Assassination (1)
As we left the village and began climbing the mountain path, I quickened my pace. Once we drew near imperial territory, I would need to take the lead as the guide. Showing the Hero's face in a contested zone would only put the demons on high alert—so the plan was to cut straight into their camp from the start and assassinate their commander.
Ashuria brought up the rear with a look of open dissatisfaction, while the Hero and I walked together at the head of the party. Watching me move along the path without the slightest hesitation, the Hero spoke up.
"You must have lived in this region, right? You're moving so freely."
"I mostly worked in the capital, but given the nature of my job, I wandered all over. You could say there's nowhere in the country I haven't been."
"What? Were you a peddler, mister?"
Lena tossed the question at me. She spoke in a very low voice, braced for any possible ambush, so I was a little startled. Careful not to show any ripple of emotion, I nodded and answered.
"Something like that. Among the people still alive, there's probably no one who knows the geography of the Empire better than I do."
Most of the living people of the Empire were trapped on demon-realm land, after all. Limited to people currently free to move, it wasn't wrong in the slightest. At my words, Mille spoke with a gloomy face.
"Come to think of it, did all the people of the Empire get captured and killed by the demons of the demon realm? Hmm? Ever since the Empire fell, no one has made it out across the border."
She slowed her steps, looking dejected. Neither Lena nor Ashuria wore a particularly cheerful expression when thinking about the atrocities the demons had committed. The Hero nodded while stroking the hilt of his sword. I looked around the forest.
Just then I spotted a rhombus-shaped raw stone embedded in the ground—the kind of thing you could find anywhere in a region eroded by the demon realm. I nudged it with my foot and said,
"Do you see this?"
"A jewel… is it?"
"I've never seen a shape like that."
"It's not a mineral either."
Everyone seemed not to know. It was proof that the Demon King's army, for all its unstoppable advance, had not yet properly eroded this Kingdom's land. I stroked the raw stone and said,
"This is a Magic Stone. It's something the Demon King's army creates to erode this land into something like the demon realm. Do you know how these are made?"
"Ah, this is…"
The Hero and Ashuria nodded as if they knew something, but the other party members still wore puzzled expressions. I ran my fingers over the surface of the Magic Stone and continued.
"When the Demon King's army descended upon the Empire's land, they tried to transform it into a world more comfortable for them to live in. These Magic Stones react with life force to scatter demonic energy across the land—created to assimilate this entire continent until it becomes identical to the demon realm."
"What, so we just smash every one we see, right?"
Lena rummaged through her pocket as if ready to smash it on the spot. I reached out and stopped her before she could act. She tilted her head at the gesture, then slipped her dagger back into her pocket. I hadn't even seen her draw it—but the speed of that draw was truly ghostlike.
I stroked the surface of the Magic Stone again.
"These Magic Stones are made by covering living beings—including humans—with demonic energy. They convert the life force pouring out from within into demonic energy to pollute the earth. That means something living is still alive inside."
"That's twisted."
"When we reclaimed Kingdom territory, I heard that smashing the Magic Stones in a village made blood come pouring out."
At the Hero's words, Ashuria nodded as well.
"The Church had instructions to avoid touching black structures if possible—so that must have been these. This is actually my first time seeing one."
"This one has a wild animal trapped inside after being swept up by demonic energy, so it's a bit different from the structures you and the sister know. Ordinary Magic Stones are usually stacked in tower form on large structures, since they use amplification devices to boost the power of nearby demons."
Mille spoke up.
"Then we can't save the creatures inside? Wouldn't it be better to just put them out of their misery?"
"There is a way. We need to deal with the strongest demon commander who dominates this area."
The Hero added to my explanation.
"The Demon King can't manage all the Magic Stones himself, so the demon commanders are the ones maintaining them. Take out the commanders, and all the demonic energy surrounding the people will scatter and free them."
It was undeniable that countless people had been sacrificed before this conclusion was reached.
Many had died hammering and dismantling Magic Stones, and a demon commander taken prisoner had been killed by an enraged soldier after torture. Only after he died did the Magic Stones he had been keeping free themselves from the demonic energy all at once. Lena said,
"So if we defeat that poison-using commander here, the territory gets liberated?"
"I don't know. We might be able to extract information about other commanders from that female demon."
