Vol 5 Chapter 104: “Underestimation” (Vol 5: Final Volume: Another World?? Arc)

World Setting Explanation

First and foremost, this world was home to many gods.

Each god bore the name of the concept they embodied—gods of fire, water, and many others existed.

Since the gods were neither alive nor dead, none of them bore the concept of life or death, and these omnipotent beings spent an eternity in tranquility.

Amidst this eternity, they created the human realm.

Though it began as little more than a pastime, the benevolent gods shaped the world with their respective domains. Furthermore, they granted a portion of their divine abilities in the form of magic to those who met certain conditions, allowing humans to live happily.

However, after what seemed like an eternity, the gods began to long for an end.

And so, a concept that was meant to belong only to humans—death—manifested among the gods. At that moment, the God of Death was born.

The moment the God of Death died, many gods discovered that the death concept bestowed upon them made dying possible, and they chose death.

The angels created by the gods also followed suit, with all but one choosing to embrace death.

Each god had the power to grant a single, unique magic. Thus, the God of Death bestowed that magic upon a person from another world—Sukui.

Sukui fulfilled the necessary conditions to wield this magic; however, in a world devoid of magic, it remained unusable. Ultimately, Sukui perished.

Yet, before the gods met their end, they commanded an angel to retrieve Sukui’s soul and bring him to the human realm they had created.

The reason?

To introduce the ideology of accepting death.

Having embraced death themselves, the gods felt it was unjust to leave behind a world where humanity solely cherished life. Thus, they decided that humans should be provided the choice—to embrace death or continue clinging to life.

Believing that the youth chosen by the God of Death was the most suitable for this role, the gods orchestrated his summoning.

Now, in the world abandoned by the gods, only two beings remain:

• • The angel who carried out Sukui’s summoning.

• • The god responsible for overseeing heroes.

◆　◇　◆

“I hate…”

How pathetic. How disgraceful.
The girl tumbles.

“Here…”

Teleportation.
Horo surveys her surroundings.

The teleportation ring transfers its target once to the designated destination.
This place is not Polyvity.

Van Country
Onus City.

“Hmph…”

Were you planning to teleport us if things got dangerous during the Demon King battle?
No, that’s not it.
If that were the case, the designated destination wouldn’t be here.

“Don’t mess with meeeeeee!!”

Disregarding the astonished stares of passersby,
Horo yells at the top of her lungs.

More intensely than any anger she had ever felt before,
her swelling rage seemed on the verge of exploding—
as if her emotions were about to burst.

Perhaps that’s why…
she clawed at her face, screamed, and tore her hair apart.
Her teeth, clenched so hard that blood welled, gradually slackened in proportion,
and over time, these actions cooled her heart more than ever before.

“I…”
Nothingness. Despair.
The sensation of having lost everything.

After standing there in a daze for a while, tears streaming down her face, Horo murmurs.
It wasn’t that she had calmed down.
Horo’s uncontainable anger had profoundly transformed her heart.

She slowly begins to move forward.
At the same time, a legion clad in blue armor appears.

The Hen Knight Brigade.
The knights of Onus City.

“The Demon King has left the Demon King’s Castle!”
The knights announce that the Demon King has burst out of his castle
and that there is an extremely high possibility he will head toward the Three Kingdoms,
ordering everyone to stay indoors.

“The Demon King’s defeat will be handled by Bainte’s hero! Rest assured!”
And that they will protect this city,
as a man—presumably the leader of the knight brigade—broadcasts the message throughout the city using a magical device.

“Master…”
What did Horo think of that?
Even so, she does not stop her steps.

The entire city is filled with murmurs.
It’s more than just a panic.
The Demon King, even if not in this city, is not an everyday source of fear;
many have never encountered a living monster.

Nonetheless, the commotion escalates.
Some hurry home, others close their shops, and some rush off to join the knight brigade.

“Hey!”
In the bustling streets, Horo, moving at her own pace, stands out.
Catching someone’s eye, she is addressed.

“Hey, miss, you better get home quickly. You don’t seem to be moving all that fast—if the Demon King doesn’t show up in this city…”
The man who speaks opens his eyes in surprise.

“Mi-miss, isn’t that Horo-chan?!”
An adventurer of the city exclaims.
Kama, taken aback, stares at the girl who shouldn’t be here.

“What’s going on?! Has that Sukui guy returned too?!”
Even as he speaks, he senses that it couldn’t possibly be.
If it were Sukui, he would never leave Horo in such a state.

“That guy is…”

“Kama-san!”
Before Kama can finish his sentence, someone runs up to him—
Flip, the proprietor of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Thank goodness you’re still around. You’ve heard about the Demon King, right? So then…”
Speaking rapidly, Flip glances at Horo beside Kama, his astonishment matching his words.

“Sukui-san is…”

“He hasn’t returned, has he?”

Cutting off Flip’s words, another voice joined in.

A refined voice that, even though it wasn’t raised, was completely undisturbed by the city’s clamor.

A beautiful voice.

“Really, just how far did you expect things to go?”

The lord’s daughter. Lady Francoise looked at Horo and confirmed that Sukui was not there.

“You are—”

Flip was about to speak to the suddenly appearing Francoise.

“I am Francoise Maienne. I’m the older sister of the girl over there.”

