I came to the Black Knights' captain's office. I received a report that Tokiya was not at home. I wanted to confirm it. I don't know the name of the masked man. He doesn't have parents, so I call him by his title, in a bossy manner.
"Captain of the Black Knights. What do you mean you're not at home?"
"That's what I mean, Princess."
"...It seems they were keeping an eye on him."
"Yeah, until yesterday."
I continued watching for a month. A few days passed without any sign of him coming out. Then, feeling suspicious, I decided to go in yesterday.
"How did you know?"
"I received a report that something was wrong with me, so I went to greet him, but he wasn't there. Of course, I fixed the broken door."
"Oh, how rough."
"It was suspicious after all... and the place was empty."
"I wonder why I didn't know?"
"Well, he's always been good at assassinations, so he has many guards stationed around. He sensed that and is holding back. Someone who knows him well thought he might attack, so they prepared themselves. But he ended up running away. In the end, we didn't even know who the girl he was with was."
"Yeah, that's right. Mine didn't work either. It seems suspicious... And I hate it when they're alone."
I asked the Black Knight Commander, but it's not good. I had him check it out, but he couldn't find anything. I will never forgive that woman who took Tokiya away. I'm currently having someone personally investigate where she went.
"The Black Knights are not searching for him at the moment. There will be no interference. Princess, we are busy."
"Yes, thank you as always for protecting the Empire."
It seems I can't ask the Black Knight Commander for any more help. Well, he did a good job. I'll just have to deal with the rest myself.
"If I find her... would it be okay to kill her?"
"Yes, I won't interfere."
"I understand. Well then, see you later, Commander."
"Yes, Princess."
I leave the room. Wherever she goes, I'll catch her this time.
*
The princess has left the office. Her subordinate takes her place and brings a paper. It's a list of recent bounties. Even the Black Knights are after them for the bounty money. For military funds and to maintain public order. Therefore, he also checks for updates to the list.
"This time, there is a person with a huge bounty on their head. Now, if you'll excuse me,
He turned over the papers his subordinate black knight had brought, one by one. Some had already been marked with a cross. The red ones were ones that someone had already gotten there first. The black ones were shared with the people they had harvested. The best black knights even put some in their own pockets. As he was looking through the list, his hand stopped at one bounty paper.
"yeah?"
There was one bounty that caught my eye. A bounty with a huge reward on its head. This is the one my subordinate was talking about.
Bang!!
He slammed it down on the desk, stood up and looked at it carefully. It said a large bounty for capturing him alive and leading him to the capital of the Demon Kingdom. It also said half the bounty for the head. It was clear that this was an unusual request from the Demon Kingdom. He quickly called back his subordinate. The subordinate, clad in black anti-demon armor, rushed in.
"Commander!! What is it!!"
"Where did this come from!!"
I show her the bounty paper. It looks like her.
"That's probably it. It's from a merchant from the Demon Kingdom. It's the most expensive and an extremely reasonable price. But since the Demon Kingdom is an enemy country, I don't know if we'll be able to get it properly."
"I see. Sorry for rushing you... Stand back."
"yes!!"
He quickly dismissed his subordinate. It was confirmed that this was an unusual request from the Demon Kingdom. The client was a powerful figure within the Demon Kingdom. He had not told the Princess that Tokiya had purchased three horses. The two then vanished as if fleeing. He rested his elbows on his desk, his mind drifting into a sea of thoughts. His carefully planned escape raised questions.
"I have an idea about the bounty."
He looked at the paper many times and saw that he was an adventurer just like the hero. "Why is the Demon Kingdom sending him?" he asked, summarizing the information the Black Knights had received. According to a spy, there was a rumor going around that the Demon Kingdom currently had no Demon King.
"I can't see it because I have no emotions..."
It was clear that Tokiya, who had acted as the hero, was suspicious. He knew something. He was hiding something. He had vanished from the city as if he was sneaking away. He'd bought three horses because he was worried about pursuers. No matter how you look at it, it was excessive. And that's what made it so suspicious.
"The hero is black. He can't be proud of himself because he has something to feel guilty about. That guy has nothing to feel guilty about... No, he's changed."
A woman had appeared nearby. He said he was in love with her. She was not a princess. But she had a noble air about her.
"I'm sure there's an adventurer named Nefia..."
About three months ago. A rookie adventurer who registered in early spring. I don't know anything about her other than that. No, I don't know. A young lady who stands out like that. If she was a sheltered girl I could understand, but as a young lady, there must be a way to use her in a political marriage. There's no way that a girl like that wouldn't be the subject of rumors.
It was only recently that Tokiya returned after abandoning his duties as a hero.
"Why... Why? The rumors of the Demon King's disappearance are recent, but the moon he disappeared on is estimated to have been about three months ago. I believe the clan leaders said that the fighting between them has intensified recently."
For some reason, the timing matches up. The time when he disappeared and the time when he returned.
"It would be quicker to make an assumption and then put together a theory. There is information. There is information that he is a wanted man."
I'll set up a hypothesis and then build my theory. The bounty from Demon Kingdom is Nefia. Demon Kingdom is a country where the underworld rises above the rest. I think Nefia must have played an important role. And then there's a phrase that catches my attention.
It says "looking for a hero to bring the bounty." The meaning of "hero" is thought to be the hero who will defeat the Demon King. It's a blatant expression. But, if it was really a hero.
"...I see. That's the Demon King!!"
The woman named Nefia is a new demon lord. I thought she was a man, but the one who was assigned as the hero said, "The demon lord was a strong man." If he was black, he would have said this to deceive me.
