Twenty years had passed.
I no longer called the 'White Squares' monsters.
Because the White Squares weren't monsters—they were just people.
And calling them monsters brought back memories of the time I'd screamed at my mother that she was a monster.
Instead, I simply called them White Squares, or 'Quad wrangle'—the word for square.
Right now, I was in the middle of conversing with several Quad wrangles.
No, correction.
Not conversing. I was getting scolded.
"Daaaaiiil, whaaat the heeell waaas thaaat?"
Damn. Who was talking this time?
According to what I'd figured out earlier, that spot was definitely...
I clenched my teeth in secret and focused my mind with all my strength.
Finally, I could barely make out the proper words.
"Wow. Ignoring me again. This guy never responds on the first try."
"Rennel?"
"Rennel? Rennel?"
"..."
"Yeah, it's Rennel. Thanks for figuring it out."
I understood Rennel's reaction.
It probably wasn't just her.
From these party members... no, from everyone who knew me, I had the reputation of being a 'lone wolf who doesn't care about others.'
If only they'd recognize that I was actually trying my best to pay attention to everyone.
'But I can't exactly tell them about my condition.'
-Never tell anyone else about that condition.
Those were Mother's words on her final night.
I was the awful son who'd driven dozens, hundreds of giant nails into her heart while she lived.
The least I could do was honor her dying wish.
Well, fortunately, if I focused my entire mind, I could manage a conversation with one person.
But once I started talking with two or more Quad wrangles, it became impossible to understand their words right away, and I started mixing up who was who.
With a sigh, I said,
"As if. Rennel Brighton."
"Look over here. At least try talking while looking at my eyes."
I had no idea where your eyes were even attached.
At that moment, another Quad wrangle spoke up.
That spot was definitely... no, hadn't someone switched seats earlier?
Hmm. No clue.
"Anyway, to pick up on what Rennel said—what the hell was that?"
Who the hell is this now?
'Judging by the speech pattern, I have a rough idea who it is.'
The only way I could distinguish people—whose faces and voices I couldn't perceive—was by their manner of speaking.
With another sigh, I replied,
"Sorry."
"That's not an answer to the question. And you don't need to apologize to me. If you're going to say sorry, say it to that guy."
I couldn't see it, but judging by the context, a Quad wrangle had probably jerked their chin toward one side.
In the direction they indicated (presumably), there was a bed.
A Quad wrangle lay on it.
"Ughhhh."
Looked like it hurt pretty bad.
"Saintess. How's this guy's condition?"
"Sigh. Can't you tell just by looking?"
I couldn't see it.
"The skin's completely necrotized. If I hadn't been here, he would've been done for."
"Recovery...?"
"No issues with recovery."
"Good."
Whoosh.
The Quad wrangle tending to the one on the bed turned to look at me.
"Good? You're the one saying that?"
"..."
"If you'd just given him the antidote early on, it wouldn't have gotten this bad!"
That was right.
The Quad wrangle collapsed on the bed had been poisoned.
Last night, he'd vanished for some unknown reason.
We'd canceled all our plans and split up to search everywhere for him.
After half a day of wandering, I'd found a Quad wrangle collapsed at the base of a cliff.
Of course, at the time, I couldn't tell if this was one of my party members or just some passing herbalist.
But either way, saving a life was the same, so I'd rolled up my sleeves and rescued him.
When I found him, the guy could only groan "ughhh" and gave no testimony about what had happened or what got him.
Looking back now, his tongue must've been paralyzed from the poison.
No way I could've understood even if he'd spoken clearly back then.
His face and body were still hidden behind White Squares.
If he'd been a normal person, they'd have noticed the poisoning from the bluish face, blackened fingertips, yellowed sclera, and so on.
But I couldn't.
Assuming he'd tumbled off the cliff, I'd doused him generously with recovery potions good for trauma.
He soon stopped groaning altogether, and I took that to mean the potion had worked and he was asleep.
That's why I'd carried him back at a leisurely pace...
"My god! Why didn't you do anything until it got this bad?!"
The Quad wrangle wasn't sleeping on my back.
He was dying.
If I'd been even five minutes later showing him to the Saintess, he wouldn't be in this world anymore.
Fortunately, the Quad wrangle I'd found turned out to be one of our party members.
The others snatched him from my back and immediately started treatment.
As I finished my recollection, one Quad wrangle spoke up.
Sticking close to the one on the bed, it was probably the Saintess.
"Dai-il, you really have no interest in us at all."
All the Quad wrangles fell silent at her words.
No, they probably nodded. I couldn't see it.
Another Quad wrangle spoke.
"This isn't the first time. Before, during battle, you ignored me when I was in danger."
That was because the White Squares hid whether you were in danger or not.
"You ignored my request for support when my protective magic broke."
Because I couldn't tell which Quad wrangle's magic had shattered.
"You don't react to any shouts or advice in battle at all. You always try to handle everything alone."
During intense combat, my focus wavered.
Obviously, I couldn't parse the Quad wrangles' mangled pronunciation.
Another wave of silence.
Finally, one Quad wrangle spoke.
"I was thinking of broaching the subject soon anyway. Might as well get it all out now."
Click.
He pulled something from his pocket.
It was an official document stamped with the Emperor's seal.
He shook it as he spoke.
"As you know, the Emperor wants us back in the capital."
"No."
"Why not?"
"We haven't killed the Erosion Demon King yet."
"But we've taken down four Arch Demon Kings. Isn't that more than enough achievement?"
