Vol 3 Chapter 57 – My Dream

The demon attack on a city in the human territories.

To the humans, it was perceived as an absolutely massive incident.

Originally, humans and demons were mortal enemies and had waged war against each other numerous times.

While the scale of those wars varied, some had been all-out conflicts so vast it seemed as though they would fight until one side went extinct.

Recently, however, things had fallen into a lull. It was a historically unprecedented era of peace, where not even localized wars were breaking out.

Of course, there had been a number of skirmishes near the border, but even those were managed so as not to escalate into full-blown military clashes.

“But with this latest incident, that whole premise has been overturned.”

The Holy Sword muttered to herself.

It wasn’t as if humanity and the demon race had signed a truce.

Essentially, they had maintained an unspoken agreement not to attack one another.

That was how a peace without war had been born.

But the demons had shattered that unspoken agreement without a second thought.

While there was no declaration of war, it was a clear military invasion.

Attacking a city in human lands, especially a place with so many non-combatants, was an obvious act of hostility.

That didn’t mean a large-scale war would start immediately in response.

Both sides knew that if it came to that, the price they’d have to pay would be enormous.

However, this was a relationship where neither side had a good impression of the other to begin with, and now one side had attacked.

It was only natural for feelings to stir on the human side.

For now, it hadn’t escalated into a major conflict.

But the embers of war had certainly been left behind.

And it might not be long… before those embers burst into flame.

“…That’s about the gist of it. Though it’s all secondhand information.”

The one who said this with a laugh was Spica, dispatched from the capital.

As always, the Holy Sword scowled at her ridiculously huge breasts.

She didn’t even want to be in the same conversation with her.

This incident was a major event of extreme importance not just to the nation, but to all of humanity.

People had been sent from the capital, and an investigation was underway.

“I see. But you can rest assured. I will destroy only evil, whether it be human or demon.”

“I’d think if you attack both sides, they might just team up to crush you… but what’s scary is that you seem like you’d actually manage to handle it all by yourself.”

Spica imagined Alvarado gleefully splattering blood everywhere, with a mountain of dead humans and demons piled up behind him.

Since that seemed like an entirely plausible future, I offered a smiling denial.

“You’re doing things like crime scene investigation now? Are you really a knight?”

“Well, I belong to a knightly order, but I’m not exactly a normal knight, y’know? I’m more like that person’s personal attendant. To put it more simply, I’m a gofer. So when I get an order, I’ve gotta do it.”

In Spica’s case, it wasn’t so much that she was dispatched by the country, but that she was simply ordered here by the master she serves.

There were other knights who had received official orders from the state, so Spica’s job was just to report the information she gathered to her master.

“‘That person,’ huh. Come to think of it, was it on that person’s orders that you came to Rasha’s village?”

“Yep. That person seems to be interested in you, so you might get an invitation soon. Looks like they’re having some trouble with the preparations, though.”

When the Holy Sword asked with interest, Spica answered nonchalantly, as if she had no intention of hiding it.

At her cryptic words, the Holy Sword’s face twisted in unconcealed disgust.

Because it was guaranteed to be a hassle.

“Ugh, I don’t wanna go. Al, let’s not go. Anyone who can order Spica around has to be pretty high up.”

“Hmph, I have no reason to go, so let’s not. It’s a pain.”

It’s only at times like this that our opinions align.

The Holy Sword was filled with an indescribable emotion.

“No, no, refusing is just gonna lead you down a worse path. When the time comes, it’s not like you’ll have the right to refuse anyway.”

Spica thought to herself that no one who knew that person’s identity would dare say such a thing.

…No, this pair in front of me just might. That’s dangerous.

She told them with a wry smile.

“I look forward to the next time we can chat so openly without hiding anything.”

◆

“…”

“…”

Heaps of corpses.

No phrase better suited the state of this place.

The location was a room in the Demon Lord’s Castle.

Lying limply on the ground were two of the most recognizable faces of the Demon Lord’s army, the Heavenly Kings Rayphia and Ludrick.

Casting aside all shame and pride, they were spread-eagled on the floor.

They had absolutely no energy to move.

With half-dead eyes, they stared up at the ceiling.

“…So you fought that monster and made it back alive.”

“…Yeah, well.”

“…I would like to apologize for what I said back then.”

“…Don’t worry about it. As long as you understand now, it’s fine.”

For the first time, the two were able to acknowledge and show consideration for one another.

Fundamentally, the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings were a gathering of selfish individuals.

Acting for the sake of the demon race, or for the sake of their comrades—such principles did not exist for them.

If anything, they were the type of people who would find it amusing if one of their own met a painful end.

But they had both faced Alvarado, a monster, an existence beyond all reason, and had both been targeted for death.

That was why, for the first time, a sense of camaraderie was born between them.

“…All three of us died once, didn’t we?”

“No doubt about it. If we didn’t have a stock of souls to revive us even after dying once, thanks to the Demon Lord’s protection, it would’ve been over. Our lives, I mean.”

“Well, we aren’t human.”

Rayphia, Ludrick, and Melia.

To tell the truth, the three of them hadn’t completely escaped.

They had been slaughtered by Alvarado’s ‘Lament of the Dead,’ but had managed to resurrect thanks to their stock of souls.

They had already been forced to use their secret weapon, their trump card.

“An all-out war with humanity. It’s a bit late to say this, but shouldn’t we call it off? There’s absolutely no way I’m doing it. I never want to see that thing’s face again.”

“You think I want to? Still, if it’s the Demon Lord versus him…”

An image of a certain being surfaced in Ludrick’s mind.

Of course, neither they nor anyone else had ever seen Alvarado’s true power, so it was impossible to say who would win.

Naturally, the Demon Lord’s defeat would lead to their own deaths, so they wanted to believe in a victory for the demon race.

But still, they desperately did not want an all-out war.

Since demons have longer lifespans, couldn’t they just wait for Alvarado to die of old age?

…He will die of old age, right? He has to, right? There’s no way he’ll still be alive a thousand years from now, right?

“…When that time comes, you’ll be helping us, Hero-san.”

A sudden anxiety surfaced in Ludrick’s mind.

He imagined himself, several hundred years from now, gleefully invading the human territories, only to be met by the sight of Alvarado standing there to intercept them with a massive grin on his face. He shuddered.

Next to him, Rayphia spoke to Melia, who had escaped with them.

“…Hah, that was incredible. To think I’d feel this way, even after nearly being killed…”

However, Melia wasn’t listening to her words at all.

The only thing on her mind was Alvarado.

Overwhelming power. It was synonymous with unreasonable violence.

The man who had shattered her pride in her own strength into a million pieces.

“For my dream, for my sake, I absolutely need you. Absolutely…”

As she thought of such a man, Melia’s face was dazed, like a young girl in love.