Chapter 45: The Deal
Kazuya swept me into a princess carry and dashed toward the door at the back.
âNow, now, where do you think youâre going, Lord Kazuya?â
With those words, Ashler blocked Kazuyaâs path.
As the two faced off, Roy came slashing in.
âI wonât let you get in Kazuyaâs way! Weâre your opponents!â
Ashler nimbly dodged Royâs attack and sneered.
âHahaha, how amusing. I thought you people were at least aware youâre no match for me.â
âWe know that! But even so! Youâre letting Kazuya through. If you beat us, chase him all you likeâif you can beat us!â
Ashler froze.
Then, trembling with rage, he glared at Roy.
âYou damn insects! Gettinâ all cocky just âcause I went easy on you! Fine, you want a fight? Youâve got oneâIâll finish this fast!â
Gone was the composed tone from earlier, replaced by coarse, furious barking.
All the better for us. This was our chance.
Without hesitation, Kazuya bolted through the door deeper into the chamber.
âââ
âKazuya, we have to trust Roy and the others!â
âI know!!â
Carried in his arms, I could see Kazuyaâs face clearly.
He was clenching his teeth.
He was probably overwhelmed with regretâashamed that heâd forced Roy and the others to take on such a burden. If only he were stronger, they wouldnât have to...
From the outside, it might seem like nothing more than Kazuyaâs pride talking. But I know he truly believes thatâand that belief is what made him this strong in the first place. Always pushing for more strength, more power.
So there was only one thing I could say to him.
I gently wiped away Kazuyaâs tears with my fingers.
âWeâd better hurry up and beat the Demon King, and prove them right.â
Kazuya gave a wide grin at that.
âYeah! Letâs go!â
Really, what a handful he is.
Kazuya kicked open the grand doors at the end of the hall.
A solemn atmosphere pressed down around usâthe air was thick with oppressive power. No doubt, someone powerful was here.
At the far end of the room, seated upon a throne, was a single demon.
The Demon King.
With three horns atop his head and a black cloak draped over his shoulders, he radiated a fearsome aura. His sharp eyes pierced through us, the air around him crackling with pressure. There was no mistaking itâhe was the Demon King.
âI am the Demon King, Debidangalm. Welcome, Kazuya. Iâve been expecting you.â
âShut up, Demon King!! Iâll never forgive you! For the sake of humanityâand for usâI will defeat you!â
Kazuya declared boldly.
Yeah, thatâs all well and good... but how long is he planning to keep holding me like this?
âCalm yourself. I have no intention of fighting you.â
âAnd now you want to back out?! Is that fear I hear?!â
âNo, no. Hmph... Iâve taken a liking to you, Kazuyaâyour strength, in particular. It would be a shame to waste it. Thatâs why I propose a deal. Itâs not a bad offer, I assure you. Something simple: just like Nevaska and Kalif, swear your eternal loyalty to me, and Iâll extend your lifespan. By a thousand years. Work well, and I may grant you even more. Think about it.â
What!?
Is he mocking us? He knows weâre close to Nevaska and Kalif, and still he dares to offer us that kind of deal?
Thereâs no way weâre listening to this nonsense!
âDonât bother! Miki, you donât need to listen to this!â
âI know. I wonât.â
âStill, hear me out. No matter how deeply you love one another, a humanâs lifespan is shortâfleeting. Donât you agree, Miki? The peak of a humanâs life is around twenty, after which itâs all downhill. Thatâs just the way of your kind. Now imagine, Mikiâthirty years from now, youâll be caring for an aged, frail Kazuya. Can that truly be called the love you envision? Donât you wish to talk and laugh together as you do now, in youth? And soon after, you wonât even be able to share that time. Doesnât that seem unbearably lonely? Donât you wish you could change it?â
I mustnât listenâbut I understand all too well what the Demon King is saying.
Iâve thought about it, over and over. And tried to push it away.
But in just a few decades, Kazuya wonât be able to hold me like this... or embrace me so strongly.
We wonât grow old together. Iâll remain young, while he...
No matter what we do, in a hundred years, Kazuya... will be gone.
I mustnât think about it. But once I do, despair consumes me, and everything goes dark.
I instinctively cling to Kazuya, holding him tightly.
ââDonât leave me alone.
âMiki! Donât listen to him! Stay with me!â
âKazuya, imagine it. The day will come when you alone grow old, unable to keep up with Miki. And not just thatâyour stride will shorten, your movements will slow, and Miki will have to accommodate you. Because you aged, she will suffer. Can you really accept that!?â
This pain must be weighing on Kazuya too. The thought of not being able to move like he does now, of me having to care for him, of becoming a burden to meâheâd never stand for it.
We said nothing.
The silence said it all.
The Demon Kingâs words had struck deep. We were hesitating.
