Chapter 7

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I know there are a few people who really wanted to read this chapter sooooo… sorry for not even beginning to work on it until late Sunday night!! ^-^;;; This took so long that LJ changed XD

Anyway, my schedule is going to be weird so I might not be able to devote Fridays and Sat.u.r.days to this. We’ll see what happens~

Oh, I forgot if I mentioned this before, but people switch in between saying Adalbert’s name in a human fas.h.i.+on (Adalbert von Grantz) and a demon fas.h.i.+on (von Grantz Adalbert) and even leave the "von" out sometimes. So far, Yuuri has used both ways, but he only uses the human way in this chapter.

I got the picture from this chapter from Portrait of a Demon King.

Chapter 7

      The five men surrounded the box covered with a green cloth and stood lost in thought.
      There is one more person than before. To be precise, they lost one person and then gained two. After safely carrying the box out of the temple, Stefan Fanberlain left. The reason was, of course, the ball that was held a while ago. If he did not quickly return and escort Cecilie, that beauty would be offended.
      “That lady is a spirit of a rose that has accidentally fallen on the plain, so it is dangerous to not be by her side. If lower cla.s.s and vulgar people call out to her with their worldly words, she will be put into a panic at once and pearly tears will spill over her cheeks. Ah, my frail maiden, Cecilie. I will hurry to your side immediately!” (1)
      Two of the men muttered ‘is that so?’ to Fanfan who was bursting with energy even when retreating from the battlefield. The last person interjected ‘she’s beautiful, but not weak.’
      Chevalier, knowing the former queen’s charm better than anyone else, decided to stay behind with ‘Team Carrying-the-Box’ in order to complete their mission. If some random man at the banquet approached her, he did not think that his mistress would be in danger. As a woman who appreciated both art and comedy, she’d be able to make a drunkard into a work of art. She’d wrap him up in her whip and tie him into a tangled mess.
      “… Aesthetic,” said Chevalier absentmindedly as he was lost in his imagination.
      “Mr. Chevalier. Hey, Mr. Chevalieeer. Please think seriously. We have to bring this box all the way to a sealed place.”
      “Ah, sorry.”
      Even Dacascos, whose only trait he could brag about was his youth, was starting to feel the fatigue. Like in his voice, and in his joints, and on his greasy scalp.
      “At any rate, good work everyone. It must have been difficult to get the extremely dangerous box from the temple since security was stepped up for the tournament.”
      At His Highness’s words of appreciation, they felt slightly guilty. Compared to the numerous military operations they had partic.i.p.ated in so far, this mission was in a fairly easy category.
      If someone leaves, someone comes. After Fanfan left early, His Highness and Josak came running. Muraken-san, the Twin Black Great Sage, was supposed to be far more knowledgeable about the evilest, worst weapon, the ‘End of the Wind,’ than they were.
      For example, the best temperature to store it at or what year its expiration date is. He should have known countless helpful ways to handle the dreadful, large box.
      “Even so, this thing stinks. Was it not being stored well?” Murata asks.
      No one was willing to say it was because of insecticidal paint.
      “Your Highness, tell us if you would. How do you intend to bring this box back to the Great Demon Kingdom? Things will change once we get out to sea, but it will take three days at top speed to get to the harbor. If we go on land through Big s.h.i.+maron, I believe we will need some skillful camouflage, but…”
      “Hmm, that’s right, huh? I agree with you, Captain Sizemore."
      For a while now, Dacascos was completely distracted by His Highness Muraken’s clothes.
      Even though it was not only the middle of winter but in a forest behind the temple, he was wearing evening clothes with a frilly collar. They were clothes that were laden with pleats and ornaments that even his wife within the Great Demon Kingdom wouldn’t wear nowadays. Isn’t he cold?
      More importantly, was he planning on going to the ball dressed like that?
      If he had a rose in his mouth, he might look like a shady dancer.
