At the Scene of Kin Slaughter (1)

"Sss..."

As I sat up, my hair disheveled, Shedy, who had been lying on my chest, tumbled off. I tried to clear my head immediately. From beside me came the sound of someone's soft, rhythmic breathing. I didn't even need to turn my head to know who it was. ...It was Yuri.

Yuri was fast asleep, sitting in a chair beside the bed and resting her head on the edge of the mattress.

After eating the restorative meal Yuri prepared yesterday... I couldn't even remember how I had fallen asleep. I hadn't been fatigued enough to lose consciousness, so the culprit had to be that strange, body-warming restorative dish.

Next, Sierra came into view.

I thought she would be angry like last time, but she didn't seem to be throwing a tantrum. ...No, wait. Her face was exceptionally flushed, turning red and white. She was definitely angry.

Even though Yuri was asleep, conversing with Sierra right now seemed a bit awkward. Still... at least I knew nothing untoward had happened last night.

Perhaps awakened by my movement, Yuri stirred, still slumped over the bed. "Mmm..." Having fallen asleep in such an uncomfortable position, her body was bound to be stiff.

"...That must have been very uncomfortable. It seems I ended up stealing your bed..." I murmured to Yuri, who was still blinking sleepily, her head resting on the mattress.

"Mmm... It's fine." Yuri finally sat up, leaning back against her chair and stretching. It was time to sort things out.

I had always known Yuri to be a terrible cook. Yet, miraculously, the food had been delicious. That in itself was bizarre, but something even stranger had occurred.

Leaning back in the shabby carriage—a place that had become almost as familiar to me as my own bed—I bowed my head and stared at my status window. A newly acquired skill in my skill list caught my eye.

Surgingly Rising Power... Just like Qi Sensing, it was a skill I had never seen before. It was undoubtedly a result of Yuri's cooking.

True to its name, it was a passive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skill that boosted my "power" to a surging degree. The only question was what kind of "power" it referred to.

As always, once a skill appeared on my status window, an intuitive understanding of its nature naturally flowed into my mind. The enhanced power wasn't physical strength... it was a man's "stamina." To put it delicately, while it enhanced functionality, it felt more like something that boosted "success rates."

Did she call it the Clementine family's restorative dish? It wasn't a meal I was familiar with, but I could guess its intended purpose. Well, that didn't mean Yuri, who had fed it to me, actually knew what its effects were.

After eating that dish, I simply couldn't resist the overwhelming drowsiness. Unlike the incident with Eisel, Sierra hadn't stayed angry. She merely told me to rest easy since nothing had happened, and then went on to praise Yuri, remarking that her self-control was truly remarkable.

I wondered what kind of self-control she was talking about all of a sudden, but I let it slide. Though it had been a rather defenseless sleep, nothing had happened. Since Yuri didn't know the effects of the dish either, there was no one to blame, nor any need to.

If anything, I was the one who had to apologize to Yuri. An apology for suddenly falling asleep and stealing her bed. Just the day before, I had received a similar apology from Kaen, so experiencing this from the other side felt quite novel.

I felt deeply grateful to Yuri. I had never dreamed she would prepare a meal for me just because a little blood had trickled from my mouth. I actually had something to give her in return. However, because the item was so incredibly precious, I needed a proper justification to hand it over.

Ideally, I wanted to give it to her before she ended up in a life-threatening situation... But I ended up giving it to her anyway, using the excuse of how grateful I was for the meal she had prepared.

“Zeto... Even if you found this in the Labyrinth, is it really alright for you to just give it to me like this?” Yuri had hesitated, seemingly overwhelmed by the weight of the gift. It was understandable, but if I didn't give it to her now, it would only become harder later. After all, it was true that I had found it in the Labyrinth, and it was clearly of no use to me.

I dismissed the status window from my sight and lifted my head. Just then, the carriage jolted, bumping the back of my head against the wooden frame.

Edward's class today was once again joint combat training. It seemed these kinds of lessons would continue until we departed for the "Desert" in the near future.

Formulating a strategy wasn't very difficult, so our team finished our battle quickly. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the same group as Eisel or Yuri.

After the battle, I asked Edward if I could leave early, and he readily agreed. Since I had things to do today, it was best to board the carriage as early as possible. Using Shedy's power, I could easily avoid people's gazes even in broad daylight.

Sierra, who was wrapping her arms around me with her chin resting on my shoulder, murmured. I had already shared a part of my plan with her. Specifically, the plan regarding the "Hero."

In the original game, meeting the reincarnated Hero was an event that occurred in the mid-to-late stages. Since Eisel's death happened in the mid-game, it was safe to say it took place sometime after that.

Because my growth had accelerated, the number of future events I could alter had increased. This was exactly why I needed to grow stronger so quickly.

