73 – Debt
With the help of Mireia, the hero Kane easily obtained the Holy Sword and began his journey towards the Demon King’s Castle.
However, despite a considerable amount of time passing since his departure, he still hadn’t reached the Demon Realm.
The reason for this was Mireia.
She never had any intention of taking the hero to the Demon King’s castle from the beginning.
After all, only a hero could defeat the Demon King.
But in Milaia’s judgment, the current hero seemed incapable of even facing the Demon King’s subordinates, let alone the Demon King himself.
“Damn it, why aren’t we going straight to the Demon King’s castle? We have the Holy Sword now, so all we have to do is take care of the Demon King in one fell swoop, right?”
Roaming between the Demon Realm and the human lands, Cain vented his frustration.
“….”
No matter what Cain said, Milaia ignored him.
Cain was annoyed by her attitude, but he couldn’t help it.
Cain, who had not properly formed a hero party and neglected his own growth, needed Milaia.
Without her, he wouldn’t have obtained the Holy Sword, and it would have been difficult for him to protect himself from the demons attacking from the Demon Realm.
Cain had his own talent for fighting and was able to fight as well as most adventurers, but it wasn’t enough.
The original plan was for Milaia to lead the attack on the Demon King’s castle, and Cain would deliver the final blow to defeat the Demon King.
Of course, there was no way they could successfully attack the Demon King’s castle with such a reckless plan.
But Cain sincerely hoped that Milaia would clear the way for him right in front of the Demon King.
And Milaia had no intention of participating in such a pathetic plan.
“Tsk, damn woman.”
Cain cursed at Milaia’s back.
If things continued like this, there was no point in acting with her.
If she had no intention of going to the Demon King’s castle, it would be better to return to the kingdom and think of another way than wandering around here.
Even now, if he followed in the footsteps of the previous heroes, he could fulfill his destiny of defeating the Demon King.
However, foolish Cain never had such thoughts.
He didn’t know that seeking a loophole was actually delaying the time to subdue the Demon King.
Meanwhile, Milaya had her own plan.
In any case, it didn’t matter what happened to the Demon King.
That was something the hero Cain had to take care of on his own.
Her goal was to lure the Bloodstain, the enemy of her homeland and Eunoa, and kill as many demons and monsters as possible.
The reason she obtained the Holy Sword for the hero was not to make him deal with the Demon King.
It was because she believed that if she got the Holy Sword for him, the hero would follow her without suspicion.
The kingdom knew that the hero had gone to the Demon Realm to defeat the Demon King.
So even if the hero was absent for a long time, there was no reason for the kingdom to think strangely.
And that meant that Milaya had the environment to use the hero as bait without any interference.
No matter how much Milaya was, it was suicidal for her and Cain to enter the Demon Realm alone.
So, in a land without humans or the Demon Realm, she would lure demons and monsters with the bait of the hero.
Milaya was confident that someday, even the Bloodstain would come to her on its own.
Going directly into the Demon Realm was too risky, and waiting quietly in the kingdom meant there were fewer demons that could be killed.
In that case, she thought that killing all the demons and monsters that came while wandering the ownerless land with the hero was ultimately the best way to kill the most number of them.
“I don’t care what kind of fool he is, if he keeps wandering around aimlessly like this, I’m going back. Anyway, I’ve got the Holy Sword, so there must be another way. Ugh, I thought he was a woman who could be used until the end.”
In the end, Cain couldn’t bear it any longer and turned his back.
Since it was clear that Milaya had no intention of going to the Demon King’s castle, there was no reason for him to stay with her.
But the moment Cain took a few steps to leave Milaya and return to the kingdom.
Milleia swiftly stood in front of Cain like the wind.
“…What?”
Cain frowned and tried to push Milleia aside, but she didn’t move.
Instead, Milleia drew her sword and pointed it at Cain’s nose.
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“What are you doing? You know I’m a hero, right?”
Of course, she knew.
A worthless hero with no value as a hero.
As a hero, he was pathetic, but as long as he didn’t die, he was the most efficient bait to lure demons and monsters.
Thwack!
Milleia forcefully struck Cain’s neck with the hilt of her sword.
Cain let out a grunt and immediately dropped to his knees.
Until now, Cain had mistakenly believed that he was the one using Milleia.
But in this moment, their roles were reversed.
“…”
Milleia stared coldly at Cain.
Cain saw the chilling determination and madness in her eyes.
“Cra… crazy woman…”
Whether she was a demon king or a hero, it no longer mattered to Milleia.
All she wanted was to kill as many demons and monsters as possible, including her archenemy, Bloodstain.
In the end, it didn’t matter if she met her demise in this ownerless land, completely drained of strength.
Milaea had no expression on her face.
Her eyes, firmly maintaining silence, were quietly going mad.
* * *
She concentrated her mind and imagined the magical power blowing into the blade and turning into flames.
After a moment, intense flames swiftly rose from the Dragonite sword she held in her hand.
