Ch.42Request, Demon Hunt (10)

A hero powerful enough to defeat the Demon King single-handedly. I can’t get help from such a hero.

So we somehow need to defeat the Demon King who will appear in a month… no, in three weeks.

Now that I’ve fully realized this fact, my chest feels terribly numb.

Of course, Leo’s story is tragically miserable too. But I don’t want to waste any more emotions on it.

Like Leo said, it’s foolish to get attached to someone who’s going to die.

“Since it seems like we’ve said everything we needed to say, shall we head back now?”

As always, Leo smiled while wearing his mask.

It’s certainly foolish to get attached to someone who’s going to die. But I’ve already done countless foolish things. So it should be okay to be a little more foolish.

For the remaining two weeks, I’ll keep treating Leo normally.

I’ll obviously grow more attached to him in the process. Still, I want to give him the ordinary life he so desperately wants as a farewell gift.

At the very least, I should repay the kindness he’s shown me since I came to this world.

It would have been much better if I hadn’t known anything at all.

…Come to think of it, didn’t he say memories could be used as bullets too? If I used all the things I just heard as bullets, wouldn’t that make things much easier?

But this is something I shouldn’t forget. If I forget everything, I might just end up feeling betrayed by Leo.

“…Yes, let’s head back.”

I don’t think I can treat Leo the same as before, but even so, I need to act like I do.

At the very least, I hope Agath and Rebecca don’t find out about this.

***

By the time we returned to the temporary base, it was completely light outside. Wednesday has begun. About two days left until we go home.

As we were heading back to our lodgings, I saw Agath lying down, looking at the skirt part of the Goddess statue.

“You’re as consistent as ever today.”

“I want to sleep with the Goddess.”

“…What?”

“Don’t you get excited just imagining what kind of reaction she’d have if someone slept with the Goddess who’s so sensitive about sex that she grits her teeth to prevent lewd acts?”

“…Isn’t that blasphemy?”

“This is pure affection for the Goddess, I tell you!”

I take back what I just said about Agath being consistent. It’s getting worse with each passing day.

Goddess, I’m sorry. But I have no way to stop Agath.

But both Leo and Rebecca had their own difficult circumstances. Then wouldn’t Agath have some kind of circumstances too?

“…By any chance, did you also go through something difficult in the past?”

“Of course I went through terribly difficult things.”

These ominous premonitions always come true. What exactly happened to Agath in the past?

“People around me were always nagging me to follow the doctrine, stopping me from doing what I wanted, and constantly lecturing me about acting properly.”

“…Is that all?”

“Yes. But now there’s no one stopping me, so I can act however I want! With that in mind, want to hook up?”

Thank goodness, Agath didn’t have any difficult past. Well, if Agath had gone through something too, it would have been really exhausting.

…But can someone become like this without anything happening in their past?

“No matter what, isn’t that going too far?”

“I held back that much before, so now I’m letting loose that much. If they had just let me do what I wanted in the first place, I wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

“I really don’t think that’s right.”

“Is it a sin to just want to do something sticky and lewd? It’s a much bigger sin to suppress basic human desires.”

I wish all of this was just an act and Leo hadn’t been acting at all.

With such thoughts, I was about to return to the lodgings when Agath suddenly asked a question.

“By the way, are you having a hard time with something?”

“Not particularly.”

“Your voice sounds too weak for that to be true.”

“I’m just tired, that’s all. After everything I’ve been through since dawn, it would be strange if I wasn’t exhausted.”

“That doesn’t seem right. You look mentally exhausted right now. What did you and Leo talk about that made you like this?”

“Leo just said he has no intention of helping stop the Demon King, so I naturally lost my energy.”

I have no intention of telling the truth. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

And I especially shouldn’t tell this truth to Agath or Rebecca. If it was this shocking for me, it would be even worse for them.

“I think I know what happened.”

Agath suddenly spoke in a serious voice. Did she figure it out?

There’s no way she could have. Only Leo and I know about that conversation. And I didn’t mention anything about it just now.

So what exactly does she think she knows?

“You were taken to a cave by Leo and violated, right?”

…What was I expecting from Agath?

I don’t know what expression I’m making right now, but I’m certain it’s contorted as if I’ve seen a disgusting bug.

“You desperately resisted, but he threatened that you’d be kicked out of the office if you didn’t comply, so you reluctantly gave in, right?”

“…”

“And as you were forcibly violated, you discovered a woman’s pleasure and found yourself enjoying it…”

Leaving Agath behind as she continued to spout nonsense, I returned to the lodgings. How nice it would have been if I knew nothing, just like her.

