episode_0073

With the help of Milaia, the hero Cain easily obtained the Holy Sword and set out on a journey towards the Demon King’s castle.

However, despite having traveled for quite some time, he had not yet reached the Demon Realm.

The reason for this delay was Milaia.

From the beginning, she had no intention of taking the hero to the Demon King’s castle.

After all, only a hero could defeat the Demon King.

But in Milaia’s judgment, the current hero seemed incapable of even facing the Demon King’s subordinates, let alone the Demon King himself.

“Damn it, why aren’t we heading straight to the Demon King’s castle? We have the Holy Sword now, so all we need to do is defeat the Demon King, right?”

Wandering through the land between the Demon Realm and the human world, Cain vented his frustration.

“….”

Milaia ignored whatever Cain said.

Cain was irritated by her attitude, but he had no choice.

Without properly forming a hero party and neglecting his own growth, Cain needed Milaia.

Without her, he wouldn’t have obtained the Holy Sword, and it would have been difficult to protect himself against the monsters attacking from the Demon Realm.

Cain had his own talent for fighting, and he could hold his own against most adventurers, but it wasn’t enough.

The original plan was to use Milaia to conquer the Demon King’s castle, with Cain delivering the final blow to defeat the Demon King.

Of course, such a reckless plan would never succeed in conquering the Demon King.

But Cain sincerely hoped that Milaia would clear a path all the way to the Demon King.

And Milaia had no intention of participating in such a pathetic plan.

“Damn it.”

Cain cursed at Milaia’s back.

If she had no intention of going to the Demon King’s castle, there was no point in traveling with her.

If she continued to wander aimlessly like this, it would be better for him to return to the kingdom and think of another way.

Even now, by following in the footsteps of past heroes, he could fulfill his destiny of defeating the Demon King.

However, the foolish Cain never entertained such thoughts.

He didn’t realize that seeking loopholes was actually delaying the time to subdue the Demon King.

Meanwhile, Milaia had her own plan.

Ultimately, the fate of the Demon King didn’t matter to her.

That was something the hero, Cain, had to handle on his own.

Her goal was to lure the Bloodstain, the enemy of her homeland and Yunoa, and to kill as many demons and monsters as possible.

The reason she had obtained the Holy Sword for the hero was not to enable him to defeat the Demon King, but because she believed that by giving him the Holy Sword, he would unquestioningly follow her this far.

The kingdom believed that the hero had gone to the Demon Realm to defeat the Demon King.

So even if the hero was absent for a long time, the kingdom wouldn’t think anything strange.

And that meant Milaia would have an environment where she could use the hero as bait without any interference.

Even for Milaia, entering the Demon Realm with just Cain was suicidal.

So, in the land between the human world and the Demon Realm, where there was no owner, she lured demons and monsters with the hero as bait.

She was confident that eventually, the Bloodstain would come looking for her.

Directly attacking the Demon Realm was too risky, and waiting quietly in the kingdom meant facing a small number of killable demons.

Therefore, constantly wandering through ownerless lands with the hero and killing every demon and monster that came their way was, in the end, the most effective way to kill the most creatures.

“I don’t know what kind of fool you are, but if you’re going to keep wandering aimlessly like this without a purpose, I’m going back. Since we have the Holy Sword, there must be another way. Ugh, I thought you were someone I could use until the end.”

In the end, Cain turned his back, unable to bear it any longer.

Milaea had made it clear that she had no intention of going to the Demon Castle, so there was no reason for him to stay with her.

But the moment Cain took a few steps to return to the kingdom, Milaea swiftly blocked his path like the wind.

“What’s this?”

Cain tried to push Milaea away with a frown and turn back.

But Milaea didn’t budge.

Instead, she drew her sword and pointed it at Cain’s nose.

“What do you think you’re doing? You know I’m a hero, right?”

Of course, she knew.

A hero who was worthless in terms of valor.

A hero who was pitiful, but efficient in attracting demons and monsters as long as he didn’t die.

Thwack!

Milaea struck Cain’s back hard with the handle of her sword.

Cain let out a groan and immediately fell to his knees.

Until now, Cain had mistakenly thought he was the one using Milaea.

But at this moment, their relationship had reversed.

“…”

Milaea stared coldly at Cain.

Cain saw the icy determination and madness in her eyes.

“You… crazy woman…”

Demon? Hero? Those things were no longer important to Milaea.

She simply wanted to kill as many demons and monsters, including the Bloodstain, as possible.

Even if it meant meeting her end in this ownerless land, she didn’t care.

Milaea’s expression was blank.

Her eyes, silently holding onto the silence, were slowly descending into madness.

