The Shepherdess and the Traveler

The Ragged Duke swung his arm in a slow, deliberate arc. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the pain that would soon come. The moment his cleaver sank into my throat with a wet thud, I gradually lost consciousness.

Please… let me rest now…

Beneath the darkness of fading awareness, I dreamed of eternal peace. But what greeted me was not eternal rest. Instead, it was the cold sensation of being forcibly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dragged up from the abyss.

“Ha…”

When I came to, a large pool of blood filled my vision. And with it came the memory of what had happened. Some entity that was not me had brutally slaughtered the Ragged Duke.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

I couldn’t stop the laughter from bursting out. I had finally gathered the courage to die and escape this hell, yet even that had been impossible for me.

“Fuck…”

The muttered curse fell weakly into the pool of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blood and scattered apart.

After that, I went through several more regressions. I no longer focused on building achievements. The new thing I began doing was meeting people. The more I mingled with demons, the more I felt my humanity slipping away. Rather than achieving anything as a demon or as the Demon King, I simply wanted to meet people.

During that time, I wandered all across the human world. Sometimes I became a farmer, sometimes a merchant, and occasionally a craftsman. At times, rumors spread that the Hero had slain demons. At other times, I heard that demons had killed the Hero. Through all those swirling storms of upheaval, I remained nothing more than an observer.

How many regressions had I gone through? I no longer knew. In the meantime, I had made many friends and formed countless connections. There was the kind-hearted farmer friend, the sly one who could never quite abandon his friends in the end, and even the gruff craftsman who taught me every technique he knew. I met so many beings.

They were connections that would vanish without a trace after eight years, but that was fine. Without them, my mind would have completely shattered.

How many regressions had there been? How many new bonds had I formed? And how many of them had forgotten me?

Once again, the cursed message appeared before me, bringing only despair.

Every eight years, it felt like my prison cell changed. In this prison called regression, I desperately wanted to escape this endless hell.

I’m so tired now…

I chose No in my mind.

The words permanent annihilation. The first time I saw them, they had terrified me. Now they felt like salvation.

With a calm heart, I pressed Yes.

But…

“Haha… Damn it… There’s no way it would let me go that easily.”

I pressed Yes several more times, but nothing changed. It was like a button that hadn’t been activated.

I decided to do nothing. I no longer wanted to regress.

Yet regardless of my will, the message changed again.

The regression began without even asking anymore. That was when I personally destroyed the world with my own hands.

Dozens more regressions followed. During that time, many changes occurred in my heart. I neither destroyed the world nor mingled with humans. I simply lived as a lethargic Demon King.

Then one day, I heard a story about the Hero. The Hero’s party had been completely wiped out by a demon attack. And that was when a single ray of hope rose in my mind.

I was a being created by the Evil God to return the world to nothingness. On the other hand, the Hero who stood in direct opposition to me was a being created by God to kill me.

In other words… the only one qualified to kill me was the Hero.

What if the Hero, who could grow infinitely in the game, was properly raised?

Of course, from the first round until now, the Hero had always been incredibly weak. She died from all sorts of causes without fail. But what if I raised her myself? Wouldn’t the story change?

In reality, the Hero always gathered new companions each time. Sometimes they were competent characters I recognized, and sometimes they were such trash characters that I had never even heard of them.

If I guided the Hero properly… if I raised her to be strong… perhaps even beyond the settings of Axion World.

At the same time, I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

The reason was…

“Damn it… I’ve become too strong.”

I had already transcended the gods, after all.

But the vessel known as the Hero could grow infinitely. And if I collected all the overpowered items hidden throughout Axion World?

Her growth would surpass even my imagination.

In that case, I would use every last bit of knowledge and power I possessed to complete her.

And so, the moment those eight years passed once again… I faced the same scene I had seen hundreds of times ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before.

“Demon King, we have finally arrived in Middle Earth. We must quickly exterminate the humans and establish our foothold here.”

I rose from my throne.

“Very well. However, I wish to show the humans true terror.”

I looked over the 1st Legion.

“True terror comes from the enemy’s helplessness. Attack the humans, but spare those who surrender and send them back alive.”

The Minotaur could not hide his bewilderment at my command.

“Demon King… that is…”

I knew what he wanted to say. The demons were not as strong as I was. While they held the advantage against humans, it would be difficult to overwhelm them completely without reckless bravado.

But in this round, I wanted to die like a human.

I didn’t want them to slaughter everything in sight like a true Demon King.

“Then, Minotaur, will you prove it to me?”

At my words, he lowered his head and gave no answer.

