Behind the Mask

After returning to the square, the woman bought four meat skewers and gave two of them to David.

They were sat at the bench David had been on just a few minutes before.

Despite his fears, David had set his mask in his lap.

Why is she doing this? David wondered as he ate. Didn’t she recognise me? Maybe she’s pretending she didn’t to get me relaxed, and then strike? I should’ve just kept my head down and refused her offer.

“What’s your name?”

“…Allaric,”

“Allaric? Where are you from?”

David swallowed hard. “North Pass.”

“That’s quite the journey to make. Did you come here looking for work?”

“Does it matter?”

“I-I guess not. Sorry, it’s just…Never mind. Still.” She put on her friendliest smile. “I’m surprised at how fast you were. Are you an adventurer or do you just like to keep in shape?”

“…Neither. I ran away from home.”

“You ran away?”

David nodded and tapped the mask beside him. “…I was chased out.”

“…Why?”

David turned slightly away from her. “…Because they hated me. My mother was taken by a man who wasn’t her husband and called a whore; they said her baby would be cursed. When I was born.” David brought his hand beneath his cloak and touched his face. “My eyes were bright red and everyone thought I was a monster.” He laughed bitterly. “Even my own mother did.”

“…That’s horrible.”

David nodded and quietly sighed.

It was worth coming up with a backstory in case I was stopped by someone, David thought. If I gave people such a sad story, then they’d feel uncomfortable for asking me and that guilt would stop them from prying any further.

However. David scowled. If I met anyone from North Pass or someone went there and asked about me, then they’d know it was a lie. It was a risk I took into consideration and, hopefully, my cover won’t be blown.

While David was lost in his own thoughts, the woman put her hand on top of his and squeezed it gently.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. That must’ve been so painful.”

“It’s not something you need to apologise for,” David said, freeing his hand from her grasp. “I’m used to people calling me a monster by now, so it doesn’t hurt.”

He laughed bitterly at himself. If only that were true.

David tried to get up and leave, but the woman grabbed his arm and held him in place.

“How could you say that, Allaric? How could you say that it doesn’t hurt you being called a monster?”

“I-I’ve gotten used to it, like I said, and-”

“Do you think of yourself as a monster?”

David froze.

“…You do, don’t you?” The woman smiled tenderly and gently pulled him back onto the bench. “It’s okay. I don’t think that you’re a monster.”

Don’t.

“How can you say that when you’ve only just met me?” David mumbled, tightening his hands into fists.

Don’t!

“Why don’t you think I’m a monster?”

“Call it an adventurer’s intuition.” The woman giggled. “Allaric, I’ve fought and killed monsters. I’ve fought the worst kind of scum you could imagine that hide in the shadows and destroy people’s lives without batting an eye. I’ve seen people get blinded by money or give into corruption, and use their powers to ruin other people’s lives for their own selfish desires. People like that aren’t born monsters; they become monsters the moment they do things like that.”

…The Demon Emperor is a monster worse than all of those put together.

The woman took one of David’s hands in her own and lovingly embraced it. “You aren’t a monster just because someone else says you are.”

David mockingly laughed at her and looked down at his knees.

That’s a nice thing to say, but I wonder if you’d be able to say that if you knew who I was, what I’m going to do, what I’ve got to do.

“Then, Allaric, let me ask you this: have you ever killed anyone?”

“No.” Not directly.

“Have you ever stolen from anyone?”

“No.” Liar.

“Have you ever attacked someone?”

“No.” Liar!

“Would you ever do something so cruel and horrible and act for only your own life?”

“…No.” That’s not a lie…It’s not.

“Then, to me, you aren’t a monster,” the woman said gently.

Please, don’t.

She released David’s hand and pulled down his hood gently, revealing his face. Panicked, David’s red eyes met her soft, brown eyes, and her beautiful, loving smile.

“See? You aren’t a monster.” She brushed some of the hair from David’s eyes. “If anything, I think your eyes are quite pretty.”

“…Pretty?”

“Yeah. They’re kind of like rubies. Both the colour and that they should be treasured.”

A pleasant, gentle feeling rose inside David’s heart.

…What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?

Why did I feel happy when she said that? Why? Why? Why?! Stop looking at me like that. David scrunched his eyes together and quickly put back up his hood. Don’t make me feel like this!

In his scrambled mind, David knew that it wasn’t a feeling of love or anything like that, but it was something far greater to him, something that made him truly happy.

Someone in this world didn’t see him as the Demon Emperor.

She only saw Allaric and, by extension, David himself.

Not the cruel tyrant, but David.

“What the hell?” David muttered too quietly for her to hear. He put his mask back on and stood up. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, Allaric. Oh, I never gave you my name, did I?” She stood and held out her hand to him. “I’m Kella, an adventurer from Stonefall.”

“Nice to meet you, Kella.” The two shook hands. “What are you doing so far from Stonefall?”

“The emperor sent out a call for all C-ranked or higher adventurers to join the expedition to recapture Black Port,” Kella said. “My brother ordered me to stay at home, but I wanted to at least accompany them to Themis before they left for the south-east. Honestly, I’m kind of glad I got to talk to you today, Allaric.” Her lonely smile made David’s heart ache a little. “I was a bit upset after being left behind.”

“Why did they leave you behind?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’d have heard about this given how calm the capital is, but some parts of the country are up in arms over the Great Disaster that’s falling the empire. Stonefall’s in an awful state right now and my brother wants me to help the people out where I can.”

“That’s an admirable thing to do,” David said sincerely. “I wish you luck.”

“Thank you, Allaric. If you’re ever in the city, I’d love to talk with you again. If not, I’ll see you the next time I’m in the capital.”

“Sounds good. Bye, Kella.”

“Bye, Allaric. Stay safe and remember what I said.”

“I will!”

Kella took her spear and, once she was out of David’s sight, his expression darkened as a sharp, painful sensation blossomed in his heart.

I hope Kella and everyone she loves stays as far away from me as they can.