Prologue
“You’re the Hero, aren’t you?”
The girl floating in midair asked in an amused tone.
Her long silver hair, tied on both sides of her head, swayed gently, and her deep crimson eyes shone with interest. A sadistic smile played on her lips, like a predator licking its chops after finding prey.
The area in front of the East Gate of the Ecclesia territory was in an uproar.
Guards protecting the gate and the guiding priests looked up at the sky while messengers ran frantically back and forth.
The people lined up to enter the capital were terrified; some fainted, others collapsed where they stood, and some even tried to flee, showing a variety of panicked reactions.
Damn elf… causing a scene in a place like this…!
The girl’s gaze was fixed on a single man.
A young man, barely out of boyhood, with ash-gray hair and black eyes. He was the current generation’s Hero, Sieg.
Sieg hid his internal agitation and looked up at the girl. He composed his expression, blinked, and pretended they were meeting for the first time.
“Um, Sieg-san… could that person be…”
The one who asked while assuming a combat stance was his travel companion, Cordelia, the Fifth Princess of the Kingdom of Veltoria, who possessed pale golden hair and blue eyes. Seeing the girl’s long ears, she seemed to have quickly realized her identity.
An Elf.
And judging by the shape of her ears, she was a High Elf of a high-ranking clan.
The royal family had ties with the Elf race, so one could roughly guess their clan of origin by the shape of their ears. Her guess was that the girl was a considerably high-ranking Elf.
Sieg clicked his tongue softly, signaled the floating girl with his eyes to descend a bit further ahead. He had to get away from the gate and fudge the situation somehow.
He spoke to the princess.
“I don’t know who she is, but let’s clear up the misunderstanding. Let’s go.”
“Y-Yes!”
The two hurried away from the gate. Glancing back, he saw guards and priests starting to gather. However, High Grand-Priest Roderick, an acquaintance of his, was in this territory. He would likely come up with a suitable excuse to suppress the information.
…I’m counting on you, old man. I can’t let them find out I’m the Hero.
Sieg didn’t want any more companions.
When they reached the shade of trees along the highway, the girl who had flown after them descended.
As usual, she wore an oversized robe that was ill-suited for her slender frame. It was equipment of the God-Age Artifact-class; though it carried no weight, its defensive power was absurdly high. Sieg remembered her boasting about it in their previous journey.
The long-eared girl grinned when she saw Sieg.
“Yo~, the current Hero is pretty young… wait, huh!? Why~?”
She furrowed her brows mid-sentence and tilted her head. She had likely used [Appraisal] without permission.
Sieg had an appraisal-blocking ring embedded in his body. Even a High Elf couldn’t see through the obstruction, which had its effects maximized by immense magic power.
Sieg sighed and spoke to the girl.
“If you appraised me, you saw, right? I’m not the Hero. I don’t have the [Hero’s Crest] either.”
He held out his left hand for confirmation.
When one awakens as a Hero, a crest appears on the back of the left hand. Since Sieg awakened after his left arm was severed, the crest was located on his left elbow. It was a ploy to avoid detection.
The girl stared intently at the back of his hand, looking unconvinced.
“Weeeird… I was sure it was you, though.”
“Misunderstanding cleared? Good. …We’re going.”
“Eh? Ah, yes! Excuse me!”
Princess Cordelia bowed flusteredly to the girl and followed Sieg. However, the long-eared girl followed right behind them, looking amused.
Sieg stopped after walking a short distance and turned around.
“…Why are you following us? You should know I’m not the Hero.”
“Aaah? Hero or not, you’re my research subject. So, I’m following you to observe you. Understand? Human male.”
…What?
Sieg scowled to hide his surprise.
She is a researcher of Time Magic. Perhaps she obtained some observational results regarding time regression.
But she lacks proof, so she intends to track me as part of her research…? Just another headache…
Paying no mind to Sieg’s internal thoughts, the long-eared girl asked.
“So, you, what’s your name? Hard to call you without one.”
Since Sieg remained sullenly silent, the princess interjected timidly.
“Um… Exalted One. This is Sieg-san. I am called Juliet.”
“Hmm. You’re quite attentive. In contrast, this man is… ah~, this is why Humans are…”
Even when Sieg glared at her, the girl didn’t care in the slightest and introduced herself.
“I am Liliandiris of the Isfaal Clan from the Forest of Nephilia. You know it?”
