Chapter 139: Hero? – 1

Chapter 139: Hero? – 1

“……If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t that clearly the Holy Sword?”

“Yes. It is.”

“Furthermore, judging by the fact that she knew we were coming, she must clearly be……”

“That would also be correct. Though I didn’t expect her to be such a young girl.”

The Demon King followed the girl who had hastily run into the shop, leaving him behind.

The girl, as if realizing it belatedly, was looking at her from outside the window.

The Demon King, who had casually responded to whatever the Holy Sword in the girl’s hand was saying, felt a surge of curiosity.

“Perhaps the human god has given up? If not, how could he choose such a person as Hero…?”

“…Didn’t you see her?”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, right. You’re a gloomy fellow who specializes in seeing the aura of death, holed up in your room, so it’s understandable you wouldn’t see her. My understanding was lacking.”

“……Just scold me directly. Anyway, what did you see that makes you say that?”

In truth, the Demon King had intended to attack immediately the moment she thought the girl was the Hero.

To anyone, the girl looked defenseless, and she was confident she could easily win if she attacked now.

But… just before attacking, the Demon King realized that the girl was not as fragile as she appeared.

She had clearly pinpointed that she, who had secretly infiltrated with the Holy Sword, was in the capital, so there was no way she wasn’t the Hero, but the power the girl possessed was not God’s.

More fundamentally, it was a completely new kind of power, not the type of power found in this world.

“Look closely at those glass bottles and liquids over there. You’ll understand what I mean.”

“…Indeed, that is…… peculiar. It’s too anomalous to be power given by the human god.”

“I’m certain. The power that Hero possesses did not originate from the human god.”

Soon, the shop door opened, and the Hero, holding the Holy Sword, stood before the Demon King.

For a moment, the Demon King and Hero’s gazes swept over each other, and the Hero let the Demon King into the shop.

“…I can’t say ‘welcome,’ but come in for now.”

“Then I won’t decline, will I?”

“……I wish you would decline, though.”

Upon entering the shop, the Demon King could feel an even more anomalous power emanating from the shop itself and the girl.

Furthermore… she had just passed it by, but the girl’s appearance was quite striking.

To the extent that she could be compared to succubi, who were responsible for beauty among monsters.

However, the difference was that, unlike succubi armed with allure, she was armed with subtle elegance and cuteness.

But, regardless of her appearance, she could also tell that the Hero’s eyes were coldly and quickly scrutinizing her.

“Aren’t you staring a bit too much?”

“You have to know your opponent well to have a conversation. Aren’t you the same? You have to observe their aura, expression, and even minor actions.”

…To be precise, the Demon King was evaluating the Hero’s face and appearance, but the Hero seemed to think otherwise.

Seeing her tense demeanor, the Demon King chuckled softly.

With her Demon King’s Army in disarray and only the Archlich accompanying her, the Demon King had no intention of causing a big scene.

It was a light reconnaissance in the first place; there was no plan to find the Hero and assassinate them.

Meeting the Hero now, at the Holy Sword’s request, was merely out of curiosity about the destined adversary she would eventually fight.

Of course, the Hero continued to stare intently at the Demon King, taking in every single action.

“Hey, you don’t need to be so wary? At least for today, I won’t rampage here. It’s premature.”

“Can’t it always be premature, forever?”

“That won’t do. If it were, the Demon God-nim would kill me. And the newly arrived Demon King would be far more ruthless, you know?”

“…So, you still think war is inevitable?”

“Right? My purpose, after all, is to carry out war under the Demon God’s command.”

At those words, the Hero’s expression darkened slightly.

Of course, there was a feeling of not wanting to fight… but the emotion reflected on her face was fundamentally different from that.

Rather than fear of the Demon King or worry about the future of the continent…

It was something closer to annoyance and bother, the kind a person might feel when they have a problem to solve, but only difficult methods remain.

“Well, as you’ve been observing me, you’d know I don’t want to wage war.”

“It’s not like we want to do it either. We are merely challenging for the position of the continent’s master, which had solidified as human after the great war in the past.”

“Since the past isn’t important, saying ‘let’s just end it peacefully’ probably isn’t even worth considering, right?”

“You know well. It’s nonsense.”

