Chapter 67
Chapter 67
The Red Lion Mercenaries.
I didn't know their exact nature, but they seemed to be a fairly renowned mercenary group. This was all information I knew from the game's setting, so I didn't know exactly what kind of activities they engaged in...
The reason for their fame was that 'Red Lion Scar,' the Chapter 4 boss, was a formidable opponent. That's why they could even act as guards near Chrysos's border. At this point in time, their contracts with various countries had likely expired, but they would approach Chrysos again. And they would do so by deceiving the naive Eleanor.
Originally, they would approach her after sensing a fragment of her power. But this time, she hadn't just shown a fragment; she had clearly displayed her power.
Would they give up? No, their plan to approach and retrieve Eleanor wouldn't change.
"...How coincidental."
"Is there some kind of information restriction?"
He was giving me information, but Tenebris was part of the Imperial Intelligence Agency. Normally, providing information like this would be strange. It was a transaction made possible only because the information I had given them was also of high quality. However, if there was a national information restriction in the Empire, he wouldn't be able to tell me anything.
"No."
"Then what's so coincidental?"
Discreet spoke, his eyes sharp, a characteristic of cat-people.
"They're already dead."
"...Dead?"
"To be precise, they were caught in a natural disaster. They were swept away by the Death King's army and fell into the underworld."
"What the..."
Naturally, the dead weren't only found in the underworld. Death King Thanatos basically kept the door open between the two worlds. Countless undead poured out whenever he did, but there were few instances of them causing significant damage.
This was because it was an act of guiding lost souls who couldn't reach either heaven or the underworld. It meant that he, too, was fulfilling his duty as an administrator who managed the flow of the world.
"Was it the Death King's doing?"
"They might have simply been caught in the crossfire."
"Well..."
If they were simply caught in the crossfire, the same thing should have happened in the original story. This could only be interpreted as the Death King's intervention.
I couldn't be optimistic and assume that Chapter 4 was over just like that; the one pulling the strings was too concerning. I would rather deal with the original storyline than that madman. I already had to deal with him properly in Chapter 5, and now I was supposed to provoke him beforehand? Oz's comedic journey was supposed to start in Chapter 5, but now I might just get killed.
"What will you do?"
As I was organizing my thoughts, Discreet prompted me. Eleanor would be back soon, so time was of the essence. I could meet him again later, but I wanted to save as much time as possible.
"Just in case, investigating the Death King's movements..."
"It's not cost-effective."
"I suppose so."
It would be difficult to constantly monitor the movements of the Death King's army, which appeared unpredictably throughout the country. Then I had to offer information valuable enough to make it worthwhile... but I wasn't sure if I should give the Empire that much power.
Information that was important, but not something the Empire could use to manipulate the situation.
"If you have nothing more to say..."
"Demon King."
I stopped Discreet as he was about to leave and told him the crucial information I had just remembered. However, seeing Eleanor walking out of the restaurant, I knew I didn't have much time. I considered telling him later, but it wouldn't take long.
"A new Demon King will be born soon."
"What the...?!"
Discreet's eyes widened in disbelief, and then he nodded with a sharp gaze. A Demon King already existed. But a new Demon King would be born. That meant the death of the previous Demon King.
"I'll instruct them to start investigating."
With those words, Discreet brushed past Eleanor, who was running towards us, and disappeared. Eleanor didn't even notice him passing right by her. His stealth abilities were absurd.
"Master! This is a service! So you'll give me a big tip, right?"
"Sure..."
I gave a noncommittal answer to the energetic Eleanor and thought about what had just transpired. Just where did things go wrong? Was it because of Eleanor's power? Or my divine magic? Or was it because of the key that had been broken in half?
Whichever it was, it would be a nuisance to him, so there was a possibility. But that was just the trigger; I didn't know his motive. Therefore, I had no choice but to reveal information about the [Demon King] to gather as many cards as possible.
"Master! What about the tip?"
