Dungeon Defense (WN)

Moisture continued to fill his eyes whenever I wiped away his tears.
I paid it no mind as I kept wiping Jack’s eyes.
Conversations ought to be done face to face, after all.

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“Guuh……this is a lie……kphuuh……!”

“For starters, I’m going to be taking Laura De Farnese.
This is non-negotiable.
Furthermore, I’m ready to pay you 3,000 gold.
In my opinion, I believe that this is a reasonable deal.
The price for Laura De Farnese was approximately 2,000 gold anyway.
Consider the extra thousand gold as compensation for your right arm.
If you think about it, if you approach some beggar and tell them you’ll pay a thousand gold for their arm, they would immediately…….”

“It’s a lie……kub, a lieeee!”

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue.
This isn’t good.
It seems the pain of losing an arm had filled his head with red.
It’s not like I couldn’t understand.
It probably hurts.
That’s obvious.
Regardless, I had dealt with the adventurer party from Jalsen Village with a completely shattered right foot.

It might have been the blood loss and not the pain that was causing his head to not work properly.
I asked Lapis if she could recite a simple healing spell.
Lapis nodded her head.
However, the way she used her so-called healing magic was also a sight to see.
Lapis made a small flame appear above her palm before using it to cauterize his wound.

“Kuaaaaaaaaah!”

I couldn’t help but make a wry face.
With a little bit of exaggeration, Jack screamed so loud that it could rupture eardrums.
It was hard to imagine how painful it would be to have your flesh burned.
I’ve never been burned before, after all.

“Lapis……I told you to heal him, not cauterize him.”

“Pardon me, I am not proficient at using healing magic.
I have also never treated a human before.
Therefore, I utilized a treatment method which I believed would be most appropriate at the moment.”

Lapis, who looked as if she were still in her teens on the outside, answered nonchalantly.
I’ve never seen such a tough girl.

“Are you all right? I’m sorry.
She’s incredibly smart, but she’s weird in some places.”

“Grrrg……kprrk…….”

Jack was foaming out the mouth.
His pupils were in his eye sockets.
I suddenly felt a wave of concern.
I was genuinely worried.
If Jack passes out like this, then that would make things a lot more troublesome.
I asked Lapis to use healing magic on Jack even if she wasn’t skilled at it.
I hoped that this would at least reduce his pain.

“…….”

Once Lapis recited the healing spell, Jack’s complexion became visibly better.
In other words, he became stabilized enough that his eyes returned to their normal positions.
Jack occasionally groaned like how someone with tuberculosis would cough.
After a brief moment of time passed like that, I heard a ‘Ding!’ sound effect.

「Lower class Merchant Jack Aland’s affection has decreased by 50!」

「Lower class Merchant Jack Aland is now hostile towards you!」

I took this as a green light.
Did this not mean that his mind was stable enough to hate someone now? Jack looked up at the sky blankly.
He kept feeling his right shoulder with his left arm.
Shortly after, Jack muttered in a trembling voice.

“Lie……why would you……?”

It seems he still couldn’t believe the current situation.
Once again, I realized that Jack and I are completely different by nature.
Jack became more curious as to why I would do something like this.

On the other hand, when my life was threatened by those adventurers at the time I came to this world for the first time, what was the first thing I said?

Don’t shoot.

You got the wrong person.

Spare me⎯⎯⎯.

It wasn’t until after I had said these words that I tried to figure out the reason why I was in that situation.
Pleading to the other party and trying to please them was more urgent.
Wasn’t this logical and normal?

No, I didn’t particularly want to slander Jack.
Our way of thinking was different in a much deeper meaning.
You could liken us to two people who spoke two completely different languages.
There might even be something bigger than that situated between me and Jack.
I felt the need to provide him with the bare minimum conversation before going into negotiations.

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I sat down on the grass.
I spoke to Jack as he laid on the ground.

“It isn’t a lie.
Your arm has been cut off.
I’m the one who did it.
If I had to say something was a lie, then it would probably be everything from the very beginning up to this point.”

“……Why? For what reason?”

Jack didn’t look at me as he muttered.

“Because I want Laura De Farnese.”

“No……I don’t get it……I don’t get it.”

