That’d be unbearable. If it were me, I’d probably refuse to go outside until Roxy came and comforted me…
It made sense that he’d spent four hundred years wandering the skies, waiting for a sign of Laplace’s return. I bet he’d sworn that this time, he’d do the deed himself.
“Huh? If you cast the final battle spell, doesn’t that mean Laplace died?”
“They said they thought they’d killed him, but later, Sir Perugius searched Laplace’s castle and discovered that he’d ensured that if he died, he’d be reincarnated and return. That’s why he started saying that Laplace was only ‘sealed.’”
“…Right.”
Ruijerd’s expression was stormy. He’d be thinking that when Laplace returned, he’d have to fight too. Even if Laplace would eventually come back, reincarnation meant that he was currently dead. They had killed him once.
Sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed at the idea of “Three (Not-) Godslaying Heroes”…
“I don’t know what happened later. After that, I said my farewells and went back to the Demon Continent.”
He’d spent the last four hundred years struggling to save the Superd. Hearing the story properly, I felt like while his life had been hard, it was wonderful that he’d found this place to live out the rest of his days. Really wonderful.
We were also on track to restore the reputation of the Superd, so in my lifetime people would stop saying “Go to sleep or the Superd will come and gobble you up” and start saying “Go to sleep or monsters will come. Then the Superd will have to rescue you.”
Heh heh. There’d be kids refusing to go to bed everywhere.
“Thank you for telling us such a valuable story! I never thought I’d get to meet you in a place like this, you know! I’m overwhelmed! I’ve solved a lifelong mystery!”
Sandor bowed over and over again, his face glowing.
As she ate her rice soup, Eris also listened with interest. In the past she’d have butted in, bright eyed, to ask “Then?! What happened next?!” Perhaps she knew she was embroiled in a legendary fight of her own. Come to think of it, over the years Eris too had traveled to all sorts of places, had all sorts of adventures, and fought all sorts of enemies… Admittedly, for most of those she’d tagged along with me, so maybe she wasn’t fully satisfied.
“Well, that’s enough for—” Sandor had just begun to stand up.
“Well met!” someone boomed as the door was blown off its hinges. Eris jumped to her feet, kicked aside the incoming door, then used the momentum to spin around, step in, and draw her sword. She swung down to cut the intruder right down the middle.
“Hehehe, hotheaded, aren’t we… I recognize you as a champion for just that!” The intruder caught the blade between her hands. The trespasser had fully stopped Eris’s ultra-fast strike. “Settle down. I only came to meet the master of the house.”
It was Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe Rybak. Probably the most blockheaded person in the world. She was so blockheaded, she even put Eris and Kishirika to shame.
“It’s been toooo long, Ruijerd Supeeerdia.” Her mouth twisted in a smile as she glowered at Ruijerd, looking every bit the demon king she was. Her voice was slippery like a snake as she spoke Demon God Tongue.
“It has, Demon King Atofe,” Ruijerd replied, also in demon tongue.
“Hehehe. I remember you well. You might not think it, but I’ve got a good memory. It was when I was chasing you around the Babynos Region, wasn’t it?”
Ruijerd was silent.
“To think you ended up building your nest in a place like this…”
Ruijerd was sweating. Even the great Ruijerd was uncomfortable around Atofe.
“Your Majesty, just a second, let’s all calm down. The rampage of the Superd in the Laplace war was all engineered by Laplace himself.”
“What did you say?”
I told Atofe about how the Superd had come to be cursed. Everyone cried, storyteller and listeners both, as I explained how everything was a trap set by the diabolical Laplace. The Superd were innocent.
Atofe listened, nodding like she was taking it in. Eventually, she yelled, “Shut up! You’re not making sense, so shut up!”
I must have made it too complicated. I looked at Sandor for help, and he nodded as if to say, Leave it to me.
“Master Rudeus… It was either just before the Superd received the magic spears (or perhaps simultaneous to that) that my mother was sealed away. She doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, right… Then why were you chasing him?”
“She won’t remember the reason, I’m sure. Right, Mother?”
“Hmph… I do remember! It was the peasants! The peasants asked me for help!”
