“Ah, Adrian?”
“It looks like you’re seeing a ghost.”
Well, I wasn’t actually dead or anything. But I must have looked shocked since he appeared out of nowhere. After all, because of the impact of the past changes, the demon lord’s prophecy had disappeared, and there was no reason for him to come to the academy anymore. I thought he would be living well as a prince in the royal palace.
“Do you remember anything?”
The demon lord spoke. He claimed that he couldn’t recall his past before the changes, but he knew someone who did.
“Ah, luckily, my memories have returned.”
As I expected, Adrian nodded with his usual sly smile. He then took a seat next to the demon lord.
“Well, since we’re all gathered, shall we begin the discussion?”
Reynesis, looking back and forth at Adrian and me, started off with a satisfied smile. I looked at them both with a tense expression. After all, this was an unprecedented combination, and I had my doubts about what kind of conversation would unfold. The demon lord and Adrian, two people who were adversaries in my eyes, had come to find me together.
“To cut to the chase, Ken.”
It was Adrian who initiated the discussion. He smiled faintly but gazed at me with a suddenly serious look. There was a strange weight in his tone.
“The reason the King and I came is to ask you to craft a weapon.”
“…A weapon?”
It was much less of a deal than I had imagined. But I tilted my head, puzzled.
“Why specifically me for weapon crafting…”
It was a legitimate question. I was just a student at the academy with barely any crafting skills. In contrast, Adrian and Reynesis were the heads of the massive entities known as the Kingdom of Lilias and the Karab Continent. There must have been plenty of legendary craftsmen around them who could easily surpass me.
But it was Reynesis, not Adrian, who answered my question.
“That’s because the weapon needs to be one that can kill my older brother.”
“…What?”
At that moment, I felt a shift in the room’s atmosphere. Cold sweat began to flow, and goosebumps prickled my skin. I sensed a deep, deadly intent emanating from Reynesis’s almost innocent-looking face.
“I’m telling you the truth. I pushed my brother aside to take the demon lord’s throne, but my brother is still alive.”
“But… if your goal is the throne, then why is it necessary to kill him…?”
Of course, whether he lived or died was none of my business. But based on the atmosphere, killing her former brother, the previous demon lord, seemed like a risk worth taking. Doing all that just to ensure his death…
“Ken, is there anyone besides me who has regained their memory?”
At that moment, Adrian asked a rather unexpected question.
“Yes… Emily, Raphne… and Mary have regained theirs.”
“I see.”
Adrian’s expression hardened at my reply. Why…? And the answer became clear with his next statement.
“The deposed demon lord Arleus… He may have regained his memory as well.”
His words hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Does that mean…”
“Yes, regaining memories means he has recalled the prophecy. He’s also likely to remember his time as the demon lord.”
“That’s why I have detected signs that my brother is preparing for rebellion. Worst case, there could be a war.”
While they talked about it so nonchalantly, I couldn’t keep my composure. According to Reynesis, he had leveraged the prophecy to persuade the demons and firmly establish himself as the demon lord.
He had infiltrated the academy multiple times to fulfill that prophecy, and ultimately, the demon lord instigated a war when he couldn’t find Raphne.
The fact that the former demon lord had regained his memory meant Raphne was in grave danger….
“And Ken, it’s only natural to entrust you with crafting the weapon. You’re the most skilled craftsman I know.”
“No, that’s too much…”
My head was spinning from the shock, so I replied vaguely. But Adrian shook his head.
“There’s no need for modesty. I’ve seen your skills firsthand. Besides, to kill the demon lord, an ordinary weapon won’t suffice.”
“The bloodline of the great Zaela cannot be easily slain. That goes for me as well as for Arleus.”
“Ken, we need a demon sword that can kill the high-ranking demon who has inherited the bloodline of the demon god.”
That was why the two had come to me. There was probably another unspoken reason as well—the thought that I would not be able to refuse that request.
After all, asking for a weapon to kill the demon king was no small matter. An ordinary craftsman would surely quail and refuse.
The very existence of the demon lord was terrifying enough. A master smith’s name is attached to the blade they create. If a sword had slain a demon lord’s underling, who knows what vengeance the master craftsman might face?
In this context, a creator like Adrian and Reynesis, who had solid reasons to ensure the demon lord’s death, would be the perfect fit for this task.
And that creator was probably just me.
“…But I have no idea how to create that kind of demon sword.”
Of course, I wanted to help in whatever way necessary to kill the demon lord. However, I could only use my skills to exert a special power; I didn’t have the recipe for creating such a demon sword.
I hadn’t even seen such a sword in the game.
“That part is okay. There is someone who knows about the sword that killed the past demon lord.”
In response to my question, Adrian answered with a smile.
“There’s someone who knows… But that person isn’t a craftsman. And their location poses a problem…”
“…Location?”
“Ah, regarding this, Ken, I’d like to ask something of you as well. Would you be willing to listen?”
