I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

34 – 34. The one who defeated the Demon King

“…What do you mean by that?”

Arsel decided to search first.

A seemingly insignificant old man.

Of course, since it’s a Demon, it can’t be compared to normal humans, but if it’s the current self, it’s not someone you need to worry about so much.

Besides, Alfred said fighting in the market was also forbidden, so the old man wouldn’t bother causing a fuss either.

“It sounds like it smells strangely of a human, but it’s strange that the smell of demons is also mixed in.”

Still, I felt a strange tension.

I wonder if the old man in front of me is really an old man?

He was just a really normal looking old man, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“What are you doing there?”

“Oh, Alfred.”

Just then, Alfred poked his head out of the bookshelf.

I don’t know how it ended up in the bookshelf, but it worked just fine.

“Your grandfather was here too? I was trying to pay for my books, but the counter was empty.”

“What is it, Alfred and your group? Somehow it smelled like a human, so it must have absorbed the smell.”

The old man looked at Alfred and said he knew the situation, and he got tired of it.

Looking at it now, the old man seems to be the owner of this bookstore.

Indeed, the owner of a bookstore might find it strange that young demons come to a place like this.

“Yes, my mother was a human, so no matter how clean I wash, I can’t help but smell like a human.”

Besides, Alfred said his mother was human.

So it’s only natural that it has a human smell mixed in it.

Arsel let out a sigh of relief and took out a few more books he had been looking for from another shelf.

“Tsk tsk, I thought I had a human guest for the first time in a while, so I was looking forward to it. Hey, what kind of liver would come to a place like this.”

I was fiddling with my stomach just in case.

Fortunately, there was no stomach protruding or anything protruding.

“That’s right, there is no human like that unless you are a hero who will invade the castle of the demon king with a small elite and cut off the head of the demon king.”

“If you subjugated that nasty demon king, that would be enough. Even the lord of this territory did not dare to rebel against the demon lord.”

“That’s right, I couldn’t bear to beat the demon king either.”

But Alfred’s frank words made him tremble.

Arcel’s face flushed red, and he briefly grabbed Alfred’s wrist and led him to a corner.

“Why?”

As usual, Alfred asked with an innocent face as if what was the problem.

“Well, why are you talking like that? And it’s too embarrassing to say that…”

Although, Arcel did not like being praised as a warrior.

It is true that he accepted his fate as a hero and did his best to become a proper hero, but apart from that, he always covered his face when he heard words of praise for the hero.

I felt so ashamed that people were praising me.

Have you ever comforted yourself, thinking that you won’t be praised as a hero when you’re called a witch?

“Well, it’s true. You’re not a hero anyway, you’re a demon.”

Alfred closes one eye.

“Ah… I did.”

The current Arcel was a signal not to forget that he came here as a single demon.

Arcel nodded and decided to pay attention.

“What are you whispering about in the corner?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay for the book. First of all, here are the prices of the magic books I chose… Did you find books you want to buy separately?”

Alfred showed three books of magic and handed over a gold coin.

As it is a magic book, it seems quite expensive.

“Ah, I only need these two books. If it’s expensive, just one copy here.”

“Hmm? Just take that It was too old anyway and there were no demons looking for it, so I was going to discard it.”

I was worried that this would be too expensive, but luckily the old demon tribe said to take as many books as they are worn out.

Come to think of it, the lights are dim and the books are all worn out.

It seems that only a kind of malignant stock has been collected.

“Is that so? I didn’t know you were interested in the history of the demons, but it seems to have worked out just fine.”

“That’s right. Good luck.”

The old man immediately takes out a paper bag and puts the book in it.

“Alfred, so what’s your relationship with that wife? Could you be a bride? Seeing how much you smell.”

“Kuk, ugh, hmm! Hmm!”

However, at the added words, Arcel clears his throat several times, as if he had a goosebumps.

“Of course, we always sleep in the same bed. We say goodbye before sleeping in the same bed. Saying good morning in the same bed can’t be helped.”

“Alfred!”

“Why? It’s true.”

“Yes, yes, but isn’t it too explicit!”

It was also a situation that I had experienced strangely.

However, Arcel’s face turned redder than before because she was neither used nor accustomed to it.

If the skin that turned blue with the makeup of the demon tribe turns red, it will be very interesting to see how it is originally.

“You must have a pretty good gold thread. The number of demons is already small, so give birth to many and spend some effort on preserving the species.”

Once the old man saw Arcel’s reaction, he deliberately took another drink with a sinister smile.

“Yes, but how many kids do you like?”

But Alfred had two more drinks.

Alfred said, wrapping his arm around Arcel’s waist.

Even though it is an old man’s characteristic blatant remark, Alfred smiles casually and turns his arrow at Arcel.

It was an old man who expected and said that from the beginning.

“That, stop…”

Eventually, Arcel overheated to the point of steam coming out of his head.

I know that Alfred is camouflage to look natural, but it’s because he was too blatant and naked nonetheless.

Eyes that can’t bear to look forward.

A small mouth that won’t close at all.

There was no sign of the blush that was burning, and there was no sign of calming down, and not just sweat, but tears flowed little by little.

I could tell that my body was shaking even without looking at it.

“Now, that’s all for teasing. If I did something wrong, I’d be beheaded, so I’ll go soon.”

“Okay, next time, come and show your face at least. These days, young people don’t read books, so it’s hard to see a green and fresh face.”

Alfred took Arsel out before he narrowly crossed the line.

However, it was the same as being overloaded while walking, so only Stella was worried about Arcel.

Arcel walked after Alfred, but he was still speechless.

“Why is he suddenly like this? What the hell have you done?”

“Nothing? I just bought some books.”

For Stella, who was obsessed with books on herbs and trees, she can’t possibly guess what was going on in her bookstore.

