How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 287
Only Noblemtl
Episode 287
* * *
“Father, please…!”
“I’m sorry, Dia.”
Requies covered Dios’ eyes, who was looking at me earnestly, his face distorted with pity.
“It won’t hurt. You’ll just fall asleep for a little while.”
Outside, the earth was burning, screams were blazing, and the smell of blood was in the air, but Requies quietly soothed the boy, as if he didn’t care about any of that.
“It’s okay, Dia. When you open your eyes, there will be no war, and no voices blaming you.”
“They are the ones who betrayed you! Why on earth are you protecting them!”
“…….”
The little boy, hurt by my decision, vented all the anger he had built up, but Requies just silently worked on the magic circle.
“father!”
“…I’m sorry, Dia. Please don’t forgive me.”
This is the only way. There is no way for a child who has committed evil deeds outside of causality to continue living a normal life.
“If you are going to stand on the side of humans until the end, then you might as well… kill me.”
“…That can’t be.”
“Don’t you resent me?”
“What good would it do me to resent you?”
“Requi…!”
“Shhh-. Dia, my little one, calm down.”
“…….”
Requies smiled as gently as he could, hoping that his anxiety wouldn’t show on his face.
“Shall I sing you a lullaby before you fall asleep?”
“Are you saying something like that now? How long are you going to treat me like a child?”
“Probably…forever.”
“…….”
“You don’t like it?”
“…….”
“Baby, isn’t this life too tiring?”
“…….”
“Human lives are very short, Dia. If you just sleep for a moment and wake up, you can start over again as if nothing happened.”
“…but…….”
Dios showed a little conflict as he was tempted by the words and persuasion. Requies told him what he wanted, even though she knew it was impossible.
“I wake up and start my day by baking that ugly cake.”
“Can I… remember my father?”
“Well, but until now, you were the only one who remembered me.”
Yes. This is why I am here. Because I am the only one who remembers me and stands against them among those who have forgotten me and are hostile to me… … .
The boy, exhausted from the war, was eventually unable to resist the temptation.
“…How long do I have to sleep?”
“No matter how long it takes, it will be a moment to you.”
“You really won’t forget your father…?”
“Of course.”
No. This time, I will forget everything.
“I wake you up, we eat together, we laze around aimlessly, and then when night comes, you fall asleep… As if nothing happened, we start over again like that…”
… I wish I could start.
With that thought in mind, Requies tapped Dios’ forehead, who was unable to move due to being subdued by him.
“Dia, if the position is uncomfortable, please tell me. What if I get cramps while sleeping?”
“…Don’t talk nonsense.”
Dios said as much as he could, but his expression seemed much more relaxed as if his fear had subsided due to my joke.
Just before putting the little one to sleep, Requies said his final goodbyes.
“Dia, if possible, I will watch from afar.”
“…!? Can I see it again…!”
Dios tried to argue, but before he could finish speaking, his head dropped.
I’ve thought about whether I should have never done it in the first place, but even if I were to turn back time, I would end up repeating the same mistake.
To the person who lived in eternity and unchangingness, the child was a being that showed him moments and changes.
But selfishly, he held onto the child’s time, just because he didn’t want to be alone again.
“Ugh……”
Dios’s expression crumpled. I guess I shouldn’t have said that farewell.
Requies watched the scene quietly, then stopped time for him and the people around him. It was a perfect seal.
Until time passes again, there will be no good dreams or bad dreams.
“Sleep well, my dear. My beautiful little one. Don’t be afraid of the darkness beneath your eyelids. When you open your eyes, I will always be there in front of you, so don’t be afraid of the moment.
But it wasn’t the kid who was scared, it was me.
* * *
Dios, or rather Requies, in the guise of Dios, sat on one of the many thrones he had occupied.
Not long after he took the throne, the Demon forces that had been leading the war began to fall into defeat.
‘Your Majesty, please take action and punish those insolent men!’
There were those who asked for it, but Requies did not move. The reason she took the initiative in the first place was because she had led it that way.
When I didn’t move for a long time, Dios’s men became disgruntled and turned their swords on me.
‘Why on earth don’t you come forward!’
‘Who dares to raise your voice in front of me?’
‘Victory was just around the corner!’
‘so?’
‘…! Those who follow you are dying!’
‘Who told you to follow me?’
‘What the heck is that… …!’
‘I have never taken you away.’
‘!!!’
My indolence eventually led to internal division.
Those who were greedy for the throne began to build up their forces and rush in, and since even unity was not enough, the situation in the Cheonma War greatly changed.
‘Why on earth would you… with that much power… ugh, euaaaak-!’
Crack, crack.
Requies sat on the throne and dealt with the enemies that rushed at him one by one. Given the nature of the Demon Legion, which had a small number of troops but each possessed immense power, this resulted in significant losses.
Soon, the armies of the Celestials and Humans arrived right before our eyes.
Even as Requies prepared for death, the Celestials did not spare her. She had suffered too much and had been left to her child for them to spare her.
Moreover, if my little one died at their hands, they might find out that he was still alive.
Because it had to look dramatic, it was cleverly manipulated to only allow one group of humans to enter.
Oddly enough, the only human who reached me at the end was a small girl, barely an adult.
She reached the level of Sword Master at a young age and was sent to the front lines of the battlefield as a warrior given by God. She eventually survived until the end and reached the throne room alone, carrying a Tour Two-Hander as tall as her on her shoulders and covered in wounds all over her body.
‘Right now… Show yourself, Demon King!’
