The Insect Assembly Castle Strategy (7)
Strong people all have highly developed senses. It was an obvious truth. As one's level rose, their perspective on the world broadened, and their cognitive ability to gauge depth developed accordingly.
Most strong individuals become better at reading people. It was similar to how, in martial arts novels, experts could recognize other masters at a glance. In other words, you see as much as you know.
Warriors could sense the subtle inner energy that radiated around them—something the ignorant could never perceive. The length of their stride, the posture of a hand gripping a staff, the calluses clinging to their palms, even the rhythm of their opponent's breathing. Strong people could synthesize all of that to assess their counterpart.
No matter how much this incompetent brat tried to imitate a return to simplicity, he couldn't hide the awl in his pocket. So I could only slap my forehead and say this.
Fuck. I should've hidden it more thoroughly.
To be honest, only one person had caught me directly. Our party's rogue and archer, Adel. The dark elf who had lived the longest among our party members and, as a result, knew the most. She was already about one level higher than me to begin with, and as a rogue with the most developed senses, getting caught by her was practically fate.
It happened while we were preparing to leave after reuniting with the party members. Sniff.Adel suddenly wrinkled her nose as if smelling something, then frowned. She looked at me as if she'd seen something she shouldn't have and said,
"What?"
"?"
It was only natural for the rest of the party to react to those words.
"Wait a second, let me check."
"What are you saying? Don't say such ominous things."
Lily began casting some spell to examine me while Kamilla shook her head as if she'd heard something unpleasant. Of course, at first I tried to play dumb. If I got caught, it was obvious the situation would become a massive headache. Besides, it felt somewhat wasteful to have my carefully hidden mana exposed so anticlimactically.
A brief argument ensued. The party members, including Adel, pressed me while I continued to deny it. Then they caught me red-handed.
"Huh?"
Lily cast some spell, and the black mana I'd hidden deep inside my body was revealed. Like something wriggling to life, small and faint strands of black mana crawled up my back. The sinister power flowing behind me looked undeniably evil to anyone who saw it.
Having found evidence, they went even crazier... and that's how we ended up in this situation.
"What the hell? How did this happen?"
"Ha, I'm so dumbfounded I can't even speak."
"......"
The atmosphere turned utterly hostile. Lily looked flustered, and Kamilla's thoroughly enraged face greeted me. Adel was staring at me as if I were filth. To receive this kind of treatment just for learning one black magic spell... what a miserable world.
And as for Yulise, the Saintess of the Sun who hated black magic the most...
"......"
Well, I wasn't sure. She was looking at me with a restless expression. The emotion in her sapphire-like eyes seemed to be... pity? Bitterness? Something along those lines, but it was definitely not the reaction I'd expected.
Well, these days it was rare for her to be predictable anyway. The point was, I was now in a situation where I was about to get beaten up. Glares from all directions stabbed at me like daggers, but I decided to think positively instead.
Yeah, maybe this is for the best.
It was going to come out eventually anyway. I'd definitely use it in the fight against Valcan too. Rather than getting caught during battle and throwing everyone into confusion, it was better to be exposed now. With the mindset that it's better to get hit first, I decided to admit it cleanly.
"What?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"You've finally crossed the line!!"
What came back were high-pitched soprano shrieks. I frowned at the nerve-grating voices.
What should I say in response? Should I just apologize and try to gloss over it? Or should I try to persuade them? There were plenty of things I could say. It was an unavoidable choice. After all, wasn't black magic just one branch of magic? It wasn't directly forbidden by the gods; there was just some prejudice against it. All sorts of excuses bubbled up in my mind.
However, I was planning to go with the first option. In matters like this, emotions usually came before reason. The problem wasn't that black magic was dangerous, but that the very fact I'd learned it was upsetting to them. Black magic generally had a strong association with inhumane sorcery.
That's why I was going to bow my head first and—
"Everyone, please calm down for a moment."
Suddenly, the Saintess stepped forward. With her golden hair fluttering, she placed herself between me and the others like Jesus saving a woman from being stoned. Perhaps because an unexpected interloper had appeared, they all began speaking at once.
"Yulise, aren't you angry?! He suddenly went and learned black magic?!"
"There are virtues and duties that must be upheld as a human being. He has violated them."
"I've usually stayed one step back and only observed, but I must say something this time. To go all the way into the Heavenly King's castle and learn black magic? Doesn't that seem strange to you?"
Irritation, indignation, speculation—various emotions and words flew back and forth.
"I... yes, I'm fine with it. Our Sun God Church simply avoids it... we don't strictly forbid it."
"Just because it's not forbidden doesn't mean you should use it, does it?"
"Most mages who fell into criminality have been black mages. Among black mages, those who haven't harmed humanity are few enough to count on one hand. The statistics prove it—so is there any reason to let him off?"
That logic wasn't much different from saying we should oppress all black people because they have a higher crime rate. Lily, you fucking racist bitch.
