"Are you here again?"
- Again?
I heard voices. I remember, no, somewhere I remember.
I remember coming at the time of the magic runoff.
"Again, I guess. Pompom dying, pathetic '
- I'm not dead yet, am I?
"This time it's less likely to die than before."
- Well, then, what I couldn't ask before...
'I can't. I don't have time. You're dying longer.'
- That's lame...
'And one piece of advice before you say goodbye. Hold on for a couple of weeks. That's it. "
- How about that...
Oh, no. Also on the way...
Slowly open the lid. The light of demonic stone light illuminating the white indoors enters my eyes. And the smell of the drug snorts.
Is this the infirmary?
"Ray! You're awake!
"Hey, you know what I mean? ⁉
"Pi!"
"Good, good ~"
"Finally, you're awake."
The four of them in bed to surround me, and Haku, right next to me, uttered words when I woke up.
I'm not what you're saying, but I heard voices delighted with my survival.
"I'm sorry. Sounds like you're worried."
I apologized looking at each and every one of them all the time. How long the hell have you been asleep? Is Cliff Mountain still okay?
I was dying and I immediately thought about it.
"It's true! You promised. Before! He said he wouldn't do anything dangerous on his own!
Charstena roughed up her voice. That was more of a grieving, sounding voice than angry.
"No, I know that was bad... but I had no choice..."
"What can I do? Ray left me."
I've told you to blame me, Charstena. When they do say that, I can't say it back.
I've been fighting demons for the past few months, no, ignoring everyone.
But that's because I wanted to protect everyone.
"That's right. I left him because it was dangerous. Because I shouldn't have taken Charstena."
I stared straight at her and said so with all my strength.
This is what I want.
No matter what promises you make, there's no way you can get involved in such a dangerous thing.
Charstena muttered a word quietly in my words trying to stay away from danger that way.
"Why?"
With just one word of that, I felt that Charstena's thoughts were jammed. So, to answer that, my voice was slowly dwindling.
"Why, it's decided because it's dangerous..."
"Then why would Ray do such a dangerous thing alone? We don't rely that much? For Ray, are we only luggage?
"No! I just...... I don't want to get you guys involved..."
I honestly revealed my mind. Other than that, there were no words.
I never thought of the Charstenas as luggage. Everyone supported me, including Charstena, so I could make it this far.
"I want you to get me involved."
"Is...?
"Me too," "Pii," "Me too," "Nori, me too!
I was just stunned. I can't believe I want to be in danger, I wonder what's wrong with these guys.
"Me and everyone, I don't like it anymore. You're gonna get your buddy hassled."
"A fellow hassle is that..."
"It's a buddy hassle. Ray, we all know you've been doing something for a long time. But no one's told me what they're doing. Look, fellow hassles, right?
Yes, I lean my neck slightly and ask, Charstena.
I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.
I know what Charstena's trying to say. But you can't shake your head vertically. If you shake it, it will involve everyone.
Having read my thoughts like that, Charstena added more words.
"Ray is always going to do something naughty to me"
"What?"
"I'm doing terrible things to Anna and Gilk."
What do you say all of a sudden? This kid...
"But we all know it. Ray's really sweet... Because of Ray's selfishness, he pushed us away... But... we're worried about Ray too..."
"... I know. It's..."
"I don't understand... Deciding not to involve us selfishly, I don't think about our feelings. We want Ray to rely on us!
Charlstena screamed as she begged me.
The Gilks are staring at this one in silence. The eyes were uniformly the same.
That's when I found out I was being hunted down.
I realized I was blind.
The Charstenas were always willing to answer my SOS.
Since when? I remember trying to solve it by myself...
At first, it was to a lesser degree suspicious. When that turned into certainty, I didn't tell anyone. That was for fear of leaking information.
But at some point, I started to assume that I had to fix it. That was because it was normal to do it alone. Because I've looked into it by myself and kept fighting.
If I noticed, I was moving to stay out of danger. And I held it all the time by myself like a fool, and I didn't reveal it to anyone.
Kept the danger away from everyone and myself away.
No, you're not.
You should have relied on them when it got out of my hands.
Why didn't you notice?
When I found out there was no demon, why did I choose to do it alone?
I'm an idiot. I couldn't do it alone, but I was too desperate for what was in front of me, and I lost sight of it.
