Chapter 35: My Death (2)

Chapter 35: My Death (2)

“Sword Star...?” The Paladin’s brows furrowed. “What business do you have here?”

She wouldn’t have expected to meet the Sword Star in an alley like this. Unexpected meeting aside, the bloodlust that the Sword Star exuded made it very hard to think it was a coincidence.

“Do you have a hearing problem already, young lady?” the Sword Star, snapped, openly belligerent. “I told you to move because I have a business with that young man over there.”

“Your tongue is quite sharp. Why would you need to be alone with Mr. Kim Gong-Ja?”

“Hmph. I don’t care what his name is.”

The alley was instantly fraught with tension. The Paladin’s furrowed brows now sat above a pair of glaring, vigilant eyes. She was a highly competent woman who was second-in-command of a major guild, so she had already noticed that his business with me was anything but pleasant.

“Get out of my way,” the Sword Star said. “I’ve already told you three times.”

“When something is not going to happen, it doesn’t matter if you say it three or thirty times, Sword Star. Has your age made you forget the most simple truths of life?” The Paladin slowly reached for her sword. “Mr. Kim Gong-Ja joined all of the Five Guilds, which means that attacking him is a declaration of war against all of the guilds. I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but don’t think that I, the Watchmen League’s assistant leader, will just watch.”

“Ha!” The Sword Star sneered. “I knew it. All of you are in on it together.”

“...Together? I really don’t understand what you’re trying to do here.”

The alley grew menacing.

“I’ve already received several reports about your occasional man hunts, Sword Star. The Watchmen League isn’t free enough to interfere with your personal beliefs, but I’m not about to let you do it right in front of me.”

“Different?”

“I’ll stop you with my life.”

“Do you think you’re good enough to stop me?”

“No.” The Paladin glared at the Sword Star, unfazed. “I’ll fight you with all my might and I’ll die. When I do, you’ll become the scumbag who butchered an innocent woman. Feel free to come at me if that’s how you want to spend the rest of your life. I’m sure you don’t have much time left anyway. I’ll make sure to turn the whole thing into a nightmare.”

The Sword Star’s wrinkled face was scrunched up.

The sun was rapidly setting over the alley. It was already evening. In the far distance, we could hear the sound of pedestrians passing by, but no one except us entered the alley to interrupt the Sword Star and the Paladin’s confrontation.

Yes, I brought the Paladin to create this situation.

The Sword Star is weak to the innocent.

And the Paladin was probably the only innocent person among the Five Guilds’ leaders. In the last try, when the Sword Star had tried to kill me in the twelfth stage, the Paladin had volunteered to mediate between him and me. He had readily accepted her offer with a mysterious remark.

“...Miss Paladin, you’re the only person here who hasn’t killed any humans,” the Sword Star mused. “Okay, I’ll trust you on this, too.”

It sounded like an off-hand comment, but I didn’t miss the deeper meaning.

It means the Paladin’s kill count is zero.

Even if the Sword Star had violent principles—no, it was those extreme principles of his that made the Paladin a good person in his eyes.

The Sword Star won’t be able to harm the Paladin.

They were a good combination, really. To those who were evil, the Sword Star was a fearsome executioner, but he was merely a harmless old man to good people.

Besides, it isn’t just the Paladin.

The Chemist stood between me and the Sword Star. She had been frozen stiff due to the Paladin and Sword Star’s arrival, but she finally worked up the courage to step between me and the Sword Star.

“E-excuse me!” The Chemist was so nervous that her teeth clattered as she went on. She opened and closed her mouth, but her arms were spread wide. “I have no idea what is going on... but this c-customer! Is my savior!”

The Chemist was going to be the Master Alchemist, who would be the leader of the Alchemist Office and had a tremendously successful career in her future—but that wasn’t her right now. Right now she was trying to muster every scrap of courage she could get.

“Babylon doesn’t have laws like the outside world, but...it’s only natural to protect my customers... I won’t let anyone hurt my customer, even you, Sword Star! I-I already have enough problems because of some roughhousing gangsters! I’m sorry, but I’m officially asking you to leave the premises!” the Chemist yelled.

If she were to fight the Sword Star directly, she would lose her head in less than a second. Yet... instead, his hostility weakened for the same reason as before.

The Saintess, the Paladin, and the Master Alchemist—they would be known for their kindness in the future.

When the Fire Emperor burned down the slum, the Paladin and Alchemist were the first ones to arrive at the site.

Kind people always sacrificed a little more and dealt with a little more stress than other people, so many people treated them as pushovers. However, they were the only kind of people who could stop the Sword Star. No one else could do it.

“What are you going to do?” the Paladin asked. “I’m more than willing to play along if you want to make your life miserable.”

The Sword Star was at a loss—but supposing that my speculation was right, the result was already decided. After a long, tense moment, he took his hand off of his sword.

“...I suppose today is not the day.” The Sword Star’s bloodlust subsided. Even as he slowly turned back, he continued to glare at me. “Pray you don’t run into me again. If it wasn’t for Miss Paladin and the shopkeeper over there, your head would already be rolling.”

Good. The second condition was now met. Unlike last time, where he had attacked me as soon as he had seen me, I would be able to briefly talk to him before he would try to kill me again. A brief moment was all I needed.

“Mr. Sword Star!” I shouted before he turned his back on me. “I’ll wait for you in the vacant lot north of the city at noon tomorrow! It’s okay even if you choose not to come. I’ll wait for you alone. I mean it! Please come at noon tomorrow if you want to know what kind of person I am!”

