Chapter 208

< Evade the Hero and Flee! 208 #24. Why Does it Have To Be Me? (5) >

The demon continents weather was getting gradually colder. Winter was coming. The cold weather that greeted us when we first crossed over from the human side of the continent was creeping over us once more.

Hmm

My dear child, dont you think this is a good spot?

In the meantime, my daughter and I were doing a very important job to commemorate our two years in the demon continent.

Nope. The soil quality here is not good, dad. This land isnt suitable for farming!

D-does that mean?

Yup, next! Lets check out the next land, dad!

It was none other than real estate shopp Oops, I mean, inspecting the farmlands.

But this is already the 14th place weve checked out

Dad~! You said were looking for a nice place to build our forever home, didnt you! A good land will cut down on our hards.h.i.+ps, you know!

We had reached the point in time where I began thinking that retiring wouldnt cause any major issues with the governance of the demon continent. The one hundred demon kings my dear hero/disciple had trained were doing a stellar job with raising more demon kings. The results they had shown so far were all very satisfactory.

Each newly-minted demon king obviously couldnt control a hundred candidates like the hero had done, but they still could train at least three hopefuls by themselves. Even five candidates under the right circ.u.mstances.

One hundred demon kings soon increased in number to five hundred. Those five hundred demon kings then ballooned to over 1000 in the proverbial blink of an eye.

The future history books would most likely depict the hero as someone like Abraham, I guess?

As a hero, he created one hundred demon kings. Then, those demon kings went on to create even more demon kings, then more and more would be created down the line, so

So, the demon continent is in good hands.

Mm Of course it would be. Even with only one demon king, the demon continent had been chugging along fairly well, didnt it? With a thousand demon kings now in existence, they should be able to deal with whatever comes their way, including the likes of the Evil G.o.d.

Dad! Lets go to the next location!

Alright, my child.

My daughter had been searching for a fertile piece of land as if she was out shopping for a cute handbag in a department store. She didnt just pay attention to the soil quality, but also to the overall terrain, such as the mountains, rivers and nearby roads.

Next is

My daughter went inside the carriage to check the list of lands she had been keeping an eye on. I felt quite content with this scene. Seriously now, I dont know whose little girl she is, but she sure has grown up so well!

The metal bat grumbled. You know, my little sis got your most annoying traits, master.

Uh-huh! Taking into account every variable and possibility, then carefully consider them! There cant be a better habit than that in this world!

But, master! Have you forgotten about the Evil G.o.d thingy? Are you not taking into account that little inconvenience, oh my dear demon king?

Yup, Im not.

The Evil G.o.ds fragment was supposed to wreck everything as soon as making its appearance, whether it was on the human or demon side of the continent.

According to Belegrea, that G.o.d thing was the king of all monsters. Magic didnt work, while physical attacks were just as useless against that creature.

How many fifty-year-old-plus folks in this world would want to fight against a monster that could wipe out a kingdom or several tribes the moment it shows up? No one, I tell ya!

This year is drawing to a close, isnt it? I looked away at a distance. I always planned to retire at the age of fifty while working for the evil organisation, so this feels right.

Of course, that was my plan, not the organisations. They wouldve never let me retire in one piece, especially when I knew so much inside information about them!

Oho, so Master, you were planning to set off a very explosive fireworks festival just before you retire, didnt you?

More or less.

Since ancient times, explosions equal art!

I worked tirelessly for the evil organisation, so the least they could do for my retirement wouldve been to partic.i.p.ate in my fireworks demonstration!

Those poor uncles. To think that they actually gave top wages to someone like my master

Hey. Dont forget that I worked tirelessly for them

.

I could confidently swear that I worked to earn my keep.

Master, dont forget that you also pocketed a loooot under the table too.

Thats just side income.

What did it matter when I was only pocketing some extra benefits the organisation didnt know about? Sure, some of those benefits accidentally included the family seals of some n.o.ble families, and kids like Ria had to infiltrate the organisation to get them back, but Wasnt that just another day in the evil organisation?