†††

Arsel, who was barely calm, was sitting on a stump, sighing.

She almost took out the holy sword and cut Alfred without realizing it, but drinking the cool fruit drink from her store seemed to ease her stomach a bit.

Although the blush still appeared on her face.

“Anyway, are you okay?”

“Which one?”

In an attempt to restore himself, Arcel decided to turn his attention to something else.

As well as solving the doubts in my head.

“I know you were called a traitor by the demons. But I’m asking if it’s okay to walk around the Demon Market without even dressing up like this.”

It was the same that not only Arcel, but also Alfred was called a traitor.

Alfred surrendered to the warriors at the Devil’s Castle and opened the door to the Devil’s place.

As a result, the demons also called Alfred a traitor, and I only knew that it was the same reason that he spent most of his time in the castle.

But today, even though there were many people who recognized Alfred, including the bookstore owner, nothing special happened.

“Of course not, do those who were loyal to the demon king hate me enough to send assassins from time to time?”

Unsurprisingly, he was doing things that were not supposed to be done casually.

“However, the lord of the castle doesn’t hate me. Rather, he comes out favorably because he helps the hero defeat the demon lord.”

“Why is that?”

“If you think about it, it’s easy. Didn’t I say that the Demons who didn’t go to the battlefield supported the Demon King’s army from the rear?”

In one word, it means that it has become more comfortable.

“It was the same for the lord of this place, he had to give more than half of the money collected from taxes in the market to the demon lord. But now that the Demon King has fallen, there is no need for that, right?”

The demon king did not forcibly mobilize the demons to war, but he collected all sorts of materials and supplies.

Especially, as this was the largest market, it was the place the devil had his eye on.

So they had to manage the market, so they didn’t mobilize the lords to the war, but it meant that they really robbed the market of what was left.

“Besides, without a demon king left, the demon king army is nothing but dregs, and if there was no demon king in the first place, I wouldn’t have been such a troublesome errand boy.”

“But aren’t the commanders of the Demon King’s Army strong too? Of course, the Demon King was the biggest wall, but the Demon King’s subordinates, including you, were…”

The beings who led the demons and monsters at the forefront.

The biggest wall was the devil, but they were also monsters with formidable power.

Thanks to everyone being on the front line, we didn’t meet at the Devil Castle, but if they were there, everyone would have been exhausted and exhausted when they faced the Devil.

There was only one Alfred in the castle.

Even that was less wasted thanks to his early surrender, and thanks to that, he was able to subjugate even the Demon King.

“He’s strong, but weaker than me.”

Alfred confirmed with a grin.

“If there wasn’t a demon king like that, I wouldn’t even be a threat to you. Knowing that, the Demon King also sent soldiers from the front line to command them. Because I alone was enough to protect the castle.”

But Alfred surrendered without a fight.

The light bounced a few times, but if you think about it, Alfred didn’t even use proper magic.

Coming to think of it, before, Shion Magus didn’t show as much strength as he did when he confronted his maternal grandmother.

“But I was surprised that you subdued the demon lord. Of course I thought I would be easily torn to pieces like the warriors of the past, but you managed to defeat it?”

“…”

Arcel frowned as if he didn’t want to think about that time.

Probably because it was terribly strong.

Faced with the Demon King, Stella as well as his other colleagues could not stand it for long and fell to his knees.

In the end, it was Arcel who stood last, but after the battle with the demon king, even if he continued to focus on recovery, he could not fully recover for several days.

“Hey, I was really glad I didn’t watch the life and death decision back then. The Demon King was definitely stronger than me. The hero who defeated such a demon lord must have been stronger than me.”

“…It’s not something I want to think about very much. The king was too strong and had a brutal power.”

“Of course, no demons could oppose the demon king. My mother also said that the demon king is not just a demon.”

“As for your mother, she was said to be the Witch of Embers.”

Alfred nodded.

The Witch of Embers was called a genius who excelled not only in magic but also in various fields of study.

The fact that such an ash witch was evaluated as not just a demon may mean that other demons other than demons were also mixed into the demon king.

“But hasn’t that demon king already had his head cut off? No need to worry anymore In the end, if the demon king dies, it’s over. In particular, if he is killed by the holy sword, he cannot even be resurrected.”

Alfred smiles in satisfaction.

It seems that the errands the demon king ordered were very troublesome.

“I’m glad that’s the case, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with you and me being here either.”

“That’s how it is. But why doesn’t your friend the goblin come like this? He said he looked around for a while, but why did it take so long-“

“I’m sorry I’m late. Not you, of course.”

“What can I do? You are a dwarf who becomes a turtle if you are not in the forest, so you should understand with a broad mind.”

Stella, who came running from the market, sat next to Arcel and said.

“This is-! No, that’s okay. Whoa…”

But strangely, Stella seemed a little out of breath.

She calmed herself down, perhaps because she was tired of being irritated by Alfred’s words.

“Stella? Did something happen?”

“You couldn’t have bought it just because you spent a little time alone, right?”

“I didn’t buy it?!”

Come to think of it, Stella hurriedly came running from the market.

For some reason, the market seemed a little noisy.

“Oh, yes! I think something happened on the market side.”

Stella explains what she saw, as if she had been reminded of it.

“I saw something strange while walking in the market, so I went to check it out for a while, but unlike when I came, several soldiers were busy walking around.”

One of the markets.

When the onlookers gather, the lord’s men step out to stop them.

Stella overheard her demons to find out what happened.

-You have to catch that human as soon as possible! If the lord knows, he’ll play the sutra!-

But the content of the conversation was quite unusual.

“So I checked what was going on and they said that humans stole something important from the market.”

“…A human?”

Alfred naturally turned his gaze to Arcel.

“My, I couldn’t have done that!”

Arsel shouted as if he was unfair.