If the Abyss Looks Back at Me (2)
Roban von Sorbe had been living through days steeped in unbearable humiliation. It all began with a trivial incident.
He had been riding hard toward the Sigmund entrance exam when he spotted an enormous Northerner, built like a mountain, leaning against a tree and resting. Already irritated by his tardiness, the sight of a crude northern savage right in front of him filled him with such revulsion that it felt like he was catching some kind of curse. So he decided to kick up a little dust as he rode past.
The man responded exactly as one would expect from a savage Northerner—shouting furiously in that barbaric northern accent. Roban had simply planned to ignore him and proceed with the exam, but the Northerner pursued him to the end, taunting him and challenging him to a spar—the very entrance exam duel itself.
I should never have accepted that proposal back then… Because of it, I lost the honor of admission, my entire future, and even our family’s revered heirloom sword.
He had to admit it. The difference in skill had been absolute. There was no way a man of similar age could have overwhelmed him with such seasoned technique, as if he had spent decades on the battlefield. Roban himself had survived several real wars and held confidence in his own abilities, yet that damnable bastard had completely shattered his dignity. He had boasted to everyone that he would enter with his head held high, only to become a laughingstock before them all.
And he had gained nothing.
Worse still, the wretch had swept first place in every single evaluation category, securing the top admission spot for the year. On top of that, he received an unprecedented special exception and now stood shoulder to shoulder with two legendary figures.
Ah, of course, he excluded that bitch Karalin—the owner of that northern dog. No matter how great the Vitagarte family might be, to Roban, a staunch imperialist, those barbaric northerners with their vile history were not true citizens of the Empire.
In any case, though it had not been his intention, Roban had somehow become the stepping stone for Yohan’s rise. He had even failed the entrance exam. Thus, he had spent the past month drowning in despair, dejection, and burning jealousy. Like a complete wreck.
But recently, a man had appeared who offered him a way out of this misery. A man who introduced himself as an angel wrapped in bandages.
“Please accept this without asking any questions, Lord Roban.”
“This… what is it?”
Wings like those of a crow sprouted from the man’s back, and his face was grotesquely wrapped in layers of bandages. At first, Roban had even mistaken the sight for a hallucination brought on by his own descent into madness. But that impression melted away like snow the moment the man made his sweet proposal.
“It is a special scroll designed to freeze the blood of the northerners—the so-called Thunder Clan—solid.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Tsk, who I am is of no importance to you. What matters is that you want revenge against Yohan Kim.”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
Backing down from the threat was typical cowardly behavior for Roban, but so be it.
“…My apologies. It seems my eloquence still has a long way to go.”
“By the way, why are you giving something like this to me…?”
“From my perspective, Yohan Kim is also a thorn in my side. I have something very important to discuss with Lady Karalin, but as long as that man is around, conversation becomes difficult… And since those two are always together, securing a private audience with her ladyship has proven quite impossible.”
Gulp.
“So, follow Yohan, close your eyes, and use this scroll. If he dies, that’s ideal. If not, it should freeze him for about a month. That will suffice.”
“D-don’t talk nonsense. That bastard has Azero’s healing ability. He stole it from me. So something like this scroll would be easily recovered.”
“No. If you strike instantly with a surprise attack, it is entirely possible. This scroll can completely freeze a human body in roughly five seconds. With your excellent speed, Lord Roban, that should be more than enough time, wouldn’t you agree?”
At first he had been skeptical. But for the sake of revenge, he would do anything.
“You are the perfect candidate. I cannot reveal who I am, but the person behind me is considering… employing you in an important capacity.”
“R-really?! Truly?!”
“Yes. Provided you carry out this task perfectly.”
The man’s appearance alone made it obvious he was no ordinary person. Whoever stood behind him had to be someone of extremely high standing. That much was clear.
And so Roban stood before the mirror, repeating self-hypnosis.
I can do this. I will have my revenge.
“When the time comes, I’ll seize the opportunity and strike in one blow…!”
Clatter—!
Thud—!
“No. That time will never come.”
At that moment, a section of the inn’s ceiling where Roban was staying suddenly lifted open, and a dark figure dropped down. The intruder immediately seized Roban from behind while he was still off guard.
“Kuh, ugh?!”
“I knew it. What else would that bastard Vankite von Karlangk come up with…”
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince?!”
“The one backing the man who gave you that scroll is him. I’m sorry you didn’t realize.”
The low, thick voice roughly pinned Roban’s arms and slammed his face into the table.
Bang—!
“Let me guess. When he handed you the scroll, a suspicious winged man appeared. Correct?”
“How did you—!”
“That guy is one of the Demon King’s executives. His real name is Yagnus, but Vankite calls him Butler. You made a contract with a demon that day.”
Terrified, Roban answered in a trembling voice.
“W-wait. What… what do you want from me?”
“Nothing in particular…”
“Haa?”
At those meaningful words, Roban breathed harshly and struggled to identify the giant’s face. It was difficult to make out in the candlelit room, but when the giant slowly lowered the mask covering his face, Roban realized he didn’t need to strain at all.
By the time he realized it, however, it was already too late.
“Yohan… Yohan?!”
