Chapter 246 - Even in a Life Like This (9)

“There's no way.”

“Why not?”

“If all of that was an act... then...”

Deathbringer was the first to challenge Berserker's question. He kept starting and stopping, as though he had so much to say that he could barely speak.

“Leaving everything else aside, if it was all an act, what could he possibly gain from it? Could any ulterior motive be worth more than defeating a corrupted dragon, saving an entire region from destruction at the hands of scheming demons, and killing the corrupted Biryuho and a Great Demon?”

Left alone, the corrupted dragon would have poisoned the sea. Everyone in the area would have died as a result.

The same went for Zakrati. Had he stood by, it would have become an island of demons.

So too with Biryuho, and Moby Dick, which had become entangled in the affair while pursuing Biryuho. Without Boss, neither the corrupted beast nor that Great Demon would have died. And it went without saying that the demons stood to benefit far more from those two surviving than dying.

Yet Boss had dealt with all of them himself. For what, exactly?

“Maybe I'm just stupid, but I can't see anything worth sacrificing all of them for.”

The Temple's trust? If he could earn that, would Boss be getting treated like this?

The Hero's trust? He'd earned that, sure, but what was he supposed to do with it? Betray her later? When he was already capable of killing her?

The people's trust? His temperament alone ruled out any bid for popular support. Forget winning people over with a few words; all that personality earned him was hostility. How was he supposed to win the masses over like that?

“If Boss really is in league with Satan, does that make Satan an idiot for just watching all of this happen?”

“He may not be on Satan's side. Didn't that thing itself say it had no obligation to obey Satan?”

“You believe what a demon says?”

“I do not. But neither do I dismiss everything it says.”

Berserker straightened, apparently lifting her hand from the ground. Someone's drawn-out breath sounded inside the tent.

“You deal in information. Surely you know? A story made of ninety-nine truths and a single lie is far more convincing than one made of a hundred lies.”

“... Are you saying that was the truth?”

“I think it could be. If we assume it was true, doesn't that explain why the Demon Knight's actions ran counter to the demons' interests?”

Before Deathbringer could focus on that breath, Berserker surveyed the tent with cold golden eyes.

“Besides, if the Demon Knight truly lost his memories, how did it happen? A man who couldn't forget even the moment he lost his family wouldn't discard his memories over some ordinary incident.”

She genuinely seemed to suspect the Demon Knight. Berserker, of all people, doubting him.

The distrust from someone he'd never expected it from left Deathbringer feeling as though he couldn't breathe.

“I was hoping to keep out of this as much as possible.”

Fortunately, a new fighter entered the ring in Deathbringer's place. Long fingers lifted a pair of red-framed glasses and wiped them on a hem.

“Isn't that usually when you should look at it the other way around?”

“What you want to believe and what you ought to believe are different things.”

“Thinking only about what you want to believe is stupid, yes. But isn't ignoring another possibility because you don't want to consider it just as idiotic?”

Then he casually dropped it. “The Demon Knight really has lost his memories. And a fairly extensive portion of them, too.” It was the confirmation Deathbringer had so desperately wanted.

“You said you wouldn't tell me.”

“The situation's changed. Earlier, I had no intention of getting any more involved... but now I want to know more. Which means I ought to cooperate with you.”

Deathbringer looked rather incredulous, but Meister didn't care. He'd long since given up expecting others to understand him.

“And I think the demon itself is what caused his memory loss.”

He laid out his hypothesis.

As Meister revealed how much more he knew than those who had traveled with the Demon Knight for so long, one listener bit their lip, and another quietly closed their eyes.

More importantly, their feelings didn't end there. Confronted with the life of a man who had burned everything away for revenge, they felt an inexpressible desolation.

“Was that your question earlier? That since the demon inside the Demon Knight might have different intentions from Satan, we have no reason not to suspect the Demon Knight himself is a demon?”

“Not how I phrased it, but that is the gist.”

Meister continued speaking, and Berserker affirmed his summary.

“First, I agree with the former point. The demon inside the Demon Knight... Ugh, that's annoying to keep saying. Let's call it Wrath. Whether it's for survival or some other purpose, that damned Wrath almost certainly has different goals from Satan.”