Hearing that name, the princess practically jumped in surprise and fell to her knees. As royalty, she knew the name of that supreme being well.
“I-I apologize for my rudeness! To think you were a High Elf! Even if I did not know, I apologize for my disrespect until now! …Sieg-san! Sieg-san, you must bow your head too!”
The princess warned him, lowering her voice midway. But Sieg ignored her and spoke to the princess.
“Listen. She’s just an inconsiderate person who appeared suddenly and followed us on a whim. No need to be polite.”
He then turned his gaze to the girl.
“You listen too, Liliandiris or whatever. Being followed is annoying, but I’ll compromise and allow it. But take care of yourself, got it? High Elf woman.”
“Sieg-san!!”
The princess let out a scream, her face pale.
High Elves are a rare species charged with watching over the fate of the world. Among them, the High Elves of the Isfaal Clan are high-ranking beings, enough to be objects of worship.
Hurling abuse at a High Elf is akin to defying a god. Being royalty, she had received such education since childhood.
As the princess tremblingly watched Liliandiris for a reaction, the girl eventually broke into a smile.
“Kukuku! First time anyone’s talked to me like that. Interesting, Sieg was it? Kufu, you guys go ahead. I’ll just tag along.”
Sieg made a bitter face and instructed the princess.
“Stand up. We’re buying a carriage from a caravan somewhere. We couldn’t get one in the Capital due to shortages.”
“Ah… yes!”
The princess bowed to Liliandiris again and followed Sieg. Behind them, the High Elf followed, looking thoroughly entertained. Sieg glanced back and let out a heavy sigh.
To Sieg, Liliandiris—Lilis—was an incomprehensible Elf. In the last journey, she had dragged him around endlessly. She would pick fights strangely, then act spoiled the next moment, or push troublesome tasks onto him; he couldn’t understand the meaning of her words or actions at all.
Besides… Sieg recalled the previous timeline, furrowing his brow.
Sieg remembered Lilis’s death clearly.
Why did a Great Mage like her die so defenselessly? Sieg still couldn’t understand it.
After recalling the previous journey for a moment, Sieg shook his head to regain his composure.
Whatever. It’s just the whimsical Lilis. She’ll get bored soon. …I really hope so.
Thus began the strange journey of a Hero, a Princess, and a High Elf.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Dark Continent. The Demon King’s Castle—
A massive hole was bored into the castle basement, its bottom seemingly continuing endlessly to the depths of hell, filled with stagnant darkness.
Thick, vascular tubes extended from the surroundings toward that hole. A loud, rhythmic thumping echoed throughout the castle. Each tube pulsed, feeding massive amounts of magic and miasma to an object at the bottom of the pit.
That object was shaped like a cocoon and was growing larger by the day.
—The Demon King.
That cocoon could be called the Demon King’s placenta. Inside the cocoon, the Demon King devoured magic and miasma, growing, waiting to be born. The day of rebirth was approaching moment by moment.
There was a silhouette standing at the edge of the abyss, peering into the depths.
The shadow, clad in pitch-black robes, called himself the ‘Strategist’. Before the Demon King’s resurrection, various types of demons were being born. Among them, this ‘Strategist’ was a unique individual.
The role of the ‘Strategist’ was to conduct reconnaissance in force and gather intelligence prior to the Demon King’s return.
The Strategist was perplexed. He hadn’t expected the ‘Infinite Colony’ to be defeated. He had intended to capture the religious city in one fell swoop and seal the wretched divine protection of the gods, but that plan had crumbled brittlely.
Narrowing his eyes, the Strategist pondered.
(The reports are fragmentary, but there is no doubt this is the work of the current Hero. His growth is far faster than anticipated… I must assess his true strength before Lord Demon King is resurrected.)
The usable pawns were still few. Producing demons required a certain amount of resources. However, preparing for such unforeseen situations, the Strategist had prioritized the production of demons skilled in indirect attacks.
(Hmm… with him, I might be able to reuse demons… I cannot afford to be wasteful.)
The Strategist ordered the lower-class demon waiting nearby.
“Summon the [Contractor, Moloch].”
—
TL Note: Moloch is a demon from ancient mythology associated with contracts and sacrifice.
—
“Zhah!”
The lower-class demon responded and went upstairs to convey the instruction.
The Strategist touched a finger to his chin and narrowed his eyes.
“Now then… let us see how skilled this Hero is.”
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