Part 5 of 8
The black-clad person murmurs emotionlessly, and I finally have some idea of what just happened to me.
Illusion and fear.
Someone created the illusion that the old mage was still chasing me and used some kind of skill to inflict fear on me so that I wouldn’t realize what was going on.
In video game terms, they used multiple status condition changes on me.
If you’re aware what’s going on, then it’s nothing too major, but having it done to you in real life is a terrifying combination.
I never knew people could fight like that in this world.
But more than being impressed, I feel the rage growing inside me.
Anger at myself, that I was fooled so easily into running away from nothing.
But most of all, anger at the person in front of me, who’s responsible.
“Graaaaah!”
In a fit of rage, I charge toward the black-clad person.
But the person dodges easily, with movements so light and nimble that they appear virtually weightless.
“Withdraw.”
With a simple word, the black-clad person turns around and flees.
“You’re not getting away!”
I chase after them as they run.
Another chase scene, but this time the roles are reversed.
As I pursue the person in black, we seem to be moving at around the same speed: I’m not getting any closer or farther away.
The person in black just keeps running, never once looking back.
Eventually, we reach a place that seems somehow familiar.
Then the black-clad figure stops abruptly.
Without hesitation, I slice into their back with my sword.
But my attack goes straight through the person’s body, jabbing into the ground.
It’s the same feeling as before.
Another illusion?!
I’ve been had!
They must have switched out with an illusion sometime during the chase.
Or maybe I was chasing an illusion from the very beginning.
Realizing that I’ve been playing into their hands the entire time, I grind my teeth.
The anger is so strong that it threatens to turn my vision red.
Looking up, I see several people staring at me in shock.
Then, when I look more closely, I realize that I know this place.
It’s that awful village where I was once held captive.
But I killed everyone who lived here already.
Where did these people come from, then?
With a snap, the rage inside me starts to overflow.
“Aaaaargh!”
Unable to hold it back any longer, I cut the nearest person down with my sword.
Sliced in half by my flame katana, the two pieces of the corpse catch flame.
Seeing that, the other people all start shouting something.
What are they saying?
I can hear the noises they’re making, but I can’t seem to process them as words.
It must be a different human language from the one I learned.
Well, whatever.
That doesn’t matter right now.
If they’re in this village, then I don’t care who they might be.
I’m going to kill all of them.
I start to cut down the next person.
At the same time, a small girl runs over to me, shouting.
“Sasajima!”
It’s a familiar name. My name. But not one that anyone in this world should know.
Are the illusions so strong that they even affect my hearing?
Don’t call me by that name!
I have no right to answer to that name anymore.
Kyouya Sasajima is the name of a human who died long ago.
As if to dispel the illusions, I swing my flame katana at the screaming girl.
THE PONTIFF AND THE SHADOW AGENTS
“So you succeeded in luring the ogre to the empty village where the elves were lying in wait?”
“Indeed. I used Heretic Magic to guide it.”
“And the Appraisal of the ogre?”
“As you suspected.”
“…I see. So it really is a reincarnation.”
“…Then should we have done otherwise?”
“From your perspective, did it seem like it could communicate?”
“No.”
“Then that is your answer. If it causes harm to the human race, then it is an enemy of mine, reincarnation or otherwise.”
“As you say.”
“My apologies to your son. But this, too, is for the sake of humanity.”
“I am certain Sajin will understand.”
“I wonder. Unlike us, the reincarnations are victims who were brought to this world without their consent. If he knew that his own father had chased one of his classmates to his death, then he would surely grieve. Best to keep this incident a secret.”
“Yes.”
“Will you be able to monitor the battle between the ogre and the elves?”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“Excellent. Then please continue to keep watch. Take note of how much damage the ogre is able to deal to the elves.”
“No, I was unclear. My apologies. The battle is already over.”
“Oh? That took much less time than expected.”
“The elves only had ordinary forces, but I believe the main cause was the ogre’s high combat capabilities.”
“Am I to gather from your turn of phrase that the elves were defeated?”
“Indeed. Aside from one who appeared to be the elves’ commanding officer and a young elf girl, they have been completely annihilated. The surviving pair fled via teleportation.”
“A commander and…a young girl?”
“Yes. Blond hair, blue eyes. Being an elf, her true age was difficult to gauge, but in human terms, she appeared to be only two or three years old. Her purpose there was unclear. She was not wearing any special equipment at a glance. However, it’s possible that she was attempting to call out to the ogre.”
“And were you able to read her lips?”
“Not in full. She was too far away and not facing me entirely.”
“I would appreciate whatever you did understand or any educated guesses.”
“Sasaji…pleez lissen toomie…teechur. That is all I was able to pick up.”
“Well, that is certainly unclear. Ah, unless…perhaps it was the language of the reincarnations…?”
“…”
“…I suppose it’s too soon to tell. But no, perhaps we had best act under that assumption. Thank you, your report has been invaluable.”
“Of course.”
“Now, what did the ogre do after the battle?”
“It began moving toward the Mystic Mountains. Shall I pursue it?”
“The Mystic Mountains… No, there’s no need.”
