96 – Tribute (5)

Dawn play soaked the horizon.

The sky between night and morning stained the morning dew and gently stroked her wet hair.

I watched it blankly and let out a long yawn.

“The plague…”

I couldn’t dream today either.

If you judge whether it is good or bad, it applies to both.

It’s good because I don’t have dreams that interfere with good sleep every time I sleep, and it’s bad because I can’t sleep at all. Both are similar in terms of being mind-boggling.

‘So you should have slept a bit~ Huh?’

Still, the hateful parasite roars in my brain. In order to erase the voice, he deliberately raised his voice and made a contrived, obvious, and hopeful sound at the same time.

“Let’s start a crazy day today!”

Because I couldn’t sleep.

In fact, from my point of view, it is no different from yesterday’s extension, but in the eyes of others, tomorrow is tomorrow, and in the absolute truth, tomorrow is correct, so I shouted, “Tomorrow.”

In this way, I sounded the trumpet of the day a little earlier than others.

Then I heard a rustling sound and looked around. It was the sound coming from inside the tent that had unkindly blown me up and built a wall.

The cloth keeping me out came down, revealing the hooded Prophet from within.

The figure covered in shadows was gloomy. I recalled the face I saw yesterday and tried substituting it into the hood. The somber atmosphere seemed to have lessened a little.

“You look healthy since morning.”

“If this is healthy, then the fish that run rampant before dying are also healthy.”

“It looks healthy to my eyes, so what can I do?”

I nodded.

“Well, to me, you don’t look like a significant prophet, you just look like an elven brat. That makes sense.”

“That’s right.”

“I’m being sarcastic, but I’m sure you’ll understand.”

Of course, there is a possibility that this is the case even if you understand.

When the Prophet came out of the tent, he cleared the place where he slept. I let out a long yawn when I saw it. It was a yawn longer than a sigh.

“If you’re sleepy, can I seal it? At least I think it’s better than sleeping.”

“It’s done.”

I laughed at her question and declined.

“According to what you said, I can become a warrior, not a demon king. Can I treat you as a dangerous person like that?”

“It is true that a hero is also a dangerous person. And the probability of you becoming a demon king is much higher than that of becoming a hero. Most of the future I saw was also in ruins.”

The Prophet touched the tent in which she slept several times with her fingers. Then, the tent was freed from the pegs anchored to the ground, and opened up. The opening was gradually reduced and compressed over seven times.

The Prophet tucked the tent the size of a piece of paper into his sleeve and began pulling out several blank pieces of paper from inside.

“Don’t get too caught up in one possibility. When you said that you could become a hero, I didn’t mean it too deeply. I started out by thinking about the ignorance of the future and the infinite possibilities of not knowing what it might become. .”

In addition to the letter paper, she took out her quill and began to fill in the empty paper.

“In the first place, not just you, but all humans have the potential to become a hero. Right now, me and the Flower Witch also have the potential. They said they became devils of the reverse sky, but you too must have been human at the beginning, so I said that.”

In other words, the words that I could become a warrior were meant to emphasize the tremendous ignorance of the future, like ‘tomorrow a meteorite might fall into the world and ruin it’.

“I see.”

I didn’t attach much importance to the possibility of being a hero. My dream is not a hero, but a person. However, it is true that I am a bit disappointed.

‘Oops, did you expect that?! Ah, isn’t it? You should lead me as a demon king, not as a warrior!’

He frowned. Perhaps it was because the brilliance of the dawn was too strong.

“But if you say that, aren’t the demon lord the same as the hero? Of course, the process of a human becoming a demon, especially a demon with the seed of the demon lord, is complicated. If these conditions are met, there is a possibility of becoming a demon lord. That’s it.”

The Prophet nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

I must have written everything down in the letter, so I hung it from Glass Bird’s ankle and sent it flying.

“Anyone who is a bit unlucky has the potential to become a demon king.”

I laughed.

“Was it just bad luck that I got this way?”

“Yes, to make it seem a little longer, that’s just what your destiny was.”

“You’d better think it was just bad luck.”

Come to think of it, it was a very fitting word for my situation.

Unluckily, I was wrong from birth.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t lead his wrong birth right.

Unlucky to die.

Unlucky enough to come back to life.

Even in the life he found again due to bad luck, he made a mistake about his birth.

It is a very pleasant life.

The Prophet tied the letter to about seven glass birds and began writing again. He asked without giving me a glance.

“So, is it okay if I don’t seal it?”

“I don’t need it.”

Why are you so obsessed with sealing? Do you have a pervert who feels joy in tying someone down? If so, it’s the complete opposite for me. I sighed and waved my hand.

