Chapter 327: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 327
The news that the Holy Grail had been broken spread like wildfire.
The cardinals, Holy Grail knights, and inquisitors instinctively tried to prevent the news of the Holy Grail's destruction from spreading.
However, it was impossible to silence the mouths of more than a thousand people.
"Is this real?"
"The Holy Grail was broken?"
"And Viscount Caesar El Lindger broke it?"
The believers of the Royder religion fell into a collective state of panic over this unbelievable reality.
"...Was the Holy Grail a sacred object that could be broken?"
"Can it be repaired?"
"What about the potions? Does this mean there won't be any potions from now on?"
Holy water and potions are not simply sources of income for the Royder Order.
Holy water is the symbol of the Royder Order and the foundation of its doctrine. The core doctrine of the Royder Order is that the Goddess Royder bestowed the Holy Grail as a sacred object to heal the pitiable humans, and periodically sends down her representative, the Saint, to this land to prevent the misuse of the Holy Grail.
This is why cardinals exist, inquisitors exist, and combat priests, nursing priests, and ordinary priests exist, they all exist to properly use and deliver the Holy Grail that the Goddess Royder bestowed upon humans. But now that the Holy Grail had been broken, there was no reason for the cardinals and other priests to exist.
"Capture Caesar!"
"The Goddess is enraged!"
"Capture and offer Caesar!"
[Caesar El Lindger]
Dead or Alive
100 million Del
Posters were attached to every wall stating that the Royder Order would give 100 million Del to anyone who brought in Caesar, dead or alive.
"What's the point of capturing Caesar when the Holy Grail is already gone?"
"From what I heard, the Goddess is furious with Caesar. They say unless we appease the Goddess' wrath, she won't bestow the Holy Grail again."
"What? Really? She'll give us the Holy Grail again?"
"That's what the priests were saying."
Of course, the cardinals and priests were not the type to easily give up their power and wealth just because the Holy Grail was broken.
The cardinals spread false rumors that if Caesar was killed, the Goddess Royder would bestow the Holy Grail again, thus uniting the believers.
Because of this, believers began to search for Caesar day and night.
"Isn't this the guy?"
"Red eyes and red hair, I think this is him."
"No! Look carefully! I don't have red eyes, they're chestnut brown!"
"I don't know. Let's just cut him up and take him."
"W-what are you cutting...!"
Slash!
Where there's money, there are always flies. Not only did ordinary believers begin to search for Caesar, but mercenaries whose eyes were blinded by the high bounty became even more active.
In this age, mercenaries and bandits are barely distinguishable. Mercenaries would break into any house under the pretext of searching for Caesar, and incidents of stealing property or killing people became frequent.
Despite many citizens suffering from the rough searches of mercenaries, the Royder Order turned a blind eye.
[Gloria Bellum]
Must be Alive
50 million Del
[Raven Gale]
Dead or Alive
10 million Del
Not only were there posters of Caesar, but posters of Gloria and Raven were also hung up side by side.
As a result, anyone with blonde hair and blue eyes or black hair with green eyes, the same traits as Caesar's companions, was frequently captured and brought to the Order.
The Order was now filled with mercenaries hungry for money and wrongfully captured people rather than devout believers.
"Didn't I tell you not to bring in just anyone, but to look carefully before capturing them?"
"Isn't this the person? Look properly."
"Doesn't the face look different from the poster?"
"Well, they look exactly the same to me. Priest, have you ever actually seen Lady Raven?"
"Even though I haven't seen her, I know this isn't her."
"Then bring someone who has actually seen Raven. Maybe you just can't recognize her, priest."
The priests were getting headaches from dealing with the rough mercenaries, and they had reached the point where they couldn't even hold services despite the approaching Sunday.
A coachman with brown hair and chestnut eyes clicked his tongue as he watched the priest arguing with the mercenary.
"Really... Do they think a magician can't use magic to change their appearance?"
The coachman was Caesar.
Thanks to resting in a hotel without taking a single step outside for the past few days, Caesar's body felt light.
In these times of poverty, few people stayed at luxury hotels. So when Caesar gave the hotel manager a handful of money, he didn't bother him and even tried to take better care of him.
"Master, please have this."
A hand extended from the back of the carriage. In the hand was a red apple.
"Thank you."
Caesar took the apple and crunched into it.
"Pretty good."
"I heard Montmesis is famous for its apples."
"Should we pack some more?"
"We have 20 more. I think there will be plenty to eat and have some left over."
"Really? Then never mind."
At that moment, a group of ruffians approached, tapping their clubs on their shoulders.
"Hey, stop."
Caesar stopped the carriage.
"What's the matter?"
The ruffian showed a poster with Caesar's face on it and said:
"I need to search your carriage. You understand, right?"
"Understand what?"
Caesar scratched his head with the horse whip and said:
"Who are you to be conducting searches? Is your head a bit heavy? Want me to make it lighter for you?"
