Slave to Righteousness (V)

After everything is settled, Ariesa leaves the jail cell and gives me some time alone.

I use it to lie down and stew in my own thoughts for a bit. At some point, another knight came by and brought me a meal which I quickly guzzled down.

Perhaps Ariesa pulled some strings for me as it was better than I expected. It’s funny though to think that my very first meal in another world ended up being prison food...

After that, I spent the rest of the day just staring out at the cell window as the sun began to set on the city and it slowly but surely became night.

“Haah… the moon sure is pretty tonight.”

I wax poetically as I sit in my cell and stare wistfully out the window towards the starry sky.

Despite the fact that the sky was rainbow-colored during the day, at night it looks almost exactly the same as the one back in my original world. Just seeing it starts to make me feel longing and nostalgia for my old life.

Less than a day ago, I was still back in that world, living out my life as I usually did. I went to school and went to work and then went home. Yet, on that day, instead of home, I ended up coming here instead.

It really was just less than a day for me, yet it already feels like ages ago somehow.

I’ve lived over 18 years in that world, and it ended just like that.

And now, I’ve lived less than a day in this world and it’s going to end soon too, just like that.

“I’m really going to die, huh.”

There’s no point lying to myself about it anymore. It is the simple and undeniable truth now that my days are numbered.

That’s… fine. I can live with that. Or rather, I can die with that.

I knew this was coming. I had accepted it when I came to the Knight Post. So there’s no point whining and trying to back out now.

All of this was according to my own plan and my own decision, so I just have to suck it up.

If I were to look on the bright side, at least I can die knowing I’m doing the right thing. I’ll die not as a villain being slain, but as a martyr sacrificing himself for the greater good. That’s a fine way to end one’s life.

If there is one thing I can complain about it, it’s that I’m forced to sit here and just wait for my execution date. If I at least allowed to roam free, I could spend my last few days alive doing whatever I want. I could at least try and complete some sort of bucket list before I passed.

Instead, at this rate, I’m going to die after having done basically nothing at all in this world. I mean, looking back, all I’ve done is get summoned, get beaten up, get beaten up, get beaten up again, get arrested, and then get told I’m going to die.

Not exactly an exciting and eventful life now is it.

Now that I think about it, when I first arrived in this world, I said to myself that I wanted to try and fulfill some of the regrets I had in my past life.

But in the end, I wasn’t able to fulfill a single one. And it’s now too late to do any.

Not making a bunch of friends. Not exploring the world. Not falling in love. Not anything at all.

Somehow, my second life is going to end up being even emptier than my first.

Until the day I die, there’s nothing left for me to do.

All I have is this same-old soon-to-boring sky to stare at…

“… hm?”

Whish~ BOW!

Suddenly, I see a firework explode in the distant sky.

“Woah! What was that?”

Excited at any other form of stimulation, I jump up and go to the window to get a closer look.

Soon enough, the one firework is followed by any matters, and the entire sky is lit with colorful flares and beautiful explosions.

“Wow, I didn’t know they had fireworks in this world too.”

Does that mean there’s gunpowder in this world too? Or maybe they have their own substitute for it? Or maybe they’re just casting magic and shooting fireballs into the sky!

“But what’s the occasion? Is there some sort of event going on?”

I push my head against the barred cell window and try to see what’s going on. In the far distance, I can hear muffled shouting from what sounds like a crowd.

I listen carefully to the voices to try and pick up on what’s being said until I make out one particular word being repeated over and over.

“Hero! Hero! Hero! Hero!”

They’re chanting hero over and over again.

That’s right, the Hero of Light’s wedding is about to happen in a few days.

That means he’s probably already in the city. In that case, is this an event centered around him right now? Are they holding some special festivities before the actual wedding day? Maybe he’s up on stage somewhere in the city, being cheered by a giant crowd of his adoring fans?

“Awww man, I wish I could be there right now. That sounds exciting!”

Just think how it must be feel to be standing there, surrounded by ecstatic cheers underneath a sky of flaming colours.

An entire city coming together just to congratulate and give their blessings to a soon-to-be-married couple.

The lights. The sounds. The vibes. The thrills.

That sounds awesome! That sounds amazing! That sounds magical!

That’s… That’s…

“… why can’t that be me?”

The words out of my mouth as my deepest feelings unfold.

And once it starts, the dark thoughts just keep flooding into my head.

Isn’t this too unfair? The two of us are both people summoned from the same world. Before we came here, we were basically the same. But now, our positions couldn’t be anymore different.

He’s out there being worshipped by an entire city, if not the entire world. He has fame and glory and power and a girl he loves that he’s about to marry.

And I’m stuck in here, unable to escape and treated like a villain. My days are numbered. The whole world hates me. And I’m all alone.

Why? Why is it so different? Why can’t I be given all of that too?

Why do I always have to be the one who loses out?

In that world and in this world, I’m always the one who draws the short straw. I’m always the loser.

I don’t have any friends. I don’t have any fun. I don’t have any time to myself. I don’t have anyone who likes me.

I’ve lived 18 years and all of it was just an empty waste of time.

Why is that? Why can’t I ever be allowed to be happy!?

“It seems you’ve finally woken up.”