136 The next thing I'm going to teach you is...

We've seen enough of the Earthling.

The first thing he did after the king told him the story was to check the lab.

And then he questioned the kid about the situation.

I should think he'd have figured out I was setting him up, but that's the point.

His behavior up to that point was quite impressive, but what followed was a bit of a letdown: after leaving the kid, he started cooking.

It looked like a pastry, but cooking to comfort the kid, what kind of housewife are you?

After that, he divided the fried sweets into several baskets, stored them, and went to the king again.

"What's that?

'Nora seems to have eaten very little, so I've prepared something to whet her appetite. I have some for Marito, so he can have a light meal.

It certainly smells good, but it's going to leave a scent in the ...... office.

"Yeah, that was a bit of an oversight. Sorry.

Well, now's as good a time as any.

In the room are the Earthling, the king, the female knight guarding him, and the descendants of Ygras.

I'm sure the descendants of Yugra won't move as long as I don't touch the king, and the king will try to keep them out of it.

The female knight is not a problem, she's probably not the best of people, but that's all.

She moved to an empty sofa in the room, still unseen.

I pick up one of the baskets nearby and check the contents.

The baked goods smell good, they are fried in oil and the strong smell alone is enough to make your stomach rumble.

There is no preparation such as a careful magic check ...... poison.

I stick my hand in the basket, pick up the baked goods, and eat them.

And at the same time, I'm going to make them aware of my presence.

"Oh, this is so good!

"......?

The female knight reacted immediately, and the two men looked as if to say, "I knew you'd come.

It's really good, I can eat the whole basket.

I don't remember making one for you, though.

"Don't be so coy, Earthling. Isn't it polite to entertain guests?

"How dare you?

"Iliad, I don't mind that you're angry. But I told you that I would take care of this.

The lady knight tries to draw her sword, but the Earthling stops her.

I'm not sure what to do.

This man sometimes uses the first person in different ways to get around.

As a result of the man's past, it seems that he usually avoids using the first person and uses "I" when he is emotional.

And when he says "I", it is when he is dealing with a dangerous person.

This is the blackest part of a man who does not let his emotions get the better of him.

That's good, that's good, that's what I'm talking about.

Looks like he's serious about me.

What's the point of playing the bad guy if he doesn't?

He pulls out the next baked good from the basket, and starts talking while munching on it.

"Hmm, do you have some business to attend to?

Of course I do. It's about yesterday's Luko.

What's the problem?　The kid was in violation of the law, so I tried to kill him. And you interfered, so I did. I'm sure you'll be thankful I didn't kill him, but I don't need you to hate me, do I?

"If only Nora had violated the taboo on her own. But that's what you did.

He's here. He's got good instincts after all.

Well, what are you talking about?　Are you trying to tell me I've done something?

"Yeah, I checked with Nora, and she said that she came up with this theory of forbidden construction by looking at the materials I made on the shelf. I've also checked the relevant materials.

"Well, that's a terrific talent, even if it was inspired by the Earthman's materials, isn't it?

But it would be a little while before Nora would be able to read that material. It was a document that I hadn't planned to show Nora yet.

You just looked at it out of curiosity, didn't you?

"No. Nora's work in the lab is always routine. She opens the shelf, grabs the current research material in front of her, and starts working on it, returning it to the shelf when she is done. This is a monotonous task. When she's focused on her immediate research, she doesn't do anything else. That is, unless she happens to see something that catches her interest.

So it was on your radar?

You brought it to my attention, you did. When you learned of Nora's independent research, you extracted materials from it that could be derived from the abstruse, and rearranged them so that they were in Nora's view. So that Nora would be aware of it when she took it out and fixed it.

You see, it's a little trap.

The kid's knowledge of the Earth was the start of his path to the abomination.

I thought I'd give him another chance.

I took the long view that sooner or later they would notice, but it happened sooner than I thought.

But I'm not as nice as I'd like to admit here, okay?

You think I did it?

"As a general rule, the lab is only accessible with a key in Luko's possession. Nora made an exception and went through the wall, but if there was something wrong with that place, Nora would have noticed. If you can think of anyone who can sneak into such a place without anyone noticing and extract the material on the contraindications written in Japanese, I'd like to hear about it.

"I can't think of anyone under those conditions, aside from Yugra, who's waiting to be resurrected. But there's always the possibility that the girl could have accidentally rearranged them.

It's got to be an outsider. Luko is very meticulous. He always corrects his work. Nora, on the other hand, is short, so when she has to fix something on a high shelf, it gets messy.

It's a choice between fixing it well and fixing it poorly, so what are the chances?

"Fix it right" means "fix it right. Ruco will fix everything in order that we don't use later.

