Chapter 70 – Friends, Allies, and Enemies (16)

Friends, Allies, and Enemies (16)

The heat of battle quickly subsided.
My whole body, especially my shoulders, ached. Nerati’s tactics were to slowly chip away at the opponent. It’s incredibly annoying to be on the receiving end. I’d almost prefer fighting someone stronger.

Of course, if a stronger guy shows up, I plan to run away immediately.

I trudged over and leaned against a nearby wall.
It was my first fight. The first duel I’ve had since my body became stronger, while still in a normal state. Maybe that’s why I struggled with controlling my strength and ended up looking like a mess.
I shouldn’t be reckless with my newfound health.

“Phew… that was fucking tough.”

I was panting and catching my breath, but the situation wasn’t serious.
I only used the holy sword once. I didn’t even have to draw the demonic sword. Hell, I even turned off Mind’s Eye halfway through. The physical toll was huge, but I hadn’t expended enough energy to be a health concern.

So, who won?
To put it simply, I did.
I defeated Nerati.
I took down a subordinate of the Demon King’s army.
Hahaha.

It was almost too easy to call it a victory.
I thought I’d have to use both the demonic and holy swords to barely defeat her, but it turned out to be easier than expected.

Maybe I’ve become incredibly strong, I thought to myself for a moment.

But, in reality, it wasn’t so much that I’d become stronger; it was that Nerati had become weaker.
Without the Demon King, the total amount of power the demons could use was significantly reduced. Plus, their recovery rate had drastically slowed down.
She had used her power once when we met in Frontis, twice in the Country of Magic, and who knows how many times when I wasn’t around, so she must have been running on empty.

Even though she had already used a considerable amount of power, Nerati was still a subordinate of the Demon King’s army. So she probably thought, how could she fail to kill a mere porter?

But Nerati, who came at me,

Got completely wiped out.
Smashed to pieces.

She took the bait when I showed her an opening. She didn’t realize it was intentional. Anyway, as she tried to stab me in the forehead, she was met with an unexpected counterattack and ended up spitting blood against the wall.
I couldn’t help but snicker at the bewildered expression on her face as she dripped blood.
It was quite a sight.
If only others had seen it.
Valkvogel would have probably been clutching her stomach laughing for half a day.

“Pff…”

Even thinking about it now, her expression was hilarious.

Anyway, after the first counterattack, it was a one-sided beating.

Though to call it a beating might be an overstatement since I couldn’t land any follow-up hits… but since I was the one attacking, it’s fair to call it one-sided.

Nerati was somehow twisting her body to dodge.
And I, measuring the distance with the holy sword, looking to finish her off.

I wanted to obliterate Nerati with the light of the holy sword, but landing an attack on her as she maneuvered at high speed was no easy feat. Even if she was like a lion without teeth, her paws were still intact; her speed was unimpaired.

Engaging in a battle of stamina with a demon was disadvantageous, so I unleashed the holy sword to settle the score. Unfortunately, the sword only grazed her arm instead of exploding against her torso.

After a long and grueling chase, Nerati, having reached her limit of patience, screamed and fled.
And just like that, she slipped away.

I could have caught her.

“Ah… shit.”

The tension released, and the pain from my wounds began to throb.
My onslaught was one-sided, but I couldn’t avoid the occasional stab she aimed at my openings.

I could deflect the stabs aimed at my face and guts, but I couldn’t block those targeting my shoulders, hands, or feet.

With trembling hands, I rummaged through my pocket.
I pulled out a navy-blue syringe, Aeon, and plunged it into the wound, then injected its contents.
It’s a syringe, but it’s fine to use multiple times. Cecilia once mentioned it’s made of a special material.

Probably.

I injected a suitable amount into all my wounds.

This should heal quickly.
The injuries weren’t that severe, after all.

But what was Nerati’s purpose for coming here?
What kind of orders could she have from the Demon King’s army?

If they knew the location of this place from the start, it would have been better to wipe out the resistance when they were active. Why come now?

Did they only just realize there was an underground base in Myluman?
That’s possible.
Even if the information is now useless, they might still find something valuable. It’s a coincidence that my visit overlaps with this discovery.

But why did she have to run into me, in this room, of all places?
And in a space where Troka’s information might be found.

Could it be…

She’s in cahoots with the goddess to…

…Nah.
That’s a bit far-fetched.

She must have just stumbled upon this place while investigating.

Stop with the weird thoughts, and focus on the task at hand.
If I hadn’t been in good shape, I wouldn’t have beaten Nerati. Let’s work as much as we can while we’re healthy.
What I need to do is find what Troka left behind. I can worry later when I have time.
After gathering all the information… it’ll be time to meet Chloe.

