Good Friends (11)

Wobble wobble.

The world dances merrily even without me.

In my faintly returning consciousness, I could realize that it wasn’t just my feeling, but the world was actually swaying. As I faintly opened my eyes, the bright blue sky was shining, and I could smell grass around me. My side was still sore, but when I touched it, there was no wound, and amidst the moving noise, I could hear Lena’s voice.

“You know, Hero. Even if I’m called someone with a twisted personality, I can’t deny it.”

“What’s wrong?”

Lena was looking at the hero with an incredulous expression, and the hero was tilting his head. Around me were bright flowers and plants in abundance, and rectangular boards surrounded my body.

“…But, doesn’t this look a bit like… a funeral procession? The old man isn’t dead.”

If I raised my head a little more to look around, beings with grotesque appearances, whether demons or humans, were carrying me on a bier while swaying their shoulders.

A bier.

Though the purpose might be different, it was undoubtedly a bier, full of flowers and pulled by monsters holding the handles.

Mille, cutting through the hero and Lena’s chatter, said with sparkling eyes:

“The porter’s awake! Did you sleep well?”

“…What’s going on? Am I dead?”

We were still passing through the demon world forest, but there was no sign of enemies moving. When I breathed in, I could smell the dirty, murky scent characteristic of demon world creatures.

This isn’t a dream. I hadn’t fallen into hell, and the other party members were safely alive. As I thought that far, my confused mind seemed to clear up.

First, I wanted to hear an explanation about these demons who were carrying me.

“Hero. What exactly is going on here?”

The hero scratched his cheek with a troubled expression.

---

The hero’s story went like this:

After successfully infiltrating the center of the cave and opening the door, they followed a straight path out, only to find Ashuria and Lena surrounded by a group of strangely shaped demons. It didn’t feel like they were fighting, but it wasn’t exactly friendly either, with an atmosphere full of awkwardness. The hero first stopped Mille from shooting arrows, and Ashuria quickly explained the situation.

“So, you’re saying these people are those who turned to the demon side after being falsely accused by the church?”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s a shameful matter. We plan to take these people to the capital with us to expose the church’s atrocities and ensure they receive proper compensation to live out the rest of their lives.”

Ashuria said this while glancing at me. She seemed to think I held unpleasant thoughts about these demon converts, but I was just in pain from my wound. Having been defeated by the demon’s swordsmanship, it was deeper than expected, and despite emergency treatment, my side was throbbing.

“When people suffer injustice, they’ll do anything. I would have done the same. I understand.”

I said this while rubbing the bandage. Lena carefully reached out and removed my hand. Our fingers touched briefly and separated, and Lena stroked her own fingers with her other hand as she said:

“You’ll aggravate the wound, old man.”

I nodded awkwardly.

The hero said:

“Old man. By the way, it seems you fought with a demon, you must have had a hard time. It must have been difficult to see in the dark.”

I thought of the guy who had been boasting about winning in the darkness. He was a skilled swordsman, but if we had fought in a place with light, I could have killed him instantly. I had achieved success fighting with the penalty of darkness, but I never wanted to fight like that again.

It had been chilling, thinking I might really die.

“It seems he had night blindness. He wanted to turn on the lights to fight because he couldn’t see either. So I threw dirt in his eyes.”

But there was no need to tell worrying stories. Why bother praising a cowardly fighter as a great warrior? If I hadn’t fought him, he would have been a demon like chaff before the waves, swept away by one burst of sword aura while showing off in front of the hero.

“I managed to win somehow, but I took a hit too. I’m ashamed.”

He was just a bit of bar talk fodder.

That level of a demon.

“Still, it must have been dangerous. I’m glad you’re okay.”

And the hero said with a smile.

“That’s right, old man.”

Lena wore a gloomy expression as if recalling a sad memory.

“The bleeding was quite severe. If we had been a little later, it could have been dangerous.”

Ashuria nodded with a cold face, but I could tell she was worried about me.

“But it’s good that you survived! I want to lie on that bed too!”

