episode_0029

“Sigh. It was tough, but it feels rewarding.”

I tidied up the messy room to some extent and put on a satisfied smile regarding today’s achievements.

Looking back, I was certain that what I had done was by no means easy.

“I can’t just do it easily.”

Even if one becomes a hero and has some immunity to pain, even if they know they will regenerate with a potion.

It can be asserted that tearing apart one’s precious self is by no means an easy task.

It was still painful, and my heart, tearing it apart, was honestly not at ease.

I didn’t do this kind of thing around 200 times just for fun.

“But, I can say it’s something that must be done.”

Nevertheless, the reason I did it was because I didn’t want to live like this.

I may have Ronan’s body, but I am not Ronan.

I never intended to live a life cursed like Ronan’s, so I had to prove it, and I did.

“Hahaha.”

Once again, I congratulated myself on my efforts.

Now, I even possess a fine item that can no longer be called the original Ronan.

Smart.

“Ronan, there’s something urgent right now. The Demon King…”

As I reveled in joy, someone suddenly opened the door and entered…

It was none other than the Four Heavenly Kings, Patriarch.

“Huh?”

“Ah…”

With silvery hair down to her shoulders, a quite cold and neat beauty opened the door and entered the room.

After scanning me briefly, there was a moment of awkwardness.

A few seconds later, blushing, she closed the door.

“Hmm.”

Well, what’s with suddenly opening the door…?

Although it was a somewhat embarrassing situation, I remained composed.

I’m not a woman, and there’s no reason to be embarrassed about being seen half-naked.

“By the way, what’s going on?”

Talking about the Demon King, if she, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, came to see me personally, it didn’t seem like a simple matter.

I stored my precious belongings in my underwear, put on my clothes methodically, and left the room.

Facing Patriarch once again, I asked, “What’s the urgent matter?”

“…The Demon King wants you to come immediately.”

“Oh? All of the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“No. Just Ronan.”

There seems to be something going on after all.

Upon hearing Patriarch’s words, I felt slightly uneasy.

Why exactly am I being called alone?

“Alright. Let’s depart right away.”

“…I’ll guide you.”

For whatever reason, I decided to meet.

Patriarch led the way calmly, and I followed her.

After a few minutes, we arrived at the Demon King’s office.

“I’ll leave you here.”

“Sure.”

Apologizing for the sudden summons, the Demon King, Artenia, welcomed me arrogantly as she sat at her desk.

I urged her to get to the point quickly.

“Why did you summon me?”

“It seems you are more impatient than I thought. Well, Ronan, there is something you need to do.”

The Demon King glanced at me and began to explain the task.

Her words were quite unexpected.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to sneak into the Empire from now on and destroy the Empire’s Great Cathedral?”

“Hmm…”

It seemed like she was calling me to give me a special mission.

Destroying the Empire’s Great Cathedral was a significantly important task.

“Aren’t you going to ask for the reason?”

“Well, to prevent the generation of magic, right?”

“You really… know everything.”

“Because I’m a hero.”

The Great Cathedral plays a crucial role in the Empire.

It can produce mana crystals there.

With those mana crystals, superior mana potions can be created.

“As you say. I hope you will perform this task.”

If they could destroy that place, the demons would have a significant advantage.

The Empire won’t be able to keep casting spells anymore.

“If you would take charge, would you?”

But the reason why the demons haven’t touched the cathedral so far is none other than the existence of [Sacred Power].

Demons are extremely vulnerable to the mana called [Sacred Power]…

Entering the cathedral overflowing with Sacred Power itself is often difficult.

So even though they knew about making high-quality mana potions in the cathedral, they left it alone.

I must have been quite a significant figure.

“Well, no one else can do it anyway, right?”

“Haha. That’s right. As you say, only you can do it.”

I was the only one who received less penalty from Sacred Power.

Although I am a demon, I am also a hero.

Compared to other demons, I could ignore half of the penalties from Sacred Power.

“Alright then. Proceed with the mission.”

I had already joined the Demon King’s army, and being a part of the demon faction, I couldn’t refuse.

I wished for peace to come as soon as possible.