I didn't even have to do it alone with the kids. Charstena and the others, Basil and Sister Shara and the fathers, we should have all gotten involved.
If I had, this wouldn't have happened.
There was no way it was going to happen with more than 50 S-grades.
... because of me.
I put everyone... in danger...
"Don't blame me."
The voice came into me that Sue and I were about to self-destruct.
"Whatever happens to us, we're on Ray's side. So I don't blame you, and no matter what happens, we'll help you. So... you can still count on us now."
"Oh, oh... ahhh"
I felt something broken.
All this time, I felt like the chains that had tied me up had been shattered and scattered.
I cried out that day.
I don't know if that's from regret or pleasure. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm free.
There were no more chains to tie me up.
"Wow, sorry."
"Ugh, yeah."
There is a very creepy atmosphere between me and Charstena. That's because I cried so hard in Charstena's chest that I exposed her to something unusual.
is, embarrassing.
Black history. I'm in black history now.
"Ray, how was Charstena's chest?
Gilk is the one I've been asking with a serious face. I was happy to come aboard.
"Soft feeling bufo!
"Let it, don't explain it!
Apparently, the ship sank en route. I couldn't get in.
"Kuck, you have Ray's extremely rare shot"
Damn. I didn't want it to look just like this pervert. I'll tell you every time something happens.
"It's definitely extremely rare ~. I saw something good ~"
Apparently, Gold is about to go that way, too.
Reverse it. Pull it in reverse. It's dangerous over there.
"Pie" (child)
"I just don't want you to tell me. The other day, who was the guy who leaked it in the morning?
"Pii!" (Don't say it!)
Huck hastily tried to stop me, but it was already too late. It has become a well-known fact already.
"... sorry guys. I was the fool."
I bowed my head on the bed.
Whether they make fun of this later or not, I thought I'd have to do it.
"Rare again ~"
"Rare Shot 2"
You guys should hang out now. Isn't it breathtaking?
"Ray, let's hit our hands with one full course"
"It's not funny. I apologized for not bothering you."
"Me too, you want a full course, what?
Charstena came on board when Gilk refused to serve a full course.
"Then Charstena and I will go together."
"Yep ⁉⁉⁉I really did it!
If Sharstena and I are dining together, let's take her as many times as we want. If you don't api that I'm rich. Operation Cage is still going on.
"Ray, how about a meal for me and you?
"Is that your money?
Gilk has said it as if to invite a woman. But no matter what you think, you're only willing to make me luxury.
"Master Ray, there's a lady here, isn't there? You two want to go, don't you?
"Go with the guy next door."
"Huh? Me? Anna, what do we do?
The fake lady who appeared again. I offered Gold and resigned. That Gold asks if he's going normally, but I guess he's got the money?
"... well, only this time I'll take everyone. When it's all over, huh?
"Exactly, Ray. I'm gonna fall in love with you."
"Bad. I don't have that hobby. Me"
"I'm gonna fall in love with you, too."
"Give me a break"
"I'm in love with Anna, so please don't."
"" "" "What (pi)...?" ""
All of a sudden I threw them in, and they all made dumb noises.
"What are you talking about?"
Oh, rare. Anna turns a bright red face and panics.
"Is that it? Is that crazy?
What is it? It's a normal reaction. Rarely...
"Oh, you, come on, don't joke about it at a time like this!
"I'm not kidding. Well, no."
Don't worry! And I almost penetrated, but this is a matter for both of us, so let's keep the outsiders quiet.
Or let's disappear.
I read the air. Me and four of Charstena, Gilk and Huck disappeared softly from the spot.
"I like Anna."
Doki.
I felt my chest beat. I never thought I'd feel this feeling except for your brother.
"Oh, oh, I like you, brother! So..."
"I know ~"
As I was choosing words to say no, Gold stopped it with a voice somewhere out.
"So I like Anna, but that's fine now ~. Because one day I'll make Anna fall in love."
That's all Gordo said, he left the room. I was left alone and stomped down on the bed.
I lost my mind when I was alone.
I've never been told that before. I've always thought that Gold and I would fit in, but that's the way it is over there, and I didn't know you thought of me.
How do I treat you now...
I was alone in a room with a smell of medicine.
"No way, when it pops up over there..."
"I agree. Don't deserve respect in a way."
