novelraw Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Chapter 39. Anonymous (2)
I took the potion out of my bosom and showed it to Adel.
“N-no way!”
Adel’s face hardened.
“This is the best option.”
“You can't do that!”
Adel protested fiercely, asking how I could do such a thing.
“He died once because of me! That would be killing him twice!”
I looked directly into Adel’s eyes and said.
“What are you going to say to his parents and the knight order.”
“Th-that's!”
“Of course, we could make up an excuse that he died due to some circumstances. But will you be able to keep that secret until the end?”
Adel bit her lower lip and hung her head.
Adel, feeling the pangs of conscience, would never be able to keep this secret to the end.
I approached Adel and persuaded her.
“Alvarez died without properly atoning for his sins. This will be a path for everyone.”
Adel asked back how that could be atonement.
“Do you mean he should pay for his sins in death since he couldn't in life?”
“Shouldn't he? He is a knight like you. He’s not an ordinary person.”
When I emphasized the word ‘knight’, Adel's pupils shook greatly.
A reaction typical of Adel, who lives and dies by her sense of responsibility.
Eventually, Adel’s resistance softened.
“But won't people be suspicious? Since he's become an undead, he won't be the same as before.”
“Don't worry too much about that. I have a plan.”
“What is it?”
I moved to the treasury next to us.
I brought something from inside.
“That is?”
“A magic human-skin mask. If you inject it with magical power and think of someone, it immediately transforms into that person's face.”
“Is-is there such a thing?”
“Of course. Didn't you see for yourself? The types of magic tools are numerous, and their characteristics are also diverse.”
To what extent was this true? When my daughter, disguised as me, attended a meeting at the royal palace in my place, no one could notice it was her.
Of course, that was in the game, but it was a magic tool that showed that much outstanding performance.
There was no risk of being found out.
Nevertheless, Adel was worried.
“Even if we can change his appearance, what about the unnaturalness of his actions?”
“That's not a problem either. He'll only lose his emotions, but his memories will remain, so there won't be much of a sense of 違和感 (weirdness).”
“……I understand. For now, I can't think of any other suitable alternative.”
Phew. That's a relief.
If Adel had vehemently opposed it, I wouldn't have been able to push this through either.
‘It's not that I don't feel any reluctance either. It's a matter of reviving the dead as an undead. But the one who was wrong first wasn't me, but Alvarez.’
If I started feeling guilty over such trivial matters, I wouldn't be able to handle what was to come.
Fortunately, perhaps due to the barrier I had set up here, there were no maggots to be seen.
I took a deep breath and dropped the potion onto Alvarez's body, which had turned purple.
A moment later.
His body twitched and then stood up in place.
“H-how could this be!”
If Adel hadn't reacted with a loud voice, I might have screamed.
It wasn't some horror movie, but a corpse had moved.
Even though I knew what I was doing, I couldn't help but get goosebumps all over my body.
I frowned and handed Adel the human-skin mask.
“I have no magical power right now, so it would be better for you to put it on him.”
Adel took the human-skin mask with a reluctant expression and put it on Alvarez's face.
The human-skin mask wasn't like a regular mask.
Was it like the slime liquid monster that kids play with?
It had the form of a sticky liquid clay, and when Adel injected magical power into it, it emitted a faint light.
Soon, Alvarez's half-melted face magically returned to its original state.
Adel muttered with a bitter face.
“Unbelievable things keep happening.”
Tell me about it.
It was a moment that made me realize once again that this was a fantasy world.
I used the remaining human-skin mask.
I asked her to apply the human-skin mask to his other parts as well.
Because if he went out in this state, only his face would be intact, while the rest of his body would be no different from a corpse.
Adel, though uncomfortable, carried out my instructions without a word.
Before long, the corpse was reborn as a perfectly living Alvarez.
However, there was no change in his expression.
He stared straight ahead with a blunt face, which also made him feel even scarier.
Of course, he was now just a faithful slave.
“Alvarez.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I have a command for you.”
“Please speak.”
Alvarez replied in a low, emotionless baritone voice.
“You have a connection with Moltke, so from now on, I plan to use you as a double agent. Go to Moltke's castle right now and report to us what he's up to.”
“I will follow your command.”
Alvarez disappeared from sight at a rapid speed.
Adel watched his retreating back and muttered to herself.
“I'm sorry, Alvarez. This was something I couldn't help either.”
Adel felt sorry, but this was merely the price for opposing me.
How dare he try to drive a wedge between me and Adel.
He was a sinner who deserved to die a thousand times.
***
A few days after Alvarez left.
Noemi and Rude returned.
They came riding a pegasus, which was hard to come by even in the game,and without even a chance to ask where they got it, Noemi ran up to me and shouted loudly.
“Dad! There's no time! We have to feed this to Master Anonymous right away!”
Huh?
What Noemi handed me was a magic potion that could turn a dragon into a slave.
Of course, making Anonymous a slave wasn't a bad method, but this was also a medicine that could undo the Demon King's curse.
I was about to explain that, but Noemi brought up a random story.
“I saw it in a future foresight! Other people who have this are trying to feed it to Master Anonymous! So we have to make the first move!”
What? There are other people who have this? And they're trying to feed it to Anonymous? Was there such a development in the game?
