“I… lost… to someone like you…”
Fssss—
The demonic energy surrounding Teron crumbled into dust and scattered away.
There hadn’t been anything particularly difficult about it. My stats were far higher than they should have been for this episode, my parry rate was a perfect 100%, and I even had a handsome face(?).
More importantly, this wasn’t Benumael’s true body.
‘He may be a Grade 2 highest-grade Demon, but there’s nothing to worry about.’
By now, Caron and Adonis were probably beating the dust out of him.
I laid the unconscious Teron down in a sunny spot.
Hm? Where was Alex, who had supposedly been fighting alongside me?
…He was asleep somewhere far off in the distance, his face swollen as though someone had beaten him senseless.
And that someone was…
‘It’s not my fault! It’s his fault for being terrible at parrying!’
Anyone would nod along and agree with me. In games, the person who sucks is always at fault.
Just as I finished rationalizing my actions—
“Ugh…”
Was he waking up?
I leaned my face over Teron as he groaned in pain.
“Keke, are you all right?”
“…I was until a moment ago.”
Teron, what are you trying to say?
Surely you didn’t mean seeing my face had dealt you a fatal blow or something?
“I wonder if Daike is all right. Judging by how much time has passed, his fight seems to have been fiercer than expected.”
“He’ll be fine. I didn’t exactly raise him to be weak.”
“The same goes for my side.”
A laugh escaped me before I realized it.
Teron laughed too.
“What happened to the Demon?”
“Professor Caron should be dealing with him as we speak. Just as you planned, Teron.”
“Planned, my ass… I got completely played. If you hadn’t been here, things would’ve gone horribly wrong. Though according to what you told me, my life is already over anyway.”
Anyone of bishop rank or above could sense traces of demonic energy.
And since anyone who made a deal with a Demon was automatically sentenced to death on this continent, it was no wonder Teron sounded so resigned.
It certainly was a serious problem.
If ‘I’ hadn’t been here, that is.
“You said there were many people who helped us without our realizing it.”
“That’s right. Though I imagine you’ve realized that yourself by now.”
“Yes. I didn’t understand it when I was young, but looking back, there were definitely a lot of strange incidents. And that made me wonder… perhaps there were people within House Vyuern who wanted to change those rotten traditions too.”
There wasn’t enough information to say for certain, but he was probably right to some extent.
The world changed with the times, after all.
“Exactly. A world that refuses to change cannot survive. House Vyuern may be rigid and traditional, but I’m sure it has quietly corrected some of its old customs over the years.”
“Right. The reason they couldn’t abolish the hound tradition was partly because it was convenient, but guilt and shame over being complicit probably played an even greater role. As a great noble house, admitting they had been wrong and exposing their disgrace couldn’t have been easy.”
Teron stared blankly up at the sky.
“I only feel sorry for them. In the end, I failed too.”
“You haven’t failed yet.”
“What are you talking about? I’m the legitimate heir to the family. I’m in a position where meeting someone of bishop rank or higher is unavoidable.”
As I’d said before, anyone who dealt with a Demon in this world was executed without exception.
In that case—
“Then we simply erase the traces of demonic energy.”
“Did someone hit you in the head…?”
Teron stared at me as though I’d lost my mind.
That reaction was perfectly natural.
A contract with a Demon was a transaction involving the soul.
And because the mark was carved into the soul itself, no matter what you did, it could never be erased!
—or so conventional wisdom claimed.
But.
“What if it can be?”
Teron’s eyes widened.
That’s right.
I knew a way to erase the traces left behind by a Demon.
There was a reason I had given up on using this method until recently.
‘Even if I erased the demonic traces from Teron, I still had no way to save Daike…’
But more than that, I had lacked the materials required to make ‘that.’
They were highest-grade materials that could normally only be obtained late in the game, both of them legendary items.
And I needed two of them.
Of course I had given up.
And yet.
‘I never imagined both would fall into my hands.’
The moment I pictured them, an item appeared above each of my palms.
[Fragment of a Holy Relic]
-A fragment created when a Holy Relic was shattered.
A faint trace of the Holy Relic’s power still dwells within.
It cannot be used on its own, but because it can be combined with virtually anything, it is classified as a highest-grade item.
[Holy Water]
-A legendary potion said to be producible only by a Saintess.
It is filled with an indescribably immense amount of holy power.
If consumed, it will save the drinker without fail as long as their life has not fully ended.
A legendary item surpassing even the highest grade.
※ Undead beings and those of Evil alignment cannot possess this item.
※ Special Ability: Simply possessing it grants immunity checks against all status ailments.
※ Number of bottles of Holy Water currently remaining on the continent: 7
※ As only a handful exist on the continent, use with caution. Depending on where it is used, fate may be altered drastically.
The [Fragment of a Holy Relic], obtained as the reward for clearing Lowell’s main quest.
And the [Holy Water] I had extorted from Victoria just a short while ago.
‘Honestly, I didn’t think getting Holy Water would be this easy.’
In the worst-case scenario, I had planned to trade away one of the Emperor’s secrets to obtain it.
Yet somehow, all it took was telling her that she ‘might be allowed to become Luna’s godmother.’
An entirely unexpected windfall.
Of course.
‘It’s still an incredibly valuable item.’
Just carrying it granted immunity against every status ailment, and with only seven bottles on the entire continent, there were countless places where it could prove useful.
Using it here felt like a terrible waste.
But.
‘There’s nothing too precious to spend on a friend of eighteen years.’
The moment I activated Combination, the Fragment of a Holy Relic and Holy Water began pulling toward one another.
The two items met between my hands and erupted in a brilliant light.
