Chapter 10 Promise and Trust

"proposal?"

"you already said that" Arlain looked at Jake like he was an idiot.

"I'm just confused, I think I have an idea, but there's no way you have a way to escape, right?" Jake asked with hope in his heart.

"I do" Arlain replied nonchalantly.

"Are you kidding me!!" Jake scooped Arlain up in one swift motion and asked again. "you have a way out of here?!"

"Terra Humanis! Let go of me!! What are you doing?!" Arlain protested but Jake just stared at him with a dark blank stare ".... You're starting to scare me...Tahh!! Let go of me first!"

Wriggling from Jake's grip, Arlain jumped to the floor, sighing in relief after successful breakout, Arlain yelled "Are you stupid?!"

"Not really, but I might go crazy if I stay here" Jake replied with empty eyes"I can't stand being here anymore and the food is so bad, you know, you look like strawberry jelly? I tried to lick you a few times to check the taste but I always held back my intrusive thoughts because I was afraid I would eat you if I let go of my inner deep desire, but I don't know how much longer I can last if I stay here"

"Jake Carrack?" seeing Jake who had no light in his eyes, Arlain slowly backed away to the wall but Jake followed him with four limbs on the floor like a wild animal.

"You idiot! Get away from me!" Slime Arlain's body trembled in front of the newly appeared predator "I will explain my plan! Back off you lowly commoner!"

"Okay" Jake said casually and sat on the floor, yawning, a big grin on his face.

"You!!" Arlain shook as if boiling "Insolent! I will cut off your head! Your descendants! Your ancestors! and parade your family around the city!"

"Eh, I apologize" Jake rubbed his ear in pain because of Arlain's scream. "Do you think I'm going to eat you huh?"

"You insolent bastard" Arlain swayed up and down as if out of breath from shouting, no matter what the person in front of him was not like that person, but for some reason Arlain felt close to Jake Carrack, something genuine, however, he swore he would repay him later.

"So? Are you going to explain it?"

"Tah! Do something like that again and I'll leave you here!" Arlain hissed.

"What happened to swearing that we both get out of here?!"

"Shameless!"

"Good if you know it, come on let me hear your plan?" Jake smiled lecherously as he tried to persuade Arlain.

Seeing Jake like that Arlain kept his distance before speaking. "Then promise me first! Either we both get out of here or no one will get out alive, promise me you won't betray me"

"Why?" Jake tilted his head.

"it is my condition if you want to cooperate with me" Arlain demanded in a serious tone.

Feeling Arlain's seriousness, Jake smiled with absolute confidence "Sorry but I can't promise you anything"

"you are going to betray me?!" Arlain was dumbfounded by Jake's words

Am I wrong to want to trust him?! Arlain thought, but Jake shook his head.

"No, not like that, whether you believe me or not, but I just can't promise something I myself did not believe" Jake looked at Arlain with a serious expression.

"How can I trust you then?!" Arlain said with suspicion

Seeing Arlain's distrust of him, Jake seemed to think for a moment, then as if deciding something he continued.

"you don't, for now I will fight with all my might, that's all I can do, that's why maybe my oath will waver later, maybe there will be a time when I want to betray, I don't believe that I can promise to never leave you or we can both run away from here, I just don't know what will happen next, because of that" Jake paused for a moment and looked at Arlain in the eyes "let's just promise not to give up until the very end"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Bullish" Seeing Jake who seemed to be forcing himself not to do his request, Arlain felt strange, why didn't he just lie? Arlain didn't understand why the person in front of him was so adamant about not wanting to promise him, Arlain didn't mean to bind his promise with magic or curse, and shouldn't he seek Arlain's trust by all means, that way Arlain could calm himself down even with an empty promise, at the same time for some reason Arlaian was once again reminded of that person.

####

"How rare for you to come here, Arin?"

"You won't believe it! How many people have those insolent planted in my territory! They're all so stupid! I'm tired of ruling this cursed place! I've had enough! I don't want any more! I give up!!"

"You know Arin, there are times when the person you trust the most betrays you and the person you love the most hates you, there are times when you will fall and there are times when you will rise, but there is one thing you must hold on to, never give up, no matter what happens never give up and you will find a way"

"Sound bullish to me, How can I trust them then?!"

"you don't, the thing is your heart can lie, and your brain can be wrong, promises can be broken, but continuing to fight is always the right thing to do, it's like a pact that bets everything on you and yourself, will you betray yourself and let go of everything Arin? Will you surrender? Or You will fight until the end"

####

"you don't have to trust me and if something happens you can leave me here, I just want to shoot my chance once" Jake said to Arlain who fell silent.

