LV999 Villager Chapter 2.3

Such Things, What Value Do They Have?

The town was wrapped in the strange sight of Bloody Buffers flying back up into the sky one by one. It looked like the cows had done their best to stand on the ground, but had been pulled back up by the force of God and flew into the sky. The scene later became famous in the town.

“Takako-san, the Bloody Buffers are flying into the sky, one after another…what's happening?”

“Kagami-chan is probably the only one who could do such things. Even if I'm in my best condition, I don't think I could reach those birds flying in the sky. Only he is able to fling them so high.”

Alice listened to this while staring at the Monster standing next to her with her mouth wide open. Takako, on the other hand, had an exhilarated look as she watched the Bloody Buffers and the Monster Birds falling one after another.

“But, as expected of Kagami-chan. It feels good to send them flying. It seems like he immediately understood what was happening. Let's go, Alice-chan.”

Takako began to walk towards where the Bloody Buffers were flying into the sky. Alice nodded in agreement and chased after her.

When they checked the town's state as they ran by, they saw that the townsfolk had already escaped from the confusing situation. Half of them were in a festive mood, while the other half was shouting in anger towards the Demons.

Those who were treating the event like a festival were drinking sake while watching the Bloody Buffers fly into the air. They also shouted and cheered as they watched the adventurers fight the Bloody Buffers that were rampaging nearby.

However, the town wasn't undamaged and few were joyful about the Bloody Buffers. Some had suffered injuries, while others had their homes destroyed. They glared at the flocking Monster Birds with a desire for vengeance.

When she saw this, Alice's expression became clouded. She had the feeling that she might be blamed for trying to cause a reconciliation between Demons and Humans.

Takako tried to cheer her up by saying “It's not the first time this has happened”, and thought about the long road ahead of her. Although she had hoped that they would cooperate, it was clear that the people standing there would be opposed to the idea.

“Adventurers! Now is the time to stand up! As if we will fall to the hands of the Bloody Buffers! Let's join forces, defeat all the Monsters, and let those who oppose us know of Humanity's power!”

“Uooooooooh!”

Adventurers aimed for the subjugation of the Demon King by defeating Monsters, and the party who stood in front of them, at the vanguard, had delivered a speech before the nearly-dead Bloody Buffers.

Rex pierced a Bloody Buffer with his sword. Krul stood beside him, wearing a serious look, and Tina hid behind them in embarrassment, while Palna yawned as if annoyed.

“Behold! There is no way other Roles could use this sword technique! The power of this technique does not just fling them!”

Rex pulled his sword out of the Bloody Buffer and let out a loud cry towards the heavens.

The Bloody Buffer changed into gold just as a flash of light poured onto Rex and the sky darkened with clouds.

The light that poured onto Rex spit out electricity, causing a small shockwave to hit its surroundings, and wrapped around the blade of Rex's sword.

Then he positioned himself as if he had sheathed his blade and slowly began to move his sword.

「Holy Thunder ・Furious Beheading Wave！」(TN: 「聖雷・剛烈波斬！」)

Rex swung his sword towards the sky while calling out the Skill's name, even though he didn't need to say it. A powerful body of light flew out, as if detached from the sword, and traveled straight towards the Hell Crows with tremendous speed, forming of a blade of light.

The blade of light hit one of the Hell Crows, piercing it, and released an electric shock that was strong enough to burn it to a crisp.

The Hell Crow changed into gold coins and gems before the electric shock had finished discharging, so the gold coins and gems were zapped into dust.

“See that! Just from my strength alone, those formidable, flapping Monsters in the sky are irrelevant! It's not enough to scare us if they are only attacking!”

Rex returned his sword to its sheath as sweat dripped down his forehead. Though it was natural for him to be strong, since he was a Hero, he was able to defeat a high level Monster in a single blow. Alice gave him a respectful look and gasped, “Amazing…as expected of a Hero.”

“are you fine, Hero-sama? It seems like your body received that lightning strike?”

Krul immediately ran over after seeing the weakened Rex stagger due to using his skill just now.

“…I'm fine, but…since I used a large portion of my power, I can only cast it twice. We won't let the Demon King Army pose a threat to Humans, even if we don't have power.”

Rex said with a fatigued look. Krul nodded in silence and gathered the attention of the surrounding Adventurers.

“Please hear me out, everyone. Surely, a Hero's strength is tremendous, but it's not infinite! Everyone's cooperation is essential to show the power of humanity to the Demon King Army…Please lend us your power, in the name of the Hero!”

“Uooooh! Let's do ittt!”

With Krul's encouragement, the Adventurers' morale was boosted and they raised their weapons one after another.

“Hero-sama…are you okay? I'll treat you n-now!”

