Chapter 111

Chapter 111

At the Scene of a Kindred Massacre (2)

“What do you think? Ah, right. You too... ugh...”

Jorgal, who had been sighing, soon crumpled the documents I had brought with loud crackles without even properly looking them over.

“I worked so hard to research those...”

My chest ached, but I held it in.

As a red horn, there was nothing I could do.

Soon, Jorgal threw the crumpled documents into the trash can, looked at me, and opened his mouth.

“Hey, did you hear about the rookies assigned to the southern branch this time? They went to the desert and brought back a handful of sand.”

“That is my first time hearing of it...”

Having once been beaten to a pulp by Jorgal for not using polite speech, I scratched my neck and answered that way.

“It was their first time seeing a desert... fucking idiots. If you went to the desert, at least bring back a corpse fragment of some otherworld species. Of all the countless things, sand that is scattered everywhere?”

When I could not tell what he wanted to say, laughing was the best option. This was one of the survival methods I had learned.

“Hahaha, they really are funny fellows.”

Jorgal, listening to my clumsy laughter, struck my head with a nearby bundle of documents and continued speaking.

Apparently, it had not been the best option.

“Hey, you idiot. What you did was exactly the same. What? The Hero has reincarnated? You think you found them this time? And after saying that, the thing you brought back and called information is just a stone fragment? The three humans you took as business trip expenses are already nicely inside your horns, so that is enough for you?”

Jorgal, who had been hitting my head, soon threw the stone fragment lying on his desk at me.

I caught the stone fragment that struck my chest and bounced off before it could fall to the floor.

“No... I definitely felt the Hero’s energy from it... I... this is really...”

I looked resentfully at the stone fragment in my hand and grew tearful.

Tears welled up because it was so unfair.

I had definitely felt the Hero’s energy.

I had not lied.

“Ugh... It is my fault for taking your words at face value. Thanks to you, I am about to get ripped to shreds.”

Jorgal mocked me fiercely.

He had been the one to lure me, who had been quietly gathering information on the Hero, by asking if I wanted to go on a business trip. Why was he acting like this, truly?

“If things go wrong this time... you will have to put in some work in my place.”

“Pardon? What does that mean...?”

“What else would it mean? Do you think I should be demoted because of your nonsense?”

Jorgal barked, then waved his hand, telling me to disappear from his sight because he could not stand looking at me.

“Demoted...?”

With legs that seemed to lose strength with every step, I trudged back to my seat.

Then I sank into the chair.

Demotion.

It was a word like a bolt from the blue.

In this field, demotion meant only one thing.

The west, in other words, a branch near the Holy Kingdom.

“They say you can get your neck cut off just going to work there...”

I did not want to have my head cut off at this young age before I had even bloomed.

I had a dream.

The same dream every idiot in this pit had.

Black horns.

There were sometimes those who asked how a demon could reach black horns in a pit that only dealt with scraps of paper like these, without even risking their life in battle with honor like a proper demon.

Even in this field, there was a demon like a legend.

A legendary demon who reached black horns with only these scraps of paper, these bundles of documents.

Rumor had it that the number of humans he received as performance bonuses alone exceeded several thousand.

He is called a legend because his achievements are great, but he truly exists. From what I know, he is currently serving as an advisor beside a corps commander.

For reference, he is also the head of this organization.

Will I ever get to see his face even once?

“Huu...”

I let out a deep sigh and organized the documents on my desk.

Before anything else, I had to stay alive.

If I did not want to be demoted, the answer was to dig up anything I could.

I needed “physical evidence” far more certain than ancient documents and the like.

I stared blankly at the stone fragment in my hand.

I was certain I had detected something similar to the Hero’s energy. To be precise, I guessed it might have been the Holy Sword’s energy.

According to ancient documents, the Holy Sword was also called the power of the stars.

I carefully placed the stone fragment in the corner of my desk, then took out a map and examined it.

Then I began marking the map by village.

Regions where rumors spread that a sudden meteor had been observed falling. Since they were rumors, there was some need to filter them.

I was guessing that the meteor might have been the summoning of the Holy Sword.

I thought this stone fragment too might be debris that had been thrown off at the time of summoning.

Of course, that too was nothing more than a guess.

“Roughly estimating...”

On the map, where marks based on the rumors were especially clustered, I drew a circle.

“...it is around here.”

According to humans’ ancient documents, the Hero and the Demon King have great difficulty escaping their “yoke.”

The Demon King’s revival was, even estimating generously, only a little over ten years away. Then that meant not much time had passed since the Hero reincarnated, or more precisely, was born...

They would still be a young child.

A Hero in that state would be extremely easy to kill... and could there be better joyous news than that for the Demon King, who would soon revive?

If I could only find the Hero, even my becoming a black horn would not be some dreamlike fantasy.

A young child.

Would they have parents?

“...Do I have to go around every village in this area?”

It was when I was thinking about that.

Someone passing beside my desk unpleasantly tapped my shoulder.

Frowning, I turned my head to look, and Jorgal was standing there with a sinister smile.

“Well now... working hard, are we? I am leaving first, yes? A pretty lady who lives nearby called for me. Kihihit... Her horns are dark red... She must belong to some well-off unit, but she praised me, saying I was intelligent unlike her. I think she likes me. Hahahat!”

Jorgal laughed obnoxiously, then tapped my shoulder once more and left.

