Chapter 40: 40

The first half is in the third person.

 

Clack clack

 

With his toenails hitting the stone floor, Doben walked down the long hallway that led from the waiting room to the playing field. With each step down that dark, cold passageway, Doben’s heart was filled with many thoughts.

 

The opponents that he had met in the three matches so far in the selection of the hero of Chemonian … were all strong.

 

However, it wasn’t enough. Even though he knew it was extremely disrespectful to his opponents who had worked so hard, their strength was just not enough from Doben’s point of view. It made Doben realize that he would have been more enthusiastic about the match against the Hairless Ed that he had fought before the competition began.

 

(It’s not that they were weak. I am just strong. I know that in my head. …)

 

What if he had been chosen as the brave one because all of his opponents were like that? Doben shuddered at the thought. The title of the strongest Hero, which he had longed for so long, would become a mere trinket.

 

(Well, there’s no need to worry about that.)

 

After thinking that much, Doben grinned. Yes, that was not going to happen. Because the person he was about to fight, … Waffer, was definitely a strong man in his own eyes.

 

With him, he could fight with all his might. If he won, he would be proud of his strength, but if he lost…

 

(Ha! I’d be a fool to think about what would happen if I lost!)

 

He always aimed and hoped only for victory. That was why Doben left all unnecessary thoughts behind and headed for the exit….

 

“So? Who are you?”

 

Doben called out to the man standing in a place where no one but himself should be, without hiding his wariness. Then, the man, who was wearing a cloak over his eyes, revealed his wrinkled face.

 

But he was not an old man. He was just a kind of chemonian whose facial skin had wrinkles and was sagged, regardless of his age.

 

“It is my first time seeing you, Doben-sama. You are well known.”

 

“Hou, you know me? Then, get out of here right now. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll let you off the hook.”

 

“No, no, not so fast. I must insist that you stop here.”

 

Saying this, the slack-faced man pulled something out of his pocket. Doben looked at it suspiciously, but his eyes immediately widened in shock.

 

“You, what did you do!!!?”

 

The man was holding a cheap red flower ornament. Doben knew better than anyone that his sister still treasured it, even though it was given to her nearly 10 years ago and she no longer wore it these days.

 

Doben quickly snatched the ornament from the man and grabbed him by the neck with his free hand. However, the man’s expression didn’t change even though Doben’s fangs bared and his face was menacing.

 

“Calm down, Doben-sama. If you put so much force into it, you might break that ornament, don’t you think?”

 

“………… Che. What are your demands?”

 

When told implicitly that his sister would be harmed, Doben released the clothes he was holding on to.

 

“Fufu~ It appears that you are not so smart. It’s a simple request. I hope Doben-sama loses his next match.”

 

“What?”

 

“Of course, you can’t lose in a very obvious way, can you? After you have fought competitively in your own way, please create a suitable gap and lose in a natural way. Ideally, it would be in a way that would give credibility to rumors that you were fatigued from the matches up until yesterday, or that you were actually injured.”

 

“Does that little guy… Waffer know this?”

 

“No way! It’s precisely because he doesn’t understand this kind of bargaining, we’re working behind the scenes.”

 

“… … I see.”

 

It was a small relief for Doben. The safety of his sister and the title of hero were not worth comparing in the mind of Doben. It was too much to bear to see his cherished title turned into something so insignificant.

 

But he swallowed all his anger and was about to nod his head, hoping that the Hero born at the end of the farce would be innocent.

 

“Yes, yes, that’s it!”

 

Despite being in such a tense situation, Douben could only look again in shock at the tension-free voice that suddenly came from behind him.

 

******

 

“Yo, Doben. How are you?”

 

“Ed! Where the hell did you come from?

 

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“Now, now. Does it matter now?”

 

Doben opened his big mouth and asked that question, to which I responded with a gesture. By the way, I was here from the beginning, using my banishment skill [Mirage Shift]. A while ago, I had confirmed that there was some suspicious activity happening with Mimir with [Auto Mapping] and the [Akashic Compass],  so I assumed that the culprit … or at least someone related to him would contact him here.

