“If that’s the guardian’s opinion, then so be it. Then we’ll have to find a way to restore the Hero’s condition without giving him as much shock as possible.”
Ainel shrugged as if he had no decision-making authority. Looking at the Hero’s current state, he doubted whether there was a way to restore him without giving a big shock, but as long as there was no permanent damage to the body or mind, Klad wouldn’t complain.
The trigger that made him decide to protect the world. Ainel, who didn’t know much about Jake, recalled what the tendencies of other Heroes he’d met before were like.
However, the memory of the last Hero bastard he’d met was too vivid, making it hard to dig out useful information.
“Should I bring a Demon King in front of him or something?”
“There’s no Demon King in this world anymore.”
“Ah. That was talking to myself.”
At the mention of Demon King, Jake briefly looked at Ainel, but that too was momentary. Klad noticed that even if a Demon King existed, it would be difficult to receive Jake’s interest.
“Jake was more worried about what comes after defeating the Demon King. The reason he decided to protect the world was probably because of the Duke rather than the Demon King.”
“Then how about taking him to the ducal castle?”
“Me, who can’t even move properly at the ducal castle because of the covenant, and you, whom the Duke is searching for with bloodshot eyes, taking the guy the ducal house wants to eliminate most? If you want to drive the situation into a pit somehow, then go ahead and do that.”
“When you speak so sharply, you finally seem a bit like my master.”
Whew. Ainel let out a sigh of relief.
He’d been showing only warm appearances the entire time with Jake, which almost gave him chills, but now he felt a bit reassured that the master before his eyes wasn’t a fake.
“Should we observe the Duke’s movements for now? If the situation is okay, we can approach him, and if he’s scheming something using demons, it should be fine to take him to that place.”
“……”
When the Duke’s story came up, Jake showed a bigger reaction than before. Confirming that appearance, Klad nodded at Ainel, sending a signal of affirmation.
If the Duke had started moving, someone must be suffering from the damage. They would be the ones who needed help most at this very moment.
Jake’s current state was due to the influence of demonic energy, but the cause of the initial shock was because of the village people who didn’t hesitate to sell off the Hero who would save the world for just a few coins. Then, if he met people who truly needed the Hero’s help and knew how to be grateful for it, his heart might soften. He thought if Jake felt like saving them, he would be able to overcome the current shock and stand up.
“Then I’ll be back.”
“I’m counting on you, Ainel.”
Gathering information was Ainel’s specialty. Especially when it came to the House of Duke West, which he’d been intensively digging into for the past few hundred years, finding things out was no trouble at all.
The Duke was cowering in fear at the Dragon’s appearance, but the more defensively he acted, the easier it became to dig into what was behind him. Thanks to that, Ainel could grasp the Duke’s movements as easily as hunting a sleeping goblin.
On the first day of starting to dig into the Duke’s tracks, no particular movements were seen. The next day, traces of attempting something and failing were discovered. Noticeable circumstances were captured several more days after that.
Ainel, who had been observing the capital constantly without rest, returned home to report the situation.
“The Duke has started moving.”
“Already? It hasn’t even been ten days since I confronted him, and he’s impatient too.”
“He’s human.”
When you meet a strong enemy, the basics are to hide and observe the situation for decades to hundreds of years. Even considering that human lifespans are only a few decades, isn’t ten days a bit too much?
“The period the Duke actually observed wasn’t even a few days. Two days after rumors about the Black Dragon spread, on the outskirts of the capital, some mercenaries tried to spread a rumor that ‘the Black Dragon’s appearance wasn’t to protect the Hero but to steal back the House of Duke West’s treasure that he took and return it to the ducal house,’ but they got cursed at and chased away.”
“He’s struggling.”
Ainel lightly nodded as if agreeing with Klad’s words.
“After his struggle failed and he observed for a few more days, just a few hours ago, circumstances of releasing demons into the capital were detected.”
“Are you sure they’re demons released by the Duke?”
“Yes. Demonic energy and divine power were felt simultaneously at the place where demons appeared.”
