CH 206

And so, we set out on a journey to defeat the Demon King, along with the Hero Harris. We pushed forward on the path less traveled, bracing against the ever-constant blizzard, which, if anything, seemed to be intensifying.

“…Hey, Ed. I know it’s a bit late to ask, but why is this blizzard always blowing head-on?”

“Huh? Well, if the Demon King is the source, wouldn’t it hit us from the front as we approach?”

“So you’re saying the Demon King is still emitting this blizzard? Can someone really maintain such a powerful spell for forty years?”

“I don’t know much about magic. But if he’s doing it, he must be capable, right? I mean, wasn’t a large part of Rebecca’s world covered in fog?”

“Oh, now that you mention it, yes.”

To keep our spirits from completely breaking, I engaged in idle chatter with Tia. Tia seemed quite satisfied with my response and nodded enthusiastically.

“But if you think about it, there’s a wide gap in the Demon King’s power. Is there a reason for this?”

“Hmm, usually they should be getting stronger simply by living longer… but hmmm?”

Even though it’s a fragment of my power, I don’t know the circumstances. But I do know it’s not as simple as just living longer.

For example, the Demon King who was in Gou’s world had ruled for five hundred years. The Demon King in this world appeared fifty years ago, but despite a tenfold difference in the number of years since their manifestation, the Demon King of this world was stronger, no matter how you think about it.

A possible explanation could be that a seal placed by the God on it for some reason weakened, and its original power began to leak out more strongly, leading to a sudden enhancement…

“Well, we’ll find out when we meet him.”

“As always…”

“May I interrupt for a moment?”

Unexpectedly, Harris broke into our casual conversation. As we turned towards him, Harris spoke, shielding his face from the blizzard.

“I’ve been listening to your conversation, and it seems like you two have traveled through many worlds. And from the sound of it, it seems like you’ve defeated quite a few Demon Kings…”

“Yes, we’ve traveled through eleven worlds and defeated four Demon Kings.”

“That’s… impressive.”

“No, no, none of the Demon Kings we’ve encountered were recklessly bringing about the destruction of the world like this one! I think this Demon King is probably a formidable enemy for us, too.”

“I see… Hey, Ed. If you don’t mind, could you tell me about the worlds you’ve traveled through? I’d like to hear about them. Worlds different from this one, full of life.”

“Sure. What do you say, Tia?”

“Of course! Just walking in this blizzard in silence makes one feel depressed!”

With that, Tia began her incantation. When she finished, a gentle light enveloped our bodies.

“I’ve used spirit magic. This should help us withstand the blizzard a little better.”

“Spirit magic… I’ve only seen it once, a long time ago. Lunariatia, you are amazing.”

“Hehe~~.”

Upon being praised by Harris, Tia blushed and grinned. Her ears twitching was a sure sign she’s in high spirits.

By the way, if I were alone, I could use my banishment Skill [Freehand Traveler] to gain some resistance to heat and cold. However, when we’re moving as a party, it’s problematic if only I have a different sensation—it could impair our ability to notice abnormalities or create discrepancies in our judgments—so I generally don’t use it. It’s a handy Skill, but as long as I’m with Tia, it probably won’t get much use.

Anyway, we, who have become slightly more comfortable, pleasantly talk about our past adventures. Ah, of course, we only talked about a part of the second round. It’s simply troublesome to mention that I’ve been through many rounds or my true identity, and if I reveal that I’m a Demon King, there’s a chance Harris might attack me.

I don’t intend to lose, but there’s no need to invite discord needlessly. It’s not always right to tell the truth… it’s safer to keep things that way.

“So there I was, cutting off the stem of a man-eating plant…”

“And the root exploded, covering you in juice.”

“HEY!? Do you really need to mention that!?”

“Oh, that was the funniest part! Your face at that moment… Fufu”

“Tch! Can’t be helped. I mean, who’d think that a lump hiding in the grass would burst…”

“Hahaha. That was careless, Ed.”

“Harris-san, you too!?”

The tense atmosphere when we started off was gone, we had somehow become familiar with each other, and Harris had even started to smile occasionally. Seeing that, Tia didn’t say it out loud, but her eyes sparkled with joy, and she continued to tell more stories.

About half of those stories were about my funny failures, but I’m an adult, so I don’t retaliate by telling embarrassing stories about Tia. Like when she made a funny noise because I pinched her nose while she was sleeping with her mouth wide open, or when her butt got stuck trying to get through a gap in the wall, just that much.

And so, in exchange for my butt and cheeks being mercilessly assaulted, the atmosphere of the Hero’s party led by Harris dramatically improved… but the world was not so gentle that such a relaxed atmosphere would last forever.

“Alright, we’ll rest in this village today.”

“Yay! Finally, a place with walls…!?”

Three months into our journey together. Tia, unfazed by yet another deserted village, opened the door of a house. But she froze, a shocked expression on her face, and she called out my name in a voice like a scream.

“ED!”

“What, what happened!?”

“There’s a person lying here!”

As I quickly rushed to Tia’s side, there was a woman in her thirties lying on the floor. Her complexion and such look like she just fell down…

“Calm down, Lunaritia.”

“How can I be calm! We have to treat her right away…”

“It’s useless. She’s already dead. You know that, don’t you?”

“…”

At Harris’s words, who had arrived later, Tia bit her lip.

The frail body of the woman certainly looked as if she had just fallen, but dust had accumulated on top of her. It’s not hard to imagine that quite a long time had passed since she died.

Of course, Tia must have realized that. But the first human she had seen in this world apart from Harris, and their first encounter was like this… Tia was sorrowful, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Given this, there may still be human bodies left here. What should we do?”

“Do? Aren’t we going to bury her?”

“It’s not that we won’t, but we can’t. To return her properly to the earth, we need to dig at least twice my height… about four meters into the ground. But to clear away the snow and dig into the frozen ground that deep is an incredible amount of work. There’s no way we can do that.”

“… Then, what do we do?”

“So far, we’ve been throwing them into the snow outside. That way, the snow will bury them.”

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“Is… is that the only way?”

“It’s the only way. At least, it’s the only way for me. My wife and daughter… they’re sleeping in the snow next to our house.”

“………….”

It’s the same treatment he gave to his beloved wife and daughter. Tia can’t possibly argue with that. She gently knelt down next to the woman, brushed the dust off her face, repositioned her to lie on her back, and wrapped both her hands around the woman’s hand, as if praying.

“I’m sorry.”

What that apology was for, only Tia would know. But Harris and I just watched her silently.