“Are you certain?”
“What stage has the ogre’s Rage skill reached?”
“…Wrath.”
“Truly?! I see. That is indeed the worst case imaginable. Then we should not make the mistake of pursuing it. Let the ice dragons of the Mystic Mountains take care of it. Even if the dragons do nothing, it won’t be a problem if the ogre emerges in the land of demons. If it takes up residence in the mountains, that is acceptable as well. As long as the creature does not return here, there is no need to provoke it. But we should continue to insert agents in the nearby towns, just in case it does return.”
“Understood.”
“Then go about your business. Oh, and do not forget to follow up on the situation with Lady Ariel.”
“We have already used the Church to place pressure on the guild. The adventurers and the imperial army will not lay a hand on her.”
“Excellent. Thank you for your service.”
“Of course.”
A CERTAIN ADVENTURER’S NEXT STEPS
I stare at the sword in my hand.
It has no scabbard, so its blade is bare.
The single-edge long sword with a slight curve is a design rarely seen around here, where straight, double-edge blades are the norm.
The gleaming blade looks masterfully wrought, as if there isn’t a thing it couldn’t cut through.
Just holding it in my hand seems to fill me with power.
In fact, according to Sir Ronandt, who gave it to me, it really does have the effect of strengthening its wielder.
On top of that, he said that it can control lightning.
Even compared to other magic swords with special effects, it’s in a class all its own.
I can’t even imagine how much money this single sword must be worth.
If I sold it, I could probably live in luxury for the rest of my days.
Yet, despite how amazing this sword is, my feelings are mixed.
“Ahhh…”
A sigh escapes my lips.
Do I really have any right to wield this sword…?
“‘Don’t interfere with them’? What’s that supposed to mean?”
This was a little while ago, when I went to the guild master’s office.
I was there because I’d received orders from the guild master not to interfere with the group that showed up at the guild a few days ago, the ones who were most likely demons.
“Dunno. But that’s what the Church told us. Seems they’re closely linked with the Church, and they personally guarantee that there won’t be any problems.”
“The Church?”
My voice sounded doubtful, but I don’t think you could blame me for that.
Why would someone working in service of the Word of God religion be supporting such a shady group?
“S’right. So don’t try any funny business, got it?”
“…I don’t like it.”
“Well, it don’t matter if you like it or not. Thanks to that ogre, this town’s lost just about all its adventurers. You wanna pick a fight with the Church in that state? You know the guild took out a huge loan from the Church, yeah?”
I knew what the guild master was getting at.
The Church is no ordinary religious group.
Many adventurers faithfully adhere to the Word of God religion, which believes in honing one’s skills in order to hear the Divine Voice.
As a result, the guild and the Church have a close connection, and they frequently help each other.
What would happen if the guild was to take action against the wishes of the Church?
The other guilds would all shun us, and the Church might even withdraw its financial support.
After the incident with the ogre, that kind of trouble might even bring our guild down entirely.
So the guild would probably prefer to cut off any adventurer who caused trouble like that.
In this case, that means me.
It’s the guild master’s job to protect the guild, so I can’t blame him for prioritizing the Church’s desires over mine.
I understood all that, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Should we talk to the imperial army?”
“If the Church says they’re not a problem, do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“Right.”
If we went to the imperial army about this, it’d be like ignoring what the Church told us.
“Gotou. I don’t know what’s got you all worked up about this, but the Church gave us their word. If they’re that confident about it, I’m sure it’ll be fine. There’s no sense in jumping to conclusions here, okay? If anything does happen, the blame’ll fall on the Church for telling us not to worry when we raised suspicions, not us. We’ll just let the Church handle it, yeah?”
The guild master was right, of course.
But I couldn’t help feeling like if we left that group to their own devices, something terrible was going to happen.
Just then, the door swung open, and two old men entered.
“Pardon the intrusion. Oh, Guild Master, perfect timing.”
It was Sir Ronandt and Sir Nyudoz of the imperial army, who’d been sent out to deal with the ogre.
“You’ve returned safely! That must mean you were able to defeat that ogre, then!”
The guild master looked excited, but Ronandt’s expression was grave.
“Well, about that. Unfortunately, I cannot quite say that we defeated it.”
Sir Ronandt is the world’s strongest mage, and Nyudoz is a master of swordsmanship.
And yet, even with them leading an army, they weren’t able to defeat that ogre.
It’s a bit hard to believe, but Sir Ronandt would have no reason to lie.
“Th-then it got away…?”
“Indeed. But we can discuss the details somewhere quieter.”
“All right. We’ll go to the upstairs room, then.”
The guild master and the old men headed for the stairs.
As they went, the guild master shot me a meaningful glance.
It came out as more of a glare, so he was probably warning me not to say anything reckless.
But in the next moment, Sir Ronandt rendered that look meaningless.
“Hrm. If I may?”
With that, Sir Ronandt turned his gaze toward me, and I suddenly felt a strange sensation assail my body.
I’m not too familiar with it, but I could still tell it was the feeling of being Appraised.
“Oh-ho. Rather impressive. Come along with us, then.”
