It Seems That the Demon King Is Among the Members of the Hero’s Party

40. After the Battle

───One night had passed since our battle with Croix, and we were resting in a room lent to us by the villagers. Noel’s magic had healed our wounds from the battle with Croix, but Tora-san’s blown-off arm couldn’t be treated and was bandaged.

If it were just a cut, magic could reattach it, but Tora-san’s arm had been blown off from the elbow down. There was no way to heal it.

“Tora-san’s arm is still in pain, isn’t it?”

As I gazed at Tora-san’s arm on the bed, Daru was making a bitter face. Although we had a tough fight against Klovikus, it seemed that the others, including Eclair, had ended their battle without much trouble. From the start, Eclair unleashed her holy sword and swept away the approaching goblins. Afterwards, Sasha used her magic without holding back, firing off wide-range spells. About 70% of the goblins were killed by Sasha’s magic, and I barely had any role to play! Daru was laughing about it.

On our side, after defeating Klovikus, we also ended the battle relatively easily. Since the mastermind behind the scenes had disappeared, the goblins regained their sanity and fled in all directions. We couldn’t just let them go, so we had Sasha take care of the fleeing goblins.

If I could use “Crazy Flying Swallow,” the mop-up would be simple, but since I had used up my accumulated magic and my own power against Klovikus, I had no choice but to slash directly. Chasing after the fleeing goblins and cutting them down would take too much time, so I asked Sasha for help.

“What’s with me…?” she muttered while taking care of it.

Noel was treating the wounded, starting with Tora-san, who had been injured by Klovikus’s magic and the goblins. Despite firing off “Judgment” to reduce the number of goblins, Noel was able to heal everyone, showcasing her incredible magical power. She was indeed a talented woman who had been recognized by the church since its inception.

The defeated goblins were gathered in one place, and then Noel would purify them. Leaving that many corpses behind would create a breeding ground for diseases, so we couldn’t ignore it. In situations like this, the “Holy” attribute, which could purify monsters without leaving any remnants, was convenient.

For monsters without magic resistance, purification was a breeze.

By the way, we also gave a proper burial to the elf who had provided us with information about Klovikus. The identification card, which served as proof of his existence, was sent to his family in Telma.

I was grateful that we could repay the elf who had risked his life to provide us with information.

“Are you okay with the pain from your wounds?”

“I’m fine, thanks to Noel! My right arm is just a bit inconvenient, that’s all.”

Tora-san, who was laughing as usual, was surrounded by Noel. “Why did you protect me?!” she asked.

In response, Tora-san said, “I promised to protect you guys,” which made me feel a bit fluttery. Tora-san was really cool.

Even Noel, who was usually strict, was being gentle with Tora-san at the time. She had wrapped bandages around Tora-san’s wounds.

Now, Noel was not in this room. She had taken a day off to recover her magic and had gone out to purify the goblins.

Well, with Klovikus’s problem solved, our current issue was Tora-san’s right arm. Although Tora-san didn’t seem to mind, having no arm from the elbow down would be quite inconvenient.

It would also hinder our battles. So, we were planning to ask a dwarf to create a prosthetic arm for Tora-san. While there were dwarf technicians in Kremaltas, the ones who could create high-performance prosthetics that could withstand battles were limited.

It would be better to search for them in Tangmarin, the dwarven country. Although I wanted to create a prosthetic arm for Tora-san as soon as possible, there was still one problem left in Kremaltas.

It was the “Undead Queen” Silvy Empire, one of the four heavenly kings in the Legas legacy. When we left the town of Mannaka, we had sent a messenger to Kremaltas to ask for Silvy’s cooperation.

Now, the knight squad was still surrounding the Legas legacy, but we didn’t know the current situation since we were busy dealing with Klovikus. We were waiting for a messenger from Kremaltas to arrive…

“I want to go to Tangmarin as soon as possible.”

“We can’t just leave Silvy alone, so we have to wait for contact.”

Sasha, who was sitting at the desk in the room, was drinking wine with a satisfied expression. She had bought wine from a merchant in the village as soon as the battle against Klovikus ended. Even that wasn’t enough, so she had asked the villagers for more. “I can’t live without wine!” she said, making me want to facepalm.

