"Zero!"
As soon as I emerged from the portal, someone welcomed me.
It was Luna.
"Keke, seeing you like this brings back memories. You didn’t cry without me, did you?"
"I didn’t cry! If anyone were to cry, it would be you!"
Luna, who was running towards me, flinched.
"You... did it?"
She meant if I had killed someone.
It’s a mystery why someone usually so oblivious could be so perceptive here.
I nodded slightly, and then Luna hugged me tightly.
Well, given my size, it looked more like I was hugging her.
"You’ve had a tough time. Come here and rest."
Luna pulled me along and sat me down on a large tree stump.
The seat was warm. It must have been where Luna was sitting.
"What? Are you hurt?"
Luna’s eyes widened.
Ah, right, I had cut my right forearm.
But it was just a scratch. As proof, a scab had already formed.
"You idiot! Why do you always get hurt like this?"
Sizzle-!
Luna tore my clothes and poured a bottle of potion on my forearm.
Not stopping there, she wrapped it up tightly with bandages.
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...Using the whole roll.
At this rate, my forearm might burst, Luna.
My arm was also wet. The potion that couldn’t be absorbed dripped down my arm.
Hmm, it’s too precious to waste like this.
I should lick it up a bit.
Slurp-.
Hmm, it tastes strangely salty. Maybe it’s the salt from my body?
"Are you hungry?"
"Keke, now that you mention it, I am a bit hungry."
"Really? Then eat this."
Crackle-.
Luna handed me a small bag of snacks.
Let’s see... carrot-flavored potato chips?
Do people actually eat this?
"Hmm, it seems like I’m mistaken for thinking it was left uneaten."
"That, that’s right! I was eating it and it was so delicious I decided to save it especially for you. So, don’t leave any."
It sounded suspicious, but I was hungry, so I gratefully ate it.
Hmm, the carrot proudly asserted its presence in my mouth.
It tasted only of carrot.
Maybe they should change the name to carrot chips instead of potato chips?
"This, this is..."
Crackle-.
Rezé handed something to Luna.
It was a snack. On it was written, ’Carrot-flavored Potato Chips, Double Carrot Version!’
"If, if you like it, you should’ve said something. I, I’m happy to have a comrade."
"...Comrade?"
"Ca, carrot comrades. Hehe."
While Rezé laughed brightly, Luna’s face was trembling.
Hmm, Luna really hates carrots.
She always picks out the carrots in curry with a fork and throws them at me.
There seems to be a misunderstanding between them, but it looked fun, so I left it be.
"Is Senior Rodelin still there?"
"Uh, uhuh! Yes. It seems like they’re still fighting. The occasional loud noises indicate so."
Luna, who took a bite of the carrot-flavored snack, shivered.
With Rezé watching eagerly from inside the box, she couldn’t not eat it.
’There’s a forest version of the box too? That’s quite impressive.’
If there’s a quest that requires sneaking into somewhere, Rezé’s help could make it a breeze.
"Uh, uhuhuh... De, delicious..."
How delicious it must be for her to tremble so much.
It was a fun situation, but I decided to save her.
There was somewhere we needed to go.
"Let’s go to where Senior is."
"That, that so!? Anyway! Snacks are not the priority right now!"
Luna quickly tied up the bag and stuffed it into my pocket.
"Gi, give it back later! I will eat it all, so you must return it! Got it?"
Yes~ Yes, I’ll eat it all. So don’t worry.
The reason to head towards Rodelin was simple.
Lérang is a boss of chapter 1, rated as an S-grade boss.
This means the conditions to use [Predation] are met.
’Maybe if I help out, I can snatch a bit of experience?’
We were just about to enter the building where Lérang’s training ground was.
"Huh?"
Rezé’s tiny voice. At the same time.
Boom!! Kaboom!!
An explosion occurred behind us.
The ground flipped, trees were uprooted and flew away, and a cloud of dust formed.
"What, what’s that!"
The aftermath sent us all flying, but since we were facing the building, we were unharmed.
"Luna, are you alright?"
"Ah, aya... I’m fine. Rezé seems... to have fainted. How about you?"
"I’m also fine."
Apart from the bruises from hitting the stone ground, there was no significant damage to our bodies.
Even if something had broken, it wouldn’t have been a concern.
Why?
’What? I’ve never seen such a development before...!’
That’s right. The problem was the sudden, massive explosion.
The greatest strength of a veteran player.
An S-grade skill? A broken hidden piece? A harem route?
None of the above. The greatest strength of a veteran player is ’information power.’
My success so far was largely due to the power of information.
’An event that I’m unaware of, and it’s happening before chapter 1 has even ended?’
I was seriously anxious. Why?
Because usually, when such incidents occur, the most likely event is.
’A demon appears.’
And that anxiety was confirmed.
A green glow faintly visible through the dust cloud.
An ominous glow was watching us.
It definitely wasn’t human. The eyes were about 3 meters high.
Considering human anatomy, that height was absolutely impossible.
’It’s okay. Chapter 1 hasn’t even ended. It can’t be a high-ranking demon...’
My thoughts halted.
The faint patterns visible through the dust cloud.
That’s right. It was.
"The pentagram of reversal...!!"
And it meant only one thing.
A high-ranking demon.
My mind went blank.
’Information window! Information window! Information window!’
[Identification impossible, use unavailable.]
[Please move closer or remove the obstacles between us.]
Move closer? Are they insane?
Such an unnecessarily kind system making me want to curse.
I really wanted to flip it over.
’Is it because of the dust cloud?’
