GalaxyTL
And so, we ran for about five days. It reminds me of that story where a man runs to fulfill a promise with a friend, to be killed by his own will… I remember reading it many times with my daughter when I was in Japan. I’d like to discuss these kinds of things with Meg.
Actually, this journey is far harsher than that story, but it’s frightening how this body no longer knows fatigue. Well, I do get a little tired. We do take breaks at least once a day.
“Looks like we’ll reach the central capital tomorrow.”
“Hmm, then just a little more before I turn the culprit into charcoal…”
“Demon King-sama? Please stop trying to resort to force at every turn.”
When I said that in the evening during a break, Ash muttered as if he couldn’t wait any longer. Even Adol’s remarks are starting to show some fatigue. And this fatigue isn’t from the journey, mind you.
Actually, I think he’s doing a great job of restraining us three hotheads. Well, Gil isn’t quite like that, but he’s the type to quietly burn with anger. You never know when he’ll explode, which is a hassle that’s wearing Adol out. I know, but I can’t really control myself either, so it can’t be helped. Sorry, Adol.
“We’ve gathered quite a bit of information. A big city sure is different. The ladies will spill everything if Ash asks.”
“I don’t get it. Gil would have been fine too, right?”
“I refuse.”
Having a handsome guy sure is advantageous when gathering information. There’s the downside of standing out wherever you go, but they’ll often tell you things you didn’t even ask, and they’ll give you extra service during meals. In that sense, Gil would of course be perfect too, but… he hates people, especially women.
Although he had beautiful parents, his father died early, and he was raised by his mother who abused him, which is quite rare on the Demon Continent, so it’s understandable. Afterwards, the demi-humans who took him in and acted as his parents gave him a lot of love, but… it seems that the trauma instilled in childhood doesn’t disappear that easily.
“We’re finally starting to see the enemy.”
Gil, taking off his mask and hood, and lightly rolling his neck, muttered that. His eyes are bloodshot. He seems to be really pissed at the ones who took Meg. I feel the same way.
“I understand how you feel, but… please behave yourself when we talk to the emperor tomorrow. In the first place, we don’t even know if we can meet the emperor, the head of this country, without any notice…”
Adol, still in his beast form, flapped his black wings and pleaded. I waved my hand at him, saying “I know, I know.” …Probably.
“We can meet him. No, I’ll make sure we meet him, so don’t worry, Adol. …I am the Demon King, you know?”
A hint of pitch-black pressure was released. Adol stiffened on the spot, and Gil’s eyebrow twitched. As his counterpart, I’m not affected, but it’s impressive that a demi-human can withstand this much pressure at such close range.
Ash, while normally quite disappointing, makes you realize at times like these that he’s the one at the top of the country and the Demon Continent. It’s reassuring to me, because he’s usually so disappointingly conspicuous.
“I’m not one to talk, but Ash. Suppress that pressure in front of humans, okay? If a human feels that, they’ll faint and we won’t be able to talk.”
“Don’t worry. I know that much.”
This pressure is a bit different from releasing magic power. It’s like a vibe, and you can’t avoid it unless you’re blood-related. Still, it’s probably better for humans than for demi-humans, but for fragile humans to begin with, it’s not a pleasant experience.
So if you’re going to do it, do it with magic power release, I added. When the magic power circulating in the body is disturbed, those who aren’t trained will take damage, but those who originally don’t have magic power have hardly any magic power to disturb, so they’re less affected and often don’t even notice.
Actually, releasing magic power on this continent is just a waste. There are so few magic particles that it’ll melt away in no time. Ash honestly replied that he’d do that if he can’t hold back.
“Alright. Let’s have one last sprint. The central capital is just ahead. If we run at this pace, we should arrive by morning.”
We each lightly rotated our legs and arms, and stretched to check our physical condition. I glanced around and got nods in return. Yeah, everyone seems to be fine. With a nod back, we started running again.
“Hmm, so this is the central capital. Quite a grand appearance.”
“Unlike the Demon Continent, it’s not monsters that restrict entry, but people. If they had magic tools, they wouldn’t need such a huge gate. Humans sure are inconvenient.”
“…You were human too, right? No, originally.”
“Stop. That’s the delicate issue I’m most questioning myself.”
As we got closer to the central capital, the number of people naturally increased. We can’t just sprint through them, so we stopped for a moment in the shade of a tree a little ways off and decided to walk with the flow. Adol has also returned to his human form.
“If they had magic tools, it would be enough if it was just two people tall. Then they could put up a barrier, and people could freely enter and exit with magic power detection, without anyone keeping watch.”
“It’s a very high wall. About… ten people high?”
Adol and Gil each gave their thoughts as they looked up at the wall surrounding the city. This is my second time coming here, but the overwhelming presence still amazes me. Such a tall and massive wall is built to surround the entire capital. The capital itself is too big, so the wall seems to go on forever. But do they really need it to be this tall?
“Hmm, what’s that line for, Eugene?”
“Ah… that’s the line to enter the capital.”
“W-We have to line up that much to get in!?”
“It can’t be helped. I read in a book that those of high status can enter immediately through a different entrance.”
“Then let us go through there as well.”
Ah, well, I guess Ash is of high status, in a way. But he’s from the Demon Continent. The question is whether the human gate guards will accept that.
“Well, we won’t know until we try. We’re short on time too.”
“You are a representative of the continent. I think we can expect something, right? If they contact the castle from there, the emperor might hear about it and meet with us quickly.”
That makes sense. If that’s the case, let’s head for that other gate right away. …But there’s one thing that worries me.
“…Just because they don’t understand, don’t go releasing pressure recklessly, okay?”
If they faint, there’s no point. Worse, we might get caught as suspicious individuals and get into trouble. Well, there’s no way we’d get caught by human soldiers, but I want to avoid anything that would hinder our search for Meg.
“Of course, I won’t make the mistake of going overboard. But a little is unavoidable to make them understand, right?”
“…You’re planning to use it?”
“Then, Eugene, do you think the humans will understand with just our words?”
Unfortunately, I don’t really think so. Unlike the noble humans, we don’t have any identification. I could only sigh.
“We’ll manage somehow. Adol will negotiate for us, right?”
“…You’re dumping it all on me? I don’t mind, but it’ll change how easy it is, so please be really careful not to release any pressure, okay!?”
I have nothing but worries, but we have no choice but to go. With curious eyes from the surrounding humans, we moved to the front of the special gate. Haa…