Fate hated him.
That was the only explanation for why things had never ended well for Eídal.
Yes. Fate definitely hated him.
He was curled up over his litter box, his face pale, his hands clamped tightly over his ears.
The reason was—
"Dammit. H-How dare they?!" The silhouettes of his tutor, Albert, Lorenz, and Ingrid spat the words simultaneously, their voices overflowing with rage. "Useless, mediocre, cowardly, imbecilic fools. Idiots. No, worse than idiots!"
I'm sorry.
Eídal didn't understand what was happening, but he apologized from the bottom of his heart.
He didn't want to see them like this.
I'm really sorry!
The chandelier hanging from the center of the luxurious room had been destroyed. So had the bookshelf, and the crystal figurines it contained lay scattered across the floor. Everything was broken in one way or another.
Forgive me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Perhaps it was his fault.
Perhaps he had done something to anger them.
Perhaps he had said something he shouldn't have.
That had to be why Eídal continued apologizing from the bottom of his heart.
But the silhouettes gave him a different answer.
"Damn the heroes!"
Heroes?!
A new name had surfaced.
Heroes? Heroes? Heroes? Heroes… Heroes.
Eídal didn't understand what the heroes, the world's saviors, had to do with any of this. But if his own family was cursing them, then he would not contradict them.
Accepting it as an absolute truth, he began to grow angry as well.
And it was thanks to that same anger that a voice echoed inside his head.
"I swear… Anyone who comes for me, I swear."
"I swear I'll serve whoever comes for me!"
"For love."
His own voice—the voice of the slightly younger self he had long since forgotten—whispered into his ear.
"What do I want?"
Ah, that's right, Eídal answered inside his head, the gag still fastened over his mouth.
I said it myself… I wanted to be useful to someone.
"For love?"
I only wanted to be acknowledged.
"To anyone who comes for me?"
I only wanted to hear them say it.
"Will I be useful to them?"
That they love me.
Any semblance of sanity had been voluntarily discarded long ago.
That was why Eídal clung to one last thread, the only thing keeping his being from unraveling completely: the gem hanging from his necklace.
But for that, I have to…
"Kill? You want to do it? We've always been this weak, haven't we?"
Ah! That's right. I've always been weak.
Yes. I don't know when it happened, but I've found myself drawn to the idea of having a family.
I'm not talented. I'm not persistent. I'm not pleasant to be around.
And yet I've always wanted to matter.
"But killing for love is…"
The only light. My only light. Mine. Mine. Mine alone.
Ingrid, Lorenz, my tutor.
Oh! My tutor! Why did he never let me call him… "Dad"?
The heat became unbearable.
Eídal could hear the ticking of his own heart, as though it were counting down the seconds of his lethargy.
Slowly, everything began to move more slowly.
The three silhouettes, still furious, gradually slowed their movements until they came to a complete stop.
"But you swore that you would serve anyone who came for you, because they would become your family."
The voice of his younger self continued whispering into his ear.
"Remember, if you want to be loved, you have to be useful."
His tutor, Ingrid, and Lorenz.
They were everything Eídal needed to be happy.
In the past, Eídal used to invent excuses just to see them, but his desperate need for attention had eventually begun to irritate them.
Remembering those days, he reflected on them at length inside his head.
When they told me I had always been useless, it hurt.
When Ingrid left me outside the village and only said, "Take care of yourself. I'll come back for something," it hurt too.
If she knew I didn't listen to her, would she be angry?
She'd definitely be angry.
Lorenz wasn't in the village during the attack, so I never found out what happened to him.
And my tutor… Huh?
Why can't I remember?
Now, as their silhouettes twist with anger, I keep wondering: what am I supposed to do?
No. I already know.
And yet I'm hesitating.
How could someone like me possibly stand against the heroes?
I'm not a great man. I'm not a legend.
I'm just a stupid, emotional, lazy, weak pig.
Someone simple, desperately seeking approval.
But…
I'm sorry for everything.
For the trouble in the village.
But…!
The bad days.
The endless tantrums.
But…!!
I'm truly sorry.
But it's precisely because I love them that I want to put an end to everything that hurts them!!!
Death doesn't frighten me if it's for my family.
Even if that makes me the villain of the story, I want to wipe the anguish from their faces.
Even if it's nothing more than a foolish illusion, I want them to be happy.
Some way?
There has to be one.
A weapon?
It must exist.
A method?
I'll find one.
Something to put an end to whatever torments them!
So leave it to me, all right?
I, Eídal…
No.
I, Eídal Granier, will do everything I can and kill the heroes.
He declared it while clutching the gem hanging from his necklace.
That gem was the only memento he had of his family, the only representation of the person he had once been.
It is curious how stories end this way.
Our appearance. Our work. Depression. Family problems. Financial troubles. Laziness. Loneliness. Unfulfilled goals. Relentless dreams. Our partners—or the impossibility of having one.
It doesn't matter what it is.
Everyone has something that breaks them from within.
Eídal was no different.
Having never received genuine affection from those around him, he had no way of understanding what true love meant.
To him, every act of kindness was synonymous with affection.
And, conversely, every act of aggression was a deserved punishment for his uselessness.
It was his own ignorance that ultimately destroyed him.
…
Then, a warmth spread across his neck, followed by the sound of a crack!
Everything snapped back into focus.
It was the gem.
The precious gem around his neck had finally broken.
And with it, time began to flow once more.
Ironically, it was only then that the adorable creature realized what he had been doing.