Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 112: Bargains and Burdens

As long as his head was still attached, he would continue to speak.

"The lie Leonide told was to protect me.

As such, the guilt of that lie falls on me as well, including the guilt of Sebas, who went along with it. I ask that you place all of that guilt upon me, please."

Damien was still alive.

In that case, he had one more request.

"Lastly, before you punish me, please allow me to save Theo. After that, you may do whatever you wish. I will not complain."

He had said everything he needed to say.

Now, whatever happened next was up to the elf.

The worst-case scenario was that all three of them would die, but if he was lucky, it might just be him.

But in all likelihood, it seemed more probable that Leonide and Sebas would be the ones to die, with Damien being left out of it entirely.

Still, at this point, it all depended on the elf’s whims.

"Two."

"Eh?"

"One for the boy’s life, and one for Sebas. Two debts. That’s my offer. Take it or leave it."

Debts? Was that really all? Was that acceptable?

"If that is the punishment, then I accept. I will take it."

"That won’t do."

Just when Damien thought they had reached an agreement, Sebas interrupted him.

He had thought that the elf’s punishment was relatively light, all things considered.

"Previously, those who have had debts with my teacher have become subjects for horrific experiments—those who were once human have lost all traces of their former selves. You must never take on a debt him."

Damien realized then that he had misjudged the situation.

This was far worse than he had imagined.

But then again, it was probably better than seeing both Sebas and Leonide die.

Theo seemed like he might be saved, at least.

"Teacher, I have forty-nine debts to my name. I would be willing to exchange them for one of the debt owed by the young master."

"Sebas!? You don’t have to do that!"

"Please don’t worry about it, Sir Damien. This was my plan all along, and if word were to get out that you had taken on the blame, your life would be forfeit at the hands of the young master."

So, Sebas had been planning this from the start as a safety measure.

Had he, in fact, messed up Sebas’s plans by interfering?

"I think it was 48 debts, but whatever.

In exchange for all of Sebas’s debts, I’ll remove one debt from the ’real boy’s’ pile."

The elf grinned, looking quite pleased with himself.

Forty-eight to one was an outrageous exchange rate.

It seemed the elf had been aiming for this all along.

"Then, in exchange for my life, please clear one of my master’s debts! Please, I beg you!"

"Leonide, be quiet."

Damien quickly shut down Leonide, who was saying something foolish.

If Leonide kept talking like that, it would all be for nothing.

"One debt, just one! That’s the deal, right? Please, make it happen!"

"Hmm, very well."

The elf nodded his head, satisfied.

Damien had the strong sense that everything up to this point had gone exactly as the elf had planned.

He really hated the elf.

Once Damien and the elf had reached an agreement, Leonide, who had been raging moments before, finally grew quiet.

He looked at Damien as if he wanted to say something, so Damien offered him a wry smile to brush it off.

"Why did you do something so reckless?!"

Leonide’s shout rang out.

In Damien’s mind, he could have asked Leonide the same thing.

"Well then, why did you think it was a good idea to try tricking that monster?"

"That’s because..."

Leonide’s words trailed off.

"See? You understand, don’t you? I did it because I care about you, Leonide."

Tears began to well up in Leonide’s eyes.

"I really appreciate that you put yourself on the line for me," Damien said softly. "But I don’t like the idea of you becoming my substitute."

"I’m... sorry..." Leonide whispered, burying his face in Damien’s shoulder and starting to cry.

Damien gently stroked Leonide’s head, trying to comfort him as best he could.

Leonide had been willing to stand in for him, even to face off against the elf. It must have been terrifying for him, in many ways.

And truthfully, Damien was just as scared, if not more. Just moments ago, he’d learned he was a rare existence, unique enough to catch even that monster’s interest.

He couldn’t help but wonder what lay ahead of him.

...

Pulling himself together, Damien turned his thoughts to healing Theo.

Even if he couldn’t feel it himself, Leonide and the others’ reactions confirmed that he seemed to have this ability, so he might as well get started.

"So... how exactly am I supposed to go about this?" he asked.

Even though he’d been told he could restore someone else’s magic energy, he had no idea how to actually do it.

"The first time I noticed your ability, Master, was when you held me in the water," Leonide explained. "I was in a haze from magic depletion, but I could feel my magical energy returning. Even after I regained consciousness, I had no symptoms of magic depletion. So, I believe that being embraced by you is what allows my magic to recover."

So all I have to do is hold him? Damien thought as he moved closer to Theo.

"Please, wait," Sebas interrupted, blocking his way.

Leonide grabbed his arm, also holding him back.

"P-please wait a moment! I thought that, too, at first—that you could simply hold Master Theo, but I and Lord Rostov afraid there would be some negative effect..." Leonide stammered.

"In the worst case, Master Theo, he may... well, explode," Sebas said gravely.

"Explode?!"

The image of Theo bursting in a spray of blood flashed through Damien’s mind. The thought was horrifying.

"I can’t say for certain," Sebas continued, "but I used ’explode’ to emphasize the risk. I worry that if you approach too carelessly, the same thing that happened to the broken magic devices could happen to Master Theo."