Meanwhile, Tina and Palna approached the exhausted Rex and Tina handed over a potion to heal his stamina. Palna looked surprised as she praised the greatness of his Holy Thunder ・Furious Beheading Wave.

“This flow is a bit bad.”

Takako muttered while sighing. Alice couldn't understand what made the flow bad. She had considered the various risks of massing them together to take them out in one fell swoop, but it wasn't really a situation that one could call 'bad'. She looked at the Demons in the sky and tilted her head, unable to understand.

“Everyone, it's important to coordinate your timing! Not only are the opponents flying in the sky, they are high Level Monsters. Unlike Hero-sama, I do not think we will defeat them in one blow.”

As Alice was pondering Takako's words, Krul issued instructions to the gathered Adventurers. Along with Rex, they prepared to cast a skill that allowed long-range attacks. Those who could not help took out Bows and Crossbows, while those who could use magic began to chant.

“Hmm?”

Takako lost her troubled look and smiled while raising her voice, as if her chance had come.

Although Alice didn't know what the tall Takako had seen, it didn't seem to be related to the Adventurers in front of her.

“Now! All out attack!”

On Krul's command, all of the Adventurer's attacks shot out simultaneously.

“Takako-chan! I leave it to you!”

“Please leave it to me!”

Almost at the same time, a man's voice echoed, calling Takako. In response, Takako jumped into the sky, causing an exploding sound to resound.

In the next moment, the scene came into her view. Two Bloody Buffers suddenly flew out next to each other and prevented most of the Adventurer's attacks.

The two Bloody Buffers were pierced with arrows and crossbow bolts, protecting the flying Monsters. Takako, who had flown up into the air ahead of time, drop kicked the Bloody Buffers into the ground.

The Bloody Buffers that were drop kicked naturally died and their bodies changed into gold.

“Hey, hey…give me a break. Even though it took great pains to ensure four of them…don't be unreasonable.”

What on earth had happened? Confused, most of the Adventurers there heard the voice and looked towards the direction that the Bloody Buffers had flown from.

There, a young villager-like man was loosely dragging two Bloody Buffers by their horns with one hand. It was Kagami.

“Y-…You!”

Why was there a Villager dragging Bloody Buffers with one hand? It was too strange to be a joke. All of the gathered Adventurers looked surprised. However, the only one to say anything was the one who already knew and had conversed with this man, Krul.

Rex's face distorted and he glared at the Villager with vengeance.

“Yoishotto.”

Kagami walked up to Krul and forcibly shoved the Bloody Buffers he had dragged along into the ground. Palna saw this and said, “It's seriously planted in there,” with a dry smile.

“Why are you here…were the Bloody Buffers just now thrown by you? How on earth were these Bloody Buffers beaten?”

“So many questions. Is it normal to wonder if I am the only Villager in Balman? By the way, you don't have to worry about these Bloody Buffers, because they're unconscious.”

Kagami had a refreshed look, almost as if he had been plowing the fields. Krul glared at Kagami with discontent.

“What's the meaning of this! Even though we took great pains to try and face the Demon King Army with our combined force…You're in the way! Did you just want to show off your own power like that? Or are you actually in league with the Demons…that little sister, of course!”

“Dosukoi”(TN: a type of cheer used in sumo matches, doesn't really have a meaning. Now you know :3)

“Hyan!?”

Kagami had been thoughtlessly listening to Krul's complaints, but he ran out of patience because it was taking too long. He released a light, powerless chop at Krul. Krul was naturally unable to respond to the chop and she raised a strange voice when it hit her.

“all of a sudden, what are you…? This is the first time in my life, since I was born, that I was hit by a gentleman!”

“It would be good to treat it as a valuable experience.”

When she saw Kagami showing no remorse, Krul glared at Kagami with a red face. He didn't really understand if she was embarrassed, angry, or shy.

“Princess…although it's a good idea to coordinate the timing of the attacks, you only get three points out of ten.”

Krul's glare disappeared when she heard this and she looked bewildered instead.

“W-Why?”

“This is the town, right? It would be different if there was enough power to kill them in one blow, but isn't it careless of you to attack them without that guarantee? Won't it be dangerous if the weakened Monsters fall in a place with people in it? Hell Crows are Level 138, so they are dangerous even without flying. What were you trying to do?”

“T-That…”

Krul diverted her glare away from Kagami, wearing a clouded expression. She hadn't considered the damage that would occur while the nearby Adventurers tried to kill the Monsters that were brought down.

“Also, aren't bows and crossbows unwise? If they were to miss, the arrows would rain down onto the city. Wouldn't they cause serious wounds to whoever they hit? It would have been dangerous if Takako-chan wasn't there.”

