Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World Chapter 119

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠“You there, what is your name?”

 

The only man mounted on a white horse among the soldiers of the Cavalry Corps surrounding the manor dismounted and asked. Just as he had when dealing with Hwashin and his companions, the village head rubbed his hands together and bowed deeply. 

 

“M-My name is Gran Mac.” 

 

“…Right, Gran Mac. So.”

 

He gestured with his chin toward Gran Mac’s mansion.

 

“You’re saying the ones who killed our soldiers are inside there?” 

 

“Yes, yes. They appear to be royal mages, but their attire and manner of speech were so peculiar that I reported them.” 

 

“But that is strange. From your perspective, aren’t they your lifesavers? Yet why did you report them to us?” 

 

The Cavalry Captain stroked his mustache, pulling at it. In a way, it was a natural question.

 

The Royal Cavalry had already branded this village as the village of the ‘Royal Relic Thief.’ They had come to slaughter them. Yet, to report the very people who had helped them… simply put, he thought the man was insane. To that, Gran Mac waved his hands dismissively and spoke.

 

“I, I too am ultimately merely a subject of this kingdom. If there is someone thought to be a rebel against the royal family, it is naturally my duty to report them.” 

 

“…Ho. I didn’t expect to find someone like you here.” 

 

“Hahaha. It is understandable. This is but a small village on the outskirts of the capital, after all.”

 

With a single elegant gesture from the Captain, the Royal Cavalry immediately stormed the mansion. Leaving the charging soldiers to their work, the Captain looked down at the hunched village head. It was a gaze that said: This is where your position ends.

 

“I shall remember your hard work.”

 

It also implied that it would end at simply remembering.

 

Despite the arrogant attitude that ignored him, Gran Mac, his head full of white hair, continued to bow repeatedly with an expression overwhelmed by emotion.

 

“Thank you! Thank you!”

 

At the same time.

 

Yoo Hwashin faced his companions who had come out into the hallway.

 

Yoo Jian was rolling up her sleeves with smoldering eyes.

 

“Did that b*stard just stab us in the back?”

 

“It seems they were people incapable of calculating profits and losses. But by any chance, is there anyone whose ability is triggering? For me, it doesn’t seem to work.” 

 

Jeong Mueum assessed the situation with a languid face. At Mueum’s question, Yoo Jian struck the floor with all her might, but the wooden floorboards did not break.

 

“….Uh? It doesn’t work for me either? Cha Jaeha, is it the same for you?” 

 

“I, I am the same too.” 

 

“….It’s the same.”

 

Cha Jaeha snapped his fingers several times, but the sparks only flickered briefly on his fingertips before vanishing repeatedly.

 

***

 

“Hmm, what do we do now.” 

 

Hwashin leaned his chin on the railing, looking down at the invading Cavalry. Since it was a situation he had anticipated, he wasn’t particularly concerned, but it seemed the others didn’t feel the same. It was understandable, as he was the only one who had been suspicious of the banquet in the first place. Cha Jaeha, too, despite it not showing on his face, looked to be contemplating the future development.

 

However, if anyone were to curse them as being stupid or ask why they hadn’t been suspicious, that in itself would be nonsense.

 

‘If someone who saves others begins to doubt those they are saving—or those they have saved—could they truly be called a hero?’

 

Hwashin believed that only those who believe people are inherently good can carry the burden of being a “Hero.” For that reason, Hwashin could never be a Great Hero, a true Hero.

 

No, for that reason, having himself as the only one to doubt was enough.

 

He hoped for them to remain ‘good.’

 

Hwashin, who organized his thoughts to that point, raised his voice while snickering. Attention shifted toward his thoroughly amused nuance. 

 

“Actually, this worked out better!”

 

Swish.

 

Hwashin turned and leaned his back against the railing. Behind him, the magic flares fired by the Royal Cavalry exploded like fireworks. As the dazzling five-colored lights enveloped his back, the scene looked more like a festival Hwashin himself had organized. Curiously, however, the Cavalry’s magic could not come near Hwashin’s group. Even though no one should have been able to use their abilities. It was as if an invisible wall was protecting them.

 

As if a power like the wheel of fate, rather than mana, was guarding them.

 

Hwashin, who wore a wide, mischievous smile, held up a single finger prominently. 

