A Lie Told with a Straight Face
Have you ever told a lie?
Of course you have. How could anyone make it through life without telling at least one? I've told my fair share too, but this time was different. Whatever else happened, I simply had to hide the fact that I was a Demon Lord. To sum up my situation: sad as it is to say, I am a Demon Lord.
And in this world, a Demon Lord is something to be hunted by Heroes. Our appointed fate is to hole up in a dungeon and eventually have our heads lopped off. But the woman standing before me was an adventurer — a would-be Hero, a Demon Lord hunter in training. Honestly, what a pickle.
I wasn't honest enough to spill the whole truth to someone like that. Nor did I particularly want to cut her down on the spot, either.
"Um... th-there's something I'd like to ask you."
Eunha finally managed to open her mouth, stammering. She was covering her chest with the scraps of cloth I'd torn up for her moments ago, barely managing it. Honestly, I didn't know where to look. A woman's bare body is not something I'm accustomed to.
"I've been wondering since before... Lady Artesia, who exactly are you? That power from earlier was anything but ordinary. Killing high-danger monsters with a mere flick of your hand — I can hardly believe it."
Here it comes. I paused for a moment, already weaving a plausible story in my head. This one would work.
"Have you ever heard of the Half-Demons?"
"Half-Demons? So they really did exist..."
"The dragon horn on my head is the proof."
"Now that you mention it... I believe I've seen records of such people."
Eunha's eyes went wide. Judging by her reaction, I'd hit the mark. To be honest, it was something I'd only half-remembered overhearing — all that eavesdropping at the tavern had paid off, it seemed.
Half-Demons: a mixed race carrying the blood of both demons and humans. A rare race in this world, and supposedly they almost never venture out into it, feared and shunned as descendants of devils.
"I never dreamed I'd actually see a Half-Demon."
"We tend to be frightened of the outside world, you see. They say it's dangerous."
"How tragic. Especially when you're this adorable..."
Eunha's eyes sparkled as she gazed at my forehead. I'd brought it up to conceal my identity, and instead I'd only drawn her interest. If I let this go on, a flood of questions was bound to follow.
...And that would put me in a very awkward position.
I'm not even a real Half-Demon, after all.
I needed to change the subject. Right away.
How on earth was I going to steer this conversation elsewhere?
Eunha beat me to it.
"By the way, what brought you to a forest like this?"
"I was exploring a dungeon when I happened to step on a trap. When I came to, I found myself in some unfamiliar place. I had no idea where I was, so my companion and I wandered around lost — it's been rough, to say the least."
Half of it was true, which made it easy to tell. The only part I left out was that the whole thing had happened between my death and my rebirth. Not bad, right? I'd call that a pretty decent performance.
"What an unfortunate accident to be caught in."
"Yes. It'll be difficult for me to return home, too."
"Well, at least you're alive. That's what matters."
"True. That's what I keep telling myself."
Eunha showed not the slightest trace of suspicion. On the contrary, she consoled me as though she felt sorry for me. My conscience twinged a little, but there was nothing for it. This was the way everyone stayed happy, after all.
"If you're a Half-Demon... you must have lived your whole life hiding from people's eyes. You've been through so much. It may not help much, but there are more anti-discrimination laws now than there used to be. Slave traders are disappearing bit by bit, too."
I began to wonder if it was all right for a lie to flow this smoothly. A faint apology stirred in my chest — I was swindling an innocent young woman, after all. Still, the world had changed quite a bit, hadn't it?
Perhaps far more time had passed than I'd imagined. But I didn't want to confirm it here. I wasn't ready for that yet, not in my heart.
Nemesia, standing beside me, shot me a sidelong glance. She'd been listening to every single lie in real time, yet her expression didn't change in the least. She merely gave a small nod instead.
"There's something I'd like to consult with you about. Would you hear me out?"
"Yes! Of course, ask me anything!"
I changed the subject. If I kept dwelling on this particular topic, I was bound to slip up eventually. There was no telling when or where a crack might show.
"I don't know a single thing about this place. I have no way to prove who I am, either. If I walked into a village like this, I'd stick out as a suspicious character right away, wouldn't I? I might even be mistaken for a demon."
A weighty topic for an ordinary adventurer.
Tough for even a noble of some great city, I'd wager.
But Eunha's response caught me completely off guard.
Out of nowhere, she seized both my hands in a tight grip.
"Then I'll vouch for you!"
"W-wait, hold on! What do you mean by that?"
"Your identity, Lady Artesia!"
She leaned in toward me, her eyes alight with an energy I'd never have believed from someone who'd been dazed out of her mind just minutes ago.
"Oh — forgive me, that was sudden, wasn't it? I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Song Eunha, daughter of the lord family that governs Busan. Embarrassing as it is to admit, I was on patrol disguised as an adventurer."
The daughter of a lord? That was a status I never saw coming. I'd assumed she was just a luckless adventurer — she was hardly an ordinary woman at all.
"Then why would someone like you come to such a dangerous place?"
"I'll explain everything, slowly, another time."
"Th-that's too close. Could you give me a little space, please?"
Eunha's snow-white skin brushed against mine. With her barely dressed, I could even feel the softness of her chest against me. Honestly speaking, part of me wanted to stay exactly like this. What's the harm, right?
"If I can't do this much for the person who saved my life, my family's name would be in tatters! I take responsibility on our house's honor! Just leave it all to me!"
She was so fervent that it left me flustered instead. This woman had more energy in her than seemed possible for someone who'd nearly died moments ago.
"...You really don't need to go that far."
"Repaying a debt of gratitude is simply human decency."
"But I could be a terrible person, for all you know."
"If I believed that, you wouldn't have saved me."
I couldn't bring myself to argue with that. It was true from top to bottom, every last word of it. When kindness like this lands in your lap, you accept it.
