Chapter 196

The day after my parents’ funeral, I entered my mother’s room.

I resented my mother. I resented my father. I just hated everything. I hated my father, and I hated my mother even more for making such a promise. If they hadn’t given me hope, I wouldn’t have expected anything. If they hadn’t made that promise, I wouldn’t have felt this guilt, wondering if they died because of me.

“…Didn’t you say liars are bad? If only you hadn’t lied… I wouldn’t be this miserable. I would’ve lived without any expectations, just like usual.”

On my birthday last year, I put on the black goblin mask my father gave me. He said it was made of wood that changes size according to the wearer’s face. Of course, it was my father who carved it.

[Isn’t it cool? A mask like this can be used forever… No, until you die of old age.]

Of course, my mother didn’t like it.

[Why are you giving a toy as a birthday present? What’s with the mask! Do you think he’d be happy with something like that!]

[What’s wrong with this goblin mask… It’s cool! Boys go crazy for stuff like this!]

Of course, the other mothers also voiced their disapproval of this taste.

[Werner, even so, a mask as a birthday present is a bit…]

[Lord Werner, I also think a mask is a bit…]

[Master, I also think a toy would’ve been better for the child.]

Honestly, I didn’t like toys either, and I didn’t care much about the mask. I just… wished they had stayed with me that day instead of leaving for the battlefield. Even on my birthday, they left without fail.

And this time, they promised to come back and indulge my whims… but they didn’t return. I heard they were caught off guard by an enemy using illusions, and that’s how they fell to a sudden ambush.

“…I didn’t cry. Not at the funeral, not even when the coffin was being buried. I won’t cry. No matter what happens in the future. I won’t show my emotions easily, like Mother did. Because that’s what you wanted.”

After that, I kept wearing the mask. Even when something happy happened, I didn’t smile. Or rather, I didn’t show my smile. Even when something sad happened, I didn’t cry. Or rather, the mask kept my tears hidden.

And then, the ones who came to be our guardians were relatives from my mother’s side. To be precise, they were cousins of my mother Lorcha, or cousins of Glacia, Rachel’s mother, or relatives from Zick, the father of Airi, Aila’s mother.

They were all after the treasures my parents left us, like the famous swords, or the authority to manage the vast wealth. Idiots. My father had already given most of the money to the families of fallen warriors. Thanks to that, I had to rack my brains managing the budget.

It didn’t matter. They were only after my life, not my siblings. In fact, they treated my siblings well, and their children played with my siblings, so I was even grateful for that.

“…So you met three assassins on the way here???”

Captain Neil was so shocked he dropped the deck of cards he was holding. That cheater making such a mistake—thanks to that, the cards hidden in his bracelet fell out too, exposing his trick.

“I just broke their limbs and sent them back. Sending such low-level enemies must mean they’re from Lady Airi’s relatives.”

“Wait, your life is being targeted? Are you okay with that?”

“If they’re not targeting my siblings, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a bit annoying.”

Then, a fiery fist slammed into my head.

“You idiot! Did I teach you to be like that!”

Well, it’s not like you taught me much in the first place.

“Life is about prioritizing and protecting what’s important first. And we all prioritize our friends over our own lives. You’re no exception.”

But even so, there’s no way I could beat those guys. They were all skilled mages, warriors, or mercenaries. There’s no way I, still young, could have the means to stand against them.

“I’ll just hold out for a while, then pass the family head position to my sibling and head to the battlefield. It’s not about revenge or anything…”

“If you go, we’re going too. You’re surprisingly clueless, so we need to look after you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Last time you got lost on the way here, and Rüfel and Erdan had to come find you. And when we went to raid the warehouse last time, your leg got stuck and Torte had to…”

“Well, even as the vice-captain, it feels like we’ve got another youngest sibling.”

“I’ll kill you all.”

The time I could spend with those idiots was coming to an end, and I left the hideout to return home.

Somehow, I hated home even more. The voices of the relatives who had suddenly taken over our house could be heard. Since I came back a bit earlier than expected, it seemed they hadn’t noticed my return.

[Darn it, that brat still hasn’t died… We can’t make a move ourselves since it’d leave traces…]

[We’ve been researching ways to steal the contract with the Spirit King, but this makes it meaningless.]

[Hey, I don’t care about contracts or whatever. If that brat dies, we’ll take the wealth.]

[We just need to retrieve the weapons. You can take the treasures or whatever, do as you please.]

They’re really putting in the effort. Thanks to that, I couldn’t eat the meals prepared by the chef and had to survive on simple dishes I made myself.

[That brat is one thing, but the quarter-elf brat is also a problem.]

Well…

[Right. The eldest brat needs to die to take the family head position, but… there’s no reason to keep the quarter-elf brat alive.]

[We even tried feeding her a poison that would make her sleep forever… but it just gave her narcolepsy.]

I thought Violet’s increased sleepiness was just due to the shock of losing our parents.

[What about the other brats after we’re done?]

[Well, they’ve got pretty faces like their mothers, so we can sell them off to other families for some money.]

My hands trembled. I had been too naive. I had accepted their kindness too innocently, thinking they were treating my siblings well while trying to kill me.

I had to protect my siblings. My father asked me to. My mothers asked me to.

That was my only reason for existing.

But could I kill them? I was still young. I lacked experience. I lacked strength.

Did I have no means?

No, there was a way. My father had occasionally told me about the demons he had sealed and the black sorcerers who had contracted with them. In exchange for great power, the price was said to be horrifying.

But even if I became a black sorcerer, it didn’t seem like I, still a child, could kill them all. Each of them was a top-tier mercenary, warrior, or mage.

[Life is about prioritizing and protecting what’s important first. And we all prioritize our friends over our own lives. You’re no exception.]

I decided to become a selfish piece of trash. I decided to force my ugly selfishness on them.

I immediately grabbed my father’s magic book and ran to the hideout. Running through the heavy rain, I was a mess.

“Damian, didn’t you go home? Why are you at the hideout at this hour?”

“First, let me dry off…”

Elina started wiping my face with a dry towel.

“Captain Neil, Elina, Rüfel, Tartan, Miguel, Torte, Zaha, Erdan, Cain, Merhim, Merna, Zeira…”

They were the ones I could call my friends. Well, except for Elina, who was my age, they were all older than me. But age didn’t matter. They were all precious to me.

“You guys said before that my life is your top priority…?”

If that was a lie, I’d be happy.

If it was true, I’d have to thoroughly exploit that.

“Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Why are you trembling again…”

I pulled out the magic book Enok. With most of the world’s demons gone or sealed, this book was the only way to contract with a demon.

“Then… can you stake your lives for me, and die for me…?”

I hoped they’d hit me for talking nonsense. I hoped they’d spit at me for saying such crap.

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting…”

Neil approached me with a stiff expression. Yeah, I’ve gone crazy. Asking them to die for me, what kind of trash talk is that? He’ll beat me up and kick me out.

He…

“What kind of man hesitates over such a simple request?”

He placed his hand on my head.

“Did you think your brothers and sisters were lying? We’ll stake our lives for you anytime. We’ll die for you as many times as it takes.”

“Huh…?”

“Whatever you want with this book… let’s do it in the most spectacular way, our way.”

That was the beginning of the black sorcerer unit “Bungcheon,” which would later make a name for itself on the battlefield.