「Chapter 030」
Translator: Silver
Well, things were getting interesting.
“Kai-kun, I didn’t get anything. I want something, too.”
“Oh, that’s right, Rue was the primary victim. What shall we do?”
Rue was a little too blunt.
She was acting as if she couldn’t hear the noise behind us.
“King, you can forget about that last request. Rue wants something else.”
“That’s rather sudden…… are you saying you don’t need the right you just asked for?”
“I want it, but I have to take Rue’s opinion into consideration.”
“Hmm, then, in addition to the right, We shill offer lady Rue something as well.”
“Oh! You’re really generous, En-kun.”
She addressed the king the same way she did me.
Do you see the king and I in the same way? I couldn’t stop a slightly forced smile from appearing on my face.
“King! That man took the lord of Saltberg’s son hostage and held him at ransom! Also, the monster tide in Maine Valley coincided with his arrival there! He is the culprit!”
Ah, it seems that the incident in Saltberg had been misinterpreted.
As for Maine Valley, his grudge led him to believe I was the mastermind behind everything.
Indeed, my arrival in Maine Valley almost perfectly matched the sudden uptick in monster sightings when I thought about it.
“Furthermore! The guardian who was supposed to have sealed the Star was missing! He must’ve killed them! The gatekeepers at Saltberg said that he just appeared out of the forest one day.”
Yes, here it was.
You just said something you should’ve.
When you said guardian, did you mean Rue? There was no other humanoid living there.
Perhaps, like the goddess legend, that information was passed down by someone who visited the area in the past.
I whispered into Rue’s ear to confirm my suspensions.
“Rue, did anyone venture deep into the forest in the past?”
“Yeah, a few did. I didn’t know if they came looking for the seventh Star or not, but I couldn’t bring myself to see them get hurt, so I sent them back where they came from.”
I see I see.
In other words, this guy just said I killed Rue, didn’t he?
“King, can I exercise my right at this moment?”
“Hmm. As expected, they called this person. If possible, We would like you to cooperate with him regarding the seven stars…… is that impossible?”
“Of course. It would be impossible at this rate.”
“……He is strong, but We are sorry.”
I understand. He wasn’t that bright.
But, where did those three girls disappear to?
“That’s not all! The guild president already announced it! He forced his way into receiving a new rank!”
“That’s fine, isn’t it? I just asked for it.”
“Everything about him is strange! In the first place, he’s the Demon King. Aren’t he and his demons the enemy?!”
Hey, that was defamatory to all demons.
Was this guy for real?
“Hmm. Ren, what do you think we should do?”
“That……We should capture and defeat him.”
“Hmm. You mean to arrest without any evidence?”
“If it’s evidence, I just presented it! Didn’t he just ask for the right to freely kill people?!”
“No. We didn’t say a word about indiscriminately killing.”
The fact that the king, who was supposed to take his side, didn’t acknowledge his opinion seemed to upset Ren.
His hand rested on his sword’s hilt, only the understanding of the royal place’s rules, kept the blade sheathed at the moment.
Well, what now?
“Kai-kun, isn’t he no good anymore?”
“What to do? I’m trying to figure out how to handle this.”
“Well. Calm down, Ren. Let us hear the full story before We act.”
“Your highness!”
“This is an order. We just want to hear the full details of your story. We shill discuss this matter shorty.”
“T-Then……”
In the end, he left the room with a triumphant smile on his face, which caused the king to let out a deep sigh.
You’re having a hard time, aren’t you, king? To pick someone like that, your luck must be terrible.
“……We are sorry. Is it possible to hear your side of the story first?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind.”
I didn’t bring up anything related to dragon god and simply explained the Saltberg incident.
The king asked about my origins, but I simply said that I came from a distant land and crossed through the forest on my way to Saltberg.
Apparently, many demons were living in Hokuniku. Even if I wasn’t from there precisely, it wasn’t that strange to claim that I came from that region.
Surprisingly, demons were masterful shipbuilders and often set up communities within every country that were hard to reach by land.
……Was that a dwarf position or a demon position?
“Hmm, so the Maine Valley guild master and president Oink will collaborate your story?”
“Oink should’ve taken a magic carriage when she left to conduct her investigation, so maybe she came back the same time as Ren-kun.”
“W-Well, I suppose…….”
For some reason, the king stubbed over his words and had a terrible look on his face.
Do you hate speaking to Oink that much?
“In any case, I now understand the full story. Based on what you said and Ren’s story…….”
“Look at his expression.”
“Haha, do you understand?”
“Ah, En-kun, I know what I want. I want the same card Kai-kun has.”
Could you please read the mood?!
