57-Episode 57: Truth and Disposal

After returning the Megalo Whale to the open sea, we returned to the Goodruiser with the captured demon.

'Oh, you're safe, boy!

It's so good to see you all safe!

Byrne and Maeleen saw us coming back and greeted us on the deck.

For some reason the deck is soaked, but well, I guess a lot has happened. Mainly the aftermath.

'So did you get any information?　Oh no, the megalohale went out to sea, so I'm sure it worked out fine.

Speaking of which, how are you doing?　It's kind of an odd look, but...

And Mayleen looks at the demon and looks suspiciously at him.

''Oh, he's the one behind this incident.

What?　Is this the man who did it?

Yes, he's a criminal genie.

I hold out a witch in front of Mr. Byrne and the others.

"Well, are you a witch... a witch?

What about Mr. Vern?　I nodded my head.

Mayleen, are you a witch too?　I'm thinking.

''.........?''

Then both of them remembered something at the same time and shook their bodies.

"...witch...witch...witch...

Hmmm, perfect timing.

"Yes, it's a genie.

"Well, when you say 'demons,' are you talking about them?　Are you talking about the demon race that once tried to exterminate mankind?

That demon race that was part of the demon gods that led the world to its doom?

Yes, the demon.

There are many things that are said, but it is correct to say that the actual Majinins are invaders from another world.

People from another world, that's the true identity of a witch.

But it's strange. I think most knights and nobles would know that.

Therefore, I'll hand them over to you two as the culprit who knows the whole truth.

Uh-huh...

Mr. Byrne is amused when the demon is randomly thrust out of the room.

''It's okay. I've restrained you with a captive magic item, so don't worry.

Oh, you had to have that in your possession?

I got it by accident.

The material.

Saying that, I show them the magic item that is capturing the magician.

I think everyone uses captive magic items to catch criminals.

Ah, I see. These people are aristocrats, so they don't do the lowly job of catching criminals?

Yeah, yeah, even in my past life, I didn't know that kind of normal thing about people who just give orders from above.

Then it makes sense.

Oh, and while I'm at it, I'll also add a magic item to seal the magic.

I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do with it.

I'm going to be able to see that you're not the only one who's interested.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that the magic item is still here. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

Oh, yeah. Of course I do.

That's a national treasure.

Haha, you're exaggerating.

So, tell us all about it.

Mr. Byrne tries to question the witch who was being held.

But the witch looks at Mr. Byrne and snickers.

"Haha, don't make me laugh, human. I'm sorry, don't eat anymore!　Feathers!　No feathers, eh!

The demon tried to refuse Mr. Byrne's interrogation, but he immediately declared defeat when the Fluffy Fluffy jumped on his head and started biting off his feathers.

I wonder if a demon's feathers are delicious?

Okay, okay! Say it!　Fess up!　So do something about this guy!

When I lifted Mofumov up from the completely defeated demon, Mofumov gave me a smug and proud look and bit me sweetly.

Is he asking me to praise him?

Hey, boy.

Well, since I made the demon honestly fess up, I'll give him honest praise here.

And then the Fluffy Fluffy started to tremble.

Oh, I shouldn't do this. That's a signal to pee.

I hurriedly set the Fluffy down on the ground and it began to pee in a trickle.

Oh no, that's dangerous.

"Whoa!

Oh, shit, I put it on top of the witch.

d*mn, not only did you not only capture the legendary witch, but you tortured her with your pet, and then you peed all over her confession.

"Breaks your opponent's heart to the bone. What a horrible form of torture.

Wait, I'm not thinking about that!

The sailors look at me from afar and are aghast.

'No wait, that wasn't torture,'

And it was Maylene who defended me.

Good, you got it right.

'Lord Lex didn't mess with it at all. The fact that he bit his feathers and peed himself is a voluntary, or seemingly voluntary, act on your part. In other words, Lord Lex did not torture you. This is only in the category of interrogation. After all, the pet did it on its own accord. And the pet was a seemingly lovable dog?　So it looks even less like torture. This is going to be a new revolution in interrogation for our interrogators.

You don't understand!

Is that right, dog?　So I don't blame you.

Yeah, but it's not a cat?

What the hell is that creature?

Ugh, I haven't cleared up any misunderstandings at all, but well, my doubts have shifted to mofo, so let's resume the interrogation while we're at it.

While we're at it!

So let's get some answers for you.

"...wow, we've been planning a major offensive against humanity. As part of that plan, I was ordered to use a biological weapon using Megalo Whale. I was told to use the magical power of the Megalo Whale to crush the seaside nation.

That giant magic item.

Smash?

Mayleen is astonished when she is told that her country is not to be ruled but smashed.

That's the truth. The five-kilometer-long Megalo Whale's parent's magic power was about to be condensed to manifest its mighty destructive power.''

Ho, was it really something that was going to blow up the country?

Mayleen-san tells me that she can't believe it.

''It was quite a lot of magic, so even if it wasn't an entire country, the royal capital and the surrounding towns and villages would definitely have been destroyed.

Devastation...

Maylene's face turned pale and shivered at the fact that unknowingly a situation they hadn't imagined was going on.

