Beyond the Hero’s Death – 22 | Sousaku – 創作

Episode 22 The Bloodstained Princess ⑪ – Onward to the End in this Rotten World

After that, I was allowed to stay in Elven Kingdom until I was able to move around properly.
During that time, Falty would work with her subordinates or fly around on her own to obtain information from other countries, and the devil would also wander off and obtain information through her own channels, so by combining the information of the two, we were able to obtain information more reliably and with greater scrutiny.
Today, as usual, I met with Falty and the devil in the room where I was staying to talk about the state of the world, but all that came out was a bunch of nonsense that made me frown. Falty also looked as if he was biting a bug, only the devil was smiling thinly as usual, so I couldn't really tell.
The countries that we were involved in during our travels also seem to be in a state of disarray, with wars starting between nations or being attacked by demons. Even without the calamities, this world would have ended in numerous ways, and when you think about it, the threat of the Demon King may have even been a necessary evil.
……The current situation, though, in which several Demon King-level disasters were occurring at the same time, is out of control.

"Truly, this world is over. Before the calamities or horrors, people started waging territorial wars and fighting for plunder, resulting in a situation worse than before the defeat of the Demon King. ……Irene's place is in a lot of trouble, too, and it seems they're being attacked by the very same church."

Irene is a “saint” who belongs to the church, so why bother attacking her? It just doesn't make sense. I don't think it's a stupid reason to attack Irene for her sexuality, as I'm sure you'll agree……

"As you may be aware, there are two factions in the Church: the “Republicans,” who believe that believers and non-believers alike are equally beloved by the Goddess, and the more radical “Pious,” who believe that if you are not a believer, you are not a person at all.
Until the defeat of the Demon King, the Republican faction was the mainstream, and they were working in harmony with each other, but the church was seriously divided when the empire became more supportive of the “Devout” faction.
――――And now, the Devout are in the midst of a massacre in which they are attacking Republican facilities and strongholds to force them to switch to the Devout. Saddle up or die, I guess.
Irene was also a member of the Republican faction, but the Devout invaded with an army, claiming that Irene's policy of protecting and fostering young children, regardless of race or religion, was heretical. There are rumors that Irene was trying to create some sort of backlash against the church regarding the hero."

It was a more ridiculous and joke reason. ……Is this reaction to the church something to do with Al's death? ……Please don't get me started on how reckless you are, I don't want you to try to do this alone. Or rather, call me or Falty……

"What is the Church doing at this point…… are they out of their minds? ? When disaster is brewing all over the world, we don't have time for such internal strife."

"It seems to be largely due to the power of the empire which is backing them. Apparently, the empire has destroyed at least one or two “calamities”."

……By “Empire,” does that mean Roger? That lowlife bastard, the worst of humanity, bringing down a calamity? ?
That's also strange. No…… Roger, however, is a man who can use his allies as pawns to stop a calamity in its tracks, and then, when the calamity has been stopped, he will not hesitate to use his own extremely powerful magic to blow them all up, killing both friend and foe. His motto was that as long as he could win, he didn't care about the means or methods, and if we disregard his personality and inner nature and look only at his magical firepower, he is the best in the world, so it's not impossible.

"Don't give me that “Roger? Fore real?” look, because I had the same reaction……"

"But there's no way he could do something so bold as that; he's the kind of guy who would be the first to abandon his comrades and run away if there's no chance of victory. The first thing he would do in the face of a calamity would be to run away or backstab them."

Falty and I looked up at the sky with a distant look in our eyes. Roger gave me a lot of trouble during the trip. He was a man who would abandon his friends to spare his own life, but would never voluntarily take on a dangerous death-defying challenge, even if the world were turned upside down. ……Worst case scenario, I have to be prepared to get into a fight with the Empire.

"I thought the party of heroes was bonded by trust, but there were also some who were just plain hopeless! Why would the Goddess choose such a man?"

"He was a really good mage……"

The devil was smiling pleasantly, as if he was amused by what was going on with me and Falty, to which I responded that Roger was without a doubt the world's best mage.
He was one of the few men who lived only for his own benefit and honor, and would be the first to leave his friends and run away if enemies were stronger than he himself.
……Regarding Roger, it seems that not only the kingdom, but the empire was also moving behind the Principality, so I will have to go to the Empire sooner or later, but first I need to go to Irene.

"……Unlike us, Irene has only healing powers and no fighting skills. I know it's a little late for this, but if Irene is under attack, shouldn't we hurry up and get there? "

"That's the thing, I don't really understand that part. Apparently, the Devout have invaded Irene's territory, but they're having a hard time getting to her."

Hmmm, what does that mean? I hate to sound like this, but Irene is the least combat-ready of the heroes' party. But if she's alive and safe, that's something to be happy about.

Then, the day after we talked about such things, I was able to move my body and decided to leave the Elven Kingdom. I probably will never return to this country, so I greeted my friends and the king and his wife, who had been so kind to me, and set off. Falty was waiting for me outside the forest, sitting on her Sovereign Lunar Bow.

"Thank you for your care, Falty. ……See you later."

Falty heaved a sigh as she raised her hand to say something.

"Can't you see it? I'm coming with you."

"What? No, but what about the Elven Kingdom?"

I was so surprised by Falty's words that I couldn't help but state the obvious. Even though the demon hordes are gone and the Principality has been destroyed, the princess of a country, practically the next queen, can't just casually up and leave the country……

"Father and Mother have given me permission…… or rather, they were the ones who urged me to go with you. Besides, this country is tightly protected by the barrier you've put up, so it will be fine. Not many demons can break through such a nonsensical barrier."

No, but still…… Falty's cheerful voice interrupted my words as I was about to speak.

"I don't know what you and that devil over there might do! ……Besides, we're friends who traveled together, you know. I will follow you on this journey that you say you want to “see through”. You know, Raoul, when I make up my mind, I don't listen."

Falty grinned with a smug face as she said this――― Ahh, not good, whenever she's like this it is practically impossible to get her to change her mind. This is the mode in which Falty would not concede on anything. Such childishness has not changed, I guess.

"Celestial Knight, the ranged attack power of the Divine Bow is very useful."

"You're just going to complicate this conversation, so will you please shut up?"

I scolded the devil for interrupting our conversation and she went quiet with a shocked look on her face. ……I wish the devil would learn more about the subtleties of people's hearts and how to read the air.

"……Besides, my sister was always worried about you, so I'll watch you to make sure you don't make any strange choices."

……When you bring up Luqur, I can't decline either. ……That's not fair, Falty.
At those words, I looked back at the forest once more.

"……I got it. But don't do anything dangerous."

"I'm not a child! ! ……Let's go, then."

After chuckling at Falty who laughed at me, I looked back at the elven forest I had walked through.

――――Well, goodbye Luqur.

Thus, I said goodbye in my heart and left the forest.
Feeling that I was definitely nearing the end again, I started walking toward my next destination. The destination is the autonomous territory of Irene, a land ruled by the Church, where humans have begun to fight each other for their lives.
The sky was cloudy as ever, but…… With all of Falty's humming, my steps felt a little lighter than when I left the kingdom.

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Chapter 2・End