Chapter 6: She Doesn't Make Bets She'll Lose

Around the time the sun began to set after returning to the Family Home.

-So, you’re not saying you’ll just blindly run away from home, right? Our naive Young Master. How exactly do you plan to survive out there with nothing to your name?

She suddenly spoke to Kariel, who was sitting at his desk, absorbed in his preview studies.

“…Are you mocking me?”

-Halfly?

The Demon King’s mischievous expression was utterly one-sided.

It was the kind of confidence one might show when looking down upon the weak and powerless.

-Since you have no power, you’re submitting and yielding even now, aren’t you? Do you really think leaving this place will change that life?

“So you’re saying I should accept the power?”

A pathetic trick.

However.

Instead, she scoffed and waved her hand dismissively.

-The ship has sailed, kiddo. Didn’t you say you hate Power Without Price? I think it would be a quite pleasant development for me to make you regret for a long time how much of a great opportunity you missed due to your spoiled whining.

“…….”

-Your father relied on the Holy Sword and Holy Relics, but did you think those were powers without a price? This is further proof that you still don’t know how the world works. Tsk, tsk…!

The Demon King clicked her tongue exaggeratedly.

“…So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

She probably wasn’t doing this just to mock or ridicule him for no reason.

-Then what, is power with a price okay?

“Why? Are you suggesting a conditional contract? Do you want my soul? Or perhaps this body?”

At that, the Demon King whistled as if it were a great idea.

-Ah, there was that move. Come to think of it, I heard other Demon Kings sought resurrection that way? How pathetic. No matter how shameless a king is, that’s just too much. Filthy bastards.

“……?”

-As I said, I have no reason to resort to such pathetic tricks. Though a kid like you wouldn’t know.

He didn’t understand.

What on earth was this woman—this Demon King—thinking?

“Surely, you’re not saying that the ‘power with a price’ is that you’ll raise me… right?”

-Why would I? You’re not becoming a Demon King. Why would I do anything for the son of the man who killed me? Have you gone mad?

“…….”

Logically, this was the correct answer.

If she had shown favor or tried to teach him something by citing fate or destiny, that would have been suspicious in its own right.

Furthermore.

That Demon King had likely already figured out his disposition.

She knew that such shallow tricks would never work on him.

-But, seeing my observer groveling like a worm and being taken advantage of like a pushover—and knowing he’ll continue to be so—it just makes me irritable.

“Wha-what?”

-It’s disgusting to see you wriggling like a worm. So, I’ll only provide you with the opportunity to struggle. No special privileges.

Instead.

-If you cannot overcome it, this will become another hell for you.

“What on earth are you talking about since a moment ago… ugh?”

Suddenly, his consciousness grew hazy.

Without even realizing he was collapsing, by the time he noticed, his entire body was sprawled helplessly on the floor.

‘What did she do….’

His consciousness gradually faded.

As if falling into a deep, deep abyss.

As if being sucked into a void without a single speck of light.

How much time had passed?

Suddenly, his vision cleared.

“……?”

Where is this?

A wasteland… thick with ash and sandstorms.

He had been thrust right into the center of it.

Aaaaaagh!!

Waaaaah!!

Beyond mere noise, fierce shouts and heat pierced through, threatening to paralyze his hearing.

Along with it.

Black dots filled the sky.

One second passed.

Another second flowed.

Now those dots had multiplied into countless numbers, closing in right before his eyes.

“Gah!”

Something battered his entire body.

No, it pierced, dug in, and punctured.

By the time he realized it, his body had become rags.

“Uh, ugh—?”

Without even knowing what had hit him.

His vision went black.

-Kigik?

And then, again.

“Hah?!”

He gasped for breath for a moment.

Quickly turning his head to look around and behind him.

Countless people were running desperately, screaming all sorts of shouts toward the front.

Clumsy leather armor.

Not a single person was intact or properly equipped.

In their hands were various non-standardized armaments.

And.

When he turned his gaze forward again.

Dots filled the sky once more.

That…

…was an Arrow Barrage, launched on a massive scale from a long distance.

Once again, he realized only just before dying.

‘What the—?!’

Before he could voice a question, a scream, or his bewilderment.

Arrows riddled his entire body, and he collapsed instantly.

No, at this point, it might be more accurate to say he was knocked down by the arrows.

Even the terrible pain stopped quickly.

However.

That was only possible because he had been extremely lucky.

By the time the third death arrived, he did not die cleanly.

The sensation of an arrow halfway penetrating his neck, and the remnants of violence—arrows stuck in his thighs, shins, abdomen, and eyes without fully piercing through—pressed down on his consciousness as sheer agony.

“Kehek! Cough!”

