"You heard me. We believe you are a Demon in disguise. We are taking your weapons." The King clarified. I had the staff and book taken from me.
"Hey! What the hell?! I'm not a Demon!" I told the King. He shook his head, holding my book up.
"This book has no skills in it, as I've been informed by the mages. The fact that you learned some skills before means that you had touched a weapon previous to that book. The previous Magic Hero's staff had no skills attached as I had wiped it all, but you had skills. You had touched another weapon previous to your summoning. I will be taking you into custody until I gather more evidence." The King told me.
I was bound with rope behind my back, swallowing the injustice and just deciding to comply. Refusing would make me look more suspicious, but looking irritated would also do the same thing. I needed to look confident and let these rumors blow all over. I finally learned why all of the mages around me were distancing. They all thought I was a Demon. It's fine, I will prove myself and then we'll be close again.
I was taken back through the town in handcuffs. This time, all of the citizens living within had their eyes on me. They all watched silently and the commotion died down within the streets as they watched me right behind the King. I was on chains that connected to handcuffs, but my feet were free to move. I didn't have any intention of escaping, so I only followed politely.
"King, may I ask a question?" I asked quietly. He didn't answer me. Nobody did. Fuki wasn't even paying attention to me.
"So, no response then, huh? Right, sorry." I said to everybody. They were all so serious for no reason. I guess trying to lighten the atmosphere didn't really do anything.
We eventually made it back to the castle. We walked across the stone bridge and the soldiers at the gate greeted us. They didn't question why I was in restraints, they only opened the gates and let us through. I was put in the courtyard and the King stepped up on a small, wooden stage placed on the left-hand side of the flowery field. I was placed right in front of him.
The King had a different demeanor now. I understood, as much as it hurt. I could've been a threat to his Kingdom, I wasn't to be treated as a Hero right now. Even if I didn't do anything wrong, I absolutely could not get upset. Not like the other stories I have read previously if I get angry about this and don't think logically, I could scare them into thinking I'm a real demon.
Worst comes to worst, I had Fuki to back me up. I was there with him when chosen as a Hero. How could that be refutable?
"Anima, I have reasonable concern to believe you are a Demon thanks to you having skills that were not included in your Grimoire. You have had previous experience elsewhere, but you haven't touched a weapon in my Kingdom with any skills like you had used. Is there anything you'd like to say in your defense?" The King asked me.
"Of course. I got the skills from Yggdrasil's Bone inside of my room." I told the King. "It had three skills in it. [Bullet], [Raise], [Heal]." I added on.
"You do realize those skills only originate from Demon Territory, right? Yggdrasil's Bone is a staff exclusive to Demons because they are so close to the northern and southern edge of the Tree of Life. Branches only exist on those sides, far from Hecate of Sieve. So, is that your only defense?" The King asked me. My heart dropped. I got those skills from the staff in my room. There was no way I was a Demon in disguise! I mean... what can I think of?
"I-I came to the same place as Fuki! I was summoned to this world-" I felt a sudden piercing pain in my chest as I tried to speak about my summoning. Fuki looked over to me, gripping his chest and shaking his head.
What the hell? I couldn't talk about my summoning? That was my only defense!
"No... I don't have anything. I wish I could prove to you that the staff was still in my room. Would you go look for me?" I asked the King. He shook his head.
"I don't know if you booby-trapped that room. I'm sorry, Anima, but I can't let you live in my Kingdom if I don't have solid evidence. I'll give your punishment to the crowd, and enact it myself depending on what they choose." The King told me.
I held my legs as I fell to the floor. Shit... they were totally going to execute me, and there was nothing I could do about it.
"Exile. We don't have solid evidence he's a Demon, and we can't say he's a Human... like the rest of us. Therefore, we can't kill him on a false accusation. Why don't we put him in Hecate... or just far away from this Kingdom?" Fuki chipped in. I was beyond pissed about my sudden case... on the evening of my first day here, I was accused of being a Demon. How insulting... to be treated like this as their hero? Those ungrateful little shits...
No, I couldn't think like that. Being a Hero can't go to my head like this, I had to keep a collected attitude, not letting any rage slip through, no matter how much this pissed me off.
"Why did you give me a book with no skills in it?" I turned around, asking the mages to my right. They still were looking at me with the same gazes as before.
"What are you talking about? That book has skills in it." They told me. I shook my head in response.
"No, the book didn't have any skills. If I was a Demon, wouldn't I have used the skills in the book, had there been any? After all, if it was my job to infiltrate you as a Demon, I would try to disguise myself as good as possible. It makes no sense that if I had the motive of killing the King I would be so lazy. I used what was made possible to me thanks to Yggdrasil's Bone. I didn't have the skills given to me in that book, and it's my job as a Hero to help in any possible way I can. If you can't see that, I'm sorry." I bowed my head.
