Chapter 89
Chapter 89 - An Old Promise
"10 minutes done! That's it."
"Wow. You made it through, Contractor. Amazing as expected."
"I was worried but glad it worked out. Congratulations."
Those voices pierced through my throbbing head.
I looked up with my swollen eyes that could barely open. The three Death God Sisters were hovering above me, beaming with bright smiles.
Right after, an alert window appeared with fanfare, blocking my view.
[Job Advancement Success: Regular Warrior → Night Stalker]
[Successfully completed the Death God's Trial (High Difficulty).]
[Job Advancement Bonus Stats: Strength +10, Agility +30, Intelligence +15]
[Additional stats acquired based on trial difficulty.]
[Stats: Strength +30, Agility +50, Intelligence +20]
[HP and MP increased by 300 points each.]
[Learned job skill 'Hands Faster Than Eyes']
[Learned job skill 'Hunting Mark']
[Learned job skill 'Shadow Chain']
"... Heh. Hehe."
I'm still alive. Only after seeing that alert window did it finally sink in.
'That... 10 minutes felt like 10 years.'
It was a memory I never want to recall. Not since school days, when I accidentally scratched a bully's long padded jacket, had I been beaten this badly.
[HP fully recovered.]
[MP fully recovered.]
Despite feeling relief from success and bone-deep exhaustion, I couldn't move. Though I could feel my vitality returning as the alert window said, I just couldn't bring myself to get up.
I lay sprawled on the ground for a while, like Yamcha after being blown up by a Saibaman.
"... Ugh."
It took about 10 minutes after that before I finally managed to get up. I wanted to rest more, but my current situation doesn't allow for such leisure.
I staggered toward the Death Gods. They were fidgeting around but fixed their gazes on me as I approached.
"Ah. You're up."
"Sleepyhead."
"Did you sleep well?"
The three friends gave their cheerful greetings. For a moment I wanted to hit them, but decided against it as it would be unseemly.
Looking at them smiling as if nothing happened, I first bowed my head.
It was a gesture of gratitude.
"Well... thanks for everything until now. I've become much stronger thanks to you."
"Aw, it's nothing."
"You're making us shy."
"It's what we had to do."
Right. You do know. It's what you had to do, though it was a bit late.
But ultimately, it's true that I became stronger thanks to them. To begin with, the Black Wing of Evolution was purely a product of their goodwill, and its performance is tremendous. Making something like this couldn't have been easy.
From my position where I desperately need even a little more power... it's an enormous help that deserves more than just a deep bow.
I watched them feeling shy while letting out a hollow laugh.
"Well, I'd like to leave now. I have some things I need to do."
"Huh? Already?"
"Stay a little longer."
"Don't you like being with us?"
The three Death God Sisters opened their rabbit-like eyes in surprise, then their expressions darkened gloomily. They came right up close and grabbed my sleeves, tugging persistently.
Wait. The scythe. The scythe is too close! Control that thing! It looks like it's going to crack my skull!
Startled by the giant scythe swaying above my head, I pulled back. Then with a forced cough, I hurriedly said.
"I-I can't right now because I have things to do. After that's done... I'll come visit again soon."
"Hmm. Really?"
"For real?"
"Promise?"
They're acting like children saying goodbye to Santa Claus. Those sparkling wall-colored eyes staring at me are quite burdensome.
While nodding firmly again, I asked out of curiosity.
"But... why are you all so nice to me? When did you even meet me?"
The three Death Gods flinched for a moment at that question.
They pondered in the same pose, then opened their mouths at the same timing with the same expression.
"Hmm. Just because?"
"Because you're similar to that person?"
"Because you're pitiful and cute like that person?"
... That person must mean Han, the Witch's Knight. Do I really look that much like him?
No. To begin with, if the Witch's Knight was originally a hero, he must be from another world... maybe it's not the appearance but the atmosphere that's similar. The people here are basically long-nosed, so the chance of resembling an Asian is low.
'But this reaction... isn't it a bit strange?'
Minerva... that Shit-hair clearly hated not only Witch Diana but also the Witch's Knight.
This is certain. When I first received Lucy's surveillance mission from her, that expression full of hatred couldn't have been acting.
'But looking at the Death Gods' attitude...'
The three Death God Sisters didn't seem to dislike the Witch's Knight.
No, far from disliking... they rather seem to have affection for him. And quite significant affection at that.
The very reason they're being nice to me is 'because I resemble the Witch's Knight', that says it all.
"Then why... do you like the Witch's Knight?"
I regretted asking that question right away.
The atmosphere changed. The Death Gods smirked upon hearing the question, then opened their drowsy eyes to look at me.
Swoosh. The scythes floating above them slowly descended, and the three Death Gods simultaneously reached for them.
No, why suddenly the scythes. What are you going to do with those?
"Because you see."
"That person is our only friend."
"And we promised to believe in that person."
There was no time to think about the meaning of those words.
Slash! Because the scythes the Death God Sisters grabbed immediately cut my body in half.
"Uh, uhh." I stared blankly at my body split diagonally in half and let out a dumbfounded exclamation. When my gaze reached the death gods, they wore somewhat lonely smiles.
