I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 90

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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 90

 

Long-distance travel. Especially lengthy journeys that extend to other countries are overwhelmingly more comfortable with a companion. This was a fact I had already confirmed through my travels with Albeng.

 

On the road, you never know when you might encounter bandits or monsters. If you travel alone, it’s difficult to even get proper sleep. Having a companion who could take watch shifts, even briefly, and share responsibilities was a great help.

 

But traveling with Remal was incomparably more comfortable than that time.

 

There was the fact that I woke up each morning with my body supported by divine power, but… the difference in how she treated me was enormous.

 

“You’ll collapse at this rate.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, I’m not fine with it. I don’t have the luxury to take care of someone who collapses right now. If you collapse, I’ll leave you behind, okay?”

“….”

 

She seemed to feel a great sense of debt toward me. Especially since she had been close to the Elf King, she might be trying even harder. Still, insisting on taking watch duty alone was a bit much.

 

We had clearly agreed she would wake me at dawn so I could sleep comfortably, but when I opened my eyes, it was already morning. Normally I would have woken up without being roused, but my failure to adapt to this body was significant.

 

It seems even the World Tree’s healing ability couldn’t do anything about this.

 

“We can move a bit later, so please get some sleep. You’re quite old too.”

“…By Elf standards, I’m not that old.”

“I’m fifteen though.”

“….”

 

No, am I sixteen now? My birthday would have passed while I was trapped in the ice wall.

 

Whether fifteen or sixteen, there wasn’t much difference. At least not in front of an Elf who had lived for hundreds of years.

 

Remal didn’t answer and went to lie down in the shade. Though she came to suggest we depart before even an hour had passed.

 

In that manner, we were able to reach the Holy Nation quickly and comfortably.

 

Since becoming a Dark Mage, this was a place I thought I’d never visit in my lifetime. I could conceal my mana with Deception, but if my mana hadn’t disappeared this time….

 

Well. I probably wouldn’t have come until I had completed all the trials.

 

That’s why I wanted to head to the Holy Nation as quickly as possible.

 

If I became able to freely manipulate mana mixed with divinity, I would create a mana core again, and visiting the Holy Nation would be pushed far into the future.

 

-…You’re really going to make that again?

“Why?”

-Living as a Dark Mage is inconvenient in many ways. Didn’t you also consider destroying your mana core?

“Well, because I’m a Dark Mage.”

 

It was true that I had briefly entertained such thoughts at the Magic Tower due to anxiety about being discovered at any moment.

 

But no matter how much my mana core was destroyed, my essence was that of a Dark Mage. Where in the world would you find a Dark Mage who doesn’t use mana?

 

The name of the treasure that had flowed into the Holy Nation was the Horn of the Great Demon.

 

Even the name was ominous. When it came to Great Demons, there was one guy who immediately came to mind.

 

“Is that yours?”

-As if.

 

The Demon Lord snorted as if the idea was ridiculous.

 

-Even before we demons intervened in the Middle Realm, there existed beings that humans called demons.

“There were such things?”

-Think about it. What would the humans of that time have seen to consider it a demon?

 

Even with that question, the image of demons was already firmly established in my mind. The Demon Lord, whose thoughts were completely unreadable and endlessly cunning. And Simone….

 

Suddenly I felt unpleasant.

 

Even knowing it was useless, I tried to squeeze the Demon Lord’s soul. Of course, nothing happened.

 

The Demon Lord sneered for a moment before speaking.

 

-The most fearsome thing.

“Fearsome thing…?”

 

It was an abstract statement. The Demon Lord added an explanation.

 

-The transcendent beings of that time all possessed divinity, but they weren’t particularly threatening to humans.

 

I knew that. Among the materials I had read at the Magic Tower, there were quite a few about the legends of the Mythical Age. Wasn’t Master’s thesis itself on that very subject?

 

The World Tree, of course, and dragons were closer to wise guardians. Even the Eternal Ice felt like a secret existing somewhere in the north of the world.

 

-That one was different. It didn’t particularly hold hostility toward humans, but its mere existence posed a great threat.

 

However, there was no content about what the Demon Lord was referring to now.

 

How terrifying must it have been that not even records remained? How mighty must its power have been?

 

-That’s why it has good compatibility with our demon power, yes. I can’t deny that.

 

Hearing the Demon Lord’s muttered addition, I was certain.

 

This bastard is definitely looking forward to it.

 

Finding the Horn of the Great Demon was one thing, but I’d need to be especially careful about how to handle it. If I absorbed it helplessly like this time, something bad would likely happen.

 

But “our”?

 

Was the “us” that the Demon Lord mentioned referring to other demons in the Demon Realm? Or perhaps….

 

In that manner, we continued our journey.

 

When crossing the border, I worried that my body might burst into flames, but fortunately nothing like that happened.

 

No matter how small the territory of the Holy Nation was, they couldn’t possibly lay that kind of barrier across the entire border. Even if it were possible, since I had no mana, I wouldn’t have suffered any harm from it anyway.

 

With bitter feelings, we arrived at the first village.

 

“….”

“This is the Holy Nation?”

 

Even though there are cultural differences between countries, could they really be this different?

 

There were no high wooden barriers that had been erected around villages to prevent outside intrusion.

 

There were no guards controlling entry. As we hesitated, wondering if it was okay to enter, someone approached us with a smile.

 

“I haven’t seen you before. Are you travelers?”

“….”

“Ah, yes.”

 

I stepped forward and examined the person, taking Remal’s place as she stepped back and pulled down her robe.

 

It was a middle-aged man. From his dirt-stained work clothes, it seemed he had been working until just a moment ago.

 

“It’s been a while since we’ve had travelers. Your destination is….”

“The capital. Just for sightseeing.”

 

Upon hearing that, the man suddenly smiled brightly.

