ALL NOVEL chapter 3
3 – The reappearance of the demon
“It’s been a while. Warrior.”
The identity of the person who climbed this deep mountain…
He was the king of the kingdom of Argen where I live, and he was Edwin, who ascended to the throne at the same age as me.
Me and I met in the same battle during the war with the Demon King’s Army, and at that time I was in the status of a prince…
Now that he is the king who rules a kingdom, he was ruling in his own way.
“Do you just do it the way you used to?”
“Is that so?”
Edwin, who was standing proudly in front of the cabin door, immediately relaxed at my words and returned to his usual playful face.
“What are you doing here? The king would be stuck in the palace.”
“Haa~ I’m dying of boredom. I think I just liked walking around the battlefield like before.”
His knights who stood behind me frowned at my outspoken remarks toward the king, but they seemed dissatisfied.
As Edwin approached me in a friendly way and put his arm around my shoulder, their eyes went back to normal.
“Then why don’t you come down from the king and walk around the battlefield like before?”
“I offered Clara to be the queen…”
“I did?”
“She just wants to live as a normal woman.”
“A normal woman?”
Clara is Edwin’s younger sister and the princess of the Kingdom of Argen. In the past, these two siblings always hung out together, so they could run into each other often.
“Yes. She just wants to marry an ordinary man and live as her wife and mother.”
“Ha ha ha. Is that tomboy?”
“By the way… Is this person here?… No way…?”
It was only then that Edwin must have seen her Kir, pointing at her with her hand, then pointing at me, and it was time for her to fantasize about herself.
“Kirya.”
“What?”
“Kill the leader of the Demon King’s army.”
“Ehh!!!??”
Edwin, who had experience fighting the Demon King’s Assassins, was quite surprised to learn her identity,
Kir was afraid of him, so he hid behind me and kept a watchful eye on him.
“Th… Then, the… Dark Elves… The infamous… Killer?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my God… A hero is starting anew with an officer of the Demon King’s army… Well… From my point of view as a friend…”
“Not like that.”
“Then how are you?”
“Master-servant relationship.”
“Who is the owner?”
“Of course I am.”
When I said that I was the owner, Kirr suddenly stomped on the instep of his foot and opened his closed mouth.
“When did you say a symbiotic relationship?”
In fact, she and I had a symbiotic relationship.
I fed her to her fill and healed her legs, and she healed me of her wounded heart…
“By the way, what did you come here for? You didn’t just come to see my face.”
“Shall we talk over a drink after a long time?”
Edwin said, waving a high-end crystal wine bottle he had hidden behind his back.
I went to the kitchen with a smile instead of an answer and prepared snacks and glasses.
The Kingdom of Argen is a small kingdom located in the northern part of the continent,
Thanks to a solid national system, ample finances, and wise governance by former and current kings, it has become a small but strong country.
Edwin is also good at joking around and has a messy personality, but when he hears reactions from the village market from time to time, the people respect him and his pride for the king is extraordinary.
“Kyaha~! Also! Stealing your father’s alcohol is the most delicious.”
“You… Can’t be… This…”
“Yes. Did you secretly bring it from your father’s mansion?”
A man called the current king secretly steals alcohol from the mansion of his father, the former king, who is recuperating in the countryside after retirement…
“Really.. Your father gave you the throne, and I fully understand how worried you are.”
“hehehe… He told me about it anyway, and if you don’t believe me, raise a rebellion and take the crown again.”
Now you’re even trying to turn your father into a rebel…
“By the way, what happened to the kingdom?”
“Hmm.. Shall we talk about the main topic now?”
Edwin emptied the wine from his glass into his mouth before going to the main topic, and instead of the playful face he had just before, he put on a rather serious face.
“Find you in the Empire.”
“Me?”
“Yes. A few days ago, envoys from the Empire came to visit.”
“Why?”
“I came to ask for your whereabouts, but I said I couldn’t tell you and I could send you a message.”
“….. What did you say?”
“A new demon king has appeared in place of the dead demon king. They are currently expanding their power based on the central part of the continent, but it must be difficult for the empire to stop it alone.”
“……”
Edwin doesn’t say anything, but the source of the message must have been from the imperial prince.
“Heh… They’re very shameless bastards… Even if you put an iron plate on your mug, it’ll be thicker than that. Dogs…”
Edwin, who sensed a subtle change in my expression, immediately spat out curse words.
“Kalos, you don’t need to help those bastards. I just came to deliver a message. To be honest, as a friend, I just want to say f*ck it.”
Even if Edwin said that, he would be feeling a sense of crisis without realizing it.
Although there is a certain distance between the kingdom of Argen and the Demon King’s army, it was obvious that they would invade this place again if you look at the past.
“How is the Kingdom of Argen?”
“It’s us.
