Chapter 82: When did I think this was such a slow life?

「Master, are you okay? 」

「Brother…I don’t even know what to say. We were able to safely leave the territory of the Alburs Empire, but what will you do from now on? 」

「…I wonder. 」

Riding on top of Rock’s back, who became a Simurgh, I gave a casual reply to Hell and Dora-chan who spoke to me with worried eyes.

I was still uncertain about what happened at the Imperial Castle.

We went there to rescue Lily who was held as a hostage, but in the end, Fitis and Amines were the ones to be taken away.

Right now, I hated myself from the depths of my viscera.

Until now, I had been dealing with people close to me, such as Katherine, Amines, and my father and mother.

That was why I was able to go on competitions with a certain degree of trust.

However, that man was a hero completely different from my previous opponents.

The strength to pass through oneself served a different purpose. I was wrong from the beginning to be overconfident in confronting the man called Emperor.

One of the reasons for my mistake was probably my life in another world, which I regarded at first as slow life.

I was too careless about the upcoming event.

This was a different world. It was a world I didn’t know, and there were different laws, society, order and rule.

I should have been more aware of that.

「In any case, we should take a rest somewhere and plan future strategies, bro. 」

「Yes, that’s right… 」

「Then, master, why don’t you go home now? 」

「Home…? 」

I instinctively listened to Dora-chan’s words and realized what she meant.

That’s right, the city and the tattered hut that I first visited since I came to this different world.

Thinking about it, that was the beginning of this world for me, where I met Lily and decided to raise monsters.

It felt nostalgic since it was a long time ago, like a nostalgic wind that blew somewhere in my heart that had sunk until now.

「…That’s right. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. If we go there, we might think of something.」

「Yes! That’s right! Master, you’ve created a lot of ideas and survived each time. Let’s go there again!」

「My…My brother’s house…Hmm, yeah, I’m also a little curious. 」

「Then, it’s decided. Bro, let’s go back home for the first time in a long time. 」

Nodding to everyone’s voices, I instructed Rock to return to the city where I met Lily and my friends for the first time.

Without knowing what was waiting there.

—

「Master! I can see the city! 」

I was drawn to Dora-chan’s voice, and the moment I looked ahead, the city I knew was spreading before my eyes.

「It’s been a while since I’ve been back here. 」

How was Mina-chan? She had to return to this city after the cooking showdown at that Demon King’s Castle, but it might be good to greet her.

I thought about whether to show my face to the Lord for the first time in a long time, and the moment I approached my house, I saw it.

「…? What is that? 」

I saw smoke rising into the sky.

The smoke covered my eyes, as if it were a fog, creating dark clouds in the sky. It was an ominous symbol.

What was the cause of the smoke? I saw something red rising from where we were going.

「…No way…You’re kidding, right…? 」

Fire.

It was a scene where everything was burning red.

From far above, I could see the house where I lived wrapped in flames under my eyes.

It used to be a run-down house that was not suitable for living in. But I liked it.

If the wind blew, pieces of wood would creak, and if it rained, water would leak, but living in such a run-down house was a place that everyone wanted to try once as a child.

Afterwards, I asked the people in the city to rebuild that house into a new wooden house.

It was a warm wooden house, a house only for me that was made because the people in the city helped me.

It was burning now.

「…What is this…? 」

I landed in front of the burning house, and I was stunned at the scene, but Jack and the others who also landed with me informed me of further shocking facts.

「Bro, apparently it’s not just the house…Look at that. 」

Looking at the area where Jack pointed to, I saw a burnt field that had already been burned down by the flames.

The ground was filled with only charcoal and ash.

And it was also the place where I was raising monsters.

「…It can’t be… 」

I approached the field that was terrifyingly burnt down.

There, I saw monsters turned into ashes.

I didn’t know how many monsters were sacrificed, but at least some of the monsters that were unable to escape were turned to ashes.

I took the ashes with my hands without knowing the reason why and squeezed it with force.

「…Who did this… 」

My thoughts stopped running in my head amid this horrible situation, but a man’s voice heard from behind brought me back to reality.

「It seems you are the cause for the creation of monsters. 」

I turned around when I noticed that familiar voice.

「…Lo…Lord? 」

Yes, it was the Lord of this town, who was also my acquaintance.

He stood in front of us with several soldiers behind him as he looked down on us.

