The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 554

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

Chapter 554   The Demon King is a good person

“Well… You’re late, hero.”

Upon my words, the hero snapped out of his daze, glaring at me while raising his sword.

“H-Hey! W-What’s going on here?! W-What did you do?!”

“Do you think you’ll get answers if you just ask? Or rather, didn’t you listen to the broadcast?”

Listening to that should have given you an idea of what’s going on, right?

“So… is it true that you attacked the church?”

“N-No, it’s not true! I didn’t invade! I’m just here reluctantly, and it’s not my intention to be here. Please believe me!”

I came up with this excuse on the spot and tried to make it sound convincing. I think I did a pretty decent job with the act.

But the hero frowned skeptically, clearly not buying it. The other three members of the hero’s party looked at me with dismayed eyes, and seeing their reactions, Kyle and Bell laughed. Sofia seemed to maintain a serious expression, but her lips were twitching. The rest of my companions had similar reactions…

“…Even though you don’t believe me anyway. Why bother with this pointless back and forth?”

As if I had intended to say so from the beginning, I returned to my previous attitude and addressed the hero.

Kyle and the others are still laughing… I’ll have to punish them later.

“Well, never mind. Let me explain it simply. —I did it. Those people over there, this room, and even this. It’s all because of my will, the result of my desires and actions. How about that? Clear enough?”

I pointed at the fallen knights and the Pope turned into a plant pot, making it clear to the hero.

With no choice but to accept the situation, the hero grimaced and spoke.

“Damn it, how did things end up like this? This makes you truly seem like the Demon King.”

“In fact, that person is referred to as the Demon King, and he himself claims that title. While he is human, he is undoubtedly the Demon King.”

“Then, like a true Demon King, wait in your castle. For this church to end up like this…”

“You did summon us here, didn’t you?”

The reason I’m here is because the church called for us. More precisely, this hero himself called us to this country.

“Ah, ah…”

As we were talking, the plant pot—no, the Pope—let out a groan. He shouldn’t have been able to do anything of his own will, but was it just a sound that leaked out? Or perhaps the control by the parasitic tree had ended already, but probably what just happened was the Pope’s last resistance or a confirmation of movement by the parasitic tree.

“Th-That’s right, Canon! Heal His Holiness!”

“Y-Yes!”

“Do you think you can heal him?”

When I said that, the former Pope’s guards, who were still loyal to him, moved to protect the Pope.

“Why did you do such a thing? Weren’t we supposed to negotiate?”

Huh? Did I ever tell the hero something like that?

Well, I did mention something like we needed to talk to the Pope when I returned from the Sacred Tree to here, and I might have said something like we wouldn’t just attack the church out of nowhere. Did he hear that?

“I did intend to negotiate. But they attacked us first. In that case, you see… I don’t want to die, and I don’t want my friends to die either. So, if they attack us, we have no choice but to fight back, and we have to help our friends, right? Well, just think of it as the punishment for trying to attack a good person like me.”

“What makes you a good person!”

“What makes me… you don’t know? A good person is someone who can beat both good and evil senseless. That’s what being a good person is, you know?”

“What…! Don’t mess around!”

I’m not messing around, though. Well, I am, but the content of what I’m saying is kind of true.

Even if we define a good person as someone who makes people happy, then what’s the definition of happiness? The happiness of one person might lead to the unhappiness of another. Helping someone might result in someone else’s misery. In other words, that’s creating unhappiness. Is someone like that a good person? No, they’re not.

It’s meaningless to save only selected individuals.

If we simply dismiss bad people as ‘evil,’ and set conditions for helping only good people, then with the conditions I mentioned earlier, there would be no real good people to help in the first place.

In fact, isn’t someone who chooses and selects who to save not a true good person?

Therefore, wielding your fist according to your own beliefs is the only justice, the proof of being a good person. Lay down evil equally to all. By doing so, one can become a good person.

If you favor someone, someone else will complain. Even if you treat everyone equally, they will find something inconvenient and complain. And if you cater to that, someone else will complain.

That cycle will continue until people perish.

