Chapter 9: My Shield… I Mean My Friend

【Eksu PoV】

It was already afternoon when I got rid of Elizabeth.

She had been following me around all day… seriously… this girl is strange. Every time she saw me, she immediately attacked—always testing my 【Absolute Defense】.

She even tried to hit me out of nowhere with a surprise attack.

Sometimes, while we were talking, she would launch a sudden punch. My 【Absolute Defense】 always activated at the last moment, leaving me completely unharmed.

Other times, she brandished an improvised sword and lunged at me.

In the end, if it weren’t for my 【Absolute Defense】, I probably would have been finished.

Damn… I’m going to be forced to endure this for a long time.

My mother has become so obsessed that she wants me to be friends with her. If it weren’t for that, I would have sent her packing ages ago.

And my father—whom I thought might help me—just nods along and agrees with everything my mother says…

I don’t want a relationship where I only obey the woman… no matter who she is.

They say the way our parents relate influences the kinds of relationships we seek… Will I end up chasing after someone as bossy as my mother?
I hope not…

Anyway, I’m going to the city.

From what they’re saying, a hero has appeared—a hero of the capital. His name is Siegfried.

I was told he was holed up in a tavern, so I got curious and went to see him.

Siegfried had blond hair, and even though he was still a child, he already looked remarkably heroic.

“Siegfried-dono.”

Because of the clear difference in our statuses, I preferred to address him in a more formal tone.

“Look, if it isn’t my scapegoat… I mean… Eksu… I was looking for you…”

“Seriously?”

“Yes… you, my scapegoat… damn… I mean… you’re my friend… or will be. You have a top-notch 【Absolute Defense】, and I’m going to need it to get rid of death… I mean… to get rid of the demon king…”

Siegfried seemed very strange. Out of nowhere, he called me “scapegoat.” What the hell does that even mean?

Then he went on about using my skill to vanquish death.

“What did you mean by scapegoat?”

“Scapegoat… sorry, I’m a little tired from my trip. I arrived exhausted, then had to fight, and… well… forget it. You’re going to join the hero’s party… my party… yay… yay…”

“Okay, but… I don’t want to…”

“What?”

“Did you hear me? I don’t want to…”

“Why…?”

“Because I D-O-N-T W-A-N-T!!”

Damn… I ended up being rude to the hero without meaning to. But what could I do? He came out of nowhere, just like Elizabeth, and proposed absurd things to me.

At least this time, my mother won’t be able to force me into something I don’t want to do.

“Well… you might change your mind… if you listen to what I have to say…”

“What do you have to say?”

“I heard you’ve been having trouble with a certain girl… Elizabeth. I know how to deal with her…”

“Go on…”

“Elizabeth is an… acquaintance of mine. Let’s just say I know her well enough to help you get rid of her… if you join my party, sure.”

“So… we’ll go on a trip and leave her here… I’ll miss my parents… but if it’s to save the world… so be it…”

“Calm down… calm down… I still have to stay in this village for a few years… until she develops feelings for you… I mean, until she loses her obsessive streak…”

“Did you say something about her developing feelings?”

“No… listen, Eksu… you’ll be my shield… I mean… my friend from now on…”

【Siegfried PoV】

“Siegfried-dono.”

A voice called me when I was thinking about the tavern… Who could it be?

“Eksu… is that Eksu?”

I managed to spot him easily—though I had to check if Elizabeth was lurking around. And… she wasn’t… thank goodness.

“Look, if it isn’t my scapegoat… I mean… Eksu… I was looking for you…”

I almost let my true intentions slip that easily… damn, I can’t give in… not now.

“Seriously?”

“Yes… you, my scapegoat… damn… I mean… you’re my friend… or will be. You have a top-notch 【Absolute Defense】, and I’m going to need it to get rid of death… I mean… to get rid of the demon king…”

“What did you mean by scapegoat?”

This time, I realized he noticed my discomfort. How could he not, after that huge mistake I made?

I’d better come up with an excuse.

“Scapegoat… sorry, I’m a little tired from my trip. I arrived exhausted, then had to fight, and… well… forget it. You’re going to join the hero’s party… my party… yay… yay…”

“Okay, but… I don’t want to…”

“What?”

What… don’t want… what do you mean, don’t want?

“Did you hear me? I don’t want to…”

“Why…?”

“Because I D-O-N-T W-A-N-T!!”

Damn it, I have to change this mindset of his no matter what… I need him to be my scapegoat and my shield.

“Well… you might change your mind… if you listen to what I have to say…”

“What do you have to say?”

“I heard you’ve been having trouble with a certain girl… Elizabeth. I know how to deal with her…”

I’m just hiding the fact that I secretly want to help him win over Elizabeth… but well… he’ll find out those details when the time comes, and it’s not now.

“Go on…”

“Elizabeth is an… acquaintance of mine. Let’s just say I know her well enough to help you get rid of her… if you join my party, sure.”

“So… we’ll go on a trip and leave her here… I’ll miss my parents… but if it’s to save the world… so be it…”

Calm down, friend… we’re not leaving here until Elizabeth has a huge crush on you… I need that.

“Calm down… calm down… I still have to stay in this village for a few years… until she develops feelings for you… I mean, until she loses her obsessive streak…”

Again, I almost ruined everything… I don’t know what’s happening to me today; I haven’t been this dumb before, blurting out unnecessary things.

“Did you say something about her developing feelings?”

“No… listen, Eksu… you’ll be my shield… I mean… my friend from now on…”

And so I wrapped up our conversation before I did something else foolish.