Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Someone's Commendation Ceremony
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My consciousness was muddled.
I had no idea what was going on. Where I was right now, or why I was suddenly like this.
Everything was a mystery.
The one thing I could grasp, at least.
Darkness.
All around me was pure black. A space of unadulterated darkness without even a sliver of light.
Nothing was visible, no sounds reached me, and nothing solid came to hand.
Was I standing? Lying down? Or just drifting along without realizing it?
Had I even opened my eyes to begin with?
It felt like all my senses were being denied.
Still, thanks to my consciousness slowly returning, fragmented memories began to stitch together clumsily, dimly illuminating my actions up to now.
Fighting the magical girls who had been tormenting the fallen one, then falling into a disadvantage, and finally getting skewered by a blade, turning my insides to mush.
But.
My mind was still hazy.
There was one thing that still wouldn't come to me.
"Why..."
Did I fight?
I couldn't exactly recall the reason for the fight. Was there really cause for such a brutal clash?
No.
To be more precise...
What had I taken up the sword for?
Before, it had simply been to survive. But this time, it had nothing to do with me.
Just someone else's business, unrelated to me.
Something I could have ignored without issue.
So how did I end up drawing my sword?
I just couldn't remember. It felt like there was some crucial reason I absolutely shouldn't forget...
"What was it..."
But my question stirred no response. It simply scattered into emptiness.
It felt like I, as an existence, had been severed from the world, left alone in the dark.
Like an outsider who belonged nowhere.
At that moment.
I shall ask.
A voice rang out.
A strange yet solemn voice, impossible to pin down by gender or age.
If anything, it felt feminine, but I couldn't be sure. It was that peculiar.
What is your name?
The voice pierced straight to my core. No hostility, but the overwhelming pressure it carried was immense.
For some reason, I instinctively knew I couldn't give a flippant or half-hearted answer right now.
Was it because my mind was still foggy?
It just felt that way.
I couldn't say for certain, but on a vague hunch...
It was like encountering a familiar yet alien presence.
At that instant, the solemn voice returned once more, urging my response.
I shall ask again.
What is your name?
"Hero."
Strangely, the word "Hero" slipped out before the three syllables of Kim Siyul.
Whether it was because I still couldn't gather my wits, or because my thoughts hadn't recovered enough to say my full name, I didn't know.
But.
There was no need to deny it.
It wasn't wrong.
Right here, right now, the individual Kim Siyul didn't matter. Being one hero was enough.
For answering with instinct rather than cognition, with sincerity rather than pretense.
Do you take up the sword because this action is just?
"No."
It couldn't be called just. I didn't know anything to begin with. There might be no innocents. Or perhaps their actions truly were right.
Do you take up the sword because this decision is right?
"No."
I didn't think it was right. There might be countless better choices. It was just opting for violence out of arrogance and stubbornness.
Do you take up the sword for a greater cause you must protect?
"No."
There was no greater cause. I had simply sided with one party out of personal gain.
Do you take up the sword for a pure act of good?
"No."
It wasn't an act of good. Far from pure. Besides, the victim wasn't some perfect saint. To someone else, they might even be a vile villain.
A vague underdog.
Nothing more than that.
In that moment, it suddenly hit me.
"Ah."
Why hadn't I realized it?
Why hadn't it come to me until now?
It was such a simple answer.
I didn't draw the sword for just actions, right decisions, a greater cause, or pure good deeds.
Yet, the reason I wanted to draw it came to me just now. In the past, now, and in the future, I'd gladly take up the sword for the same single reason.
What a ridiculous story. How could I have forgotten something this important until things got this bad?
Then, for what do you take up the sword?
Not for grand justice.
Not for noble good.
Simply.
"A promise."
Not a contract demanding payment for breaking it, nor an absolute command from someone, nor a providence decreed by an all-knowing being.
"The promise to become a hero."
A promise tossed out lightly, utterly hollow.
— "Hey, about that hero thing you mentioned."
— "That only exists in fairy tales. There's no such thing in reality. You've met them already, so you know."
— "Well, yeah, obviously. Who'd do favors for free in this shitty world? Right?"