“Those sons of bitches... mating so easily in dangerous human lands.”

Was this what they meant when they said things worked out for those they were meant to work out for?

Several dozen minutes passed after Jorgal left.

I tried to focus, but it was not that easy.

“Argh... seriously...”

It was because I could imagine what Jorgal would be doing now.

It had been quite some time since I last embraced a woman too.

“Ugh...”

Leaning back in my chair, I lifted my head.

Over there, they were throwing documents around and fighting again.

In a place like this, no matter what one did, one’s mind would become scattered.

“I should go outside and get some air.”

Thinking that would be better, I immediately rose.

It was late, and unless I unluckily encountered a knight order or something, nothing should happen.

I sprang from my chair, took my coat, and headed toward the building entrance.

As I moved toward the entrance, a commotion came from that direction.

“Hey, you bastard. Reveal your identity properly.”

“Ah, I keep telling you I really am one of your kind...”

The first voice I heard was definitely the demon standing guard. His horn, which I had seen once before, had been a fairly deep red, and he was a demon far stronger than me.

“Well, I wonder how many demons in this building are weaker than me...”

After all, even the branch chief started from dark red horns.

He had a fairly good personality, so how had he ended up so angry?

“Though he was a little... stupid.”

I turned the corner and took them into my eyes.

A man with ink-colored hair was being held by the collar by the guard.

“I am telling you, stop showing me some strange black thing! Show me your horns at least!!”

“No, do you think I do not know the rules of this field? From the moment one sets foot in this building, one is not supposed to reveal horns.”

The man being held by the collar was right.

But it was also a face I had never seen before.

Above all, the snow-white bandages around his eyes stood out.

A blind man, no, a blind demon, perhaps.

At least in my memory, there was no demon who wore bandages... no blind demon. It was a completely unfamiliar face.

Still, judging by the fact that he knew the rules... perhaps he was a recruit.

“Is there some problem here?”

Before the commotion grew any louder, I approached them and asked politely.

Soon, the guard pointed with his remaining hand at the man whose collar he was holding and opened his mouth.

“He looks like a face I have never seen, but he showed me some strange black liquid-like thing and asked if he could pass. So I told him to show me his horn, and he will not show it. Is this bastard human?!”

“Of course you have never seen me... I told you I am new...”

Because the guard excitedly lifted him by the collar, the man was struggling to breathe.

“N-now, now... please calm down for a moment...”

When I raised my palm and said that, the guard, who had been snorting, thankfully listened quietly, perhaps because we at least knew each other’s faces.

“Kek... khh... whew... thank you.”

The man calmed his breathing and smiled at me.

But that did not mean this was over yet.

Although there were countless demons here whose names even I did not know, his traits stood out far too much.

“He knows the rules... which means he is new...”

I approached the man who claimed to be new and opened my mouth.

“You... said you were new, yes? But what is that black liquid?”

“Ah, that is...”

Soon, from the bandaged man’s finger, something like black droplets rose and wriggled, moving this way and that.

What was this?

The energy was rather dark, similar to demonic energy, but somehow different.

As I opened my eyes wide and quietly watched it, the bandaged man added an explanation.

“...I know how to handle spirits a little.”

“Spirits... You mean darkness spirits...?! No, why has someone so precious come here instead of going to a combat unit...?”

Even among demons, spirit summoners were rare.

They were precious enough that they were known to enter an elite course as soon as they appeared, so why had he come to a pit like this?

“That is... there were circumstances. A problem regarding my family...”

“Aha... I understand.”

Judging by his expression, it was clearly something quite unpleasant.

Should this also count as demotion, then?

After all, they had put someone who could barely read documents on information gathering work.

Still, forming a connection with a spirit summoner would not be bad.

The guard still seemed unable to grasp the situation, so how about helping him a little here?

“When you were assigned this time, you should have received something like a trump card... Ah... you would not know that it is a trump card either. Do you have the card you received when you came? A thin card?”

I had accidentally made a slip of the tongue, but I immediately smoothed it over.

“Ah, if you mean a card... I have it.”

Soon, the bandaged man took a card from inside his clothes and handed it to me.

The guard also looked at the card with curious eyes, perhaps seeing it for the first time.

This was a device that proved one’s identity in this field.

“Wait, is it all right for the guard not to have seen this before?”

...I decided he had forgotten because he was stupid.

“Now, if you infuse demonic energy here...”

Showing the card to the guard as if performing a magic show, I infused demonic energy into it. The bandaged man’s eyes were impaired, so there was no particular need to show him.

“Ta-da... The name and affiliation written in the language of demons appear!”

After confirming the contents of the card, the guard let out an “Ooh!” and clapped.

Soon, the guard let go of the man’s collar, patted his shoulder, and opened his mouth.

“Sorry I misunderstood, Jorgal.”

“Haha, not at all. It can happen.”

The bandaged man straightened his collar and smiled faintly.

Listening to their conversation, I hurriedly flipped the card over and checked its contents.

Jorgal.

That name was written there.

It was a name extremely familiar to me.

“Jorgal went... outside earlier, did he not...?”

At the very least, the man smiling brightly before my eyes was absolutely not Jorgal.

Then why, and for what purpose, was this man pretending to be Jorgal?

Then where was the real Jorgal?

Having realized the unpleasant “truth,” chills ran all over my body.