PASP Chapter 99

In an instant, Levian’s demeanor completely changed. It was a chilling impression, as if he had become an entirely different person.

“A weakling like you shouldn’t spout such nonsense.”

“Kh, kak…!”

“Swear. Swear you’ll never mention such things again.”

Egru struggled with all his might to escape the iron grip. Levian’s hands still tightly clutched his neck.

His complexion, cut off from blood flow, turned dangerously red. The sound of his heartbeat dully pounded against his eardrums. His already blurring vision darkened.

Bang, bang—!

Just before his amber eyes closed, the sound of someone roughly pounding on the metal door echoed. Egru barely regained consciousness.

“Master Egru! Master Egru! Are you in there?”

The royal guard’s shout came from outside the warehouse. Several torches flickered beyond the dust-covered window.

Egru opened and closed his mouth intermittently like someone about to faint. However, no sound emerged from his blocked throat.

“Not even worth the trouble money.”

Levian muttered quietly. But he didn’t seem particularly concerned about the situation outside the warehouse.

Trouble money?

Had he bribed someone? Did he mean the royal guard who took Kam and Kum?

“We have an eyewitness! Seal the back door and search inside first!”

The moment the locked handle rattled, Egru could breathe again. But before he could take more than a few gulps of oxygen, his mouth was covered once more.

“Don’t make a sound.”

Levian picked Egru up from behind. Though he struggled to test his strength against Levian’s, it was completely useless. He tried biting the thick palm, but Levian just laughed as if in disbelief.

“Keep trying.”

“Ugh…!”

Instead, Egru’s wrist was twisted behind his back. Tears welled up more from his own pathetic state than from the immediate pain.

Levian dragged Egru toward the back of the warehouse. Egru hesitated after trying to scream for help.

“Keep your mouth shut. If you act up, innocent people will end up as corpses.”

“……”

Egru felt the strength drain from his entire body. His wet eyes burned helplessly.

He might be right. What right did a weakling like him have to become a hero?

A body that couldn’t have survived to this moment without others’ altruism. Though he aspired to become a worthy person, his resources were woefully insufficient.

I thought th-things might be different this time…

Only memories of lifelong failure circled through his mind. As his resistant posture crumbled, the pressure of the hand covering his mouth loosened somewhat.

Wh-what happens if I go with Levian like this?

Could he really see the ocean and eat cheese every day?

It is a dreamlike offer, but…

Egru rubbed his neck, which had been throbbing continuously.

Was that really enough? If the apocalypse struck, the people he loved could be in danger. What was his original reason for wanting to become a hero anyway?

Thud—!

By the time the metal door opened, they were already hidden inside a wooden box covered with a tarp. Levian wrapped Egru with his body and crouched as much as possible.

“Don’t be scared. Just hold onto my shoulder.”

A final whisper deep into his eardrum. Something soft and moist licked his ear once, slowly.

At the sensation like a thick snake slithering, Egru raised one shoulder high enough to touch his ear. He could hear Levian chuckling softly.

“Let’s stop making a fuss and return to the Empire. This place will soon become a wasteland of war. As long as you stay by my side, you’ll never die.”

The word “war” completely shook Egru’s mind. His brother’s death, shown by the status window, flashed through his consciousness.

The helplessness of being able to do nothing but watch powerlessly. The object of loss could be Miss Mayfield, Kam and Kum, or even Levian before him.

“West clear!”

“East clear as well!”

As the royal guards’ footsteps approached, Levian lowered his body further. As his heavy chest pressed down, their heartbeats touched.

Thud, thud!

Egru was startled. The sound of someone checking the adjacent wooden box by striking it with the back of a sword echoed.

“North clear!”

“Everyone move outside! Continue searching the passage connected to the back of the warehouse!”

As the sound of armor faded away, Egru tightly closed his eyes.

He had hoped for a little encouragement from his close friend, but on second thought, it didn’t matter. He hadn’t received much encouragement throughout his life anyway.