An evil organisation without double- or triple spies in its midst doesnt deserve to be called evil, am I right!

The big boss resting in the underworld must be waiting for you while shedding tears of blood, master.

Doesnt matter, because Im immune to curses.

Honestly, the ineffective curses were not the problem here, but my legs getting tired from all this walking!

Next is this one, dad! Lets go!

Of course, of course.

Although her work with the Chicken Department had overshadowed it a bit, one should never forget that my dear daughter was also in charge of agriculture. She might be young, but I trusted her wholeheartedly in matters like this!

Alright, were setting off!

I began driving the carriage according to my daughters guidance. Thanks to the well-maintained road network, we should be able to reach our next destination in around two hours, but

Please, waaaait!

But, Belegrea caught up to us by then.

Lord Maaaaarx!

Tch! Shes supposed to be a demon king, so doesnt she have work to do or something?

Master, thats not what you should say!

It doesnt matter to me since Im about to retire!

Demons lived for a long time, but I was just another human! Since its my wish and all, cant you just let me retire in peace?

My dear daughter?

Yup, dad!

My daughter seemed to have already finished making her preparations since this situation had been repeating itself a few times recently.

Keep going, dad!

At her energetic voice, I whipped the horses even harder.

Pow!

Just as the horses cried out from my abuse, the sound of something exploding reached my hearing.

Like an item battle from the KamXn Rider series, my daughter threw some kind of a magic tool behind the carriage and generated a smokescreen on the road.

Get rid of that!

Yes, maam!

However, Belegrea had seen enough of our tricks by now. She and her comrades used wind magic to quickly blow away the smokescreen.

We will definitely take you back this time, Lord Marx!

Ganging up on me, is it! To think that youve already opened your eyes to the truth of our world to this degree!

Getting fooled five times in a row seemed to help Belegrea mature as a strategist.

Kkyahck?!

Eh?

The chase seemed to be on, but for some reason, Belegrea cried out cutely and fell flat on her face. To think that shed trip up like that when she could ride horses, wyverns and even griffons like a pro!

Hihihihi~! I knew this would happen, so I used a magic tool to make the ground slippery, dad!

Oh, oooh! As expected of my smart child! I was left in awe at my daughters proud declaration. Not just a smokescreen, but also magic to make the ground slippery, too? Using only one type of magic tool until this moment mustve been a strategic move on my daughters part.

And so, along with the chaotic Neighing! noises, other demons following Belegreas lead all tumbled off their rides.

My child, get ready!

Already finished!

However, it was still too early to relax yet. If you only counted pure speed, then a swordmaster was so much faster than horses. We almost got captured last time after lowering our guard too early, so the same thing wont happen again!

Still, we managed to delay all those pursuers. I glanced back and saw that Belegrea and her chums were having a hard time trying to get up.

The metal bat tutted. They can just use magic to fly up, though?

Falling off your rides makes it rather hard to think about such things, said I.

Ehng? Was our lil Bele that easy to fool? The metal bat asked herself while tilting her head this way and that. It might sound like she was praising Belegrea in the backhanded-slap kind of way, but I got this sneaking suspicion that our lady demon king would not be happy to receive such an evaluation from the metal bat.

Including calling her our little Belegrea and calling her Bele, which kind of sounded like b.e.l.l.e.n.d when coming from the metal bats mouth.

Dad? Up there

Mm?

My daughter poked her cute face out of the small window between the carriage and the drivers seat, then tilted her head. What should we do about those?

I followed her pointing finger and looked up at the sky. Uh Hmm. Looks like well have to prepare anti-air measures next time.

Hiiing Even though we still havent checked out lots of properties

Up on the sky Those creatures up there made noisy squawks like a flock of seagulls, but they were actually wyverns. I counted at least ten wyverns flying up there, so it should be safe to a.s.sume that around twenty demons minimum were riding on them.

We should keep running.