There were no signs of the magical power going out of control.
The magical suppression function of the Dragonite ore was exceptionally outstanding.
Chwaaak-!
She swung the sword towards the sea.
Even the sword that seemed like it would fly on endlessly, piercing through everything, could now be launched with restrained power.
Although it took some time to adapt to the artificial magical suppression, it was excellent.
She was worried that excessive suppression might cause the power to become unreasonably weak, but that wasn’t the case.
After confirming the performance of the new weapon, she visited the Adventurer’s Guild late at night.
It was because she was concerned about Meruru, who had been resting at home ever since she became a demon in the forest.
Meruru said that she would stop by Meruru’s house and check on her condition after Tina finished work.
If it was Tina, she would be able to take good care of Meruru, but I thought I should personally check on Meruru’s condition with my own eyes at least once.
“Did you visit Meruru’s house today as well?”
I asked Tina, who was preparing to leave work.
Tina nodded her head.
“Yes, if I leave her alone, she won’t eat well. There have been incidents like that.”
“How is she these days? Can I go with you today?”
“Of course. Wouldn’t Yunoa be happy if you stopped by? Master gave her a forced vacation to rest, but she’s recovering to the point where it’s okay to go back to work soon.”
“That’s a relief.”
Hearing Tina’s words, I feel a little reassured.
I hope she comes back to the guild soon with a cheerful look.
Even though her sister’s situation turned out like that, it’s good that Meruru didn’t die or anything. She should take care of her own life.
Right now, there doesn’t seem to be a way for Aruru, who has become a demon, to be with Meruru, but no one knows what the future holds.
“Ah, Yunoa. It might take a little longer for me to finish getting ready to leave. Will you wait for me in front of Meruru’s house? I’ll be there soon.”
Tina said to me while tidying up near the counter.
I nodded and left the guild first.
Should I buy something that Meruru would like?
I looked around the street vendors to see if there was anything I could buy for Meruru.
Even though it was late at night, some of the vendors were still doing business.
The smell of the much-missed chicken skewers tickled my nose.
It was the chicken skewers that we bought with the last bit of money when I first met Meruru, and we ate them together.
Now I could buy as many as I wanted and eat them, but back then, counting the number and sharing them with Meruru made the taste even more special.
Since Meruru also had memories of enjoying them, I bought six chicken skewers generously.
As I waited in front of Meruru’s house, Tina, who had finished work, appeared soon after.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No, come in quickly.”
Tina and I knocked on Meruru’s door.
After a moment, Meruru opened the door with her messy and disheveled hair.
“Huh?! Did Yuno also come today? Just wait a moment!”
Meruru looked at me standing next to Tina, but instead of letting us in, she closed the door.
And about 30 seconds later, the door opened again.
Meruru’s hair, which was like seaweed before, was now slightly tidied up.
Seeing her paying attention to her appearance in front of me, it seems like she has improved a lot, just as Tina said.
“Here, I bought this to eat together with you.”
As soon as we entered the room, I handed Meruru a chicken skewer.
The scenery inside the room was still messy with clothes scattered everywhere.
Tina, who seemed familiar with this place, naturally laid a blanket on the floor and sat down.
The three of us sat on the floor, sharing the chicken skewer and having a conversation.
Meruru didn’t mention anything about her sister.
There were no words of comfort or worry like “Are you okay now?” or “What happened?”
We talked casually as if there was nothing between us, as if we had made a promise.
Tina had been taking care of Meruru like this every day.
It was nice to see Meruru smiling while talking about the jerky jar she had put in the cabinet.
But in such a pleasant atmosphere, I occasionally saw moments when Meruru fell into deep thought without saying a word.
Then Tina would immediately bring up a different topic.
And Meruru responded to Tina’s words with a retort, laughing again and continuing to chatter.
“Well then, I’ll come again tomorrow. Make sure to eat breakfast tomorrow. If there’s anything, come to the guild… Got it?”
After some time, Tina stood up first and spoke to Meruru.
With her ears perked up, Meruru nodded vigorously.
“I’ll come again when I have time. If there’s something you want to eat, tell Tina in advance. I’ll bring it next time.”
I also stood up following Tina.
Meruru looked at me with her big eyes and nodded several times.
As Tina and I left Meruru’s room and came out to the street again, someone was waiting for us.
“Oh… It’s you….”
It was Guild Master Algot.
It seemed like she knew that we were visiting Meruru.
She came up to me and said.
“Yunoa, could you come to the guild for a moment? Oh, Tina, you can go ahead. You did well.”
Upon hearing her words, Tina lightly greeted Algot and went home first.
Left alone with Algot in the dimly lit streets, I asked.
“What’s the matter? At this hour.”
“It’s time to repay the ‘little debt’ I mentioned before. Follow me.”
Algot answered with a smile that I still couldn’t read.
Without even being able to anticipate what she would ask of me, I headed towards the guild.