The battle was relatively short. Mazel landed the finishing blow. His swing was sharp, quick, and hit the mark. With that fatal strike, Gezarius let out an anguished scream and dissipated like smoke into the air.
Finally, all that was left was the tattered corpse of a man. I’d need to check his face later, but I had something else to do first.
“We need to find the black gem. It’s dangerous.”
“You may leave that to me. I understand there are more important matters demanding your urgent attention.”
After briefly considering Oldman Uwe’s suggestion, I decided to leave things to him. He was right. I instructed Neurath and Schünzel to keep up our defenses and ran to the top of the wall. Eickstedt’s men ran toward me with cheers.
“You did it, Lord Werner!”
“It’s not over yet. Shout it out loud as one. The Demon Commander is dead!”
The soldiers atop the wall understood what I was getting at. Together, they repeated, “The Demon Commander is dead!””
“Victory is ours!”
They shouted the news from the wall, their voices carrying into the town and out onto the plains. Their words reached the soldiers outside the walls, who raised a cheer that boomed all about the city. The monsters, upon hearing it, lost heart and tried to flee, but they didn’t have anywhere of note to run to.
When I could tell the sound of clashing swords was moving further and further away, I finally knew that the battle was over. I fell to my knees. I had to deal with the aftermath, but right now, I couldn’t think. I was too exhausted.
At least, that’s what I thought.
“First, I have some questions for you.”
As soon as I returned to the local lord’s manor, it was a one-on-one showdown with Oldman Uwe. He even made sure to drive everyone else away. Just what did he want?
“To be honest, I’ve got some work to do, but...what is it?”
“There is much I have to ask you, but there is one thing I must first clarify. I have heard that you showed a map of this continent to Laura and Mazel.”
“Oh, well, I think so.” Now that he said it, I was pretty sure I did. And while it was none of my business, was he seriously calling the second princess by just her first name? I guessed that was what she herself would want, but still.
As I pondered that over, the old man fixed me with a stare so intense it could kill a man. His words were sharp. “No matter what kingdom, maps are held in secrecy for the sake of protecting the realm. Most are unaware that even maps of individual countries exist, and even those are kept safe by the crown except for a countable few. Just who are you to know not just the location of foreign towns but the geography of this whole continent?”
Welp… Seems like I really screwed up.
✦ ✦ ✦
When he put it that way, there was no denying it. Since maps were top secret, I never got to see one. I had to struggle to pull out every last memory of my past life to make that map. Even if I was just dealing with Mazel, it was a mistake to operate using my common sense as a Japanese person.
Right, so how do I answer? The only thoughts I could get through my head were “I’m sleepy” and “I’m tired.” I guessed I’d just have to try to talk my way out of this.
“Did Mazel inform you?” Oldman Uwe asked.
“Inform me of what?” I asked.
“Of the other Demon Commanders.”
He must have been referring to Dreax and Beliures. I heard that he defeated them, but I was never too interested in hearing about the details.
But seriously, why was this old man staring me down like that? Well, considering I was trying to hide things, I guessed he had good reason.
“When the other Demon Commanders perished, they left no bodily remains. Gezarius alone left behind his human form. It was why he made an attempt to urge you away.”
Oh, that was right. When the other three Commanders were defeated in the game, they didn't leave any corpse behind… Wait, what did he just say?
Hold on a second. That’s right. It was strange that Gezarius never showed up in the game. It was possible that being able to turn into a human like he did with Pückler made him different from the other three. Which meant…
“Then he’s no ordinary Demon Commander?”
“Demon Commanders are beings shrouded in mystery. How familiar are you with the previous Demon Lord?”
The previous Demon Lord? Well, uh…
I had always known that the Demon Lord would return, so I was never too interested in the one that came before, and I never thought to look into it either. The game just suddenly began with the Demon Lord’s revival. They never even mentioned the previous Demon Lord.
Before my appointment in Anheim, I started to have suspicions about the connections between monsters and natural disasters, but since I had no means of investigating the matter, I’d put it on the backburner. In that sense, I knew next to nothing. Just the stuff I heard from fairytales when I was a kid.