Perhaps the reason Edwin came all the way here today is because he wanted to hear this from me.
“If the envoys visit again later, tell them like this.”
“What?”
“I’m so busy I don’t have time to help…”
“Are you busy?”
“Yes. It’s too much to help the kingdom of Arzen, so whether you choose a new hero or headbutt the army and push the demon army, do it yourself.”
Deprived of all position, honor, and wealth,
It wasn’t enough, so he even took away the saintess…
Now that the Demon King has reappeared, ask me to help you?
Nothing to say…
Whether the continent perishes or the western part of the continent where the empire perishes, it has nothing to do with me…
As long as the Kingdom of Argen is safe, I will no longer be a champion of the Empire like I used to be.
“Kalos.”
“Huh?”
“I have to be impressed at this point, right?”
“It’s still too early to be impressed. Edwin.”
“Huh?”
“Should we negotiate a wage?”
“This… Wage negotiations?”
Edwin sensed a bloody smile from me and made a frightened face, and the corners of his mouth went up to my ears before I knew it.
I made several proposals in exchange for helping the kingdom of Argen, and Edwin’s face slowly darkened as he heard them.
“Oh no… It’s like a sharp robber…”
“Why? Can’t I even suggest that much?”
“Of course not. 50,000 Gold coins as a monthly salary and a royal mansion and carriage…”
It must be burdensome…
A monthly salary of 50,000 gold coins is equivalent to the salary of 30,000 soldiers…
He asked for a royal mansion and a carriage…
“Read below. There are more.”
“What!!? Ask for a 50% stake in Ankyla Port as severance pay?”
“It’s not like you’re asking for titles or fiefdoms to be taken away instead.”
“I’d rather ask for a title or a fiefdom! No. Just be the king Now take it!”
Edwin took off the crown he was wearing and threw it to me, and I returned it intact and opened his mouth.
“If I get a title, I will become your subject, but I don’t like that, and the territory is difficult to manage. That’s bad too.”
“How dare you ask for 50% of the shares in Anquila Port as severance pay! It’s a place in charge of one axis of national finance… Asking for that place… Ah! Or would you rather give me my sister?”
“What?”
“If you marry my sister Clara, you will become our royalty and you will have a share in the royal estate. What can I do to transfer her sister’s property to four people?”
“Doesn’t your sister have a 50% stake in Anquilla Port?”
“……”
It’s a pity to share the port share as severance pay to the warrior who protects the kingdom, so he’s trying to sell his younger brother…
It seemed like he had some other ulterior motive.
In addition, I thought my conditions were cheap considering the war funds, soldiers’ salaries, and maintenance costs that would be invested only in the kingdom of Argen and deal with the demon king’s army…
“I have had an experience of not getting paid properly, so I would like to ask for a lump sum if possible… Well… Since I am a friend, I will receive half of it now and receive the other half after the war with the demon king.”
“This is not a perfect hero, but a robber…”
While he said that with a devastated face, he seemed to agree with me to some extent, judging from the way he poured alcohol into my glass.
After that, Edwin and I talked about life away from work, and it wasn’t until the bottle was almost empty that we got up.
“Then see you soon at the palace. Maybe Clara will like it a lot if you say you’re coming.”
“What about Clara? Why?”
“Hmm… that’s a secret… let’s meet again anyway.”
“Yes. Go down carefully.”
As Edwin walked to the waiting area for the knights, he waved at me and said hello.
After leaving Edwin and entering the cabin, he turned to Kir, who had been sitting with a serious face ever since Edwin came.
“What do you think?”
“Ugh… Huh? Ah… no…”
“I hear the demon king is back.. You should go now too.”
“Huh? Yes…”
Since the demon king reappeared in the human world, Kiru has a place to return to,
She went back to her main job, the assassination leader of the Demon King’s Army, and the only thing left was to meet me as an enemy again.
“Rest first. I’ll put this away…”
It’s usually Kir’s washing, but since her facial expression wasn’t good, it was time for me to start cleaning instead.
Swoop…
I felt something warm on my back, and a bronze-skinned arm wrapped around my stomach…
“Kalos…”
“……”
“… If you meet me on the battlefield, can you fight?”
“……”
This strange atmosphere…
It was very similar to the atmosphere I often felt from her saintess in the past.
“If you tell me not to go, I won’t go back to the Demon King’s Army.”
I haven’t felt this warm feeling in a long time…
But I have experience.
I know that behind these warm feelings are hidden thorns sharper than blades…
“Sorry. Kir…”
“…..?”
I released Kir’s arm from my stomach and quietly opened her mouth as I took a step forward.
“I… I don’t believe in things like this anymore.”
The love of my life is,
Three years ago, the day the victory banquet was held…
It ended in front of Saint Emilia’s visit.
And there I swore,
From now on, in my lifetime, I will never give my heart to anyone…