TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 178
Under the street lamp that brightens the cold darkness.
Mikhail was speaking to me.
“Why did you appear before me…?”
I said nothing.
Mikhail, who was glaring at me while placing his hand on the sword hilt, looked at me, who had neither spoken nor caused any harm.
“What are you trying to do this time by showing up…?”
I had something I wanted to say to Mikhail.
It wasn’t something important, but it was something I wanted to say to satisfy a simple curiosity.
However, offended by Mikhail’s cold questioning attitude, I spoke with a bitter smile.
“I haven’t even Apostled… Isn’t this too much cold treatment?”
Saying it like this, I had no choice but to speak harshly. There was a saying in the world I knew: ‘Good words bring good responses.’
Generally, I avoided saying things that could hurt others. You never know when you might meet someone again, and my conduct was directly tied to the Young Lady’s reputation.
However, if people misunderstand me like this, I have no choice but to break my conviction.
The heart I had barely steadied seemed about to waver.
No matter if they were a close friend from the Academy.
Even if they were a close friend from unpleasant memories, speaking like this was truly troublesome.
After all, I was someone who had saved their life multiple times.
I didn’t want to be treated like a hero. I neither wanted it nor felt comfortable being revered.
But this kind of treatment wasn’t what I wanted either… Seeing Mikhail’s hand on the sword hilt, I sighed.
With a complicated heart, I spoke to Mikhail.
“Mikhail.”
“…What.”
“No matter how much you hate me, isn’t it a bit much to place your hand on a weapon? I haven’t even Apostled yet, and even someone as handsome as me would feel hurt.”
“Shut up.”
“What did I do so wrong for you to act like this? Of course, I’ve made mistakes, but now that we’re adults, shouldn’t we stop…?”
“Stop now that we’re adults?”
Mikhail, who had bitten back, removed his hand from the sword hilt and glared at me. As Mikhail’s eyes filled with an emotion called rage, I had an ‘Oops’ moment.
This time, it was my mistake.
Because I had been wrong in forcing unwanted love. This time, my mistake was undeniable.
Although I stopped the Young Lady, I hadn’t given Mikhail a proper answer. As someone who had only ever said, ‘Please speak kindly,’ or ‘Please don’t treat me too coldly,’ claiming I had no fault would have been an obvious lie.
Only after blurting out my words did I realize that my ‘Shouldn’t you just forget about it by now?’ was nothing more than a whiny complaint devoid of guilt.
Mikhail briskly walked toward me step by step.
As I saw Mikhail’s footsteps, filled with strength, approaching, I gave a bitter smile. I knew what had angered him.
Mikhail looked up at me and spoke.
“Do you think you have the right to say that?”
“…”
“When I told you to stop, you ignored me. Do you think it makes sense for you to tell me to forget?”
“…”
Mikhail didn’t know my circumstances.
He didn’t try to understand.
He had no intention of listening.
The reasons why I had no choice.
I was a bit angry at Mikhail, who didn’t try to understand my unavoidable circumstances.
Because I didn’t want to torment him either.
I didn’t want to torment Yuria.
I also didn’t want to be hated by the students.
Because I had no interest in being hated by others.
Nevertheless, the reason I couldn’t help but act this way was due to a foolish reason. A foolish excuse of wanting to create a better future and protect everyone.
In the end, it was all to protect the Young Lady.
I lacked the strength to stop what I liked. And I feared the aftermath that would come from stopping what I liked.
I want to say it too.
Do you know how I feel?
Being caught up in wrongs I didn’t even commit.
Being cursed for doing something for others.
Being criticized by everyone for actions taken to save a life—have you ever tried to understand how I feel?
Even so, my faults don’t disappear.
So I smiled.
Because it wasn’t something I did with expectations.
Because I was someone who committed such acts out of a fleeting whim I wanted to forget, like a passing wind, I smiled as I looked at Mikhail.
Of course, I felt wronged and had a lot to say, but I was someone who liked the Young Lady and also carried a sense of responsibility as a possessor.
I had no interest in becoming a hero. Unfortunately.
Being a villain who could joke and laugh was far more entertaining than being a hero with a story. I smiled as I watched Mikhail approach.
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“Why do I need to have the right to say something? I want to say it, so I say it.”
“Ha…”
Mikhail let out an empty laugh.
Seeing Mikhail get angry and annoyed at me, who spoke my feelings honestly without deceit, I tilted my head with a question mark on my head and said.
“You’re the one who started this, Mikhail. From the first time we met until now.”
“When did I ever…!”
“Don’t you remember? You to me…”
“I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to remember anything related to you. Shut up.”
“…I see.”
Under the street lamp’s light, I nodded and forced away the gloomy feeling. No matter what I said, my words would never reach Mikhail.
Well, what can I do?
