Chapter 47: Kenta Maya

“I was summoned to Lindor when I was seventeen, just like you, Nara.”

I began to tell Nara everything that had happened up until now.

“The reason I was summoned to another world, after not having done so in a long time, was because an incredibly powerful king from the Demon Race appeared and began invading the human world, intending to conquer it.”

“Um, about that Demon King…”

Nara glanced at Meyleen as he spoke.

“Yes. He’s my father.”

“I thought so…”

“Until then, the Demon Race mainly focused on self-defense. Well, they had no choice, since their numbers were far fewer than those of the humans. But then, someone came along who overturned that, which is why the summoning happened in a hurry. However, I wasn’t informed of these circumstances at the time.”

“Huh? Then what were you told?”

“I think it was something like, ‘An evil Demon is trying to conquer the humans, so we need your help.’ At first, I was angry about being forcibly abducted to another world, but since the people of this world were in trouble, I felt I should help them. After all, I thought of it like a hero summoned to another world, just like in a game.”

“Ah, I thought the same thing.”

“Yeah, right? But the Demon Race in this world wasn’t what I imagined them to be.”

“…Yeah, I can see that.”

Nara’s face grew serious, as if he understood what I was getting at.

“At first, they made me fight beings who looked very different from humans. I eagerly swung the sword techniques I had learned. Then…”

“Then?”

“…They spoke. The Demon said, ‘Help me.'”

“…That’s rough.”

“When I heard that, I had already brought my sword down. I couldn’t stop myself. And… I heard that Demon’s final screams up close.”

“…I can’t believe you kept your sanity.”

“Do you think I did?”

I responded with a question of my own, and Nara fell silent, staring at the ground.

“…Sorry. Of course, you couldn’t have kept your sanity.”

“You probably experienced this too, but I was tortured by guilt. Every time I slept, the feeling of cutting down that Demon and their final screams would haunt my dreams. Honestly, I couldn’t sleep for days.”

“But… the Demons wouldn’t wait for you to recover…”

“Exactly. I had already killed several Demons. They completely saw me as their enemy. Day after day, I fought and killed Demons, couldn’t sleep, and my mind wore thin… Eventually, I reached a point where I didn’t feel anything about killing humans anymore.”

“!?!”

I could tell Nara gasped at my words.

“Did you really get pushed that far?”

“Yeah. After that, I went to the Demon Kingdom to learn magic. I wanted to defeat the enemies more efficiently.”

“Ah, I remember hearing about that.”

Hmm.

It seems my actions were widely known across the world.

I must have been under surveillance since then.

“In the human kingdoms, no matter how much I wanted to learn magic, there was no one who could properly teach it. So, I decided to ask the rebels among the Demon King’s forces to teach me.”

“Rebels like that exist?”

“Of course. No country is united. When one group rises, another falls. The fallen ones envy and resent those who rise, and it grows into a massive darkness within the country.”

“…That’s kind of scary.”

“It’s just the way it is. Who knows, maybe even in our old world, things were like that. The difference here is that the rebellion in this world is really about armed conflict. That’s why the people in the underworld were incredibly skilled at magic.”

“I see. So, you learned magic from those people.”

“Yeah. After learning magic, my heart became even colder. Magic… it’s just long-range bombing. Really, after casting magic and killing someone, I lost all hesitation.”

“…”

Nara stared at me, his face filled with sadness.

But you know, I had no choice. I had to survive.

“After learning the basics and applications of magic, I sneaked into the Demon Kingdom’s library and rummaged through various texts to learn even more magic. I then snuck into the Demon King’s castle with the rebel Demons. And the person I met there was…”

“I was the one being chased by the assassins sent by my father.”

Meyleen, who had been quietly listening up until then, interrupted.

“Huh… Mayleen-san, your father sent assassins after you?”

“Yes. I opposed my father’s goal of Demon-kind ruling the world. You see, as Kenta said earlier, the Demons are overwhelmingly outnumbered. It would be impossible to rule over the humans, who outnumber us by several times, even hundreds of times.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“That’s why I’ve always tried to advise my father against his actions. However… I guess that only angered him. He sent assassins after me.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. I was cornered by the assassins and thought my life was over when Kenta appeared.”

She looked at me with teary eyes as she said that.

By the way, Leon was fast asleep in Meyleen’s arms, likely because the conversation had turned into one of those serious adult matters.

However, while Meyleen might feel it was fate that we met, the truth was a bit different.

“At that time, I only helped by chance. A beautiful woman being chased, and a suspicious-looking army following her. It was obvious who I was going to help.”

“Yeah, I’d help the girl too.”

Nara agreed with me, but Meyleen shook her head firmly.

“No, it was fate. Just as I thought my life was about to end, Kenta happened to pass by. What else would you call such an encounter, if not fate?”