“Then I will take that as obedience to my command. Now go! Go and give the humans overwhelming terror.”

With those words, I entered the Demon King’s castle without even watching the legion’s advance.

That night, I took a single sword and some money and slipped out of the Demon King’s castle. The place I headed for after leaving was Eiron Village.

It was a peaceful village. A long wooden fence surrounded the small settlement, and inside were countless cows, sheep, and goats. The green grass that spread out in every direction created a landscape as beautiful as a painting.

“It really is incredibly beautiful before it becomes a ruin.”

I had come here once before. After all, when I played Axion World, the Hero’s journey always began here.

That aside… why was the Hero always a woman?

In the game Axion World, players could choose the Hero’s gender. If male, the name was Ian. If female, it was Scarlet. Yet for some reason, the Hero of this world was always Scarlet.

From my estimation, this was not the game world but reality, and the true Hero of this place was Scarlet. Ian was probably just a gender-swapped version created for game sales. There were, after all, some slight differences from the game.

I followed the stone path laid across the meadow toward the village. The sunlight was warm, and the breeze gently brushed against my cheeks. It was hard to believe such a beautiful place would soon become ruins.

But this time would be different.

“Because I won’t let it happen.”

I spoke the words with firm determination and quickened my steps.

The small village spread out beneath the high hill looked completely different from the ruins I had only ever seen before. I descended the hill and looked around.

The boys playing in front of the village spotted me and shouted.

“Huh? It’s an outsider.”

“Whoa?! For real?!”

The children’s voices rang through the peaceful village air.

“Hello. My name is Kai, and I’m a traveler. Would it be possible to stay in this village for a while?”

When I asked the children with a gentle smile, the clever-looking boy pointed toward one of the village buildings.

“You’ll have to ask the village chief about that.”

“I see. Is that the chief’s house over there?”

The boy nodded in reply. I patted his head and headed toward the chief’s house.

This feels like playing an RPG game.

Unlike previous regressions, I had decided this round would be my last. Perhaps that was why everything felt different. It was as if I had truly become human.

Knock, knock.

“Is anyone home?”

The door soon opened, and the village chief appeared. He was a man who appeared to be in his fifties, wearing shabby clothes, with ash-grey hair. The white strands mixed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠throughout made his hair look almost the color of ash. He pressed a straw hat onto his head and asked,

“Who are you?”

“I’m a traveling traveler. I came to see if there might be a place to stay.”

The chief looked me up and down.

“Got any money?”

I took out a gold coin and flicked it toward him.

Clink.

The chief snatched the spinning coin out of the air, examined it closely, and broke into a wide smile.

“Stay at my house as long as you like.”

“Thank you.”

And so I stayed in Eiron Village and observed the village while I was there. There were about ten houses. Excluding the storage shed, the village was very small.

Watching the sun set, I fell deep into thought.

How should I approach Scarlet?

The process of her becoming the Hero was complicated. The village would be attacked, and to escape poverty she would take up a sword and live as an adventurer, eventually pulling the holy sword from the stone and becoming the Hero.

My plan was to save this village and become Scarlet’s master.

“I’ve thought about it a little in advance, but…”

This place would soon be attacked by monsters. If I saved her and the village then, perhaps she would follow me a little.

That was when it happened.

While I was lost in thought, staring at the pasture, a woman with mysterious blue hair descended the hill, accompanied by a large dog.

Scarlet?

Mysterious blue hair, an overwhelmingly elegant figure even from a distance, a white shirt and black leather pants. She possessed a fatal beauty that could steal one’s soul at a single glance. Long eyelashes, snow-white skin, and mysterious sapphire eyes.

She held a wooden staff that shepherds used, yet her beauty was so striking it barely registered. She looked a little younger than I remembered, but there was no doubt. This woman was definitely Scarlet.

She was the future Hero I had been looking for.

Our eyes met as she slowly approached. For some reason, she stared at me intently.

Woof! Woof! Grrrrr!

The dog barked fiercely as she drew closer.

“Taylor, no! Quiet~ Shh~!”

Scarlet calmed the dog once she was close enough and asked me,

“Hello. I don’t think I’ve seen you before… May I ask who you are?”

Perhaps because of the sunset, her face looked slightly flushed. I found it curious, but answered her question politely.

“Hello. My name is Kai, a traveler. I’ll be staying here for a while.”

At my words, she opened her mouth slightly in surprise.

“At the village chief’s house?”

“Yes.”

“I… I see. Well, see you later then.”

I watched Scarlet as she walked away, feeling somewhat bewildered.