Kagami made eye contact with Takako, who gave a thumbs up as a 'good sign'.

After he had explained it to that extent, everyone in the hero's party, as well as Alice, understood the meaning behind Kagami's earlier actions. It was to protect the humans that lived in the town.

“Well, it's due to a lack of experience. You have to get more accustomed to fighting. However, I think your concept was good? After this, if you do your best, I think you will be able to instruct people more accurately. First of all, you should consider what should be the highest priority.”

Krul was keenly aware that she had been too obsessed with the Monsters and hadn't really thought of anything else. She had wanted to try to bear the burden of defeating the Monsters alone, rather than wanting to be released from the responsibility. She felt an uncontrollable amount of gratitude towards Kagami.

“But, the Hero over there, you are useless. Zero points.”

Before she could relay this gratitude, Kagami pointed at Rex while releasing an unusual hatred, causing her to swallow her words.

Rex was naturally scared and bewildered by the finger pointing at his body.

“W…why?”

“The power of your skill is wonderful. It's as if that skill recognizes your greatness just from you learning it…but you made both the gold and drop items disappear. Just for that, I will never forgive you. It can't be forgiven.”

After Kagami said this, Rex muttered “Yes?” with a puzzled expression. Almost all of the surrounding people reacted in a similar way. Meanwhile, Kagami directed his line of sight towards the Hell Crows that were still flying around in the air.

“For now, leave the disposal of the Hell Crows to me! Or rather, you should leave everything to me.”

“Hold up, hold up. Even though your power is really amazing, aren't you helpless by yourself? Your opponents are flying in the sky.”

Palna folded her arms and responded to Kagami's shout of “Leave the processing of the Drop Items to me too!” by pointing out the problem.

However, Kagami immediately lifted up the two Bloody Buffers he had been grabbing by their horns and threw them towards the flying Hell Crows with all his might.

“Ah! It was you!!”

Rex finally realized the true identity of the one who had sent the many Bloody Buffers flying towards the sky earlier, and he raised his voice while pointing at him.

Rex's face distorted when he saw the Hell Crow torn up by the direct hit from the flying Bloody Buffer. The attack seemed to give the impression that Kagami was assuming that he was the only one putting in effort.

“Y-You…aren't you a Villager? How do you have such power!?”

One of the Adventurers who didn't see him as an abnormal presence called out to him.

“Effort.”

Nearly everyone made a drawn expression, unsatisfied with Kagami's statement, and wanted to say “What the hell is that guy talking about.” Only Rex glared at Kagami, clenching his teeth.

If it was just effort, he himself had also given it. Nevertheless, he could not agree with the strength of that Villager, compared to his. Effort? It couldn't be a reason like that. He had put in effort many times. But was it still not enough? Was just training not enough, despite the power he had managed to obtain until now? It couldn't be such a thing. How on earth had that guy obtained the power to make such accusations? It was impossible for him to lose like that. Such thoughts were swirling around in Rex's mind.

“Even if you don't show it, I understand your power. I'm not such an idiot that I can't understand it, no matter how many times you show it to me. I say there isn't a way for you to defeat those guys up in the air. Aren't you helpless because a Villager can't use magic?”

Kagami was amazed at what Palna said and answered, “Well, there are none.”

“Eh, Kagami-san can't use magic!?”

Alice, who had been secretly nearby, looked surprised when she heard Palna.

“Ara, it was…you. Wasn't she your little sister…Kagami-san?”

Palna reacted to the sudden voice, and everyone there looked towards Alice.

Most of those who looked at Alice had normal expressions. It was just the Hero's party who had skeptical looks.

Alice saw this situation and her sight slightly shifted to the right, thinking that she had been found out.

“I'm saying that my sister calls me by my name, since a long time ago. It's not like I wasn't going to give my name. I am Kagami. Call me Bishoujo Kagami-chan~”

“…But you aren't called that.”

Kagami followed up in a split second, but Palna's suspicious gaze didn't change. Kagami splendidly ignored her gaze and moved until he was in front of Alice.

“Good, were you safe? Did they call you a chibi (TN:pipsqueak, small fry etc)? It's fine to call you a chibi until you're one litre though?”(It's a joke about her tits)

“I'm not a child! Rather, you're unable to use magic, Kagami-san?”

“Just because I'm Level 999 doesn't mean I'm omnipotent.”

Alice stared at Kagami as he replied with an uneasy look on his face, as if he was appealing to her. To think that she had never had a chance to talk about magic with him. She stared at Kagami with a sorrowful look.

For a moment, Alice thought that it couldn't be helped, but now she really wanted to go to the toilet so she slightly directed her stare at the sky. Kagami assumed that Alice was thinking about what to say.

