No Going Back
Since there was no going back, the words "A guest, you say?" hung in the air.
It was early morning. Asa had been enjoying a leisurely breakfast when Jenkinson's statement made her tilt her head in confusion.
"Yes, a guest. So we'll be staying here until that guest arrives."
Asa nodded at Jenkinson's words, then spoke as if something had just occurred to her.
"More importantly, did I pass?"
When Asa looked at him with that strangely expectant expression, Jenkinson answered with a smile.
"It's on hold for now."
"What?"
On hold...? Her eyes seemed to ask the question, but Jenkinson remained firm.
"If this investigation had been pure luck, you would have passed. But I think I need to observe you a little longer."
Hiiiing... Asa looked visibly disappointed, but there was no way he could easily pass a Holy Knight who had solved a case by sheer chance.
"Speaking of this guest..."
Alkai, who had been about to ask about the guest, suddenly froze as he sensed an overwhelming magical power approaching.
"...As expected."
Jenkinson felt it too. How long had it been since he'd sensed magic this intensely chilling? That's right... 'Since that guy?'
The day he had killed Amon. The demon who had vanished while carrying the corpse. The unidentified demon who had mocked him and said they would meet again someday. The power was almost on par with that.
"Oh? What a cute little kid. Did he come with his mom? Priest, there's a little boy over there."
At that moment, the inn door opened, and a cute boy entered alongside a woman who had become so familiar to Jenkinson that she now felt almost nostalgic.
Asa asked with a look of wonder, but Jenkinson immediately realized that these two were the very guests the Church had mentioned.
"Wow! They're really here. And Alkai's with them too."
The cheerful tone of her voice made Jenkinson laugh without realizing it. Because in that instant, he understood.
This Great Demon hadn't approached with any ill intentions. The presence of the woman accompanying the demon proved it.
Shhh.
Then it happened. Time around them came to a complete stop, and only a single figure walked slowly toward Jenkinson.
Jenkinson immediately sensed the magic and tried to dispel it, but...
"My apologies. This conversation isn't quite suitable for others to intervene in. So please, leave the magic as it is."
At the boy's request, he stopped. Did he stop time?
Jenkinson was surprised, but he decided to respect the boy's wishes. Though the boy probably wasn't a boy at all.
"Who are you?"
"Beelzebub. A pleasure to meet you. So... Renkinson, was it?"
"..."
Jenkinson felt a flicker of doubt at the way the other immediately got his name wrong from the start... but that name itself left a deep impression.
Beelzebub. The King of Flies, one of the Great Demons.
Honestly, this isn't what I expected...
Jenkinson was taken aback by how different the demon looked from what he'd imagined, but he answered calmly.
"My name is Jenkinson."
"Ah, yes, that's right. Hmm, indeed."
Beelzebub examined Jenkinson with a serene gaze before declaring with certainty.
"In this continent, there is no human stronger than you."
Jenkinson fell silent at those words.
"..."
"Oh ho."
Jenkinson didn't deny it, and seeing that, Beelzebub's eyes sparkled.
This man...
"As expected, you already knew. That your strength has already become far too abnormal and alien for a mere human being."
"Well, something like that."
In truth, ever since the day he killed Amon... he had been thinking it inwardly. That there was no longer any rival for him on this continent.
Just as humans and ants don't need to meticulously measure the difference in their power to clearly understand the gap, Jenkinson had come to understand the difference between himself and ordinary humans all too clearly.
"Then why do you remain still? With that kind of power, you could easily overturn this entire continent, couldn't you?"
Wasn't that what people usually did? Humans might not know it, but those with power typically wanted to display it. At Beelzebub's curious question, Jenkinson countered.
"Then why do you remain still?"
"...Haha. I see. My very existence is the answer to that question."
At the counter-question, Beelzebub laughed and nodded in agreement. Indeed, it wasn't as if everyone with power necessarily wanted to use it. The fact that he himself was such a being served as proof of the behavior Jenkinson displayed.
"I was taught that the greater the power, the more correctly it must be used. That's why I simply ask questions."
Jenkinson had always asked. How he could use that power in the most righteous way. How he should handle a strength that surpassed human capability. He constantly pondered and constantly questioned.
"To my Lord, who guides me."
To the truth that transcended humanity. To God.
Upon hearing those words, Beelzebub nodded quietly.
"Indeed... you cannot trust humans."
Jenkinson flinched. He couldn't deny it.
"The work I do is precisely about confirming the untrustworthy aspects of humans."
Beelzebub nodded at Jenkinson, who answered with a bitter expression.
"That's right. How could one trust humans who can't even keep their promises properly?"
Shhh.
"...What is this?"
