episode_0047

“The Lord is coming-.”

“My glorious Lord is coming-.”

“The horn of blessing greeting the Lord rings out -.”

“The day when the Lord’s grace falls on the earth one by one-.”

“On that day, my Lord comes walking on the path of love-.”

The woman’s beautiful voice sings quietly. Holy song. A sacred song praising God, heavenly gods, and saints. When such a song met a beautiful sound, the sparrows who heard the song naturally became excited and chirped.

A typical hymn is characterized by being sung loudly and with a high pitch. Because we need to show how great the faith and faith that those who believe in the Lord have is.

However, the woman’s song was infinitely calm, not like a hymn. As if daring to sing a hymn was a sin. The woman babbled the chant helplessly.

A yard where warm sunlight shines instead of the grace of the Lord.

A peaceful scene that does not fit in with the demon forest, which is always filled with violence and wild duels.

There was a rocking chair in the middle of the yard. A woman was sitting on a rocking chair, singing.

The woman had her brown ponytail hair hanging down behind her. With a great sword on his lap. The woman held a handkerchief in her hand and carefully cleaned the blade.

It looked like a famous painting, as if it had been painted by a famous painter. As if praising the beauty and warmth of nature.

It was enough to make the viewer feel a sense of awe, wondering how he could be so neat in handling such a hideous object as a great sword.

“The Lord is coming… To save all things… .”

The woman’s voice became faint. The chant was coming to an end.

Thanks to this, the two outside beings watching from afar frowned.

“Kkiing… It was good to hear… .”

“Giggle, Aruya. Can’t you sing better than that?”

“Song? Kkkk! Kkkk! Kkkk! Something like this?”

“Hey, yummy! Don’t bark! What if I get caught by that woman?”

A tall, suspicious-looking man wearing a white mask on his face, a white suit, and a magician’s hat.

“Keng… He told me to bark… .”

“I told you to sing, when did I tell you to bark? Is that a song? This bastard is now blaspheming a sacred song?”

“Record-,”

“Evil! hey! It hurts, it hurts!”

“Young demons are bad. It’s really bad.”

An adult wolf beast with ears resembling a wolf’s mane sticking out on top of its head and a furry tail behind its legs.

It was an unusual combination. A demon wearing a unique outfit that is hard to see anywhere and a wolf beast wearing dolphin pants. They were completely different from ordinary demons who treated beastmen like slaves.

“Oh… Just this wolf bastard.”

“Why, keng, what.”

“Huh… Are you a teenager these days? Why did you become such a rebel?”

“Kungkeong. That’s not something you should hear from a young demon.”

“I came, I came. It has finally arrived.”

The two disparate beings continued tiki-taka as if they were quite friendly with each other. Bickering was the main focus of the conversation, but neither of them got really angry.

“No, but Aru, why do you keep calling me a young demon? I’m 109 now, 109 years old. It’s a decent Eucharist.”

“Kungkeong. I’m already used to it.”

“I’d rather call you captain. They used to call me Captain Zalman, but why has it become less common these days?”

“Kung! When did I do that!”

“Ugh, what would you say to a wolf going through puberty? hmm… But do wolves actually go through puberty?”

“Grrr… ! I’m not a teenager! Kkkk!”

“What can you say, this sensitive boss.”

“Grrr-!”

“Ugh, hey man. Calm down. This is all a joke, a joke. You know Aru too, right? If you get angry here, are you really being sensitive?”

“Kkiiing… .”

Although, there were several times when the bickering almost turned into a fight.

They haven’t fought once yet. ’till now.

The wolf beastman, realizing that he could not defeat the demons around his horse, turned his gaze to the woman again.

The woman was still absorbed in polishing her sword.

The wolf beast opened its lips.

“Are you going to ‘hunt’ that person this time? Kkong?”

Oscar Lucifer, a 109-year-old masked demon, answered in a somewhat excited voice.

“No, I’m going to be ‘inclusive’ this time.”

*****

One hundred years have passed since I returned from the guillotine in the square, entered the Demon Forest, and met Aru.

It is the current year, 314 by the imperial calendar. There are about 400 years left until you enter the that the saint mentioned.

