Episode 121
Kiton is a city located not far from the border of the devil.
War and the devil naturally brought together mercenaries.
A kind of commercial city where service industries targeting them have developed.
If you look around the streets, you can see groups of people with weapons walking around everywhere.
Those who were soliciting customers were running around frantically trying to catch as many mercenaries as possible.
In damp, dark places that were hard to see, you could often see homeless people begging with their beggars hanging around them.
“Something… feels creepy.”
The first thing Choi Hyun-seok felt when he entered the city was a strange sense of discomfort.
“If you come to our fairy spring, this time we will provide you with a service… .”
“Get out of the way.”
A group of mercenaries roughly push past a man trying to solicit customers.
“Please give me just a penny…”
“My child has been starving for three days. Please help me.”
As the beggars approached, the mercenaries frowned.
“Anyway, why are there so many beggars in this neighborhood?”
“They are losers.”
“Ha, just one penny…”
“Where did you get your dirty hands!?”
The mercenary kicked the vagabond who was reaching out his hand.
The man who had been kicked in the chest groaned in pain.
For a moment, everyone’s attention was focused on them, but soon they turned away and went back to their own work.
As if it were a very natural part of everyday life.
There were even people who clicked their tongues at beggars.
“When will the beggars in this neighborhood be cleaned up?” “I don’t know what the demons do. They don’t deal with trash like that.”
Choi Hyun-seok blankly watched the scene.
Honestly, it was a little shocking.
Who would have thought that the human world after the Demon King’s army left would be like this?
I never dreamed of paradise on earth, but I never expected such a stark reality to await me.
“We have arrived.”
Frisch’s words were heard.
Only then did Choi Hyun-seok realize that the carriage had stopped.
As we got out of the carriage, we saw Frisch handing over the reins to someone who appeared to be a staff member.
“Have you… arrived?”
“Yes. Please come in.”
I almost spoke politely out of habit.
Since Frisch was now a groom, he couldn’t be overly polite to him.
Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson followed Frisch into the building.
“Oh my… How can there be such noble people in such a shabby place…”
The innkeeper, who thought Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson were nobles, kept bowing down to them.
“I’m planning to stay overnight, so please give me the best room possible.” “Our warrior’s shelter is the best accommodation in Kitton. You won’t be disappointed!”
After Frisch paid the price.
The group moved to the room they were guided to.
“Then rest in peace.”
The staff member who finished the guidance returns.
Only then did Choi Hyun-seok breathe a sigh of relief.
“This is not an easy task.”
Even though I wasn’t doing anything in particular, pretending to be someone else was quite tiring.
“You’ll have to get used to it. In the current situation, there’s no role more comfortable than that of a noble and a knight.”
Choi Hyun-seok nodded.
Now I had no choice but to follow Frisch’s words.
Because he came to this world and only spent time in the Demon King’s army, he was ignorant of the human world.
This was also the case with Abelson, who was a princess and was designated as the next saint.
Although not as much as Choi Hyun-seok, she also did not know much about the lives of ordinary people.
“I have a question.”
“what?”
“Is this the way humans are? Or is this just the city?” “I guess so.”
Frisch chuckled.
He seemed to have expected Choi Hyun-seok to ask this question.
“I don’t know what you were expecting. Did you think that when you came to the human world, a gorgeous flower garden would be waiting for you?” “… At least, I didn’t think it would be like this.”
The life of the people here that I encountered for the first time.
If I were to express Choi Hyun-seok’s feelings in one sentence, it would be ashen, without dreams or hope.
“The war lasted for over 500 years. The damage was borne entirely by the lower classes.”
“…”
“Do you know that while countless people are starving to death on the streets, the leaders of this era are experiencing unprecedented prosperity?” “How is that possible?” “You seem to know little about human nature, despite being human.”
Frisch looked at Choi Hyun-seok and asked.
“Do you know why this war continues without ending?” “I heard there was a secret pact between the Demon King’s army and the Holy Empire’s Pope.”
Frisch shook his head.
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“To be exact, it is a secret agreement between the Demon King and the leaders of the human ‘United Nations’.”
Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widen.
Because it meant that not only the Pope was involved, but that the entire human force agreed to continue the war.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“What do you gain by doing that?”
I couldn’t understand.
Why do we deliberately maintain the front and continue the war?
So what do the demons and humans gain from this?
Frisch’s answer was simple.
“The Demon King’s purpose is survival.”