"My, listen to how he talks! You hiding something?"
The thugs put down their clubs and drew their weapons. They were all holding revolvers and rifles.
"Just the right size. You guys aren't mercenaries, are you?"
"What nonsense is this?"
"Bandits strutting around in the middle of Montmesis. This place has gone to the dogs too."
"Who are you calling bandits?"
"Really? Want me to cut off your heads and take them to the sheriff? Seems like I could earn some good pocket money?"
Click!
The gun hammer was pulled back.
"Does this bastard want a hole in his head?"
"Geez. This is why I said not to deal with amateurs. Look behind you."
"What?"
A woman with orange hair and freckles was glaring at them, holding a club. It was Gloria.
"You dare point a gun at my master?"
"Uh, uhh?"
Thwack!
Gloria knocked out the three thugs in one go. Following her, Caesar rushed at the bandits with a horsewhip and subdued the remaining two at once. Caesar broke all their guns and threw them on the ground.
"Bandit bastards causing trouble in broad daylight. You really want to die."
Caesar tied them all together with rope and bound them to a post.
"I should crack each of your heads open one by one, but I'll spare you because it seems troublesome."
"Master, is it okay to leave them like this?"
"These bastards are bandits too. They won't say anything unnecessary since it would be troublesome if the police caught them."
Crack!
"Aaaaargh!"
Caesar crushed their right hands by stomping on them.
"Instead, I'll disable them so they can't do this kind of thing again."
A brown-haired person peeked their head out from the carriage. It was Raven.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and let's go."
"Alright. Coming."
Gloria said while dusting off the mud from her shoes.
"By the way, Master. Where are we going now?"
"Where else, we need to go to Shalibi."
"I wonder if we can meet with Pesson as we are now. I think there might be bounties on our heads in Shalibi too."
"That's why we need to lie low for a while."
At that moment, a newspaper seller was shouting loudly while walking around the street.
"Extra! Extra! Sanctus lumen has fallen!"
"All trains to Dre have been suspended!"
Caesar grabbed the newspaper seller.
"Wait! What are you talking about?!"
"25 cents!"
The specter of capitalism has descended upon the land where the goddess dwells. Demanding money without any explanation. These are the end times. Caesar handed 1 Del to the newspaper seller.
"Give me three and keep the change."
"Yes, thank you!"
Caesar unfolded the newspaper. On the front page was a photo of Sanctus lumen in flames, and the headline read:
[Sanctus lumen, the holy land of the Dre Order, occupied by devils.]
[Pope missing.]
"...What on earth is happening."
The war between the powers had just begun, and now devils have occupied Sanctus lumen.
This is a storyline that should only happen during a devil overflow scenario…
Caesar gripped the reins tightly. It seems they need to hurry.
***
Pio painfully beheaded a devil. Purple blood soaked Pio's hair.
Pio's sweat and the devil's blood mixed and dripped down his chin.
"Huff... Huff..."
Pio looked around. Devil corpses and holy knight corpses were so tangled that it was difficult to distinguish which were devils and which were holy knights.
Thud!
Grooooowl!
At that moment, the sound of a devil falling came from somewhere in the forest. Pio painfully followed the source of the sound.
There was Aurora, who had plunged her sword into the neck of a struggling devil. Aurora cut the devil's neck in one stroke by drawing the sword horizontally.
Aurora wiped away her sweat and said:
"...Is your area cleared?"
"Yes."
Pio frowned as he looked at the corpses surrounding them.
"Twenty of us including the holy knights attacked, but everyone died except us two..."
"That means we've reduced the number of devils as well."
"Do you really think so?"
Aurora closed her mouth, finding it difficult to answer. Seeing the number of devils swarming, it felt like taking one scoop of water from a flowing river.
"Let's collect the dog tags first."
Pio picked up the dog tags or blue flame emblems hanging around the holy knights' necks.
The blue flame emblem in Pio's hand sparkled and vibrated.
"...Seems like there are still devils around."
"Continuing the operation is impossible. Let's go back."
"Alright."
Pio and Aurora moved quickly, heading west. As they went west, they saw a large wooden fence with blacksmiths reinforcing it with steel plates.
Holy knights and soldiers were standing guard outside the fence and gate.
"Stop! Identify yourselves!"
Pio and Aurora raised the blue flame emblems they had collected and said:
"Knights Pio and Aurora."
The holy knights examined Pio and Aurora's faces carefully and then shuffled through some documents.
"...What happened to the platoon that went with you?"
"Annihilated."
"Damn it."
The holy knight irritably scratched the document with his pen and then spoke.
"Good work. Give your detailed report at the command post."
As the gate opened, Pio and Aurora entered. Once inside the fence, they saw a main gate.
[Welcome to Shalibi, the town of blacksmiths.]
Pio spat.