“It’s going to break soon anyway.”

“I see.”

Only then did the Prophet glance at me and ask.

“By the way, how did you break the last seal?”

I closed my eyes and put my finger on my chin, contemplating. I searched for answers through the garbage heap of memories that hadn’t faded yet.

And.

“I see. I just broke it roughly because I was angry, so it broke.”

The only answer was this.

“Ah… Is that so?”

The Prophet’s voice was very flat, but I was sure the first part of his words was a sigh.

“It’s a big deal.”

“What?”

The tempo of that uneven voice changed slightly.

“What if it’s not a big deal that you’re soaked in anger and can’t even remember what you did? It’s because there is. When it fades, don’t you really become a devil? A devil who is wet with instinct and breaks the rules set by humans.”

I nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Don’t say that next time. Rather make up a lie. It will increase your chances of living. Actually, the conclusion is leaning towards killing you in me now.”

I am sure he is a prophet, so I can feel the weight and trust in each word.

Knowing her usual behavior, I realized that the advice was realistic, born from experience.

“The Prophet, who is also an expert in lies, says differently.”

In the original work, the prophet is a person who speaks meaningful words, and at the same time,

He comes out as a person who often tells lies.

A person who repeatedly tells lies in order to manipulate people’s behavior and motivate them.

She answered again, tying her letter to the glass bird.

“If you want to avoid destruction, you can tell as many lies as you like. Don’t you, too? If you want to live, you have to lie.”

“Even if that choice adversely affects your outcome?”

“If it is a perishing world that cannot be avoided with a single lie.”

The glass bird flew away. She followed the beat of her wings and looked up at her head, but the glow of the dawn obscured it.

“I think it would be good for me to just perish. I’m too tired to think about such things one by one.”

**

We exchanged conversations several times since the wind in the morning, but the fatigue never faded. I thought I should go back to Monia’s house and have a glass of cold water, so I moved her feet.

Then, I felt a presence.

It felt like our paths overlapped by chance while walking towards a different place than with the specific purpose of coming this way.

Shadows of leaves I saw the shadows of two people in the crowd. But one of them had no sign at all. There are two things you can see, but only one thing you can feel.

Soon after that, the shadows of the two became unrecognizable as they blended into the shadows of the trees.

After taking a few steps back, I got myself into a receiving position.

“Iba-san, Iba-san~”

The place where the voice came from must be a lie. I still only saw the front.

“Iba, Mr. Iba!”

Then I immediately turned to the right and grabbed the person who was running towards me.

“Don’t call me that.”

“What’s wrong. Mr. Iba, Mr. Iba. Our Mr. Iba, Mr. Iba.”

“Damn b*tch….”

I sighed as I lowered the Stella I was carrying in an instant. It’s rude to play with someone’s name. Even if she made it, the copyright and exercise rights belong to me, so please refrain from altering it without permission.

Of course, no matter what I say, Stella won’t stop teasing me with my name. It is something that has been given up since the beginning of life.

“Is it training from morning?”

“I have to do it every day so I don’t forget when I need to. Training is important!”

Stella shouted confidently and struck the ground once with her spear. A dull echo comes through her feet.

She put her arm around my neck and rubbed my cheek against me.

“How about~? Would you like to join me? My spearmanship master~?”

“Teacher is evil. A bastard who stole it after seeing it once.”

“Ayy, it’s all about giving and receiving. What are we doing?”

“Boyfriend b*tch.”

I averted my eyes, displeased with the feeling of my cheek being squeezed.

“Ugh… Noisy… What is it…?”

And I saw Wiz, a candidate for the warrior who had walked aesthetically. I didn’t think she was the kind of person that would happen at a time like this, but when Stella became her friend, something changed.

At dawn, which is still vague enough to be called morning, she came to me, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Ah… That demon…”

I don’t know if she was frowning at me or she was just frowning from sleep, but as soon as she saw me, she crinkled her face. It’s probably both.

She looked us up and down slowly, then frowned even more.

“The two of you are… Close…?”

I said, pushing Stella, who was clinging to me.

“Perhaps that’s the way it is.”

“It’s probably not, but it’s friendly!”

“I see… Haam…”

Wiz gave a long yawn before she returned to her usual blank expression.

“Umm… Then… Stella… Me… Her… Who are you closer to…?”

Stella laughed bitterly at the question.

“Sometimes I’ll be closer to you and other times I’ll be closer to him. It’s been a while since we met, so I just feel like hanging out with him more. I’m not neglecting you.”

After answering that, he tapped me on the shoulder.

“And don’t say devil, Wiz.”

His voice was exceptionally low. Wiz nodded.

