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The guards, Ura, and the others tried to stop him when the demon king said "I want to talk with just the two of us", but right now, we are in his tent together.
After making sure that no one is listening, we started talking to each other.
"For the time being, it"s been a while, Samejima." (Velt)
"Indeed, it has been………… ohon, y, yo, it"s been a while, Asakura." (Samejima)
The demon king became a human high schooler
I unintentionally burst out into a roar of laughter.
"Kuhahaha, to think that straight laced, Mr diligent in the karate club would become demon king-sama. Why don"t you just refer to yourself as "the great me" while you"re at it?" (Velt)
"Gu-, I, I’m fine! I really was reborn and raised as the demon king! Rather, I"m older than when Samejima Ryouichi died, so it"s even more unnatural now!" (Sharkryu)
"Kuhahahaha, your tone changed back to a brat you know? Like, hasn"t your character changed too much?" (Velt)
"It"s just that you haven"t changed at all! Rather, what is that appearance! How old are you right now!" (Sharkryu)
"Ten years old. Apparently I"m the same age as your daughter." (Velt)
The person in front of me was no longer the demon king. It was Samejima.
"When I remembered about the name Samejima and about j.a.pan, to be honest, it didn"t matter to me. I thought I really was the demon king, and only considered it as seeing a strange illusion." (Sharkryu)
"Well, I guess something like that could happen? It was a mysterious feeling for me as well." (Velt)
"There was no time to think about it since it was during war, but…… all those memories were real, huh." (Sharkryu)
"Yeah." (Velt)
At the start, it wasn"t clear since his character changed too much, but now he"s returned to being a normal high schooler.
"And so, the memories you thought were delusions are all good up until the field trip, right?" (Velt)
"Ye, yea. I remember up to the part where the bus fell. Haaa, I wonder which one was my true self." (Sharkryu)
"Well, I can get that. For a while, I didn"t know whether I was Velt Jeeha or Asakura Ryuuma either." (Velt)
"I see. It"s ironic isn"t it. I took a step forward into the path I was never going to return to again, and continued fighting with human soldiers, even though my ident.i.ty was originally human." (Sharkryu)
"Yeah, you had bad luck." (Velt)
"Good grief, concluding it in a single remark like that. My reincarnation life was stormy and full of drama you know?" (Sharkryu)
To be honest, it"s not like we were that close with each other.
We didn"t eat lunch together, or go out to play on the weekends.
We did run together in the relay at the athletics festival just that once, but we didn"t have any connection other than that.
But, I wonder why. Our conversation didn"t stop.
"If all of Sasajima Ryouichi"s memories of that world are things that really happened, and weren"t illusions………… I think I was happy in those days. School was fun, and our cla.s.s was the best." (Sharkryu)
"Well, kinda." (Velt)
"Everyone was interesting. Miyamoto, the poor talking, shy, and hesitant guy was actually an absurdly strong member of the kendo club. Kagami, who despite being loose around women and was a good looking playboy, was unexpectedly thoughtful of his friends. Ayase, the most beautiful person in our school who was the tennis club captain. Bizan, who despite normally being a really flashy and indecent gyaru, was really pure. Oh, yeah, the Kimura and Murata combination, Kimurata, who always hung out with you normally partic.i.p.ated in events after you started coming to school as well." (Sharkryu)
I remember it as well. Leaving aside whether we are close, there were various types of people in our cla.s.s, and it"s really nostalgic.
"And, Samejima, even though you were called diligent and straight laced, inside, you were actually the hot blooded Mr popular as the ace of the karate club." (Velt)
"Hahaha, I really can"t forget Asakura Ryuuma, a delinquent that constantly fought, but was softhearted and surprisingly had a strong sense of duty, and couldn"t be honest to the girl he liked." (Sharkryu)
"Oi oi, shouldn"t the one you can"t forget be Kamino, who had the least characteristics in that cla.s.s full of people with strong characters, but stood out quite a lot?" (Velt)
"Ah, as I thought, you liked Kamino?" (Sharkryu)
"Eh, "as I thought"? Was I that obvious?" (Velt)
"Almost everyone knew about it. Rather, I can say it because it’s now, but your romance situation had quite a lot of attention, you know?" (Sharkryu)
"Tch, I wasn"t that shameful." (Velt)
"No, not like that, it"s because Ayase and Bizan liked you." (Sharkryu)
"Eh? Seriously!" (Velt)
"Yeah. If I remember correctly, Ayase said something about how you were on her mind ever since the school festival, when you carried her on your back to the infirmary, since she was about to collapse from overworking after her executive committee work finished." (Sharkryu)
"Wait, that was only because there were no other guys nearby other than me and I was asked by Kamino, so it"s not like anything in particular happened." (Velt)
"For Bizan, she fell for you the moment you got the cla.s.s an overall victory as the anchor in the relay after she made the overall victory chance become hopeless by falling over during the *centipede compet.i.tion." (Sharkryu) (TL Note: *A race where everyone runs in a line with their feet tied to each other’s feet.)