Yohan clamped his massive hand over Roban’s mouth once more. As he answered the question of what he wanted,
“I don’t want anything from you. I came here to kill you anyway.”
“Mmmph?! Mmph?!”
“I’ve been watching you this whole time. You should have stayed quiet. Hating me isn’t a crime worthy of death, but the moment you accepted the proposal to kill me and destroy my lady, your fate was already sealed.”
You fucking son of a bitch—how the hell did you get here?!
“So, what will it be? Come on, take a deep breath…”
“Gaaah—!!”
Squelch—
Roban’s thick neck, despite all his grand ambitions, was severed far too easily. But wasn’t that simply the law of nature? Humans die more easily than they think.
“Vankite… if you think I didn’t see this coming, you’re completely mistaken.”
There was no one to hear it, but Yohan muttered the words to himself anyway.
In a way, beneath the seemingly idyllic school life lay this hidden “club activity” of cutting away the seeds of destruction. To him, saying he had no interest in school life carried exactly this meaning.
There was simply no way he could enjoy school life in peace. For his lady’s sake, there was a mountain of things he had to do.
It was a good thing he had taken the time to tail him. Ever since that conversation with his lady, he had been constantly monitoring Roban’s movements. He never imagined the fool would openly side with Vankite like this. Roban probably never dreamed that Yohan had been carefully tailing him the entire time.
If he had left him alone, it would surely have led to a major disaster. Fortunately, he had acted in time.
Vankite wasn’t satisfied with merely having connections—he had joined hands with Yagnus, a high-ranking demon army executive who even served him, and was enjoying these little games. Murder for hire, corruption, and so on…
What terrible taste.
In the world Yohan knew, wasn’t it precisely because of that twisted hobby of his that Lady Karalin had fallen into corruption? Everything Vankite did followed this pattern. He would approach weakened people, pretend to give them a chance, and tempt them with power if they sought revenge.
To Vankite, who craved stimulation, his lady had been nothing more than an entertaining toy. And Roban, whom Yohan had just eliminated, was likely no different—just another plaything in the same context.
Of course, in Roban’s case, rather than seeking the same kind of stimulation he got from my lady, he probably just wanted to exploit the hatred Roban felt toward me in order to get rid of me.
Still, there was undoubtedly a calculation on Vankite’s part that Roban would become a thoroughly manipulated puppet in his schemes. In that sense, it was probably better for Roban that he had died cleanly at Yohan’s hands. Even if he had succeeded, he would have been milked dry by Vankite—both the sweet and the bitter—before ultimately being thrown into a boiling cauldron.
A far crueler fate than dying cleanly like this.
From that perspective, there was no need to think too deeply about why Vankite had tried to use Roban to eliminate him. The fact that he wanted Yohan dead simply meant that Yohan’s survival interfered with his plans. There was no doubt that Vankite still desired to see his lady fall into corruption.
“…That is what happened, my lady. As you instructed, since he posed a threat, I disposed of Roban without anyone noticing.”
“Well done. That idiot dared to bare his fangs at us…”
Yohan had reported every detail of the situation to his lady. He told her that Vankite had tried to have him killed through Roban and was plotting to corrupt her. Of course, he hadn’t actually learned any of this through interrogating Roban. He simply said he had. After all, the dead don’t talk.
But his lady’s reaction to the report was strange.
“Huu…”
At first, she had simply sighed with a calm expression, but then—
“Huu… huuu…”
“My lady?”
What could he say? Today she was showing an expression of visible panic that he had never seen before. She kept letting out heavy sighs and was visibly trembling. This was no ordinary reaction.
“My lady, is something wrong…?”
And then it happened. A string of uncharacteristic words burst from her lips.
“Yohan. Listen. That guy is seriously a bad person. Why does he want to see me fall into corruption? Isn’t he an idiot? He’s a pervert. Totally disgusting.”
“Pardon? Everything I reported is true, but…”
“He really is such a low-class, vulgar person. U-ueegh…”
She rolled her eyes in disbelief for a moment, then suddenly flinched and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Ahem. Oh dear, what am I saying…”
“This is… the first time I’ve seen you like this.”
This was, in other words, not the refined speech of a monarch she had always shown, but the tone of an ordinary girl her age. To think such words would come from his lady’s mouth. To hear that voice one day.
Of course, it wasn’t incomprehensible. Any normal person who learned that someone was watching them with such sinister intentions would naturally spit out words of disgust. But since his lady had always been so composed, seeing her like this was honestly… bewildering.
On the other hand, he found it secretly adorable. Though saying that probably made him sound like a psychopath.
So he simply stood there, mouth agape, staring at her. His gaze made her shrink back, and her face turned bright red.
“Forget what I just said!”
“I will forget it.”
“Good.”
But even if he said he would forget, it wasn’t something one could erase so easily. A quiet silence settled between them, and his lady returned to her usual refined tone.
“No, but Yohan. Do I really look like someone who would fall so easily?”
“Not necessarily.”
“…Yes. As long as I have you, I would never do that.”
Yet her voice was so small it was almost inaudible.
“I wasn’t paying full attention. Could you please say that again?”
When he asked, she became even more evasive.
“N-no, it’s nothing, Yohan.”
What kind of situation was this?
“Anyway… I had something else to talk about today, not just that story.”