Chapter 4

"Huh...?"

The remnants of death that should have been present just before, still lingering. When I tried to confirm this by touching the chest that had been stabbed... there wasn’t a single scar.

"That’s strange..."

I muttered, getting out of bed. I felt something off about my vision.

(A little lower...? No, maybe it’s just my imagination.)

When I left the room, there was my mother, a familiar figure. She looked at my face and greeted me with a smile.

"Elis, it’s finally the day. You’re leaving today, right? I’ve prepared as much as I can."

"…Huh?"

"What’s wrong? Did I say something strange?"

Confused, I asked my mother what was going on and learned that it was the day after my coming-of-age ceremony at fifteen, the day after I had obtained the "Guidance."

Despite the confusion, I returned to my room. I suddenly remembered the "Guidance" skill and opened the book.

There was an additional page.

A blank page.

"Was I just dreaming?"

No, that couldn’t be.

I was definitely dead... or so I thought.

As if to prove it, the first page still read, "Volunteered for the Kingdom’s Army."

Confused, I set out on the journey to slay the Demon King once again.

---

"Was everything that happened just a dream or an illusion shown by the book?"

While harboring this doubt, I somehow felt that joining the Kingdom’s Army was not the right choice.

The Kingdom’s Army had too many entanglements.

And the "Swordmaster" skill was most effective in one-on-one or small-scale battles.

In the Kingdom’s Army, where group combat was the main focus, I would be just a slightly stronger soldier.

It would be a waste of my talent.

To make the most of my skill, I decided to become an adventurer.

I joined "Fruit of the Great Tree."

An inexplicable situation where I was welcomed by Ignis, who was supposed to be dead, just like me.

The book remained blank.

---

Five years after joining "Fruit of the Great Tree," I had tackled four small-scale dungeons with Ignis and the other members.

One of them was the dungeon they had failed to conquer before.

Our party was considered one of the most promising among S-class adventurers and was treated like the "chosen ones of the Great Tree of Hope."

From the outside, it seemed to be going smoothly.

But I was anxious.

"Here we go again, Elis."

During a meeting with the party members, when I suggested that we should attack the Demon King’s Castle, Ignis responded with a weary look.

"Again? You’ve been saying this since you joined."

I wanted to slay the Demon King.

That’s why I joined this party.

I had made that clear from the beginning.

"Those who are willing are welcome."

When I joined, Ignis said the same thing.

Yet, whenever this topic came up, he dodged it.

I was losing my patience.

"When are we going to kill the Demon King!"

As I grabbed his collar and pressed in, Ignis responded...

"Cut it out! Elis! How long are you going to keep talking about this fairy tale!"

He shook off my hand and shouted.

"Fairy tale, you say?"

"Exactly, you can’t defeat the Demon King! Have you ever seen a demon?"

Demons.

I have seen them.

Even if it’s uncertain whether it was real, I have even been killed once.

But saying that wouldn’t be believed.

As I hesitated about what to say, Ignis must have interpreted my silence as a "no" and continued.

"I’ve seen them. Back when I was a beginner. Soon after forming this party, we joined forces with another party that was considered the most promising at the time. Their leader was as strong as you. But against the demons, he didn’t last ten seconds! I threw away all pride and ran. I was the only one who survived! I still have nightmares about that day!"

"..."

"The others are the same. The other members, except you, are in this for the money! They’re just trying to earn enough to leave this country and live safely! Every time we enter a dungeon, they pray, 'Please don’t let us meet a demon,' and they’re terrified!"

Shocked by his words, I looked around... the other members avoided my gaze, affirming Ignis’s claim.

It was a betrayal.

"‘Let’s defeat the Demon King together someday.’

‘Let’s show everyone the blue sky.’”

While adventuring, we had talked about such things many times... but in their hearts, they were mocking me for being unrealistic.

"You were lying to me?"

"No, listen, Elis!"

"What more do you have to say..."

"I thought you would eventually accept reality! I thought you would come to terms with the fact that defeating the Demon King is impossible! You’re a good guy, so I didn’t want you to die in vain!"

"For my sake...?"

"Yes, understand, okay?"

Saying that, Ignis put his hand on my shoulder.

It might have been his way of being kind.

But I couldn’t accept it.

"Are you kidding me!"

I couldn’t forgive him.

The feeling of betrayal surged, and with a shout, a dull impact ran through my right hand.

Before I knew it, I had punched Ignis.

"You wasted... my precious five years...!"

They don’t know.

If we don’t succeed within five years, many will die.

It’s not their fault, but I couldn’t forgive them.

Unable to calm down, I tried to attack Ignis again, but the other party members, who had been watching, forcibly stopped me.

"Let go!"

"Cut it out! Elis!"

"Calm down!"

Held in a bear hug from behind, I still struggled.

Ignis, who had fallen on his butt and was looking up at me, said,

"Elis, I don’t want to know. You’re fired! Get out! Go challenge the demons or the Demon King and get yourself killed!"

"Fine with me, you bastard! I’ll kill you first!"

After shouting for a while... a strong drowsiness overcame me.

Looking in the direction of the source, I saw the party’s mage pointing a staff at me.

"Sleep... spell..."

Under normal circumstances, I could have dodged it, but being restrained left me with no options.

My head grew heavy, and I couldn’t resist closing my eyes...

---

When I woke up, I was back in my room.

I didn’t know the cause of death.

Maybe I hit my head when I fell asleep, or perhaps the other members, fearing retaliation from me, killed me.

Either way, I would no longer be part of "Fruit of the Great Tree."

After that, they followed the same fate as when I was in the Kingdom’s Army.