Chapter 22 | The Assassin Becomes a Living Legend
The meeting was just as infuriating as I’d anticipated. Actually, it went beyond my expectations.
The high priests were lined up in front of me.
“Hmm, let’s say that we were also under the control of that Puppeteer demon.”
“That’s a great idea. That alone makes us sound rather pathetic, though. We need something more.”
“Then how about this? We ended up under his control in the end, but only after exhausting the demon’s power with our heroic resistance. Without us, the demon never would have been killed.”
“Oooh, I like it. That will preserve our reputations. You’ve done it again, Lord Storio.”
They continued on like that forever. I almost respected how terrible it was. The person they tried to kill under false charges was right in front of them. However, they obviously didn’t care as they shamelessly devised a cover story, their every word oozing with personal ambition and a desire for self-preservation. Dia was sitting next to me, and I laughed when I saw her hand move toward the holster on her thigh. I felt the same way.
Ultimately, the high priests settled on claiming they were victims of the Puppeteer. The headmaster of the academy rejected the nonsense about them weakening the demon. Although the high priests were unhappy about that, they reluctantly complied after being warned that excessive lying would make it more likely for someone to discover the truth.
As I walked through town the next day, I was serenaded with words and cheers of gratitude. Dia looked disgusted.
“Talk about two-faced. They were all screaming ‘Die!’ and ‘Devil!’ when you were on the platform, and now they’re suddenly treating you like a living legend.”
“I can’t believe it, either. I think I’d feel guilty if I were in their place,” Tarte agreed, evidently just as upset as Dia.
“I’m fine with it. I’m just glad they changed their minds,” I responded.
It was human nature to despise admitting you were wrong. If a person threw stones at another, they would always be reluctant to think of their victim as anything other than a villain. That these people changed their minds about me so quickly made them impressive compared to the rest of humanity.
“I guess so… I just don’t understand how they can go from a witch trial to praising you ceaselessly in two days,” Dia complained.
“Things are much simpler this way. They’ve already forgotten about the false charges. They’re even holding large celebrations. You see this kind of thing all the time. Countries that lose a war will often lift the gloomy feeling over the nation by celebrating individuals who gave distinguished service,” I explained.
Human behavior didn’t differ much between this world and my old one. People were forgetful creatures, and unpleasant things could easily be swept under the rug by new events.
“Anyway, I am so relieved that your name was cleared, my lord,” Tarte said.
“Yeah, I was ready to follow you anywhere, but I would really hate it if you couldn’t be Lugh anymore,” Dia concurred.
“Maha told me she would’ve been okay with you becoming Illig and staying by her side all the time, though,” Tarte shared.
Maha said that, did she? It was likely because of how lonely she was living apart from me. Since we were engaged, I needed to make a better effort to spend time with her in the future.
“I’m not sure how to feel about you defeating the demon by yourself this time. Working together against the other ones was really hard, but it made me kind of happy, too,” Dia admitted. Tarte nodded from her spot beside me.
Up until now, our basic strategy had been for Tarte to immobilize the demon, then for Dia to fire Demonkiller, then for me to finish the job. My new discoveries gave us more options.
“This time was an exception. I beat the Puppeteer alone because he relied on a special skill and wasn’t particularly strong himself. Most of the demons aren’t like that,” I replied.
The orc demon was geared toward operating as a military commander, but the other demons we’d fought together all possessed tremendous individual strength. That trend indicated that most demons would be similar. Even with the demon fang knife and the Crimson Heart bullets, I didn’t think I would’ve had much chance against the beetle, lion, or earth dragon alone.
Tarte sighed. “That’s a relief. I feel uneasy sometimes at your ability to do everything on your own. It makes me wonder if you really need me.”
“Right? You need to have some shortcomings, Lugh!” Dia appended.
The girls seemed to be bonding over that notion, but I didn’t appreciate their wording. They had it all wrong.
“I can’t do anything alone. I only manage because I have you both at my side,” I explained.
“Do you really mean that?” Dia questioned.
“Of course.”
“Heh-heh. I guess I’ve got no choice but to stick around, then. You’re hopeless without me, after all.” Dia hummed cheerfully, linking her arm with one of mine.
Tarte followed her example, hesitantly taking my other arm. “Um, I’m also happy to hear that you need me, my lord. I—I would not be able to live without you.”
Dia nodded. “Me either. It was only for a few days, but being apart from you made me so lonely, angry, and sad that I felt like I was going to lose my mind.”
“We must stay together forever… I almost seriously considered stabbing those watching me in my carriage while they were sleeping so that I could chase after you, my lord…,” Tarte confessed.
“Coming from her, that’s definitely no joke,” Dia said.
It made me really happy to know how much the girls cared. It was a little embarrassing hearing how highly they thought of me, however. These last few days had been very trying for me, too. Being alone had been a natural part of my old life, but now it was unbearable.
That was a weakness. For an assassin, having loved ones was something others could take advantage of. By an assassin’s logic, the majority of my actions were foolish and irrational. Still, I could definitively say that there was nothing wrong with the life I led as Lugh Tuatha Dé.
“Of the remaining three demons, Mina does not intend to destroy humanity. If we can kill the other two, we’ll have peace,” I stated.
“It feels like we’re nearing the end.” Dia grinned.
“I’ll continue to work as hard as I can! I know we can do it!” exclaimed Tarte.
“Right. Let’s see this to its conclusion.”
If we could kill all the demons, prevent the resurrection of the Demon King, and stop Epona from turning on humanity, this world would survive, and my life could go on. I now had a visual of the goal that had initially seemed preposterously distant, and that included not killing the hero, who was my friend.
Why, then, was my assassin’s sixth sense, trained over many decades to give me a feeling for impending danger, telling me that I was overlooking something?
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