You know, Emit.

I always thought that if I ever gave in to despair, it would be because of the limits of my abilities.

Or that an unchanging reality, and the exceptions that arise despite it, would crush my resolve and plunge me into despair.

Just like the Knight Boss.

But I was wrong.

What truly makes me lose all hope isn't something like that, but...

"Gasp!"

Deathbringer's eyes flew open. How much time had passed since he collapsed right after being cursed by the demon?

In his tilted view of the world, the sliver of sky he could see was pitch black.

Still, did I really stay passed out until this hour?

Freaking out at the realization, he pushed himself up. SLIP. Something slipped off him.

"... A blanket?"

Why is there a blanket?

"...??"

It wasn't even cheap fabric. It might not have been silk, but it was quite soft, on par with what a Hero or Mage would use.

"Don't tell me..."

Don't tell me the demon covered me up because I passed out? Really? Seriously?

What kind of crazy bastard is this?

Beyond feeling bewildered, Deathbringer stared at the blanket with a look like he had chewed on a bug. RUSTLE. That was when his hand, which was resting on the ground, touched something.

"What is this now..."

He discovered a leather pouch the size of his fist and picked it up. The opening must have been slightly loose, as a few of its contents tumbled out.

"This is..."

It was candy. Candy made by melting precious sugar.

"What the..."

It left behind a blanket, and now candy too? A demon? That son of a bitch who forced a provisional contract on me just because I said I wouldn't make one?

"Hah."

At this point, it went beyond giving the disease and offering the cure; it was almost laughable. After all, wasn't it a bit weird for a demon to be this considerate?

It wasn't even a climate where he'd freeze to death lying down without a blanket.

But it was also strange to think it wasn't the demon. Indeed, if not a demon, who else would show him such kindness?

Especially since he was on a roof, where no one from the street could even see him.

Faced with this completely inexplicable situation, Deathbringer's mind was filled with nothing but question marks.

He really couldn't understand it.

"This is driving me crazy, seriously."

He reached out to throw away the candy left by this unknown entity.

He didn't care if it was meant as a warning or whatever. He shuddered at the thought that the bastard demon—the very bastard who cursed him—might have given it to him.

"..."

But oddly, his hand wouldn't let go of the pouch. It was almost to the point where he wondered if this was a curse too.

"Ah, damn it. If you're going to leave something, leave a note too..."

However, sweets were precious. Far too precious. Just like someone's unconditional kindness, they were truly precious.

Because of that, he just couldn't bring himself to throw it away.

"God damn it..."

Deathbringer's hand trembled as he gripped the candy. And eventually, he gave up on dropping it. He really couldn't throw it away.

"Bullshit."

Right. There's no way a demon gave this to me.

Some rich person just—just coincidentally climbed up onto this roof, coincidentally found him, and coincidentally gave him the candy and blanket they coincidentally had on them.

... What a load of bullshit.

He knew his rationalization was hopelessly flawed, but he kept the candy anyway. Why would it bother giving him poison when he was already cursed? That thought crossed his mind as well. It was a truly reckless action.

But since joining this party, had he ever had a plan?

Take right now, for instance. If he had had any sort of contingency plan to begin with, he wouldn't be in this miserable state.

"... What do I do now."

Above all, dwelling on something that had already happened was a foolish thing to do.

So he tried to think about what he should do going forward.

Unfortunately, he couldn't return to the party. Just as the demon had said, there was no way that Softie wouldn't notice he had formed—or in this case, 'been subjected to'—a provisional contract.

Furthermore, there was no way he'd tolerate him either.

He couldn't even try to save his own life with excuses, because he couldn't even explain why he'd been forced into the provisional contract. He'd die if he spoke.

It meant he was completely surrounded with no way out.

"Maybe this is for the best. I was planning to leave anyway..."

Then what other choice did he have? He had no choice but to turn his back on the Hero's party and leave.

"Yeah, this is for the best."

Even the provisional contract wouldn't escalate into a major issue, as long as he could leave the city without running into them.

