Chapter 155 – Chapter 155. The Difference Between Hogu and Madin Is One Piece.
The world is wide and there are many crazy people.
I realized that I could find such people without going all the way to the Demon King’s Territory, by facing the head of the Human Union.
“Verdia has the most noble and strong mind among the people I know. His unwavering appearance at any time has served as an example to many people…”
Even after confessing such a shocking truth, Archen calmly continues her story.
That it wasn’t a joke, I could understand right away from seeing his relaxed attitude.
That’s right, that’s an attitude that no one who tells lies or jokes can have.
“I wonder because she gave her strength so much for her humanity. How did Verdia show herself in front of you?”
“… I am under no obligation to tell you.”
“Haha, she must have been through quite a difficult situation. Heck, given her personality, she wouldn’t necessarily panic at her first experience. Rather, she may have been trying to lead a relationship with you…”
I’m sorry, but Verdia was the fastest woman I’ve ever met.
Not even hypnotized.
But when I see her talking about Verdia as she pleases… After all, not even her lord knows everything about her.
“… Was it your fault that Darkan came to my room?”
When I asked just in case because it bothered me, Archen shrugged her shoulders and answered indifferently.
“No way? I just ordered her to stay by your side at her discretion until we reached her demon lord. It’s just that since that day she was controlled by you, Dar Khan seems to care about you in her strange way, so she just hopes just in case.”
“…Expect, you mean?”
“I am a leader, but can’t I just obsess over my own desires? We must clearly distinguish between public and private life.”
Yes, that’s a leader-like attitude.
If the sister-in-law wasn’t excited about his woman wagging under her crotch, I might have respected him as a leader too…
… No, I still can’t believe it.
Damn, to serve a pervert who gets excited imagining them being violated as their lord. If the two find out about this… No, this shouldn’t be revealed.
For the sake of the dignity of the two, it must be a secret that must be brought to the grave.
“…As expected, you hate it.”
Feeling rejected by him, I took a step back, and a bitter smile was drawn on Archen’s mouth who was looking at me.
It seems that he has a level of awareness about how what he said now will be seen by others.
“Hey, it would be unreasonable to see it as normal for a person who gives for himself to play into the hands of others. I am also in a state where I am aware that this taste is difficult for others to understand.”
He didn’t bother to follow me after I took such a backward step, but started staring at the sea while leaning against the railing.
As if the current sense of distance is desirable.
“Nevertheless, I don’t think this tendency is all that distasteful. Considering that this is what I got because I cursed the blood that flows in my body…”
However, there was a sense of skepticism in the words that followed at the end.
The man who proudly talked about his wife’s infidelity showed that attitude as soon as the topic was changed.
“… Curse?”
“The idea that my blood must be cut off from my stem.”
“…”
“… You are the child of a witch.”
A call that follows at the end of silence.
That meaning was part of my identity, a symbol of a responsibility he did not commit.
“Do you love your mother?”
Because the opponent is the enemy’s child.
His body trembled when such a man put his love for the victim into his mouth, but he finally calmed down and answered quietly.
“… Okay.”
I could have responded with silence, but I dared to answer that.
Because her feelings for her were the reason I was able to come this far.
Because that feeling is still maintained, she is able to love them.
“It’s a good thing, to be able to love one’s parents innocently.”
On the other hand, what about the opponent?
Even before she was born, her father usurped her throne, and in an attempt to secure her place, she made her choice to surrender herself to a group of madmen.
The repetition of purges and self-justification to justify my actions…
When he accepted it without knowing anything about it, he would have thought it was right, but he realized that everything was wrong when he faced the woman he fell in love with.
“I still love her for making her grow in her hatred for her father.”
Because that realization is so intense.
Despite his wife’s infidelity, he maintained that mind, and as a king, he stepped deeper than the front line.
“Even though I was betrayed by her, strangely I don’t resent her. Even though it was unintentional, I was the one who made mistakes in my first relationship. Because my younger brother, who was greedy for power, made plans to usurp her throne like a father, breaking through such a loophole in his heart.”
Of course, she couldn’t be blamed for betraying herself and becoming an acolyte of her church.
But even so, he decided to keep my heart.
Even if she walks a different path now, only the beginning was right, and at this moment, she believes that the path she is moving on is the right one.
“I don’t know what the end of this heart will be, but I intend to follow her to the end of what she taught me in the past.”
Recalling that the encounters of the past, not the current rebellion, made him, and to pursue a better future…
“… There is no other Hogu like this.”
When I heard all the stories of such a man, what I felt was nothing but compassion.
Even though he might go mad at the betrayal, he chose to leave his family to follow the responsibility of being correct and set foot on the dangerous front line as a king.
“Take it as a compliment. Sacrificing oneself for the cause is also a necessary virtue as a leader.”
I thought of this man who never lost his smile even though he had such a sad past. He was really strong.
