I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 100

“…Yeah. In the end, you were right, Aike.”

After Aike left, Ados was staring at the ceiling.

Four years had passed by in the blink of an eye.

At first, he thought it was a lie—more accurately, just a simple dream.

Who on earth could believe such nonsense?

But the fact that it was reality was something Ados had no choice but to accept.

Denying that would ultimately mean denying the existence of ‘Aike.’

“I want to get stronger.”

There was no hesitation in Aike’s voice as he spoke those words.

Since that day, Ados had seen a clearly transformed atmosphere in Aike, a stark contrast to before.

If the old Aike’s demeanor had been merely a simple determination, what he saw today was definitely a resolve brimming in his eyes.

“You will surely become strong. No. I will make sure you do, Aike.”

Ados believed in it.

Now he thought of Aike as well.

★

That day, four years ago.

“Father.”

Ados quietly opened his eyes at the familiar yet somehow different voice calling him.

But the place he opened his eyes was not his usual bedroom, but an endlessly spreading pure white space.

“…Where is this?”

“Father.”

Turning his gaze to where the voice was coming from, Ados saw someone.

“…Who are you?”

It was someone who resembled Aike.

A male who looked like how Aike would appear if he were to grow a little older.

And the man said,

“Father, it’s me.”

In a situation where someone was calling him Father, a cold sweat began to drip down Ados’s back.

Ados had sworn to Eos, the god above, that he had never been with any woman other than Nia.

Yet here was someone calling him Father.

It was nothing short of a nightmare.

“Who are you?”

With tension in his voice, the man seemed to realize his mistake and surveyed his own body.

“…Ah.”

Then he let out a short gasp and opened his mouth again.

“I’m Aike, Father.”

“What?”

“To be precise, I’m Aike at the age of 20.”

Ados listened and slowly re-examined the man’s appearance.

Indeed, the resemblance was unmistakable.

However.

“That’s a lie.”

Deep dark circles under the eyes.

A physique that seemed even weaker than Aike at 14.

There was no way that Aike, who dreamt of becoming a knight, could look like this, and Ados shook his head and asserted.

“…Surely, seeing this body makes it hard to believe I’m Aike, but I truly am Aike, Father.”

Yet the man did not back down, and he began to present evidence of his claim to being Aike.

Starting from childhood memories to facts only someone from the Akses House would know.

“Really, you’re saying that you’re the future Aike?”

“Yes.”

“How much training did you skip?”

“I’m sorry.”

Ados decided to try assuming the man was the future Aike for now.

After all, where he was at the moment was an endless pure white landscape.

He thought he might as well gain some information from him if he remained there without knowing how to get out.

“…So, if you really are the future Aike, why have you appeared before me now?”

“I came to ask you to take good care of the current me.”

“What?”

At ‘Aike’s’ words, Ados’s mind was filled with questions.

He knew he was somewhat taciturn, but he had never thought of himself as a useless father to his children.

Yet this one who claimed to come from the future was asking him to take care of the present Aike.

He couldn’t help but frown, as if he had done something wrong.

“I didn’t mean to suggest you have a problem, Father. The problem was with me.”

As if reading Ados’s thoughts, ‘Aike’ shook his head and continued.

“From tomorrow on, I will no longer be myself.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t explain in detail.”

‘Aike’ just wanted him to understand that he would become someone else from tomorrow and looked at Ados with a pleading expression.

“You might think it’s nonsense right now, but once you wake up and see me, you will definitely understand. The Aike you know will be someone entirely different. But I hope you won’t let that Aike know. Just treat me as you always have.”

“Are you saying you’ll become someone entirely different?”

“To be precise, while my appearance will remain the same, what’s inside will no longer be me.”

“…I can’t understand.”

As far as Ados knew, that was impossible even with magic.

Not a mere disguise through magic, but being the same yet someone else altogether.

That sounded like a prank that only a god might be able to pull off…

‘No, it’s fine if I don’t believe it anyway.’

After all, it was just a simple dream.

“Then why on earth is such a thing happening? Can you at least give me a short answer to that?”

He could just continue this conversation until he woke up.

With that thought, Ados asked ‘Aike.’

“…Yes.”

And that question seemed to be very important to ‘Aike,’ as he was the first to show emotion, which was uncharacteristic of him until now.

“I forgot a promise and failed to keep what I should have. I knew what kind of person she was, yet I turned my back on her, swayed by what others said. This is my choice to erase the only regret of my life and a stain that can never be washed away.”