This time, Choi Hyun-seok made a puzzled expression.
Frisch, sensing that the story would be long, slumped down in his chair and continued his explanation.
“At the beginning of the war, humans came together as one to stop the demons. The demons
Also, they fought desperately to seize new lands. The war back then was really fierce.” “As time went by, the situation became more unfavorable to the demons. It was a difference in their ability to sustain the war. We were fugitives, and this land was the territory of humans, so it was a natural result.” “The demon king, who thought that the demons would perish if things continued this way, accepted the humans’ offer. He deliberately decided not to end the war, but to continue it while waiting for an opportunity.”
Choi Hyun-seok, who was listening to the explanation, raised his hand.
“Did you just say that the Demon King accepted the offer?”
“okay.”
“What you’re saying is that humans were the first to make this suggestion… but why?”
Frisch clearly said that humans were winning the war.
If the war had continued as it was, the demons would have been destroyed and peace would have come.
Why would a human make such an offer?
“For the past several hundred years, humans have enjoyed unprecedented peace while fighting against the demons.”
“yes?”
“Ah. To be exact, I should say the human upper class, the leadership.”
“…”
“You still look like you don’t understand, but if you’re the saint over there, you’ll understand what I mean.”
Choi Hyun-seok’s gaze turned to Abelson.
Abelson sighed and muttered in a weak voice.
“That’s not wrong. Since the appearance of the Demons, wars between humans have disappeared.”
Frisch continued Abelson’s statement.
“Originally, this continent was constantly in conflict, big and small. In particular, right before the arrival of the Demons, a huge war between the Empire and the Anti-Empire Alliance was on the verge of breaking out.” “But with the appearance of the Demons as an external enemy, that danger has disappeared.” “Yes. It is a great advantage that the war among humans has disappeared. However, there is another real reason why the war with the Demons has not ended.”
Frisch paused for a moment, then chuckled.
Choi Hyun-seok thought that Frisch’s smile looked somewhat pitiful.
“Those in high places have realized that war with the demons is so sweet.” “War is so sweet…” “Is that strange? Think about it carefully.”
Frisch said, still smiling.
“No matter how much you raise taxes and squeeze the people’s blood, it doesn’t matter. As long as there’s an excuse of ‘punishing the demons!’, anything is allowed.” “Resistance is impossible. Anyone who resists becomes a subordinate of the evil demons and a common enemy of humanity.” “In the end, all resentment can only be directed at the demons who caused this situation.” “Thanks to this, the leaders of this world are enjoying unprecedented peace and amassing wealth. Without any risk factors whatsoever. This is literally the greatest golden age.”
By this point, Choi Hyun-seok has a rough idea of how the situation is going.
“They can do anything using the Demons as an excuse… That’s scary.” “To put the current situation bluntly, it’s no different from humans breeding Demons. Out of necessity, that is.”
Wars are not ended by just a few nobles and royalty.
Because humans are capable of doing anything for their own safety and wealth.
“You humans gave us the name ‘Majok’, meaning ‘seed of the devil.’”
“…”
“What do you think? Who is more evil in this situation?”
Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t answer.
Frisch also stood up, not really expecting an answer.
“I am now….”
Frisch, who was about to leave after finishing his work, suddenly stopped as if he had a breakdown.
‘Mr. Hemis…?’
The connection with his master, Hemis, was lost.
That means Hemis is dead.
Although she had warned me in advance, the reality I actually experienced was much more shocking and empty.
“…”
As Frisch stood motionless for a while, Choi Hyun-seok looked at him with strange eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“… no.”
Frisch turned and opened the door.
“My role ends here.”
Just before leaving the door, he looked at Choi Hyun-seok with mysterious eyes.
“I hope I can see you alive again.”
With those words, Frisch disappeared.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
***
“The connection was lost.”
Motem spoke in a low voice.
Raidran, who was sitting next to him, looked at him with a puzzled look.
“What are you talking about?”
“Mr. Hemis…”
There was no need for further explanation.
Raidrun’s expression became even more gloomy.
“I guess I should step down from my position as acting commander. I wasn’t an official member of the Demon King’s Army in the first place.”
It was entirely thanks to Hemis that Motem was able to become the acting commander of the legion.
Although it is true that the Motem’s power is stronger than that of a regular division commander, it is still no match for that of a legion commander.
Now that Hemis is dead, the 3rd Army Corps will probably have a new, formal commander.
“What are your plans for the future?”
Raidrun asked.
