Shujinkou Janai! - CH 78

If the Evil Deity, the strongest enemy and ultimate goal of <Brave & Blade>, is positioned as the game’s Last Boss, then the Six <Demon Lords> that exist in this world are the Mid-Bosses in the game.

Hearing about this, the <Guardians> who were keeping the Evil Deity within the deepest level of the <Twelve Dark Ruins> may be the first to come to mind, but the <Demon Lords> are different from them.

While the <Guardians> are “Dormant Bosses” who exist in fixed locations to intercept the player, while the <Demon Lords> are “Active Bosses” who appear in front of the Hero through events.

In a different sense from the Evil Deity, the Demon Lords are very troublesome enemies that imposes a time limit on the game.

The <Guardians>, who remain motionless from the depths of the dungeon and mechanically all corners, were simply extremely strong monsters, acting as mere stage gimmicks in the game.

They are simply a hurdle to be overcome by force, and there’s no room for emotions to interpose around their existence.

However, the <Demon Lords> are different.

They are “characters” that have their own will, wisdom, and their own goals, that is to bare their fangs on mankind.

(The Demon Lords are actually quite popular among the users though.)

I have a lot of hatred for these guys, because I have been repeatedly burned by them, but I heard that there are a few fanartists who have been drawing fanarts of them.

(Well, all of them have sharp abilities and personality, and they’re well-defined characters.)

They are monsters evolved by the power of the Evil Deity’s “Origin of Evil”, and are literally the “Lord of Monsters”, ruling over their respective species.

Depending on which <Demon Lord> they are, they may have a large number of subordinates in tow, or they may use the characteristics of their species to attack in their own unique way.

And the <Fourth Demon Lord> who sleeps beneath the <House of Roses> is the best example of such a Demon Lord.

Known as “the One who Converses with Death”, this <Demon Lord> is a Vampire, an Undead monster that sucks human blood and turns them into monsters.

As legend depicts, the <Fourth Demon Lord> is capable of transforming people into his own kin by sucking their blood.

In fact, the resurrected <Demon Lord> will gradually turn the inhabitants of Frelia into vampires as time goes by, and by the time you realize it, it will be no exaggeration to say that the town will be destroyed.

And so, this event must be prevented at all costs.

……That is something I must do at all costs but……

Thereupon, I spotted the person I was looking for in my field of vision and broke off my train of thought.

At the end of a busy intersection, I walk up to an old woman standing in front of a small grocery store.

[Can I talk to you for a moment? I’d like to know if anything has changed recently.]

The old woman’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment as I spoke to her, but then she quickly realized it’s me, to which her expression dropped.

[Oya, it’s you again. Even if you ask me that many times, nothing has changed. All’s right with the world. This too goes along the guidance of the <Goddess of Salvation>. Hohoho.]

“”

[I see. ……I’m sorry for the trouble.]

Lightly bowing my head, I left the place, gritting my teeth.

[As expected……]

The one I just spoke to is a mob with no particular background, but a convenient character who can tell the progress of events and history by the content of the conversation, a.k.a. “Granny Hohoho”.

And what I can clearly read in the earlier conversation……

(The Era…… The World Events have not progressed in any way!)

The dialogue from the Granny is something you can visit and hear right after the game starts.

From there, the content should change if the Era progresses or there are signs of major events, but it hasn’t changed at all since the initial state of the game.

[It’s already been 3 months since the game started. What in the world is the “Hero” doing!?]

I was so frustrated that I couldn’t help sighing in annoyance.

If this world works just like in the game, after 3 months from the start of the game, there should have already been a number of World Events, and the Era should have progressed accordingly.

And yet, I see no sign of that happening at all.

(D*mn it! We’ve only got 2 years until the revival of the Evil Deity! If I had been the Hero, by now……)

I bit my lip, stopping myself from continuing those thoughts.

However, after examining the events from various angles and taking various actions, I’m convinced of one thing.

—————-The World Events can only be triggered by the “Hero”.

This is the “certain reason” why I have not actively embarked on “clearing” this world for the past 3 months.

Even in this world, Events can be triggered by creating “game-like situations”.

That’s a fact I’m definite about, but among the factors involving “game-like situations”, it seems that “the existence of the “Hero”” is a very important factor.

The most obvious example is the “Stargazing Event” that occurs when the “Hero” first visits Frelia Plaza.

When the “Hero” arrives at the plaza, a wrinkled old woman suddenly appears……

[Your star! Show me your star!]

Shouting this, she approaches the “Hero”.

Looking at the “Hero”‘s face……

“”

[Ohh, t- this star…… What light! It’s as if you are possessed by the Goddess of Light herself……]

Saying something that seemed to suggest something, she staggered around……

[With the light you hold, will you be the key to saving the world or the catastrophe that destroys it…… Hihi! Kuhihihihi!]

Because it occurs early in the game, this event has firmly placed itself into my memory that I have even memorized the old woman’s lines, but this event has not happened to me, Rex, in this world, who has been in and out of the plaza many times.

