Itās been almost a day out on the open sea. Birdswell was still flying with me on board.
Iāve ordered him to turn around several times since then, but he doesnāt listen to me and keeps moving towards somewhere.
I look at the sea below.
āWhat the hell is that?
A green mass is floating in the sea. From here it looks small, but it must be quite large.
A projection extends from the lump and points towards us.
I get goosebumps from fear. A chill runs through my body.
This is bad.
āAvoid it, Birdswell!ā
āGaw?ā
A tremendous rush of water appeared over us.
Weāre up in the air. What the hell is that!?
A huge crocodile-like monster emerged from the water. Its back was covered with spikes, which it seemed to be using to shoot at the enemy above.
The water flowed over us again after a couple of minutes.
We⦠We are going to die!!
Thereās no time to use appraisal. We need to run.
I manage to get out of itās attack range, somehow.
āT⦠Thanks for saving⦠ME!?ā
In the distance, a pillar of flame rose.
In other places, purple electricity runs through swirling black clouds, and in another place, explosions, all at the same time.
Itās a bizarre sight. Itās not a natural phenomenon, is it?
I began to cry at the horror of the open sea.
Ā«This is really bad! Even with all weāve been through, thereās not enough life in the world to survive this! Youāre just torturing me by pretending to save me!ā
āGah?ā
āDonāt try to be cute! Goddamn!ā
I donāt want to die. Please go back to land.
Thereās not enough life in the world for this.
āSo, thatās it.ā
I put the last piece of bread in my mouth. Thereās still some water left, but how long will that last?
Birdsewell sas been flying without eating or drinking for a long time.
I can see that heās pushing himself. Heās clearly weakened.
āWhatās with you?ā
āā¦ā
āThereās no point of asking, right?ā
Heās a beast, Iām a man. I canāt possibly know what a wyvern is thinking.
I thought I was going to have a brilliant revenge story. What is this? Itās not about revenge anymore, itās about making it through the day.
I lay down early to conserve some energy.
It wasnāt supposed to be like this.
Being the hero was all I longed for when I was young. I thought everything would be all right if I became a hero.
āKuhiiā¦ā
No matter how much I try, thereās no use denying it.
The result has already been seen.
I wasĀ theĀ hero, but notĀ aĀ hero.
I knew it now; the job title was just a visible form of the heroās qualities, but it required someone with those qualities to be able to use it well.
For example, someone like Toru.
I was jealous of him from the moment I met him. I didnāt like him. He had everything I was looking for, effortlessly.
So I did everything I could to deny him.
I did everything I could to take everything away from him.
In other words, it was Toru who made me who I am today. If I hadnāt met him, I probably would have lived a happier life.
Iām hungryā¦
Iām not sure if itās because Iām hungry or because Iām just thinking about unnecessary things.
Is it finally the end for me?
If I die of hunger, will I come back to life?
Either way, if Birdswell runs out of energy and falls into the sea, the monsters will eat us and it will be the end.
I raised my body a little to look
āL-Landā¦!?ā
I can see the silhouette of land in the distance.
The more I get closer, the clearer it becomes, and even from here I can see the lush forests and white sandy beaches.
Weāve made it! Weāre saved!
Hey, Birdswell!
Gradually we lost altitude. I called out to him, but he didnāt reply, and it seemed like he was just gliding along with the wind.
I didnāt know if he ran out of steam. Please, just a little more!
We are getting closer and closer to land. If you donāt kill your momentum soon, youāll crash.
Even if you are level 150, you canāt avoid instant death!
If I die, will I come back to life? I canāt risk my life like this.
Six Petals of Resurrection only lets me revive six times.
The number of lives is my trump card.
āBirdswell!!ā
āKyuu!ā
He replied.
Birdswell turns in front of the land and slowly descends to the ground in a spiral movement.
With a thud, he landed body-first on the beach. The impact threw me off and I plunged face first into the sand.
āFuu⦠that was closeā¦ā
Iāll have to be hard on him later. For now, Iāll have to teach him to listen to orders.
I got up and looked around.
āHave you ever come to this place before?ā
It doesnāt feel real. Maybe itās because thereās no difference.
I look back at Birdswell.
The black wyvern had closed its eyes and did not move.
Ā«Oh, come on, Birdswell. Youāve got to be kidding me.ā
I ran up to him and slapped him on the face.
Iām not going to let you die. Youāre going to have to work as my foot soldier.
Donāt you want to make a name for yourself as my mount?
Wake up. Come on, wake up.
āGuhā¦ā
āYouāre alive!ā
He opened his eyes. Iām so relieved.
You brought me here, so take responsibility until the end.
āYou must be hungry, right? You did well. If youād just turned around, we wouldnāt be in this mess. You really put us in a troubleā
I decided to go to the forest to grab some food.
There is a sea in front of me, but I grew up inland and have no experience when it comes to fishing. I also donāt like seafood and Iām sure Birdswell thinks so too.
As soon as I entered the forest, a slime appeared.
I donāt care about slimes.
Well, Iām sure that wyvern can eat slimes.
āPukyu!ā
āFugh!?ā
The slime sank into my abdomen.
I fell to my knees and spit out viscous saliva.
Stupied, Iām acting like that slime.
āPukyu!ā
āGuh!!ā
This time, the slime latched onto the side of my face.
The monster smashed me in the face, and then returned to the sandy beach.
āWoahā¦!ā
I jump up in the dark, remembering the horror of the slime.
The little creatures that had been clinging to my body all fled at once.
Damn, my body itches.
Iāve been bitten all over.
Oh, Birdswell!!
I stood up and looked at the place where the beast was.
āBirdswell? You have to be joking.ā
The black wyvern that was supposed to be there had disappeared.
Did he leave me here? Youāve got to be kidding. Iāll never forgive you.
āBirdswell! Where are you? Come back here!ā
Iāll be looking for him on the beach at night.
Donāt leave me. Iām your master, you know?
I may have given up on you, but I canāt allow you to give up on me.
Stay with me.
Iāll let you off with a bit of scolding this time. Okay, thatās a lie. Iām going to yell at you for making me worry.
No matter how many times I called, the wyvern never showed up.
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