Chapter 565:
The Bear Is Angry
SOON, WE CAME UPON a gentle slope.
“I’m sorry, Yuna. I can’t believe I roped you into this.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. It’s his.”
He was the one who had kidnapped Keith and killed her mother. The man walking in front of us was obviously at fault, no matter how you thought about it.
“That is true, but...”
“I can protect myself, so you just worry about yourself and your brother.”
“I know you’re powerful, but it’s still my fault for bringing you into this matter. I should have paid more attention to my surroundings when I left town.”
Seleiyu felt a strong sense of responsibility for my involvement here, and to make matters worse, her brother had been kidnapped. I couldn’t very well tell her to remain calm. That would be terrible.
“Even if I have to give up my own life, I’ll make sure you and Keith get home to safety. Don’t worry.”
Seleiyu was willing to protect us, even if it meant sacrificing herself. I wasn’t going to let that happen, obviously. Even if I could save myself through Seleiyu’s sacrifice, I’d have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. No thanks.
“Feel free to chat, but please stay close to me. If you seem like you’re trying to run, I don’t need to explain what’ll happen, do I?”
He didn’t even bother to turn around. Was he really that unconcerned with us?
“Don’t you feel cautious at all? We might attack you from behind.”
“I don’t know about you, but Seleiyu wouldn’t try something like that because of her brother. Even if you went for it, I’m sure she’d stop you.”
He said it as though he knew everything about Seleiyu.
“What if I don’t listen to her?”
“Ah, so you don’t care what happens to her little brother. Seleiyu, you should really choose your friends more carefully.”
His tone was really starting to annoy me.
“I won’t let Yuna do anything, so please don’t worry.”
“Ha ha. It looks like Seleiyu understands the situation better than you do.”
Maybe, but I’m the only one here who understands what’s in store for you.
“We won’t attack you or run, but I’d prefer not to walk in silence. May I ask you a few questions?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“You claim to be my mother’s murderer. In that case, why did you kill her? Did she do something wrong? Did something happen between the two of you?!”
“I’d known your mother since we were both students. She was kind to everyone, and beautiful too. She charmed me completely. I confessed my feelings once we graduated, but she wouldn’t accept them. Even though I’d loved her all along, she trampled my heart and married a man just for his money.”
The man gesticulated dramatically as he told his story.
“You killed her for something that petty?!”
Seleiyu gritted her teeth. Her hand trembled. She must have been mortified.
“It’s reason enough. She rejected me and trampled all over my love, but I was a kind man, so I waited a few years and told her how I felt once again. She responded the same way, so I killed her. I gave her a final chance, but she refused it. Can’t you see how cruel she was?”
The man turned around, looking to us for sympathy. His expression said he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
Sorry, but I couldn’t agree. It was her choice, and any regular woman would choose Seleiyu’s dad over this guy. Seleiyu’s dad was a noble, had money, and seemed like a pretty nice guy. He’d be a real catch for any lady. Trying to compare the guy in front of us to him was ludicrous.
If Seleiyu’s dad had had a face like a toad or was as unpleasant as the noble who kidnapped Misa, then maybe I’d believe Seleiyu’s mom married him for money. But that wasn’t the case. This was all just jealousy and misdirected rage.
Even so, I could see that the man before us truly thought he had been betrayed and had held this slight against her. I didn’t know anybody this twisted. He was an even worse of person than I’d expected.
I know it’s weird of me to say this when I have no romantic experience whatsoever, but who kills someone for being rejected? I guess stalkers who were obsessed with the object of their affection existed in this world too. And apparently, rejecting that type of person’s love was enough to make them go off their rocker and commit murder. I’d seen news reports about that kind of stuff happening in my old world too.
If they had the time to get that obsessed, why not just use their boredom to play a fun video game or something instead? There were tons of fun things in this world to focus on too. Romance wasn’t the only thing you could enjoy, and for that matter, if your first love rejected you, you could just find a new one. I’d never been in love, so maybe that was why it seemed so easy to me. I guess the only person who really knows what it felt like was the one who had been rejected. Still, that didn’t justify killing anyone or chaining them down.