Blood burst, sprayed, and drained from his entire body.

He even saw a hallucination of the Grim Reaper brushing past his nose with a sneer.

Everything stretched out, and even his perception of the world gradually faded.

As vitality drained and the shadow of death cast a cold, harsh veil.

It was truly….

A horrific feeling.

“Urgh!”

He returned.

Once again, he was standing in the middle of the wasteland.

Instinctively, he lowered his body and crouched as much as possible.

…But that alone wasn’t enough to survive.

“Aaaagh!”

He managed to block with a shield lying on the ground for a moment.

But the arrow offense was so powerful, and since it wasn’t a single volley but a continuous stream.

He endured once or twice like a miracle, but he could not escape his fate of becoming a target.

He endured like that, fled, and even used corpses as shields multiple times.

‘It doesn’t end….’

He counted as he endured as much as he could.

10 times, 20 times.

In fact.

…It felt as if the Arrow Barrage poured down until the moment he died.

‘Why on earth?!’

Was it because he had gained a sliver of composure?

Or was it because some of his reason had returned even in this hellish situation?

How did it come to this?

‘Demon King—!’

This was surely her trick.

But why?!

Only to survive, he endured and endured.

Dying and dying again.

How long did such repetition continue?

Just as he completely gave up on thinking.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

“Hah!”

He instinctively curled his body.

For a moment, he felt relief in the enclosed space.

‘Where am I…?’

-How is it? Doesn’t your foggy mind feel wide awake now?

Along with a familiar voice, the Golden Woman appeared, hovering in the air.

A mischievous smile.

However, at this moment, Kariel realized acutely that it was no different from that of a demon.

====

-Calling it a sleep disorder is just an excuse. Instead of spending the night wide awake, don’t you think it’s more rational to rest your body and train your mind this way?

“…….”

An utterly selfish idea.

One clearly intended to ignore the well-being of others.

-Didn’t you say you didn’t need power without a price? So, with the intention of having you seize power by enduring the price, I personally provided a Training Ground, didn’t I? Instead of being grateful.

“That… was a Training Ground? That thing?”

Wasn’t it a slaughterhouse where I was unilaterally made a target and told to die?

Wasn’t it malicious harassment or torture?

-Your father and mother experienced scenes like that as naturally as breathing or eating. Why are you acting like a spoiled child over this?

“Do I look like the same kind of human as them to you?”

-It’s also a sight you’ll constantly see if you run away from home later. Even if it’s not a battlefield or an army, unspecified combat groups can dispose of civilians, travelers, and wanderers at any time. You haven’t truly realized how scary the world is yet. At least those arrows were visible. What will you do if they fly from a place you can’t see?

“Why do I have to—!”

Knock, knock, knock!

“Y-Young Master? Are you awake?”

“…….”

The Demon King smirked.

Go on, say more.

The way she curled the corners of her mouth, as if telling him to get angrier, made his murderous intent rise beyond mere annoyance.

“Yes.”

Kariel grit his teeth.

After he gave the answer while maintaining his composure, the door opened a moment later.

“It’s been a while since you woke up this early. You must have been very tired yesterday?”

“…….”

A girl showing her gladness with a bright smile.

He wondered how she could smile so innocently every time they faced each other.

Neatly trimmed black bobbed hair.

Her simple maid outfit showed no signs of disarray.

Even though it was early morning, she must have woken up long ago to look after the Family Home and check the surroundings.

Though there was a butler and a head maid, the total number of employees, including the girl before him, was fewer than five.

Considering it was a Noble Household and the scale of the home, it was a very small number, but since the family was frugal in such matters, it wasn’t unusual.

Kariel gazed steadily into the girl’s light brown eyes.

“Sylphia.”

“Yes?”

“…I plan to go to school early, so please prepare some simple snacks.”

At Kariel’s request, the girl, smiling brightly like a sunflower, gave a big nod.

“Yes! Of course!”

====

Dammit, as she said, his body was in peak condition.

Even his consciousness, which had been hazy and sluggish, was now as sharp as if he were standing on a blade.

No, this felt a bit excessive….

‘Because I died and died so many times.’

Even now.

The sensations of his entire body being pierced like a miserable target and becoming helplessly ragged remained vivid.

‘Dammit.’

Since he always spent the night wide awake, he was used to his mind being clouded and his consciousness being sharp.

But for his consciousness to become this acute and keen… it sparked a sense of unpleasantness in a different way.

Even.

“Kariel. Today… it seems you slept peacefully.”

Even the Princess commented on his state.

No, did I look that tired?

“…….”

Irritation surged for various reasons.

-Kikikik!

Especially because of that damnly malicious Demon King!