 

“Welcome. The capital is a beautiful place. Of course, anywhere blessed by the Goddess’s Grace would be, but the capital of the Holy Nation is especially special.”

 

As I listened quietly, he even recommended restaurants and attractions we should visit in the capital. There were so many that I doubted I’d remember them all.

 

“But….”

 

The man who had been continuing his story suddenly looked around cautiously and asked.

 

“Have you decided on lodging? As you can see, this is a small village, so there’s no inn or anything like that.”

 

No inn?

 

Every village I’d been to so far had at least one small inn. Even the village right in front of where the Gate of Demon Realm had opened.

 

It was hard to even imagine how many people would come and go to the Holy Nation, the center of the Religious Order, yet it didn’t make sense that there was no inn.

 

“…Then how do people passing through here…. Sleep outdoors?”

 

The streets were clean, so sleeping outdoors wouldn’t be a big problem. But considering the temperature would drop at night, it might be better to light a fire outside the village.

 

Just as I was about to seriously consider it, the middle-aged man laughed heartily and said.

 

“No, of course not. If you go to the cathedral, they’ll provide you with a place to stay for the night.”

 

Indeed, when I looked in the direction he pointed, I could see a building of quite familiar form.

 

It was a Religious Order cathedral that could be seen anywhere on the continent.

 

The cathedral letting people sleep there? I’d never even thought of such a thing. Those guys were always busy dealing only with wealthy merchants and nobles….

 

‘Ah, I see.’

 

They probably intended to extort a huge amount of money under the pretense of letting us stay.

 

Once the conversation ended, it seemed better to sleep outdoors outside the village. No matter how much I’d lost my mana, there was no way a Dark Mage could sleep peacefully in a cathedral. Besides, our funds weren’t exactly abundant.

 

I had no donation money to give to the cathedral.

 

“If they say there’s no room, please let me know. We can’t let guests seeking the Goddess sleep on the streets. It’s the second house in that alley, the one with the blue roof.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

 

Just as I was giving a casual greeting to end the conversation, someone passing by shouted loudly.

 

“Hey, Andy. Are you bothering travelers again?”

“I don’t know why you keep holding up busy people like that.”

 

This time it was middle-aged women. They had been carrying baskets and chattering as they headed somewhere, but they changed direction and approached us.

 

“You should come to our house instead. The stew I made yesterday is absolutely amazing.”

“The young lady next to you, hmm. Are you married? She seems quite shy.”

“Oh my…. She must have suffered a lot, she’s gotten so dark.”

 

She probably had suffered a lot. But Remal wasn’t young, and we weren’t married either.

 

When I firmly shook my head in denial, the women laughed and disappeared.

 

…The Holy Nation I was visiting for the first time was a difficult place to adapt to.

 

* * *

 

When evening came and we were preparing to sleep outdoors.

 

Andy, the middle-aged man we’d met during the day, came looking for us. He seemed to think that leaving guests to sleep outdoors in front of the village would be committing a sin against the Goddess.

 

Since refusing his invitation would likely result in continued pestering, we eventually headed to the man’s house.

 

The roof was indeed blue, and there was warm stew on the dining table.

 

“Try it. I just brought it over. Amelia makes absolutely amazing stew.”

 

Just to be safe, I confirmed that Remal showed no signs of anything wrong before eating along. As the middle-aged woman had boasted, the stew was truly amazing.

 

After washing with warm water for the first time in a while, I lay down in the room. Fortunately, the house had spare rooms, so I could use one room by myself.

 

“This place is nice.”

 

It was different from the Balaih Kingdom, which was exhausted by hunger and on edge. It was also different from the Empire, where everyone was frantically busy.

 

The people here weren’t wealthy, but they lacked nothing, and above all, they were relaxed.

 

Naturally, I thought of Albeng.

 

Was he able to be so kind because he grew up in a country like this? Were all the people here like Albeng?

 

How could they be so relaxed and full of warmth?

 

It wasn’t uncommon for travelers to suddenly turn into bandits. Fights breaking out in inns were also common.

 

-You’ve failed to adapt to divinity so much that even your senses are properly ruined. Well, you probably don’t need to worry too much about it.

“Worry? I was just curious.”

-Let’s say that’s the case. Anyway, all of those guys have holy power. They could easily handle low-level mercenaries who might resort to banditry.

“…All of them?”

 

Could it mean that all the people of the Holy Nation could use divine power? Did that make sense?

 

-How else could they maintain so many troops in this small piece of land?

 

That’s true. The Holy Knight Order was one of those inevitably mentioned when listing the continent’s greatest knight orders. Considering the Holy Nation’s size, operating several such Holy Knight Orders would be absurd.

 

“That’s fortunate.”

-Hmm?

 

Based on my experiences so far, it was likely that combat would break out again once I reached the capital.

 

It would be an intense battle that would shake the entire Holy Nation.

 

Then, it would certainly affect the peace that the people here enjoyed.

 

If they could handle holy power, wouldn’t that help minimize the impact somewhat?

 

I didn’t like the idea of people I’d even briefly conversed with suffering harm through no fault of their own.

 

-How soft. Being a citizen of the Holy Nation ultimately means they’re potential enemies to you.

 

‘…’

 

Well, I’d deal with that when the time came.

 

After chatting with the Demon Lord like that, I fell asleep, and the next day arrived.

 

Contrary to my expectation that they would at least ask for minimal food or lodging costs, Andy demanded nothing from us. He even packed snacks for us to eat during our journey.

 

While pondering my conversation with the Demon Lord from the previous day, as we passed by the cathedral.

 

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. Everything is the Goddess’s grace.”

 

At the familiar voice, I hurriedly hid behind Remal.

 

I reflexively held my breath.

 

Johnny and Shtidy were there.

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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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