The Sword Star turned his head just enough to glare at me. His blue eyes peered at me, but he did nothing else. The Sword Star quietly left the alley without giving me an answer.

Only when his footsteps had completely faded away did the Paladin finally heave a sigh of relief. “Phew! That was a close call. I didn’t expect to run into a homicidal tyrant.”

“...Is that what people think of the Sword Star?”

The Paladin shook her head. “It isn’t a well-known fact, but the Five Guild leaders, at least, are very familiar. When he was in the outside world, he lost his daughter to a murderer. I don’t really know the details because he isn’t really the type to talk about himself. Regardless, it seems to have made him merciless and cruel to murderers. But, well, the Five Guilds and I are basically overlooking the matter due to a lack of evidence... Hmm, I’m sure you already know this, but this stays between us.”

—Yeah, Gramps Marcus told me about it. A serial killer murdered his daughter and son-in-law. Only his two grandchildren survived, the Guardian interrupted.

Why did you wait this long to tell me that? I asked in disbelief.

—Huh? What are you talking about? You didn’t ask me, the Guardian shamelessly answered.

Yeah, that was the kind of person he was.

He had been prepared for an attack against him, not me stabbing myself in the neck. I could kill myself thanks to his tiny oversight.

[You have died.]

[Rewinding twenty-four hours.]

It was all I needed. I restarted the day. After climbing down the hill where the Infernal Mansion was, I met the Five Guild leaders and played poker. I won. A little later, I asked the Paladin to join me and headed to the Chemist’s shop. In that alley, I ran into the Sword Star, and the Paladin and Chemist stood up for me. The Sword Star stood down, and I shouted at him to meet tomorrow at noon.

[00:00:00]

And here I was. Just like yesterday, the Sword Star said, “...Guess.”

The test was the same as the last one, but my reaction was different this time. Instead of parroting him like a fool, I said, “You’re going to hide your left hand behind your back. You’ll hold up your fingers and ask me to guess how many they are. You’ll say that if I’m a real clairvoyant, I’ll figure it out with ease.”

The Sword Star stiffened.

“Mr. Sword Star, please trust me. I do have a Skill that helps me act like a clairvoyant. It’s easy to kill me here, but it’s impossible to safely clear the twelfth stage if you kill me. Many people will die.”

“...Wait. Hold on,” the Sword Star said. “This isn’t enough evidence. You might have X-Ray Vision or a mind-reading Skill. There’s no guarantee that you’re a clairvoyant...”

Yeah, one time wouldn’t be enough. I expected that.

[You have died.]

[Rewinding twenty-four hours.]

It wasn’t easy to persuade someone, especially if they were an old man at the top of his field.

“That isn’t enough evidence. You might have—”

“You think that I might have X-Ray Vision or a mind-reading Skill, not clairvoyance. There’s no guarantee that I’m actually a clairvoyant.”

But it was okay. He could test me all he wanted.

[You have died.]

[Rewinding twenty-four hours.]

Doubt me as much as you need to.

[You have died.]

[Rewinding twenty-four hours.]

It didn’t matter if it took a week or fifteen days.

[You have died.]

[Rewinding twenty-four hours.]

I was confident that I could persuade him. My death made my time longer than his life.

The Sword Star pursed his lip after all his doubts had been quelled.

“Please trust me, Mr. Sword Star. You can’t kill me here. Otherwise, there will be many casualties on the twelfth stage. I’m speaking the truth. I’m not trying to tell you that I’m innocent or asking you to spare me forever.”

“...Then what do you want?”

“Give me five days.” I held up my fingers. “Don’t kill me for the next five days. Keep an eye on me and see for yourself if I really deserve to die.”

The Sword Star was silent, but there was no need to take my dagger and stab myself again. I knew he was still torn. He needed something to push him over that final hurdle, and I knew exactly what that was.

“You still can’t trust me. Later, though, you’re going to tell me a name that will instantly make you believe me.”

“...What is it?”

“Sword Emperor.”

The Sword Star’s eyes widened.

“I don’t know who that is, but you said it would make you trust me.”

Silence arrived at the vacant lot, although we could still hear people cheering in the city, and I saw a glimpse of the “goddess” descending and giving a speech. When she vanished, the Sword Star finally broke his silence.

“Did you say five days, young man?”

“Yes, five days.”

“Fine.” The Sword Star looked into my eyes. “For the next five days, I’m going to follow you around. I’m going to keep an eye on your every word and action. Then I’ll decide if you really deserve to die or if you approached me because you’re a true clairvoyant. Satisfied?”

This was good.

“...Yes, it will.” I bowed. “I’m deeply grateful for this.”

I’d met all the conditions: The first was to exact a promise from the Five Guilds’ leaders. The second condition was to stop the Sword Star from killing me as soon as he saw me. Lastly, I had to make the Sword Star trust me, even if it was just temporary.

Finally.

The guild leaders and Sword Star weren’t going to fight even on the twelfth floor. They wouldn’t doubt each other and end up killing innocent Hunters unnecessarily.

“See you on the next floor, Mr. Sword Star,” I said, trying not to choke up.

The Sword Star was looking at me, his eyes filled with mixed emotions. I couldn’t care about that right now because I had a job to do.

I closed my eyes. “Send me.”

White light enveloped me. Feeling my pounding heart, I thought, All I have to do now is to hunt the Demon King. Just wait, Demon King.

The world changed. Now it was going to change a little more.