      “Uh, Your Highness, you know, in the meantime can you come back to the a.s.sembly hall?”
      Even Josak who came with him was wearing an outfit that left Dacascos’s mouth hanging open.
      Women’s clothes? Or maybe it’s his own special technique that causes enemies to flinch back just by looking at him.
      “I followed you because it would be dangerous for you to go walking around by yourself, but… I’m worried that His Majesty might do something annoyi-… perform a deed that commoners would never think of. I informed His Excellency Wolfram about the situation before I left, but despite appearances he’s like that too… Oh, honestly! To think guarding His Majesty and Your Highness at the same time would be so difficult!”
      “Yeah, leaving s.h.i.+buya and Lord von Bielefelt together will be a lot more fun~.”
      “That’s not what I-”
      “Shh! Get down!” At the taciturn Chevalier’s warning, everyone simultaneously crouched down. A group of soldiers ran down the muddy road up the slope. “… It’s alright. We weren’t seen.”
      “Even so they seem to be in a hurry. Those soldiers were so lenient when we were trespa.s.sing. Apparently they noticed the box was missing and they are desperate to get it back,” muttered the Captain as he rubbed his thinning hair at the back of his head. Getting the box to the harbor had become much more difficult.
      With half of the continent being territories of s.h.i.+maron, finding an unmonitored route is impossible.
      “But His Highness Belal II still doesn’t think that this has been stolen. The only thing that was reported missing upstairs was the Demon King statue with an elephant head.”
      “What did you say!? Y-Your Highness, I’m making it perfectly clear, but the one who pocketed that silly statue was Lord Fanfan! We absolutely do not think that Demon Kings of the past had an elephant head like that…”
      “You don’t have to make excuses. No one would consider that to be mockery from a retainer. Besides, even though s.h.i.+buya hates tigers, he doesn’t hate elephants so your worries are irrelephant.” (2)
      … The snowy wind grew more severe.
      Punmaster Murata didn’t mind at all that things turned awkward.
      “That reminds me, you said that the box was mistaken for a coffin near the exit, right?”
      “Yes, that is right. A man with a splendid beard and physique was brought to tears. Honestly, these youngsters nowadays, the only thing mature about them is their bodies. From a veteran’s point of view, there is nothing more shameful than that…”
      The old man’s complaints continued on forever.
      “Come to think of it, I’ve seen that somewhere. I ran across a funeral for a child. I definitely heard that a white box this size was a coffin for a boy,” Murata said as he brought his fist down to strike his palm. The dull thud echoes through the forest. “It’s not the flas.h.i.+est of plans, but how about we keep carrying this around as if it were a coffin?”
      “I believe that is also an excellent plan, but… will they honestly believe that? No matter how idiotic the s.h.i.+maron soldiers are, eventually they will notice that something from the treasure room has gone missing. If that happens and then we try to bring a coffin of a similar shape out of the country… even if it would be imprudent, they might check the contents of the box…”
      “Hmm, that’s the truth. They absolutely will. Okay then, we’ll make this even more realistic and inside we’ll put a dead child-”
      The four demons were at a loss for words. There was only a paper-thin difference between the danger of that smart human and him, but the Great Sage was also a ruthlessly critical thinker!?
      “-dummy or something… it won’t work. In the first place, we can’t put things inside of it.”
      Everyone present was immediately robbed of their strength.
      Struck with extreme doubt, Dacascos felt the box through the cloth. Even the metal supporting the four sides was completely rusted. There was a st.u.r.dy lock hanging from the metal joint on the tightly closed lid.
      “Your Highness! I have a question.”
      “What is it, Dacascos?”
      “Um, it’s a bit unrelated, but what is inside the box? It doesn’t make a noise if I shake or kick it, but is it really empty?”