“Alright. It's fine, so don't worry about it. I'll manage it, somehow.”

Alice loosened up after hearing those words, as if she felt relieved.

Krul lost her skeptical look when she saw this and slowly approached Alice. She hugged Alice while seeming to be slightly apologetic.

“I agree…it was scary, huh. I mean, you're still so small. But it's fine, we will surely annihilate the Demon King's Army. That's why, isn't it fine to be at ease?”

Krul misunderstood that Alice had been frightened after seeing the Demon King's Army and she gently smiled at Alice while reassuring her.

“Role, Princess. Skill, Misinterpretation.”

“…Did you say something?”

“…Isn't it just your imagination?”

Krul faced Kagami, as if she wanted to ask him something, and, while looking as if she had seen a pitiful person, responded to him.

“Kagami-san…was it? I still haven't introduced myself. I was born on the tenth month of the lunar calendar and I am called Krul ・Hexal Doria. Although Kagami-san's power has been repeatedly acknowledged, I don't think we can make the Demon King's Army understand Humanity's power if we don't coordinate our power now. I'm thankful for your suggestions earlier…but please leave this place to us.”

“Why do you think that you can make them understand?”

“Eh?”

She had been teeming with confidence that he would advocate her idea, so Kagami's unexpected response surprised her. She was slightly bewildered, not knowing the intent of the question. After taking a deep breath, she stared at Kagami in a serious manner.

“The Demon King's Army doesn't know Humanity's potential. Therefore, we have to attack and show them our power. Regardless of whether we attacked carelessly or not, it's necessary to make them understand! We need to try and attack them again, without thinking about things like being careless!”

“Even though you thought about it until now, why haven't you noticed it?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Why do you think that the Demon King's Army doesn't understand Humanity's potential?”

In response to Kagami's baffling question, Krul stopped and thought about it carefully. Although the question was unusual, it had a simple answer and she came up with it quickly.

“Because…the Demon King's Army has never come to attack us?”

“That's right! You understand well! Well done, well done!”

“P-Please don't treat me like a child! What's the point you're trying to make?!”

Although she had said the answer to the question herself, Krul didn't care about it and raised her voice while blushing in response to Kagami. When Kagami saw this, he thought from the bottom of his heart that her common sense was terrible and let out a slight sigh.

“There have been no attacks until now because of the Demon King's will, right? But they came and attacked. Did something happen to the Demon King? Do you not think that there was some type of change with the Demon King?”

“That may be…but even if something did happen, it wouldn't change the fact that the Demon King is an enemy. I do not know what changed, but it is undeniable that they came to attack.”

When he saw the look in Krul's eyes, which were filled with conviction, he looked up towards the Hell Crows in the sky and then stared off into the distance while saying “Well, yeah.”

People's opinions wouldn't change so easily. Kagami knew this well. That was why he had given up on various things. He had just fought alone and continued to gather gold for his own purposes.

Since she couldn't see things from Kagami's perspective, she could never understand him. Kagami realized this from her desire to fight.

“…Well, yeah. The Demon King is certainly an enemy, for humans that is.”

Alice's expression dimmed at these words. However, as if he wanted to comfort her, he put his hand on Alice and continued to speak.

“That's why it's fine if the Demon King defeats you guys, and it's fine if he had plans to defeat you from the start. But, what would you do if the Demons who came to attack this time were unrelated to the Demon King?”

“The Demon Army that is attacking now…has no relations to the Demon King?”

Of course, it was a remark that indicated that Kagami had some kind of understanding of the connection between the Demon King and the Demon King Army that was attacking right now. At the same time, he had insisted that something was wrong.

It was a fact that it was the first time Humanity had been attacked by the Demons, even though the Demon King wasn't there.

“They might be acting violently after borrowing the authority of the Demon King, but there are also Demons who hold a grudge against the Demon King and might be trying to lure Humanity to a quick defeat. It might just be a trap.”

“…And? After all that, what is it that you want to say?”

Palna was unable to stand Kagami's pompous way of speaking any longer and she glared at him, as if angry, while letting out a sigh.

“Instead of defeating them, you should apprehend and interrogate them. Isn't it more important to learn the truth than to show your strength? In any case, even if they are an enemy, let's go listen to them to learn about their internal affairs. It looks like they are over there.”

“What will you do after listening to them? It's not like they will stop being enemies. Besides, aren't they in the sky? It's impossible to catch them.”

“You would be able to figure out if it is a trap or something else that they're plotting, right? You don't have to defeat them just because they're an enemy. Saying that it's useless to catch them…don't you realize that you are giving up?”