So, it’s better to oppress everyone equally. That way, everyone is equal. Since everyone can be equally unhappy, it, in a sense, creates a world where everyone is equally happy.

Under just one will, everything can be equally happy. I suffer, but so do others. So let’s help each other. That’s how a kind world is created.

In that case, can’t the one who created that single will be called a good person? In other words, I, the supreme evil, am the epitome of goodness.

…Well, if there’s someone like that and they try to harm me, I’ll knock them out regardless of good or evil. Because, they’re just a nuisance. If I can’t live happily, then what’s the point? Whether the world is happy or equal, it doesn’t matter as long as I and my friends are happy.

“You… you have extreme tendencies and do bad things, but you can also help people and get angry for the sake of your friends. Because of the environment you grew up in, you may seem like a bad person, but I thought you were a good guy at heart. …But, I realized that was a mistake. You’re still the Demon King after all.”

The hero seems to be expressing his thoughts with a serious expression mixed with conflict… huh. You’re realizing that now?

“You’re just realizing it now? Isn’t it too late for that? Didn’t you learn to make quick and accurate judgments? Besides, your head is full of misconceptions, doll. Whether I’m a good guy or not is just your subjective opinion. It’s fundamentally wrong to decide that someone is good and someone else is bad.”

Justice and evil are subjective. So, what’s the point of deciding on such things?

Even if the majority of the world’s inhabitants agree on what justice is, then so be it, I’ll be evil.

“Besides, you’re mistaken about one thing, hero. Just because I do evil things as the Demon King doesn’t mean I’m the Demon King because I do evil things. Even if I’m called evil by the whole world, it’s because I stuck to my own will that I’m called the Demon King If you don’t understand that difference, then you have no right to condemn me, puppet hero.”

Conventional wisdom, implicit agreements, morals, manners— if calling yourself unhappy because you’re bound by such foolish things is considered justice, then count me out.

I’ll kick all that nonsense aside and seize the happiness of being with my friends.

“What exactly is a bad thing, anyway? What bad thing did I do?”

“You’re killing people!”

Well, if that’s the case, then a good chunk of the people in this church would be considered bad, right? And also soldiers, and even you, right? …Oh, wait. Would you? This hero seems so spineless; has he never killed anyone?

But well, the other members of the hero’s party have probably killed, so they’re bad people. Since the hero is acting surrounded by such bad people, it’s fair to call him one too.

“My life was being threatened, you know. If I didn’t kill, I would’ve been killed myself. Plus, those scum over there kidnapped my comrades. …How many times do I have to explain this? If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could understand my perspective in one go. If you can’t, then sorry. I didn’t think you were that dumb.”

How many times have we had this conversation? I feel like I had a similar conversation when I was in Karakas, and even during the time before coming here. It’s the same story while staying here, and it was probably the same when heading towards the Sacred Tree.

Sure, what he’s saying is correct, but it doesn’t match the situation. It’s like armchair theorizing or like those fake feminists who shout in their safe spaces.

I’m starting to feel more exasperated than anything. It’s like a mix of frustration and pity.

Because maybe this guy can’t live decently without clinging to that “heroic” or “normal righteousness.”

He can only act to fulfill his own idea of “rightness.” Even if his righteousness is questioned, he can’t accept it and has no choice but to keep going.

This hero is a pitiable clown.

Well, there’s a chance he’s just getting worked up because I’m his opponent. He seems to have an unusually hostile attitude towards me and always picks fights.

Am I his archenemy? Or maybe he’s just being contrarian?

“Just you wai—”

“Wait, Yuuki!”

Just as the hero was about to jump out, Canon intervened.

“Demon King. What have you done to His Holiness the Pope? Since you said you protected him, he must still be alive, right?”

“Do you really think I’ll answer?”

“…Well, I thought you might be willing to—”

“Well, I’ll answer for you.”

“Huh?”

Canon’s eyes widened in surprise, perhaps because I said I would answer straightforwardly, breaking the previous tension.

“It’s not like telling you will solve anything, but I’ll show you a bit of kindness. See, I’m a good person. —Now, wake up.”