A Reincarnated Demon’s Life of Wonder

The sunny beach, warm waves, the salty breeze...yes. This is the ocean~.

Specifically, we're in Damavand-Seaside. Too bad we have to do a trial instead of enjoying the sea.

From left to right, Mira, Karnel, and Noire sat at the opposite side of the table. Mira was dressed in a black competition swimsuit, Karnel used a simple parka, and Noire...was still bound by my threads, so she was, by extension, still wearing her dress from the day before. 

As for me, I used a simple black swimsuit with a purple/black, coat-like windbreaker on top of that. The sun is the enemy..., as for my assisting judge, Ciara, she's wearing a light-blue two-piece with a pareo around her waist. Kinda tame, but maybe it's a sign that she's starting to grow up.

"Defendant Mira, your plea?" I asked Mira while pushing up my sunglasses with my finger.

"Ehm...what am I charged with?" - Mira

"Garami, you have to explain why you gathered everyone here if you want the conversation to flow." - Ciara

Tch, how annoying...

"Yesterday, that "Irritation Lord" or whatever he's called mentioned something interesting about all three of you. Care to explain? First, Mira. You've met this guy before?" - Garami

"Yeah, I have." - Mira

...she admitted it too easily there. 

"I mean, I think no one in Solomar doesn't know about him, except for his skills, some of his classes, his real name, and that he's working for the demon king." - Mira

"What's that supposed to mean?" - Garami

"Exactly what I said. I know him as the Shadow Smuggler, but that's more of a name based on the sole class people know about and his line of work. He's a black market merchant who can give or get rid of anything as long as you pay him. Weapons, drugs, slaves, anything. He's also known for allowing less respectable members of Solomar's society to escape the city without getting caught." - Mira

"Like you?" - Ciara

"Wrong! Some old noble was after me when I left Solomar! I was a good way out of there without getting caught by that old pervert when that guy suddenly appeared and practically kidnapped me over the border!" - Mira

"And took payment for it?" - Garami

"Payment is putting it lightly! He practically stole my whole life savings!" - Mira

I think it's safe to say that Mira's in the clear here. I let her go to have fun at the beach. Moving on...

"And defendant Karnel?" - Garami

"Y-yes!?" - Karnel

"Relax. Among these three, you're the one in the least amount of trouble. I just want to know why that guy, the Irritation Lord, showed you so much pity yesterday." - Garami

"Ah, that's true. Even when not accounting for getting blasted by Noire's arrows, he did seem to be soft on you for some reason," said Ciara, who had been briefed on what happened yesterday.

"Even if you ask me that..." - Karnel

Karnel looked legally confused over our questioning. Is he in the dark here himself?

"Or...no, that cannot be..." - Karnel

"Remembered something?" - Garami

"Well...Garami. Do you mind if I ask you of something?" - Karnel

"Sure, go ahead." - Garami

"It is an extreme thing of me to ask, but...huh!? Wait, you'll do it!? Just like that!?" - Karnel

"Among everyone in the guild, you're the most selfless one of us all. We're dragging you around all over to various dangerous places, but you're barely complaining, compared to some other members," I said while nodding to Noire, bounded and gagged for her crimes. "Try to show some greed now and then."

"...okay. But it's a long and honestly embarrassing story..." started Karnel.

To summarize, the mountain that Karnel used to live on, the same place where the second event of the Grand Festival took place, had a special Legacy Quest that could give you a special ore named "The Gaia Colossus' Heart".

While valuable as a material, for the golems living on mount Gigantes, obtaining this ore is closer to a ritual of some kind. Anyone who's braved through the dangers alone is granted prestige in the mountain town, so practically any golem living there at least tries to get that chunk of rock.

Even Karnel went against his fears and dived into the dark mines. And he even reached the huge underground dome where the ore was. Then, something unreasonable happened...

"A gigantic beast made of rocks and dirt broke through the walls, crushed the dome so you had to flee while looking on as the Colossus' Heart got stuck on the creature's back as it ventured deeper into the earth?" - Garami

It sounded so unreal that I couldn't stop myself from repeating his words. I mean, that dome was supposed to be a Quest location. Those places are protected by the System rules. Even an A-rank creature's not supposed to intrude there and walk off with a Quest-related item. 

"Yes...I could not believe it myself. That is why I have never spoken of it to anyone before now. People would not believe me..." - Karnel

Losing your treasure right before your eyes and for such an unreasonable cause. Yeah, you gotta show some empathy when hearing about that.

And since it's a Legacy Quest, you have only one try to clear it in your whole life as well. And despite that happening, lots of other golems cleared the Quest and brought back their copies of the Colossus' Heart with them, so the possibility of people believing Karnel's story dropped even lower.

"And this creature, you have any idea of what it was?" - Ciara

"None at all. That is mostly the reason why I did not want to live on mount Gigantes anymore. Everyone did not blame me for failing the Legacy Quest, even when I did not tell them anything in fear of being called a liar, but that thing...there was something unnatural with it. As if it was not of this world...no, as if it was rejecting the laws of this world..." - Karnel

Karnel struggled with getting his words out. Even after such a long time, that thing must still confuse him. Maybe that thing...

"Then? What are you gonna do about it?" - Garami

"Wh-what do you..." - Karnel

"Do you want revenge against that thing for crashing your brave attempt? Do you want to take back that ore it stole from you? Or do you not want to think about that rock beast anymore?" - Garami

"...I honestly do not want to see that thing anymore, but I do wish to one day win back the Gaia Colossus' Heart that beast stole. Every piece of that ore is something akin to a national treasure for mount Gigantes. To see something as unreasonable as that...thing taking it away...it makes me...simply frustrated." - Karnel

Karnel's words were closer to a whisper, but I could feel his emotions in them. Maybe it was not the fear of those dark tunnels on that mountain the reason why he wanted to leave his hometown, but this frustration...

