Chapter 158: It’s Your Convenience

As the sage disappeared through teleportation, the sword saint promptly returned to the lord’s mansion.

There are three more chances to finish this, and I want to settle it before that. They might go somewhere again, and if we delay, the hero and the saint might also gather.

Feeling this, I sent telepathy to Sakura, who was waiting in the village.

“Are you aware of the situation here, Sakura?”

“Yes, I heard from Roa-chan. The sage and the sword saint are there, right?”

“I think it’s okay, but just in case, I’ll ask you to prepare for teleportation. Also, sorry, Sakura… but if things get tough, please use wide-area magic.”

“I’ve been prepared for a long time. Akiho-san and Roa-chan feel the same way, so please rely on us without hesitation.”

“Thank you. I’ll try to settle it in one shot to avoid that.”

Even though I understand that I should do this, there is still hesitation considering the outcome. I don’t intend to pretend to be self-righteous, but I can’t help but have the feeling of wanting to avoid involving innocent people.

“Keisuke-san, don’t forget about me! I’m a hero at times like this. I’ll be ready to unleash maximum power anytime!”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you. But please refrain from going 100%… because the entire city will definitely disappear.”

Although it’s probably a joke, it helped relieve some tension. Now that the preparations are complete, all that’s left is to wait for the next opportunity.

After a while, the sage returned with a large crowd of people.

—However, this time, it’s a send-off. He blends into the surrounding crowd, making it impossible to visually confirm the target. By the time the people become sparse, he has already returned through teleportation.

“Village chief, should we forcefully rush in next time? Or maybe surround the area with Roa-san’s earth magic… oh, but that won’t work. He can teleport and escape.”

“Yeah, if we take action recklessly, it will raise suspicion. At worst, he might not appear here anymore.”

“Understood. But still, when we decide to kill him, let’s do it simultaneously. Let’s assume interference from the sword saint and others.”

I agreed with Tōuya’s suggestion and waited for the next opportunity. There are two chances left.

—Twenty minutes of waiting from there, a magic circle appeared… and this time, he was in a more visible location. He wasn’t returning immediately, and he was giving instructions to the people around him.

“Tōuya, I’ll give the signal, and we’ll go at once. You go left, and I’ll go right!”

“Yeah, leave it to me.”

Shortly after, the crowd disappeared, and there was no one around. The sage remained in place without moving, and he didn’t seem particularly vigilant.

“All right, let’s go!”

With the signal, we leaped out of the tent, and several figures appeared around the barrier. However, paying no attention to that, we ran with all our might. The target was solely the sage.

—In just three seconds—

The swords held by Tōuya and me were sucked into the sage’s chest without any deviation.

◇◇◇

After returning to the tent, we caught our breath while listening to the surrounding commotion. Right next to us, the sage who had already stopped breathing lay.

After that—Tōuya and I returned immediately.

I thought we might be surrounded by forces when we came back, but that didn’t happen. Roa had used earth magic to create a sinkhole and trapped them. Since Kana was also there, the opponent probably couldn’t recognize who did it.

We brought the sage back to prevent resurrection by the saint. I don’t think they have such an ability, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Desecration of the dead… those words crossed my mind, but I was trying to find excuses within myself.

“Phew. I thought about what might happen, but this is probably the most ideal result. Now we don’t have to worry about the development site being attacked, Village Chief.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I feel relieved now. You’ve pulled yourself together, Tōuya.”

“That’s good. Well then, let’s respectfully offer condolences. Well, saying that when I did it myself is a bit hypocritical, though.”

(Sigh… truly pathetic. Alright, let’s switch gears!)

“Roa and Kana are safe too. That judgment was excellent. Thanks to that, we achieved the best result.”

“Because the vigilance was unexpectedly low… I was always prepared with magic. I probably took down about 50 people! Right, Kana?”

“Roa-chan, you were amazing! By the way, Village Chief, did you appraise the woman who came out of the mansion earlier?”

“Well, only for a moment. I think she was probably the saint, but…”

When we returned with the sage, the sword saint and another woman came out of the mansion. It was an appraisal while turning around, and I couldn’t see well because she immediately hid behind the sword saint.

The appraisal result was certainly ‘Saint,’ but… it immediately blurred and changed into something else.

“We didn’t know her occupation or name, but her skills were lined up, just like Hayato’s or maybe even better.”

“That woman seems suspicious… Well, for now, let’s go back. There’s no sign of her coming out, and we’ve accomplished our goal!”

“Yeah, that’s right. First, let’s go back and report to everyone. They must be worried.”

In this way, we safely eliminated the mastermind who aimed at the settlement and returned to the village.

◇◇◇

Upon returning to the village, we immediately conducted the burial of the Sage.

This Sage did not cause any actual harm like before. It was an action taken purely out of concern for the potential threat. Although the conclusion left a bitter aftertaste, considering the future where the village could be trampled, and loved ones could be killed, it can be confidently asserted that it was not a wrong choice.

I also understand that it’s all based on my own convenience. Even considering that, I convinced myself that it was the right decision “for me.”

After settling various matters, we gathered everyone in the village and explained the detailed circumstances.

That tens of thousands of Japanese people have been transferred, that the Empire will establish the Keimos territory as its final base, that we eliminated the Sage and prevented the attack on Nanashi Village in advance – we shared all the information we had gathered.

“Although I’m curious about the skills of the Hero and the Saint, the village is safe for now. Thank you all for your hard work!”

“Yeah, I’m really glad Sakura didn’t have to get involved. I don’t even want to imagine mass extermination on that scale.”

“But if they attacked me and the village, I would do it without hesitation. If I die, I won’t even be able to worry.”

“Indeed, as Sakura says. I still had doubts… it’s embarrassing, even after almost a year.”

“Well, Keisuke-san, I think it’s fine. If there were no doubts at all, you’d be on the straight path to the Demon Lord route.”

“I see… but even if I hesitate, I promise to do it without fail.”

And so, with such support, we proceeded with the discussion about future actions.

Oops, I almost forgot, there was one more important report.

This evening, I teleported to the tent once again. Since many people were still in the garden, I set up a barrier along the outer wall of the lord’s mansion.

Of course, it’s not to capture and dispose of them. It’s to verify whether the Empire guys can surpass a 10m barrier. There’s a 20m barrier at the entrance of the forest, but if there’s a possibility they could surpass that, we need to think of something else.

I plan to check the results tomorrow morning.

(I hope they can’t surpass it… well, things probably won’t go that smoothly.)

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