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I can’t understand.

He should know my feelings -my despair, my anger, my resolve. 

That’s why I am here, and yet, how can you betray me? 

— “I would have not hesitated if it were to help out in your revenge, but any further than this is going too far.” 

As if this is going too far. 

We were betrayed by everything. Everything was taken away from us. 

That’s why, this world must know this despair, this anger. 

— “I agree with you on that alone. But there should be something more lying ahead after teaching them a lesson. Look back at the path you have trekked. Is there anyone moving forward after learning of your anger?” 

Don’t spout sophistry. 

There’s no need for them to have a future. 

The only thing left for them to do after learning of our anger is to end their lives. 

Who would give them a chance to reflect? 

— “The world is done for if no one is left. I want you to live, so I prepared a path. If you are going to tread on to damnation, I have to stop you.” 

That’s why you stand in my way? 

You gave me life, gave me power, gave me a chance, and yet, you are going to take it away again? 

— “Sorry. But I will definitely bring you back to the right path, so…so go to sleep…for just a bit.” 

My vision grows muddy. 

I already don’t feel my body, and the liquid thickened with my blood swallowed everything. 

I tried a variety of methods while unconscious, but there was no way to get rid of this monster. 

A monster with no will that deconstructs magic and devours mana. Merciless, just like him…

“—Ah! …Nariyaaa!” 

◇◇

(…Give me a break.)

It has been a while since I have had that dream. 

The faint mana of the Black Demon Lord that resides in my body is showing me fragments of her memories in my dreams. 

I didn’t see them at all in the middle of my battle between Raheight and the others, but I can now narrow the factors that make me see those dreams quite a lot. 

(…Who cares. I just need to do something about it if it gets bad anyways.) 

Right now the only harm it is causing is that I sweat a lot more when sleeping. 

I still haven’t screamed in my sleep. 

I wake up in a bad mood, but I am recovering my stamina properly, so I can’t complain.

What I should think about is my current mental state.

I may be able to analyze and comprehend others, but it is not like I completely know about myself. 

I might not have even tried to be conscious of it if Wolfe didn’t point it out. 

(Well…I think I still have a lot of leeway though.) 

I know that there’s a mental burden. 

It is a dangerous situation where most of the people that are our enemies are more dangerous than soldiers with firearms. 

I can’t even count the number of times I have imagined my head flying the next instant without giving me the chance to react. 

But my comrades are even more reliable than that. 

It is not like enemies that are stronger than Ilias and Wolfe will pop up so often. 

I should worry less. 

…Is that really the case? If I were standing on the enemy side trying to kill me, I could form up countless methods with random people you could find anywhere even if there’s an abnormal existence like Ilias. 

(Come on, throw away the negativity. I just have to move as if I am being careful of myself.) 

I just have to not cross dangerous bridges. 

If I need to, I just have to make preparations so I will be okay even if it were to crumble in the middle of crossing it. 

Ekdoik and the others are also coming back. 

I have a lot of reliable comrades. 

All of them complain the whole time about how I should rely a whole ton on them, but that even with that it is still not enough. 

There’s no need to show reservation. 

I just need to pay them back with results. 

They can easily do stuff that I myself can’t do, but that goes both ways. 

I just have to tell them my gratitude in the way I can.

(But I still get conscious about the difference in awareness…) 

There are few scenarios where I can stake my life compared to my comrades. 

I might be growing restless at this difference exactly because I know the weight of life. 

That’s why I must do what I can… But Wolfe must be seeing this as me pushing myself. 

Wolfe has seen my frailty in the black wolfkin village. 

I comprehended Wolfe’s environment and ended up crying, which is something I still reflect upon to this day. 

If I were to tell that to someone, they would surely just respond with ‘it is exactly because you cried that you are liked’…

Speaking of the devil, Wolfe popped her head out from the door of the hospital room. 

She must have been patrolling the area after waking up early. 

“Shishou, good morning! Ekdoik-san and the others have arrived!” (Wolfe)

“Hnn, I see. What about Haakudoku?” 

“He has been tied onto the bed, no questions asked! It is a pain, so they have decided to restrain him completely for around 3 days!” (Wolfe)

“Aah, okay. Guess I will wrap up some fruits for the staff members that will be looking after him…” 

That idiot was all pumped up about chores and stuff before his wounds healed completely, and his wounds opened every time he did. 

But this is weird. 

