Chapter 98
Chapter 98
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The True Answer To Confession
-----------------------------------------------------------------
When I first heard news of the Demon King subjugation, I thought this was the place for me.
Even if I were to depart for the Demon Realm to slay the Demon King and end up dead, people would consider it an honorable death.
After all, every Hero party so far had been wiped out without even killing one of the Four Heavenly Kings, let alone the Demon King Ergoth.
It wasn't particularly strange.
We were merely the Emperor's pawns, meant to briefly halt the war and evacuate innocent citizens.
No one would mourn someone like me, and there was no chance of forming deep friendships with my comrades.
I was certain that's what I thought back then.
The magic now before Victoria and me is proof of that.
[─If you're seeing this, it means I'm definitely dead. The posthumous magic I created, [Last Word], only appears to the first person who finds it after my death.]
Clack.
A light emanated from a blue, droplet-like sphere, revealing a figure with my exact face and voice sitting on a bed, talking to herself.
"...You look a bit thinner. And your facial expression and gaze seem much sharper than they are now."
Victoria let out a small sigh as she watched my past self, captured exactly as if looking in a mirror.
"She looks the same to me."
"It must be because it's from a year ago. I can tell the difference because I always keep Astal's face in my sight."
Shaking her head, Victoria wore an expression of disbelief, as if wondering how I couldn't see such a big difference.
Is this what becomes possible when you fall in love?
I widened my eyes, searching for differences from the present, but no matter how hard I stared, I couldn't see any.
[─Today I met the comrades who will become my party for the first time, and one question arose. Why on earth are they telling a Saint who's about to die to go slay the Demon King?]
"Ah, this is definitely about me. The first recorded last words aren't even about yourself, but about the Saint with the large chest... So you had ulterior motives for me from the very beginning."
"...That's not it. It's just that half her body was covered in flowers, and she didn't look like she was in any condition to fight properly."
"That doesn't seem like something the person who suddenly grabbed that person's hand and cast every curse-breaking spell he knew should say..."
Victoria gently placed her hand over mine on the bed as she spoke. Then, wiggling her eyebrows, she playfully taunted me.
This is why I didn't want to show the Last Word magic to Victoria.
This was something I prepared just in case there were people who might still have lingering attachments.
I thought my teacher, the Blue Tower Master Charlotte Snowrain, and my grandfather, whom I hadn't visited once since my mother's death, might grieve or shed tears over my death.
[─My plan is to at least kill a Dullahan and then die. I want to at least avenge my parents and the people of my hometown before I die. There's no way I can kill something like the Demon King Ergoth anyway.]
"Well, Astal was truly pessimistic at first. Wherever we went, you assumed the worst-case scenario and acted accordingly."
Victoria wore a nostalgic expression as she propped her chin on her hand and gazed at my phantom.
"At first, we couldn't coordinate at all, so we struggled terribly even to take down a single weak monster."
Hearing that, I let out a deep sigh and then lifted the corners of my mouth.
No matter how much we were called humanity's strongest heroes, there was a time we suffered because we didn't mesh well.
As she said, I had no choice but to work incredibly hard to ensure my comrades wouldn't die.
"I miss that. Back then, it was cute how you'd blush and distance yourself even if I got just a little close."
"I never did that."
"Really? Didn't you once say, while looking at this massive... regional feature with lustful eyes, that such a figure was completely unbefitting of a Saint?"
"I did say it was dangerous for someone whose entire body was half-flower to thoughtlessly pick up a hammer and charge to the front lines."
Truthfully, until then, I thought the role of a priest was strongly focused on supporting the party from the rear.
If someone who boosted strength or divine power, or offered prayers that bestowed blessings, fought on the front lines, they'd easily become a target for the enemy.
I definitely gave advice like that, but Victoria was now making things up just to tease me.
"And yet, when you and I mixed our bodies, you seduced me with lewd words, didn't you?"
Except for that.