…………
The four of us were walking on campus, talking to Gilk about that. Charstena is as Bo and I can't seem to forget the sight earlier.
For a girl, is it something you admire after all?
Should I do it too?
Walking around with that in mind, we were even coming to the exit of the school building.
Then, Shut Up Charstena suddenly opened her mouth.
"Fuck, Ray!
"Yeah? What?
As I looked back, I asked Charstena.
"Oh, uh, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow..."
Is this a continuation of earlier?
Oh, man. You were thinking about saying that or not...
Fine. Anytime. I have an answer.
"... ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
Charstena ran away.
"... you don't..."
My return of my marriage is gone.
Gilk's hand was placed on Pong's shoulder and mine.
"You're shaken."
Shibaku, Temei, Shibaku.
Where I'm upset, don't salt me!
That's how the groans of a new American teacher rang in the holiday school building.
By the way, Gilk.
"Hmm? What?
Gilk looked at me, mopping his mole-formed cheek.
"No, it's because of Gold, it feels like it's flowing, but I haven't told everyone what I've been keeping from you yet?
Yes, it is. You may have forgotten, but I haven't told you anything yet, have I, Gold?
I was going to tell everyone, before, okay? Now? It depends on what I thought, yes.
"If you say so, you are. Well, why don't you give those guys another look?
"Well, you are. It's not a decent mental state for the women right now, I guess."
Charstena's probably twirling around in her futon.
I wonder what happened to Anna?
I've never seen him like that before, so I don't know.
"I'll ask first, tell me."
"Pie."
"Oh well.... where shall we talk from? I can't believe it, let's go to class. I don't want anyone else to ask me."
It's a holiday, so no one will be there.
I've decided to involve everyone, but I can't spread the noise.
We went into the right classroom and sat on our desks.
"So, have you got your thoughts together?
"No, I talk too much and I don't know where to start..."
"Then first tell me what you were up to"
Gilk tried to support me, which I still can't think of, and proceeded with the conversation.
"Okay. I was looking into Cliff Mountain."
"Cliff Mountain? Why is that?
"For some reason... remember the day Gilk and I first met?
"Oh, I remember very well. You came back that day through Cliff Mountain."
Gilk looked like he was going to miss somewhere and thought of that time.
"That's right. You had a demon you met then, didn't you?
"There you are. Sure... was it Cobolt Road?
"Yes, that Cobolt Road, you know what that trait is?
"You don't know."
"Well, unless you're an adventurer, you don't know. Cobolt Road is famous for its very infrequent appearance."
If I hadn't known about this, I probably wouldn't have noticed either. It all started that day.
"Heh, so you said you cared about that?
"No, that's not it"
"Then what did you care?
"... Didn't I tell you that day? He said he had knocked it down before."
"...! I see, that's what you mean"
Looks like Gilk guessed what I was trying to say from previous stories. Gilk spins his head fast. So even a slightly blurred expression conveys enough.
"Yeah, I was knocking down Cobolt Road in the same place about three months before that day."
"Sure, don't worry about that. So?"
"Then I started investigating Cliff Mountain and noticed one fact"
"Notice what?
Gilk narrowed his eyes and waited quietly for me to answer.
"... that only the demons of Cliff Mountain had been activated"
"Activation? Does that mean the demons are getting stronger?
"That too, but the speed at which the numbers increase is not comparable to the others"
This speed is troublesome. It wasn't that far before.
But I've been haunted by this for the past year. That just broke my limits and narrowed my sight.
"When did you realize that?
"I wonder when it was...... I do think it was around the first semester of 2 years"
"Was that before... what's happening now?
As much as I take that for granted at some point already, that was before.
"Clearly, it's pretty bad. It's unparalleled."
You won't be deciding yesterday today, but it's not strange when a bunch of demons are pushing over.
"Did you find out what caused it?
"Yeah, it took about three years. By the way, I also know how to solve it. Let me have it for another couple of weeks and I'll fix it all."
My father is the one who asked for it...
What a pity. I couldn't solve it by myself.
I wonder what the hell you were thinking, me.
Honestly, I have hardly any recent memories, which seem to have forced my body far more than I did when I was two years old.
"Well... then tell me what happened over the course of three years and how to fix it"
"Oh. At first, I had no idea what the cause was. I've been looking into the factors that activate demons. And I got to one book. This is it."