At that, the Hero seemed to have completely made up her mind.

She seemed to have perfectly acknowledged that the Demon King could not be persuaded in the current situation.

As the Hero’s questions ended, the Demon King naturally questioned the Hero.

“So, what are these glass bottles and potions? No, what is this anomalous power I feel from you in the first place?”

“…It’s directly related to why I think war is unnecessary.

And those potions are ones I made myself; they’re weak, but they have magical effects.”

“……Fascinating. Did the human god kidnap someone from another world? Otherwise, I can’t explain this anomalous power.”

At those words, the Hero smiled quietly.

The expression and emotions the Hero hid behind that quiet smile were far more complex, though.

***

‘Someone from another world… is correct. It’s just that God didn’t summon me.’

*So, how are you going to persuade her now? Did you find any clues?*

‘I’ll have to try to negotiate somehow by telling her that our precious God is the one who instigated the war.

If our God is like this, how could their God be normal?’

If the war itself was instigated by God’s will, then it’s highly likely that the Demon God the Demon King believes in is similar.

Meaning, it’s highly probable that it’s simply their own will, rather than genuinely caring for their creations.

Well, they say humans were the victors of the ancient great war, and it’s time to change that, and so on, but in my opinion, their Demon God is clearly just as rotten inside.

If the one who intends a war where his own creations suffer and both monsters and humans are almost annihilated is the human God, then the Demon God must be similar.

……It has to be. It’s just not fair if only our God is this precious.

While I quickly thought this and that, racking my brain, the Demon King was examining my potions with interest.

…The items in the shop were not of high quality, being low-grade, but still, the Demon King examined the potions with surprise.

The skull-head next to her was struggling to figure out their composition and manufacturing method, but the Demon King, as if it wasn’t very important, merely glanced at the potions.

And then, she spoke to me.

“Our Hero, you don’t get along with God very well, do you?”

“……”

“Among the items here, none contain the power of the human god. Broadly speaking, among everything in this shop, only that Holy Sword does.”

Well, that’s natural since I’m a fake in the first place.

Of course, it’s true that I don’t get along with God. No, to be more precise, it’s just a situation where God unilaterally marked me.

Anyway, the Demon King began to observe me again with interest.

Her gaze had been subtly lingering on my face for a while, which was a bit burdensome, but I couldn’t avoid her gaze here.

“My will is not God’s will. And the reverse is not true either.”

“Hmm… Indeed, the human Hero is chosen by God, who grants power to a favored creature. So that could be it.

Unlike me, who uses a life created solely for its own will.”

“……Then, are you a life created solely for the Demon God’s will to wage war?”

“Unfortunately? I can think independently, but my essence is closer to a tool for that purpose. Well, I know it, so I don’t feel any aversion.”

I was about to ask more about the Demon King, but she smiled and walked towards the door.

She grabbed the ribs of the skull-head, who was still engrossed in analyzing the potion ingredients, and forcibly dragged him out.

“Unfortunately, the next time we meet, we won’t be able to have such a calm conversation. It will be on the battlefield.”

“Well, who knows. I have a strong reason not to fight this war.”

“Hoh… Interesting. But only to that extent.”

Having said that, the Demon King disappeared out the door.

…That’s not a metaphorical expression; she literally melted into the shadows and vanished as soon as she stepped outside the door.

*’What will you do now? The Demon King doesn’t seem open to persuasion.’*

“…Do you happen to know anything about the Demon God?”

*’The Demon God…… It’s true that he’s been around since ancient times, but I don’t know him well either. However, I do know that he is intimately connected with our God in some way.’*

“To persuade the Demon King, we either have to break the Demon God’s will, or make the Demon King reject the Demon God… neither of which is easy.

Especially since our God, far from helping us, wants us to die in this war. Even mobilizing the prophet.”

*’Yes. God will certainly interfere with you and those who help you. Perhaps that might be even more urgent than the Demon King problem.’*

“…It seems both are urgent, though.”

However, a day later, I decided to tackle the problem related to our God first.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a profound decision made after a day of hard thinking.

It was simply because news arrived that our Saintess was about to stand trial, according to God’s will.

……This God-fucking bastard is truly acting like a petty piece of shit.