Karma
Karma
The time I spent in that imperial city whose name I still didn't know wasn't very long. It was thanks to Esmue's royal guard stubbornly breaking through that torrential downpour, locating the Demon King's Army's stronghold, and reducing it to ash within a single day.
I hadn't been able to obtain any additional information right away, but I heard from Esmue that the number of captured prisoners wasn't small and it was worth looking forward to, while I was moving through portals and gates to return to the capital.
While Ragnis was proudly showing off to Asilie how she had changed back into the Levien family uniform she'd prepared again, we were moving under tight escort by Esmue's royal guard who had returned to the city; naturally, gazes from all around poured onto us, but Esmue paid them no mind whatsoever and spoke as usual.
"Unless the Demonfolk's technology has advanced to a level beyond imagination, I am considering that they snuck in through the sea."
The seas of this world were more dangerous than the land.
I, too, as an inland person, had never actually seen the sea myself, but just from the information I'd encountered reading various books while staying at the Ogatorf estate, it was dangerous enough that I didn't want to go out on the sea.
If you told people passing by the stories of now, they'd consider it the ravings of a madman rather than take it seriously. Even if Demonfolk possessed physical abilities far superior to humans, drowning to death was exactly the same.
Normally, I would have shown a similar reaction, but this time there was something I could guess, so I was able to seriously go along with Esmue's words.
"They might have sneaked in through the breach at Mandeli Port."
Since there were many eyes watching, I answered using honorifics, and all three women looked at me as if surprised.
"Hm? You're surprisingly well-informed."
"Yeah. I didn't think you'd know."
"I had a chance to hear about it by coincidence recently."
I never thought that conversation with the kind Garun would help me here. In mourning his death, if I ever see that sex offender Dantel bastard again, I'll beat him up one more time regardless of the reason.
"At any rate, normally I would have considered it truly absurd, but as you say, this time it is a plausible story. It seems they planned to return via a gate."
Esmue and the royal guard guessed that, just like how the academy's gate had collapsed the moment I entered, they intended to return to the Demonfolk Territory and then destroy the remaining gate. They said that thanks to the royal guard's surprise attack, the constructed gate could be preserved intact, so it would be revealed with time.
"Your merit this time is so great that no one can say anything. If it were up to me, I would want to grant you a title right this instant, but unfortunately, since you are a citizen of Itisel, it is a difficult situation right now."
Whether it was a matter of form and procedure or something else, one of the conditions that didn't put a brake on Esmue's sudden moves was the handover of my custody.
I tilted my head, wondering what kind of bizarre condition that was since I was a citizen of Itisel from the start, and Ragnis explained it to me.
"You're the guy who beat the Hero at the academy, killed the Young Lion of Rudra, and on top of that, even thwarted an attempt to kidnap the imperial princess. From the Empire's perspective, even if they'd get some criticism diplomatically for being shameless, it's not a situation where they couldn't choose to unilaterally grant you a title and accept you as an imperial citizen."
The gaze Ragnis shot Esmue while saying that seemed to contain other reasons she couldn't voice in a public setting.
Those were things I could easily guess. Knowing Esmue's personality, if there had been such an opportunity, she would definitely have tried it right away.
"Hm. It is endlessly regrettable."
Sure enough, Esmue just smiled faintly and offered no denial.
While we were having that conversation, unlike the others who held official positions, Asilie, who only had a personal friendship with me, had her arms folded comfortably and said with a beaming smile.
"It hasn't even been two years, but you've grown so much. You beat the Hero. That's my Eldi."
"They say he didn't even learn that hard. With this incident too, in a few months I might not be able to beat him?"
"That sort of thing, if you win once and then never fight him again, you win forever."
"That's Asilie for you. A clear answer."
'Indeed, she is the mentor of my life and a true intellectual. How does she come up with such desirable ideas?'
◈
After enjoying a brief moment of peace and chatting, we had to pack our bags hurriedly as soon as we returned to the capital, with no time to talk slowly.
That was because I heard from Renisa that as soon as my personal safety and health were confirmed, word came from Itisel. At any other time, they would have been wary of the Empire, but since it was merely fulfilling a condition already set, Itisel seemed to have no hesitation at all.
'In the end, it was just us who had to rush back and suffer.' I nearly lost my temper for a moment because they gave a one-sided notification telling us to come by tomorrow, but it wouldn't do Ragnis any good, so I just decided to hurry.
