Moisture kept welling up in the spot where I had wiped his tears. I didn't mind — I just kept dabbing at the corners of Jack's eyes. After all, conversations are best had face to face.
"Nngh... you're lying... gkh, you're lying!"
"First things first — I'm taking Laura de Farnese. That's non-negotiable. And I'm willing to pay you three thousand gold for it. In my estimation, that's a fair deal. Her ransom was roughly two thousand gold to begin with. Consider the extra thousand as compensation for your right arm. You know, if you offered anyone out there a thousand gold for a single arm, they'd take it in a heartbeat..."
"Lyin'... gkh, you're lyin'!"
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue. No good. The other party's face was flushed crimson from the pain of a severed arm — up to the very tips of his hair. It wasn't hard to understand. It must hurt. Naturally. But then again, I had once fought an adventuring party from the strong village while my right foot was completely shattered to pieces.
For all I knew, it wasn't the pain but the blood loss that was making his head stop working. I asked Lapis if she could cast a simple healing spell. Lapis nodded. But the way she went about so-called healing magic — now that was something else. Lapis conjured a small flame on her palm and proceeded to cauterize Jack's stump with it.
"GAAAAAAAH!"
This time even I couldn't help but grimace. Jack screamed so loud I thought his eardrums would split — no exaggeration. It was hard to imagine just how agonizing the sensation of living flesh being burned was. I'd never been set on fire myself.
"Lapis... I asked you to heal him, not burn him."
"I apologize, but I'm not skilled in healing magic. I've never healed a human before either. Therefore, I executed the treatment method I deemed most appropriate for the current situation."
Lapis, who barely looked like a teenager, said coolly. Well, now I've seen everything — one tough lady.
"Are you okay? Sorry about that. She's incredibly smart, but she's a bit... off in certain ways."
"Ghk... gphk..."
Jack was foaming at the mouth. His eyes had nearly rolled back. A quiet worry set in. I was genuinely worried. If Jack passed out here, things would get messy in all sorts of ways. I asked Lapis to at least try casting a healing spell on Jack, even if she wasn't familiar with it, hoping it might reduce the pain a little.
"......"
The moment Lapis chanted the healing spell, Jack's complexion visibly improved. In other words, he stabilized enough that his pupils were properly centered again. Jack groaned intermittently, like a consumptive patient coughing. After a short while, a sound effect went *Ding!*
'Minor Merchant Jack Orland's Affinity drops by 50.'
'Minor Merchant Jack Orland has become hostile toward you!'
I took this as a positive sign. It meant he'd recovered enough sanity to actually dislike me, didn't it? Jack was staring blankly into the air. He kept stroking his right shoulder with his left arm, over and over. After a moment, Jack muttered in a trembling voice.
"Lies... why...?"
He still didn't seem to believe what had happened. I was reminded once again that Jack and I were fundamentally different people. Jack was more preoccupied with why I would do something like this.
Meanwhile, what had been the very first words out of my mouth when I was threatened by adventurers right after falling into this world?
Don't shoot me.
It's not me.
Please help me——.
Trying to figure out the cause of the situation had come only after that. In the moment, begging and flattering the other party had been the priority. Wasn't that the normal, sane response?
No, I didn't mean to disparage Jack. On a deeper level, we simply thought differently. It was like comparing two people who spoke different languages. Perhaps the gap between Jack and me was even more severe than that. Before entering into serious negotiations, I felt the need to at least establish some minimal communication.
I sat down on the grass, plopping onto my rear. Speaking toward Jack, who lay flat on the ground.
"I'm not lying. Your arm was cut off. And I was the one who cut it. If there's any lie in this, you'd have to say the whole thing from start to finish is a lie."
"...Why? Why would you...?"
Jack muttered without looking my way.
"Because I want de Farnese."
"No... I don't understand... I don't understand."
"Think about it. Jack, it's simple logic. Why would the other party refuse to trade through the Merchant Guild officially? Why did they resort to such extreme measures? Because — and the logic follows immediately—"
"...Someone who couldn't... officially... trade...?"
I clapped my hands together briefly. It was the same feeling as an alien who had finally managed to communicate with a native through body language for the first time.
"Exactly that. In truth, it's hard for them to even enter the city properly."
"So you weren't a merchant after all... you damn Lolita!"
Jack shot to his feet. His eyes, burning with hatred, locked onto me. He let out a shriek and lunged forward. Lapis, who had been standing beside me, swiftly drove the scabbard into his chest. The pointed tip of the scabbard struck him hard, and Jack crumpled to the ground without resistance. I looked down at Jack, now subdued by Lapis, and shook my head.
"Cut off his left pinky finger."
"Yes."
Another scream erupted. The sequence that followed was identical. Groans, torture disguised as treatment, screams, and then the stabilization phase. Whether losing a little finger hurt less than losing an entire arm, or whether he was simply getting used to it by now, Jack regained his composure faster than expected.
This was getting ridiculous.
I carried on the conversation as if nothing had happened.
"So. I'm not a merchant."