"Okay, we'll look for that kleptomaniac jerk who can't read the room or caves for its dear life and get your treasure back. It sounded like it could break into Dungeons as well, so it's not something unrelated to Damavand as a whole even." - Garami

"Th-thank you so much!!" - Karnel

Karnel bowed his head so fast that he smashed it on the table. While clutching his head, he left while saying something about getting strong enough to survive the current ordeal so he could give a solid scolding to that rock beast..., what a kind guy. I would have mauled the beast if that happened to me.

"And last defendant, Noire..., she's fainted." - Garami

"Did she get any food or drink since yesterday?" asked Ciara with concern in her voice.

Ah...a quick lunch break then.

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"*Munch, munch*-, and then-*gulp, gulp*,-I was found by Filyn." - Noire

"That's a big story for someone as young as you at that time." - Garami

Hearing Noire's story regarding her homeland was...honestly, not as impressive as I first thought. Turns out that her home country turned barren and they couldn't produce enough food, so most of the Celestials living there took their stuff and left the place. Even the king and queen fled under the guise of night, leaving behind their only child, Noire.

Noire then grew up thanks to one of the few retainers who had stayed behind and grew up with him. When he felt that his time was near, the retainer sent her to Invidia, which the Celestial Continent was floating close to at that time, in an escape pod-like magitech. There she was found by Filyn, who took her in as a maid-in-training.

"So, Filyn and Blot know about this?" - Garami

"Of course they do! I had no other people to rely on! I even had to act all cult-ish with Filyn to kiss up to her...-!? I-I-I-I-I...-! Y-you didn't hear anything! S-s-s-stop smirking!" - Noire

Oooh~. Blackmail-materials~.

"Now~, what to do~?" - Garami

"M-m-m-m-mercy! Have mercy!" - Noire

"You say that~? After how you treated-" - Garami

"Tell Karnel I've regretted it my whole life! Just don't tell Filyyyyyn!!" said the shitty angel as she went dogeza in the scorching hot sand.

"Hmmmmmmmmm..., be thankful that Karnel's such a good guy that he asked me not to punish you too much before this meeting." - Garami

Noire lifted her face, sandy and burned from the dogeza, and looked at me with tears of happiness forming in her eyes. Yeah, I get it. Filyn can be scary. Buuuuut...

"Ciara is a different story." - Garami

"No way I would give up this chance-, I mean, forgive such a bad angel~." - Ciara

Sorry, but you've gotta suffer something. Aaaand she ran away. Before she even showed the despair on her face. Smart angel. Ah, some tentacle-like creatures grabbed her and dragged her to a beach hut with a sign saying "Ciara's Fun House"...

"Just make sure she's not permanently damaged," I whispered to Ciara so Noire couldn't hear us.

"No worries~. But don't complain if she wants a second tour~." - Ciara

"That's what I'm worried about!" I said while hitting the pink-brained fairy with the harisen I keep in my storage for occasions like this.

"Relax~. These children are kinder than their appearance will have you think. I'll only have Noire "serve" them until she gets tired of it. No funny business." - Ciara

"...thinking about it, their boss even got "baron" in their name." - Garami

"Ah, I had completely forgotten about that!" - Ciara

Don't forget! It's the god you pray to, remember!

"By the way, what's up with the Territory? Is it properly secured?" - Garami

"It's filled with all the puzzles from the games my otaku self could remember, so it should be fine. I even added an especially nasty one on the 15th floor." - Ciara

"You don't say. What's that about?" - Garami

"You see, I made a ton of these adorable F-ranked otter-monsters to be spawned on that floor~." - Ciara

Otter-monsters? One minute...

"Oh, these guys," I said, looking at the Adora-Otters. Double-clicking let me see their stats and appearance...cuuuuute!!

"Yup. If you want to go past the 15th floor, you have to slaughter 20 of those cuties and present the corpses to the gate on that floor." - Ciara

"I see...? Huh? EEEEEEHH!?!?" - Garami

What is this freak of a fairy thinking!?!?

"Right? You would freak out as well, no? Just that thought would drive most invaders from the Territory." - Ciara

"Well, you're not wrong...but what about the guys who are heartless enough to do that?" - Garami

"Then there's no mercy. They have no other fate than to be killed in return and have their blood be used as ink for a portrait of hell!!" - Ciara

"Damn, as if the demon king wasn't bad enough..." - Garami

"What's that supposed to mean!? ...wait, what is that supposed to mean? Did his majesty do something?" - Ciara

"Remember that Coronation Quest? The demon king wants to collect all the treasures necessary and only clear the Quest after the Overlord has destroyed Avalar." - Garami

"The Overlord will go to Avalar?" - Ciara

"Most likely." - Garami

"Then we don't need to hurry so much then. Everyone seems to wish for Avalar to go boom." - Ciara

"Yeah, that's the problem." - Garami

"Hmm?" - Ciara

"Meaning if the word gets out that the demon king not only started the Quest that would destroy only Avalar and nothing else, the rest of Invidia would hail him as a hero or something." - Garami

"A demon king that's also a hero...isn't that breaking a few unwritten rules?" - Ciara

"Maybe, but my point is this: how will people of Invidia look at us if they know we're the enemies of such a continental hero?" - Garami

Ciara froze as she processed my comment. Seriously, I'm no honorable member of society, but that's a future I want to avoid myself. Let's cut the vacation short and start...at least 3 days before the Towers become accessible. Let's also separate into teams to attack each tower at the same time. 

Because if we don't, we may have to become an evil organization in not only name but for real as well...*gulp*.

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Skill List:

Title List:

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Kigal-Note/Special Classes: Diver

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