episode_0089

The most formidable martial artist in the demon realm, Lord of Bloodstain.

Upon witnessing the pitiful state of the hero of the human realm, Bersella, he thought that he should personally deal with the hero.

Being able to communicate with demons, he sent his demons towards the kingdom to monitor the hero’s movements.

One day, one of the demons scattered around brought unexpected news.

The hero, wielding the Holy Sword, was staying alone with a female adventurer in unclaimed territory.

Bloodstain found this strange.

If it was a party of heroes setting out to defeat the demon king, there should have been five of them heading towards the demon king’s castle together.

However, according to the news from his subordinate, the hero only had one companion by his side.

Furthermore, for some reason, upon reaching the unclaimed territory, they did not move forward but stayed in that spot for days.

“Krrr… Is it a trap…?”

Bloodstain pondered quietly, exhaling hot breath.

He thought that the hero was setting traps and playing tricks to reduce the demon army’s numbers.

Therefore, he first sent some miscellaneous demons to see how the hero would react.

The demons he sent ended up being unable to even touch the woman who was with the hero and suffered defeat.

According to his subordinate who observed the situation from afar, the hero did not even fight back.

After sending demons multiple times to carefully assess the hero’s intentions, Bloodstain discovered that the woman with the hero was the same woman who had fought him before, wielding that longsword.

“Is it her…?”

Bloodstain rose his bulky body, grabbing his weapon.

Despite sending demons to confirm, he could not find any traps or ambushes.

For some reason, the hero had truly settled in unclaimed territory with that woman alone.

“Krrr… Prepare for a full attack.”

Bloodstain ordered his subordinates.

The large number of demons he led gathered like a swarm at Bloodstain’s command.

He did not know why the hero was acting so recklessly.

But he believed that the perfect opportunity to kill the hero had arrived.

* * *

Meruru and I safely returned to Kuber after finishing our visit to the demon shelter.

I was worried that Meruru might feel down, but it was needless.

Meruru’s face was brighter than ever.

She seemed satisfied just knowing that she had settled in a safe place with me, even though she couldn’t return with her sister.

Of course, her sister, Aruru, played a big role in convincing and comforting Meruru with kind words.

As soon as I returned to Kuber, I went to the guild to meet Algot.

“Did you enjoy the capital sightseeing?”

“Yes… well…”

“I’m glad. Is Mirabel doing well too?”

“Yes, but why is someone like the deputy commander of the kingdom’s knights there?”

The slums of the capital are impoverished.

The slums’ underground is filled with sewage.

And hidden behind that sewage are various illegal activities.

In short, it’s the slums of the slums of the slums.

It was quite shocking to see the deputy commander of the kingdom’s knights working as a supervisor there.

As if expecting my question, Algot immediately answered without hesitation.

“It’s connections.”

“Connections…”

“It’s something I’ve always valued in my various activities. Plant the most trustworthy individuals wherever needed. Wide and strong connections can be helpful in any situation. I became friends with Mirabel while serving as the swordsmanship instructor of the knights.”

Algot smiled at me.

“I became the guild master here for the purpose of building new connections in a new place. Just as magic is converted into the power necessary for battle for adventurers, connections have become the power necessary for me to achieve what I want.”

“Do you have something you want to achieve?”

“Well….”

The smile disappeared from Algot’s face.

“I want to create a world where the demons in the demon sanctuary don’t have to live in the sanctuary anymore.”

A world where the demons in the demon sanctuary don’t have to live in the sanctuary… Algot’s reasons for wanting to create such a world seemed clear enough.

She had mentioned breaking up with her demonized lover.

But even if she sided with the demons, she would become a target just like those who are currently hostile to the entire kingdom.

Not all demons may be bad, but there are definitely demons that threaten the safety of the kingdom.

Accept the good demons and subdue the bad demons.

This fairy tale-like approach is currently impossible in reality.

Algot probably doesn’t know how to create such a world, so she is running the demon sanctuary in the way she can right now. Perhaps the reason she is fixated on various connections is because she may need the power of those connections at some point.

“It’s a difficult task.”

“Yes. But I believe that we will find a way someday.”

* * *

I returned home after a long time and lay down on my bed.