“You’re not in your right mind. How could you kill my mother just because she rejected you?”
After hearing the man’s story, Seleiyu could barely choked the words out. Now that she knew why her mother had been killed, she seemed even more unsettled. She glared at the man, hatred blazing in her eyes, but he had Keith, so she couldn’t do anything more.
“Okay, you killed her mother for rejecting you, but how does Seleiyu factor into this? Are you planning to kill her too?”
“Kill her? Of course not.” The man laughed at me. “I have no reason to kill her. She’s matured beautifully. She reminds me of my school days. We’re to be married.”
“Married...”
“It’s finally time for us to be bonded together.”
The man laughed. He really was out of his mind.
Wait, had this guy killed Seleiyu’s mom and then waited for her to grow up? Just imagining it grossed me out. Seleiyu, now the object of his misguided affections, seemed even more disgusted than me.
“I’m not my mother. I am Seleiyu.”
“No, you look the spitting image of her. And not just on the outside. Even your mental fortitude is the same as hers. Your kindness and inability to be cruel is just like your mother too.”
“I don’t intend to marry you. I would rather join my mother in death.”
“Would you have brother join you?”
“?!”
Ah, that was why he’d taken Keith hostage.
“You’re a coward.”
“I prefer to think of myself as a careful planner,” The man laughed. “And haven’t we thought about each other every day? Haven’t we lived for each other? Isn’t that love with each other?”
“I only did that to get my revenge for my mother if you ever appeared again.”
“But you still thought of me. Since your mother died when you were young, you’ve trained in the sword and in magic with me in mind. Even if it was out of hatred, you were always thinking of me. I couldn’t be happier just to know you had me in their thoughts.”
The man was giddy. It was disgusting just hearing him talk. He really was out of his mind. If he’d been spying on her this past decade...well, just the thought of it made me want to puke.
Seleiyu had known since she was a young girl that her mom’s murderer would come back, and that was why she polished her sword fighting skills and learned magic. It was such a long time that I couldn’t even imagine the amount of effort she’d gone through.
“Did you kidnap Keith in order to blackmail Seleiyu into marrying you?”
“Don’t make me sound so villainous. I took custody of Keith so he can live with us. That says, who knows what could happen if she rejects me.”
Hey buddy, that’s the exact definition of blackmail. This guy was getting on my last nerve, plus he was gross. It was all making me feel awful. I really wanted to rescue Keith asap and punch this guy’s lights out. I wouldn’t feel better until I did.
I balled my hand up into a fist and clenched it. When I looked over at Seleiyu, I saw that she was biting her lip to try to stop herself from doing anything rash.
“Are you okay, Seleiyu?”
“Oh, yes. I’m fine.”
She sure didn’t look fine. She was starting to look pale.
“I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in my life. I’m disgusted, angry, and saddened by the ridiculous reason my mother had to die. I feel like I can’t sort out all the emotions inside of me.”
Well, of course she’d feel that way. If a man tried to direct the same feelings at me, I would’ve knocked him out right away. Just thinking about Tiermina being murdered and Fina being kidnapped made me seethe with rage. I’d probably explode.
As I worried about Seleiyu, the man stopped.
“We’re here.”
“Where is Keith?!”
We didn’t see him anywhere.
I tried to use my detection skill, but I realized the screen wasn’t coming up. Right, right, I still couldn’t use it. I just couldn’t get out of the habit. Anytime I wanted more information, I’d just bring up the detection skill and map. I felt like I finally understood how much I relied on the bear gear.
“He’s over there.”
The man pointed ahead. Seleiyu ran over and I followed after her. We came across an unbelievable sight. We’d walked up a gentle slope, so we were pretty high up now.
“Monsters...”
A hilly landscape spread out before us, and we saw wolves and all kinds of monsters down below. It was probably over one thousand.
A boy was asleep in the middle of those monsters.
“Keith!” Seleiyu shouted.