Chapter 43
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Comprachicos (5)
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Like my lungs were being squeezed dry. I couldn't draw a proper breath.
I was gritting my teeth, holding on somehow. But this wasn't something sheer willpower could overcome. I staggered onward. Each step felt impossibly heavy.
How much time had passed?
I had no idea.
I couldn't even remember anymore.
It was pure obligation now. I poured every ounce of strength into hauling the dead weight on my back. Something dripped from my nose with a trickle. I wiped it away with my finger.
It was blood. Sticky, bright red blood streamed down. Was this from all the fatigue piling up? Where the hell was I? How far to the fortress? Could I even make it?
Or would I collapse first? Random thoughts tormented me. Maybe I should just drop her now. Could I really save her?
This was already beyond my capabilities.
With the time stop ability, I could at least keep death at bay. But that was my absolute limit. Carry her all the way to Lionheart Fortress on my back? No chance.
Even on horseback, it was a solid month's journey. On foot? That time would multiply several times over. And without a single break?
Obviously impossible. So why wouldn't I give up? I didn't know. Part of me wanted to drop her right now and catch a break. But deep down, I couldn't let go.
[Still struggling so pathetically, huh?]
A voice rang out. No clue whose it was. But it was so repulsive, my instincts screamed to turn away. It had to be that thing I knew all too well.
The faint voice sounded like a young girl's. Or maybe a boy's before puberty. Either way, it kept mocking me relentlessly.
[Think you can save her with your own power? You're nothing without me.]
"Shut up."
It was a truth I knew down to my bones. I'd trained relentlessly for the past year and a half. All to get stronger somehow.
But no matter how much time passed, nothing changed. My talent was utterly average. I couldn't even dream of matching Helia, let alone Quorens of the Royal Guard. Just a lowly sentry at best.
So I'd leaned on time stop. That repulsive ability I hated using. Every time I activated it, that nauseating scene flashed in my mind.
[Who would've thought it'd end up like this.]
[No helping it. The Captain loves us all, after all.]
[Can't let someone as awesome as him be monopolized, right?]
[...You girls...]
It hadn't started off bad. The heroines' past hardships with the protagonist, all their trials and tribulations. Illustrations flashed by like a montage, showing how they overcame them.
Each heroine's tragic backstory, the ordeals they'd endured, and the moments they triumphed with the protagonist's help—all rendered in touching artwork. It was moving.
Especially the finale, after the memories wrapped up. Seeing them now, in wedding dresses. It felt like all their suffering had been rewarded.
But that was the end of it.
Suddenly, the ending credits froze. Cutscene transition. Up to that point, I figured it was the true ending—they'd gone all out on it.
Until that bastard showed up. The cutscene halted abruptly. I thought it was a bug, but no—it was deliberate. Then he appeared.
Glasses, face covered in acne and flab. More orc than human. He looked around, flashing a sleazy grin.
[I can really do whatever I want with them, right?]
What followed was pure violation. The heroines I'd helped were taken by that creep, clueless to the end. That's when I got it—the true ending conditions.
True Ending Requirements:
Conquer every heroine.
Avoid the hentai scenes that round.
A bit weird, sure. Eroge true endings that skipped the smut weren't unheard of. Especially in a game where you brainwashed a female party.
Anyway... I gritted my teeth and played along. Even bought the DLC heroines and cleared them. But that ending denied everything I'd done.
How could I love a power that rejected my sincerity? My legs buckled. Willpower couldn't hold me up anymore. Then the voice again.
[Pathetic. Pitiful. You really want to save that bitch?]
"...And what if I do?"
[You still hate me. So I deserve compensation, don't I?]
"Compensation? Ah..."
No need for explanations. I knew instinctively what it demanded. No time to hesitate. I answered firmly.
"Take my eye."
And it did.
[Gladly.]
My vision drowned in red.
That day was utterly ordinary.
Unlike the past, the knights trained with real enthusiasm now. She oversaw their health and drills, managed fortress affairs. Of course, she worried about the Captain.
But Cluna thought fretting over him was almost an insult. He was strong. How long had it been since someone got the drop on her? At least 200 years.
His sword aura wasn't exactly praiseworthy either—crude, lacking any finesse. That's why it reminded her of an old connection.
[You won't last with such sloppy swordplay.]
[Nothing's impossible if you keep at it.]
[Your grit impresses me, at least.]
Maybe that's why she felt compelled to look after him. He resembled the First Hero. From that clumsy sword aura to his awkwardness in everything.
Even treating his comrades like family. Could he really be the First Hero reincarnated? The thought slipped in unbidden, but she laughed it off.
As if. Get a grip, she chided herself. Right then, her smile vanished. Her hand flew to her waist.
"Who's there?"
Her reaction was justified. The four presences in the fortress besides her own were all in the inner courtyard. This new one behind her? She had to be on guard.
But spotting the Captain, Cluna hastily sheathed her half-drawn sword. He wasn't in any state anyone could call normal.
His ever-present helmet was shattered. Wounds covered his body. Worst was his eye—like it'd been pierced by a blade.
"Captain?! What the hell happened...?!"
"...Tend to her first."
She didn't press with questions, thanks to years of experience. The woman on his back was in far worse shape than he was.
Questions later.
Save her first.
That split-second judgment, born of instinct, saved Yuren's life by a hair. A single second's delay in Cluna's treatment, and Yuren would've been gone.
"We'll talk later, Captain."
"...Do what you want."
"Treatment now...!!!"
Cluna moved fast, relocating them. She took Yuren—the graver case—personally. Hans, relatively stable, got first aid then safe transport.
Standard procedure. Hans wasn't in immediate danger; Yuren was. She dove into intensive care. Word spread instantly, of course.
Captain Yuren's return was great news. But no one could celebrate fully. Cluna had warned them: Acting Captain Hans was in bad shape.
"Heard he lost an eye."
"And still dragged Yuren back."
"He must've pushed himself to save her..."
"Teacher..."
Killing's easier than subduing. Everyone gathered knew that. Their emotions varied.
Awe for some, pity for others.
Gratitude.
Frustration at their own weakness.
And those feelings would nurture growth, like fertilizer.