"Don't rush me. I'll give it to you. Here, I'll give it to you, so go back to work."
"Thank you, Master! As expected of a rich noble, you're different!"
"..."
You're not just a noble, you're royalty, you know?
I casually handed Eleanor, who was giving me an expectant look, a tip and continued my train of thought. The [Demon King] changed every 100 years. It was a matter of lifespan.
However, the current [Demon King] had been in power for less than ten years. That meant the method of succession wasn't normal.
"It's a shame I can't recruit the Hero, but it's best to give up."
Only the [Hero] could kill the [Demon King]. Not even the [Dragon Emperor], the strongest being in the world, could do it. The [Demon King] was a collective connected to all demons. Killing him through conventional means would require killing every single demon. Even Tia couldn't do something like that.
Only the [Hero], with the ability of [Severance], could completely sever that connection. Well, even that was a temporary measure, and a new Demon King would soon be born, but there was significance in the current tyrant disappearing.
"Still, well..."
It didn't matter much in terms of story progression. The Hero was an event story that took place between Main Story Chapters 3 and 4. In other words, a limited-time character. Limited-time characters usually appeared in separate event stories but didn't interfere with the main story.
They were characters that could only be obtained during a specific period, so it was only natural that they wouldn't appear in the main story, as it would be quite frustrating for players who couldn't obtain them.
"Considering the Hero's personality, she'll disappear as soon as the Empire intervenes, so it won't matter."
The Empire would be aware of the Hero's symbolic importance, so they wouldn't be able to do anything to her. At most, they would try to persuade her, and even that would likely fail, given the Hero's tendencies. She hated being tied down to one place.
In that case, the Hero would likely wander around to avoid trouble. The unfortunate part was that the Hero was also an SSR-rank character. The Hero was quite powerful both in terms of story and game performance, and her personality was that of a kind and righteous person who couldn't stand injustice.
It would have been great to have her as a companion, but unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. I would have to leave my encounter with her to chance.
"But..."
It was just as I finished organizing my thoughts and was about to start my meal.
"Noah, what exactly did you give as a service?"
I had ordered steak, a drink, and dessert. Nothing more. Was she talking about a discount?
"Isn't it a service that your cute waitress brought it to you personally?"
"Give me back the tip I gave you, you scammer."
That was her job, wasn't it?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The southernmost tip of the continent. A place transformed into an uninhabitable environment, tainted by magic.
The Demon Realm.
A woman cloaked in a robe wandered through the barren land.
"Hmm... It's quite a harsh environment, as I've heard."
The woman muttered quietly, observing the humans and demons collapsed throughout the streets. Not all demons were evil. The same was true for humans.
Ironically, the Demon Realm had more bad humans than bad demons. It was a place where humans who had committed crimes and been exiled gathered. However, demons were born stronger than humans.
Because of this imbalance of power, even escaped criminals found it difficult to cause trouble.
"Hey."
At the sound of someone calling out to her, the woman adjusted the sword beneath her robe and turned around. It was an old demon. Judging by his shabby appearance, he was likely one of the good ones.
"Yes, so..."
"I'm the chief of this village."
"Ah, is that so? What can I do for you, Village Chief?"
"I don't recall seeing you around here. Are you someone who escaped from the central continent?"
"Hmm... I suppose... so?"
The woman wasn't a fugitive, but she vaguely agreed to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"If your crime is minor, it's best to just go back."
"Why is that?"
"Do you see any humans here?"
At the old demon's cautious words, the woman looked around. He was right. There were no humans here.
"Oh? Come to think of it, there are no humans here."
"Shh, be quiet."
The old demon whispered quietly, as if wary of something.
"The current Demon King doesn't tolerate outsiders. He forbids any contact with them."
"Is that so? It's not really my place to say this, but then what do the people living in this land eat?"
The Demon Realm was barren. Not only did crops not grow, but even the animals that roamed the land were ferocious and strong, having absorbed the dense demonic energy, making them unsuitable for domestication.