After that, well. If he was lucky, the demon might withdraw the contract, and even if it didn't...

He had absolutely no intention of forming a proper contract. So he believed he could somehow manage if he spent the rest of his life avoiding the Temple. If he investigated the provisional contract, he might even find an answer.

And if the demon came looking for him to force the contract? He could just die then.

Wasn't death basically half-guaranteed the moment the provisional contract was forced on him anyway? The only question was whether he'd die by the Temple or the demon.

"This is for the best..."

So, therefore, leaving was the right choice.

Leaving is right.

"Rather..."

He had to consider this his destiny, that leaving—whether by his own will or someone else's—was the fate best suited to his station in life...

PLOP.

"Huh?"

That was definitely the right thing to do.

So why were his tears flowing on their own?

"Fuck, it's not like I did anything to be proud of..."

How many people had died because of him? How many people in this city were dead because of him?

Given all that, what right did he have to feel sad about letting go of a position he never deserved in the first place...

"Fuck..."

Deathbringer eventually slumped back down. The falling tears felt so sinful and sad that he couldn't bring himself to stand.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

If I knew this would happen, I shouldn't have picked up a sword. If I knew it would end up like this, I should have just swallowed my thirst for revenge.

Why, why did I claim to do it for you...

"I'm sorry..."

You should have been the one to live instead.

"Emit..."

You should have lived...

RUSTLE.

"Emit..."

Right around the time the moon slipped away and hid entirely behind the building, Deathbringer fell completely asleep. Or passed out from exhaustion.

Either way, at the very least, he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

He was sleep-talking, sure, but he didn't show any signs of waking up even when I got decently close.

"Where does a Meat Dumpling think he's going?"

So I carefully tucked the slipped-off blanket around him again. Since it looked like he had kept the candy, I didn't bother looking for it.

"Good grief. It's not good to just readily accept things left behind by strangers..."

It's a relief he didn't throw away my gift, but it still feels a bit awkward to be totally thrilled about it.

After all, there's no guarantee the bad guys won't pull a similar trick later on. And they certainly wouldn't leave anything harmless.

"Should I be happy about this or not?"

I'd love to give him a piece of my mind, but I can't bring myself to do it.

I let out a soft sigh as I looked at the person sleeping with a heavily swollen face.

Looking at that face kept reminding me of the moment I first found him, making my heart race in a panic.

"Making people worry and all."

I'm not exactly one to talk, but still. How do you think someone feels finding you sprawled out on a roof?

Considering he was targeted by a demon before, I honestly thought he was dead at first. If I hadn't heard his breathing right then, I'd probably still be panicking right now.

"That Meat Dumpling."

I gave the exasperating young man a light tap on the bridge of his nose and then sat down at a suitable spot nearby.

There was an alleyway next to it, so I could hide simply by jumping down, and from this angle, I could see DeB, but he couldn't see me.

It was the same spot I had been using all day earlier. I knew he was alive, not dead, and that his body was fine, but I still couldn't bear to leave him alone.

Because getting caught would break my concept, I kept jumping down every time he twitched—and now I've gotten the hang of landing silently.

The fact that I didn't get caught when DeB first woke up is proof of that.

Well, the fact that my hiding in the alley hasn't been discovered yet is probably just a fluke born of coincidence.

"Emit..."

More importantly, he's only been calling the name Emit in his sleep for a while now. Could Emit be the name of a dead friend or someone similar?

I listed off a few guesses before tossing them aside. Even if they were just theories, casually imagining someone else's circumstances felt rude.

Of course, it was too boring and I was too sleepy to just sit there, so I lost myself in other thoughts.

For instance, the reason why DeB was trying to leave, or the information we obtained from the Information Guild this time.

Especially among the information gathered from the Information Guild, the fact that the Young Lord's parents were a Lord and Lady newly instated following an incident about 10 years ago was quite interesting.

Perhaps it was because the residents had assassinated the original Lord's family under the pretext of tyranny and elevated them to the position. They implemented policies that heavily favored the residents.