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
“It seems that I have a lot of troublesome things to deal with after my inspection. What shall I do?”
“Before that, that Ren kid…… No, can’t you do something about Ren?”
“That’s impossible. A child like that won’t change unless they’re forced to face reality at least once.”
I was currently speaking with Oink, who’d just returned from her inspection, in one of the castle’s guest rooms.
Apparently, she met Ren along her journey, and he asked about me.
He also asked for a black card.
After parting ways with Oink, Ren made contact with the lord of Saltberg first and swallowed what that guy said hook, line, and sinker. Thus, he disregarded everything Oink said afterward.
He started spouting nonsense about the guild making the wrong decision and that his strength wasn’t properly evaluated.
“I understand that part, but how did I end up having to fight him?”
“Ranran♪”
“Don’t try to bull-shit me. You throw this mess into my lap.”
This guy had a brief meeting with the king before they off-loaded an annoying problem to me.
She basically said, “If you want the rank, try defeating Kaivon.”.
I wanted to wipe that disgustingly smug smile off her face no matter what it cost me.
“No, I won’t kill him. The king has forbidden it.”
“……I wonder what that brat really wants.”
“Do you me Ren? Or the king?”
“The king. He used to be a part of the guild before he succeeded the throne. Jeez.”
“Well, can’t we just tell him the truth? What do we have to lose? Then he’ll have to listen to us.”
“It’s the king’s job to deal with their hero. It’s unrelated to me.”
“You ran a massive organization in this country, and you have to work with the various lords…… Cooperate.”
“I am a pig. I don’t know how to do that.”
Silence.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
When I returned to the room provided to me, Rue was getting bored and immediately ran up to me.
“Kai-kun, you’re gonna have another duel. It’s not because of me again, right?”
“That’s right, also, congratulations on getting your guild card.”
“Fufu, it’s the same as Kai-kun’s card. I really have to thank Oink.”
She claimed that she was indispensable in catching a serial killer, and Oink approved of her promotion.
Rue would receive her new card at a later date.
Actually, Rue was the one that forced the issue.
Oink said, “If you’re acting with bonbon anyway, you’ll receive the same benefits.”.
Also, this duel wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
He was a liberator who received special powers after being summoned to this world.
In other words, Ren was the best subject for my experimentation.
Besides, I haven’t had a decent personal battle, and he’s the perfect opponent.
As for the king’s request to not kill?
In the first place, I wasn’t emotionally invested enough to want to kill Ren. I’m just an observer that came across a target that caught my interest.
Unlike me, that kid was suddenly pulled into a strange world before adulthood and was suddenly given a world-altering mission. I can overlook a few of his shortcomings.
His claim that I had killed Rue angered me, but he didn’t know he was doing that when he spoke up.
……Honestly, he seemed rather pitiful in my eyes.
“The duel will be held in the palace’s courtyard this evening. Kai-kun, can you show this person the strength of the real ‘Liberator’?”
“Sure. But, I need to handle this properly, so expect a degree of moderately on my part, alright?”
“……I suppose that makes sense, but can you win like that?”
“Yes, yes.”
Now, let’s get a little swordsmanship practice in.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
After finishing the lunch brought to my room, I was allowed to return to my inn.
A familiar trio appeared after I left the palace.
“Hey, why did you come out! What happened to Ren?!”
“Huh? Oh, you guys didn’t go in? Hold on a second.”
I showed my guild card to the gatekeepers and asked them to let the group in.
Since they were the liberator’s followers, it was good to keep them all together.
“There, you can go inside now. You can ask Ren about the details.”
“Why did you……what do you mean?”
“Um, excuse me. Is it true that you’re an evil demon king?”
The girl that always seemed on the verge of tears looked like she wasn’t entirely convinced of what she’d been told.
Even with such a tearful expression, she asked mustered up the courage to ask that question.
I can’t, with confidence, say that I was a good person, but I’m not an evil devil.
“Kai-kun is a good demon king.”
“I don’t remember admitting to being a demon king.”
“But you’re a demon…… a powerful one.”
“Well, I don’t know if you’re a superior demon or anything, but don’t think that you can beat Ren! It would not be about rank if you were to compete with actual ability――”
“Okay, okay, go inside and meet with Ren-kun. Your older brother has some business to take care of, so excuse me.”
That teary-eyed girl was called Raina, wasn’t she? I didn’t know the names of the other two.
Since they got in, they should be present for the dual.
“Kai-kun, you have a bad look on your face. Are you an evil demon after all?”
“Well, you’re not a good person, are you?”
Wasn’t it a common trope for the hero to have a last-minute awakening, with their companions prompting, and strike down the demon king! Was such a heroic development awaiting me?!