Palna felt sweat run down her cheek as she listened to Kagami's words. She attempted to talk before deciding to listen to him. Kagami directed his sight to Takako and both of them nodded their heads.

“K-Kagami-san, what do you intend to do?”

“Something like this.”

Right after Alice asked her question, Kagami snapped his fingers as a signal. Takako vigorously kicked off of the ground, generating a tremor that felt like an earthquake, and jumped into the sky. Kagami also jumped into the sky, with enough speed to catch up to Takako, and left a crater in the ground, as if there had been an explosion.

“Takako-chan, I'll leave it to you!”

“Please leave it to me. It's a free human transport service with no guarantee of keeping one's life…I'll go? Go dieeeeee!

Before the approaching Kagami caught up and passed by her, Takako twisted and rotated her body and kicked Kagami up into the sky with all her might. Kagami flew as if he had been blown away by her feet.

Kagami had willfully named the skill,【Takako Bazooka】. It was a Jump Combination technique which allowed Takako to send someone into the sky.

It was a skill that he had requested Takako to use once in the past out of curiosity. He hadn't thought of using it to make someone fly until now. Kagami had received damage beyond his expectations so the skill had been sealed, with the reason being “It is useless.”

However, it was the perfect skill for the current situation, where the enemy was in the sky. The pair had come to a mutual understanding just by meeting their gazes.

“Ah, well, this and that.”

Consequently, this skill had a weakness that couldn't be understood with the few attempts Kagami and Takako had made.

“Didn't know this makes someone pass through without hitting anything at all.”

If it wasn't targeted properly, it became rather sad because the person would pass by without hitting anything. Takako noticed that, after kicking him upwards, Kagami was clearly flying towards the beautiful night sky that was filled with stars but empty of Hell Crows.

“Goodbye, Kagami-chan~”

Takako immediately gave up on Kagami's life. Giving up, she closed her mouth with her hand as she fell back down towards the ground and teared up. It was as if she wanted to say something, even if it was irrelevant.

“Aaaaaaaah-……..!”

Sure enough, Kagami missed the flock of Hell Crows by a large amount and flew higher into the sky. It was as if life's mysteries had come from the ground into the air, while raising his voice, and the Demon who was riding on one of the Hell Crows instinctively felt fear.

“W-…What is this town, exactly…? Is it really a human town? Not only do Bloody Buffers come flying, but humans as well…? Indiscriminate? Are they indiscriminate?”

The heart rates of the Demons that called themselves the Demon King Army rose to unprecedented levels.

It was likely that the situation was different from what they had predicted. The Bloody Buffers had understood that their only purpose was to cause destruction and confusion, since it was a town of Adventurers.

Even if, by chance, a hero had come to stay in this town, the Hero's usage of the Light Slash was limited to defeating one Hell Crow.

However, it was unexpected for the Bloody Buffers to be blown into the sky, especially by a single human.

Although the thrown Bloody Buffers had only hit the Hell Crows, the Demon was uncertain as to whether humans had also been hit and gradually became fearful.
(ED: He's scared because he thinks that the humans don't care about friendly fire.)

There was something unexpected within this town.

“Calm down a little.”

“Do you think I can be calm!? This plan is really crazy! Shit…By this, Demon King-sama's dignity will be…!”

The voice behind him caused him to hang his head and lose his composure in anger.

After several seconds passed, he realized that there was a puzzling presence behind him, which had spoken with him as if it were natural. He did not know why it had come to talk to him, but there shouldn't have been any being who could talk to him while he was in the air. He became pale and nervously glanced behind him.

“Who the hell are you…!?”

“What's with that outdated speech? I'm just a villager who is passing by.”

The Demon was at a loss for words when he saw the bizarre scene of the presence in front of him calmly standing amongst the Hell Crows. The presence was casually enjoying the view that could be seen from this height. As if there would be a Villager in this situation. Villager?

“Villagers…should know the limits of their bodies!”

When the fearful Demon recognized the existence in front of him as a Villager, he impatiently pointed his palm at Kagami and released three shots of close range Blast Annihilation Magic. The blast of the fierce explosions and the sweltering heat attacked Kagami, but…

“Calm down.”

Only the upper portions of his clothing had been blown off. The person who had been hit by the magic repeated his earlier words, while staying composed.

Kagami had taken damage, without a doubt. His skin was burnt and blood was dripping from the wound inflicted by the explosion. However, the damage done was too low.

The Demon had planned his attack to show his true strength. Three blasts of his Blast Annihilation magic should have been enough to kill opponents who were around Level 80, or at least leave them on the brink of death. He shivered at Kagami's composed look and thought, “That guy is…”

“How did you come here…? Answer me, human.”

