Vol 3 Chapter 41 – Magic

After returning the words to the Minotaur that he surely wanted to hear, I fled into my bed.

—I didn’t expect you to expose such a disgraceful state at this point—

Tia-sama, please be quiet. I’m not in a very good mood right now.

—A human body, after all. Did you do something unsuited for your vessel, and now, too late, you’ve grown afraid?—

I know I’m a chicken. Just be quiet already!

—If you are aware of it, you shouldn’t voice your weaknesses when you know I can hear them. You are my contractor, aren’t you? Your objective was an extraordinary one to begin with. If you are saying you’ll give up right here—

…

—Then I shall devour you right here and now—

…Tia-sama. I’m…

—Demon Lord Christela. It was my first time… seeing her directly, but she certainly is a monster. There is likely not a single person in this world who could face off against that thing directly and come out unscathed—

…

—And you, powerless and puny, decided to make that monster your sworn enemy. If you make an enemy out of someone you cannot defeat, the paths you can take become exceedingly limited. Wasn’t that something you understood from the very beginning?—

…

—If you give up now, you will simply fade from this world as a mere human. No one gets hurt, and perhaps, by some one-in-a-million chance, those heroes might actually destroy Christela—

Shut your mouth, Tia-sama. That’s enough.

—…I am saying your resolve is lacking. If taking the lives of not even a thousand mere humans leaves you in this state, it’s completely insufficient—

You don’t understand because you’re not human.

Tia-sama, you don’t understand the sanctity of life.

In the end, we’re just tiny existences that would blow away in the wind. It wouldn’t be strange if I ended up just like them at any moment… because I’m a human.

Nothing good comes from a mere human getting close to a god. Toying with human lives like this, who would ever forgive such a thing…

—I forgave it. Christela forgave it as well. The other demons will likely forgive it too. In other words, to live here means exactly that—

—You, saying such things at this incredibly late stage, hehe, how wonderful. How comical—

—I told you back then, in Tiamaria, didn’t I? There’s no turning back now. Because your hell has long since begun—

…Please give me a break. Me breaking down doesn’t benefit you at all, does it?

—You’re no good because you’re still saying things like that. If you’re swayed by mere words like mine, you’re completely useless—

—The real you is so very weak. Even your clown’s mask peels off easily after finishing just one task. Didn’t you throw away your fragile self, along with your name, back in that village?—

—Right now, you are just like straw—

Hey, could you please not make me any angrier, Tia-sama? Do you even have the right to say that to me…?

—You’re angry? Didn’t you throw away things like pride?—

—Just as you say, I may not have the right to blame you. But you, you too, to me… no, never mind. That’s fine—

—But remember. The current you is already an existence named Nine. Throw away your anger… and any other sentiments, and smile—

—Come on, remember. The one and only “magic” I taught you—

…I know. Tia-sama is surely saying these things for my sake.

Because this person is terribly kind. Because she is so overly kind that it’s -ful, she must be worrying about me even if it makes her a hypocrite.

But right now, I’m no good. It’s -ful.

People dying because of me is -ful.

So much so that it’s unbearable, it’s -ful.

But I threw those feelings away. Tia-sama tells me not to be angry, but the humiliation of being trampled by Christela, by that woman, is boiling at the bottom of my stomach.

Because, if only she weren’t there, if only she weren’t there, I would, I would still be smiling in that village, plowing the fields, maybe even taking a wife, and living happily…

Huh?

Happily?

I’m, if I recall correctly, happy right now, aren’t I?

I was just thinking a moment ago about how incredibly happy I am to be made into a chair by Chris-sama, wasn’t I?

Why was I so angry?

It makes no sense.

Right, that’s right, because I love her.

I love the Demon Lord the most.

I love everyone else in the demon race, too.

In the first place, why did I ever need to resent Christela?

My family is still alive, aren’t they?

Isn’t my mom Garon-san? I have Tia-sama too, and I’m going to make Puria-san my mom eventually as well.