Sir Ronandt must have approved of my Appraisal results, because he invited me along.
The guild master and I both stared, dumbfounded, but the two elders went on ahead as if it was perfectly natural.
You never can tell what these big shots are thinking.
Thus, I got a rare glimpse inside the guild master’s room, and Sir Ronandt allowed me to listen in on the tale of their battle with the ogre.
As the man himself said, it seemed as if both sides suffered losses.
What would have happened if the ogre had stayed and fought instead of fleeing?
Honestly, I’m not so sure anymore.
And it seems that Sir Ronandt and the others couldn’t tell, either.
Which was probably why he decided to entrust it to the servant of the Church who appeared directly afterward.
When I heard that, my first thought was: The Church again?
Until now, I’d never paid much mind to the Church, but now I’m beginning to find it highly suspicious.
“They certainly have their secrets, but I have faith in their abilities if nothing else. If they say that they will take care of it, then there is no need to worry about the ogre any longer.”
As an important person who has supported the empire for countless years, it seems that Sir Ronandt has his share of experience with the Church.
If Ronandt says it is so, then we should assume that the ogre is as good as dealt with.
“And as far as the group that the Church told you not to interfere with that you were discussing before, I believe it best to trust them on that count as well.”
“…You heard all of that?”
“I might not look it, but I’ve got a good pair of ears. Think you can keep up, youngster?”
In contrast to the guild master’s grim expression, Sir Ronandt wore a mischievous grin.
He and the other elder were outside while we had that conversation inside the guild.
How good must his ears be if he could hear through walls?
“At any rate, we shall not be making any further moves. In fact, we cannot. We must take measures to make up for the adventurers who were lost in this incident. Starting with setting up a patrol of soldiers in and around this town. The guild is short on manpower, is it not?”
True enough, since the ogre defeated us so handily, we lost a great deal of adventurers.
That meant it had gotten harder to fend off monsters, defend travelers going from town to town, securing supplies, and so on.
Worse, it wasn’t just this town’s adventurers who were wiped out by the ogre—there were many losses among the adventurers from neighboring towns and villages as well.
Which meant this whole region was currently short on adventurers.
If the imperial army was going to help shoulder that burden, it’d be a big help.
“So you understand this means we have no time to waste getting mixed up with a group of travelers who may or may not be dangerous. I wouldn’t mind investigating personally, but the Word of God religion has been displeased with me since the hero incident. If I anger them any further, it will likely lead to more than just a demotion for me. I am sorry.”
So the rumors that he took on the young hero as an apprentice and nearly killed him in the name of “training” are true.
I doubt the Church would make an enemy of the peerless mage Ronandt unless they had a serious reason for doing so.
“Thus, you see, there is nothing we can do. If anything happens, you shall simply have to complain to the Church.”
It wasn’t exactly reassuring, but there was nothing else to be done.
I’d have to do my best to accept it, even if it still bothered me.
But then Sir Ronandt added a new concern to my list of troubles.
“Nyudoz. Give it here.”
“Hrmmm?! Can I speak now?!”
“Not yet. You’re too loud. Just give me that thing we talked about and stay quiet.”
“Hrmmmph!”
Grumbling, Sir Nyudoz lapsed back into silence.
Just as Sir Ronandt said, his voice was painfully loud, so it was probably for the best.
He may be an amazing swordsman and all, but still.
“Here. You can have this.”
Sir Ronandt handed me the object that Sir Nyudoz had passed to him: a magic sword.
And now that same sword is in my hand.
It’s one of the magic swords that the ogre had wielded.
When it fought Sir Ronandt and company, it seems the ogre left behind one of its swords as it fled.
The imperial army took it back with them as the spoils of war, but for some reason, Sir Ronandt saw fit to give it to me.
I did my best to refuse, insisting that I couldn’t accept it, but he forced it on me anyway.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
I stare at the sword, at a loss.
I didn’t accomplish anything in the battle with that ogre.
Do I really have any right to receive this sword?
No, I don’t think so.
Maybe I should go return it after all.
Besides, I was already thinking about quitting the adventurer business.
I ran away from the ogre, and Regg and my other adventurer friends are all dead.
I’ve lost my confidence and drive.
So I figured once things settled down, I’d retire from adventuring and spend the rest of my days at my leisure.
But if I quit now that there are so few adventurers left already, this guild might actually be done for.
I planned to just keep at it half-heartedly until the guild pulled itself together, but now that I’ve been given this fancy sword, I feel like I have no choice but to work like a dog.
Reaping the rewards even though I was no help at all in the fight against the ogre would make everyone think less of me.
Especially the friends and family of the adventurers who were lost.
If I toss them aside and accept this gift, I wouldn’t blame them for hating me.
The only way to avoid being subjected to all that resentment would be to work hard to contribute to our town’s recovery.
“Ugh. What am I gonna do?”
As I grumble to myself, the door of the guild opens.
“Ah, Mr. Gotou.”
Turning around, I see Rukusso enter.
He was severely wounded in the ogre battle, but he got treated just in time to survive.
If the healing had happened any later, he’d probably be dead.