「Chapter 030」
Translator: Silver
Well, things were getting interesting.
“Kai-kun, I didn’t get anything. I want something, too.”
“Oh, that’s right, Rue was the primary victim. What shall we do?”
Rue was a little too blunt.
She was acting as if she couldn’t hear the noise behind us.
“King, you can forget about that last request. Rue wants something else.”
“That’s rather sudden…… are you saying you don’t need the right you just asked for?”
“I want it, but I have to take Rue’s opinion into consideration.”
“Hmm, then, in addition to the right, We shill offer lady Rue something as well.”
“Oh! You’re really generous, En-kun.”
She addressed the king the same way she did me.
Do you see the king and I in the same way? I couldn’t stop a slightly forced smile from appearing on my face.
“King! That man took the lord of Saltberg’s son hostage and held him at ransom! Also, the monster tide in Maine Valley coincided with his arrival there! He is the culprit!”
Ah, it seems that the incident in Saltberg had been misinterpreted.
As for Maine Valley, his grudge led him to believe I was the mastermind behind everything.
Indeed, my arrival in Maine Valley almost perfectly matched the sudden uptick in monster sightings when I thought about it.
“Furthermore! The guardian who was supposed to have sealed the Star was missing! He must’ve killed them! The gatekeepers at Saltberg said that he just appeared out of the forest one day.”
Yes, here it was.
You just said something you should’ve.
When you said guardian, did you mean Rue? There was no other humanoid living there.
Perhaps, like the goddess legend, that information was passed down by someone who visited the area in the past.
I whispered into Rue’s ear to confirm my suspensions.
“Rue, did anyone venture deep into the forest in the past?”
“Yeah, a few did. I didn’t know if they came looking for the seventh Star or not, but I couldn’t bring myself to see them get hurt, so I sent them back where they came from.”
I see I see.
In other words, this guy just said I killed Rue, didn’t he?
“King, can I exercise my right at this moment?”
“Hmm. As expected, they called this person. If possible, We would like you to cooperate with him regarding the seven stars…… is that impossible?”
“Of course. It would be impossible at this rate.”
“……He is strong, but We are sorry.”
I understand. He wasn’t that bright.
But, where did those three girls disappear to?
“That’s not all! The guild president already announced it! He forced his way into receiving a new rank!”
“That’s fine, isn’t it? I just asked for it.”
“Everything about him is strange! In the first place, he’s the Demon King. Aren’t he and his demons the enemy?!”
Hey, that was defamatory to all demons.
Was this guy for real?
“Hmm. Ren, what do you think we should do?”
“That……We should capture and defeat him.”
“Hmm. You mean to arrest without any evidence?”
“If it’s evidence, I just presented it! Didn’t he just ask for the right to freely kill people?!”
“No. We didn’t say a word about indiscriminately killing.”
The fact that the king, who was supposed to take his side, didn’t acknowledge his opinion seemed to upset Ren.
His hand rested on his sword’s hilt, only the understanding of the royal place’s rules, kept the blade sheathed at the moment.
Well, what now?
“Kai-kun, isn’t he no good anymore?”
“What to do? I’m trying to figure out how to handle this.”
“Well. Calm down, Ren. Let us hear the full story before We act.”
“Your highness!”
“This is an order. We just want to hear the full details of your story. We shill discuss this matter shorty.”
“T-Then……”
In the end, he left the room with a triumphant smile on his face, which caused the king to let out a deep sigh.
You’re having a hard time, aren’t you, king? To pick someone like that, your luck must be terrible.
“……We are sorry. Is it possible to hear your side of the story first?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind.”
I didn’t bring up anything related to dragon god and simply explained the Saltberg incident.
The king asked about my origins, but I simply said that I came from a distant land and crossed through the forest on my way to Saltberg.
Apparently, many demons were living in Hokuniku. Even if I wasn’t from there precisely, it wasn’t that strange to claim that I came from that region.
Surprisingly, demons were masterful shipbuilders and often set up communities within every country that were hard to reach by land.
……Was that a dwarf position or a demon position?
“Hmm, so the Maine Valley guild master and president Oink will collaborate your story?”
“Oink should’ve taken a magic carriage when she left to conduct her investigation, so maybe she came back the same time as Ren-kun.”
“W-Well, I suppose…….”
For some reason, the king stubbed over his words and had a terrible look on his face.
Do you hate speaking to Oink that much?
“In any case, I now understand the full story. Based on what you said and Ren’s story…….”
“Look at his expression.”
“Haha, do you understand?”
“Ah, En-kun, I know what I want. I want the same card Kai-kun has.”
Could you please read the mood?!