Wounds opening can lead to endangering your life, so his instincts should be warning him.

Has his sensor gone haywire because he ignored the instinctive warning when he fought Ritial? 

There’s the need to have Ekdoik or someone like that diagnose him once his wounds are healed. 

“Shishou, are you feeling well?” (Wolfe)

“…I just had a bit of a bad dream. I sweat quite a bit and my throat is parched. I am sorry, but can you draw some water?” 

“Yes!” (Wolfe)

Wolfe rushed off, seeming a bit happy there. 

She can get happy with just this degree of a change, so I can tell vividly just how much it looks like I am keeping to myself. 

Let’s get ahead of myself depending on the person for a while.

“And so, what’s this bad dream you had?” (Ilias)

“You were here, Ilias…?” 

“There’s no reason for me to leave your side as long as you don’t have clear animosity towards me. You seemed to have been silently in conflict for a bit after waking up… Is it the memories of the Black Demon Lord you mentioned before?” 

“Yeah, the state of the surroundings was pretty different, but that was the memories of the time when the Black Demon Lord Killer Mountain was made to be. I am truly glad I wasn’t eaten by the Mana Eater.” 

That ephemeral forest was created with the mana of the Black Demon Lord that the Mana Eater absorbed. 

It was obviously a normal forest when the Black Demon Lord was eaten. 

Ilias gasped. She must have imagined the dream I explained to her, she made a serious face. 

“A dream where you are eaten, huh… That doesn’t sound like it would feel good.” (Ilias)

“Only fetishists would get happy about being eaten.” 

“Fetishists?” (Ilias)

“I will tell you when I have the time.” 

Yox entered my partition in armor after I finished getting ready. Lilisa-san is by his side. 

“Looks like you are going to be making your move now.” (Yox)

“You could say that. Are you fine already? I heard it will take a bit longer for you to fully recover.” 

“I have finished healing to a degree where it doesn’t burden my body. I plan on going back to Mejis and recovering there. A captain of the Holy Knight Order having the attire of a patient wouldn’t look good when crossing the borders.” (Yox)

So he is going to be leaving this country with his head held high so that he isn’t looked down by Serende, huh. 

He also probably wants to show his healthy figure to Mejis when he returns. 

“I heard Mejis has its own issues.” 

“That’s right. The Pope-sama has strengthened his stance of accepting you, and this has made the ones that are against this to make bigger moves. There’s even the fear of the Yugura Church dividing.” (Yox)

I heard about it from the regular calls of Ekdoik, but my reputation in Mejis isn’t that good.

Well, I was prepared to have a negative reputation the moment I took in Purple, the boss of the devils that made the people of Mejis suffer for years. 

Religions can become inciters that call to your heart. 

The longer the history, the more united they are, and the stronger their decisiveness.

Let’s quickly return to Taizu once the matter of Serende is taken care of. 

“Let’s give up sightseeing Mejis… Well, just tell the Pope-sama to come hang out in Taizu if the opportunity arises.” 

“Alright. Sorry for not being able to provide satisfactory cooperation.” (Yox)

“You worked a lot already in the matter of Raheight.” 

What’s facing us directly is the issue of Serende. 

It would be one thing if it were just the priestess Rakura and Masetta-san, and the holy knight recruit Melia, but if the captain of the Holy Knight Order, Yox, were to move brazenly, it could turn into a political issue. 

Well, I don’t plan on making Rakura and the others move in public though. 

I waved at Yox and Lilisa-san and left the hospital room. 

I also managed to be discharged from the hospital, even if I also can’t be considered fully recovered. 

The vacant house that Washekt prepared for us will become our base. 

I saw Ekdoik and the others once we arrived at the entrance. 

Masetta-san seems to be talking to the person in charge, but she is most likely talking about the arrangements for Haakudoku’s hospitalization. 

“Looks like you have recovered, Comrade. You are not pushing yourself, I hope.” (Ekdoik)

“I unfortunately haven’t recovered enough to be able to push myself. I plan on relying the whole time on you guys for the near future.” 

“That’s fine. No, that’s how it should be. We are comrades by making up for what the other is missing.” (Ekdoik)

Ekdoik is straightforward as always. No, I feel like he emphasizes his words less. 

He must have learned something again in this break. 

“Please listen, Representative-san! Haakudoku began bleeding the moment he said ‘I am going to clean the base!’, you know?! Did something happen to his head because of the injuries?!” (Masetta)

“He is the type of guy that runs at full steam after all. It might even be better if one of the Demon Lords looks after him.” 