However, that growth had been far faster than I anticipated, to the point where I judged I was now capable of interfering with the Hero—a crucial "root" of the main storyline.

"You're smiling." Shedy, cradled in my arms, tilted her head as she noticed my grin. I vigorously ruffled her fur.

The goal of the plan was simple: bring the Hero to the Academy.

In most media, academies were notoriously unsafe places where villains invaded on a daily basis. But Innocence Academy was different.

From the Trio of the Black Blood to the Sage residing in the deepest depths of the Labyrinth—not to mention Principal Juliut—these were figures the demons could not easily mess with.

A few foolish demons had attempted to infiltrate the Academy in the past, but every single one of them had ended up missing, presumed dead. Based on the descriptions in the game, it turned out Edward had been behind their disappearances in recent years.

Because of this, the demons were currently reluctant to even set foot in the Academy. They knew all too well that it was far from their home turf.

Furthermore, with only a few years left until the Demon King's "resurrection" as foretold by their prophecy, they saw no reason to make foolish moves that might prematurely trigger a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠war.

Thus, my plan was to bring the Hero to the safety of the Academy.

To Sierra, all of this must have sounded incredibly bizarre. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠since she had become the Demon Blade of none other than me, a transmigrator, it was a path she was bound to walk.

Though I always strove for natural methods, maintaining that naturalness in front of Sierra wasn't easy. Still, I couldn't just ignore the knowledge I possessed. I couldn't choose a path that would put others' lives at risk when a safer, more convenient option was right in front of me.

Since my words had never proven false, she had no choice but to place her firm trust in me once again.

Sierra began, and I slightly turned my head in her direction.

Sierra had pointed out the blind spot in my plan. Even if we wanted to bring the Hero to a safe place before she fell into danger, the real challenge lay in how to actually bring her over.

I turned my head back and rested my chin on my hand at Sierra's question. Well...

It wasn't as if I was going to bring her here immediately. What I was doing today was merely laying the groundwork.

My task for today was to deal a devastating blow to one of the demon intelligence agencies that would eventually dig up information on the Hero. This would delay the demons' reach from extending to her, buying us enough time to bring her to the Academy.

I had already thought of a story to convince the Hero, but it seemed wise to thoroughly review her tendencies and personality to ensure a foolproof preparation. After all, unlike a game, I wouldn't be given a second chance.

Papers flew through the air as a chaotic din filled the room.

"Fuck, you call this information?!"

"Ugh... It's so damn noisy I can't get any work done."

"What? Did this bastard just say his piece? You wanna rip our horns off and settle this?"

"Yeah, perfect timing, you son of a bitch. I didn't like your face anyway."

The information gathered by the demons who had fearlessly set foot on human soil all converged here. Well, not all of it, but this was one of the regional branches. They didn't just compile information; they actively gathered it themselves. Humans had what they called information guilds, and it was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exaggeration to call this place the demons' equivalent.

Just because they were demons didn't mean they were all strong. Just because they were demons didn't mean they all had a talent for slaughter. However, their desire to grow stronger was entirely identical.

This place was a foul, stagnant pit where those who possessed not a shred of talent but couldn't let go of their desire for power gathered.

Despite being a gathering place for numerous demons, not a single one displayed their horn on their forehead. Weak demons couldn't properly conceal their magi, so exposing one's horn in this place was strictly forbidden. That was one of the few rules and policies of this establishment.

"...Ugh, those insolent bastards fight every single day, without fail... This is why I hate dealing with the red ones."

The obnoxious guy wearing a monocle in front of me was named Zorgal, and he was essentially my superior. In truth, until not too long ago, he had been my peer. He was a pathetic demon with a Red Horn, just like me.

But somehow, he must have landed a good connection, because he suddenly devoured a massive number of humans and his horn color changed. His bright red horn had turned slightly, just a tiny bit, darker. To an outsider, it might have seemed like a subtle difference, but to demons, the meaning behind that color was monumental.

"What do you think? Oh, right. You too... Ugh..." Zorgal turned his head, pointed a finger at my forehead, and let out a heavy, theatrical sigh.

He knew very well that I still possessed a Red Horn. A demon of the Red Horn. To put it crudely, one of the "red things." I was at the absolute bottom of the food chain in this disgusting, horrific pit.

Even if one lacked talent in manipulating magi, a change in horn color was a completely different matter. To demons, the color of their horn was the measure of their strength and, by extension, their rank.

...Son of a bitch. Just like how only those who have tasted human flesh know how to devour it, his attempts to look down on me when his color had barely changed were pathetic and clumsy. If Zorgal had still been a Red Horn like me, I would have been far better at manipulating magi than him. ...Probably.