Chapter Season 2 729

Translator: Alpha0210

Iris made Schweizer's grave at an oasis north of Sarman.

She had not known him especially well, but somehow, he had not seemed like someone who belonged buried beneath the dry sands of a desert.

Finding a decent burial spot was one thing, but building a proper grave in a place like this was difficult. In the end, it became a simple grave marked only by Schweizer's staff planted in the ground.

"...To think I'd be the one to make your grave. If anything, weren't we the sort of people where no one would've found it strange if I killed you? The two of us."

Iris's smile was as dry as the wind blowing across the desert.

Quiet.

The oasis was clear and expansive, yet there was no sign of anyone nearby. It was exactly the kind of place where one might expect to find a desert waystation, and yet not even a human shadow could be seen.

That was because ferocious Monsters had once run rampant in every direction.

There was a reason that had to be put in the past tense: for the time being, it would be difficult to find a Monster anywhere around here. Over the past several days, Iris had meticulously exterminated every Monster that used the oasis as its base.

There had been a chance they might dig up and devour Schweizer's body, which had not yet fully decomposed. Only after dealing with them had she finally found the breathing room to hold memorial rites for him.

Iris remained silent for a moment, then said almost offhandedly.

"It still doesn't feel real. You really are dead, aren't you?"

Naturally, no answer would come, but it was true that his death did not feel real.

She felt as though she could return to Sarman right now, open the door to the inn where they had stayed for quite some time, and find Schweizer there.

The moment their eyes met, he would scowl as though he had seen something he wished he hadn't... Beside him, Lucid would be chewing his food with the solemn expression of a man deep in meditation. Lukas would be sitting between the two of them as if mediating, and just then, Kasajin would come walking out drenched in sweat after finishing his training, immediately earning an earful from Iris.

...Even so, it did not feel real. That she had been abruptly forced to say goodbye to that everyday life, and that now she could never return to it.

Had she been drunk on hope?

Had she failed to fully grasp that they were walking a dangerous road?

When she first learned of the existence of Demigods and realized how dangerous they were– truthfully, Iris had not felt any particularly strong reaction.

Whatever happened to the world simply was not that important to her. She could hardly dismiss it as completely insignificant, of course, but in terms of priorities, it had never felt like something that belonged at the very top.

Perhaps that was because Iris fundamentally lacked anything resembling a sense of justice.

After becoming one of Lukas's companions, she had traveled across the continent and accomplished a fair number of great deeds. She also knew that she herself had contributed significantly to them.

But had that ever given Iris any particular satisfaction or pride? When several women came to her in tears and thanked her, saying that because of her people had begun to see Witches differently– hadn't she felt more burdened than happy?

That was probably simply the disposition she had been born with.

When she was young, she had truly hated the way the world judged her.

Witch. Cursed woman. Servant of demons. She had thought people arbitrarily judged others through their disgusting prejudices. Her thoughts had changed somewhat now. Their condemnation had not been entirely baseless. Iris had finally come to admit that she was not a good person.

And yet, the reason she risked her life, continued that grueling journey alongside her companions, and chased after terrifying beings known as Demigods was.......

There was no point hiding it. It had been entirely because of Lukas.

Then what should Iris have done when Schweizer died?

It was far too late to arrive at an answer now, yet Iris kept revisiting that moment. Back then, she had done nothing. She had not wanted Lukas to think she was needlessly making herself a nuisance, and she had assumed that Lukas would manage to overcome it on his own.

Only after some time had passed did she realize something was wrong....... Belatedly, she went to Lukas to comfort him, only to be rejected. She kept trying to talk to him, but nothing went the way she wanted–.

...No. That wasn't really it. There was no reason to lie even here.

In the end, Iris simply had not wanted Lukas to hate her.

She had feared being hated by Lukas because of some conflict that might arise far more than she had wanted to comfort him. On the surface, she had pretended it was for Lukas's sake, but in truth, it had been for her own.

'That woman' hadn't been like that.

The blue-haired woman who had appeared without warning had not been afraid to approach Lukas in the slightest. Lukas's sharp responses, his cold gaze, his blatant rejection, none of it bothered her– no matter how hard he tried to push her away, she kept smiling brightly and clasped both of his hands in hers.

Was that really okay?

For some reason, Iris had found herself staring at the scene as though mesmerized.

She kept watching.

She watched Lukas's attitude soften, the wariness disappear from his expression, and the shadow hanging over his face gradually fade– until, at last, the faintest smile bloomed across his lips. From beginning to end... she saw every last step of it.

She was angry. So incredibly angry that every kind of thought flooded her mind.

What was he doing?

He had just lost a friend. Had he completely erased Schweizer from his mind already? Who did he think had moved that man's body, found this place, buried him, and made his grave?

Wasn't he curious where Schweizer had been buried?

