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Chapter : 20
Renel was clearly sharp in many ways, quick to learn.
After I stuck by her side and taught her for a full day, she was already able to drive a carriage without much trouble.
On the other hand, the Saint—no, Arwen—was painfully slow.
She was now being taught by Renel, who had become a skilled coachman in just one day.
“Saintess, relax your grip a bit. Look at your knuckles—they’re white.”
“Saintess—ah! Don’t call me that! O-oh!”
“Y-yes, Arwen. Wait, if you pull like that—”
“Kyaa!”
“That’s a sudden stop.”
Chris, who had been sitting across from me, was flung toward me by the inertia caused by the abrupt stop of the carriage.
I kindly stepped aside.
Chris barely managed to regain his balance and spoke.
“Please catch me next time.”
“If the positions were reversed, would you have caught me?”
“…Of course.”
“That answer came too late.”
On the driver’s seat, Arwen was panting heavily, huffing and puffing.
Renel pressed her fingers to her forehead and spoke.
“Should we switch?”
“Just a moment. I think I’m getting the hang of it.”
“You’ve been saying that for five hours.”
“If I just do it for five more hours, I think I’ll be fine.”
“Sigh. This road is narrow and poorly maintained. It’s way too difficult for a beginner.”
“But you’re a beginner too, Renel.”
“That was ages ago.”
It was literally yesterday.
Renel turned to me and asked,
“Why did you suggest taking this road? There are plenty of routes to the Hennet territory.”
“Hm?”
“Huh?”
“Who said we were going to the Hennet territory?”
“You said we were moving on to the next task. From Badrin, the closest territory in this direction is Hennet. Weren’t we going to look for the Adventurers’ Guild there?”
No.
I kindly corrected the destination.
“We’re going to the Kamum territory.”
Silence fell over the carriage.
Among the group, Chris—whose reason for staying silent differed from the others—was the first to speak.
“Where is the Kamum territory? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Never fails to disappoint.”
“Hah. It’s nothing special.”
“……”
“Are you mocking me?”
When I nodded, Chris flushed and protested.
“I may look like this, but I never slept during geography lessons. I memorized the names of all the territories on the continent. There is no territory called Kamum.”
“What kind of academy did you attend for your education to be that poor?”
“Academy?”
“…Don’t tell me you had a private tutor?”
“Yes. Didn’t everyone?”
Renel muttered,
“Some people dig through ancient texts to study, while others have professors visit their homes—and still fall asleep…”
“I didn’t fall asleep!”
“Then how do you not know Kamum territory? Ah—do you at least know a place called the ‘Borderline’?”
“The Borderline is famous. Of course I know it.”
“That used to be Kamum territory.”
“Ah! One of the stolen lands. If you use the old name, how would I know?”
“Most people know.”
“Kamum territory, the Borderline, one of the stolen lands… Huh? Wait a second.”
Swish.
Chris turned sharply toward me.
Arwen, who had stopped the carriage at some point, and Renel, wearing an uneasy expression, were also staring at me.
After a brief silence, Arwen asked in a trembling voice,
“You’re really saying we’re going to the Borderline? That land ruled by the Great Demon King?”
As I’ve said before, there isn’t just one way to classify Demon Kings.
The most common method is by danger ranking.
God-Demon – Great Demon King – Normal Demon King – Lesser Demon King – Proto Demon King.
Another classification is by number of lives.
Single-entity. Reincarnated. Possessed.
There are many other systems as well, but if I were to mention one now…
“You’re saying we’re going somewhere that has the Immortal Demon King? A Great Demon King–class one?”
“Yes.”
“You do know he’s a Lord-type Demon King, right?”
This classification is based on residence style.
Wandering-type Demon Kings.
These Demon Kings have no fixed residence and roam freely across the continent.
The Demon King of Deception and the Demon King of Disease belong to this category.
The most famous wandering-type Demon King is my target—the Demon King of Erosion.
The Demon King of Absence, who will soon join our party, could also be considered wandering-type.
Because they constantly change locations, their information must be continuously updated through revelations and other means.
Fortress-type Demon Kings.
Instead of roaming the continent, these Demon Kings establish strongholds in remote areas beyond human reach.
They build dungeons or labyrinths and create their own bases.
Unlike wandering-types, their locations are known—but attacking them means accepting enormous losses.
Before my regression, the Demon King of Illusion was a representative fortress-type. This time, he died by my hand before even completing his fortress.
Finally, Lord-type Demon Kings.
These Demon Kings seize lands once ruled by humans and claim them as their own domains.
They conquer already-developed regions through sheer force.
While fortress-type Demon Kings usually hole up alone in frozen wastelands or treacherous mountain ranges, Lord-type Demon Kings are extremely interested in “ruling and governing humans.”
Naturally, humanity’s highest-priority targets have always been Lord-type Demon Kings.
As a result, about 60 percent of the Demon Kings defeated so far have been Lord-type.
In other words, most of the Lord-type Demon Kings still remaining are effectively impossible to defeat.
They are overwhelmingly powerful Demon Kings—meaning this category contains the highest concentration of Great Demon Kings.
All territories seized by Lord-type Demon Kings are collectively called the “Stolen Lands.”
