Chapter 39: A Double Return!
“Know your place a little. I still have questions I want to ask.”
The moment I recognized these people as enemies, just like those who had tried to kill me, there was no turning back. Spending time with my master in the Forest of Enchantment had made me gradually indifferent to being driven out. However, the fact that they had tried to take my life was something I couldn’t easily forget.
“So, this brooch is acting as a tracking device, huh?”
This was the first thing I needed to confirm. I had to ask if simply getting rid of the brooch would suffice.
“…What is a tracking device?”
Oh dear. They didn’t understand what I meant by that?
“If I have this, you can find out where we are, right?”
While I was trying to calm myself, thinking that conversing with them was going to be a challenge, Rio took over and posed the question.
“…”
The man in the black robe remained silent, but he didn’t deny it either. I didn’t expect a proper answer anyway. This brooch was a gift from the Third Princess, but I was almost certain it was the cause of our current predicament.
Speaking of which, I recalled that the guards from the Town of Zain had mentioned something about stealing it. Perhaps they were referring to this very brooch.
“What is the true purpose behind summoning us? You even lied about the Demon King attacking.”
“Isn’t it also a lie that we can return to our original world if we defeat the Demon King?”
“It seems that the so-called Demon King is merely the king of the Demon Tribe’s country. I can’t believe defeating him would allow us to go home.”
During our stay in the Town of Zain, I hadn’t heard any discussions about the Demon King. I had never even heard of the Summoned Hero. I wondered how widespread the tales of the Demon King and the Hero were. Did the common citizens know about them? I certainly didn’t consider these people to be ordinary citizens, but I was curious about how much they actually knew.
“W-what? The Demon King…?”
They seemed to be questioning it at that point. From what I had heard from my master, the existence of the Demon King was indeed recognized as the monarch of the Demon Tribe’s nation. Whether people from other countries were aware of this was another matter entirely. Or perhaps the explanation given to us, the summoned ones, was just extremely vague, or maybe they were simply not informed in detail.
“…!!”
Had I inadvertently revealed my displeasure? The expression on the man in the black robe shifted from confusion to a sudden seriousness.
“Regardless, our orders are simply to confirm your movements over the past two days. Now that it has come to this, I cannot take any action, nor will I say anything more.”
“So, you weren’t ordered to kill us, then?”
Could it be that they were completely unaware of the situation regarding the Demon King? It seemed plausible that they were only informed of their objective and nothing else.
“Then there could have been a more peaceful way to ask.”
Rio appeared quite upset, and she was absolutely right. If he had been dressed in a way that blended in with the citizens instead of this black robe, we might have been cautious but not in the current predicament.
“Hmph…”
Seeing the sulky demeanor of the man in black, I decided it was futile to press further. I could only hope he would spill some more information… Maybe if I tried hard enough, I could develop a skill? Something like an interrogation skill…
“What’s wrong…?”
As I crossed my arms and rested my chin on my hand, Rio’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Ah, well, I was just thinking that it seems like he won’t talk anymore, so I was pondering what to do next.”
I had tried to cover up my thoughts, but I hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true.
“Right… We can’t just leave him here to sleep.”
“How about we just dump him at the entrance? We could stick a sign on him saying, ‘Attacker of Guests.'”
“Haha!”
“After that, well…”
As I observed the man in black, who wore a slightly strained expression, I began to sense a rise in magic power. Was he trying to cast a spell? Not if I could help it.
“Gah!”
I swiftly delivered a kick to his solar plexus before he could activate anything.
“You’ll find out quickly if you try to use magic.”
It was clear that if his concentration was disrupted, he wouldn’t be able to cast a spell. I wished I had some means to seal his powers, but I had searched for such magic tools in Zain and found nothing. It didn’t seem like something you could find in a regular magic shop either. Or perhaps I could develop a skill similar to magic sealing? Or maybe create a spell for it? Since it was activated using magic power, if I could disrupt that…
“Wait a minute…”
Just as I was about to dive deeper into my thoughts, Rio’s voice and a physical jab to my side pulled me back. When I turned around, I was met with a face full of dissatisfaction.
“Sorry, sorry.”
What was I thinking again? Oh right, after we dumped these guys at the entrance.
“Honestly…”
Oh come on, Rio, that pouty face of yours is kind of cute.
“I’m getting really fed up, and about this brooch… Should we just take it directly to the Third Princess and demand a return?”
“Excuse me?”
“What… did you say?”
It would be easy to just toss it somewhere, but that would mean we couldn’t make contact with her. Plus, it would look like we were running away, wouldn’t it?
“If we have this, you can track us, right? We need to return it properly with a bow on top…!”
Rio, who had been staring blankly, seemed to slowly absorb my words.
“Hahaha! You’re right, let’s return it properly!”
With our course of action decided, we nodded in agreement.
“…What is ‘Noshi’?”
The phrase that drifted in from somewhere was ignored.