"There's no need to force a capture. Demons all need to die anyway. If the plan goes sideways, we'd be the ones taking the risk. This time, prioritize killing."
The Hero said it in a firm tone. Lena nodded, a little flustered at this cold side of the Hero she was seeing for the first time, while Ashuria wore a rather satisfied expression. Ashuria seemed, surprisingly, to like it when the Hero showed this cold side.
"Then let's keep moving. We have a long way to go. And please try not to touch the Magic Stones if you can. Life is precious, after all."
We started walking again. With every step, the Magic Stones that entered our field of view laid bare the tragedy the demon realm's invasion had brought.
In lands invaded by the Demon King's army, even the chirping of birds cannot be heard. With no wild animals, the forest itself is dying, and as the forest dies, neither fruit nor food grows properly. As the soil rots away, plants that would only grow in the demon realm slowly, slowly sprout, and a thick, foul stench that only demons would enjoy hangs over the world.
A reek like rotting mudflats flowed along the valley stream. Rotten moss wriggled like a drowned person's hair, and I pushed hard against a rock soaked green through. Confirming the surface was slippery, I leapt across the river in one go, and the rest of the party leapt across with me at the same time.
This river that cut across the border region had once been a place of clear water and cool streams, perfect for bathing in the summer. I used to sneak here with people I knew when summer came and throw myself into the valley water.
"I remember playing in the water in the valley. I used to love it when I was young."
A gloomy atmosphere wasn't good with an important operation ahead. I pointed at the river branches that split like blood vessels and spoke. Lena seemed to catch my intent and asked with a smile.
"Completely naked? Country folk always do that, right?"
"I was young then. There weren't even swimsuits or anything—just strip everything off and dry yourself on the rocks when you were done. It was chaos. Right, Hero?"
I smiled and addressed the self-proclaimed "country bumpkin" Hero. The Hero's ears turned red as he rolled his eyes, and when I passed him the baton, he shouted in a flustered tone.
"D-Don't lie! C-Country people don't j-just, r-run around naked! Th-They all p-pack swimsuits and wear them properly. I-I know that too."
Mille tilted her head at the Hero's words.
"I swam naked in the lake too? Isn't that normal?"
Ashuria tilted her head as well.
"I'm from the city, so I have nothing to say on the matter. My parents were so strict that me bathing in a river or swimming naked was unimaginable."
"Th-That, o-our countryside was like that."
The Hero rolled his eyes and tried to recover, and both Lena and I nodded with big grins. Mille said,
"I want to visit the Hero's village someday too. Is it a village where kind people like the Hero live?"
"Just ordinary people. The kind you can find in any other village. You'd probably be disappointed if you saw it."
"Still, I want to meet them once. The Hero's father and mother too! What kind of people are they?"
"Um… I really have nothing to say except that they're ordinary people. Sorry. I'm not good with words."
The Hero said it with a truly apologetic expression. Mille shook her head with a bright smile despite the look on his face.
"It's okay! Still, I'd like to go someday… Oh right! It'd be nice to bring gifts too. Hero! What does your father like? Does he have any hobbies or anything?"
The Hero pushed aside a vine and answered.
"Hmm? He likes horseback riding, especially jousting…"
And the Hero clamped his mouth shut as if he'd been struck on the head like a lark.
"Hmm?"
"Huh?"
I wasn't the only one who found it strange. Lena clicked her tongue with a laugh, and Ashuria rolled her eyes with an inscrutable expression. I whistled and deliberately pretended not to notice, while the Hero stood frozen in place, cold sweat rolling down.
Mille tilted her head and asked,
"Hmm? Horseback riding? Ahh! Does the Hero's father run a ranch?"
"Seems so. The Hero is particularly well-versed when it comes to horses, isn't he? Must be a family tradition."
I patted the shoulder of the Hero, who couldn't answer and was covering his face, as I said so. Mille nodded without any suspicion, and Lena walked ahead saying,
"What does hometown matter. We'll all meet up in the capital once we're rich anyway. Right?"
Both Ashuria and Mille nodded.
"That's true."
"Right! I wanted to live in a city where humans live too!"
Bright laughter.
"Haa…"
The Hero heaved a deep sigh beside me, then rubbed his face again and stepped forward.
How long would the Hero keep claiming to be a country person?