episode_0083

30 minutes ago.

Arriving in the rural village of Eden, Alice took out her notebook to review the information.

‘Let’s double-check.’

Name: Marianne – Runs a dairy farm tucked away in a corner of the rural village Eden. – Barely makes any profit, so she’s quite poor. – A woman with long, straight black hair. – Considered quite pretty, but due to a magical tool that makes her seem like an ordinary woman, she doesn’t stand out much. – Has a very large chest and a slender figure, but usually wears loose clothes that make her look heavier than she is.

‘That covers the basics… Next…’

– A monstrous freak of nature who climbed to 2nd place in the demon rankings with just a single sword. – Considering she reached 2nd place purely through her own strength—without relying on Demon King fragments or cores—she’s effectively the strongest demon in existence. – On the other hand, – She has almost no talent for illusions or magic. – A bizarre demon who can’t even use basic succubus skills like seduction, charm, or brainwashing. – How is this thing even a succubus?

…This was the information Geum Taeyang had written down.

‘Hmm…’

The fact that she can’t use brainwashing magic is very good news. It means Cain won’t have to worry about being mentally controlled by Marianne.

‘The fact that she’s a freak who reached 2nd place with just a sword is also interesting.’

A demonic version of a Sword Master. Just how strong is she? What kind of sword does she use? What kind of swordsmanship does she wield?

‘Ugh… I wanna fight her!’

Facing strong opponents is always thrilling and exhilarating.

But.

She shelved that thought for now.

‘I can always challenge her to a duel after we get closer.’

The important thing was to make Marianne an ally. Not to fight her.

…With that in mind, she checked the rest of the notes.

[★Important Point★] – Marianne is the type to clearly define debts and grudges. – To those who help her, she’s kinder than anyone else. – To those who wrong her, she’s not necessarily crueler than anyone else, but she will hold a grudge. – If you help her with something when you first meet, things will go much smoother.

‘Hmm…’

She pondered for a moment. What could she do to help Marianne when they met?

…With that thought, she arrived at the farm.

Knock! Knock! “Is anyone here?”

The farm was completely empty.

‘Did she step out for a bit?’

…As she thought that, she peeked inside and—

“?”

A coin pouch lay on the floor.

“A coin pouch?”

She quickly pieced it together.

Clue 1: It’s lunchtime. Clue 2: A coin pouch is lying on the floor. Clue 3: She’s out.

Conclusion: She went out to eat but lost her money.

‘This… could work out perfectly.’

She hurried back to the village. Found the restaurant.

Given that it was a rural village, there was only one, so she spotted it immediately.

‘There she is.’

A woman with long black hair, wearing old, loose clothes, stood flustered in front of the counter.

‘That’s Marianne, right?’

The woman matched the description Geum Taeyang had given. It had to be her.

So she helped.

“I’ll cover this.” “Oh, thank you, miss! Please come again!”

After paying, she stepped outside.

Then—

Marianne immediately bowed deeply in gratitude.

“Thank you so much for helping me!!!”

Good. Step one: cleared.

‘Now, what’s the best way to proceed…?’

Should she be direct? Or take it slow?

‘Maybe start by talking somewhere quiet?’

…With that in mind, she spoke.

“Do you have a moment?” “Of course! I have plenty of time!” “I’d like to talk somewhere quiet.” “How about the farm up there?” “The farm?” “Yes! It’s so quiet you’d only hear flies buzzing—no customers at all!”

Marianne answered cheerfully before suddenly—

“Sniff… I wish it were a little livelier… The cheese tastes awful… but the milk is delicious… No one buys it, though…”

Her expression darkened as she muttered to herself.

“You okay?” “Y-Yes… I’m fine… Just yesterday, I sold a lot of cheese and thought I’d finally become rich… but then I lost all that money… Now I’m broke again… Sniff…”

Tears welled up in Marianne’s eyes.

So Alice told her.

“Your money’s at the farm.” “……Huh?” “Before coming here, I checked inside the farm. There was a coin pouch on the floor.” “My coin pouch is there?!” “Yeah.” “L-Let’s go back! Before someone takes it! Hurry!”

Marianne sprinted back to the farm at full speed.

But.

Her speed was… average.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think she was just an ordinary country girl running.

“I-It’s here! My coin pouch!!!”

