Before the Fruits of Choice (9)

I opened my eyes in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a daze. The letter I had left while sitting down to rest during the sewer raid had come to me in the form of a dream.

It was meaningless.

I wasn't the one who needed to see it.

"Demon Knight!"

And this wasn't where I was supposed to be…

"Are you with us?"

I blinked against my blurred vision and tracked the sound. A familiar face—one that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had grown familiar—came into view. My vision made the features a bit muddled, but that red hair was unmistakable no matter how hard you tried to confuse it.

"My lord, you're awake?"

Dev seemed to be here too.

I blinked slowly, then parted my lips. I wanted to ask what had happened. But a fierce thirst seized my throat and that wish failed on the spot. A dry cough and ragged breathing came out in place of words.

"You didn't even give him water?!"

"I—I was just about to!"

Save the fighting for later and just give me the water…

"Here."

At least neither of them got so lost in their bickering that they forgot about me. With Dev's help I pushed myself up. Kimchi Dumpling handed me the cup.

"I'll tilt it for you."

No, you really don't have to go that far. Getting help to drink doesn't fit the concept either.

But my body felt like lead—far too heavy to wave off the help and manage it alone. Honestly my vision was still hazy. The hands bracing my back and shoulders felt almost cool against my skin.

"You really must be exhausted, Sir Knight."

Don't you know the house rule is to pretend you don't notice that kind of thing? I grumbled the complaint under my breath and gulped the water down. It had been a long time since water tasted this sweet.

"…The situation."

Only after draining two cups did the thirst ease a little. My voice was still cracked, but it was better than the nothing of a moment ago.

"You really are something else…"

"My lord, honestly…"

Why do both of you look like you're about to cry? Is it that weird that I asked what happened?

"Listen, my lord. You just woke up after two weeks."

…That was a joke, right?

"You almost died for real. Injuries bad enough that stopping breathing wouldn't have been surprising, plus a curse making them worse. And when we tried to break the curse with Holy Power, you just coughed up more blood…!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The more Dev explained, the more uneasy I felt. It sounded too absurd. Hard to believe.

Two weeks? Deleted?? Nearly five days of real time just gone??

No—more than that. Real-world time already moved five days and I'm still alive? Then this place really is…

No. Maybe only game time advanced and real time didn't. That's possible too.

I crushed down both the urge to believe and the inability to believe. Every possibility had to stay open. If only so I wouldn't despair. If only so I could endure.

"Are you listening?"

"I don't care."

Of course, even accounting for that, two weeks of in-game time was still ridiculous.

Seriously, isn't the rule that a game character is fully healed once HP is full? Even with an injury penalty—two weeks is way too long.

Just in case, I snuck a look at my HP. Full. Fatigue still hadn't dropped, though.

"The situation?"

Wow. So there was a fatigue penalty after all. The penalty was the recovery speed.

If it still hasn't dropped, does that mean recovery slows by however long you kept moving at full fatigue? Unbelievable. Never doing that again.

"…"

While I was thinking through the system, I noticed Dev and Kimchi Dumpling clenching their fists.

What is actually the problem here. I'm the most unsettled person in this room, you know? I'm only letting it go because obsessing over it is pointless.

"Do I have to ask three times?"

And this was the concept you people chose! If I put my own well-being first in this situation you'd be the first ones to complain—so what exactly are you hoping for!

"…For now, the city is safe."

Thankfully the two of them didn't push me into a tantrum. I didn't have the strength for a proper outburst in this body anyway, so things worked out.

"The demon the Demon Knight faced has been designated a Plaguefiend and fully purged. The priests also purified the entire area, so there have been no further infections."

The Inquisitor delivered her summary crisply and clearly. She might not manage much else, but when it came to reports, Kimchi Dumpling was excellent.

"After that I led the adventurers in a breakthrough, and in the process confirmed that the siege on the city had lifted. We also sent for reinforcements. As of yesterday the relief troops arrived and proper rescue operations have begun."

