Chapter 122 – 122 – The Enemy Is Also the Understanding
Protestant people know my personal details well. Dressing up as a woman doesn’t help, and the days are getting hotter, so I’m so frustrated that I’m almost to the point of falling asleep.
I took off the sweat-soaked artifact headband and stuffed it into my pocket. Adamantone was shocked and excited.
“···What? He was a guy? Damn, I thought he was pretty···.“
“Shut up, you asshole. I don’t know where to start.”
Looking back now, it seems like Adamantone worked harder than expected in the first year of the party’s existence.
It’s not because my efforts were noticed. It is not because he was trying to handle great responsibilities with dignity at the young age of 14, a time of turbulence and turmoil.
That’s because as the years go by, I start acting twice as much like an idiot. This crazy child showed no signs of ending his whirlwind period until he was twenty years old.
“The party leader is the person who has to appease the troublemakers and get them to take care of each other. It may have been a difficult role for you to begin with. Because you were the troublemaker who got into trouble for a long time.
Rather, the people who were employees got tired of comforting you and left. “The ignition point is so low that whimsy splatters in all directions like boiling porridge and makes your head spin.”
“No.”
“Uncle Mansell was a hero at a younger age than you, and he didn’t think much of it, saying he was inexperienced and learned from his mistakes, but damn it. That’s Uncle Mansell’s story. The one I’ve had to deal with for the past few years is Adamantone Sunstorm. It was.
Shall we borrow the review written in the Party Federation’s annual performance evaluation? ‘I doubt whether he even respects the family’s honor. The prospect of a life in prison seems closer than the day of public recognition.'”
“No no.”
“Do you remember the time you beat up the client without even reading the contract and said the fee was not enough? The time you instilled misanthropy in my grandfather, an ultra-optimistic Amitabha priest with 50 years of experience, and sent him back to his hometown?
What made the accountant run away by throwing a bunch of embezzled public money into a gambling house? “Why did you hire a famous chef as part of the cooking team in front of party members who were complaining about delayed wages, then throw meat patties in the faces of the chefs who brought them to the location and make them quit after two days?”
If I say whatever comes to mind, there is no end to it. I heard it’s a good thing that no murders have occurred at the party so far.
Adamantone, who was writhing around as if he wanted to cover his ears, eventually turned his head away from me. As much as the rope that binds my body allows.
It is a useless struggle to avoid unfavorable information. It’s right next door, so how can you not hear it?
“While all the people who believed in your father’s character and stuck with him left because they couldn’t bear it, I held on, trying as hard as I could to do their part.
If the infamous ‘Adamantone Hero Party’ had fallen to the level of a murderous and robber group, I wouldn’t have had the courage to look at Uncle Mansell, who raised me into a decent porter!
But what about you? Didn’t he rent out another party and provide operating funds, and then use that money to drink with women and get involved in gang fights, showing the end of delinquent youth?”
One of Shingyo’s warriors glares at Adamantone in disgust. Adamantone must have noticed that gaze and lowered his gaze to the marble floor.
However, even if you ignore reality, you cannot run away from my testimony. Adamantone’s body shakes as if he wants to leave his seat, but his bridge is extremely strong.
“Why did you act so cruel? Because you thought you couldn’t do it because your job didn’t suit your body? Was it too stressful to become independent as a teenager? That could be possible. Anyway, it’s a little early to be wise.
But, the Adamantone Sunstorm I knew was a person who thought that if something was too much trouble, he could just run away. I didn’t know the details because your wife hid it, but I noticed that your family was acting strangely, so I gave you a hint. “If you’re having a hard time, come back anytime.”
“Stop, please stop.”
“Why didn’t you just beat him up and go back? That’s right, even though being a hero doesn’t suit your body, being a boss does suit you! You were a damn horse who couldn’t give up being a hero because you enjoyed torturing others, Adamantone. You were just a fit hero, but you were a warrior. “There are no enemies. That’s true.”
“···Why are you saying that? “Do you think you’ll believe me just because I lost my memory?”
“I think you’re mistaken, but I’m not intentionally gossiping to harass you because I thought it was an opportunity. I’m not saying it’s a good thing that you’ve become like that.”
His tone takes on a gloomy tone, as if he’s slowly remembering something. When I turned around, I saw tears streaming down my bulging eyeballs.
For the first time in my life, I began to feel sorry for this damn guy. It’s cheap though.
“Just because you got into that situation in the first place, it would be crueler to tell comforting, pleasant-sounding lies. If your memories come back, you’ll know that I always expressed myself bluntly. At least until you cut me with a knife in return for telling me the right things.
If I really wanted you to fall to the opening scene, I wouldn’t have said that. Yeah, now that I think about it, I hoped you would get better. After all, you’re a colleague.”
“Damn it…”
“It’s not too late. Even now, if you don’t know what you’ve seen and heard while hanging around with the devil, you may be able to get your honor and pride back. Maybe people will help you and you can return to your family.”
Adamantone raised his head in surprise. He turns towards me, looking for a glimmer of hope.
