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My Death Flags Show No Sign Of Ending - Chapter 98

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Chapter 98 is here! This chapter was edited by Fordoom, who did a great job as usual 😀

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 98

In『Brave Hearts』, Harold Stokes was not a dual sword wielder; his only weapon was his black sword. The sword embedded with a crystal that Harold was currently using did not exist at all in the game, as it was given to him by Justus in this world.
Of course, that was not an act of kindness in any way; Justus was simply using that sword to convince his surroundings that Harold was just a convenient pawn who he had already subdued.
However, given how good he was at scheming, there was naturally more to this.

The sword had the exceptional ability of absorbing the user’s mana to elevate his fighting capabilities, but if the sword could not be controlled and absorbed Harold’s magical power just by being in his presence, then even he would likely have stubbornly refused to take it.
Because whenever it absorbed the user’s mana, it would literally absorb his life force. So this was a very Justus-like trick, as he had told only half a lie.
Due to this, Harold had hardly used this power up to now. So far, he had displayed the sword’s ability only twice.
The first time was when he happened to discover a troupe of knights who had been attacked and almost annihilated by monsters, so, in order to help; he killed the enemies as fast as he possibly could. The second time was when he instantaneously killed the hydras at the peak of mount Giran.
Both of those times lasted for only a few minutes. However, given that his lifespan was being reduced by this, even a few minutes felt like they could be fatal to him. Not knowing how much of his life he had lost was indescribably terrifying.

So Harold had used the sword’s power as little as possible. He was always wracking his brains and trying every trick in the book just because he did not want to die, so if he actually went ahead to shorten his life, he would be completely losing sight of his priorities.
However, at this moment, he simply could not say that, because Vincent was just that formidable of an enemy.

In order to make the best use of his distinctly superior speed, Harold’s feet were constantly in motion. He was using magic spells as a diversion as he was crossing swords with Vincent while looking for his chance to strike. If Harold were to relax his guard for the smallest of instants, his defense would likely be smashed and he’d end up being overwhelmed by Vincent’s tyrannical strength, therefore, he kept on attacking and defending over and over again.
Then, it finally came. In the middle of the fight, Vincent had a momentary opening in his defense for less than a second. At that moment, Harold focused his whole body’s senses.

He stepped forward with lightning fast speed.
Due to his physique and weapon, the reach of Vincent’s attacks was considerably wider than Harold’s. This was one of the main reasons why Harold was at a loss about how to attack him. In other words, exploiting an opening was not enough. It was certainly possible for him to take the offensive by combining his speed with his numerous moves, but that would be too risky considering Vincent’s strength and the instantaneous power and reflexes he displayed in both his offense and defense. Moreover, if Harold were to expose a few gaps, he’d fall back on the defensive. To make matters worse, he would have to fight within the range of Vincent’s attacks.

But above all, Harold did not have enough strength to knock out Vincent with a single blow anyway, and he couldn’t help but judge that it would be too difficult to attack one of his vital points.
Then, what could he do?
Harold’s answer to that question was clear and simple.
He would keep dodging and using diversions, he would strike when there was a gap he could exploit, and then he would immediately retreat, taking some distance from Vincent. It was a so-called hit-and-run tactic.

Vincent started raising his sword over his head, and at the same time, Harold immediately shortened the distance between the two of them. Vincent stopped his action, and while taking half a step back, he had no other choice than to swing his large sword downwards.
However, no matter how powerful he was, he had not been able to feel the attack from before as it came at him.
Harold was aiming at the right arm of Vincent, which was holding his sword. Maybe in order not to disrupt the movement of his shoulder, he had left the space around his right armpit wide open. Harold sliced at that gap in Vincent’s defense with his black sword.

Then, he withdrew before Vincent could get to counter-attack. Harold once again took some distance and faced Vincent like before.
Perhaps this method was effective in the sense that it was a sure-fire way to deliver his attacks.
However, there was one problem. To instantaneously shorten the distance between him and his opponent, Harold was using a super-acceleration move for which his sword would absorb his mana each time. As he used it this time, he was afraid of how long this battle would drag, for he didn’t know how much of his mana, and of his life, was being consumed.

The part of Vincent’s armpit which Harold had sliced at with his sword was covered with a black cloth. But slicing that part did not feel like cutting through human flesh, the attack had been clearly obstructed by a hard object.
Harold had an idea what it was. There was probably some chain mail or something like that, hidden under Vincent’s clothes. Unless he could strike that protection with a critical hit, Harold was going to have to attack it multiple times during the fight.

