I’m Not the Final Boss’ Lover

ut the ‘endings’ Mayer Knox could meet.
Perhaps he would lose all four of his limbs, or become a fellspawn from loss of mana control… Or even die, leaving nothing but a corpse.
I could see in Vince’s eyes that he had considered all those possibilities.
Whether Mayer became a cripple, a monster, or a corpse, the butler didn’t want to leave him forever in the prison called a dungeon… and I could empathize with that.
Vince was entrusting me with the role of the labyrinth’s thread that would guide Mayer back to this world.
This thread was thin, fragile, and could break at any moment.
Nevertheless, it was the only one the butler found, and he was grateful for it.

I nodded, deciding to accept the role of that fragile spider’s thread.
“…Okay.
I swear I’ll come back with the captain, even if I have to drag him by the collar.”

Only then did Vince breathe a sigh of relief and smile widely.
It was my first time seeing a curve on the old man’s lips.
It reminded me of my father, the one I had before becoming Jun.

* * *

On the day I learned about Mayer’s past, I fell behind during work due to being absentminded all day.

“Uh… Vice-captain?”

“Oh, sorry.
Did the support spell end? I’ll cast it again.”

“Not that… I was curious about something.
I get that when facing large fellspawn, you should mainly aim for their ankles or hamstrings, but what do I do when there’s a swarm of small monsters…?” Julieta asked timidly.

I hadn’t even noticed she was asking a question as I was completely zoning out.
I sighed, feeling frustrated with myself, as I shook my head.
“…I’m really sorry.
I must be out of it.”

After somehow managing to get through training, I returned to my room with heavy footsteps, feeling suffocated.
I was feeling more uncomfortable now than when I was listening to Vince talk about Mayer’s past.
The memory refused to get out of my head.
I tried to think of positive things to change my mood.
I had been wondering how to start a conversation about Mayer’s demonic power, anyway.
Vince would report what happened today to the captain, and he would know that I had found out his secret.
One way or another, we would end up discussing his demonic power.
That was good.
Then I’d wait until Mayer spoke about it first.
Wait until he settled his anger and regained his rational mind.
I had no intention of going to him first to confront his boiling ire.

And the moment I was waiting for arrived before long.

“Vice-captain, His Excellency is looking for you.”

The time wasn’t too late with the sun still high up.
It was much too early to be telling secrets, but I guessed Mayer chose this time on purpose.
Talking secrets at night while drinking would only make it easier to get emotional, after all.
And thus, I went straight over to Mayer.
For some reason today, the collar of my vice-captain uniform felt tight.
As I arrived at the captain’s office, I nervously wondered how Mayer would begin the talk.
My worries were in vain, though, as the captain threw a fastball.
“I heard Vince chattered about my past to you.”

I stiffened, his swift jab giving me no time to manage my expression.
It seemed he didn’t want to get over the situation smoothly.
Of course, it was a sensitive subject, but Mayer was taking it far harder than I had anticipated.
The dark shadows underneath his eyes were telling of his emotions.
Still, his self-control was apparent from the way he didn’t raise his voice.
Instead, he enunciated each word quietly.

I responded with a heavy nod instead of giving an excuse.
“…Yes.”

“So what do you think?”

“Pardon?” I frowned at the unexpected question, while Mayer cackled.
His mirth was void of composure, sounding somewhat anxious.
In a self-mocking tone, he muttered, “Well, you must have felt something.
Pity, fear, or anger from being deceived by me.”

Pity, I could feel.
Fear too.
But what did he mean by anger from being deceived? I didn’t have a clue.

“You must have joined the Dark Knights because you deemed it possible that I could slay the demon lord.
But now you know that the foundation of my power is demonic… It would not be wrong to say you were deceived.”

Aha.
That.
This had to be why he looked somewhat anxious instead of being angry that I had learned his secret.
Anxious that I might leave.