Chapter 294 – Chapter 294 ― The Demon King of Misery (4)
Episode 294 ― The Demon King of Misery (4)
The liquor he had just emptied was fragrant, but it was strong.
It was an indescribably luxurious drink, but Roan suddenly remembered the food he ate right before coming to this world.
I was craving soju for giblets.
‘Are there giblets here? Shall I teach you how to find it and make it?’
As Roan flashed a wild idea, Naor spoke grimly.
“In the end, the ending is the same.”
Then Fiora spoke as if to comfort Naor. She too had been chewing her lips with a serious expression for a while, but she couldn’t stay still.
“It is not over yet. You don’t know. All the time the two of you spent together shouldn’t be simplified by saying that the conclusion is the same.”
Roan said, filling the glass by himself again and quickly passing it down his throat.
“Just because you know the future isn’t everything. I think that can change anytime. I have proven it.”
I looked at Roan coming out. After quitting the Demon King, he felt remorse when he saw the person who inherited his shell struggling.
“The hero was the enemy in the future you saw, but it wasn’t like that to me. The war was a temporary truce. As I said before, it looked the same in the end, but… Looking back now, there are diverging points that might have changed that strand.”
“You want to compare that to my story? It may be meaningless information to you, who already knew the future and was able to use the power of the goddess.”
Naor’s voice was hoarse.
He always had a confident voice that gave off the devil’s side, but that wasn’t the case today.
Seeing this, Roan felt sorry for him.
He had many such experiences in his own life.
People who seem to know the answer and go on a winning streak. There were people who could afford to choose anything, and even if they picked the wrong answer, they made it right.
But now that we are in that position,
And even though he was in that position, he eventually met the same ruinous ending as Naor, and now he knows that a lot of leisure depends on luck.
Therefore, Roan knew that he had no right to condemn Naor. So I could understand why the Goddess said Naor was a victim.
“I was lucky enough to be chosen by the Goddess. Having played games, I knew that special abilities existed and that I had to acquire and develop them. That’s why I tried If you knew the same information I know, I know you would have tried the same, even if the methods were different.”
Naor, who heard Roan’s words, closed his mouth and looked at Roan with surprised eyes.
“I saw what you did. Although through the eyes of ‘greed’. So don’t beat yourself up. The time you spend will have value through us. I will.”
I felt the emotions that resonated in my heart.
It was the comfort that was conveyed through Roan’s skills.
Unknowingly, Nao pressed the area near my heart.
It was the first time I had heard someone say this.
It’s okay, you tried too.
“I am not a demon. I have your memories and your body, but I’m a stranger after all. It’s not much, but now that I’ve turned back time, I need your help to understand the actions of the Grand Duke more than anyone else.”
“…”
For a while, Na-ra was silent.
He seems to be in deep thought.
He spoke again when Roan and Fiora were each drinking again.
“You, too, are different.”
Naor gave off a bitter smile.
“How could you say such a thing in a situation like that?”
Similar to Roan, her purple eyes, which were a bit darker and closer to black, shone with a deep light as if they were wet.
“I had a lot. But no more… I didn’t want to hold out. I didn’t need eternal life or opportunity. Others say that they already have many things, so enjoy them, but if you know the end of suffering forever…”
At Naor’s words, Roan pondered.
I don’t remember the pain I felt when I was hit by a truck right before I first came to this world.
However, I vividly remember the death I experienced just a day ago.
Even though it was only once, it was a pain that I didn’t want to think twice.
Even so, why do I not back down and challenge the second round?
“I had a goal that I wanted to become one day. But I lived a life that was not enough to achieve it. I was not rich, and the circumstances around me did not follow. So I compromised As a result, I lived as a person who only knew how to make others suffer.”
Roan had told Fiora about his past. It was a few months ago for Roan, but it was only two days ago for Fiora.
“I had a thought that I always had in my life like that. I always thought, like a grumble, that I wouldn’t live this way when the opportunity came.”
“But here’s an opportunity.”
Roan nodded at Fiora’s words.
“From my point of view, you were the one who had a lot. At first, I thought it was an opportunity to simply live a comfortable life. The ending isn’t very good, but I know the ending, so I can change it, and the rest I can use that ability to live as the person I dreamed of. I thought only that much. But now…”
I thought about it at some point.
Making an effort is hard work.
If you have better conditions than others, you can create better results with the same effort. That is the advantage of the gold spoon.
Maybe that’s why you don’t have to work hard. In moderation, you can achieve greater results than others tell you to die. Even small enough gestures can have a good effect on others.