“Ah… Ahem. Well, anyway, that’s when I first met Meyleen. She was the princess of the Demon Kingdom, but she opposed her father’s invasion of the human world. She told me that if we didn’t stop him, things would go terribly wrong, so she asked me to help her take down the Demon King.”

“…Your own father, right?”

Meyleen scoffed at Nara, still holding onto the common sense of the old world.

“Can you still call him my father after he sent assassins to kill me? He never listened to what I had to say and sent assassins just because I was a nuisance. The moment those assassins tried to kill me, my father became my enemy.”

“…I see.”

Nara looked terrified at her calm words, his face twisted with fear.

“Anyway, with the princess of the Demon Kingdom, who was the best guide in the Demon King’s castle, I went straight to the king’s chambers and took him down.”

“…So far, it sounds like a perfect hero’s tale.”

Well, I get why Nara’s confused.

We had reached a point where it seemed like the story would end in a climactic scene: the defeat of the Demon King, who had intended to conquer the human world. Yet, now I had become the enemy of the world.

It’s strange.

“After defeating the Demon King, I took his scepter, the symbol of the Demon King’s power, and gave it to Meyleen, then returned to Lindor. When I got back, they gave me a huge welcome. Finally, the humans were about to fulfill their long-held wish. But when I heard that, the first thing that came to my mind was Meyleen.”

“Kenta…”

“If the humans attacked the Demon Kingdom while it was in chaos, Meyleen, who would likely be crowned queen, would be in danger. So, I did my best to stop the King of Lindor. I told him that this was the perfect opportunity for peace with the Demon Kingdom. We shouldn’t wage war anymore. And then…”

When I stopped speaking, I noticed that Nara-kun swallowed nervously.

“One day, it seemed like someone drugged me, and when I woke up, I was tied up in the plaza in front of the Lindor castle.”

“!!”

“…”

Nara-kun’s eyes widened, and Meyleen bit her lip in frustration.

“I didn’t understand it. I had defeated the Demon King of the Demon Realm, who was a threat to the humans. I had saved this country, this world. Then, the people of Lindor told me that if I defeated the Demon King, I would be able to recharge enough magic to activate the magic circle again, but this time for sending me back, not for summoning me. But all of that was a lie.”

“Wait… so you really can’t go back?”

“I’m sorry, Nara-kun, but that’s the situation.”

At my words, Nara-kun dropped his shoulders in defeat.

“I was about to be executed. Just before the executioners read out my charges, I woke up. They said I was guilty of treason. And it seemed like someone had seen me with Meyleen, so I was also charged with espionage.”

“What!? That’s all just a false accusation!!”

Hearing what had happened to me, Nara-kun stood up in disbelief.

“Exactly. After hearing the charges, the crowd began to curse me. They threw stones at me like crazy.”

“?!”

Nara-kun was left speechless by the added blow.

“When I saw that, I thought, ‘Everyone in this world is garbage.'”

“…”

“I started thinking that I didn’t care what happened to this world anymore, and that dying here was just a joke. So, I blew away everything within a few hundred meters around me and ran. After that, I was somehow put on a wanted list.”

When I said that, Nara-kun chuckled bitterly.

“Well… considering what you did, I guess being on a wanted list makes sense, but hearing the reason just sounds absurd.”

“Right?”

“Also, you don’t really care about this world, do you?”

“I don’t.”

“Then it’s hard to believe that someone like you would try to control a country in this world. I see… so I’ve been taught lies…”

Saying that, Nara-kun seemed a bit sad…

Ah, I see what this is about.

“Well, the only one lying is the King. The princess, raised so freely, wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“…I see. So Eva doesn’t know either…”

Seeing Nara-kun like this made me a bit worried.

“Hey. This guy is so gullible.”

“What!? What are you saying!? Are you telling me all of this was a lie!?”

“No, I’m saying that the princess doesn’t know anything. You shouldn’t believe it so easily when I don’t even know myself.”

“Oh… right. I see now.”

“Well, why don’t you go check it out? I can send you to Admos.”

After I said that, Nara-kun thought for a moment before looking at me and saying:

“Can I ask you to help me?”

“Sure. But you should know, you’re essentially being told to kill me if you can. If you go back unharmed, are you going to be the one watching over me? If those guys don’t come back, your life will be in danger. So go sneak around, meet them quietly, and if things get bad, sneak back here.”

Upon hearing my proposal, Nara-kun immediately nodded.

This guy… does he realize something?

By agreeing to come back here, he probably already considers this place his home.

Anyway, it seems like I’ve successfully pulled him in.

This is a huge achievement.

Afterward, Nara-kun and I started discussing how to sneak into the castle and reach the princess’s room.

While making those plans, I couldn’t help but wonder about one thing.

By the way, Nara-kun’s story didn’t mention the other summoner at all. What happened with that person?

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