''Don't worry. The magic item has been dismantled and the Megalo Whale has returned to the open sea. The immediate crisis is over.

Oh, you did all that for me?

Yeah, I mean, I could have done it in a way that I could have done.

I've got something I can handle...

Maylene is stunned, but it's easy to disassemble if you know a little bit about magic items.

Now, it's more of an interrogation.

''Was the Kraken's appearance in the Inner Ocean part of it?

'Yes. I attacked the Megalo Whale and brought the Kraken closer inland so that I could live inland, where the Megalo Whale has less food. Some of them seem to have escaped, though.

I see, so that's why some of it escaped to the Inner Ocean.

It's impossible for Megalo Whale's parent's huge body to pass through there, you know.

Well, it looks like the fry followed them.

"Why did you bother giving them food?

Mr. Byrne questions the magician.

'It's just bait to buy time until the magic power extraction to the magic item is complete and to lure you further inland.

'I see, because no matter how many times we drive them away with an attack, the creature's instincts are likely to refuse to go anywhere near inland.

'What are the details of the operation?　What other countries are being targeted?

'I don't know, I was only told what I was supposed to do, not what the other guys were supposed to do.

'Don't lie to me!　What kind of person in an organization doesn't know what their fellow members are doing?

Mr. Byrne is furious, but I think the mages are right about this.

Because even in a human country, lower level officers are only given information related to their own operations, and even the worst of the ordinary soldiers may not even understand their own operations very well.

Or rather, such experiences were rather common in my previous life. Both friend and foe.

But, well, is that the job of the experts?

In fact, just because I think so, it's possible that he might actually have some important information.

So I'll leave the interrogation of the demons to Mr. Byrne and the others.

It's only our job to investigate what happened to Megalo Whale and the Kraken that came to the Inner Sea.

''We must hurry to inform the country of this fact that the demons were planning a major offensive.

Maylene-san ordered her subordinates to report back to her in a state of urgency.

Their country was actually being targeted, and for Mei-Lean and the others, it's a problem that needs to be dealt with quickly.

Our country too. XO, I'm going to bring this demon back to his home country immediately and request that a countermeasure meeting be held!

Yes, sir. Things aren't just about us, you know. We'll need to contact our neighbors as well.

The XO ordered his men and the Goodruiser's anchor was hoisted.

'Wait a minute!　The demon was captured in our territory. Their custody should be kept in our country.

No, no, no, no, we brought you the information about the Megalo Whale. It was our people who captured it.

Oh, this isn't very nice.

We're gonna have to leave early for this one.

Well, we're going to have to go home.

'Wait a minute!　You have earned the credit for this investigation!　As a man of our country, I want you to be part of the detailed meetings.

Wait! I owe my country a debt of gratitude, Mr. Lex and his friends. I would be honored to have them as my country's guests!

Yeah, that's not good. That's not very nice.

They're gonna take advantage of me.

"Uh, since this is gonna be a long story, would you mind signing the form for once?　The Adventurer's Guild asked me to investigate the Megalo Whale, and since I was able to get the details from the demon, that is also complete. So if the story involves a demon, it will be another contract.

Hmm. Is that what it is?　Hmmm, I suppose you could say that for sure.

When I presented the guild's request completion certificate to Byrne-san along with a pen, he took it obediently and signed to receive it.

''Is this good?''

'Yes, thank you. This completes our investigation of the Megalo Whale.

So.........

I turn around and call out to Liliella and the others.

'What?'

What's the matter with you, bro?

What's the matter, boy?

Mr. Vern nods his head at our actions.

'Airshade!'

I activate a blind wind spell on the deck.

"Whoa!　What?

"We don't want any trouble, so let's say goodbye to that!

What?　What do you mean by that?

Ignoring the astonished Burn-san and the others, I hugged everyone and activated my transference magic and returned to the royal capital.

◆.

Yeah, I'm back.

When everyone opens their eyes, this is already my home in King's Landing.

''Huh?　Is this your brother's house?

''When did you.........transition magic?

Everyone was confused by the sudden transference, but gradually they grasped the situation and became calm.

''But why did you suddenly return to the royal capital?　Those people still seemed to have things to do with Mr. Lex, though.

'Yes, you said you were going to treat me like a guest of honor as a benefactor of the country!

I don't want to deal with that.

It's a hassle...

Mina looks at me with a dumbfounded look.

'Are you sure?　I had a chance to be a hero.

The title of "hero", Liliella-san, is a title that can be used to bind the geese with the chain of honor. I don't care about such a meaningless title, I think it's more important to live freely as an adventurer.

How can you throw away your honor so easily?

'It's disgusting,' said Liliella, 'but honor is just a hindrance to having it, isn't it?

''If you become a hero, you'll have status and wealth. I think that's exactly what makes you a nobleman, don't you think?

That's exactly what I'm hoping for.

I don't want to be a nobleman at all.

The only thing I can give you anyway is the title of a lower class nobleman, and the other nobles will despise me for being an upstart, and if anything happens, I'll be told that I'm a nobleman who stands above others and will take the lead for my country.

