Haron's head snapped left and right as Sukuna's palm repeatedly struck his face.
*Slap*Slap*Slap*
The villagers were stunned.
Nobody understood what was happening.
The mysterious robed man who had been standing with his party had suddenly walked forward and started beating the mage.
Even Himmel and the others were taken aback.
Including Frieren, who was staring at Sukuna in confusion.
Lord?
Did the mage just call him Lord??
*Slap*Slap*Slap*
Himmel felt a little bad and wanted to intervene, but suddenly stopped when he saw that the mage Haron, instead of being angry… was smiling?
Not only smiling, but his eyes were shining with excitement.
"L-Lord! It really is you!" Haron shouted happily even as another slap landed across his cheek.
*Slap*
Sukuna finally stopped and released Haron, making him fall on his butt.
"You idiot…."
Sukuna sighed and shook his head in resignation.
What's the point of even hitting him?
It's not like he's going to learn anyway.
"My Lord… I never thought I would meet you here!"
"Yeah, me neither."
Sukuna rubbed his forehead.
The entire village had gone silent.
They were all murmuring in low voices.
"Did he just say Lord!?"
"The Demon Sage?…"
"Lord of Dawn?…"
But Sukuna didn't care anymore.
Instead, he crouched down, stared Haron straight in the eye, and asked.
"What was the first thing I taught you?"
"…"
"Speak, or I'll have you work in the mines for the entire year."
"T-To never trust a demon…", Haron replied with a wronged look on his face.
"Right, I told you to not trust a demon… yet what did you just do?"
"B-but Lord, she's a child—"
"Yes, a child who was prepared to strangle you and use you as a hostage to ensure her survival."
"What?"
Haron exclaimed in confusion, then hurriedly looked at the innocent-looking demon girl on his side.
She was going to strangle him?
Well, he did feel it was weird that her hands were holding onto his neck during the hug…
"I was… not going to harm anyone…", the demon girl suddenly said and lowered her head, appearing innocent and weak, making others want to protect her.
"Stop the stupid act already."
Sukuna frowned and pulled down his hood, revealing his demon horns.
The demon girl's eyes slightly widened.
So it's someone from the same trade, huh?
"H-horns! He's truly a demon!"
The villagers exclaimed loudly.
Himmel tightened his grip, a look of hesitation and confusion appearing on his face.
Heiter and Eisen looked at each other, taken aback by the turn of events.
As for Frieren…
She tightly held her staff.
'I failed to notice he was a demon.'
What a terrible blunder.
'He was suppressing his mana… why?'
It didn't follow the nature of demons.
She couldn't understand. It didn't make sense, not to mention…
'8th Demon Sage of Severance.'
Only demons who had lived for centuries and mastered an extremely powerful magic, outside the reach of humanity, were given the title of Demon Sages.
And now, one such monster stood right before them.
Not only that, they were travelling as companions just a moment ago.
'This situation is extremely dangerous but…'
Frieren remembered the conversation from last night.
[The only good demon is a dead demon.]
[You're right.]
'Why did he agree back then?…'
Demons who placed their own survival above everything else would never do that.
It was odd.
Extremely odd.
And this oddness was making Frieren uncomfortable.
Yes, this feeling.
She was a little familiar with it.
It was the same odd feeling she sensed when she barely survived after meeting Demon Sage Macht of the Gold Land.
Quietly grabbing Himmel's clothes, she said.
"He's dangerous, we can't beat him…"
She wanted to leave.
But there were too many innocent villagers around them.
Himmel sensed Frieren's worry. With a reassuring smile on his face, he told her.
"Frieren, I don't sense any malice from him…"
"?"
"He doesn't seem like a bad guy…"
Sukuna stared at the demon girl and said in a plain tone.
"Submit to me or die."
Himmel's smile froze.
Frieren gave him a silent look.
The demon girl, now having completely dropped her act, looked at him with a calm gaze and said.
"Why would I submit to you? You don't even have any mana—"
A dark beam of Zoltraak appeared and disintegrated her left arm.
The demon girl stared in shock as a large hand suddenly grabbed her face.
"The next one will blow up your head."
Various thoughts went through the demon girl's mind before she came to a conclusion and said.
"…Submit… I submit."
To a demon, their life was more important than anyone else's.
"Alright then."
Sukuna healed her arm, picked her up by the neck, and took her to the side where others couldn't hear them.
Then he made her do a binding vow like Linie before coming back and handing her over to Haron.
"Take her back."
"Yes, Lord!"
"Also, you're working in the mines for the next six months."
"W-what?"
"You got any complaints?"
"O-of course not…"
A sad Haron flew away with the demon girl.
Frieren's eyes widened when she saw a human flying like a demon.
Has human magic progressed to such a degree?
But she hadn't met any other human mage who could fly during their journey…
Completely ignoring the looks everyone was giving him, Sukuna casually walked back to the Hero party and said.
"Problem solved, let's find a place to stay the night."
Then, without turning back, he started walking away with his horse.
Himmel scratched the back of his head before looking at his companions and saying.