“…That’s an option. Can we negotiate with them?” (Masetta)

“O-Okay…” 

The eyes of Masetta-san are serious. 

I can see that she is pretty sour about being on the edge the whole time in this break. 

Maybe I should follow up on this later…

Right… Purple would listen to me, but sparks will definitely fly my way. In that case, it would be Blue, but…let’s ask through Ekdoik.

“And so, Comrade, what should we do after heading to the base? We can move at any time.” (Ekdoik)

“I want you to divide into teams and gather information. I don’t mind if you use your respective routes to a degree where you can obtain information without issues. We need to learn about this country of Serende first.” 

We need to deduce the reason why they grabbed ahold of that darkness in order to uncover the darkness of the royal family. 

The power that they had to obtain in order to aim for the top of the nation. 

We should be able to get a glimpse of this if we learn about this country. 

“Fumu… Then, how are we dividing?” (Ekdoik)

“Ekdoik and Mix will be the intel team. Each of you bring along members that are free and act as the leaders. I will arrange the base with Ilias and Wolfe.” 

I should avoid places without many people while I still don’t know just how rash the royal family can be. 

There should be no issues with Ilias and Wolfe with me, but if they fail in a confrontation, there’s no doubt they will also get serious.

“I get it, but…is it okay for you to not be the one deciding the people?” (Ekdoik)

“It is fine with just adapting to what happens. However, avoid acting separately from your team. Eyes are already on us, so there’s no knowing what they will try to do if you are alone.” 

“…I see. I will be careful.” (Ekdoik)

Ekdoik and Mix can deal with rough jobs since they were adventurers. 

The enemies probably won’t be able to pull any careless moves within the range of these two. 

“Are Dyuvuleori and I going to join them?” (Purple)

“No, I want you to stay in the base and fortify the defenses, Purple. You should be able to set devils in the shadows, right?” 

“It would be easy to have them hide in the openings of all the boards, you know?” (Purple)

“No need to go that far… And so, Dyuvuleori and…Belard, right?” 

A single female shaped monster appeared from the shadow of Ekdoik when I called her name. 

It is only the upper half, but she looks more like a succubus than a devil. 

Purple said that there’s no such creatures like succubus in this world. 

She said it would be better for monsters to try killing humans directly as long as they are hostile towards them. 

Belard was observing me in silence. She seems to be thinking of something. 

“…I see. He certainly is below your average human. A normal human would be on the verge of dying from exhaustion with that mana, and yet, your complexion is so healthy it even gives off a creepy vibe. It is to the point that an intelligent monster would assume there’s some sort of hidden meaning behind this. Are you seriously telling me he defeated the Scarlet Demon Lord even though he is this weak…?” (Belard)

“I also have a general grasp of your personality now. I am as weak as you see, so there’s no need to be wary of me.” 

“That won’t be possible. I have been told all your achievements by Ekdoik. I have no choice but to be wary of you as someone who can make such things possible despite being that weak.” (Belard)

I am the type that gets underestimated quite a lot by first timers though. 

Ekdoik must have been really passionate when speaking about my stories. 

It is making me feel embarrassed. 

“Just take your time and watch me to a degree that’s not displeasing. And so, Dyuvuleori and Belard, I want you two to investigate something on the side.” 

“I don’t mind, but Dyuvuleori is a direct bodyguard of the Purple Demon Lord, right?” (Belard)

“…There’s no issue if My Lord is staying in the base.” (Dyuvuleori)

Belard seems to be surprised by the words of Dyuvuleori. 

Well, Dyuvuleori himself probably doesn’t like that, but he understands that Purple will ignore that desire of his. 

“Sorry. This job is a bi~t unsuitable for humans. I thought it might be okay to leave it to the Butler Army, but I want Dyuvuleori to go no matter what as someone who can notice small details.” 

“…Then, what’s the reason for including me?” (Belard)

“You will understand soon.” 

“…Fine. I shall observe your skills.” (Belard)

I might sour the mood of Belard if I were to tell her here. 

But it is something necessary, so I want the two of them to act together.

I am sure Dyuvuleori will fulfill his duty. 

Everyone moved into action immediately. We also headed to the base to arrange the luggage. 

According to Washekt, the food and daily necessities have been prepared to a certain degree. 