Requies almost laughed for a moment. Neither she nor her little one were like the Demon Lord.
But since this was a huge farce of her own making, and she was the victim of it all, Requies had no choice but to respond seriously to that ridiculous cry.
‘You managed to get here.’
‘Adversary!!!’
A brilliant golden aura rose from her sword.
Requies had to fight with all her might to keep herself from dying. Humans were so weak compared to the Celestials or Demons.
Finally, the edge of the stage came into view, and just before her sword pierced my heart, Requies closed her eyes.
Now the little boy can live a normal life, he thought.
It was then that she, who had never groaned during the fight, opened her mouth.
‘…Why did you do that?’
‘… … .’
Requies opened her closed eyes. No one had ever asked me, no, the kid, why.
In her bright ivory eyes, there was anger and a bit of confusion toward the disaster. It seemed as if she realized that she was watching.
‘well.’
Requies chuckled at the question. He didn’t know the exact reason, since it wasn’t the war he started in the first place.
But… , yes. If I had to make up a reason… … .
‘…because no one remembers.’
‘… … .’
‘… was it?’
How can I just forget about it? They even try to kill me with hostility. So many times, I was killed by the hands of those I had given my affection to.
The little boy who had been watching all of this from the side eventually stepped forward to kill God in my place, but no matter how much he escaped the law of cause and effect, in the end, a creature is just a creature, and cannot defeat the Creator.
Requies decided to use the girl’s tender emotions to lament one last time. Now, there was no one to listen to her lament or get angry on her behalf.
‘Even if you gouge out my eyes and give me my limbs, I will eventually forget everything.’
‘… … .’
‘You too, I’m sure.’
I lost my family, I lost my close friends, I lost my comrades who fought alongside me, but in the end, my existence disappeared from everyone’s memories. It was as if I had never existed in the first place.
‘It feels somehow empty.’
But this was my choice. It was the price I paid to abandon my duty and remember only the memories I had with the child, and the life I lived as ‘me’.
The girl looked down at me for a long time with a complicated expression, then licked her lips.
‘…What’s your name?’
I had a feeling that that quiet question would be the last. Maybe that was why my name came out of my mouth instead of the little one’s.
‘Requies.’
Requies answered as he closed his eyes. If he kept looking into her eyes, it would be difficult to kill her.
… Requies. The girl muttered my name a few times, then, as if sensing something, she spoke with difficulty.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t remember you.’
‘… … .’
At those words, my eyes opened reflexively. I saw the girl with her face distorted.
‘But if we meet again, then I want to be on good terms.’
‘…okay.’
That’s why I can never hate humans.
A vivid sensation of a lump of iron being stuck in my body and an inexplicable thrill rose up.
And the feeling of liberation that it’s over.
“…Ah, you’re okay…me.”
However, contrary to my thoughts that it was all over, the girl’s golden mana still lingered before my eyes.
“…Why.”
“……?”
“Why didn’t you kill him?”
Requies was perplexed. Had the girl not killed me in the end? Had I said something unnecessary and provoked sympathy?
So… what about my little one? What happened to my little one?
“I have to die…, it’s over….”
“What the hell are you talking about!”
“……!”
At the man’s voice, Requies suddenly raised her head. Now that she looked, it wasn’t a small girl in front of her, but a shaggy… What was her name?
“…bowwow?”
“You, are you okay?”
“ah.”
Only then did Nihil realize that he had been dreaming. Now that he thought about it, he had asked to be woken up. He was confused because the same guy had appeared in his dream.
“…Evan.”
Yes. That was her name. She was clearly a little girl, but how did she end up reincarnated into such a sloppy person?
“…?! Why are you suddenly calling my name and making a fuss?!”
“I’m sorry. I was a little sleepy.”
“You crazy bastard! What are you talking about….”
“That could be true. That’s why I asked you to wake me up.”
Nihil lightly slapped Evan’s pale cheek and jumped out of his arms.
“Neil, are you okay?”
“Are you okay?”
“Kuiyah?”
The princes and Somnus, who had just woken up, came running towards me. Pinkie was holding the snake doll I had given her tightly, and fortunately, she seemed to like it.
“I’m sorry. Did you wake up because of me?”
“Neil, did you have a nightmare?”
“Well… it wasn’t a nightmare.”
Yes. If I had to be picky, it was pretty good.
Dreams that reproduce the past make you feel the emotions you felt at that time, so it’s not easy to realize that it’s a dream, and because of that, it’s not easy to wake up from the dream.
Even after waking up, most of the time I was still consumed by that emotion, but if the ending wasn’t clear and the situation was emotionally bland like this, I wouldn’t have been able to easily return to reality no matter how hard the puppy tried to wake me up.
“father.”
“Dia.”
Whether it was Somnus who called, or the little boy came to check on me. I felt sorry for some reason because my mana was out of balance just now, having just closed the rift.
“Dia, get some rest. I’ll go.”
“It’s okay. When my father wasn’t around, I was handling this on my own anyway.”
“but…….”
“There aren’t many days left. If you’re that worried, just rest until today.”
“…How many days are left?”
Dios turned his head out the window at that question, looked at the moon once, and then opened his mouth.
“There are less than two weeks left. The day will come when Father can show off like this.”
“…Has it already become like that?”
Nihil was a little troubled. It didn’t matter that he wouldn’t be able to use his strength properly after two weeks. But the end of the rotten moon meant… .
dripping-
“Prince, angel, are you sleeping?”
“…Aryl.”
Because it was said that the divine punishment of Ariel had returned.