That stood to reason. Likely what happened was that Ruijerd had tried to help some child, some people had misinterpreted it as him attacking the child, and even though they feared the demon king, they relied on her, so they appealed to her directly. “Do something about that ‘Dead End.’”
“Well, anyway, it’s all Laplaces’s fault, so please…forgive him this time.” I almost said “let bygones be bygones” but caught myself. She’d blow her top again if I used any more difficult expressions.
“Heh, hehe, fwaaahahahaha! Very well! I’m not like those stingy dragonfolk! He shall have my forgiveness!”
…
Maybe it was actually Ruijerd who couldn’t forgive her. From a certain point of view, it could look like Atofe had actively persecuted the Superd.
“But Ruijerd, the villagers here! They’re so feeble I can’t believe they’re your people. What happened to the tough Superd?”
“They all died.”
“Oh? Come to think of it, I don’t see Superd on the Demon Continent anymore.”
Ruijerd didn’t say anything. He wore a look of understanding. He’d realized logic didn’t work on Demon King Atoferatofe Rybak. She might not have even been aware that she was persecuting the Superd… By hating her, he’d just be making himself look stupid.
I mean, yeah. There was no way Atofe would plot something insidious like persecution. She was more the type to crush her opponent through head-on war.
“Hehehe. Ruijerd Superdia… I think highly of you. If you will become my servant, I shall spare your friends in the village.”
“Mother, you say ‘spare,’ but what exactly are you planning on doing if he turns you down? Surely, you aren’t saying you’re going to kill them all, right? You know no one here will stand for that?”
Sandor’s gaze was sharp. He’d curbed his air of whimsical nonchalance, and there was an icy chill in his face as he glared at her.
“Nngh…uhh…”
“I see why you want him as a servant. I grew up hearing from Dad about the strength of the Superd warriors. It makes sense you’d want to recruit the leader of those warriors…but the way you do it is important, Mother. Thought you might struggle with that.”
Wow, Atofe actually listened to her son.
I really was impressed. Sandor had smoothed the situation over in a matter of seconds.
“On that note, Master Ruijerd, what do you say to studying North God Style?”
Don’t do it. If you say yes, you’re gonna get dragged off to Fort Necross. This is fraudulent solicitation!
“You’d make North King or North Emperor in no time, and if you were one of the leading disciples of North God Style, that would improve the world’s impression of the Superd. The ruler of the Asura Kingdom is close to Master Rudeus, so as a leading disciple of North God Style, you could get a knighthood, even as a Superd.” Sandor’s sales pitch rolled off his tongue. I could see his ulterior motive—he wanted to share a workplace with this guy he looked up to.
Personally, I didn’t see anything wrong with that. In the event that the Biheiril Kingdom refused to take in the Superd, they could agree to move to the Asura Kingdom. Then Ariel’s authority would protect them. We’d have to think a bit about where they’d live, but one idea was the forest in the north of the kingdom. We went through there when we infiltrated the Asura Kingdom in secret. That could work. It didn’t belong to any country in particular, so surely no one would complain.
I didn’t think the Superd would want to move again, but if a little more patience would make them safe, that had to be the better option.
Then Ruijerd replied.
“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t intend to leave the village for some time.”
“I see… Excuse me, I got a little ahead of myself.”
Well, the village was a big project itself. People don’t like to leave once they’ve put down roots. Ruijerd wanted to give this place his best shot.
“Heh heh, be that as it may. Ruijerd Superdia, I am here to see you!”
“Yes.”
“Heh, eheheh… Be not afraid. We are allies this time. A demon king clashes with the other strong warriors on the same side, but deep down she acknowledges their strength. Yes, that’s right, I acknowledge your skill! I wasn’t lying when I said I think highly of you. The Superd warriors were mighty, after all.”
“…Yes. They were outstanding warriors.”
Maybe it was because Sandor had told her off, but Atofe was being pretty friendly by her typical standards. I doubted she’d come looking for a fight. It was like she’d caught sight of a familiar face and come to say hello or something.
Suddenly, I felt someone’s gaze. I looked back and saw Norn looking my way, her expression troubled.
She was curled up, so I hadn’t noticed, but she was sitting right between Atofe and Ruijerd. Her eyes were pleading with me to do something. I shook my head to tell her this was out of my hands, at which she looked like she might cry.