It was clear, at least, that Wrath was no faithful servant of Satan. Whether because of its wager with the Demon Knight or something else, it had demonstrated that it put itself ahead of loyalty to Satan. Fighting a Great Demon was proof enough of that.

“But the Demon Knight and Wrath don't share the same intentions either, I imagine. If they were of one mind in the first place...”

“Are you going to cite the fact that it would have killed us all long ago? What if there was another reason for that?”

“That's certainly a possibility worth considering.”

Perhaps it couldn't draw out its full power... or perhaps it wasn't actually that powerful under normal circumstances, and could only become so at certain moments, under particular conditions...

In that case, the demon might indeed be posing as the Demon Knight to avoid human hostility. That hypothesis was possible.

“But even you can't think that's likely.”

Deathbringer's earlier point that there was nothing to gain was one reason to reject it; the sheer risk was another. Really, wasn't volunteering for execution far too great a gamble just to avoid being hunted as a demon?

“And bringing in another reason doesn't change that. You'd need an explanation for that, too.”

Fine, suppose they somehow justified that gamble with an adage about finding life by embracing death, and finding death by clinging to life. But then how would they explain the demon's inability to draw out its full power?

Whatever excuse they brought in, they would ultimately have to address that issue: something was stopping the demon from acting like a demon.

“So the Demon Knight really does keep Wrath in check. That much is certain. Well, in the worst case, rather than a poor soul caught up with a demon, he could be an avatar the demon doesn't even control, all to make its performance more convincing... but if that were true, there's no way Grandfather wouldn't have noticed.”

“Are you kidding? An avatar?”

“What if your grandfather noticed and kept quiet?”

Deathbringer was about to flare up at this abrupt attempt to turn the Demon Knight into a demonic avatar when Berserker asked another question in that same calm voice. She seemed entirely unconcerned that the man before her was the grandson of the person she was casting suspicion on.

Knowing Meister's temper, the Archmage and Deathbringer tensed needlessly.

“If the demon ran wild, everyone there might have died. Is it not possible he recognized that danger and let it go?”

“It's possible.”

But Meister's cool admission proved their fears unfounded. He sounded as though he'd already considered it himself.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“... I thought you'd be angry.”

“Why would I get angry over a perfectly reasonable question? Questioning suspicious circumstances is something any person ought to do.”

“I-is that so?”

Of course. The musclehead's suggestion that Grandfather had chosen a necessary evil to save everyone was coherent and quite plausible.

He could counter it, but even to him, the question itself was entirely valid. So he understood. It didn't anger him either.

“What I hate about the Temple right now is how unbelievably stupid their conduct and so-called evidence are as they pursue their suspicions.”

“I see...”

By contrast, what was the Temple alleging now? That his grandfather had been a heretic all along, and that was why he'd released the demon. Did that make sense? Had Blue Coral truly been a heretic, this whole affair could never have unfolded like this!

In the end, this suspicion amounted to a bunch of brainless bastards mindlessly flinging accusations. It would have been stranger not to get angry.

“Those Temple bastards never realize how awful and idiotic anti-intellectual trials are, so they keep pulling this shit—”

“Enough, enough. I understand what angers you. So, is Berserker's suspicion correct?”

“Surely you know too, Archmage? There's no way it could be.”

Meister waved a hand, deeply pondering why the world was full of such fucking idiots.

“If Grandfather let him go in exchange for not killing anyone, he wouldn't be protecting the Demon Knight.”

“... He's protecting him?”

“What else would you call that excuse about targeting the wrong person?”

Blue Coral could have claimed that the Demon Knight threatened him and left him no choice. Instead of waiting for the sleep spell to wear off and the guards to awaken and raise the alarm, he could have sent up a magical signal as soon as the Demon Knight left.

No, with Blue Coral's intelligence, he could have let him escape while pretending to stop him, without even using a sleep spell. He could have ended the matter with an unspoken bargain between the two of them, without arousing anyone's suspicion.

Yet Blue Coral had helped the Demon Knight knowing he would fall under suspicion. To Meister, that was evidence in its own right: evidence of an innocence Blue Coral had wanted to protect even at his own expense.