Although Regg gave up his own life to buy enough time for me to get him to a healer…
“Rukusso, eh? What is it?”
Rukusso is dressed in casual clothes.
They’re the clothes of a civilian, not an adventurer.
That’s not how people dress to go to the adventurers’ guild.
“Mr. Gotou… I think I’m going to quit being an adventurer.”
“I see.”
I kind of suspected that was what he would say.
There are probably quite a few adventurers like me who are thinking about quitting after everything that happened.
Rukusso is just one more of that number.
“And I’m probably going to leave town, too.”
“I see.”
This isn’t too surprising, either.
This town is full of memories of his time spent adventuring with his friends.
It’d probably be tough to stay here, constantly being reminded of all that.
“D’you know where you’re gonna go?”
“Yes. I intend to go back home to my family. My parents are farmers, but I ran away to become an adventurer because I didn’t want to take over the farm. I’m going to go back, apologize to my parents, and start over.”
Many adventurers tend to be outcasts.
In a profession that so many people have joined because they have no other options, Rukusso is one of the lucky few who has somewhere to go back to.
“Gotcha. Well, you’ll be missed.”
“Thank you. I wanted to make sure I spoke to you before I left, Mr. Gotou, since you’ve done so much for me. I only wish that I could give my thanks to Mr. Regg, too.”
The man who died protecting Rukusso.
I’m sure that’s a heavy burden on the young man’s heart.
“C’mon now. You knew him. I’m sure he’d just yell at you not to look so gloomy.”
“Ha-ha. I suppose you’re right.”
“He saved your life. So the least you can do for him is be more positive like he was and lead a long, happy life, yeah? That way he’ll know it was worth laying down his own life.”
That’s the kind of man Regg was.
He wouldn’t hesitate. He’d be proud to die protecting his comrades.
“Right. I will!”
Rukusso nods tearfully.
“Take care of yourself, kid.”
“Yes, sir. Mr. Gotou, I always looked up to you and Mr. Regg. I wasn’t able to become an amazing adventurer like you two, but you both saved my life, so I’ll treasure it forever!”
“Good. Find yourself a pretty wife or something, have some kids and grandkids. Just make sure you’ll be able to say it was a good life in the end.”
“Yes, sir! I guess I’d better start looking for lovers, then.”
“That’s the way!”
Both of us chuckle, and I stick out my hand.
Rukusso grasps it and gives me a firm handshake.
“Take care.”
“You too, Mr. Gotou. Do your best out there.”
Rukusso smiles warmly as he leaves.
Do my best, huh?
I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way, but the timing is pretty pointed.
“…I guess I’ll try to do my best a little longer.”
Since Regg saved his life and all, it wouldn’t hurt to try to be the kind of man who Rukusso would continue to look up to.
I’M HITTING THE ROAD
It’s been a few days since the elves attacked.
After that spike of excitement, things have been uneventful around here.
Just like the previous two years, at least up until the attack in question.
From the UFO incident two years ago until just recently, Potimas has been alarmingly silent.
Knowing his personality, you’d think he’d come after us the second he spotted a weak point.
Since I became a god, I’ve basically got nothing but weak points, yet there hasn’t even been a peep, never mind an attack.
Frankly, it’s almost a bit of a letdown, but it also makes me even more paranoid.
Like, he’s definitely in the middle of preparing some new evil plot, right?
And yet, when he finally makes a move after two years of silence, it’s just some weak attempt to kidnap the baby bloodsucker via teleportation? That’s kinda small potatoes for Potimas.
Considering how long it’s been since last contact, it seems like a pretty sloppy plan, so I’m kinda confused about why he didn’t try something more impressive.
I mean, sure, using Teleport to kidnap someone is pretty effective.
If you suddenly grabbed someone and disappeared with them to who knows where, we’d have a hard time following up.
There’d be no way of knowing where they teleported, after all, or if it’s even within a distance that we could follow them.
Frankly, teleporting should be against the rules.
There aren’t many mages who can use it in the first place, so I doubt even Potimas has many teleport users on his side, but I can’t rule out the possibility entirely.
Assuming he sent one of his precious teleport users after us, maybe this was meant to be a serious attack? But I don’t know why he would use a little girl for that, so all I can do is scratch my head over here.
Yep, it’s a mystery.
The Demon Lord has been making some troubled expressions lately, so maybe she’s thinking the same thing I am.
Or, I dunno, maybe she’s hiding something from me.
For some reason, it kinda seems like she’s waffling about something or other.
It’s like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t have evidence to back it up, so she’s keeping it to herself.
Of course, knowing her, she keeping quiet for my sake, and she’ll spit it out if the need arises.
Since I’m no use in battle right now, there’s probably nothing I can do to help anyway, so I’ll just trust in the Demon Lord’s plan for now.
And what is her plan, you ask? Operation: Stay Inside!
Yep. We’re just holing up in the inn and going out as little as possible.
This way, we can’t be unexpectedly attacked, and it’s easy to keep our guard up.
What happens if they attack the inn?
Well, I guess that’s the inn’s problem.
Sorry, inn. But if you’re gonna blame anyone, blame the people attacking us.