Clenching his teeth and fists, his arms trembling, ‘Aike’ clearly reflected the emotion of regret.

Ados had no choice but to accept that there was not even a hint of falsehood in it.

“Hmm.”

Ados quietly sighed.

Of course, he still didn’t entirely believe ‘Aike’s’ words.

“So then, what about you now?”

“I suppose it would be practically the same as dying.”

“Don’t you regret leaving your fate in someone else’s hands?”

“My life was already like being dead. Even if it’s not me, if I can have another chance to start anew, that’s enough.”

“…I see.”

However, if what ‘Aike’ said was all true, the fact that his beloved son would become someone else starting tomorrow troubled Ados’s mind.

He wanted to stop him.

Even if this was just a dream, he wanted to stop Aike, who was choosing death.

But Ados knew he couldn’t do that.

He realized that would only further torment the ‘Aike’ in front of him.

“Could it be that you couldn’t ask your former self for a favor, rather than someone else?”

‘Aike’ answered Ados’s question with silence.

“…I understand. If when I wake, it turns out all this is real, then as you say, I’ll do it. Even if I realize that someone other than you has taken your place, I’ll act as though it’s you.”

“Thank you, Father.”

What on earth had made ‘Aike’ like this in the future?

Ados could not even begin to fathom.

Thus, he had to ask.

“Did you become a knight in the future, Aike?”

“I couldn’t.”

That was a response Ados had somewhat anticipated, but hearing it in reality made him feel a sense of tightening in his jaw.

Even while thinking this was all just a dream, he knew how much Aike had put in the effort, so simply hearing his son say he had not achieved his dream filled Ados with regret.

But.

“Is the ‘other person’ you spoke of strong enough to protect what you abandoned?”

“Weak. But strong enough, and he will become strong.”

As ‘Aike’ spoke that way with a smile as if he was trusting someone who would live in his place, Ados could only nod his head.

In the end, it wasn’t a simple dream.

When he heard that Nia had the same dream upon waking, Ados let out a sigh.

Later, when confirming separately, he found out that Lukan had the same experience.

No, he didn’t even need to check in the first place.

Just as ‘Aike’ said, Aike had clearly changed.

He addressed the servants formally, moved like an ordinary person, and most importantly, he no longer had the resolute look in his eyes of someone who aspired to become a knight.

It was clear he had a goal, but that was it.

The desperate resolve that he would achieve it no matter what was missing.

The greatest weapon Aike had to overcome the wall of talent was gone.

But unless that determination was inherent from the start, it couldn’t be instilled even if someone urged him on.

What was needed was a catalyst.

The acknowledgment that he was lacking in his current self.

To overcome the self-hatred emerging from there and possess the resolve to put in an effort to the point of bleeding.

That was the first condition for an ordinary genius to breach the wall of talent.

And for four years, Aike had not experienced such despair.

Ultimately, the catalyst for that was the death of Ender Arcana.

★

My level right now is about that of a low-ranking knight.

Of course, a low-ranking knight isn’t weak.

A knight, after all, is a being who can surpass thousands.

Among countless people of the Empire, those who can embark on the path of knighthood are at most only around a thousand.

Just being able to belong to that group would earn the admiration of everyone.

But that wasn’t enough for me.

I needed to get stronger.

I didn’t mean to be as strong as Rex.

Those are fundamentally different types of strength.

Yet, I had to at least be strong enough not to be a hindrance to someone.

And the reason I returned to my family home to walk that path was very simple.

“Hah, hah, hah.”

Is it because blood isn’t flowing to my head? The world is swaying with dizziness.

Ah, the sky is so blue.

On such a fine day, I find myself sprawling out with creaking sounds echoing throughout my body.

What a shallow story.

“Get up, Aike.”

A voice that feels devoid of emotion calls for me.

How many times have I heard just that in the span of a mere hour?

I stopped counting after the sixth time.

“Is that the extent of your will to get stronger?”

How long have I been lying here to warrant such remarks?

While I had complaints about it,

“…That can’t be, right?”

I eventually had to say that and stand up.

“Alright.”

And as soon as I got up, a sword plunged into my shoulder.

A sharp strike that could have made me collapse again if I hadn’t blocked it.

Is it even appropriate to say I blocked it?

The pain surged through my hands as I met the sword, and my arms trembled intensely.

“…Could you be a bit gentler, Father?”

“I think I’m being quite lenient. …After all, an opponent wouldn’t go easy just because you’ve fallen. A moment of negligence can lead to death.”

Damn it.

In the end, I couldn’t land a single attack on my father for four hours.