Nidome no Yuusha

Translator: Jay_Samuel

「……The hell is wrong with you」

With a euphoric smile, Berrybell caresses the crystal she holds so affectionately.

「Ufufu, I can finally bid farewell to this task. How marvelous and wonderful」

「……No matter. Just as planned, I will eliminate you once and for all this time. Don’t worry, there is still a little bit of time. I will take my time to listen to what you have to say okay」

「I guess there is no further use for this body……. I can finally disappear」

Berrybell holds the crystal, an ancestral treasure that only the Fairy Queen possesses, as if she is offering it to something.

「Y, you are not thinking of!! STOP!!」

「A little faster than my prompt movement, the crystal exploded along with a high- pitched sound」

The next moment, Berrybell’s body, as if coming undone, turns into particles and began to disappear.

「Oh pitiful, foolish and ignorant hero, Now then, do have a nice day. My warmest regards to the lion prince and the follower of the demon」

The Fairy Queen finally disappeared smiling, with a truly happy look on her face.

「D, dear brother, what in the world」「……」

I glared at the site where Berrybell had disappeared.

「……Tsk, it’s still fine, for now. First things first, we focus our concentration on Leon」

I said thus, as if blowing off my accumulated irritation.

Berrybell may be aware of some kind of secret which I am not privy to. Could the reason why Leon saved Berrybell have something to do with it?

(……It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, it doesn’t change what I have to do)

「……You are next Leon. I will make sure that you don’t escape」

And that time, is just around the corner.

☆

Leon Gailed.

How many times have I wondered about trying to find out the origin of my name.

It was because I heard that the name Leon, as an ancient tradition, is a name given to a prince who is born into the royal family as a golden lion beastkin.

In the archives located in the basement of the castle, I searched for ancient books because I was told that it was an ancient tradition, and as a result I developed a hobby of “Reading ancient books” since my childhood.

There were a lot of information contained in the ancient books. Naturally, there were a lot of stories that were ridiculous and contradictory, but it was fun to connect those pieces of information together and derive* the truth. (TLN: Analogize: Analytical inference)

That’s right, up to that point, it was nothing more than a simple hobby. Nothing more than a simple hobby envisioning something like 『This truth might just be real』. That changed when I came across a certain book that was confiscated from a noble’s house that was unjustly demolished.

The contents of that book for some reason were encrypted, and after spending a great deal of time deciphering it, what I established was, it was a book written about 『The Place where the power of god rests』.

I was uplifted by the sense of accomplishment that I had been able to decipher the elaborate ancient documents. Moreover, when I finished deciphering it, I realized that the place described as the so called 『The Place where the power of god rests』, is in fact just around the corner……

As a result, I obtained a part of god’s power. And at the same time, the analytical inferences from my hobby, which I have shrugged off so far, abruptly began to have a trace of reality.

I embarked on a warrior’s pilgrimage. Among the ancient traditions pulled out of the archive, there was this one book that emphasized travelling around the world to broaden your horizon, so I hid* it. (TLN: Camouflage)

As I progressed in my investigation of the various archeological sites described in the ancient documents, the composition of repeated history that emerges, and the existence of something that comes and goes*. (TLN: Glimpse, appears and disappears)

The more I look for materials to repudiate it, the more elements that substantiate the reasoning began to fall into place. On the way, I met Lilia, and I came to realize that, the same cycle was going to be repeated in our generation too.

I come to know that this world will be destroyed and become a dead world like a waste ground. And until that day, humans in this world will continue killing each other as pawns.

If a demon king is born, then a hero will eventually appear in this world.

And again, just as it has been since time immemorial, war breaks out, and then again this world takes one step closer to death.

Lives sacrificed to please god. To be forever toyed around with as god wills. With lots of people losing their lives.

…………There is no way such a world can be good. Such a world is definitely wrong.

So, I and Lilia decided to kill god.

Somebody, somewhere has to do it, somebody who realized this has to do something, otherwise, the world as we know it will be destroyed.

「Valeria is missing?」

「Y, yes, about five days ago, he suddenly went missing」 𝑓𝔯𝑒e𝘸e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕.c૦𝙢

I had finished my negotiations with the nobles, before returning to the battlefield along with reinforcements, I stopped by the guild.

Having received a blow due to the adventurers who went to the battlefield in search of honor and money, this place was supposed to have been remarkably quiet, but for some reason, the staff seemed to be quite busy.

And the reply from the vice guild master who I asked about it after appearing at the reception, was that the guild master is currently missing.

「We have checked everywhere we could think of, but I am sorry to say that we have found no clue whatsoever as to his whereabouts」

「So he didn’t leave any notes or messages either?」

「No, the last information we have of him was a sighting that puts him heading towards the direction of the slums」

「Has there been any disturbance around the slums?」

「Just to be sure, we looked into it, but there was nothing of note in particular. Nevertheless, there are quite a lot of ruffians around that part, so it’s just like any other day if something were to happen……」

「So you mean to say that at the least, there was no disturbance on the level of a building collapsing, is that right?」

Perhaps because he is in the presence of a member of the royal family, the vice guildmaster who is shriveling in cold sweat, responds feeling nervous.

(Then, that rules out the possibility of being forcibly abducted. Even if he’s weakened a little from old age, Valeria who has the beastification ability just vanished without so much as leaving a trace. Which means, it’s related to the fairies huh?)

Vanishing without anyone noticing could only mean that he purposely did that so he could move under the radar, which sounds logical if thought of in that manner.

Which means, there is a strong possibility he is on his usual run to satisfy the demands of the fairies.

(There is a secret passage that leads out of town, which connects to the forest of the fairies that I had Lilia build in the slum. In that case……)

「Has there been any irregular occurrence in the forest as of late?」

「Forest? Are you perhaps referring to the forest of the fairies」

「Yea」

「I heard a group of lumberjacks who drank often recently made a fuss at the guild’s tavern, that they saw a strange monster deep in the forest, but asides that, I can’t think of anything else」

Despite a little puzzled by the sudden change in topic, the vice guildmaster replied thus.

「I see」

It is highly probable he may have been met with some unforeseen trouble in the forest of the fairies.

Did he perhaps overstep by touching on the subject of Berrybell’s disavowal or something?

The appearance of the queen of fairies who looked down completely on humans in the form of an innocent child flashed through my mind.

That whimsical non-human plucks the life of a person with such ease that she plucks a fruit.

He seems to have a contract with the Fairy Queen, but that existence isn’t one you can be at ease with just because of something like that.

After all, fairies, like true bloodsuckers, are creatures created directly by god.

「……」

(This is bad. But then again, I don’t think she will just readily kill someone she went so far as to make a contract with that easily. ……I guess going there personally sounds more reliable)

To be completely honest, I am not exactly concerned about Valeria’s safety. That prick’s heart is overflowing with his own selfish desires.

Despite the fact that someone had to be sacrificed either way, he offered innocent lives to the fairies, and cheerfully enjoyed the status he had gained with the power he had received as compensation.

Even if I have fallen to the same depth and not different from him, I have no obligation to worry about him. However, if something had happened to the fairies, then I need to investigate it fast.