Perhaps because he’d been staying with Miss who always encouraged him lately, he seemed to have placed inappropriate expectations on Levian whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Creeeeak—the sound of the metal door tilting reverberated through the warehouse. Egru carefully opened his eyes again and looked up at Levian.

He fell far short of Levian in both raw strength and clever persuasion. It had always been that way. He’d typically give in completely in the blink of an eye.

One thing was certain: if he followed Levian, he would never be able to escape again.

He would settle for the ideal life of eating cheese while watching the ocean. Just imagining it made his mouth water.

By Levian’s side, he would forever remain comfortable. Without a thought of saving the world.

Egru couldn’t trust himself when he was with Levian.

“If y-you hurt any of them even a l-little, I’ll n-never see you again.”

Egru, speaking like a machine gun, shouted just before the metal door closed.

“H-help me… mmph!”

Bang—the metal door opened again.

***

The lights-out ceremony marking the end of the festival finished, and the noisy crowd dispersed.

“Where are you, Egru! Egru—!”

In the middle of the wide plaza, Mayfield gritted her teeth.

I should have secretly attached a tracking stone!

She very much wanted to beat her past self who had shaken her head thinking it would be wrong no matter what.

“Huff! Goodness! I really can’t do this anymore!”

“Hey! Where are you running! Stop right there!”

The assailant who had kidnapped Mayfield checked his watch at some point, then put her down and fled. Röwugor, who had followed closely, caught Mayfield, and the royal guards pursued the kidnapper.

“Let’s stop here and go, darling.”

“You received the message too! The twins returned to the palace, but Egru is missing!”

“I’ve sent soldiers to the warehouse building the twins told us about, so news should arrive soon. For now, it would be better to return to the palace and regroup…”

“What if Egru doesn’t come back this way?”

At Mayfield’s tearful question, Röwugor suddenly felt annoyed.

“If he aims to be a hero, he’ll find a way to survive.”

“……”

Mayfield stared at Röwugor.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is…”

Röwugor finally slumped her shoulders.

“You seem to like him more than necessary. I’m sorry, darling. I know it’s not the elf child’s fault, but here I am.”

“I like how honest you’re being.”

Though Mayfield was still anxious, she smiled slightly and bumped Röwugor’s arm with her head.

“But now is not the time for jealousy! You know too! How paper-thin Egru is!”

“That’s… true…”

Röwugor silently agreed and spoke.

“Actually, I wish you wouldn’t encourage him that he could become a hero. With no talent for physical combat or magic, his future dangers seem predetermined.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?”

Mayfield, who had been staring at a building corner, answered as she strode ahead.

“In truth, he won’t get stronger in a short time. He’s unnecessarily compassionate and terrible at swordsmanship. If hero material were jewels, Egru would be like a pebble rolling around on the street.”

“Then why…”

“Who decided that only strong people can become heroes? Who said that’s necessarily right? There’s no need to adjust Egru to what people say.”

Mayfield began to run.

“No one cares about Egru’s efforts to save people with a kind heart. But Egru himself doesn’t crave others’ approval. He cries well but stops quickly and moves forward.”

Mayfield took off the mask she had been wearing and threw it away. Röwugor picked up the fallen mask and followed her.

“It’s quite strange. More than anyone I’ve seen so far, including you. In a good way, of course.”

Mayfield ran around the building corner she had noticed earlier.

“Honestly, I was uncertain too. I worried greatly. But no matter how I think about it…”

Mayfield smiled brightly. She had found Egru sniffling with his back against the building wall.

“I can’t think of anyone more suitable to be a hero than Egru.”

With that final murmur, Mayfield ran to Egru.

“M-Miss…”

“Egru, you can live however you want. I will always be on your side.”

Mayfield grasped Egru’s hands.

“Let’s go to the palace. We need to leave the capital quickly.”