> [The agreement will continue.]
> […That’s good news, I suppose?]
Pandemonium smiled faintly at the being standing before them. Despite being filled with all manner of curses and humiliation, they didn’t let it show.
> [I’ll even tolerate you fighting the Hero and her party, so long as it causes no harm to Ednium.]
The moment they appeared weak to this being, they would get devoured.
Like a certain someone whose bits were still left between its teeth.
> […Why would I fight them?]
Shit, shit, shit!
Pandemonium let every curse they knew run through their mind.
Sympathy for the dead Leviathan? It wasn’t because of that. Why would they feel any sympathy for someone who brought about his own death like that? It wasn’t as if they shared any sort of bond.> [Is that so?]
However, the situation resulting from that idiot Leviathan’s death was supremely annoying.
They didn’t care that those mortals were boasting about killing a Great Demon, which tarnished their honor. What pissed them off was that this tiger was acting up now.
That damn Leviathan! If he was going to die, he should have died completely! Why did he let that damn beast devour both his name and soul? Thanks to that, this bastard had gotten even stronger!
> [How unfortunate…]
And yet, that damn tiger still didn’t show any satisfaction.
Not only had it inherited all of Leviathan’s power by consuming his name and soul, but it was now even coveting Pandemonium.
> […Haha. I think I should get going now. There’s nothing left for me to do here, after all.]
Usually, they would act smug, but with their life currently on the line, they just cautiously retreated.
Pandemonium forced themself to laugh, cursing on the inside. Fortunately, that damn tiger didn’t press this issue any further.
> [Let’s go.]
“Yes.”
Pandemonium hurriedly boarded the carriage driven by their Contractor.
Soon, a strange monster, created by grafting wings onto a horse, lifted the carriage into the air.
“Can we really just leave like that?”
The moment there was enough distance between them and the cave where that damned beast was, the Contractor cautiously posed a question.
Pandemonium furrowed their brows slightly.
> [It’s fine for now. It’ll take some time to fully digest the power of a Great Demon.]
The side effects of consuming a Great Demon were a separate matter.
After all, a Great Demon was made of Demonic Energy, or Negative Energy; those beasts were the polar opposite of that power.
Although this tiger had avoided corruption thanks to its Purification ability and being of a similar level as them, its body couldn’t possibly remain completely unaffected.
And that would continue to be the case until it fully digested the Great Demon’s power and made it their own.
> [So, get ready. We must attack it before it fully digests the power and stabilizes.]
“Should we kill it?”
> [No. We just need to attack it enough to prevent it from stabilizing. Once its Purifying powers weaken, it will be consumed by the Negative Energy and become corrupted.]
As such, Pandemonium decided to stir up some trouble.
If it coveted the power of Great Demons so much, then that damn beast should pay the proper price for it. These business-like thoughts entered their head.
> [Just in case, let’s not push for an all-out war. Ensure no one can catch the Skyflow Tiger after it escapes alive. Ah, also, no matter how this ends, Leviathan’s Contractors will lose all their powers, so be prepared to seize their territories.]
“Of course. What about the Hero’s party?”
> [As for them…]
Pandemonium took a moment to think about their answer to the question. Would the Hero step forward? Rather, would it benefit them if she did?
> [Spread some rumors to keep them away.]
If the Hero’s party stepped in, they would Purify all that remained of Leviathan. It would be quite a shame to let such immense power simply vanish into thin air.
> [Make the people anxious by spreading the idea that if the Skyflow Tiger dies, the entire Eastern region will really dry up. That way, even if the Hero’s party steps up, they will be vehemently cursed out by the people.]
They would have to pay a heavy price for letting this precious power disappear into nothing.
“Understood. It is a shame, though. It would have been better if you could take it for yourself, Master.”
> […?]
“My apologies, I spoke out of turn.”
> […No. You said something good.]
But perhaps… instead of playing petty tricks like that, it might be better just to pay the proper price and take it for themselves.
> [Forget about Envy’s territory. Instead, gather money. As quickly and as much as possible!]
* * *
A being suspected to be the Skyflow Tiger devoured the corpse of a Great Demon. The moment people heard about this, public opinion was greatly divided.
