289: A Contract by Free Will
“About the blood contract?” I repeated Listrea-sama’s words.
“Aren’t you… the Fifth Army… the ones who know the most about it?”
“It is an ancient curse. You two are the only ones who have made the contract in this age. We demons do seek a place to belong. But all we have is this body… and our soul.” Listrea-sama placed a hand on her chest.
“…If we were to entrust all of that to another, what would we become? To say, ‘Death or the blood contract,’ is, for a demon who has committed an unforgivable sin, a de facto death sentence.”
“…Um? Samarkand?” I looked at him. I had thought it was a serious matter. But this was not something you proposed on your first meeting.
“Tell me. —What happened? I have heard that it was an order from a rash superior. Therefore, in exchange for your life… I can understand. But… the rumors, just rumors—say that Samarkand was the one who sought the contract. That is… madness.”
“Samarkand, you’re being called crazy.”
“…Madness… yes, I may have been mad.” Samarkand smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice.
“…Do you regret it?”
“Yes, my master.”
There was no falsehood.
I couldn’t help but look down. The blood contract allowed the master to know if the words spoken by the one they had contracted with were true or false, through the blood that flowed in their veins. I had not wished for this contract. But the blood contract was a kind of curse… Samarkand himself had said so. He could no longer defy me… and I had no intention of letting this black goat go. But… if Samarkand regretted serving me—
“I regret not understanding my master’s greatness at first sight.”
…Huh?
“…I’m sorry, Lord of Disease. Could you… translate? I do not understand the jargon of the Sixth Army.”
“No, that’s not it, Old One-sama.” Liz shook her head, her expression serious.
“Those are his own words. He has been told to speak as clearly as possible to my master, so you should take them at face value.”
“Wait. …What in the world happened? If you would—tell me the truth.”
“My master, if you would, I would like to tell the Old One-sama what happened at that time, from my perspective. If I am mistaken, please correct me.”
“Granted. Please.”
“In the middle of the night, I infiltrated through the window, to take my master’s—the Lord of Disease’s—life.”
“Yes.”
“My master was calm. When I confirmed her name, she replied, ‘Yes, good evening,’ in her usual tone.”
“I think… that’s what happened.”
“…Wait, you said such a carefree greeting?”
“Her composure was such that she even admonished the Black Hound Barghests, who had been prepared to be her shield, to not resist unnecessarily, in consideration of the coming battle.”
“Umm… yes.”
“Seeing her, who had accepted her death, and yet joked about a painless death, I felt that I—that we—were the ones who were wrong.”
“Master, I have something to say.”
“I’ve already been scolded for that, so please don’t bring it up.”
“I asked her why she fought. And the Lord of Disease replied, ‘For this country,’ with a clear gaze, without a shred of doubt.”
“I said that… well, maybe not the gaze.”
“And, even as she was concerned for her subordinates who were not present, even as she had accepted her own death, she declared that she was a supreme commander of the Demon King’s army, and that there was no falsehood in the position she had been given by His Majesty. Her figure was divine, and it was enough to make a fool like me understand the meaning of reason.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“And… yes, even as her own life was a flickering candle, she was concerned for my fate, after I had carried out the assassination. I decided to swear my eternal loyalty.”
“Isn’t that a bit of a leap in logic…?”
“And, with a decisive judgment, she trusted me and accepted the offer of a contract from a demon who had tried to take her life. That was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
“I’m starting to worry about your standards for happiness.”
“And, as I had injured myself to provide the blood for the contract, she was concerned for my well-being and protected me from Liz-sama, who had returned. …I will never forget the words she said at that time.”
“…Which ones?”
He, who had been speaking of the past in his own words, without paying any attention to my own, narrowed his crescent moon eyes.
“‘If you intend to use that life for me, then use it properly.’”
“Yes, I said that.”
“I remember that, too.”
