novel
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(Author Note)
Summary until this point
Impression A "What!? Dina's lone thin presence characteristic has been broken!?"
Impression B "There's someone that remembers her!? Can't be!"
Impression C "It's a lie!! Must be some mistake!!"
"Impression D "It's a lie don don ko doooon!"[2]
Dina "I'm going to cry if you say anymore!"
(Author Note end)
__
Although Aries and I had some trouble with Aigokeros' unexpected statement of "I remember Dina", after joining up with Aigokeros, we safely returned to the city.
For now, I had made Aigokeros take on a human form.
His appearance was that of a human man in his prime wearing a black butler clothing and a monocle on one of his eye.
His hair was white and dried up just like that of a goat, all-back. His height was most probably around 175. [3]
It seemed that he was capable of hiding within someone's shadow and at that moment, he was hiding in my shadow.
Hey, you didn't have a skill like that when it was inside the game.
—was what I was thinking. However, now that I thought about it, I seemed to recall a setting in the game where the devil-type monsters 'lived in people's shadow'.
Ahhh, yeah, yeah. While I'm at it, I'm going to check out Aigokeros' status.
[12 Heavenly Stars Aigokeros]
Level 800
Species: Lord Demon
Attribute: Moon
HP: 72 000
SP: 10 100
STR (Strength/Attack Power): 3150
DEX (Dexterity): 4148
VIT (Vitality): 3453
INT (Intelligence): 6183
AGI (Ability/Speed): 4140
MND (Mindpower): 5280
LUK (Luck): 3000
Fum. Well, a subtle magic type... is what I should say huh.
There was no mistake that he was a magic main but he wasn't too lopsided with his specialisation.
Well, that was fine as his main role was to use magic to interfere. Therefore, it was quite important that he was not defeated by the enemy.
Afterwards, I fixed up Aries' clothes.
Even if I was aware that Aries was male, a risqué appearance was no good.
It was really worrisome that he might be targeted by some strange person.
Anyways, it's all nice and all that we've returned but....... . What should I do?
The situation was such that citizens were all enraged, both sides surrounded the castle in the middle and stared down at each other.
The debuff should have long been removed, however, there was no sign of the bloodlust disappearing from their eyes.
Aahhhh, ain't no gud-at-all. They've self-debuffed.
Nevertheless, the reason this had yet to turn into a full-on confrontation was that there was a man remonstrating and mediating in the middle.
Green.... No, maybe it was more accurate to state it as emerald green hair.
It might have been well organised normally, however, he looked like he was a mere shadow of his former self with the appearance of someone that had lost all his weight.
Clouded blue-coloured eyes, and unnecessarily expensive-looking white vestment.
Above that, he wore a blue overcoat. And on one side, his large white wing could be seen sticking out.
His appearance was quite different from what I remembered, however, there was no mistake.
That was one of the 7 Heroes, Merak.
Just in case, I checked his status.
[Merak]
Level 500
Species: Flugel
Attribute: Wood
Class Level:
Acolyte: 100
Priest: 100
Esper: 100
Archer: 100
Monster Tamer: 100
HP: 55 200
SP: 5301
STR (Strength/Attack Power): 3750
DEX (Dexterity): 2920
VIT (Vitality): 3009
INT (Intelligence): 2003
AGI (Ability/Speed): 2444
MND (Mindpower): 4980
LUK (Luck): 2711
[Bad Status] One-Winged
[Bad Status] Loser's Stigma
".... . You got your wing stolen, huh."
I looked at Merak's status using [Observing Eyes] and reflexively cast my eyes down.
For Flugels, wings were their pride and their standing.
If the inside of Merak was in the same situation as I was, he probably would not care much about it.
Even if one were to have lost half the organ that they did not originally have, it would finish by merely saying "so what".
At the very least, they would think that it was better than losing one their arms or legs. [4]
However, if Merak was the original inhabitant from this world.... . If he was the same as Megrez...
... In all likelihood, there was no other circumstance that was harsher and more severe than this.
Even whilst being a hero of the Flugels, he was no longer able to fly.
He might be able to substitute it using divine magic. However, substitution, in the end, was just substitution.
"Yes. After defeating the heroes 200 years ago, the Demon King took away a part from each of their bodies.
Megrez and Phecda lost their legs. Merak, his wing.
Alioth lost his eyes and for Mizar, it was his arms. Lastly, Dubhe had all his fangs and claws.... ."
".... he did quite a brutal thing huh. By the way, how about Benetnash?"
"She did not participate in the battle itself. After you were gone, she seemed like someone who had lost her soul and stayed in her coffin for a while."