If he wasn’t in such a small cave, he could also try to take some distance and fire high-tier spells in rapid succession to remove that obstruction, but if he did that here, he would likely get entangled in his own magic, or the spell would make the whole cave collapse, crushing him to death in the process.

【”This has been going for way too long…”】

The situation was turning extremely bad for Harold.
Perhaps he would end up being killed by Vincent, or perhaps he would end up using up all his strength and dying to his own sword’s power.
Still, in order to survive, he could do nothing but keep fighting.

◇

As if to repel the darkness, the tree branches that were being used as firewood were burning with a crackling sound. Holding her knees, Lifa was looking at the flames while thinking about some things.
Or perhaps it was more correct to say that she was worrying about some things. Those worries were about Harold, and at the same time, they were about Erica who was journeying with her now.

Erica was the daughter of the Sumeragi family, and she currently was Lifa’s traveling companion, as well.
Her personality was gentle and graceful, and yet she also had a strong heart which allowed her to firmly speak her opinions. She wasn’t naive like a girl who had led a sheltered life, and she viewed everything in a broad perspective. Moreover, she was so skilled with her magic and archery that even knights and adventurers were not worth being compared to her.
She came from a good family, her character was excellent, and she also excelled in various other fields. The more Lifa traveled with her, the more she was able to understand how perfect Erica was as a woman.
Furthermore, she was the most beautiful person Lifa had ever seen. When Colette spoke of her unreserved admiration for Erica, Lifa could only agree. Perhaps it could be said that she was the personification of a man’s ideal.

That perfect woman was Harold’s fiancee… or so it seemed at least.
Although the two concerned parties themselves had denied that fact, Francis and Erica’s older brother had both said that the two were actually engaged, so there was probably no way that was a lie.

Then, why would Erica deny it? If she simply hated Harold, then perhaps that would be the end of the matter, but it was hard to believe that someone like her would openly show her hatred for him on the surface.
It felt too incompatible with her personality, which reminded Lifa of something else that had felt the same way to her recently. It was Harold’s excessive coldness towards Erica.
From Lifa’s perspective, it looked like both Harold and Erica didn’t seem like themselves in the way they behaved towards each other.

This was just a theory, but, maybe Harold was cold to Erica in order to keep her away from him. That way, she would not get hurt by his own death…. No, perhaps he did that precisely because he did not want her to be hurt. It was very difficult to understand the kindness of that man due to his twisted personality, but Lifa judged that this possibility was quite conceivable.

As for Erica, maybe she was also taking Harold’s feelings into consideration, and was taking a stubborn attitude towards him in order to pretend that she disliked him, just like he wished she would. She knew Harold from her childhood; she could basically be classified as a childhood friend of his.
Lifa did not know since when Harold had taken on his arrogant behavior and for how long he had kept it going, but while he did have a perfectionist’s atmosphere to him, he was still flawed, and so was his facade. Upon coming in contact with him for long enough, one would surely have many opportunities to notice the kindness hidden beyond Harold’s clumsy behavior.
That was all the more true for an intelligent person like Erica.

There was no clear basis behind Lifa’s hypothesis.
To come up with this wild idea, she had merely linked the facts that both of them did not seem to behave like themselves. Normally, if Lifa had come up with a theory that made such a huge leap in logic, she would laugh it off and wouldn’t concern herself with it.
Nevertheless, she could not cast aside her idea precisely because it was still just a hypothesis. Because if by any chance these assumptions turned out to be true or just close to the truth, then Erica might get scarred for her whole life.

The crucial point here was: how much did Erica know about Harold’s situation?
Considering that Harold was trying to keep Erica away, and that she did not want to go against his wish, then she probably was not aware that he did not have much time left to live. The best reason to think so was that, the first time Lifa came to the Sumeragi territory with Harold, he had forbidden her to speak about his life span.

No matter how one looked at her, Erica was not the type to put her feelings of hatred on the surface. She was only human, so, there had to be times when she would get angry, and there had to be some people that she actually disliked within her mind; But there was no doubt that she would hide those kinds of feelings under a smile and behave herself on the outside.
Then why did she not do that only when it came to Harold? Wasn’t it because that was what Harold wanted?