      “That’s a good question. However, don’t kick it again. If the brittle wood breaks and it gets destroyed, it will be quite the problem.” Murata knelt down on the snowy slope and placed his ear against the object in question covered in green cloth. “You see? It’s not making a noise now. It’s empty. There really isn’t anything in there. But you absolutely can’t look inside. You’ll seriously regret it so much you’ll cry.”
      “Wh-what does that…”
      “It means that there are many things in this world that you would be better off not knowing about. Okay, next person.”
      “Then, Your Highness, if I may suggest something presumptuous. How about we disguise it as part of the madam’s vast amount of luggage? The amount of clothes chests she brought was quite considerate. It will be like the saying ‘a tree in the forest, a bear in the sand.’”
      “Ah! That’s good, excellent! Although this is the first time I heard the bear part. Um, who were you?”
      “Chevalier.”
      “That’s right. It’s because you hardly ever say anything. Well then, that’s an awfully wonderful idea, but there is one major problem. That would be that Lady Celi’s boyfriend is a businessman through and through.”
      Everyone was dumbfounded.
      To doubt Fanberlain who had helped them collect the box despite his family’s position in s.h.i.+maron. He had undertaken the responsibility of leading them to the treasure room without considering the danger to himself. Fanfan was also the one who used money to deal with a number of the guards. And it was all for Lady Celi. Long live free love.
      “According to what I’ve heard from you all, Fanfan was a businessman from birth, right? That’s what I’m worried about. If Big s.h.i.+maron had the ‘End of the Wind,’ then his business wouldn’t be necessary because of the power imbalance. Therefore, he helped with its recovery. Yeah, I get that. The reasoning is solid. However, if we entrust him with the box and have him hide it amongst Lady Celi’s luggage, I wonder what he’ll do. It’s a rare box. It’s one of only four ultimate weapons with a terrible power in the entire world. And he is a businessman through and through. He’s such a businessman that ‘business spirit’ is written on his heart.”
      “If it was me, I’d sell it,” Dacascos blurted out.
      “Right?” Before giving everyone a moment to stop, Murata placed a foot on the box. “If I were from a genius business family, I’d secretly switch it out with a copy. And then, I would sell it to countries that want to fight with large countries but don’t have enough military strength or countries that have money but not enough soldiers. And then I wouldn’t have only taken over the market, I’d be set for life. Businessmen never make pointless investments. Oddly, I have a good nose for schemes for getting rich quick. There are an endless amount of people who would be desperate to have this box. Stefan Fanberlain is worthy of trust, but before that he is a businessman. Therefore,” the heel of his foot bunches up the cloth a bit. The pure white body gets wet with snow. “I would not trust the box to Lady Celi.”
      “Shh! More soldiers!”
      They all crouch down at once. Murata carefully reaches out his hand and readjusts the twisted cloth. The white box will probably be very conspicuous in the dark.
      “Ehyaaa!”
      The human at the back of the line tripped in the snow and fell over and unluckily rolled down the slope. He crashed into a cedar right in front of the demons and was pa.s.sing out from the pain while hugging his knees. The squad kept running and seemed to have abandoned their injured member.
      Murata slowly stood up and stared at the young man writhing around on the ground.
      “Your Highness, he’ll see you. Your Highness!”
      “Can someone take off their sock?”
      “Huh? What are you going to do with a sock?”
      While he was handing over his warm, wool sock, Sizemore watched the Sage’s hands.
      When he got closer to the young s.h.i.+maron soldier rolling about, Murata stuffed the sock into his mouth. The one who panicked was the captain.
      “Your Highness, if you’re going to gag someone, please use a handkerchief, a handkerchief! Please don’t use a sock off of an old man’s foot. Please show a soldier compa.s.sion!”
      “Alright, we found a corpse! Mr. Dacky, run and get Flynn Gilbit as fast as you can!”
      Not knowing what was going on at all, Dacascos ran off to the dance hall.

