It Seems That the Demon King Is Among the Members of the Hero’s Party

14. The Demon King’s Aim

After a brief conversation, Tora-san said he was going to take a bath and left the room.

He was only wearing a towel, so I had to stop him and make him put on some clothes.

As I stood there alone, the Durandal on the bed started shaking with a rattling sound.

“Last night was quite enjoyable, wasn’t it?”

“Where did you get that information from?”

“From my previous master, of course.”

───Takeshi!

From Durandal’s statement, it seemed like he had been watching Tora-san and me the whole time.

I have no idea where his eyes were, though.

“But wasn’t it good for you?”

“What do you mean?”

I didn’t quite understand the meaning behind Durandal’s words, so I asked him.

Was it good that Tora-san had feelings for me?

“Didn’t Tora-san say so himself? From now on, he’ll only have feelings for his master.”

“If that’s true, then Tora-san won’t get caught up in any scandals, and that’s a good thing.”

“That’s what I mean.”

It’s true that if Tora-san doesn’t get caught up in scandals, it means one less headache for me.

And since he’s the one who gets caught the most in our party, it’s even more of a relief.

It’s a good thing, but there’s a part of me that’s embarrassed about being told my feelings so straightforwardly.

I don’t have any bad feelings about it, but I’m not sure how to respond, and that’s the honest truth.

And then there’s Dal’s reaction, which is scary to think about. From our conversation two days ago, I knew she had feelings for me. If she finds out that Tora-san and I have a physical relationship, I wonder how she’ll react?

Just thinking about it is terrifying. If she ends up hating me, that’s one thing. It’ll be painful and shocking, but it won’t be a huge problem.

The worst-case scenario is if it develops into a complicated situation that ruins the relationships within our party.

In that case, the relationships between me, Tora-san, and Dal would deteriorate. That’s half of our Brave Party, and it would definitely lead to our party’s downfall.

“Durandal”

“What’s wrong?”

“Should I tell Daru the truth?”

“I think it’s better to keep it a secret. It’s certain to be a shock, and who knows how she’ll react? Besides, you’re not even dating her, are you?”

“I’m not dating her, nor am I dating Tora.”

“I think it’s better to let Daru figure it out on her own. By then, she’ll have some idea, and the shock will be smaller. Timing is crucial, so if Daru starts to suspect, take action quickly. If you’re too slow, it’ll be too late to fix things.”

“Got it, I’ll be careful. You’re quite knowledgeable about this kind of situation, aren’t you?”

“I had a similar experience with my previous master.”

───Takeshi!

What’s going on, Takeshi’s also popular with the ladies? I had a weird image of him because Durandal was bad-mouthing him.

He said he’s not a bad person, so maybe he’s met someone who can see through to his true nature?

“In my previous master’s case, it turned into a huge fight between women, and my previous master almost got killed, so be careful not to end up like that.”

───Takeshi!

“Got it, I’ll be careful.”

No, I really need to be careful. I don’t want to die from being stabbed by a friend, especially not in a love triangle.

Besides, the party has a demon lord mixed in, and not just me, but my friends could also get killed. I want to avoid getting caught up in a bloody battle and getting killed.

Right now, I’m still searching for who the demon lord is, but it’s tough.

I have feelings for my original friends, and I’m not used to suspecting them, so it’s hard. If only I had a clear hint…

In my personal opinion, the demon lord is extremely cautious.

Thinking back on our journey, the demon lord has had many chances to act. There were opportunities to kill my friends as part of a demonic or monster attack.

Yet, they haven’t acted. No, they can’t act. That’s why they’re waiting for the right timing.

What’s stopping the demon lord from acting?

Is it a problem with their combat strength? According to Mirabel, there’s no one who can beat the demon lord one-on-one.

Adding to that, if my friends let their guard down, it would be easy to assassinate them. Yet, they’re not doing it, which means the demon lord is waiting for the right timing.

The demon lord is aiming for a strategic victory.

Killing the hero party or making us collapse would be easy for the demon lord.

But the demon lord’s enemy isn’t just us.

All non-demonic species are their enemies. Killing us wouldn’t change much; it would just be a tactical victory.

It sounds harsh, but even if we die, the world won’t change much.

There will be chaos, but there are other powers beyond us. The king of Arcadia is a skilled warrior, and the inhabitants of the Jungle Empire are ordinary people who can fight.

We’re just exceptional individuals chosen from among them. Honestly, we can be replaced.

The demon lord themselves must know that.

That’s why they’re waiting for the right timing.

The demon lord is aiming for a massive betrayal at the most critical moment, a chance to deal a crushing defeat that can’t be undone.

They’re waiting for a situation to arise that will shake the entire world.

What I need to do is find evidence of the demon lord before that happens and defeat them.

“Durandal”

“What’s going on?”

“Can you imagine a situation that would shake the world?”

“Yes, there are a few possibilities.”

If Durandal had known about such a scenario beforehand, he would have been on guard, and his response would have been forthcoming.

As expected, Master Durandal is quite insightful.

“What kind of situation?”

“Well, one possibility is that the World Tree, which the Elven Kingdom is protecting, withers or gets destroyed.”

“That would be a catastrophic event affecting the entire world’s magic and life force, making it irreversible.”

“The World Tree?”

In that case, the demon tribe would also be affected.

Unless they intend to take the entire world down with them, it’s impossible.

“Secondly, if the god worshipped by the Church is killed…”

“Is it possible to kill a god? They’re not even in the mortal realm, and it’s not like we can meet them.”

“There is a way to reach the Heavenly Realm where the gods reside, but it requires an invitation from the gods themselves, so it’s essentially impossible.”

“I see. If the god invites us, we can go to the Heavenly Realm and meet them.”

“That’s right. If the god worshipped by the Church is killed, chaos would spread throughout the world.”

“After all, the Church is the most widely revered institution in the world. The priests serving the Church would be shaken, and even some members of the royal family are devout believers, so it would be a huge commotion.”

But isn’t this essentially impossible, since we need to be invited by the god themselves?

Even if we’re the Brave Party, we’re just a group of humans with a bit of power from the gods’ perspective. It’s unlikely they would go out of their way to invite us to the Heavenly Realm.

“Lastly, what if the three disasters sealed by the gods awaken?”

“What three disasters? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“I think the priests serving the Church would know. It’s a forbidden calamity mentioned in the Church’s teachings, also known as the Promised Destruction.”

This is getting unsettling.

If such a thing really exists, it would be a huge problem, wouldn’t it?

“Don’t worry, Master. The seal that binds the disasters is linked to the gods’ life force, making it incredibly powerful. There’s no way to undo the seal, and it won’t be broken unless the gods themselves die.”

“If the gods die, that would be the end of the world, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s unlikely to happen, so please don’t worry.”

───I feel like I’ve triggered a bad flag.