Chapter 3: The Demon Narrates
After the match with Careless-kun.
Having rented a room at an inn in Shechem, we used that room as a base to teleport back to Eljudnir.
As expected, Nifl is incredibly capable; as long as she has the coordinates, she can move us in an instant just by consuming mana.
1,733 coins.
The fight money I earned from the previous match jumped way higher than I had anticipated.
In other words, my current total assets amount to 3,089 gold coins.
Yeah, that should be plenty. There’s no need to ask for more.
The entrance fee for the auction, the budget for the Primordial Species hide, and a way to exchange for Divine Silver coins—I’ve secured it all.
My only concern is that I’m not sure if I’ve earned enough “insurance” money, since I can’t predict how the competition will bid.
But achieving this on only our third day in the Sleepless Country is going too well. I need to stay sharp so I don’t get tripped up here.
“Young Master, as promised, I didn’t place any bets on this match… but was that really alright?”
“Yeah. A group that wins big multiple times in a row would stand out way too much. I don’t want to add any unnecessary risks. Gurba, your face is pretty well-known; it’d be a pain if someone recognized you by chance.”
“Gahaha! I see! To think the cloak I made at Young Master’s request back in your younger days would come in handy like this!”
The cloak, like my Demon Armament, is Gurba’s handiwork. It’s a masterpiece made from the tanned hide of a reptile-type demon with excellent camouflage capabilities. Given Gurba’s current fame… honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if this was worth more than the Primordial Species hide.
I can’t help but feel a mix of pride and a slight bit of fear toward my subordinate’s reputation.
Well, since the idea for this cloak actually came from me, I suppose I should thank my past self’s hobbies in that regard.
So far, everything is going according to plan, but… the problem is—
“You hen! You dared to grant that power to someone other than our King… You’ve really done it now!”
“This is unacceptable. Truly unacceptable. How should we deal with you?”
“Shut up! You guys are totally smirking…!”
“…Sigh… This is so pathetic in front of the King…”
Nifl and the human-form Nidhogg continued to taunt Fu-chan, who had been sentenced to one hour of sitting in seiza.
Garm, covering her face with her hands, watched the scene with a heavy sigh.
Apparently, while I was visiting the Senoskar Trading Company, they had an involuntary reunion.
They dodged the question of why they didn’t regroup back then… but it’s not hard to imagine that they were probably prioritizing my feelings or Fu-chan’s.
Even though they act like they’re just following orders, these guys end up looking out for me more often than not.
As Hresvelg continued to sit in seiza with a pouty face, I waited for the right moment and asked her a question with the caution of someone trying to pet a stray cat.
“…So, Fu-chan, why did you—”
Hresvelg cut me off with a sharp, piercing glare, her anger laid bare.
“Hel-kun, you shut up too!! This is mostly Hel-kun’s fault anyway! Abandoning Fu-chan and the others without saying a word… It’s weird that everyone else forgives you so easily!”
This wasn’t her usual bratty teasing or the kind of anger where you see her cute fangs. This was real anger. In Helheim, fights that start from jokes are a daily occurrence.
But for the current Fu-chan, there was no chance of that. Pure dissatisfaction and suspicion were aimed directly at me.
I had to accept it as something I deserved.
You could say disappearing without a word was due to circumstances beyond my control. However, there was a deeper reason for her growing frustration with me.
“I didn’t abandon you. It’s just—”
“Then, what’s the reason!?”
“…I can’t say.”
This was it. From the moment I created Helheim until now, I haven’t told these kids that I’m an Otherworlder. I can’t say it. I don’t want to say it.
It’s a betrayal of trust, born purely from my own selfishness.
But if I tell them… it’ll surely be the end. The organization known as Helheim will collapse.
The fact that I am an Otherworlder would be the final, irreversible blow.
That’s why I chose to remain tight-lipped, just like in the old days.
“…Tch. See? You won’t say it.”
Hresvelg’s eyes wavered with expectation. Perhaps she thought I might actually tell her. She held onto a sliver of hope she couldn’t quite throw away.
But that expectation was likely crushed by my silence.
I couldn’t bear to look. The anger and disappointment brewing in her wide eyes were painful.
It made me feel pathetic—causing the one girl who is as pure and cheerful as Garm to make a face like that.
Even so, I still couldn’t say it.
“I bet you still haven’t told anyone, right? ‘Mr. Secretive,’ blah blah, yeah, yeah, you’re so cool… Blehhh!”
Sticking her tongue out at me, Hresvelg turned her head away with a sharp “Hmph!”
Naturally, the roots of her anger seemed deep.
“I definitely went too far this time, but that’s why I’m accepting the punishment! It’s not because I’m being scolded by Hel-kun!”
Then, she continued to vent her fury.
“—This is the last time I’m coming here! Don’t involve yourself with Fu-chan anymore!”
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I had expected it. But the moment I heard that rejection, my throat went dry with a sense of urgency, as if something irreparable had just happened.
“Fu-Fu-chan, calm down! The King is—”
“Even though you’re just gonna disappear again without a word! Even though you’re just gonna throw us away! What kind of ‘King’ are you!? Acting all cool and saying convenient things… but you won’t talk about the things that matter…! Everyone else might be kind, but Fu-chan is selfish and honest! I can’t believe in someone like Hel-kun!”
“Hresvelg, those words toward the Corpse King are—”
Nifl tried to interject to soothe her, but Hresvelg pressed on with terrifying intensity.
“Nifl-chan, you waited forever, you cried forever… and he still hasn’t told even you anything! Don’t you feel anything about that!?”
“……”
Nifl fell silent. That was the clearest answer possible.
“Nifl. What Fu-chan is saying is right. In fact, I have to take it all.”
“But…”
I knew that not everyone would be like the ones who waited for me and stayed silent after I vanished.
“Are you gonna say it’s fine since you came back!? Don’t make fun of me!”
But surely… Fu-chan must have been thinking of me all this time without forgetting. That’s why she’s so hurt, and why she can’t forgive me.
It’s only natural for her to feel resentment toward someone as conveniently optimistic as me.
Even if that’s not it, anything I say now to try and patch things up will only have the opposite effect.
“…Okay, one hour is up! Nifl-chan, send me back to the Sleepless Country… a poor guy is waiting for me, and he’s probably depressed after getting a creepy lecture from the Hel-kun he just met!”
Every one of Hresvelg’s words was a clean hit, stabbing into my chest.
This is definitely going to haunt me.
“Corpse King… what shall we do?”
“Let her go. I’m sorry, Fu-chan.”
“Stop calling me that too. I only allow people I’m close with to use that name.”
Ugh, I’m dying. I want to die…
I’m always like this. Bringing about negative results through my own actions that make me want to curl up and disappear.
Nifl touched Hresvelg’s shoulder and lowered her eyes.
Shortly after, Hresvelg vanished from Eljudnir.
Just before the teleportation, I saw that Hresvelg’s eyes were wet with tears. That tragic expression gouged my heart and devastated me more than anything else.
“Phew… that was rough. She hates me… I’m the worst.”
I don’t think I can flip my mental switch right now.
Hresvelg isn’t in the wrong. This was just an explosion of distrust brought about by my own self-centered actions.
It was an extremely natural result.
“Young Master. It’s been this way since the old days, but Hresvelg is bad at processing her emotions. She likely needs time.”
“If she truly hated you, she wouldn’t have answered the call. She would have flown out of this mansion on her own. Even while being scolded by the King, she looked somewhat happy, in her own way.”
“Please continue to carry yourself as usual, Corpse King. If you desire reconciliation, that will be the shortest path.”
“…My bad.”
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