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A young girl arrived at a small farm in the Hitia Duchy to tend to the livestock.
"Sorry I’m late, everyone! I’ll get your feed ready right away, so just hang on!"
The girl chatted with the animals as she distributed the fodder she had brought.
"I’m sorry I haven't been able to come as often lately. Magic Beasts have started appearing outside, and my mother told me I had to stop coming here..."
She narrowed her eyes affectionately, continuing to talk to the livestock as they ate.
"Oh... has it been that long already?"
She had been talking one-sidedly to the animals for about ten minutes when a shadow fell across her face.
"...I’m sorry, I came here without telling my mother, so I have to get back before she catches me. Right now, the Explorers are working hard to drive away the Magic Beasts around here! Once they’re gone, I'll take proper care of you again. So... please endure it for just a little longer!"
Feeling a pang of regret as she left the animals behind, the girl scanned the area to make sure no Magic Beasts were lurking nearby before hurrying toward home.
After running for a while, she suddenly felt an intensely unpleasant gaze boring into her back. She turned around timidly and—
"Eeek!?"
Despite no one being there just a moment ago, a massive wolf with fur the color of fresh blood now loomed over her. The girl collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed by sheer terror.
The giant wolf appeared to be a species capable of using magic; it ruthlessly launched a Mana Bullet at the slumped girl. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"—【Magic Sword Integration: Alteration】 【Fifth Form: Mont Fünf】"
Orun lunged between the girl and the wolf, intercepting the Mana Bullet with his Magic Shield.
"……Am I... alive?"
Hearing the thunderous impact right in front of her, the girl let out a breathless gasp of surprise when she realized she wasn't in any pain.
"Are you okay? Any injuries?" Orun asked, looking back at her with a gentle voice.
"Ah, um... Yes... I’m okay," she replied, blinking rapidly as her mind struggled to process the situation.
"I see. That’s good. I know it’s scary, but please hold on just a little longer." Orun gave her a reassuring smile.
"Okay... —Ah! Look out!"
In the girl's field of vision, the giant wolf raised its massive front leg, preparing to crush Orun.
Under normal circumstances, such a strike would have come from a blind spot, but Orun was currently compensating for his lack of peripheral vision with 【Bird's-eye Vision】. Before the wolf's paw could reach him, a jet-black arc of light flashed through the air.
Without anyone seeing him move, the Magic Shield in Orun's hand had transformed into a Magic Katana. The blade sliced clean through the wolf's leg. Ordinarily, blood would have sprayed from such a wound, but the severed surface was instantly frozen solid, preventing a single drop from falling.
"—Ice Demon Katana."
Fixing his gaze on the wolf, Orun swung his weapon. Countless slashes erupted from the Magic Katana, swarming the beast. Having suffered a fatal blow, the wolf simply dissolved into a black mist and dispersed.
"W-Wow..."
The girl’s eyes sparkled as she watched Orun dispatch the giant predator in an instant. Orun crouched down to match her eye level before speaking.
"I’m glad I reached you in time. But you mustn’t come out here alone anymore. Whenever you go outside, make sure you're with someone who can fight Magic Beasts. Understand?"
"Y-Yes... I understand. Um, thank you so much for saving me!"
"You're very welcome. ...Is that your mother?"
Orun looked toward the distance, where a woman from the city and an armed Explorer were running toward them.
"Ah, yes! That's her!"
"I thought so. She must be worried, so go to her quickly. Try not to do anything that makes her worry like this again."
The girl nodded firmly and then sprinted toward her mother.
"Ia!"
Ia’s mother hugged her tightly. Orun watched the two of them for a moment with a small smile before turning to leave. As he walked away, he wiped his nose with the back of his hand—it came away stained with blood.
"Going outside all by yourself! Are you okay!? Are you hurt!?"
"Yeah! I was fine! Because————...huh?"
Ia started to tell her mother what had happened, but she suddenly tilted her head in confusion.
"How... how did I get away?"
Orun had exercised 【Perception Alteration】 to erase all memories of himself from Ia’s mind.
He knew that he was about to be officially branded the Enemy of the World and that the news would be reported far and wide. While the Hitia Duchy was secretly his ally, they maintained the same public stance as other nations in denouncing him.
Even the Hitia Duchy could hardly be considered a safe haven for him now. If Ia remembered Orun, there was a risk she could get caught up in trouble simply by association. For that reason, he had erased only the parts of her memory regarding himself.
◇ ◇ ◇
"...So I’m the 『Demon King』 now, huh."
After protecting the girl from the Giant Beast Species—the massive Magic Beasts the Cult had modified—I had returned to Celest. I was now spending a few spare moments reading the newspaper published this morning.
