Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25: JOURNEY TO THE DEMON CASTLE

Not long after I advanced to third year, a group of monsters that are heading to this country was identified . As per the game’s scenario and the information passed down from the royal family, the sealed Demon King will be resurrected .

The combined country’s and the nobles’ forces were stationed in the direction where the Demon King’s Castle was said to be located, which means they would be dealing with the monsters’ armies by now . Patrick is among them, commanding the frontier count’s army .

We, the elite troops, who are tasked with defeating the Demon King are riding on Ryuu’s back and are heading to the direction where the monsters came from .

Behind me is Alicia who is screaming, and her face has already turned ghastly pale .

「This is scary, oh so scary, I’m scared! 」

「It’s okay, Alicia, we’re here for you . 」

She seems to have remembered the trauma of levelling up with me and is encouraged by the Prince and the others . But their expressions are also mind-bogglingly superb . Something like, I can’t be afraid in front of the woman I love .

「So, in the end, who do you like, Miss Alicia? 」

She gets along with the three capture targets at school . And it’s easy to see from the side lines how they are enamoured with Alicia .

「This is not a good time to be talking about that! 」

That’s what Prince Edwin yelled at me, but it’s not convincing since Alicia is hugging him tightly from behind . Although we weren’t in any contact, he still seems to like Alicia .

Really, this is the reason why people say love is love… And I’m not the right person to say it either . When I get home from this battle, I’m going to get married .

「Ryuu— please find an open spot in the forest over there . 」

The Demon King is believed to have control over the monsters . There is no change in Ryuu’s condition at the moment, but the power might be something that could affect him as well .

We will be dropped off at a location away from the Demon King’s Castle in case it does happen, and from there we’ll be heading out on foot .

「Go to your fath—Patrick’s side . People can mistake you for a monster and attack . 」

After everyone else got off, I had Ryuu go to support the people who are dealing with the monsters . I’m worried that he’ll be attacked along with the monsters, but I don’t think anyone would ever be able to hurt Ryuu .

Ryuu roared and then took off, looking slightly worried about me .

With me leading the way, we started to walk in through the forest in the direction of the Demon King’s Castle . I wasn’t going to participate in the conversation on the road, and I was going to play the role of a silent scout .

But Alicia quickens her pace and walks up to me .

「Lady Yumiela, I’m sorry for everything . I’ve said some horrible things in the past, but I felt like I had to be more cooperative from now on… Let’s do our best together . 」

Are you okay? Did you eat something weird?

Alicia has repeatedly been hostile to me in the past, but what’s wrong with her now? I guess she’s getting scared to fight the Demon King or something .

「Oh, yeah, good luck . 」

I don’t trust her at all, so my response was probably going to be lacklustre .

After she said that, she went back to walk along with the rest . All is well and good, as long as she doesn’t get in the way when we fight the Demon King . She won’t do anything foolish, right?

After a short time of walking through the forest, the old stone castle came into view . Perhaps all the monsters had been sent out to the kingdom since we never encountered them on the way .

「I can see it, that’s the Demon King’s Castle, huh . …Why is the castle in such a remote location in the first place? 」

Prince Edwin answered my simple question .

「It seems that this whole forest area was originally a large territory . Recently, I’ve heard that the Demon King’s influence is what’s keeping people out . 」

I’ve never heard of it, was the castle the Demon King’s residence? But I’ve read a lot of books related to the Demon King, but there was nothing as such .

Could it be that this information is only known to the royal family? The prince continues to speak confidential information carelessly .

「All right, guys, let’s go . 」

Prince Edwin calls out to everyone, but I’m not too eager to do so .

「The Demon King is inside, right? Why don’t we just wipe out the entire castle . That would solve the problem, right? 」

You don’t have to go all the way into the enemy’s territory to be polite . If you can attack them one-sidedly from a distance, that would be the best .

「That’s not going to work . If we do it that way, we can’t confirm his death . 」

I disagree for the same reason that the Prince has just come up with . …Well, I’m curious about the Demon King’s identity too, so I decided to sneak into the castle stealthily .

「So, shall we enter the castle? You all have to stay behind me . 」

I put my hand on the door to enter the Demon King’s Castle . The large door, which must have remained closed for many years, opened with a squeak and unpleasant sound .

It was dimly lit, and there was not a single noise in it . In the game, there were monsters everywhere, but what does it mean? It was also the case on the road, it didn’t feel like a bad omen .

I won’t be defeated if I fight the Demon King head-on . The only thing I fear is being taken by surprise .

Even I wouldn’t be safe if I were to take a decent hit from a top-tier magic or critical hit .

The four of them are a little further behind me . If we get a surprise attack from behind, I’ll do my best to do what I can, but at worst I’ll abandon them .

I focussed on the sounds and signs around me so that I can feel the slight noise they make behind me .

In the midst of all this, I heard Alicia casting a spell .

「Holy Enchant! 」

Light-attribute casting magic? I don’t mind calling them upfront, but I’d like you to call me out on it first .

I almost turn around to complain, but I brace myself for the need to focus on the path ahead .

It was then that a shining sword sprang from my chest . That sword looks familiar . It’s a light-attribute item I got in the Barias dungeon .

That sword, which refused my touch, I must’ve wrapped it in a cloth and took it home to sell it off . It’s not so much powerful as it is like the dark attribute, but if you cast a light attribute spell to it, its effect on the dark attribute is immeasurable .

By the time I realized I had been stabbed from behind, my consciousness had faded and lights were rushing through me . It was a memory with Patrick .

