I Got Reincarnated as the Villain and Saved the World, but After the Ending I Was Betrayed and Exiled. I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life in the Frontier, but for Some Reason My Former Companions Started Chasing Me with Yandere Eyes… - 42

Chapter 42: VS the New Four Great Demons

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We had purchased our supplies and, taking a slight detour, were headed for the royal capital by carriage. As always, Amon was acting as the driver, but…

“Please help me… The mood in here is the absolute worst.”

“Master… Who are you talking to?”

“Ufufu~ If you ever feel like talking to God, let me know. I can call Him for you.”

I couldn’t help but call for aid from some nonexistent entity. The truth was, Tia and Ceres didn’t get along very well. They could carry on a surface-level conversation, but…How should I put it… There was this constant tense vibe, like they were both waiting for the slightest opening to attack each other.

“Kyaa…! I’m sorry, Phantom-sama… I just lost my balance…”

“…Sorry, Master. Thank you for catching me.”

When the carriage jolted slightly—probably from hitting a stone—Ceres seized the opportunity to cling to me, and upon seeing that, Tia clung to me as well. Yes… It was basically like this the whole time.

“Well, it’s my fault, really…”

Yes… The entire cause was me, knowing how the two felt but failing to give them a proper answer. Encouraged by Ceres’s assertive advances, Tia—who usually minded the time and place—had also started being much more physically affectionate.

Don’t harem protagonists have iron mental fortitude? How can they stay oblivious to someone’s feelings like that?

Before I reincarnated, I admired the idea of a cheat harem, but in reality it was not as great as I imagined. After all, the people who cared about me weren’t game characters. They were real humans. Which meant I needed to face their feelings seriously.

“Uoooh, watch it!!”

“Kyaaaah!?”

“My, my, that’s some dangerous driving.”

While I was making that resolution, the carriage suddenly lurched to an actual near-stop—not like before—and the horses began to panic. The seats jolted violently, and I leapt outside while holding Tia in my arms to keep her from flying out. Incidentally, Ceres absorbed the impact with perfect composure.

“An ambush, perhaps? Could our movements have been discovered?”

“Hard to say… but let’s stay alert.”

“Uu…Sorry to trouble you, Master.”

I gently lowered Tia down to the ground. Her face was bright red. While I mentally noted that Ceres managed a perfectly fine landing on her own, my eyes landed on a figure ahead. It was the figure of someone dressed like a beggar.

“Hey, that was dangerous. A carriage can’t stop on a dime, you know.”

“M-my apologies… Could you spare me some food? I haven’t eaten anything for three days…”

Leaning on a staff and trembling as he clung to Ceres’s robes, the man gave off no sense of hostility.

“A demon, huh. Using underhanded tricks like that!!”

“Indeed. Light of judgment, burn my foe to ash.”

No matter how impeccable the disguise was, it would be rendered useless before my Evil Eyes that could sense magic and of course, before Ceres too, who was a holy saint. As Ceres unleashed her light, Tia and I also drew our weapons. Amon seemed busy trying to calm the agitated horses.

“Oh-ho… You actually saw through my scheme. Not bad. But don’t think you can defeat me—Baram, one of Ose’s Four Great Demons and the most brilliant tactician of the demonfolk. Foolish humans.”

When the smoke from Ceres’s attack cleared, there stood a demon, probably in his thirties, wearing a silk hat. It was obvious he was a demon. The flames burning in his eyes made that clear at a glance.

“Heh. So Solomon’s magical signature really was just bait. Unlike the others, I made sure to watch the back roads to the capital. Taking you down will guarantee my promotion! I’ll earn Ose’s favor for sure! Truly, I’m a genius!!”

“Master… This demon is quite strong.”

“Yeah… It looks like the title of the Four Great Demons isn’t just for show.”

Even after taking Ceres’s magic head-on, he looked completely unscathed. That, plus his smug tone, told me most of what I needed to know. Most likely, he was one of the mid-bosses for the sequel.