So I accepted the Demon King’s mission.

“But before that, there’s someone I want to bring along…”

“Oh? Who is it?”

However, it should be fine to carry out the mission more comfortably if possible, right?

I stated one condition to the Demon King for accepting the mission.

“Patriart. Please assign Patriart to me.”

“Patriart… What’s the reason?”

“Don’t know? Because he’s competent.”

“…Indeed, he is competent.”

The cathedral is a really dangerous place if things go wrong…?

It would be good if no one encountered anything there, but insurance for the possibility of an encounter was necessary.

I wanted to have Patriart, known as the strongest of the Four Kings, with me from the Demon King’s army.

“Fine. If you wish to take Patriart with you, I will make it happen.”

Since there was no urgent need for troops at the moment, my request wasn’t too difficult.

The Demon King readily accepted my request.

“I’ll get ready.”

After hearing those words, I headed back to my room.

Visiting the Empire after a long time…?

“I hope I don’t run into those mop girls again.”

Perhaps I might even meet the former companions of Ronan the hero.

# # #

“Did you hear? They say Amy killed Hero Jax.”

“Really? How is that possible?”

“I’m not sure either, but Amy was the first to discover Jax’s body…”

“She had a potion with her but heard she didn’t use it.”

The Empire was understandably in quite a state of confusion.

They may have lost in the war, but having a hero die was a different situation.

Jax, known as the most capable in the Empire, despite recently suffering defeat against Ronan, was never disregarded by anyone.

It was common knowledge that Jax was a strong hero.

And now, that hero was dead.

He might have fallen victim to a fellow member of the hero party.

As a result, the Empire was bound to be tumultuous for a while…

“Please calm down…!!”

There was someone who did not appreciate such turmoil.

She approached the guards who were gossiping and raised her voice.

A woman with a nun’s habit and a splendid figure, she was Trisella, the priestess of the hero party.

“Stop spreading baseless rumors. Amy is not that kind of person.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, Trisella. I didn’t mean it that way…”

“Be careful from now on. If I catch you badmouthing Amy again, I won’t forgive you.”

“Yes… Of course…!”

Upon Trisella’s appearance, the guards immediately apologized.

Tricella gave Amy ample warning that she was not one of those palace guards and then left.

“Ha… Is it really true?”

However, Tricella’s expression as she left was far from good.

Because she herself had plenty of doubts at the moment.

“Really… Did Amy kill Jax?”

The circumstantial evidence was likely sufficient.

The fact that Jax was found dead in a location overlapping with where Amy had been was true.

And it was also true that Amy had a top-grade potion in her possession.

Of course, that alone did not prove that Amy killed him.

She could have just discovered Jax already dead.

“Ha…”

Tricella wanted to believe so firmly.

She wanted to think that Amy would never do such a thing.

“What should I do in this situation… Goddess.”

Was it really not Amy who killed Jax?

At first, she thought it definitely wasn’t, but lately, she couldn’t shake off the growing suspicion.

Her worries deepened day by day.

“Tricella…! You’re here.”

“Amy.”

“I’ve been looking for you. I bought lots of delicious pastries, come back quickly. Let’s eat together with Charlotte and the others.”

While they were talking, Amy came looking for Tricella.

Smiling broadly, she linked arms with Tricella and affectionately spoke.

“Alright. I’ll follow you.”

Tricella agreed, but continued to harbor suspicions as she followed Amy.

Normally, she would have trusted Amy more than anyone else, but now she felt like she couldn’t simply look at Amy with pure trust anymore.

“Don’t trust Amy. You’re all being deceived.”

Ronan’s words from before…

Was it really just nonsense meant to unsettle her as a demon?

If it didn’t feel like mere nonsense, was that a delusion?

Tricella couldn’t help but keep thinking about this issue and eventually made a decision.

“Amy. I have something to ask you…”

“Huh? What is it? What is it?”

Looking somewhat serious, Tricella stared at Amy.

Amy seemed puzzled as to why Tricella was suddenly acting this way.

“Did you… happen to be the one who killed Jax?”

Tricella demanded the truth from Amy with that question.