------

(1)    The ‘spirit of a rose’ (bara no sei / 薔薇の精) may or may not be a reference to a short ballet called Le Spectre de la Rose (the spirit of the rose) where a young girl comes home from her first ball, falls asleep, drops a rose she got as a souvenir on the floor, and then the spirit of the rose comes and dances with her while she’s still asleep... That sentence was almost as bad as one of Conrad’s XD
(2)    In my defense, this pun was supposed to be stupid XD The original j.a.panese pun was elongating the sentence ending of ‘zo’ to ‘zou’ which is the word for ‘elephant’ (zou / ゾウ). So, the j.a.panese sounded like ‘… he doesn’t hate elephants, you knooow?’

      The former demon covered in mud and snow was gazing into my eyes that were a different color because of contacts.
      “Is it true? Do you have Julia’s…”
      “Hey, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
      The hands he had placed on my shoulders suddenly grip tightly. But, they immediately slacken and he apologizes in a low voice.
      “That’s not my intention. I don’t intend to hurt you. The injury to your neck… I don’t think you’ll forgive me for that, but…”
      “Like I said, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Actually I want to ask questions. Weren’t you unable to keep fighting!? Why are you in a place like this completely alright?”
      I get my back away from the cold, stone wall and push against his chest with all of my strength. Getting away from him when he staggered backwards, I ran blindly down the dark hallway.
      I was completely stunned. I had no ability to think calmly.
      What do I do!?
      There’s no one here now. There’s no one here to help me.
      Once I started running, I realized it would have been smart to run back into the dance hall. No matter how irrational the man, he wouldn’t do anything reckless with that many people watching. But, I had already run pretty far in the opposite direction and going back now would be dangerous.
      He’s definitely coming after me.
      His eyes said he wouldn’t let me get away.
      When I came to a stop, I remembered his dirty arms and glittering blue eyes and all the hair on my body stands on end.
      My ankle is starting to hurt from my intense fatigue. My heart and pulse speeds up and my breathing quickly becomes difficult. In order to get more oxygen to my lungs, I suppress my gasping and take long breaths. In this empty and deserted temple at night, even the stagnant air was heavy.
      “…!”
      The sound of military boots on the floor was coming closer.
      Even though he was supposed to have been severely injured, his footsteps are fast and strong. If it’s just for a little while longer I can run, but eventually the hallway will end and I’ll be cornered with no place to escape to. My pursuer’s footsteps are rapidly getting closer.
      I ready myself and push my body into a recess in the wall and hold my breath to wait him out.
      The footsteps of the silhouette against the light of the snow slow down and approach carefully. It seems like he’s holding a light as the surroundings turned faintly yellow. My neck started to hurt. A heat spread from the injury that was stretched and felt like it was about to open.
      Only the sound of my beating heart was reverberating loudly.
      “Are you there?”
      My breath stops.
      “Hey, is someone there? Give up and come out.”
      It’s not Adalbert’s voice. Apparently it’s a s.h.i.+maron soldier on patrol. I heave a large sigh in relief and come out of the recess in the wall. There’s no reason the security would chase me, but I still timidly step out into the hallway with my hands raised.
      “I’m not anyone suspicious…”
      The pet.i.te, middle-aged soldier looks surprised after seeing my outfit.
      “Are you a guest at the ball?”
      “Well, kind of.”
      It seems like he doesn’t notice that I am a victor in the tournament. (1)
      “Why were you heading in the exact opposite direction?”
      “I was looking for the toilets, but I got lost.”
      It’s a common excuse, but it’s an effective one. The soldier puts on an exasperated smile and lights the way for me.
      “Is that so? I apologize for startling you. Thieves have apparently gotten into the treasure room and they’ve even mobilized our forces to look for them.”
      “Thieves?”
      “Well, they’ll probably be caught real soon, but… A bathroom was provided right next to the staircase. If you wandered all the way out here you must have been lonely. Shall I escort you?”
      It happened when the soldier turned to look back at me. Someone’s shadow floated up in a corner that the light didn’t reach.
      “Watch ou-!”
      I reflexively reached out. The lantern fell out of the soldier’s hand and rolled after he collapsed onto his bottom and collided with the wall.
      A heavy sword swung down in the air vertically and a thick clang rang out when it hit the floor.
      A man’s pale face was illuminated by the dying flame.
      It was Adalbert.
      I let out an awkward scream and turned around the corner we just pa.s.sed and ran up the long staircase two steps at a time. I pull my body forward by grabbing onto the hand-carved railing, pa.s.s by the dance hall in three strides, and continue climbing.
      I doubt he’ll give up just because I went up the stairs.
      Panicked at the sound of what was certainly footsteps coming after me, I push open the nearest extravagant door. I slide my body through the gap into this dark room that I don’t know who owns. Even while knowing it was useless, I make sure to not make any creaking noises as I lean back against the door and close it as quietly as I can. I reach around behind me with my fingers and slide the latch into place.
      For a little while, I leaned against the thick, engraved doors. Until I catch my breath. At least until I catch my breath. Locked in the room, I breathe in a deep lungful of the moldy-smelling oxygen.
      Eventually my eyes get used to the darkness and I can look around the room.
      The room seems to be fairly long, but there isn’t much distance between myself and a window. The light from the moon and the snow is just barely s.h.i.+ning through the small window that was high enough up on the wall to also be called a skylight. The bookshelves taking up the entire wall were packed with truly old-looking books.
      “… A library..?”
      I carefully step away from the entrance and approach the table in the center of the room.
      There is a book someone was in the middle of reading that was left open on top of it. Perhaps they were making a ma.n.u.script as there is also a bundle of paper, an inkwell, a plume pen that you often see in fantasy stories, and a stone paperweight on the table.
      In the erratic light from the ceiling, I try reading the letters on the open page. As usual, I can’t read it by sight. I close my eyes and concentrate on the nerve endings in my fingertips as I try to feel the discrepancies in the paper quality.
      The parts covered in ink were slightly smoother than the blank s.p.a.ces. As the paper is coa.r.s.e, I can discern the shape of the letters against the fuzzy surface.

Continent, rule, three royal families… The influence and population in the continent ruled by the three royal families… not including the three kingdoms in the western peninsula…

      With just this one part of this thick book, I can’t tell what kind of book it is. I give up and lift my fingers and let them rest on the bundle of blank sheets.
      “… Weller…?”
      The writer must have a heavy hand as the shape of the letters was imprinted into the page below. I skip over the stone with my cold index and middle fingers and the words clearly jump into my mind. It was like a preschooler or elementary school student jotted down basic information in a list.

