I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 155

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 155

 

Time passed.

 

The snotty-nosed Children had become Young Men before I knew it. It didn’t take long for each of them to help with the family business and do their share of work in the Village.

 

I was the same.

 

I too had grown, no longer wandering behind the walls of my peers’ Homes, by streams, and through back Alleys.

 

“I’ve heard about you. The Village’s famous liar, Alde.”

 

“….”

 

“Quite the troublemaker, I hear. Enough for that old Village Chief to make a special request.”

 

“Request?”

 

“Your tongue is short, but your eyes look decent. Follow me. If you don’t want to starve to death.”

 

Unlike my childhood thoughts of spending my life begging, I was taken in by a hunter who lived in the nearby Forest.

 

I learned to hunt and picked up various skills. I also learned many things that other kids had known from early on. What people commonly call home education, perhaps.

 

I also got beaten terribly. Beaten to death.

 

I got beaten for not doing what I was taught, beaten for not improving my hunting skills, beaten for lying. I got caught while running away and beaten. Though they weren’t particularly good memories, my life improved greatly.

 

I had a Home to rest my body, even if it was outside the Village. Instead of eating food received from begging, I ate animals I caught and prepared myself, and sometimes I even made money by selling meat in the Village. And then.

 

“I want to live with you.”

 

“Huh?”

 

A Woman who said she liked me appeared.

 

“Let’s live together. You look decent, and you have a good body.”

 

“Well, that’s…”

 

“You used to smell bad so I didn’t like you, but lately you wash well so it’s fine.”

 

It was a Little Kid I used to play with, one year younger than me. The Boy who had just turned fifteen said that to me. We were of marriageable age. Most of the kids I used to play with had started families. I thought it had nothing to do with me.

 

Was it thanks to the Hunting Man who took me in?

 

At the sudden words, I dropped even the meat I had come to sell and stood there dumbfounded, so the Boy picked up the meat, brushed off the dirt with his hand, and gave it to me while saying:

 

“Don’t live dangerously in the Forest, come into the Village.”

 

“…If I live in the Village, I can’t hunt.”

 

“You can help with our family’s work. Mom says she’s short on help anyway.”

 

Let me think about it. That was all I could barely manage to say.

 

I returned to the Forest and fell into thought. No, I couldn’t think at all. I was so dazed that I even made mistakes setting traps, something I had become quite skilled at.

 

Naturally, the Hunting Man noticed my change. I didn’t really want to confess honestly, but there was no winning against his Club.

 

“What are you thinking of doing?”

 

After hearing the brief story, the Hunting Man said that.

 

“That Child. Do you like her?”

 

“I don’t know. It’s so sudden…”

 

“Think carefully.”

 

“I was planning to do that anyway.”

 

He looked at me for a while, then said:

 

“More carefully.”

 

The atmosphere was different from before.

 

“Hunting is important work.”

 

It would be quite difficult if I left. Was he trying to hold me back from leaving? It made me laugh, and I felt quite rebellious too.

 

“Meat is expensive, and leather is precious. But it’s absolutely necessary. We who catch beasts in the Forest are indispensable people to the Village.”

 

Why was that?

 

Well, the Hunting Man had grown old too. Even his Club swings when beating me had become much weaker. He probably didn’t have much time left to hunt and live alone. How many more years could he hold out?

 

It couldn’t be helped. Still, there was affection from him taking me in. And it wasn’t like I particularly liked that Child either. I was about to say that when:

 

“But it’s rough. Dangerous.”

 

The Hunting Man said that.

 

“Women who like guys like us are rare. Opportunities to learn other work are rare too. If you miss that Child, you might have to live alone for the rest of your life.”

 

He looked straight at me and said:

 

“Think carefully.”

 

For some reason, looking at him made a question pop out.

 

“Come to think of it, why do you live alone, Hunting Man?”

 

“….”

 

I had never thought to ask before. I wasn’t even interested. To me, the Hunting Man was just the Hunting Man, and he had always been a hunter.

 

But that person must have had a childhood like mine too.

 

“I was a Mercenary.”

 

“Mercenary?”

 

It was the first time I’d heard such words. This Small Village didn’t have such occupations. The man explained as if he had expected this.

 

“They get paid to do errands and such… or jump into wars. It’s one of the few jobs where guys with no education and nothing but their bodies can make big money.”

 

Hearing those words, I rested my chin on my hand and fell into thought. After pondering silently for a long while, I asked.

 

“…War?”

 

“Ha, this is why country folk are…”

 

The man laughed helplessly and continued his explanation.

 

If you leave this tiny Village and travel for several days, you’ll find much larger villages. Those who rule such cities are called Lords.

 

“Those people who sometimes come to collect taxes?”

 

“No. The person who commands those people.”

 

The wider the land a Lord rules, the more impressive they are, so they wage wars to expand their territory.

 

Since many deaths in war cause great losses, they usually hire Mercenaries to fight among themselves. I didn’t quite understand it, but the man just told me not to try to understand.

 

“The family that hired me was a baron family called Medei, and they were mortal enemies with the opposing Lanvis Family. The war continued for several years, and Mercenaries were always in short supply.”

 

The man told his story. How two peaceful families became enemies, how that war dragged on. His activities as a Mercenary, even falling in love with the family’s Noblewoman.

 

I found myself drawn into his words.

 

His story was vivid and immersive. For a Child who had lived in a peaceful Rural Village, it was far too stimulating.

 

…Though the ending seemed like a lie.

 

“Eventually the war ended by the King’s command. It was a war with no victor.