I took a book out of my luggage that said Adventurer's Dream and handed it over.
"It said in that book that the Dragon God, the God who created the Warcraft from demons, was in the valley of the oldest dragons"
"Right. So you went to Dragon Valley, huh?
"Oh. That's where I met Dragon God and could listen to him. The dragon god story said that the difference between demons and warcraft had to do with the amount of protection of evil gods. He also said the demon was activated because of the demon."
"Protecting the Evil God... Demon..."
Gilk whines to make sure of my words.
It's about Gilk, so this alone would have somehow figured out the story.
"In conclusion, no demon was found. Instead, the protection of the evil gods was rotten."
"I mean, is that why..."
"Oh. It's about the year I came back here and ran away..."
"There you are. That's not true."
Gilk smiled and narrowed his eyes to nostalgia.
"... that year, when I went back to the village, I didn't have a father. He's on a journey. So that's when I got the message."
"Message?"
"'Stay away from the lake', yes, my mother told me"
"Where's the lake?
That's what Gilk has asked. With that said, Gilk didn't know that lake.
"Of Cliff Mountain, from here is the lake on the other side. I went there after a while and I was surprised to see the rest of it change."
"How has that changed?
I thought of the view I had once seen. The lake when it was beautiful.
"Everything. It used to be such a beautiful place that not a single demon would lean on it. But the water was dirty, and it showed bad signs, and it was there."
"So?"
"I thought that was where it all happened, and I looked into the water. So I found that the water contained the protection of the evil gods."
"In the water?
I never thought the water would contain protection, either.
I wish I had noticed sooner and how many times I regretted it...
"Oh. Definitely. If you drink that water, the demons have evolved."
"Was it caused by that water..."
"No, I'm not. That's what I thought at first. But it wasn't. The cause was at its source."
"What happened?
"I don't know. I decided it was dangerous to get close and quarantined it with my skills."
Still sleeping in storage space. I won't be taking it out again.
"Right. So the cause's been removed, right?
"Oh. That's for sure. However, there is still the protection of the Evil God in that mountain. Quite a bit… Thanks, it seems that what was responsible for the protection of the evil gods was before the Fire Dragon attacked the king's capital"
"Since before that?
"Oh, where it was, there were traces of fire dragons supposedly raging. Perhaps, but the Fire Dragon also seems to have been hit by the protection of the Evil God"
"Was that also the cause of the fire dragon incident..."
Gilk couldn't seem to hide his surprise about the Fire Dragon either.
I guess that's all the famous stories. I didn't know...
"Guess what. So a fair amount is accumulating in that mountain. We need the Shizuku of the World Tree to defeat it."
"You're not gonna get that."
"I know. But maybe that's what my dad went on his journey to get."
Yes, I do. If I don't have to bring it back, let my father hunt it all down, it's all settled.
If you had that guy, there would be nothing wrong with him...
"Stupid... that's not an easy place to go."
"I'm an idiot. My father is. But I'll definitely be back. Because he's a strong man like an idiot."
"Right. If that's what you say, I guess so. So, what do you mean, let it last a couple more weeks?
"... I heard voices"
I had nothing else to say.
"Voice?"
"Oh, I'm not sure either, but when I'm dying, I hear that voice."
"Isn't that an illusion?
It's certainly possible. But I can have a good conversation for my fantasy.
And I'm sure that voice...
"Come on, I don't know. Anyway, he said the voice would be over if I let him have it for another couple of weeks. It overlaps with the time when my father will be back."
"Right, I see. But shouldn't you listen to that voice too much?
"Maybe. But I'm curious. I really..."
- Didn't the Lord of that voice call me?
To this world.
"Okay, I got the story. So I want to tell you one thing."
Gilk pointed at me with a trick that seemed to sound bishy when I got up from the desk I sat on.
"You're an asshole"
".................. just found out"
I never thought I'd be cursed so far in the face, but I honestly admitted I was an asshole in the infirmary.
"Such an asshole needs company. Because assholes don't know what to do. Good news for such an asshole. I'll give this asshole a hand."
"Asshole, asshole, shut up. Because I already figured it out."
"You're an asshole, so you have no choice."
"Ugh... then give that asshole a hand"
"Ha, I said do it, you asshole."
Gilk's words had warmth. I had a good friend. Really.