The Three Royal Families – Rahy, confined to present-day Small s.h.i.+maron colony, Garshon (Then, Garcione). 24 years after imprisonment, Vilmos Rahy’s death confirmed. Lineage ended.
Cont. – Gillesby, defeated after the battle at Present-day Big s.h.i.+maron eastern end of Sommers (Then, Zomarce).
Cont. – Belal, acknowledged defeat during the battle at Present-day Big s.h.i.+maron agricultural area Col Nilzon. Survivor Paige Belal confined to May Island in the ocean of the Northern Bridge of the G.o.ds. According to a special report, transferred to the royal capital 20 years later and changed family name to Weller. 5 generations confirmed afterwards. (2)

      This is probably the fates of the royal families that held power in this land before it became the territory of s.h.i.+maron. Why Lord Weller’s name was part of this was a question I couldn’t answer with my terrible history skills.
      “… Changed the family name to Weller? To Weller… Wait, if it used to be Belal, then why were His Majesty and His Bearded Highness whatever-generation both calling themselves Belal..?”
      They were giving their children and grandchildren a name of a family that they themselves had destroyed.
      And then, what is this special report? Were they brought to the royal capital and and forced to have their name changed because of that?
      “After the change to Weller, five generations confirmed… Then somewhere in here Conrad’s father is…”
      I remember the words that Conrad said in the middle of the arena.
      ‘This has been my land from the beginning.’
      This was what he meant? Although, I’m not sure if I’m understanding it properly or not.
      A sound like a large tree breaking rang through the room and brought me back to reality. Those st.u.r.dy looking doors to the library were now broken with the plain wood on the inside exposed. With the next blow, the latch came flying off before the doors could.
      The doors burst open, hit the wall, and bounced back with the force.
      “… Why are you running away?”
      I met the gaze of the heavily breathing man and felt gooseb.u.mps pop up all over my body.
      “O-of course I’m running away!”
      Even women who swarmed around handsome, macho actors would run away after seeing Adalbert right now. There was blood flowing from the injuries on his face and arms and his look of madness wasn’t lacking. If you were being chased by a terminator near death, no matter how proud of your courage you were, you would run away barefoot if you had to.
      On top of that, I’ve almost been killed by him several times. A single apology wouldn’t be enough to build my trust in him.
      All I could do was run farther into the library. Even though I knew that as things were, I would definitely get cornered.
      “Hey! I just want to know. It’s true. I’m not going to hurt you.”
      “Like I can believe that!”
      The shadow chasing me was dragging a leg and pressing its arm against its side. The left arm dangling down didn’t seem to be in good shape either.
      It was like a horror movie.
      Trying to make as many obstacles as I could, I scattered books around from the shelves as I lost the ability to hold down my hysterical laughing from stress and fatigue.
      What is this? This is like a horror movie. Am I Nancy being chased by Freddy? Why is this happening to me!?
      There was a thunderous noise. Looking back on impulse, dust rose up in the light of the skylight and a large bookshelf had completely fallen over. On the dim floor, a dirty blond head was buried in books.
      “… Grantz?”
      His motionless right arm was stretched out on the floor.
      “Von Grantz…? Hey, Adalbert,” I call from what I estimate to be a safe distance. There is no answer and no sign of movement.
      I’m suddenly hit with anxiety. After all, this is the friend of Nigel Wise ‘Will Never Die’ Maxine. There’s no way he’d die in a place like this. But, then why is he not moving after collapsing? He’s not bleeding from what I can see, but even if he doesn’t have a large external wound, it could be fatal if he was. .h.i.t in the wrong spot.
      Was this misfortune of scattered books because of me? The bookshelf might have fallen on top of him because I threw off its balance.   No, normally you could just step out of the way. The person who couldn’t get out of the way of something that big was also at fault…
      No, he wasn’t normal, Adalbert.
      Just a few hours ago, he was judged to be unable to continue fighting. In other words, it was the proclamation that he was beaten until he was wiped out and his entire body was so injured that he couldn’t fight anymore.
      Also, the one who beat him was apparently me.
      Or course, I was not at fault. It was during a fight in an arena and he shouted that he was going to kill me and stuff. No one had the right to blame me or make me feel bad about it.
      But if he couldn’t dodge the bookshelf because of those injuries…
      “Aww, d.a.m.n it! It’s like you’re pretending to be dead on purpose!”
      I run over to the mountain of books and start tossing them aside several volumes at a time.
      “Grantz! Hey, Adalbert!”
      I’m an idiot. I’m really a hopeless idiot.
      Don’t I know just how much torment this guy has put me through? How much Adalbert von Grantz hates me? That he’s someone who resents his country? Wasn’t he in reality this guy that was now – really just until right now – chasing me around and scaring me?
      Despite that, why am I trying to help this unconscious man?
      “This isn’t my fault. It’s not my fault, okay?”
      I press my fingers to his now-exposed, pale neck. He still has a pulse. He’s moving.