If so, then that meant they were both subduing their real feelings for each-other’s sake.
The reason Lifa thought so was that, knowing Erica’s nature, it seemed unlikely for her to truly dislike Harold.

Five of the six members of the team that was traveling together, in other words, everyone except for Erica, had a favorable opinion of Harold; they were a very unusual group. But even though they were certainly a strange bunch, Erica was still willing to seriously listen to their opinions and consider them.
Yet, only when it came to Harold, she was obstinate in saying that he was evil, and she was not willing to change her views; that was way too strange and too unfitting of Erica’s character in Lifa’s eyes. Even when Liner and Colette tried to persuade her by telling her “Harold is not the man that the rumors make him out to be”, Erica persisted, saying “There is no understanding that man’s true nature.”.

It was as if she was trying to advertise to her surroundings that “Erica Sumeragi hates Harold stokes”. To Lifa, it felt like there was no way Erica would use such substanceless words just because of her own personal hatred.
It was safe to think that she was just putting on such an act because she had some particular circumstances, and what if those circumstances were that, for Harold’s sake, she was taking on the attitude that he wanted her to take?

In that case, then if Harold were to die, would Erica’s heart be able to bear it? While Lifa had managed to keep quiet despite knowing that Harold did not have much time left to live, she believed that even she would be crushed and unable to bear it if he were to actually die.

However if she were to tell the truth to Erica here, then she would be breaking her promise with Harold…

【”I can’t do that….”】

Lifa let those words escape her as she sighed.
Then, a voice came at her completely defenseless back.

【”Can’t do what?”】

【”Ah…!”】

Lifa almost instinctively screamed because of that surprise attack, but she had somehow managed to stop that reflex.
However, her excessive surprise was not due to the sudden appearance of the voice, rather, it was because of the owner of said voice.

【”W, what is it, Erica?”】

【”It’s time to switch places for the night watch.”】

【”Huh? Really? Isn’t it still too early?”】

【”No no, it’s already time….”】

Upon being told that, Lifa consulted her watch. As Erica had said, there were only a few minutes left before she would have to switch places with her.
It seemed like Lifa had been considerably absorbed in her thoughts. Moreover, it looked like Liner, who was keeping watch with her, had fallen asleep. She had apparently been too engrossed in her thoughts to notice that.

【”Oh, it’s true. I’m sorry, I forgot to wake you up.”】

【”Don’t worry about that. But it looks like you have something on your mind….”】

【”Oh….”】

It would be difficult for Lifa to say frankly and unreservedly that she was worried about the relationship between Harold and Erica. That would be akin to walking straight into a minefield.
Besides, she had promised Harold that she wouldn’t talk about the matter concerning his life span. Above all, even if she tried to question Erica in an upfront manner about their relationship, she likely would not get an answer. But even so, it didn’t fit Lifa’s nature to just stand and watch without doing anything.
So, she was going to start the discussion from another direction. “This is probably none of my business but I have to do it”, while thinking that, Lifa confirmed that everyone other than Erica and herself was asleep, and she then started talking.

【”…Erica, is there someone you’re in love with?”】

<=Chapter 97                                                 Index                                             Chapter 99=>

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Comments for chapter "Chapter 98"

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121 Comments

  1. marvoch

    I sad you decided to not retranslate the first chapters of the novel :\ They are truly hard to read. Anyway, congrats on having caught the raws, am curious to see what you’ll pick up.

    December 19, 2017 at 11:13 pm
    Reply
  7. Tabeleta

    “Aaaand with this, I’ve officially caught up with the author”
    “caught up with the author”
    “up with the author”
    “with the author”
    “the author”
    “author”

    …………………

    NOOOOOOOOOOO!

    December 19, 2017 at 11:44 pm
    Reply
  12. Chaox

    Thanks for your hard work. Could you please consider kaetekite mo fantasy ??? Someone actually translate it with neo translation already but it has been 2 months ever since the last chapter. So I think you may ask them for more info. Thanks again in advance 🙂

    December 20, 2017 at 1:04 am
    Reply
  18. TrueHistoria

    Thanks for the chapter and I would like to recommend the following:

    1. Assassin’s Pride
    – Merida Angel is a woman who does not have any mana. She studies at a certain academy as a noble. Bullying and discrimination serve as her day-to-day struggle because she was depicted as being untalented. Meanwhile, A man whose job occupation is an assassin, namely, Kufa Vanpiel, was given an assignment: to tutor a certain woman, and that woman was none other than Merida. The objective of Kufa’s mission was to awaken her mana, but if there were unsuccessful results amid applying all the measures, there is only one thing to do: dispose of her.

    https://www.novelupdates.com/series/assassins-pride/

    2. The Golden Word Master
    – Hiiro Okamura was summoned to a different world along with his four classnates. But in that world, the ones responsible for the Hero summoning were only expecting four heroes, and then Hiiro’s title was became ‘Innocent Bystander’. The book-loving student immediately decided to seperate from his four heroes classmates and go on an adventure by himself because he was uninterested in a ‘heroes-save-the-world’ thing — that explains his title, but what lies within him was a unique magic called ‘Word Nagic’ the power to embody the image of a word.

    https://www.novelupdates.com/series/konjiki-no-moji-tsukai/

    3. Goodbye Dragon Life, Hello Human Life
    – Dran is a human born as a child of a farmer. But before, he was the oldest dragon who decided to accept his death as heroes came for his life. When his soul was adrift, it suddenly reborn into a human baby! And now, he is possessing enormous amounts of power due to his soul being a dragon. Join Dran as he encounters various creatures then later enters the magic academy.

    https://www.novelupdates.com/series/sayonara-ryuusei-konnichiwa-jinsei/

    4. Defiled Hero
    – Izayoi was a thirteen years old boy who was called into another world then faught as a hero there for three years. After years of fighting, he was betrayed by his most trusted person, his master. Five years later, he, who was supposed to have died, was summoned once again into the world where he was betrayed. Thereafter, he chose to discard his past and decided to travel the world while hiding his background.

    http://www.novelupdates.com/series/defiled-hero/

    December 20, 2017 at 3:12 am
    Reply
  21. Fourteen Hour

    Lifa… just tell erica already..

    i will wait next chapter even i will wait for long time… this novel is epic..

    Thank you defiring for your work so far

    December 20, 2017 at 4:07 am
    Reply
  24. Some Guy

    Well, if you’re willing to hear my suggestion, take a look at Unparalleled Path ~ Reincarnated as the AI for a Space Battleship ~, aka ???????????????AI???????.

    It’s about an AI of a battleship that goes crazy and decides it’s a reincarnated teenage boy from Japan (because Isekai). The MC AI must protect his crew, his inexperienced teenage captain cum princess (because Japan), and return home. He can do this because, as a crazy AI, he can ignore the “AI’s gone crazy” fail safes (which seems like a bit of a design flaw), and because he’s a battleship.

    The translator only got 15 updates in before disappearing, but it’s an interesting enough setup, and I’m not saying that because it’s in spaaaace (yes I am). OP as he might be, he’s still vulnerable, and as a battleship, the odds of a harem forming around him is limited. Unless he starts dating a destroyer, or something.

    The story can drag on, however, and Novel Updates calls it amateur hour The Lost Fleet. Still, the author’s updating, and it’s not just another story about a teenage boy stuck in an unknown world full of overeager girls and comparative weaklings. Yet.

    December 20, 2017 at 6:02 am
    Reply
  27. T.A.

    Thanks for your hard work. It’s great that the English tl catching up with the raw, but this empty feeling, seeing no more chapter soon enough to see the next development kind of unpleasant but nobody can help it, just hope the author still intended to continue. Thanks again hope you won’t lose the willingness to translate the future chapters, which will be great, thanks for your hard work.

    December 20, 2017 at 6:53 am
    Reply
  28. HFZ

    My recommendations:
    Miniature Garden Chemister
    Drop!!??A Tale of the Fragrance Princess?
    Riot Grasper

    though I am hoping for a story with MC similar to harold

    December 20, 2017 at 7:02 am
    Reply
  32. 3f3

    Thanks for all your hard work!

    I would like to recommend
    The Inner Palace Tale of a Villainess Noble Girl (????????)

    And my other recommendations (if someday the translator officialy decide to drop it)
    Ascendance of a Bookworm (???????)
    Isekai Tensei Soudouki (???????? )
    Drop!!?A Tale of the Fragrance Princess? (????????????????)
    The Magician Wants Normality (?????????)

    December 20, 2017 at 12:32 pm
    Reply
  33. Anonymous

    Could you possibly translate Tsuyokute New Saga? It’s such a great work but it got dropped for some reason in February and was never picked back up.