When I had no choice but to stay up all night with her to remove the flowers blooming on her body, I had deliberately used harsh words towards Victoria.
"I thought you'd hate that. Normally, no one likes to be insulted with harsh words."
"...I liked it."
"......"
"Perhaps it's more accurate to say I was excited to see a side of Astal I couldn't normally see. Ah, not that I'm a pervert or anything. Surely a Saint is a person with broad enough capacity to accept everything about their loved one..."
I was momentarily speechless watching Victoria fidget and ramble. Maybe her values were different because she was the one who used to harshly insult and provoke me.
"Ah, anyway, I didn't dislike it. I also learned that Astal wasn't such a eunuch that he could say such dirty things."
Her face bright red, Victoria glanced at my crotch and swallowed hard.
- To be honest, I want to do even more incredible things. To XX the OO and do □□...
I could hear Victoria's inner thoughts about just how lewd and promiscuous her thoughts were, but I chose not to voice them.
It seemed this was a secret I alone would have to carry to the grave.
[─We finally completely annihilated the troll squad that had been pursuing us. I drank with my comrades for the first time today; it seems better than drinking alone.]
Victoria and I spent time listening together to the Last Word magic I had recorded.
[─Today I saw Victoria use a Miracle and secretly cry in pain, or stifle agonized screams. Why is that called a Miracle...]
At first, I kept leaving pessimistic last words like 'We're all going to die,' but gradually I began to change.
[─Today Kyle secretly ate the food in my pocket. I should record it here now in case I forget.]
Now it really wasn't last words but more like a diary entry, recording even trivial daily events in the party, and my image laughing had returned.
So I was a human who could laugh.
I was someone who could enjoy myself like this, chatter about trivial things, and hold onto hope.
"...Victoria, thank you."
"Even if you say that to me, you're not the only one who was saved. Astal."
Seeing that, I almost shed a tear and thanked her, but she said there was no need for such words.
From the beginning, we had comforted each other's wounds, crossed life-and-death boundaries, and become irreplaceable comrades in the world.
[─These are words for the Flame Hero, Kyle Dragonica. I remember you saying that after the Demon King subjugation, you wanted to marry your childhood sweetheart, become an academy swordsmanship instructor, and live a life teaching children. Did you achieve that dream?]
As the Last Word magic was nearing its end, the messages I had left for each of them began to play.
[─To be honest, you're too kind a guy to end your life in a place like the Demon Realm just because you're the Hero. So, even if I sacrifice myself, I'm sure you'll make sure to survive.]
Surprisingly, the first one wasn't for Victoria but for the Hero Kyle. He was always a hero who led the charge in battle and saved people.
Even in hopeless situations surrounded by monsters, or when captured as a hostage after being deceived by demons, he was the one who always encouraged us, telling us not to lose hope.
"My message isn't the first one. You said you'd give me a real answer to my confession after we defeated the Dullahan, so I was expecting..."
"You confessed only recently. Of course yours would come last."
I let out a slight sigh, worried about the embarrassing words that were yet to come.
After all, I had left messages like 'My beloved Saint' or 'I like you more than I thought,' thinking she'd never find out.
"Can't you just tell me now? I even wore pretty lingerie for today."
Victoria slightly lifted her Saint's robes, revealing lingerie so skimpy it was almost embarrassing to call it cow-print.
At this rate, you're not a Saint, you're a dairy cow.
Honestly, isn't that just a scrap of cloth? As that thought crossed my mind, I had no choice but to avert my eyes.
"Just a little, just a tiny bit longer."
"Yes, alright. You're always like that. The kind of man who never gives in no matter how hard I seduce him. Actually, I like that about you too..."
Victoria wore a slightly disappointed expression, as if she had expected this, and spoke in a sweet voice by my ear.
"...But I believe you won't reject my confession this time. I'll wait a little longer for you."
At her words, a slightly sweet, milky scent seemed to linger at the tip of my nose.