Chapter 7
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 7: Why Is It Me?
It is pitch-black darkness.
A feeling of soaking my body in a black sea where heaven and earth are mixed, and it is ambiguous whether my eyes are open or closed.
Above that, consciousness slowly floated up like bubbles.
‘.......’
My body feels as heavy as a thousand pounds as if iron balls were attached. I inhale, and my lungs shrivel achingly.
When I try to move, my nerves scream first, saying ‘Don’t move!’
Still, my mind was clear.
That makes it even more ironic. If it hurts, I should just faint. Since I’m clear-headed, I feel all the pain.
‘I must have fainted after the match ended.’
I remember up to winning against the Minotaur. Seeing that I have no memory after that, it seems I collapsed there.
Since I pushed my body to the limit against that huge monster, it was extremely fortunate that it ended with just fainting.
It wouldn't have been strange even if my limbs were crushed.
Normally, I should get up as soon as I regain consciousness. If a slave oversleeps, they might enter eternal sleep.
But right now, even if I want to get up, my body won’t move. So me lying down is unavoidable.
I’ll sleep soundly and get up around the time I get hungry.
Just as I was about to enjoy a long-awaited rest with the excuse of being in pain, suddenly the sound of conversation reached my ears.
It was a voice tinged with annoyance.
“When is he waking up?”
“I am not sure. According to the doctor, there is no threat to his life, so he said he would wake up soon, but...”
“Are you telling me to wait indefinitely in this smelly place?”
“Please wait just a moment.”
...What is this.
Why do I hear Renoa’s voice?
Is it an auditory hallucination?
Thinking I might be dreaming, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and carefully opened my eyes a crack.
My vision was blurry.
Because my eyelids were heavy like lead, I could only roughly distinguish the direction from which light was entering. Yet I saw it.
Renoa sitting crookedly on a chair with her arms crossed.
Countless question marks floating in my head. At that moment, my eyes met Renoa’s exactly.
Blink, blink.
I closed my eyes again.
“......Fuck, it was hell.”
I thought I survived, but it was hell. I must have died together with the Minotaur.
Otherwise, there is no way Renoa would be here.
The story that the devil changes into the form a person feared most in life, it wasn't a joke.
“Hell? At the very least it would be heaven.”
The devil in Renoa’s form immediately tackles my statement.
It’s absurd. How can it be heaven when Renoa is here? Of course it’s hell.
I’ve lived long enough, no, died long enough to see Renoa making a joke.
Whatever it is, you have to live long to see things.
‘No, I died.’
It feels so real that my words keep slipping out wrong.
More than that, I really lived kindly, rolling like a dog in a hell-like place until I died, but for it to be hell even after death.
The world is fucking unfair.
“Aren't you getting up? Your eyes met mine just now.”
“Hey, I really suffered until I died. If you have something called a conscience, let me rest a little.”
She’s scary when I’m alive, but what is there to fear in the world at the point of being dead.
I ignored her and lay still.
“......You’re being interesting.”
The end of her sentence curled subtly.
A moment later, the ominous sound of rusty hinges engaging was heard, and someone entered.
And.
—Splaaaash!
“Hwak?!”
Cold water hitting my whole body.
My breath got blocked, and my spine straightened out as if struck by lightning. I reflexively jumped up and——
“Ack!”
I lay down again as if collapsing from the pain stabbing my whole body. I struggled in agony.
“W-What is this?”
When I opened my eyes wide, I saw the devil Renoa I saw earlier and her escort knight.
Seeing the escort knight holding an empty bucket, it seemed he was the one who poured water on me.
“W-What are you doing?”
“See, wouldn't it have been better to get up when I called.”
“Is this not hell?”
“Why do you keep looking at me and calling it hell since earlier.... Making me want to send you to hell.”
It’s not hell?
I’m alive and not dead?
That figures. Honestly, I didn't take enough damage to die, right?
Thanks to the skill effect, my body becomes sturdy when fighting in the arena.
‘Should I be happy about this, or not.’
Even if I’m alive, the fact that I’m a slave doesn't change.
Still, I decided not to think negatively. If I do, the past me who suffered enough to die becomes pitiful.
More than that, to think this isn't hell. I muttered something in my sleep just now, what did I say?
-Fuck, it was hell.
-Hey, I really suffered until I died. If you have something called a conscience, let me rest a little.
“Uh.”
Mistakes from just a few minutes ago flashing by like a panorama.
I used informal speech.
I spat out curses.
To none other than Renoa.
Buffering occurred in my head. I rolled my eyes slowly and looked at Renoa.
She had her arms crossed, head tilted crookedly, sending a sharp gaze.
“Anything to say?”
“Please kill me painlessly.”
“You’ve been saying only strange things since earlier. Do you want to die? After struggling so much?”
“You weren't trying to kill me?”
I naturally thought she was asking for my last words.
“I was going to, but decided to hold back just this once. Since you seem a bit lacking somewhere. Maybe you hurt your head while fighting.”
I’ve died enough, no, lived enough to see Renoa sparing me after I swore at her.
She wasn't a human to grant this level of mercy though?
“What brings the Princess to such a shabby place.......”
“I was quite impressed by your match. It was the first time in my life I saw it. Something so full of vitality.”
“Uh, um.... So?”
She’s saying good words to a slave?
They say people die if they change suddenly. Of course, the one dying in this case would be me, not Renoa.
I have a bad feeling.
“So I’m thinking of personally sponsoring you.”
“M-Me?”
“I’d like you to show more matches like today. For me.”
The bombshell statement I had feared.