I feel the same way about disliking him.
Nodding, I began to voice the question I had in my heart to Mikhail.
“Hey, Mikhail.”
“I said I don’t want to hear it.”
I kindly spoke into Mikhail’s ear, even as he rejected me. Questions aren’t meant to wait for someone to answer them kindly.
“Why do you wield a sword, Mikhail?”
“…What?”
“I was just curious. Why does righteous Mikhail wield a sword? In my case, I’m a born scoundrel, so there’s a reason, but isn’t it different for you? Wouldn’t something like being a Cleric or a Holy Knight suit you better?”
“That’s… to protect weak people from villains like you.”
Hearing Mikhail’s stiff, parroted answer, I let out a small laugh and caught a fragment.
“Then why am I a villain?”
“…”
“Sure, I’m guilty enough to be called a villain by you, but if you think about it, I’m also your benefactor, aren’t I?”
“That’s not true. I could’ve handled it alone.”
“Then should we dig deeper into the story? The parts Mikhail doesn’t remember…”
[A Restriction is Applied.]
“Oops…”
[Further statements may negatively affect the target ‘Mikhail.’]
[Do you still wish to proceed?]
With a bitter smile, I shook my head.
‘That was close.’
Mikhail, who couldn’t hear the rest of the story, glared at me with a sharp expression as I hesitated, but I gave a reluctant smile and shook my head.
“It’s nothing. Really.”
“Why? Why don’t you finish? Can’t think of anything to say now?”
“Hmm… Well, you’ll find out someday.”
I nodded as I looked at Mikhail.
“Anyway, if you think about it, I am a good person. I share bread with orphans and show mercy to the begging Boy and Girl with a warm heart.”
“Even villains do those things. Hiding their pitch-black intentions.”
I smiled.
This time, since Mikhail had taken the bait I threw, I thought I had seized Mikhail by the nape.
‘Got you.’
“Then, Mikhail, why did you accept this duel?”
“Because it was Mentor’s request…”
“So, do you do everything Mentor asks? What a person without principles.”
“Don’t mock me. One day, I’ll be better than you…”
“Yes~ That’s a matter for Mikhail to resolve later. But didn’t I ask something else just now? Why did you participate in the duel?”
“I told you. Because it was Mentor’s request.”
I smiled.
“You said you wield a sword for justice.”
“…”
“Then, in this duel, who represents justice for you to fight?”
I took a step closer to Mikhail.
“Hanna? Or your Mentor, who is called the Sword of the Empire?”
“Does Hanna seem like a villain to you, Mikhail?”
I spoke sharply, not giving Mikhail any room to grasp a clue.
“Are you dueling Hanna just because she is my Disciple? Did you accept this duel, meant to sever ties, with such a light heart?”
“Didn’t you hear Hanna’s story, Mikhail? Surely, you didn’t participate in the duel without even hearing it, did you?”
I tried to give Mikhail a fragment.
Though breaking the opponent’s morale in battle was a strategy, I was speaking to Mikhail with an eye toward the further future.
A lesson I wanted to impart to Mikhail, who now needed to become familiar with the concept of killing, and a conviction he should hold.
Thinking that today might be the only chance to convey this to Mikhail, I spoke to him with a bit of risk but with hope that he would accept it.
“Why are you so biased?”
“You think I’m biased?”
“Yes.”
“In what way am I biased?”
“In every way. Isn’t it strange to participate in something without understanding the stakes or knowing the circumstances? Isn’t that biased?”
Mikhail explained to me.
That his thoughts were correct.
“Mentor is Hanna’s Father, so to guide her to a better path…”
“Ah.”
“So, if I can be the key to that…”
“Hmm…”
“If that is what’s best for Hanna…”
“I see.”
I nodded while focusing on Mikhail’s expression.
He was flustered.
Perhaps unconsciously aware of his mistake, Mikhail’s expression looked as if he was trying to justify himself, and I nodded, thinking this was enough.
And then I spoke.
To push him to pursue his fragment.
“That’s it.”
“What?”
“That’s what I mean. I acted and made choices for what I believe is the best for my Precious Person.”
Mikhail glared at me.
“I’m not like you.”
I smiled at Mikhail’s words and nodded.
“That’s right. Mikhail isn’t like me. So, wield your sword with a light heart from now on.”
“…”
“That’s advice from an Old Friend.”
Once again, Mikhail couldn’t respond.
I walked away from Mikhail.
Mikhail clenched his fist as he stared at me.
“I’ll win.”
Who he intended to win against,
I didn’t bother to think about it.
*
Hanna swung her sword alone.
To make the technique Ricardo had shown her her own.
Slowly, like a small ripple forming in a still puddle, she swung her sword with focus.
On the 10th day.
-Swish.
Hanna found the Reason for the Sword.