"If you're curious, just keep dying."
"The contractor... will eventually meet that person anyway."
"Live long without breaking, contractor."
I felt an intense sense of déjà vu from their farewell greetings.
Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide.
―Please... live long without breaking. I don't want to have bad dreams.
A beautiful woman with dark blonde hair flashed across my darkening vision.
She seemed to have had such a sad expression too. Only now did I realize that.
* * *
"Kuhekkeok!"
I came to my senses with a sound like choking on peanuts. I quickly ran my hands over my body, but fortunately there were no traces of my body being cut into pieces.
Breathing heavily, I scanned my surroundings. Inside a dark building. I could see huge mirrors lined up before me.
Only after staring at them for a while could I realize this was inside Kern's temple.
"Oh. Y-you're back."
Then again, there was someone who suddenly popped up at the edge of my vision.
A skinny priest with white hair who stuttered. It was Flick.
"Q-quite some time has passed, so I w-was worried something had gone wrong. H-hero."
Only after seeing his face did I realize.
That scythe that cut my body in half at the end. That must have been the exit from the illusion world. They could have at least said something instead of cutting someone up without a word.
After recalling the grinning faces of the three death god sisters, I immediately asked Flick.
"... How long has it been since I went in?"
"Um... about t-two hours, I think."
"That took longer than expected..."
I took my eyes off Flick and looked around again. My 1+1 item wasn't visible.
Finding Lucy was easy. She was standing blankly in front of the altar, staring at it with great interest.
"Hmm... The witch and the first hero's battle. The death of the saint... and betrayal. How interesting."
She's muttering something while reading the altar.
I glanced at the altar but couldn't make out the squiggly writing there. It seems to be text not supported by the hero system's translation function.
"Hey. Lucy."
"Hooh... hmm..."
Though I called out, Lucy was too focused on the altar to hear.
I continued calling out while stepping closer to her.
"Hey Lucy."
"Oho. Indeed. So that's how it happened."
"What are you looking at?"
"Hmm... and then..."
"... You're too loud."
"Ooh. What a development here...!"
"I'm going to pinch you."
"Agagagagak!"
I grabbed and stretched both her cheeks mercilessly along with my announcement.
Lucy flailed about, not knowing what to do with the sudden pain. I kept hold of her cheeks and turned her face toward me.
Red eyes slightly filled with tears met mine head-on.
"Uheok? W-when did you come out? If you're out, why don't you say something instead of pinching cheeks first, you bastard!"
"......"
I did say something. But you didn't hear. I was about to say that but stopped.
Pointless arguments with Lucy only tire the mouth and ears. And they always end with me pinching her cheeks.
So I decided to skip the middle process and just keep pinching her cheeks.
"Owowowow! S-sorry! Stop! It hurts! It hurts! I-I apologize!"
And as always, I let go of her cheeks the moment formal speech came out of Lucy's mouth.
"Sheesh... huuk... m-my cheeks are burning..."
For reference, the intervals between her using formal speech were getting shorter and shorter.
Whether her intelligence was increasing or her pride was getting thinner. Either way, it's a good development from my perspective.
I roughly patted Lucy's head and moved first.
"Temple business is done. Let's quickly move on to the next operation."
"Ugh... o-okay."
I strode toward the temple entrance. Just before leaving, I slightly bowed my head toward Flick. Flick awkwardly received my greeting.
"... Strange combination and strange events... just who is that person..."
Flick's puzzled voice comes from behind.
Seems like he meant to talk to himself, but I can hear everything, mister. I gave a little smile and left the temple.
Maybe because I was in the dark for so long. Seeing the bright sunlight outside made me frown without realizing.
I advanced down Kern's road without hesitation. Suddenly I asked Lucy who was following along.
"By the way Lucy."
"Hm? What?"
"What were you looking at so intently at the altar earlier?"
"Ah. That..."
Lucy is basically uninterested in everything.
Whether it's because she's immortal or not, even now with all her strength and magic gone, she has few emotional ups and downs. And she rarely shows great interest in anything. Except when fighting with me.
For her to be so focused on something that she couldn't even hear me call - this alone was enough to pique my interest.
"... Well, just."
"Just?"
"There were some old stories written there. About my mother... Necromancer Diana Espada."
"......"
"Seems like they engraved human history there. Even I wasn't alive in those times, so it was quite interesting."
"I see."
"Especially the Witch's Knight. He was more interesting because you never knew what he'd do next."
Again. That name came up again.
Every time that guy's name comes up, this inexplicable anxiety rises - is it just my nerves being sensitive?
Yes. That's how it will be. They're one of the absolute evils in this world's history, right? Come to think of it, it's natural that their name is heard often.
'Let's focus on what needs to be done right now.'
I shook my head and pushed away the distracting thoughts. It was to focus on surviving.
What needs to be done from now on... There was a high chance things wouldn't go as smoothly as they had until now.
'The Kern Performance... I hope we can have a more amicable contact this time.'
I held back a bitter smile while recalling the old raccoon's face.