Kasajin and Lucid were still alive. What about them?

Was this really the time for him to keep staying in that village? They had killed the Demigod, but there might still be more of its companions or subordinates nearby.

Shouldn't he be searching the temple, the nearby villages, or places like ancient ruins?

...Why?

Why hadn't he come looking for her even once?

Countless times, Iris had wanted to go to him and demand an answer.

But her feet had refused to move. The words would not come easily, either.

As a result, Iris had not faced Lukas even once since that day.

Jealousy. An inferiority complex. It would have been a lie to say she felt neither.

But worse than either of those was her self-loathing.

Lukas, who had come to her and held out his hand when she desperately needed help.

Iris, who had merely stood by and watched when Lukas fell apart.

Whenever she closed her eyes, those two opposing images appeared before her.

That was why she could not bring herself to step between Lukas and that woman. She had lost even the courage to show herself.

Now Iris could only gaze bitterly at Schweizer's grave.

She owed this man an apology as well. Iris had dug Schweizer's grave while pretending it was for his sake, but even that had been an attempt to draw Lukas's attention. As for clearing out the Monsters nearby, she had simply needed something on which to vent her anger.

Faced with that truth, she found herself unable to tell what she was supposed to do anymore– then, after a little more time passed, she became angry instead.

She was angry with herself, but she also hated Lukas for flirting with that mercenary woman.

The human heart was truly fickle. Iris knew perfectly well that she had no right to be angry, yet she could not rein in her emotions.

Fine. He could do whatever he wanted.

...Perhaps she had been overestimating Lukas all along. A friend dying right in front of him? Perhaps it really was horrible enough to shatter a person's mind. But was Lukas the only person in this world who had ever suffered such a tragedy? Everyone had to learn to live on after losing other people.

But Lukas?

He had completely fallen apart just because a single friend died. Truthfully, she had never imagined he could be that pathetic. So it was hardly strange that she was losing affection for him.

Perhaps this was simply as far as they were meant to go.

She had respected Lukas and been drawn to the way he lived, but she had never truly identified with it. Iris could not imagine living with that degree of self-sacrifice. After all, whenever it came down to it, she had always put herself before others.

Perhaps an ending like this had been decided from the very beginning.

"I'm thinking of starting over completely."

Iris murmured as she looked at the grave.

"Saving the world, hunting down the masterminds manipulating the continent from the shadows, defeating them. That sort of righteous business never suited me in the first place."

There was no answer.

"From now on, I think I'll try living a little more selfishly. If I do that, well, maybe I'll meet someone nice, don't you think? ...Lukas? I suppose we just weren't meant for each other. If anything, I'm the one who's too good for him."

Naturally, there was no answer.

"...Have I been rambling for too long? Schweizer. I think all I ever did was say nasty things to you while you were alive, yet only after you're dead do I finally show you my honest side. Sorry this is the kind of person I am."

"......"

"...Now that I'm saying it, I didn't actually dislike you, either."

"Really?"

There wasn't supposed to be an answer.

Iris flinched at the voice that suddenly reached her ears and looked around.

Schweizer's voice? Impossible.

It was a man's voice, but it was not Schweizer's.

"I asked if you truly meant that, human."

...No way.

Even if her actions had not been motivated by goodwill, that was no reason for Iris to be careless with Schweizer's grave. Her motto, after all, was to handle everything thoroughly and cleanly once she started.

She had checked again and again. There should not have been another living creature left within a radius of several kilometers around this oasis.

Then why– was there a person in a place like this?

The man had a taciturn air about him. There was absolutely nothing striking about his appearance, yet strangely enough, from the instant Iris saw him, the chills running down her spine refused to stop.

"What......."

"Do you intend to make me ask three times? I'm beginning to take offense."

That manner of speaking. She had experienced it before.

Iris took a step back as she spoke.

"...A Demigod?"

"Hm."

It was not exactly a clear answer, but that sigh-like sound plainly carried the meaning of affirmation.

Iris immediately threw both hands out.

Fwoosh!

The mound of earth burst apart as the summoned demons erupted from it, their eyes blazing fiercely as they unleashed hideous shrieks.

Five in total. They could more or less be classified as Mid-rank Demons, but they would be of little use against a Demigod. In other words, this was merely an attempt to buy time.

Iris was fundamentally vulnerable in one-on-one combat and against surprise attacks. Her own physical abilities were not particularly high. Another reason was that although she was confident in predicting situations, she was surprisingly poor at improvising when things went wrong.

The Demigod's sudden appearance had caught her completely off guard, leaving her thoughts sluggish. First, she needed to secure even the bare minimum amount of time.

"What do you expect to accomplish by summoning insects?"

Crunch!

And all five demons were crushed to pulp in an instant.

Even though Iris witnessed it with her own eyes, she could not tell precisely what had happened.