If I were to list what I’ve done so far… There was nothing special. I just gained strength by hunting quite strong monsters and absorbing their energy, or by absorbing health food such as Horus’ egg.

Thanks to this, I have accumulated a lot of magic power. Compared to my prime in my previous life, I am new, but I am probably ten times stronger now than I was in ‘314 years of the imperial calendar’ in my previous life.

Thanks to this, the range of communication with the saint through the rosary has become much wider.

Rub, rub, rub-.

[Ouch! Foot, puhhh… ! Please stop… !]

“Giggle, you don’t like it? Why should I quit?”

[Right now, Joker is doing something very wrong, deriving pleasure from tormenting others, so he needs to stop immediately… !]

“What are you saying! The saintess is having fun too! Otherwise there’s no reason to be smiling like that!”

[This is just an unavoidable physiological phenomenon… .]

Rub-.

[Ahaha! Ah ha! Boo, please stop!]

In this way, it became possible to synchronize the saint’s whole body senses with the rosary. Now I’m taking advantage of that and tickling him viciously. Tsk tsk.

Surprisingly, the saint was very fond of tickling. I take advantage of that and often play pranks on the saint like now.

Of course, this is just a joke. I didn’t do anything that the saint sincerely told me not to do. I’ve never heard anything like that before.

The saint spends an extremely boring time all day. This tickling is just an act of consideration to drive away her boredom. Even the saint knows that fact, so she does not reject it outright.

[Ugh… Please scratch my stomach a little. It was so ticklish. [Do not tickle strange places such as armpits.]

Rub, rub, rub-.

“here?”

[Haaa… thank you. That’s it now.]

“Kwikkk, have you come to your senses?”

[Thanks to Joker. Thank you for your good deed.]

“It’s nothing special.”

[The smaller the thing, the more valuable it is.]

When I scratched the middle part of the rosary with my fingernail, I felt much more at ease when I heard the saint’s voice.

But do you feel itchy even in your original soul body? I’m curious, but if a saint is ticklish, it must be ticklish. Because a saint is the type of person who can’t lie.

“Kkkk! I did it all!”

Aru said, getting up with his sweaty body. Aru’s body, which had been frail without a single muscle when we first met, had suddenly become strong and full of small muscles.

Because I trained to the limit every day.

“Oh! Aru! good job! Well done!”

“Grring, you’re not going to give me meat? These days, I only praise and don’t even give meat. ”

“Hunt on your own, man. And I told you not to talk to me when communicating with the saint, right?”

“Kkiing… It’s bad, it’s changed. It was bad to begin with.”

“What should I do? Run one more lap. Then I will give you bread.”

“Keng? bread? What about meat? Why bread?”

“When will we run out of meat? If you mess up, you can save it yourself.”

“Kkiing… Wow… .”

Even though I just performed 100 sit-ups, I am pushing my training even harder. The reason is simple. This is because Aru is going through his third growth period these days.

Wolf beastmen must be trained strongly during their growing years. Although Aru is already close to becoming an adult wolf beast, his body will become significantly stronger once he successfully passes through this third growth period. Becoming stronger is definitely an uphill battle, but you may end up in an embarrassing situation where you are unable to control your own strength.

In order to prevent such a future, you must constantly roll your body and get Aru to get used to his overflowing power. This is why I roll Aru.

As Aru disappeared from sight to run one lap, I turned my head back to Rosary. This is to talk to the saint during the remaining time.

[Has King Lang left?]

“Oh, I went. You can say it now.”

[Yes, Joker said a few days ago that he was going to meet someone. I can still hear how excited he was, saying that it was his first time seeing a ‘human’ since his return.]

“You remembered all that.”

[After communication with Joker is cut off, my daily routine is to rewind only the contents of that day’s communication.]

“Tsk, who would put themselves through such hardships? Because of people like me.”

[Don’t say things like that. Joker is the most noble person in the world.]

“Giggle, the only person who praises a villain like me so much is a saint.”

That’s right, I said that.

It was something I hinted at in passing.

“You know, right? The Demon Forest is a place where the dimensions between the Demon World and the Continent are mixed.”

[yes. So, one of the five kings resides in the ocean of the continent.]

