Thorough Intervention
“Finally.”
Finally, that day had come. The day he would put an end to this goddamn life once and for all!
Today, the 21st of January in the Imperial Year 212. The future Heroes would be captured by the demons. This was a chance that would never come again. Aside from this single day, there would be no other opportunity to etch himself into the Heroes’ memories!
Lethe checked his gear again and again, eyes locked straight ahead.
The trap was perfect. The carriage carrying the Heroes would not be able to bear the weight. The reinforcements that might have approached from the surroundings had already been lured far away by the bait. He had brought every last one of the expensive scrolls he had poured a fortune into.
The moment the demons fell into chaos, one clean sweep would finish it. Snatch the Heroes and get out of there—mission complete.
Rattle-rattle—
From the distance came the sound of a carriage mixed with shouting. They were coming.
Hidden among the undergrowth, Lethe made his final check.
Armed demon hunters. And a carriage bound with mana-blocking chains. Perfect.
He flattened himself against the ground and crawled toward the trap he had prepared in advance. These were no ordinary sensitive bastards; he had to be careful. Get caught and he would be dragged off right along with them.
Just a little more, just a little more. Just a little… Now! Go!
Crunch!—
Almost the same instant Lethe launched himself, the ground caved in and the carriage’s movement stopped dead. In the split second the demon hunters failed to process what had happened—
Rip!—
He tore a scroll, and a pitch-black shadow plunged straight into one demon’s chest with a wet thunk.
A demon hunter who could sense not only an opponent’s presence but even incoming arrows. That very existence died without the faintest idea of what had just occurred.
Effect confirmed!
Lethe cheered inwardly. How much money had he sunk into this? He had even considered killing the demon who sold it if it failed to deliver—thank god it worked.
“Ambush!”
“There he is!”
“Kill him!”
Spears, swords, axes—every kind of weapon came charging at him with savage force. At a rough count there were well over ten of them. Under normal circumstances anyone would have lost their nerve and fled.
But Lethe had long since left the realm of “normal” behind.
Shashasha!—
The technique the prickly little beastman had taught him. Lethe roughly called it Storming Road.
It carried the penalty of overloading the body after a while, but in exchange it granted overwhelming speed and power.
“Gahk!”
“Keugh!”
Three minutes left. He had to finish within that window. Otherwise the ones he had lured away might return.
Quickly tallying the remaining numbers, Lethe tore another scroll.
Rip!—
Nothing happened!
You fucking piece of shit! This is why I hate demons!
A scroll he had paid good money for, and already a dud on only the second one? You son of a bitch!
He would kill him. Once he saved the future Heroes, he was going to hunt down that goddamn Scrooge of a demon and make him pay. With that thought, Lethe slammed a kick into the chest of a hunter mid-swing.
Crack!—
“Grk!”
Four left. Feigning exhaustion, he cut one down—three. Then two.
“Ghk!”
“…One.”
Storming Road was nearly spent. Only a single hunter remained. The last one left alive was usually the strongest—could he finish it in time?
Lethe drew a deep breath and moved to clean up the last of them when—
“W-wait! I surrender! I’ll surrender, just spare my life!”
“Surrender?”
The sword that had already been halfway forward slowly withdrew.
Lethe approached the hunter who had spoken the word.
“You surrender, you say.”
“Yes! I’ll leave quietly, so…”
Thud!—
A final death rattle of “Ghk!” and the last remaining hunter toppled forward.
In the bastard’s hand was a dagger glowing with a cold blue light.
“If you’re going to act, at least put some effort into it.”
After a quick sweep to confirm no one still had breath left in them, Lethe approached the side of the carriage.
They’d better not be hurt. These are precious people. In six years—no, five—they’ll be untouchable giants among giants!
Peering inside, Lethe let out a small cheer of triumph.
One silver head, one black, one blue, and one red.
Perfect. Those multicolored heads of hair left no doubt—these were the ones who would become Heroes in the future.
“Hang on. I’ll get you out right now.”
When he had first fallen into this world, the one who helped him was an old man named Thomas. The lockpicking skill the man had taught him had proven useful again and again.
Same species really is best, Lethe thought as he unlocked the chains.
Clank!—
“Here.”
Lethe held out his hand, but not one of the four took it.
They only stared at him with eyes full of suspicion.
“Hurry! Their friends will be here soon. The longer we delay, the more trackers there’ll be!”
He offered his hand again, voice earnest. Take it. I’m not one of the bastards who captured you—you can trust me.
Perhaps those sincere words moved her. The silver-haired girl slowly reached out.
“Come on out. Next!”
After that, Lethe successfully pulled out the black-haired one, the blue-haired one, and finally the red-haired one as well.
Sasa!—
He could feel them approaching. They had to get out before it was too late. But the four girls could barely stand, let alone walk.
They looked as if they had been starving for a long time. Forget food—they hadn’t even been given proper water.
Those fucking bastards. At the very least you give them water to drink.
He spat once on the corpses of the already-dead hunters.
Change of plans. There was no way they could escape this place with the girls in this condition. Even if they managed to move, one of them might die or be seriously hurt along the way.
“Kids.”
Gathering the four girls in one place, Lethe gave them a light hug.
Then he made them clasp one another’s hands tightly and offered a warm smile.
“Stay right here for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
Live and gain everything, or die and lose it all. Lethe gave a crooked smile and charged toward the hunters who had appeared ahead.
“And then Ahjussi went BAM! and really taught those bastards a lesson! Augh! Do you even know how hard my heart was pounding?! Even now, whenever I close my eyes, that day’s memories are crystal clear. Ahjussi looking so damn cool!”
“….”
“At first I was an idiot and stayed on guard. Even other demons tried to kill us, and then some human shows up, saves us, and teaches us all sorts of things.”
“….”
“Hm? Gratitude? Of course we have to repay it. That’s why we’re—”
“Ashu.”
At the voice calling her name, the red-haired Demon King whose hair burned like living flame—Astaroth—turned her head.
“What are you doing.”
“Huh? Talking with this guy, obviously?”
“The only lunatic who holds a conversation while holding a severed head is you.”
Astaroth let out a snicker and tossed the head behind her.
“Look who’s talking, Mar. You go around saying extracting hearts is fun.”
“Be quiet.”
“See? You never actually deny it.”
Astaroth threw an arm around her shoulders with a peal of laughter while Marmar grumbled and shoved her off.
And from the opposite direction came a silver-haired woman and a blue-haired woman as well.
“All done, El?”
A nod—
“Sitri, you?”
“Finished. There are no more left.”
The four Demon Kings had finally succeeded in fulfilling the promise they had made long ago.
All that remained was to go collect the reward for keeping that promise so well.
“I wonder how Ahjussi is doing.”
“Ahjussi? That’s rude.”
“Oh? Hey, Sitri. ‘Ahjussi’ is way better than ‘Master.’”
Astaroth piled on the scolding, but Sitri clearly disagreed. Every time she shook her head, her blue hair swayed.
“What’s wrong with Master? He saved our lives, so of course.”
“Don’t you remember what Oraboni said? That people would look at us strangely if we called him Master.”
“That’s right, that’s right. This time I’m with Mar.”
Two Demon Kings agreed, and the silver-haired woman briefly added, “Me too.”
“See? Even El says so. This time you lose, Sitri.”
“No. I’ll call him whatever I want. Master is forever Master.”
“Who’s stopping you. Haaah.”
Today they all felt strangely buoyant.
Of course they did. Today, at last, everything had been finished.
“What I want? Hmm. First of all, I want to live peacefully, without worries. Who likes war? I’d just like to watch the cute little incidents the students get into at the Academy.”
That was what the man who had saved them had said. That he wanted to live in peace.
So they had made it so. They had wiped out every last hardliner who cried for war. From ordinary demons all the way up to those who, like themselves, had held the seat of Demon King.
Now no demon would dare speak of war. An age of peace would come. And in that peace they would go to meet the person they were meant to meet again.
This time they would cling to him and throw every spoiled tantrum they had never been able to throw while nestled in his arms!
…All of this had happened because one man got the date wrong.