"Oh, that, Kamino looked like she was about to cry, so I tried to win even if it killed me, but wait, when they flashed a peak of their underwear to me ever since then, was that on purpose? c.r.a.p, I"m getting kinda embarra.s.sed." (Velt)
"Hahaha, you blended into the cla.s.s too much to call yourself a delinquent. You were quite popular with everyone, you know? Among the guys, people were even betting what would happen to you and stuff." (Sharkryu)
It was fun talking with him. Even if we weren"t that close in our past lives, I didn"t think my heart would feel saved this much just from having topics in common to talk about.
However, although we were Asakura Ryouma and Samejima Ryouichi, right now, we are Velt Jeeha and demon king Sharkryu.
Right now, that truth is a constant.
"Hey, Samejima. When did your memories return?" (Velt)
"During the coronation ceremony when I was fifteen years old. It"s a story thirteen years prior to now." (Sharkryu)
"I see. Sooo, you"re twenty eight now? Even though we died at the same time, we didn"t reincarnate at the same time. It seems there"s some calculation error." (Velt)
"Yeah." (Sharkryu)
"And, during this calculation error, by the time you realised it, you became demon king-sama, huh. That"s ironic." (Velt)
It certainly is ironic. However, that one word probably isn"t enough to describe it. Demon king Sharkryu advanced too far into a path that I can"t even imagine.
Since he is living as the demon king, Samejima understands that plenty, as well. However, now that he learnt that his past life as Samejima Ryouichi is all real, he cannot help but be perplexed.
"Asakura. Even I know how extreme it is to say I"m going to kill all humans. But, I just couldn"t forgive them. I couldn"t help it. You know, I…………" (Sharkryu)
Samejima started talking weakly. But, I didn"t want to hear it.
"Wait, hold up, what are you going to do by telling me about that? Do that to someone other than me. Even if you give excuses to me at this point in time, nothing"s going to change." (Velt)
"A, A, Asakura…………" (Sharkryu)
"Even if you regret it, you can"t just go back. That"s the way it is, right? You lived as demon king Sharkryu after all." (Velt)
Despite showing a complicated face at my words, Samejima nodded.
"That"s right. I can"t go back anymore." (Sharkryu)
"In that case, don"t say it. Sorry, but I can"t support you. You should be the one to think about how you"re going to differentiate between what"s right and wrong." (Velt)
"Differentiate…… huh." (Sharkryu)
"Yeah. I don"t know why you became like this, but even if you ask me, I"m not that great of a human to say whether it"s right or wrong, and above all, the current me doesn"t have any power to stop you. If the demon king"s way of living is of a second year high school student’s in mental age, you shouldn"t be doing something like asking a brat that"s currently ten years old." ( Velt)
The current me is exceedingly powerless.
I don"t even have any words to give him.
After all, even if I tried to, they would all become cheap words.
It"s pathetic, but there"s nothing I can do.
If there was one thing I could do, it"s to
"I won"t listen to your complaints, but in exchange, if you want to rely on me no matter what, if you ask me to help you, I"ll help you as long it"s within the extent of what I can do." (Velt)
do what I can up until the extent of what I can do.
"Idiot Asakura, making me remember about Samejima Ryouichi again. And you have really no mercy, just like in our past lives." (Sharkryu)
"You must have lived a really tiring life." (Velt)
"Why, why didn"t you come to see me faster?" (Sharkryu)
"Sorry "bout that. I wasn"t born yet when you regained your memories." (Velt)
"Good grief. But…… thanks for coming to see me." (Sharkryu)
Samejima answered with a smile, saying that was plenty.
Samejima had an expression that looked like some part of him felt refreshed.
I don"t think an existence like me had that much of an effect on him, but now, he"s making a comfortable face as if the burden he was carrying became lighter.
"I also said this to my daughter earlier, but we lost. I don"t intend to continue any more useless conflict. I will obediently surrender." (Sharkryu)
Probably because he decided on the way he would take responsibility, he chose that quite quickly.
However, at the same time, surrendering signifies farewell.
"I don"t know what"s gonna happen, but execution wouldn"t be out of the question, you know? Maybe life imprisonment if you"re lucky?" (Velt)
"Yeah, I"m fully aware of it. All of the responsibility I lead and started. I don"t think much will happen with just this one head, but I"ll at least draw the curtain with my own hands for the end." (Sharkryu)
"Keh-, trying to act cool. Are you thinking about it reasonably? You can just run, you serious guy. Well, do what you want." (Velt)
Samejima and I both know what will happen if the demon king surrenders.
Even after crossing through our past lives and finally reuniting, this will probably became a farewell for eternity.
