It was a gift given without thinking. I just gave him something that was roughly what I had, driven by the atmosphere of the time, but I can't believe he kept it just because it was a gift I gave him.
"That's right..."
A blurry voice spoke slowly.
I didn't know what kind of expression I was making right now. If I knew, I wouldn't have shown such a strange expression.
"Thank you."
"..."
"Good job. Just leave now."
"There's still things to clean up..."
"You can leave the cart behind. I'll call you again later, so get out."
Ed, who hesitated several times, could not resist the unspoken urging and left after leaving a polite greeting. After seeing that the door was closed, Dan turned his head and looked at me again.
I was lost in thought, fiddling with the strange plant in the flower pot.
However, Dan frowned slightly as his expression that he had not yet adjusted was clearly visible in his eyes, and then he opened his mouth in a playful way.
"You told me not to get attached to you, but what if you end up getting attached to me?"
"... What?"
"I don't know how I should accept this situation..."
Dan shook his head excitedly with a mischievous smile on his lips. I frowned.
"What kind of bullshit is that now?"
"Well, I thought you would definitely deny it. It doesn't matter what you say, but before that, please improve your facial expressions."
"... What's wrong with my expression?"
"It's not like you're showing affection, but you seem a little shaken?"
"..."
"You looked like you were being eaten by guilt mixed with all kinds of emotions."
"... Ah."
It's funny.
Without bothering to answer, I stood up with the monster plant in my arms. I walked over and put the flower pot down by the window and kicked away the blood that has accumulated to below the ankle bone.
It seemed like he knew how to read the mood, so instead of crying, he quietly raised his head, looked at me, turned around, and smiled proudly.
"No way."
"..."
"It looks like your eyesight is finally going out."
Bright moonlight poured down over my head. The red eyes, completely obscured by backlight, glowed eerily in the shadows.
Dan, who was about to retort, suddenly shut his mouth, and I, who did not miss the opportunity, naturally intercepted the right to speak. A topic that had nothing to do with the previous conversation came up.
"What is your current influence at the guild? Are you maintaining it well?"
"... On the contrary, it grew bigger and did not shrink. In the first place, the biggest obstacle was only the guild of the Lowfel. Other guilds are trying hard not to get on our nerves."
"I should be thankful to Senior Stigma."
"..."
Even though there was no clear evidence yet, it was a remark that confirmed that the person who exterminated the Lowfel family was Stigma Primero.
Dan was silent again, and I walked slowly to the table.
I picked up one of the liquor bottles that were piled on the table and blew off the neck of the bottle with the blade in my hand. Dan's mouth opened dumbly at the extreme action.
"No, here's the tool to open the bottle..."
"It's easier this way."
"And what are you going to do if you get hurt? Wait, are you just going to drink it with your mouth? Then you'll get a cut in your mouth."
"It's okay because I'm a hero."
"It is not a good habit to use your body carelessly."
"Your nagging has increased."
As if he genuinely cared.
I drank from the entire bottle and smiled. Dan's expression hardened.
He pursed his lips a few times before closing his mouth. His jaw muscles tensed for a moment as if he was clenching his teeth, but then let go.
A slightly weakened voice was heard.
"Since I am attending Master, I have no choice but to improve. Even before you became a hero, you always made people's hearts flutter. You said that if you die, you can't even guarantee my life."
What was the situation like right before awakening as a warrior? Didn't I get caught in an explosion and almost die? As a result, even though he knew that I have become a hero, he seems to be overprotective.
So even now, there was a nagging feeling telling him to be careful. However, how much will the nagging of someone you don't trust affect you? I brushed it off with a shrug of my shoulders and changed the topic.
"If you stand in front of the screen, everyone will know who you are."
"..."
Instead of answering, a dissatisfied expression came back.
I quenched his throat with alcohol again as if I didn't care about the lack of response and continued speaking.
My remarks were closer to a mumble to organize my thoughts rather than a conversation.
"When your face appears, people who know your name will appear, and when people who know your name appear, the information will be connected to the guild. ... No, I think people with some information in the human world already know. They might send troops to the guild the moment your face appears on the screen without any need for investigation."
"... It is time to withdraw from the human world."
"That's right."
It was time to slowly step away.
I poured a new bottle and held it out to Dan. My eyes were pleasantly curved.
"Prepare to withdraw from the human world. To completely withdraw... 20 minutes before you appear on screen."
You should not withdraw too quickly or too late.
If we withdraw quickly, some quick-witted leaders will understand the situation and prepare in advance.
Those who have completely shaken off everything related to me would not know that there is a connection between 'Dan' and 'Deon Hardt'. The Dan Guild had already received permission to distribute military supplies in the name of Deon Hardt once, so it would be rather strange not to know.
The Dan Guild, which had a history of using Deon Hardt's name, and its owners Dan and Deon Hardt.
Even if they weren't, they would have been keeping a close eye on them, but the guild that was growing in size in the human world and making a lot of money suddenly withdrew? Since there was no reason to give up future gains and retreat, they will probably think of the connection with Deon Hardt.
