The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 518

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 518   Each “role”

“Well, let’s get back to the story. In that way, the fallen god drove people mad, brought chaos to the world, and thereby increased his power even more. After all, he bore the malice of humanity all by himself. The scale of that power was probably greater than the other gods.”

Good intentions from people… prayers, wishes, and feelings of gratitude, those positive emotions were divided among multiple gods. However, negative emotions like resentment and bitterness were shouldered by the fallen god alone. Well, no wonder he fell into darkness. Because, originally, the balance between positive and negative emotions should have been maintained. It’s a simple story. Subtracting a hundred from a plus one gives you a negative answer. That’s the feeling.

“Even so, did the other gods still have a sense of camaraderie? They didn’t attack each other and instead decided to attack the God Tree.”

So they sought a target for their malice, directing it towards the God Tree… huh. What a troublesome tale. I’d like to tell the other gods to deal with it somehow.

“The God Tree is a god too. A great god that rules over a whole star. But the God Tree also loved humans. Not just humans, but all living beings. So, unable to completely deny the malice of humans, it succumbed to human malice. In other words, it was cursed.”

Unlike the other ‘god who sips only good intentions,’ it might have been limited to humans, but because it loved both good and evil, the God Tree couldn’t reject it. So, being cursed together is not a good story, but emotionally, I can somewhat understand.

“To somehow dispel that curse, the God Tree fought the fallen god, but it ended in a draw. However, during the draw, the curse’s power of the fallen god transferred through the God Tree to its child, the Sacred Tree. That’s the Sacred Tree of this land.”

Well, the God Tree is the origin of all plants, and the Sacred Tree is its child. All plants are connected to the Sacred Tree, and the Sacred Tree is connected to the God Tree. So, it’s through that connection.

You can think of it like the eldest inheriting the parent’s inheritance or debts. It’s a troublesome story.

“The people in this land, who became a clan to purify the curse, but over the years, the power of the curse grew stronger. To do something about it, they decided to borrow the power of the gods. The result was the ‘Hero.’ They summoned vessels capable of accepting the power of the gods and fought against the curse.”

Oh, I see. That thing ‘forgetting their role,’ must be related to this. The Hero was certainly an entity meant to fight against ‘evil.’ However, that ‘evil’ wasn’t the Demon King but the curse of the fallen god—an evil god. Originally, it was meant to fight against that, but now it’s exterminating the Demon King, serving as a spokesperson for the church.

Well, it’s understandable that he would be disliked.

“The descendants of those heroes born in this world are the ‘Heroes of this world.’ They became beings close to gods while still being human. …But it’s meaningless because their role hasn’t been conveyed.”

“So, about the Demon King…”

If the enemy of the Hero isn’t the Demon King, then what is the position of the Demon King? Now, the meaning has changed to become ‘those who have become the enemy of humanity,’ so even I am called the ‘Demon King.’ However, in terms of abilities, it’s the same as an ordinary human. Certainly, my rank is high now, and from the perspective of an ordinary person, I have extraordinary power, but it’s within the range of power that can be achieved through effort. It’s not inherently strong from birth.

But in ancient times, it is said that the human Demon King had extraordinary power from birth, just like other Demon Kings. In a sense, isn’t that similar to the ‘Heroes of this world’?

“Demon King? Oh, yeah, some are, but well, partially. In order to counter the curse, they evolved as natural creatures receiving the will of the stars. That’s what is now called the ‘Demon King.'”

The ‘Hero of this world’ is one who received the blessing of the God of Skills.

The ‘Demon King’ is one who received power from this star.

Even though the entities that bestowed power are different, their roles seem to be the same.

Yet, now the Hero is killing the Demon King…

Well, it’s bad that the Demon King is killing people, but, well, that’s biology, and it can’t be helped. Or maybe, consciously or unconsciously, they’ve been killing people to deal with the curse? … That possibility cannot be completely denied.

“However, with the cooperation of the born Heroes, the curse was successfully sealed. The barrier here has been in place since then. The barrier, strengthened by the power of plants, enhances the power of the Sacred Tree, allowing it to overcome the curse. The role of maintaining this barrier has been shouldered by the descendants of the Hero and the Sacred Tree—the Elves. During their lifetime, they eliminate those who approach the seal, and as they approach death, they transform their bodies into the tree to become a part of the barrier.”

I wondered why Skills were unusually easy to use inside or around this barrier. Was that the reason?