 

“King…”

 

Suddenly I remembered the lie I had told long ago. The incident that made me the Village people’s laughingstock. But it was a dream I had truly wished for.

 

Come to think of it, it was around that time when the hunter had settled near the Village. I wondered where I had heard the word King – it might have been his influence.

 

“So, what’s the reason for telling a story you’ve never told before?”

 

“…”

 

The man looked at me for a moment and then spoke.

 

“During my Mercenary life, I met many women.”

 

“That’s a story I’ve already heard.”

 

Besides the Medei Family’s Noblewoman, he had told stories of many women. Tavern madam Chelsi, Mercenary Guild receptionist Rosen, flower shop owner Floda, Mercenary Company leader Upei, and others.

 

If I said most of the excitement from the hunter’s stories came from those parts, would that make some sense?

 

“Though the war ended, my body was ruined. All the money I’d saved was squandered, and the Lanvis Family, who held grudges against me, put a bounty on my head. That’s why I live in a Rural Village doing nothing but hunting. No one remains by my side.”

 

“…”

 

“Sometimes I think about it. Those guys who saved money and retired, I shouldn’t have mocked them. If I had stuck with one and married her, wouldn’t I have had a kid about your age?”

 

The man saying those words looked infinitely small. He had once been such a big and frightening person.

 

“No one remains by your side, my foot.”

 

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

 

“What?”

 

The man stared at me blankly and then blinked. He looked so foolish that laughter burst out of me.

 

He soon burst into laughter too.

 

“Haha. I don’t count men, you idiot.”

 

We talked through the night.

 

We talked about many things. Perhaps he was a better person than I had thought. Even if he wasn’t exactly caring.

 

The next day, leaving him passed out drunk, I headed to the Village.

 

“Let’s live together, Emma.”

 

The Child smiled brightly.

 

That day, a fire broke out in the Forest. Fortunately, it didn’t spread much, and only a small cabin nearby burned down completely.

 

The hunter who regularly sold meat and leather to the Village disappeared, but it wasn’t a big problem.

 

* * *

 

Emma’s Parents ran the only Inn in the Village.

 

Entering their Home, I had to learn many things. How to do calculations, how to cook, how to clean. Things I couldn’t learn from the hunter. Fortunately, I had learned how to read, which was a great help.

 

I thought it wouldn’t be as difficult as hunting, but it was unexpectedly hard and tiring.

 

By night I was completely exhausted. So this is why they needed help, I thought. Sometimes I regretted not just continuing the hunter’s work.

 

“It’s because it’s your first time. I had a hard time too.”

 

Emma speaking so calmly seemed amazing to me.

 

I had only seen her as young, but she worked well and knew many things. Even when drunkards caused trouble, she dealt with them firmly. Sharp and decisive – that assessment fit perfectly.

 

By staying close to her and learning the work, I could quickly master unfamiliar tasks. By the time a year had passed, I could manage the Inn by myself.

 

The Village began to acknowledge me too.

 

When I was young, I was rejected as a beggar and liar, and when I was taken in by the hunter, there was a sense of distance.

 

But the reputation that Emma and her family had built up was enough to help me blend back into the village.

 

Beggar, orphan, liar Alde.

 

Hunter Alde.

 

Those names were forgotten, and before I knew it, I had become innkeeper Alde. Even the Village Chief, who used to look at me with displeasure, no longer said anything. There was one guy who had a crush on Emma who seemed quite displeased, but what could I do about that.

 

It was a happy time. So much so that I didn’t regret at all giving up being a hunter and choosing Emma.

 

“So, when are you planning to show me a grandchild?”

 

“Ah, Dad!”

 

It was troublesome when Emma’s Father occasionally made mischievous jokes, but that wasn’t much of a problem.

 

When Emma got embarrassed, I would just smile a little and let it pass.

 

How lovely it was when she would lower her head and glance at me. I could understand why he teased her so much.

 

I wanted to have a child too. There were various reasons, but I felt like that’s how I could be recognized as an adult. But it wasn’t easy.

 

Instead of her Parents who had grown old, the two of us took charge of all the inn work.

 

Though it was a quiet Rural Village, business was good. After working until late dawn, there was no time to rest. Since we took turns watching the Store, we didn’t have enough time to spend together.

 

About three years passed living like that.

 

When Emma’s belly was gradually growing even amid our busy schedule. While working until late dawn, I happened to overhear a story shared by Merchants who had come to the Village.

 

“Then, shouldn’t we run away quickly?”

 

“Well. Even so, war isn’t something that happens so easily…”

 

They said there were signs of war.

 

“Did you just say war?”

 

“…Oh, damn.”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

The Merchants said this.

 

With the King dead, the Medei Family and Lanvis Family were preparing for war again. And it wasn’t just about using Mercenaries, but a full-scale war was expected.

 

“Full-scale war…”

 

“That’s right. If it’s really a full-scale war, they might conscript Soldiers on a large scale. Of course, the possibility isn’t that high, but…”

 

The Merchants’ prediction was wrong.

 

I should have run away as soon as I heard their words. A few days later, those who came to the Village introduced themselves as the Ranvis Domain Conscription Officer.

 

They announced they would take ten men from the Village, and I was one of them.

 

“Well, since you lived as a hunter. You’d be better than kids who don’t know anything, wouldn’t you.”

 

I glared at the Village Chief making excuses as if I wanted to kill him, but nothing changed. It was probably because I hadn’t been recognized as a Village member for very long.

 

Emma held her belly, which was close to full term, and shed tears.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely come back.”

 

That’s what I said.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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