Ch.39Request, Demon Hunt (7)

I was hiding my presence as much as possible while eavesdropping on the conversation between Leo and Yongin. If they discovered I was here…

One thing was certain—nothing good would happen to me.

Anyway, Yongin asked Leo with a puzzled expression.

“A murderer? What are you talking about?”

“What do you think a hero is?”

“I believe they’re someone who protects people from the Demon King.”

“Then I’m definitely not a hero.”

Leo continued in a sharp, dark voice.

“As a hero, I saved countless people. But there were more people I couldn’t protect than those I saved.”

“Then why would you call yourself a mur—”

“And I took many more lives with my own hands than those I failed to protect.”

Leo cut Yongin off harshly.

“Demons, monsters, people affiliated with the Demon King’s army, even comrades who defected to the Demon King—I killed them all with my own hands. I killed them all with that cursed Holy Sword!”

Leo’s voice carried anger, sadness, and resentment, but above all, an overwhelming sense of self-loathing.

And these emotions were growing increasingly intense.

“Calm down for a mo—”

“Even if they were enemies, they were people just like us! People who could think, feel emotions, and had souls just like us!”

“…”

“People who wanted to keep living just like us! Yet I killed them! I cut off their breath with the Holy Sword!”

After Leo’s one-sided outburst, a brief silence hung in the air.

After some time passed, Leo spoke in a calmer voice.

“I’m not a hero at all. I’m just a disgusting murderer.”

His voice now carried only deep self-loathing, with all the anger and sadness gone.

As if trying to comfort Leo, Yongin struggled to speak.

“But surely you saved far more lives than you took?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Didn’t the world regain peace because you stopped the Demon King? So all those people were saved by you.”

“…Ha.”

Leo let out a small, bitter laugh. The laugh gradually grew until it transformed into a maniacal cackle.

For a while, only that deranged laughter filled the room.

“That’s bullshit. I failed to stop the Demon King.”

Leo suddenly stopped laughing and snapped at Yongin in an even sharper voice than before.

“Do you know why the Demon King started the war?”

A few seconds of silence followed. Then Leo broke it and continued.

“The Demon King had a purpose, and achieving that purpose required sacrifices. What do you think would be the best way to gather those sacrifices?”

“War, I suppose. So what was the Demon King trying to do with all those sacrifices?”

“Well, I’ve forgotten.”

Yongin paused briefly before confronting Leo with bewilderment.

“What exactly are you trying to do here?”

“Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

“I still believe knowing is far more meaningful than not knowing.”

“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

“I’ll hear it first, then decide.”

After Yongin’s stubborn response, Leo paused briefly before speaking in a low voice.

“The hero fighting to defeat the Demon King would gather sufficient sacrifices. That was the Demon King’s first plan.”

“And what was the next plan?”

“The hero killing the Demon King, with the Demon King becoming a sacrifice for the plan. That was the Demon King’s second plan.”

Leo continued in a sarcastic tone.

“You think I stopped the Demon King’s plan? On the contrary, I stopped nothing. I merely acted according to the Demon King’s plan.”

Then Leo suddenly stopped talking.

“I can’t say any more. If I tell you too much, you might be so shocked you’d kill yourself.”

I expected Yongin to press Leo further, but for some reason, he remained silent.

I wanted to rush out and demand answers, but I held back since this wasn’t the right situation.

Anyway, Yongin asked in a calm voice again.

“Can you tell me something else instead?”

“I’ll hear it first, then decide.”

“Did the Demon King’s plan succeed or fail?”

“It was closer to failure.”

“Then was the plan closer to good or evil?”

“If I had to say… it was closer to good.”

It seems the Demon King’s plan failed. And apparently, it wasn’t an evil plan.

While I’ve learned more, it’s still far from enough. What could this plan have been that affected Leo so deeply?

“May I ask one last question?”

“I don’t particularly mind.”

“Why do you pretend to be someone else?”

“Because I’m no longer a hero. No, because I simply cannot live as a hero anymore.”

Suddenly, Leo’s manner of speaking completely changed. Instead of his sharp, fierce tone, he spoke in his usual kind and gentle way.

“I can never go back to how things were, to those days when I wielded the Holy Sword to save the world.”

Leo continued speaking dejectedly.

“When I realized that, I couldn’t face reality. So I put on a mask.”

“Then why are you so obsessed with magic?”

“Because while I’m immersed in something, I can escape from this damned reality.”

“But why magic specifically? Couldn’t you achieve the same escape by studying other disciplines?”

“Was there any discipline more efficient at wasting time than magic?”

Leo, who always praised magic, was now speaking negatively about it. It felt so disconnected that I wondered if this was even the same person.

The conversation felt extremely awkward, especially with him saying these things in his gentle tone rather than his sharp one from earlier.

Anyway, Yongin asked Leo another question.

“Then why do you get so passionate about magic?”

“Because it helps me push away everyone around me.”

“Are you isolating yourself because of guilt?”

“Remember when I said ignorance is bliss? I’ve already told you enough, so don’t try to learn more.”

Leo firmly rejected Yongin’s question, deliberately trying to create distance.

“So, do you have any more questions?”

“Even if I did, would you answer them?”

“Of course not.”

The conversation seemed to end there. I managed to gather some useful information, but something particularly bothered me.

The Demon King that Leo fought had a plan that was closer to good, but ultimately failed.

I’m not sure why this bothers me. After all, the plan already failed, so it shouldn’t matter anymore.

But there’s something important about it. I don’t know exactly what, but I’m certain I need to find out what this plan was.

I wonder if Agath or Rebecca might know? They seemed to be on friendly terms with Leo, so there’s a good chance they know.

For now, my priority is to escape from here without being discovered. If I’m caught…

This definitely won’t end well.

“I’ll ask one more question, just for courtesy’s sake.”

Suddenly, Yongin posed a question to Leo. Maybe I could extract more information.

“What do you plan to do with the little rat who’s been eavesdropping?”

My heart started racing wildly. When had they noticed? If they knew I was here all along, why did they continue their conversation?

I tried to hold onto hope that they might be bluffing, since they hadn’t explicitly confirmed my presence.

But that hope was quickly shattered.

“Rat? Don’t you think that’s too harsh to call our new employee?”

“For someone who claims not to want new relationships, you sure are making new ones.”

“The Goddess asked me to look after him, so I didn’t have much choice.”

They were definitely talking about me. If I tried to escape now…

“By the way, I don’t recommend running. But if you want to, I won’t stop you.”

Leo spoke as if he had read my mind.

So escape was no longer an option. What else could I do?

I racked my brain, but couldn’t come up with a good solution.

All I could do was pray this would somehow blow over.

“So how do you plan to handle this?”

“I’m still thinking about it. Got any good ideas?”

“It’s your associate, so you should decide.”

“You just don’t have any ideas, do you?”

“Then may I handle it my way?”

“Are you threatening to lay hands on my employee?”

“Why did you ask for my opinion then?”

I was trembling with fear while they were just exchanging pointless banter.

Then there was silence. I didn’t want to imagine what would happen when this silence ended.

After what felt like an eternity but was probably just a few minutes, Leo spoke.

“Alright, I’ve decided.”

“Finally made up your mind? So how will you handle it?”

“What else? I’ll have to silence him, of course.”

As soon as Leo finished speaking, something like a sack suddenly covered me from behind.

I tried to resist and break free, but my body wouldn’t move due to fear. My mind was filled with all sorts of negative thoughts.

And so, trembling with fear, I was dragged away to somewhere unknown.