Order?

All my files are numbered on the back. I checked and found that some of them had been put in the front out of order. You've prepared too many triggers to get people to mess with the taboo.

I tried to put them back in their original order, but that would have been unnatural.

I've been trying to put it back together as much as possible, but that would be unnatural.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

...... Oh, no, no, no, no!　I'm not sure what to do.

Assuming we get a confession, I'd like you to tell me why.

Yeah, yeah.

If he finds out I did it, he'll ask why, that's what I'm waiting for.

I was waiting for that. "I wanted to see if the people of this world could reach the taboo with just a hint. It was quite interesting to find out that you don't have to be a guy like Yugra to reach the taboo if you have the knowledge.

Did you set this up and then try to kill Nora?

"Well, if I'm going to create a contraindication, I'm going to have to clean it up, aren't I?　That's the only reason. What's the problem?

"You ......

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

The more selfish the reason, the more they hate to see their friends hurt.

The more selfish their reasons are, the more they hate having their friends hurt.

Now, get angry, Earthling, and lose that smug look, will you?

I know you've been secretly preparing a way to retaliate against me.

Emptying the basket of baked goods with an air of reserve.

I think I'll start on the next basket, but I'm pretty full.

I'll take one as a souvenir, thanks.

I told you at the beginning that there was a problem with Luko.

Without changing his mild expression, the Earthman leaves his wooden sword with the lady knight and walks over to us.

Yes, yes, if you have something to argue about, go ahead and say it.

If you have something you want to argue about, go ahead and do it. I'll just stir it up and create hostility.

"Hmm, so you don't care about the kid?

"You are acting in the category of the Keeper of the Forbidden. You are acting within the scope of a guardian of taboos. Whatever your background, the fact that you went to Nora can be seen as you are acting within the scope of a guardian of taboos. I'll let you off the hook for that.

Oh, well, that's very generous of you.

But it's not your place to involve Luco and threaten her.

You said it was your daughter who interfered.

What's the point of Luko's interference to you?　No matter what Luko does, you have the power to kill Nora and quickly. As the guardian of the abomination, you were in a position to enforce it, but you dared to involve Luko.

Hmm, that's true.

I could afford to ignore the girl and kill the kid.

My job is to kill anyone who violates the taboo, and that's what I'll do.

I could have done that, but it would have been a roundabout way of doing it.

Well, that doesn't make any sense, even for a real job.

Well, let me stir the pot.

"That's my hobby. It's fun to scare women and children, you know?

That's not my favorite hobby.

One step, then another, and soon the Earthling was right in front of me.

Here I can reach him with one motion, and of course I'm not afraid of anything.

That wasn't so bad, was it?　It's not so bad, the kid's shitting himself was pretty funny.

"I'm not going to say anything about Nora. I'm not going to say anything about Nora. What I'm unhappy about is the fact that she brought Luco into it. You're messing with my people who don't need to be messed with.

"Hmm, so what do you want?

Retaliation.

With a few movements, the Earthling pulls out an object hidden in his sleeve and thrusts it at you.

It was a knife, one of the knives from the king's sister's room where the kid was, and I watched closely as he hid it in his pocket.

If you are a normal person, you might be caught off guard, but a surprise attack by a small fish like you is nothing.

The type of knife is ...... an ordinary knife at first glance.

There's no sign of poison on the surface, and no sign of magic.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

It's a good idea to take a look at the website and see if you can find anything you like.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

But it's too weak, and evasion is out of the question, so I'll just do this.

The knife is heading straight for my mouth, and I catch the blade between my teeth.

......

"Han-nen-ha-ha, hon-na-na-ha.

It's a shame, isn't it?

You can't move your body with just the power of your neck, and the blade won't slide with the power of your jaw.

But this guy didn't change his expression. ...... Oh no!

I'm not sure if he saw that or not, but he backed away a bit.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.

"Ouch!

The discomfort spreading in my mouth, the shivering running through my body.

I immediately spit out the shards of the knife that I had in my mouth.

I saw what looked like a blue liquid mixed in with the knife fragments that had been spat out on the ground.

How the hell did this happen, but more importantly, what the hell is this?

The feeling on my tongue won't go away, my esophagus and stomach are twitching.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

...... I can't do it.

I'm not sure what to do.

I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

This is the thing, it just tastes so bad.

It's bitter and sour and scary as hell.

It's bitter, sour, and frighteningly bad.

I'd rather you didn't put that back in the food that people cooked for you.

What the f*ck are you ...... doing?