Besides, if they fought seriously, the Demon Lord or the puppet spiders could level this whole town, never mind the inn.
Fortunately, that hasn’t happened, so everything is peaceful for now.
You got lucky this time, inn.
So what have we been doing while we’re stuck inside, you ask? Well, Professor Demon Lord has been giving us a crash course on skills.
“You there, Jealousy Girl.”
“That’s not very nice, but I suppose you’re not wrong. What is it?”
“Why must you never raise your Jealousy skill level? You have ten seconds to answer, please.”
“Erm… Because the Seven Deadly Sins skills can affect your mind and soul?”
“Is that your final answer?”
“…Yes, it is.”
“Thaaaat’s right!”
Miss Demon Lord, isn’t this comedy routine a little old?
“The Seven Deadly Sins skills influence your thoughts and emotions based on their respective sins, or rather, based on the original holders of each skill. In other words! Since you have the Jealousy skill, Sophia, you’re prone to becoming crazy stalker!”
The Demon Lord points sternly at Vampy.
A crazy stalker, huh…?
Wait. Is it just me, or is it already too late for that?
“Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t be affected by any such thing.”
The baby bloodsucker stares at the Demon Lord with narrowed eyes.
The Demon Lord and I stare right back.
This is the problem with crazy stalker girls. No self-awareness.
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that?”
“Aaanyway, just make sure you don’t raise your Jealousy skill any more, all right? It’s not good; we’ll leave it at that.”
I guess that’s what the Demon Lord wanted to say.
“Try to avoid the other Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Heavenly Virtues skills, too. The Pride line, the Wrath line, and the Greed line are especially dangerous.”
“What about Gluttony, Lust, and Sloth?”
“You won’t get the Gluttony line as long as you don’t overeat, so you’re probably fine. Besides, even if you do get it, that one doesn’t corrupt your mind too badly. And at your age, you shouldn’t have to worry about Lust, either. Erm, you don’t, right?”
“Why would you phrase that as a question? No, I wouldn’t worry.”
I wonder about that…
“Okay. Let’s just agree not to worry, then. And Sloth barely corrupts your mind at all, so that’s not a problem.”
“Sloth? That sounds like the kind of thing that would cause serious corruption…”
Yeah, really.
It seems like it’d turn you into a lazy good-for-nothing.
“Oh, well, the Sloth line’s special. Like, the original holder of Sloth wanted to slack off but couldn’t and even ended up dying of overwork in the end. See, I know what it sounds like, but it actually just makes your enemy’s SP go down faster. So it really just means that the user works harder while everyone around them loses the ability to work at all.”
Now that she mentions it, I guess it’s true that the effect of Sloth was to make the enemy’s HP, MP, and SP go down more rapidly.
Instead of letting the user rest, it kind of forces the enemy to rest.
“So even if you do get it, it doesn’t have a huge effect on your mind. It is super-bad luck, though.”
Bad luck? But I used to have that skill…
Let’s just not think about that.
“So as for the bad ones, the Pride line of skills makes you gain more experience. That might sound like a good thing, but I can’t say I recommend it.”
Ding-ding-ding!
Hello, I had that skill!
I had Pride!
“Sure, gaining extra experience might sound like a really good deal in theory, but it’s bad news. For one thing, it seriously messes with your head. You’ll start seeing every living thing as a potential source of experience points. It practically turns you into a berserker.”
Ding-ding-ding!
Are you saying I was that bad?!
The worst part is I can’t say you’re entirely wrong!
“And the skill’s effect comes with a serious pitfall, too. Basically, it forces the holder to keep growing at a rapid pace. And everyone has limits. If you just keep on gaining more and more experience without taking those limits into account, eventually it’ll be your undoing. Like, literally.”
Ding-ding-ding!
Are you saying I was literally doomed?!
Was I, like, just steps away from bursting like a balloon?!
That’s so freaking scary!
“So make sure you don’t pick up the Pride line of skills, all right?”
“Okay.”
The baby bloodsucker nods, probably intimidated by the Demon Lord’s grim face and the terrifying potential of the Pride skills.
It’s fine, though.
I mean, I didn’t explode, and Pride wound up being a huge help to me.
So I don’t regret picking up Pride at all!
Not even a little!
“The Wrath line is almost as scary, but just picking up the skill isn’t too bad. The real problem with Wrath is what happens after you activate it.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you activate a Wrath-line skill, your stats go way up. It doesn’t cost any MP or SP, either. Obviously that makes it sound awesome, but it comes with some serious caveats. Basically, you lose your mind.”
Hoo, boy.
I used to have Anger, the lowest step on the Wrath line of skills.
But I tried it only once, then never used it again.
“When you activate it, you start seeing red. It makes you want to go on a rampage basically. And the more time passes, the worse the effects get, until you don’t even have the presence of mind to turn the skill off anymore. Pride might wrap you into a bit of a berserker, but this one literally makes you go mad.”
“Is there any way to get back to normal?”
“Nope. You either have to turn off the skill or die. And once your mind has been afflicted by Wrath, it becomes harder to stay in control. So even if you get any Wrath skills, make sure you never, ever activate it.”
