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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The Hero’s party’s special training continued. They trained to prepare for the Demon Lord’s unpredictable arrival.
They were learning to do things they couldn’t do before, growing stronger each day.
“P-Please cancel the hellish training, Mister…!!”
“Once hellish training starts, it can’t be stopped. Finish it, Luna.”
“Sob…”
Every day was filled with pain, but the Hero’s party endured. They knew what the Demon Lord was capable of and didn’t want to remain weak.
After a week, their growth was evident.
“Luna.”
“Yes?”
“Your balance has improved.”
“Were you looking at my body!? P-Pervert!!”
“…Compliment withdrawn.”
What did she think I was doing?
Luna had overcome the difficult hellish training. I might have withdrawn my compliment, but my words were true.
‘Her magic power flows more smoothly now. And she can focus it on specific parts of her body.’
But…
She still couldn’t imbue her sword with magic power. It was a difficult process, even for experienced knights.
Luna needed more time.
‘…Perhaps she lacks a catalyst.’
‘Sword Aura’ was a talent that manifested in those with the aptitude, but the barrier to entry was high. Without a catalyst, it wouldn’t manifest.
Luna probably lacked that catalyst.
I turned my attention to Hare. She noticed my gaze and ran towards me.
“M-Mister! Were you looking for me…!?”
“…No, I was just looking.”
“I-Is that so…? Okay, Mister…”
Hare’s shoulders slumped, and she walked back to her spot.
Her gait was different now, quieter and more controlled. She was applying the footwork I taught her even in everyday life.
‘Perhaps the most dramatic change isn’t Luna’s, but Hare’s.’
During sparring, she no longer hesitated to attack with her dagger. She was cold and decisive, like she would stab a demon granny pulling a cart through the heart without a second thought.
Perhaps that’s why…
She seemed a bit on edge lately.
“…Estia.”
“Yes?”
“Move. You’re in the way of my cleaning.”
“O-Okay…”
She seemed to be constantly on alert, like a tightly wound spring. And the most precarious one was Saten.
She had grown during the training camp, but…
“…”
“Saten.”
“…Yes.”
“Is something bothering you?”
“Yes, a lot. Can’t we end this training camp? I prefer being alone.”
…But her expression was a bit… murderous, Saten. Even for someone who was usually expressionless, her constant frown made her seem perpetually dissatisfied.
‘…Is Saten waiting?’
Waiting for the Demon Lord to attack?
The thought crossed my mind.
Still, the training camp had been meaningful. She had made friends and learned to cooperate during sparring.
But…
‘The biggest problem is…’
…her.
I looked at Estia, sprawled out in the middle of the living room.
“Estia.”
“What, Brother? Is it dinner time already?”
“…When is your teacher coming?”
“Why are you asking me that! Just give me food!”
Scratch, scratch-
Estia scratched her belly.
Was this appropriate behavior for a Saintess?
I sighed.
“Sigh…”
When would Estia’s teacher arrive? And when would Estia finally grow up?
‘Will she be able to use divine power before the Demon Lord arrives…?’
That was my biggest concern.
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Sloth, the Demon Lord of Sloth.
A handsome man with languid green eyes, indistinguishable from a human. He was currently in the center of Henesys, the dungeon city.
He grumbled at his subordinates.
“I didn’t want to work… why are you all so damn competent, Grimoire…? I didn’t want to do this…”
“…”
“I don’t want to woooork…”
Those Demon Lords are always on my case…
Sloth hated working.
He wanted to laze around in his room all day. He didn’t want to destroy human society. Humans had so many convenient tools and inventions.
“Can’t I just… be a human…? Humans are the best… sigh…”
I just want to be a human…
Sloth was the most human-friendly Demon Lord.
He might enslave humans, but he didn’t experiment on them or kill them. He even delegated tasks to humans, acknowledging their superior intellect.
As long as they didn’t bother him, all humans could live in peace.
“But this time… it’s different…”
Why did the Hero have to appear…?
Now that the Hero was here, and the Demon Lords’ lives were in danger, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.
“Are you sure the Hero’s party’s mage… Saten of the Secilia family… is here in Henesys…?”
“…Yes, we’re certain.”
“Hmm, Wrath said I shouldn’t hide anymore now that the Hero has appeared…”
I don’t want to look for them…
I’ll just do it my way…
Sloth, the Demon Lord of Sloth.
To find the Hero’s party in this vast city, he raised his hand towards the sky.
“If I kill everyone, the Hero’s party will eventually show up…”
The moment Sloth’s power was unleashed upon Henesys…
“This is bad! J-Jun-woo!! Everyone will die…!! The dungeon city is in danger…!!”
…Minerva realized the gravity of the situation.
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It’s time.
I looked at the prompt from Minerva.
“Option 1. Understood.”
So my future has been set in motion.
I gathered the Hero’s party at the front door, intending to conserve my answers. Hare and Estia looked nervous.
“M-Mister…! We can defeat the Demon Lord… right…? And you won’t get hurt… right…?”
“Let’s just run away, Brother! The Demon Lord is scary!”
Hare glanced at me anxiously. Estia wanted to run away.
‘…But we have to do this.’
To save the children.
To give them a chance to grow.
To defeat the Demon Lord.
We had to.
Hoping that the Demon Lord who came for us was the Demon Lord of Envy, I reached for the doorknob.
I glanced at Luna and Saten. Unlike Hare and Estia, they looked confident.
“Mister! Let’s go defeat the Demon Lord! Hero Luna will win!”
“…I want to defeat the Demon Lord quickly. I’m tired of living together.”
Luna seemed confident, perhaps pleased with her recent growth.
‘Confidence is good, but…’
…it could easily turn into arrogance.
Especially with Luna.
I decided to knock her down a peg before we went outside.
“Luna.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t get cocky just because you’ve gotten stronger in a week. You’re still a child.”
“I-I’m not a child! Stop treating me like a kid! I’m not a kid!”
“Be quiet and get ready. Here, use a real sword instead of a wooden one.”
I retrieved real swords from my subspace and tossed them to the not-quite-adult Luna and Hare.
“Protect Saten and Estia as best as you can. Just like you did during our sparring sessions. Understood?”
“Luna is an adult, so! I’ll listen to you, Mister!”
“I-I’ll do my best…!”
“Good.”
They had sparred countless times, so they should be able to handle themselves.
‘But…’
Sparring and real battles were different. I had to watch over them carefully. The Demon Lord’s presence was ominous, and the range of his power was vast.
I couldn’t let my guard down.
Especially with the Hero’s party.
“…They don’t seem to realize what’s happening outside.”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
“Brace yourselves. And don’t be shocked.”
“Explain it clearly! Brother!”
…Could I explain this with words? Seeing was believing.
‘And we don’t have time…’
Creak-
I opened the door and stepped outside. The Hero’s party followed.
‘As expected, his power has been unleashed.’
We looked up at the sky.
Crimson streams of energy swirled above, and the thick stench of blood filled the air. Screams echoed from the streets, and a chilling dampness clung to our skin.
The Hero’s party, seeing the carnage around them, finally understood.
“W-What…? T-There’s a person lying there… but why is his arm missing…?”
Reality was more brutal than they had imagined. They finally understood how cruel a Demon Lord could be.
I walked among the scattered corpses and said,
“Try not to look at the bodies and follow me. We need to kill the Demon Lord quickly to stop the casualties.”
“…”
But no one answered. They were all speechless, witnessing such carnage for the first time.
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