"What is she doing?"
I was in a state where I could comment neither on the tragedy that befell them nor on the mystery of why the Vampire Princess acted the way she did.
In the game, we had joked around and called him as The Demon King-san (lol). However, when it came to a reality, he was this horrifying of an enemy.
Perhaps I should say 'intimidation as expected of the official last boss'.
Even if there was no one shot-calling, since he had defeated the heroes who had defeated me, his fighting ability must be higher than mine. [5]
Well, if he could be defeated in a one-on-one fight, he couldn't be named the official last boss.
"Stop, my people! Conflict and hatred are all that the demon race wishes. Why do you not try and grab each other's hands!?"
Merak was desperately trying to mediate, however, there was no effect on the rioters.
No, there was probably some effect. If there was not, the civil war would already have started.
The mere fact that a hero was standing in the middle already had an effect.
However, it was not enough to stop the conflict.
With what was happening, I could see something small serving as the last straw to trigger the start of the civil war.
Now then, what should I do.... .
"That's as far as you go!"
As I was thinking as such, something broke into the middle of the populace.
Yes, "broke into" - exactly as written.
Plunging in, in a straight line from high up in the sky, cutting through the air whilst resonating a thunderous sound, something dropped onto the ground. Shattering the ground upon impact, someone descended into the place.
Of course, there was no need to inquire who it was.
Not as a metaphor but in a literal sense, it was an appearance of a doll with a light brown hair.
With Sky Jet deployed on her shoulders, she was holding onto a very pitiful looking demon-like man who seemed to have been viciously beaten.
It was the entrance of one of the 12 Heavenly Stars, Libra.
"So you made it in time, Libra."
I unconsciously pumped my fist.
It's here, the main Golem is here! With it, we can end it!
As promised previously, she brought along the demon so there was nothing more I had to say.
Well now, she will fully expose that demon as the mastermind behind everything and end this whole incident.
"Y, You are.... . That appearance, could it be.... ."
Merak whom of course, knew about the appearance of Libra showed a surprised expression on his face, however, Libra stopped Merak with her hand.
Furthermore, she followed it up by spouting a white lie.
"No, I'm just a Golem passing by, Brudzewski XVII."[6]
"Umm, I thought it was Copernicus IV...... ?"
"You could also say that."
Oi Libra, don't change your alias.
You're even getting tsukommi'd by some random citizen.
She threw the demon that she had been holding down in front of the two camps with a 'poi' and looked around at the surrounding and spoke with a volume loud enough for everyone to be able to hear.
"Now, do as you please with this man, please enjoy!"
.......
............. .
"............"
"............"
"............"
...................... .
Wait what, oi. No one will understand with that.
Look, Merak was frozen in place, and even the populace had the face which showed "what the hell is she saying?".
You know... he's the mastermind or was the instigator or something like that.
Isn't there something else you have to say?
However, Libra did not say anything more.
The surrounding populace also seemed to be curious about the demon, and a few white-winged men who recognised the face had started turning pale.
Nevertheless, leaving things like that would not develop into anything.
—she's no good at all.... She's not suited for persuasion at all.... !
"Dina, please do something about it. No one will understand with that."
"Y, Yes. Please leave it up to me!"
I kept my face hidden and sent Dina forward.
It seemed there was no other option but to leave the mediation to her.
If only it was possible for me to show myself in front of others, I would have done it myself.
Dina jogged into the populace and raised her arm and shouted out, "Attention!"
"Everyone, for now, please calm down and listen to what I have to say.
Cutting straight to the chase, the name of the man that is lying here is Jupiter. He is one of the 7 Luminaries who serve the Demon King.
Amongst the white-winged populace, I believe there are a few people who recognise him."
Demon, the archenemy of the humanoids.
And even amongst that, it was one of the 7 Luminaries who stood at the top as a representative. It was a topic which was more than enough to grab the attention of the people in that place.
Her tactic was most probably to start with a statement which would attract attention even if the listener was not interested in what she had to say.
The populace's line of sight shifted towards Jupiter as if they were nailing him down, followed by a commotion that was of a different type compared to before.
Distrust, bewilderment, fear, confusion....
A situation where there was someone from the 7 Luminaries in this place. Furthermore, he was familiar with the constituents of the city.
This fact cooled the heated heads of the people present.
"Currently, you feel hatred and want to exterminate each other. But pause and think about it for a moment. If something like that happens, who is going to benefit the most?"
'She's good', was what I thought.
By stating the main point first, she was able to have an impactful follow-up statement of "you are all just dancing on his palm".