    December 20, 2017 at 2:07 pm
    Reply
  35. ??

    Omg noooo
    Haroldddd
    … also, I have no recommendations but I wonder if there are any novels where the MC is like Harold… I really like his character, it’s fresh and well thought-out.

    December 20, 2017 at 8:59 pm
    Reply
  36. IAmHere

    Thanks for your hard work!

    Can you perhaps take a look at Common Sense of a Duke’s Daughter if it is to your liking to translate?

    December 20, 2017 at 9:34 pm
    Reply
  37. Phlegmatic

    Thanks for the translation.
    I recommend translating novel “???????????? / http://mypage.syosetu.com/151239/” for the authorship of Nanasawa Matari. It the short story is short, so it will not take you much time. He wrote such interesting works as The Girl Who Ate a Death God; The Girl Who Bore the Flame Ring; Yuusha, Aruiwa Bakemono to Yobareta Shoujo.
    So that you will not regret.

    December 20, 2017 at 9:40 pm
    Reply
  39. logitechf1f4

    Thanks for the chapter 🙂
    And for LN suggestion, I would like for you to translate Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden. It’s a very good series. Too bad the original translator stop it years ago. Pretty please ??

    December 21, 2017 at 3:57 am
    Reply
  42. notrainbow

    Thanks so much for the translation! Just finished binge reading it today.

    Well there are two amazing light novels in my reading list which have very sadly been abandoned, and I’m not expecting you to actually translate any of these, but here goes nothing :

    – Zaregoto : https://www.novelupdates.com/series/zaregoto/
    Written by nisioisin (monogatari series author), really great detective mystery novel with lots of psychological reflections and great plot twists. Sadly it is very underrated.

    – Maoyuu Maou Yuusha :
    https://www.novelupdates.com/series/maoyuu-maou-yuusha/
    One of the best novel I have read, really intelligent novel with great plot and ideas. So close to ending, about 5 chapters more, but the current translator has stopped for 6 months with no updates. Yes there’s an anime adaptation (which is just cancerous), and manga adaptation which is really great, but the novel is just better. Please let this novel be finished… (Well the chances of this happening is very very low I guess, but I still hope this gets translated to the end)

    December 21, 2017 at 6:48 pm
    Reply
  46. alec157 -

    Thanks for the chap.
    It would be lovely if you could translate honkyetsu kyokai no eden. It is a great series sadly it was dropped by many translators and i would love to see it continued

    December 22, 2017 at 5:58 pm
    Reply
  50. appreciativeleecher

    This is going to be very interesting. I wonder what Erica will say ?

    So that sword DOES have a life affecting downside. Interesting.

    Doesn’t it seem like chain mail wouldn’t stop people with the level of powers these guys have? I suppose it could be magical chain mail..

    Thanks fir the chapter ? It’s sad that it might be awhile before we see this again.

    December 27, 2017 at 12:06 am
    Reply
  60. HS

    So Apparently the author has a habit of leaving Web Novels unfinished. I checked and he has 3 other web novels, and all three of them haven’t had new chapters posted for the last three years while being unfinished. In short, he left them in limbo. It’s been a year since he properly posted for this Series, but I still sincerely hope he doesn’t leave us hanging. It’s a great series and it deserves a proper end.

    February 7, 2018 at 6:30 am
    Reply
  61. Anonymous

    Have you considered translating Falling in Love with the Villainess? It’s by far my favorite web novel and the current translators stopped recently.

    February 11, 2018 at 7:04 am
    Reply
  74. SSS

    Harold… why aren’t you thinking that this is very important experience fighting the strongest of knights… and Justus seems like he’s not racking his brains enough…
    Why are the other main characters from the hero’s party all so fixated on knowing about him???

    December 22, 2018 at 3:41 pm
    Reply
  75. RKADE 14

    Well, Harold should get a lot of EXP after taking Vincent down, also, everyone, Lifa in particular, are curious about Harold while the person in question is doing his best to save the world, or, he’s trying to set things up so that the world get’s saved due to him messing it up.

    January 20, 2019 at 3:53 pm
    Reply
  76. Zenith

    Oh dear, oh dear, that sword shortening his lifespan was for real? At least he can choose when to use the power, but… Now the only way I can see this ending is as a tragedy…

    June 12, 2019 at 9:22 am
    Reply

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