The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 117 Magic Sword Forte (19) - Repetition "Dimwits." These were the words the Sage spat at the envoys who ultimately fled while avoiding a definitive answer about military support until the very end. Fina soothed the Sage. "They probably have their own circumstances." "What damn circumstances. I don't want to step forward, so I hope someone else will step up and solve it instead. That's exactly their mindset. Among them, there are probably those who want to stab others in the back and steal all the benefits once others exhaust themselves fighting the Demon King." By now, Fina had come to understand the character called the Sage to some extent. Human hatred. Human distrust. He deeply disliked humans, despised their ugliness, and sneered at their actions. "Hero, this is all pointless work. Do you think we'll properly receive any reward even if we struggle desperately fighting like this?" "I'm not exactly doing this for a reward." "That's a foolish way of thinking! You should take everything you can get, so why are you being a pushover on your own!" The ironic thing was that despite hating humans so much, the Sage never left Fina's side. The Sage himself asserted it was merely for observation, but Fina thought there must be some other reason. That would make sense, because if it were truly just for observation, there would be no reason to help Fina through various means. The Sage was skilled in spells dealing with natural things like plants and rocks, which were excellent in combat but equally useful in daily life. A tap of his staff on the ground would instantly create a hut, and long-stretched tree branches would bear fruit that would keep one from being hungry all day with just one bite. Since they had to wander around territories occupied by the Demon King without a proper stronghold, Fina's life would have been several times more difficult without the Sage. However, no matter how capable the Sage was and how sharp Fina's swordsmanship, there were limits. They defeated the Demon King's forces through hit-and-run tactics, but such strategies were only possible in outlying areas. To directly assault the Demon King's stronghold and end the war, the fundamental difference in numbers was too overwhelming. To change this, they too needed the power of armies, but the various central nations still delayed their military deployment with various excuses. The Sage's complaints and laments grew with each passing day, but Fina did not stop fighting. As time passed, the situation grew worse. Initially, the Demon King's army had considered Fina and the Sage's activities as merely small border disturbances and hadn't responded particularly, but as the damage gradually increased, they began sending serious military forces to capture and eliminate the two. It was when they thought it would truly be dangerous to continue like this. "Hero. I'm truly sorry for making you wait so long." The Saintess. The woman who had previously requested just a little more time finally joined the two this time. And not alone, but leading a considerable military force. "Who are these people exactly...?" "These are people who wish to fight alongside you." As if responding to the Saintess's answer, the military force behind her paid respects to Fina and the Sage in their own ways. Their armor and weapons were not uniform but varied, with some wearing regular army armor, others in hunter's garb, some in priest robes, and even those in ordinary farmer's clothes carrying sickles or plows mixed among them. Fina, who was initially puzzled, soon realized that there were quite a few familiar faces among those who had come with the Saintess. Refugees that Fina and the Sage had rescued while fighting against the Demon King's army. Those who had lost their countries and homes and fled in tattered states had now reappeared with faces full of determination. "Huh. Soldiers from fallen kingdoms. Priests from the Pantheon. And refugees to boot. What a complete motley crew you've gathered." The Sage's tone was cynical, but Fina could sense it. The fact that the Sage was, in his own way, impressed right now. Still, his tone was indeed harsh, so she was about to retort, but the Saintess stepped forward first. "Yes. We might indeed be a motley crew. We are those who were defeated by the Demon King and had no choice but to flee disgracefully. There are also helpers who came from other countries, but they too are participating as individuals rather than as a unified force." But, she added. "Still, we want to fight. We want to stand against the Demon King. I don't think we can bear to just live day by day while leaving everything to you two any longer." Fina looked at the Saintess's face. There was still shadow dwelling there. It was the shadow created by guilt felt as one of the royals who caused this entire situation, and the fear of not knowing when her identity might be revealed. She still couldn't reveal her identity, which was behavior that someone might call 'cowardly.' Nevertheless, the Saintess had come here. Knowing that Fina and the Sage knew her true identity, knowing that everything would be over if they revealed it, yet she had come to fight alongside them without throwing everything away or running away. Not because someone pushed her, but by her own will. Fina thought that was courage, and the Sage, though clicking his tongue, didn't criticize the Saintess as before. Thus, this time the Hero's party and their allies had truly gathered. After that, breathlessly busy days followed. At some point, Fina, who had initially moved between the positions of audience and actor, realized that she existed only in the role of an actor. The story no longer skipped from scene to scene as before, nor did time suddenly accelerate. The days spent as the 'Hero' were so dense and full of reality that even though Fina knew this was fiction created by Sky Academy, she often lost her certainty. Was she Fina of the Valestia family? Or was she the 'Hero' who defeated the Demon King hundreds of years ago? Were the Sage, the Saintess, the companions fighting alongside her now, and the times spent laughing and talking with them all just fiction? Could such vivid, such intense experiences really be? Fina tried somehow to maintain her original identity, but this was not an easy task. Days spent fighting against the Demon King as a Hero. The days of coordinating with countless others, desperately taking steps forward, and struggling in fierce battles were so deeply colored. The hardships and joys that the girl named Fina Valestia had experienced over more than ten years paled in comparison to that intensity. 