'I'm not interested in aristocracy or honor. Also, I've already got a lot of wealth to clean up.

That's what it was all about.

To be honest, I already have quite a bit of wealth.

I'm aware of the prices of goods in King's Landing, so as long as I don't spend my money in a very strange way, I won't go broke soon.

Really, adventurers are so profitable.

Honestly, it's unthinkable to me since I was a hero.

''Besides, if I become a nobleman and choose to live a secure life, won't there be no reason for Liliera-san to follow me?

It seems that Rieliela-san's purpose is to repay me.

Well, as far as I'm concerned, it's precisely because I want Rieliela to be active.

I want her to be happy to the point where she is able to put her past misfortunes behind her as a matter of course, since she has lived a life of misfortune since she was a child.

Well, that's certainly not the case. I've yet to repay the debt of gratitude I received from you. Or rather, I feel like I owe you more than I owe you....

"Ha-ha-ha!

You mean... Lex's brother doesn't give a shit about fame and fortune, he's a great guy.　You can say that national heroes don't give a shit about fame, yuck brother, that's awesome!

Well, it's only normal for Lex to ignore our common sense.

'Right. That's exactly what you'll be laughing about, even if you save the world, Lex, you're not doing much.

You said it.

Wait, I feel like I'm kind of overrated, you know?

There are plenty of people in the world who can do things like I can.

But, well, everyone seems to agree with me, so that's fine.

Once we returned to King's Landing, we returned to Physio's town and submitted the request achievement document to the guild.

Then we went through the procedures to have our rewards put into the guild's deposit, and then we came back to King's Landing.

Part of the reward for this request involved the Knights of the Inner Ocean, so there's a possibility that I won't be able to get it transferred until Mr. Byrne comes back.

So I had them transfer the money to my account because I'm afraid that meeting Mr. Byrne would be a hassle again.

Well, either way, I'm sure I'll be staying for a long time because of the witch's case.

Fortunately, I have a lot of savings, so I don't have to worry about money.

And when we came back to the capital, we were looking at the guild's request board.

As far as I can tell, we still don't have any requests as far as I'm concerned.

Due to the effects of the last prolonged defeat, the number of requests still remains low.

''Hey, hey, let's go for this one this time.

This is going to take quite a while.

But it's a good rate.

Well, it's a good thing we have a few members.

In the midst of all that, Gyro-kun and the others, who were still low in rank, were examining the request without any problems.

That's great, that sounds like fun.

I wonder if it's possible to get them to lower their adventurer rank.

What's the matter with you?

Liliera-san got angry at me.

''You've reached S-rank, the pinnacle of adventurers, and the other adventurers will get mad at you if you say that.

Hmmm, for me, I don't even know how I got to be S-ranked, so I don't have a problem with it going down, or even better, I think it's better to go down.

So what are you going to do about it?　Are we going to another town?　Or do you want to take a break for a while?

There's no work to be done even if you stay in King's Landing, but if you're too busy, the guild leader might lead you to make a strange request again.

In that case, let's just say........

I've been moving a little too flamboyantly lately, and a trip to a faraway country might be a good idea.

Hello?

It's just a little.

The nobles and the Knights are about to have their eyes on me, and I might as well work in a foreign country until the heat dies down.

And if you use the gate, you'll be home in no time.

''Since we're going to be here, let's go to a place we've never seen or heard of, like Uchidaikai.

Besides, now that Liliella can fly, it would be nice to go to a place that I've missed.

''Okay, I've decided!　Next time, let's go with a foreign trip!

I'll follow your path. I'm sure there will be terrible things that will happen where you go anyway.

Wait, don't talk about people like they're troublemakers.

''Oh, that's right. Since we're here, I'll have the gemstone that Megalo Whale gave me to auction off.

Since you're back in King's Landing, I'm going to ask you to buy the demon materials.

Wait.

And for some reason, Liliella stops me.

'What?　Why?

Because you've decided to be quiet for a while, haven't you?　So why throw in the fires to make a big deal out of it?

What?

'What?　Not!

For some reason, I've been desperately trying to stop them, so I'll sell the Megalo Whale gemstone in another country.

If selling them in this country would cause a fuss, then another country would be good!

All right!　Then let's get ready to travel!

Hmmm, it's kind of strange to go around the world for purposes other than fighting.

I hope there are many mysterious places like the Inner Ocean.

◆.

I am the king of demons.

Today I ate the winged prey that the Lord caught.

Whoa!　What's this?　It's like magic is flowing through me!

That's great!　This catch is a great ingredient!

I feel like I've grown wings on my body!

Kukukukuk, kukukukukukuk, kukukukukukukuk!

Stupid human!　You think you've tamed me, but in fact, you've just given your prey to an unruly beast of prey!

Now for the main course.

Yes, I'm going to devour your meat!

Ham-ham-am-am-am.

Uh, I can't chew it out at all.

"****************************

Oh, no, it's nothing, I'm just kidding, Lord?

Pon.

The Lord's hand is placed on my head.

He begins to rub my head with exquisitely precise force.

What?　A sacrificial ceremony?　Am I going to be eaten?

Chomping down, chomping down.

I just peed my pants.