      “Cut it out. Hey, this isn’t funny. Don’t… don’t die in front of me…”
      My nose and eyes grew hot. I clench my teeth and hold down my s.h.i.+vering.
      I don’t want to experience that feeling ever again.
      By the time I uncovered his upper body, my breathing had sped up. It was more like an excavation than a rescue. I tried to lift the bookshelf that was on top of the lower half of his body, but it wouldn’t move an inch with the strength of one person. Even when I looked around for a pole I could use as a lever, nothing like that was to be seen.
      I could see blood peeking out from where his clothes were ripped on his shoulder, but he only twitched a little bit.
      “Hey!”
      I place a hand on his back and try shaking him gently. With his face still flat on the floor, I hear him let out a low groan.
      “That’s a rel-”
      No, it’s not a relief. Not a relief. I hurriedly deny the sigh of relief I was about to give. In this situation, it should be ‘d.a.m.n, what an unlucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d’ – if you consider all the details up until now.
      “… ugh.”
      He’s putting strength into his good arm and trying to lift his upper body.
      “Stop, it’s no use. Your legs are pinned under the shelf.”
      Realizing that it was impossible, he somehow managed to turn his head to the side.
      “… What happ-… ened?”
      “Ah, what a rel-… Uwah, no, no! It’s ‘you’re seriously an unlucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d.’ Wait here, I’ll go get someone. I can’t move the bookshelf on my own.”
      “Wait.”
      “You’re the one who has to wait.”
      While still lying with his face on the floor, Adalbert reaches his right hand out to me. I shrink back mostly on instinct and try to dodge the fingers of the man who was my enemy.
      “Don’t run away. I won’t… do anything.”
      His index finger weakly touches my throat. Through the bandages, something warm flows in. Something slightly warmer than my body temperature. The heat from the wound that was hurting and was about to open again starts being absorbed into the tissue around it.
      Huh?
      “… I’m sorry.”
      Even if I rubbed it roughly with my palm, there was no longer an injury there. There was just smooth and healthy skin.
      “Did you… heal me?” I was shocked. “Even Lady Celi couldn’t do it.”
      “In this land, using magic is difficult. Even though exorcism can be easily used, magic requires quite a lot of power.”
      “… If you have… that kind of power left… use it on your own body instead of me. Ugh, stop speaking! I’ll go call someone.”
      “You don’t have to.”
      “Don’t be stupid. You probably don’t like books enough that you want to be buried in them for the rest of your life.”
      Something must have been funny because Adalbert laughed. Or rather, had a coughing fit.
      “If you go, you won’t come back, will you?”
      “Probably not.”
      He’s gripping onto the heel of my shoe. No, he doesn’t have enough strength left to call it gripping. His right hand is just lightly touching it. I crouch down on the floor covered in scattered papers and brush off the hair stuck to Adalbert’s cheek.
      “Then what do you want to do?”
      “I want to talk.”
      What’s with this guy? I unconsciously let out a long sigh.
      “… Alright, talk. But just a little bit. After three minutes pa.s.s I’m going to go call someone.”
      “That’s fine.”
      Still unable to move properly, Adalbert von Grantz laughed again. I bend over and bring my face closer so I can see his eyes.
      “What’s funny?”
      “You’re a strange person.”
      You’re the one who’s strange. You tried to slit my throat on the round stage just a few hours ago. And now you healed the same injury so what is this change in mental states?
      “Even though you have… a strong power rare even among all the previous Demon Kings in history, exorcism techniques that handicap demons don’t work on you. On the contrary, the simple power that only works on humans has helped heal you…”
      That’s probably because my body is Made in Earth and is likely exceedingly close to a human’s.
      “Well I mean, I’m a normal human on Earth.”
      “Human? Aren’t you a demon?”
      “I don’t really know. Although, they say that I’m destined to be the Demon King according to the level of my soul.”
      “That’s what I want to know.” Adalbert tried to lift the top half of his body. A groan of pain slips past his lips. “Please tell me. Was your soul’s… previous owner… Julia?”
      “By Julia do you mean Lady Suzanna Julia von Wincott?”
      “That’s right.”
      When he heard that name, his face turned nostalgic. As he let out a breath and lightly closed his eyes, it looked like he was remembering only beautiful things.
      “… I’ve only heard her name, though. I don’t know who my previous life was. I mean, it’s a past life, right? I’ve never really wanted to know about it.”
      Although it seems like Murata remembers every last detail. I wasn’t even jealous over what I heard from him.
      “Then was what Lord Weller said a lie?”
      “Like I said, I don’t even know if there was a parting gift. I don’t go around asking ‘who was my previous life?’ For me, just knowing that my soul was brought from another world, raised on Earth, and then ‘tada! You were really the Demon King’… just knowing that was shocking enough. At this point, I don’t think it would be shocking news even if I found out that my previous life was. .h.i.tler. In the first place, I’m bad at self-discovery.”
      If I had time for self-discovery, it would be better to do three hundred practice swings.
      “Your soul… was brought from this world to a place called Earth?”