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
“It seems that I have a lot of troublesome things to deal with after my inspection. What shall I do?”
“Before that, that Ren kid…… No, can’t you do something about Ren?”
“That’s impossible. A child like that won’t change unless they’re forced to face reality at least once.”
I was currently speaking with Oink, who’d just returned from her inspection, in one of the castle’s guest rooms.
Apparently, she met Ren along her journey, and he asked about me.
He also asked for a black card.
After parting ways with Oink, Ren made contact with the lord of Saltberg first and swallowed what that guy said hook, line, and sinker. Thus, he disregarded everything Oink said afterward.
He started spouting nonsense about the guild making the wrong decision and that his strength wasn’t properly evaluated.
“I understand that part, but how did I end up having to fight him?”
“Ranran♪”
“Don’t try to bull-shit me. You throw this mess into my lap.”
This guy had a brief meeting with the king before they off-loaded an annoying problem to me.
She basically said, “If you want the rank, try defeating Kaivon.”.
I wanted to wipe that disgustingly smug smile off her face no matter what it cost me.
“No, I won’t kill him. The king has forbidden it.”
“……I wonder what that brat really wants.”
“Do you me Ren? Or the king?”
“The king. He used to be a part of the guild before he succeeded the throne. Jeez.”
“Well, can’t we just tell him the truth? What do we have to lose? Then he’ll have to listen to us.”
“It’s the king’s job to deal with their hero. It’s unrelated to me.”
“You ran a massive organization in this country, and you have to work with the various lords…… Cooperate.”
“I am a pig. I don’t know how to do that.”
Silence.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
When I returned to the room provided to me, Rue was getting bored and immediately ran up to me.
“Kai-kun, you’re gonna have another duel. It’s not because of me again, right?”
“That’s right, also, congratulations on getting your guild card.”
“Fufu, it’s the same as Kai-kun’s card. I really have to thank Oink.”
She claimed that she was indispensable in catching a serial killer, and Oink approved of her promotion.
Rue would receive her new card at a later date.
Actually, Rue was the one that forced the issue.
Oink said, “If you’re acting with bonbon anyway, you’ll receive the same benefits.”.
Also, this duel wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
He was a liberator who received special powers after being summoned to this world.
In other words, Ren was the best subject for my experimentation.
Besides, I haven’t had a decent personal battle, and he’s the perfect opponent.
As for the king’s request to not kill?
In the first place, I wasn’t emotionally invested enough to want to kill Ren. I’m just an observer that came across a target that caught my interest.
Unlike me, that kid was suddenly pulled into a strange world before adulthood and was suddenly given a world-altering mission. I can overlook a few of his shortcomings.
His claim that I had killed Rue angered me, but he didn’t know he was doing that when he spoke up.
……Honestly, he seemed rather pitiful in my eyes.
“The duel will be held in the palace’s courtyard this evening. Kai-kun, can you show this person the strength of the real ‘Liberator’?”
“Sure. But, I need to handle this properly, so expect a degree of moderately on my part, alright?”
“……I suppose that makes sense, but can you win like that?”
“Yes, yes.”
Now, let’s get a little swordsmanship practice in.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
After finishing the lunch brought to my room, I was allowed to return to my inn.
A familiar trio appeared after I left the palace.
“Hey, why did you come out! What happened to Ren?!”
“Huh? Oh, you guys didn’t go in? Hold on a second.”
I showed my guild card to the gatekeepers and asked them to let the group in.
Since they were the liberator’s followers, it was good to keep them all together.
“There, you can go inside now. You can ask Ren about the details.”
“Why did you……what do you mean?”
“Um, excuse me. Is it true that you’re an evil demon king?”
The girl that always seemed on the verge of tears looked like she wasn’t entirely convinced of what she’d been told.
Even with such a tearful expression, she asked mustered up the courage to ask that question.
I can’t, with confidence, say that I was a good person, but I’m not an evil devil.
“Kai-kun is a good demon king.”
“I don’t remember admitting to being a demon king.”
“But you’re a demon…… a powerful one.”
“Well, I don’t know if you’re a superior demon or anything, but don’t think that you can beat Ren! It would not be about rank if you were to compete with actual ability――”
“Okay, okay, go inside and meet with Ren-kun. Your older brother has some business to take care of, so excuse me.”
That teary-eyed girl was called Raina, wasn’t she? I didn’t know the names of the other two.
Since they got in, they should be present for the dual.
“Kai-kun, you have a bad look on your face. Are you an evil demon after all?”
“Well, you’re not a good person, are you?”
Wasn’t it a common trope for the hero to have a last-minute awakening, with their companions prompting, and strike down the demon king! Was such a heroic development awaiting me?!
