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I Got a New Skill Every Time I Was Exiled, and After 100 Different Worlds, I Was Unmatched (Web Novel) - Chapter 395: I Don’t Intend to Bind, but I Can’t Deny the Feeling of Loneliness.
Chapter 395: I Don’t Intend to Bind, but I Can’t Deny the Feeling of Loneliness.
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
After finishing our meal, we left the town as usual. It was a hassle getting in… considering we had to carry in the hero party that fainted. But now that Schwarze was conscious, leaving was easy. Walking comfortably along the morning-freshened highway, Tia spoke to Schwarze again.“So, Schwarze. I missed asking for specifics earlier, but what exactly are your plans and where are you heading?”
“Well, first, we’ll head to the town of Gimil as we are, and from there, we plan to head to a village called Tsuson.”
“Oh, really? Is there something special about that village?”
“Yes. Actually, it’s been rumored that a mysterious epidemic has been spreading in Tsuson.”
“An epidemic!?”
Tia exclaimed in surprise at Schwarze’s serious expression. She immediately grimaced but then tilted her head significantly the next moment.
“That’s… I think it’s really tough, and I want to do something about it, but is it safe for us to go there? It’s an epidemic, isn’t it?”
The hero party travels the world to defeat the Demon King. But if such individuals were to catch a nasty contagious disease, it would spread worldwide.
Expressing such natural concerns, Tia asked, but Schwarze relaxed his expression slightly and responded.
“It’ll be fine. It seems that the epidemic affects only those with weaker constitutions to some extent. Of course, I… reluctantly, the Demon King there shouldn’t be affected. However, just to be safe, it might be better for you to wait a little further away, Tia-san,just in case…”
“What do you think, Ed?”
“Hmm? Oh, Tia, you should be fine. A Dark White Elf like you wouldn’t be afflicted by a disease as feeble as that, and I’ll protect you with my power.”
“…I see.”
Schwarze spoke with a voice mixed with relief and irritation at my response. Without saying anything further, Schwarze turned away, and instead, Tia gently held my hand.
[Ed, are you really okay with this?]
[Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine. If it’s the same as the first loop, then that wasn’t an epidemic; it was a curse.]
[A curse!?]
Surprised, Tia looked at me while hurriedly covering her mouth.
[A curse? What do you mean?]
[Well, it’s just like it sounds. There’s a strange statue a bit away from the village that’s producing the curse. So, if we just destroy it, we’re done.]
[I see. Then if we tell Schwarze about it—]
[No, that’s not a good idea.]
It was easy to tell him, but he probably won’t believe it at first. Even if he did believe it, I could foresee him asking, “How do you know that!?” If I just bullishly claim it’s because of my “Demon King power,” it could strain my relationship with Schwarze even further. So, I don’t want to unnecessarily throw it around.
[We still have time before there are casualties, so let’s start with gathering information through conventional means. We’ve managed to maintain a decent relationship enough to have a conversation, so I don’t want to turn Schwarze into a ‘tool for us to return to our original world.’]
[That’s true… By the way, Ed, are you concerned about Schwarze?]
[Well, you could say that.]
In the first loop, I traveled with Schwarze as normal. And this time too, I had intended to become allies as originally planned. I was adopting an antagonistic attitude only because I reluctantly chose the position of the Demon King, but personally, I have no ill will towards Schwarze.
[Even in this kind of relationship, there should be a way for Schwarze to grow as a hero and lead to a future where the Demon King is defeated. If we can do that, won’t the initial failure be forgiven?]
[Fufu, that’s true. Then let’s do our best together, shall we?]
[…Yeah.]
Tia’s natural “let’s do our best together” makes me smile involuntarily. However, just as if to shatter my mood directly, Schwarze turned around and addressed me.
“Hey, Demon King, release your filthy hands from Tia-san right now! Tia-san, if you don’t mind, could you please talk with me for a moment?”
“Huh? Sure thing. See you later, Ed.”
“…Yeah, take care.”
Watching Tia walk away, I walked while staring at the backs of the two.
“Um, Tia-san. I said this earlier this morning, but could you tell me more about yourself? You, who shares the same hair and eye color as me, don’t seem like just anyone.”
“Oh? I don’t think those colors are particularly rare…”
“No, they’re not. It’s surely fate that a hero given the mission to defeat the Demon King and Tia-san, who was captured by the Demon King, have similar appearances. If we get to know each other deeply, perhaps we can see a better future…”
“Um, well… okay, but can we leave out the stuff about my race? That’s… you know, a bit… because of that.”
“Haha, understood. I’ll wait until you trust me enough to tell me. Then let’s start with me—”
(Oh, they seem to be having fun.)
I didn’t feel any strong sense of crisis watching the two of them converse with smiles. Actually, with Tia being likable in both appearance and personality, it’s not unusual to see someone smiling and chatting next to her.
Moreover, while it’s not Schwarze’s argument, it’s indeed not good to keep tethering Tia to me alone. Since we’re traveling through various worlds anyway, experiencing things one wouldn’t normally see, meeting people we wouldn’t normally meet, and accumulating various experiences and memories would undoubtedly be a plus for Tia’s life.
(Someday…)
And then, I suddenly thought. Even though I have no intention of doubting Tia’s words about staying with me forever, if I sincerely wished for Tia to walk a different path… could I let her go?
Absorbing various powers to become a “higher” existence… not me, who has become something other than human, but rather someone, somewhere, desiring to journey alongside a fellow human. For that day that might come eventually, I—
“Ed!”
“Hmm? Oh, what is it?”
Called by name, I snapped back to reality. Tia was there, but Schwarze was a bit further away… it seemed my feet lagged without me realizing.
“What’s with the ‘oh well’ attitude? You have to keep up, you know?”
“Haha, yeah, sorry.”
“It’s fine, really. Besides, I’m the older sister here!”
“Wow, haven’t heard that in a while…”
“Hah, acting all nonchalant, huh? If you keep lagging like this, you might as well disappear from my sight.”
“Huh? Hero, have you forgotten why you’re with me? It’s because you can’t defeat the Demon King on your own, so you’re here to watch me do it, right?”
“Ugh! W-Well, that’s…”
“See, there you go again! Geez, you’re hopeless.”
Tia lightly flicked my forehead. It didn’t hurt or itch, but the spot where Tia touched feels a bit warm.
“Since Ed is the Great Demon King, you should act more composed, right? Come on, let’s go.”
Without any doubt, I accept the offered hand. Regardless of where our futures were headed, at this moment, Tia was pulling me along.
That’s fine, that’s enough. I should be satisfied with that, shouldn’t I?
“Hey, Tia. What were you talking to Schwarze about?”
In a barely audible whisper so Schwarze couldn’t hear, I asked Tia. If I really didn’t want to be heard, I should’ve used the [Missing Talk] technique… but somehow, I just felt like having a secret conversation.
“Huh? It wasn’t anything special… Why? Are you curious?”
“…Well, just a little.”
“Just a little? Really? Fufu.”
“Ugh, whatever!”
“Alright, alright. I’ll tell you later.”
Turning my face away from Tia, who was teasing with a grin and poking at my cheeks, she stepped forward… but she started walking at the same speed as me. Soon, we caught up with Schwarze…
“I kept you waiting, Hero.”
“Indeed. Now, let’s hurry. There are people suffering from illness who are waiting for my arrival!”
With Schwarze’s enthusiastic encouragement, we all walked at the same pace.