A steady stream of arguments went back and forth between Yulise and the party members. I didn't know why she was taking my side, but at least I could tell she was trying to mediate the situation. As the ear-grating high-pitched voices continued to pour out, stress began to build up inside me.
Then it happened.
"...Yulise, what the hell is wrong with you lately?"
Suddenly, Lily frowned and spoke. Had she not expected the target to suddenly shift to her? The Saintess began to panic.
"Y-yes?"
"I mean, think about it. You used to discuss things with us and hated black magic too. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You've been taking this guy's side nonstop for the past month."
"T-that's..."
The Saintess was momentarily at a loss for words. She looked back and forth between me and the party members. After a moment, Kamilla stepped forward and said,
"Come out here, Yulise. I need to scold someone who doesn't understand honor."
"...Ha."
I let out a hollow laugh.
They're really going all out.
I'd intended to just listen quietly, but every single thing they said was so ridiculous that I couldn't stay silent any longer.
"Excuse me. You've been going on about honor and duty since earlier."
All eyes turned to me at once.
"Do you people think we're playing house trying to catch the Demon King?"
"...What?"
"What did you say?"
The party members' expressions immediately darkened. Everyone except the Saintess was radiating a hostile aura. Ignoring that, I continued.
"Black magic? I learned it because it seemed like it would be the most helpful. I learned it because I thought it would be most useful when cutting off the heads of the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings."
"But why does it have to be black magic of all things?!"
"You should pick up the sharpest blade. Even if it cuts your own hand."
I had simply made the best choice. I'd chosen the most efficient option to save this damned world along with all of you. Yet all that came back were accusations like these. No matter how you looked at it, it was bound to make me angry.
Maybe because I'd built up so much stress during the month I'd spent in the Insect Assembly Castle, the words flowed out surprisingly smoothly.
"You..."
Then Kamilla added one more thing.
"Just how much further do you plan to tarnish the hero's prestige?!"
"...Prestige?"
Prestige. To the people of this world, the hero was like an idol. A being who appeared in the most difficult times to bring peace and stability to everyone. That's why heroes were often arbitrarily depicted as perfect beings in their minds. Without ever seeing reality.
"Prestige, honor... I gave up on all that a long time ago."
I hadn't wanted any of it even before becoming a hero. I looked at her with a serious expression and said,
"I told you earlier. What we're doing isn't playing house. Did you join this party to build up your achievements, Kamilla?"
"That's..."
Kamilla was momentarily speechless. She must have felt a sting. She had joined for the people, for the grand cause of humanity... but she probably hadn't completely avoided that kind of happy delusion. And that went for everyone here, not just her.
"I'm different. As long as I can cut off the Demon King's head, I'll do anything."
That's what black magic was for. That was the choice I'd made. The situation wasn't easy enough for me to worry about prestige, honor, or achievements. So please, all of you, wake up to reality. You haven't even properly experienced the Demon Realm yet. Our power still can't even touch the tip of the Demon King's toe. If we were going to step into the mud anyway, we might as well dive in completely.
"You think we aren't prepared?!"
It was then. Among the party members who had been listening blankly, Lily suddenly stepped forward in a burst of anger. Her face was flushed red.
"If the situation gets desperate, we're ready to give our lives at any time—!"
…Grind.
In that instant.
A loud voice burst out. It had come from my own throat. The low, heavy roar echoed through the dark staircase. Since it had come out unconsciously rather than intentionally, even I was surprised.
...Damn it.
I hadn't meant to do that… But it couldn't be helped. Lives, she said. Why the hell did she think I was going through all this suffering?
"......"
"......"
Perhaps because of my sudden outburst, the air felt as if cold water had been poured over it. They simply stared at me in silence. The quiet was incredibly uncomfortable. This wasn't the atmosphere I'd wanted… With no other choice, I let out a long sigh and continued.
"...Please don't throw your lives away so casually. At the very least, not your lives."
Even I thought it was a funny thing to say. I'd been preaching about resolve and all that, yet here I was telling them to cherish their lives. It was truly contradictory. But it couldn't be helped. The reason I'd offered my own connection in the first place was ultimately because of them. No matter how much abuse I took, they were essentially my driving force. If they died, I'd surely feel an overwhelming sense of emptiness.
Haa. I sighed, trying to end the conversation.
"Then… I'll head up first. It's dark around here, so please be careful as you come up."
I was tired. A bit of desolation crept in. What the hell was I even doing… Getting into an emotional fight with the very people I was trying to protect, only to get cursed at. Even though I'd already experienced this for half a year, it still wasn't something I could get used to.
"Ha, what the hell is wrong with him? He was talking about resolve earlier and now he's suddenly yelling!"
"...It is a bit much."
"E-everyone, please calm down..."
I could hear them chattering behind me. I ignored it. As always. For the sake of my mental health. I'd just do what I had to do.
On a certain day after our strategy against the Insect Assembly Castle had gone on for a little over a month, our party grew a little colder.