She only had the vague impression that something had flickered into view and vanished at incredible speed behind the Demigod.

"Enough of these pointless tricks. Answer my question."

"...What question."

Iris answered cautiously, still considering battle, escape, and ways to stall for time.

The Demigod showed no particular reaction to her attitude and simply closed his eyes.

"You said righteous causes did not suit you."

"......"

"And you said you were going to stop bothering us from now on. Did you truly mean that?"

She could not tell what his intention was in asking.

But an unpleasant pressure radiated from him, as though he had every intention of getting the answer he wanted.

Before replying, Iris briefly weighed what she stood to gain or lose by being honest, then cautiously opened her mouth.

"...And if I meant it?"

"Then I have no particular reason to kill you here."

Iris blinked at those words.

Was a Demigod actually saying he would look the other way?

"Then why did you come here?"

"You should at least know what brought me here. You people killed one of our kind. Lamia, the one underground. Ah. Was she called Noxtantine here?"

"And knowing that, you're still saying you'll let me go?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

The Demigod spoke with his arms folded.

"It seems you know very little about us. Not all of us cherish our own kind so dearly. Lord dislikes that sort of thinking and regularly tries to educate us out of it... but there are still many who refuse to follow him. I suspect it will take at least several hundred more years before everyone fully shares his way of thinking."

"...Then why did you come looking for me?"

"Naturally, I intended to kill you at first. But you. I hear you've contracted with three Archdemons."

The Demigod spoke with an annoyed expression.

"Fighting three Archdemons would be troublesome even for me. My hair might become disheveled, my skin might get scratched, clothes I've taken a liking to might be torn... I dislike anything that might mar my dignity. So I'm simply going to let you go. Do you still not understand?"

"......"

They were clearly speaking the same language, yet Iris could not immediately comprehend what she was hearing.

...So this man was saying...

He cared more about keeping his appearance pristine than avenging one of his own kind?

For some reason, Iris felt nauseated.

"If you're not going to bother us anymore, we'll have no reason to cross paths, so I suppose there's no harm in letting you live. You want to live, and I don't want to be inconvenienced....... Is this what humans call an alignment of interests?"

"......"

"Standing there with that stupid look on your face. I'll take it that you understood. I'll be leaving, then."

Had he not even considered the possibility that she might refuse his proposal? The Demigod actually turned his back as though he genuinely intended to leave. The pressure Iris had felt while facing him disappeared, and her ragged breathing finally steadied.

Her head cleared, and only then did she realize that she had just escaped a situation in which she could have died.

If that was not heaven-sent luck, nothing was.

A ridiculous crisis she could neither have predicted nor prepared for had descended upon her, yet because of a few words she had muttered to herself, the storm had passed her by.

The strength drained from Iris's knees, and she nearly collapsed where she stood.

Had starting over already brought her some good luck? Iris entertained the ridiculous thought with a wry smile.

Then, after staring at the Demigod's back for only a moment.

"Where are you going now?"

–she committed the insane act of stopping him.

"......"

The Demigod, who had just been about to leave, turned around.

Then he closed one eye in annoyance and spoke.

"I'm returning to the city where Lamia was. Sarman, was it?"

"Why are you going there?"

At that, he opened the eye he had closed.

The Demigod looked at Iris with a blank expression. He also seemed to be considering something, and Iris could easily guess what it was.

Whether to kill her or not. Something like that.

"Must I tell you even that, human? You are beginning to overstep your bounds."

"I haven't accepted your proposal yet. Telling me what you intend to do when you return to Sarman is part of the terms of our deal."

"......"

Once again, the Demigod considered it.

Long enough for the wind to sweep across the oasis twice.

Then he looked past Iris, toward the place where Schweizer had been buried, and spoke.

"The same thing as you. I will make a grave for one of my own."

The instant Iris's expression shifted subtly, he continued.

"I will turn that city into Lamia's tomb. It was her home in life, so she should be satisfied. I'll bury the humans who worshipped her there with her as well....... Before that, of course, I intend to hunt down every one of your companions who killed Lamia and kill them one by one with meticulous care."

"......"

"Especially that mage... Lukas, was it? From what I heard, that human was the one who killed Lamia. I intend to take particular care in showing him hell."

"...Lukas is far stronger than I am. If you fight him, it won't end well for you either."

"So what? Are you suggesting I offer him the same proposal I gave you? Don't talk nonsense. The circumstances are completely different. You received my offer because you had little involvement in Lamia's death. That human did not."

"......"

"And you. That was the last time. Stop me once more, and then you die as well."

A laugh escaped Iris.

There was a mocking edge to it as well, enough to stop the Demigod's feet just as he was about to leave.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Sorry. I just realized......."

As her laughter gradually faded, Iris's smile only deepened.

"I guess even I can't just walk past trash when I see it."

*****

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