Chapter 96

Once equipped, the "Goblin Slayer" becomes cursed and cannot be removed, but to be honest, I had forgotten about that. Please understand that there was a lenient setting in the game that allowed the curse to be bypassed by throwing it on the ground or quickly switching equipment.

"――This time, it was really tough."

Finally returning to the familiar inn in Freelea, I sighed deeply.

Not only did I repel the "Demon Lord" with the thought of dying, but the journey back was also a struggle.

In the first place, the reason we were able to reach the "Queen Ant" in just one day was because the official entrance was near the mountain where the ant nest was located, and we could fly there quickly with the "Feather of Return."

Conversely, if we used the "Feather of Return" to return to Freelea, we would only be able to get back to the mountain, which would be of little help in getting back to the city.

It took three days for a carriage to come from Freelea to the entrance of the ant nest, and another three days to return by carriage.

In the end, including the cleanup, it took us more than a week to get back to Freelea.

(I should be grateful just to be alive, but to be honest, I wanted a bit more out of it.)

This time, the "Queen Ant" was defeated not by adventurers, but by the "Demon Lord."

The seat for the hero of the operation was left vacant, and to make matters worse, it was discovered that the "Demon Lord" had revived.

Even though we managed to defeat the "First Demon Lord," there are still other "Demon Lords" who have revived.

Naturally, the priority was dealing with them, and the award ceremony was canceled, leaving the identity of the "hero" unknown.

(If only I could have obtained the "Sword of Radiance," everything would have been forgiven...)

Just in case, I searched the place where I had knocked the "Sword of Radiance" away after defeating Brilg, but it was already gone.

And...

"――Manifest, 'Sword of Radiance.'"

I murmured, extending my hand into the void, but of course, nothing happened.

(As expected, it's impossible.)

According to the game's events, the "hero" who repelled Brilg with the "Sword of Radiance" could summon it at will after the event.

However, it seems that this does not apply to me.

(If only I had taken the "Sword of Radiance" honestly at that time, maybe...)

I thought about it for a moment and shook my head.

If I had taken the sword and followed the game's events, I might have been able to repel Brilg at that time.

However, if I had done that, the "Demon Lord" would have retreated and reappeared in a later event, much stronger.

And then, the number of casualties would have been incomparably higher than this time.

(That choice was not wrong.)

Reflecting on it, the situation in which the "Sword of Radiance" appeared was subtly different from the game.

Of course, the fact that the "Sword of Radiance" appeared before me, who is not the "hero," is one thing, but there are other unnatural points.

First, the "Sword of Radiance" is not an item but a skill.

It is the manifestation of the power of the "Hero of Light," the "hero," and the description of the "Sword of Radiance" states, "Gather the power to dispel evil in your hand and generate a sword of light."

In the game, light gathered in the "hero's" right hand, and the sword of light gradually formed from there.

However, the "Sword of Radiance" appeared in front of me, not in my right hand.

Even if I thought that someone else had generated it and passed it to me, no one was close enough to hand me a sword, and even if the "hero" was hiding somewhere, the ability to make the "Sword of Radiance" float in mid-air would exceed the "hero's" power in the game.

Everything was irregular.

No, if it's irregular, the fact that we, who are not the "hero," encountered the "Demon Lord" for the first time is also...

(No, maybe that's the reason...)

We, who should not be able to use the "Sword of Radiance," were involved in an event that required it.

So, perhaps the world tried to make the event proceed smoothly by making the "Sword of Radiance" appear in front of me to make the event consistent...

Thinking that far, I shook my head.

It's pointless to overthink in a situation where information is lacking; it will only lead to deeper trouble.

However, one thing I can say for sure is...

--There is something different in this world from the game I know!

From now on, it's not enough to just blindly believe in the game's knowledge.

I need to carefully discern what is the same as the game and what is different.

(Anyway, I need to hurry and strengthen myself.)

We were able to fight Brilg advantageously because we had a large number of special items.

However, if another "Demon Lord" appears, we will be killed without a chance.

(However, there is a promising development in that regard.)

By removing the "Level Stopper" during the battle with Brilg, I finally grew from level fifty to fifty-one.

Furthermore!

When I checked my status after the battle, I had actually reached level fifty-two.

It's hard to believe that my level, which hadn't increased at all in the past three months, has risen so much, but of course, even the weakest "Demon Lord" is still a "Demon Lord."

The experience points must have been on a different scale.

(Also, with the end of the insect invasion, the era gauge must have progressed significantly. If it progresses a bit more and the conditions for changing the era are met...)

Finally, that event, the "Prince Ein's Disappearance" event, should occur.

Then, I can reallocate my stats through the "Soul Trial."

(This is the time to be patient and thorough. The "hero" is almost certainly in that "Great Cavern." I will prioritize consolidating my position while conducting a parallel search...)

"Brother!"

The door to the inn opened with a bang.

Turning around, I saw Ressilia, out of breath.

"Ressilia? It's not time to go to the guild yet..."

I turned back and said,

"――One of the 'Twelve Dark Ruins' has been cleared."

I froze at the sudden announcement.

"…What?"

I couldn't understand what she was saying.

Because it was impossible.

The "Twelve Dark Ruins" are the main content of the game.

Of course, in the game, NPCs never cleared the ruins on their own, and the "Cave of the Deathkeeper," which we had left after defeating the boss, was never cleared, so I assumed the same would be true in this world.

That's right.

If there was an entity that could do such a thing, it would be...

"It's hard to believe, but the one who cleared it is a solo adventurer who was completely unknown three months ago. According to eyewitnesses, he..."

Ressilia paused for a moment, as if thinking, and then looked at me with a pleading expression and said,

"…He used a dazzling sword to strike down monsters with a single blow."

The hands of the clock, once set in motion, do not stop.

I was inevitably swept up in the whirlpool of history that had begun to spin violently.

To be continued...

---

Phew, I'm tired! That concludes the fourth part!

Well, the fourth part ended neatly!

To be honest, this Demon Lord battle was the first of the three key scenes I planned before the serialization!

As an author, I feel both relieved to have finally reached this point and frustrated that I've only written this much.

I hope to move on to the fifth part, but since it's not fully fleshed out yet, there might be a bit of a gap... or maybe not.

In any case, the manga serialization is supposed to start on December 26th, so I'll be back by then at the latest.

In the meantime, please look forward to the book version of "Not the Hero!" which is now on sale from December 4th! (Clever promotion)

See you in the fifth part!