Mayuten ~The Demon King and the Hero Reincarnated as Twin Elementary School Students~

Volume 4 The Demon King and the Hero, Fighting for the Family

Chapter 5 The Hero Talks About the Girl

Isumi spoke to Kimijima-sensei.

“I can say anything, but it might just sound like excuses.”

“I don’t want to hear excuses. I want to hear the truth.”

“I see…”

What should I do?

How should I act?

It’s natural for Kimijima-sensei to resent me. After all, that battle was a conflict between humans and demons, and I was the ruler of the demons. If her young daughter became a victim of that war, it’s understandable for her to hold a grudge.

Even if she were to kill me, I wouldn’t utter any words of resentment.

However, even so…

I can’t involve Hikaru any further.

Hikaru is 100% innocent in all of this.

That’s why my top priority now is to save Hikaru.

What is the best course of action?

While hesitating, Isumi began to speak.

“Eleanor was a prodigy. At such a young age, she could wield more powerful healing magic than anyone else. According to the Grand Abbot, if she continued her training, she might even be capable of resurrection magic.”

“So what does that have to do with anything? Are you saying that’s why you took my daughter away?”

“No, it was Eleanor’s own decision. After I left the village, she arrived at the next stop all by herself, half a day later, and appeared before us, asking to become a companion of the hero.”

“Hmm. Let me interject here.”

I spoke from the side.

“Was she admiring the hero?”

“That’s correct. Eleanor, who was already aware of her own powers, passionately argued that she could be useful to our party.”

Quite an aggressive six-year-old, I must say. It’s not surprising if she got killed by a monster within that half-day.

Kimijima-sensei pressed Isumi with questions.

“But does that justify taking her away without her parents’ permission?”

“I didn’t really want to do it. But… the other companions welcomed Eleanor. It would be a waste to discard such talent. She is not the kind of girl who should be left in a village like that.”

… Huh?

Something smells fishy.

I asked Isumi to confirm.

“When it comes to the hero’s companions, you mean the Holy Warrior Killer, the Monk Erielle, and the Holy Sorcerer Garuda, right?”

“That’s correct.”

All of them were supposed to be sent out by the Human Church… individuals dispatched by the Grand Abbot as the hero’s companions.

“So, those three suggested recruiting Eleanor?”

“I didn’t intend to recruit her forcibly. Eleanor said she had her parents’ permission.”

Well, but that…

Kimijima-sensei shouted, “We never gave any permission! There’s no way we would!”

That’s probably true. No parent would simply nod along when a six-year-old girl tells them she wants to follow the hero on a dangerous journey.

In that case, there are some doubts.

I asked Professor Kijima, “But didn’t you know that Eleanor followed the hero?”

“There was a note from my daughter that said, ‘I’m leaving on a journey with the hero.’ My husband and I were pale and tried to chase after her, but the church stopped us. They said, ‘Eleanor has become the hero’s companion. She has the potential to become the next hero.’ They gave us various reasons to persuade us. To be honest, they even offered a substantial reward. I didn’t want that money, but they warned me that if I didn’t accept it and give up on my daughter, I could be charged with treason against the country.”

What on earth is this?

It’s like being ordered to sell off a young child.

I asked Isumi about it.

“Did you know about that?”

“After a while, I heard from Eleanor herself that she had only left a note for her parents. The church also paid a reward to her parents.”

That much I knew.

Isumi continued further.

“And the Grand Abbot told her parents that there would be no greater honor than their daughter assisting the hero.”

Upon hearing those words, Kimijima-sensei became furious.

“That can’t be true! To talk about ‘honor’ when their daughter is in danger!? That money must have been hush money!!”

“That’s… However, the Grand Abbot…”

Isumi stumbled over her words.

Instead, I spoke up.

” Kimijima-sensei is right. The church… or maybe the Grand Abbot intended to groom Eleanor as the next hero. At the very least, they wanted to consider her as a candidate. She might have been a backup in case you couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord.”

It’s too suspicious that the hero’s companions sent by the church welcomed Eleanor.