“Think about it.
Jack, it’s very simple.
Why would the other party refuse to perform a formal trade in a Merchants Guild? Why would they choose to do something so extreme? If you ask yourself this question, then an answer should naturally form.”

“A position……where you can’t trade legally……?”

I gave him a short round of applause.
It felt like I was interacting with a native who finally understood my body language.

“You got it.
In truth, it’s actually difficult for me to enter a town properly.”

“You were never a merchant……Lolita!”

Jack stood up abruptly.
A gaze filled with hatred was directed towards me.
He let out a shout as he rushed at me.
Lapis, who was standing next to me, quickly stabbed the center of his chest with the sheathe of her sword.
After being hit by the relatively sharp end of the sheathe, Jack fell down powerlessly.
I shook my head as I looked down at Jack who had been subdued by Lapis.

“Cut off his left pinky.”

“Understood.”

There was another scream.
The same procedure followed after.
A groan, searing his flesh under the pretext of treatment, a scream, and then relief.
Whether it was because the pain of losing a pinky was less than losing an arm or he had already become accustomed to the pain, Jack regained his senses faster than I expected.

I guess we won’t be able to use this method much longer.

I continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.

“That’s right.
I’m not a merchant.”

“The fact that you had a herb that could cure the plague, khhk! It was all a lie!”

The hatred in Jack’s eyes became more intense.
It seems he still felt some lingering pain as he clenched his teeth, but this caused his pronunciation to become awkward.
Nevertheless, I had no trouble understanding him.

“No.
That’s true.”

“Don’t mess with me! You accursed devil! Go die, you bastard!”

“Jack, my idiotic friend.
If you want to lie, then you must mix in a reasonable amount of truth into your lie.”

“Yeah! That’s right! You’re the bastard who summoned the monsters in the auction house!”

Jack got worked up as he exclaimed.

I shrugged.

“You’re right about that.
I admit it.”

“The fire as well!”

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“Now your head is working properly.”

He proceeded to utter a bunch of curse words.
It felt as if every profane language in the world was being put on display.
I stayed silent for a moment.
I didn’t feel offended or anything.
If anything, I was watching Jack with interest as I failed to understand why he was intentionally trying to shorten his life like this.

“All right.”

I spoke up.

“If we summarize everything you had said in the past minute, then I’m a devil, a scam artist, the biggest bastard in the world, a lunatic, and a mother fucker who’s going to Hell.
I admit all of these things, so I believe it should be all right if we go into a productive discussion.”

“…….”

“For starters, the fact that I’m taking De Farnese is already set in stone.
I hope you bear this in mind.
There are still other things we have to negotiate.
Jack, I’m deliberating about how I should deal with you.
Not only do you know how I look, but you also know of my crimes.
Therefore, it would be very risky to keep you alive.
The issue is that I want to keep you alive.
In short, I’m saying that we should negotiate for your life.”

“You devilish bastard……!”

I smiled wryly.

“It seems you aren’t listening to me.
What do you want? Do you want sympathy? Do you want me to repent for my terrible deeds? Do you want a sincere apology?”

As expected, I felt bitter.
This was my first time harming an innocent citizen and not an adventurer.
Although almost every person in the human world will eventually despise the Demon Lords in several years, at any rate, all they had towards Demon Lords right now was an appropriate amount of caution and hostility.
It was probably similar to the hostility they had towards neighboring countries.

“I’m sorry, but don’t expect something like that from me.”

If my arm is precious, then the arms of other people are similarly precious to them.
This was the most fundamental form of ethics.
Guilt is something that’s felt when you have to maintain these ethics.
However, I have completely gone against these ethics and I will continue to do so without hesitation.
What would happen if I were to then talk about and express my guilt?

That would be hypocritical.

My guilt is nothing more than the excess fat of my mind.

“Jack, I don’t regret any of my actions in the slightest.”

“……”

“If possible, I don’t want to regret anything in the future as well.
If I let you go here and you later become a threat to my life, then I will regret this decision greatly.
Mm.
So convince me.
Even if I may regret this in the future, give me a reason why I have no other choice but to release you right now.”

