The Duke killed Cruel Hardt. This short but bold truth shook the entire human world.
It would have been noisy enough simply for that fact to have been revealed, but the public was enthusiastic about the Duke's death, which was beautifully packaged. When they realized they had been tricked, they became more angry than ever.
It was an instant for a name that was soaring endlessly to fall into the abyss and become like 'Deon Hardt'.
"The Duke... no, it's not even worth calling him a Duke. Even killing him twice is not enough. I feel like my mouth has been tainted for praising such a guy. I feel dirty."
"If that's true, he's completely crazy. It means that the culprit behind this situation is Stave Illuster. How could you be so shameless? "
"How can I know the insides of bad guys? It's rather funny to talk about conscience over that."
In fact, the information they heard was extremely fragmentary, so it is not possible to say with certainty that 'the culprit is the Duke', and based on the information revealed, Deon Hardt's sin is still greater.
What does it matter?
Deon Hardt's name has been torn apart from the moment he returned to the demon world, and is already in tatters, so there is no need to tear it down any further. In such a situation, the name of a newly precious person before our eyes became great prey, and the public rushed in and vented their accumulated anger.
It was a truly unfortunate event for someone who tried to enhance the value of the Duke's name.
Of course, in the midst of the heightened emotions, someone who had a little bit of reason thought of a small question.
"Isn't Cruel Hardt the Duke's subordinate? He was an official hero of the empire, so he must have been a very good player, so why did he kill him?"
"It's obvious! The older brother must have stopped the Duke from killing his younger brother. So he must have been annoying."
"It's disgusting that he would give an order to kill his younger brother just because he was annoying... But before that, why did the Duke bother to kill Deon Hardt?"
"Oh, I know something about that. At the time, the factions of the Imperial nobles were divided into the Noble faction and the Imperial faction. Deon Hardt was clearly the main figure of the Imperial faction, and the Duke was the head of the Noble faction."
"In the end, the brothers got caught up in a political fight.
"High-ranking people... Tsk."
Soon they found the answer among themselves and came to an understanding.
Since they just needed something to chew on in the first place, the 'reason' probably didn't matter. Even if they had left it alone, they would have come up with a plausible reason and put it behind them.
The man covered in a robe pulled the front of the hood and smiled. The mouth that could not be hidden under the hood rose in a smooth arc.
"Well, there may be some other hidden reason, but I guess we can look at it that way for now."
"Anyway, I can't understand nobles! Since they already have enough power, what else did they create to gain from it? ... But who are you...?"
"A passing traveler."
The man in the robe slightly tilted his head and fiddled with the money in his hand, as if he was making a calculation. A small amount of green hair, almost bob-length, was flowing out from beneath the hood.
The nobility in the way he spoke and the elegance in every light movement. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like he deserves to be in such a squalid place, so who exactly is he?
Could it be that he was really a noble? Silence fell. The man who had been sarcastic a moment ago saying he couldn't understand nobles froze and rolled his eyes. His back was wet with cold sweat.
Amidst the tension that seemed at first glance to be fearful, the man in the robe, who seemed to have roughly sorted things out and stuffed all but some of the coins into his pocket, calmly opened his mouth and began to speak.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"What... what is it?"
"I heard a rumor that a dangerous number of monsters have flocked here somewhere. I would like to ask whether that is true and if so, where is the exact location?"
"Ah, yes! It's true. After leaving the castle walls, the mountain on the right is very swarming! We are barely holding on so far, but I feel anxious in many ways because it seems like they will break through soon."
"Okay... It looks like I've come to the right place. Thanks for letting me know. This is a reward, so take it."
Ting. A coin flew out. The man who grabbed it without realizing it looked blankly at the man in the robe who was getting up from his seat.
The green hair peeking through the hood was somehow familiar, even though it was definitely his first time seeing it.
'... No way.'
At that moment, there was a rumor that crossed his mind.
Even so, from the moment he was asked about monsters, something came to mind and he was in a state of confusion, so in the end, the man couldn't overcome his curiosity and carefully called out the person who was about to leave.
"Where... Are you trying to go?"
"Where would I like to be? Since you asked about monsters, I'll go catch them."
"Ah...!"
He couldn't believe he's trying to go directly to a mountain infested with monsters.
It is certain. He is the person of the rumor. The man opened his eyes wide.
A green-haired hero who suddenly appears at some point and wandered the continent dealing with monsters. The only thing that was well known is the color of the hair, so even the time of his first appearance is ambiguous.
He heard a rumor that it was assumed that he appeared after the Capital of the Empire was trampled by the Demon King's Army...
'I can't believe he was a real person.'
He honestly didn't believe it.
Isn't it like a fairy tale story that there are countless territories and villages saved by the hero who wanders the continent and kills monsters for the weak?
In reality, 'heroes' are too busy fighting wars to care about monsters in remote places like this. Even if they protect people, they will protect higher-ranking people rather than these people of insignificant status. So he thought it was a rumor created by those who were tired of the war and despairing of the fall of the Empire to give hope.
"Okay then."
The man put down the money at the cash register and went out without any hesitation.
Today, this territory will be free from the threat of monsters.
The man and the group looked blankly at his back as he walked out the door.
It was the moment when another rumor about the 'wandering hero' was added.
Stigma Primero, who came outside, slowly raised his head and looked at the sky. The blue sky filled brown eyes. A voice mixed with laughter came out lightly.
"The weather is nice today, too."
I like it so much that I hate it. How long has it been since it rained?