But I do not have the ability to cover up such great misery.
“It would be a lie to say that.”
Adamantone’s head tilts again. I quietly watched Rod’s silhouette moving away from the sunset.
“Of course, if I can help my people even a little by telling a lie, then of course I should do it. Since the 100,000 gold has been liquidated, I have no debt to pay back to a damn bastard like you.
But I just don’t feel like tricking you with lies. I don’t know. What do I want to do now? How should I treat you when you show up like that?”
I really don’t even know what to do with this kid. I only felt sorry for Uncle Mansell. Adamantone bluffed that he could regain his human form by visiting a priest, but it is doubtful whether such a severe form of demonization could be reversed at all.
I wonder if a person like me, who has been given the right to three wishes by the goddess Ishtar, would grant a wish as if she was passing by.
Of course, I can’t give you mine. What will I do if the people I love die? Holding onto my cold body and crying out to Adamantone not to waste it?
Just fighting the ghosts of Edin is a headache. My resources are very limited, and I cannot afford to waste them on pity for my enemy.
Now that I’m thinking about it, my head hurts so much. Damn it, how on earth should I use this wish?
Not long ago, I had a dream and prayed for Gunther Waldenhardt to be killed, and a revelation from the goddess came to her sister.
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t grant that wish. ‘Gunteo touches a certain fundamental principle, so she cannot be touched by the current goddess, and killing her in the first place will not be the end,’ she said.
Thank god. For not treating what I said in my dream as a wish. I never thought the crazy bald guy wasn’t the only one.
“A long time ago.”
Adamantone muttered, breaking his thoughts. The man’s voice, which had been distorted and distorted, gradually became clearer.
“If only you had listened to those words.”
I looked to the side.
“···What are you saying?”
“Everything. Whether it’s saying that I’m an ugly idiot, an idiot full of mistakes, or that I’m a premature ejaculator with a twisted personality.”
“Premature ejaculation…? I didn’t say that.”
“···No. Forget it. I said something in vain. I’m not saying you did it… No, actually, I’ve never heard that from anyone.”
“···Wizard Mindina? Sister Moriba? Or a naked street prostitute?”
“Forget it. Before I get pessimistic and lose my mind again, I have something important to tell you right now.”
“Huh?”
“Now that I think about it, I think maybe I can be of some help.”
···Something went wrong.
My vision is distorted and I feel chills. I put my trembling hand into my bosom and picked up the grappling hook.
“···What’s the matter?”
“No, I’m listening. Speak up.”
“You’re listening, but what are you listening to? You’re suddenly on guard as if I’m going to explode like a bomb.”
I hit the nail on the head, but honestly, I can’t help but feel a sense of crisis. Because he would never, in his right mind, say something like that.
Could it be a trap? Could it be that he’s making up a story to keep me here and get along with me before I blow myself up? If I hang a grappling hook on the eaves, can I jump out of the self-destruct range?
Rather than believing the rumor that it will be helpful, it is more realistic to believe that it will cause self-destruction. How can you trust a guy who went to an underground gambling house even though he said he would take care of the hole in operating expenses?
I confessed only some of my doubts honestly. For the first time in a long time, Adamantone rolled his eyes like he used to.
“You bastard… No, no. Where should I start? There’s a reason why Gunther kept me alive even though he was frustrated.”
“What?”
“The first reason is because he thinks I’m a hero supremacist. The second reason is because I’m his biological son.”
It’s understandable since he was a guy who said that all the aptitudes under the hero were trash…
“···What?”
“Fragments of Gunter and the Demon King can use life itself like mana and manipulate it. You can extract life from a killed person and use it as your own power, and you can put the stolen life into the corpse of another person to save them. Yes. I died once and was resurrected like that. Come to think of it, I died because of you, you damn bastard.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, what?”
“Gunther believes that one day, I will become a terrifying weapon that can freely manipulate the power of life like him. In fact, even now, if I do not take life from others, I will dry up and die like an unwatered onion. Anyway, he suddenly became the whole world. That’s why they’re causing chaos. They’re trying to gain power through massacre. The more corpses pile up, the stronger the power of the Demon King’s fragments becomes-“
“Wait a minute, I think I heard something wrong-“
“···What? Where should I start again?”
“At first, at first he-“
“The reason Gunter kept me alive even though he was frustrated was-“
“Not that one. After that.”
“The first reason he saved me and took me with him is because I am a hero supremacist, and the second reason is that I am his biological son.”
Oh my god, mansell. What happened?
“Your biological son?!”
“…How important is the secret of my birth, you idiot? Don’t you understand what I’m saying? The reason Gunther kept me alive while turning me into this is because it’s a weapon that gets stronger the more people it kills. ! The same goes for the damn demon lord, so he will wreak havoc on the world where the slit-eyed Yellowy bastards live! He will gather the power to cause greater and greater bloodshed!”
Shit.
I hated to admit it, but for the first time in my life, I recognized that there was something right about Adamantone’s verbal abuse. When I promised to listen again, Adamantone sighed deeply.