Just then, Nemesia nodded once more. This time more firmly than before. She was telling me to take the offer, I supposed. That awkward way of expressing herself was rather cute, in its own way. Did she even realize it herself?
While I was still wearing that faint smile, Eunha's attention drifted naturally toward my companion. A mysterious beautiful girl is bound to invite curiosity, after all.
"...And what might your name be?"
"I am called Nemesia. A pleasure."
"What a wonderful name. It's like a goddess's."
"Is it? ...I would call it quite ordinary."
Nemesia answered in a clipped tone and closed her mouth again. Eunha, undaunted by the bluntness, bowed politely. At that, I caught a flicker of flusterment cross Nemesia's face.
I gave the matter a moment's thought.
The daughter of a lord offering her guarantee — when it came to the matter of my identity, there was no better backing to be had. I had no reason to refuse. Accept goodwill when it's offered; that's my policy.
"...Then I won't refuse. I'll be in your care."
"Yes! Leave absolutely anything to me!"
"Please don't overdo it. My wounds are deep enough as it is."
"Oh, come on! I can handle this much just fine."
Eunha smiled brightly. Watching her, the guilt of running this con weighed heavier and heavier on my heart. I did my best to shove the feeling aside. I-it'll be fine.
I looked around at our surroundings — bodies sprawled on the ground, luggage torn to shreds. Staring at the grim scene, I opened my mouth. Something was bothering me.
"Why would the lord's own daughter come all the way out to a dangerous dungeon like this? Normally you'd delegate something like this to soldiers or adventurers, wouldn't you?"
Eunha's expression darkened.
It seemed a bad memory had surfaced.
I worried I'd poked my nose in where it didn't belong.
"...There was something wrong with the dungeon."
"Wrong with it? In what way, specifically?"
"The dungeon around here had been quiet for ages — its master vanished long ago. Its danger rating was low. There were unexplored areas left, sure, but no adventurer would bother coming out this far for them."
My heart gave a guilty jolt. A dungeon whose master had vanished — wasn't that the very dungeon where I'd awakened as a Demon Lord just days ago? I pricked up my ears and focused hard on her every word.
"Reports started coming in years ago that a strange energy was seeping out of it. The monsters were growing fiercer, and high-danger ones were multiplying rapidly. So we put together an investigation team."
"And that's when you were attacked."
"Yes. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to turn out like this."
"How tragic. You have my sympathy."
Eunha bit her lip.
She was remembering her fallen comrades.
This was the moment to stay quiet. Clumsy words of comfort only make things worse.
"A-Rank monsters moving in a pack — it's unheard of. Nothing like it had ever happened before. If I'd known, I should have kept a closer watch on our surroundings. It's all because I wasn't good enough."
The energy leaking from the dungeon. The monsters that had turned savage overnight. I had a fair guess at the cause — my own transformation into a Demon Lord. Which meant that, however indirectly, I was the one responsible for these people's deaths.
"...Still, I'm glad you survived."
Those were the only words I could manage. I couldn't tell the truth, and I couldn't apologize. What face could a Demon Lord possibly make while offering an apology?
Eunha shook her head with an effort.
"No. It's thanks to you, Lady Artesia, that I'm alive. And having lived to meet a new connection like this — if anything, I'd say I'm one of the lucky ones."
Looking at her valiantly smiling face, I swallowed down another mouthful of guilt. This woman had no idea that the person who'd saved her was the very architect of her comrades' deaths.
"Well then, we should get moving. If we linger here, more monsters might come swarming. Let's put as much distance behind us as we can while we still have the strength."
I rose from where I stood.
Eunha tried to rise as well.
Oh no. This was about to be a disaster.
I'd handed her the scattered scraps of cloth lying around, but it was hopeless. She couldn't cover herself properly, and with every step the fabric slipped dangerously loose. If anyone saw her, they'd get entirely the wrong idea...
"Um, Eunha? I'm terribly sorry, but..."
"Yes? What is it? Is something wrong?"
"Are there any intact clothes nearby?"
I pointed at her outfit — or rather, at what barely deserved to be called an outfit. Eunha followed my fingertip with her gaze downward. And only then did she seem to grasp the situation.
"Kyaa?! What?! I'm not even married yet!"
Her face flushed scarlet, and she scrambled to gather up the remaining cloth and shield herself. The very same woman who'd been standing so proudly on her family name a minute ago was now hunched over like a squirrel, utterly at a loss.
"I-I'm so sorry! Look at the state of me...! W-wait, you didn't see anything, did you?! I was so out of it, I hadn't even noticed. *Sigh*... How mortifying."
Red-faced, Eunha rumpled blindly through the scattered belongings. Fortunately she found a backpack, pulled out a change of clothes, turned her back to us, and hurriedly dressed.
"...All right, I'm decent now. Let's get going."
She brushed her tangled hair back roughly, and in place of her broken sword she took up a dagger that must have belonged to one of her comrades and strapped it to her hip. The teary-eyed girl from moments ago had vanished as if she'd never existed.
Eunha took the lead and started chattering away nonstop. She didn't give her mouth a single moment's rest. She'd sink into despair one instant and bounce right back the next — truly remarkable recovery speed.
"There's a village along the way, so it would be nice to spend the night there. You haven't eaten anything, have you? I'll buy you something delicious. Our savior deserves proper hospitality!"
Her relentless stream of words left me a little bewildered. She was peculiar in so many ways. I'd never in my life met anyone quite like her.
"...You're astonishingly resilient, Eunha."
"Am I? Hehe. Looking forward to traveling with you!"
How long this relationship would last remained to be seen, but one thing was certain: from the very first day I set foot outside the dungeon, things had gotten rather lively. The road ahead certainly wouldn't be boring.