      “Yeah. It seems so. By Conrad.”
      Adalbert used his good hand to cover his face still pressed against the floor. A shaky breath like he is about to cry comes out from between his long, angular fingers.
      “Ah… so that was the truth…”
      “The truth… Are you talking about my soul’s previous owner being Miss Suzanna Julia’s?”
      I thought for a moment.
      “Ohs.h.i.+taaa! No, I mean, ohh s.h.i.+t! No way!” (3)
      A Lady von Wincott that cracked bad jokes and was a baseball girl. If she was my previous life, was she like that? I couldn’t even imagine it.
      “But there’s no way that Conrad wouldn’t know who the previous owner was if he was the one who carried your soul.”
      Taking notice, I smiled. Although, I might be told that this isn’t the time for what I was going to say.
      “… You were friends, weren’t you? You two.”
      Adalbert furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
      “Who was?”
      “You and Conrad?”
      “No we weren’t?”
      “I mean, you called Lord Weller ‘Conrad’… Even his brothers and mother call him Conrart in public… Well whatever. If, and I mean if, okay? This is if in a one in a million possibility that my past life was Miss Julia.” I see. This is what he felt like then. The words that Murata spoke along with the pleasant vibration of the boat come to mind. “Then what? Is there something different about me? What do you want to say to me?”
      “If your soul… is hers…”
      “Even if it is, I’m Yuuri s.h.i.+buya and no one else. Yuuri s.h.i.+buya who lived on Earth until right before 16, a high school student in j.a.pan, the owner, captain, and catcher of a gra.s.s lot baseball team, and a Lion’s fan. Learning who my past life was at this point is like empathizing with one more movie I’ve seen. What do you want me to do?” I sit down, hug my knees, and grab on to the tips of my shoes. “Or are you going to start adding ‘Lord’ onto my name?”
      I have feet and I have fingers. From top to bottom, from hair to toenails, it all belongs to Yuuri s.h.i.+buya. Not anyone else.
      Adalbert stayed silent.
      Wary of the silence, I shake the man’s shoulder as he faces downward.
      “Hey now! You’re alive, right? You’re not going to die, are you!? I’m going. I’m going to go call someone. Besides, three minutes pa.s.sed a long time ago. Cut it out! Don’t die right in front of me!”
      “He will not die just from that.”
      I raise my head like I had been shot. It was a voice I was familiar with and also one I longed for.
      “Co-… Lord Weller…”
      But now I can’t talk to him amicably and I feel a lump in my throat that can’t possibly actually be there.
      “He has only lost consciousness. He must have heard something greatly pleasing.”
      He raises the light in his hand to the side of his face and shows me who he is. His hair is strangely short for a s.h.i.+maron soldier. The white, formal outfit he was wearing that had no unnecessary accessories and was simple in a military way looked much better on him than the uniform in the arena.
      He is no longer someone from my country.
      Lord Conrart Weller laid his hand on the wet and dirty body and nodded at the pulse he found. He runs his eyes over the scattered books and fallen bookshelf and then finally turns toward me.
      “Are you injured?”
      “No, I’m actually better than before.”
      I unconsciously touch my throat.
      “Ah, Grantz. He can use exorcism… If your legs and back are also fine, would you help me?”
      “Alright, but can we lift it with just the two of us?”
      “If you put in the effort, then perhaps.”
      Avoiding Adalbert’s body and moving around to the other side, I carefully get a good foothold and place my hands on the wooden bookshelf. I lift up with all my strength at the short signal. It lifted up so easily, I doubted whether I was actually needed. Conrad kicked something into the gap to keep the shelf up and pulled Adalbert out.
      “… Is the bone broken?”
      I timidly peer over. It wasn’t actually twisted in an impossible direction, but his leg was swelled up right above the leather of his military boot.
      “It is broken.”
      “Uwaaah, I shouldn’t have looked!”
      The same part of my body aches even though it was someone else’s injury. According to Lord Weller’s examination, being used to broken bones, his left arm was fractured and would be painful.
      “But with this he will not be able to shadow you for a while.”
      “Was I really being shadowed? … I mean, he was completely different than before. Even the way he was speaking was kind of normal. It was like he wasn’t very villainous or something.”
      “He likely had something to think about.”
      After cutting the leg of a chair with his sword, Lord Weller took off his s.h.i.+rt. He started ripping the garment that I could tell was obviously of high quality even in the flickering light into several strips without hesitation. Using the angular and unwieldy chair leg as a splint, he secured the man’s leg. Holding one end of the belt-like strips in his mouth, he wrapped it tightly so it wouldn’t come out of place.
      The muscles on both of his shoulders were contracting with his movements and I gazed at them vacantly.
      They’re moving. As if everything was normal.
      There was a wide bandage wrapped around his left upper arm. Somewhere under that cloth is where Conrad’s arm was cut off. I saw it with my own eyes.
      The large scar on his side is probably the one from the fierce battle that Josak was talking about. There was another fresh injury on his back. It must have closed recently because the edges of the st.i.tched up scar were detailed.