“If she had just kept me by her side as a tool, that would have been enough. But to say that I was not a tool, but a subordinate… I had committed a sin. And to repay that with my loyalty was enough to renew my vow.”
“…There seems to be a slight discrepancy in your perception of your master.”
Listrea-sama, who had been listening silently, tilted her head.
“It is a matter of perspective. And my esteemed master, for that very reason, is unaware of her own charm.”
“No, I’m not.”
“—And then you welcomed Rebecca-sama, and Harken-dono swore his loyalty… have you forgotten that the death knights of the Fourth Army requested a transfer from the Undead Army? Ah, and shall we include the Black Hound Barghests?”
Samarkand counted on his fingers. One by one, and with the Barghests, it became four… and then he folded the fifth. He placed his clenched fist on his muscular chest and knelt on one knee.
“And above all, me. Even on the verge of death, I have never regretted that decision, and no matter what end this body may meet, I will not regret it.”
It was… too heavy to be dismissed with a single word. Liz poked my cheek.
“Liz?”
Liz, with her index finger, stroked my cheek and smiled.
“Please add one more. …Have you forgotten that you have seduced an assassin from the Royal Guard?”
“Seduced? If anything, I was the one who was seduced by your charm.”
I, too, raised my index finger and poked Liz’s cheek, then gently stroked it down.
“…Lizlit Finis, if you were a demon, would you have made a blood contract with the Lord of Disease…?”
At Listrea-sama’s question, Liz smiled.
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“Huh? Isn’t this where you say, ‘Of course,’ and nod?”
“I’m the type who values my free will.” Liz cut me down with a single word.
“And besides, if I gave Master that kind of authority, who knows what she would do.”
“No, I wouldn’t… do… that…” The contents of my ‘list of things I want to ask Liz to do’ flashed through my mind. It was a mass of delusions that I couldn’t even voice, even before the situation of ‘when there’s peace,’ and I didn’t think I could get through even a tenth of it, even with a lot of time and careful timing, and it was probably for the best. There was a saying that love was like a fever, but this delusion was equivalent to a level 4 virus.
“See?” Liz gave me a sidelong glance.
Even though it was summer, a cold sweat ran down my back.
Then, my loyal servant, Samarkand, attempted a rescue.
“So, Liz-sama, you are saying that you have responded to my master’s feelings, of your own free will, and you are lovers?”
“…………”
“…………”
Liz looked at me, who was looking at her with an expectant gaze. And after a sigh, she pulled her scarf up to cover her mouth. A blush spread across her cheeks.
“…Of course.”
In that moment, the top of my ‘list of things I want to ask Liz to do’ was updated, and before she could ask, before my reason could scrutinize the contents, I acted on it and leaped at her, hugging her.
“M-Master?!”
Since Listrea-sama and Samarkand were here, it was just a hug. And as her warmth seeped into me, and my impulse subsided, I gently pulled away and looked into her eyes.
“I… if I were a demon, and it was you, Liz, I would make a blood contract.”
I could see Liz smile from behind her scarf.
“You’re heavy.”
“Huh?”
“…I’m joking.”
For a moment, I was frozen by her blunt reply, and Liz pulled her scarf down a little and smiled, reassuringly… but also mischievously.
“If it would increase my abilities, even a little… I might do it, regardless of which side I was on. Though if the orders were too… strange… I would probably come to hate you.”
“What a powerful deterrent.”
“Samarkand, you… do not regret the blood contract?”
The Old One, Listrea-sama, asked Samarkand.
“No, Old One-sama. …My master has never used the contract as a shield to give me an order I did not wish for. To be able to do something, and to do it, are two different things. I have benefited from this contract… and even the chains of restraint are a sign of my happiness.”
There was no falsehood in his words. He declared it, without a shred of a lie or hesitation.
He was someone who believed in and admired me. I wasn’t displeased.
But…
“Hey, Samarkand, I’m still worried about your standards for happiness.”
