Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Hero and Demon King, and the Player (1)
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How in the world did things end up like this?
The hero and the Demon King in the same party? And not just that—they took the same request and formed a party together...
This is so ridiculous, even a passing dog would laugh.
-Thud. Thud.
With that in mind, I forced a blank expression as I walked up to Stran, flashed him a smile, and grabbed him by the collar.
“Gurk?!”
“...Stran, I'm about to ask you something, and it'd be in your best interest to answer straight. Why the hell are those two idiots tagging along as escorts with me? Wasn't I enough on my own?”
Honestly, this pissed me off in all sorts of ways.
Those damn raiders? Even if hundreds—no, thousands—of them came at me, I could wipe them out in one go.
Yet this guy went out of his way to hire more adventurers from the guild for the caravan escort. Doesn't that make it seem like he doesn't trust me alone?
It bruised my pride a bit.
“Guh, guhek! Let go first! There's a reason!”
Stran flailed his hands desperately, denying it.
Fine, let's hear that precious reason of yours.
If it's some bullshit excuse, I'll drag him somewhere quiet before departure and beat him just short of death.
“We have a contract with the Adventurer's Guild. In exchange for hiring a minimum number of adventurers every time we set out, they promote our caravan's goods.”
“And?”
“That number is at least five. Including you, High Elf, we needed four more, but with the raiders' notoriety lately, no one's taking requests...”
“...Tch.”
Ha, what a pointless, realistic problem.
I wanted to snap Stran's wrist right then, but hearing the reason, it seemed he had no choice due to the contract.
'True, for a well-paying Turk Merchant Company request, no one stepped up.'
Adventurers were avoiding it instead.
They all seemed to be at least on the level of that swordsman's party. At first, they eyed it because it was from the Turk Merchant Company, but lost interest when they heard it involved an airship caravan.
'And those guys turned it down too.'
[We have no plans to take this caravan request. With the raiders running rampant lately, and the Turk Merchant Company having been hit before...]
With them, plus me and Luis, it'd be exactly five. But they refused, forcing him to find three more separately.
And the only ones who applied were those two idiots. I cursed inwardly.
“Fine, I'll let this slide.”
I had no choice but to release Stran.
Holding on longer just seemed a bit pitiful for him.
“L-Lived...”
He let out a sigh of relief, but unfortunately, I couldn't relax so easily.
The world might end today or tomorrow—what peace of mind could I have knowing that?
Those two over there—one's even a demon.
Either way, they're among the top five most dangerous beings in the world.
Them forming a party? It's insane.
And it didn't seem like just a simple party either...
They had a strangely intimate relationship.
“By the way, impressive, Silion? You're a summoner, right? A 4-star adventurer at your age— not just pretty, but skilled too.”
“It's nothing. You've got some nice sword aura yourself, Siu. Must've earned it through hard work.”
...Fucking hell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 1.
“The Miresho will depart soon! Everyone, board!”
-Whoosh!
Amid the roar of fierce winds, the crewman's booming voice filled the dock, announcing imminent departure.
Turk Merchant Company staff and adventurers boarded the cargo-laden Miresho, while hired mercenaries climbed onto smaller escort ships, resembling a fleet.
Four armed escort ships accompanied the vessel Miresho at its center.
Stran must've put some thought into safety.
-Thud. Thud. Thud.
'Miresho, huh.'
Cyan couldn't tear her eyes from the ship as she boarded.
Miresho.
The massive airship owned by the Turk Merchant Company evoked images of a real-world cruise ship soaring through the skies.
And it actually did.
Its principle was pure fantasy: mana-charged magic stones perpetually supplied power to flight enchantments for levitation.
'A flying ship, but a bit large. Suits me fine.'
Not just any flying ship, but a flying passenger liner—Cyan marveled once more.
If romance existed, this was it.
“Lady Cyan, you look so amazed.”
“Do I?”
“Yeah.”
Luis, sticking close to Cyan, found her reaction intriguing.
“If you say so. Honestly, I'm looking forward to it.”
“Flying through the sky isn't that exciting.”
“It's not just about flying. The means matter—that changes its value.”
“...But couldn't you just fly us there yourself? Way faster than this. Why bother renting an airship and using human means?”
“Of course, but...”
Cyan could use flight magic herself.
Her speed surpassed even dragons, likely the fastest in the mortal realm.
Yet she disliked flight magic and avoided it, which puzzled Luis.
“This adventure's just for fun. No focus on efficiency.”
“Fun, huh...”
Cyan shrugged and patted Luis's head.
Though she said that, the truth differed.
'If I mess up the direction, who knows where I'd end up.'
She didn't voice the fear of getting lost.
Having lost her way multiple times here, Cyan knew she was hopelessly directionally challenged.
She doubted she'd arrive safely flying solo.
'If I veer toward the Holy Church, it'd be trouble.'
She'd realized she was a complete pathfinder failure.
“Go explore freely for now. I'll nap here. Chances to sleep under warm sun like this are rare.”
“Got it. I'll check out the cabins then.”
With Luis heading to the cabins, Cyan lay on a sunbed on deck.
The Miresho was meant for crowds like a cruise, but with raider issues and a canceled-then-rushed restart, aside from adventurers and crew, no passengers boarded.
So, it was quiet.
-Whoosh
A refreshing breeze carried warm sunlight as she dozed leisurely.
'Not bad.'
Perfect for such romantic pursuits.
-Thud thud
“Siu, let's check that side.”
“Yeah, no people there, should be fine.”
Provided those two weren't around.
'...What?'
A sudden presence woke Cyan from satisfying sleep.
'Where's it from?'
No one visible nearby.
Then she spotted the hero and Demon King on the lower deck.
Of course, they didn't know each other's identities.
Detecting true natures was Cyan's unique skill.
Normally, hero and Demon King would sense each other instinctively, but these two oddly didn't.
'What the hell are they doing down there?'
Curious from the noise, she peered below.
And there—
“...”
Cyan fell silent at the sight.
It was straight out of players' fantasies, the kind of hero-Demon King coupling from internet communities.
Whatever happened to them, Cyan questioned if this was real.
'What the...'
Too surreal, yet real.
“Silion, someone might see...”
“It's fine, no one's watching. Staff are busy till lunch anyway.”
Straddling the same chair.
“Haah, ungh...”
Unmistakably a sticky couple scene.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
《 Neutral Stage ~ Miresho Cabin 》 -Creak!
I entered the cabin in a foul mood.
Luis was gone—probably sightseeing elsewhere.
“...Damn those lunatics.”
No outlet for my anger here, and hunting them down was too much hassle.
I just lay on the bed to sort my thoughts.
Hero and Demon King coupling—who the hell came up with that monstrosity? I'm dying to know.
They flaunted intense affection right in front of me.
The hero didn't notice me, but the Demon King did—and it felt deliberate, like showing off.
'Whatever the intent, they've got the wrong idea.'
Probably because I rejected their party invite earlier. But escalating to that with an idiot? Unbelievable.
Couldn't read the exact motive.
But maybe it didn't stray from the main story.
'In Novel Online, they kinda ended up like a couple, so overall not weird...'
In Novel Online, hero and Demon King differed from kill-or-be-killed norms.
The hero had to defeat the Demon King, but failed and died.
Key: the Demon King didn't kill him.
I did.
'Precisely, the player did.'
Hard to explain—core to Novel Online's story.
The hero was an otherworldly being to protect the mortal realm.
Not fated to fight the Demon King inevitably.
He fought to defend mortals, blocking the player killing the 'Demon King,' sparking Novel Online's nastiest boss fight.
⚔ FALLEN HERO - KANG SIU ⚔ “Sorry, but I can't let you take down the Demon King. Turn back—or one of us dies here.”
Level 500, HP in the hundreds of trillions.
He spammed cheat skills; fail to deal enough damage in 10 seconds, and he regen'd 1% HP per second—insane.
And more?
Two lives.
Barely kill him? “Hero revives with unbreakable will.” Then final phase with instant-death AoE spam.
⚔ FALLEN HERO - KANG SIU ⚔ “...I can't give up here. Holy Sword, grant me power! Power to protect this world!!!”
Honestly harder than the Demon King.
Demon King had tough patterns, not melee instakills or 3-min AoE wipes.
Maybe tougher than final boss Delatros?
'Ha, old memories surfacing.'
Not the point anyway.
He's weak now compared to endgame; story needs half Demon King army wiped and Ires Empire fallen—far off.
Can't say for sure.
'If the hero allies with Demon King here, how's the story change?'
Key: hero allying with Demon King.
When he learns the 'truth' about this world—pivotal to mortal realm arc.
Looks like a perv idiot, but normally he'd grow with player as holy knight defending humans from Demon King.
'But not this time.'
He couldn't recruit me, his fated companion.
So he's solo adventuring, still a trainee.
No major Demon King-human clashes; Demon King doesn't hate humans much, vacationing almost.
If player kills hero and reaches Demon King, her reaction chills the spine.
👹 DEMON KING - SILMARION 👹 “I will never forgive you bastards... for killing my kin and him! From today, humans will go extinct in this world. Fools blind to true enemies—behold the wrath of the demons...!!!”
The voice acting was top-tier.
Her hatred pierced the screen, brimming with malice.
Far from her current loose screw.
“...Maybe this is better, actually.”
Situationally, yes.
No major demon-human friction; armistice held, world at peace.
But how long? Transcendents intervening would shatter this fragile calm like thin ice.
-Boom!
“?”
⚙ ANNOUNCEMENT ⚙ This is Miresho. A wyvern flock has appeared overhead. Please stay safe. Not my concern.
I'm heading back to Earth—permanent goodbye to this world.
No reason to fight Transcendents like in the game.
I'm no saint fighting for the world.
Just Cyan.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“...Maybe vent some stress.”