The Man Who Remained — His Second Life Began with a Humble Bow of Apology. - Chapter 91: An Unprecedented VIP Guest Arrives (Part Three).

An Unprecedented VIP Guest Arrives (Part Three).

The village of Hourai, in truth, devotes a considerable portion of its national strength to military affairs—more precisely, to defense. So much so that it could be rightfully described as a military state.

The reason is simple: from all directions, it is relentlessly targeted by an overwhelming and almost absurd variety of enemies.

Barbarians, mindless monsters, foreign nations—each attacking for their own reasons, driven by countless motives. The village is subjected to an unending barrage that could only be described as a dogpile.

The threat is so severe that Hourai has had no choice but to divide its military into four distinct forces, each responsible for defending one of the four gates to the land. And even then, merely holding the line has been a challenge.

Those charged with managing these gates have had to be granted near-absolute authority—powers so vast they extend even to life-and-death decisions and legal governance. That is how constant and grave the threats to Hourai have been.

Even so, the village had always managed to survive.

Even after collapsing as a sovereign nation and falling to the status of a vassal state under the Demon Kingdom, it still fought on—leaning on its strength, its unique weaponry, and sheer determination.

Somehow, it had always managed to protect itself.

But now… Hourai faces the gravest crisis in its long history.

Crime runs rampant within its borders, while external threats go unanswered.

To put it bluntly, the nation is barely functioning—more dead than alive in every sense that matters.

Before the economy can even become a concern, public safety and territorial integrity are already falling apart. In short, the village is on the verge of collapse.

And the root cause of it all?

A devastating shortage of resources.

Two visitors had arrived in Hourai.

Just two—but those two alone were powerful enough to destabilize the entire region.

One was Valeria of the Crimson Garden, a former Demon Lord. The other, her daughter—the youngest of the pure-blood vampires.

Entertaining these guests was, undeniably, a tremendous political opportunity for Hourai. Yet it was also an equally massive risk.

Should anything displease them—even a minor inconvenience, a slip in protocol, or a mere oversight—the consequences would be catastrophic.

With a single misstep, the entire village could be annihilated.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

If Valeria decided to act in earnest, she could obliterate Hourai in the blink of an eye, reducing it to barren wasteland with no survivors.

That is why the village leadership had no choice but to divert all remaining resources to their hospitality.

But as a result, defense and law enforcement were critically neglected.

It was an obvious outcome. One anyone could have predicted.

Yet there was no alternative.

This unsustainable situation couldn’t be allowed to continue, but finding someone with the capacity—and the time—to help was near impossible.

That is, until an incredibly convenient solution practically fell into their laps.

Two outsiders who had come to the village, understood its current predicament, and possessed the competence and versatility to handle almost anything as a pair.

They had fame, power, political acumen, and negotiation skills.

Between the two of them, they could resolve nearly any problem—and, unbelievably, they also had time to spare.

There was no room for pride in Hourai. They clung to these saviors for dear life.

And thus, something that had never occurred in the village’s entire history happened:

A being was granted power beyond imagination.

A man from outside, possessing the same authority as the village chief, and with rights equal to the commanders of all four sacred gates.

On top of that, he carried the delegated authority of a Demon Lord.

If this man spoke, the village of Hourai had no choice but to obey.

The name of this unprecedented figure?

Cross.

At this moment in his life, Cross held more power than ever before—and along with it, he came to understand one of the cruel truths of the world.

“Becoming powerful doesn’t make you happy. It just means drowning in responsibility and being worked to death.”

This bitter realization came to Cross during his second life.

“Alright, Ellie. What’s next?”
Cross asked his attendant, a weary look on his face.

He looked tired. Drained.

And who could blame him?

They had just taken down three gang groups near the Byakko (White Tiger) Gate, crushed a syndicate at the Suzaku (Vermilion Bird) Gate, and dismantled a fraud ring at the Seiryuu (Azure Dragon) Gate.

Each one of these would normally take a week to handle. Yet with Ellie taking the lead, they had completed five major operations in just three hours.

Frankly, Cross had done more than enough to be commended.

Physical combat was easy. Beating people up was second nature to him.

But tracking down and catching sly, scheming criminals was another matter. It was time-consuming and tedious—something he had neither the patience nor the skill for.

If not for Ellie, he would’ve given up before finishing even one of the tasks.

“The next one is… rather grueling. External threat elimination.”

“Oh? Let’s hear the details.”

“We’ve received reports of a foreign assault coming from beyond the Byakko Gate.”

“Which nation is attacking?”

“We’re not sure. Apparently, there are so many small nations that might attack us that intelligence can’t narrow it down. That’s just Hourai’s reality. Still, it’s probably just some backwater country barely above the level of savages. Only a fool would attack a village under the Demon Kingdom’s protection.”

“I see. So, what’s the plan?”

