When they returned to the vicinity of the camp, they found that the wounded knight had already expired. In a somber atmosphere, people gathered together, their bodies collected, and their swords drawn.
"I thought I'd be fooled by such shallow tricks."
Kyle said with agitation. Belial's pride was hurt, but he couldn't say anything because he was wrong, and he merely clicked his tongue briefly. Lorenz used the psychology of a nervous person to make them move, induced internal division, and then struck the remaining people. They even killed the wounded just to reduce their power.
"That's vicious."
Sen couldn't even close his eyes, but he swept the cold face of the dying knight and closed his eyelids. He looked a little depressed.
"The wound was weaker than I thought. He must have died writhing in pain..."
"..."
"What's the meaning of the imperial throne you get by doing this?"
"I don't know."
Kyle replied with a cold smile.
"If we knew that, we wouldn't live like Lorenz."
"..."
"Although the method is despicable, there is nothing to learn from it."
"What do I need to learn?"
"The mindset that you have to kill your opponent to survive."
His voice was so calm that it sounded like a question about what you ate last morning.
"It's not just about hunting beasts or demons and then going back without anything happening. It's not a duel where you set the stage and swing a sword while facing each other. Of course, I would have expected it. But."
"..."
The soul that had been rolling in the frigid ground for more than a decade, holding on, getting up again, and falling down countless times, was speaking.
"Knowing is not the same as acquiring."
The weight of those words impacted me differently. The knights remained silent and counted the lives that were dying at their feet.
"Next time."
Kyle looked at Belial with a sharp gaze.
"Lorenz is going to strike your throat, Belial. So it's better to be wise. Unless you want to be hunted like a common beast in this forest."
Belial raised his head. Before he knew it, the moon was hidden behind the clouds, and it was dark everywhere. He looked at the knight lying at his feet and swallowed a sigh.
Death was already at hand. He couldn't retreat anymore or run away.
Another day passed in a tension forged like a blade.
We met a group of kobolds that we had seen in the . The enhanced ones were usually more aggressive and larger than most beasts, but fortunately, we were able to subdue them without any major injuries.
I used the one-time shield that was activated by consuming the 'Eye of Truth' and 'Luck' values to support Kyle. When the discount rate at the nut store was good, I would apply the ointment I bought to the wound.
As the sun set, a knight of the Order of Blake was killed. He was attacked by a wizard who approached him after leaving the line. We'd seen what Kyle looked like on the battlefield, but I can assure you that it couldn't have been as terrifying as it was back then. His expression was filled with cruelty, and it seemed as if he could tear a person to pieces with just the look in his eyes.
Enemy of the fiefdom and enemy of the knights. Wizards in the lawless zone. Kyle chased after and tried to kill the fleeing wizard who lost an arm, but I quickly dissuaded him.
"We are short of personnel, Your Highness. Take it easy."
At the beginning, there were ten people, but now there were eight. Even so, the knights were only a temporary alliance with each other. I said eagerly, clinging halfway to Kyle's waist.
"It would be more dangerous if we split like this. Please. Anyway, Lorenz will send someone back or come in person. Wait a bit."
"My knight is dead. But do you mean to stand still and watch his death?"
"Your Highness knows best that you don't mean that!"
Whoosh, Kyle exhaled. He breathed out almost all of it, and it trembled. He quickly calmed down his anger. It was because he could not put others in danger just because he wanted to avenge the dead.
"I will not give you a small amount of compensation."
Kyle snorted coldly at Belial's words.
"...Reward? Did you say compensation now?"
His red eyes were burning like flames.
"Then save me."
"..."
"I can't repay my life with anything. If you say that you will pay back what you can't repay, you are just insulting the person who left."
He was gritting his teeth and was covered in blood from the battle with the demon beast that had just continued. That is why he looked lonely and desperate. He must have carried hundreds or thousands of lives on his back that he couldn't repay. I could never understand it, and it made me feel even more vulnerable.