Once regions under imperial control, they are now unfortunate areas that surrendered their sovereignty to Demon Kings.
Kamum territory—the place we were heading—was one such land, ruled by the Immortal Demon King, a Lord-type Great Demon King.
“The Immortal Demon King is ranked 20th! That’s Great Demon King–class!”
I calmed down the agitated Renel.
“Relax. He’s only rank 20.”
“Gaaah… Do you know how many times you’ve used that line already?”
“I’m joking. I have no intention of making you fight a Great Demon King. Not yet.”
“That ‘not yet’ really bothers me.”
“One day we’ll have to fight Great Demon Kings anyway. Renel, you were aiming for one from the start, and Chris has to defeat the Demon King of Despair.”
Renel and Chris both fell silent.
Arwen timidly raised her hand.
“What about me?”
“You have a connection to the Demon King of Sloth, through the Demon King of Disease.”
“That feels kind of forced compared to the others…”
“Our ultimate goal is the Demon King of Erosion, the one even called a God-Demon. If you get scared just because we might encounter a Great Demon King, that’s a problem.”
At my words, everyone nodded blankly.
Then Renel suddenly snapped back to reality and shouted,
“Don’t casually slide from Great Demon Kings straight to the Demon King of Erosion!”
“Judging by how you nodded just now, a few more repetitions and you’ll adapt just fine.”
“Aaargh.”
“Anyway, there’s nothing to worry about. Like I said earlier, we’re not planning to fight a Great Demon King yet.”
Chris cautiously asked,
“If we’re not fighting a Great Demon King, why are we heading to Kamum territory? That place has been cut off from the outside world for over 300 years.”
“……”
“There won’t be an Adventurers’ Guild or quests, and it’s not even certain they use the same language.”
Instead of answering, I looked out the window.
My eyes were on the passing scenery, but my mind was recalling memories from before my regression.
I muttered quietly,
“There’s someone I need to find.”
Before the regression.
Our party was unprecedented—we had slain four Great Demon Kings.
By the time we defeated the fourth, it felt like “just another one,” but the first time we killed a Great Demon King, it was absolute chaos.
“We really did it. We killed a Great Demon King!”
“Father. We’ve done it.”
“Everyone, let’s toast! Cheers!”
“Saintess, you’re drinking again? That’s divine punishment waiting to happen.”
“That’s blasphemy.”
Of course, I couldn’t properly understand a single word of their conversation.
When voices overlapped in loud celebration like this, the garbled sounds of Quad-rangle didn’t reach my ears at all.
In moments like that, I was always alone.
All I could do was stand a step apart from the group, observing from afar and roughly inferring the mood.
That day, we had rented out an entire tavern for the celebration.
After killing our first Great Demon King (ranked 17th, if I remember correctly), someone suggested a party to commemorate it.
It was probably Arwen’s idea, though I can’t say for sure.
As I chewed on my solitude, I heard someone speak from behind me.
“Mister.”
I turned around.
As expected, there stood a figure entirely covered in Quad-rangle.
I lightly gripped my sword and spoke.
“Who are you?”
“You just killed the 17th-ranked Great Demon King, didn’t you?”
“What? I can’t hear you well.”
“Is your hearing bad? Well, it is pretty loud in here.”
Swish.
The Quad-rangle figure made a gesture.
Suddenly, everything went quiet.
Startled, I looked around—the party members weren’t moving at all.
Though I couldn’t see their faces through the Quad-rangle, their collapsed posture against the tables told me they had fallen unconscious.
Clang.
I drew my sword and pointed it at the suddenly appeared Quad-rangle.
“What did you do to my companions?”
“I just put them to sleep. They were interrupting our conversation. I created a quiet environment for a hard-of-hearing mister. I have a favor to ask.”
“You put them to sleep? You did?”
How was that possible?
At that point, my companions were already S-rank adventurers.
They weren’t yet at their peak just before the regression, but they were still people who would be called the strongest anywhere.
And he put them all to sleep with a single gesture.
I tightened my grip and said,
“First, answer this. Who are you?”
“You’re a strange one, mister.”
“What’s strange about me?”
“Most adults trip over themselves trying to be nice when they see a kid who looks like me. You’re the first to point a sword at me right away.”
“It’s not right away. You harmed my companions.”
“I told you, I just put them to sleep. And companions, huh…”
The Quad-rangle then said something that cut deeply into me at the time.
“If they’re your companions, why are you off by yourself?”
“……”
“So you’re lonely too, mister.”
“From now on, you have two things to do. First, wake my companions. Second, reveal who you are.”
“……”
“If you do anything else, I will kill you.”
He introduced himself as a child.
But whether he looked like an adult or a child meant nothing to me—everyone looked the same through Quad-rangle.
And someone who could put my party to sleep with a wave of his hand… appearances were meaningless.
After a moment of silence, he spoke.
“Fine.”
“What?”
“You said you’d kill me. If you’re someone who killed a Great Demon King, you might actually be able to. That’s exactly what I wanted to ask.”
The Quad-rangle continued calmly.
For some reason, in that distorted, emotionless voice, I could feel a deep desperation.
“Please… kill me.”