Unlike me, who could only run away, this person was willing to face the fate he was facing.
“… Is heading to the Demon King’s territory for that sacrifice, after all, to dig into it yourself?”
“Yes, if the Demon King’s army invaded the human realm with this rebellion as an opportunity, it wouldn’t be strange even if the opposite happened.”
Rather than degenerating into the Demon King’s Army like the Anti-Human Alliance, we want to stir up the hostile forces directly while maintaining the dignity of mankind…
It was reckless, but it wasn’t completely impossible. In fact, the Demon King’s Army was created by the gathering of various interest groups.
If necessary, they are hostile to each other, but if their interests coincide, they might be able to use them as better allies than their fellow human beings.
To think that the king himself would lead such an operation by taking advantage of the rebellion.
“Correct what you just said. You bastard is not a Hogu, but a madman.”
Yes, this must have been the reason why Bardos brought that criminal in.
Looking at it now, no matter how many people there are, there is no shortage of cheating among cheating.
To be regarded as a mere hogu, this guy was trying to commit something far beyond his normal way of thinking.
To the extent that I think he may have gone mad over his wife’s affair.
“… I take that as a compliment too.”
Archen ignores even such accusations.
He immediately withdrew his gaze from staring at the sea, and then moved his head towards me.
“Then my boring story is over here, is it your turn this time?”
After that, he made the sound of footsteps again and again and narrowed the distance with me, and faced me while standing at a distance of about two steps.
“Dave.”
Calling my name
“Why are you willing to take the risk you are now?”
He speaks with his pure curiosity in his mouth.
“Is it your will that you decided to sit at the head of the organization? Because of your ideals? Or is it for someone other than you?”
Two eyes that opened as if trying to see me through. Beyond the human-looking smile, a sharper, quieter madness than had been seen before was sharpened like a dagger.
“I want you to give me an honest answer. Even for my relationship with you.”
Yes, he is neither a Ho-gu who accepted an affair nor a daring madman who wants to operate in enemy territory as a king.
As the head of the Human Union, to the head of the Anti-Human Alliance.
Furthermore, the question that the human Arhen asks to the human Dave.
-Shoot it.
In the midst of the sound of waves crashing in the silence that followed the question, I finally finished my thoughts and looked him in the eye and quietly answered the question.
“… One.”
Be honest, without any lies.
“There is a story I haven’t been able to tell to just one person.”
Unlike the man in front of me, the beginning may be ugly, but the result is…
It is revealed that only the heart made as a result is true.
“The answer to your question will come after I tell you.”
After saying only that, I wanted to end this conversation.
No matter how our relationship develops in the future, there is no need to be hostile to each other right now.
Concluding that if you need a reprieve to organize your thoughts, it would be best to postpone it until after this journey is over.
“… Does that mean that the first step is to bring back the hero?”
He seemed to disapprove of that answer, but Archen finally accepted the words and quietly closed his eyes.
The moment when we heard everything we needed from each other.
The conversations after that would be insignificant small talk, but now that the distance has not narrowed, such things will be nothing more than a waste of time.
“There is one last thing I want to ask you.”
So, let’s step back for now, thinking about passing by him and returning to the room for a while.
I paused for a moment at the voice I heard from behind, and listened quietly to the question that came out of his mouth.
“How was Darkan?”
Darkan.
A faithful servant of his and a person who whispered love to me.
She’s as strong as Verdia, but only in front of me will she become a woman… A woman who might one day become a lover.
“… She was a good woman.”
Then, she expressed her evaluation of her honestly with her mouth.
“To the point of regretting having to entrust it to someone like you for the time being.”
To the extent that I thought that after knowing this guy’s true intentions, I must make it mine.
“If you wish, take it after you return. For the sake of all of us.”
Archen speaks with a chuckle at my threat.
Reading the meaning contained in it, I raised the corners of my mouth and smiled unconsciously.
Yes, even if you give up your heart, you probably know that loyalty lies with you.
If I can’t turn the object of her allegiance to me, then in the end, I won’t be able to keep her completely by my side.
“… He’s the one I don’t like.”
Knowing that kind of ulterior motive, you have no choice but to play around.
Compared to the past, I have changed a lot.
***
And a few days after that.
By the time the sea-going fortress slowly arrives at its destination.
“The hero has awakened!”
At the sudden shout, the party members, including me, all turned their attention to the source of the commotion.
There was no way I could have overlooked it.
It was because Celica, who had been unconscious all along, regained her consciousness.
“Is it really?”
“Yes, you woke up… That, that…”
However, in the yard where the mental load is severe in the first place, you cannot just view it as a positive thing.
When she went to check on the condition, she immediately stood up from her bed with a dazed face and looked back at the party members, including me, and she said.
“… Who are you?”
She didn’t expect anyone.
Furthermore, he casually said the most unheard of words.
