Morning came with warm sunlight.
I woke early because of the mission Guy had mentioned yesterday, and took a moment to gather my thoughts.
'If Veldora is appearing in the Jura Great Forest, then it's most likely that incident.'
The great event from three hundred years ago in the story.
The most likely possibility was the incident where Storm Dragon Veldora suddenly appeared over an ordinary village, rampaged, and was ultimately sealed away three hundred years ago—in other words, in the present era.
That wild troublemaker who rampaged all across the continent... no, Veldora, would be sealed because of an inevitable fated encounter, and then three hundred years later he would meet that monstrous slime. It was an event absolutely necessary for the novel's plot to unfold.
The odds were overwhelmingly high. This had to be that incident.
And if my guess was right, then this era really was three hundred years in the past.
"Well, I'll know once I get there."
The Frozen Throne.
The most lavishly decorated place in this castle, it was the king's seat, permitted to only one Demon Lord.
"You're here."
The one seated on the throne was, of course, Guy Crimson. The king of this place.
"But why did you bring that one with you?"
Guy, who was already drinking wine from an ice-filled glass first thing in the morning, looked at Milim beside me, still half-asleep and not fully awake yet, and asked the question.
"...She came to my room last night saying she didn't want to sleep alone. So I thought it would be best to bring her here and have her stay with Ramiris while I'm gone."
Originally, I had planned to send her back in the morning, but she had been sleeping so soundly that I ended up carrying her here carefully instead.
"Hmm. She does get lonely easily, so I suppose that makes sense... Fine. I'll let Ramiris know."
"Uweeeh... I'm sleepy..."
Milim, still not fully out of dreamland, was handed over to Misery, who was standing behind us.
"All right then—I'll send you to the great forest now."
As Guy said that and stretched out a hand, a blue square magic circle formed beneath my feet.
The magic circle, made just large enough for one person to stand on, had been created with the Extra Skill [Spatial Movement].
I also had the Extra Skill [Spatial Movement], but since I didn't know the coordinates of the Jura Great Forest, there was no choice but to have someone else send me there.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. I'm fully prepared."
"Good. Go and see as much as you can of the True Dragon. Whether you make that monster's strength your goal or something else, all of it will become a guidepost on the path you walk as a Hero."
From the expectation mixed into Guy's tone, I understood the meaning hidden in those words and fell silent.
......
Right now, Guy Crimson wanted balance in this world. A balance where monsters and humanity stood as equals.
But for the balance he desired to be possible, humanity needed someone equal to the True Dragon, a race that stood above all monsters by nature.
It wasn't as if no such humans existed.
There were only two.
From the creation of the world up to the present, there had only ever been two Heroes of monstrous strength and rampaging divinity who possessed power equal to—or even greater than—the True Dragon.
But there were three True Dragons, and there were Demon Lords like Guy who could be compared to them, along with other Demon Lords who might not reach that level but were still powerful enough to be treated as calamities.
That was why Guy wanted a force he could manage—one that stood equal to the True Dragon and would take humanity's side.
'And he wants me to become that force for humanity.'
To someday become a Hero equal to the True Dragon.
'...But I really don't think it's possible for me to get that strong...'
I wasn't some insane slime.
Far from showing monstrous growth just a few years after reincarnating, I was a demon who had stayed an [Arch Demon] for a hundred years and had only barely evolved recently.
In other words, I wasn't some naturally overpowered protagonist from the very beginning.
'......'
"...Hmm. You've got the look of someone who doesn't trust his own talent."
...What kind of expression is that supposed to be?
Guy easily saw through what I was thinking and curled the corner of his mouth in a fierce grin.
"There's no need to burden yourself with pointless thoughts already. Give it a few hundred years, and it'll show itself naturally. Anyway, go and see for yourself."
"......"
Setting aside that nonsense about my expression, it was obvious enough that Guy trusted my talent.
...Well, what could I do at this point? As his subordinate, all I could do was try my best.
"...Understood."
With that half-resigned answer from me, the transfer magic circle activated.
To the Jura Great Forest, the main stage of the novel.
Deep within the great forest, filled with countless giant trees and mountains.
The place I arrived at after the transfer was, surprisingly enough, a massive cave that would one day be called the Sealed Cave.
'It looks different from the novel and manga. Then again, this is hundreds of years earlier, so of course it does.'
Since Veldora had not yet been sealed, it was still just an ordinary cave for now.
An ordinary cave without dense magicules, without swarms of monsters, and without rare ores or Hipokte herbs.
[Answerer]: "Report. A massive magical presence is approaching from the southwestern sky."
"Veldora, huh."
Along with [Answerer]'s report, I could also sense a cluster of small magical signatures in that same southwestern direction, probably a village.
'The battle will probably start there and continue all the way here.'
For now, I should wait outside the cave.
..........
By evening, I had taken up a position on a hill overlooking the village lights spread out below.
If I got too close, I might get caught up in the battle, so this distance—close enough to make things out with a demon's eyesight—felt about right.
"This should be safe eno—"
...Safe from the dragon, at least.
"Who are you?"
[Moon Sword]
This was not a place where I could avoid people... no, a Hero.
.........
A woman wrapped in silver radiance appeared and pressed a sword to my throat.
Her black hair fluttered in the air, and her black eyes tinged faintly with gray stared straight at me. She was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early twenties at most.
Overall, she gave off a gentle impression, but the chilling fighting spirit coming from her made it clear she was ready to cut off my head at any moment.
'After Guy, now it's this one...?'
One of the two strongest humans in the story, and one of those monstrous beings comparable to Guy Crimson and the True Dragon.
One of humanity's undeniable strongest—the Hero of an ancient age, Chronoa.
The guardian of humanity who sealed Storm Dragon Veldora, and a [Half-God] who could wield the authority of time, a power above even the five great attributes, was pointing her blade at me.
"Are you not going to answer?"
"..............."
At that moment, I thought to myself:
'Why is it that I only ever run into monsters like these...?'
Whoever had decided my fate was clearly out of their mind.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register