「…Lord, did you do this? Why did you do this! 」

「Why? It’s obvious. Monsters are harmful to humans. It’s natural to annihilate them. 」

The Lord spoke as if it was something natural.

His eyes were cold and full of hostility.

「Why…? The monsters raised here were well accepted by everyone in the city! The Lord asked me to lay Cockatrice eggs! Why!? 」

I said those words and I inadvertently grabbed the egg that had become charcoal at my feet and was still solidified, and showed it to the Lord.

However, the Lord’s response was unbelievable.

「What are you talking about? I don’t remember asking for such a thing. I met you now for the first time. 」

「…No way… 」

The Lord’s eyes were not lying, and he recognized me only as the “enemy” he met for the first time.

Seeing that, I felt a certain but worst possibility.

「Since you’re carrying monsters with you, it’s clear that you were the one who gathered the monsters here. You might have been trying to invade the city from here. I must apprehend you right now. 」

The Lord gave instructions to the soldiers behind him, but earlier than that, Hell, who was standing right next to me, grabbed my hand.

「Brother! Let’s run away from here! 」

We broke through the soldiers in front of us at once.

We ran away toward the city as I was pulled by Hell.

Along the way, the chasing soldiers attacked us several times, but Jack, Hell and Rock kicked them off and we managed to escape to the alleys of the city.

What was happening? What should I do from now on?

Such a messy idea ran around my head, but the voice of Dora-chan that seemed to come up with something helped me from getting confused.

「That’s right! Master! Let’s go to Mina-san now! Mina-san will surely hide us! 」

「Mina-chan…? 」

Yes, she was in this city.

I nodded to Dora-chan’s words, and we started moving to Mina-chan’s restaurant for the time being.

We moved inconspicuously in the back alley and managed to come to the front of Mina-chan’s restaurant.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no soldiers near the restaurant, and we rushed inside.

「Hey, Mina-chan! Help us! I don’t know, but something seems to be happening in this city! 」

When I opened the door and saw us entering in a hurry, Mina-chan shook her body astonishingly, and the next moment, she fell back with a frightened expression.

「Mina-chan? Ah yes, I’m sorry for coming in so suddenly. But in fact, the house on the hill was burned, and the field where the monsters were raised was burned too, so there is no other place to go. It looks weird, so… 」

Mina-chan threw unbelievable words at me while I apologized and explained.

「Who…Who are…you? 」

「…Eh? 」

What were you talking about, Mina-chan?

The moment I tried to speak to her, an impossible line popped out of Mina-chan’s mouth.

「Wha…What are you doing in my restaurant with those monsters!? Go…Go out! Please go out now!! 」

Mina-chan’s expression and screaming showed that she was clearly frightened.

The moment I saw her like that, I felt like my chest was tightened somewhere.

「…I see. Even Mina-chan became like this. 」

My feelings spread to my heart, but I didn’t feel like bothering Mina-chan.

Rather, she was caught on this. So to speak, she was a victim.

I decided that asking her for help would only frighten her more, and apologized to her.

「I’m truly sorry…but, I don’t mean to scare you. 」

「Eh? 」

For a moment, Mina-chan looked stunned at me as if she remembered something.

「Hey, Mina. Is it okay to have dinner today? 」

I saw someone coming into the store. We started moving instantly to leave the restaurant.

The moment we left the place, we collided with that person, but managed to leave the restaurant so as not to involve Mina-chan in this mess as soon as possible. At the same time, I was thinking about the cause of this irregularity.

Emperor Hero Rostam.

This was definitely his work.

He investigated me before that meeting, prepared from the beginning to this point, and made a request to the meeting place.

In other words, the culprit had ulterior motives from the very beginning.

He did it. But this was too much.

I wouldn’t mind if he did it directly to me. But, why did he involve Mina-chan in this? It was unforgivable.

I fled to the depths of the forest with my companions, but what was in my heart was the anger for not saving my companions more than despair.

—

「Was that…Kyou just now? What happened to him to be in such a hurry? 」

「…Tom-san, are you acquainted with that person? 」

「Ah? What are you saying, Mina? Were you not indebted to each other in various ways? I repeat this topic every time I come here. Did you have a fight today as well? 」

「…Kyou-san… 」

When Mina muttered that person’s name, she felt like she had a hole in her heart.

It felt like she was forgetting something important.

However, Mina muttered the name once more, recalling the face of the boy that came earlier. Kyou, it seemed.

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