***

After arriving at the lodgings, I just lay down doing nothing. I just don’t feel motivated to do anything.

If I knew how strong the Demon King was, it would be fine, but right now, I don’t have any information about the Demon King.

In such a situation, every bit of strength is precious. And the strongest force I thought we had is gone.

For now, I’m just a burden unless I use up all my lifespan.

So how are we supposed to defeat the Demon King…

While I was deep in thought, someone suddenly spoke to me.

“Senior, what are you doing here?”

“I’m tired, talk to me later.”

“…Senior. Isn’t this a bit too much?”

“This time it’s really important, so just leave me alone.”

This isn’t just an excuse because I find it bothersome. This time, I’m genuinely contemplating something important for my life.

It’s a matter of life and death, so it would be strange not to think about it seriously.

“Senior.”

Suddenly, Ha-eun lowered her voice and spoke. It’s clear she’s very angry, but what’s the reason?

But I didn’t do anything strange this time… Let me think about what I last did…

…I told her we’d talk later, but then I didn’t show my face until the next day.

“I’m sorry, I’m just mentally exhausted right now…”

“I understand that you’re having a hard time because your body has changed, but this is too much.”

“No, really, I had circumstances yesterday…”

“Then what circumstances did you have that made you not show your face until now?”

“Well… I had to stop a holy knight who was planning to gang rape me, then restore the faith of injured people whose faith was shattered by a holy maiden, and then I heard shocking facts from a hero.”

I only spoke the truth, but Ha-eun confronted me with a serious face.

“Senior, are you really using that as an excuse?”

“It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth!”

“Please say something that makes sense! Even if I accept the hero part, do you think it makes sense for a holy knight who believes in the Goddess to make such a plan?”

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s all true.”

“…Is that person homosexual then?”

“No… not homosexual… well, that’s… um…”

The reason Agath has such interest in me is solely because I’ve been gender-swapped. Then how should that be defined?

Since she’s acting this way after seeing my male form, is she heterosexual? Or since my body is female now, is she homosexual?

“…She’s bisexual.”

Let’s just say both. Why bother with complicated thoughts?

After I shared this thought, Ha-eun looked at me incredulously and said:

“So why is that person acting that way towards you?”

“I have no idea. Is it even possible to understand that person?”

“…Let’s put that aside for now, but don’t you think the story about the holy maiden is really strange?”

Ha-eun questioned me. What’s the typical image of a holy maiden? Obviously, a sacred person who serves the Goddess.

But if such a holy maiden not only curses the Goddess but also completely shatters other people’s faith, would you believe it?

…It’s ridiculous even as I say it. What kind of holy maiden is that?

Ha-eun seemed to have similar thoughts as she continued to question me.

“She’s someone directly chosen by the Goddess, right? And you’re saying that instead of praising the Goddess, she shattered other people’s faith?”

“She was doing a good job of shattering it in front of the injured people.”

“…Sigh, I’ll just go see for myself. Where are those people now?”

“I’m not sure about the holy maiden, but the holy knight is probably outside looking up the Goddess statue’s skirt.”

“Stop joking and tell me properly.”

“I’m not joking, it’s the truth! Go see for yourself.”

“…Alright, I’ll check.”

Then, two people who looked exactly like Ha-eun emerged from her shadow.

“…What’s that?”

“It’s my supernatural power. I can create up to nine of them.”

“…Why are there only extraordinary people around me?”

The people at the office just have superior basic specs. And Ju-an has an absurdly overpowered ability.

Now even my school junior has an ability far better than mine. This world is so unfair.

After the clones left, Ha-eun’s expression darkened dramatically after a few minutes.

“…Are those people really a holy maiden and a holy knight?”

So the memories are shared between the clone and the original. How nice it would have been if I had such an ability.

“What did they say this time to make you react like that?”

“The holy knight was looking up the statue’s skirt while talking about cat fights, harems, and other incomprehensible things, and the holy maiden spat on the statue…”

“That’s nothing out of the ordinary for them.”

“…What exactly are those people supposed to be?”

“I have no idea either.”

Ha-eun spoke as if she couldn’t understand the situation at all. Didn’t Ju-an have a similar reaction at first?

Speaking of which, I wonder what Ju-an is doing now… Maybe I should call him later.

“…You really did have a hard time. I’m sorry, senior.”

Ha-eun looked at me with pitying eyes as she spoke.

…It’s not a particularly good feeling to be acknowledged as someone who’s having a hard time.