V2C1 Part3

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Dark Demon

(A request?)

While his shoulder was being held, he turned his gaze towards the hero, and gave a nervous laugh. His legs were shaking.

The fake hero was thinking desperately as he continued his miserable victim performance.

(He said something about “Deal with those traitorous bastards”)

That means this man has not forgiven the great wizard Wendell.

Wendell is the guy who went to the princess’s side and created the plan that made it possible to capture the hero.

Even when they were in a group, it seems that he had betrayed Raul several times behind the scenes.

While investigating the relationship between the two, there were so many acts of vulgar betrayal.

And thinking that such trash was in the Heroes Party made him laugh.

[Hm? Hey, Are you listening to me?]

[Ah. Y-Yes! Of course! If you promise to spare my life, I’ll listen to whatever you want… ..]

[I see, I see. Glad to hear that answer. So, I’ll start with the concrete explanation]

Raul continued speaking while still holding onto the false hero’s shoulder.

[I will do my best to make your revenge perfect. So, let me see the stage in the front row]

[Eh? Revenge…..? W-What is he talking about?]

His mouth contracted involuntarily.

Raul narrowed his eyes, and smiling like a demon, he brought his face closer.

[I think you already know that. You can’t keep repeating the same thing over and over. I get bored easily. Or did you think that you could do it all with words alone without taking action?]

When this man’s eyes catch you, the words won’t come out as expected.

The false hero felt cold sweat run down his back.

(Not yet… ..not yet… ..no… ..)

If you accept it easily, it will be a lie. You must not let yourself be enveloped by this man’s aura.

(I must resist. I must pretend to be an idiot who wants to hide the truth)

Saying that to his heart, the false hero broke his expression.

[Please, hero-sama, I’m just someone who has some confidence in his replication magic. Even if they hold a grudge against me, I don’t have that kind of feeling. Well, certainly looking at the rich and arrogant nobles makes me want to curse them, but—– !?]

Suddenly, his mouth was sealed and the fake hero was confused. This must also be from magic.

Because the mouth is not closed, saliva constantly falls from both ends of the lips.

It was too humiliating that his head was heating up.

This is completely different than when he leaned over and try to licked his shoe.

(Because that was a performance)

But, this shame was obligatorily given.

Raul smiled and looked at the fake hero.

As he watched that scene, it made him excited.

[Hey, how about you talk honestly? We hate the same enemy after all]

Dripping saliva stained his clothes.

[Also, you’ve tried to draw me in because you couldn’t defeat Allingham and Wendell alone, right? You went to the trouble of disguising yourself as me, and spread information that an imposter was hunting demons. You carefully let the witnesses escape. In that way, you thought the real one would come out when angry right?]

[Agah… ..]

After all, it seems that he thoroughly investigated the motives of the “false hero”.

[Well, I’m not angry at all. I have always been a very kind person]

The fake hero was shocked as he heard those words.

(You call this being nice?)

His words and his attitude are very different.

[Haha. Don’t look at me with those eyes. I’m very sane, I’m not kidding. I am admitting that you are someone with the same tastes]

[Ah… .. Ah! Agah… ..]

[Ah, I know, I know. I think it is better to sit down and speak calmly]

Raul released his magic by returning his mouth to normal. Quickly, the fake hero wiped his saliva-covered mouth with the back of his hand.

After confirming the appearance of the false hero, and nodding satisfactorily, Raul looked around.

[Even if I said that, there are only toilets that can serve as chairs. You knelt a little while ago, but I got past that. So–]

When Raul snapped his fingers, an enormous amount of magical power surged out along with the smoke. Nothing could be seen in an instant.

(What is he doing this time?)

As he got a little cautious, the smoke was beginning to disperse.

Looking at what appeared after the smoke cleared, the fake hero took a deep breath.

They were supposed to be in a dirty bathroom, but it had suddenly become a refreshing little room.

[Come on, sit down]

Raul showed a round table in the center of the room. Even if you try to resist, you will be forced to obey due to magic. While smiling in that space, he sat down on the chair.

When Raul snapped his fingers again, a tea set appeared on the table.

It wasn’t something that could fit the situation. But, not caring about that, Raul happily started making tea.

[Wait a minute. It will soon be ready]

He was strangely good at it. Raul, who was humming a song in good spirits, raised his face.

[I learned it from my sister. The tea she prepared was very delicious]

Are you talking about your murdered sister? If so, there is information about it.

Raul’s expression was surprisingly gentle as he was remembering his sister who died unfortunately.

Although for the false hero, even that attitude that was reflected was somewhat creepy… ..

[I can’t say it tastes that good, but I’m not as bad as it sounds either. Here]

A cup of tea was placed in front of the false hero. He may be poisoned. Being cautious, Raul took a sip of the same tea.

It seems that the result was satisfactory, Raul spoke after crossing his legs.

[First, I’ll let you choose. Will you reveal your identity and admit your revenge or do you want me to do it for you? Decide. Ahh, yes, that appearance]

Before he could respond, Raul raised his hand.

