Chapter 66: The Revived Demon

“Phew. The ground’s all uneven—hard to walk on.”

Under the pitch-black night sky, with the full moon shining overhead, the nun walked alone across the wasteland.

“…Who would’ve thought I’d bump into Karl and the others that late at night. I managed to cover it up with a song, but I wonder if they got suspicious.”

Ilyu had gone out at night and tried to brush it off with a hasty excuse. Now she was dreading what might happen if they pressed her about it tomorrow.

But it wasn’t as if she was just some airhead acting on a whim. She had a reason—she needed to come here without anyone knowing.

The place she had come to was where, just yesterday, Rey and Sayori had clashed swords and brought down the leader of the villain clan.

“Ah, there you are.”

Ilyu spotted something and knelt down.

What she reached out for was a faint flicker of a soul.

“…It’s been a while. You kept trying your best, even after we parted ways.”

She gently cupped the small remnant of a soul in her hands, and the nun offered a silent prayer to the sky.

“────Thank you for everything.”

---

“Whaaat!? Lord Karl, you’re leaving already?”

“Ah—yeah. Didn’t I mention it?”

The next morning, while we were discussing when to leave Ressal, Sayori burst in, looking flustered.

It seemed she had assumed we’d be staying in Ressal for a while.

“Once the reconstruction settles down and Irine and the other mages aren’t needed anymore, I plan to move on. We’ve got to reach the coastal city of Anat by the end of the month.”

“Anat… that’s pretty far again.”

“Even if we walked non-stop, day and night, it’d still take a week to get there. And that’s not counting rest. We should really get going soon.”

Yes—Anat was the next destination appointed by the goddess. Most likely, there’d be another battle with demons waiting for us there.

We still had some time to spare, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t fall sick along the way. Once Ressal’s recovery was on track, we wanted to set off as early as possible.

If we were delayed, many more lives could be lost.

“…Lord Karl. Then, how long will you be staying?”

“We’ll leave once we’ve packed and made our preparations… so, two days maybe?”

“Aww…”

Sayori looked up at Karl with the expression of a puppy abandoned in the rain.

…Could it be she wants to come with us? Honestly, she’s totally head over heels for Karl.

“…I see. Then if there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask. You’re heroes to Ressal—we’ll support you however we can.”

“Ohh, thanks.”

But Ressal needed Sayori.

She was the one running this city—handling the aftermath of the villain clan, negotiating with the local nobility. Huge responsibilities rested on her shoulders.

As Ressal’s leader, she couldn’t just leave to follow us.

“……”

“Hm? Something wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

Still, it must have been a painful choice for her.

Sayori looked at Karl with tearful eyes, full of longing.

“…See? That’s why there’s no need to rush anything.”

“…Yeah. You were right, Maika.”

And the dark little exchange from the girls behind me? I decided to just ignore it.

So that’s why Maika didn’t make a move.

---

A mage is a jack-of-all-trades.

Today, Sakura and I had once again been roped into construction work around Ressal. Well, the vigilantes did help us out, so I didn’t mind.

“Wow, the villain clan sure was a formidable foe! But against us, they were no match at all!”

…Seriously, what is she doing?

While I quietly repaired the outer wall with earth magic, there was a woman giving a speech to a gathered crowd, strumming a string instrument as she went.

“Karl mowed down the enemies like wheat, Irine scorched the earth with her spells, Maika’s arrows pierced between the eyes, and my fists split the ground!”

…That would be Sister Ilyu.

Despite not having even participated in the battle, she was now narrating the clash between us and the villain clan as if she’d seen it all with her own eyes.

“Despairing at our overwhelming might, the villain clan pledged loyalty one by one! Righteous hearts crushed evil, and light shone upon the dark night! Bebeng!!”

“Yeahhh! That’s the stuff!”

A noisy crowd had formed around her, people of Ressal eager to hear the details of the raid.

At the center of the commotion, Ilyu was looking quite pleased as handfuls of coins were tossed her way.