The mages were all silent after that, but one of the people the King recommended to train me had shown up to the fray. He was dressed in a blue cloak with half of the normal length, several gems on bands on his arms, and holsters for three books on his bodies in various places.
"On the contrary, pleading for your innocence this much is suspicious itself, is it not? Why are you trying so hard to stay here if you're innocent?" He asked me.
"You people piss me off, that's why. I haven't risen my voice once, I've been calm, bringing up good points, and you're using your authority to rule over any valid points I make. I'm trying to stay kind to show you my true intentions, but you are truly a piece of shit." I told him.
The mages and others were in a low-volume commotion of blurred voices that I couldn't individually pick apart. That nasty guy with the books clicked his tongue in irritation, and the King finally chipped in.
"Until I get solid evidence you are a Human, I will put you in jail." The King told me.
"Let me have my staff, and let me out of this Kingdom. I'll prove it to you by clearing the Kingdom of Hecate for your convenience." I responded back. I was impressed that the King agreed to my terms.
"Fuki, escort Anima to his room to take the staff, and then I'll bring him out of the Kingdom." The King said. Fuki nodded and walked with me and my cuffs back to my room up the hallway in the castle.
"Anima... you felt that pain too, right? It's like we can't talk about our summoning at all... what's wrong with that man Yggdrasil?" Fuki asked me as we separated away from the large crowd.
"I'm not sure, but if this is what is necessary, then I can't help it. I can finally do my job as a Hero and secure Hecate from the Demons... you believe I'm Human, right?" I asked Fuki.
"Of course I do! I was there with you! But... we can't defend you because of that pain. I didn't tell you... but in my past life, before I came here, I suffered from a heart attack. That was the same exact pain I felt when you started to talk about it. I assume if we talk about it, then we suffer death." Fuki theorized.
We made it back to my room and I grabbed the staff upon the door. "I'll make sure to send you messages... or something. I'll be okay and I'll find a way to survive. What about you?" I asked Fuki.
"I'll do Hero work here, and you'll do Hero work out there. We're a great team... I wish I could've gotten some of your potions from crafting before you left, haha!" Fuki joked around. Even in a time like this, he was laughing... I had to stay positive as well.
"If you ever need help... talk about our summoning. If I feel the pain in my chest, I'll come to find you, alright?" Fuki told me. I nodded, asking him to put the staff on my back.
"Wow... this looks exactly like the staff that was given to you on the battlefield," Fuki commented. Maybe that explained why I had an increased proficiency for this staff. I looked at the skills. Nothing had changed, but their damage values increased by a little bit.
"Aw, what an emotional departure... I'm surprised you were so cool and collected. I was almost angry for you... in my past life, my Dad was a Hero... I guess you could say. Anyways, he did a lot of Hero things that I thought were cool. I wanted to defend this Kingdom as much as you did, but I'll work from the inside to prove your innocence as well." Fuki told me.
"Trust me, keeping that anger inside was a task worthy of a Hero title. I'm sorry I put you in danger like that, Fuki. Well, we should get back now, shouldn't we?" I asked him. Fuki nodded and led me back. I knew he was a good man at heart. It looked like my initial thoughts of him were correct after all.
We returned to the courtyard and the King sent me off with Fuki. He followed us from far behind to make sure Fuki delivered me to the gate properly. I was more than afraid to go out into the world of Demons, but one use of the [Bullet] skill would take down a Demon easily. I had tons of mana, so I would be okay, so long as I hung out near the Tree of Life.
Now that I put more thought into it, I felt even more fear. Holding back all of that anger I had inside my head distracted me from the reality of the situation. I was going to be exiled... I was going to be killed out there!
I wanted to just run and hide in this city, but, that wasn't very hero-like. I took that title seriously.
In my past life, I was a loner with no friends. I was a coward, I hid from things because I knew other people would take care of it if the problem sat for long enough. When I was crushed, my whole life shifted from that lazy lifestyle. People depended on me. The gift of life was nothing to throw around, yet while I preach that in my head, I took part in killing the Demons instead of trying to deter them away. I wanted to change my ways and save as many people as possible.
When I got to the gate, it was like this was a new version of me. The close-minded, loner had responsibilities completely different in this world, rather than my simple life previously. I had to look at it as simple symbolism to stay calm. Maybe I could negotiate with the Demons and get them out of Hecate peacefully. But maybe, that was just hopeful optimism. I would have to try everything I could once I left this gate.
"I'll prove it to you, King. You'll see how Human I am. Thank you for the opportunity to grab my staff." I told him. The King nodded and the gates opened. I said my farewell's to Fuki, and with that, I was off into the world of Erinautis, past the bounds of the Kingdom of Sieve.
-----INTO THE WORLD OF ERINAUTIS-----