“That’s right. That’s why humans often come to the Demon Forest… Very rarely. Just because Masurim is a place you can come to, it is definitely not a place you want to come to. It’s a strange forest that even demons avoid.”

[By the way, what kind of person do you want to meet?]

“You must have heard the name. Paladin Beatrice. You know?”

[…] !]

The sound of the saint swallowing her breath, heard beyond the cross.

I guess the saint knows too. Beatrice Constantino, the strongest Holy Knight of her time.

It was 310 years ago in the Imperial Calendar, 4 years ago. The Holy Church, which had always been proud of its size as the largest on the continent, faces an unexpected crisis.

It was the invasion of the Kingdom of Tu, one of the Seven Kingdoms, a nation that worshiped the Olympian gods and revered war as a sacred act.

Empire, military state, and self-defense. These three countries boast a military power that is unmatched by any country in the history of the continent, but among them, the world often chooses Tuguk as the most powerful country. Of course, at this point, the military state does not yet exist.

It is not for nothing that there is a saying, ‘In terms of numbers, the empire is the best, and in terms of technology, the military state is the best, but in terms of military quality, the fighting state is overwhelming.’ It is not for nothing that it is said. A crazy country is a country that sends young men from all over the country to the army at the age of seven and uses them as pure combat soldiers until they are sixty.

Of course, when it comes to civilization and other fields, country fighting lags behind the most.

This crazy nation, which believes that only ‘battle’ is glory, devotes its national power to military power, saying it does not care about such useless things.

Such a nation waged war against the Holy Church. No matter how holy the country was with the Holy Knights or the White Knights, it was not enough to prevent the fight-crazy fighting spirit of the country itself. In the end, in just a few months, the Seongguk was rushed to Seonghwangcheong, and the thousands of years of religious history were on the verge of collapse.

At that time, in the final ‘Battle of Seonghwangcheong’, which Tuguk gathered all his troops.

The situation was overturned.

Beatrice Constantino, 1st Knight Commander of the Holy Kingdom.

By a powerful paladin who single-handedly turned the tide of war, holding a huge bastard sword in his hand.

Thanks to the holy knight who appeared like a comet, the church escaped the crisis, but Beatrice was not welcomed by the Holy Kingdom.

This is because the mighty power that Beatrice showed as she swept through the enemy lines was not divine power but the power of the devil. It was evidence that Beatrice had made a contract with the devil for some reason.

In the end, Beatrice, who was sent to the Inquisition and sentenced to be burned at the stake, escapes from the religious order under the cover of night. In the process, he murdered the Pope of the time. That may be the reason why the saintess’s breathing was trembling.

[Was Beatrice in the forest? I haven’t heard of that… .]

“I guess so. According to the original document, the last record of Paladin Beatrice was that she ran away from the church and went into hiding around this time. That’s all I know.”

[yes? Then how did Joker know that Beatrice was in the Demon Forest…? .]

“I can feel it. The landscape of the forest has changed.”

Masurim is a forest where the jungle is firmly established. Four of the five monsters called the Five Kings rule over the east, west, south, and north, and among them, moderately strong people like me live in their respective regions.

However, a few years ago, the southern landscape of Masurim began to change. Should we say that the balance of power has collapsed?

There is no sight of any force being outright annihilated, but fierce beasts that are said to be strong are leaving the southern part of the country and moving to other areas of the Demon Forest. This is what happens when an irresistible force enters the South.

And, the only person who can enter the Demon Forest during this time is Beatrice, a paladin who made a contract with the devil and was exiled.

“Oh, and I already went and checked with Aru. It was Beatrice. He was polishing his bastard sword. I even built a house and lived in it.”

[okay… But what do you plan to do with him? Are you going to hunt and absorb energy like before?]

“No? Is anyone going to die? How can you defeat a human being who is right against the nation in his current state? At least another hundred years must pass.”

[yes? Then, for what purpose are you meeting?]

“We must put into practice what the saint has taught us. Just knowing but not putting into practice is meaningless.”

[…] yes?]

“Inclusion.”

There was a moment of silence between the saint and me. The saintess mutters in disgust.

[Mr. Beatrice… You are a woman… ?]

“Of course, right? Her name is Beatrice, but she can’t be a man.”