“…You seem to be relying on me for quite a bit, Adrian.”
“Well, you are the one who conquered that legendary tower. Naturally, I have to have expectations.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that rumor too! It’s a feat that no other demon has accomplished, and it makes me envious.”
Feeling the burden of their expectant gazes was oddly uncomfortable. The only reason I could tackle that tower was because I had strong companions and a cheat-level weapon by my side, after all.
“So… what is this other request?”
This request would likely relate to someone who had knowledge about the demon sword that could kill the demon lord.
And Adrian casually averted his gaze.
“Ken, there’s a place you need to go.”
“A place I need to go?”
After a brief pause, he met my eyes again and spoke.
“You need to go to prison.”
“…Prison?”
At his words, I thought I had misheard him and opened my mouth to double-check. But at that moment…
Crash!
“Oh, noooo!”
“Adrian! Are you crazy?! Are you asking Ken to commit a crime right now?!”
“…That’s unacceptable.”
The student council room’s door burst open, and three figures—red, yellow, and blue—tumbled in one after the other.
They seemed to have fallen and looked pained, but they quickly started to admonish Adrian, who was staring at me, sharing my surprise.
Reynesis watched the scene with a smile, finding it amusing.
“Oh, were you all eavesdropping? There were guards outside, after all.”
I instantly understood the answer to Reynesis’s question. The fierce intent radiating from Raphne could be sensed even from outside.
The guards outside must have been doing their utmost to fulfill their duty. I should apologize to them later.
“Absolutely not! There’s no way Ken should go there!”
Raphne clutched my shoulders tightly and glared at the two people before her.
One was the demon lord and the other the prince of a kingdom; she sure had guts.
Mary was also blocking my path, exuding a cold aura.
“Um, wait… shouldn’t we listen a bit more since the conversation isn’t over yet?”
I unexpectedly found myself in the position of trying to mediate between the three.
I wanted to take a stand against this plan. But seeing their terrifying expressions made it impossible.
“Well, don’t worry too much.”
Despite the gazes upon him, Adrian calmly sipped his tea, which made me respect him all the more.
“It’s just that I want Ken to enter the prison as a prisoner and break him out.”
“Essentially, you’re telling me to go to prison!”
Emily exploded in anger at the contrast between Adrian’s gentle reassurance and the unreasonable demand, grabbing him by the collar.
“After all this time, it’s nice to see an old friend,” Adrian chuckled, disregarding her protest.
“So… if it’s prison, can’t Adrian just use his power to get him out? Besides, is it really necessary to break him out…?”
Being in prison means being a criminal. And what we needed was information.
So, I figured there should be some way to obtain the info without breaking him out. Furthermore, if we had to, wouldn’t royal Adrian be able to exert his influence to get him out?
“That’s the tricky part.”
In response to my question, Adrian spoke regretfully.
“His crime is treason against the state, and he directly posed a threat to the royal family, so it’s unacceptable for me, a royal, to extract him.”
It seemed there were political issues at play.
“Besides, I also tried to investigate information but…”
He shook his head.
I could easily predict that part. Committing treason meant the criminal harbored ill feelings toward the kingdom, or at least towards the royal family.
If someone was radical enough to even commit terrorism, there’s no way they would easily share the information a royal family wanted.
“So I’m really sorry… but I have no choice but to ask you. If there’s anyone who can break him out and gather the information on the demon sword’s creation, it’s definitely you.”
Listening to his reasoning, it certainly felt like I was the right person for the job.
After all, it’s rare to find someone with both great combat ability and crafting skills.
Moreover, I had personal motivation for it.
That reason was the red-haired fiancé currently hugging me from behind.
“Understood… I’ll accept.”
“Ken━!”
“Why would you take such a dangerous task?!”
Emily and Mary looked at me with concerned faces.
“I knew you would agree. I’ll make sure to repay you for this.”
And Adrian expressed his heartfelt gratitude.
There was no other option. It wasn’t about defeating the demon lord. It was just a request to create a weapon to defeat the demon lord, so this wasn’t too much to ask.
Additionally, Adrian was the benefactor who had helped me conquer the Tower of Tarros. I couldn’t ignore his request.
However…
“…I want to go too.”
The problem wasn’t me. It was the three people who weren’t me.
Especially Raphne behind me, who was exuding a terrifying energy.
Even Reynesis, the demon king’s queen, seemed puzzled as she eyed the ominous aura emanating from Raphne.
“I’m going to the prison too.”
This seemed like a request that would be hard to refuse.
And to Adrian’s agile response, he casually mentioned, as if he found it amusing, “That’s great. It means I can feel safer. Conveniently, the prisoner is a woman, so we’re talking about a women’s prison.”
“…What?”
He’s asking me to go there…?
Adrian’s intent was shrouded in mystery as he simply laughed cheerfully.
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