Vol 1 Chapter 12 – None of It Matters

Taris latched onto Ludrick’s arm as he tried to stride straight for the exit, “tap tap”, without another word.

Thanks to the superior physique of a demon and Taris’s untrained muscles, he was dragged along helplessly.

Unable to stop him by force, Taris raised his voice, desperately trying to halt him with words.

“You’re one of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings! What are you spouting off about? You’re trembling just from hearing a name!”

“Shut up, idiot! How can you stay calm after hearing that name? Are you out of your mind?”

“Huh? I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Tsk!!”

“A tongue-click that loud…?”

Seeing a side of Ludrick he’d never witnessed before, Taris instinctively recoiled.

Fortunately, Ludrick seemed to have given up on leaving for the moment and stopped in his tracks.

Since he had no hobby of clinging to men, Taris immediately let go.

Shooting Ludrick a resentful glance, he muttered under his breath.

“You really don’t know? Alvarado. Al-va-ra-do.”

“Told you—I don’t. Is he that famous?”

No matter how hard he wracked his brain, the name refused to surface.

Well, everyone has their own field of expertise.

For example, Taris knew the names of fellow nobles, merchants he dealt with, and his major subordinates, but he had no idea who the top adventurers in the royal capital were.

So where had this Alvarado made his name?

Ludrick fixed Taris with a stare and quietly muttered:

“――‘Insane Justice Freak.’”

“Huh?”

“‘Blood-soaked Berserker.’ ‘The guy who should’ve been born in the wrong world.’ ‘The psycho you can’t reason with.’ ‘Give up—wait until he passes.’ ‘Despair.’”

One grotesque epithet after another spilled out, each more disturbing than the last.

Taris was thrown into utter confusion.

“H-hey, what are you—”

“Those are the nicknames Alvarado is known by among demons.”

“Come again?”

His mouth hung open.

Taris couldn’t remember the last time he’d worn such a hopelessly dumb expression—probably not since he was a child.

What the heck?

One nickname would be weird enough, but this guy had a whole collection of them.

“What is he, some kind of monster?”

“Because he does things only a monster would do. Supposedly he’s human, but I don’t buy it. No way a human would have titles like that.”

Ludrick continued, cold sweat running down his face.

“Honestly, I’ve never met him myself, so I don’t know. Never even seen his face—most who do end up dead, so word never gets around.”

“He kills you just for seeing his face…? What does that even mean?”

Taris’s confusion deepened.

That sounded like nothing more than a serial killer.

Was this Alvarado a wanderer so feared that even demons shuddered at the sight of him?

“With that many nicknames, you can guess what kind of guy he is. That’s why I said I’m out.”

With that, Ludrick cut the conversation short and headed for the door.

But letting him leave now would be a problem.

The power of a Heavenly King was crucial to Taris’s plans.

“…Wait.”

“What?”

Ludrick turned, looking annoyed.

He stopped, no doubt because of the ties they already shared.

There would not be a second chance.

Taris decided to make the most of this one and only opening.

“First off, are we sure the man who wiped out those bandits is actually this Alvarado you’re talking about?”

“…A different guy with the same name? No, that’s…”

Ludrick hesitated.

That possibility certainly existed.

After all, humans were as numerous as insects.

Still, the man had annihilated the bandits and even destroyed battle-hardened demons.

The odds were high that it was the infamous Alvarado dreaded by demonkind.

“That may be, but he could also just be borrowing the name. If even a Heavenly King like you is afraid of him, brandishing that name would scare off unnecessary trouble. Sure, some—like your subordinates—might not know it, but for a traveler, nothing beats a reputation that keeps stronger foes away.”

Taris spun another hypothesis.

A name that could make even the Demon Lord’s Heavenly King back down was infamous indeed.

It wouldn’t be strange if people used it as a shield to keep danger at bay.

Travelers faced peril far more often than ordinary folk.

Logically, the theory held water.

“Besides, no one knows what he looks like, right? All you have to do is say the name. It’s effortless and incredibly simple.”

“…I get what you’re saying. But my men…”

That still stuck in his craw.

If it were some weakling borrowing the name, his demon subordinates wouldn’t have been killed.

“As you said, they’re probably gravely wounded. Besides, you’ve never actually seen Alvarado yourself, have you? Rumors grow in the telling. You don’t really know how strong the man is.”

“……”

Ludrick finally fell silent.

Taris’s words rang oddly convincing.

It was hard to believe his men had been utterly overwhelmed.

Far more plausible was a fierce battle that ended in near mutual destruction.

That, at least, he could barely accept.

And it was true—he had never seen Alvarado with his own eyes.

Watching Ludrick ponder, Taris delivered the coup de grâce.

“A Heavenly King of the Demon Lord’s army, running away from a lone human without even fighting… It says a lot about your caliber.”

“What was that? I could kill you right here and now. Don’t forget I’m only cooperating because of our contract.”

Ludrick glared daggers at Taris.

The murderous intent was so fierce it felt like a storm had blown through.

Taris considered it a miracle he hadn’t fallen on his backside.

“…You’ve got a mouth on you.”

Yet Ludrick smothered the killing aura and exhaled.

Admittedly, he had been pathetic up until now.

“Fine. I’ll follow your lead. But here in human territory, I expect your backing for our demonic operations to be stronger than ever.”

“No problem.”

This time, Taris did nothing to stop Ludrick from leaving.

Barely saving his own neck, Taris sank deep into his chair with a sigh of relief.

“None of that matters. As long as we can capture that woman… Hannah… I don’t care what we lose.”