The Demon Kings our party had hunted after seven years of hardship.
Among them were four heavyweights in the top 20 Arch Demon King ranks.
Slaying those four was definitely a historic feat.
But I frowned.
"My goal has always been just the Erosion Demon King. Dealing with the others was only to track him down. None of them knew where he was, of course."
"Sure, if we took down the Erosion Demon King—Rank 1 Demon King, beyond Arch Demon King, even called a Demon God—humanity would be saved."
"..."
"But the Erosion Demon King vanished from history long ago. Some even say he might already be dead."
He wasn't.
I'd seen him clearly just over 20 years ago.
But saying that might lead to talk of my curse, so I kept quiet.
Fortunately, a Quad wrangle jumped in for me.
That speech pattern... the Saintess.
"The Erosion Demon King definitely still exists. God told me so."
"Hmm. Saintess, of course I'm not doubting God's word."
"But whether we can find him is another matter. So Dai-il, can't we head back now? Truth is, we're all exhausted."
I ground my teeth and answered immediately.
"No. We'll find him, no matter what."
"..."
"And kill him. Just like the other Demon Kings."
The party members shut their mouths all at once.
But only for a moment.
One Quad wrangle spoke.
"Uh, Dai-il. Don't get mad, okay?"
"Rennel?"
"Rennel? Rennel?"
"Don't repeat yourself. Get to the point."
"...Truth is, while you were asleep yesterday, we talked a lot among ourselves."
As always, no emotion came through in the Quad wrangle's voice.
With their form as White Squares, I couldn't read expressions either.
But somehow, I sensed Rennel was nervous.
"What about?"
"We want to disband the party."
"..."
"Like the Saintess said, we're all worn out."
"..."
"No matter how great we each are individually, everyone has limits. We want to go back, get rewarded by the Emperor, and live in a fancy mansion with servants waiting on us hand and foot."
No matter how I thought about it, that sounded like just you.
Then the Quad wrangle two seats over from Rennel spoke.
"Rennel's excuse is just that—an excuse. I'll be more direct."
"Speak."
"I don't want to travel with you anymore."
"...!"
"No matter how friendly I try to be or how much I try to bond, you always push away. Answer the Saintess from earlier. Dai-il, you have no interest in us, right?"
I stayed silent.
Then someone else spoke.
"I was hoping you'd deny it."
No.
Truly, absolutely not.
On the contrary, I cared about you all more than anyone else in the world.
It was just that the obstacle in my way was far too massive.
"Too late to answer now. And we don't even need one. Ignoring this guy's obvious poisoning symptoms is proof enough."
"That was..."
It was a misunderstanding.
But clearing it up required explaining my curse.
That would violate Mother's dying wish.
'Curse.'
Yes, this was a curse.
The curse the Erosion Demon King had placed on me.
People don't read the atmosphere through some flow of air.
They gauge the person across from them through expressions, actions, voice, tone.
That's what being human is.
I couldn't do that.
And because I couldn't, everyone hated me, despised me, shunned me.
At that moment, a Quad wrangle spoke.
"Let's end it here for today. It's all new to you, Dai-il, so you're probably shocked."
"..."
"We'll sleep on it and talk again tomorrow."
Everyone seemed to agree.
The party members left the room one by one.
I said goodbye to the Saintess staying behind to treat the injured Quad wrangle.
"I'll head out too. Thanks for your hard work—take good care of him."
The Saintess was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Dai-il."
"Yeah?"
"If you'd cared just a little more about your comrades, this wouldn't have happened."
"..."
"You're undoubtedly one of the greatest figures in human history, but as a person to another person, I don't want to get close to you. I don't know why you turned out so cold and heartless, but..."
"..."
"We're not your tools."
I answered calmly.
"I've never thought that. Not once."
With that, I stepped outside.
Click.
After closing the door, I let out a deep sigh.
"I've really never thought that."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A week later.
I was alone, lighting a campfire.
-Come on, return to the capital with us. Don't wander around alone like a beggar.
The last voice of the party member—probably Rennel, judging by the tone—echoed in my head.
I chuckled and shook my head.
In the end, everyone except me had decided to return to the capital.
They were the world's top experts in their respective fields.
Heroes who'd felled four Arch Demon Kings alongside me.
They deserved far more respect and treatment. It was only right.
As I spaced out thinking of my parted comrades,
Click.
A faint footstep sounded from behind.
I nudged my sword slightly out of its sheath with my thumb.
And said quietly,
"Who's there?"
"Whooo miiight thaaat beee."
Of course it was a Quad wrangle.
I turned and stared silently at the indistinguishable figure.
In my experience, people sneaking up behind a lone adventurer late at night rarely had good intentions.
Focusing my mind fully, their words came through much more clearly.
"Guess who I am?"
"...?"
"Heh heh. Knew it. Dai-il Magnus."
"What?"
"You can't recognize people."
I did my best to keep a poker face.
But the other party spoke lowly, as if already seeing through me.
"Everyone in our party knows you're bad at distinguishing people or remembering faces. But this is beyond that."
"...!"
"You just can't see what people look like at all. Probably can't tell voices apart either. Because I'm speaking in my usual form, usual voice. And yet you still don't recognize me."
"You bastard."
"Some kind of mental illness? Or a curse from someone?"
"You don't mean..."
The Quad wrangle laughed in affirmation.
"That's right. I'm one of the party members from the group that disbanded a week ago... one of your party members."