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I've never really had any aspirations or dreams ever since I was a child.

I grew up in an isolated village on the outskirts of the Ironblood Empire. Back then, staying in a village was a death sentence due to the Great Crusade that was being held against the demon army...

Most aristocrats ruling these particular territories that the villages reside upon vowed to protect them from all harm, but that was just all on paper. The reality of the situation was that they didn't give two shits about whether they live or die under the demon attacks.

But our village was different.

We were blessed with a gentle lord who actually cared about us and did his duty as an aristocrat. Because of this, the early days of my childhood were filled with blissful memories of playing around with my friends.

Looking back at it now, I cherished those moments dearly. But the one that remained deep in my heart despite all these years was my memory of my first crush...the girl named Emilia.

Emilia was without a doubt, the prettiest girl in our village. Her beauty was unmatched and even rivaled those of noble blood. Not to mention her attitude was like that of a saint. She had a certain charisma and charm around her that made everyone love her and reeled in a bunch of boys like a moth to the flame.

I was one of those moths.

We started talking because we needed one more player in order to start with our game, but we popped off pretty well afterward and began hanging out with just the two of us. We began talking more and more, sharing our little embarrassing secrets and before we knew it...I fell in love with her...

It was in those moments when I realized that Emilia was an incredibly smart and ambitious girl...

Kids my age...or hell, even most of the adults in our village would be satisfied with just living another day and enjoying the small pleasures of life as a commoner. Emilia however, wished for more. She wanted to be a successful businesswoman and obtain the same power and prestige as the aristocrats of the Empire...

Now that I think about it now, it also seemed that she wanted more than that...

As a stupid brat, I didn't really understand why Emilia wanted to pursue such a path...but nonetheless, I supported her with her dream.

"I'll help you then! Together, we'll build a super big business empire thingy and we'll take over the entire world!"

With a smile that showed that I was missing a tooth, I reached my hands out to her.

"Pft! You're such a dummy, Damian..."

Despite her harsh words, she let out a bright smile. Foolish as I was, I could tell that her smile back then was different from the ones she would show to anyone else. There was a sparkle behind her gaze, and as she reached for my hands I felt the emotions in her heart...

"You promise? I won't let you go back on your word..."

"O-Of course!"

"Fufu, then it's settled then! You'll be my first and only business partner for life!"~

As she enveloped me with her warm embrace I felt like the happiest man on earth. I already thought of what our life would be like in the future. Once Emilia and I had successfully built our business in the capital we would stay at a mansion located near the beach...we would play around during our days off from managing our enterprise and watch the sunset together.

We'd have three kids in total. I'm not gonna complain about whatever the goddess blesses us with, but two boys and a daughter would be fine. I'd train those snot-nosed brats how to do formwork and I'll spoil my little baby daughter rotten.

Though not exactly the studious type I began to immerse myself in education with Emilia as we thought of what and how we're gonna make our dream business blossom. As the years passed by and we became older I thought that we were finally closer to fulfilling our dream...

But one day...

"Damian...I...I got engaged..."

I got hit it with out of nowhere.

My mouth could only stay agape as my mind tried to process whatever the hell she just said.

"E-Engaged? To who?..."

"...Lord Elwrick's first son."

Lord Elwrick was the name of the aristocrat who was managing the territory that our village was in. He was a kind and gentle man who cared for his subjects, and his first son was definitely an apple that didn't fall far from the tree.

Blessed with a handsome face, a talent for swordsmanship, and an intellect that got him into one of the top universities of the Empire. I'd met the guy once and with his gentle attitude, the thought of me serving his family crossed my mind...

Even if I'm nothing more than a commoner, I'd also heard that he was a hot topic among the inner circles of the Imperial nobility.

Many of them would literally kill to have him give their daughter even a scrap of his attention.

And now, Emilia was engaged to such a man.

I was immediately able to put the pieces of the puzzle together...but it was still a hard pill to swallow...

"...I-Is there any way I'd be able to change your mind?"

"...I'm sorry, Damian."

I knew deep down that I already lost. Putting aside the fact that those two seemed to be made for each other, the moment that Emilia marries the Elwrick family she would be set for a smooth sailing life. She'd also be able to easily establish the business empire that she so wishes because of the connections of the Elwrick family.

But even so, I desperately begged her to stay.

I told her that I was better suited for her despite everyone knowing that's not the case.

I guilt-tripped her, asking why she kept me around and if she was juts going to toss me aside the moment some rich hunk came into the mix. I even told her some unfounded rumors about how the first son of Elwrick was a womanizer, despite knowing that such a thing was not true. I was desperate.

I wanted her to stay...

I don't want her to leave me alone...

It was a pathetic scene, one so disgusting that I couldn't even forget it after all these years...

Despite all my attempts, Emilia seemed to be set on marrying him. While I didn't want to believe it then, it seemed that she had also fallen in love with him...

"Goodbye..."

She left these words to me as she vanished from my life.

A couple of months after their marriage, rumors of Emilia's life spread towards the village. It seemed that she was living happily with the Elwricks, with stories of her opening up her first cafe store in the capital which seemed to be a huge hit.

"..."

I wanted to be happy for her, I really did. But whenever I heard those rumors back then It only felt like a huge stake was stabbed into my heart. I wanted to be the man who'd stay by her side, but such a dream was way far off now.

Unable to bear the emotions swirling in my heart, I wanted to be as far away from our hometown as well as the Imperial mainland, where Emilia now resides. I wanted to focus my mind on something to forget about the pain in my heart...

And so, I enlisted to be a soldier for the war effort against the demons.

I was hoping to be assigned to the front lines so that I would always be bombarded by action, not giving me time to think about my pathetic heartbreak. As luck would have it, I was not only assigned to the front lines...but I was sent to the deadliest war front against the demons.

After a measly two weeks of training, I was sent to a guerilla unit that specializes in ambushing the supply chains of the demon army.

It was hard at first. I mean, we were basically a suicide squad that dives deep into enemy territory with barely any support and live off the land while trying to ambush demons with piss-poor equipment.

Deep down, I had wished for my end to come about in these suicide missions...at least me dying a glorious death in battle would be far better than wallowing in my sorrows...

But oddly enough I would always survive to live another day and slit the throat of another demon general. Somewhere down the line, I became so infamous on the battlefield that I was basically given the nickname;

"The cockroach..."

A persistent little bug that somehow survives whatever the world throws at it.

I'd honestly rather die than have a reputation of being compared with a bug. I became so frustrated with this fact that I personally requested my boss to assign me to tougher missions in the hopes of putting me out if my misery.

Even then, I would still somehow find a way to survive.

And while I had a couple of suspicions as to why, I think the main reason for this being the case was because of one mage.

"Yo, cockroach...I see you're still kicking..."

As I hid myself in the mud after assassinating another big shot at the demon army and being chased down by a couple hundred bloodthirsty demons, I heard a voice call to me from the side.

I turned my head to see a woman with gray hair who was wearing the usual black attire of the Imperial mage-corps, with an oversized witch hat that seemed to compensate for her petite figure. Her ashen hair fluttered with the wind while her golden eyes seemingly glistened with excitement as she looked down at me with a condescending smile.

"Guinevere..."

Like myself, she was also an infamous figure who gained a nickname on the battlefield. Though unlike mine, hers was definitely more menacing.

"The Magus of Calamity..."