Or rather, did Elves have such a backstory? I heard they were descendants of the spirits of the Sacred Tree, but descendants of both spirits and Heroes…

Oh, I see. If that’s the reason, I can understand why Roroel called it a ‘lie’ when talking about ‘why the Elves turn their bodies into plants.’ Because, now I don’t know how it is, but in the distant past, the very first Elves really didn’t think about ‘staying with everyone and watching over them.’ Of course, there might have been some feelings like that, but it wasn’t the essence.

“But that’s a story from thousands and tens of thousands of years ago. I haven’t been told how long ago it was, so I don’t know about that.”

“However, those who sought to exploit that barrier appeared. The leader of those ‘things.’ It might be easier to understand if I say the Pope?”

While the words were shocking to me, there was someone who reacted even more strongly than I did.

“Ridiculous! Don’t spew such heresy! This blasphemer!”

It’s Darado. He’s a devout follower of the church. To put it more clearly, a fanatic. Although he has a mind capable of reasoning, the first thing that comes to his mind is always about the church. If someone were to disrespect the symbol of the church, the top— the Pope, someone like Darado, who is deeply devoted to the church, would naturally get angry.

However, despite Darado’s enraged shouting, Roroel continues speaking, staring at him with a cold gaze.

“Ridiculous? Where do you see something ridiculous?”

“Your attitude, words, and the whole content! What kind of wording is that? We—”

“Enough.”

Against Darado’s shouted protests, Roroel uttered a single word.

As a result, something peculiar happened. Darado’s mouth remained open, but his voice became completely inaudible. However, Darado himself continued shouting as if nothing abnormal had occurred.

Is the sound being blocked midway?

“Who’s being ridiculous? The fools who, for their own desires, oppress those of us who were supposed to protect the world, trampling upon the wishes of past heroes.”

Roroel has had a consistently cold attitude towards the Hero before, but this is different. It’s a completely different level of coldness, enough to make one feel that it’s unlike anything before.

His face is like a stoic mask with no trace of emotion, but his eyes, however, emit a light filled with emotions. It’s not the kind of beautiful light; rather, it’s a murky light that seems to harbor resentment towards everything in the world.

“What did you do?”

With Roroel’s attitude, it’s unclear whether Darado’s voice is audible or not. Darado falls silent, and the rest of the Hero party, rather than opening their mouths or even twitching, just stand there.

However, to move the conversation forward, though I didn’t like it, I decided to speak up.

“What do you mean? …Oops, sorry. Well, it’s just a small thing. I used my Skill to set up a barrier. I am a ‘Barrier Mage,’ you know. I can hear you from here, but you can’t hear us from there… That’s about it, so don’t worry. Other than not being able to hear his voice from over there, there’s no harm.”

“Well, it’s fine even if there’s harm. It’s noisy, and it wouldn’t be a problem even if he never speaks again.”

“Wow, really?”

The moment I spoke, Roroel turned his eyes toward me, radiating a gaze as if cursing everything in the world. However, when he noticed it was me— the child of the Sacred Tree who spoke to him, he seemed to startle and quickly changed his demeanor.

Yet, the sudden change is still frightening.

“So, going back to the topic, the Pope… I don’t want to call him that. Well, the leader of those guys with a weird atmosphere tried to use the barrier. They betrayed us. Of course, not now, but back then.”

“When you say ‘back then,’ how many years ago are you talking about?”

“Roughly about 700 years ago.”

“Seven hundred…”

“Yes. And at that time, our village was destroyed, and the Sacred Tree was cut down. I wonder what their excuse was at the time… I think it was something about dealing with heretics who had been possessed by an evil god? Well, whatever it was. It doesn’t matter what the reason was; the result wouldn’t change anyway. —Right?”

To us, it seems like a very long time ago, but Roroel must be a direct participant. That’s probably why he harbors resentment toward the church. It’s not just hearsay; he actually experienced it, so it’s understandable.

“Ugh!”

At the end of his words, a groaning sound came from the glared Hero’s party, but there’s no room to be concerned about such trivial things. Right now, I need to make sure not to miss a single word of Roroel’s story.

“Thus, the church that cut down the Sacred Tree brought its trunk back, took the Elves with them, and erected a barrier in their own stronghold. That’s how the current country was established. The base where the church was located became the capital, always referred to as a blessed land that never withers, and it flourished as people gathered. Unaware that the blessing came not from the gods but from the power of the Sacred Tree.”

“Come to think of it, those affiliated with the church were saying that. This city (capital) prospered thanks to the blessings of the gods. The barrier is a gift from the gods, they said.”

I thought it was impossible, and as someone who knows the reality of the barrier, I quickly understood that those words were lies.

However, regular believers and those of moderate status likely don’t know the truth, and they probably genuinely believe in the blessings of the gods.

Not realizing that, in fact, the power they are oppressing the Elves with is the source of that blessing.