But, dad. Didnt you say its always better to surrender quickly?

Mm I did, yes. But now isnt the right time to give up!

How come?

Because we still have Aru!

Thats right! We have her!

I knew it! Its always up to me to save your b.u.t.t!!!

No one can interrupt my heartwarming family time with my daughter! Thats what I thought, but then

Huh. Even I havent thought about this.

And I also cant do anything about it, masterrrr.

Right, thats what I believed, but now this

Dad, this is one of those things, right? We raise a fuss, theyll just let go, and we gooo splat?

Thats correct, my child. And what did I tell you to do in situations like this?

I must clamp my mouth shut and stay quiet!

Yes, indeed. You can attempt to escape only when youre still alive, after all! While saying that, I looked below me. The carriage must be around two, three thousand metres in the air. If we fell from this height, itd be instant death, no question about it. In other words, we couldnt afford to get smart here. Next time, Ill make sure to install anti-air defence mechanisms in the carriage!

Wyverns never approached us. They maintained suitable distances and activated magic spells to lift up our carriage in the air, then flew away with us in tow.

Once we reached an alt.i.tude where falling would mean certain death, the wyverns closed in to chain up our carriage, then began flying even higher up in the air.

Yup, even I couldnt predict this kind of strategy.

Dear. Demon. King!

We were brought back to the demon kings castle.

Belegrea mustve thought that the Demon G.o.ds temple held too many of my allies and brought me to her castle instead. She glared at me while gritting her teeth.

I nonchalantly replied. Ive already resigned from that role, though?

Sire! You are the demon king upholding the Demon G.o.ds will! You cant just walk away w.i.l.l.y-nilly like that!

However, the great and n.o.ble Demon G.o.d has

Yes, she commanded you to continue working as the demon king! Belegrea brusquely cut me off in the middle of my sentence.

I was puzzled by that. Is that right?

Yes, its exactly right!

What the heck? It hasnt been that long since Demon G.o.d accused me of being a fraud and sent a.s.sa.s.sins my way, but now she wants me to stay as the demon king? A deity shouldnt flip-flop this quickly, you know?

-But master, considering all the things youve done to her, this change in att.i.tude makes sense, though!

-Hey, you. Im no longer your master but your enemy, isnt it!

-Eiii~, of course not! My master is the most entertaining human alive, after all!

What was that?! Im beginning to get the feeling that youd put the finis.h.i.+ng touch on a certain notebook as Im about to die, judging from how much amus.e.m.e.nt youre deriving from humanity!

Lord Marx, its about the emergence of the Evil G.o.ds fragment. Despite its appearance on the human continent, we cannot lower our guards. No, wait! More than anything else To think that humans dare call such a disgusting, abominable creature a demon king!

I figured Belegrea was really incensed, judging from how she was gritting her teeth like that. Well, humans used the term demon king to denote a rampaging monster, so, in that sense, it seemed like an apt t.i.tle to me. However, I did have to concede that the term meant something totally different to the demons.

Do demons use a different name to call that creature? I asked out of curiosity.

Of course, sire! How dare humans use the n.o.ble, sacred t.i.tle of the demon king to refer to some lowly fragment of the Evil G.o.d! Humans are despicable for calling the Evil G.o.ds apostle the demon king.

Belegrea grumbled pa.s.sionately about how humans were trampling on the sacred t.i.tle of the demon king. However, wasnt I human? Since shes calling humans with all sorts of demeaning things, didnt that mean she was also insulting me?!

Fine, fine. What is it that you want to say to me?

Well, since shes now a loyal demon king chosen by the Demon G.o.d herself, I decided to graciously overlook her transgressions.

Its obviously about the Evil G.o.ds apostle, sire. According to the oracle, this evil creature was born in the northern regions of the human continent and is currently travelling South.

The northern region?

It seemed that the drinking water in the land I used to live in was contaminated or something. Lets look at the evidence, shall we? First, it was the sudden appearance of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings of the demon race. Then, my former disciple, who also happens to be a hero, jumped out of nowhere to interfere with my life next.

