Graveyard of Life (III)

After that, it wasn’t long before Freila and I were forced to leave the slave holding camp after we heard some guard footsteps approaching.

Freila and Sashily gave their final farewells to each other, hugging while trying their best to keep their smiles, before the two of us intruders had to sneak our way out.

Soon enough, we had escaped the holding camp building and were back out in the free world.

“Thank you for coming in with me, Mamoru. I appreciate it.”

“No, no, I didn’t do anything. I probably just slowed you down and made things harder for you.”

“Well, that’s… it wasn’t that bad.”

“You’re not gonna deny it!?”

After what happened in there, the little levity helped lighten my heart a little.

It helped me to be able to breathe again after what I saw and what I learned affected me gravely.

Freila seems to be in a pretty good mood as well. Even though she had just said goodbye to her best friend and would at best not see her again for a while, she had a resolute smile. It makes me realize just how strong Freila is too. Her heart is incredibly tough even in a situation like this.

Perhaps noticing me look at her funny, she turns towards me with a gentle grin.

“Well then, I guess we should be heading back soon.”

“Oh yeah. You’re right. It’s getting legitimately late now.”

After our little detour + infiltration adventure, it was now well past evening and firmly in the night. Ariesa’s probably at home wondering where they hell I went by now. And at the same time…

“Yeah, you really need to be getting home, don’t you. I mean, tomorrow’s your freaking wedding!”

Frankly, I’m amazed she can even afford to be here this late. Won’t she need to get up really early tomorrow for a bunch of stuff?

“Oh yeah, that’s right… I have to go…”

Freila nods while making a forlorn expression.

That’s a weird face to make when thinking about your own wedding. Maybe the Sashily stuff is still getting to her.

“Hey, there! What’s with that long face? Don’t you remember what Sashily said. You have to go and concentrate on enjoying your wedding or else she’ll be pissed!”

“Huh? Oh, y-yeah. You’re right. I guess there’s no point thinking about other stuff. I need to keep my eyes focused on what’s in front of me.”

“That’s the spirit! You can’t get married if you’re not smiling! I’m sure your husband would say the same.”

“Yeah, he would. He really would…”

She puts on a wry smile, almost obviously forced.

“You know, now that I think about it, I still don’t know what kind of guy your husband is, anyways. You’ve mentioned he was both virtuous and powerful… is he some sort of knight or something?”

I wonder, curious about the type of guy who’s Freila’s type… for purely supportive reasons.

“Oh, did I never tell you? Sorry, I forgot you don’t know. Everyone else does, so I rarely get to tell anyone.”

“Hm? Everyone already knows…?”

What is he, a celebrity or something? She makes it sound like their marriage is common knowledge, as if any random person on the street would know.

What kind of crazy wedding would that be—

No, wait, don’t tell me.

“My groom-to-be is the Hero of Light, Ryuta.”

In that moment, I feel as if my brain is about to explode.

“Eh!? Your husband is the Hero of Light! Y-you mean, the wedding you’re talking about is the giant city-wide celebration everyone’s going crazy over? You’re the hero’s bride!?!?”

“Ahahahaha. Not telling you was worth it for that reaction alone. It reminds me of when the engagement first happened and everyone in the city was freaking out.”

“Wow. This is crazy. I never thought I’d actually meet the Hero of Light’s wife like this.”

Oh my god, wait, that means I kissed the bride of the Hero.

Holy shit, he’s going to kill me! He’s going to kill me for being a Demon Lord and he’s gonna kill me for kissing his wife. I’m double dead now!!

“Please, you exaggerate. I’m nothing worth going crazy over. He’s the Hero. I just happened to end up his wife.”

So she says, but now that I know, I can totally see it. Such a beautiful and virtuous woman like her is totally main heroine material. In any game, she would easily be the love interest that the hero falls in love with and marries at the end after killing the Demon King.

Wait, that’s literally what happened here.

“Heeh. I’m impressed though, Freila. How’d you manage to bad a freaking Hero of Light? Wait, don’t tell me. Is it one of those classic stories? You met during his adventure to defeat the Demon King and you fell instantly in love. Did he promise that he’d marry you after the war was over? Did he use the power of his love for you to overcome all of his trials?

“Geez, you’re fantasizing too much. It wasn’t anything like that. We only met a few times during the war.”

“Ah, so you two only started falling in love after the war ended? Like while he was trying to settle down and find a new home in the world, you were there for him.”

“Well… not exactly…”

“Hm? Then when did you…”

I can’t but notice that Freila has been reacting weird recently. What’s going on?