[A woman again… are you okay… There are only four hundred years left… Yep… .]

“… ?”

A saint who mumbles something that doesn’t make sense. I checked the time and prepared to turn off the communication spell.

A pale yellow sunset is sinking beyond the horizon. As the sky turned light blue, I called Aru in a loud voice.

[Would you like to contact us today?]

“That should be it. Because you can’t miss out on a big name like Beatrice.”

[There is no guarantee that he will be on Joker’s side.]

“Trust me! If you say you can’t do it, just make it happen!”

The saint seems to be somewhat unsatisfied with Beatrice, whom she has not yet met. I understand. A paladin who killed the Pope and made a contract with the devil. Of course, the saint would feel rejected.

[ha… Can’t you just stay calm with Aru?]

“Hmm, are you really jealous now?”

[It’s not that there is no reason for that, but it’s because I’m worried. A paladin who made a contract with the devil is too dangerous.]

“You may have forgotten, but I am a demon who was once under the control of demons.”

[Not now. You don’t even know Beatrice, but you want to meet her without any reason. No matter how much I think about it, I think you are being too reckless.]

“I’ve always been reckless. It’s my job to find the miracle in it.”

Twenty minutes of communication time is almost over. I tried to break the communication spell. The saint grabbed me urgently and whispered.

[Haaa… All right. Since this is what Joker wants, I will not stop it.]

“Thank you for your understanding.”

[Instead, please keep one thing in mind.]

“What?”

[First is safety, second is safety, third is safety. i love you.]

“Giggle, yes, I understand. I love you too.”

Pop-.

Communication was lost. Looking at the darkening sky, I began to paint my body with mud. Meanwhile, Aru returned.

“Kung! What are you doing?”

“Now, you too, quickly.”

“Kengkkeong? What are you doing now?”

“Can’t you tell by looking at it? You’re getting dirt on your body! Do it too! This is an order!”

“Keng… Strange demons… .”

Aru grumbled slightly and faithfully carried out my command. Aru and I were covered in dust and turned into scraggly little brats.

Ji-Ik-.

“Ker, keung? What are you doing again?”

“You’re tearing your clothes! Oh my, why is this wolf so clueless! Tear a little too! Make me look like a castaway who rolled over a rough place! This is also an order!”

“Wow… bothered… .”

Jiik, Jiik-.

As a result, Aru and I became complete victims, covered in dust and rags, with even our clothes torn. I held on to Aru’s wrist and headed toward the house I had seen during the day.

After walking along the forest path for about ten minutes, a cabin shining alone in the dark forest came into view. I grabbed Aru’s wrist and ran with all my might to the cabin to make him breathe harder.

Crack, clap, clap!

Tsk, maybe because Aru and I have grown so much, our lung capacity is so good. In other words, the breath is too normal. Even cruelly.

There’s nothing I can do when it’s like this. Just make up for it with your acting skills. With Aru’s acting skills, which have improved considerably while assassinating powerful people, and my acting skills as an original actor, I should be able to easily fool a humble paladin.

“Now, Aru. From now on, I’m just going to pretend it’s difficult. Don’t talk too much. Definitely suit me. You can do it, right?”

“Keng.”

“Shh, it’s starting now. Quiet.”

I stood in front of a small hut made of wood. This is the hut that was monitored during the day. Inside, there is a paladin who made a contract with the devil.

“Big, big.”

After calming my voice for a moment, I quickly knocked on the door. The wooden door rattles violently.

Bang bang bang!

A moment later, the door screeched open. The fragrant smell of pie wafted from inside the door and tickled my nose.

“Who are you?”

There was a woman standing in the half-open door. It was a woman with flowing brown ponytail hair and neat clothes. Its appearance does not match the rugged and hard image of a paladin.

Despite the urgent pounding, the woman did not seem to be particularly surprised. No doubt, embarrassment, or anything else can be felt in the woman’s expressionless expression. As if he was a person who had no interest in the world itself, no matter who came to visit.

Facing that gray expression, I shouted out of breath.

“Oh! A beautiful lady, as if a moonlight fairy has descended! My name is Oscar, and I am a castaway who came to the Demon Forest with my precious friends and got lost! Please give us, poor pitiful creatures, a warm home for one night!”