"Welcome my ass."
***
Inside the temporary command post set up in front of the Shalibi library, it was as noisy as a marketplace.
"28th Holy Knight Division, 3rd Company, 1st Platoon, completely annihilated!"
"What about the squad that went to scout the northeast of Shalibi?"
"Still no contact!"
"What?! They left for reconnaissance yesterday evening and still no contact until now? What are we supposed to do?"
"Should we send a rescue team?"
The Holy Knight Division Commander drew red lines across the northeast section of the map and said:
"Consider them annihilated. Strengthen the forces here!"
"But our forces..."
"I'll speak to the Commander and ask for regular knights if necessary. Replan the operation!"
At that moment, Pio and Aurora entered, pushing aside the tent flap.
The Knight Commander bit his lip as soon as he saw Pio.
"……What happened to the other squad members?"
"They all died in battle."
Pio placed the blue flame emblem and dog tags on the table. The Knight Commander's fist trembled.
"……Report."
"We made contact with approximately 30 devils at a point 1.5km east of Shalibi and annihilated all of them.
However, I determined that continuing the operation was impossible as the squad was completely destroyed, so we retreated."
"I see……. Do you think we should send reinforcements?"
"No. They all had one to two horns, but considering that 30 appeared at once, the Lituna mining village has likely been completely destroyed already."
The Knight Commander no longer had the strength to utter any curses.
"Understood. Rest until I call for you."
"Yes. Understood."
Pio and Aurora saluted and left the command post. As soon as Pio left the command post, he immediately put tobacco in his mouth.
"It's devastating."
Aurora stood silently next to Pio, lost in thought.
"How long have we been stuck here?"
"It's been about a week."
"Then we should consider Shalibi completely isolated."
Pio could only sigh. It was good that he had come to Shalibi after accepting Caesar's proposal. No, it was even good up to the point of meeting Pesson and Theon and preparing to leave Shalibi.
The problem started when suddenly knights and soldiers from Sanctus lumen came down in large numbers, declared martial law, and restricted movement.
"Why did those devil bastards suddenly pop up in the middle of Sanctus lumen?"
"I don't know. There are rumors that the devils of Niflheim had secretly hidden their forces."
"But why Sanctus lumen of all places?"
"It's symbolic, isn't it? They probably thought that if Sanctus lumen falls, the entire continent would lose the will to resist the devils."
"No matter how much I think about it, that doesn't seem right. If those Niflheim guys were that meticulous, they should have brought down Shalibi in one go too. After all, Shalibi is essentially the core of the military supply base."
"Isn't that why we're isolated like this now?"
"That's true as well."
At that moment, they saw a woman in the distance hurriedly walking while carrying dirty clothes on her back. It was Lady Olivia. Pio flicked his tobacco and looked at her with curiosity.
"……In all my life, I never thought I'd see Lady Olivia doing laundry."
"I know. Who would have thought Lady Olivia would do mundane chores like laundry."
"The maids of Count Vex's household would have been shocked if they saw this."
What kind of change of heart led her to do chores? A woman who spent her whole life enjoying drinking and attending parties.
"……I hope Hiya doesn't come here."
"Are you talking about your younger sister?"
"Yes. Originally, Lord Caesar was supposed to contact us, but all the phone lines have been cut off, so communication is completely severed."
Pio's mind became complicated when he thought about Hiya.
What if she had been caught and hurt by those devil bastards?
Or what if she had been caught and killed by Count Vex while trying to escape?
Worry turned into anxiety, and anxiety called for tobacco. Pio's hand stopped as he was about to smoke another cigarette in succession. In the isolated Shalibi, buying luxury items like cigarettes was as difficult as picking stars from the sky.
I should only smoke once in a while when it's really hard to endure.
"Let's focus on surviving and getting back first, then worry about other things."
Pio and Aurora left the command post and headed for Gigg's forge.
***
Gigg's forge was filled with blacksmiths.
The bank clerks who used to sell loan products were nowhere to be seen. Most people were either blacksmiths or knights bringing weapons for repair, or military supply officers.
"No, you're supposed to do it like this!"
"Is this the right way to do it?"
"I think so."
Pio and Aurora approached one of the blacksmiths.
"We've come to have something repaired."
"Write your name and equipment details here and give them to me."
Pio and Aurora handed over their blood-stained sword and shield, then wrote down their names.
The blacksmith checked the condition and said:
"I just need to sharpen the blade. Wait a moment."
"Alright. By the way, where is Pesson?"
"Pesson is busy, you know?"
"He will see me. Just tell me where he is."
The blacksmith nodded toward the center of Gigg's forge.
"He's probably testing a prototype outside. Go check the backyard."
A prototype. It must be referring to the magical engineering weapon that Theon had mentioned before.
"Shall we go see?"
"Couldn't hurt."
Pio and Aurora headed for the backyard.