Jenkinson tilted his head at the leather glove that had appeared in his hand. It was a pure white glove. Made of an unknown material, when he slipped it on, it felt as though he wasn't wearing anything at all.
"Yuno asked me to deliver it to you."
"The Goddess..."
Jenkinson didn't understand why this Great Demon was delivering it, but he examined the glove anyway.
"What a strange glove."
"Yes. It seems Yuno's expectations for you are quite high."
In truth, Beelzebub felt a slight sense of guilt toward Yuno. After all, she had been the one to protect the position he had vacated as the chief deity.
"...Baal, do you have no intention of returning?"
Jenkinson, who knew the truth, asked. He was asking a being who had once been the chief deity of this continent whether he had any thoughts of reclaiming that position.
At the question, Beelzebub replied.
"Do you have any intention of going back right now? To those days when you still trusted humans?"
"..."
But at the counter-question that followed, Jenkinson could only fall silent. Just how deeply did this demon see through him?
Thinking that, Jenkinson closed his eyes. Yes, at first he too had believed in humans. Even if humans were imperfect... as long as they were human, he had wanted to believe in their potential for perfection. But...
"I can't go back."
He could no longer return to those days. Knowing that, Jenkinson gave that answer, and Beelzebub nodded.
"I believed that would be your answer."
There could be no answer greater than that. Thinking so, Jenkinson nodded, and at that moment Beelzebub set time in motion once more.
"Huh? Where did that guy go?"
And in that instant, Beelzebub's figure vanished cleanly. When Limia looked around in surprise at the sudden disappearance, Jenkinson answered.
"It seems he heard everything he needed to hear. That friend of ours."
"Huh?"
When? Limia didn't speak the words aloud, but her eyes clearly asked it, and Jenkinson offered no further explanation.
Glance. Glance.
Asa was secretly observing Limia with that kind of look.
"Is something the matter, Sir Asa?"
When Jenkinson, having noticed the gaze, asked immediately, Asa answered in a fluster.
"Ah! W-well... it seemed like you two know each other. I was just wondering who she was."
Whoa, she's huge. Asa was shocked by Limia's size. Over two meters? She was truly an enormous figure. It was rare to see someone bigger than the priest, so Asa was genuinely surprised.
"And who are you?"
Limia was also very interested in Asa. Who was this woman? She hadn't expected that guy to be traveling with a woman, so it bothered her.
"Why? Are you jealous?"
When Jenkinson mischievously asked in response to her words, Asa flinched.
J-jealous? What?
"Th-the priest and I are absolutely not in that kind of relationship."
Rather, it was Asa who became flustered, and Limia replied grumpily.
"I know that. That's why I'm asking who this cute young lady is."
She had known from the beginning. That the two of them weren't in any special relationship. Limia had that much confidence in herself.
"She's a chick I'm looking after."
"Ah! So that's the chick."
At those words, Limia remembered. He had definitely said he was taking care of two chicks, hadn't he?
"What about the other one?"
Then there must be another chick? At Limia's question, Jenkinson answered with a smile.
"I already sent it back because it became a chicken."
At Jenkinson's simple answer, Limia laughed.
"Anyway..."
Squeeze.
Limia hugged Jenkinson tightly and said.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me?"
Watching Limia ask with such a bright smile, Jenkinson let out a small chuckle. Did he miss her?
"...Your actions seem to suggest the opposite."
It seemed like she was the one who had missed him... Thinking that, Jenkinson asked in return, and Limia's face turned red.
"S-shut up."
She seemed aware of it herself, as Limia shouted with an embarrassed face. Watching her, Jenkinson answered as if he couldn't help it.
"Honestly... I might have missed you a little."
At those words, Limia looked at Jenkinson as if doubting her own ears, and the same went for Asa and Alkai behind them. That the priest, whose emotions one might doubt even existed, would say such a thing? It was truly shocking.
"O-oh, r-really? I see."
"Why are you backing away? Weren't those the words you wanted to hear?"
Jenkinson continued speaking to her in that same mischievous tone, and Limia became even more flustered.
"W-well, that's true, but..."
"More importantly, who is that woman?"
Watching the two of them, Asa asked Alkai carefully. Alkai watched them quietly for a moment before answering.
"Limia. It seems she's called the Giant of Yura around here."
The G-Giant of Yura?
Asa widened her eyes as she looked at the enormous woman who was still blushing with embarrassment. To think she was someone of that caliber.
The priest really...
The more she saw, the more he continued to surprise her. Thinking that, Asa watched as the two of them began bickering before long.
Honestly...
They suit each other well.
They really did suit each other. Asa thought so and smiled. Even in her eyes, the two of them looked like a pair that matched far better than expected.