The golems roared as they advanced. Trees snapped with sharp cracks, bending and breaking mercilessly in their path. Behind them, the fairies flew in pursuit.
The golems and fairies had already coordinated their efforts several times over. All of them had reached level 10, the cap for the lowest-tier monsters. Thanks to Laura's direct training, their stats had grown impressively. I could entrust the battle to them without worry. I watched the scene unfold quietly from the rear.
For the record, I had given strict orders to avoid killing humans whenever possible. They only needed to be immobilized. If the boy destined to become the Hero wasn't among them, I'd need to question the slash-and-burn farmers about where he'd disappeared to.
Slash-and-burn farmers, anyway... Once ambushed out of nowhere, there was no way they could mount a proper resistance. Break their limbs one by one, and they'd have no choice but to give up fighting. If they still refused to surrender, then cut their throats. That was all there was to it.
"Phew."
I felt oddly tired. I dropped onto a nearby rock with a thud.
Screams erupted from the village in the distance. The shrieks of children and women were particularly frequent. It seemed I still had some capacity for pity left in me. It was excess baggage in my heart. For a while, I let this infuriatingly extravagant emotion run its course through my chest.
It wouldn't last long anyway. I looked down at the ground and nudged a pebble back and forth with the tip of my foot. It would be over in no time.
"Your Majesty. I'm here to report on the battle."
A moment later, Jeremy leaped down from above. She landed with barely a sound. Had she been perched in a tree? Her landing was virtually noiseless.
"Give me the report."
"There were a total of thirty-four humans in the slash-and-burn village. Of those, three died fighting back, and five were killed while attempting to flee. The remaining twenty-six are currently held prisoner, bearing injuries of various severity."
No humans had slipped through. The boy who would become the Hero was either still in the village or had already been outside before the battle began—one of the two. I desperately hoped it was the former.
"Good work. Never let your guard down. Jeremy, you're coming with me."
"As you command."
I pulled a mask from my bag and placed it over my face. There was always the chance the Hero could slip away. Under no circumstances could I allow him to see my real face. I had warned Jeremy never to let her guard down, but the same applied to me.
I walked into the village. The golems had smashed through the tents, leaving a wide-open clearing in their wake. Dozens of humans sat on the ground there, trembling from head to toe. Some women had blood streaming from broken faces.
And there were cries... Were infants among them too? They had survived a harsh winter, after all. It meant this village had kind hearts—they were bonded closely enough not to abandon even the young or the old. Of course, unlike lordship farmers, slash-and-burn peasants could always stop chopping firewood and start a blaze wherever they were. Perhaps that had worked in their favor...
I straightened my back and stood tall. The humans stared at me with terrified eyes. I looked no different from them on the outside, yet none dared express open hostility or goodwill. They must have figured that someone who arrived commanding monsters was no ordinary person.
"I am the master of all demons, the Demon Lord Andromalius, ranked seventy-second."
Someone in the crowd let out a stifled scream. From the way it cut off mid-shout, the person beside them had clamped a hand over their mouth in a hurry. Wise. It was better not to cause a commotion at a time like this.
"Why would I threaten you? Why would I attack you? Put all such questions out of your minds. From this moment on, you are not permitted to ask any questions. You will answer only what I ask."
"G-great one... please, show us mercy."
The man at the front spoke.
I glanced at Jeremy. Jeremy drew a dagger from somewhere — so swiftly I could barely track the motion — and hurled it without hesitation. The blade struck the man's throat. He couldn't even let out a final scream. Clutching his neck with both hands, he crumpled to the ground.
"Aaagh!"
"Village chief!"
So that man had been the village chief. Leading a slash-and-burn village of this size, he must have been competent. I crossed my arms and waited for the commotion to die down. Surprisingly, the villagers fell silent quickly. Fear wafted from them so thickly it was almost tangible.
"I will warn you one last time. You are not permitted to ask any questions. You have only the obligation to answer what I ask. If anyone fails to answer my words properly, I will kill them one by one as an example."
I pulled a wooden ball from my pocket and gripped it in my palm. It was a habit — something I did every time I needed to calm my mind. I reminded myself of my purpose once more and spoke in a steady tone.
"Is there a boy named Luke among you?"
Luke. It was the name automatically assigned to the male protagonist in the game. Unless the player deliberately changed it, the hero's name was always Luke. But the villagers showed no reaction. Only silence returned in place of an answer.
"Hmm..."
How should I interpret this?
Was there no Luke in this village? Had I chosen the wrong village after all? Had the hero's name been set to something other than Luke? Or were the villagers protecting someone they knew, playing dumb?
I spoke again.
"Maria's husband, Pierre. Pierre's wife, Maria."
Two or three humans flinched. Seeing that, the corners of my mouth twisted upward. Got you, didn't I.
Pierre and Maria were the protagonist's parents. So that was it. This village was bound together by bonds tighter than I had imagined. Protecting each other even with death staring them in the face. Should I praise them for their loyalty, or mock them for underestimating me?
"What bold gall, letting my orders slip right past your ears."
The villagers shrank back even harder.