* * *

He focused his mind and imagined the flames that the magic infused into the blade would become.

After a moment, a strong flame rose from the Dragonite sword he held in his hand.

There was no sign of the magic going out of control.

The magic suppression ability of the Dragonite ore was surprisingly excellent.

Shwaaah!

He sent the blade towards the sea.

Even the blade that seemed like it would fly infinitely, piercing through everything, could now be controlled with restrained power.

It took some time to adapt to the changed sensation due to the artificial magic suppression, but it was excellent.

After confirming the performance of the new weapon, he visited the Adventurer’s Guild late at night.

He was worried about Meruru, who had been resting at home since meeting her sister who had turned into a demon in the forest.

Meruru had said that she was checking on Meruru’s condition once after Tina finished work and went home.

Tina could take good care of Meruru, but he thought he should check on her condition with his own eyes at least once.

“Did you visit Meruru’s house today as well?”

He asked Tina, who was preparing to leave work.

Tina nodded.

“Yes, if I leave her alone, she tends to neglect her meals. There have been incidents like that.”

“How is she these days? Can I come with you to check on her today?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t Yunoa like it if you visited? Master gave her a forced vacation, saying it’s better to rest a little more, but she seems to be recovering enough to go back to work soon.”

“That’s a relief.”

Listening to Tina’s words, he felt a little relieved.

He hoped she would return to the guild with a cheerful look soon.

Even though her sister had become a demon, it was good that she hadn’t died in an unfortunate accident, and Meruru should take care of her own life.

He couldn’t think of a way for Aruru, who had become a demon, to be with Meruru, but no one knew what the future held.

Tina, busy tidying up near the counter, said to me.

I nodded and left the guild first.

Should I buy something that Meruru would like?

I wandered around the market street to see if there was anything I could buy for Meruru.

Even though it was late at night, some street vendors were still doing business, selling food.

The nostalgic smell of grilled chicken skewers tickled my nose.

It was the grilled chicken skewers that Meruru and I shared with the last bit of money we had when we first met.

Now, I could buy as many as I wanted to eat, but back then, counting the number and sharing them with Meruru made the taste special.

Since Meruru also had fond memories of enjoying them, I bought a generous six skewers.

Waiting in front of Meruru’s house, Tina, who had just finished work, appeared soon after.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No, let’s go inside.”

With Tina, I knocked on Meruru’s door.

After a while, Meruru opened the door with a messy, disheveled look.

“Huh?! Did Yunoa come today too? Wait a moment!”

Meruru looked at me standing next to Tina, then closed the door without letting us in.

About 30 seconds later, the door opened again.

Meruru’s hair, which was a mess like seaweed, was slightly tidied up.

Seeing her paying attention to her appearance, it seemed like she was feeling better, just as Tina had said.

“Here, I bought this to eat together with you.”

As soon as we entered the room, I handed the chicken skewers to Meruru.

The room was still messy with clothes scattered everywhere.

Tina, being familiar with this place, naturally laid a blanket on the floor and sat down.

The three of us sat on the floor, sharing the chicken skewers and chatting.

Meruru’s sister didn’t say a word.

There were no words of comfort or worry about whether she was okay.

We chatted as if nothing had happened, as if we had made a promise to each other.

Tina had been taking care of Meruru like this every day.

Meruru’s smile as she talked about the jar of jerky she had put in the cabinet was heartwarming.

But amidst the good atmosphere, I noticed moments when Meruru fell silent, lost in thought.

Then Tina would quickly change the subject.

And Meruru would respond to Tina’s words with a smile, repeating the cycle of talking and laughing.

“Well, I’ll come again tomorrow. Make sure to eat it in the morning. If anything happens, come to the guild… Got it?”

After some time, Tina stood up first and said to Meruru.

Meruru nodded vigorously with her ears perked up.

“I’ll come back when I have time. If you want something to eat, tell Tina in advance. I’ll buy it for you next time.”

I also stood up with Tina.

Meruru looked at me with big eyes and nodded several times.

With Tina, I left Meruru’s room and returned to the street, where someone was waiting.

“Oh… It’s you…”

It was Guild Master Algot.

It seemed like she knew that we were visiting Meruru.

She approached me and said, “Yunoa, could you come to the guild for a moment? Oh, Tina can go home first. Good job.”

With that, Tina lightly greeted Algot and went home first.

Alone with Algot in the dark night street, I asked, “What’s going on? At this hour.”

“It’s time to repay the ‘small debt’ I mentioned before. Follow me.”

Algot replied with a smile that still couldn’t be read.

Without even being able to anticipate what she would ask of me, I headed towards the guild.