A lot had happened while I was out. Looking at it that way, maybe two weeks unconscious hadn't been so bad.

If I'd been awake I would've had to help with half of that. Not that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind helping—my body just has to be functional first.

Maybe taking a concept of hunting demons without regard for my own life was a mistake. It was an obvious requirement for the character, and it's too late to take it back now, but still.

"Is there anything else you wish to know?"

Alright, that covers the broad strokes. Come on, brain—spin! Think of something the concept would actually ask!

"The demon contractors. Did you catch them all?"

"Those who were inside the city…"

"We got them all, yeah."

"…Yes. With that one's help, we rooted them out completely. And the remnants of the ritual that existed outside the city… an adventurer party led by him found those as well. Though we couldn't catch the people involved."

Oh. I'd been wondering why he was still hanging around—turns out Dev had more room to shine than I'd thought.

I glanced at him. My vision, clearer than before, showed the young man still wearing his hood.

"Hey, I did it because I could."

He scratched the exposed lower half of his face, looking awkward. Then his nose twitched, as if something had just occurred to him.

"What, surprised a weakling managed it without getting in the way?"

I didn't even say anything… Ah—is this about what I said when we headed into the underground, trying to shake him off? He's still holding onto that?

"No."

Whether Dev was just that petty or simply flustered enough to snipe like that, I couldn't tell.

I stated it flatly.

"I take that back. You are not an obstacle."

Thump.

The wooden cup in Kimchi Dumpling's hand hit the floor. Dev's mouth fell open.

I'd clearly broken character. Great. Ruined.

"…O-o-of course."

I nervously scanned for my weapon, half expecting a mace or a dagger to come flying. Dev answered in a completely wrecked state. Kimchi Dumpling was picking the cup back up, but her hands were trembling—she wasn't doing much better.

"…The underground."

Judging by their faces they didn't look ready to cave my skull in. Still scary enough that I hastily changed the subject.

Kimchi Dumpling jerked her head up, eyes somehow shining.

"Due to insufficient personnel we've only sealed and monitored it. Now that reinforcements have arrived, purification will begin within a few days. Ah—I am assigned to that force as well."

Uh, okay. A few days means I'll be stuck in this city until then. What am I supposed to do in the meantime.

"I-I'll be purifying… too."

Well… you're a priest, so of course you will…?

I puzzled over why the Inquisitor was stating the obvious with eyes that bright, then a thought struck me all at once.

Don't tell me—she wants to hear the same thing I said to Dev? She wants affirmation for herself?

The instant that idea landed, I tightened my eyes and fists. It would look like a foul temper, but I had no choice. That at least fit the concept. Smiling here would destroy everything.

"My weapon."

Is this cuteness even real? One of them short-circuits and stammers because he got recognized, and the other one butts in wanting the same recognition for herself. This—this is actually happening?

"Where did you put it."

Kimchi Dumpling was spiking my violence levels too hard. I needed to go beat a demon right now.

"Wait—are you trying to stand?"

"N-no! You still need more rest!"

What are you talking about!! You're the ones tormenting me right now!! I need to swing something immediately or I won't survive!! You overgrown dumplings, one kimchi and one meat…! Acting cute when you're fully grown!

"Ack—what are you doing not grabbing him, bookworm!"

"I-if I grab him and he gets hurt—!"

"Let go…!"

"Does he look like someone who gets hurt that easily?!"

"Hhk—you mustn't move!"

Unfortunately, the two of them were far too strong. I was forcibly laid back onto the bed. The brief exertion sent my fatigue rocketing, and as a bonus I was half-compelled to close my eyes.

"Feeling any better?"

After sleeping straight through another full day, my body was nearly back to normal. Fatigue had dropped to zero, and the injury penalty was over.

Aside from a stiffness that came from moving for the first time in a while, there was no further discomfort.

"You could rest a little longer."

"Unnecessary."

So I decided to join the underground purification. I couldn't perform the purification itself, but dealing with the demons that had multiplied while the place was sealed was another matter entirely.