"The medicine that cures epidemics—ugh! That was all a lie!"
The hatred in Jack's eyes deepened. He kept gritting his teeth from the lingering pain, which muddled his pronunciation slightly. Still, it was perfectly understandable.
"That's not true. That part was real."
"Stop joking around, you cursed demon! Drop dead!"
"Jack, you foolish friend. If you're going to lie, you have to mix in enough truth to make it believable."
"I knew it! So it was you! The one who summoned monsters at the auction house was you!"
Jack shouted in a frenzy.
I shrugged.
"That's right. I admit it."
"You're the one who set the city on fire too!"
"Now your brain is starting to work."
He unleashed a torrent of profanity. It felt like every curse word in the world was being put on display. I stood there silently. I wasn't offended. In fact, I found myself watching Jack with a faint sense of bewilderment, unable to understand why he was so desperately trying to shorten his own life.
"Fine."
I spoke.
"Summing up the opinions you've put forth over the past minute, I'm a demon, a swindler, the most contemptible bastard in the world, a mad dog, and a son of a bitch who deserves to burn in hell. I wholeheartedly agree. So can we perhaps move on to a productive discussion now?"
"……."
"First, my taking de Farnese is a done deal. I'd like you to keep that in mind. We do need to negotiate other things besides this. Jack, what to do about you is the real problem. You know my face and you know about my criminal exploits. In other words, leaving you alive as you are puts me in considerable danger. The thing is, I'd like to keep you alive if possible. To put it plainly, I'm proposing we negotiate over your life."
"You demon bastard……!"
I smiled bitterly.
"You're not listening to a word I'm saying. What is it you want? Do you want me to feel sorry for you? Do you want me to repent for my monstrous deeds? Are you craving a heartfelt apology?"
I did feel a sting in my chest. This was the first time I had harmed not an adventurer, but an ordinary citizen. Though in a few years virtually everyone in the Human Realm would come to loathe the Demon Lord, for now they only harbored a moderate sense of wariness and hostility toward him. Probably about the same level of animosity one would feel toward a neighboring country.
"I'm sorry, but don't expect that from me."
If my arm is precious, then by that same token, another person's arm is equally precious. That is the most fundamental ethic. Guilt is the emotion that arises when one tries to uphold that ethic. But I had clearly violated it now, and I intended to continue violating it without hesitation. For someone like me to voice guilt? To express it?
It didn't add up.
The guilt I felt was nothing more than emotional flab.
"Jack, I don't regret what I've done in the slightest."
"……."
"I don't want to regret it in the future either. If I let you go now and you happen to pose a threat to my life later, I would regret this decision deeply. Hmm. So I'd like you to convince me. Even if I might end up regretting it in the future, present me with something that gives me no choice but to let you go now."
Jack couldn't come up with an answer. He probably couldn't conjure a convincing idea on the spot.
Today had been far too eventful for him. He had nearly closed the deal of a lifetime, been attacked by monsters at the auction house, barely escaped with his life alongside a close friend, and then been betrayed by that same admired friend, losing an arm in the process. It was a day with far too much for one person to bear. I decided to understand his position.
We climbed back onto the carriage. Jack's wrists and ankles were fitted with iron chains. We rode for a long time until we were well beyond the city's sphere of influence.
Evening came and we made camp. Lapis cooked a delicious soup. Having apparently discovered a new talent of hers, I ate the soup with great enthusiasm. Jack, however, showed no interest in food whatsoever and didn't come out of the carriage. When night fell, he remained cooped up inside.
I, Lapis, and Laura lay around the campfire. I rested my head on my arm and gazed up at the night sky. A ring of stars glimmered above. The colors of the sky were so vivid and varied that it was almost embarrassing to compare it with the sky of my original world. I had never realized until coming to this world that green, red, pink, blue, and purple could all coexist in the night sky. Having been a member of the astronomy club in middle school, I knew my constellations well. Yet no matter where I looked in the sky, I couldn't find a single constellation I recognized.
I couldn't fall asleep. Lapis's gentle breathing drifted pleasantly into my ears. That was when Laura, who had kept her mouth shut all day long, spoke as if muttering to herself.
"I can't understand. Why not kill him right away?"
"Hmm."
It wasn't easy to answer. I started with the first sentence that came to mind.
"Because I don't want to kill him. Well, it's a whim, I suppose."
"……Needlessly creating enemies is a fool's strategy in any school of military doctrine. If the slave merchant goes back alive, he will undoubtedly reveal the full details of this incident. Even if no one knows your true identity, you won't be able to walk around the nearby cities with your face uncovered any longer."
"Haha. As if I don't know that."
I glanced around the night sky, mulling over how I could convincingly create a new constellation.
"That level of risk is probably fine, wouldn't you think? That's the feeling I got."
"Why is that? Minimizing threats as much as possible — isn't that the best strategy for survival?"
"That's true. Honestly, I don't even know why I'm like this myself."
Oh, that looks just like Orion's belt. Well, I could come up with plenty of constellations that resemble Orion's three belt stars, but still.