Even her reaction upon finding it was completely normal. She hugged the pouch—which contained barely enough to kill a few monsters for—like a poor village girl who’d just found her life savings, tears and all.

“Goddess of Light, Selena! Thank you! Thank you for protecting my coin pouch!!!”

She even prayed to Selena.

‘This is a demon?…’

No matter how you looked at it, she didn’t seem like one.

“I’m so grateful! You paid for my meal and even found my money! You’re my savior!!!” “Uh… Yeah…” “But… why did you come to my farm? Are you… a customer?” “Ah, no… I wanted to ask you something.” “What is it? If it’s something I can answer, I’ll tell you anything!” “Well…”

She thought for a moment. What was the best first question?

‘Hmm…’ ‘Is this the right move?’

Marianne’s favorability seemed high enough.

So she asked outright.

“You’re the succubus Marianne, right?” “……”

Marianne’s face instantly paled as she backed away. “H-How did you know?…” “So it is you.” “Y-Yes, but… What are you going to do to me?…” “Well… To put it simply…” “Simply?…” “I came to help you.” “……Huh?” “I came to help you.” “N-No, I heard you, but… Help me?…” “Yeah.” “Why?…” “Huh?” “You knew I was a demon… Normally, people would either kill me or turn me in to the knights…” “That is the norm.” “Then why…” “Because you’re a good demon?” “……Huh?” “You don’t want to fight humans, right?” “W-Well… that’s true…” “You want to live peacefully with humans.” “T-That’s also… true…” “Your dream is to find someone who’ll laugh with you, even knowing you’re a demon.” “T-That’s… also true! But how—?!” “I heard about the future.” “T-The future?…” “Yeah.” “S-So… were we friends in the future? Or… had some kind of bond that transcended species?…” “No. Not that.” “Aww…”

Marianne looked slightly disappointed, but—

“I came as a proxy for someone named K, who wants that kind of relationship with you.” “!!!!!!”

The moment she heard the name K, Marianne brightened up again.

“Do you know who K is?!” “Of course.” “In the future, is K my friend? Or… someone with a bond that transcends species?…” “No.” “T-Then?…” “Someone who likes you.” “L-Likes me?!” “Yeah.” “K said you’re more human than anyone else, kinder than anyone else… and that they like you.” “Aww… I-I’m not that great… Giggle…”

Marianne’s face turned red as she squirmed happily.

Then, with a curious expression, she asked:

“S-So…?” “What happens between me and this K person?…” “Curious?” “Yes!” “Well…” “Yes?” “You never get to have any kind of relationship with K. Because you’ll be dead within five years.” “……?” “I don’t know what happens, but I heard you definitely die within 2 to 5 years.” “I… die?” “Yeah.” “W-Why?…” “That’s why I came to you.” “……Huh?” “I wanted to ask why a woman strong enough to be one of the Four Heavenly Kings dies… and to work out a plan with you.” “W-Work out a plan…” “You don’t want to?” “N-No! Of course I want to! How could I dislike someone who came to help me avoid my fate?!” “Then you’ll cooperate?” “Yes! I’ll cooperate!” “Good.” “Then take a look at this notebook.” “Okay!”

She showed Marianne the notes Geum Taeyang had written.

They detailed the ways Marianne could die in the future, summarized into three main possibilities:

[1. Death by being exposed as a demon] – If her identity as a demon is discovered in any way, the knights will come and kill her.

[2. Death by encountering the Hero’s party] – If she meets the Hero’s party in any way, she’ll either be killed on the spot or the knights will execute her later.

[3. Death when the Demon King dies] – No matter what, when the Demon King dies, Marianne is later found dead. – Sometimes killed by the knights, – Sometimes by suicide.

After showing this, Alice asked:

“The most confusing part is why you die when the Demon King dies… Do you have any ideas?” “I die when the Demon King dies?” “Yeah.” “I… commit suicide sometimes?” “Yeah.” “Why?! On such a happy day, why would I kill myself?!” “Huh?” “I’d be the first person in the village singing and dancing in joy if that trash Demon King died! Why would I commit suicide on such a happy day?! That makes no sense!” “??????” “Is this really the future? It sounds like false information…” “You have zero reason to kill yourself?” “None at all.” “No contracts or anything?” “I’ve never made any deals with the Demon King. There’s no magical reason for me to commit suicide.” “Then why would you?” “I don’t know anything either, though?” “?” “?”