Perhaps the sky was angry because so much blood was shed on this land. At some point, the sky stopped crying.
Rivers and lakes were shrinking in size and ponds were already drying up. The ground was immediately cracked, and the remaining ground contained blood that could not be washed away, rejecting crops.
The number of people dying from war and hunger caused by drought was becoming similar, and it was truly too much. Stigma clicked his tongue lightly and lowered his gaze.
'Thanks to it, I could see the screen well.'
The screen, with a clean sky without a single cloud in the background, was surprisingly clear.
Thanks to this, Stigma was able to watch all the scenes without missing anything. Even the detailed appearance and facial expression changes of Deon Hardt sitting on one side of the screen.
'He had his hair tied up.'
That much time has passed. Stigma, who was thinking about how much time had passed since his first meeting with Deon Hardt, soon changed the subject of his thoughts.
Because that's not important.
'Did he say Dan rather than that?'
The eyes inside the hood widened pleasantly as he remembered the winner and protagonist of this war of words.
'He revealed the truth at will...'
I guess he wasn't scolded after it was over.
He may have tried to hide his expression, but it was visible to Stigma's eyes. Deon was taken aback when that bold subordinate revealed that the Duke had killed Cruel Hardt.
In other words, it was a completely unplanned situation. In other words, it means that he moved arbitrarily without saying a word...
"That's amazing."
A low murmur was scattered in the air. A voice filled with slight admiration continued.
"You seem to have quite a reputation, junior. You have good subordinates."
It's not easy to have a subordinate who willingly takes risks for you.
It was a position to stand as the representative of the demon world. If you make a mistake, your head will be blown off that very day. Even just doing what you are told will make you feel out of breath and nervous. Nevertheless, Dan made a risky choice for Deon Hardt.
"Or maybe my Junior's abilities are good?"
Anyway, he had to congratulate his subordinate Dan.
Not only did he win the war of words, but even though he stood on screen as the representative of the demon world, there were fewer people than expected who cursed at him.
It was worth it. The Duke got most of the attention, and others began to debate whether they would join the demon world or not. If you recklessly scold Dan here, things will become troublesome when you turn to the demon world.
'If this continues, it will only be a matter of time before the human world collapses.'
He should also congratulate his Junior on this.
Cruel Hardt, who was falsely accused and sent to the demon world, was exonerated in recognition of 'the older brother's tearful last effort to protect his younger brother.' At the same time, isn't it perfect that the initial goal, the division within the human world, will soon be achieved?
He was planning on going to meet him at the end, but if he did this, the day they can meet may come sooner.
Not bad. Stigma had a smile on his face.
'Yes, Junior. Don't hesitate and keep going.'
I'm saying this for you.
Stigma knows some information about 'sin' and 'karma'.
Since his own behavior follows that of the previous generation, he knows the more trivial details of past history well.
It is not a history with a grand framework, such as war. Of course, he also knew it as a cultured person, but his specialty was the daily life of the past.
For example, folk songs that have been handed down for a very long time.
Did you know that there is a second verse in 'Death's Advice'?
No, before that, do you know 'Death's Advice'?
Although you may know the lyrics and sound of the first verse, you will not know the second verse and the title.
The title and second verse were lost in the process of being passed down by word of mouth. Stigma managed to find a book related to it and obtained new information by combining it with information from other myths.
So Junior, I dare to give you advice.
"If you have no choice but to sin, why not commit a bigger sin than anyone else?"
This was for his own purpose and also for his own benefit.
Commit a greater sin than anyone else.
He walked along, humming lowly the forgotten second verse of an old folk song. They looked tired, so he passed by the gatekeepers who dissuaded him, telling him to leave the monster problem to themselves as it was dangerous, and headed outside toward the mountain.
Now was the time to move for honor.
If someone recognized him, they would ask if he would return to the Empire.
At that time, he would answer without hesitation. I'm not going back.
It was obvious without even thinking about it that being a 'hero of the continent' or even a 'hero of the human world' is a greater honor than being a 'hero of a collapsing empire'.
With so many people dying and the Empire lacking in nobles, Stigma willingly gave up his title and chose to become a 'hero' like something out of a fairy tale.
***
"I thought Cruel Hardt was dead and truly alone."
Despite saying he was not interested, the Demon King watched the screen from beginning to end.
Anyway, it seemed like Dan had an intention to do something other than what he was told to do. It was necessary to keep an eye on what kind of accident might occur, whether it was harmful or not.
So what came out was this.
"My prospective teacher has good skills."
His eyes curved with a faint smile.
He wondered if a group of crazy humans have taken the Corps Commander as a hostage and joined him. Isn't the human he brought here doing dangerous things for Deon Hardt in front of everyone?
It seems that Deon Hardt has the ability to attract crazy people.
Well, anyway.
'I understand now that he acted so openly for his own benefit.'
No matter how clueless you are, you will understand by now.
That you are not alone.
Loners escape loneliness by realizing that they are not alone, regardless of the number of people around them.
The Demon King smiled regretfully.
"With this, you are no longer alone, Deon."
It's not normal to bring humans to the center of the demon world, and it's even more cunning to go further and build your own power.
The eerie glow in his eyes that reminded him of Dan and the Lofty Knights seemed to have stopped his thoughts for a moment, and at some point, the Demon King's mood suddenly softened.
'... Still, this isn't that bad either, so let's move on for now.'
Because it's better to bend than to break.
His interest in him hasn't diminished yet.