“By the way, Kaoru has a weird body, doesn’t he? Curses don’t work on him, and neither do poisons.”

“Yeah.”

“Did he receive some kind of divine protection?”

Sasha looked at me with a puzzled expression. Since my abilities were a cheat given by God, it was indeed a form of protection. We had won against Klovikus thanks to the abilities I received from Mirabel. If Klovikus had attacked us normally, we would have been in trouble.

As I was chatting with my friends, the door to the room opened, and Noel entered.

“You’re late. Did the purification take a long time?”

“It was a bit of a pain, but since they were all gathered in one place, it wasn’t too bad.”

“Did something happen?”

“A messenger from Kremaltas arrived, and I was listening to their report.”

Her expression didn’t look very good. Had the knight squad, which was supposed to be dealing with Silvy, been defeated or something?

“Was the knight squad defeated?”

“No, everyone is safe. It seems Silvy doesn’t want to fight, though.”

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“Not wanting to fight…?”

“That’s right. However, the knight squad that was supposed to surround Silvy has been surrounded by Silvy’s undead, and they’re in a situation where they can’t move at all.”

It was good that Silvy didn’t want to fight, but the knight squad was in a dangerous situation. If Silvy changed her mind, the knights’ lives would be at risk.

“It seems we need to accept Silvy’s demands to help the knight squad.”

“What are her demands?”

“Bring the Brave Party here,” she said.

Ah, I see. Noelle’s face is contorting. I don’t know what’s going on with Silvy, but she seems to be expecting us. Normally, I’d be cautious, but not now. Tra-san noticed my gaze and laughed.

“You’re worried about me? Kuhahahaha! This level of injury is nothing. Even if I lose my right arm, I still have my left. If I lose my left, I still have my legs. At worst, I can use my mouth to fight. Don’t worry about me.”

His laughter was reassuring, just like Tra-san always. Noelle had an unreadable expression. She was probably worried about Tra-san earlier. Since we’ve been protected by him, our attitude towards Tra-san has softened.

It’s pointless to be overly cautious around Tra-san. We’ve already decided what we can do.

“Then, let’s head to the Reg Legacy according to Silvy’s wishes.”

“It might be a trap, you know.”

“If the Knights are surrounded, and we don’t go, it’ll be a death sentence. We can’t do that, can we?”

Looking around the room, I could see everyone nodding in agreement. Sasha was the only one looking reluctant, saying she just wanted to drink slowly. She was probably thinking about the drinks from earlier.

Honestly, I don’t know what Silvy’s purpose is. She was an ally because of Takeshi-san.

That was 500 years ago. Takeshi-san is already dead, and Silvy is probably an enemy. She might make unreasonable demands, using the Knights as hostages.

Let’s assume the worst and head out.

───Thanks to the horse-drawn carriage prepared by the Knights of Crema, we arrived at the Reg Legacy without much trouble. Even from a distance, the sheer number of undead was terrifying. Everyone’s faces, including mine, were pale. It was far more than the number of goblins we fought the other day.

The undead, as if welcoming us, cleared a path to the Reg Legacy. It was a majestic sight, like the parting of the Red Sea in the Ten Commandments. In our case, it was an undead sea.

I’ve heard stories, but seeing it with my own eyes made me realize the strength of the Four Heavenly Kings. It’s no wonder that past heroes struggled against them. There are at least four of these powerful monsters (although there’s a rumor of a fifth).

We arrived at the Reg Legacy and got off the carriage. The Knights who came with us were told to wait here. The undead surrounded us, their faces tense.

Our guide seemed to be an undead, staring at us with lifeless eyes. It led us forward, as if saying “follow me.”

We had to be cautious, as we were in enemy territory. I’ve been here before, so I recognized the path we were taking.

As I expected, the undead led us to the entrance of the Reg Legacy and stopped. After confirming that we were following, it turned around and headed back the way it came.

We didn’t have time to worry about the undead. We had to focus on Silvy, who was waiting for us at the entrance.

───One of the Four Heavenly Kings, the “Undead Queen” Silvy Empire.