Throne (1)
Sahadin walked ahead, and I trailed far behind. About ten steps apart. The distance neither closed nor widened.
East, he said. The Land of Darkness. Even the name sounded straight out of a game.
What the three-day battle had left me with was an aching body and shadows that wouldn't stretch properly. The spots hit by light still throbbed.
Every step sent a sharp twinge near my left ribs—annoying enough that I couldn't just ignore it.
Sahadin stopped and turned back.
“Your Majesty, I'll slow down.”
“No need. Keep going.”
“But your wounds—”
“I'm walking because I can. Stop fussing.”
Sahadin bowed his head and resumed walking. But his silent obedience somehow irked me more.
The wasteland stretched endlessly. Istius's walls had vanished from sight about half a day after we set out. The landscape was nothing but dry earth and scattered rocks—no need to describe it further.
As the sun began to dip, Sahadin stopped again.
“Your Majesty. We should camp here.”
“……The sun's not down yet.”
“Your recovery comes first. I'll set up camp.”
“Set up camp? There's nothing here.”
“There is.”
Sahadin pulled something from inside his coat.
Then he tinkered away on the ground, and in just minutes, he'd erected a shelter big enough for one person to lie in.
More capable than I'd thought. Way more.
“Your Majesty, please sit here.”
“Cut it with the 'Your Majesty' already.”
“If you'd prefer another title, just say so.”
“……Do whatever.”
I plopped down on the ground. Better than bare rock, but still uncomfortable somehow.
Soon Sahadin brought water from somewhere.
Lukewarm.
“How long to the Land of Darkness?”
“On foot, over ten days. Considering your condition, it might take a fortnight.”
“A fortnight……Great.”
“If you wish, I can create a means of transport with mana—but only after you've recovered.”
“Transport with mana……Specifically?”
“Spatial transfer via shadows.”
“You can do that?”
“The throne's power makes it possible.”
The throne's power. Throne, Your Majesty, Demon King…… Yeah, it's a game—no end to the exposition dumps.
Sahadin lit a fire. Not red, but a deep purple.
I took the bread he offered and tore into it. Hard and tasteless, but I was starving. After three days without proper food, it went down easy enough.
I glanced to the side. Empty. The spot where Adelaide should have been sitting.
Back in Istius at night, it was always like that. Me on one side, her on the other. The room was cramped, but we each had our place……and it felt natural.
“……What are you looking for?”
“Nothing.”
“I see.”
He didn't pry further. Just kept his head down, eating his share.
……I wonder what Adelaide's eating right now.
Silly thought. Who cares what an NPC eats.
I forced down the bread and drank some water.
“Sahadin.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“This Land of Darkness—what's there?”
“The throne.”
“I know that. Besides that.”
“A fortress. The demons' stronghold, the domain you'll rule.”
“……I'll rule it?”
“The Demon King is lord of the Land of Darkness.”
“I never said I was the Demon King.”
“……That is independent of your will.”
Independent of my will. Yeah, things like that kept happening lately.
Shadows moving without my say-so. Stopping short of that woman's throat without my say-so. Slicing off Livaton's head without my say-so.
The flickering fire cast dancing shadows.
“One more question.”
“I'll answer anything.”
“I'm not a demon. So why am I the Demon King?”
“The Demon King's qualification has nothing to do with race. The one chosen by the throne is the Demon King.”
“……”
I leaned back against the leather mat on the ground. The hard earth pressed through. Worse than the attic room at the Istius inn.
Sleep came easier there. Because something was there.
Breathing sounds, rustling as someone shifted.
What am I even thinking.
I rolled onto my side, and my hand unconsciously groped the empty air. No one there.
Of course not.
“……Tch.”
I swallowed a curse under my breath.
Sahadin sat by the fire on watch, not looking my way. Even if he had, it wouldn't matter.
Adelaide's face kept surfacing. Natural, maybe, since we'd always been together. Just an afterimage.
Her face clutching the sword while crying. Her bloodshot eyes looking up at me.
'Why did you let me live?'
I didn't know either.
I closed my eyes. Sleep wouldn't come.
On the second day, the landscape began to change.
Black grass sprouted here and there. The sky felt dimmer. Even in daylight, the sun was hazy.
“We're nearing the Land of Darkness. Mana density rises from here on.”
“Mana density?”
“The Land of Darkness is sustained by the Demon King's mana. It weakens farther from the throne, thickens closer.”
“……That's why the sky's like this?”
“Yes. Deeper in, you can see stars even by day.”
“Stars in daylight. Also from the throne's mana?”
“The Demon King's power devours light.”
Devours light. Like my shadows.
I'd glance back now and then while walking. No reason, no meaning.
“Your Majesty, there's nothing behind us.”
“I know.”
“What are you checking for?”
“I said nothing.”
“……Understood.”
When hunger set in, Sahadin offered bread. So tough and hard it took time to chew.
Made me think the porridge from Istius's temple might've been better.
“Sahadin.”
“Yes.”
“Why wait for the Demon King?”
“……The Demon King is the reason the Land of Darkness exists.”
“That's just the canned line. What's your reason?”
“……”
“How old are you?”
“I've stopped counting after seven centuries.”
“Damn, ancient. So why wait all that time? What's so great about it?”
Sahadin's pace slowed slightly.
“……The previous Demon King gave me my name.”
“Name?”
“To demons, a name proves existence. Nameless demons are no different from beasts. The previous Demon King named me Sahadin, and that's when I began to truly exist.”
“Seven centuries for a name. Heavy.”
“It is not light. My loyalty matches that weight.”
“Loyalty…… An NPC's loyalty…… Ha.”
“……What is an NPC?”
“Doesn't matter. You don't need to know.”
I didn't feel like explaining.
'Completely insane.'
Yeah, must be crazy.
Who wouldn't go mad hearing this world's a game?
The second day's sky was darker than yesterday's, with more stars visible. Just as Sahadin said—the closer to the Land of Darkness, the fainter the light.
He set up the same campsite. His movements identical to yesterday. Flawless repetition.
“Sahadin.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You always like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Same actions, same tone, same pace. Never changes.”
“Does serving Your Majesty require change?”
“No, just……”
Just curious. Adelaide was different every day.
Chatty some days, silent others. She'd start conversations sometimes, or keep her head down all day.
Just that. That's all.
Sahadin had none of it. Yes, Your Majesty. As you command. Understood. Rinse and repeat.
Pure NPC response. Reciting scripted lines.
……Adelaide wasn't like that.
Stop thinking. It's over. Adelaide's Adelaide, I'm me. We won't meet again.
I lay on the leather mat. My side empty again today.
The purple flames flickered. Sahadin kept watch. The night was silent.
Suddenly, the silence grated. Istius's attic wasn't silent.
“Sahadin.”
“Yes.”
“Don't sleep?”
“Demons require no sleep.”
“Handy.”
“You should rest, Your Majesty.”
“Yeah.”
A game's NPC calls me Demon King. Not bad. At least I'm not alone.
So why, then.
Why, when I thought of not being alone, did Sahadin's face not come to mind first—but hers.
That bloodshot gaze looking up at me.
Just sleep. I'm tired. Must be exhaustion playing tricks.