It didnt stop there, though! An evil dragon showed up to kidnap some princess, and now, we even had the Evil G.o.ds apostle on our hands, too!

Just how contaminated were your waters, oh the kingdoms of the northern region!

-Master? What is this feeling Im getting? Except for the Evil G.o.d business, it feels like all those things were your fault, somehow?

-N-no, hang on! Im not responsible for the evil dragon, either!

-Oho? Except for those matters with evil in their names, are you admitting that all those events were your fault, then?

N-no, thats not true!

Those Four Heavenly whatevers invaded the human continent precisely because the troops guarding the border failed at their jobs. And the hero tracked me down because the dang G.o.ddess of Nature ordered him to do so. As such Im totally innocent here!

Belegrea continued on with her situation report in the meantime. The Evil G.o.ds apostle has completely obliterated the kingdom it first appeared in. I heard that not a single soul survived in that kingdoms capital.

You seem to be up-to-date with the news from the human continent.

The matters involving the Evil G.o.d require action on the level of the religious orders, so our side is cooperating with the human temples.

Ohhh I didnt know that.

The Evil G.o.d is a dangerous ent.i.ty that almost destroyed the entire world, sire. This ent.i.tys fragments have come together to give birth to the Evil G.o.ds apostle, and its sole purpose is to destroy everything in its path.

And so, youre saying everyone must cooperate to protect the balance of this world?

Yes, sire.

Honestly, I couldnt understand this thought process. Humans and demons were always thinking about invading each other, after all. Wouldnt the act of invading anothers continent be the very definition of upsetting the worlds balance?!

And according to the additional information we received recently, the Evil G.o.ds apostle has somehow corrupted the monsters in its surroundings to create an army.

Belegrea ended her explanation with the revelation that the apostle was heading toward the demon continent for some inexplicable reason.

The Evil G.o.ds apostle, is it?

The first evil from the beginning of creation tainted the world and gave birth to the Evil G.o.d or so said the history book I read in the empires library all those years ago. Evil was contagious. Not limited only to different races but also animals, monsters, and even spirits and G.o.ds, too. Evil tainted everything that existed and turned them into its allies.

That was the reason why the world feared the evil. And why it detested and hated the reawakened Evil G.o.ds fragment.

Even so

I dont see a need to worry here, though?

Im sorry?

I wasnt all that concerned about the Evil G.o.ds apostle headed this way.

Sire, do you know of a way to defeat it?

No, not really. However

Ria and the hero punk had already left this place and returned to the human continent. Sure, they swore to never reveal my current whereabouts, but keeping their mouth shut would be a tall order as long as they lived in the empire. Which meant

Im guessing that the border region is teeming with the empires army right about now.

The empire? Do you mean the Karuan Empire, reputedly the most powerful human nation in existence? But, sire Even if its them Belegrea muttered while frowning a little.

But I cut her off in the middle. Lets be honest here. Even though there have been lots of casualties and destruction, an Evil G.o.ds apostle never managed to destroy this world, right?

Well, yes. Thats true

Some little apostle of the vanquished Evil G.o.d that cant even do its job properly can never win against the empire, you know?

The Imperial Princess was with the empire. Under that monsters wings were more monsters busy churning out even more monsters.

-But master, they are your creations, though?

Sure, I will admit that thats my doing. However, they all work for the Imperial Princess now, so the description of monsters under the wing of a big monster isnt wrong, now is it?

Forget about the Evil G.o.ds apostle. The empires army might destroy the continent faster.

I explicitly believed in the empires might. I believed in the strongest nation on the continent! And I believed in the Imperial Princesss army that boasted the strongest might within the strongest nation on the continent!

Around three months later

The Evil G.o.ds apostle has crossed the border!

I got another chance to engrave deep into my heart the wise saying of our ancestors regarding how misplaced trust could come back to bite me in the b.u.t.t.