It didn’t seem like a sigh made out of frustration. Soon the guy started gurgling and spitting out something.
A green glass container fell out of the guy’s mouth. Adamantone gulped painfully without even being able to wipe off the dirty drool.
“···What’s this?”
“Hehe. I had no choice but to hide it like this. I thought I would go to jail someday, so I practiced in advance, but it was tough.”
“···You practiced hiding contraband through your throat? You should do some proper work while doing such useless things…”
“… But you still used it like this. People only think of the Demon World as a scary and evil place. It’s only natural that the Demon Cave came from there. But the Demon World that I saw when I was captured by Gunter’s hands and crossed over… In fact, it was already by the Demon King. “It was a world that was dead and devastated. The few remaining residents dreamed of revenge and were only looking for a slim opportunity. And this is that revenge.”
Adamantone nodded at the green glass bottle that fell under his chin.
···It seems like you should take care of it, but it’s sticky and you don’t want to touch it. Adamantone’s face, stuck in a gap in the flesh, crumpled.
“Fuck, pick it up! Did I try to hide this in my anus!”
“Isn’t your spit dirty, you crazy idiot? It’s revenge and it’s not like I need to tell you what it is!”
This time Adamantone realized his mistake. And, incredibly, he admitted it. Still, after something like that happens, is there a change of heart?
After calming down his anger and apologizing, Adamantone told him what the item was. Because of this, I couldn’t breathe and almost suffocated.
“Why are you giving this to me now?”
“The people who came to me when I was trapped in the dungeon of the Demon King’s fortress and asked me to hide this and pass it on to our world, before they were caught by the Demon King and killed, they told me clearly. Make sure to only tell it to people you can trust.”
These people are crazy. You believe in Adamantone.
Well, even if he was slaughtered while fighting as a monster, this glass bottle would have been passed down to our world. It must have taken quite some time to figure out how important it was.
“···You believe me? Are you sincere? You’ve been telling me all sorts of nonsense, like saying I stole money or touched your woman?”
“You and I both know that no matter what twisted things I say, the truth is I’ve never done that. Even if you don’t trust me, I trust you.”
“···What is it, Sipal? Is it okay for that to come out of your mouth? Is the world crazy?”
I wouldn’t have been this surprised if Tomko had shot me and turned me into an asshole or if the dragon’s nest had burned down to the ground.
As I found myself in a state of confusion I had never seen in my life, Adamantone showed his unconventional skills until the very end.
“I won’t live long anyway. I’ll do something before I die. I hope it’s something meaningful.”
“Damn it, even if you make a lot of concessions and believe everything you say-“
“You will move even if you are not sure that what I say is true, Tan Bantai. I am a regretter, but you are a doer.”
———–
“But I can’t let you go.”
The samurai in the guest room shook his head. Looking out the wide window next to him, I nodded quietly.
“Because it’s an order?”
“It’s an order. There was a request from His Majesty the Dragon King, and a threat from the religious leader. We have to keep Bantai in this guesthouse, even if it’s by force.”
“But you heard it, right?”
“Yes. I also heard the conversation you had with him in the courtyard. But we cannot trust the words of a human who has become a monster. Neither the word that the mighty Hwangokju is in danger nor that the great Dragon King is in danger. To be honest, saying that it cannot be resolved does not sound realistic.”
“I guess so.”
Musa tapped my shoulder and pointed to the dust outside the window. An army was moving in the direction the dragons had moved.
These are Mithra’s paladins riding on lizards. At the front, a flag with the solemn words ‘Expedition of the Crusade’ is fluttering.
Oh, I see someone I know. Great.
“Remain calm. The situation will stabilize soon. The Mithraic army has also come to help the East. If the Lord had not warned me in advance, I would have been very surprised.”
“Awesome.”
“But I wonder if we actually need their help. Unlike the small kingdom of Linden, there are hundreds of clans, thousands of confederate corps, and even hundreds of thousands of troops in the central plains. No matter how big the situation gets, the six eastern kingdoms will organize an expeditionary force. That’s enough, so it’s not up to the customer to worry whether a thousand or ten thousand demon caves appear. Besides.”
“Furthermore?”
“An order is an order. You can’t go.”
“I understand. If I had to say which side I am, I am closer to the principled person.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“So I took out some cash in the room.”
“Yes?”
It’s a repair cost.
Because I’m going to break the window now.
I pointed to the back of the hallway. The moment the warrior narrowed his eyes and turned around, I fired a grappling hook straight ahead.
The glass window shatters. Musa is embarrassed and tries to grab me. But I was already being shot like an arrow out the window.
Head towards the rock that stands tall in the wasteland, with a gap created after Eshen and Garam broke it during their fight. Follow the lead of the hook firmly hanging in the gap.
I guess the years we spent together weren’t completely meaningless. Because that fucking Adamantone understood me better than that thoughtful warrior.
I am a principled person. And my rule is to just move and see. It’s too late if you regret it.
They left the porter behind. And maybe they need a damn porter now.