"I"ll go see you if you get thrown into a police cell, while holding a gift of tonkotsu ramen." (Velt)
"Yeah. Someday, someday, let"s meet again. If you like, maybe even in our next life." (Sharkryu)
"That"s such a nasty joke for us." (Velt)
High five.
Didn"t we unintentionally do it when we won the athletics festival? I didn"t think it would turn out like this at that time, but it seems we"ve come a ridiculously long way after dying.
"Hey, Asakura. Sorry to ask this just before we part, but I have one request." (Sharkryu)
Request? It"s giving me a bad premonition. With such a serious face, isn"t this guy going to just readily request something troublesome from me?
However, that prediction came true.
Samejima didn"t properly understand the "extent" of my "within the extent of what I can do".
Towards the ten year old me who has no power nor talent,
"I"m going to use that "no matter what" at once." (Sharkryu)
"Ha?" (Velt)
"I"ll have you escape before the pursuers of the allied forces arrive, but I want you to take Ura with you as well!" (Sharkryu)
Ha?
"Haa? Idi, thi, this isn"t a joke, why me!" (Velt)
"And, a request for after I die! Please, I want you to protect Ura from the humans." (Sharkryu)
The demon king who is Samejima, while also being Sharkryu suddenly kneels down on the ground in front of me.
"Wait, oi oi oi oi wait wait wait wait! Stop prostrating as the demon king! Like, if someone saw this scene, wouldn"t I be killed?" (Velt)
"Please! I only have you to rely on!" (Sharkryu)
"No no no no, what are you saying. Why do I have to do something like that!" (Velt)
"I don"t mind dying. I resolved myself as well. However, only my daughter is different. I want Ura to see a much, much wider world. It"s a parent"s selfishness. I don"t want Ura to die." (Sharkryu)
Wait a minute, first of all, calm down. Suddenly telling me to protect the demon king"s daughter, what"s he saying?
"Asakura, I will probably die. The pursuers of the allied forces will probably be here soon. If we"re caught, Ura and I will certainly be killed. I don"t mind if I"m killed, but Ura is different. I don"t want Ura to die. However, in this situation, I can"t send Ura back to the demon country either. Besides, even if I sent her back, I can imagine what kind of treatment she will receive as the princess of a defeated country. I just want that girl to not die!" (Sharkryu)
"Even so, think about the person you"re asking! After killing humans relentlessly, you"re telling me to protect your daughter? Look at me! I"m ten years old! A ten year old brat! I"m a farmer"s son that isn"t a hero, and doesn"t even have talent in magic! Asking that sort of guy to protect the demon king"s daughter, of all the people there could be, is being unreasonable!" (Velt)
"She"s not the demon king"s daughter. She"s my daughter!" (Sharkryu)
"It"s the same either way! It"s not like asking me to look after your dog or cat!" (Velt)
"I know I"m asking the unreasonable! But, you"re the only person I can cling to. There"s no one other than you I can rely on!" (Sharkryu)
"Don"t f.u.c.k with me! There"s a limit to being shameless! You better not be thinking I would do anything you ask me just because we were acquaintances in our past lives! More like, I wasn"t even that close with you, was I?" (Velt)
"I thought of you as a friend!" (Sharkryu)
"Don"t go saying whatever"s convenient. Without thinking about the trouble you"re giving to me, doing something like forcing me to take care of your kid…………" (Velt)
While talking, it gave me deja vu.
Before, there was an extremely troubling brat whose parents were killed, and unreasonably made his past life"s high school homeroom teacher take him in.
"Either way, it"s impossible for me. I can"t protect her. Besides, it would be bothering to the people around me." (Velt)
"No, you will do it. Although you would always say "I"m a delinquent", "it"s too troublesome", or "I"m tireeed", in the athletics festival relay, you seriously ran while holding the baton that everyone linked together." (Sharkryu)
"Y-, you hardhead! The situation is different to the athletics festival relay! Who am I? I"m Asakura Ryuuma. A helpless delinquent, that"s trash, stupid, and………… even after dying, that stupidness became irreparable, and………… is always full of regrets." (Velt)
To be honest, I wanted him to stop. It"s not because I personally thought it was troublesome.
It"s because I know that it"s definitely impossible for me. Because he is overcome with emotion from meeting me for so long ever since our past lives, Samejima is overestimating me.
"Protecting the demon king"s daughter means that I"ll have to protect her to the end, even if the world turns against me. That kind of important role………… is impossible for me." (Velt)
While saying that, I felt I was pathetic. The fact that I"m hopelessly powerless pierced my body.
Even though the demon king is seriously lowering his head, I could only say that it"s impossible.
However, it was at that moment. I heard noisy voices and screams from outside the tent.
"U, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Hi-, hiii, it, it, it"s humanity"s great, allied forces!"
"s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t! We were found! We"ve been found!"
I hadn"t forgotten. Just, I wanted to forget about it for now.
The fact that this is a battlefield…………