When my dad, whom I depended on so much as a child, died, I understood in despair.
Humans can die at any time, for any reason.
I had arbitrarily assumed that my comrades wouldn't die.
Amaranth presents the Explosive Sword and Ice Sword, stacked together, to Geranium.
"Ah, I thought it would be good enough if we could kill Cattleya alone, but with this, does that mean all of the hero's close associates are wiped out?"
"Well, I would have been more reassured if you brought their heads instead of the swords. But I guess I'll trust your skills in this matter."
"What an honor. By the way, my lord..."
Amaranth glances at me briefly.
"What should we do with this man?"
"I'd prefer to kill him, but every time I try, I get chills. I don't know why."
"Is that so?"
"In such cases, it's better not to kill. That's what my experience tells me. So, we'll just imprison him and spare his life."
"Understood!"
"...You seem happy, Amaranth."
"N-no... That's not the case..."
"For now, that maid over there seems to be a fair-weather friend, so try recruiting her later. If she doesn't join, she dies, but she probably will."
"Understood."
"Ah, and the soldiers over there? Could you put this man in the dungeon? We're going to check on the king and the prince. So, I'll leave the rest to you."
Completely ignoring me, Geranium and Amaranth continue their conversation.
I couldn't recover from the shock of losing three comrades at once.
My mind was completely blank.
So, I only understood one thing.
Apparently, I failed.
This misshion to defeat the demon king with the hero failed.
I don't understand why, but I failed.
That's all I could grasp.
Chapter Five: Total Conclushion
Regret can only be done afterward.
I was thrown into the same dungeon where I was imprisoned before for stealing the Holy Sword.
Just like before, in a cell where there's nothing to do, all I could do was think.
So, I sorted through the events of this time in my mind.It was just regret, but there was nothing else I could do.
Looking back now, our defeat was sealed the moment we lost Shion, our greatest force.
There was no one besides Shion who could deal with Amaranth.
Even if all our comrades were intact and together, there was a high chance we would be defeated if attacked by Amaranth.
Additionally, Cineraria and Jasmine were also significant threats.
Moreover, Shion's incapacitation meant losing Holly's assistance.
Without Holly, I was virtually cut off from all sources of information.
Rather, since meeting Holly, I had merely been following her directions and commands.
This experience made it painfully clear.
The primary cause of Shion's incapacitation was Geranium.
I never imagined someone with that level of ability would operate in the shadows as the mastermind.
He might even surpass the strongest beings like Shion and Amaranth.
And on top of that, he's even more cowardly than me.
"I lost... This is... defeat..."
I don't engage in battles I can't win.
I had always fled from battles or conflicts where defeat meant actual harm, using whatever means necessary.
As a result, by delegating everything to others, I was effectively undefeated.
My undefeated status was natural.
After all, I had the strongest heroes, led by Shion, as allies.
Yet, that didn't work on Geranium.
My only strategy, to delegate everything I couldn't do to others, was utterly ineffective.
There was a chance to win.
It was just by chance, but I had a chance to win.
Amaranth, Cineraria, and Jasmine, those three women.
In front of me, each of them had lost consciousness once.
Amaranth from magical exhaustion after defeating the dungeon boss.
Cineraria and Jasmine from magical exhaustion due to failing to conquer the dungeon.
Looking back, it was incredibly fortunate that such strong individuals all lost consciousness in front of me.Though it was the epitome of cowardice, I could have taken them by surprise at that time.
It was the worst method, but there was a chance to kill all three of them.
In fact, Holly had advised me to kill them while I had the chance.
I couldn't bring myself to kill women who were incapacitated right in front of me.
Due to my luck in turning Saffron and Platanus into allies by showing mercy to hostile figures, I got carried away.
Even though Instructor Cattleya always taught me to kill enemies when I have the chance...
However, even if I had killed all three of them, could I really have defeated Geranium?
He was the man who rendered Shion incapacitated.
He had the combat strength to easily dispatch Platanus and Saffron.
If it was him, after turning Shion into stone, killing the other saintly sword users in turn would have been easy.
Why did he go through such a roundabout method?
No, why did he interfere with the hero's party in the first place?
I stopped thinking.
After all, this whole situation was my fault.
Not only because I showed mercy to those three, but also because I had the jewel of the Holy Sword.
Separating the jewel reduced the Holy Sword's performance by half.
Even though I thought half of Shion's strength was enough, if her power hadn't been halved, she probably wouldn't have lost to Geranium.
In other words, Shion's defeat, and consequently the deaths of Platanus, Instructor Cattleya, and Iris, were all my responsibility.
It's all because of me, relying on the kindness of Shion and Holly, who didn't want me to die.
I should have been the one to die.
If I had died, Shion could have defeated the Demon King as the hero without losing to anyone, and then lived happily ever after.
I am the cause of all evils.
I am the root of all wrongdoing.
"Ha... ha... haha..."
Thinking about it, thanks to me, the hero was discovered, but also thanks to me, the world will be destroyed.
I saved the world and also destroyed it.
"To destroy the world... To kill humanity..."
If the Demon King revives, even Geranium will die.
Then, in a way, my revenge would be fulfilled."Destroying the world... the Demon King will destroy..."
Geranium will die too.
Those three who believed in Geranium will die.
The king who was deceived by Geranium, the citizens, everyone will die.
"Foolish humanity... the Demon King will..."
"Hey... what have you been saying? Is your head okay?"
"Eh?"
At that moment, as I was crouching in the dungeon, I looked up.
On the other side of the iron bars, Cineraria was there as usual, wearing her triangular hat.
"Hasn't even been a day since you were thrown into the dungeon, right? Have you gone mad already?"
Cineraria spoke to me in a friendly manner, but,
Frankly, I felt like it was too late for any conversation.
There was nothing to talk about.
"Stop glaring like that. Sorry about earlier. It's all good, right? The prince was revived."
"And your companions, they're all alive too."
"What!?"
I hastily stood up in the cell, grabbed the bars with both hands, and faced Cineraria.
"What do you mean? Platanus, Instructor Cattleya, and the others..."
"They're all alive."
"But I thought everyone but Saffron was supposed to be dead..."
"Platanus, that guy, was treated by Jasmine with her Healing Sword right after that. It was close, but they managed to treat him in time."
"Really!?"
"Don't shout."
Cineraria put a finger to my lips.
"Cattleya and Iris aren't dead either. Didn't Amaranth just bring their saintly swords, not their bodies?"
"Yes."
"That's because she only took their weapons. She ignored their attempts at negotiation and beat them up, but she didn't kill them."
"Why did she do that?"
"Eh? Why, you ask... Well..."
Cineraria averted her eyes, pulling her triangular hat down to hide her face.
"I mean, you're technically a lifesaver, right? It's just... paying back a debt."
"If you think that way, please stop being hostile."
"Don't ask for the impossible. How can I openly defy Geranium?"
That's good news.
I still can't believe it, but everyone is alive.
Then, there's still hope.
If all my companions are alive and Cineraria, Jasmine, and Amaranth all deceived Geranium behind the scenes, there's still a chance.If this is true, there's a chance to make allies out of all the Saintly Sword wielders other than Geranium.