“A gorilllike person kicked me. You might think that it was useless to have landed on a Hell Crow by luck, but I got here by riding the other Hell Crows.”

Although the Demon couldn't really understand what was being said, he realized that this human was the one who had flown by earlier.

“Who are you…perhaps you aren't a Villager? Are you a Hero? Or maybe you're a Sage?”

“Nope. I'm just a normal Villager.”

Kagami revealed his Status Window's Level and Role, as usual. When the Demon saw the Level value of 999, he was speechless from surprise.

“I-Impossible! Surely such humans don't exist!”

He made a remark a few seconds later, as if his heart had temporarily stopped beating.

“No, they do.”

Kagami became doubtful and made a troubled expression when he saw the fervent and narrow-minded Demon.

“You aren't listening…if there are guys like you out there, then, by this, the position of the Demon King will be…!”

“Ah, calm down. I don't have any desires at all to defeat the Demon King.”

“…? What do you mean?”

“I am friends with the Demon King's daughter after all. The name is Kagami Kouji. It's a pleasure.”

The Demon showed a mixture of confusion and surprise at Kagami's words.

“I don't really understand what you are saying.”

“Well, the meaning is that I am currently traveling with and taking care of the Demon King's daughter.”

“…!? You're saying that Alice-sama is in this town!?”

Although the Demon did not know if what Kagami said was true, he feared that he might have put the Demon King's daughter in danger and his chest felt painful.

Before this operation began, the Demon had searched for Alice, because there had been an order from the Demon King to bring Alice back. He had headed towards the Demon Village where Alice was supposed to be living but could not find her, even though the Demon King Army had searched the surroundings in full force.

Therefore, regardless of the real intentions of this man, who claimed he was a friend of the Demon King, the chance of Alice being here was considerable. After all, there was no reason for a normal human to know that the Demon King had a daughter.

“Are you…an ally of Demons?”

Although it was very unlikely, the Demon at least tried to ask Kagami.

“I'm neither an ally nor an enemy. Though, I think that it's inevitable that the Demon King will be killed.”

The Demon slightly regained his composure. Kagami's expression brightened when he saw that the Demon understood some of what he was talking about.

“Finally, I'm saved because there is a guy who will actually speak with me. I'm a human so nobody would listen to me, just because I'm supposed to be an enemy.”

“If you mean that you didn't come to defeat me, what are you planning to do? Did you come to tell me that you are holding Alice-sama hostage?!”

“I came to ask questions.”

When Kagami smiled, the Demon felt a chill and was unable to say anything. It wasn't because of the height or the swift, cold wind caused by the Hell Crow's flying speed. The Demon was attacked by an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and felt as if his hands and feet had been completely bound.

“This attack operation, was it an order from the Demon King?”

“It-…It was undeniably an order from the Demon King! Demon King-sama has finally begun to move in order to dispel the humiliation we have received from the humans until now! Humans must all be destroyed!”

“Although I said earlier that I'm neither an enemy nor an ally, if I am an enemy, isn't it fine if I just decide to kill the Demon King?”

That was when the Demon finally understood what he had been sensing. The eyes of the man in front of him were bloodthirsty, as if indicating that the man was coming to hit him. As if the man would be willing to resort to such an unspeakable lie.

Perhaps noticing this, Kagami stopped smiling and became expressionless. Although Kagami's words had not been a joke, the Demon concluded that he could confirm Kagami's true intentions behind coming up to such a place.

“Bastard…you said earlier that you are friends with the Demon King. Is that…really true?”

“Aah, that. I exaggerated so I could calmly talk with you. Although our relationship isn't good enough to be called friends…he is an old acquaintance. I was treated well, a long time ago.”

“You said that you were treated well?”

“Aah, the Demon King at the time wasn't really a guy who was thinking of trying to destroy the humans. Rather…he was a philosophical person. That's the reason that I came here.”

Kagami closed his eyes and let out a big sigh, as if remembering the olden days.

Then he slowly opened his eyes and drew nearer to the Demon. He opened his mouth while meeting the Demon's gaze seriously.

“Is it really the Demon King who gave that order? Did the Demon King say it to you in person?”

The Demon was overwhelmed by Kagami's seriousness. He wondered, “Why would this man worry about the Demon King giving such an order?”

“Alice said that the Demon King had collapsed because of an illness.”

“…Alice-sama did? Impossible. The Demon King is alive and well!”

“Alice has been running around alone for the Demon King. Since she's like that, she wouldn't think of the possibility that you guys are lying. While on the subject, I don't think that she believes that the Demon King would destroy humans either.”

The Demon realized that Kagami's bloodthirst earlier was not because Kagami had come to try to kill him.