“In the end, that means staking everything on someone else's judgment.”

“That's offensive. Consulting the judgment of someone who can see a thing's essence is leaving all the judgment to someone else? Isn't that a rather excessive leap? By that logic, appraisers shouldn't exist.”

Meister's venomous retort crushed Berserker's brief objection once more. She narrowed her eyes.

“That's enough now.”

“...?”

“Have you heard enough?”

“I'll ask the rest myself.”

“Wait, Warrior Boss!”

Then, abruptly, someone rose from behind Berserker. Naturally, Deathbringer, who had trusted her and failed to keep a close watch on the man, sprang to his feet.

“You said you'd watch to see if he woke up!”

“I said I'd watch. I never said I'd tell you.”

Deathbringer's trust had been betrayed.

Meanwhile, Daniel slid aside the white cloth that had been resting on his face until it fell off when he sat up. A faint palm print marked the area around his mouth, where Berserker had held her hand for a while after he awoke to keep him from shouting.

Still, he didn't resent it. Her restraining him had allowed him to listen to their conversation without anyone noticing.

And because he'd heard that conversation, he...

“Do you know how much of his memory the Demon Knight has lost?”

He...

“Are you asking me?”

“Yes.”

“Why should I answer that?”

“You will have to.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Who knows?”

Daniel pressed at his eyes as they began to burn.

All the thoughts that had passed through his mind during his enforced silence prodded at him. Most were things he didn't want to acknowledge.

“I lost my parents to a demon that wielded black flames. And this incident has taught me that the Demon Knight harbors the demon of black flames.”

Yet there were also things he wanted to acknowledge.

“Please tell me. I believe I have the right to know.”

Like his wish to trust the person Schutz, his little cousin, believed in.

“Did he kill my parents and then pretend to know nothing about it?”

Or his wish to hear that he hadn't been deceived.

“Or did he say he didn't know because he truly didn't?”

Even knowing that it would offer no comfort at all.

“... I don't know. It's not as though he told me every last detail.”

“...”

“But... I do think there's a good chance he didn't know.”

And yet...

“I see.”

And yet that single possibility allowed him to endure.

That was enough.

“So that's how it was.”

Daniel muttered hollowly. His resentment, with nowhere to go, became a heavy emptiness that weighed on his shoulders. He wanted to cry. Or to scream. Or, or...

“In the end, he's the only one who knows the truth.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

One thing, however, was certain: Daniel now had a reason to meet that man.

“I'll keep quiet.”

“...?”

“You don't want me to report this to the Order, do you? I'm saying I won't.”

“... We would appreciate that, but may I ask why?”

“Why...”

Daniel considered what would happen if he reported this conversation.

Two Great Sages, a Grand Master Craftsman, and two people with no particular status who could hardly be ordinary given their place among the Proxy's companions were involved. Even if it didn't lead to executions, it would cause considerable trouble. The Proxy herself hadn't participated in the conversation, but she too would face some difficulty. It would mean every last one of her companions had colluded with a demon.

“I don't want to believe that having faith in someone is wrong.”

But had these people truly colluded with a demon? Perhaps Great Sage Blue Coral had, but these people were merely trying to find out why the man had fled.

Daniel recalled their conversation. They simply wanted to believe. Just as he was trying to hold on to hope in that man until the very end.

“So... whatever the Demon Knight truly is, I will not report this.”

Of course, he would have to set a condition. Daniel forced the last words out of his parched throat.

“In exchange, please let me come with you. I must see for myself what this faith leads to.”

* * *

[“... Wait.”]

And somewhere across the land, where an enormous serpent slithered silently...

[“Why is that here?”]

[“Pardon...?”]

Someone walking alone through the rain raised their head.

Is It a Problem If the Protagonist Is a Roleplay Fanatic? (Serial)

Author │ Hae Inseol

Publisher │ Kim Juhyeong

Published by │ Jple Media Co., Ltd.

Marketing │ Han Jaehyeok

Address │ Suite 1101, 11th Floor, Ace Techno Tower 8, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)

Email │ [email protected]

Website │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1

ⓒ Hae Inseol 2022

※ This work is published by Jple Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. No part of its contents may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.

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