Chapter 302

[You’re really sticking your nose in, huh.]

When I pressed Damien about Milia, it wasn’t Damien who answered but Hersela. And she did it with a snicker, as if I was doing something pointless.

[Meddling in others’ love affairs won’t do you any good.]

Hmm… Sure, that’s the right thing to say, but the world doesn’t always run on what’s right. I wish a virgin girl with zero dating experience wouldn’t try to lecture me on that.

…Not that I’ve had any great endings myself.

‘Didn’t you see Milia earlier? She needs some intervention. If we’re not careful, we’ll be cleaning up more than a few bodies.’

A jealous Milia is dangerous. I experienced it firsthand earlier. An extreme personality change that was hard to believe. Even I was taken aback by how gloomy and intense she became.

Even… what would be a simple love quarrel ending in a fight in the real world, here, it’s a bit different.

—

Just as unwavering faith is rewarded with miracles, extreme emotions that surpass reason also reach the gods. Whether the gods answer or not is up to them, and even if they do, whether humans can accept it is another matter… but still, it reaches them.

And.

**The god who governs jealousy and obsession is not one of the 11 main gods but an evil god.**

The evil god who has even lost its name. Invidius.

That’s why I was wary of Milia’s corruption. A Milia driven mad by jealousy and self-loathing… would become an apostle of Invidius, just like Isabella, the apostle of Lilith.

Yes. She had the talent to become an apostle of an evil god!

…If she manages her mental state well, it might never manifest. And it shouldn’t. So, somehow, I need to make sure these childhood friends get together… easier said than done.

First, I need to figure out why Damien is playing the role of a clueless, insensitive guy. Surely, he doesn’t have a hobby of watching his girlfriend spiral into madness and then crying over it.

“Right? I’d like to hear a convincing answer from you, Damien.”

“…That would be better.”

Good. Half a point earned. If I get two points, who knows what will happen.

—

“What are you talking about? Don’t beat around the bush, just say it straight. You caused a mess earlier by cutting your words short.”

Just thinking about what you said earlier makes me want to twist my head 180 degrees. Vertically.

“I know Milia expects love from me as a lover. But… you know this too, right? That’s impossible for me. I could lie, but whispering false love to someone I’ve known since childhood… that’s not right.”

That’s a somewhat decent reason. It’s definitely deceit, and of the worst kind. But.

“Then why not just reject her? Instead of leaving her hanging like a fish on a hook.”

Of course, if he did that, things would get really messy. Whether Milia, rejected, would move on to find new love or go on a rampage saying if she can’t have it, she’ll destroy it, I can’t even guess.

“I thought about that too, but I’m not sure if it’s the right thing. Since Milia’s motivation to get stronger comes from her admiration and affection for me, if I reject her outright, she might lose that motivation. For someone like Milia to live well, she needs to be strong. Unless she quits being a knight… but if not, isn’t this the best state for her?”

…For someone who claims not to understand emotions, he’s got a decent grasp of Milia. Not that I like the reason. It’s too cold and calculated, enough to make me frown.

“One thing’s for sure. You’re a jerk.”

You’re basically saying you’ll keep Milia on a leash for her own good. One point earned, you jerk. I won’t pull the trigger yet since it’s only one and a half.

“You can say that…”

After mocking Damien, who muttered as if there were no alternatives, I put out the burnt cigarette and got up.

I’ve rested enough while chatting, so it’s time to get back to what I was supposed to do.

“Are you heading back now?”

Damien tilted his head and asked.

Back? I’m about to make you half-dead.

“No. Since the words are flowing smoothly, I think I’ve rested enough. Time to resume training.”

“……”

“I get why you can’t reach the level of a master. But that’s not something I can just let slide. At least not for me.”

Actually, it’s not just my problem. It’s the whole world’s problem.

[You’re oddly fixated on this boy. Could it be, as that friendless woman said, that this is really your type? He’s decent-looking, but his age and personality are a bit…]

More nonsense. What are you, my future mother-in-law?

‘That’s not it. It’s just a waste of talent. It’s frustrating to see someone who could be as strong as me floundering like this.’

[Hmm… I see. You’ve always chosen friends based on their potential to grow stronger. Quite the calculated approach.]

…That makes me sound like some shady person who picks friends based on their usefulness. I just happened to be close with the main characters.

Isn’t that the same thing?

…I don’t know. Let’s just get to work.

I nudged Damien, who was still sitting with a blank expression, with my foot.

“You said you’re being a good knight because you don’t want to die? Good. With that mindset, try becoming a good master. If you don’t want to die by my hands.”

Surely, he won’t choose to become a corpse over a master. I’ve thought of a way. Whether it’ll work or not, I don’t know.