“Gather round, everyone! The fearsome villain known as ‘Silent Sword’ Rey faced off against me! We traded blows—fist against blade! But then! With my ultimate technique, ‘Blade Breaker,’ I shattered that prized sword! And seizing the moment, archer Maika’s arrow pierced Rey’s arm, followed by Irine’s magic engulfing the earth in flames!”

“Wow!”

“And the grand finale—our great commander, the greatsword-wielding Karl! He dove headfirst into the raging inferno, summoned a whirlwind with his sword, and cut through evil along with the flames! Faced with Karl’s immense strength, Silent Sword dropped to one knee and bowed his head. Thus, Rey swore loyalty to our cause!”

…Oh, I want to call her out so badly.

You didn’t see a damn thing—don’t just make stuff up. And while you’re at it, stop inserting your own heroic scenes.

“Enraged by the pathetic display of his subordinate, the villain clan’s boss finally appeared on the battlefield! A hulking brute, seven shaku tall, twin axes in hand, face twisted like a demon!”

“Wooooah!”

“But righteous hearts will never break! Karl and our party kicked off the ground once again—!”

Thanks to Ilyu, the boss of the villain clan had now been rewritten into a giant man. She was a woman! You’re just lying!

Still, the people seemed to be having fun listening… Maybe, as entertainment, it was okay?

“…That girl, setting aside the content, she’s got a real knack for entertaining people.”

“She could make a living as a bard, don’t you think?”

At the very least, it’s not something a nun should be doing.

At best, she’s a poet. At worst, a swindler.

---

“Karl, Karl! I tricked the ignorant masses and squeezed some travel funds out of them—praise me!”

“I’d really rather not.”

Come evening, Ilyu returned to the hideout with a hefty sum in hand.

Apparently, she’d been performing at that spot all day. And it looked like she’d collected quite a bit in tips.

“Ilyu’s such a good girl. There, there. Do your best again tomorrow.”

“Yay! Maika praised me!”

“…These two.”

Turns out, that was Ilyu’s own way of gathering money.

Looks like she’d collected funds for our upcoming journey.

“Her story was a complete mess, though.”

“Why not ask Karl for the real details? If you don’t share accurate info, you’ll be branded a liar.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The people believe exciting stories over truthful ones. Therefore, my story becomes the true history.”

“Wow. That’s devious.”

Also, her ridiculous storytelling had been entirely intentional.

She really did sneak in her own glory shots.

“…So wait. Is Ilyu coming with us?”

“Hoeh?”

“Ressal’s pretty stable now, right? You could just stay and live here instead of tagging along.”

“Oh no no, the chapel here got blown to smithereens. I’ve got nowhere to work. If it’s alright, I’d like to accompany Karl on his travels.”

No, just quit being a nun and become a bard. You’re clearly better suited for that.

“Also, I feel like I can ride Karl’s coattails and live the good life♪”

“……”

…I see how it is.

“Well, you can come along up until the next settlement with a chapel.”

“Our journey’s going to be dangerous. You’ll have to part ways with us somewhere along the road—are you okay with that?”

“Oh, that’s fine. In that case, I’ll leave once I’ve gathered enough stories of Karl’s glorious exploits.”

“Just be a bard already.”

She’s clearly planning to use Karl’s feats as material for her performances.

Is she really a nun…?

“Well, if that’s the case, I don’t mind you coming… As long as you keep bringing in travel funds.”

“Yaaay!”

Well, having extra money certainly helps.

I guess Ilyu, like the Master, can work behind the scenes for us.

“……”

…Though, there is something that still bugs me.

---

“So, in the end, what was that whole resurrection thing Ilyu did supposed to be?”

“…I have no idea. I honestly thought she was a corpse too.”

That night, I secretly went to ask Maika.

I wanted to know what the deal with Ilyu was—what that had been all about.

“If we go by process of elimination, maybe it was a resurrection-type magical item?”

“Ah, you mean like that legendary one… ‘The Flower Wreath That Nullifies Instant Death Once,’ right?”

“Either she had something like that, or she knew a similar kind of ritual. I asked Ilyu about it yesterday, but she just went, ‘Hoeh?’ like she had no clue.”

