*
“That’s asking too much of Longdagger.”
The Prince, leaning with his hands on his knees, spoke as if in disbelief; in his mind, the role of ‘Longdagger’ was being stretched too far.
His figure was drenched in splattered blood, his clothes scorched here and there from using magic at close range, making him look exactly like a defeated soldier or something similar.
The dagger I had given him broke early on, and afterward, he fought with his bare hands and magic, so his current state was only natural.
Partway through the battle, the distinction between front and rear guard vanished, and we ended up fighting side-by-side, so I looked much the same.
That bastard had stopped hesitating to unleash explosive magic right next to me midway through the fight.
In the sewers, thick with the smell of blood, the Prince and I took deep breaths repeatedly, trying to recover our lost Magicka.
“Leaving corpses behind… what thoroughly unpleasant fellows.”
The Prince used Purification Magic to blast away the filth while vexedly surveying the surroundings.
Several Magic Stone Lamps had been broken during the battle, deepening the darkness, but there was no difficulty in confirming the corpses scattered about.
“Shin… these guys are…”
As I was also using Purification Magic to blast away the splattered blood that had started to congeal like paste, the Prince asked me tersely.
“Probably just as you think.”
I affirmed the Prince’s suspicion.
We had seen humans suddenly turn into Majin on the surface.
Denying it here would just be comical.
These dozens of Majin, their corpses laid bare, were almost certainly former humans.
It’s too late now.
It’s too late for that discussion.
I tightened my sword belt, adjusted the position of my scabbard, and faced forward.
I was born into that kind of profession—nobility—from the start.
Nobles are just scum who rest on their laurels, positions obtained by chance thanks to their ancestors, sucking the lifeblood of commoners.
I’m not carefree enough to feel regret just because I did it with my own hands.
“Is that so.”
I didn’t even feel like checking the Prince’s face as he responded like that.
Ahh, damn it, I want to see Erica right now.
I want to talk about pointless things.
I want to have tea with Erica.
“To be unable to die as humans… how truly pitiful.”
No emotion could be discerned from his voice.
Was it regret? Guilt?
Or was it something else entirely?
“Want to pray?”
Though I can’t wait for you.
The words I was about to add were cut off by a clear voice filled with anger.
“Do not underestimate me, Shin. Because you are my Longdagger, I shall forgive you this time, but there will not be a second.”
I see, so you’re on the side that knows.
I remembered my Father back home.
A little tax saving using a loophole in the law.
My Father had to correct it, and for a time, he constantly wore a troubled expression.
He even forgot his overly sweet morning greetings to Mother, so he must have been considerably troubled.
Because Mother looked sad, I couldn’t help but ask my Father.
“Why are you so troubled about correcting an injustice?” I asked.
My Father, after wondering how to explain it to me, who hadn’t even started attending the academy yet, told me quite straightforwardly.
That he was about to kill people.
The increase in taxes from him closing the legal loophole would be trivial.
But there would undoubtedly be weak people who would die because of that trivial tax.
No, perhaps there wouldn’t be people quite that weak.
But that wasn’t the point.
When we nobles decide something, there is always someone on the other side of that choice.
If we are not aware of that, we are just scum bearing the name of nobility.
I remember well the face of my Father who taught me that.
It was a face like the Prince’s now.
“I see. I appreciate your magnanimity.”
If one is a noble, whether unaware or aware, one kills people.
Still, if one is aware that this is what it means to be a noble, one becomes slightly better scum.
It seems the Prince is the better kind of scum.
“As an apology, I’ll make you one promise.”
I said this to the Prince, who questioned me with only his gaze.
“I will definitely get you back to the surface, Daryl.”
Leaving behind the Prince who responded with a dazed “Is that so,” I started walking.
Maybe I offered a bit too much service.
“Hmm, I never doubted that, but…”
The Prince, following belatedly, shouted.
“My name! You bastard! Did you just call me by my name!?”
Aaargh! That’s exactly the kind of thing you do!
I ignored the Prince and picked up my pace.
Afterword
Well, you know?
Between men, there are moments when you can call each other by name without reservation.
Not nicknames, or real names used like nicknames, but moments when you just want to call the other person by their name.