Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: But I'm a Man?
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"Ah, Adrian?"
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
I hadn't exactly died or anything.
Still, showing up so suddenly like this might have startled her that much.
Because of the altered past, the demon race's prophecy had vanished, so there was no reason for him to come to the academy anymore.
I'd figured he was living well as a prince back in the royal palace.
"Do you... remember?"
The Demon King had told me.
She herself didn't remember the unchanged past. But she knew someone who did.
"Ah, luckily enough, my memories came back."
Just as I'd expected, Adrian nodded with that same sly smile as always.
And he took a seat next to the Demon King.
"Mm, now that we're all here, shall we get started?"
Reynesis flashed a satisfied smile as she glanced back and forth between me and Adrian, then spoke up.
In response, I eyed them both with a tense expression.
This was an unimaginable pairing, so I had no idea what they might say.
The Demon King and Adrian.
From my perspective, these two—who had been enemies—had come to see me together.
"It's about this, Ken."
Adrian was the one who opened the conversation.
He smiled faintly, but his eyes were suddenly serious as he looked at me.
There was a strange weight to his voice.
"His Majesty and I came to ask you to craft a weapon for us."
"...Craft a weapon?"
It was far less dramatic than I'd imagined.
But I still tilted my head in confusion.
"Why ask me of all people to craft a weapon...?"
It was a perfectly reasonable question.
I was just an academy student with basic crafting skills.
In contrast, Adrian and Reynesis.
They were the leaders of the Lillias Kingdom and the Karav Continent—massive powers.
Surely they had master craftsmen around them who were leagues beyond someone like me.
And the one who answered my question wasn't Adrian, but Reynesis.
"Because that weapon has to be one capable of killing my older brother."
"......What?"
In that instant, the air in the room seemed to shift.
Cold sweat trickled down my skin, and a chill ran through me.
For a split second, I sensed massive killing intent from Reynesis's girlish face.
"You heard me right. I pushed my brother aside and took the Demon King's throne, but he's still alive."
"B-But if your goal was the throne, why bother killing him...?"
Of course, whether he lived or died wasn't my concern.
But given the atmosphere, killing her brother—the former Demon King—was no small risk.
Did she really need to go that far...?
"Ken, has anyone else besides me regained their memories?"
Adrian threw in an unexpected question.
"Yes... Emily and Rapne. ...And Mary has her memories back too."
"I see."
Adrian's expression hardened at my answer.
Why...?
And the reason became clear in his next words.
"Arleus, the Demon King who lost his throne... He might have regained his memories too."
His words hit me like a boulder dropping on my chest.
"Th-That means..."
"Yes. Regaining his memories means he remembers the prophecy too. And the days when he was Demon King."
"That's why I've found traces of my brother preparing a rebellion. In the worst case, it could spark a war."
The two spoke calmly.
But I couldn't stay composed.
According to Reynesis, he'd used the prophecy to convince the demons and solidify his claim to the Demon King's throne.
And to fulfill that prophecy, he'd infiltrated the academy with demons multiple times.
When he couldn't find Rapne in the end, the Demon King in the game had even started a war.
If that former Demon King had regained his memories...
Rapne was in danger...
"And Ken, it's only natural we'd ask you to craft the weapon. You're the most skilled artisan I know."
"No, I'm not that great..."
My head was spinning from the shock, so I gave a half-hearted reply.
But Adrian shook his head.
"No need to be modest. I've seen your skills myself. Besides, you can't kill a Demon King with an ordinary weapon."
"The great bloodline of Jaela cannot be slain easily. That's true for me, and for Arleus as well."
"Ken, we need a demon sword—one capable of slaying a high demon of the Demon God's lineage."
That was why the two had come to me.
There were probably other reasons they weren't mentioning.
Reasons like, I probably couldn't refuse such a request.
Asking someone to craft a weapon to kill the king of the demons. An ordinary crafter might balk in fear.
The Demon King was that terrifying an existence.
Legendary swords carry the name of their maker.
If that sword felled the Demon King, his subordinates might hold a grudge and come after the crafter.
But a crafter with a compelling reason to kill the Demon King, like Adrian and Reynesis...
Such a crafter would be perfect for this job.
And I was probably the only one.
"...But I have no idea what kind of demon sword that would be."
Of course, if it was power needed to kill the Demon King, I'd help however I could.
However, my abilities came solely from skills that let me wield special powers.
I didn't actually possess knowledge on how to craft such a demon sword.
I'd never even seen one like that in the game.
"Don't worry about that. There's someone who knows about the sword that once killed a Demon King in the past."