At least, there was no episode that unfolded in the scenario.
‘A few crazy bastards tried to do it themselves, but there wasn't a single successful case.’
Anonymous was on the same level as the Demon King.
No, she was a being even greater than that, so who would dare to make her drink this?
But Noemi was urgent.
“There's no time! I'll go and bring Master Anonymous here right away!”
As soon as her words ended.
Anonymous opened the door and entered.
With a terrifying expression on her face.
A chilling energy that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up pressed down on the room.
“You'll feed me what?”
Damn it. There was no soundproof barrier, so she must have heard everything Noemi said.
Noemi, not even scared of her, walked forward confidently.
“Master! Please, drink this. Please?”
“Why should I? And where did you get that?”
Anonymous, as if she knew the identity of the potion, glared at it with a face that looked at an ominous object.
“It's an item found in an ancient ruin. If you don't drink this now, you'll become a slave to some unknown people! We can't let that happen, can we?”
“Hmph. I took you in as a disciple, and to think you'd plot something like this behind my back. I am greatly disappointed.”
“Master! Have I ever been wrong? It's the same this time!”
“How can I believe that the future you saw is accurate?”
Noemi gritted her teeth and retorted.
“I'm not wrong this time either. Please believe me! This is not the time. Hurry……”
“One more word and I will cut off the necks of everyone in this room. You must think I'm a complete joke, taking me so lightly.”
Anonymous was about to transform into a dragon with tremendous killing intent.
‘Oh, no!’
Putting aside the mansion being shattered to pieces, I had no intention of dying by being crushed by the building's debris.
“Stop! I'll drink this!”
I shouted loudly and immediately swallowed the potion.
Gulp, gulp.
Kuh.
It's damn bitter.
The smell is so foul it puts the smell of fermented skate to shame.
But don't they say that bitter medicine is good for the body?
I finished off the potion on the spot, not leaving a single drop.
“D-dad?”
“Frank!”
Noemi and Rude looked at me with bewildered faces, and, “Wh-what are you doing! Spit it out immediately! How dare a mere human drink that medicine!”
Anonymous supported me and pounded my back hard as if to make me vomit.
Pang, pang.
Keok.
At this rate, I'm going to die before my time.
My spine feels like it's going to break.
I raised one hand to tell her to stop and managed to part my lips with difficulty.
It wasn't a joke; the place where Anonymous hit me hurt so, so much.
Tears even welled up, and my voice came out half-cracked.
“Keuuk. H-how could I make you a slave.”
“Don't talk, you must spit it all out!”
“No. Please, calm your anger.”
Anonymous, not knowing what to do.
Thanks to that, I was able to use this not on Anonymous, but to break the Demon King's curse.
Nice.
***
Arus, Anticus' former lover, always emphasized self-sacrifice.
“Darling. Do you know what makes humans and demons different?”
“What is it?”
“Humans can sacrifice themselves for others. But demons can't. They don't trust anyone but themselves.”
“Pfft. What's that. It's not just demons, dragons are like that too. And from what I see, humans seem to be the same?”
Arus shook his head, saying that wasn't true.
“Of course, not all humans have a spirit of sacrifice. But a few noble ones are striving for others, even if it means burning their own bodies.”
“Hmph. I don't really get it. Why do you have to live for others? That's a foolish thing to do.”
Arus said with a faint smile.
“You're right. Humans are foolish. But isn't that also the unique charm of humans?”
For some reason.
Anonymous was now reminded of those words Arus had said.
‘You fool. Why are you making such a sacrifice for me.’
The magic potion was powerful enough to enslave a dragon.
It was unknown what effect it would have when a mere human drank it.
Look at him now.
Wasn't he unable to breathe properly and his voice was even cracked?
A flushed red face.
Rough breathing.
Hands and feet covered in cold sweat.
At this rate, Frank might lose his life within the day.
While she was contemplating how to save Frank.
The door burst open and Adel entered the room.
Anonymous immediately bowed her head.
‘I just don't have the courage to look at Adel.’
If Adel found out that Frank had drunk the magic potion instead of her, Adel would come to hate her.
She was just happy that she had finally found a disciple to open her heart to, but this was an event she couldn't have imagined in many ways.
But Adel, panting for breath, exclaimed these words.
“This is bad! Something seems to have happened at the Dragon's Paradise. The dragons are running wild!”
Huh? What was this?
Something happened at the Dragon's Paradise?
Noemi glared at her and said.
“Look at this! See, I was right! What are you going to do now?”
Come to think of it, Noemi had said that she saw in a future foresight that some people with a magic potion were trying to feed it to her.
Could it be that was really true?
Anonymous slowly raised her head with a heavy face.
“How dare they lay a hand on my kingdom……. I will grind those bastards to dust.”
Bastards she wouldn't feel satisfied even if she chewed them up.
Her pupils shone red, and the air in the room slowly heated up.
‘I will definitely repay this grudge and avenge Frank.’
That would be the only reward for Frank, who had sacrificed himself for her.
Of course, Frank was still alive, but to Anonymous, he was already as good as dead.
A human who survives after drinking a magic potion.
There was no way such a thing could exist.
Anonymous' heart flickered with vengeance.