Being related to me also means being related to the demon world. Of course, many assumptions will come tomind, and among them, there will also be the 'screen'.
'Things like last time shouldn't happen.'
I frowned as I remembered the man who had arbitrarily barged in and retorted.
'If you're late, the group that was withdrawing will be caught and robbed, so of course it's not possible and it's best to withdraw 20-30 minutes early.'
I was organizing his thoughts, and suddenly felt my hands becoming lighter and looked at Dan.
Dan, who took the glass, was smiling with an emotion that was hard to read.
"I'm sure I'll receive quite a bit of resentment."
"It's the fault of those who knew it was dangerous and just ignored it."
Even though they knew that the Dan Guild was related to Deon Hardt, the leaders of each country ignored it.
Before I even turned to the demon world, the guild had already grown to a certain extent.
War is rampant. The guilds play an important role in supply, so it would not have been easy to take them down. In particular, in a situation where the game of war had completely changed and the enemy had become the demon world, it would have been even better because the Dan Guild was the only one who could perseverely carry supplies through the fearsome demons.
'There is an implicit rule that wars in the human world do not touch the guilds, but there is no way the demon world will follow that.'
There is a limit to their supply, so they have no choice but to rely on the Dan Guild, who are under the protection of Deon Hardt, even though it hurts their pride.
I put down the empty bottle. Red eyes looked directly at the man in front of me.
"Or are you even afraid now?"
Are you afraid of having your face and name exposed to everyone and being named as another traitor to humanity?
Dan made eye contact as if understanding my intentions.
I continued without averting my eyes.
"Even so, I understand. I made the recommendation on my own, so maybe you weren't ready."
"..."
I asked sarcastically, but I don't plan on reprimanding him even if the answer is yes. Because receiving the hostility of countless people all at once is more suffocating than I had prepared for.
How many curses did I hear on the way between the mansion and my brother's grave in the human world? It might have been more than just a simple curse, but it contained blatant, deep hostility and murderous intent that could not be easily ignored.
A razor-blue curse dripping with bloody tears uttered by those who lost their loved ones at the hands of demons in war.
Yes, it was a curse.
I reached for a new bottle, thinking that if I had not had a goal to achieve or if I had taken on the task with half-hearted determination, I might have been defeated by the curse strangling my throat and taken my own life.
"... But you are the one who accepted it. You can't give it up now, so it's better to make proper preparations now."
The neck of a new liquor bottle was blown cleanly away by the blade of a hand. Dan, who was watching this, grinned.
"Are you afraid?"
"..."
"Is that possible? This is what the Master also did."
Even if I was afraid, there is no way I could say it out loud.
Not only does saying it out loud not change anything, but there's no way a master can whine about something he did without saying a word because he's afraid of his subordinates.
Even the fact that I instigated it played a part in why things came to this point. In such a situation, Dan was not so conscienceless as to complain or try to back out.
"I will prepare without making any mistakes."
"... Okay."
I poured alcohol down my gullet again.
Dan, who was tipping his glass at the small but clear voice, looked at me.
"Didn't she say that your hatred is like a forest fire..."
"...?"
"That's what the shaman said back then."
'For you, hatred is like a forest fire. It may not be a big deal at first, but at some point it will rapidly grow in size and eventually engulf everything.'
"You were probably there too. I didn't know you heard."
After that remark, she said this to me about Dan, who was hiding nearby and following me.
'And that child is close to an explosive that will explode at some point. When an explosive explodes, a fire occurs. Conversely, when a fire occurs, an explosive explodes. Because of that, I hoped to avoid you encountering that child as much as possible, but...'
Then, as if he remembered, Dan let out an exclamation of, "Ah." I sat crookedly on the chair in front of the table and twirled the bottle.
A dry voice came out.
"It would have been better if that person had said it a little more explicitly at that time."
"..."
If that were the case, couldn't she have told me not to blame Cruel?
I unconsciously asked myself a question. The answer came quickly. No.
If she had told me not to blame my brother, I would have stabbed her in anger and said that there would be some misunderstanding, and if she had told me that there would be some misunderstanding, I would have not believed her and expressed his anger. If she had said I would regret it, I would have ended up bursting out in emotion. The shaman's words were for the best.
If she had said it out loud, she would have gotten hurt.
As if it has no intention of protecting its own sanity, the brain does not give good answers even to 'what if' assumptions. I finally let out a laugh.
"Actually, I know. At that time, I would have been angry no matter what I heard in defense of Cruel. I would have continued to blame my brother, dismissing it as the nonsense of someone who reveres superstition."
The hatred that was once simply directed at the family is now growing like wildfire, unable to control its size, and is trying to engulf the world. It's a situation where I can't guarantee how far it will go.
If Cruel had been alive, it wouldn't have ended up like this.
Even if I had found out the truth and it drove me crazy, he would have either calmed me down or suppressed me and prevented me from going on a rampage.
The possibility that it could not have been prevented was not taken into account. Whether he would have used coercive or moderate methods, I would have listened to him. Now that I know the truth, I am a complete perpetrator of Cruel and a sinner.
"... Master."
Dan, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
"You seem so kind."
"... What?"