Once again, her words were cut off, leaving Flip perplexed.

“Horo-san’s?”

Flip did not know Horo’s origins. Moreover, Horo—who was nothing like Francoise—had always been with Sukui.

“Yes. That’s how it is.”

Francoise’s tone carried a hint of disgust.

“Sukui Kensai won a bet with me and earned the right to state one wish.”

And before leaving Onus City, he conveyed that wish to Francoise from his cell.

“If I ever leave Horo Roka alone, then you must take her into your care and admit her into the ducal household as your younger sister.”

In other words, he had anticipated a time when he could no longer be by Horo’s side.

“To some extent, that man understood his own fate.”

They couldn’t be together forever. Sooner or later, Horo would have to leave him.

When it came time for Horo to go to Polyvity, Sukui had even sensed that that day was drawing near.

Therefore, the teleportation ring’s destination was set as Onus City. From the very beginning, Sukui had intended that if anything happened to him, he would return Horo here—entrusting her to Francoise.

“That is to say, it means that I will someday die.”

He probably wouldn’t live long. That was what everyone who knew Sukui thought.

“But it looks like the situation is a bit different.”

Francoise fixed her gaze on Horo.

“That Demon King—it’s him, isn’t it?”

The security measures—from the duke and the state—against the Demon King are numerous. Not only is the destruction of the Demon King’s castle being monitored, but various surrounding conditions as well. Francoise has the means to observe it all.

“What does that mean?”

He—referring to Sukui, as Flip could deduce from the context. However, Flip had no idea what she meant.

“Well.”

Francoise replied in a tone that was completely devoid of any further explanation.

Based on the intelligence regarding the Demon King, it was clear that he wasn’t a monster but a human who had undergone a transformation. Some of his features were known, and from those—and the supposition that only he could end up in such circumstances—Francoise merely concluded that Sukui had become the Demon King.

“I thought he would at least set out to defeat the Demon King, but to think he’s become the Demon King…”

And now, he is intent on destroying the world. The Demon King is heading this way, having demolished his castle and scattering the mud of death along the way.

“Sukui-san has become the Demon King—”

Flip recalled Sukui. Certainly, he was filled with madness, and there were aspects of him that could be called brutal. However, anyone who had interacted with him would know—he…

“Sukui would never willingly become the Demon King.”

Beside the dumbfounded Flip, Kama stated firmly, “That guy is odd, and even if people say he’s heartless, I can’t fault him. He might even have contemplated destroying the world at one time.”
But he wouldn’t actually do it.

“He’s a kind guy.”
Surely, something must have gone wrong to make him like this.
“Yes,” Kama laughed.
“He’s so ridiculously kind that he couldn’t just leave someone who pretends to be cool yet is in trouble as is.”

“Exactly, exactly!”
Flip exclaimed happily.
“That man was never one to abandon anyone. That’s why—”
Flip trailed off.
Always.
He was suffering. And there was someone who couldn’t just abandon him. Could I have done something?

“I don’t know how accurate Lady Francoise’s account is, but if it’s true that the Demon King is Sukui-san, then it’s even more so.”

With Kama looking at Flip in bewilderment, Flip proposed, “The defeat of the Demon King will be entirely left to Bainte’s hero. The knight brigade is focused on defending the city.”
However, the hero’s movements are currently unknown. But since the Demon King is on his way, he will surely manage to do something before reaching us—that is the assumption.

“Onus City is one of the cities closest to Polyvity. Depending on the hero’s movements, there’s even a possibility that this city might be destroyed before the Demon King is defeated.”
Therefore, volunteer adventurers are being sought.

“Kama-san, please join us. We’re gathering capable individuals through the city’s guilds and other networks.”
Francoise had considered asking the Hen Knight Brigade for assistance, but since the knight brigade is meant to defend the city, Flip thought so.

“If the Demon King is indeed Sukui-san, then all the more reason.”
It was a determined gaze—one that spoke of repaying an old favor.
Kama, seeing that look, could not possibly refuse.

“Ah, after all, I’ve already split him in two once, haven’t I?”
“I’ll cut him again,” he added, laughing casually.

“Alright, then I’ll have my personal guards accompany you.”
“Regardless of their background, they’re more skilled than the knight brigade. There are about a hundred of them, too.”
They’re also outfitted with high-priced magical tools—something Francoise explained to a dumbfounded Flip.

“I also need that man to be with us,” Francoise added.
“Of course!”
Flip responded immediately.

It wasn’t only those present here; many others—the adventurer guild, merchants, lords, and even some nobles who didn’t denounce Sukui—are fond of him.
Sukui was deeply involved with this city. To his own surprise, he was loved.

“Let’s stop Sukui-san ourselves!”
To Flip, who said that with enthusiasm, there were surely many who agreed. They would undoubtedly handle Sukui themselves.

“Huh?”
That voice was dark.
The three people present shared the same thought.
It was a darkness in Sukui unlike anything they had recalled until now—
Madness.
It was unbelievable that that voice had been emanating from the girl who had remained silent until now.
If the three had miscalculated, it would be that even if Sukui were loved by the city—even if all that overwhelming affection were gathered—it would never compare to the love, so intense it could be called madness, emanating from that one little girl standing before them.