Mille waved her hand with a bright smile, but I knew that if I had died, she would have cried more bitterly than anyone else.

Though their words were different, they were all looking at me with similar nuances in their eyes.

Those eyes saying they were truly glad I came back alive. Feeling a lump in my throat, I frowned again and lay back down. If I thought of it as a bier, it was a bier, but thinking of it as a grass bed, it was no different from enjoying luxury for a mere porter.

“Aren’t you going to give me a ride?”

“…Mille. These people are doing this out of kindness.”

“Oh no, it’s fine. You’re helping clear our false charges, this much is okay.”

“See! They say it’s okay!”

“…I’ll carry you on my back.”

I turned my head and chuckled quietly so they couldn’t hear.

---

Whether it was because our party had many demon converts, or because the situation in the cave hadn’t spread yet, we were able to move to the border with less resistance than expected.

“Stop! Stop! We’ll shoot if you don’t stop!”

But the problem arose at the kingdom’s border instead. The soldiers were pale-faced and drawing their bowstrings, and the commander was glaring at our party with a hardened face. The converts were exchanging glances with panicked expressions and sweating, while I, having recovered somewhat, had already gotten off the bier and was carrying my bag again.

“What business do you demon scum have crawling into this land!”

I asked the hero:

“What should we do? We can’t fight.”

“Just a moment.”

The hero came forward with both hands raised. The commander seemed a bit taken aback to see a human emerge from the group of grotesquely shaped monsters. He blinked, recognizing the hero’s face, and frowned.

“Who are you?”

“I am acting on the frontlines, having received the name of hero from the kingdom. These are converted demons we are bringing for a special purpose. Please let us through.”

The commander, flustered by the word ‘hero’, shook his head. The soldiers were whispering and looking at the hero’s face.

“I heard he’s a womanizer who sleeps with any woman he sees, but he looks quite modest?”

“They said he has a foul mouth and spouts vulgar jokes whenever he opens it, but it doesn’t seem so.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be incredibly well-endowed?”

The converts looked at the hero with curious gazes. Lena, Ashuria, and Mille were all trying hard not to laugh, and I, feeling embarrassed, turned my head and said:

“Um… Hero. I’m sorry.”

“…Old man. I really hate you.”

The hero muttered such girlish words with his face burning red, and the commander, regaining his composure, said:

“Indeed, your appearance closely matches that of the hero! However, bringing demons into this land is unprecedented except for Commander Kerberos! This is a matter that requires the utmost caution, so I’ll just check one thing! Do you have anything to prove your identity?”

“Ah, here it is.”

The hero reached into his inner pocket and took out a small badge and certificate. As he spread out the certificate, the commander squinted and looked it over, then tilted his head before nodding again. At this ambiguous reaction, neither confirming nor denying, the soldiers looked anxiously back and forth between us and the commander, and the commander asked again:

“Is that certificate correct?”

“…Ah, yes.”

The hero smiled awkwardly, then held the badge in his left hand and the certificate in a different direction. Only after seeing this did the commander nod with a serious expression and say to a soldier:

“Open the gate! It’s the hero!”

As the huge castle gate opened, the converts and we started walking again. Lena asked the hero:

“Was that a code?”

“Yes. To prevent forgery of the certificate, we set a code for how to hold the certificate and badge. Since this is the western border area, I hold the certificate so that the mark faces west.”

“That’s thorough security.”

“I almost forgot about it since I rarely need to prove my identity.”

How often would the hero need to prove he’s the hero? But the security measure prepared for such contingencies seemed quite useful.

Ashuria said:

“We’ve crossed the border now. This is where it really begins.”

Ashuria turned to the converts and said:

“Everyone. On the way, there will be many humans who will insult you or pick fights. While we can protect you from such incidents on the way to the capital, we cannot fight back or cause disturbances. Also, since we’re likely to be refused lodging, from now until we reach the capital, we’ll mostly be spending time camping.”

All the converts nodded with grim expressions. Having come this far trusting Ashuria, they were prepared.

Ashuria also nodded and moved forward. Her steps forward seemed particularly heavy.