In this way, she was able to hammer in a wedge on their actions.
It was true that this was more effective in getting through to calm people down who were agitated.
The method left people unable to ignore what she had to say.
"Yes, the ones who will benefit the most are the demons.
By having you kill each other, they would be able to bring this country down, and that is their aim.
So please, clear your head and think about it. Who is it that you really should be hating?"
While I was hiding in the shadow, I could not be unaware of the fact that my own face grimaced.
An enemy you should hate, huh. Is that how you would word it?
'Hatred gives birth to nothing' was an idiom that I had often heard before. [7] Nevertheless, if people were easily able to bend their emotions and take a loss, no one would ever experience any hardship.
However, if you diverged or dispersed the vector, the degree of difficulty in tackling the issue was far easier as compared to its counterpart.
Psychoanalysis of the defence mechanism.
One of the tactics, "displacement" was in play. [8]
When a person felt a desire or a craving and they were unable to fulfil it, their minds become unstable.
As such, in order to protect their own minds, they would try all sorts of methods to try and fulfil that craving.
Currently, the populace wanted to crush the opposing town, they wanted to destroy it.
But unfortunately, there was a problem with that. If it was carried out, then the demons would become greatly overjoyed.
To that dilemma, the mastermind demon was thrown in with 'please enjoy'.
The craving which could not be fulfilled - he was the perfect subject in directing their hatred towards.
Aahh, I know already.
It could not be helped.
Not to mention, he actually is the mastermind behind everything, so Dina is not wrong. And above all, it was me that had ordered Dina to conduct the way she did.
That was why. This was just an emotion.... The civilian inside of me was screaming with his emotion and not logic. It was just a boring emotion blurring my judgement.
.... . That was how it should have been.
"You.... . You bastard!!"
As I was thinking that it was unwarranted interference of sentiment, Jupiter who had been staying quiet this whole time started shouting in a loud voice.
His face was warped with a hatred worse than the citizens from a while ago. He was staring daggers at Dina as if she was the target who had killed his parents.
It was probably something like he had finally realised the situation that he was in. It was a little late though.
He had probably finally understood that Dina was making him out to be the scapegoat. With an angered look, he screamed out of anger.
"So that's how it is! No wonder Libra returned so quickly! From the very beginning.... From the very beginning, you had planned to trick meeeeeeeeee!!!"
After shouting, Jupiter became one with the wind and charged out.
This is not looking that good.... ?
I prepared myself at once to be able to get in between them at any time.
He was definitely pretty fast. Fast.... but, compared to me he's still slow. [9]
Even from this distance, I could easily get in between the two whenever I wanted.
However, it seems there was no need for me to do that.
From behind Jupiter, Libra stuck her arm out, piercing through his body.
"A, g.... a!"
"I had already given you the warning that 'you would be disposed on the spot of if you attack anyone without permission'."
"Wa, it.... Listen, you guys ar.... . e"
"I will not listen. You have already fulfilled the condition of termination. Therefore, I have made a judgement.... The promise made of your petition to be allowed an audience with my master will now be void."
It looked like Libra made a promise to allow him to plead for mercy from me in exchange for calming down.
Nevertheless, I had the feeling that he would have been killed by the people of the country before he had gotten to meet me.
.... . Ahhhh, actually. Probably not.
He was level 300 so he probably would not have died.
Or perhaps there was a promise that he would be rescued before he was killed.
But by trying to attack Dina, he had broken the promise made with her, and he was disposed of.
That was the conjecture reached from listening to the exchange.
"That's not, it... ! You guys are.... All, dec.... by... h...."
Jupiter was trying to say something, however, Libra quickly cut his head off.
Oi, so merciless. I did not know whether to say 'so reliable' or 'I'm glad she's on our side'.
She proceeded to squash the head that was on the ground with the weight of her foot then without expression started dusting away the dirt on her skirt.
On her face, there was not a strand of emotion nor disturbance. It was not even possible to fetch a reaction at the level one might have received when a nearby bug was killed.
Jupiter who had been squashed to death pitifully disintegrated in that place, not even leaving a corpse behind.
.... I'm so glad that Libra's on our side.
In any event, I was quite curious about what he had shouted in his last seconds.
Planned to trick him from the very last.... . There was no questioning about that.
Libra would capture him and stick him in front of the people, bringing his sin in broad daylight and turning the situation around. It was just as planned.
But that roar, and the deep resentment he had directed towards Dina.
I could not help but feel that there was more to it than what I thought.
.... . I really felt as if I had made an oversight.
And it definitely was not just my imagination.
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