I’ve heard that thought many times.
It was a temptation, a compromise, so to speak.
“I don’t want to compromise anymore. Come by myself.”
“Compromise?”
“You decide what is good for you. Effort is hard work.”
The two of them listened to Roan’s words and nodded their heads in sympathy with Roan’s words. These two are masters of swordsmanship to the point of being said to be at the highest level in the world. No matter how much genius talent is backed up, you can’t reach that level with mediocre efforts.
Both Naor and Fiora were people who understood the phrase ‘hard work is hard’ better than anyone else.
“I lived like that until then. It’s impossible for me to cross a certain line, because people like me don’t have this kind of opportunity… Some were true, some were renunciation. But this time, I felt like I couldn’t live like that.”
“Why?”
Roan looked back at the first moment.
“Because there was someone who believed in me and gave me a chance.”
Fiora’s lips parted slightly.
“… Laurecia.”
I always thought
Why did the goddess choose me?
There must have been many smart people and great people, but why was it me?
Now that I think about it, maybe that’s
It may have been simply because of a word he muttered not long before he died.
The Goddess called me to this world and said.
I’ll give you a chance to keep my word.
“Because the goddess is the demon king, she did not choose me. She was an insignificant human being, but she chose me. She believed in me not as you, Roan, but as Kim Yong-chul.”
Ron’s face turned a little red.
It was only now that the spirits of alcohol seemed to be turning a little.
“So I want to prove that belief as myself. I want to show me and the Goddess that what I have achieved here is not the legacy you left behind, made only with the strength of your shell.”
Roan and Naor’s eyes met.
It was only after hearing his words that he realized that his body, which he did not like, meant a lot to someone.
And that he was feeling the weight of his body more than he thought.
Idiots can always lose their parents. He hated himself for not doing anything, but no one would have been able to do anything on the spot. So he hated himself as a demon, and he hated himself as a prince.
He had never felt special as a prince or emperor. He had never lived a life worthy of comparison until he lived as Naor.
But that ordinary human being
He cherishes that shell he has discarded,
He made miraculous things through it.
What did he throw away?
Naor looked around.
“Even if one day I lose my shell, I can confidently say that I tried my best as myself. That me… Think of it as an answer you can give to someone you believed in for the first time. I’d say I wasn’t that weak. I want to believe that myself.”
“You are strong.”
Fiora hugged Roan.
She whispered as she buried her face in her demon lord’s hair.
“Originally, flowering is not easy. Many flowers die without blooming. Because there is no harm, because it does not rain, because it is trampled on. Flowers always try their best, but failure to bloom does not mean that they did not try.”
Fiora cupped Roan’s cheek and looked into her purple eyes.
It was like an elder taking care of and encouraging her child.
“It is true that you have saved countless lives by taking the opportunity Laurecia gave you. I know how hard you tried. So that this next time won’t be as painful as the last time you and Roan… I will also contribute.”
Roan just nodded like a child without saying a word.
The moment Fiora’s faint smile appeared on her face, it was Naor who brusquely broke the mood.
“After that, do it after I go. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone fall in love with my sword.”
Naor, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the two with a sullen expression, grumbled.
“Are you trying to track down the duke? What else are you going to do?”
Fiora’s expression brightened.
He tried to stay away from the emperor somehow so as not to remember her past, but he changed his mind.
Sometimes a person’s sincerity can reach others.
It’s a rare occurrence, but
When separate entities can break down the walls of each other’s hearts, reveal their depths, and give and receive trust, the interaction creates a surprising appearance.
“We must prevent dragon artifacts from falling into human hands.”
A few days ago, when she visited the Dark Forest, she talked to Amelie and Roan about the relics of Bültz.
Roan seemed vaguely aware of the item during that conversation, but now that he had just begun his second life, he was certain that a human mage had almost found it.
“He hasn’t found the artifact yet, but his men will soon dig it up. Much sooner than we expected. With that, the ‘gap’ where demons gain strength begins to widen.”
“Wouldn’t it be possible to solve all of this by removing just one artifact? They say wizards use ancient magic to gather strength. Then the artifact is also an artifact, but shouldn’t the wizard be defeated? They say they’re going to catch a human, but in the end they have to go all the way to Sprouse. What do you plan to do?”
By ‘detection’, Roan learned that this is how Naor cares about someone.
It sounded like a nag, but he was asking because he trusted Roan to provide an answer.
Because he was the kind of person who didn’t ask unless he expected it.
And Roan had an answer.
It was the way he came to this world and solved many problems.
“You can ask for help.”