“Hm. So she’s unaware of it herself.”

…Yeah, still no clue. But if she’s walking around just fine even after the boss was taken down, then Ilyu’s definitely not a corpse.

“Maybe Irine just saw wrong? Or was hallucinating?”

“Could be…”

That’s a possibility too.

At the time, she was panicking while trying to switch from Monkey Mask back into Irine. It’s not surprising if she saw something wrong in that flustered state.

“Well, either way. If that girl’s not dead, then there’s no need to worry about it.”

“…I see.”

Seems like Maika’s the type to just let things go if they don’t pose a threat.

I mean, there’s still a real chance I just saw it wrong too. But… I really thought I saw it.

---

"...Hehe."

The nun smiled into the night.

"It's all right, it's all right. Please, be at ease."

Tonight again, she walked the dark road.

Crouched low to the ground, she was gathering something she cherished.

"Seems like messing with his companion triggered the hero’s wrath. How hypocritical of him... It's honestly quite arousing."

The nun's eyes gleamed with a strange light as she spoke to something in a gentle voice.

Clinging to her fingertips was the faint, shriveled residue of a soul.

"Starting to regain consciousness now?"

『...Ah, ah』

"You're lucky I happened to be here."

It was a soul remnant.

The soul of a villain who should have soon dissolved into the air and never returned.

『I... I am...』

"That’s enough for now. From here on, come with me."

『Ah... Aaaa. That’s right, I was defeated...』

"Unfortunate, really. There’s no way you could win just by throwing numbers at a hero blessed by a goddess."

The villain's soul wavered weakly in Ilyu's palm.

Now, the villain couldn’t even exist without the nun’s protection.

"Now then, give me your true name."

『...My name』

"Yes. Your name. I’m here to retrieve you."

Asked her true name by a stranger, the villain hesitated briefly.

Then, as if remembering something, the vengeful spirit questioned the nun.

『O-Oh... Ohhh. You, you couldn’t possibly be—』

"Oh my, have you forgotten my face?"

『It’s been so long! So long! Ahh, but of course, to you—!』

The soul cried out with joy and, as if pleading, shouted its "name."

『My name is Ir'yuu the Diredragon—bringer of calamity, sworn enemy of mankind...!』

"Ir'yuu... Acknowledged."

『It is an honor! A true honor!』

The soul that called itself Ir'yuu trembled greatly—

And then vanished into the nun, as if being absorbed.

"...Hehe."

Silence returned to the land beneath the midnight sky.

The nun, having finished her work, stood up with a faint trace of hatred in her eyes.

—And in that moment, she no longer looked human.

Scales shimmered across Ilyu's slender frame, and her eyes gleamed with a reptilian ferocity.

"That's a little better now."

It had truly been a matter of coincidence.

Ilyu had not gone to Ressal intending to come into contact with Karl.

She had simply gone to Ressal to retrieve the half of herself she had once split apart.

"Ir'yuu"—that was the name of a past cataclysm.

In the distant past, during an age now called the "Ancient Era," when mages and swordsmen far more powerful than today roamed freely, it was the accursed name of an evil dragon that had finally been sealed away by the hero of that time.

A few years ago, due to certain circumstances, that "Ancient Demon" had been resurrected in the modern era.

"But the way he let his guard down around me... If I play this right, I might actually be able to kill the hero with a surprise attack."

This battle had been an unforeseen triumph for Ilyu.

After all, she had managed to gain the position of "traveling companion to the hero"—all while keeping her true identity hidden.

"...Ahhh♪"

Neither the hero nor his companions had any idea who she really was.

Even Lady Irine, the noble girl so adept at detecting lies, had failed to see through her deeply seasoned falsehoods.

"I'm so glad Karl-san is such a good person...♪"

The nun, Ilyu.

A “fake victim” who had let herself be captured by bandits in Ressal just to reunite with the boss of the villain tribe.

Her true identity—was the very target he was meant to defeat.

"Let's trick the hero, kill him, and use him for our own ends."

—She was the current Demon King.