The knife you just chewed up was, as you can see, a homemade knife from the Mix Room. You can take the blade off, and it's hollow, so you can put all sorts of things inside. Mixu uses magic stones to make it explode, and magic seal stones to neutralize magic near the opponent, but this is the one I planted this time.

The Earthling then reached into his pocket and pulled out the device.

It's a dead insect, a caterpillar of some sort, with a color that's more evil than bright.

This is the larva of the Itoura butterfly, which is not a particularly remarkable species, but the larva is quite distinctive, isn't it?　These colorful insects all have one thing in common: they are poisonous or very bitter. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

Why is ...... such a thing ......?

These larvae are used in medicine. The larvae are used in medicine. They are dried and crushed into a powder and mixed with other medicines in small quantities to speed up the effect of the medicine on the body. It has the disadvantage that the medicine itself becomes very bitter. I had some of these larvae ground up in my knife, which I retrieved while gathering herbs.

When did you say you put it in the knife? ...... No, I had the chance.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

You can't just aim for something like that.

Yeah, I know you've been watching my every move. No, I knew you were doing that. But with your personality, you don't stare at monotonous tasks endlessly, do you?　That's why I made you a little extra baked goods. I've also factored in the fact that if you stick a knife in your mouth, your teeth will stop it, and if you push it in further, it will crunch. I've also factored in the fact that you're going to throw up a lot, and you're going to gorge yourself on baked goods.

This guy went through all this trouble just to make me chew and throw up!

I'm not sure what to make of this.

...... No, but it served my purpose.

He approached me with hostile intent, he saw me as an enemy.

It was more painful than I thought it would be, but I've won this game!

Now I can work as an enemy of the humans and the third camp!

I can now work as an enemy of the humans and the third camp! "Haha ...... haha ......, you think you can get away with this for free!　"Aah!

"Colorless Demon Lord, I'll teach you a lesson for your future studies.

"What?　What's the lesson?

He takes the worm in his hand and throws it into his mouth.

Then he moved his jaw once or twice, biting down on the thing in his mouth.

Again and again, as if chewing.

Without losing his calm expression, he put the same thing in his mouth and spat it out right in front of me.

After a while, the Earthling throws up and throws away what he had in his mouth.

It spread on top of my vomit.

It's definitely chewed up larvae from earlier.

Just the sight of it makes me nauseous again.

He wiped his mouth lightly, made eye contact with me, and laughed.

He wiped his mouth lightly and looked at me. The real villain is the one who is strong enough to hide his emotions. The real villains are the ones who are strong enough to hide their emotions, and if they don't laugh fearlessly even when they are humiliated to the point of bitterness, they are just third-rate scoundrels.

......

It's impossible to put that in your mouth and not have a single expression on your face. .......

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.

"What?

"See, you can't let your emotions show on your face. The reason why you are usually so provocative is not only because of your personality, but also because you are trying to make enemies yourself, right?　I'm sure you'll be able to understand why I've gone to so much trouble, it's because you're under orders as the Shiro Demon Lord's demon tribe, right?　I'm not sure what to do, but I'd like to know what you think. I'm sure you're not the only one.

"What the--

When's the last time you had goosebumps, dude?

Why is this guy saying the same line word for word?

It's not just me, he's not even talking about Yugra. .......

"It's showing on your face again, it's not good. When we first met, you were powerful enough to kill a great demon with ease. But you hardly made any noticeable moves even though I could see that you wanted to stir things up. This is because you can't act as an enemy to anyone, right?　The only thing you can do is to give fair information within the range of neutrals, mixed with provocative actions to manipulate the impression. You're choosing your words to make people dislike you, to make them hostile to you. Oh, but your bad mouth is just that. I'm sure you're not the only one.

...... I get it, this guy is bad.

He's as bad as Yugra, no, that's not the right criterion.

He was a bad guy who stirred up the world with his personal greed, but this guy is crazy in a different way.

I thought he was like my black sister, rightly or wrongly.

When the first person was 'I', I felt that this guy was similar to my sister.

At that time, he had the strength to run through his emotions with power.

But now she doesn't have a glimpse of the black sister.

Even after retaliating so much against people, there's no emotion in her.

If you're going to be an enemy to me, I'm willing to accept that. But if you're going to be evil to me, can you please thicken your skin enough to give me a ...... pass?

A different kind of monster, yes, a different one.

It's not like he's switching personalities, he's become something else entirely.

...... This monster is.

The colorless demon king is an abomination.

The colorless demon king left without leaving a single word.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.

"Kutou, water bottle.

"Hey, thanks!

He took the contents of the leather canteen into his mouth, rinsed out his mouth, and spat it out on the colorless vomit of the Demon King.

It's bad manners to do this indoors, but I hope you'll forgive me for cleaning it up anyway.