I think about it for a moment, when a dark lightbulb suddenly sets off.

“Wait… Freila. I need to ask… You do love him, right?”

“…”

Her silence speaks volumes.

“What!? You guys aren’t in love? Yet you’re getting married? Why!? How!?”

“M-Mamoru, calm down. You’re raising a fuss.”

She orders, firmly shutting me down before I can go on a rampage.

“Mm. Okay, sorry… but what’s going on? What’s up with you and the Hero?”

“Haaah. Mou, I shouldn’t have said anything. I should’ve just given you a vague answer. I figured you would get like this…”

Freila uncomfortably fidgets for a bit as she finds her answer.

“Well, if you must know… the truth is, Ryuta apparently fell in love with me at first sight during the war. I didn’t realize and thought nothing of it, but after the war ended, he came back for me and proposed to me on the spot. And well… I mean, he’s one of the Heroes who saved the world. How could I possibly say no?”

What? That’s… how it happened?

“Are you kidding me? So you’re just marrying him because he forced your hand?”

“N-no. You misunderstand. He didn’t force anything. He’s been nothing but kind and gentlemanly to me. I’m the one who chose to accept his proposal. That’s all.”

“But why?”

“I mean… what else was I going to do? He’s one of the most popular guys in the world right now. Thousands of girls would kill to be in my spot. Literally everyone in the city cheered and celebrated when they heard that one of the heroes was getting married to one of our own residents. Now imagine if I had said no. Imagine if I was the cruel woman who broke the hero’s heart… no one would ever forgive me.”

“That’s… why? That’s why you’re going to marry him? Because he’s popular!? Just because of that, you need to swear the rest of your life to him?”

“It’s fine! I don’t mind. I can handle it. And I think the hero deserves this too. I mean, he just saved the world. He deserves to be rewarded with anything he wants. So if he wants to marry me, then… then that’s okay. He deserves that.”

“… Freila. Just answer me this. Do you want to marry him or not?”

“...”

“Freila.”

“Y-you’re worrying too much, Mamoru. It’s fine. It can’t be that bad. I mean, being the Hero’s wife is going to be awesome. I’ll have the most bragging rights in the world.”

“…”

“And think of the benefits. Everyone will love me just because of who I’m married to. I’ll receive favours and gifts from everyone who loves the Hero.”

“…”

“Also, as his wife, I’ll have the power and influence to make some real change in the world. I can finally buy Sashily back. And maybe I can other slaves too and free them. I can donate to the orphanage more and I can do a lot of real good in the world. So it’s fine.”

“Freila… I’ll ask again. Do you want to marry him or not?”

“… I… I…”

And then, something snaps in her.

“No, I don’t! I don’t, okay! I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love! I don’t wanna marry someone I barely know! I hate this! I hate this so much! All I wanna do is run away!”

“Then why—”

“Because it’s the right thing to do!”

She screams from her soul, so loudly that it shakes the earth.

“It’s… the right thing to do. This is the option that will make everyone else happy. The only one who doesn’t want this to happen is me. So I’ll make it happen. I’ll marry him!”

“…”

After that hearing that, there’s nothing else I can say to her.

It’s the right thing to do. As long as she says that, then nothing can possibly change her mind. I know that better than anyone. I know what it means to be chained by those words.

Why? Why is it always like this? Why do the good people always end up feeling like this?

Why is it so easy for us to just sacrifice ourselves in the name of righteousness?

A knight who would give up herself as a slave to protect others.

A slave who doesn’t want to be freed to not trouble her friend.

A girl who’ll marry someone she doesn’t love to make the world happy.

And a dumb, dumb boy who tried to kill himself for the sake of the world.

We’re all just a bunch of idiots who don’t know when to quit.

And if that’s the case… I know what I want to do.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up. I know you were just looking out for me, Mamoru.”

“No… I’m sorry too.”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry for this, Freila. I’m about to do something very, very bad to you. The one thing in the world you don’t want to happen.”

I raise my hand and lightly push it against her chest.

“Huh? Mamoru, what are you.”

“I’m sorry.”

I make my decision.

Who cares about this world. Who cares if he’s the Hero of Light. Who cares if it’s the right thing.

I’ll fight all of that for the sake of what I want to do.

I'll become the bad guy of this world.

I’ll become a true Demon Lord if I have to.

I’ll even become the greatest Slave Master ever.

“No matter what, I’m going to save you!”

“「 Enslave 」”