“No, but. It’s not going to be that easy…”

“Do it.”

“You won’t know until you see it. Stand straight, don’t hold any weapons.”

“What are you trying to do…?”

Damien, who had hesitantly stood up, trailed off his words, looking suspicious.

“Well, to put it in one word, it’s like being ‘caught between a rock and a hard place.'”

Let’s just say it’s certain that Damien sometimes feels fear towards me. I don’t know why a guy without emotions feels fear, but the fact that he feels something at all is encouraging news. It means there’s room to use that.

Looking at how the emotions that brought me or the others to mastery are all different, doesn’t it mean that as long as you feel intense emotions and desperation, it doesn’t matter what they are?

So, I’ll use fear. If there’s fear and survival instinct, I’ll find a way to make use of both.

“…What did you say about being caught between a rock and a hard place?”

Damien still had a look of incomprehension.

“It’s better to show you directly than to explain with words. There are also some things to prepare.”

Leaving the puzzled Damien behind, I headed towards the wall where the weapons were hung. The training swords were blunt, but the tips were sharp enough to tear through flesh if pressed hard enough.

Good, this should do.

I pulled out a bunch of swords and stuck them into the wall, not by the blade but by the hilt. It was more like breaking the wall and wedging them into the cracks rather than stabbing.

After sticking about ten swords, the once smooth wall was now cracked, with sharp sword tips pointing towards me.

It was like setting up a horizontal spike trap. If I pushed someone against it, they’d end up with ten holes in their body.

“Uh…”

Damien let out a groan, perhaps guessing what these strange spikes meant. Quick on the uptake.

“Come here and stand with your back to the wall.”

“…Can’t we just spar?”

Nope. You need extreme measures.

Without answering, I just wiggled my index finger, as if to say, “What are you waiting for? Go stand there.”

Damien sighed and walked over like a lamb to the slaughter, facing the wall of blades.

“So… what are you going to do now? Push me?”

No, that would just be an elaborate execution. I’m not doing this to kill you.

“Of course not. I have no intention of pushing you, Damien. Although it might end up that way.”

“End up that way…?”

“Yeah. From now on, I’ll threaten you with the maximum amount of killing intent I can muster, taking one step at a time. That’s all. If you get stabbed… it’ll be because you stepped back. Understand?”

Hersela’s technique, which she grandly named “Heavenly Demon’s Descent.” If I focus it on someone, wouldn’t it instill enough fear and pressure even in a knight, not just a conscript soldier?

In front, there’s terrifying fear approaching, and behind, ten swords are pointed at your back. It’s literally being caught between a rock and a hard place. If you want to live, you’ll have to stand firm or even step forward towards me.

[This is too troublesome and dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to just beat him up?]

‘If I do that, he’ll be in the infirmary for a while. We don’t know when the beastmen might attack, so I can’t afford to waste our strength like that.’

So, physical mental correction should be the last resort.

“No way, this brute force method can’t possibly work…”

“You won’t know until you try. Isn’t that how life works?”

I awaken the power of Life Force that I’ve been suppressing. Thanks to resting in the hot spring all morning, my energy has recovered to about eighty percent. This should be fine.

A crimson haze began to rise, enveloping my entire body.

I forcibly awaken anger and killing intent to add to the power of Life Force. The aura I emit becomes even more menacing.

“By the way, if you try to dodge sideways, you’ll be eating porridge for the rest of your life. Got it? Let’s begin!”

“Wait…!”

Before Damien could say anything, the intensely concentrated killing intent was unleashed, targeting only him.

The boy’s body stiffened, and his pupils dilated to the point of tearing.

Now, let’s see if you can endure—

– Thud!

Before I could even take a step forward, Damien, having lost consciousness, weakly staggered and collapsed to the ground.

“Sigh…”

I sighed, withdrew the Life Force, and approached Damien.

Ah, this useless brat. How could he not even last ten seconds…

…Huh?

Wait, what? Huh?

What’s this? Hold on.

This guy’s heart isn’t beating…?

[I knew this would happen…!]

Hersela shouted in disbelief. I immediately picked up Damien and rushed towards Florence’s room.

Thanks to what could literally be called a ‘miraculous’ life-saving measure, Damien didn’t end up leaving this world.

But training with me was forbidden.

Moreover, I was caught by an angry Florence and had to endure a two-hour lecture. She said there’s a limit to harsh training, and who pushes someone to the point of their heart stopping?

Well. I didn’t expect things to turn out like this either…

—-

Ah, and.

The guy who spread the rumor of death by overtraining was hung on the city gates with Freide’s permission.

After hanging there for a couple of days, he won’t be spreading any more rumors.