One was saying, ‘We must kill it,’ while the other side worried, ‘What if doing so would destroy the whole Eastern region?‘
Me? I wasn’t really sure. From how the situation was progressing, it seemed it would definitely be a Raid Boss.
If we just pushed ahead and took it down, what would happen after?
I doubted the East would fall just because we took down the Skyflow Tiger… but these people probably felt differently.
So, what could we do?
All the lords ruling the cities within the East would be gathering for a meeting—since time was tight, they would likely do this via video call with the help of wizards—so we would have to wait and see.
I had also made my preparations, just in case.
Of course, not even my character could avoid waiting like this. No matter how impatient he was, he wouldn’t act carelessly when hundreds of thousands of lives were at stake.
“The young hunter is still sleeping.”
“It’s probably because his body hasn’t fully recovered yet. He’s restabilized, so he should wake up in a few days.”
In the meantime… Deb was still unconscious.
He did wake up once, but after saying, “This…,” he collapsed again, coughing up blood. His internal injuries worsened again after that, and he hadn’t woken up for a week now.
In total, he had been unconscious for ten days. At this point, I was starting to feel really anxious.
“Really?”
“Probably… I believe so.”
Seriously. Why wasn’t he waking up? Because I had previously been out for two weeks, was this his way of making me walk in his shoes or something?
I tore off a piece of rye bread, thinking that if that was the case, he was quite the petty one.
For hygienic reasons, I held the rye bread in a handkerchief with my right hand while tearing pieces off it using my left hand. By the way, my left hand was bare.
My left arm was only wrapped up to my wrist, so removing my glove would expose bare skin.
I had washed my hands, of course. Since stuff like cerebral edema was a thing, why wouldn’t viral and bacterial infections?
So I washed them more thoroughly than usual. No way was I going to catch some sort of infection.
“So, are we going to kill the Skyflow Tiger?”
“That’s not decided yet…”
Two loaves of rye bread, a bowl of soup, a plate of salad, and a few pieces of roasted vegetables. That had been my meal.
I put the last piece of bread into my mouth.
Squeak!
At that moment, the door opened.
Having heard the approaching footsteps, I had sped up my eating pace a bit. Thanks to that, my timing was just right. Nice.
“Madam Archmage?”
“The preparations for the meeting are almost complete.”
Since this was a very important meeting, they didn’t just set up communication channels but also provided a reception room where each lord’s image would be projected.
It seemed it was almost ready.
I wiped my mouth with the handkerchief and waited for the rest of the information while sipping a glass of water.
“So…”
“Since we would be the ones handling the Skyflow Tiger if it’s decided that we’ll go against it, we will also participate. Let’s go there as soon as we are prepared.”
But would the results of this meeting really be favorable? For the cities that hadn’t suffered any losses because of this, wouldn’t this probably feel like someone else’s problem?
And people usually couldn’t empathize with misfortune unless it directly affected them.
I suspected the outcome would be bad. I slightly frowned.
In that case, it might be better for me not to go. I had prepared something, but I didn’t have it in my hands yet.
If I participated without it, and the situation forced my character to do something rash, then…
“E-Excuse me!”
Just when my thoughts reached that point, someone came running toward us. If I remembered correctly, he was the common priest—someone without Divine Power—in charge of Deb.
“You…”
But why was he running like that? Was there a problem…?
“He’s awake!”
Unexpectedly, the most joyful piece of news I’d heard in recent days came flying toward me.
The only problem was that my party members and I probably had to head to the manor immediately.
“M-Madam Archmage.”
“…The meeting hasn’t started yet, so paying him a short visit should be fine.”
Thankfully, the Archmage was a pretty flexible person.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!!”
As soon as they got permission, the Inquisitor and Bers dashed off to Deb’s room. The Archmage followed them, laughing softly.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Shocked, I also followed along.
* * *
“…Did you guys find gold or something? Why are you rushing in here all of a sudden?”
“You idiot, we came here because you finally woke up!”
“Wahaha, you slept for far too long!”
“It wasn’t that long…”
Of course, since I only walked, I could already hear those three chattering inside the room when I arrived.
Despite the words they used, it was evident from their tone that they were ecstatic, so the Archmage, who was just about to enter the room, smiled slightly at the sound.