“We’re to wait near the gate and repel the invaders with a small team of guards. It won’t be easy.”

Despite Ellie’s grim tone, Cross smiled with genuine relief.

“I actually prefer that.”

“You don’t even know how many enemies are coming.”

“Still better than chasing down petty criminals. At least fighting is straightforward. Though… I do have one complaint.”

“Oh, I know exactly what it is.”

The two sighed in perfect unison and looked off into the distance.

Cross’s one complaint about fighting?

Travel.

Though referred to as a village, Hourai is vast—more like a small country.

The four sacred gates sit at its borders, and traveling between them takes an excruciating amount of time.

There are transport methods, like ox carts… but they’re painfully slow.

Even at top speed, it was usually faster to run.

And so, despite their annoyance, the pair had no choice but to sprint.

Only by running full force could they even hope to stay on schedule.

With a sigh, they dashed off toward their next destination: the Byakko Gate.

“Deputy Lord! We’ll take over the watch! Please, you must rest!”

The gate guards cried out as Cross approached.

But Cross waved off their concern.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got decent eyes… well, Ellie’s are even better.”

Ellie smiled and nodded politely.

“I’m actually using magical perception to scan the area. Functionally, it’s the same.”

Her offer was tempting, but the guards hesitated.

They couldn’t just pass their duties onto someone else—especially someone above them.

“N-No, we couldn’t possibly! This is our sacred duty!”

Despite their words, fatigue was written all over them.

Normally, gate surveillance was done with 30 to 100 personnel.

The task was simple: watch from the tower using telescopes and other tools.

In theory, five people could handle it.

But the strain was enormous.

The constant, high-tension scanning of the surroundings, the responsibility of catching even the slightest threat—if they failed, invaders could breach the gate.

The pressure was immense.

It was mentally exhausting—so much so that without proper staffing, even the most capable minds would eventually snap.

Currently, due to lack of resources, only five guards were on watch.

Despite knowing an attack was imminent.

Cross and Ellie hadn’t offered help just out of kindness.

They noticed the guards’ performance slipping due to fear and exhaustion. At this rate, detection would be delayed—and that could be fatal.

“Also, hey—you over there,” Cross pointed to one guard, “You’re the only trained spotter, right? The others… they’re filling in from unrelated positions?”

All five guards froze in shock.

“…How did you know?”

“That guy’s the only one who didn’t take his eyes off the scope—even while talking. The rest of you looked straight at us the moment we arrived.”

The guards had no reply. He was right.

“Cross-san, you’re good at spotting this stuff. I’ve done surveillance too, but I missed that,” Ellie remarked.

“Had a good teacher in a past life,” Cross replied with a small smile.

“…You’re right. I’m a patrol officer by trade. Only one of us is a proper lookout.”

“There you have it. No shame in taking a break when you’re exhausted. We’ve got this.”

“But sir, you’re supposed to lead the fight when the invasion begins…”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re built different. We trained for this—combat and surveillance. And Ellie can see better with magic than most can with their eyes. Right?”

Ellie nodded.

“…Understood. To be honest, the mental strain was worse than the physical. We’ll take you up on that offer—for one hour.”

“Good. One hour, we’ve got it. If anything happens, we’ll ring the bell.”

He pointed to a massive bell in the tower.

“Yes, that… and also this.”

A guard handed him a large conch shell.

“…What’s this?”

“A warhorn. Blow it, and it makes a loud sound.”

“This thing’s louder than the bell?”

“Much louder.”

“…Awesome. I’ll hold onto it.”

“Thank you, Deputy Lords,” the five guards bowed deeply, finally taking their leave.

Then Cross remembered something and called after them.

“Hey—one question before you go.”

They turned.

“Yes, sir?”

“You’ve been calling me ‘Deputy Lord’… but whose deputy do you think I am?”

“Was that… inappropriate? We can change the title if—”

“No, no! I’m just curious.”

After all, he held the authority of the Demon Lord, the village chief, and the four gate captains. Which one did they think he stood in for?

“Honestly? We don’t even know. We were just told, ‘He’s someone important, so don’t anger him. Call him Deputy Lord.’ That’s it. So please, tell us—what are you the deputy of?”

The guard spoke apologetically, and Cross nodded, amused.

“Fair enough. Let’s say… I’m standing in for your boss, who’s too busy to be here himself.”

“That makes perfect sense. Then, Deputy of our Superior, we leave it in your hands.”

With smiles and salutes, the guards departed.

“…You’re not going to tell them you’re the Demon Lord’s deputy?” Ellie asked.

“No need. Acting all high-and-mighty isn’t really my thing.”

“They’ll figure it out soon enough. And then what? Shock, guilt, panic?”

“…It’ll be fine… probably.”

Cross, not wanting to think about the fallout, quietly turned back to his assigned duty—keeping watch.