase, by now I could've hung him from a tree outside the hideout and left Iris somewhere nearby...
What the hell was I supposed to do?
—But then.
"Hmph. Genesis, you're still far too soft."
"……?"
"Guh!" A man rose to his feet, clutching the spot where I'd cut him.
None other than Baldo himself.
"You were hiding your magic power so well before, but now they've noticed you. Take this as a lesson: don't let your opponent provoke you."
"Like I just did," Baldo said with a laugh.
"Baldo..."
Baldo had gotten back up, but I couldn't help wondering what this was all about now.
Was he really trying to fight me again?
Right now, I was trying to figure out how to hand Baldo over to the knights while keeping things as peaceful as possible.
Honestly, I didn't have time to deal with a melodramatic nutcase—
"Genesis. Go."
"Huh?"
"I'll show you another exit. Escape through there."
"What?"
"You're a little slow on the uptake," Baldo said as he shakily picked up his sword.
"—I'll take on the knights. While they're busy, take that girl and run."
At that moment, I had just one thought.
WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS GUY TALKING ABOUT???