"I am thoroughly impressed by your bond of friendship. Very well. You need not tell me who Luke is. In honor of that loyalty, I shall spare none of the children."
"Luke went down to the stream to play in the water!"
A man shouted it out.
"Brutz!"
"Are you out of your mind, selling out a fellow villager?!"
"How could you betray us—"
Men and women, young and old, the villagers turned on the man in unison. Chaos erupted. Faces that had been pale with terror now flushed red with fury. The man stammered a defense in a trembling voice.
"I'm sorry… but I can't just let all the children be killed, can I?!"
"Your own boy—didn't Pierre's family lend you rye the year before last? You've forgotten that completely? Repaying kindness with treachery! Heavens, strike this man down with your wrath!"
"I'm sorry, I truly am… I'll pay for this with my life…"
The humans raised a clamor for a while. But at some point the voices tapered off, one by one, until the silence fell all at once.
They had noticed. That I was watching them, quiet and wordless, without saying a thing.
I murmured with an expressionless face.
"Now I understand why the other Demon Lords develop such a distrust of humans. It's not that I'm reading their emotions—I just can't, and yet it's this unsettling."
Jeremy answered with a smile.
"Shall I slaughter them all, my lord?"
"No. Let us show a measure of clemency."
The fear drained from the humans' faces, and dread settled over them once more. That single exchange had made clear how close to death they all were. If things went south, everyone present could be killed without effort. I wanted them to understand that much, and understand it well.
"Do you have any cigarettes?"
"I do, but... my merchandise is of somewhat poor quality. Will that be acceptable? It's extremely addictive."
Tch, drugs.
I had tried smoking marijuana once before. It never suited my body at all. I didn't know what kind of drugs this world had, but an assassin of Jeremy's caliber wouldn't be smoking anything weaker than weed.
"From now on, carry my personal supply of cigarettes as well."
"I apologize for failing to meet your expectations. Heh heh, my body has built up enough tolerance that nothing short of that kind of cigarette works on me anymore..."
While Jeremy and I chatted idly, the villagers remained silent as death. It seemed I had finally taught them how to stay quiet.
"Brutz."
The man looked up in confusion, then bowed his head back down.
"Y-yes... yes!"
"Did Luke leave on his own?"
"Yes, yes, Your Greatness. He went to the stream alone."
In situations like this, singling out a specific individual for questions was far more effective at getting answers than asking vaguely into the crowd. That was precisely why I had called on the informant.
"When do you suppose that boy will return?"
"I... I... I'm sorry."
So you don't know that much either.
"If there is a Pierre and Maria among you, step forward and kowtow."
Among the humans, a man and a woman staggered to their feet. The man's right arm and right leg were hideously crushed—evidence of fierce resistance against the golem. The woman supported him as they barely made it forward. The two of them bowed as low to the ground as they could manage.
Hm.
"I commend you for not acting rashly upon hearing your precious child's name called."
"……."
The farmer couple remained silent, still bowed low. They remembered my command to answer only what was asked of them.
In the game's scenario, the two had doted on their son Luke. Despite the threat now looming over their beloved child, they remained composed. No—in truth, every human in this village had been composed. Neighbors had been cut down by the golem, one after another, and yet…
Glancing to the other side, I could see a woman clutching a newborn to her chest, desperately trying to soothe the infant. She knew full well what misfortune would descend upon them if the baby cried at a time like this. She had dared to play dumb when I questioned her, but that was to avoid betraying her neighbors.
Betrayal ran rampant in this world as though it were the natural order of things. The villagers' actions were commendable—there was nothing wrong with what they had done…
"Hah."
A sigh escaped my lips. It seemed the people before me had "value" worth living for.
It was the same as Jack Orland. At the very least, they had every right to hear why they had to die. My bad habit—that tendency of mine to grant mercy to those I found agreeable—was rearing its head once again.
"Pierre and Maria. And you humans who live by burning the forest. I shall tell you why you must die, and why the boy named Luke must die."
"……."
When Luke's name was uttered, the woman's shoulders trembled. In the end, she neither talked back nor let a sob escape. She was a strong woman. Come to think of it, she was the one who had given birth to the Hero…
"A prophecy has been delivered. The most sacred oracle of the Demon Realm received the vision firsthand. The goddesses warned: ten years hence, a cold blade shall be driven into the hearts of the Demon Lords one by one, and in the end, every Demon Lord dwelling upon the continent shall perish."
"……."
"Ten years from now, the human who will sever the fate of our Demon Lord bears the name Luke."
The villagers murmured soundlessly.
"You may wonder how many Lukes exist upon the continent. But the prophecy was without precedent in its accuracy. Near Mount Raelia in the Loren region—in the vicinity of Pometra and Campagnil, in an unnamed village of swidden farmers, that very Luke was born."
The man and woman prostrated before me began to tremble visibly. There was no room left for excuses.
"Therefore, I have descended upon this place to kill the boy named Luke. It must be an unbearable misfortune for you. I shall add no further empty words. For the sake of myself and the other Demon Lords, and for the future of the demon race—you must die here."
"Wait."
Someone among the humans cried out. It was a young but defiant voice.
"Great Demon Lord. Presuming on your tolerance, I have something to say."