The pain is starting to subside. As long as I don’t move too violently, the wounds shouldn’t reopen.

So then…

“Let’s get started.”

I pushed myself off the wall with that thought.

I’ve been talking to myself a lot lately.
I don’t feel like I’m about to die anymore, now that I’m healthier.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting old.

Though I’m still in my twenties.

I brushed the dust off my pants.
The air is dark.

*

The only useful thing I found was in the morgue.

Though it’s called a morgue, there were only two bodies. And one of them was an unfamiliar face.

First, I checked Rapi’s corpse. Rapi, with his head severed and his hands placed on his stomach, seemed almost alive due to the well-done embalming—if he had been warm, it wouldn’t have been strange to mistake him for living. The reason his body hadn’t been collected was probably… because of Chloe. If she had seen this, she would have outright tried to kill Troka.

While rummaging through the body, I discovered a piece of paper carefully placed underneath my hand.

It was paper.
Black paper. According to the pattern so far, since I’m the only one with black hair, it must be meant for me. The first letter handed to me by the Emperor was white. So this must be the real letter intended for me.

I thought that since it was hidden so well, it surely wouldn’t be sealed,

but unfortunately, this letter was also sealed.

“Son of a bitch…”

Calm down.
There must be a clear reason why such important information was sealed like this.
Yeah, for example, to buy time in case an unwelcome guest like Nerati showed up. Or to make it impossible for anyone other than me to open it, in case it fell into the wrong hands.

Or maybe… it was tampered with by the goddess.

Still, the likelihood of tampering is low.
Because the seal on the letter wasn’t done with the goddess’s power.

Letters sealed with the goddess’s power are easy to detect but hard to break. However, objects sealed in such a mundane way are hard to detect, but easier to unlock.

That doesn’t mean I can open it, though.

I’ll have to consult an expert later.

Now, what’s left is evidence of Rapi’s betrayal.
The higher-ups in Myluman are a mess with paperwork, so it must be stashed somewhere around here.

The evidence was right beneath Rapi’s corpse.
In a drawer placed under the body, I found a report with everything neatly compiled.
Honestly, I thought it would take a while, but I found it in less than a minute.
How carelessly do they work?

Well, it’s a strangely lucky day, so I didn’t mind.

I can go to the Dragon Kingdom, I’ve regained my health, and I’ve somewhat settled my bad blood with Nerati. Except for the fact that Cecilia is missing, it’s a perfect day.
Next, I’ll meet Chloe and tell her the truth, and then just open that damned letter.
Once I open the letter in the Dragon Kingdom, everything will be over.
I’m healthy, so I can return to my original world. If I go back, first… I can live happily, I guess.

It’s been a day full of ups and downs, but not a bad day at all. Now, I just need to return to my quarters and plan to meet Chloe, and that’ll be the end of today’s tasks. With the remaining time, I’ll listen to what happened to Valkvogel, and the day will come to a close.

Indeed, when you’re healthy, everything seems to go well.

With all my belongings in tow, I headed back to my quarters with a light step.

And then I stopped in front of a newsstand on some street.

It was because of what adorned the front page of the newspaper.
If I were my current self, even if it said the Emperor was dead, or the Demon King had resurrected, or that there was a bounty of a million gold on my head, I would have ignored it and headed to my quarters.

But, posted on the front page of the newspaper in the largest print was the name of the hero, Troka.

[The Turnabout Hero Troka, About His Shocking True State.]

It was a title embalmed on the front page of the Myluman newspaper.

I had no choice but to stop.

Among the people grabbing newspapers, I reached out and snatched a copy.
And I read it.
Every character, every sentence, I pressed on and read.

“Hmm. Hmmm. Hmmmm.”

Every letter was repulsive.
To someone unaware, it might seem interesting.
But I found it unbearable.

The newspaper… I should have thought about this.
I was a bit foolish.

It was a strategy the Demon King’s army could have easily employed. The direction was a bit different, but anyway, it was a feasible tactic. For some reason, they hadn’t executed it, but still, I should have prepared at least one countermeasure.

Well, if that newspaper had been manipulated and published by the Demon King’s army, the falsehood would soon be revealed…
But the name that appeared most frequently was Chloe’s, so it seemed unlikely.

In the end, this is what it has come to.

Should I have given Chloe a heads-up in advance?
Even if it were Chloe… would it have made a difference?

I closed the newspaper.

And I thought deeply about the next plan.

Troka’s sacrifice, effort, and dedication, all shattered to pieces like this.

I wasn’t sorry.
It was all because of that damned bastard who had died.
After all, it was he who had hidden the content.

So there was no anger.
It would be strange to be angry at him.

“…Ha.”

But… the plan changes.

I head straight to Chloe.

It’s a simple whim.

A simple.
Whim.