Of course, hearing there was no pay had shaken me a little. The concept was the concept—I simply couldn't back out.

"Demon Knight."

Come to think of it, I never got paid for stopping the plague ritual and killing the Plaguefiend either.

I remember being warned in advance that there might be no reward, but I didn't think they'd actually stiff me. I at least expected materials or gear dropped by the boss.

Or was the problem that I didn't land the last hit on the Plaguefiend? Or the lack of a butchering skill?

Not even being able to protest is just sad. Not that much—more of an "ugh, what a trash game" level of sad.

"Thank you."

While I was swinging my longsword this way and that amid those scattered thoughts, the Archmage offered his gratitude.

It felt rather out of nowhere to me.

"You'll say you don't need it. I know. But without you, something far worse would have unfolded."

Well… it's true that my overexertion let us stop this, but maybe it was also my frantic movement that made everything this hard in the first place.

If the incident only triggers once the player arrives in Tatara, then taking it slow would still have stopped it the same way it did now.

Of course, that might not be the case. And if it isn't, then I really did do well.

"Do you understand the gravity of what happened here?"

Apparently interpreting my silence somehow, the Archmage didn't wait for an answer and pressed on. Of course the question still wasn't really looking for my reply.

"Do you also understand how difficult it is for something of this scale to occur on the frontier?"

If I knew that I'd be a setting writer, not a gamer… Give me a clue and I can reason, but if I don't know the setting itself I'm just left blinking.

"The sacrifices required to isolate a city in such a short time, summon enough demons to choke every underground passage, and prepare a plague ritual as well—those numbers defy imagination. The people needed to lead it are many too. And to even deploy a vampire, whose birth rate is under five percent…"

Well… true. In a game with respawns you don't usually think about manpower logistics. Looking at it realistically, it was strange.

Time and manpower consumed on any massive project always stood in inverse proportion.

"In short, the effort the demon worshipers poured into this affair exceeds all imagination. Far too extravagant to spend on toppling a single frontier city."

Around then I realized what the Archmage wanted to say.

"Moreover, those wretches had even drawn a formation outside capable of bombarding the entire city. It was never activated for lack of sacrifices, but that was their final objective."

Manpower too precious to waste on one city—if they spent it anyway, that means the target was worth it.

And the only thing that could make it that valuable…

"Speak clearly."

"What they were after was, in all likelihood, the Hero."

So they really had been aiming at the Hero herself. The underground restraints, the bombardment circle he'd just mentioned—all of it.

"Before the Inquisitor's talent could truly awaken. Before she could accumulate experience and become a seasoned hunter. Before she could challenge their king. They forced this plan into motion just to kill her first."

Surprising and unsurprising at once. Entirely natural.

In games and novels and comics, enemies somehow always arrived scaled to your level—but realistically the final boss had no reason to play fair. Pulling a sprout before it grows was always the easiest, cleanest option.

"In other words, thanks to you, that danger was averted."

Well, from a meta standpoint they're already sending level-scaled enemies. It's just that the game system is tuning itself for the player, not the Hero.

"I say it again: thank you. Without you, humanity might have lost its Hero."

Setting that aside, I gave the most correct response my concept would allow to those solemn words.

"A tale not worth the hearing."

Translation: I listened thinking it was important information, but it was completely useless, so from now on I'm letting it go in one ear and out the other.

"I do appreciate the consistency."

Is that sarcasm…? Of course he wouldn't mean it that way. Ugh. I don't want to be consistent.

"Right then. Once this business is finished, let us gather and talk. We ought to decide our course from here."

So with the major incident wrapping up, we're about to move on to the next one.

I swallowed the acknowledgment in my throat and sheathed the sword I'd been swinging.

The dumpling-faced mutts came scrambling over in a flurry—proof enough that it was nearly time to leave.

"Ah. It seems the hour has come. Shall we."

The Archmage noticed it too and gestured.

Time to go clean up.