A grandiose promise the whole world mocked.
— "So."
A paltry, worthless, wretched, pitiful promise exchanged under a forlorn moon.
— "Screw it. I'll try being that damn hero myself."
Thus, a precious promise I could never break.
To keep that promise, and so that when we met again someday, I'd still be a hero.
Even if the whole world scorned me and only one person acknowledged it, I wanted to be that one's hero.
That's why I took up the sword.
After a brief silence, the solemn voice returned, slowly lifting the hush.
Then.
For that paltry, worthless, wretched, and pitiful promise.
For that reason more precious than any other.
Take up your sword, my hero.
"I shall."
- Clank.
The sound of chains unraveling echoed.
In that instant, all my senses returned to normal. The interior of the Magical simulation room came into view, and the silhouettes of the magical girls sharpened gradually.
It was just like before.
Except.
They were all expressing bewilderment.
"What... the hell are you..."
"No, seriously, what is this?! Why are you still alive?!"
"What happened? This is a first for me too."
Those who had been mocking and jeering at me moments ago were all flustered now.
"C-Captain! Didn't we finish him off?!"
"Yes, we definitely did. I felt it, and look—it's covered in blood and bits of guts."
"M-Me too! Look at this! It's got that bastard's blood and brains all clumped on it!"
"So how did he..."
I figured out the reason right away.
Faster than judging from what they were saying.
My body had recovered.
Of course, the wounds weren't fully healed—blood was still seeping out bit by bit. Lingering waves of dizziness gripped my body tightly.
But it wasn't that serious anymore.
At least, much better than before.
But the real change was something else.
"Oh."
My body felt light. Incredibly light.
It felt like whatever had been binding me had loosened a bit more. Somehow, it seemed like I could do a little more now than before.
I had no idea exactly why.
It just felt that way, vaguely.
But that was enough.
Meanwhile, the magical girls, after a moment of panic, gripped their magic wands and began closing in on me slowly.
"I have no idea how you recovered from that state so unscathed, but..."
The bob-haired magical girl steeled her resolve.
"Whatever. Our job hasn't changed."
She raised her magic wand, now transformed into a sword.
"It's just delayed a little longer."
Inspired by her words, the other magical girls gripped their own wands, openly baring their hostility.
"Hah, fuck. This time I'll really end it. In that state, one good hit should do it."
"I'm beat too, but not as bad as that guy."
I wouldn't deny it.
It wasn't entirely wrong.
My flesh had recovered only minimally. Not as bad as before, but moving was still tough. Even breathing felt a tad burdensome, honestly.
The mental fatigue hadn't recovered either. If I let my guard down even a little, I'd probably black out like before.
A state one step from the brink. Not the worst, but a solid second-worst.
But.
Strangely, I didn't feel like I'd lose.
The idea of me losing...
Was something I couldn't even imagine—
"Ah, fuck. No, get that out of my head."
I wasn't sure, but entertaining that thought would guarantee defeat. This time, at least, I felt like I absolutely shouldn't voice it.
Anyway.
Then a sudden thought occurred to me.
I'm the Hero of the Moon, after all. It'd be a shame to end with just swinging a sword around.
So, I should show them something special, even if it strains me.
I called out to the magical girls approaching in the same formation as before.
"Hey, do you girls like the moon?"
Unable to comprehend my sudden question, the bob-haired magical girl furrowed her brow slightly.
Maybe it wasn't an unanswerable question. Or perhaps she had some compulsion to reply to any query.
She opened her mouth calmly as she narrowed the distance.
"Well, if I have to say, yeah, I like it. At night, it has a certain magical charm, doesn't it?"
Of course, the other magical girls ignored my question, busy spitting mocking insults laced with curses.
"Doesn't matter, you're useless anyway. Why the hell ask that now?"
"Moon this, moon that—just die quietly here, you magical lunatic."
Of course, whether they did or not, I just smiled quietly.
I'd gotten an answer, after all.
"Yeah?"
They liked the moon, huh?
Good thing.
In that case...
"Moonrise."
Let's go watch the moonrise.