kscans

Chapter 106 - The Wish and Request Meeting

A quiet night. The throne room, once the site of a great battle, was now a temporary resting place illuminated by a campfire.
Mamoru, the Hobgoblin reincarnator, sat in a circle with his comrades, staring into the flames.

One week from now, at the core central domain, Ark-Lore-Crest, where Creator God Sephillos Code awaited. They had to declare their final wish, how they would rewrite the world.

Only one person held that right. Mamoru, reincarnated as a Hobgoblin.

However, this was not his world alone. He had to bear the feelings of the comrades who had lived and fought alongside him.

And so, tonight. The "Request Meeting" began.

"...I can't believe even the Demon Lord was defeated by Hero Ares," the cleric Defray was the first to speak. He slumped his shoulders, clutching his ladle-shaped staff.

"We monsters are 'beings created' by the Demon Lord, aren't we? Shouldn't we restore the order that the Demon Lord wished for?" Amy said directly. Her eyes were unwavering as she gazed at the spear, scarred from battle.

"So... you mean we go back to the original Legend of Brave Regalia, the world where the hero defeats the demon lord, right?" Tiris asked, a little anxiously. The slender Dark Elf's hands were trembling.

"But, but... if we go back to how it was, does that mean we... go back to our initial states?" Koni-chan asked fearfully, sucking his thumb.

Mamoru kept his gaze on the fire and opened his mouth, his words heavy.

"...That's right. Going back to how it was... probably means we'll be 'reset.'"

"Reset... what does that mean?"

"Amy, who was originally a Lizardman, Koni-chan, who was a Troll, Defray, who was an Orc, and Tiris, who was a Dark Elf... you all 'evolved' and gained your current forms and intelligence. But going back to the beginning means you might return to being 'just monsters' who live by beastly instinct alone."

The campfire crackled.

"And... your memories will probably be gone too."

At those words, everyone fell silent.

Their adventures so far. The meals they laughed over, the life-or-death battles, the days they protected each other with trust. And the lives of the comrades stolen by Hero Ares.

"But... if my big brother, the chieftain, and our village friends come back... I'd be happy. No, I want them to come back..." Koni-chan's voice trembled.

"Me too, that hot spring egg I missed out on back then... no, that's not it. We, the Demon Lord's army, and the humans, we were all messed up. If we can put it back, I want to. But..." Defray clenched his fist.

Amy spoke quietly.

"What we would lose is ourselves. Our memories. Our hearts. ...The 'us' that is right here, right now."

Everyone fell silent.

Mamoru looked at each of his comrades' faces. Everyone was carrying a wound. But no one said, "Let's not do it."

"My wish might end up erasing all of you. That's why I'm... hesitating. I really don't know what I should do..."

The flames in the campfire flickered as if in answer.

Beyond this meeting, there was surely "another battle." It wasn't a battle against an enemy.

It would be my final decision, to choose "what is right for this game world."

And to find that answer, only six days remained. The story was beginning to sink into deep waters once more.