Motem tapped the table with his fingers and thought for a moment.
“…”
After being silent for a long time, he finally opened his mouth.
“I must follow Hemis’s will.” “Did Hemis send you something else?”
“okay.”
It wasn’t just Raidran who Hemis left a letter to.
Mortem also received a final letter from her.
“I plan to stay with you for a while. To carry out the task that Hemis has entrusted to me, I have no choice but to join forces.”
Raidran nodded, as he had already expected this.
Motem continued speaking.
“But my ultimate goal is to become stronger.”
“Getting stronger…”
“Yes. Enough to change the demon tribe of this rotten era.”
Motem’s words were more determined than ever.
***
The next day.
Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson left the room and went out into the hall of the inn.
Now we have to go out into the streets and find a coachman.
Since neither of them knew how to handle a horse, they had no choice but to pay a coachman to move forward.
“Alien, do you have enough money?”
Alien Chrissy.
It was an alias used by Abelson.
Choi Hyun-seok asked, intentionally emphasizing the name Alien as if he was practicing.
“I have enough money.”
Abelson nodded and held out a fairly heavy pouch.
When I opened the box, it was full of glittering gold.
“Wow… how much is all this?”
Although it was my first time seeing this currency, I could guess that it was a considerable amount.
“Here, one gold coin can buy enough food to feed a common household for a year.”
“A year!?”
“Yes. I heard that too.” “Anyway, how many of those do you have now? I can tell there are at least twenty.”
Greed flashed in Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes.
As expected of a warrior from the Korean Peninsula, the capitalist instinct engraved in his bones was awakening.
“Should we start by looking for a house? We don’t have an apartment, so we’ll just look for a small house. We’ll just take a break for about a year and have a child…” Snap!
Rachel, who was listening from the side, slapped Choi Hyun-seok on the cheek.
Since he was using magic that was invisible to the eyes of ordinary people, to someone who didn’t know, Choi Hyun-seok would have looked like a crazy person muttering to himself and shaking his head.
“Oh, thank you.”
Anyway, Choi Hyun-seok, who had come to his senses, returned the gold coin to Abelson.
“By the way, do you know where I should go to find a groom?” “Well, maybe I should ask the innkeeper?”
Choi Hyun-seok nodded and looked around.
There, the innkeeper was blinking and looking at the two.
“Ahem, ahem! Master!”
“Yes? Yes!”
“We need a groom. Where can we get one? We have plenty of money.”
Choi Hyun-seok asked in an awkward tone.
Fortunately, the innkeeper seemed not to notice anything strange and answered with a bow.
“If you leave the inn and continue up the street, you’ll come to a square. There are often coachmen there looking for work, so you should be able to find them easily!”
“Oh, thank you.”
Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson left the inn straight away and headed to the square.
As I walked down the street, I noticed that there were a lot of people.
“There are more people than I thought. Be careful not to get separated from each other.”
“yes.”
That was when.
A boy and a girl running quickly bumped into Abelson.
“ouch!”
“evil!”
A girl who looked to be about 10 years old fell to the floor, and a boy who looked a little older than her was startled and helped her up.
Maybe they are siblings.
Abelson looked at his younger siblings with a smile.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes? Yes! Sorry!”
The siblings recognized Abelson as a nobleman and bowed repeatedly, apologizing.
Abelson said, still smiling.
“I’m fine, so be careful from now on.”
“yes!”
The boy and the girl leave.
Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson watched their backs moving away for a while.
“They are so bright.” “Children are always the hope of the world.” “I was like that too.”
Abelson stared at Choi Hyun-seok.
“Ahem! Everyone is cute when they’re young.”
Choi Hyun-seok continued speaking, coughing in vain.
“By the way, Abel, no. Are you okay, Alien? It looks like you got hit pretty hard.” “I’m okay. I’m pretty strong for someone like this.” “Well, since you blew the hero’s pot, I guess you don’t have to worry.”
“Is it a pot?”
“Oh, it means head.”
“…”
Abelson blinked for a moment and then turned around.
This time she continued, clearing her throat.
“Ahem, then shall we go? I’m fine…”
For a moment, Abelson’s face turned pale.
“Alien? What’s wrong?”
Choi Hyun-seok asked with a worried face.
Abelson looked up at Choi Hyun-seok with pupils shaking as if an earthquake had occurred.
“money.”
“yes?”
“I lost my money…”
It was the first time I felt the spiciness of the cold human world.
