Chapter 100: Death

[Marquis Ian Clark, could you… possibly die?]

The Emperor said this abruptly. 

But Ian remained calm and composed.

Catherine, who had been listening beside him, screamed in shock.

“Your Majesty!? What are you suddenly saying…?!”

“It’s all right,” Ian replied.

“Ian!?”

“After I die. Where should I go?”

“It’s good that you understand quickly. I’ll send my personal wagon.”

That ended the Emperor’s abrupt communication. 

Though Ian was favored by the Emperor, it was purely for his abilities. The Emperor wasn’t particularly fond of him as a person, and Ian understood that. So, he wasn’t bothered in the slightest when the Emperor cut off the communication so coldly.

“Ian! What do you mean, you’re going to die?!”

After the call ended, Catherine tried to reconnect, insisting that His Majesty must be misunderstanding something. 

But Ian stopped her.

“Calm down.”

“How can I calm down when you’re saying something like that?!”

“I’m not actually going to die. So please, calm down.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Catherine tilted her head, confused, and looked at Ian.

He interpreted the Emperor’s words and explained them to her.

There was no way the Emperor would kill someone he had granted the title of marquis—unless there was an external cause. Inside the empire, no single person could influence the Emperor to such a degree.

‘It must be the demons,’ Ian thought.

This was the direction of the main storyline. Chapter 2—Invasion of Demons.

In the game, demons attacked and took the role of the main antagonist. 

The hero was their main target. 

The demons claimed that if the hero was killed, they had no need to invade further.

Naturally, the Emperor would never forsake the one and only hero. In the game, he had rejected the offer immediately and continued the war against the demons.

‘So, why is it different now?’

In the game, there was only one hero. But now, there were two people who could fill that role—himself and Noah.

It seemed the Emperor had used that informational advantage to bluff the demons. And the demons, believing the bluff, had revealed part of their strategy.

“Maybe they want me dead… It must be for show.”

The Emperor was trying to deceive the demons—and he needed Ian’s help to do it.

Ian didn’t mind helping when it came to defeating demons.

“My guess is… the demons made contact.”

“…Demons?”

This wasn’t just a guess—it was a known fact in the game’s storyline. But from this point forward, he was forming his own theory.

“The demons must have proposed a deal. If I, Noah, or the multiple Summoners were sacrificed, they’d consider peace.”

“That’s impossible. The demons would never…”

“Why do you think that?”

“Ian, you don’t have much field experience. But demons don’t view humans as equals.”

Catherine’s memories of the battlefield resurfaced. The overwhelming power of the demons, how they treated humans like ants and insects.

But that was only the current state of things.

“Is that so?”

“There are no exceptions.”

“That’s now. But what about the past?”

“The past…?”

Hundreds of years ago, the first Emperor—a multiple Summoner—defeated the Demon King, created the human realm, and founded the empire.

That meant a multiple Summoner had the power to challenge even the Demon King. For the demons, such beings were something to fear.

“The first Emperor defeated even the Demon King. To demons, multiple Summoners aren’t just equals—they’re a threat.”

“…Isn’t that just your theory?”

“It’s a hypothesis I’ve developed based on my conversations with the Emperor.”

Catherine heard the conviction in Ian’s voice and began to think he might be right.

No, he was right.

“…You’re not going to die, are you?”

“Of course not.”

“If you die, I’ll die with you. I’ll even follow you to the underworld.”

“Wow.”

Ian trembled slightly at the unexpected declaration. 

Catherine locked eyes with him, as if saying she wouldn’t let it happen.

“I’m not even dating a man yet, and I am not planning to die a v!rgin. Got it? If you don’t want to be crushed by an older v!rgin, don’t die.”

“Well… Now I kind of want to die.”

“What, what?!”

With Catherine blushing in embarrassment behind him, Ian got up and began preparing to leave the principal’s office.

Before “dying,” he needed to talk to the girls first.

***

Ian gathered the girls he was close with and informed them he’d be leaving for a distant place for a while.

Stella was baffled. 

Ian had just declared the need to get strong not long ago—and now this?

“Vacation just ended, and you’re already off again? Where are you going this time?”

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret, huh… Hold on a sec.”

Stella exchanged signals with the others. 

In an instant, Syrah’s summon coiled around Ian and restrained him.

Trapped before the girls like a frog before a snake, Ian looked helpless.

“You’re not talking? Even like this?”

Stella began tickling the captive Ian. She prodded his chest and sides, gauging his reaction. When he didn’t respond at all, she transitioned from tickling to simply str0king him.

Eventually, she realized she was just touching him and sighed, stepping back.

“Well… You sure can endure tickling.”