“You spent ten days in bed, and you call that not long?!”
“Young hunter, you should build up your stamina. You should wake up a lot earlier starting now.”
“I mean, it’s not like I wanted this. Also, this isn’t a matter of stamina, either.”
Ah, by the way, instead of entering the room, I just leaned against a wall in the hallway.
There wasn’t any particular reason for this. I saved him because I had grown fond of him and kept him alive to act out my belief in him… That was how I interpreted it, but I felt like doing any more would lead to me breaking character.
I mean, I just had to look at the Archmage. Before entering the room, she looked at me when I stopped in the hallway, her eyes almost saying something like, ‘I understand.’
In her mind, I was probably struggling currently with the collapse of my long-held values. That was what I wanted her to believe, after all.
So, staying here was the right action to take. I desperately wanted to go in there and hug him, but character-building required one to act carefully, like building a wall by carefully laying each stone so it wouldn’t collapse.
“You should eat a lot, too. Your face has gotten so thin.”
“You guys just eat too much…”
“You still need to eat more, so what does it matter if we eat a lot?”
“Even you’re like this, iron wall?”
“Hmm, should I get some food?”
“Even Miss Wizard. Do I really look that bad?”
Well… erm, I somehow let him slip away that time, but because of that, I felt like Deb would be even more wary of me.
By the way, this was just based on what happened before we went to hunt the Demon, so I could be wrong.
But, I mean, I was probably right, wasn’t I? From Deb’s perspective, he might think that I might kill him at any moment, considering he had attacked me first back then…
So, if I were to go in, this warm and friendly atmosphere would probably get ruined.
As I thought, it would be better for me to stay outside.
“Well, I guess I lost some weight.”
Meanwhile, Deb muttered something while touching his face. It was a lot more than just some, but no one bothered to correct him.
“…Huh, wait a second.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Why is my chin like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“…?”
“No, my beard is gone…!”
“Huh?”
Apparently, he had brushed over his chin while touching his cheeks.
I thought back to a few days ago when the priest in charge of Deb completely shaved off his beard.
The priest had probably mistaken it for mere stubble that had grown out while Deb was unconscious and decided to shave it. As it turned out, this was a completely unnecessary act of kindness for Deb.
“My beard…!!”
“You can just grow it back, right?”
“Wahahaha. So that’s what this is about?”
“I worked so hard to grow it…!”
“Just keep it shaved, young hunter. It didn’t suit you anyway.”
“That wasn’t why I grew it out!?”
By the way, I caught the priest in the act when he was already half-done…
First of all, stopping the priest would have been terribly out of character, and just leaving it half-shaved would have been really weird, so I just let it happen. A mohawk haircut might be one thing, but a mohawk beard would be very strange.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t pay enough attention.”
“It’s fine. What’s done is done…”
However, he wasn’t the type to stay upset over his beard for long.
“Erm, is it dead?”
Deb changed the subject. Although he didn’t directly state who he was referring to, I had a good guess about whose death he was asking after.
“As you saw, the Great Demon Moby Dick has died. Though something troublesome happened right after.”
“Did it really die?”
“Yes.”
“Is it really dead?”
However, it was rather odd how he repeated this particular question.
If he was just asking out of sheer disbelief, his tone wouldn’t sound like this. Deb’s words were extremely stiff.
It was like when a TV quiz show host would try to give a contestant another chance by asking, “Is this your final answer?”
“You, blood…!”
“Are you hurt again, young hunter?”
That he coughed up blood again even though he should have recovered…
“…We should check again.”
…meant that Deb, at the risk of his own health, tried to give us a hint. A hint about the possible survival of Moby Dick.
If I couldn’t catch on, I might as well die where I stood.
“For now, we need to attend the meeting regarding the Skyflow Tiger matter. You should rest more.”
“Huh, wait. Wouldn’t it be better if I just came with you?”
“You’re aware that you just woke up after ten days and still said that? Don’t adopt the Demon Knight’s bad habits.”
Wasn’t that remark a little too harsh, huh, Miss Wizard?
That hurt me bone-deep!! I’d need four weeks to recover from that!
____
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