The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 558

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

Chapter 558   Demon King vs. Hero Battle・4

“When the place changes, common sense changes too. ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ You know that saying, right, Japanese person? In this world, there is the common sense of this world, and in our country, there is our own common sense. If you’re not just a madman imposing your own opinions, then follow it, hero.”

“…”

“By that argument, shouldn’t you also follow the common sense and laws of this country? You’ve caused such a commotion. It’s only natural to be caught, isn’t it?”

With the hero silenced, Canon spoke in his place, and admittedly, it did make some sense when you thought about it.

“Well… yeah, that’s true. You’ve got me there. …But, we’re from Karakas. Karakas is a gathering of criminals, and being a rogue is the ‘common sense’ of this world, right? So, it’s kind of reasonable to do as we please and then calmly escape, isn’t it? Where’s the thief who goes to be caught willingly?”

Though it was the Church that made the first move, there’s no evidence of that, and even if there were, proper procedures should be followed.

Yet, here we are, ignoring those procedures and doing something like this, so it’s fair to say we’re not following the law.

But even if we claim to be a ‘country,’ we’re still ultimately ‘criminals.’ Doesn’t it seem ridiculous to tell those who have no aversion to being criminals to abide by the law?

“Even so… even so, I…”

The hero hesitated but still pointed the sword at me. He would probably attack again if left like this…

“Scream!”

Splash!

Before the hero could do anything, I decided to take action. Specifically, I ruptured the white eyeball-like fruits above the hero’s party and splattered the adhesive liquid all over them.

“Hahaha! Oh, how amusing. Falling for the same trick twice, huh, Hero and company?”

Clearly not expecting to receive the same thing again, the hero’s party ended up completely covered in the white liquid.

“Lina, please burn everything on the ceiling!”

“Is that okay? If we do that, then what we just experienced might…”

“Darado… seems unlikely. Then I will endure with my barrier. It’s better to sweep them away than to continue being ambushed endlessly.”

“Understood.”

It seemed they chose to prioritize clearing the plants above rather than releasing themselves. Well, it’s meaningless to release themselves if they’re just going to get stuck again.

Considering the longer time, they would be immobilized, any action they take might be delayed or impossible, posing a higher risk. So, while their approach may have its pros and cons, it’s safe to say that taking some kind of action is the right move. It’s the worst to be unable to do anything in the middle of a battle, after all.

But will these guys forget about it that easily?

“I might be called the Demon King, but I’m not the king of demons, so I can understand your words, you know? Your strategy is transparent.”

That’s right. I am still just a “human.” Their strategy is transparent, and if they plan to deal with the plants on the ceiling, it’s obvious that we will interfere with that.

“I’ll buy us some time!”

Even though he should have been immobilized by the adhesive, the hero forcefully tore off the solidified adhesive with his enhanced body and stepped forward to protect Canon and Lina.

Although he seems somewhat hindered by the solidified adhesive still stuck to his body, it doesn’t seem like he’s incapable of fighting.

Then, while pointing his sword at me, the hero spoke.

“Why defy the gods!”

“What’s this now? Despite your bold talk, buying time was just a figure of speech?”

“Answer me!”

“…Well, whatever… ‘Defy,’ huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t play dumb! It’s absurd to use the power given by the gods to kill humans! This power was supposed to be given so everyone could live in peace and happiness!”

“…Hey now, are you serious about that? What were you even asking at Roroel’s place? This power was just a plaything of the so-called gods?”

The gods—transcendent beings who came from elsewhere—granted power to humans at their own discretion. Moreover, it was for the sake of a territorial game. They were competing to see how strong the beings they empowered could become and how much their own power could increase as a result.

He should have heard that story too.

“But that’s just what he thinks, isn’t it, Demon King? Have you forgotten that?”

The hero sneered at me as if he were challenging me, but… he had a point. I was convinced by Roroel’s words, but I don’t know if they were true. Maybe Roroel was deceived, or perhaps it was just a misunderstanding by his ancestors.