Thinking about what he was doing, the false hero’s entire body was covered in his magic power. Then, the magic surrounds his body was forcibly undone.

(You must be kidding… .. Can this man also cancel the magic that others use?)

I was totally convinced. The hero Raul is definitely the strongest in the world.

And to think that such an existence became an avenger who lost his heart—–

Surely Raul would find it easy to destroy the world if he wanted to.

The false hero was trembling at that overwhelming power. He really craved the power to achieve his goal. However, he may have picked the wrong person.

(What I have called is a demon with a terrifying evil power… ..)

The dark demon immediately laughed after easily canceling the false hero’s magic.

[Alright, now introduce yourself again —– miss]

Saying the word “miss”, Raul made a slight smile.

Looking at herself in the mirror in the corner of the room, a girl with a simple face had a complex expression.

The transformation magic is completely canceled.

She had brown hair, with freckles scattered across her white cheeks. Small eyes somewhat distant and short. An ordinary looking country girl, Ada Taylor.

That was the true name of the girl reflected in the mirror.

[Now how about we begin, Ada?]

Calling her that before she could introduce herself, Ada shrugged.

[Ahh, I’ll ask you to drop that attitude from before, also that performance. I’m bored already]

The girl was caught by the cold gaze that Raul showed for a moment.

It would really all end if he lost interest.

If you’ve already gotten bored with my boot-licking attitude, all that’s left is to do the opposite.

She breathed slowly and braced herself. Her next role is “a girl who has been seen through, her tricks and her true identity revealed.”

[I see you knew it all along. How did you discover my identity?]

[There is a limited number of magic replication users. I checked out a list of those who could use it]

In this kingdom, permission is required to use advanced magic. When you learn magic of S-Rank or higher, you are obliged to go to the specialized national institution and register it. If advanced magic that is not registered is used, the magic detectors installed in various places will react immediately and the person responsible will be caught immediately as a serious crime, and when if is an ordinary person with no intention of attempting against the country, he or she will not be exempt. Of course, Ada signed up too.

[I am very sure that the information in the records of the national institution is not available to ordinary people]

[It seems that being a “friend of the king” I am not considered someone ordinary]

[Befriending the person who treated his daughter cruelly. His majesty is out of his mind]

[Haha! Talking to the king like that. Interesting!]

Ada sighed while Raul laughed happily.

Raul did not change his mood, even if he took a cold attitude.

At the moment, the attitude she is taking does not seem to be the wrong one. She made that judgment while looking at him somewhat distantly.

[Even if you investigated it in the logs, you still shouldn’t know it’s me. How did you identify me?]

[Among the registrants of the replication magic, I looked for who had a grudge against Allingham and Wendell. I investigated them one by one.]

That behavior was practically obsessive, and he said it like it was nothing.

After all, Ada thought that this man has really lost his mind.

[But wait a minute. How did you decide that the one with a grudge against Allingham and Wendell would dress up as the hero?]

[Do you want to hear my reasoning? Haha. Very well—– Why would you pretend to be me? For some kind of benefit? No, that is wrong. You often let captured demons escape so that information could be leaked, right? If you were pretending to be me just to make a profit, then you wouldn’t have done that. Since if the real one, that is, me, were to find out about that it would be very bad]

[………….]

[What would be the purpose for which you would disguise yourself as the hero and try to make your position known in this port city? If you think about it, the answer is obvious. Because you wanted to catch my attention anyway, didn’t you?]

Yes, it is exactly as Raul said. Ada was pretending to be Raul and doing horrible things with Allingham because she thought it would eventually reach Raul’s ears. If you think about it normally, even a person impersonating you should be unsightly. And what if it became known that this impersonator is working with his hated enemies? There’s no way a man hungry for revenge would ignore it. Ada understood that, and set up a trap that would surely attract Raul.

In fact, the hero Raul is now in front of Ada. However, it was unexpected that he understood her intentions perfectly and investigated her past.

[I knew immediately that you wanted me to go to this city. The benefits of pretending to be me were limited after all. The next question was, for what reason? Well, I understood it so soon from the information the king gave me]

[Information…..?]

[The buying and selling of slaves and repeated child abuse for entertainment, profit and pleasure. It was easy to understand that it was irritation for Allingham and Wendell. You were trying to take advantage of my anger and vengeance to full fill your goal. You chose many complicated methods, but your goal is very simple. You called me to kill Allingham and Wendell, right?]

It was frustrating, but it’s exactly like Raul said. Ada didn’t care about the benefits she got from Allingham and Wendell by pretending to be Raul. I only wanted one thing. And that is the fate of a cruel death for those two.

[So I started looking for people with a grudge towards Allingham and Wendell]

[I see]

[But, I sympathize with you. It seems you have also had difficulties]

[Huh]

Raul put a hand on Ada’s head with a thoughtful attitude.

[You have a strong heart. I respect you, yeah. Even if it is for revenge, there are not many who can laugh along with those who killed their family]

Speaking words that stab her heart like an arrow, for a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

Those horrible memories that she has never forgotten since that day.

Ada was drowning in the vortex of those “unpleasant memories” as if she were daydreaming.