As far as Klad knew, the only beings that harbored both demonic energy and divine power were demonized priests.
Only the Duke could demonize humans. Unless they had escaped breaking through numerous surveillances, it had to be seen that the Duke intentionally released them.
“Usually when demonic energy is detected, they control that area and begin an investigation, but the Grand Temple side showed no movement at all.”
“Of course. Those bastards are in league with the Duke.”
From the Duke to the Grand Temple to the Emperor. The beings holding up the capital, which could be called the center of the empire, were working together to push the world into the abyss—it was a complete mess.
“If they’re dripping divine power everywhere, they must be incomplete demons. Did he forcibly push something unfinished into his plan?”
“My opinion is similar, but I can’t be certain yet. It’s hard to confirm in the current situation whether divine power is felt because he’s a priest, or whether divine power is felt because he became a demon through a sphere made by mixing the Hero’s power.”
That could only be judged by seeing when the priest completely became a demon or when humans who weren’t priests were demonized. The best thing would be for everything to be wrapped up before a situation came where that could be judged.
“How many demons?”
Instead of answering, Ainel held up one index finger.
Only one demon ran rampant in the city. Rather than having the purpose of causing chaos in the capital or spreading demonic energy, it was a number closer to reconnaissance.
“The demon ran rampant for roughly three hours. After that, it disappeared without leaving traces.”
“He must have been trying to confirm whether Jake or I would show ourselves again because of this incident. Incidentally, he probably also wanted to cover up the rumors about the Dragon with a bigger incident before the humans’ expectations toward the Hero grew.”
This was only the beginning. This time it might have been three hours, but the demon that appeared next time could rampage for three days.
“The Duke isn’t the type to wrap things up with just this much. From now on, demon appearances will repeatedly occur centered on the capital.”
“That’s my prediction too. He’ll calm down the atmosphere excited by the Dragon’s appearance with fear, and when that fear has ripened, he’ll step forward again. Saying not to worry since he eliminated the demons with his own hands.”
With those words, the fear filling the capital would turn into praise for the Duke. It would take a bit of time, but it was a good plan with a low probability of failure that could even trample Jake’s reputation.
However, to execute this plan, he had to consume the demonized humans he’d painstakingly created, and if unlucky, the fact that someone was artificially using priests to create demons could be revealed.
In other words, thanks to the Duke proceeding with things hastily, gaps had emerged to dig into.
“Seeing that the Lord God doesn’t step forward even though the empire has become like this, he has no will to solve this problem. It’s clear he plans to leave things be even if all his followers become demons.”
Klad spoke toward Jake, not Ainel.
Instead of turning his head toward the voice, Jake only looked at the innocent blanket. It was impossible to guess whether he was listening to the conversation or not.
“If we leave things like this, the empire will fall into the Duke’s hands.”
“……”
Jake remained silent as before. In the end, Klad turned his head back toward Ainel.
“If the Duke is impatient, it becomes easier for us to move avoiding his eyes. This is an opportunity. Perhaps we can return this guy to normal while also digging out the Duke’s plans. However….”
“You’re worried that if the Hero comes into contact with demonic energy, his condition will become serious, right?”
“…Right.”
“I’ll get some holy water from the Lord God’s side. If by any chance the Hero is exposed to demonic energy, pour it on his head immediately.”
No matter how considerable the God of Abundance’s side abilities were, when dealing with demonic energy, using the completely opposite Lord God’s power was appropriate.
Ainel spoke of getting the holy water of a hostile god as casually as going to the market to buy an apple, then left the house saying he would prepare to go to the capital.
“Ha.”
Klad pressed his forehead with a short sigh.
An opportunity. A good opportunity. It wasn’t wrong. But… he felt that perhaps the one being impatient wasn’t the Duke but himself.
‘This impatience must not become an opportunity for the Duke.’
Until the situation was sorted out, whether it was the Duke or demons, to prevent anyone from touching even a single hair on Jake’s head, he had to calm his heart. He had to not get excited and act calmly.
So as not to show even a single gap.
Klad resolved this even as he clenched his fist.