Ding-ding-diiing!
I did it only once, but I definitely did activate it!
I turned it off right away, though, ’cause it seemed like bad news.
I didn’t realize how bad, obviously. Yikes, that was close.
“As for the Greed line, well, you can probably see how that would be bad, right? There’s a certain dignity to being poor, you know.”
Even as the Demon Lord says that, she’s stretching her legs out and drinking some pretty expensive alcohol.
What happened to being honorable?
Eventually, after we lived as shut-ins for a while, the path out of town was finally reopened.
Word is they chased away that ogre.
I’m a little concerned that it’s “chased away” and not “killed,” though.
Especially since, as it happens, the army chased the ogre into the Mystic Mountains.
“Well, if that’s not foreshadowing…”
The Demon Lord frowns seriously.
“But the Mystic Mountains is a whole region made up of an enormous mountain range. It’s awfully unlikely that we’d run into it, no?”
Vampy rolls her eyes, but the Demon Lord clicks her tongue.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. So naive. Sophia, you innocent little angel. You’re underestimating our ability to attract trouble like a magnet.”
The Demon Lord looks smug, causing the bloodsucker to roll her eyes even harder.
Sure, if you think about it logically, the odds of us running into one ogre in a big ol’ mountain range are pretty low.
But when you think about all the trouble we’ve gotten caught up in on our journey so far, then yeah, I’m pretty sure we’re gonna run into it!
“Either way, it doesn’t change our plans. We’ll just hope we don’t run into it, but I don’t really care if we do.”
The Demon Lord shrugs off the subject and starts getting ready to depart.
Some random ogre isn’t any threat to the Demon Lord, so what does she care?
It’s probably best for us to head into the mountains before we get mixed up in any more funny business in this town.
From what I’m told, there’s at least one adventurer in this town who thinks we’re a bunch of demons, and they’ve even told the imperial army about their suspicions.
If we hang around here too long, we might get into a scuffle with the army, so we’re heading for the hills before that happens.
“Come back anytime!”
The innkeeper lady smiles brightly as she sees us off on our way out of town.
Since the inn could’ve gotten destroyed because of us if things went south, I guess the Demon Lord paid her a little extra for her trouble.
But from the innkeeper’s perspective, we were just good customers who left a generous tip, so it makes sense for her to treat us so nicely.
Whew. I’m really glad the inn didn’t get destroyed.
Not long after, we make our way to an abandoned village at the foot of the Mystic Mountains without any trouble.
We had no problems getting out of town and none on the way here.
I was afraid we’d have trouble with the army during the former or with the elves during the latter, but it was actually a perfectly peaceful journey.
Maybe too peaceful, in fact?
Honestly, at this point I’m almost a little disappointed that nobody’s coming after us.
But as soon as we arrive in the village, that feeling vanishes.
The state of the abandoned village is…disturbing.
Based on the information we gathered before coming, this place was attacked by someone—most likely that ogre—and got destroyed.
No one has tried to rebuild it since then, so the ruins have just been sitting here abandoned.
Part of the reason is that as soon as the village was built, it was basically treated as a base camp for anyone trying to pass through the Mystic Mountains.
Since this place was destroyed, it was just taken as even more proof that the Mystic Mountains are too difficult to pass, so nobody wanted to fix it up.
We knew all that going in, but even if we hadn’t, it’s not too surprising that there’s no one here.
Most of the houses are run-down, and there are dark-red stains all over the place.
If you think about the reason this village is now abandoned, the identity of those stains becomes all too apparent.
This must have been a horrifically violent tragedy.
Given these conditions, no normal person would want to try to live here again, even if some of the houses were intact.
“Hrm. Guess we’ll stay in one of these houses for the night.”
But I guess you can’t exactly say that any of us is normal in this group.
Leave it to the Demon Lord to want to stay the night in a village that’s almost certainly haunted.
But yeah, I guess I’m down to stay here, too.
If it’ll keep me out of the wind and rain, I’ll stay in a haunted house or village or whatever else.
I hate sleeping outside in the cold!
“Wait a minute.”
Just then, Vampy starts sniffing the air and making a face and calls out for us to stop.
She’s sniffing all over the place like crazy. Are you a dog or what?
“I smell old blood and fresh blood. Why do you think that is?”
Hrm?
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a vampire can tell the difference.
Wait, but what does she mean, fresh blood?
The old blood obviously has to be from the villagers who were killed here.
So who does the fresh blood belong to?
Does that mean someone else has died here since the village was abandoned?
“Oh, you noticed? I think it’s the smell of elf blood.”
The Demon Lord sniffs casually as she responds.
Wow, so we’ve got an even bigger blood expert than the vampire here.
So it’s elf blood, huh? Got it.
…Wait, what?
“I bet they were lying in wait here for us. But it seems like someone else attacked and wiped them out. I guess it must’ve been the ogre that was fleeing in this direction, no?”
Oh wow. That’s…uh… Yikes.
Talk about bad luck.
I guess if you’re going to pass through the Mystic Mountains, it’ll almost certainly be by way of this village.
