Chapter 458 The Silent Spearman
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Orten’s POV)
My name is Orten.
Orten Delrine.
I was small and always bullied back in my hometown.
My siblings were big, strong, and exceptional, but as the youngest, I couldn’t do anything right, and my family…
”You’re really useless.”
They would say.
Unable to even help with farming properly, I was shunned by my family and could only live in the barn.
My only conversation partner was my ‘shadow.’
* * *
One day, my shadow responded to my complaints.
It didn’t exactly reply, but the shadow part rose from the ground… and a burly man appeared.
His sad gaze upon me bore a striking resemblance to my own.
* * *
One day, I went into the forest to look for food.
The meals provided by my family were insufficient, and I was very hungry.
There, I encountered a massive wild boar.
At just 12 years old, and with less stamina than others, I couldn’t run away.
Fighting was out of the question.
I only had a single knife as a weapon.
In such a desperate situation, it was my ‘shadow’ that saved my life.
My shadow drew the knife I had hanging at my waist and charged at the wild boar.
* * *
After that incident, I began to venture into the forest more often.
I entered deep into the dangerous woods and fought various monsters.
──Of course, it was my ‘shadow’ doing the fighting.
Gaining confidence from my shadow’s strength, I left my hometown.
* * *
In the town of Reedull, I became an adventurer.
──No, to be precise, it was my ‘shadow’ that became one.
I originally had a weak presence.
I was small in stature and probably hadn’t grown at all since I was 6.
So, I controlled my shadow from a distance to engage in adventuring activities.
I saved up money and first learned the ‘invisible’ magic.
Once I could use this, I would be perfect as a companion to my ‘shadow.’
I joined a party and, after 5 years, reached adventurer rank A.
Having become a capable individual, I was known by the moniker ‘The Silent Spearman.’
Finally, my same party members discovered ‘my secret with the shadow.’
* * *
To silence them, I killed my comrades and fled Reedull with my shadow.
With my rank A, I aimed for the Royal Capital.
There, I met Giacomo and his group.
Giacomo and others quickly figured out my secret with the shadow.
However, they were strong.
Unlike my previous party, I couldn’t kill them.
But…
”That’s Orten, the ‘gift’ you were born with. Don’t hold back. Use that power to rise.”
They didn’t blame me like my old party members did.
They accepted my deformed figure of a young man’s face and a child’s body.
On the contrary, they valued me highly.
As I worked with Giacomo and others, I… no, ‘the shadow’ rose to rank S.
We became known as a powerful party even in the Royal Capital, doing as we pleased.
Such behavior was unbecoming of a high-rank party.
Those who criticized us were killed in the labyrinth, and the women were violated.
* * *
One day, the king was recruiting powerful parties to ‘defeat the Demon King,’ so we entered the royal castle with Giacomo.
Various Adventure Parties had gathered from all over, but none seemed stronger than us.
”Looks like we’re the hero party.”
Giacomo laughed and agreed, but after investigations, we were expelled from the castle as ‘misfits.’
To make matters worse, our past misdeeds were uncovered, leading to our banishment from the Royal Capital.
”That brat called Elberhardt is the hero? ──What a joke!”
Giacomo’s anger was uncontainable.
Of course, I, Rebecca, and Julio were also furious, so we decided to head to the Imperial Capital of Welnia together.
”Great labyrinth made our names known… Those mediocre party members will be slaughtered by us.”
Later, I found out that the day before Giacomo went to the royal castle, he was fiercely beaten at a tavern by a swordsman named Shinji, who belonged to Elberhardt’s party.
Allegedly, he was reprimanded for trying to forcefully take the tavern waitress out.
Therefore, he held a particularly strong grudge against the swordsman Shinji O’Brian.
The rumor of the ‘Demon King subjugation’ eventually echoed even to the imperial capital.
Elberhardt successfully defeated the Demon King and gained fame.
(Originally, that glory should have been ours…)
Our resentment and hatred towards them grew stronger day by day.
* * *
(At last… it was an opportunity to take their prestige…)
I pressed the wound on my belly that pierced through my back, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Oni-kins possess superb sensory abilities in combat compared to other races.
They are truly a race specialized for battle.
That Oni-kin woman instantly saw through my ability and the weaknesses of ‘shadow’.
She realized that I was manipulating through ‘thought’, and that my ‘thought’ could be disrupted by magic.
At that moment, if I didn’t send strong ‘thought’, there was a risk my ‘shadow’ would vanish.
Because of the sword technique mixed with the magic the Oni-kin woman wielded, my ‘thought’ was disrupted.
To maintain ‘shadow’, I sent strong ‘thought’, but due to the Oni-kin’s ‘exceptional sensory ability in combat’, my hiding spot was exposed.
(No matter how superior Oni-kins are, my ‘shadow’ cannot be cut.)
But I let my guard down like this.
I never expected my ‘gift’ would be broken so easily.
Pierced by the thrown naginata, I was stuck against the wall, my eyes reflecting the ‘shadow’ that was about to lose its existence.
The ‘shadow’, which always had a blank expression, seemed to smile a little behind the settling flames.
* * *
As the naginata was pulled out, I collapsed onto the floor, and the Oni-kin woman was saying something to me.
”No… ‘shadow’ is not an illusion! It’s… my partner!”
Summoning all my strength, I shouted.
I wanted to convey that word ‘partner’ to the fading ‘shadow’.
The Oni-kin woman spoke to me.
”Coward.”
Hearing those words, I snapped to attention in my fading consciousness.
That’s right.
I am small… powerless… weak.
Yet, I never made an effort to become strong, using that as an excuse.
──All those efforts were left to the ‘shadow.’
(I see… the ‘shadow’ is… no longer just a ‘shadow’…)
I, who always hid and manipulated him, was the true ‘shadow.’
I merely pushed all the unpleasant things onto him.
(Yeah… as this woman said, I was ‘cowardly’…)
My body is growing cold.
…I can no longer feel the pain of my wounds…
”…This is my final mercy. I will free you from that pain and suffering.”
I could hear the words of the Oni-kin woman.
(It’s alright… I don’t feel the pain or suffering anymore…)
Using the remaining strength, I somehow rolled onto my back, looking up at the Oni-kin woman who had defeated me.
(──She’s a fine woman… it wouldn’t be so bad to be led to my end by her…)
The shine of the blade she raised was blinding, so I closed my eyes.
(If I die──will I see the ‘shadow’ again…?)
I ponder that thought.
And then…
──I died.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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