As if things weren’t already difficult enough…
I can feel my stomach tightening with nerves.
Why do I have to take on such a major role in the proceedings…?
While it’s true that I’m a double of Güliedistodiez, I’ve lived my whole life as Hyrince, and I intended to continue doing so until the end.
Güliedistodiez’s doubles don’t have an important part to play.
For him, it’s basically just a fun little change of pace.
Like playing out the fantasy of living an entire life as an average human.
So that’s how I’ve lived my life, too.
Although I guess you couldn’t exactly call me “average,” since I was the hero’s childhood friend and later his party member.
Even so, as Hyrince, I always expected to defend Julius and “go out in a blaze of glory!”
But that all changed when the so-called reincarnations showed up.
I know this is an awful thing to say, but it’s definitely crossed my mind a few times that things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated if it weren’t for those reincarnations.
But of course, the war between humans and demons might have been even worse without them, and we probably wouldn’t have been able to defeat Potimas.
The pluses and minuses are so extreme that it’s hard to say which way would’ve been better.
I will say, however, that the reincarnations are entirely to blame for this “world quest” business.
And by reincarnations, I specifically mean White.
In other words, White is the root of all evil.
“It looks like we’re all here.”
“You’re gonna be the guide, Kyouya?”
All internal monologuing aside, I’m currently in front of the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Wrath, one of the members of the ivory god’s side, stands waiting for us.
He’s a reincarnation, too, isn’t he…?
In fact, there are more reincarnations here than not, even though this is about the fate of our world. Seems wrong, doesn’t it?
There are four people here native to this world.
The pontiff, Elder Ronandt, Balto representing the demons, and me.
On the other hand, there are six reincarnations: Shun, Katia, Fei, Yuri, Ms. Oka, and Prince Hugo.
Aside from Shun and Hugo, the rest are all lovely ladies.
What is this, a harem?
The girls are clearly all gathering toward Shun, not Hugo.
Sure, Julius was popular, too, but they weren’t all hanging off him like this, dammit.
“So. What’s the deal with that girl, Shun?”
“Huh?”
Wrath points to someone past Shun’s back.
It’s Shun’s half-sister, Sue, hiding behind the rest of the group.
“Sue?! I told you not to follow me, didn’t I?!”
“But, Brotheeer!”
While Shun looks sincerely distressed, Sue is on the verge of tears.
The worst part is that I can tell she’s also trying to look cute, and stealing glances to see if it’s working on Shun or not.
“…I guess one extra tagalong is fine. But if you try anything funny, I will cut you down. You’d better keep that in mind.”
I discreetly let out a sigh of relief at Wrath’s words.
If we angered the ivory god’s side and they called the whole thing off, we’d be out of options.
We’re lucky Wrath was willing to bend on that.
The pontiff looks pale, evidently harboring similar concerns.
Does little miss Sue know that her selfishness could have altered the fate of the world?
…Nah, she couldn’t.
If she knew that, surely she wouldn’t have done it…right…?
It’s all too easy to imagine her saying something like, “I’ll stay with my brother even if it means the end of the world!”
I’m begging you, think about the bigger picture here…
Urk, my stomach hurts.
I feel like I’m going to cough up blood…
“Shun. Keep a close eye on Sue and make sure she doesn’t make any wrong moves. Just so you know, they could probably kill all of us without our being able to fight back.”
My stats are still well within the range of human capability.
Since I trained and fought with Julius, I imagine I’m on the strong side for a human, but that doesn’t make a bit of difference in this battle.
Here, you would have to be far beyond the realm of human strength to even be considered a part of the fight.
Even Elder Ronandt, who seems more powerful than any human should be, isn’t exponentially stronger than the limit, by any means.
He would probably struggle against even a lesser dragon, never mind an ancient one.
Every major player in this battle is at least as strong as an ancient dragon, so those of us whose strength is firmly in the “human” category would just get blown away as soon as we set foot on the battlefield.
Although I am a double of Güliedistodiez, I don’t have any special abilities of my own. I’d be blown away with the rest of them.
So why am I stuck marching right into the middle of enemy territory as some kind of representative of the ebony god’s side?
Urgh. Give me a break…
“Kyouya…”
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going to hurt anyone as long as you don’t do anything to force my hand.”
“He’s right. The ivory army doesn’t need to let us in, so we know this isn’t a trap. Since they’re doing this on good faith, we’ve got to make sure we show them the same. Don’t be nervous.”
I pat Shun’s shoulder as I comfort him, though I’m mostly saying it to reassure myself.
It’s not that I’m afraid to die here.
I should have lost my life along with Julius and the rest of our party long ago.
But the thought that we’re carrying the fate of humanity on our shoulders makes me feel like I’m going to cave under the pressure…
We step into the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Immediately, several giant spider monsters called greater taratects stand in our way.
I would barely be able to beat a single one by myself, and there are so many of them…
Resisting the urge to turn around and leave, I force myself to stay put.
“Please, climb aboard.”
“On these things?”