And since there’s no one else around, it’d be easy to attack us and get away with it.
It’s the perfect spot for an ambush.
But before we got here, the ogre that was being chased down by the imperial army showed up and attacked them instead.
Sucks to be them.
I’d almost feel bad, if they weren’t out to kill us.
“You’re saying they lost to the ogre?”
Vampy sounds surprised.
Hey, that’s a good point, actually.
Those elf bastards got done in by an ogre?
I dunno what kind of forces they brought with them, but if they were planning to take on the Demon Lord, they must have prepared accordingly.
And they still couldn’t beat that ogre?
Uh, maybe this thing is scarier than I thought.
“Yeah.” The Demon Lord nods. “Based on the evidence, that’s the only explanation I can think of.”
Gotcha. So the elves were definitely beaten by that ogre.
If it was an orc, you’d have the makings of some steamy fanfic here.
No, I guess it’d work with an ogre, too.
One pile of elf smut, coming right up.
There might even be some BL potential, since Potimas literally got ripped a new butthole two years ago.
By me, that is.
Why am I letting my mind wander in such a stupid direction? No matter how scary strong that ogre might be, I’m sure there’s no way it’d be a match for the Demon Lord.
She’s easily the strongest being in the world.
The only way to stand a chance of beating the Demon Lord would be to have power outside of the system.
You know, like Güli-güli or Potimas.
But Güli-güli’s a special case, and even Potimas couldn’t necessarily beat her.
No matter how strong the ogre is, as long as its strength is defined by the system, it doesn’t stand a chance against the Demon Lord.
Otherwise, it’d be a serious problem for me, the Demon Lord’s favorite freeloader!
“Hrmmm.”
The Demon Lord strokes her chin, as if she knows I’ve been silently praising her.
There’s a hint of more complicated emotions in her expression, though.
She’s clearly deep in thought about something.
I don’t want to interrupt her brainstorming session, so I look around at the abandoned village again.
The traces of blood on the walls are fresh, hinting at a brutal massacre.
But now that I think about it, that’s all there is.
If the Demon Lord or the puppet spiders went all-out in battle, the damage would be way worse than this.
Every last house would be demolished without a trace, and there might not even be any blood left at all.
Because when these guys fight, they literally obliterate their enemies.
There wouldn’t even be bodies left to bury.
I should know, since the Demon Lord actually did blow me to bits once.
Man, I seriously thought I was a goner that time. I would have been, too, if I didn’t have the Immortality skill.
Once you’ve seen that kind of insanely destructive power, a situation like this where there’s proof left behind seems totally banal by comparison.
It’s clearly the aftermath of a battle, but one within the scope of human comprehension, at least.
If Potimas had busted out the kind of weapons he used in the battle against the UFO two years ago, the kind he would probably use to deal with the Demon Lord, it wouldn’t look like this.
Those weapons are on the level of insanity, too.
If they’d been used in the battle, I don’t think this village would still be standing.
In fact, no matter how strong the ogre is, I don’t think it would’ve bested the elves if they had those weapons.
Which means that the elves were lying in wait without any fancy weapons.
Hrm? Is it just me, or does something smell fishy here?
Between this and the previous attack, I just can’t figure out what Potimas is trying to do.
For our first contact in two years, it certainly doesn’t seem like Potimas is seriously trying to kill us.
Potimas should know better than most that you can’t beat the Demon Lord with some half-baked plan.
So if he set up an ambush without any weapons, it’s almost like he wasn’t expecting to win.
Like he was just wasting manpower for no reason.
But why would Potimas do something so pointless?
It’s not like I know him that well or anything, but I’ve got a certain sense of his personality.
Based on what I know about him, these actions don’t make any sense.
It’s almost like I’m missing some key piece of the puzzle.
The Demon Lord’s current attitude just adds more credibility to that theory.
Has she noticed something that I haven’t?
As I look at her, she keeps glancing toward me and Vampy, then quickly averting her eyes.
“Well, this means less enemies for us without us having to do any work. Let’s just say it worked out in our favor, hmm?”
What’s up with that?
It’s an awfully vague, half-hearted stance for the Demon Lord to take.
She’s definitely gotta be hiding something.
“It doesn’t seem like there are any elves or ogres around, so this place is probably safe. Let’s spend the night here and start making our way through the Mystic Mountains tomorrow, shall we? This’ll be our last chance to take a nice, long rest for a while, so make sure you really recharge.”
In the end, the Demon Lord doesn’t tell us whatever it is she’s keeping to herself.
Well, if she doesn’t think we need to know, then she’s probably right.
I’m sure there’s nothing I’d be able to do anyway, so it’s probably best not to ask.
It would be some time until I finally found out what the Demon Lord was hiding.
About the despicable plan that Potimas had for the reincarnations.
Was it for the best that I didn’t find out at the time, or was it a terrible mistake?
I still can’t say for sure.
TEACHER
We return to the elf village via teleportation.
“Hrmmm. This is certainly unexpected.”
As I look at the back of the small, despairing figure in front of me, I murmur to myself quietly enough that she cannot hear.
