Chapter 35

To Elaine,

If, by some twist of fate, you are reading this letter, it means that the Demon King has been defeated and I am no longer in this world.

As you know, the Demon King is the enemy of my father, and it was my duty to defeat him. You took my place and accomplished this feat. I want to start by thanking you. Thank you.

I cannot know the details of your battle with the Demon King, but I imagine it was a struggle beyond comprehension.

I knew that I would never be able to defeat the Demon King, and as a result, I ended up placing this burden on you.

I am writing this letter in the hope that my regret, which I cannot express to you directly, will somehow reach you.

I do not know if this letter will ever reach you. Writing this is, in a way, a form of self-satisfaction. However, if by some chance you receive this letter, I would be grateful if you could read it to the end.

If you are reading this, it means you have met my mother. I know you are not the type to hold a grudge, but if you visited her to express your resentment over being exiled, I hope you can hold back those words. You can direct them at me as much as you want. I am a person who deserves to be hated by you, as I used a part of your life for my own purposes, and I did so many times without you knowing.

There was something I kept hidden from the party. I want you to keep this story to yourself, in your heart. It might sound far-fetched, and you might not believe it even if you hear it from others, or even from yourself. So, you can consider this story as just my ramblings.

I had a skill other than being a swordsman, called "Guidance." It had two effects. One was to summon a book that would record the cause and effect leading to the Demon King's death based on my various experiences. The other was to return to the day I obtained the book if I died at the age of twenty and the Demon King survived.

I received this book and the skill of a swordsman on my fifteenth birthday. In fact, I have repeated this life from fifteen to twenty years old over a hundred times. Each time, the book recorded the cause and effect leading to the Demon King's death. These causes and effects were the actions I needed to take to lead the Demon King to his death.

I learned from the book that forming the Dragon Fangs and recruiting Lena and you were all part of these causes and effects. The days I spent searching for these causes and effects were quite difficult. Without a clear end in sight, I faced death repeatedly while searching for the causes and effects. During this time, I met Falan, Lena, and you, Elaine.

I learned from the book's power that exiling you from the party was necessary to lead the Demon King to his death. After being exiled, you awakened to the "Ruler of Numbers" skill and defeated the Demon King. I could not find any other way to defeat the Demon King.

I was able to take the next step, overcoming my own death many times, not by my own strength alone. I made many friends, saw their deaths and regrets, and received their words of encouragement. We swore to defeat the Demon King and reclaim the blue sky. Most importantly, they believed in me. Each of these things gave me the strength to take the next step.

Among them, Elaine, your earnest and hardworking attitude towards your sword training gave me great courage. Seeing your efforts inspired me to work harder. Your determination to do what you decided to do pushed me forward.

I want to thank you again. Thank you.

You might wonder why I kept the book a secret. In fact, if I told anyone about the book, the Demon King's defeat would be guaranteed to fail. I don't know why, but the book also records things that should not be done. One of these is talking about the skill to others. If I did something that should not be done, it would lead to the failure of the Demon King's defeat. That's why I couldn't tell anyone about the skill.

However, since the Demon King has been defeated, I decided to write this letter.

Perhaps I shouldn't have written such a letter. Perhaps it's enough that you defeated the Demon King.

Knowing this might only confuse you.

But.

I want you to know, if possible. I pushed the mission of defeating the Demon King onto you. You might think I am a weak and shameless man.

But, I had to tell you, even though I could only see you off as you were exiled and sent to defeat the Demon King.

You might not understand, but I always felt we were fighting together.

My death, I am sure, involved someone you know. Whether this becomes public or not, I don't know. If it doesn't become public, that's fine. There's no need to search for the culprit. I accept being killed by that person, and even think I deserve it.

However, if it does become public, I hope you won't blame them. It's all my fault. If that person is in trouble for killing me, I hope you can help them, even if it's complicated.

Finally,

Defeating the Demon King is undoubtedly your achievement alone. But, I consider you a comrade in arms.

From Elyus.

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The year after exiling Elaine, I spent writing this letter, recalling my memories and confirming the "Guidance" again. This was a routine during the recent loops.

Even after several hundred years, I can surprisingly remember the past clearly. Perhaps there is a strong connection between my memory and this "Guidance" to lead the Demon King to his death.

Falan has already left the party, and Lena will stay at the church for a few days to take care of a sick priest.

For a brief moment, I am alone, heading to my hometown where my mother waits. This has become a regular part of the recent cycles.

If I succeed, my mother will be alone. I can't say I'm not worried about that.

Speaking of myself, I have lived many times more than others, even if it was a repetition of a limited period. It was a rich and fulfilling life, with many experiences that others could never have. So, while I may have regrets, I have no regrets about what has happened.

However, I have strong reservations about telling my mother about my situation, and I doubt she would believe me even if I did. Most importantly, knowing that her son sacrificed his future to defeat the Demon King might hurt her. So, I have no intention of telling her about the "Guidance" even after my death.

Not telling her might be considered unfilial, but I have to accept it.

Thinking about it, my life might have been about giving up and accepting things.

Taking the place of my father to defeat the Demon King with my own hands, continuing to exile Elaine, and continuing to make promises to Lena that I knew I couldn't keep.

Nothing goes as planned.

The vow I made in my childhood – to lead the Demon King to his death – makes everything else pale in comparison.

What I lost in the deal with Crow was, indeed, my future.

But if that was the price to kill the Demon King – it was worth it. I have no lingering regrets about the future I lost to fulfill my role.

I remember the last words of my father, as told to me by my teacher.

"Do what you must."

That's right.

The important thing is to know what you must do. And once you know, to see it through.

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