“Hold on—you said ‘the others.’ Does that mean you came after us on your own?”

“Of course. I have no desire to work with fools. I’ll defeat you myself and then build my loli harem! Now die!”

With a snap of his fingers, magical traps hidden in the forest activated, unleashing tremendous explosions. Ordinarily, that kind of trap would have been fatal—but we had Saintess Ceres with us.

“Phantom-sama, please leave this to me. I will protect our allies and the carriage.”

“Yeah, thanks… I’ll devour your magic and turn it into my sustenance!!”

Shielded completely by Ceres’s barrier, I slipped through the bombardment and charged at Baram.

“Fuhahahaha! Do you know why I told you I was acting alone? Because you’re going to rot away under my brilliant strategy—what the!?”

Baram’s face contorted in shock as he blocked my sudden strike with his cane-sword. Just as I thought. He was strong, but only about as strong as the previous generation’s Four Great Demons we’d already defeated. If this were a game, old characters might get nerfed… But unfortunately for him, this was reality.

“Too bad. A true genius always has more than one plan.”

As I moved in for a follow-up attack, Baram’s figure vanished, only to reappear near the carriage. 

Teleportation magic!?

Just as Solomon used shadows, it seemed Baram specialized in spatial magic.

“Just killing the demon who sided with Solomon will be enough!! Now die—eh?”

“Oh? And who exactly are you saying you’re going to kill?”

With a snap, Baram raised his cane-sword dramatically, only to have his handsome face promptly kicked.

“Wha—Amon? Why are you siding with Solomon’s enemies? You used to love fighting, just like Glasya-Labolas! Surely you don’t truly wish to coexist with humans?”

“I’m the young lady’s caretaker. It’s only natural for me to be with her.”

“W-wait… No one told me I’d have to fight Amon. There’s no way I can win against him!!”

Hearing Baram’s pitiful wailing, I realized.

Oh, so Amon is actually pretty high-ranking among demons. That makes sense, considering I struggled when we first fought him.

“Hiiiii! Spare my life, pleeease!!”

“Hey, Phantom. Should I just kill him? Or do you want to wring information out of him first?”

At Amon’s question, I thought maybe we should at least get some intel if we could. After all, he was one of the Four Great Demons and there were still three more. But before I could decide, Baram snapped his fingers and vanished again.

“Tch, another teleport…”

“Relax. That spell eats up a lot of magic power. He can’t use it too often.”

“Yeah… Ceres, can you sense his—…Ceres? Tia?”

I turned around, but the two were gone. Could Baram have taken them? If so, the two of them would be in danger. Ceres was a hero who’d slain the Demon Lord, but she wasn’t a frontliner. Tia could charm opponents, but she was still a work in progress…

★★★★

“Where… Are we?”

“It seems we were brought here by his magic… Likely because he touched me earlier. Tia-san, you were behind me, so you must have gotten caught as well. I can’t believe even my barrier was useless against that magic…”

Frowning, Ceres brushed off the spot where Baram had touched her, as if the faint trace of the touch itself were filthy.

“Fuhahaha, exactly. I can’t beat the man with the Evil Eyes or Amon, but you two are no threat to me. A truly genius strategy!!”

“No, that’s less ‘genius’ and more just being scum…”

Tia cut into his gloating, but Baram ignored her. His gaze wandered to their generous chests and he let out a deep sigh.

“Still… To have two women and both with over-fleshed figures too… The pinnacle of beauty is in being smaller and more slender…”

“O-over-fleshed…?”

“…I have no desire for your favor, but being insulted by the likes of you is simply irritating.”

Tia looked visibly shaken, while Ceres’s expression hardened with killing intent. Baram, however, paid them no mind. A sadistic smile curling his lips.

“Yes, that’s it. I’ll trim away that excess flesh, adorn you beautifully, and then use you as hostages. The man with the Evil Eyes seemed soft, and Amon’s coexistence with humans will slow his movements. Yes. This is the perfect plan.”

With those words, Baram fully drew the sword hidden within his cane.

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