Chapter 233

Episode 233: Full of suffering (6)

“...nothing has been counted yet.”

Among the many people surrounding me, there was someone dressed as a wizard who I had never seen before. His gaze was aimed directly at my eyes, and his gaze was so transparent that I had a strange feeling.

I felt as if I was making eye contact with him as the real me, not as a demon knight.

“I didn’t ask for the exact number.”

“Still, the answer I will give back is the same.”

But that can’t be possible. I lowered my eyelids halfway. Nothing has been counted. The answer you will return is the same. The two answers I just heard are making my heart heavy.

I expected it, but I thought I really went on a rampage.

“Why didn’t you kill him?”

“well. “Because a certain execution is not prepared?”

Certain execution? I thought about what that meant and roughly figured out that they were not ready for the execution because they were trying to control the situation.

Still, I wonder why he didn’t touch the unconscious person when all he had to do was hit his neck... I guess he wanted to kill him properly. Or the party... The party was blocking it.

“How much do you remember?”

Meanwhile, the wizard who had answered all my questions now asked me questions as if he would do it himself. I closed my mouth for a moment and thought about the answer.

“...until the moment the signal flare was fired.”

“Is this a signal flare?”

Then this time the other person was silent. Blue eyes with no whites or pupils stared down at me.

“Did you know it would be like this?”

Fortunately, the intense gaze was soon withdrawn. The question given instead of just one left out a lot of things.

If you just ask me without the gun or the car, what are you going to do to me? I narrow my eyebrows slightly to gauge the answer.

I asked if you knew it would turn out like this. Can I interpret that as a question of why we fought even though we knew it would explode? It will work, right?

But is that question important now?

“If I answer yes, will I die?”

I admit that I become very dangerous when I get angry. Even though he couldn’t remember, the level of threat was enough to know just from the traces left behind.

But was there really a situation in this incident that warranted my outburst of rage? Was there something that could stimulate me to the point where I lost my sense of reason?

“If I answer that I didn’t know, will I live?”

On the other hand, what was the situation like at the time? Was the situation enough to allow me to withdraw my manpower just because of the possibility that a runaway could be dangerous? Even if I left out, they could have resolved it among themselves.

“Don’t waste time asking worthless questions.”

I still don’t know what damage the aftermath of the fury caused. But I think it was the best for me at the time.

Even though I knew the dangers of rage, I was confident that I could control it through the work of the Great Forest, and I could not have imagined that rage would explode even at the moment I fell.

So in the end, this is an accident. It is an accident where misfortune overcomes good intentions.

“Nothing will change now that I’m here.”

The damage is too great to be ignored with good intentions, so in the end, it is just an accident for which someone has to take responsibility.

“...So, each of you, do your job.”

When my thoughts suddenly reached that point, all strength drained from my body. If I had to compare it, it was a feeling close to helplessness.

“I will not refuse anything.”

But no one can say anything about this. Even though the results weren’t good, I really did my best.

I really do my best.

* * *

“Can I leave that alone?”

“I guess I’ll just leave it like that because it works. “At least he’s not trying to leave.”

“But... what do you think, Lord Sergei?”

“what? me? “I... I think it’s right to execute them right away—”

Meister lowered his lips in a pout as he looked at the soldiers standing in front of the iron bars and making noise.

The guard today is Sergei, who has a soft ear and a light mouth. His eyes are calm and sunken, but somewhere they take on an angular color.

“Discipline is a mess.”

“omg!”

“...Master Daemyeong.”

“Oh, I didn’t say that to Sergei. “That’s not what I said to the soldiers there.”

The Meister recalled the moment he made Sergei’s sword and reflected on his regret.

If I do something, so-and-so says this is good and so-and-so says they like that, and I am sorry for interfering with the production.

“Separately... don’t you think there is a need to strengthen the discipline of the soldiers? I understand that you’ve had a hard time these past few days, but the soldiers were raised to protect the city... It’s a bit weird to spew out all kinds of complaints, promote false rumors, and divide the civilians by saying why protect the devil? “I guess it’s because there’s a reason for everything.”

So there is no reason for him to die. There was no need to die just because he was a potential threat.

No one was given the right to warn the saved subject of his danger.

He could live.

“So...”

“Uncontrolled power is worse than non-existence.”

At least that was his opinion. Some people didn’t.

“Well, is that really the case? We now know how strong the Archdemon is. It became known that the warrior could not handle every moment alone. “In a situation like that, is it really right to so recklessly execute you, who could be fighting the great evil alone?”