 

“In any case, we have to find the protagonist of hell here and banish them, right?” 

 

The protagonist of this hell stole the ‘royal relic.’ Judging by the contents of the public notice during the day and the information dug up at the banquet today. 

 

“The protagonist of this Hell is likely still in the capital. It would have been nearly impossible for a single person to cross the border or move between cities with a relic because of the checkpoints.”

 

The reason Hwashin hadn’t warned them about the wine was that they had to go to the kingdom anyway, and it was more convenient to be guided by someone. Simultaneously, he wanted to give his party a short rest.

 

He didn’t want them to shoulder the burden if it was a situation he could handle.

 

“So, won’t things go more smoothly if those guys guide us to the royal castle? And that Cavalry unit probably isn’t aiming to kill us in this village.” 

 

“….Is that conclusion based on their entry process? If their goal was to kill us from the start, they wouldn’t have invaded so noisily.”

 

Hwashin nodded proudly at Cha Jaeha’s words. Yes! To think he’s a guy who understands ten things when taught one. It was very rewarding. A growing protagonist always strikes a chord in a fan’s heart.

 

“Correct. Furthermore, originally in a kingdom, the folks at the top are the kind who want to exploit every bit of power available.” 

 

“It means they’ll want to see an unidentified mage directly at least once. That’s true.” 

 

“Smart, Mueum. The effect of the wine will wear off by the time we reach the kingdom. Once we’re there, they’ll probably try to test our abilities to see if they can use us.” 

 

“You speak as if you’ve experienced such a thing before.”

 

At that one remark, Hwashin laughed bitterly. He couldn’t help it. Because Yoo Hwashin had actually experienced such a kingdom, had worked for such people, and had experienced losing everything.

 

Amidst the exploding fireworks, their voices were heard from somewhere.

 

– Brother. Brother. I’m okay. I really am. So please, Brother, live your own life.

– ….Live your life, Elric. I shall cheer for you from the boundaries of death, life, and the soul.

– I have come here to save you, Elric.

 

Voices that were familiar yet distant. Longed-for voices. The voices of those he least wanted to remember, yet most wanted to cherish.

 

But. Hwashin actually found this pain welcome.

 

‘Yes, that’s how it should be.’

 

I have not yet atoned for my sins, and since you all, who would forgive my sins, are no longer by my side…

 

You had to stay by my side forever, even in that way. I had to let the past we shared consume me entirely.

 

So that I do not repeat the same mistakes.

 

The charging Cavalrymen soon surrounded Hwashin’s group on the second floor. The sharp tips of magic spears pointed at them. Hwashin raised his hands high with a face full of mischief.

 

“Oh my~.” 

 

So scary.

 

***

 

As the group expected, the Royal Cavalry did not kill them. Though they bound their hands with rope, they took no further measures. In fact, those who were not the Captain carefully helped them into a carriage. It was almost as if they were treating nobility.

 

The vehicle Hwashin’s group boarded was an ordinary covered wagon, but it was surprisingly comfortable as no cargo other than straw was loaded.

 

The village head and the villagers gathered to watch them head toward the carriage.

 

“P-please just under, understand that we had no choice. I am truly sorry!”

 

The village head, standing in the front row, suddenly spoke up and approached. Yoo Jian boarded the carriage with a face like she had seen something disgusting, and Cha Jaeha did not answer. Indeed, he didn’t even spare a glance. Jeong Mueum irritably raised his middle finger, while Lee Suho glanced around before giving a light bow.

 

Hwashin, with a bright and cheerful face, said:

 

“Hahaha, honestly, it would have been better if you had just dropped dead, but what a shame!”

 

Uh…

 

“P-pardon?” 

 

“Ah, did you not hear me well? I said it would have been better if you had dropped dead!”

 

….Right, then.

 

Hwashin shouted at the top of his lungs once more as if to drive the point home. And to top it off, he raised his bound hands and made a gesture of slitting his throat. It was a perfect death threat.

 

Even some of the Cavalrymen turned their heads in surprise at his sudden behavior, and some even let out a snicker.

 

No, really, the situation… uh. Isn’t it a bit like that. 

 

A rogue mage being dragged away in ropes, speaking like that to the village head who reported them after they were essentially their lifesavers. The village head’s face flushed bright red, as if he hadn’t anticipated this reaction.