◆

「Hey, the dungeon isn’t exactly a place for a first date . 」

「Eh, I thought you wanted to raise your level? 」

Okay, I guess no dungeon for a date . Since it would be awkward to admit my mistake before I brought him to my special place, I’ll change the subject and fumble my way around .

「Well, that’s true… But no, not really . 」

「Hey, did you bring your protection amulet? 」

「What about you, Yumiela? What kind of amulet are you wearing? 」

I couldn’t mislead you so I changed the subject, but it seems that I’ve jumped to another dangerous subject . This is a bad topic .

「Uh, the kind that makes your magic more powerful . 」

「…What the hell are you going to fight? 」

「Let’s see, it saves magic power because I can shoot bigger magic with less magic . 」

「I can’t imagine a situation where Yumiela’s magic would run out . 」

At least I think the kingdom has been cleared . Ever since the last assassination debacle, though, I’m beginning to think that a poison nullification amulet might be a good idea .

But Patrick wouldn’t be convinced by that . I know what he’ll say next, so I’ll get ahead of him .

「Okay, I’ll wear one too . 」

「Oh, and Yumiela isn’t invincible either, is she? You might even be attacked in your sleep . 」

「I was attacked once, and there wasn’t a scratch on me . 」

「That’s because the level of assassins was so low, right? And the weapon is dull . 」

Patrick is right, I would be hurt if a high-level person attacked me with a high-quality weapon . But I don’t think I’m going to die in a single hit, that is unless they attack me with a light attribute .

◆

「Why don’t you understand?! We have to kill her here! 」

「 Lady Yumiela hasn’t done a single thing wrong! Why are you guys so hostile towards her?! 」

I was woken up by hysterical screamings . Well, I was stabbed in the back by Alicia .

Thank you, Patrick, your protective amulet saved me .

「Normally, this kind of thing happens after you’ve defeated the Demon King, right? 」

After healing my wounds with my recovery magic, I stood up . Apparently, Prince Edwin and the other three are still arguing with each other .

「Wha…? How are you still alive…? 」

「You guys are wearing them too, right? It’s a protection amulet . So can you tell me why I was stabbed? 」

「Oh, it’s your fault… It was supposed to be me, with my light attribute, I was supposed to be the one to defeat the Demon King… 」

I’m not going to let you try to kill me for that . I don’t even want to fight for the credit of defeating the Demon King in the first place .

「I don’t want to get stabbed in the back again while fighting the Demon King . Is it possible for you to neutralize them? 」

I asked Prince Edwin who stood right next to me .

「Give me a minute and I’ll try to convince them . 」

The prince says so, but that will be an impossible task . I’ve put up with the idea that it’s not a big deal until now, but I’m at the end of my rope .

Prince Edwin tries to persuade Alicia and the other two to join him and me .

「Alicia, please stop . If you have a good heart, you’ll understand . You shouldn’t discriminate against people with black hair without any evidence . 」

「No, she shouldn’t be alive! 」

「Will! You don’t like things that don’t make sense, do you? 」

「What’s wrong with you, Ed? You didn’t like her either, did you? 」

「Oz, what happened to your usual calm self! 」

「I’m still calm . After defeating the Demon King, she will become a threat to the kingdom . We should get rid of her while we still can . 」

「Your Highness, you won’t be able to convince me . She’s an enemy, please give up or I’ll have to restrain you . 」

Alicia and those guys will be brought to justice . I didn’t expect them to be so stupid like her . I don’t want to get my hands dirty with these guys .

If they were to fight with each other amid a national crisis, His Majesty would punish them accordingly . These people may end up living out their lives unable to leave outside .

「 And you! The amulet may have saved your life, but do you think you can still stand against us now? 」

As he says this, William confidently drew his sword . Where did that confidence come from?

「Our levels in total is 120 . That means we’re stronger than you . 」

Oswald coyly raises his glasses with his finger . No, that logic is wrong . I’ve known for a long time that he’s not a smart guy at all . Just because he’s wearing glasses and pretends to be cool doesn’t mean he’s smart .

That would mean, according to his logic, I have the same fighting power as 99 people with level 1 . There was no way the Demon King could be beaten by a group of less than a hundred level 1 people .

I mean, it’s only level 40 per person . And they’re a lot weaker than Patrick .

「Ed-kun, please come with us . 」

Alicia talks to Prince Edwin . With her moist, upturned eyes, I’m impressed to witness the technique that can seduce three men .

「You think you can go toe-to-toe with me and win? You weren’t confident so you took me by surprise from behind . Please stay back, Your Highness and I won’t kill you . 」

When I stepped forward, Alicia and the others took a step back and braced themselves . After all, they’re just bluffing .

When I tried to use my magic, the familiar dark magic fills our surroundings . What’s going on? I haven’t even used my magic yet .

「Damn it! Your Highness, step back . 」

「W-what are you doing?! 」

I grab Prince Edwin by the collar and leapt backwards . A moment later, the space we had been in was covered in darkness .

「This is… 」

This spell is a top-tier dark-attribute magic, the Black Hole . There are only two enemies in the game that can use this . Which is me, the hidden boss, and the last boss…

「Fufufu, fighting among themselves in the enemy’s territory . Does this mean that people are stupid after all? No, I should say, the people of the Kingdom of Balshain . No . The Balshine royalties would be more accurate to say .

Thanks, it didn’t take much effort to kill the three of them . 」

In the corridor of the Demon King’s Castle that was gouged into a ball shape, a man wearing a black armour appears in the hallway . Yes, this is his castle .

「…It’s the Demon King . 」