Though as she trembles with her hands pressed to the ground, I doubt she would hear me anyway.
This little girl’s name is Filimøs.
I, Potimas Harrifenas, am her father.
However, she is usually called Oka.
She has been reincarnated into this world after coming from another, retaining her previous memories, which is why she prefers to be called by her old name.
It’s a symptom of her lingering regret and attachment to her old life.
Oka’s feelings about her old world seem to be quite strong.
Otherwise, she would never have had the idea to gather the other reincarnations from all over the world, for no other reason than that they are from the same place.
Even with the skill she has that would suggest such a thing.
Oka’s unique skill, Student Roster, conveys information about the reincarnations.
The skill gives only specific information, and only about reincarnations, so it is not a terribly user-friendly skill.
On top of that, the information it gives is incredibly sparse, leaving much to be desired in the way of details.
Frankly, the skill is completely useless.
Or at least, it would be, were it not in my hands.
I have a powerful organization at my command that I have built up over many years: the elves.
If I use them well, I can make great use of even that limited information.
We have now succeeded in gathering more than half the reincarnations.
The only other individual who would have been able to make such good use of Oka’s skill is most likely the Pontiff of the Word of God religion, Dustin.
If Oka had fallen into his hands, it would have been very inconvenient indeed.
To that end, I must profess thanks to whatever divine intervention delivered Oka to me.
Thus far, things have gone rather swimmingly, but it will likely be more difficult from this point on.
It’s safe to say that this most recent incident was a failure beyond even my imagination.
“Why…?” Oka murmurs in a trembling voice.
I cannot see her face from here, but it is easy to tell that she is in considerable shock.
From what she has told me, Oka’s old world was a fairly peaceful one.
By comparison, this experience must have been too shocking for her to bear.
After all, aside from Oka and myself, our entire party was slaughtered.
To make matters worse for her, that situation was caused by one of her fellow reincarnations.
From her perspective, one of her own students perpetrated this massacre, which must be difficult to swallow.
Reincarnation though she may be, she is still a child of less than thirty years between her two lives, so perhaps this was too harsh a thing for her to witness.
What happened exactly?
The simplest explanation is that we were attacked by an ogre.
But on a deeper level, it was actually the result of all kinds of complicated, interwoven circumstances, making it difficult to get the full story.
Even I cannot grasp everything that took place.
It began, I suppose, when I planned to tease Ariel and her companions.
Yes, tease.
A childish act, I must admit, but there is no more accurate way to describe it, as it held no deeper meaning.
Since Ariel travels with two reincarnations, I thought it would be amusing to introduce them to Oka and force them to fight each other.
Ariel has a surprisingly compassionate side, despite appearances.
And she cares deeply, too deeply, for her companions.
So if her companions were forced to clash with one of their own, it would no doubt be distressing for her.
In the end, distress is the most I expected to accomplish, since I doubt it would be enough to enable me to deal with her.
That is why I must describe it as teasing.
All it would accomplish is reveal the depth of my resentment, as such an action is entirely cost-ineffective.
But I suppose, after the humiliation they put me through, I had to do something of the sort for my own peace of mind.
It was especially spiteful to wait until Oka had grown a bit before carrying out the plan, if I do say so myself.
But when I finally attempted it after two years, there was an unexpected problem.
It was all well and good when the vampire girl attacked us at first.
In fact, that was exactly what I wanted.
I was not certain what would happen if I allowed Oka to try to speak to her first as she wished, but I hadn’t imagined that she would just attack blindly.
Although I suppose I knew Ariel had already raised the vampire girl to be distrustful of elves.
In fact, I am not sure why I didn’t expect to be attacked.
Still, from my point of view, the girl’s speedy and decisive reaction was even better than I could have hoped.
If we had teleported away a second later, Oka would have died.
That normally would not be a problem, but if Oka died before they figured out who she was, then I’d lose my chance to torment them successfully.
That would be a bit of a shame.
However, Oka’s value has gone down considerably since she was first born.
Thanks to the information from her Student Roster skill, we’ve collected most of the reincarnations.
And we already have a general idea of where the others are.
If we wanted to capture them, we probably could, but it would be foolish to lay a hand on the children of royalty or other powerful families too carelessly.
We already have more than the sample size we need, so there is no point in going after the others needlessly.
Besides, Dustin has already made his move with the hero. It would be unwise to take any more actions that are too obvious.
And if we can no longer make any serious moves regarding the reincarnations, Oka’s value is considerably lowered.
She still has value, but it would be no major blow to lose her.
She’s useful to have around, but it’s not particularly a problem if she’s not.
That is Oka’s current value to me.
So I thought it would be fine if she died in the process of this teasing, but…
“Oka.” I address the still-trembling girl. “Was that really a reincarnation?”
At my question, she jumps to her feet.
Raising her head, she looks at me with a face still red with tears.
“Erm! That, well… I-it’s just…”
She opens her mouth, but the words that come out are nonsensical.
I suppose she doesn’t know what to say herself.
But amid her stammering, I suspect that some part of her is still trying to cover for that creature.
Shall I summarize her probable thoughts?
Part 5 of 8