"It's a contrived lie! I didn't realize! The Demon King is a woman!"
It all ties together. If you think about it, the excessive efforts to silence the thieves' guild and the exploits that only three people made in the Demon City. The reason for the bounty on his hand is simple. A coup d'état is happening. The clan leader and others who believe they are superior to the rookie Demon King are seeking his head in an attempt to become the Demon King themselves. It is not an abdication. The Demon Kingdom is a world where power is everything. If that is the Demon King, it would be impossible to unite them through force, he must have been betrayed. Just a glance at the information makes it clear that he is not worthy of this.
This is a chance to become the new king of the Demon Kingdom. There are always times when the king changes in the Demon Kingdom. No, it changes all the time. It's not stable. It's a turbulent time.
"...You traitor. I guess we have to get rid of you."
Killing traitors is an ironclad rule of the Black Knights. Next, capture a weak Demon Lord, torture him, and kill him. He's been in the Empire for too long. He has information. He's a risky character.
"!?"
At that moment, I realized that I didn't know much about his wind magic. I didn't know my enemy at all. I punched the desk. More out of frustration than out of self-reproach. Yes, I realized that I had been outwitted.
"That guy?! He hasn't shown me his hand! No one's against the Black Knight! Since when? Since when?!"
I recall all my memories. The last time I saw him was during the entrance exam. Even back then, he was a strange guy.
"You never showed your hand from the beginning, did you?"
After that, he moved from the 5th Wizard Division to the 1st Division at his own request, and made a brilliant achievement in the war with the Allied Powers.
The 1st Corps charges into the front line. He wins a one-on-one battle with the fierce general. He stalls for time and neutralizes the fierce general.
He showed the usefulness of a sword-wielding knight over a magician, and even carried out an assassination on his own. He scolded me for my disrespect, but he was a very useful guy.
When he said he was going to become a hero. I thought it was a little sad, but I thought I could defeat him, and the princess also recommended him. The princess believed he would come back, and she had plans to marry him. Therefore, I approved his early retirement. Because he had a bright future.
"It was all for this. I thought you were weird. What if you had decided from the beginning to protect her?"
His eccentricities make sense. He always speaks with a hidden meaning. If he was only driven by emotion, without any consideration of profit or loss, then everything would make sense. And yet, it was filled with madness.
"...…fortune teller"
I got up from my seat and immediately left the room.
*
"Oh, what a rare visitor."
"I need to tell you something, Grandmother."
I went to a fortune-telling shop in a back alley. She was sitting in a chair sipping tea. She sat in a chair and started talking. She had been watching and investigating this guy who never dies for a long time. She was also a hidden power.
"You know Tokiya the Wind Mage, right?"
"Yes, you're a great customer. And besides, whenever you come here it's because you're worried. What's the matter?"
Fortune tellers are often accurate. They also give hints. If you can use them, use them.
"It's about Tokiya that's bothering me. I have a frightening prediction. And... ah."
"That must be a shock."
"...That's right. Not only was I outwitted, but I also thought about making him the new squad captain and creating a 6th squad as a copycat. I'm used to being betrayed, so I tried not to do it, but I did."
"It's scary. But the willows bend in the wind."
"...Exactly. That's unexpected."
He never felt any fear towards me. No matter how large the army or how strong the enemy, he just looked straight ahead. And he stood before many people. He charged forward and gave them courage. That's why I thought he would be the one to become a hero. He had a core of strength that no one else had.
"Have you calmed down?"
"Ah, calm down."
"That's good. A fortune teller's job is to be consulted about troubles. Predictions are unreliable."
"But what fool would believe that? I heard he likes it here."
"Yes, there is. As expected. I had my fortune read. And I saw something that only she could see. It was before she joined the Black Knights."
"So this is the source of the information. Did the prophecy come true?"
"No, the prophecy was way off. It was supposed to be a great torrent with the princess. He was supposed to become the hero of the empire."
"An unexpected result?"
"That's right. You can never predict what will happen. So fortune telling is unreliable."
I hold my mouth. I understand what he is like. And that he is crazy.
"You managed to get away? Got it. Take this as a bonus."
Place the bag of money on the desk and he'll give you some information.
"Thank you very much... That's right, she is now in bud."
"If you're going to kill me, now is the time."
"That's right. But be careful. It's protected by a big, big tree. It's a really big tree."
"Hmmm..."
"Some people are going to die. What are we going to do?"
"What has been decided."
I decided to get up from my seat and gather my troops. I decided to gather the best of us for the hunt.
*
"Hmm... that kid is really interesting."
After the Black Knight Commander left, I sipped my cold tea. Rather than a visible future, I had a future that I couldn't see at all. The future that was supposed to be impossible to miss turned out to be wrong.
"Flowers are a trigger for the heart. I wonder what kind of flower will bloom."
When I looked into the crystal ball, I saw a fallen bud growing from a withered flower. It was a ivy rose that entangled itself with the tree of the hero, absorbing nutrients and growing into a bud. However, the flower did not open. It remained a bud. It must have needed a trigger.
Something will happen and it will change, like the brave warrior it once was.
"I'm looking forward to it.... I'm really bored."
I chuckled. A break in the long wait for the uprising. A way to kill time until we could do something great. The world would be destroyed. It would be destroyed, without fail. By our own hands. With the Key of the World Tree, we would be resurrected.
"Killing time is fun... hehehe"
I laugh, thinking that in the end, the demons that are relics of the past will die.