Chapter 64
Chapter 64
“Quick! We’re out of time.”
“…I swear.”
“I swear!”
The two of them spoke awkwardly, but I shook my head.
“An empty oath like that won’t do. You have to mean it with all your heart.”
The power of the Moonlight Waltz—and the strength of its Puppet Art—depended on how much the participants trusted one another and entrusted themselves to one another.
The two of them looked troubled.
‘Trust doesn’t just spring up out of nowhere all of a sudden.’
It wasn’t something they could manage just by forcing themselves to feel a certain way.
It had to be “sincere”—something that came from the heart.
Julia, in particular, bit down hard on her lip.
She had never trusted anyone in her entire life, and even doubted her own master, Mad Dragon. Her reaction was only natural.
“You are my disciples. I promise I won’t let even a fingertip of yours be hurt.”
At my emphatic assurance, the two swore again.
“…I swear to entrust my whole self to you.”
“Me too! Just please spare my life! I swear I’ll give you everything—not only my soul, but all the wealth of my family as well!”
Flash!
Wilhelm’s oath was sincere.
But the problem was still Julia.
Despite what she said, she didn’t trust me in the slightest.
“Julia, I’m trying to save you. Trust me and—”
“Shut up! How am I supposed to trust you?!”
Julia shouted furiously.
Flash!
At Puppet’s command, Julia’s sword grazed past me.
It was a keen blade that would have taken my head off on the spot if I hadn’t had a knight’s abilities thanks to the versatility of the Ten Thousand Transformations.
A tear trickled down Julia’s cheek.
“My mother abandoned me, too, so who the hell are you that I should trust you?! You’re only pretending to look after us because of your professor evaluation score! You’ll abandon us as soon as you don’t need us anymore!”
I had heard that outcry before.
It was what Julia shouted in the future, after she had become a perfect villain and was brought to ruin by the protagonists.
Most people had reacted with sympathy, but—
“…Don’t act spoiled.”
“What?”
“Stop whining like a child.”
“!!”
I clicked my tongue at Julia’s outburst.
‘Is there anyone you can trust completely in the first place?’
I hadn’t grown up with warmth, either.
I was surrounded by people who would take advantage of me at the drop of a hat, and I’d learned as a child that even blood relatives could abandon and betray you without a second thought.
“Of course I could abandon you, too. If you were to commit a wrongdoing that I couldn’t tolerate in a student, then of course I’d cast you aside. No—if I really thought I was about to die, I might abandon you and run even now. That’s what people are like.”
“Hah! Then what do you mean, telling me to trust you—?!”
“Does that mean you’re going to cower like a coward for the rest of your life?”
“!!”
Julia’s eyes went still.
Flash!
I dodged her sword again with a tap dance, then continued.
“Not trusting anyone is easier. You never have to get hurt.”
In truth, I wasn’t very good at trusting people, either.
So I knew.
I knew how difficult it was to trust someone else.
“But do you know this? Trusting another person actually takes tremendous courage.”
“!!”
“It means giving someone your heart even though they might betray you. That’s what trust is. That’s what it means to believe in someone.”
That’s right.
Belief was something you could give only if you had a strong heart.
‘…It’s ridiculous of me to act so high and mighty when I’m not all that different from Julia.’
The truth was, you didn’t necessarily have to go through life trusting other people.
I thought whether you trusted others or not came down to a difference in personality, but—
‘Julia’s different. In the end, her distrust will consume her, too.’
“The choice is yours. You can keep huddling in on yourself like you are now, or you can find the courage to act, even if it makes you look foolish. Do as you wish.”
Julia bit down hard on her lip.
Had something I said changed the way she felt?
She asked:
“So you’re telling me to trust you? What do I have to go on?”
“Ah, I left out something important. Besides courage, there’s something else you need in order to trust someone.”
In fact, this was even more important.
Much more.
“An eye for judging the other person.”
“!!”
“So? Am I someone worthy of your trust? If your eyesight is working properly, you should know the answer.”
Julia looked dumbfounded.
Flash!
Julia’s sword came at me again.
Its edge had dulled somewhat.
It meant Julia’s heart was wavering, and cracks were forming in Puppet’s Puppetry.
“Didn’t you just say you’d abandon me?”
“Yes, I did. My principle is that even if someone is a student, if they’re so vile they’re less than human, they shouldn’t be treated as one. Given how twisted your personality is, you might turn out like that someday. I’ll make this clear: if you do, I’ll be the first to cast you aside. But…”
I continued, looking her straight in the eye.
“I’ll trust you, too. I’ll believe you won’t become that kind of person. Even if you betray my trust.”
“!!”
Julia’s eyes trembled, but this time with a different emotion than before.
Then, at last—
“…Ban, Professor, I… swear that I trust you.”
Along with that oath, Julia’s sincerity reached out to me, and—
Crack!
Cracks appeared in Puppet’s Binding, which had been like a chain.
“Grrk?! How dare you!!”
Puppet raged and drew up its energy.
The Black Mages’ Dark Mana surged all around us, filling the air, but—
“It’s useless. No evil can sever the unbreakable bond of trust forged by the radiant oath of Moonlight Waltz.”
Black Flame Dragon’s shameless posturing, seizing the moment.
But it was true.
Moonlight Waltz may be only a First Star Rank Puppet Art, but depending on how it’s used, it can produce an effect more powerful than any other Puppet Art.