Thanks to their attitude remaining unchanged even recently, it seems they're even called virtuous rulers.

Naturally, that wasn't proof they weren't the masterminds behind the scenes. I've been through too many plot twists in situations like this, after all.

It's just... there are rumors that 'only the Young Lord occasionally acts unlike himself', so I'm placing a higher possibility on him alone being the culprit.

Either way, it isn't the stage to let our guard down yet.

"Mmm."

Thus, I pondered a little longer.

"Ah, the sun's coming up."

Morning finally broke. From afar, the sound of the Berserker frantically running around like a puppy with its tail on fire, searching for Deathbringer, could be heard.

In his sleep, Deathbringer felt a sensation of his body floating. Something beyond firm, something hard, was supporting his body, and he could feel warmth from one side.

Uncomfortable yet cozy, he blinked his hazy eyes. I want to sleep. That slight desire made his eyelids heavy.

But wait... who exactly is carrying me?

At that moment, his mind snapped awake as if he had been doused in ice water. His green eyes darted around.

"Oh, young hunter. Are you awake?"

"Waaaah!!"

Right before falling asleep, he had decided to leave without running into the party. So why was he currently being carried by the Berserker?

"P-Put me down!!"

Deathbringer flopped around like a freshly caught fish. But the Berserker was a capable warrior, and her reflexes were just as exceptional.

She carefully held on so he wouldn't fall and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"We're almost there, is there a need to?"

"Huh?"

Deathbringer blinked at the Berserker's words. Then, he reflexively followed her gaze to where she had turned her head.

It wasn't just the Temple—their lodgings set up at the Temple were a mere thirty meters away. Moreover, whether he had heard the scream from when he woke up, or sensed demonic energy, the Inquisitor had kicked the door open and rushed out.

"There's demonic energy outside...!"

His eyes locked squarely with the Inquisitor's.

"Y-You...?"

"WAAAAAAH!!!"

This was a real, a genuinely, truly real crisis.

Deathbringer twisted his body with all his might. Moving far more violently than usual, he completely shook off the Berserker's hold.

"Uh... young hunter, your strength..."

THUD.

His boots touched the ground.

"No, why, why, how did..."

"I'm taking off now!!"

"Hey!"

I need to run. Fleeing like this would only deepen their suspicions, but he wasn't in a position to make excuses anyway.

So, since he'd already been caught, he had to run just to survive.

"C-Catch him, Berserker!"

"Huh?"

"Inquisitor, what in the world..."

"No, well, Mage, the thing is, ah! W-We, w-we need to c-catch him first...!"

More than anything, this was actually the better scenario. Because only the Inquisitor knew what was going on, while the Berserker hadn't grasped the situation at all.

Crucially, the Knight Boss wasn't present either.

On the other hand, what if he stalled even a little and the Boss caught wind of this? That would be the moment to abandon all hope.

At least the Inquisitor was slow; the Demon Knight was someone who could completely overpower him in speed as well.

"Proxy, demonic energy has entered the Temple—! Whoa!!"

But wait, somehow, the situation seemed to be smoothly worsening—for him, that is?

Deathbringer spotted the priests rushing over in a group, and saw them scowl viciously as soon as they looked at him. He was fucked.

"Catch him!!"

"W-What? Why are we suddenly catching the young hunter?"

"Inquisitor?"

"D-Demonic energy..."

Still, it was lucky that Softie hesitated, likely due to the begrudging affection they'd built up while traveling together.

"I feel demonic energy coming from him."

Seeing the Inquisitor more shaken than he'd expected, Deathbringer swallowed a subtly bitter lump in his throat.

So he didn't hate me as much as I thought. It was a truth he only realized now, right on the verge of their relationship being permanently severed and turning into ill fate.

"Catch him!"

"Quick, after him!"

"Don't let him leave the Temple!"

But thanks to that, he managed to keep his life. SWOOSH. With a body that felt somehow faster than before, Deathbringer easily vaulted over the wall.

"Ah."

"...?"

Of all people, the Demon Knight was right on the other side.