It was proof enough.
âWith a thousand years... surely, you could live without regret. Well? Itâs not such a terrible offer, is it?â
A thousand years.
With that much time, even if the goodbye still hurt, we could share a full, fulfilling lifetime.
If we became demons... if we pledged our lives to the Demon King... we could be together for a thousand years.
Now, at last, I understood why Nevaska and Kalif swore their loyalty.
This temptation is irresistible.
My heart had completely tilted toward the Demon King.
A thousand years with the one I love meant more to me than the thousands that might follow alone.
Thatâs whyâI was going to share these feelings with Kazuya. Like Kalif did, surely Kazuya would understand.
We could become demons together and live a thousand years. Swearing lifelong loyalty wasnât such a big deal to me.
âKazuya... I...â
âââNo.â
Kazuya muttered quietly.
âNo. No! Absolutely not!â
âWhy...?â
The words slipped out before I realized.
Because what he said sounded like a flat rejection of the idea.
âMiki, donât fall for the Demon Kingâs silver tongue. We came all this way to defeat him.â
Why? Doesnât Kazuya want to live longer?
Doesnât he want to stay with me?
âMiki, donât be fooled! Think about itâhow can a demon even extend someoneâs lifespan? That kind of magic doesnât exist, right? And then why, even after Kalif supposedly had his life extended, was he still stuck in that old body?â
I couldnât follow what Kazuya was saying.
Fooled? By what? The idea of extending life?
âŚItâs true. No spellâwhether normal, grand, ancient, or even primal magicâhas ever been known to extend lifespan. Not one.
And Iâd never heard of any power that could do it either.
So then, how could Demon King Debidangalm claim he could? How could he possibly extend a humanâs life?
And another thingâraces with long lifespans like dwarves, demons, and elves grow at the same pace as humans until they reach adulthood. After that, they maintain that peak physical state for centuries, only aging at the very end.
Yet Kalif, despite supposedly having a longer lifespan, remained in a middle-aged body.
Until now, I accepted it as naturalâmaybe his life was just extended after he got old. But is that really all there is to it?
Could it be that this âlife extensionâ the Demon King offers has some darker truth behind it?
âAnd another thingâhe gave Kalif 500 years, but offered me a thousand. Can we really believe that? Can the Demon King truly extend a humanâs life by 500 years, let alone a thousand? I donât buy it.â
Still⌠even if it was just 100 years more...
That would be better than nothing. I couldnât help but think that.
âDemon King Debidangalm! I refuse your offer! I will not become a demon!â
Ah... he said it. He refused. In the end, itâs Kazuyaâs decision. But still...
I clutched his clothes tightly.
A small act of resistance. A silent plea.
âOh? I see. But Miki doesnât seem to agree. Are you really fine with that?â
At those words, Kazuya looked at me.
He looked down at meâand the arms holding me grew stronger.
âSorry, Miki. I canât trust the Demon King. I canât stand the thought of making you give your life to him. ââAnd when this is all over, letâs go out into the world and search for a way to extend our lives. Thatâs all I can do. Iâm sorry.â
ââThis man... heâs a true hero, through and through.
Thatâs what I thought.
I was ready to fall for the Demon Kingâs sweet words without hesitation. I have no destiny to fulfill, Iâm not a hero. My heart is weak.
But Kazuya is different. The Demon King is his enemyâsomething to defeat. He wonât believe his words. That unwavering convictionâonly someone with a truly strong heart could stand firm like that.
He doesnât want me to give up my life for the Demon King. Thatâs the depth of his love for me.
For a human, a thousand years is an unimaginable amount of time. Beyond comprehension.
Even if Kazuya could live for a thousand years, I would still go on living for thousands more after that.
For Kazuya, thatâs an overwhelming, endless span of time.
So the weight of time is different for him than it is for me.
And yet, I realizedâthis difference in time perception between me as an elf and him as a human couldnât be brushed off so easily.
Because no matter how many thousands of years I may live, an hour is still an hour. Kazuya and I walk through time at the same pace.
Even if we later look back and say, âIt went by in a flash,â it wasnât a flash while we were living it.
Not even a year has passed since I reunited with Kazuya. But the time weâve spent together has been rich and full.
In all my 400 years, Iâve never experienced time so fulfilling.
Thatâs whyâI think Iâve started to understand the true value and weight of time.
And Kazuya said weâd search together for a way to extend life. No matter what the outcome, isnât that enough?
ââI couldnât say anything more.
All I could do was trust him.
And stay by his side.
âKazuya... Iâm the one who should apologize. You really are a hero. Iâll be fine. Fight the way you believe in!â
âYeah! I love you, Miki!â
âI love you too, Kazuya.â
Kazuya turned back to face the Demon King Debidangalm once moreâand smiled, boldly.
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