“…No, it’s not that. I just have a reason I can’t talk.”

“Whoa, Stella. Stay out of the way.”

Saying that, Syrah sat down on Cadet Ian’s legs. The other cadets were horrified to see her straddling him, but regardless, Syrah grabbed Ian’s head and pulled him into her chest.

“What do you think? Soft, isn’t it? Are you ready to talk?”

She hugged him so tightly that Ian struggled to break free, and the more he struggled, the tighter she held on.

When Ian tried to wiggle away, she even twisted her body to prevent him from moving.

“Hey, stay still!”

“Mmmph! Whoa!”

“Well? How are you feeling now? Feel like talking?”

“Eup! Oops!”

“…Are you serious, Syrah?”

Noah, who had been watching with jealous eyes, noticed something wrong with Syrah’s plan and called out to her.

Syrah, hearing her name, turned to Noah and tilted her head as if asking what the problem was. 

Noah pointed to Ian, who was buried in Syrah’s chest.

“In that position, he wouldn’t be able to talk even if he wanted to.”

“Ah—”

A moment later, after being freed from her grasp, Ian took a deep breath, rediscovering the value of air. Realizing the girls were trying to coax answers from him through sheer force, he knew he couldn’t reveal anything just yet.

If he pretended to be dead, the news would spread through the Academy, and a flood of cadets would come rushing to confirm it. But if he had told them the truth beforehand—that he wasn’t really dead—and word somehow reached the demons, they might retaliate in unpredictable ways after discovering they’d been deceived.

“I can’t help but wonder…”

“…Ian. Do you really have to shoulder this alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Why…? Just earlier, you told us we could talk to you anytime. Do you really not plan to confide in us?”

Stella’s voice trembled. Not long ago, hadn’t he told her to talk to him about anything, that she wasn’t alone? Yet here he was, doing the very thing he’d asked her not to—carrying everything by himself.

Did he not trust them? Did he think they were unreliable?

“What are we…to you?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think of us? Why can’t you tell us something like that?”

Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered the words, and Ian felt a pang of guilt. 

A man was always weak to a woman’s tears—it was a cruel fate.

He let out a small sigh and added that he’d talk… but only under one condition.

“Condition?”

“If you come with me… I’ll tell you.”

“Where to?”

“I don’t know either. But we won’t be able to come back for a while. If that’s alright—”

“Me! I’ll go!”

Noah raised her hand immediately.

 At the same time, the girls around—who had only pretended to be friendly to each other—grew restless. If they could go far away, and stay by Ian’s side, they didn’t care about the loss of contact.

“…You’re not going to someplace strange, are you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then I’m going too.”

Stella, naturally, volunteered.

“Wouldn’t it be a bit sad if I backed out now?”

“M-Me too. Ian… if I can be of help to you—”

Syrah and Dinua chimed in late but made their decision clear—they were going with Ian.

After listening to all of them, Ian gave one final warning.

“Just so you know, there’s no turning back from this decision.”

“Alright. So, what’s really going on?”

“From now on… I’m going to die.”

“…What?”

The girls’ eyes widened. 

Despite the warning, the announcement still shocked them. 

Ian gave a bitter laugh at their reaction.

***

“Marquis Ian Clark. The carriage is ready.”

Sometime later, a secret carriage sent by the imperial family arrived at the Academy. No one would ever guess it was imperial property.

When Ian and the four cadets boarded the carriage, the coachman gave them a slightly startled look, as if surprised by the number, but drove off without a word.

As soon as the carriage departed, Stella crossed her legs and looked at Ian.

“You’re saying you’re going to pretend to be dead from the start?”

“That’s right.”

“No, it’s not! You said you were going to die!”

There’s a big difference between dying and pretending to die.

Watching Stella argue, Ian flipped the situation.

“By the way, if you come with me, rumors will spread about you too.”

“It’s fine! I don’t care about that.”

“Really?”

Stella was confident. There were already plenty of rumors about her and Ian. A few more wouldn’t make any difference.

Ian figured if she felt that way, there was no need to worry. He turned to check with Syrah and Dinua.

Of course, both of them agreed it was no big deal.

“It’s too late to act soft now….”

Saying that, he raised the crystal ball prepared inside the carriage.

—Marquis, have you arrived?

“No, Your Majesty.”

“W-Wow… His Majesty the Emperor…?”

While the others—Stella and Syrah among them—stared in awe at the Emperor’s voice from the crystal ball, Ian calmly spoke.

“There are five of us, including me. Please take care of the death arrangements.”

—Don’t worry.

The Emperor chuckled.

—From the moment you boarded that carriage, you were already dead.