A yawn started creeping out of my mouth.
"Laura. You decided that life is death, on the grounds that death is inevitable……but as someone who still wants to keep living, I think it's the remaining parts of life — the things that happen to us by chance — that truly define what my life means. I want to embrace all of that."
My eyes slowly closed. My consciousness gradually sank downward. My sense of time grew hazy, and just as it was about to stop entirely, I heard a voice.
"So that was what you meant by the meaning of life, back on that night."
I mumbled something in response. But it was nothing more than a murmur. The thought "I'll be asleep any moment now" was the last thing that crossed my mind before my consciousness went completely blank.
…….
The next morning at dawn, I woke up feeling refreshed. Sand and grit had clung to my face overnight, leaving it stiff and grimy. I rubbed my face hard with my palms. My mind felt clear, but my face was unpleasantly grimy — a shame, really. Tch, it could have been a perfect morning.
I looked around. Laura was fast asleep, oblivious to the world. Lapis, on the other hand, had already finished her morning preparations. Honestly, I couldn't even imagine Lapis sleeping in past anyone else. That girl was probably the type who, even if she'd been born a Korean high schooler, would go to bed at midnight and wake up at four to study. Disgusting.
Lapis ladled out some soup and spoke to me.
"Lord Dantalion. The slave trader has escaped."
"Oh, really?"
It was somewhat unexpected. I'd figured he might try to run, but I didn't actually think he'd go through with it. It wasn't exactly the kind of behavior befitting Jack. Still, it seemed to be only natural in Lapis's eyes. She let out a sigh.
"Sigh. When I woke up at dawn, he was gone from the carriage. With his feet chained up, he couldn't have gotten far anyway. Shall we pursue him?"
"Let him go. He's out there gasping and scrambling to stay alive — no reason for us to chase him down."
I took a bowl of soup from Lapis and said earnestly.
"He just missed out on such a massive slave auction. How could he ever face his father or the guild? The chances of Jack ever wielding power in the merchant world are slim to none."
"His father is a great merchant. I believe there may be ways to use him."
"If I try to use someone that incompetent, I'll keel over from the stress before he does. I like capable people — just like you, Lapis."
I took a mouthful of soup. A rich chicken flavor, laced with peculiar spices, spread throughout my mouth.
"Mmm, delicious!"
It was almost like eating a non-spicy tom yum goong. I knew that spices were hardly used in the medieval era, so when I'd raised the question last night, Lapis had explained that unlike humans, the demon folk greatly enjoyed using spices. As someone who was quite fond of Southeast Asian and Indian cuisine, this was something I could wholeheartedly welcome.
"Lapis, what is there that you can't do? You're too amazing!"
"Thank you."
Lapis lowered her head slightly.
"Accommodations, transportation, and meals provided during this entire trading expedition will come to ten gold."
"..."
Lapis was Lapis through and through...
After finishing breakfast, pleasant as the meal had been, my skin began to protest. My already rough face felt even grittier than before. It was really bothering me.
"Is there a stream or something nearby?"
"If you walk eighty steps in that direction, you'll find a pond."
The answer came back as though she'd been waiting for the question. I knew absolutely nothing about the geography of the Human Realm, so for this operation I was relying entirely on Lapis's plan. She must have considered everything from escape routes to lodging. Such perfection! The ten gold coins hadn't gone to waste at all.
I hummed a little tune as I walked in the direction Lapis had indicated. A thicket of overgrown brush awaited me there. Nameless plants had shot up so tall that visibility was practically zero. For all I knew a snake could come lunging out, but I knew that the Demon Lord held command authority over monsters and beasts alike, so my steps carried no hesitation. I strode forward with the same bold confidence as when I'd been marching.
When I emerged from the last patch of brush, there was Jack — dead, as though he had been hiding all along.
"..."
How should I put this.
Surprise? Pity? No. If anything, it was closer to admiration.
The belated feeling settled in: so this is how it could end for Jack, too.
Beside the corpse sat a large boulder.
The rock bore dark red bloodstains repeated over and over again. And with that, Jack's head came into view. Blackened blood had crusted over it. He had smashed his own skull against the boulder and taken his own life — like the magpie from that old tale who hurled himself against the bell, over and over.
"...So you're dead, Jack."
What torment he must have suffered through the night. What chain of reasoning led him to this conclusion — I had no way of knowing. Perhaps I never would. Only this final image of a corpse and a boulder would remain like an unsolved riddle, branded into my mind for eternity.
As much as possible, I had wished he would survive.
Even if people as despicable as me continued to ignore him and use him, I had wanted him to keep living stubbornly, defiantly. That had been a small, quiet hope I harbored somewhere in a corner of my heart — the hope of a Demon Lord who still hadn't fully adapted to this world.
Morning sunlight pierced through the canopy of trees in the forest and illuminated the area around the scene. I stared at the corpse for a long while. A stream flowed just beyond the boulder. But I turned my feet away from it rather than heading toward the water. I felt that approaching any closer to Jack's body would be an insult to his death.