"I understand" Arlain answered.

"Eh?! Even though I might betray you?" Jake asked in surprise.

Arlain stepped forward to Jake and looked up at him "You can leave and you can be afraid, because that's human nature Jake Carrack, but I won't and that's my pride"

"Pride.... and if I do betray you?"

"then we both have shot our chances, like you said just do it until the end and everything will be fine"

Jake could feel Arlain's smile, a warm smile, seeing Arlain, an emotion began to rise from his heart, a sense of disappointment towards himself.

"....I'm sorry, I just did not have what it takes, I never thought it would be like this" Jake spoke as if whispering "I never dared to take risks, the truth is I'm just a coward.... I always let everyone down, always, I just don't want to admit it"

Arlain looked at Jake who was sitting with sad expression, he didn't know how old Jake was, but he must be quite young, Arlain could understand that there must be fear in everyone's heart, he himself had never thought about it until now, how the people he sent to the battlefield felt, how many lives he sacrificed, but Arlain would not hesitate or back down now, he still had the pride as a Noble, if he regretted it now then the people who died and suffered for him would be in vain, but the young man in front of him did not have such a thing.

"Jake Carrack, no matter how many times you lose but you never give up, that's the right thing to do"

"I guess so" Jake forced a smile "Hey, if I die here at least give me a funeral"

"do you want to be returned to your family?"

"No....I'm all alone, I just thought it would be nice if someone prayed for me one last time"

"I'll make all of Terra remember you" Arlain exclaimed.

"no, you're exaggerating" Jake chuckled "Just put some flowers on my body or something, well that's if my body can be retrieved, if not it's okay I guess, I'm dead anyway"

"You've thought about your death, but what if you live?" Arlain asked glancing at Jake.

Hearing Arlain's words, Jake shrugged his shoulders "I guess I'll go back to Terra, to Earth"

"and if you've arrived on earth?".

"I don't know"

"I see, then what if I die?" Arlain looked into Jake's eyes.

"then there's no chance for me, I've realized that, you need me to escape from here but if I die then there's a chance you live, on the other hand I don't think I can escape from here without you" Jake looked at Arlain. "From the start there was no chance for me to leave here alone, unless I betrayed you, right?"

Hearing Jake's words, Arlain couldn't help but divert his gaze from him "That's right, someone has planned a betrayal from within, I have an idea who it is, and if you betray me from escaping from here-"

"Are you stupid?"

Arlain was surprised by Jake's words and raised his head.

"do you think they will obey my request if I betray you?" Jake furrowed his brows.

"desperate people often make unreasonable decisions" Arlain answered.

"I'm not that stupid" Jake said angrily "I understood from the start that you were afraid that I would do something so pointless"

"Then why didn't you just lie to me from the start?"

"You asked for my promise because you were afraid of being betrayed, but even if I gave you my promise, you still wouldn't believe me, and the second reason is.... I'm tired of lying, using a mask to lie to people and myself, I'm really tired" Jake said with determination in his eyes.

"I hate these people so much, I'm tired of sucking up to people, I don't want to be stepped on anymore, from now on I will take every opportunity that comes my way and take risks to win, at first I thought swallowing my pride was the right thing to do, but I guess having some pride isn't bad at all" Jake said with a bright smile as his eyes light up.

At that moment Arlain seemed to see a mask fall and light radiate from Jake Carrack's eyes.

"That's absolutely righteous!" Arlain said happily "Pride is the way of the Empire! Jake Carrack! I will appoint you to accompany and protect me to the end of this fight! And I will grant you a great reward!"

Chuckled, Jake stood on his feet and turned towards Arlain before dropping to one knee "I will protect you to the end and will not betray, believe in me Your Highness, that is my promise and my pride" Jake raised his head with the most confident smile of his life, in his eyes was a fire of desire that was not there before, not a desire to survive, but a desire to win, like a bright star, Arlain couldn't help but see Jake overlap with that person.

"That's how it should be, Jake Carrack you will be bathed in glory and great victory for Heirseim! in the name of the Duchess of Duraim Herseim The Great, I will grant your wish, what reward do you want?" Arlain said the official Heirseim family awarding ceremony line, a golden magic circle surrounded Jake and Arlain and lit up the room.

Looking around with sparkling eyes, Jake was stunned by the divine magic, not knowing what to say Jake thought about the thing he wanted the most "I want to be strong, rich, powerful, and... kindness, to not carelessly trample on others as I have experienced"

"I grant it," Arlain said softly, and with that a golden light filled the room.