《That is exactly its aim.》 《Contractor, for you to lose your original self and transform into the 'Hero'. To overlay the Hero onto your personality.》 《Ridiculous. Who has the right to assert that your life is inferior to the Hero's life?》 And the Magic Sword she held in her hand easily dismissed Fina's such anxiety. Don't be intimidated before the Hero's life. Their lives certainly shine with intense and brilliant light, but that's no reason for Fina to give up her own life. 《The ending prepared at the end of this stage will probably be a tragedy.》 《They'll think that true inheritance is achieved only when you regard the pain that existed in the past, that suffering, as your own and empathize with it.》 《But contractor, you don't need to play along with that.》 《Change the development as much as you want, distort the process, and twist the ending.》 Forte asserted without hesitation that he was the power for that, the Magic Sword for that purpose. So, Fina did just that. "Tsk tsk, these pathetic bastards. You built this kind of thing and call it a stronghold?" "Everyone! The Sage says he'll build the structure himself so you should rest, so please step aside for a moment!" "What, what, hey you bastard! What are you deciding on your own!?" "Ah, he seems embarrassed, so everyone please look and listen elsewhere!" "That's not it!!" Sometimes, she appropriately translated the words and actions of the Sage, who was good at his job but always earned dislike with his words, making the party laugh. "Um, Hero. If it's not rude to ask, could I ask what that meat and leather mass over there is? Is it perhaps meant to threaten the Demon King's army so they can't approach easily?" "...Well, everyone seemed tired of eating only fruit, so I tried to cook, but, um." "......I'll help. Actually, I snuck into the kitchen a few times when I was young and tried it. And Hero. You shouldn't cut meat for eating with a greatsword." "Yes." Sometimes she hunted and cooked, even with clumsy skills, to please people's palates. "It's a Hydra! If you cut the neck normally, two heads will grow in that spot! Hey, fake Saintess! Right after the Hero cuts it, burn the cross-section with a blessing!" "It doesn't seem to be regenerating though?" "What?" "Ah, Sir Magic Sword... no, I mean, I solved it with the power of the magic sword!" Sometimes she instantly defeated monsters that would have originally caused countless casualties, saving those who would have died. "You want us to send reinforcements? Why should we?" "If we leave the Demon King alone like this, the entire continent will be swept by calamity. Then Your Majesty and the Eizern Empire will also suffer considerable damage." "You speak grandly about the Demon King and whatnot, but isn't it just one demon after all? What, you're called a Saintess? From what you're doing, I could grant you special favors— Guhk!?" 《Mm, well done.》 Sometimes she even beat the empire's Emperor with her scabbard when he made lewd proposals to the Saintess under the pretext of support. These weren't things Fina could do alone. But Fina had Forte with her, and with the assistance of the powerful and versatile Magic Sword, she covered countless tragedies with comedy. And finally, they were able to reach the Demon King's castle. "Heroes, we pray for your good fortune!" "Leave this place to us and go inside!" Moving inward while leaving behind the sounds of spears and swords coming from behind them for some time. The Saintess paled at the transformed appearance of the castle where she once lived, and the Sage made clicking sounds with his tongue several times as if nervous about the coming battle. With a thoroughly tense expression, Fina quietly opened the door. The throne in the deepest and highest place. There, the Demon King was. He was a black existence. The color of the armor wrapping him from head to toe was such, and the color of the mana surging beneath his helmet was also such. An appearance as if darkness itself had taken form, wearing armor and pretending to be human. Fina felt an indescribable sense of discomfort from that appearance. The Demon King described in the Hero's stories she knew was a crystallization of evil. The Demon King loved violence and slaughter, and was a being who enjoyed pleasures while using humans' screams and suffering as side dishes. The Demon King mocked the heroes' adventures and tried to seduce and corrupt the heroes with cunning words. However, the Demon King now before Fina's eyes seemed to have no interest in them whatsoever. He showed no anger at how well they had interfered with his plans, no mockery saying their efforts were commendable, no joy at the existence of strong enemies. Fina vaguely realized the essence of that inorganic and cold gaze. It was numbers. It was the gaze of one who saw war, governance, and each countless life dying from it as nothing more than numbers on documents. That's why the concept that described that Greater Demon was 'Massacre.' The Demon King rose from his seat. And the next moment, Fina's neck was severed and flew away. Vision spinning dizzily round and round. Companions who, like herself, couldn't withstand even one strike from the Demon King and fell. In the vision sinking into darkness, she heard the voice of the Magic Sword she trusted. 《It seems our tearing apart and revising the play's content didn't please it much.》 《This is its final struggle. Do not be shaken by what you see, contractor.》 *** "We will be victorious." The 'Hero' confidently declared to her companions.