"Let's follow him…"
Unfortunately, there was no tavern in the village, and the villagers were scared due to Sukuna and ignored them altogether.
Just when it seemed they would have to camp outside, the lady whose child Haron saved suddenly approached them and gave them an empty house to stay the night in.
----
Now inside the house.
The five of them sat on the floor, with Sukuna on one side and the four on the other.
The atmosphere was quite delicate.
Sukuna casually chewed on the food he had bought.
"Are you going to say something or just keep staring at my face?"
The room remained silent for a few seconds.
Only the faint sound of Sukuna chewing his food could be heard.
Himmel glanced at Frieren, then at Heiter and Eisen before finally speaking.
"Well… I suppose new introductions are in order again."
He smiled awkwardly.
"You're a demon…"
"Yes."
"The 8th Demon Sage of Severance?"
"Yup."
Though the humans gave him that title.
"Lord of Dawn?"
"That's me."
"That explains why he has so much money…", Heiter added with an 'Oh, I get it now!' look on his face.
Himmel scratched his cheek.
"I feel like we skipped quite a few steps here."
Sukuna lazily leaned against the wooden wall.
Himmel turned serious and asked in a calm tone.
"...Why did you hide your identity?"
What was his reason for deceiving them? Especially when he knew who they were.
It was a big problem. What was his hidden motive for infiltrating their party?
Sukuna replied almost instantly.
"I thought it'd be fun."
"Huh?"
Himmel, Heiter, Eisen, and Frieren tilted their heads in confusion.
Fun?
The hell does that mean?
Seeing their confusion, Sukuna elaborated.
"Think about it. The hero party travelling with a demon, then during a life-and-death fight they find out his true identity. The look of shock on your faces at that time would have been quite fun to see..."
The more he spoke,
the more it dumbfounded the hero party.
Heiter, unable to hold himself back, quickly interjected.
"So you wanted to prank us?"
"In a way, yes."
"I don't know what to think.", Eisen said.
Himmel said in a soft tone,
"You're a lot different from what I had heard a demon to be..."
"Oh."
Frieren, who had been observing Sukuna with sharp eyes, suddenly asked,
"You hid your mana."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's convenient."
Frieren slightly lowered her head.
That answer only made things stranger.
Demons were prideful creatures. They liked to display their power. Hiding mana went completely against their instincts.
Yet Sukuna was doing it.
This meant he was an extremely dangerous demon.
The only way for humanity to fight and win against demons was to use their pride against them.
Yet now, right before her sat an exception among the monsters.
"You're the Lord of a human city? What are you planning to do with them?"
"Planning? Hmm. I think I'll turn it into the most prosperous city in the world...", Sukuna replied after some thinking.
Frieren frowned.
It didn't make sense.
"You must have killed a lot of humans, so why are you pretending to rule over them? I bet it's just a farm you created to harvest them like animals."
The room suddenly fell silent.
"Frieren....."
Even Himmel called out her name.
Frieren didn't care and kept staring at him.
Sukuna raised his eyebrow, then said,
"Good and bad, there are both types of people present in the world."
"What are you getting at? Are you saying there are good and bad demons?"
"No, not at all."
"...?"
"What I meant to say was, there are always exceptions to everything, and among demons, I am that exception."
Sukuna continued in a calm tone.
"Demons, by their nature, are created to kill and prey upon humans, like their natural predators."
The hero party listened in silence.
"But I have conquered this nature. I am not a slave to it, but a master with my own will."
"That is all. I will not explain it to you again. If you still think I am a demon, then go ahead, I do not care. But know this: if you dare to do something idiotic such as attack me... then be prepared for repercussions.", Sukuna finished with a chilling smile on his face.
The hero party trembled.
Frieren fell silent for some time before finally speaking.
"Everything you've said, I find it all hard to believe."
"I've heard excuses from your kind time and time again for centuries, so much so that I have grown tired."
"Frieren....", Himmel tried to say something but stopped after seeing Frieren's expression.
Frieren stared straight at Sukuna's face and said in a calm tone.
"You demons lie as much as you breathe."
Sukuna equally matched her gaze, not looking away.
Frieren released a small breath before saying,
"But you... were not shaken by anything I said. You helped that human mage Haron when it was an unnecessary act, and most of all, even though you have the strength to kill us, you choose to talk instead."
"Make no mistake. The only reason I haven't attacked you is because you haven't attacked me first.", Sukuna added.
"That is exactly what's perplexing about you."
Himmel looked at Frieren and Sukuna before clapping his hands to get their attention.
"Frieren... I don't think Mr. Sukuna is a bad person."
"I know. Even I feel that way, but every time I've trusted a demon, it has led me to betrayal."
Frieren sighed.
Heiter lightly patted her shoulder and suggested,
"Since it took years to lose your trust, why not take years to rebuild it?"
"What do you mean, Heiter?"
"Mr. Sukuna is the Lord of Dawn. If he's truly different from other demons, then you only need to watch his city in the upcoming years. What do you think, Sir Sukuna?"
"As long as you don't annoy me, I don't care.", Sukuna waved his hand.
Frieren looked at his face, then slowly nodded.