Meister traced his past and expressed his opinion with a cracked voice.

『Nari will never listen to your request to live. I am already buried in the feeling that I have to kill all the demons called revenge. “I’m already emotional enough, so emotional appeals won’t even work.”

The words the green head said before coming passed through my mind for a moment.

『But... I don’t know if there is a clear justification and rational logic. That’s why I came to you. “I... I was so stupid that I couldn’t think of anything to say.” These are

the words of the person who wanted to stay until the end, but painfully realized that there was nothing he could do, so he asked me to do it for him.

“I don’t know about you, but the acid that Mermen spit out corrodes iron and burns people. On the other hand, the base bomb I developed dissolves the skin itself. “Both of them are fucking poison to humans, so this is it.”

He squeezed his dry throat as he remembered that.

“But if you mix the two, they become a substance just like water that doesn’t cause any damage to the surroundings. Poison does not mix with another and become more poisonous, but neutralizes each other and becomes safe. Just as you use your dangerous power to control even more dangerous demons.”

Will this work? I didn’t know that. But it was clear that it was the only logic he could come up with.

“So, if you’re going to die just because your damn power is dangerous, think about controlling it. You are the human race... “It is the second card given to mankind.”

A logic that only considers efficiency and rationality without considering people who think they are a bit of a beggar as human beings.

The Meister’s hand shook his hair. 『This is a sacrifice for everyone.』 I never thought I would say something similar in tone to the words he hated the most. I felt really bad.

“I flipped a coin and it came up heads both times.”

In the meantime, I wonder if it worked or not. The person who seemed like he would refuse to talk answered again.

The rough tone sounds like that of a very tired person.

“Do you think that if you do that, you’ll get heads the next time you throw it?”

Separately, I don’t really like the content of the words. Do you think he would be stupid enough to fall for an error he accidentally made?

“Do I look stupid enough to commit the gambler’s fallacy? “I know the odds are 50:50.”

His recommendation to refuse execution did not arise from such random blind faith. It was an action that I came to the conclusion that it was ‘possible’ after thinking steadily for the past week, using a little sympathy and a little empathy as an opportunity.

“But this is not an isolated event like a coin toss. “The results of the previous round affect the next round.”

In any case, if you look at Admiral Lee’s logic, it is only possible when everything goes together well. But is everyone in the world a gambler who only pursues profit? That’s not it. To persuade them, a good cause must also be prepared.

“In particular, isn’t that bet enough to be used as a variable?”

And he came here to suggest it because it was ready. If he hadn’t found a reason, he wouldn’t have told people to live recklessly using sympathy as a reason.

“I wondered if the devil was speaking honestly because he needed time to accumulate strength, but the bet was probably true when you woke up.”

Of course, if there is a slight problem, it is that this cause is not yet perfect... but that could be resolved with the cooperation of the Demon Knight.

“Then can’t we use it next time?”

If the Demon Knight comes to the conclusion that ‘Betting can be used to control demons,’ then it is up to others to use their brains from then on.

“...What are you saying?”

“Or did you say that this was the last time you would bet or that there were some other restrictions?”

Before coming here, Meister was confident. As long as you find out how the bet is established and under what conditions it is designed, you can come up with an infinite number of ways to use it.

However, if the bet itself is the last time or something is needed when it is settled... that is difficult. The Meister frowned at the worst case scenario he had in mind but did not hope for.

“Then it’s a bit difficult to persuade...”

In fact, the Meister himself was a person who thought that there was no reason for the Demon Knight to die even if there were no practical reasons or justifications. Will you die because you are in danger and owe me your life from cancer? There’s no way that could be possible.

But those who stop thinking in fear are a bit different.

It’s so frustrating that I often feel like smashing their heads off with a hammer... but that doesn’t mean I can smash the heads of 90% of the survivors. Meister also had that much patience.

“Tsk. Why do you have to use your brains to convince idiots who can’t communicate? “Isn’t this just the right thing to do?”

Yeah, that was all there was to it.

He tensed his hands as he thought of the people who lose in efficiency, productivity, and morality due to the useless emotion of fear.

In times like this, aren’t fists and hammers the answer? It was a weak temptation.

“...Anyway, are you sure you can’t bet?”

Still, I have to endure it. After resisting the temptation again, he returned to the main topic.

“...I don’t know what you mean. What do you mean by bet?”

However, what awaits him is a devil knight who expresses doubts as if he does not know anything.

The Meister narrowed his eyebrows.

Something is wrong.

A feeling of shame, like when a reagent was added incorrectly during research, crept up Meister’s spine.