Jack didn’t answer.
He most likely couldn’t think of a rational reason on the spot.

A lot of things had happened to him today.
He nearly accomplished the biggest trade in his life, the auction house he was in was assaulted by monsters, he narrowly escaped from death with his friend, and he was betrayed by the friend he respected which resulted in the loss of an arm.
A day like this was too much for a single person to handle.
I decided to be considerate of his circumstances.

We got on the carriage again.
Jack’s hands and feet were bound by chains.
We continued onward until we had completely left the city’s area of influence.

We decided to camp out once the evening arrived.
Lapis prepared some delicious soup.
I happily enjoyed my portion as it felt like I had just discovered another one of her talents.
However, Jack didn’t seem to have any interest in eating as he didn’t come out from the carriage.
He stayed in the carriage even when night had arrived.

Lapis, Laura, and I laid down around the campfire.
I rest my head on my arms as I looked up at the night sky.
The stars glimmered.
The colors in the sky were so varied that I couldn’t possibly compare the dull night skies in my original world to this.
It wasn’t until after I came to this world that I discovered the night sky could be green, scarlet, pink, blue, and purple all at the same time.
I was in the astronomy club back in middle school, so I was well versed in constellations; however,  I couldn’t find any of the constellations I knew of in the sky.

I couldn’t sleep.
The gentle sound of Lapis sleeping flowed pleasantly into my ears.
At that moment, Laura who had been quiet all day opened her mouth as if she were talking to herself.

“I fail to understand.
Why are you not killing him immediately?”

“Hm.”

It was hard to give an answer.
I immediately uttered the first line that came to my head.

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“Because I do not wish to kill him.
I guess it is a coincidental whim.”

“……In any sort of tactic, needlessly creating an enemy is the worst possible plan.
If that slave merchant leaves here alive, then this entire incident will undoubtedly be revealed to the public.
Even if no one knows of your true identity, you will no longer be able to freely roam around the vicinity of cities without any form of disguise.”

“Haha.
There’s no way that I would not know that.”

I surveyed the night sky as I contemplated whether I should try and create constellations of my own or not.

“I figured that it would not matter if I took a risk of that degree.”

“Why is that? Lessen the number of threats whenever possible.
Is this not the best policy to keep in order to maintain one’s survival?”

“You are right.
Honestly, even I do not know why I am like this.”

Oh, that resembles Orion’s belt a lot.
Well, finding three stars in the same formation as Orion’s belt isn’t a difficult task.

I gradually let out a yawn.

“Laura, you decided that life means one’s eventual death because death is inevitable……but as someone who wants to continue living, I find the remaining parts of life……the coincidental things that happen to me determine the meaning of my life.
I wish to accept all of this in its entirety.”

My eyes closed on their own.
My consciousness gradually submerged.
As my perception of time faded, I heard a voice right as it was about to stop.

“So that’s the meaning of life you told me about on that night.”

I mumbled something in return, but it was nothing more than a mumble.
‘I’m about to fall asleep, huh?’ was the last thought that went through my head before my consciousness had submerged completely.

……

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed.
My face felt stiff as particles of dust had settled on it during the night.
I rubbed my face with my palm.
My mind felt refreshed, but my face felt uncomfortable, so this contrast was unfortunate.
Ehem, this could have been a perfect morning.

I looked around.
Laura was sleeping soundly.
On the other hand, Lapis had already finished preparing breakfast.
In truth, it was impossible for me to imagine Lapis of all people sleeping in late.
If she had been born as a high school student in Korea, then she would have definitely been one of those people who went to bed at midnight and woke up at 4am in order to study.
How disgusting.

Lapis spoke as she poured some soup into a bowl with a ladle.

“Sir Dantalian, the slave merchant has run away.”

“Oh, really?”

That was somewhat unexpected.
I did consider the possibility of him running away, but I didn’t think he actually would.
It wasn’t an action that befitted Jack.
Nevertheless, it seems Lapis believed this was a natural turn of events.
She let out a sigh.

“Haa.
When I woke up at dawn, he was no longer in the carriage.
He shouldn’t have gotten far since his ankles are bound by chains.
Shall we pursue him?”