He honestly believed that the Demon King wasn't someone who would do such a thing, so he was confirming whether or not his trust had been betrayed. The fear the Demon had felt from Kagami's earlier bloodthirst was slightly eased by this realization.

“You said…Demon King-sama is sick?”

When his fear subsided, he remembered meeting the Demon King in person at the Demon King's Castle before he came here. The safety of the Demon King took precedence over anything else, but the Demon King within his memories had, without a doubt, been majestically seated upon his throne.

There wasn't anything particularly strange in what he remembered, though he might have been wrong about it. Like always, the Demon King had been seated on his throne in the deepest part of the huge palace. The one who called himself the General of the Demon King's Army and also served as the Demon King's butler, Estelar Urgot, had been on the Demon King's right side and had given the order to the Demon.

Although he hadn't thought anything was strange back then, the Demon noticed something was amiss.

“…The one who gave the order to me is not Demon King-sama?”

He placed a hand on his mouth and muttered, despite his worries. Kagami smiled without hesitation when he heard this.

“Hey, isn't it still too early to decide?”

“I-It is, but wait! Demon King-sama was nearby! We couldn't have denied that order!?”

“That's why I said it's too early to decide. I, too, don't know what happened. There is the chance that he had a change of heart and is trying to conquer the world, but isn't it also possible that he is being manipulated by someone?”

“Being manipulated? Impossible! It's impossible for a gentleman like the Demon King to be manipulated!”

“I only said that it was a possibility. I don't know if it's true, but Alice said that the Demon King is sick.”

For the time being, since it was unknown whether the Demon King could issue a command, Kagami's bloodthirst disappeared and he replied optimistically.

The Demon considered Kagami's words. If this story was true, Kagami's existence would become a danger to him. Originally, the purpose of this operation was to let the Adventurers gathered in this town learn of the existence of the Demon King Army. The aim was to overwhelm the Adventurers with the feeling that nowhere was safe so that, in the future, they would be more likely to die. The goal wasn't to destroy the Adventurers.

If nothing else, it wouldn't be a big problem if he returned now. The Demon removed his cloak and dispersed the magic in his body while issuing a command.

“Full speed to the Demon King's Castle! Confirm Demon King-sama's true intentions…!”

When he issued the command, the flock of Hell Crows all immediately changed their course and headed towards the southwest of Balman.

“No, I won't let you do that.”

At the same time, Kagami grabbed the head of the Hell Crow he was riding and forcibly moved it towards the other Hell Crows.

When he got close enough, he jumped off of his Hell Crow and grabbed another Hell Crow, throwing it towards the others while in midair. He then landed back on the first Hell Crow, as if he had adjusted it to catch him as he came down.

“Look! Quickly! Heal before I fall! Heal!”

He grabbed the head of the Hell Crow again and moved it towards the two Hell Crows that had changed into gems and gold. He moved both of his arms at a speed that was too fast to be seen and caught everything.

“What are you doing y-you bastard! Aren't you also worried about Demon King-sama? I have to go and confirm it! Whether or not this operation is truly something Demon King-sama wants!”

“No but…they're Hell Crows.”

Because they're Hell Crows? The Demon couldn't understand at all and he felt like he was crazy when he saw the gloating Villager in front of him.

“T-Then, I'll let you follow me, you bastard! After you follow me, I'll let you deal with the Hell Crows as you wish! How about that?”

“No~, well, I absolutely must bring Alice with me.”

“T-Then, it's fine if you bring Alice-sama along as well! We'll let Alice-sama ride on one of the Hell Crows that's falling down right now and head towards the Demon King's Castle! You shouldn't have any complaints like this!”

“Well~, won't they die the moment they land on the ground? There's a Hero down below, too.”

“In that case, go down separately and bring Alice-sama with you! I'll wait for you!”

“Calm down!'

Kagami gestured for the screaming Demon to shut his mouth before staring into his eyes seriously.

“There is a possibility that the Demon King is being manipulated and there's also a possibility that you made a fool out of yourself. If you go and try to confirm it, the Demon King, or rather you, might be put in harm's way. *Don't put the cart before the horse. Wouldn't it be easier to secretly investigate the way to get into the Demon King's Castle after pretending to be beaten to death by the humans? Besides, I don't want there to be a weird rumor about me going together with a Demon who was betrayed. In other words, nobody will benefit from us traveling there in the air like this. That's why I think that defeating all the Hell Crows here would make it a win-win situation. Also, it would be annoying to let all these Hell Crows return to the Demon King's Castle without turning into gems and gold. Extremely annoying. This is very important. It's much better to walk there, so I want gold immediately. Do you understand?”
(TN: idiom that means you've got your priorities reversed)

“I don't understand at all.”