Unlike us, Radnelbandes apparently decided to stay longer in the Empire using personal status and Jideulli as an excuse. Honestly, we had come together at the start, but after that, it was so hard to even see his face that I didn't even know if he was still there.
"Yo. Running yourself ragged, huh?"
While I was preparing in a frenzy, Zeke waved his hand and casually visited as if it were his own house, around the time the sun was almost setting.
"Who's saying it's not? The Hero has been negligent, so poor me is left cleaning up the mess before leaving."
"I was already sorry, what do I do if you hit the nail on the head like that?"
"What are you sorry about? It's not like Hero started the war."
I'd just thrown out a joke, but Zeke made a face like he was seriously bothered, so I was dumbfounded and added a word.
"It was just a joke, so don't overthink it, just say your goodbyes and go. It seems like we'll see each other again soon anyway."
Esmue was determined to commend this incident as soon as things were settled in Itisel, so we'd see each other again whether I liked it or not.
But Zeke, as if he really felt sorry, was hemming and hawing pathetically.
"I heard it was dangerous this time. They said if it weren't for you, Esmue might really have been kidnapped. Not to mention you could've died."
"Ah! I said I'd tell you about that, I almost forgot. Seriously, you should have seen that crazy bastard too, Hero. I'm telling you, attacks didn't work on him!"
If nothing else, I intended to tell everyone I could about that red-haired Demonfolk. I didn't want to believe there were two such cursed bastards in the world, but similar cases could happen anytime. Honestly, if the Hero had run into such a serious situation without knowing and gotten himself killed, it would be a disaster. I wondered if I had only been able to kill him because it was me.
Suddenly I listed off the guy's personal info, and Zeke listened attentively though bewildered.
"Anyway, if you ever sense anything like that, you have to run without looking back. There's no pride or anything in that."
"No, but how did you kill him?"
"That's a trade secret, so I can't tell you. Don't look at me like that? If I thought Hero could replicate it, I would have told you right away."
'If I said I could use Magic Power like those Demonfolk bastards, it was obvious I'd get tangled up in a lot more shitty things than good ones. Even though Zeke was the Hero and a fellow reincarnator, it still wasn't something I could tell him yet.'
Fortunately, Zeke didn't press further, accepted it, and moved on to another topic.
"More than that... I heard you heard from Esmue."
"I don't really like a man teasingly probing me. What is it?"
"Ah, shit. About me being uncooperative with the Empire."
I'd been wondering why this guy kept glancing at me so annoyingly, and it turned out he was talking about the conversation from that meal last time.
"Is that why you've been acting so awkward? If you're sorry, then start training hard from now on. If that's what you can do after just two months, you'll be flying around soon."
"...Is that really all? You don't care at all?"
"Didn't Esmue tell you? Ragnis and I have never particularly expected anything from the existence called the Hero. If we had no expectations, what does it matter whether Hero played or did anything?"
'The reason I'd guessed and gotten pissed off by myself before first visiting the Empire was purely a deep anger from the possibility that there were beings who would exploit this nationwide crisis for their own selfish gain.'
'And I had been angry under the assumption that the Hero was a person of this world. The current situation had no connection to Zeke or the Empire.'
"The Hero receiving the oracle as the Hero... was that when I was 12? I keep getting confused when it was. Anyway, it was around then, while our village burned down when I was 8. If you want to point fingers, shouldn't you be questioning the god who picked a young Hero as the Hero four years later?"
Of course, other people wouldn't think that way. If they heard the Hero had practically wasted several years, they might have a fit.
But that would be no different even if the Hero had trained hard and become strong. Because the Hero doesn't protect the continent alone; somewhere without the Hero, someone is bound to die.
Even if a fairy-tale hero or a fantasy Hero really existed, this place was still reality in the end.
'In reality, nothing is perfect. Even the gods weren't perfect, so they picked a guy like Zeke as the Hero.'
"Of course, most other people won't think that way, but we don't care about that sort of thing, so just be yourself. When you go to the battlefield in earnest, you'll have to face people's resentment even more directly, so what is this already?"
"...Thanks."
"For fuck's sake, seriously."
It was so creepy and didn't suit him that I punched him in the shoulder, but Zeke smiled even while clutching the spot.