“Leave him be.
He’s struggling to survive, so there’s no reason to go out of our way to bring an end to it.”

I gave my honest opinion as I received a bowl from Lapis.

“After losing such a large slave deal, there’s no way he could show his face in front of his father or his firm.
The possibility of Jack gaining any sort of authority in the world of merchants is unfathomably low.”

“His father is a big merchant.
I believe that there would be a way to use him.”

“I’d probably keel over and die first if I try to use a man as incompetent as him.
I prefer people who are as talented as you, Lapis.”

I took a sip of the soup.
A peculiar taste of a certain spice and chicken filled my mouth.

“Khh, delicious!”

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It felt like I was eating a non-spicy version of Thai Prawn Soup.
I recalled that spices were rarely used in medieval times, so when I asked about it, Lapis informed me that, different from humans, demons enjoy using spices immensely.
As someone who loves Southeastern Asian food and Indian food, I welcomed this culture with open arms.

“Lapis, is there something you’re bad at? You’re too talented!”

“Thank you very much.”

Lapis lowered her head.

“The accommodation, transportation, and meals provided during this trip will total to about 10 gold.”

“…….”

How Lapis of Lapis…….

After breakfast, contrary to the pleasant taste that had filled my mouth, my skin continued to complain.
My already stiff face was starting to feel greasy as well.
It bothered me.

“Is there a brook nearby?”

“There is a pond 80 steps in that direction.”

I received an answer that sounded as if she had been waiting for me to ask this.
As I didn’t know the layout of the human world, I relied on Lapis’ plan for this operation.
Without a doubt, she considered everything from the escape route to the accommodation.
What a perfectionist! A large price of 10 gold wasn’t a waste.

I hummed to myself as I headed in the direction Lapis had pointed me to.
There was a forest there.
Tall, unknown plants were blocking my line of sight.
Although I felt like a snake might come out and get me, I knew that monsters and beasts are affected by a Demon Lord’s authority, so I pushed forward without any hesitation.
I waltzed forward as if I were marching.

Once I got past the last bush, Jack’s dead body was lying there as if he had been hiding.

“…….”

I didn’t know what to say.

Surprise? Disappointment? No.
It was closer to awe.

If it’s Jack, then this could happen, this thought entered my head a second later.

There was a large boulder next to his corpse.

There were several crimson bloodstains on the surface of the boulder.
Along with that boulder, I noticed Jack’s head and eyes as well.
Dried blood had clotted there.
It appears that he had committed suicide by slamming his head against the boulder by himself.
Like the story of a certain magpie that endlessly devoted its head to a bell.
(TL note: The Magpie and the Bell)

“……So you’ve died, Jack.”

I had no way of knowing what he had been deliberating on all night, what process of thought he had gone through in order to arrive at this conclusion.
I will probably never know.
Like a single mystery, the result that is his corpse and a boulder will be the only things that will remain in my head for all of eternity.

I had hoped he would survive if possible.

Even if he kept being used and disregarded by despicable people like me, I wanted him to live firmly.
This was the small wish I had in the corner of my mind as someone who has not fully become accustomed to the role of a Demon Lord in this world yet.

The morning sun pierced through the roof of the forest and lit up his surroundings.
I stared at the corpse for a while.
A stream was flowing beyond the boulder; however, instead of going to the stream, I turned around and left.
I believed that approaching Jack’s body would be an insult to his death.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter.
This is the end of , so I guess I’ll be translating another chapter of Handholding next.
Though I sort of started translating a bit of the next DD WN chapter, so I might release that first before going back to Handholding.
I sort of feel bad about leaving Million Dollar Bill on the side.
I might switch from Handholding chapters to Million Dollar Bill chapters after I finish the Handholding volume I’m currently on.

On a side note, I’ve noticed this several times before, but please avoid leaving the same exact comment on every chapter.
For example, ‘thank you for the chapter!’.
Once in a while is fine, but if you leave the same comment on every chapter, then the WordPress bot will mark you as spammer.
It’s a bit weird on how it determines whether something is spam or not, but it’s been doing a relatively good job.
Although it sometimes does mark completely normal comments as spam, this happens rarely.
In any case, keep this in mind when leaving a comment!