“Yes… Then… Demon King Candidate…”

“Wiz.”

“Okay…”

Stella sighed again, and Wiz replied in a disappointed tone. She felt like she was being grumpy on purpose.

By the way, I hope you refrain from calling me a demon king candidate.

I’m dying to be found out by a candidate for the hero, but the candidate for the hero is calling it out loud.

What will others think of me when they hear it?

“Haam…”

Wiz yawned as if he was still sleepy.

“Are you sleepy? You should have been sleeping more. Would you like to go back to sleep now?”

Stella asked kindly, but Wiz signaled her refusal by shaking her head.

Anyway, Wiz’s usual behavior seems to be no different from what I read in the book. Even if Stella was attached, in the end she was her.

If that’s the case, it must have been unusually suitable for Stella’s morning training today. Why was it like that when I was there? I suddenly felt uneasy and felt a cold sweat run down my spine.

“Yeah… There’s a reason…”

She raised her finger and pointed at me.

“Before breakfast… With him… Have a sparring… I want to try…”

Stella smiled broadly as soon as she finished her words.

“I finally made up my mind to do that! Yes, as expected, the more you polish your combat skills, the more you see the light! This bar is also good! There are very few opponents like this~ It is none other than a candidate for a hero, a candidate for a hero!”

She patted me on the back and laughed hahahaha. Is it happy that a friend who was so indolent showed enthusiasm for training? But I hope she’s a little bit happy. My back hurt.

“Then are the two of you sparring moderately? Don’t be too violent! I’ll be training around here too, so call me if you need anything!”

So she said and ran out. I didn’t have my opinion.

“Goodbye, Mr. Iba, Mr. Iba. Mr. Iba, Mr. Iba~”

His steps were quick. It must have been because it was delayed a little longer than the usual training time while talking.

Even when I was Spica, I diligently went out to the scrapyard called the training ground every morning to train. Sometimes I apologize if I break her because of her.

Whether it was in her previous life or here, a smile broke out involuntarily.

That was for a while, and I quickly lowered the corner of my mouth and looked at Wiz.

The warrior candidate still looked at me with blank eyes.

Then, without a word, she drew her sword.

“Can’t we go somewhere wider?”

“Every time you fight… Are you going to find an open space every time…? You should be able to fight… Anywhere…”

“That’s right.”

Then he thrust the knife at my throat. There were no foreshadowings. I turned my head in surprise.

Boom!

A huge sword wind stirred the place I had avoided. The ball could not withstand the impact and was lightly torn.

“It’s exciting.”

“Actually… The fight… Is just a preview…”

She retrieved her knife and then, without delay, aimed for my head and cut her sideways. It was too late to avoid it completely, so I blocked it with my arm and took a few steps back.

“It wasn’t there.”

Chack!

The shirt he had changed was stained with blood again. The sleeves were terribly torn and fell apart. A tingling pain came over me, but I endured it and regenerated it.

Is it because of Morbe? The slash feels particularly painful.

Actually, it’s not just a slash. Sensitive to all pain. The sense of pain, which had been insensitive so far, is rampaging as if it has gained new weight.

“Because you didn’t have it? Are you talking like you’ve been through it?”

There is a reason I hate Wiz more than I hate Stella. It wasn’t just a matter of friendship.

Hero candidates are those who are selected from among those who have unique abilities that are different from ordinary humans.

The candidate for the hero fights to punish the evil of the world and create an era where there is no need for a hero by wielding supernatural powers, a holy spear, and a holy sword.

With such an existence, of course Wiz also has superpowers.

It is【Self Time Adjustment】. You can speed up or slow down your time and show a movement that is distinctly different from others.

You can’t see the future like a prophet, but unlike passive prophecy, active use of your abilities is definitely an advantage.

But there is one more peculiar thing about this ability.

“I had a dream.”

The downside is that if she dies, her body will naturally return her time to the past.

“There… You… Made the sky fall…”

In other words, she can regress.

It’s a great ability, but it’s a flaw that the person himself thinks it’s a dream and doesn’t realize it.

“So… Like this… Preparing like this… In advance…”

Did she speed up her own time? Even though he spoke slowly, he was much faster than my words, and the sword’s trajectory was sharper and faster than before. It moved toward my neck as gracefully as the night sea connecting the stars.

The knife pushed harder and cut my throat.

“Oh.”

Suddenly, admiration came out.

Blood splashed like a fountain. Each drop of blood seemed like a watershed moment for her.

“And… If I can kill now… It’s not bad to kill…”

“Reasonable.”

I nodded, and my throat was cut a second time.

I grit my teeth at the pain in front of my eyes.

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