Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: D-15
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D-15
Hero.
Future. Resolve. Mint scent and elderberry leaves.
Nadia.
Honor. Chastity. Conviction. Dream. Knight.
Sera.
Friendship. Jokes. Smile. Pride. Christmas tree.
Hometown.
Apple chocolate. Hawthorn tree. Poppy fields and bulls.
Eli.
Thinking about all the things I've lost makes my body—and even my brain—feel like it's hardening up. Maybe it's not just my imagination. I try to hold onto my fading mind and shift my thoughts from what I've lost to what I might gain ahead.
Rick.
Eyeballs. Pancreas. Liver. Nails. Balls. Ass stuffed full of nails.
Bobby.
Teeth. Middle finger. Dignity. Blood-red eyes. Eighth vertebra.
Leo.
Thinking about what I might gain makes time pass. Even if it's sticky and slow, like cum dripping between tits, the clock still ticks forward. The key is that all this will eventually end.
Time passes. And this will all come to an end—a clear fact. It becomes the stepping stone that lets me swim through the pain. The wave. The milestone.
Of course, thinking like that doesn't erase what I've gained or the things I've already endured. But in this relentlessly flowing time, all I can do is think.
Think. Think. Think. I'll break free. They'll pay the price. And they... they'll face me too.
Whores. Rats tossed into the sewer. Corpses rotting in the rain and the city of depravity. All of it looks up at me with its ugly maw, begging for forgiveness just one more time.
I gaze down at it coldly and murmur just one word. No.
I might have to repeat it three times. But I'll never get tired of it. If I have to, I'll say it three thousand times. No. No. No.
That's my new vow.
...
...
Still, today time's dragging on forever. Once I realize that, I'm left ruminating over the past, chewing it over again. Times filled with agony. Memories where humiliation grips my lower body in a hot vise.
But being alone is lonely. Tormenting. Pathetic. So I need an audience. Pity. Sighs. Even mockery would do. For me, even the tiniest reaction is essential. Without it, my brain starts to die.
That's why I've summoned you. You, who watched all this. Beautiful and ugly, omnipotent and impotent—you're used to hearing failure stories like mine.
No agreement needed. My throat's already open. All that's left is to pour it out.
So, shall we begin the story?
I was born in the village of Lorenheim. A worthless shithole of a place. Just like my dick.
In this backwater village, there were only three redeeming things. Mint flowers blanketing the hills in summer. Sera, the village's pride and joy, a genius mage. And my childhood friend, Eli.
The third one was purely subjective, of course. Eli. Black-haired Eli. The villagers called her Muddy Eli. But to me, she was a dandelion. A yellow flower bursting through the cracks in my hardened heart.
Because of Eli, I spent years deluded into thinking I loved this village. The shit-stink in the air. The predetermined future as a farmer. Even Sera, the genius mage who nagged at me for no reason. When it all got suffocating, Eli would come over and smile at me. And I'd forget everything, laughing along with her.
If it weren't for her, I would've left the village ages ago. Eli was the chain blocking my dreams—and the only happiness in my life. Not that I minded much. At least my love for her was genuine. Growing old with her didn't sound so bad.
But the year I turned twenty, something happened that even Eli couldn't stop.
One day, a knight whose name I didn't know showed up in our village. She demanded the village chief right away, introduced herself as Nadia, a knight from the capital, and in front of the whole village, spun a bizarre tale.
The Demon King, awakened after a century, was throwing the world into chaos. Hundreds of knights had already died trying to slay him, and the emperor was drafting surrender terms—the situation was that dire.
But even in these dark times, hope existed: an ancient imperial prophecy. It foretold that in the era of chaos brought by the resurrected Demon King, a young man from the village of blooming mint flowers would behead the Demon King and save the world. She declared that village was ours, and one of the young men here would be that hero.
The prophecy gave no other details about the youth, but there was no debate over who it was. This rundown village had only one young man. Me. And that was the problem.
I was a total country bumpkin who'd never caught so much as a rat, let alone a monster. But the knight took one look at me and started babbling that I was the savior destined to pull the world from the brink.
It was nonsense no sane person would buy. But I was too excited about seeing a knight for the first time to doubt her—and thrilled at the excuse to leave this shithole village.
Groundless confidence bubbled up too. Hell, I've got a decent build and plenty of guts. Come to think of it, the village elders always said I could be anything. Some kind of aura, I guess. Though I hadn't heard that since Sera started learning magic.
With those thoughts swirling, deciding was easy.
That day, I packed my bags to leave. Sera, the genius mage who always teased me for no reason, suddenly said she'd come along. Said her magic would be needed to beat the Demon King. I told her to do whatever. It was satisfying seeing her—who always acted superior and looked down on me—clinging now. No reason to refuse.
The problem was Eli. At first, she tried to stop me, of course. Don't go. There are plenty of others who can save the world.
"But Eli, the prophecy says I'm the only one who can save it. Staying cooped up in this backwater just for my comfort would be selfish."
"You just want to leave this place, don't you?"
She hit the nail on the head. But I didn't let it show.
"It's not like that. I just want to save the world."
"But you've never even touched a weapon."
Eli knew me too well. I pushed aside the flood of truths and took her hand.
"Don't worry, Eli. It'll be fine. I'll come back as a cool knight."
I deliberately spouted cringey lines. Sera pretended to puke behind me, but I ignored her.
Eli looked into my eyes and whispered,
"Just being my knight like this would be enough."
Looking back now, it was touching. But back then, I thought it was childish.
Eli, who'd been watching me, slowly nodded, realizing she couldn't stop me anymore. Then she dropped a bombshell.
"Then I'll come too. I'm a mage too, even if not as good as Sera."
"What? But..."
"The more mages, the better, right? That's fine, isn't it, Sera?"
"Huh? Oh? Uh... yeah, whatever. We could use someone to assist! I'll allow it, just this once."
Sera replied haughtily, and I just stared at Eli silently. But I couldn't bring myself to say no.
In the end, I set off with those three. Nadia taught me swordsmanship in her spare time, Sera supported me with her genius-level spells, and Eli—though her magic was a bit lacking—bolstered my spirits whenever I faltered.
After about a year, our party had really come together. Eli's role was still vague, and I had my shortcomings, but we'd grown strong enough to face the Demon King's forces.
Just before entering the Demon King's territory, Nadia suggested adding a few more members. I saw no reason to object, and Sera laid out her weird condition: anyone but another woman. Eli, who'd lost much of her say in the party by then, said nothing.
So we recruited three more: skilled archer Rick, renowned priest Bobby, and swordsman Leo, who had a name in the mercenary circles. As we slew the Demon King's minions, they proved their worth, and we pressed toward the Demon King's Castle. Defeating the Minotaur, said to be the second strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings, made victory feel within reach.
...
Yeah.
As you might guess, that's where the happy memories end.
That's when the story starts heading toward catastrophe.
In the most vulgar, filthy way imaginable.