 

Still, I didn’t think I’d catch such a big fish as the ringleader… but as I said before, I was putting that to rest for now.

 

“There’s only one thing I need to tell you right now. Tia is taking care of Mimir-chan, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

 

“What!!?”

 

“Ridiculous!? There is no way such a thing is possible! No, I’m not saying that with a high combat power, recapture itself is impossible, but in such a short time, such a thing――”

 

“Ah, I don’t care what you think. What do you say, Doben? I’m sure Tia will have Mimir-chan here in ten minutes …. until then, why don’t we just lock ourselves in the restroom?”

 

It was already past the time for the match to start, and the venue was beginning to buzz somewhat with talks about Doben, who was not coming out. However, it was not said that you should fight ignoring nature’s call. It may be frowned upon somewhat, but if given a suitable reason, he won’t be disqualified for being 10 minutes late.

""

 

At my suggestion, Doben laughed happily and shook his head.

 

“No, I ain’t gonna do it. If you say so, I’ll just believe it.”

 

“I see. Then, go for it.”

 

“W-Wait! Wait, Doben! If you believe this man’s false words and win, your sister would be――”

 

“She’ll be fine.”

 

As Doben turned and tried to walk away, the man with wrinkles shouted impatiently. But Doben didn’t even look back, and strongly asserted.

 

“Why?!! Why do you believe the words of a hairless person so much!? According to our research, you two have only just met!? Yet how could you!!?”

 

“It’s a given.”

 

Doben, who had been walking at a rapid pace, stopped and raised his clenched right fist high to the sky.

 

“Because we’re friends.”

 

“……………………”

 

Leaving the trembling and shaking wrinkled man behind, Doben started walking again. When his body eventually disappeared behind the light, a loud cheer echoed through the aisles.

 

“Oh, it’s cool. But why did you do this? Was it for profit after all?”

 

The wrinkled man who had lost all of his moves… I asked Minister Brute, who had recommended Waffer as a hero candidate, in a casual tone. Brute started to talk with a disappointing look on his face and his shoulder slumped down.

 

“Doben is indeed strong, but he is too brusque. How can we appoint a man who may not even obey the king’s orders at a critical moment as a Hero?”

 

“I see. I can’t help but think that he’s a candidate for the Hero because of his strength, but he’s not a good candidate if he actually becomes a hero. That’s certainly a problem to deal with.”

 

“If you understand that, then why!?! If you know that, why did you interrupt me? You hairless people have no business in another country, much less in a country where you were working with Waffer-kun!”

 

“Hmm? No, I’m not trying to get in your way, am I? If anything, I’m rooting for Waffer.”

 

“Then, why did you interrupt――!!?”

 

I used my body to shove the screaming Minister Brute into the wall.

 

“You’re the one who’s in the way! You know what? Waffer is strong. He can become a hero on his own without any tricks like this! You’re the one who’s trying to shit all over his path! You know what face he will make when he finds out that he became a hero by such means!”

 

“… personal feelings are irrelevant. As a person involved in the state, the only thing that matters is the good of the country and the peace of its people. And I will do my utmost to make sure that the truth does not get out. You are not wrong, but you and I are in different positions.”

 

“Ah, I see. The difference in position … is certainly true. I’d run away to another country in a heartbeat if the head of a country started seriously using the word ‘believe’. But that’s why I believe in them! Take away all the stupid little tricks, and we can truly understand each other and come to the best possible ending.”

 

“………… you. What the hell are you?”

 

Brute called out to me as I was about to walk away.

 

“Me? I’m an outsider, a hairless, Doben’s friend and Waffer’s buddy. Watch me. My friend, your friends are indeed strong, but my friends are better than them. Don’t you dare mess with my Waffer!!”

 

With that said, I walked down the aisle into the darkness. From here, I was going to walk back to the public aisle to get out of sight and then meet up with Tia and … Damn, I got a lot of work to do! Too bad I won’t be able to see the game. …

 

“Good luck.”

 

Not to either of them, but to both my fighting friends. I muttered to myself and then blended into the darkness.

 

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