Did I try too hard? But if I hadn't, I would have died!
“I don’t know which part of my match you liked, but wouldn't that be too hasty of a judgment?”
“Hasty judgment?”
“There are so many gladiators in the world better than me. Those people will show much cooler matches. Definitely.”
“Are you saying right now that my eye for people is wrong?”
Renoa narrowed her eyes. Her vertical black pupils looked like snake eyes.
A bloody gaze as if she would strangle me right away if I offended her.
It’s the Renoa in my memory.
“No. I didn't mean it like that.......”
“Then?”
“Should I say I know my shortcomings best? Even if I get sponsored, I’ll die before long. It will only blemish the Princess’s reputation for nothing.”
Just by staying still by Renoa’s side, I have to walk a tightrope of life and death every moment.
That Renoa becoming my sponsor?
To me, it only sounds like ‘If you don’t meet my expectations, I will chop your limbs and kill you.’
I have to refuse somehow.
Without offending her.
“.......”
An uneasy silence flows. Renoa doesn't speak.
When I sneakily raise my head, she is still staring at me with narrow eyes.
I absolutely cannot read her intentions.
Cold sweat pours.
I feel like my insides will explode.
“You.”
Only silence like eternity flowed, then.
“You hate that I’m becoming your sponsor.”
Renoa spat out the words.
Crazy bitch.
She’s disgustingly quick-witted.
She hit the nail on the head, but I must absolutely not show it.
“No way. It’s sponsorship from the young lady of the Edelheid Ducal family, not anywhere else; who in the world would dislike that.”
“Speak honestly. I won’t do it if you hate it. I have no intention of forcibly holding onto someone who says they hate it.”
“Really?”
“It’s a lie. So you do hate it.”
Fuck, it was an entrapment investigation.
I am extremely desperate right now.
As expected of a villainess, she plays with people’s lives casually.
She’s even laughing.
‘...Laughing?’
Renoa is laughing?
It was true. She covers her mouth with her hand and giggles.
It wasn't just me who was surprised; the escort knight by her side also opened his eyes wide as if he couldn't believe it.
First time seeing it.
Renoa laughing.
In the midst of this, she’s pretty as hell when she laughs.
She’s originally very pretty, but she’s even prettier when she laughs.
‘To think I’m admiring her face when she’s an opponent who could kill me with a flick of a finger.’
Instinct is truly something.
The creature called man is pitiful.
“You, you are not just normally out of your mind, are you?”
“.......”
“I rather like it. I quite dislike putting on airs.”
“That is....”
“I don’t know why you are avoiding me, but I will not withdraw my decision to become your sponsor no matter what happens.”
“Ah....”
“It won’t be only bad. Since I became your sponsor, there will be support. And you never know. If you meet my expectations, I might give you freedom.”
My eyes opened wide upon hearing the word freedom.
“Really?”
“Depending on how you do.”
Then the story is different.
If I lose the match I die, and it’s not like I can leave even if I win. I have to rot in the arena forever.
Ideally, it’s better to receive Renoa’s sponsorship. Because I can climb up even if it’s a rope with blades embedded.
0.000001% is better than 0%.
“Looking at your eyes, it seems you made a decision.”
“Though it seems there is no other choice.”
Renoa didn't bother to answer. As if it wasn't worth answering.
Renoa rose from her seat. The escort knight opened the door as if waiting.
“I hope you won’t disappoint me. If by any chance you do disappoint me.”
Before leaving, Renoa looking at me with a sharp gaze.
“You will have to pay the price dearly.”
She left the room leaving those words behind.
Click clack, the sound of shoes echoed in the hallway and soon disappeared.
Left alone, I blinked blankly.
“...What on earth is this.”
It feels like a storm swept through. I can’t calm down even though Renoa left.
Even though this isn't modern times, I feel like she installed a CCTV in the room and is monitoring me.
‘Isn't she going to kick the door and jump out immediately if I say something strange?’
Only after a bit more time passed since Renoa left could I find stability of mind and body.
‘To think I would receive sponsorship from Renoa of all people.’
If this was an internet broadcast, I would have liked it saying ‘Oh my, Chairman Renoa sponsored 10 million won~’.
But this isn't an internet broadcast. No, it’s a problem even if it were.
Even if a future heinous criminal sponsors a huge sum, I would only suspect if they are trying to launder money.
I absolutely don't know which part of my match impressed her.
Still, a fortune amidst misfortune.
“She’s a bit different from the Renoa I know.”
The Renoa of the original work is a human who knows no flexibility. If something offends her, it’s immediate execution.
Talking with a mere slave?
It’s something that can’t happen.
That is the Renoa I know, but her personality now is much softer.
Enough to make me suspect if she’s a different person.
“Is it because she’s young?”
Based on the time of her first appearance, there seems to be about a 5-6 year difference.
Enough time for a person to change. She is not a villainess yet.
‘Of course, she is equally scary.’
The unique gaze, the cool voice.
The oppressive atmosphere created by the person called Renoa is real. It’s fucking bloody.
‘Maybe it’s innate.’
The important thing is, young Renoa isn't a psychopath who tramples people like bugs yet.
It’s extremely good news for me.
Doesn't she say she’ll release me if I meet her expectations? Once I become a free body and run away, it’s over.
Whether she becomes a murderer or a villainess after that is none of my business.
‘Because the me of that time won’t be by her side.’
Repeat after me.
Buy when cheap.
Sell when expensive.
Even if it’s just before delisting, it’s fine as long as I take profit.
“Then shall I receive the quest reward?”