LV999 Villager Volume 1 Chapter 2.15

“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