……Well, of course, that won’t happen.

The reason why the old woman was so excited and why she said those lines was because the “Hero” was the “Qualified Person” chosen by the <Goddess of Light>, in other words, they’re the <Warrior of Light>.

If I, a mere Adventurer and not the <Warrior of Light> had walked by that spot, nothing would have happened.

And so, I once thought that just like in the game, the Events could only be triggered by the “Hero”, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Just like the conversation I had with Lily in the cave, I was able to trigger Events that had nothing to do with the main storyline, such as those that involve the likability of characters without any problem.

However, that was understandable.

That Event occurred because Lily went on an adventure “with an Adventurer she’s close with”, and whether that Adventurer was a “mere Adventurer” or the <Warrior of Light> had no effect on the content of the event.

And that, perhaps, is the essence of the problem.

Most of the World Events, which can be called the Main Story, involve the “Hero” being “the Champion chosen by the Goddess” in the flow of the story.

That is why the “Hero” is absolutely necessary to cause World Events that change the world.

(However, I didn’t expect the “Hero” would be this immobile……)

The reason why I have remained quiet, in addition to the reason that I’m prioritizing the expansion of forces, is that I was waiting for the “Hero” to trigger a World Event.

If the “Hero” is the only one who can cause a World Event, then conversely speaking, you could say that the “Hero” is in the place where the World Event took place.

(Especially the “Encounter with the <Demon Lord>” Event. If they had triggered that event, there’s absolutely no way a rumor about it wouldn’t circulate……)

The World Event “Encounter with the <Demon Lord>” is the first Event triggered by the “Hero” for most players.

This event is a typical “Sure-Loss Event”, in which “when the “Hero”‘s activity level exceeds a certain level, the <First Demon Lord> suddenly appears during dungeon exploration and a battle ensues.

The <First Demon Lord> seems to be the lowest in the ranking among the <Demon Lords>, but even if that were the case, it isn’t an opponent that the early-game “Hero” would normally be able to defeat.

However, when they’re in a pinch, the Hero’s <Sword of Light> appears, and they successfully defeat the enemy. This is a trope that is common in the early stages of shonen manga, where “the Hero suddenly encounters a super-powerful enemy who’s supposed to appear in the latter half of a story, but surprised by the awakened potential of the “Hero”, the enemy retreats”.

If this world is the same as in the game, the world would know that the <Demon Lords> have returned, and at the same time, the “Hero” would be thrust into the center stage of history for the first time.

Therefore, rather than searching without any clues nor plans, I thought I would rather settle down in one place and try to locate the whereabouts of the “Hero” based on the rumors……

“”

(But no matter how you think about this, the situation staying like this is bad.)

In the game, if an important World Event is left unattended for a certain period of time, that event will “spontaneously activate”.

The Event will go on its own without the “Hero” knowing about it, and will end up in the worst possible way in the branches that exist in that Event.

One typical example of this is <Frelia’s Vampire>, a Chain Event occurring in the “House of Roses”.

The trouble with this Chain Event is that they progress on their own without needing the “Hero”‘s involvement, and by the time they realize that this event has been active, it’s already too late.

The exact time varies depending on how the game progresses, but if you leave it alone for about half a year, an incident will occur in which Roze, the owner of the building, will be attacked by a vampire. A few months after that, the <Demon Lord> will be completely resurrected, and about 3 months after their resurrection, vampires lurking in the town will cause a rebellion, and Frelia will collapse.

(Still…… There should be plenty of time until that happens. I knew the sequence of the events beforehand, and using my knowledge, I had already stepped foot into the basement of the <House of Roses>, which would normally be inaccessible because of “Era division”. That’s why…… D*mn it!)

I couldn’t help cursing.

I know.

In fact, I already know what to do about this event.

It’s easy enough to stop that <Demon Lord>’s resurrection.

There’s no need to do anything complicated.

It’s so incredibly easy and simple.

All it takes is the sacrifice of one person, and it will be over soon.

(This is why I didn’t want to see her.)

After all, if I actually see her, if I had personally spoken to her, I will end up being emotionally attached.

I wouldn’t be able to make “that choice”.

And so, I avoided talking to her as much as possible.

I didn’t make eye contact, and only threw out the bare minimum of words in a matter-of-fact manner.

Even so……

I still can’t get rid of that lonely profile, her eyes that look longingly at “adventurers”, from my mind’s eye.

And……

[Ummm! Are you, by any chance, the adventurer yesterday?]

It was, as if by some miraculous, or perhaps, nightmarish coincidence.

“”

A lively voice calls out from behind me.

Turning around, my spine shivers with a sense of foreboding.

[I knew it!]

In my field of vision, her long white hair flutters in the wind, and the smile blooming on her modest lips seemed to be glowing.

(Aaahh……)

Within my heart, I sighed.

Turning around, I saw the person I least wanted to see right now……

[……Roze.]

She, who was burdened with the fated sacrifice for the <Agreement of Death>, was there.