Adrian smiled in response to my question.
"Someone like that exists...? Then why not ask them...?"
"Coincidentally, he's not a crafter. And his location is a problem too..."
"......His location?"
"Ah, on that note, Ken, I'd like to ask you for this as well. Would you hear me out?"
"......You're piling on the expectations, Adrian."
"Well, you're the one who conquered that legendary tower. How could I not?"
"Oh, I've heard those rumors too! No demon has ever achieved such a feat. Quite enviable."
For some reason, their intense gazes felt burdensome.
To begin with, I'd only cleared that tower because of my skilled companions and by spamming cheat-level weapons.
"So... what's this other request?"
The other request was probably related to the person who knew about the demon sword that could kill the Demon King.
And Adrian averted his eyes slightly.
"Ken, there's a place you need to go."
"A place I need to go?"
He fell silent for a moment, then met my eyes and spoke.
"You'll have to go to prison."
"......P-Pris...!"
I thought I'd misheard and opened my mouth to ask again.
But right then—
—Crash!
"N-Nooo!!"
"Adrian! Are you insane?! Are you telling Ken to commit a crime right now?!"
"...I cannot allow this."
The student council room door burst open, and red, yellow, and blue tumbled in one after another.
They looked pained from the fall, but the three ignored it and started protesting at Adrian, who stared in shock just like me.
Reynesis watched the scene with an amused smile and turned to me.
"Ho, so you were all eavesdropping? There were guards outside, surely."
I knew the answer to Reynesis's question right away.
Fierce killing intent was pouring from Rapne.
The guards outside had probably done their utmost to fulfill their duty.
I'd apologize to them later.
"No way! Absolutely not! Why does Ken have to go to a place like that?!"
Rapne clung tightly to my shoulder and glared at the two in front of us.
They were the Demon King and the kingdom's prince, but her guts were admirable.
Likewise, Mary blocked my front and exuded icy coldness.
"Um... The conversation isn't over yet, so shouldn't we hear them out first?"
Before I knew it, I was in the position of calming the three.
I wanted to side with refusing too.
But with their scary faces, I couldn't bring myself to.
"Well, no need to worry too much."
Adrian sipped his black tea nonchalantly amid their stares, which somehow made him impressive.
"We're just asking Ken to enter as a prisoner, break that person out of prison."
"So you're still telling him to go to prison—!"
Emily grabbed Adrian's collar in fury at words completely contradicting his reassurance.
Facing his long-lost friend, Adrian chuckled "Heh" and ignored her protests.
"Um... If it's prison... couldn't you use your influence to get them out, Adrian? And do we really need to break them out...?"
Being in prison meant they were a criminal.
And what we needed was information.
So there might be a way to get the info without breaking them out.
And if we had to, a royal like Adrian could pull strings...
"That's the tricky part."
Adrian replied regretfully to my question.
"The prisoner's crime is high treason—directly threatening the palace. Even I, as royalty, couldn't get away with releasing them."
Seemed like a political issue.
"Plus, when we tried to get information out of them..."
He shook his head.
I could guess that part easily.
Someone guilty of high treason held grudges against the kingdom—at least the royals.
No way such a terrorist type would spill info a royal wanted easily.
"So, I'm truly sorry, but... you're the only one I can ask. You can break them out, get the demon sword info, and complete the crafting."
From what he said, I did sound like the perfect fit.
There really wasn't anyone else with top-tier combat skills and crafting abilities.
Plus, I had a reason to do it.
My red-haired fiancée clinging to my back.
"Understood. ...I'll take it."
"Ken—!"
"Wh-Why would you take on something so dangerous?!"
Emily and Mary looked at me with worried faces at my response.
"I knew you'd accept. ...I'll make sure to repay this favor."
Adrian expressed his sincere gratitude.
No helping it.
It wasn't like they were asking me to take down the Demon King myself.
Just to craft the weapon to do it—that much, I could handle.
Besides, Adrian had helped me conquer Tarros Tower.
I couldn't ignore a request from my benefactor.
However.
"...I'll go too."
The problem was the other three besides me.
Especially the scary aura emanating from Rapne behind me.
Even Reynesis—the Demon King called the king of darkness—glanced nervously at my back.
"I'm going to the prison too."
This one would be hard to dissuade.
And to Rapne's declaration, Adrian sipped his tea and dropped a bombshell.
"That would put my mind at ease. The prisoner happens to be a woman, you see. The place she'll need to enter is the women's prison."
"......What?"
Me, go into a place like that...?
Adrian just laughed merrily, as if he had no idea what I was thinking.