10 people in a single house is cramped even if we exclude the devils, so we rented a second house neighboring this one. 

One will be used as a base and the other one will be used as lodging. 

“Doesn’t seem like there’s anything off? But isn’t there way too much daily necessity stuff?” (Purple)

“Washekt must have been considerate here so that we don’t need to do pointless groceries. Let’s carry what would be obstructive to the neighboring living room.” 

We finished carrying the luggage in an instant thanks to the Butler Army, and we moved to check the inside of the base next. 

We can’t completely throw away the possibility that Washekt was the one cooperating with Raheight and his group, so we have to be careful just in case. 

Well, the devils of Purple investigated every nook and cranny of the place, so we determined pretty quickly that there were no issues though. 

“There are no issues aside from a few weird stone statues?” (Purple)

“Washekt…” 

I understand the souvenirs of the ruins, but why are you appealing that you like ruins here as well? 

Purple said she would be investigating thoroughly, but there’s most likely no issues. 

I headed to the entrance while thinking about what to do if Purple were to awaken a hobby for stone statues, and Ilias and Wolfe stood in front of the door slightly on guard. 

“What’s the matter?” 

“Someone is outside the door. They are not hiding their presence.” (Ilias)

“Not a subordinate of Washekt?” 

“No, I have felt this presence before—” (Ilias)

A casual knocking sound rang from the other side of the door as if to cut off the voice of Ilias. 

There’s no doubt it is a visitor, but the reactions of Ilias and Wolfe are weird. 

Ilias and Wolfe made eye-contact and slowly opened the door. 

The one there was a single knight. He has the crest of Serende, but has a different coolness and bearing compared to the soldiers around the residence of Nuphsa and the bodyguards of Chisante. 

His hair is a pretty similar golden color to Ilias, but his eye color is a contrasting reddish orange. 

I thought he was an elf from his eyes, but I can tell he is a human from the shape of his ears. 

As for his gender…it seems like he is a man since I can faintly see his Adam’s apple. 

If Ilias is a girl that looks good dressed like a man, then this one would be a man that would look good dressed like a woman.

That man glanced at Ilias and Wolfe, and then directed his gaze at me. And then, he opened his eyes a bit as if surprised, and spoke to me in a gentle tone and a kind smile. 

“…Aah, I am glad I managed to meet you.” 

“Ilias, this person is Prince Hilmera’s…” 

“Yes, I am Hilmera-sama’s bodyguard and errand boy. My name is Murshto.”

Errand boy… 

More importantly, I remember the name Murshto. 

He is the person that was directing his attention to the inside of the hospital room through the door and was acting as the bodyguard of Hilmera when she came to visit me. 

His voice is also pretty gender neutral and he looks like a woman at a glance. 

His mannerisms and aura are way more feminine compared to Ilias. Ah, she would get angry if I were to say this out loud. 

“What brings you here?” 

“Hilmera-sama told me the other day to observe you stealthily. But I couldn’t tell how stealthily I should do it, so I have come to greet you in this manner.” (Murshto)

“O-Okay…” 

Hilmera is also a veritable princess. 

It is natural for her to have a weapon of her own that doesn’t lose to the other royalty. 

That’s why there was plenty of chance for her to also keep an eye on my actions as the one who is trying to dig out their secrets. 

But I didn’t think she would send a direct subordinate of hers in this manner. 

Is this what Hilmera planned, or is Murshto the type that can only throw straights? 

“Aah, I heard about you from Hilmera-sama, but you are more than I imagined!” (Murshto)

Murshto offered his right hand to me with his amicable smile still there. 

His tone is casual, but I don’t feel he is being overly familiar at all. 

He is maintaining a distance that’s not uncomfortable, but still gives off a feeling that’s different from normal. 

No, it is a feeling that’s directed at me pretty often, but what this person is directing at me is weird, or like…

Ilias is simply looking here and doesn’t show any signs of moving. 

Even I can tell he is not hostile. 

Let’s accept the handshake for now. 

When I held his hand, Murshto used his other hand to grab my hand tightly. 

It doesn’t hurt, but I can clearly tell his strength. 

“Uhm…you are pretty aggressive…” 

“Of course! It was love at first sight after all!” (Murshto)

Ilias and Wolfe were making impressive faces behind Murshto, but I am most likely also making a face that doesn’t lose to theirs. 

—–

Author: The one who would most likely make the best reaction would be Marito.

That said, it is not a yaoi development. 

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