What's that?

"That's the highest alcohol we had in the house. It's the kind that makes your mouth go numb if you keep swallowing it.

...... Did you have it in you beforehand, by any chance?

You'll still smell a bit of alcohol. It would still smell a little like alcohol, so I filled the room with the smell of baked goods.

I see, but isn't it still bitter?

Quite bitter, I would have thrown up if I hadn't skipped a meal.

The Colorless Demon King ate his fill. He's a terrible man for a room.

But it was a nice sight, wasn't it?

I'm not sure I'd have the dignity of a king if I admitted that. ...... But personally, I felt better.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it again.

You will find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier.

In the event that you have any questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site.

If you just want to be recognized as an enemy, you don't have to go through the trouble of killing every single human.

But when that was not possible, it was obvious that there was some kind of restriction.

The only person who can give such an elaborate restriction is Seiya Yukura, the Shiro Demon King.

In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site.

And what will be the position of the Colorless Demon Lord in the future?

It's the only one who can't be an enemy as long as he doesn't violate any taboos. It's possible that he'll give information to the Scarlet Witch King, but at the same time, he'll have to provide us with equal information in return. And that's without being hostile.

In other words, ......

Don't think of them as friends or foes, just ignore them. As for the contraindications, it's enough to explain the details to Nora and Luko.

The Colorless Demon King can do little without approaching the abomination from our side.

It is possible to get information out of it, but if you do so, the information of equal value will be passed on to the Scarlet Witch King and others who are hostile to humans.

It's just a system with no problems as long as you keep that in mind.

Now it's time to follow up on Nora and the others.

Marito, I'll take care of Nora at ....... Can you take care of Luko?

Yeah, I got it.

"So, Ilias, can I borrow your face?

"If you mean what you say, yes.

He put his hands on Ilias' head and stared into his eyes.

...... You always have good, straight eyes, I envy you.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You will find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing.

As a person who understands both, this position is nothing but an extension of escape.

...... One question, why are you rubbing and pulling my face?

Because it's easier for me to lose my seriousness when I make a funny face.

Okay, remember that later.

Oh, my God, that slipped out. I slipped up. ...... Take it easy on me.

I've got my mind back, but my ...... mouth is getting very uncomfortable.

I'd better not eat dinner tonight, and brush my teeth.

You're back. You're back. You've changed so much it's almost as if you're a different person in the same body.

That's what I think, too. What do you think?

I think so, too. What do you think? "I" and "me" are the same person, although my perception of that is a little shaky when I'm switching.

I'm not sure which view is more correct, the emotionally driven "me" or the non-emotionally driven "me".

No, they're both right.

There is no single answer, so there is no need to force yourself.

Now I think I'm the same way, that's all.

◇.

I'm not sure what to say.

The discomfort doesn't go away even if you rinse your mouth with water over and over again, so you put your hand in your mouth and burn your mouth.

If you can't get rid of it in a half-hearted way, go to the extreme.

Pain is no problem, I'm trained in that.

Burn the inside of your mouth until you can't feel it anymore, then heal it with magic.

I'm afraid I'm going to get hurt, even if it's for a cure.

The regeneration is complete, but the sensations imprinted in my brain are still disturbing me, leaving me with a slight discomfort.

Not only the bitter memories, but also the fear I felt when I looked into his eyes.

d*mn it, there are only troublemakers from Earth.

Now that they know we can't turn on them, we can't help them.

If we keep contacting them, it's possible, but too much contact could siphon off all the other information they're hiding.

I don't know. Let's just let the Hundjager do his thing.

I don't know what to do. It's quite a challenge.

I'm not sure what to do.

In order to replace him with my black sister, I need to make him more angry in his "me" state.

But there's another monster inside him.

The one in the "I" state appears when you try to shake him emotionally, and blocks your actions with his monster-like insight.

I'm sorry to hear that there are people with different personalities who act as protectors of their masters, I guess Earth is not a good place to be.

What to do now: ...... It's not a good idea for the bastard to make a scene now.

I'm sure there won't be any more people in Taze who will try to violate the ban.

We can't act properly as neutrals, and the frustration of wanting to interfere with the people of Earth but not being able to is quite painful.

The only thing we can do is to aim for the right moment, while keeping our remaining plans under the radar so as not to be noticed.

"I'm worthless if I'm instinctively imbued with a sense of disparity, aren't I, 'Earthling'? So you're going to lose to someone else, okay?

If I can't be your enemy, you'll have to find someone who can.

For the time being, I'd say the Hundjager is the man for the job, but I'd like to make sure he has an enemy or two.

Oh, shit, I'm gonna have to talk to him again.