“Well, yeah, that’s true. I haven’t directly met the gods, so even if I did talk to them, I wouldn’t know if they were sincere. Ultimately, we don’t know the intention behind why they gave us, ‘humans,’ power.”

And even if I could meet the gods directly, that question wouldn’t be resolved.

However, even if I didn’t know the purpose behind giving us skills, I could still refute his statement that “killing people is wrong.”

“But think about it. Even if our vocations and skills were blessings from the gods, using them to kill people wouldn’t necessarily be defying them. Killing each other within our own species is just a human thing to do, isn’t it?”

Even if the gods loved humans and granted vocations and skills for their benefit, and even if we used that power to kill people, it wouldn’t necessarily betray the gods’ expectations or goodwill. At least, that’s what I think.

After all, humans killing each other is a very human thing to do.

“That’s not true! Humans don’t need to kill each other; they can cooperate—”

“Hey, Japanese guy. Have you studied history? Whether it’s Japanese history or world history, human history is a history of war. War. In other words, killing each other. Oppressing and killing others to make oneself happy. That’s what humans have been doing joyfully. If you want to deny that history, deny yourself born from the end of that history. In other words, die. Then maybe I’ll reconsider whether I was wrong.”

Well, I might reconsider even after reconsidering.

“First of all, have you ever met God? Can you assert that it was really God’s will? Absolutely?”

“Huh…!”

He’s a hero summoned from another world, so I thought maybe he had met God, but it seems like this reaction means he hasn’t. Or even if he did, it was an existence that couldn’t be firmly asserted as God. Like, a ball of light or something?

“Yuuki, Darado, step back!”

“—Great flame that purges evil and illuminates righteousness…”

As I went along with the hero’s stalling tactic, it seemed like Lina’s magic was ready, as Canon shouted for the hero and Darado to step back.

With a grimace, the hero retreated, while Darado forcefully pushed Kyle aside upon hearing Canon’s voice, returning to where Canon and the others were.

Presumably, with this, the fire magic would be released, and the already burning plants would ignite even further.

Moreover, if there was time to prepare like this, it might not just result in burning; the room might even explode.

But even so, there was a plan to prevent it. If I could grow some Treants and use them as shields, Treants with fire resistance could protect us. Even now, some of the surrounding plants were lightly on fire, but in a sense, it was manageable.

If it were pure Treants, not just Treant-infused components, they could completely block the fire.

And if we could prevent this elaborate trick, maybe we could even break their fighting spirit.

I didn’t particularly want to kill them, and in fact, I even considered letting Lina join us as an ally.

The hero didn’t want to kill either, not because of our shared heritage, but simply because it would be convenient. To resolve this matter peacefully, it would be better if the hero cooperated, which was why I had been playing along with him so far.

Oh well, Darado could die if necessary; he was just a nuisance. And Canon… well, I didn’t mind if she died, and ideally, I wanted her to die, but killing both of them might make the hero unwilling to cooperate. So I planned to kill Darado and spare Canon.

That’s what I thought, but right after that, I was caught off guard.

“Be the storm that swallows everything!”

A storm? Is it wind!? There wasn’t such wording in the fire magic incantation. But the flames hadn’t been activated yet—fusion?

“Everyone, gather around here!”

With that decision made, I called Kyle, Bell, Sofia, as well as the Pope and those protecting him, to my side from where they were a little further away.

Then, without waiting for my companions’ reactions, I chose to rapidly stack skills.

“—Scarecrow, Sowing, Growth, Ward!”

Placing scarecrows at the edge of Lina’s field of vision to divert her attention away from me and disperse the power.

Sowing seeds to grow Treants and create shields.

Layering multiple layers of protective barriers for insulation.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

“Flora! Strengthen everything!”

“Huh!?”

Flora exclaimed in surprise at my sudden shout.

Despite her panic, she seemed to follow my command, as the scarecrows sprouting at the edge of vision began to dance, the grown Treants grew even more, and the faintly glowing protective barriers became brighter.

With the enhancements applied and the three gathered around me, Lina’s magic was unleashed.

“—Disaster Flame!”