It detailed the contents of the recent Summit Meeting. It also explicitly stated that I had been designated the Enemy of the World and placed on the International Wanted List. It seemed Princess Lucila had moved exactly as I had requested.
Infiltrating the enemy’s ranks as a spy was incredibly dangerous. I felt nothing but gratitude for her, knowing she had accepted the task despite the risks. Princess Lucila could likely handle most situations, but I needed to be ready to follow up immediately if something went wrong.
...Speaking of Princess Lucila, her 【Magic Stone Perception】 ability—and the way she used it to detect Magic Beasts through an expanded interpretation—had been an immense help.
Labyrinth Stampedes were breaking out across the globe, and in the chaos, the Cult had unleashed Giant Beast Species specifically within the Hitia Duchy. They likely intended to force me and 《Amunzaas》 to deal with them.
Because of my selfish desire to 'minimize casualties as much as possible,' most of the 《Amunzaas》 combatants were currently fighting Magic Beasts in other countries, even if it meant thinning the defenses of the Hitia Duchy. I was effectively filling that gap myself.
Since magic beast detection could distinguish between normal Magic Beasts and the Giant Beast Species, I left the common threats to the local Explorers. For the past two months, I had been focused solely on hunting down the Giant Beast Species.
I would have struggled much more without that detection ability. In that regard, too, I owed Princess Lucila a debt of thanks.
"Regardless, I’m glad to see the world situation has stabilized a bit for now."
Reading the paper, I learned that various nations had implemented their own countermeasures against the Magic Beasts. The fact that casualties had decreased significantly compared to the initial outbreak gave me a temporary sense of relief.
(...Even so, placing Labyrinth Cores in various locations... If I take that at face value, it's meant to draw Magic Beasts away from populated areas, but would they really use something as precious as a Labyrinth Core so lavishly for just that? I want to investigate. If so, is Zuriel the right person for the job? I could also ask the Guildmaster, Leon-san, to register a few fictional Explorers—)
"—Found you at last!"
As I was muttering to myself to organize my thoughts, I heard Shion's voice.
"Eh? Shion? You're supposed to be in another country right now..."
"The situation is settling down, so each country is becoming more capable of handling the Magic Beasts on their own. We decided to take turns taking vacations, and mine is today."
"Ah... Chris mentioned something like that."
"Don't 'something like that' me! Orun, you're off today too. Everyone is worried about you. Leave the work to someone else and rest your body properly, okay?"
"No, I’m fine. There are still Giant Beast Species left. I can't afford to rest."
"That is not allowed! Orun, you've been fighting for two months with almost no sleep, haven't you? You're going to collapse! Please, just rest today!"
I could tell from Shion’s tone that she was truly worried. However, this was something I couldn't compromise on.
"I’ll be fine. I can recover from fatigue with 【Self-Healing】, and even if my body breaks down, I have 【Time Rewind】. See? It's fine."
Just as I tried to reassure her, blood began to trickle from my nose at the worst possible moment. I hurriedly wiped it away.
I knew my body had been screaming for relief since last week. Even so, I couldn't stop. People were trembling in fear of the Magic Beasts at this very moment. I had to keep fighting to give them peace of mind. I believed that was my responsibility as someone with power.
"That is not even close to being fine...!"
Seeing the blood, Shion shook her head sadly.
"I think your resolve is noble, Orun. I think it’s amazing that you’re working yourself to the point of literal exhaustion to save even one more person. But I don’t think just pushing forward is always the right choice."
"Shion..."
"I don't think you're being rational right now. Think carefully. Saving the person in front of you is right, yes. But today, you can leave that task to others. If you collapse here, it will bring all of us that much closer to being wiped out. You're the one person who cannot collapse before the very end. You might be able to do everything yourself now, but you still only have one body. There are limits. So please... rely on me. Rely on your comrades. Stop fighting while you're in this state. Just for today... rest!"
Shion was desperate to stop me. Seeing her like that made my heart ache.
Perhaps, in the end, I had been trying to handle everything through my own strength alone. Even though what one person can achieve is ultimately limited. Without realizing it, I might have mistakenly started believing I was capable of doing everything by myself.
"...Sorry, Shion. You're right; I probably wasn't thinking clearly. I’m sorry for making you worry."
"It wasn't just me; everyone was worried sick! You’d better apologize to the rest of them later, too!"
"Yeah, I will. As you say, I won't fight anymore today."
"I'm glad to hear that. But as punishment for making me worry, I’m going to take a bit of your time!"
"...Eh?"
Before I could process what she meant, Shion grabbed my hand and activated 【Shift】.