Isumi exclaimed, “No way!”

“They had even given instructions to let her escape before the final battle. but…”

“That’s because they wanted to ensure the next hero candidate wouldn’t die. The church had been considering the possibility of Shirene’s failure from the start.”

“Eleanor was only six years old at the time! The Grand Abbot was deeply concerned about involving young children.”

Doesn’t she understand yet?

I sighed, “Sigh…”

“They’re the kind of people who would turn a 16-year-old girl into a hero and have her use a self-sacrifice spell. I’m not surprised they’d exploit a 6-year-old. In the first place, if they truly didn’t want to involve young children, they should have sent you back home right away.”

“Bu-but…”

Still going on and on, I decided to speak coldly to Isumi.

“Get a grip already. That Grand Abbot or whatever simply flattered you as a ‘hero’ and used both you and Eleanor.”

“N-no, I… The Grand Abbot…”

Sigh. Seems like the brainwashing in that part hasn’t worn off yet.

“Thinking peace will come if you defeat the Demon Lord? What a fairy tale. It’s unbelievable.”

“I already know that. But at that time, I really believed it.”

“You were probably brainwashed to believe that. All thanks to that Grand Abbot and the church.”

“The Grand Abbot must have had the same intentions as I did. He wanted to defeat the Demon Lord for the sake of peace!”

Truly, this hero overflowing with righteousness is beyond exasperating.

“If the Grand Abbot really believed that and sought peace, he should have defeated the Demon Lord himself.”

“The Grand Abbot was already quite old. The journey to the Demon Lord’s castle was difficult for him.”

“You think he was an old man from the start? It’s been over 40 years since I became the Demon Lord. 40 years ago, he was still young, right?”

“T-that’s…”

“If he couldn’t do it himself, then his subordinates… what were their names? Killer, Erielle, or Garuda, taught them the self-sacrifice spell, right?”

“That spell can only be used by the hero!”

This time, I seriously thought my jaw was about to hit the floor.

“You fell for such lies?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The self-sacrifice spell, Balas Eternity, is a magic that anyone can use, you know?”

“N-no way. The Grand Abbot said it’s a spell exclusively for heroes.”

“It’s ridiculous. You’d understand if you read the beginner’s grimoire.”

“I can’t read…”

“Ah, right, you couldn’t read.”

“The Grand Abbot said heroes don’t need to bother with reading or calculations. Instead, they should focus on learning how to fight.”

This is getting nowhere. It seems like not only the matter of the self-sacrifice spell, but various brainwashing methods have been used to prevent the hero from learning on their own.

“Is it true that anyone can use the self-sacrifice spell, Balas Eternity?”

“Absolutely, it’s not something you can use without any training, but intermediate-level or higher magic users can easily learn it. In fact, you didn’t have much trouble mastering it, right?”

“That’s true, but besides me, there’s no other user…”

“Well, anyone would hesitate to sacrifice their own life. So, not many people are willing to learn or use it.”

“That’s… ridiculous.”

“Or perhaps they intended to brainwash Eleanor and make her use the spell in case Hero Shirene failed. Well, she seemed capable of reading and writing, unlike you, so maybe she wasn’t as easily brainwashed as you.”

Isumi dropped to her knees on the floor, clearly devastated by the revelation.

Enough of this. We can’t afford to be disheartened by such things right now. Our priority should be to figure out how to safely retrieve Hikaru.

Kimijima-sensei glared at me.

“You speak as if it’s someone else’s concern, Demon Lord Benes!”

“Even if you say that, talking about the leaders of the human race and the hero, it’s hard to consider it anything but someone else’s concern.”

“But if there were no Demon Lord, no demons, and no war, wouldn’t Eleanor have lived peacefully?”

That’s exactly right.

I want to blame the human king responsible for assassinating my father… No, saying that here would be nothing more than an excuse.

So, I had no choice but to say this.

“I won’t deny it.”

“You won’t even offer an excuse? Even though a young girl became a sacrifice!”

“I feel sorrow for Eleanor.”