As I closed my eyes, the things I had done since coming to this world floated hazily in my mind.

The demon ghost Shari was floating around, looking down at me.

“Come to think of it, you’re also a victim who was unfairly treated.”

I said to Shari.

If humans and demons weren’t endlessly fighting each other, Shari might have been able to survive as well.

The long-standing conflict between demons and humans was creating many unfortunate people.

Shari lost her life, Algot lost her lover, and Meruru had to part ways with her sister.

Mireia said she lost her homeland to the demon lord Bloodstain.

It’s difficult for everyone to be happy in the original world, but everyone has suffered from the long-standing conflict between demons and humans.

Is it impossible for them to live together peacefully without being enemies, just as they are?

It’s not about seeking absolute peace or something unrealistic.

Even if humans lived together without demons, wouldn’t they still fight or live peacefully depending on the situation?

Even if humans and demons fought each other, they could eventually work towards peace if their relationship was natural.

But the current relationship between humans and demons felt unnatural, as if something was forcing them to fight.

It felt like they were living with the predetermined reason of fighting each other’s species from birth.

I remembered the story that the sage Eldeworn of the Karia tribe had told.

A long time ago, the story of when the demon king and the hero first appeared.

According to the story, the reason the demon king appeared was to protect the demons who were expelled by humans.

And the reason the hero appeared was to protect humans from the demon army that came to exterminate them.

But before humans banished the demons, there were times when the two races lived together.

Is there really no way to go back to those times now?

“I don’t know….”

Thinking about various things that were unlike me made my head ache.

I’m not that great of a person in this world.

I’m just an ordinary adventurer with a silver rank, working in the Kubele Adventurer Guild.

I’m not a hero, not someone like Mireia who makes a name for herself on the continent.

So, even if there are things in this world that I don’t like, trying to do something about that giant flow on my own would be foolish.

I can only solve the problems in front of me, no matter how irrational they may seem.

“Yunoa was feeling complex emotions about the deeply rooted issues in this world.

As he thought, Yunoa might not be a hero or a great figure.

But because he came from a different world, he had values and potential that he could possess.”

What’s going on? The narration is saying all this to me.

“Not only that, there were things he could do that others couldn’t.

Like saving Mileia, who was in a life-threatening situation.”

Huh? What does that mean?

I was startled by the sudden words from the narration and sat up straight.

Mileia was in a life-threatening situation?

Come to think of it, where is she and what is she doing right now?

I heard that she left after the battle in the Horn Canyon was over.

But even when I stopped by Pifnel to go to the Demon Protection Shelter, I didn’t hear any rumors about Mileia.

If she’s an adventurer of her caliber, rumors should be circulating somehow.

“Mileia thought Yunoa had died in the battle in the Horn Canyon.

And she blamed herself for it, fueling her hatred towards the demons even more.

The loss of her homeland to the demons, and the death of Yunoa, the only person she relied on.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t been paying any attention at all.

She left right after the events in the Horn Canyon, so she probably didn’t know I was still alive.

“Hating the demons and monsters as much as possible, Mileia, who was determined to fight and die, headed to the ownerless land.

She stood in the ownerless land without any support troops, provoking the entire demon world.

Then she would kill all the approaching monsters and fight until her last breath.”

“What…?”

I remembered Mileia, who I had forgotten about.

I didn’t intend for it, but she had relied on me to an unusual extent.

Later on, she even had trouble making decisions without me.

So, suddenly dying and disappearing, I should have expected something to happen.

No, even so, fighting demons to the death is too extreme.

It’s an abnormal way of thinking that can only be considered madness, but Mileia might be capable of it.

“That Mileia is in a life-threatening situation….”

Honestly, it was hard to imagine.

Rather, the monsters coming after Mileia might be the real danger.

No, even so, she won’t be able to hold out for long on her own.

There are plenty of strong people among the demons.

Honestly, I don’t think I’m to blame for Mileia’s reckless actions.

But now that I know her life is in danger, I can’t just leave it be.

I have no choice.

I’ll go and show her that I’m alive.

Then she’ll probably stop her reckless act of trying to take her own life.

With that thought in mind, I lay back down on the bed and closed my eyes.