As the Demon responded, Kagami jumped onto another Hell Crow. He then jumped onto a third Hell Crow, almost as if he had kicked the previous one, and repeated this action multiple times with lightning speed.

The moment he jumped off of a Hell Crow, it changed into gems and gold. When the last Hell Crow, which the Demon was riding, fell towards the ground, Kagami began to gather the falling gems and gold.

The Demon was stunned and could only watch Kagami. There had not been any time for him to interfere either. The ten Hell Crows had been taken out in ten seconds and his was the only one left.

“B-…Bastard. Good god…no, that was too quick. Stop collecting the gems! You're carrying too much! At this rate, we will fall down with the Hell Crows!”

“W-…What do you mean by that?”

Sure enough, Kagami was with the Demon and a large amount of gems and gold had been stacked on top of one of the Hell Crows. With a “Gueh!”, the Hell Crow raise a bitter cry and steadily dropped in altitude.

Kagami, who had fallen a bit, beat up the Hell Crows above him. When the last Hell Crow turned into clumps of gold and gems, Kagami and the Demon fell, along with the gems and gold.

“W-Will this save us, even if we fall down? Is that fine!?”

“If it's from this height, then probably…It might hurt me a little. As for you, it might be really painful.”

“What did…you say?…AaaaaaaAAH!”

Kagami and the Demon fell into the middle of the vast forest that existed southwest of Balman. He crashed into the ground in a straight line, while the Demon fell while being hit by tree branches and leaves.

“W-What are you doing!?”

“Didn't you burn my clothes? I want to wrap the gems with cloth.”

Kagami placed the cloak he took from the Demon on the ground and began to move the fallen gold and gems onto it. The Demon, who had been hurt by the fall, silently watched him.

“Now that I think about it, I didn't ask for your name. What is it?”

Kagami asked the Demon, who was leaning against a tree, as he collected the gems.

“Menou・Abebrasham…A descendant of a family that has served Demon King-sama for ages. Demon King-sama…I began to serve him and Alice-sama three years ago.”

“Hee- Then, you are quite young. That reminds me, when I went to the Demon Palace a long time ago, there was a butler-like old man.”

“That would be my grandfather. He passed away three years ago. He had placed his hopes on me, and I was supposed to succeed him.”

Kagami continued gathering gems as he listened to Menou. Despite a Demon being so close, Kagami continued to gather the gems, as if the Demon wasn't there. Menou felt strange when he saw this.

“You bastard…you won't kill me?”

“Don't ask such a question. It just sounds stupid.”

“Sounds stupid…you say?”

If a Demon and a Human were trying to settle matters between themselves, it would be normal for them to try to kill each other. It was strange for the man in front of him to not do that, and his unexpected words made Menou lose his bearings.

“It's obvious that you will fight if you hate humans and are in a situation where fighting is the only option, but you don't seem to be that kind of person. More than anything else…aren't you really worried about Alice and the Demon King right now? Such a nice guy.”

“W-…What an idiot, saying such things. You must have some kind of a relationship with humans!”

“In my opinion, those humans are idiots. If there weren't any Monsters, we would know that. However, because of the Monsters, Humans fear death and oppose Demons. That's the only reason, right? It's just Humans and Demons fighting each other. Even though they are similar existences, to fight just because of that…that's why, I don't really want to kill Demons.”

Menou was shocked for a moment by these unexpected words but, for some reason, he was immediately convinced. Kagami's credibility was also enhanced by the fact that, despite this situation where Menou couldn't do anything, he continued to gather the gems without harming Menou.

“Well, I've gathered the gems and gold now. I'll go home and say that I've defeated all of them. I'll bring Alice here around noon tomorrow, so let's go to the Demon King's Castle together at that time. I had only planned to send Alice there but I also want to go and see what condition the Demon King is in.”

“Why do we need to go together? Won't there be a higher risk of being hunted down by the humans?”

“But isn't it dangerous for you to try to go back by yourself from here? Besides, even if you go back, it's dangerous. Won't it be more reassuring for Alice if you're with us? You don't have to worry, since I will protect her.”

Menou was dumbfounded. After seeing Menou's expression, Kagami said, “Well, see ya tomorrow,” and left. He was carrying the gems and gold wrapped in the Demon's cloak on his back.

“Demon King-sama and Alice-sama are friends with a human?……………Hmph.”

Menou imagined it and snorted while thinking, “There are also these types of humans.” Although it was very slightly, he accepted Kagami.

He suddenly looked up into the night sky and saw the full moon. His mood became brighter and he calmed down as he heard the night wind blowing through the starry sky.

He had attacked and was defeated. He had not been victorious but being comforted had filled his heart with wonder.

 

Chapter end