It was so bright that even someone with narrow eyes like mine had to shut them.
“…A flower?”
Teron muttered.
Just as he said, I was now holding a flower.
A pure white blossom so radiant that it almost seemed sacred.
Yes.
This was it.
[Demon-Exterminating Flower]
-A flower overflowing with holy power.
When consumed, it can erase all traces of demonic energy for one year.
※ Upon consumption, Holy Power stat permanently increases by +500.
Five hundred.
Put simply, that was an absurd amount equivalent to investing every single stat point gained over fifty levels into one stat.
Still, for a friend of eighteen years, it wasn’t too precious.
Not too precious.
Not too precious.
…Which meant it was extremely precious.
Well, what could I do?
I had already made it.
Might as well feed it to him.
“Eat it.”
“That looks poisonous no matter how I look at it. Are you trying to kill me?”
“Were you always the type to joke around?”
“…Judging by your expression, I can at least tell how valuable this thing is.”
“Eat it for Daike’s sake.”
Only then did Teron stop hesitating and swallow the flower.
Ah…
Farewell, my five hundred stat points.
It wasn’t merely that I felt like crying.
Actual tears streamed down my face.
While I mourned my terrible loss, a commotion came from the distance.
“Hmm~ Aren’t we going in a little too deep?”
“It is obviously a trap!”
“…I’m going the right way.”
“Come to think of it, didn’t you get trapped in a maze with me before?”
“…”
“Ugh! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted someone with no sense of direction! What are we supposed to do now? At this rate we’ll be sleeping outside!”
“A-A-at night, the forest is full of D-Demoooooons!”
The noise sounded like a crowded marketplace.
And yet, for some reason—
It had become rather familiar.
“Teron!”
“Daike…! You’re alive!”
Daike came running over, and the two immediately threw their arms around each other.
Did they even realize they were speaking casually to each other now?
“Finally acting like actual friends.”
“Keke, what an enviable relationship. Unlike a certain someone, they don’t even bite each other.”
“Huuuh~? Are you saying I’m worse than that little puppy? Well~ if that’s what you think, you’re sorely mistaken.”
Luna leaned her back against me and began pestering me.
For some reason, she seemed unusually smug.
Where was all that confidence coming from?
“What’s with that dissatisfied look? Never seen a 5-star knight before? Well, of course you haven’t! Here, feast your eyes! Behold Luna, the 5-star knight!!”
Could you really call it a ‘look’ when my eyes were so narrow no one could even see them?
Wait.
More importantly, a 5-star knight?
Don’t tell me…
“That’s right! This big sis has reached the 5-star realm! Aura? Turns out it wasn’t that hard! Mwahahaha!”
Luna’s pride wasn’t merely reaching the sky.
At this point, it was about to punch straight through the planet.
Daike quietly turned his head away after seeing her.
A wordless confirmation.
Teron’s jaw dropped.
“That damn cat reached the 5-star realm…?”
“Yep! And while I was at it, I brought that little puppy to his knees too. Better watch your mouth around me from now on! Though this gracious 5-star knight will generously forgive everything you’ve done until now. Mwahahahaha!”
“…This has to be a dream. Yes. Everything about today has been strange. I need to wake up.”
Daike grabbed Teron before he could throw himself off the hill.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
Yuridia and Victoria were arguing with Luna caught between them.
Raymon was whining about how much his wounds hurt, while Rezé dug a hole because she insisted they needed to make a shelter before sunset.
My head was starting to spin.
I had no idea what had happened over there, but for now—
“I’m glad everyone made it back safely.”
Only after Caron and Adonis arrived did the marketplace-like chaos finally quiet down.
The first thing I had to do was explain myself.
“So… you’re saying the traces of demonic energy around here were left behind because you used Ragnarok Blade?”
“Keke, that’s right. Teron was simply too strong, and I got a little carried away…”
“Haha, I see. You did very well.”
Bonk!
“…Did you think I’d say that? I told you to steal his headband, and you nearly stole his life instead! Have you lost your mind?”
“Keke, exams tend to drive students insane.”
“Oh…? Then you’ll need to be brought back to normal. There’s no medicine quite as effective as this.”
Caron began raining knuckle flicks down on my head.
Even with my increased stats, there was no way I could block his attacks.
And he didn’t stop there.
He planted both fists against my skull and started grinding them into my temples.
As I writhed in agony, Caron leaned close and whispered into my ear.
“I’ll let this slide for now. But once this is over, you’re going to tell me exactly what happened.”
As expected, fooling Caron wasn’t easy.
Well, it didn’t matter.
As long as I had enough time, mixing lies into the truth was child’s play.
“Caron, don’t be so hard on him.”
Oh!
I knew it, old man.
You’re the only one who truly looks out for me!
“To show no mercy even to a friend. Admirable, isn’t it? As expected of someone I’ve had my eye on. I’ll write him a recommendation for the Imperial Knight Order immediately…!”
That’s what you meant!?
He wanted to recommend me because I beat up my friend.
This old bastard was definitely insane.
Before long, the two of them each grabbed one of my arms and started bickering.
Was this that thing you saw in dramas?
Two men fighting over one woman…
No.
Two men fighting over one man?
There was a classic line I was supposed to shout at times like this—
‘Don’t fight over me!’
—but I really didn’t feel like saying it.
“Doesn’t a gloomy, unpleasant child like this belong under my jurisdiction? Can you even look him properly in the face?”
“I can converse perfectly well while looking at his neck! Our eye levels are different in the first place, so there’s no need for me to look at his face!”
…I wished they would both just go away.
And with that, the long final exams finally came to an end.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt