Encounter
The cave began to collapse as if it could no longer withstand any more shocks. Reve and I had no choice but to scramble desperately outside.
“...”
We lay on the ground, catching our breath for a moment.
“Hey… you okay?”
“...”
But I couldn’t give Reve any answer.
Siwoo…
“Momo, what the hell was that…?”
Probably… what I called an Impurity.
“Impurity…”
I remembered Momo telling me once that when the Hero is summoned, the summoning magic—or summoning circle—isn’t perfect, so sometimes other things slip in by mistake. Those were called Impurities.
“So that really was an Impurity…?”
If that person was the real Hero and I was just an Impurity, then I…
There is a way to tell them apart.
Momo’s words felt like a single ray of light shining down on me.
“Really?! What is it?”
The Holy Sword. Only the true Hero can wield the Holy Sword.
“The Holy Sword…”
The Hero and the Holy Sword—an inseparable pair that almost always appeared together. Right now, that was my only hope.
“Then where is it? Where’s the Holy Sword?”
…At the northernmost edge of the North Continent. The peak of the tallest mountain in this world.
“The northernmost edge of the North Continent…”
I didn’t know exactly where that was, but just hearing it told me it was an insanely faraway place.
“Hey.”
A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“…Reve.”
“Seeing you mutter nonsense like that, I guess you’re feeling better.”
Reve sat down across from me.
“…Thanks. For pulling me out of that bandit hideout.”
“Forget it. Escaping would’ve been impossible if either one of us had been missing.”
Reve stood up and began gathering suitable branches.
“Still, I only managed to get out because you said we should go together.”
I got up too and started helping him. With practiced movements, Reve built a campfire.
“Um… is it really okay to light a fire here?”
“It’s fine. The bandit stronghold has been destroyed, and I confirmed those unidentified bastards headed toward the entrance. This place is far enough away to be safe.”
“No, I meant because we’re in a forest…”
I still couldn’t keep up with Reve’s way of thinking.
“…As long as neither of us walks around carrying fire, there’s no reason for the forest to burn.”
“I guess that’s true…”
Once again, silence settled between us.
“You said you were the… Hero, right?”
“...”
Ah, I had said something like that while fighting the bandit boss.
“And then you kept babbling about the Holy Sword and other nonsense I couldn’t understand…”
“That’s…”
Would Reve believe in Momo? Zildre had accepted it so easily…
“When I think about it, none of it makes any sense.”
“Yeah, I figured…”
Honestly, even I wouldn’t believe it if I were in his shoes.
“The next Demon King hasn’t even been chosen yet… and there’s been no movement from the Calamity. Above all, it’s only been ten years since the previous Hero was summoned.”
Now that I thought about it… Momo had said she was the second Hero. Did that mean Heroes were summoned generation after generation?
“Are Heroes… summoned continuously?”
“Haah… Your reaction makes it painfully obvious you’re from another world.”
Reve sighed and answered my question.
“…To explain, Heroes are summoned once every hundred years. The previous one was the ninth. If you really are the Hero, you’d be the tenth.”
“The tenth…”
Then the first Hero would have been summoned roughly eight hundred and ten years ago. That meant there was an enormous gap of nearly seven hundred years between Momo and me.
Zildre really was the weird one. No matter how amazing someone is, who would remember a person from seven hundred years ago in detail?
“That’s why I can’t believe it. The fact that the rules of summoning that have been upheld until now have been broken…”
“Is that so strange? Rules get broken all the time, don’t they?”
“That’s true, but… this rule has lasted for over nine hundred years. The fact that it’s been broken is what’s strange.”
I finally understood Reve’s inner conflict. His behavior and knowledge clearly marked him as an otherworlder, but if this had been ninety years later, he might have believed me. Right now, though—only ten years after the last Hero’s summoning—I would just look like a crazy person.
“But I will believe that you are the Hero.”
“…What?”
Reve had just said he would believe something even I couldn’t believe.
“No, actually, whether you’re the Hero or not doesn’t matter to me. I’ll play along with your story.”
“What do you…?”
“From what I’ve seen of that mask of yours and the way you talk, it seems you plan to go to the North Continent to find the Holy Sword…”
“Yeah. Momo said the Holy Sword is at the northern tip of the North Continent.”
Reve pointed at Momo with a sour expression. Even though he said he’d play along, the way his voice trembled when he mentioned the mask made it clear he was having a hard time accepting Momo’s existence.
“I’ll help you, so you help me. It’s a simple contract.”
“A contract? Help you?”
Reve nodded with a serious face.
“Yes. Let me reintroduce myself properly.”
He stood up.
“My name is Madireve de Erasreve. I am the son of Madireve to Solapitna and one of the Demon King successor candidates.”
“Demon King successor candidate…?”
Suddenly there was way too much information.
Demon King successor candidate…? They have those now?
Momo seemed equally shocked to realize she had jumped over seven hundred years of history without meaning to.
“Ahem. Due to certain circumstances, I am currently in the Central Continent. To become the Demon King, I need a support base.”
“So… you want me to become your support base in exchange for helping me?”
“Exactly.”
Huh? But if Reve became the Demon King…
“But if I prove I’m the Hero, how am I supposed to support you?”
“Hm? Why couldn’t you?”
“Well… the Demon King and the Hero are enemies, aren’t they?”
The opposition between Demon King and Hero was the most obvious thing in the world. If I proved I was the Hero by wielding the Holy Sword, wouldn’t that mean I couldn’t help Reve become the Demon King?
“You’ve got the order wrong.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“My becoming the Demon King and you being the Hero have nothing to do with each other.”
“Then explain it so I can—”
“Listen to the end. As you know, the Demon King and Hero are destined to oppose each other. But I am still only a Demon King successor candidate.”
Hmm… that was true…
“You mean… before you actually become the Demon King?”
“Correct. There is nothing that says a Hero cannot help someone become the Demon King.”
“Well, that may be true, but…”
Even if he wasn’t the Demon King yet, was it really okay for the Hero to help a successor candidate create a new Demon King? Was that morally acceptable?
“If you really are the Hero, wouldn’t it be a good choice? You’d have the chance to learn every detail about the next Demon King.”
“Ugh… no, that’s…”
As I fell into serious contemplation, Reve added one more thing.
“Don’t think about it too seriously. There are a great many successor candidates, and even more strong ones among them.”
“You’re saying it’s hard for you to become the Demon King?”
I didn’t know how the position of Demon King was viewed in this world, but it was clear a lot of people wanted it.
Reve cleared his throat, slightly turning his head to hide his expression.
“…It’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but I am currently ranked 107th among the Demon King successor candidates.”
“How many candidates are there in total?”
“There are 110 candidates altogether.”
Out of 110 candidates, 107th place meant…
“You’re basically dead last!”
If we were talking ranks, that would be like 9th grade? No—when you’re third from the bottom, does ranking even mean anything?
“The chances are very low, but… you still shouldn’t give up—”
“What kind of Digimon is spouting Pokémon lines?! Stop saying such ridiculous things!”
I felt a sudden wave of dizziness.
Yeah, now that I think about it, there’s no way a Demon King successor candidate would be sitting helplessly in a shabby bandit hideout with no guards.
Reve’s situation was probably that he hadn’t gained any forces around him and had come all the way to this area that seemed to reject demons.
“My head is pounding…”
“Ahem. That sword art you showed earlier… it was quite impressive.”
While I clutched my head, Reve was obviously trying to change the subject.
“…It’s called Sword Arts.”
“Sword Arts? I’ve never heard of that style.”
Reve looked at me with a curious, intrigued expression.
“What? You don’t know it either, Reve.”
Of course not! He’s a demon! Sword Arts is a famous sword style from the eastern part of the Central Continent and the East Continent!
“East Continent…? Where the hell is that…”
Yet another term I didn’t know had come up.
“The East Continent… It’s true that martial arts are more developed there…”
Reve pretended to know what he was talking about while eavesdropping on Momo’s words.
“…Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who said it loud enough for everyone to hear.”
“Do you know a lot about the East Continent?”
I ignored Reve’s scolding and asked anyway.
“Since we’ve come this far, I’ll explain the continents to you.”
“Yeah, it’d be good to know.”
“Alright. Pay attention.”
Reve sat beside me and began drawing on the ground with a branch as he explained.
“First, the Central Continent where we are now. As the name suggests, it’s in the center.”
He drew a circle on the ground.
“Next is the West Continent—my homeland, also called the Demon Realm. It’s a place where almost only demons like me live.”
He drew another circle to the left, slightly smaller than the Central Continent.
“Then there’s the North Continent, where you said the Holy Sword is. True to its name, the entire continent is extremely cold. It’s also the only continent owned by the Central powers.”
He drew a circle above the Central Continent, about the same size as the West Continent, and grouped it together with the Central one.
“The East Continent… not much is known about it. It’s far away, and its unique closed-off nature is very strong.”
The circle he drew on the right was similar in size to the West and North Continents but much farther from the Central Continent than the others.
“Finally, the South Continent—also called the Jungle or the Great Jungle. It’s the place currently targeted by all continents except the North.”
Looking at the circles drawn for east, west, south, north, and center, Reve gave me the basic explanation of this world.
Just as he said, the largest circle was the Central Continent. Unlike the East, South, and North Continents which were placed at roughly equal distances, the East Continent stood noticeably farther away by itself. And then the South Continent, which the Central, South, and East Continents were all aiming at with arrows—except for the North.
“There’s so much of this stuff!”
“There are only five. And since the North Continent is practically an extension of the Central Continent, it’s essentially four.”
When I organized them one by one, it wasn’t that hard. If I thought about it, the number of continents was similar to Earth’s.
“Well… there is the Great Blue Sea, but we don’t need to think about that right now.”
“Yeah… for now, our goal is the North Continent.”
And not just anywhere in the North Continent—we had to go to the tallest mountain at its very edge…
“Haah…”
Just thinking about it made me sigh.
“Right. Let’s sleep here tonight and start moving tomorrow.”
The sun had already set long ago. It was the middle of the night, filled with the sounds of insects and birds. We ended up camping out with no prior plans.
Reve seemed used to this kind of camping. He skillfully gathered leaves to make a sleeping spot.
“Reve, but—”
“It’s Erasreve.”
“Erasreve… is too long…”
“No, it’s Erasreve.”
“…? Okay, Erasreve.”
“No! The full name is Madireve de Erasreve!”
Before we knew it, we had finished making our beds and were lying side by side.
“Ah, Madireve de Erasreve. Your name is confusing on purpose…”
“You’re the one who’s weird. Why can’t you remember it…”
Reve turned over with a displeased look.
“Um… can I just keep calling you Reve? It has ‘reve’ in it anyway.”
“Haah… Fine. Call me whatever you want.”
“Great! You know my name, right? Lee Siwoo!”
“...”
“Huh? Are you already asleep?”
Whether he didn’t want to talk to me or had really fallen asleep, there was no answer from Reve.
“...”
I closed my eyes too, preparing for the next day.
Another world… Momo… Zildre… Reve… In just a few days, I had experienced far too many things.
Was I really the Hero?
Or was I just an Impurity who had been accidentally dragged here…?
If that was the case, why was I going through all this nonsense here?
Why?
Because of that idiot Saintess’s mistake?
Why me?
Why?
Why me of all people?
Why?
Why!!!!!
Siwoo, even if you’re not the Hero… I’ll always be on your side.
Listening to Momo’s last words, I fell asleep.