This meant that demons with relatively less power struggled to hunt successfully.
"At least here, the young ones are working hard."
"But it's not enough, is it?"
"..."
The old demon didn't answer, but the woman took it as an affirmation.
"Then it needs to change."
"But we can't go against the Demon King's will, can we?"
The [Demon King] was a unique existence. And he was in a position where no one could stop him, even if he acted unreasonably. Even if someone defeated him, he would be resurrected, and an unknown demon would die in his place.
But that's why she said,
"Then it needs to change."
"Didn't you hear? The Demon King won't be persuaded..."
"The Demon King needs to change."
"What...?"
She lowered her hood. Wavy, shining blonde hair and deep blue eyes.
[SSR Golden Hero]
Lustitia Heros.
"If you truly believe things must change, I'll do it. I'm the Hero, here to save the demons."
"..."
"What do you say?"
"...My son was eaten by a monster recently."
The old demon spoke plainly. The content wasn't plain, but his face was dry, tears long gone.
"My wife starved a week ago. My friend, who went to plead with the Demon King, hasn't returned in four years."
"Do you want revenge?"
"No."
He told the self-proclaimed Hero,
"I want to change things so this never happens again. If you're truly the Hero, will you draw your sword for these cursed demons?"
"Of course. That's why I became the Hero."
Not for personal gain, but for the voices of the weak. The woman who chose to become the [Hero] drew her sword for them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
There was still time before Main Story Chapter 4. It would begin when the holidays started and Eleanor headed to Chrysos, so there wasn't much I could do beforehand. The Death King's sudden intervention was concerning, but I had traded information about the [Hero] to Tenebris for their assistance, so I decided not to worry about it.
My task in this situation was clear: address the problems at hand. One was to level up my skills. I had learned [Pinaka], an advanced offensive magic spell, so I could delve much deeper than before. I should aim to level up not only [Spatial Barrier] but also [Mana Dominator].
And another important thing...
"I should stop visiting the lab now."
I needed to prepare for the final exams. I didn't care much about grades, but I had to advance to the next year to assist Eleanor.
"W-why? Are you abandoning me?! Just a little longer! I'm about to make a breakthrough! I can do it!"
"...I'm a student, Professor Aira. Visiting a professor's lab during exam period is prohibited."
"Oh, that's right. I completely forgot."
Despite making significant progress, Professor Aira hadn't overcome her anxiety. Reaching the status of an Elder Mage should have been enough to prove her qualifications, but was it still insufficient? Just how much debt did she have? If even reaching Elder Mage wasn't enough...
"Then I'll have to wait until the holidays. It feels like I'm finally getting a vacation."
"Don't you have to write the exam questions? Besides, I don't see any basis for your certainty that I'll help you during the break."
"Huh...?"
Did she have no conscience? I had offered to support her, but she shouldn't take it for granted.
"I'll be leaving Scientia incognito during the break."
"B-but what about my research?"
"You'll have to manage on your own. Isn't it your research, Professor Aira?"
"But...!"
Professor Aira collapsed, looking utterly defeated. Perhaps her mental state was more precarious than I had thought. Maybe even worse than Eleanor's...
Could the mystical aura she exuded in the game have been the air of someone who had given up on everything? I was worried that she might break down, in more ways than one, if I left her like this.
"Then consider this homework, Professor Aira. Aim to achieve results you're satisfied with before the final exams end."
"If you could tell me what level of results I need to achieve..."
"Didn't I already tell you?"
Professor Aira's aspirations were likely incredibly high. So, it was best to make it clear.
"Professor Aira, judge by your own standards."
"My own standards?"
Even if she considered herself a failure, if I affirmed her efforts, she would realize how high she had been aiming and how much she had been afraid.
"Yes. Then, trusting in you, Professor Aira, I'll be going now."
"My own standards..."
Professor Aira didn't answer, lost in thought, but it wouldn't matter. She had been working hard on her own until now, so she would do well.