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First, we need to find out what this thing is.
Only then can we find even a sliver of possibility.
Thud!
That’s when it happened. The high-ranking demon took a step forward.
At the same time, Luna darted out.
"Zero! I’ll take care of this! Run away in the meantime!"
"Luna! That’s not good!"
The Lester family’s first secret technique.
One Flash.
Crack! Ting!
Ting? Is that a sound that can come from skin?
Wondering if she felt the same, Luna shouted at me.
"Zero! Run! Get out of here now...!"
Crack!!
Luna couldn’t finish her sentence.
Because the demon’s fist suddenly appeared and sent Luna flying.
"Luna?"
No response. I didn’t even know where she had been sent flying.
I hadn’t even realized the demon had thrown a punch.
It meant the stat difference was enormous.
The speed was so incredible that I couldn’t even perceive the attack.
Indeed, a high-ranking demon was a being of a different caliber.
And such a destructive demon had attacked Luna.
That meant Luna was already...
’Calm down, stay calm!’
Luna must be alive. She had the [Spirit’s Breath] given by Caron.
An artifact that blocks a fatal attack once.
With that, she wouldn’t have died.
It was rather fortunate. She would have escaped the demon’s attention.
’Just wait.’
Using the [Information Window] skill. That was the top priority.
Soon, the dust cloud settled.
As soon as my vision cleared a bit, I used the [Information Window] skill.
...It’s incredibly long. Looks like it’s about 5 pages.
There’s no time to read it all.
Calmly scrolling through, I extracted the necessary information.
’The name, affiliated legion, and...’
Its rank. That was most important.
Finally, I found the information I was looking for.
[Bineus, affiliated with the 5th legion of the demon world, 4th Grade.]
4, 444...
4th Grade!?
For a moment, the demon hierarchy formula flashed through my mind.
123456789.
987654321.
Equivalent to a 6th circle magician, or a 6-star knight.
This being wasn’t something we could defeat with our current specs.
’What kind of shitty hidden piece is this...!’
I had no idea what conditions had been met for this to happen.
Fortunately, the demon was one whose strategy I knew. And...
"Hmm, I smell a human with a pleasant scent."
Being granted the leisure to talk was a big deal.
It seemed like there was a basic level of affinity towards me, like ’fragments of a demon.’
The synergy effect of slit eyes and [Ominous Aura].
Truly a blessing.
"Hmm, what to do? I was told to kill every human I meet..."
The demon was deep in thought. But so was I.
I didn’t know why this hidden piece was triggered, but there was one thing I couldn’t understand the most.
’How did a 4th Grade demon descend here?’
Not possession or manipulation, but an actual descent.
Free to act without restrictions and able to use the power from the demon world in this world.
According to what I knew, this was impossible.
’It’s not even midterms yet. There shouldn’t be any large-scale summoning at this time?’
Then, it’s one of two things.
Either the demon came from a great distance after descending, or there was an unknown summoning ritual near the academy.
There was too little information. But what I had to do was always clear.
’Think.’
That’s my power, the weapon of a veteran player.
After a moment of thought, I came to a small conclusion.
’Indeed, this isn’t right.’
It’s not about giving up. The level is just too high.
A 4th Grade demon in chapter 1!
’An unwinnable fight.’
Then, there must be a way to overcome this situation without fighting.
And that’s likely through ’dialogue.’
"Keke, your scales are quite magnificent."
"Hm? You recognize this? For a human, you have quite the eye."
"Even a human like myself can recognize it, which means it has been well-maintained. Impressive."
"No, well, it’s nothing special. These days, even demons consider skincare basic."
Common to all countries, common to humans and demons.
Compliments are the first step to becoming friends.
Seems like the flattery worked, so let’s start digging for information little by little.
"What brings you here, if I may ask, Lord Demon?"
"Hm, I came by my mother’s command."
"...Your mother?"
One word. But it was enough to complete the puzzle.
Half the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
’The Mother of Summoning,’ who grows demons in bodies using special techniques.
One of the Four Heavenly Kings, Lizbeth.
It was clear she had sent this demon.
"Rodelin, was it? She said to kill that human. It was a bit far, but what can I do? It’s my mother’s command, so I must joyfully obey." 𝐟r𝗲𝚎𝚠e𝐛no𝘃𝗲𝐥.c𝗼m
She told him to kill Rodelin?
’It’s because of the demon’s shard.’
The incident with the demon’s shard found beneath the tomb of the sacred sword.
This continent also had media and journalists, who put Rodelin’s name at the forefront.
Because she was the youngest daughter of the Lucid family.
’A good target to attract attention.’
So, it was natural for Lizbeth to target Rodelin.
After all, Rodelin had killed her child.
’Normally, killing a demon’s shard wouldn’t trigger an event to send a demon.’
Killing it too early was a mistake.
After chapter 3, Lizbeth would reveal herself and start a fierce battle with the kingdoms in the south.
It would be chaotic then, so sending a demon for revenge would be impossible.
But now was the time to conserve power.
Sending a demon wouldn’t be too difficult.
I had a rough idea of what was going on.
And I knew what I had to do.
’Protect Rodelin.’
That was my task.
"Keke, Rodelin is not here."
"Hm? Is that so?"
"Yes. Do you see that large building over there? That’s where Rodelin’s dormitory is."
As cute as Rodelin.
The building where Elester-chan and Caron-chan are staying~. (TL Note: Yes, the author uses -chan. He’s a massive weeb, if it wasn’t obvious already)
--TL Notes--
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading
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