...Seriously, what kind of coincidence was this?
Chronoa said she was going to check on the World Tree's power, so I just tagged along. But what were the odds that I'd happen to run into the emperor of the very nation where that World Tree stood?
Of course, Chronoa had headed down toward the roots midway through, and climbing all the way to the top had been entirely my own choice... but like her, I had only wanted to check the condition of the World Tree.
This World Tree, one of the only two remaining [Holy Relic]s in the current Central World.
*
"...So, to summarize, you're saying you came here to check the condition of this World Tree, which is a [Holy Relic]?"
Fortunately, Ermesia was quick on the uptake, so explaining the situation didn't take nearly as long as it had with the Demon Lords.
"That's correct."
A relic left behind by the Creator God.
What people called [Holy Relic]s were a kind of massive barrier created by the Creator God Veldanava to prevent this world from being destroyed by the power of beings such as the Primordial Demons or the Seven Angels of Origin, or by invasions from entities of other worlds.
To put it simply, they were like shrines meant to ward off evil spirits.
Though, of course, there was a rather large difference between that and something made by a god to protect the entire world...
Anyway—
"The World Tree is an artifact made by that 'first True Dragon'... How exactly do you know that?"
There weren't many people who knew that the World Tree was a [Holy Relic].
Even among Demon Lords who had lived for thousands of years, only Guy, Ramiris, Dino, and Dagruel knew what a [Holy Relic] even was. The others didn't even know such things existed.
That was how ancient and obscure they were.
Even Ermesia, a High Elf who had lived here since birth, hadn't known.
'Of course she'd find me suspicious for knowing something like this.'
It was only because I had old man Gran's sword that things hadn't gone badly. If I didn't even have this, it wouldn't have been strange for her to seize me on the spot and interrogate me.
"I can't give you an exact answer because of a [Contract], but if I had to explain it, it's because of who I serve."
It wasn't a wrong answer.
I really was on the Demon Lord side right now as one of Guy's subordinates, and it was true that I had a contract with him.
Of course, the real reason I knew about [Holy Relic]s was because of my previous life... but I couldn't reveal that much.
This situation was very different from when I had told old man Gran the truth.
"Because of who you serve, huh... Then how did you come by that sword? As you already know, that sword belonged to the [Adventure King]—"
"I know. He gave it to me himself."
"...Emperor Gran? But he died long ago..."
"—No. He's still in the material world. Somewhere very far away... but he should still be alive."
Old man Gran was alive.
No, he had to be.
As long as he possessed the Ultimate Skill [Argo], [King of Expedition], he would still be using that power to continue his adventures across countless worlds.
'Someday... I'm sure I'll see him again.'
I had no idea when that would be, or in which world it would happen, but for some reason, I felt certain we would meet again.
"...I see..."
Ermesia quietly studied my downcast face, and perhaps her seasoned eye had picked up on something, because she slowly closed her eyes as if she understood.
She looked torn between joy that an old acquaintance still hadn't passed on to the next world and the confusion of facing a truth that was hard to believe.
"...It seems everything you've said is true."
Ermesia let out a long sigh.
Maybe she had decided to drop the dignified way of speaking she used as emperor, because her tone shifted back to the casual one that matched her real personality.
Or maybe she simply didn't have the room to care about that right now.
'The fighting spirit hidden in that magic power is definitely the same as the swordsmen of Dwargo. And Emperor Gran would never have taught his swordsmanship to some evil monster... so it must all be true.'
Ermesia's eyes could discern lies.
Thanks to the senses sharpened over her long life and the exceptional discernment unique to High Elves, she could easily see through most falsehoods.
And at this moment, her eyes judged that the demon before her was speaking nothing but the truth.
"...For now, I'll believe you. If you possess that sword of Emperor Gran's, then that means the sword itself has acknowledged you. So I won't tell the Magius that you came here to inspect the World Tree's condition."
And now she had begun to see evidence supporting the truth her eyes had already judged, so she had little choice but to believe me.
'Whew... I guess I'll just have to trust Emperor Gran's judgment.'
The man known as the [Adventure King] had been just as good as Sylvia at finding interesting things and people with bright futures. That alone made him worth trusting.
"But that doesn't mean I can trust everything about you."
Still, there was no way she could fully trust a demon she had never met before, and not even one of her own kind at that.
She needed some kind of safeguard, just in case.
And the demon understood that too...
"So let's make a [Contract]. Since you're a demon, you understand what that means, don't you?"
"...Yes. If that would satisfy you... then I understand."
A demon's contract.
The fairest bargain of all bargains, and the easiest restriction of all restrictions to break.
A demon's contract was the perfect example of an incomplete agreement that embodied contradiction itself.
It was basically fraud: whoever managed to create loopholes and twist things to their own advantage was the winner.
And yet, for her to suggest this meant—
'She's confident.'
She meant she was absolutely certain she wouldn't lose against me, a demon.
'...Well, I'm the one in the weaker position, so I don't really have a choice but to accept.'
Between Ermesia and me, I was unquestionably the disadvantaged party, since I was the one who had trespassed.
"...What kind of contract do you want?"
At my question, asked with my face slightly stiff after seeing how utterly confident Ermesia was, she gave me a sly smile.
"Oh, it's simple. I just—"
Then, crossing her legs and lowering her eyelids halfway, she said,
"—want you to become my 'companion.'"
At that moment, she looked exactly like a swindler who knew very well how to make a contract work in her favor.
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