 

In fact, that red face was proof of the emotion: Actually, I’m not sorry at all.

 

If he had truly felt sorry, he wouldn’t have been ashamed of his own apology.

 

“We had no choice! We have to live too, don’t we!” 

 

“…..” 

 

“Ultimately, if we had hidden you or let you escape, our village would have been laid waste after you left!”

 

His speech became increasingly rapid.

 

“So my choice was not wrong! I’m saying that as the head of the village, I had no choice! B-but to tell me to drop dead! How, how can you say such a thing?”

 

Huffing and puffing, the village head took a step closer.

 

“W-we thought you were heroes!!” 

 

“Hmm.”

 

Hwashin let out a short hum and asked the Cavalryman standing next to him. His finger was already pointing at the village head.

 

“May I go to that person for a moment?” 

 

“…..Well, fine. Go ahead.”

 

It was a distance of less than ten steps anyway. The soldier nodded as if to say he understood, and Hwashin strode over to the village head. The village head flinched and stepped back. As expected, footsteps taken in flight are more agile than those taken in approach.

 

“W-what is it?” 

 

“….Hmm.” 

 

“I said, what is—!!” 

 

“「You.」”

 

Shut up.

 

Gasp.

 

At Hwashin’s whisper, the village head’s mouth instantly clamped shut. He made mmph, mmph noises, but it was impossible to open his lips.

 

‘H-how is he using magic? Didn’t he drink the wine?’

 

Hwashin, having drunk the wine, could not operate mana. However, Karma was a power separate from that. Hwashin’s black eyes glowed blue. The village head stared with a terrified face into those mysterious eyes imbued with blue light. At the suddenly altered atmosphere, the village head’s struggles gradually subsided. Hwashin, his face expressionless, leaned in close to the village head’s ear.

 

***

 

“I’m done! Shall we head back?”

 

Hwashin turned back and smiled brightly again. A beauty smiling wide with a boyish grin. The Cavalrymen merely wore faces wondering what on earth this guy was, but they could not intervene. Cha Jaeha asked Hwashin as he boarded the carriage.

 

“Did you curse him again like you did back then?” 

 

“….Back then? Ah, like with Suho?”

 

Hwashin grinned.

 

Yes, it was similar.

 

「The time you are able to open your mouth shall be when you truly act for the sake of others.」

 

The curse placed on him would likely never be lifted for the rest of his life.

 

***

 

Clop, clop, clop.

 

How much time had passed? The wheels of the wagon, which had been rattling every time they passed a bumpy road, entered a period of stability. It meant they had entered the kingdom’s capital. Yoo Jian peeked through the gaps in the tied tent at the capital’s streets.

 

“Whoa….. it really is impressive. Is this… really Hell?”

 

Unlike the village, the capital’s streets were the height of beauty. Great trees boasting lush greenery displayed their majesty everywhere, and an abundance of food filled the marketplace. Furthermore, smiles never left the faces of the people they saw, to the point where one might mistake this for heaven if such a place existed.

 

“Dismount!” 

 

The booming voice of the Cavalry Captain was heard. The place where they dismounted was not that brilliant street, but the underground dungeon of the royal castle. The smell of damp mold and cold, humid air hit them.

 

“Get in.”

 

The iron-barred door, thick with moss, opened, and Hwashin’s group entered a space of about thirty square meters in single file.

 

“Wait here; someone from the Magic Tower will be coming to get you soon. For your information, you cannot use mana here, so don’t even dream of escaping.”

 

The Cavalry Captain left after leaving those words.

 

Hwashin silently stared at the corridor he had left. The reason Hwashin was standing in a spot where the underground dungeon corridor could be seen clearly was simple. 

 

His reason for persistently drinking the wine and being imprisoned in the castle dungeon was partly to ‘find the protagonist,’ but there was another objective as well.

 

In the ‘Hell of Falsehood,’ it was necessary to make even one more trustworthy ally. Even if they weren’t trustworthy, he needed one more person he could rely on here.

 

Then surely one of ‘those guys’ should be here.

 

As Hwashin looked around, a voice both familiar and strange struck his ears.

 

“Are you Yoo Hwashin-ssi?”

 

Ah, he was hoping it wouldn’t be ‘that guy,’ though.