—A Puppet Art born of the trust people place in one another, beautiful and steadfast like a waltz in the moonlight.
That was what the scroll said.
“My Moonlight Waltz isn’t something the likes of you—a puppeteer who can’t even muster the slightest self-confidence—can contend with.”
“!!”
Puppet’s eyes widened until they seemed ready to split.
I’d only made a guess because there seemed to be something wrong with Puppet’s Puppetry, but it looked like I’d hit the mark.
For a puppeteer who hypnotizes and controls others, self-confidence is more important than anything else.
“Ban, you bastard!! Do you know what made me end up like this?! If only I hadn’t fallen for your trick last time! I’ll kill you!!”
Fwoooosh!!!
A fierce aura surged and wavered, as though infernal flames were roaring to life.
But its composure had broken, leaving all the more openings for me to exploit.
I opened my magic pouch.
“Mari, can you do it? Over there.”
-Gu-yu!! Bba!
Mari was a Great Elder Dragon, the highest species of Sacred Dragon.
She possessed Benevolent Energy, a force directly opposed to evil energy.
She was still a newborn, so it was barely more than a speck—but if I lent her my strength, even a speck could bring down a mountain.
With a burp, Mari breathed out her adorable little bit of Benevolent Energy. Guided by my magic, it struck right at the opening in Puppet’s control.
“Gah?!”
Crack!
Puppet’s Puppetry, which had already begun to fracture, was completely thrown off balance.
“Now!! Hans, Linden!”
The two men, who had been waiting for their chance, leaped out and grabbed Julia and Wilhelm.
“I’m activating the escape scroll! Puppet, you bastard! I’ll show you mercy this time, but next time, you’d better be ready! I’ll shave your head clean!”
“…Mister, something’s weird. It’s not working. What’s going on? Is it defective? This thing was expensive.”
I soon understood why.
“You vermin… You dare. Did you really think some damned scroll would work in my presence?”
Puppet reached out toward us, his face twisted with rage.
Unbelievably, he had used his authority to forcibly stop the scroll from activating!
“Lord Puppet? The truth is, I’ve always admired you! Would you make me, Hans, your foot-wiper? My head’s nice and shiny, so it’s perfect for wiping your feet. Hehe.”
“Oh, shut up and just run! Aaaah! We’re already surrounded by the puppet army?! I found a stock that’s going to make a killing!!”
At some point, dozens of puppets had appeared and encircled the waterway.
They stood in such imposing numbers that the fight from moments ago seemed like it had been no more than a game.
“Hans, Linden, activate the escape scroll again.”
“But, young master? Lord Puppet won’t let us—”
“It’s fine. He won’t be able to stop it this time.”
Shimmer.
A crystal, shaped like a tiny sword, formed in front of me.
A crystal created by merging the power of the Heartstone of the Frozen Sea with shadow.
It was my secret weapon, the Shadow Ice Sword.
That wasn’t all.
Rumble.
The power of Chaos gathered around the Shadow Ice Sword.
It was the decisive strike I’d made by pouring all my strength into it.
“Puppet, you know what this power is, don’t you? You know you won’t come out of it unscathed if you take a hit.”
“!!”
“Are you going to keep wasting your attention on a mere scroll? If you want to kill yourself, go ahead.”
Puppet gritted his teeth.
At Puppet’s level, no matter how threatening my strike was, he had ways to dodge it or neutralize it.
But while distracted by the scroll? Against me? And with a flaw in his own control? Impossible.
“Let them go. We’ll settle this one-on-one.”
“…What?”
“Your target is me, anyway, isn’t it? I’m telling you to let the others go. They have nothing to do with this.”
A brief silence followed.
Then came an indignant cry that made no sense.
But the person who reacted most fiercely was someone I hadn’t expected.
“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that? You’ll die! Who do you think you are, making a sacrifice like that?! Are you insane?”
It was Julia!
For some reason, her voice was filled with indignation.
I can’t help it. If the others stay here, they’ll only get in the way.
“What use do you think you’ll be to me if you stay?”
“!!”
“This is my battlefield. Don’t get in my way for nothing. Go back. Now.”
I spoke as forcefully as I could, but their reaction was strange.
“…Young master.”
“…Senior Ban.”
They all looked at me with eyes brimming with emotion.
Their gazes were burdensome, but I didn’t have the time to pay attention to that.
“That’s an order. Go back. Now.”
“But…!! We can’t just—!”
At that moment, the escape scrolls Hans and Linden were holding began to glow.
“Wait, why is it activating on its own? Young master, did you force it?!”
“Ah, Senior Ban! Are you insane?! If you die, am I supposed to go back to stocks?! Stop this right now—!”
-Gu-yu?! Bba!
Flash!
Everyone disappeared, and I turned to look around, wearing a slightly surprised expression.
Contrary to Hans and Linden’s assumptions, I hadn’t done it.
Puppet had withdrawn the authority that was interfering with the scrolls, and they had activated on their own.
“So, as you wanted, it’s just the two of us now. Well, how do you want to die?”
“You seem to have misunderstood something. I didn’t stay behind to make a sacrifice.”
I crooked a finger.
Arrogantly.
“I stayed to kill you.”
“!!”
It wasn’t a bluff.
I had a way.
‘I still have one last card to play. Of course, I can’t guarantee it’ll work.’
Even so, I had to see it through.
‘My history with the Puppet has to end here.’
“Are you ready to die?”
The Puppet’s face stiffened.