"That's right. What you need for life is not compensation."
Kyle's eyes lit up at the right time. His arm squeezed my arm tightly as it hugged my waist. It was as if he was begging me to let him go. I couldn't hold on to it any longer. No, I didn't think I should hold on to him. I let him go, taking three steps back.
Kyle drew his sword in an instant. Where was the sword dripping with dark red blood pointed?
It was Lorenz.
"What life needs is revenge."
"I didn't expect to be able to communicate with such a despicable bastard. Then, take your calculation."
"No, no."
Lorenz shook his head and took a step forward.
Slap.
The knights beside Kyle and Belial drew their swords in unison. The same was true of the knights Lorenz brought in. The mages with their hoods pressed deep into the hood also thrust their hands forward slightly, ready to attack.
"It's enough to move the chess pieces."
Lorenz's eyes narrowed.
"Belial."
"..."
"What do you think? In fact, even this process was troublesome, so I tried to kill them with a moderate amount of demon beasts, but they held up better than I expected."
At the mention of such worthless blood, Kyle clenched his fists to the point of crushing. It must have felt cruel that he couldn't stand up for the death of someone who had come all the way here just for him, even though it was so degraded.
Belial also lost his knight last night. His green eyes began to burn with fierce hatred.
"Good. I accept a duel."
This forest was like a small lawless area. Here, neither identity nor relationships meant anything. There were only two types of people.
Who to protect. And who needed to be killed.
"I'll guide you to the clearing. I'll get ahead of you, so follow me."
Lorenz grinned.
I began to roll my head fiercely. What should I do in this situation? What could I do to help? Could I help by looking at the nut store...
I opened the system window and looked at the remaining miracle numbers, the 'load' time, and the items in the nut shop.
"Don't do it."
Kyle caught his breath and grabbed my wrist to quietly deter me.
"It's the work of two people."
"..."
"You can't change the flow of your life according to your will. Don't you know that even God can't do that?"
"...But you can die helplessly."
It was not because he felt any affection, friendship, or loyalty towards Belial. Considering my attitude toward Kyle, my feelings were more like dislike. But Sen loves him. It was not the heroine Serena, who came to this world and treated me the most reluctantly, who believed my nonsense, but because she was the one that my friend Sen fell in love with.
"Why a helpless death? Shu."
Kyle pulled my arm and said in a low voice.
"If you fought with your sword until the last moment, it is not a helpless death. Didn't you do your best for your life?"
"..."
"Even if you intervene and ruin the situation, the two of you will always clash. This is cleaner than shedding more blood."
"I know. But..."
"Or will you kill Lorenz instead of Belial?"
He stood still. His red eyes were watching me quietly.
"Fighting to save people and killing people to protect them are two completely different things."
Kyle was right. If Belial and Lorenz collided, I would rather Belial win. I wanted to do whatever I could to help him. But if you asked him if he could grab a knife and rush to kill Lorenz... I couldn't answer. This was not just a matter of thinking about it like a game or a movie. There was no way that I, who lived an ordinary life, could handle someone's death.
"You can't do everything. And even if he could, it would be humiliating for Belial."
I replied as if I was making excuses.
"...If the opponent was Kyle instead of Belial, he might have rushed in with a sword. Even if I live in agony for the rest of my life because I killed someone."
"Maybe. Because you like me."
Kyle lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. That expression alone was enough to soothe me gently, as if he was grateful.
"But Belial is not me, Shu."
"..."
"I don't want to have blood on your hands. Once there's a stain of blood, it's never going to be erased."
Was it a desire that came from his experience? I shook my head instead of answering, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulder and pulled me closer. The smell of blood that had not yet dried wafted through him.
"Let's go. It is necessary to cover the surroundings. It doesn't matter what happens."
"Yes."
The blood-red sunset was tilting. The last night in the Eastern Forest was fast approaching. And that night would be the last night of someone's life.