      “When did that…”
      “Even if you ask when, it is difficult to explain.”
      “Well anyway,” I got angry while facing Conrad’s back because he wouldn’t turn around. Maybe it was because I was more relaxed because there was no one listening, but my voice was gradually getting rougher. “Anyway, how did you survive that explosion!? It’s ludicrous that you’re in perfectly good condition after that!”
      “I apologize if I hurt your feelings.”
      That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear.
      “Why are speaking so formally!? Explain properly, how you survived. Why did you disappear and why is your arm back to normal? Why did you leave me… why are you suddenly working for s.h.i.+maron…”
      After securing his leg, Conrad placed a splint against Adalbert’s elbow.
      “I am not necessarily working for s.h.i.+maron.”
      “… Then are you the subordinate of His Majesty and His Highness!?”
      Perhaps feeling cold, Conrad puts on the jacket he had cast off. Now that I couldn’t see the bandage on his arm or the injury on his back, I honestly felt relieved.
      “Well, you did not come to ask me.”
      I suddenly became enraged. I clench my powerless fist with the intention of somehow landing a good hit on him. Lord Weller stood up straight and gave me his familiar smile. It was a gentle expression that anyone would love and was steeped in good nature.
      “Even though I waited for you.” He grabbed the sleeve of his plain, white clothes and playfully tugged on it. “I prepared an answer that you wanted and put on this… dress suit that I am unused to.”
      It was the wrinkled jacket that he had thrown on the floor. However, when he put it on it became a uniform.
      “You were there?”
      “Yes, I was. I saw you dancing with a lady. You were good. It made me proud. I was the one who taught you how to dance, after all.”
      “Then why didn’t you call out to me!?”
      Conrad’s silver-flecked, brown eyes narrowed as he smiled broader.
      “I am far beneath you in social status. It would be unnatural for me to call out to you. I said so, did I not? From now on, I would strive to… not call you ‘Your Majesty.’”
      I was. .h.i.t with an icy thrill as if I had stuck my head into a snowdrift. My eyelids, my nose, the lining of my throat, all of the soft parts hurt.
      It was the same as if Lord Conrart Weller had declared that he was no longer my friend.
      “… You’re brainwashed, right?”
      Noise came through the broken door from the hallway.
      “You’re being controlled, right!? Or that Beard guy got a hold of some weakness and is threatening you so you have to work for him, right!?”
Guards who were securing the area and people who liked seeing the misfortune of others all came running together. A woman with eyes wide with curiosity shrieked somewhat gleefully.
      “A feudal lord of a s.h.i.+maron territory seems to have suddenly collapsed.”
      Who!?
      “Go. The lady is in a terrible state.”
      “Conrad.”
      I held out my right hand, believing that his left hand would grasp back. I thought I would try to gamble on one final possibility.
      “Come.”
      Lord Weller slowly shook his head.
      “… No.”
      My gamble failed.

---------

(1)    There was a pun here that I took out. I vaguely remember making a footnote about this before, but a ball and a fighting tournament are p.r.o.nounced the same in j.a.panese (butoukai), but are written with different kanji. So, the original exchange went ‘Are you a guest at the butoukai (舞踏会 / ball)?’ and then Yuuri comments ‘It seems like he doesn’t notice that I’m a victor of a different butoukai (武闘会 / tournament).’
(2)    p.r.o.nunciation note! The last ‘e’ in Garcione, Zomarce, and Page is not silent (kind of like the ‘eh’ in meh) and the ‘g’ in Paige is hard. So, pay geh. Also, the ‘c’ in Zomarce is like the ‘c’s in Cecilie so it sounds like Zomartseh. These humans with their complicated names!! XD
(3)    So the original joke was Yuuri yelling ‘Matsuzakaaa!’ and then correcting himself to say ‘ma.s.sakaaa which is like saying ‘nooo waaaay.’ Basically it was a pun on how the name Matsuzaka (referring to Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Seibu Lions) sounds similar to ‘masaka’ (no way! It can’t be! You don’t say!) I looked through a list of other well-known players on the team and Hiros.h.i.+ Ohs.h.i.+ta was the only one I could think up a pun for~

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